Tuesday, March 26, 2013 by Western Gazette

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Please have Mercer Rick Mercer tries his hand at the drums with the Western Mustang Band. >> pg. 5

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Volume 106, Issue 90

Ryerson slush crawl sparks campus outrage

Admin to research alternative schedules

Megan Devlin Gazette Staff It was a cold, snowy March day last week when half-naked Ryerson University engineering frosh-leader hopefuls crawled across the campus’ frozen pond to earn their “covies,” special coveralls worn by engineers. A video of the initiation event, which has allegedly been going on for the past seven years, was posted on YouTube. It shows the nearly naked students being herded across the pond by current frosh leaders, who yelled at students not crawling appropriately, bombarded them with snowballs and water guns and even slapped the behind of one crawling female student. Ryerson administration is outraged, calling the event an unacceptable form of hazing. “When I saw the video, I immediately thought ‘this is unacceptable behaviour.’ It doesn’t matter if it’s voluntary or optional—when there is a power imbalance and students are being told to crawl, or undertake other actions, it is demeaning,” Michael Forbes, media relations manager for Ryerson, said. “The University does not condone student conduct that demeans individuals in any way.” Rebecca Korolnek, a fourth-year engineering student at Queen’s University, a school known for its hazing practices, said initiation

Bill Wang Gazette

Alex Carmona News Editor

The horror of an overlapping exam schedule is something most students at Western are familiar with—and it appears the administration is finally ready to do something about it. In collaboration with the Student Caucus on Governance, Western administration is currently researching a number of potential revisions to both midterm and final examination policy in order to relieve student stress and overburdening. “In terms of finals, we’re looking toward a four-in-47-, five-in72-hour conflict schema. So if you had that number of exams in that amount of time, you would have to be accommodated, just like how you would for the current threein-23 rule,” Ali Damji, health sciences, medicine and dentistry senator, said. According to Damji, the reasoning behind the new system is

7th CH 2 MAR

to ensure the greatest chance of student success on exams, and to address the growing concern of stress-related mental health issues on campus. John Doerksen, vice-provost academic programs and students for Western, has done research as to how many additional conflicts would occur under the new system, and believes such a system can work. “The number of additional exam schedule conflicts that would arise with a new four-in-47 and five-in-72 policy seems manageable. For the April 2013 final exam period, for instance, such a policy would bring just over 50 additional schedule conflicts requiring make-up exams,” he stated. Janice Deakin, provost and vicepresident academic for Western, is also working with SCOG to determine the viability of getting rid of Sunday exams entirely. “They’re working very hard to get rid of Sunday exams within

the regular school year,” Caitlin Harvey, chair of SCOG, said. Damji explained the motivation behind targeting Sunday exams as a matter of accessibility for students. “This will allow for students who might need to work on the weekend. Also, bus schedules are just awful on the weekends. This will avoid the difficulties that exist with exams on those days,” he noted. Yet another potential change will see midterm exams throughout every faculty set under a formal three-in-23 conflict policy, similar to the current finals policy. “Dr. Deakin doesn’t like the idea of having unrestricted exams. Right now at Western, you can have an exam at any day at any time if it’s a midterm. So she really doesn’t like that,” Harvey said. While an official timeframe has not yet been set, it is expected at least some of these changes will occur over the summer, or early next year.

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rituals can have their place on campuses. “I think if done right—I wouldn’t call walking across a frozen pond and slush a good practice—they could give you a sense of community between your classmates,” Korolnek said. She stressed it was important to not make students feel pressured to do anything, and that rituals not be dangerous—characteristics she felt defined her own experience going through the Queen’s engineering frosh week program. Korolnek also expressed concern the bad press surrounding the Ryerson incident may cause other universities to scrutinize their own faculties’ rituals more closely. Ryerson administration hopes to never have such an incident again. “The University is meeting with the leadership of the Ryerson Engineering Student Society later today to discuss their event, and how we can work together to ensure incidents like these are never repeated,” Forbes said. Forbes also explained a student complaint brought the event to the administration’s attention, and that the event went unnoticed in previous years because no complaints were filed. The Ryerson Engineering Student Society, which organized the event, was unavailable for comment.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

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thegazette • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Caught on Camera

Crossword By Eugene Sheffer Cameron Wilson GAZETTE

EH, SEXY LADY. Students danced along to PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in the University Community Centre atrium yesterday to celebrate Korea Day.

News Brief

Horrific scene plays out on Highbury Those who attempted to drive down Highbury Avenue on Saturday night were met with the same sort of despair that comes from watching a horror film.

