April23issue

See you in September!

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sheridan

April 23 – April 29, 2015

Volume 46 Issue 24

Proudly publishing from Oakville, ON since 1971

the

Managing a relationship when you’re in the same program

Meditate, study or take a nap in a peaceful zen salt cave.

Food in review on P11

Dating on P9

Lifestyles on P8

thesheridansun.ca

Celebrating a year of athletic success MIKE MELRO & CORDELL VENTURA More than 200 members of the Sheridan Bruins community traded in their double-blue uniforms for suits and gowns last Friday to celebrate the 46th annual athletic banquet at the Oakville Conference Centre.

“I enjoy this event every year. It’s like the finish line to a 12-month race,” said emcee, athletic director and men’s basketball head coach Jim Flack. “It’s a great way to close the final chapter of the season.

It gives the student athletes the chance to celebrate their accomplishments from the past year and I’m very proud of it.”

The evening kicked off with a special tribute and acknowledgment of the men’s soccer team which won the CCAA National Championship last fall.

“It was pretty amazing,” said Sheridan president Jeff Zabudsky. “We had that brand new stadium for a few years, but we hadn’t properly christened it until we threw a championship team out there. It was just an amazing year and I know we’re going to have a fabulous team again next year.”

The team’s success seemed to set the mood for the Bruins audience.

“I don’t think [the team] understands what they’ve done for the school and what they’ve done for themselves,”

said men’s soccer head coach Andrew Seuradge. “It’s a great accomplishment. They’re motivated to do it again next year.”

If there was one other focal point during the gathering, it was the academic success that came this year. Sheridan had four CCAA Academic AllStars this year, more than in any previous year: Shylanda Saunders, Melissa Cappelletti, Jordie Bevan and Dimitri Stathakos.

Pride was evident when Zabudsky began the night by highlighting the Bruins’ scholastic success.

“How about a huge round of applause for our student athletes,” Zabudsky told the crowd. “Well done. I commend all of you. Such a passionate group of people.”

Sheridan’s Academic Athlete of the Year Award went to Saunders of the women’s basketball team. She boasted a 4.0 grade point average this year in the Child and Youth Care Worker program.

“Academic athlete of the year is right at the top of the list of my awards,” said Saunders.

“Winning it this year is what I really strived for. Everything else is just a plus.”

Saunders led the Lady Bruins basketball team in scoring, averaging 18.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and two steals per game.

BRUINS on page 4

Boldly breaking 217 scenes, boundaries 100 characters, 42

actors, 20 days and 15 hours of scripted material

photograph by john jones

@TheSheridanSun

Pho tai wins over the taste buds at Pho Mi 89.

A crowd gets to experience theatre in a whole new way at Brantwood 1920-2020. The audience is bused to an old school in downtown Oakville, to become part of the plot. Read about it on page 6.

Moose Hide campaign aims to stop abuse of women MEHREEN SHAHID A Métis Textiles student believes it’s time men join the fight to end violence against women and children.

Kayla Parisien, 19, last week brought the B.C.-based Moose Hide Campaign to Sheridan’s B-Wing. Accompanied by colleagues, she distributed moose hide pins stamped with the campaign’s logo to men passing by.

“As a child from a background of domestic violence, I think it’s important to have men take a stand,” she said.

Parisien has spent the past decade

mending her relationship with her father, which was damaged by years of physical and emotional abuse.

“As an outspoken little girl, I talked a lot about it,” she explains. “And my Grade 3 teacher was able to help us figure out how to limit his visitation rights, because my mom was at the end of her rope.”

Her friend Stacey Bluestein, a second-year Child and Youth Worker student, understands exactly why this campaign matters to Parisien.

“I was abused by my partner for three years,” said the 26-year-old. “For

the longest time, I denied it, because it wasn’t physical abuse. But it was emotional and psychological.”

According to Bluestein, when her partner called her “bitch,” “idiot” or “stupid,” she believed every word of it.

She never discussed her situation with friends or family.

“He made me feel I was doing something wrong,” she said.

In 2012, her partner went away for a weekend, but didn’t return. When she went to the bank to pay rent for the month, she discovered her accounts had been cleared. A little investigative

work on her part revealed that he had withdrawn all the money from their joint business and personal accounts and was at a casino gambling it all away – with another woman.

