Wednesday, March 20, 2013

w w w .w e sterngazette.c a • @uw ogazette

Moguai masters crowd German DJ Moguai turns Cobra crowd into his Mpire. >> pg. 5

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Volume 106, Issue 87

Sophs in uproar over change in selection Alex Carmona News Editor

Divya Patodia is a third-year social science student currently finishing her second term as a science faculty soph. She won the Soph of the Year award for London Hall last year, and was nominated again this year. But Patodia will not be returning as a soph next year—in fact, she didn’t even get an interview.

What Patodia didn’t know when she handed in her initial application was that, unbeknownst to the sophing community, the Orientation Planning Committee had radically overhauled the soph selection process. Whereas in years past, the sophing leadership teams evaluated named applications of prospective sophs from their own faculties, applications this year were anonymous and distributed randomly throughout the faculties. This was done to address frequent complaints of rampant favourtism throughout every level of soph hiring.

Each application was scored out of 40 marks, and a pre-determined number of interviews were

awarded to the top-scoring applicants in each faculty.

Patodia, however, took issue with the revamped application questions, which she charged with being both irrelevant and not reflective of qualities needed in a good soph. Questions focused on relaying the values of the orientation program, the values of volunteering and the outcome expected from members of the O-Week program. The problem, according to Patodia, is most of the questions had “correct” answers that could simply be copied out of the sophing contract, or even from a Google search.

“I think the new system screwed up. Instead of asking qualitative questions that can actually help you get to know an applicant, they asked questions where all they were really looking for was for you to copy directly out of the sophing contract,” Patodia said.

“Also, dispersing all the applications throughout random faculties was a mistake. Each team has their own traditions, and each team knows what it takes to be on that faculty team—OPC shouldn’t

Ritchie Sham Gazette

have taken away soph leadership teams’ ability to make those kinds of calls.”

Particular controversy surrounds two questions on the application that ask applicants to name “up to 6 specific learning and development outcomes” and “up to 10 different examples of soph behaviours […] deemed inappropriate.” According to

Michael Zawalsky, president of the Undergraduate Engineering Society, these questions were misleading in that they were actually marked out of six and 10 respectively. So while the questions said to list “up to” a certain number of examples and implied an applicant would not be penalized for providing less than the maximum, such was not the case. On

an application market out of 40, this could mean the difference between getting an interview and being rejected.

“There was a total misalignment between how the questions were phrased on the application.

It’s an instance of poor communication, where people aren’t being >> see application pg.3

Search for Western student ends in tragedy Aaron Zaltzman News Editor

FILE PHOTO

It was a sad day for Western as the search for missing student Noah Kishinevsky ended Monday afternoon when London Police Services found his body in a parked car at a high rise on Wonderland Road.

Kishinevsky, who was reported missing by his roommate from Saugeen-Maitland residence on Sunday, had been the subject of a search effort coordinated by both London Police and Western. He was found after a citizen reported a car that had been parked in the high-rise parking structure for some time.

Though the cause of death has not been confirmed, it is suspected Kishinevsky took his own life.

Ken Steeves, media relations officer for London Police, said a hazardous substance was found in Kishinevsky’s car. “[There’s] no foul play, so we’re not looking for anybody else,” Steeves said, adding the police would not be releasing the details of Kishinevsky’s death. “It is very sensitive and we try to respect the family members and close friends and neighbours, and whomever else in his life.”

Kishinevsky’s passing was felt keenly at Western, where he was attending his first year in the

faculty of science.

“Even if you don’t know a particular student, it really is something that is felt across the university campus,” Keith Marnoch, director of media and community relations for Western, said. “It’s tragic for Noah’s family—it’s something people relate and feel for, so it’s a difficult day today, and it will probably be a few more.”

“We have had people offering support and grief counselling to those who need it,” Marnoch said.“They’re talking to Noah’s friends and acquaintances.”

This situation has put a >> see sad day pg.3

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thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Caught on Camera

Andrei Calinescu GAZETTE

MORE THAN A RESOLUTION. Western’s Persian Club celebrated their new year on campus yesterday, setting up a traditional table of Haftseen.

Crossword By Eugene Sheffer

Queen’s passes degree time limits Jacqueline Ting Gazette Staff Queen’s University graduate students can no longer take their time to complete their degrees.

At a Queen’s Graduate Studies Executive Council meeting on March 14, a motion imposing time limits on students completing graduate degrees was passed.