Solution to puzzle on page 7

In this case, an actual horror film was the culprit of the detour, as London-based Matchbox Pictures was using the section of road to film their upcoming motion picture, Kingdom Come. “It looked like some sort of scene that would be from The Walking Dead, with the cars all smashed up and scattered on the highway,” one commenter on Reddit proclaimed. Barring the need to re-shoot, Saturday’s road closure marks the last instance of Kingdom Come blocking off London roadways, according to Sergeant Ryan Scrivens of the London Police Service. These blockages were planned far in advance by city council, and city services were ready to keep the situation safe and effective. “There is a permit process the producer has to go through which involves the City,” Scrivens stated. “For example, if there’s a road closure around Victoria Park for Ribfest, someone at the City is going to contact us and ask for our approval.” “The movie producers met with representatives at city hall, and city hall issue the road closures,” Scrivens noted. “They consult with agencies such as London Fire, EMS and London Police, and together we try to devise a plan so that we can accommodate their request, but do so in a safe manner.” “We are positioned at traffic points to ensure people comply with the road closures and ensure the safety of everybody that is on the road,” Scrivens said. Kingdom Come is set to arrive in theaters in 2014, as Matchbox Pictures hopes to replicate the success it had with its last film, Devil Seed, which nabbed the top horror download spot on iTunes Canada upon its 2012 release. —Ryan Hurlbut

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 • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Ivey crumbles under Earth Hour participation dim water pressure

Twitter

Herb Richardson Gazette Staff

FILE PHOTO

BROKEN DREAMS. The ceiling of room 2R09 in the Richard Ivey School of Business crumbled yesterday, releasing water and debris into the classroom.

Jasleen Sembhi Gazette Staff

A part of the ceiling in room 2R09 of the Richard Ivey School of Business building collapsed Monday morning due to an overflow of water in an upstairs washroom. Students were preparing for presentations in their Design Driven Innovation class with Raymond Pirouz, a marketing lecturer, when the ceiling fell in. Pirouz said the incident was a big surprise to him, as he had just walked into his classroom after the ceiling had fallen in. “As I came into class, all of my students were huddled to the left, looking at the back corner of the classroom where the ceiling debris and water had fallen,” he noted. A student in Pirouz’s class explained they were inside the classroom when some of the cardboard roofing panels from the ceiling broke apart and fell to the ground, followed by a rush of water behind it. While no one was hurt, a constant trickle of water from the roof continued to drain into the room after the ceiling collapsed. “Due to the incident, we moved our class to the auditorium as I don’t want to subject the students to a room that is potentially unsafe,” Pirouz said. Mary Stopar, manager of facilities and services for Ivey,

explained the problem occurred due to a water overflow in an upstairs washroom, which leaked into a mechanical room located just above the classroom. Since all the drains within the building are connected, the heavy flow of water draining into the mechanical room resulted in the ceiling collapse.

This year’s Earth Hour had an all-time low participation rate in London, with electricity consumption only reduced by one per cent between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday night. Last year saw a two per cent decrease of normal usage— equivalent to 6,400 homes powering down. The highest recorded reduction in London was a six per cent electricity decrease. “I think we’ve been seeing decreased participation over the last couple of years,” Nancy Hutton, media spokesperson for London Hydro, said. “But you have to keep in mind a lot of bigger buildings in London and in the downtown area, because of conservation efforts, are now on automated energy control for

their cooling and heating. From year to year, that could decrease the amount that electricity has been consumed, because a lot of bigger companies have gone to automation for their lighting and heating,” Hutton explained. Despite the lower participation of Londoners this year, Josh Laughren, director of climate and energy for World Wildlife Fund Canada, the organizer of Earth Hour, still remained optimistic. “It’s not about the hour, or the energy savings during the hour,” Laughren said. “It’s about a commitment to both be a part of the solution on climate change, and a call to action to see more done.” Laughren noted the purpose of Earth Hour was more to show how many people were willing to participate in maintaining the environment rather than a large– scale act of any impact.

“The reduction is only really important as indication of participation,” Laughren explained. “The impact to be felt isn’t during the hour, it starts the next day. It’s whether or not business and political leaders take the step Canadians want to see on climate change and it’s whether or not all of us start to build in more sustainable behaviours.” Nancy Hutton agreed with Laughren’s sentiments. “The idea of Earth Hour is to create an awareness on energy conservation,” Hutton said. “And I think that we’ve done so much moving forward on energy conservation that it’s pretty much top-of-the-line awareness for customers as it is, and we have seen from year to year a little bit of a decrease on overall consumption on a regular basis.”

University Students’ Council & Western English Department As I came into class, all of my students were huddled to the left, looking at the back corner of the classroom where the ceiling debris and water had fallen. —Raymond Pirouz

Marketing lecturer at the Richard Ivey School of Business

To address the situation, the facilities and services office contacted Facilities Management, who sent motor mechanics and plumbers to handle the issue, Stopar siad. She noted the classroom would be back in use today. As of next year, the current Richard Ivey School of Business will finish its move to the new Western Road location. The faculty of information and media studies will take up residence in Ivey’s old location.

collaborate to create THE STUDENT WRITER IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM

Student Writer-in-Residence In the fortieth year of the Writer-in-Residence program, USC and the Department of English have collaborated to create a new, parallel position, unique in Canada: the Student Writer-in-Residence (SWIR). Western hosts the longest-running Writer-in-Residence program in Canada. The program has given Western students direct access to such celebrated Canadian writers as Austin Clarke, Emma Donoghue, Margaret Laurence, and Alice Munro.