“As soon as I got confirmation from friends, who work at the casino, I decided: That’s it. And I packed up my stuff and walked away.”

Aboriginal women are three times more likely to be subject to domestic abuse compared to non-aboriginal women.

MOOSE HIDE on page 2

2 / April 23 - April 29, 2015

@TheSheridanSun

Awareness and Achievement

Campaign encourages men to take stand against abuse According to a 2010 report by Native Women’s Association of Canada, 54 per cent of aboriginal women reported severe forms of family violence, including being beaten, choked, having had a gun or knife used against them or being sexually assaulted, as opposed to 37 per cent of non-aboriginal women.

“It’s not a topic people want to talk about,” said Paula Laing, a student success and transition advisor at Sheridan’s Aboriginal Initiatives. “It’s hard to get people to stop and find out the facts. It is challenging to get a response, but people have been willing to participate.”

In the first hour of the four-hour long campaign, Parisien and Bluestein were able to stop 15 men who pledged their support for the campaign.

Ryan Piper, senior manager of labour

relations and talent acquisition at Sheridan, said men could improve the situation, not merely in their own behaviour, but by contributing “to situations by speaking up when they see women and children being mistreated.”

Domenic Spina, a second-year Social Service Worker student, said abuse is wrong in any form and hitting a woman is one of the worst things a man could do.

“We could advocate for everyone, speak up and educate everyone,” he added. “Domestic abuse perpetrators get short sentences, they should have longer sentences.”

This campaign serves as a small step toward educating the wider masses about the abuse of women and children. But for the victims of the abuse, there is a long way to go.

“It’s really hard getting back on good terms with my dad,” said Parisien, “probably because I was witness to more abuse than my younger siblings.”

photography by mehreen shahid

CONTINUED from page 1

Kayla Parisien invited men to have a conversation with her about violence against women and children.

Ryan Piper, senior manager of labour relations and talent aquisition, accepts a moose hide pin from Stacey Bluestein.

The Moose Hide Campaign originated in Victoria, B.C. When Kayla Parisien, 19, contacted them, they were more than happy to send along pins made out of moose hide to distribute among men.

Art Fundamentals students celebrate end of year achievements KELSEY LYONS And the award goes to… the Art Fundamentals program for allowing students to grow as individuals and artists.

Students and faculty of the Art Fundamentals program attended their year-end celebration in the Marquee at the Trafalgar Campus last week.

“This is the time for all the students and faculty to come together and celebrate their achievements,” said Todd Barsanti, a 2D design professor.

“It’s a big party and they de-

serve it.”

Students were nominated for painting, life drawing, 2D and 3D design awards.

“Tonight is to award the students for all their hard work,” said Peter Palermo, Art Fundamentals program coordinator.

“It gives them a chance to feel a little more positive about their experiences here.”

The program receives more than 1,000 applications every year. They accept 400 students in September and another 93 in January, said Palermo.

“The goal of the program

is to build their skills and to boost their confidence,” said Palermo. “This is only a oneyear program, but it gives the students a chance to build a good, solid portfolio.”

Palermo says that students work very hard to achieve their goals. “This is not an easy program. It challenges you,” he said.

Portfolios are submitted to gain entry into other programs.

Students don’t know whether they have been accepted into their program of choice until late March and early April.

The Visual and Creative Arts program is one of the options students can choose for next year.

“The program isn’t really just about building a portfolio, it also gives them a taste of the college life,” said Palermo.

“They do a lot of growing up here.”

Art Fundamentals student Jenna Feltman has been accepted into the Animation program.

“I’m pretty happy, but it hasn’t sunk in yet,” she said.

“But it will, come September.”

Feltman chose Sheridan because of the connections it had with other programs.

“Sheridan is really well renowned for animation,” she said.

Feltman is happy with the work she did in the program this year.

“I thank the Art Fundamen-

photograph by kelsey lyons

Arts Fundamentals students celebrated the end of the oneyear program with an awards night at the Marquee.

The goal of the program is to build their (the students) skills and to boost their confidence.