The motion mandates students will have a maximum of two years to complete a master’s degree, and four to complete their PhD, when the average time to complete these degrees in Canada is around three years for a master’s, and five or six for a PhD. A second motion presented at the meeting addressing a student’s right to apply for an extension during their last year of graduate study did not pass, and will be discussed further at the upcoming April GSEC meeting.

According to Terry Bridges, graduate student senator of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s, students can only speculate on what instigated the change in policy.

One possible reason for the change is the pressure put on Ontario universities by the provincial government to speed up completion times of graduate studies.

Another possible reason is for the university to simply save money.

“Students that go beyond two or four years cost [the university] more money than they get in tuition,” Bridges said.

I don’t think these motions will do anything to reduce completion times. They’re just going to make more students stressed out and probably more students will withdraw.

—Terry Bridges

Graduate student senator of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students at Queen’s

Bridges believes the change in policy will not succeed in speeding students’ completion of postgraduate studies. Instead, he thinks the change will only result in added stress, mental health issues and an unnecessary workload of departments handling potential extension requests.

“I don’t think these motions will do anything to reduce completion

times. They’re just going to make more students stressed out and probably more students will withdraw,” Bridges argued.

However, according to a recent blog post addressing the issue written by Daniel Woolf, principal and vice-chancellor at Queen’s, the policy does not impose a hard limit on graduate students’ timeto-completion, and neither does it make extensions difficult to obtain.

Instead, the change is simply a much-needed update to an outdated policy.

“Since last September, the Graduate Studies Executive Council has been working to revise our current policies, which had not been updated in more than a decade,” Woolf wrote.

Woolf commented that although some may worry the time limit will negatively affect the student’s work or overall experience, it is ultimately in the best interest of the student to encourage timely progression.

According to Bridges, the university should look at the various factors affecting completion times.

“This is a complex issue. There are a lot of factors that impact completion times. We need to be looking at all those issues and not just impose limits on students,” Bridges said.

News Brief

High schoolers fiscally conservative

Solution to puzzle on page 7

The next generation of university students is expected to be more fiscally conservative compared to previous ones, according to a survey released by Civix, a charitable organization encouraging stronger civic engagement in Canadian teenagers.

The December survey looked at 4,425 students ranging from grades seven to 12.

A third of them said they wanted cuts in federal spending going to the arts and culture, aboriginal communities and education, as well as complete halts to the CBC. Eighty-four per cent of Canadian teens wanted a freeze on personal taxes, if not reductions. Forty-one per cent of them wanted no taxes to be increased in the next federal budget, and if there were to be hikes, 48 per cent of students said they should only be for corporate taxes.

However, half of respondents

went on to say they would like government spending on the environment to significantly increase, an area critics have said Harper conservatives have fumbled at.

Half of the teens also wanted government stimulus spent on keeping the country out of a recession, but only if the costs don’t plunge Canada into significant deficits.

The survey was part of Civix’s Student Budget Consultation project aiming to give students a stronger voice in exploring government revenues, expenditures and debts. Along with the report being submitted, several student respondents were invited to a consultation, which would help advise Jim Flaherty, Canadian finance minister, on the upcoming 2013 federal budget.

President of Civix Taylor Gunn could not be reached for full comment.

—Jeremiah Rodriguez

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.

Feeling a little under the weather?

Look in your Westernizer in the London Guide for a list of doctors, pharmacies, and walk-in clinics who are there to help you feel better.

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thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SOGS to hold meme contest New application

“not reflective” >> continued from pg.1

file photo

Cam Smith News Editor Western’s Access Copyright agreement is rearing its contentious head again.

Access Copyright, which costs students $27 and allows them to use and cite copyrighted documents, is being targeted by the Society of Graduate Students as an unnecessary expenditure in a new campaign.

SOGS is holding a contest asking graduate and undergraduate students to create memes or mash-up videos detailing why the agreement is a bad deal for students. On Friday, copyright experts will judge the short-list and choose a winner at Western’s North Campus Building.

“SOGS has been fairly critical of the Access Copyright. We’ve basically spent the last year trying to raise as much resistance to it as we possibly could,” Eric Lohman, vice-president external affairs for

SOGS, explained. “The goal of the [contest] is to create awareness and opposition to the Access Copyright agreement, which Western and U of T signed in January 2012.”

The Friday event will also feature three speakers explaining copyright law, including Western’s own Samuel Trosow, a FIMS professor.

“The idea is to create a mashup video, which of course often has some copyrighted material in it, to explain why Access Copyright is bad,” Lohman said. “We expanded the contest to include memes and meme images, and we’ve gotten quite a lot of submissions.”

According to Lohman, SOGS opposes Access Copyright because they view it as a needless expenditure brought on by unnecessary fear of copyright infringement.