This program will recognize and provide support for a talented student writer as he or she pursues the fourth year of undergraduate studies; the Western community will benefit from the student’s creativity, expertise and organizational skills. The honorarium will be $1000.

How to apply

If you are a third-year student in any discipline entering fourth year in 2013–14, full or part time, and if you are are an active creative writer, with organizational and community-building skills that will enrich the culture of creativity at Western, you should apply!

Applications will be accepted up to midnight on April 10th, 2013. The SWIR will serve from September 2013 to April 2014.

westerngazette.ca/news

To apply to be the SWIR or to find out more detailed information on the position, visit: www.usc.uwo.ca/swir/

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thegazette • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Arts&Life

tuesdaytweet @SeinfeldToday: George gets a Kindle so women on the train will think he’s smart. G:”I read sports articles! They think I’m reading… like…” J: “A book?”

—Modern Seinfeld.

A proud part of their ghost history Kevin Heslop Contributor

With last year’s release of their latest full-length album, A Ghost History, Halifax indie-rockers Kestrels have been making the rounds, lighting up stages from province to province. “We just want people to be standing on their two feet,” Paul Brown, the band’s drummer, says. “There is so much guitar noise, the drums are so loud and the bass is thundering. [We just want people] to be really excited about a really intense show.” Originally from Nova Scotia, Kestrels’ guitarist-vocalist Chad Peck set off to the Big Apple in 2010 to spend a summer absorbing the city to see what would stick. The result was Kestrel’s fourth digital endeavour, A Ghost History, an album with living, shoegaze sound and personal lyricism. “A Ghost History was a step in the direction we wanted to go sonically. It was louder, there were more dynamic guitar tones and the drumming was more intense,” Brown comments. With the luxury of a readily accessible studio, the band was able to have as many takes

We just want people to be standing on their two feet. There is so much guitar noise, the drums are so loud and the bass is thundering. [We just want people] to be really excited about a really intense show. —Paul Brown

Kestrels drummer

onicunyon.com

SWOOPING IN. Halifax indie-rockers Kestrels will be playing APK Live on March 28. The Canadian band is known for re-recording songs up to 23 times to ensure perfection of each note.

as they wanted. The result was a finely crafted chaos, raw and as unpolished as an old copper pot—and with the live, low-fi feel the band sought and found. “Even as we go forth to record new material, we’re always trying

to capture that,” Brown notes. The album includes tracks “Drowning Girl,” with its droning guitar and thick, coarse warmth, “Lose,” with an ostensible low-fi sound reminiscent of the Scottish indie-rock band

Frightened Rabbit and “The Past Rests,” the ultimate track, deftly maneuvered as a beast through a soundscape of punchy drums, droning guitar and grounding bass. Since 2007, Kestrels have

released new material with the label Sonic Unyon Records. Working out of Hamilton, Sonic Unyon is a small town label with a big city feel. “It’s really great just to be associated with them, and to have them behind our records,” Brown notes. “They’re really devoted to releasing independent rock records—definitely not looking to put out mainstream pop records—they really want to help expose new music.” Kestrels will be playing March 28 at The APK at 9 p.m. Cover is $6 and the event is 19+.

Old British actors hit the right notes Jared MacAdam Gazette Staff GGGGF Quartet Director: Dustin Hoffman Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins Quartet is a film for the old at heart. A brilliant movie, directed and produced by Dustin Hoffman, Quartet somehow manages to tread the line between highbrow and lowbrow humour, with many elderly people making sexual jokes and developing serious romance. Quartet is a BBC production, so it’s quite different from a Hollywood movie in its overall tone. The film is a tale of love over decades, of finding a way to forgive and forget—and of really perverted jokes. A legendary cast of Brits fills the screen, with a very grumpy Dumbledore—known by his muggle name Michael Gambon—as the “modest” director of the retirement home’s biggest show, and an aging McGonagall (Maggie Smith) as an ex-Opera singing celebrity. Billy Connolly joins them as a Scottish funnyman and suave pervert, Pauline Collins as a well-meaning early Alzheimer’s patient and Tom Courtenay as a serious, bitter old man. Interestingly, the cast is mostly comprised of ex-musicians who are now in their retirement years. The end credits show the “then and now” of most of the film’s supporting actors.

file photo

The movie itself starts off as a dry, perverted kind of British humour, with Wilf (Connolly) making sexual jokes at anything that walks. The movie continues in this tone until the arrival of Jean (Smith), who resurrects old feelings amongst the residences and even older and deeper emotions for the main cast, particularly for Reginald (Courtenay). Tension builds as the retirement home faces closure if they can’t bring enough revenue from the annual celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s birthday and performance. The quartet of the main cast are asked to come together again to perform, but, in the dramatic crescendo of emotions for the movie, one of them is not up for it—a strange mixture of laughs and tears ensues as a result.