PETER PALERMO

Arts Fundamentals program coordinator tals program, because it really pushed me to try new things and achieve my goals,” said Feltman. “And I got a strong portfolio out of it and got into the Animation program.”

Feltman says another reason she was glad she chose Sheridan was because of the environment around her.

“The atmosphere here is very friendly,” she said. “I got to meet some great people and incredible professors. They taught me a lot.”

Feltman finds it easy to ask for help when it comes to schoolwork.

“Even the fourth-year Animation students are willing to help,” said Feltman. “I think it’s because we sort of have an understanding for each other. We’re all in the same boat here.”

thesheridansun.ca

April 23 - April 29, 2015

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Journalism Awards

REBEKAH OLIVEIRA Sheridan’s Print–Journalism newspaper has been recognized by the Canadian Community Campus Awards for outstanding contributions to student journalism.

The Sheridan Sun placed third in the Outstanding Campus Newspaper and Best Campus Website categories in this year’s CCNA Awards, which recognizes the best in the country’s community newspapers.

“I’m thrilled, I couldn’t be happier,” said Print–Journalism coordinator Nathan Mallet. “The newspaper represents all of the energy and drive of the students in the program, and when we win awards, it shows we have a good group.”

First place for the Outstanding Campus Newspaper award went to Algonquin College’s The Algonquin Times, and Niagara College’s Niagara News took second.

The CCNA Awards are judged by a panel of experts, and recognizes writing, photography and the use of multimedia in its selections.

The Sheridan Sun has been in publication since 1970 and is not just a “college paper.”

“We are an actual living, breathing newspaper,” said Mallet. “[The newspaper] is run by the students, the faculty really just supervises. We’re a class that happens to produce a newspaper - that’s the Sheridan Sun.” Second-year Print–Journalism student Jeanylyn Lopez was thrilled when she found out The Sun had won.

“There are so many amazing student newspapers out there, and even though we won third, it was such an honour,” she said.

Last year, The Sun’s newspaper was redesigned, and while working as social media and web editor, Lopez thought the website could use a similar facelift.

The CCNAs Best Campus Newspaper Website award looks for a webpage that is informative, easy to navigate and has an appealing design. First and second place winners for Best Campus Newspaper Website went to the University of British Columbia’s The Ubyssey and The Varsity from the University of Toronto.

“I just really wanted to make [The Sun’s website] like The Globe and Mail and Toronto Star,” said Lopez. “You always see an abundance of information on [their sites], so if the user is going on there, they can click on almost anything that may interest them.” “[A website] is really important for every newspaper to have,” she said.

Chris Coutts, a second-year Print– Journalism student and former managing editor of The Sheridan Sun, was also surprised by the wins.

Coutts said being a journalist isn’t about winning awards, but being recognized by his peers in the news industry is nevertheless flattering.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Coutts. “It was a very talented group of people.

Not one person was deserving of credit.

It really was a group effort.”

The Sun has also been recognized by

Journalism New Media student, Stacey Lambert checks out an issue of The Sun. the Ontario Community Newspaper Association in the Better Newspapers Competition for Student News Writing and Student Photography.

The nominated news story was about a town hall meeting addressing a series of assaults that took place in the Trafalgar’s surrounding woods in 2013-2014, and was a collaborative effort by a team of six students.

“In terms of the writing, I think it’s very important that the story got a nod from our peers in the newspaper world,” said Coutts.

“Jeanylyn [Lopez], Frank [Butty] and I were in the newsroom until midnight, 1 a.m. editing that story, putting together all the pieces from all the different people

photograph by rebekah oliveira

Sun takes best paper and website honours at national competition

and trying to put it into a coherent narrative.”

Coutts said regardless of the nominated story’s large undertaking, stories about campus assaults needs to be reported on.

For the Student Photography submission, Coutts said the decision was an obvious one. The nominated photo was of Bruins basketball player Michael Selkridge’s jaw-dropping slam-dunk, taken by Frank Butty.

“Basically, Lyn and I said, ‘This is the best piece of work, and we need to submit the best,’ ” said Coutts.

The winners of the OCNA awards will be announced May 22 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.