He noted documents needed for educational purposes are legally free to access in both Canadian and American law, and Access Copyright only serves to benefit a

private company.

“One of the biggest issues we have with Access Copyright is that we’re paying a $27 fee for something that is already free. We have the ability to use this information however we see fit—the Supreme Court in the States, and our courts here, guarantee we’re allowed to use this information,” he explained.

“The university, for whatever reason, got scared, thought they were going to get sued and passed this agreement and passed the fee onto us and didn’t do any research.”

This coming June, Western will have the opportunity to resign the Access Copyright agreement— something SOGS is hoping to deter with their event.

“A lot of us believe that university is supposed to be a place where the work that we do and the information we have access to should be made available to as many people as possible,” Lohman said. “I really do hope the university ops out of it.”

On Campus > Budget

Fee freeze melts at council Julian Uzielli Online Editor A motion brought to the University Students’ Council proposing a freeze on increases to the base student fee was narrowly defeated on the council floor last Wednesday night.

Social Science Students’ Council President Matt Helfand proposed the idea to freeze the $77.46 base student fee—which accounts for about 12 per cent of the total USC fee of $661.33—for three years barring inflationary increases.

The USC debated the freeze during a marathon nine-hour session of council that went past 4 a.m.

Thursday morning. Emotions were running high at the time, as council had just spent over two hours debating the budget. Debate on the freeze lasted another hour and a half before being defeated by three votes, with 17 councillors for, 20 against, six abstaining and several absences.

Council later passed a different motion requiring the USC to perform regular financial audits of services and operations.

“I think the point was missed, and while everyone agreed with the principle, we were unwilling to pull the trigger, and it was disappointing,” Helfand said after the meeting.

While some councillors argued the freeze was necessary in light of skyrocketing USC fees, detractors

evaluated in the way they’re being told they’re being evaluated,” Zawalsky argued.

Fearnall, however, said the question was intentionally phrased as such to obtain a measure of applicants’ dedication.

“The intent of using the “up to” phrasing was to test an applicant’s willingness to go above and beyond to identify resources for first-years. The thinking was that if an applicant identified the maximum number of resources in an application, then they would also do the same for a first-year during O-Week,” Fearnall said.

Zawalsky also attacked OPC’s decision to hide the change from the sophing community until after applications were already submitted. This was done to prevent head sophs from giving their friends code words that could be used to circumvent the system.

“Previously, engineering has never cut anyone prior to an interview, so the application has never really been taken into account.

You have a lot of returning sophs who assumed the system would remain the same and treated it like a bit of a joke,” he explained.

“In turn, this led to some cuts that we found very undesirable and unfair when considering those people’s merits.”

Fearnall, however, was unsympathetic to those who made light of the initial application process.

“It was posted very clearly on the top of the form that applications were to be taken seriously and that they would be used in the evaluation of the candidate. I have a little bit of trouble with those who say they weren’t informed the application would be taken seriously,” he said, in reference to a clause on the form reading “applicants will be shortlisted based on quality of these applications.”

Fearnall also stressed how important it was to eliminate bias in the selection process.

“I think what people forget is there’s so many students who felt unfairly treated by the Orientation Week hiring process in the past, and we have an obligation to stand up for them. At this point, we know they’re right—they were mistreated in the past and we have to do something. There are 30,000 students across this campus and we have a duty to represent each and every of them.”

A sad day >> continued from pg.1

spotlight on mental health, and Myuri Komaragiri, vice-president campus issues for the University Students’ Council, hopes the Western community can take away some meaningful lessons from the tragedy.

“I’ve been hearing from a lot of students how down they feel.

Even if they knew Noah or not, he was still a member of the community,” Komaragiri said. “Today, we’ve really been pushing our Peer Support Line and making sure that students know they can call it.”

“Even if you knew Noah, or this situation has caused you to reflect on other things, we’re just trying to make sure students know about our peer support resources.”

Logan Ly Gazette

claimed approving a freeze would be hypocritical only hours after passing a budget raising USC fees by $22.69, and that the freeze would unfairly “handcuff” future councils.

Pat Whelan, USC president-elect, voted against the freeze, though at the USC’s Saturday meeting, he successfully proposed a motion requiring any increase of the base fee to be “directly tied to the provision of a specific service.”

“I just don’t think it was a responsible way to go about it. I do agree with the sentiments behind it, and that’s why I think that there are many other better opportunities and better ways to institutionalize it structurally,” Whelan said after the Wednesday meeting.

Tony Ayala, vice-president

finance, concurred.