The movie bounces up and down between perverted humour and tragic elements of love and loss in old age. However, the movie doesn’t really dip too low to make the audience start sobbing, so overall, it still retains itself as a light and fun movie. Of course, another great feature of the plot revolving around a retirement home for old musicians is that music pervades throughout the movie. The humour of Quartet is distinctly British in flavour, so if that’s your cup of tea then you’re in for a good laugh. But it’s not for everyone, which can be a strike against it in a wider audience sense. The film itself at times seems slightly too ‘everything working out,’ as most of the problems, which could have been turned into quite heavy

blows, are almost brushed aside in this seemingly surreal atmosphere. Only once is the reality of the fragility of their lives brought before their eyes, as one of the tenants is brought to the hospital, but this is not given as much depth as it could have been. Quartet is not for everyone, but if you know 20 different kinds of tea and have strong opinions on matters like apricot jam and marmalade, then this is a must see. A quirky movie with some big wigs from overseas, it’s a heartwarming tale about how love truly does not know age, that there’s always time to make amends and to live again and that you’re never too old to flirt with your waitress. Quartet is playing this week at Hyland Cinema.

Mike Laine Gazette

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thegazette • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Film festival fascinates WUFS runs another unique showcase Brittany Tilstra Contributor Western film gurus and enthusiasts headed to the Wolf Performance Hall this past Friday to take part in the annual Western Undergraduate Film Festival. Western student duo Christine Neumann and Katie Wilks had been planning the event for weeks. “It went better than I expected,” says Wilks, about her first experience as a coordinator. “We’re really happy about the turn out this year.” The night of film got off to a late start, but quickly picked up the pace as the films began to be screened. The 10 finalists ranged from a short documentary about the big storm of ’77, to a comedic exposé on the grammatically incorrect signs around Western’s campus. When the showcase ended, participants teemed with anticipation about who would take home one of the cash prizes—$300 for first place, $200 for second place, $100 for third place and $50 for the viewers’ choice. All involved celebrated their cinematic achievements at an after party hosted by APK Live with food, drink and live music. Finalists and audience members mingled as the judges began to deliberate and the viewers’ votes were counted. The judges panel included Western film professor Tobias Nagl, graduate student Caitlin Forster, Museum London’s curator of public programs Dianne Pearce and local multimedia artist and filmmaker Wyn Geleynse. First place and viewers’ choice was awarded to Bag of Film by Matt Rossoni, followed by Dear Eva by Danny Dunlop for second, and The

New School of Colour by Cailyn Farquhar, Patrick Barfoot and Jin Teng coming in third. This is the second year Rossoni has won first prize at the festival, a victory he owes to his unique style.

Not many Western students attend, though WUFS has proven to be a valuable part of London’s film community. Half the people that come to these events are from outside the university, so there’s a real hunger for alternative forms of cinema. —Matt Rossoni

Winner of Western Undergraduate Film Festival.

“I usually work with 16mm film, be it a finished product, or as part of a performance,”says Rossoni, explaining his avant-garde entries in the festival.” Bag of Film is the third projector performance I have done, and tonight was the first time I’ve performed it in public. I think, in terms of what film can do, you can’t apply the same logic to video.” Rossoni’s Bag of Film was a live performance where he sat on stage, simultaneously editing and playing his film. Reaching into a giant bag of film, he would splice filmstrips as fast as possible before they could slip away, up to the projector. The images could be upside down, the

Rick Mercer meets the Western band Ross Hamilton Gazette Staff Following a lengthy journey up to Quebec earlier this month, the Western Mustang Band’s appearance in this year’s Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade featured a notable guest. Canadian television personality Rick Mercer dropped by to try his hand at some of the band’s musical numbers ahead of their muchanticipated performance. Mercer, a noted comedian who is famous for his topical “Rick’s Rants,” was on location in Quebec filming a segment for the Rick Mercer Report, his highly-rated satirical news and sketch comedy show. Whilst he and his crew attempted to capture the spirit of the holiday celebrations in the midst of all the Irish-themed festivities and greentinted revelry, Mercer managed to take the time to speak to the Mustang Band’s drum major and CG leader, Scott Patchett. “We were in Montreal, waiting to start the Montreal St. Patrick’s Day parade,” Patchett says. “We were in our waiting spot, and Rick Mercer was wandering the floats, interviewing a number of different bands. He came up to us, talked to one of our drummers, who pointed me out,

We strapped on the quint drums and played a number of our drum tunes, and he played along with us. —Scott Patchett

Western Mustang Band’s drum major and CG leader.