Broadcast team project wins top prize

photograph by jenna deabreau

Sheridan’s Journalism Broadcast program came out on top in the Digital Design category at the national Emerge Media Awards. #WhatAreTheChances, a website completed as a class assignment, was selected as the winner from five finalists and 15 entries in its category.

The event was held at Guelph-Humber on April 20. In the Digital Design category, judges were looking for the project that was most “illuminating, content-rich, interactive and gorgeous.”

Only the names of the students who acted as project leads, Maria Ramage and Nick Kattis, are engraved on the award. However, program

Journalism Broadcast students Nick Kattis, left, and Alex Lai at the Emerge Media Awards ceremony.

sun

sheridan the

@TheSheridanSun

thesheridansun.ca

coordinator Nicole Blanchett Neheli, who co-supervised the project with Cheryl Vallender, says it was a group effort.

“I am so proud of the contribution of every student in that class. Their creativity and ingenuity developing this multilayered, multimedia website resulted in an outstanding end product that tackles some important issues for their generation: specifically, how income, mental health, race, and gender can affect a Gen Y’s chances of success.”

This was the first year for the Emerge Media Awards, and organizers were surprised at the amount of support and the number of entries received from colleges and universities across the country. They plan on making it an annual event. Check out #WhatAreTheChances project at genychances.com.

The Sheridan Sun is published weekly throughout the school year by students in the Sheridan Journalism Program. The Sun is a member of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA).

Mail: Sheridan College, Trafalgar Campus, 1430 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville, ON, L6H 2L1; Phone: (905) 845-9430, ext. 8581 Fax: (905) 815-4010 E-mail: sheridan.sun@sheridanc.on.ca

The Sun welcomes the submission of articles, pictures, and letters to the editor - particularly those expressing opinions that differ from those on these pages. Articles and letters should be no more than 250 words.

Print journalism program co-ordinator: Nathan Mallett Supervising instructor: Kathy Muldoon Copy editors: Kevin MacLean, Leslie Butler, Andrew Mitrovica Managing editor: Brittany Preocanin News editor: Cait Carter Production manager: Chris Coutts Layout editors: Javier Casanova, Jake Hribljan, Mike Melro, Connor Ridley, Cole Watson, Jessica Roveda

For advertising rates, contact: Kathy Muldoon, (905) 845-9430 ext. 2403, kathy.muldoon@sheridanc.on.ca Rate cards available.

4 / April 23 - April 29, 2015

@TheSheridanSun

Varsity Sports

Double Blue salutes success Sheridan student athletes, coaches, support staff and faculty of the athletic department gathered for the annual Bruins Banquet at the Oakville Conference Centre MICHAEL MELRO AND CORDELL VENTURA

“I had the best teammates, coaching staff, physio staff and teachers,” admitted Khody Ellis, who won for male athlete of the year. “The program will only go up from here.”

Ellis scored 6 goals and 12 points for the men’s soccer team this season.

The starting goalie for the women’s soccer team, Mallory Woeller, was named female athlete of the year.

Woeller thanked head coach Paul Angelini.

“Tonight was a lot of fun and unexpected,” said the female soccer star.

“The Bruins community has welcomed me in quite nicely. Paul had a lot of faith in me. We got into a few bickering matches, but he was great.”

Flack emphasized the importance of an athlete’s success in the classroom throughout the night.

“I was a teacher, and as much as I believe in the athletic model, I believe in the student athletic model,” Flack said.

“We are not going to turn a blind eye to poor academic performance. Other schools can do that, they can win doing that, but we just won’t.”

Though the Bruins measure their success by their academic feats, their athletic dominance rivals some of the best institutions across the country.

In an article previously published in The Sheridan Sun, Flack said Sheridan’s basketball program can compete against the best schools in Canada and called the OCAA one of the toughest

leagues in the country.

“From Ontario to the West Coast, there aren’t any universities that we haven’t played and beat,” said the Bruins boss.

Likewise, this year’s men’s soccer team has produced five players who are being looked at by Canada’s national team in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers.

Three former Bruins will join Toronto FC and the team’s former captain, David Velastegui, has signed with Atlético San Cristóbal of the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol, located in the Caribbean.

“We are approaching our 50th year, we are not an infant anymore. It’s time to grow up and we are starting to act like we belong.”