“Passing this motion would have put pressure on future councils to make budget decisions without the necessary data to make them responsibly. A service-level review will allow future councils to make educated decisions about their budgets,” he said.

Helfand disagreed, saying reviews alone weren’t binding on council.

“The comprehensive review on its own lacks the teeth to actually have a real, great incentive to do these things, because you can just create a review, and you get results ultimately at some point, and you do with it what you want,” he said.

“I have respect for all my colleagues in that room, but it’s still a disappointing loss.”

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thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Arts&Life

word of the day Panglossian Adjective. Naively optimistic

Mixing activism with curriculum

>> Gazette Special > Q&A with Kal Penn

Katherine Horodnyk Gazette Staff

Andrei Calinescu Gazette

Sumedha Arya Arts & Life Editor

that I’ve had a chance to do both.

GAZETTE: Did you find your come-

Last night, Western’s Arts and Humanities Students’ Council presented Kal Penn, American actor and civil servant, on stage at the Alumni Hall gym for a lecture on the intersection of pop culture, politics and race. While media personnel on campus weren’t allowed to report on the talk itself —we were informed Penn would be talking very candidly about his time with the Obama Administration— The Gazette had a chance to speak to Penn prior to his reveal.

dic background to be an obstacle to your credibility as a political figure?

PENN: Thankfully not. I think

everyone knows there’s a time to have fun and a time to get serious.

It’s sort of like finals week, when everyone cracks down. But in the middle of the semester, you might be slacking a bit. It’s sort of like that. I love that there’s a balance, and it’s something I enjoy.

PENN: The Office of Public Engagement was essentially the outreach office. I had been working for the president on youth issues such as youth education from his campaign days in 2007. That prepared me really well for the governance portion of my work—I already knew the material, I knew the policy, I knew what [Obama] wanted to get done. Executing [my work] was a lot more familiar to me than it would have been otherwise.

What’s next for you? Acting? More political involvement?

GAZETTE:

GAZETTE: What was the most diffiGAZETTE: You’ve played comedic

roles in the Harold and Kumar films and How I Met your Mother, but more serious roles in The Namesake and House. What experience do you think challenged you most as an actor?

PENN: I think they were all chal-

lenging in their own ways. I know that sounds like such a stock answer, but I mean it. What I love about a movie like Harold and Kumar is that, in real life, I’m so different from Kumar. It’s so much fun to play a guy like that. Same thing with Gogol [the protagonist of The Namesake], or Kutner [Penn’s character on House]. I’m not a doctor.

I know nothing about science or medicine—but to play that character, I had to do a lot of research.

I love making people laugh, I love making people cry and I’m glad

cult aspect of transitioning from an acting career to a position as associate director at the White House Office of Public Engagement?

PENN: One of the bigger challenges

was understanding the work we were doing at the White House.

When you’re making movie and TV shows, it’s fake. It’s pretend.

But when you’ve got an obligation to do work on behalf of the American people and the president, the stakes are very high. You want to make sure you get it right.

In acting, if you screw up a line, you can do it again and again. You can’t really do that at the White House.

That was kind of cool to learn.

GAZETTE: After learning of these

difficulties, what do you think helped you succeed the most?

PENN: I feel really fortunate that I

was able to do two years in D.C. and then come back to my first love, which is storytelling and acting. I just finished a TV pilot for CBS in the States. The guys who make How I Met Your Mother have a new show, and we find out in May if they get to air it. I also just finished up a show for the Discovery Channel called Big Brain Theory. It’s similar to Top Chef, except with engineers. That comes out May first in the States, and shortly after in Canada.

Western media, information and technoculture students are about to spread their knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Students from Susan Knabe’s fourth-year seminar class, HIV/ AIDS: Representation and Activism, are taking part in Western Heads East’s annual In the Market event by setting up a display for the African Probiotic Yoghurt Network.

The event will feature various displays and presentations focused on increasing awareness and decreasing stigma around HIV/AIDS in Africa.

“I hope my students will be able to have an opportunity to develop skills, relate what they are learning in the classroom about AIDS to a wider, global context and provide support for one of Western’s international initiatives around HIV/ AIDS, ” says Knabe about her class’s involvement with In the Market.

Along with their in-person involvement, students are also setting up social media accounts to increase awareness around APYN. APYN develops probiotic yoghurt communities to improve the health of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Africa, and to stimulate a certain degree of entrepreneurship.

“The easily digestible yoghurt has many health benefits, including its ability to decrease the severity of disease symptoms like gastrointestinal disorders,” Knabe explains.