and then we had our interview.” The popular host also proved willing to get involved with the band, and readily took the opportunity to put his musical skills to the test. “We strapped on the quint drums and played a number of our drum tunes, and he played along with us,” Patchett recalls. While it doesn’t look like he will be ditching his show to pursue a career in drumming any time soon, Mercer’s trademark sense of humour unsurprisingly shone through in his interview with Patchett. “He’s a funny guy,” Patchett notes. “There were lots of jokes.” Viewers can keep an eye out for the Western Mustang Band by checking out the St. Patrick’s Day segment of the Rick Mercer Report tonight at 8 p.m. on CBC.

sound could play backward—it was all at random, and the film could only go on as long as he managed to keep adding more film. His efforts resulted in a creative and entertaining race against time. “The Western Undergraduate Film Society puts on a number of fantastic events like screenings and bringing in special guests,” Rossoni notes. “Not many Western students attend, though WUFS has proven to be a valuable part of London’s film community. Half the people that come to these events are from outside the university, so there’s a real hunger for alternative forms of cinema, and especially analogue film.” If you’re into directing, or just observing, unique film projects, WUFS is definitely worth checking out. For more information on the WUFS or the London Ontario Media Arts Association, visit their websites at www.wufs.org and www.lomaa. weebly.com

>> Recap > WUFF

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Where: Wolf Performance Hall When: Last Friday Who: Western Undergraduate Film Society Winner: Matt Rossoni for Bag of Film Top prize: $300

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thegazette • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Opinions

We can no longer allow America’s dependence on foreign oil to compromise our energy security. Instead, we must invest in inventing new ways to power our cars and our economy. I’ll put my faith in American science and ingenuity any day before I depend on Saudi Arabia.

—John Kerry, American senator

Hazing not to be confused with tradition

When engineering students from Ryerson University asked members of their class to strip, lay on a frozen pond and crawl across the ice, they were told it was part of a larger tradition. What they weren’t told was that a video of this ‘tradition’ would be shared online, eventually reaching university officials who would be forced to take action against this annual event, labelling it as hazing. While the engineering students in question face consequences from the University, this opens up a greater dialogue about the place hazing has on campuses. Gone are the days of cloak-and-dagger fraternity rituals and secret sorority gatherings. Now, hazing finds itself in a variety of leadership groups and, with the proliferation of handheld recording devices, online. Before dismissing anything that resembles hazing, it’s important to recognize the reasons for taking part in such activities. Going through these tests of endurance can be an invaluable bonding experience, creating collective memories and establishing a group history. That said, it’s important to not conflate “tradition” with “hazing.” After all, there are less dangerous and less humiliating ways to form such bonds and memories. Just because something has been done before, doesn’t mean it can or should be repeated. This flawed logic, however, is what drives not only the Ryerson engineering students, but many hazing institutions. The mentality of ‘I did it, so they should do it too,’ doesn’t take into account each individual’s thresholds and boundaries. Another fallacy of hazing is the idea of choice. While some would defend hazing rituals by claiming that not every participant has the option to walk away, this really isn’t the case. The effects of peer pressure are still relevant, even at a post-secondary level. Some may not have the confidence to stand against their senior class in fear of social isolation. These quirky or adrenaline-fuelled bonding activities shouldn’t be banished, but looked at in a critical way. For instance, how much bonding really happens when a group of fully dressed students yell commands at their half-naked, shivering peers? How can team cohesion come out of such a fabricated power dynamic? These are questions any group that hazes should ask itself. If the Ryerson engineers did, they might not have stepped onto the ice that day. —The Gazette Editorial Board

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@_Dwalk Imagine accidentally ‘replying all’ to the @uwogazette Executive Report Card? That would be a nightmare...

Holmes is on the Case

Aaron Zaltzman News Editor

Started in 2007 in Australia by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour came and passed this Saturday with shamefully little notice by Western students and the Canadian population—very little mention of it was seen on campus or on social media, and reports from London Hydro indicate electricity usage decreased by only one per cent. The sad truth is despite the importance of trying to take action to better take care of the environment, many did not choose to turn off their lights on Saturday. While some may question the significance of events like Earth Hour, these events draw people’s attention to environmental issues, as well as provide an opportunity for people to feel they are making a difference. If anything, we need to have more of these events to provide people with a consistent reminder to be environmentally conscious. It is undoubtedly true one-hour lights-out events are done by the people interested, but then immediately forgotten about by the time the power comes back on. The sad reality of human nature is we rarely step out and take action unless we feel somebody is watching. Earth Hour and other events that encourage people to use less electricity provide a sense of participating in a greater event. More importantly, Earth Hour is an international event that Canada has committed to participating in. When we fail to turn off our lights for that brief hour, it is a reflection not only on ourselves, but also on our nation. Whether you believe in global warming or not, the reality is we will soon have to deal with a world with dramatically powerful repercussions for the way we have abused the Earth’s resources. When those days come, we will have to pay for the over-consumption of the world’s resources. One way or another, it will be a harder, darker world.