JIM FLACK

Athletics Director

Velastegui, winner of The Sheridan Sun’s sports newsmaker of the year award for being one of the most reported on sports figures of the year, led the Bruins with nine goals and 18 points this season. He thanks his coaching staff and academic staff for his success at Sheridan.

“These guys are showing what they’re made of,” said Seuradge. “They’re put-

photography by Jordan morrison

CONTINUED from page 1

ting Sheridan on the map. I do lose a lot of these players, but at the same time, I’m happy that they’re moving on to professional careers.”

One major reason for all of the success Sheridan has seen in recent years is the Sky Blue Endowment Scholarship fund.

Flack mentioned at the end of the night that the endowment fund was started 15 years ago by the athletic department.

“When we started we were at zero-point-zero dollars. Now we are looking at around $1.3 to $1.4 million, the most in Ontario.

“This fund helps build up an identity

photograph by spencer luyben

Clockwise from above, David Velastegui, captain of the soccer team and multiple award-winner celebrates the National Championship with his team; Mallory Woeller, women’s soccer team goalie and female athlete of the year; Khody Ellis, midfielder for the men’s soccer team was named male athlete of the year.

Left to right, Shylanda Saunders, Melissa Cappelletti, Jordie Bevan and Dimitri Stathakos, received their Academic All Canadian awards. Sheridan had more CCAA all stars than any year in its history..

for the double blue, like Texas’s burned orange or Duke’s blue and white.”

The focus for the athletic department now shifts to stability of each current sports program, not adding any new teams for the next few years and attracting more recognition from athletes around Canada and the world.

thesheridansun.ca

April 23 - April 29, 2015

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Resetting the Needle

Tables have turned as Record Store Day marks vinyl’s resurgence GTA record stores were packed last Saturday as music fanatics flocked to their favourite music shops hunting for rare vinyls on Record Store Day. Now in its eighth year, Record Store Day began as a way for record retailers to repay loyal customers.

To thank fans for their devotion to vinyl, labels produce limited edition discs. The albums that are released are generally reissues of rare titles that are nearly impossible to find.

Some releases include a fivedisc collection from the Grateful Dead, a two-disc special edition release of Get Behind Me Satan by the White Stripes and a special edition 12” coloured vinyl of Protect Ya Neck

by Wu-Tang Clan.

The day is intended to bring together music artists and their fans, and provide publicity to thousands of independent record stores across the planet.

“I think it’s a good day because there’s a lot of exposure and it makes people want

photograph by ryan sagadore

RYAN SAGADORE

Record fanatics eagerly wait in line outside Rotate This on Queen St. W. in Toronto. to come out and buy music, which is something that happens less and less now,” said Paul Russell, owner of Looney Tunes, a record store in downtown Burlington.

“You’re getting people that might not come out year round, but they come out that day to participate and hopefully they become regular customers.”

Record Store Day brings even more attention to the vinyl’s resurgence, of which

sales have been increasing since 2008.

“It helps to bring people together,” said Andrew Koppel of Kops Records, a Toronto-based boutique.

“There’s a community atmosphere on Record Store Day. Not to mention there are some great titles that come out.”

However, despite its many positive aspects, Record Store Day does have its critics.

“Many of the titles we order never arrive,” said Russell. “A

lot of the time customers have to go from shop to shop looking for the record they want, and sometimes they still can’t find it.”

Russell is similarly disappointed by the commercial exploitation that has plagued Record Store Day for the past several years.

“I guess it’s like anything that catches on after awhile,” he said. “ People see there’s money to be made from buying a re-

cord on Record Store Day, then turning around and selling it for triple the price on eBay. It just ruins the spirit of the day.”

Russell mentioned how disorganized the day can be as well, saying that many store owners are shortchanged by the record labels in terms of quantity, resulting in further customer dissatisfaction.

“I’ve been coming out for Record Store Day for the past few years,” said vinyl enthusiast, Rob Kerns, while waiting in line outside Rotate This, one of Toronto’s better-known record stores.

“I’m hopeful they have a few of the albums I’m looking for, but you never know.”

However, not all fans come out looking for a specific title, some were just happy to participate.