“The establishment of the yoghurt

kitchen also strengthens the communities dealing with the epidemic in a variety of ways. Victims can fight their illness together instead of suffering in silence, the kitchens help fight AIDS stigma and provide a source of income within the community.”

I hope my students will be able to have an opportunity to develop skills, relate what they are learning in the classroom about AIDS to a wider, global context and provide support for one of Western’s international initiatives around HIV/AIDS. —Susan Knabe

Western media, information and technocluture professor.

MIT students in Knabe’s class will be at the APYN booth handing out pamphlets with more information about the organization and describing its goals for the future. Currently, APYN has 13 kitchens in eastern Africa, but it hopes this number will grow in the next couple of years.

In the Market will take place today from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in The Great Hall. For more information on APYN, check out http://apyn.webs. com.

GAZETTE: If there is anyone you

could interview, who would it be and why?

PENN: Oh man! That’s so hard.

I would love to interview Condoleezza Rice. I think she’s such a very interesting woman with such a compelling life story.

>> On Disc

GGGGF Rhye Woman Republic Records

‘I’m a fool for that shake in your thighs/I’m a fool for that sound in your sighs’. It’s with these tender confessions we are introduced to Woman, the first album from the erstwhile anonymous Rhye.

Now revealed as a collaboration between Danish producer Robert Hannibal and Torontonian singerproducer Michael Milosh, the duo have marked their debut with the release of what is, in short, a gorgeous, graceful and singularly soulful record.

In line with the quiet flirtations of lead single “Open,” there’s a sensual quality to each of Woman’s 10 tracks. From the teasing bass line of “The Fall” to the

restless saxophone solo on “One of Those Summer Days,” the album maintains a perfect equilibrium between yearning and restraint, a dynamic that manages to invoke the intimate ambience of the bedroom, or perhaps the sultry darkness of a smoke-filled jazz club.

The bedroom ultimately forms the ideal locale for experiencing Rhye’s deftly seductive charms.

There’s an earnestness behind the snapping beats and smooth bass lines that, combined with each of Milosh’s breathy lyrics, makes for an album as effortlessly affecting as you’re likely to hear.

—Ross Hamilton

apyn.webs.com

YOGHURT OR YOGURT? Though the spelling is contestable, no one can deny the benefits of probiotic yoghurt utilized by the African Probiotic Yoghurt Network.

•5

thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Artists team up for live art competition Danning Huang Gazette Staff Have you ever wondered how artists create their artwork? Tonight at The APK, six artists in three teams will come together to create three pieces of complete artworks—live and in front of an audience.

The event, Clash of the Canvases, sounds like a simple idea, but the concept of a live art competition has been quite a revolution.

“We just really wanted to do something that was interactive, energetic and different from the traditional [art] fundraising events,” says Kayla Nadalin, a Western student organizing the event.

The truly extraordinary aspect of this event is it closes the gap between the artists and the audience. It was intended, Nadalin explains, that the guests would see how the artists paint, and how their creative process unfolds.

In addition to witnessing the creative process, audience members can interact with artists on an individual level.

“It is definitely a social atmosphere—there will be food, drinks and a musical performance,” Nadalin says, “The artists are right there in the centre of the guests, food and drinks.”

Kristyn Watterworth, a participating artist, says the idea of live painting really resonated with her. “[The painting] is not just about me or my partner, but it’s about the whole event, and putting everything together.”

While a social atmosphere might seem very attractive, it can also be very stressful and nerve-wracking performing in front of a large crowd.

Fortunately, when asked about their attitudes, the artists seemed not only accepting, but also very excited about being under the spotlight.

Participating artist T.J. Brown

We just really wanted to do something that was interactive, energetic and different from the traditional [art] fundraising events.

—Kayla Nadalin

Organizer of Clash of the Canvases

expressed his excitement.

“I’m not at all nervous. I think the atmosphere will be very easy going. I personally really like sports. Arts and sports have always been divorced, but now, with spectators, the two are kind of coming together,” says Brown, comparing the arts performance to an athletic one.

Watterworth makes a similar comparison.

“I like the idea of having an

Moguai a magnetic force German DJ energizes Cobra crowd

Andrei Calinescu GAZETTE

A GLOWING RAGE. German DJ Moguai enjoys the London crowd at Cobra Friday night with a fist-pumping performance.

Andrei Calinescu Photography Editor Performance Openers Setlist Crowd Worth the $$

GGGGH GGGGF GGGGG GGGGG GGGGG

Last week, Moguai graced London.

Not to be confused with the Scottish rock band or the adorable fictional creature that must not be fed after midnight, Moguai—the German DJ and EDM producer— gave a stellar performance on Friday night at Cobra.