Let me simply say Earth Hour is a colossal waste of exactly that much time. The obvious flaw is it doesn’t do a damn thing. Yes, a rather impressive one billion people went without lights, television and plug-in sex toys for a whole hour. So what? Most of the stuff that eats up your electricity bill, such as heating and the 10,000 appliances in each house, are still running, meaning Earth Hour does almost nothing on the whole for energy reduction. Fine, maybe you’re in this for the awareness—just like when you saved that African child from starvation by clicking the ‘Like’ button on Facebook. Conservation is important, but the stated purpose of Earth Hour is “to take a stand against climate change.” Perhaps I’m merely being cynical and jaded, but I can’t think of a more logical disconnect between action and desired outcome. Like most reasonable people out there, I believe climate change is real, we use unsustainable energy and there is probably some connection between the two. But your computer isn’t killing polar bears, at least not wholly. At the very least, we can all agree climate change is a complex, multi-cause issue not completely tied to energy reduction. Plus, I’m willing to bet any salvation related to energy reduction will be outmatched by some incredible, technological advance that necessitated a few million-kilowatt hours. But at least Earth Hour doesn’t hurt anyone, right? Well, of course it does. Turns out one of the highly romantic ways of celebrating Earth Hour is to light nice, natural candles—the same ones that actually release even more deadly carbon dioxide and were phased out 100 years ago when we switched to efficient electricity, around the same time we stopped burning coal and cow dung—third-world excluded. How about instead of feeling good about ourselves for one solitary Temple Run-less hour, we actually start pressuring politicians to pursue environmentally friendly programs and scientific research? Because no matter how much you brag about it on Facebook, it takes more than an hour to save the world.

/opinions

Volume 106, Issue 90 www.westerngazette.ca

Gloria Dickie Editor-In-Chief Nicole Gibillini Deputy Editor Cam Parkes Managing Editor

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Verbal Azalt

Brent Holmes Arts & Life Editor

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@mkeyhano @uwogazette Question.. Does the student body get a voice in what the student fee consists of? Or in any of this at all? #curious

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.

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Karen Savino Diana Watson

Gazette Staff 2012-2013

Iain Boekhoff, Danielle Bozinoff, Jaclyn Carbone, Mary Ann Ciosk, David Czosniak, Megan Devlin, Jonathan Dunn, Andrew Evans, Chelsey Gauthier, Ross Hamilton, Danny Huang, Amanda Law, Logan Ly, Jared MacAdam, Sarah Mai Chitty, Sarah Manning, Bradley Metlin, Kaitlyn Oh, John Petrella, Sarah Prince, Chen Rao, Herb Richardson, Nathan Robbins-Kanter, Lily Robinson, Jeremiah Rodriguez, Katie Roseman, Jasleen Sembhi, Nathan TeBokkel, Jacqueline Ting, Caroline Wang, Kate Wilkinson, Zoe Woods, Kartikeya Vishal, 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

@alex_vaiay The sophing application changes seem...largely unnecessary and certainly counter-productive. Google would be the best soph ever @uwogazette Follow and tweet your thoughts to @uwogazette Letter to the Editor

Sugar is bad, duh To the Editor: Re: New meaning to sickly sweet, March 21, 2013 The article on the problems with sugary drinks published on March 21 seems redundant. Of course, we know consuming sugary drinks like pop is bad for us in large quantities, and that they contain high levels of sugar, which can contribute to health problems. At this point, everyone should be able to make the connection between what they consume and how it affects them. There is plenty of information—it now comes down to personal responsibility. The link between over-consumption of sugary drinks and diabetes and cardiovascular disease was reported many years ago. A review article from 2008 concluded multiple studies linked sugary drink consumption to cardiovascular disease, as well as diabetes. In another review paper from 2007, researchers found links between sugary drink consumption and higher body weight. Extremes in weight, such as obesity, can cause multiple health problems. We all know that consuming too many calories compared to the amount our body can process is bad for us. It is still up to us to use this information to make good choice for ourselves. Moderation, as always, seems the key finding of the study from the article. As the evidence shows, if you do not make the proper choices now, you may be forced to make more drastic diet decisions in the future. —Natalie Westwood Science IV

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 • Tuesday, March 26, 2013

>> Sports > Yes, this is the sports section. Deal with it.