“I’m really not looking for anything in particular,” said Josh Leslie, another customer waiting at Rotate This.

“I just like coming out and being a part of the whole experience. It’s always a really good time.”

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6 / April 23 - April 29, 2015

April 23 - April 29, 2015

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All The School’s A Stage

Three hours not nearly enough time to experience all surreal play has to offer Music Theatre program has created an immersive production set inside a real public school where audience members play the parts of grads. Reporters Cole Watson and Ian Way boarded the bus on media night to check it out COLE WATSON The moment I received my ticket to Brantwood: 1920-2020, I was immersed in the interactive play. It was an invitation to the final reunion of Brantwood High School and I was now one of its alumni.

The play allows you to choose your own adventure as you explore the halls of an abandoned high school. I waited for the reunion to begin at Sheridan’s Trafalgar Campus.

I headed to the yellow school buses, wearing a black graduation gown, and spent some time with the other “alumni”. Some of these people were teachers with the old school and others were the kids who used to roam its halls.

Principal Headley and the valedictorian of the class of 2015, Tiffany, welcomed us when we arrived at Brantwood High.

They dug up the first class’ time capsule in memory of this last reunion, and with a sudden roar from the speakers, my unique adventure through the school began.

I was led into Brantwood by students singing in monotone and went to the basement with the film club.

We watched clips from a film, and after eating a bowl of popcorn, we hatched the idea that the club needed to make our own movie.

While they planned who was going to star as our female lead, I went upstairs and followed a boy dressed as Marilyn Monroe through the halls. He was wearing a bright pink dress, a styled blonde wig and was dancing without a care in the world.

I found the drama room and watched as four girls took drugs for the first time. They brought out a Ouija board and tried to talk to Marilyn from the grave.

One of the girls began freaking out when she noticed a spirit wearing a black tuxedo, and after their LSD trip was finished, the girls separated.

I followed one of them holding a blonde wig to the boy’s washroom, which was covered in phallic graffiti.

She opened a secret door and inside was the male Marilyn singing his heart out, surrounded by pictures of idols and boas of every colour. I left after the two had a music number and began to explore the upper halls.

A girl in a wheelchair was playing her ukulele and singing for people to give her money while a Jewish student sold herbal remedies across the hall.

The scene quickly shifted when three boys with swastika-imprinted armbands beat up the Jewish student and took him outside to teach him a lesson.

I watched as they tied him to a pole, abused him, insulted him and raise a Nazi flag in honour of Hitler.

The wheelchair girl came to the boy’s rescue,

revealing her condition was all an act. She had fallen in love with the Jewish student and after singing a duet in the library I went upstairs.

I went to Brantwood’s first co-ed class. The students were very excited by the opposite sex but I noticed a black girl at the back of the class wasn’t having any fun.

She had an outburst and I followed her outside the classroom where we met the caretaker of the school.

He led us to the film room and showed us pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr., and protesters asking for black peoples’ rights. The scene ended with the mute caretaker showing us the phrase “It gets better” on his little chalkboard.

I found my film-club buddies in a classroom upstairs and watched as they tried to get one of their girlfriends to act in our film. She refused several times but gave in at the end when we gave her some creative control.

We headed to the boy’s locker room and prepared for the shoot. The script was cheesy and cliché, starring the quarterback of the football team and the head cheerleader.

Our leading lady arrived and brought a surprise guest to act as her partner, which made our director understandably angry.

We attempted the scene a couple times, but our dream of making a film ended with the director punching our new actor square in the face.

I left for a break in the detention room and instead found myself in the middle of a drug scandal. The jocks handed me two bags of “cocaine”, and after explaining to them I had no cash, they tapped me on the shoulder and said that “everything would be okay.” They knew where my locker was.

Things got crazy when the school mascot started shooting off a revolver in the room. He took off his head and was revealed to be Principal Headley, who’s been trafficking drugs in the school for years.

He scared away the jocks and tells me there’s a talent show going on in the gym.

I enter and see Marilyn singing the song he’s been practising all night. It was a great performance about how he feels he identifies as a woman and is proud of being different.

The play ended with Brantwood’s last graduating class sending us off with a bang and telling us that we’ll always be students of the prestigious and often dramatic Brantwood High.