Also known as Andre Tegeler, Moguai has been active in the music scene since the 90s. The wave of electronic music that hit North American shores a few years ago also brought Tegeler along. Quickly ascending the ranks of electronic music, Moguai has an international radio show, several noteworthy collaborations and a Beatport number one title with his fresh track

“Mammoth.”

Anticipating his arrival, the Cobra crowd was growing steadily, abuzz with excitement. Resident DJ Lazaro Santini served up a wellmixed mellow set peppered with Chicago house, and prepped the eager masses with funky, melodious tunes. The people kept pouring in and in short order, and the club was filled with the usual neon crowd.

Moguai’s mere appearance turned the crowd’s energy up to 11.

The adoring masses were constantly pushing forward, as if magnetically attracted to Moguai’s larger-thanlife stage presence. His exuberance rivaled the crowd’s enthusiasm as he was clearly having the time of his life playing.

A master DJ, Moguai expertly interwove electronic staples by Sander van Doorn, Steve Aoki and Bobby Burns. The strobes—welltimed to the music—riled up the crowd in undulating waves cut up and complemented by the multicoloured, hyperactive laser and light

system.

Throughout a very technically mixed set filled with modern hits, Moguai occasionally added vintage samples to spice up the experience and pay tribute to dance music pioneers. The crowd particularly enjoyed a sped-up remix of the ubiquitously known classic “Relax”

by Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

Not one to be outdone by the timeless classics, Moguai added gasoline to the audience’s fire by strategically unleashing “Mammoth” and “Mpire” from his potent arsenal. Headbanging, jumping and fist-pumping were out in full swing and the fans were moving as one mass, each trying to get as close to the DJ booth and the mythical creature inside. Moguai frequently made eye contact with fans, smiled, posed for pictures and addressed the crowd. People were overwhelmingly pleased with his high-energy set, stellar stage presence and masterful mix.

And so Moguai’s Mpire grows.

audience—and the whole sportsmanship, or showmanship.”

For Watterworth, distractions will add to her performance rather than take away from it.

“The energy of the audience will be very beneficial—the audience will definitely be a big part of the painting.”

An easy-going atmosphere will be intentionally created to eliminate a general perception of strictness and formality of fine art. And while this is a competition, the artists plan to enjoy the atmosphere as much as the audience members. “[I want to] have a good time, and create something spectacular,” Watterworth says of her expectations for the night.

“I can’t wait—I’m so excited,” Brown adds.

At the end of the night, Nadalin hopes to convey that artists are not any different from other human beings, and the fine arts community

functions just as any other community does.

“The visual arts community is not formal and static,” Nadalin comments. “We just want to tell the community that [artists] can do something creative, and outside the box.”

Nadalin hopes through a social live art competition, people may start to relate more to fine art and the artists who create it.

Brown shares Nadalin’s philosophy.

“Art has always been so guarded.

If you are not in arts, it’s always so hard to access it. [This event] will make [art] a spectator sport, in which anyone who wants to see it can have access to it.”

Clash of the Canvases will take place tonight at 6:30 at The APK. Tickets are $10. For more details and information on the artists, visit www.facebook.com/ events/419734764785339/

>> Gazette-tested > Chocolate pudding cake

6•

thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Opinions

If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.

—Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist

Hiring changes Access should be top priority hard on sophs The Orientation Planning Committee has implemented one of the most ill-conceived and poorly applied changes to the soph application process to date.

Their attempt to improve soph selection, which had been criticized as cliquey and biased, has gaping holes in its logic. Sure, attempting to remove personal bias to ensure sophs are picked based on merit is a worthy goal. But the way the OPC went about it utterly failed.

To start, sophs were only notified about the change to the application process after their applications had been submitted. This was to prevent the use of code words that would allow for preferential grading. Yet, the application distribution was randomized, so this was an essentially superfluous precaution. In essence, it was sprung on them, leading experienced sophs, under the impression they would be guaranteed an interview, to be complacent when faced with new and rigid application criteria.

Further, because of the blind grading and the shuffle of faculties, sophs who had relevant experience in their field may have been under-graded. A social science soph may not be the best at assessing the merit of a soph focused on engineering.

Then there’s the issue of the wording on the application. ‘List up to 10’ doesn’t mean list precisely 10, and this ambiguity led many sophs to take a hit on the grading scheme. Incomers with a savvy knowledge of Google were afforded a better opportunity than experienced veterans who may have been less thorough on this part of the application.