Quitting epitome of poor sportsmanship Camopticon

Cam Parkes Managing Editor Yesterday, as is my routine, I sat down to watch a bit of Sports-Centre before starting my daily grind. Like most mornings, I turned it on just in time to catch the Honour Roll. Among the usual hockey dekes

and March Madness upsets, I witnessed golfer Sergio Garcia take a one-handed, backward shot from 15 feet up a tree, and land the ball on the fairway. This was obviously a remarkable shot, and gave fans quite the show, but alas, a few holes later, Garcia withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to an injury—presumably sustained during or after the tree-climbing incident. This, in my opinion, is an acceptable reason to withdraw from a tournament. Poor play, however, is not. At the Honda Classic earlier this

Badminton

Curling

no way that’d be allowed. Some baseball games have even wider score gaps, but does a team ever walk off the diamond midway through the fifth inning? No. Unless you’re forced to withdraw with an injury or another acceptable excuse, I think it’s the epitome of poor sportsmanship to up and leave when the going gets tough. Sure, you may be 15 strokes behind the leader, but as anyone who’s seen Happy Gilmore knows, even the most daunting leads can be overcome. Point? Quitters are jerks.

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OXFORD & RICHMOND 2 bdrm apartment 2nd floor house, hardwood floors, spacious living rm, balcony, 9ft ceilings, heat/water, dishwasher, washer/dryer on premises, free parking. Avail May 1. $950.00. Bruce 416-806-7456, rockfordj2000-spaceman@yahoo.ca

MARCH IS NUTRITION Month 2013. Visit www.brescia-shea.ca for some healthy recipes along with some tips and tricks for eating right! Download the eaTipster app to your smartphone for some daily nutrition tips from Dietitians of Canada. Follow @NMBrescia on Twitter for updates on Nutrition Month activities!

SHORT TERM ACCOMODATION 1 to 3 rooms available until August 2013. Modern, spacious, very clean house. 5 appliances, parking, bus, shopping nearby. Call Cathy 519-657-7000 or 519-657-6911. **5 BDRMS, DIFFERENT styles, all steps to campus. Modern building with huge kitchens, tons of cupboards and counter space, centre island with barstools. Spacious bedrooms and huge closets. Call Sam anytime at 519-495-7661. 1 & 2 PERSON apartments on Western Road. Seeking quiet, non-smoking, serious students with no pets. 8-month contract possible. $400-$700 per person includes utilities, coinless-washer/dryer, free parking and 24/7-management. 519-673-1843. 2 BEDROOM 2 full bath. $550/room INCLUSIVE. 5 appliances, Internet, new doors and cupboards, pretty kitchen with ceramic floor, quiet and convenient to bus route (150 ft). Ted 519-697-5746 Ken 877-582-9004. ken@soundinvestments4.com.

EMPLOYMENT GYMWORLD GYMNASTICS - is looking for coaches. Flexible hours. Start right away! Bus from campus. Call 519-474-4960 or email info@gymworld.ca. 5 BEDROOM BROUGHDALE behind Med/Syd front Gates. Modern, open-concept, kitchen island/barstools, side-by-side stainless steel fridge. Large rooms (no basement room), 50” flat-screen, fireplace, dishwasher, lots of parking. $450/room. 416-835-5293, enmars@hotmail.com.

ONTARIAN CANNABIS USERS for harm reduction research needed. You have the chance to take part in our lottery. For further information and to participate in the study, visit www.camh.ca/cannabis-study

UPCOMING EVENTS 5 BEDROOM HOUSES and townhouses on all sides of campus. Free parking, free maintenance and fulltime property management. Units are rented on a first come first serve basis. Call Yan at 519-495-5363.

3 BEDROOM HOUSE. 602 Middlewoods Cres. Hardwood floors, 2 full bathrooms, 6 appliances, A/C, free parking, and more. Near UWO, mall, bus stops. $425 inclusive, flexible leases. Sama 519-5207510, srahimia@uwo.ca. 3 BEDROOM MODERN townhouses close to Masonville area. Close walk to campus and steps to major bus route. Spacious bedrooms and close to all amenities. Contact Yan to book a viewing: yanl@londonproperty.ca.

3 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE 1/2 rent over summer. $1200/month including utilities. Wharncliffe/Oxford. 5 appliances, very quiet, 150ft from bus stop. Many updates. Ted 519-697-5746, Ken 877-582-9004.

3-6 BDRM HOUSES and town homes for rent. Large, modern units, and close to campus. Everything you could ask for, with 5 appliances, free parking, spacious bedrooms/common rooms and full-time maintenance. Call Sam at 519-495-7661, samm@londonproperty.ca

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6 BDRM. #1 student rentals. Newly built red bricks in all the best locations! Includes 5 appliances, huge, spacious rooms with massive closets. Parking and 24 hour property management included. These ones always go fast so call soon. Call Sam 519-495-7661, samm@londonproperty.ca 6 BDRM. **#1 student rentals** Newly built red bricks in all the best locations. 5 appliances included. Huge, spacious rooms with massive closets, and parking included. Call Yan anytime at 519-495-5363. 6 BEDROOM BROUGHDALE behind Med/Syd front Gates. Modern, open-concept, kitchen island/barstools, side-by-side stainless steel fridge. Large rooms (no basement room), 50” flat-screen, fireplace, dishwasher, lots of parking. $385/room. 416-835-5293, enmars@hotmail.com. 63 WOODWARD AVE. $425 utilities incl. Two storey, 4+ bedroom, two bathroom, red brick house located minutes from central bus routes to Western, 7 min. from Western campus. Hardwood throughout. Dishwasher and free laundry. Lots of parking, nice fenced-in yard. Must come & check it out! Two bedrooms left to fill. Contact local landlord Mindy @ 519777-3508.