Finally, the changes to the process favour written applications over face-to-face interaction. Sophing is a highly interpersonal activity, and being denied an interview, which they otherwise may have excelled at, on the basis of their written application is contrary to the entire basis of sophing.

So, what could have been improved? Most obviously, soph applicants could have been informed of the changes prior to submitting. A rubric of the grading criteria could have also been provided to ensure sophs were informed. Finally, sophs should be marked within their faculty to ensure the graders of the applications have the most relevant knowledge to assess their applicants.

The OPC failed to improve anything with their changes. Rather than fix the existing problems, they created a plethora of new ones that caused awardwinning sophs to be denied an interview. A serious review of the process needs to occur to prevent a similar situation from happening next year.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

RySpace

Ryan Hurlbut Opinions Editor

In January 2012, Western and the University of Toronto signed a deal with Access Copyright that imposed a greater per-student fee in order to combat online piracy.

In June, Western will be given the opportunity to re-sign this agreement, and I believe it would be a step in the right direction to refrain.

This deal represents a step backward in education, encouraging professors to stay away from free online sources and forcing students to pay more money for education materials.

We live in an age defined by the greatest access to information of all time, and to impose fees on sharing that information is to hold our

university in the past while everyone else moves on.

In fact, after the agreement between Western and Access Copyright was signed, other Canadian universities made a conscious effort not to align themselves with the company. While places like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are sharing their lectures for free and positively impacting education, Western is helping hold back these ideals.

How great would it be to be a student who does not have to spend thousands of dollars on textbooks, and is instead able to access everything they need through the sharing of hyperlinks and scanned pieces of work?

Copyright is currently attempting to impose the limitations of a material economy on an immaterial world, and this is nothing but a barbaric practice being thrust upon us by corporations who do not want their staggering profits to diminish.

As an institution of higher education, it is our job to not only educate our students, but to act as a forum for

new ideas and beliefs—curtailing our operations to the wants of others is a blatant bastardization of traditional university ideals.

We are in a place where we have the freedom to question the powers that be. We have the freedom to look at things in different ways, and explore the inner workings of society without negative repercussions. We must make the most of this opportunity and fight toward practices that allow us access to more information for less money.

People should not be limited in their ability to reach information because of their financial background, and abolishing our ties with Access Copyright is the first step toward more equality within our walls and our system.

While idealistic, I believe we truly reside in a place where we need to step away from corporate ideals and develop students who understand where the future is headed, and work with it instead of fighting against it.

How else will we truly be prepared for the world that lies ahead of us after graduation?

but it was beneficial to leadership teams to see what people were like in person.

Applications can make an individual seem like they would be a better soph than they would be in reality. Although this new process is supposed to be “fair,” the possibility of variation in marking schemes across the multiple leadership team members is too high. I believe this is reflected in the many exemplary returning sophs that were not offered interviews. If that is the result of the new system, it is failing—failing future frosh who will be deprived of amazing leaders, and failing leadership teams who count on returning sophs to act as role models for first-time sophs.

—Emily Bent Social Science V

March 14, 2013 Although I agree with Mr. Kania’s sentiment regarding music criticism as a whole, his review “review” lacked necessary clarity by glossing over general information pertinent to understanding the context of his critique.

As an individual with plenty of time on his hands, I’ve been able to develop a minor interest in review reviewing.

As a dabbler, I ask you to please, in the future, focus on quality meta critiques, which synthesize more than one source opinion and strive to provide the reader with a balanced view of the review landscape—essentially surveying multiple outlets. I’m sure this approach would be more helpful to you and your editorial staff than publishing the qualms of every butt-hurt fanboy.

—Erik David Nielson MSc. Microbiology and Immunology III

Letters to the Editor

Soph changes suck To the Editor: In my three years of sophing, I have experienced three different selection processes.

Last year, although lengthy, the initial one-on-one interviews allowed leadership teams to get to know applicants.

Sure, applications can provide insight regarding someone’s personality, but they must ask the right types of questions, providing the applicant with an opportunity to be personal and creative.

It should not be about an answer that can be found by using Google.

During O-Week, if a first-year is feeling uncomfortable, or lonely, or sad, are you going to Google how to make them feel better? No. You’re going to react based on your personal experiences, compassion and social skills—all qualities sophs should have and should be reflected in the questions on the application. I’m not saying the process last year was perfect,

Review connoisseur sounds off To the Editor: Letter: Review lacks substantial claims,

#win Even after death, Stompin’ Tom Connors is spreading cheer and good will. Connors’ memorial has been the centrefold of an event which has seen 1,239 pounds of food and over $4,000 cash donated to Kawartha Food Share, a local food bank. thegazette

Volume 106, Issue 87 www.westerngazette.ca

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

Contact: www.westerngazette.ca University Community Centre Rm. 263 The University of Western Ontario London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580 Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.