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2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS available. Hardwood floors, large common area, and newly renovated kitchen. Right on the #2 Dundas route; closest 2 bedroom to the heart of campus. Contact Sam today 519-495-7661.

THE TA AND Post Doc Union’s Foodbank distributes grocery store gift cards of $50-100 to members in need. Stop by the office (1313 Sommerville Hall) or apply at psac610.ca

WESTERN NAVIGATORS- COMMUNITY Meetings on Wednesdays, Room 59, UCC at 6:30 pm. We are a growing Christian community that is eager to discover who God is and how He fits into our lives. We challenge and strengthen our faith through lively discussion dinners, small groups, campus events and volunteering. Come and add your own individuality to this growing Nav community. For more information, contact Tim Bartja, tbartja@uwo.ca or visit www.navigators.ca/western.

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www.canstor.com TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BEING PHISHEDVisit banks' websites by typing the URL into the address bar. Phishers use links within emails to direct victims to a fake site. If you suspect an email is bogus, do not follow any embedded links within it.

PUT YOUR SUDOKU SAVVY TO THE TEST! To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

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GOOD VALUE & MANAGEMENT3 to 4 bedroom houses available. Very clean and modern. 5 appliances, spacious rooms, close to shopping, bus, parking, restaurants and fitness centre. $425.00 per student. 519-657-7000 or 519-657-6911. OXFORD & RICHMOND 1 bdrm basement apartment in 5 unit house, electric/heat/water, washer/dryer on premises, free parking. Avail May 1. $675.00. Bruce 416-806-7456, rockfordj2000-spaceman@yahoo.ca

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The Mustangs women’s curling team ended their play at the 2013 CIS/CCA Curling Championships in Kamloops, British Columbia on a high note Saturday. After struggling through round robin play, including a few close losses, the ‘Stangs won their final game of the championship, and were also presented with several post-season awards. Facing off against the 2–4 host Thompson Rivers Wolfpack, the 0–6 Mustangs fell behind 2–0 in the first end, before bouncing back with two of their own in the second. From there, it was a backand-forth affair, leading to a 10th end tied at six. Western managed to score the lone point in the end, claiming the 7–6 victory. Lead Stephanie Thompson was named a CIS Second Team All-Canadian for her strong play, and vice Jackie Rivington received the Sportsmanship Award. The team’s head coach, Rory Munro, earned the women’s Coach of the Year Award. —Cam Parkes

it difficult to concentrate. Funny, though, how the pain was bearable until his collapse, and how there was no mention of it in initial comments. That being said, McIlroy is far from the only golfer to withdraw from play when things aren’t going their way—and I simply can’t believe it’s condoned. Take the NHL, for example. Teams sometimes lose by six, seven or even more goals—can you imagine the uproar if a team, down by an insurmountable amount of goals, just called it quits? Forfeited in the middle of the second period? There’s

To place your classifed ad, please contact us at 519-661-3579 or adoffice@uwo.ca

Sports Briefs This weekend, the Mustangs badminton team fared well, earning several medals at the Canadian University-College National Championships in Montreal. On the first day of competition in the team event, the Mustangs made it to the semifinals before losing to a powerhouse team from the Université de Montréal. Regaining composure, the ‘Stangs managed to defeat a strong University of Toronto team to claim the bronze. In men’s singles, Ontario University Athletics champion and MVP Martin Giuffre took the gold in three sets, defeating host Université du Québec à Montréal’s Philippe Gaumond 12–21, 21–16, 21–10. Both doubles teams put on a strong showing, with Alex Bruce and Adrianna Giuffre claiming bronze for the women, and Ross Golding and Martin Giuffre taking fourth place on the men’s side. The Mustangs wrapped up the weekend with another gold medal, this one coming in the mixed doubles event. Bruce and Martin Giuffre defeated Michelle Li and Andrew Lau from U of T 22–20, 21–14 to claim the match.

month, Rory McIlroy, the world’s top golfer—at the time, anyways— walked off the course in the middle of his round, while sitting at 7 over par on the ninth hole. All McIlroy had to say to the other players and reporters was “I’m not in a great place mentally. I can’t really say much, guys. I’m just in a bad place mentally.’’ This, appropriately, in my opinion, led to proclamations of poor sportsmanship. A bit later on, McIlroy released a statement blaming his withdrawal on a sore wisdom tooth. Understandably, one of those aches can be awful, and may make

westerngazette.ca /sports

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thegazette • Tuesday, March 26, 2013