To submit a letter, go to westerngazette.ca and click on “Contact.”

All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Robert Armstrong

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

#fail Canadian company Lululemon has been forced to withdraw a new line of unexpectedly sheer yoga pants from their stores. Lululemon is expected to take a financial hit because of this setback, but at least we won’t have anyone accidentally showing off more than they bargained for with their purchase.

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 •

•7

thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Western Mustang named to All-Canadian team Veteran guard Jenny Vaughan earns spot on CIS squad Jason Sinukoff Sports Editor

Piotr Angiel Gazette

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

thegazette HOUSING

She was here for three of her four years. I have had her for two, so I have seen tremendous growth as a basketball player, and as a person.

She is a very special player.

—Brian Cheng

Mustangs women’s basketballhead coach

In her first year with the Mustangs, Vaughan finished 17th in the Ontario University Athletics scoring race. Her numbers improved in the 2011–12 season, and those improved numbers propelled her to eighth place in the OUA scoring race. This year, Vaughan once again proved how instrumental she is in the Mustangs’ success. She placed first in OUA scoring, averaging 19.6 points-per-game, and 45 per cent from the field.

Cheng is not surprised in the slightest by her improvement, attributing her success to her work ethic and her competitive spirit.

“Last year she was injured from the year previous—her shoulder never completely healed quite properly. This year she really took it to heart in how she wanted to prepare for this season, and showed she could do better than last season,” Cheng said. “I am really proud of the fact that she prepared well and her competitive spirit showed true, and we saw what a healthy Jenny Vaughan could do.”

With Vaughan in her fourth year, one can’t help but wonder whether or not she will be joining the ‘Stangs next year for a final hurrah. The purple and white would certainly be suffering a loss if Vaughan decided to move on, but according to Coach Cheng, the future is still bright.

“Definitely, it would be a tremendous loss next year if we didn’t have her, but we have some good people, good young players that are going to have some opportunities.

We anticipate her return, but if her academics take her elsewhere, then we are prepared to move forward,” Cheng said.

Mike Laine Gazette

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WESTERN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION Society Presents: Annual Charity Coffeehouse, Wednesday, March 20th, 7:00 pm, Mustang Lounge. $2 donations welcome. Free food & drinks. Featuring guest speaker Gordon McBean, Nobel Prize Co-Recipient and Order of Canada Member. Open Mic. Follow us on Twitter: @WesternWCS or on Facebook: WesternWCS.

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WESTERN ADVENTISTS PRESENT “Taste & See Healthy Living” with Dr. Shon Darcy. Learn simple, practical tips on how to improve mental, physical and spiritual health. March 21, 22 & 23 @ 7 pm nightly in UCC Council Chambers. http://westernadventists.wix.com/club WESTERN ADVENTISTS PRESENT the documentary film “Forks Over Knives” on Wed. March 20 at 7 pm in UCC 41. Discover how a whole foods, plantbased diet can combat degenerative disease.

Free admission.

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.

TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BEING PHISHED Visit 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.

SERVICES FRENCH LANGUAGE TUTOR/TEACHER available to help improve your test scores, fluency, and conversation. Available to help with projects/assignments or exam/test prep. French Teacher with over 20 years experience. www.cgwassociates.com, 519-657-0347.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 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!

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 TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BEING PHISHED Never respond to emails that request personal financial information. Reputable companies don't ask for passwords or account details in an email.

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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130320

For the first time in her young career, the Mustangs women’s basketball team’s Jenny Vaughan earned an All-Canadian award when she was named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport Second-Team All-Canadian last Thursday.

For those following Vaughan’s career, this should not come as a surprise at all—her numbers have been steadily improving in each of the three years of her donning the purple and white.

“She was here for three of her four years. I have had her for two, so I have seen tremendous growth as a basketball player, and as a person. She is a very special player,” Mustangs women’s basketball coach Brian Cheng said. “She is obviously very gifted. I did a nomination for her within the Western sport. Her numbers have progressively improved over the past three years.”

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8•

Sports Sports editors’ March Madness picks

thegazette • Wednesday, March 20, 2013

saywhat?

“Whoever wins the Classic is really the Caribbean. It could be the Dominicans, it could be Puerto Rico, but it will belong to the Caribbeans.”

Dominican Republic manager Tony Pena said of the All-Caribbean World Baseball Classic finals.