I was at the school for three hours and after experiencing all these events I know it was just a fraction of what the play had to offer. I will come back one day to roam its halls again and experience even more of Brantwood’s rich history.

For tickets, call Theatre Sheridan Box Office at 905-815-4049 or visit tickets.sheridancollege.ca

photography by john jones

Brantwood: A real-life chooseyour-own-adventure show IAN WAY

Above, actor Nevada Banks as Brantwood High’s last valedictorian, Tiffany.

Top left, actor Claire Calnan as Brantwood High teacher, Ms. O’Donnell. Top right, actor JJ Gerber on the floor separated from his friends.

The audience makes their way to the school bus, garbed in graduation gowns so they can portray Brantwood alumni.

Have you ever wanted to be part of one of your most beloved stories?

When people consume their favourite form of media, it’s sometimes hard not to want to be a part of it in some way. This is why role-playing games like The Elder Scrolls and Dragon Age are so popular.

Brantwood: 1920 to 2020 casts its audience into special roles, making them part of the story.

Brantwood is the final project of Sheridan’s first graduating year of the Bachelor of Musical Theatre Performance program. The production was created by Julie Tepperman and Mitchell Cushman, who had specific students in mind for specific roles.

It’s rare that a school would create its own production from scratch instead of adapting a tried and true script.

Brantwood is indeed a project created from scratch, and as special as that is, it’s nothing compared to its scale.

Brantwood is a piece of environmental theatre, in which an audience is allowed to walk through and interact with the actors and the props. The scale of a production in this genre has never been seen in Canada before, organizers say.

The school itself, with all the night’s events happening simultaneously, feels impossible to experience fully in just one visit.

When entering Brantwood, you are invited by the students to wander the old school’s halls.

During this time I felt as though I was walking through a dream.

Smoke hugged the ground surrounding the school, with actors playing ghosts surrounding passersby. Experiencing Brantwood is often surreal.

Walking through the halls, following one actor to try to piece together what has happened to you, you will inevitably hear other things happening around you.

All around you there are other people, both audience members and actors, all doing different things at the same in a dizzying manner.

At one point, I heard a homophobic slur being shouted down a hallway. At another, I

saw an actor asking an audience member if he wanted to help her with a science project she was working on.

The characters will pick you out from the crowd and ask you to follow them, or to do something for them, making every individual’s experience with the play different.

At one point I traded a kiss on the cheek for a cookie, and later I was asked if an actor could draw me, and allowed me to keep the final product.

These personal interactions made Brantwood feel more real than if I were playing a video game, let alone watching the play unfold from afar.

Following an actor made me feel like I was stalking them, because they felt much less like actors and much more like real people.

I did not feel like I was in the same world that I was in before I stepped on the bus.

This was the reason why the audience is transported from Sheridan to the abandoned public school instead of being expected to make their own way to the production.

Brantwood is as good as you make it. It thrives mostly when the audience is as engaged and invested in the play as the actors are.

Sadly, this means that if you are unable to walk around the school, then you will also struggle to fully enjoy all of what Brantwood has to offer.

This also means that it is impossible for someone to tell you exactly what it’s like to be in the school during the performance.

Even if they tried, their account of the experience would largely be meaningless because by the time you experience it, the play will have completely changed. Every time the actors go through their lines, the play evolves and grows with them.

It requires a suspension of belief, like many fantasies, but this suspension seems almost inevitable when you start your journey through the school.

So if you want a play that excites and scares you in equal amounts, or a play that requires your cooperation and attention, then Brantwood is the play for you.

8 / April 23 - April 29, 2015

@TheSheridanSun

Lifestyle

RACHEL LEE-THOMAS Coffee, furniture and conversation lit up Sheridan’s presentation exhibition hall, as Furniture students and faculty gathered for a year-end reception last week.

The pieces in the show varied from chairs and cabinets, to cutting boards and abstract pieces filling the gallery with the works of craft and design students.

“This is the result of a year’s work for the students,” said exhibition coordinator Jaime Owen. “A lot of planning, construction and design went in to this and this is the final turn out.”

Students and faculty socialized over coffee and snacks, and were then able to enter the exhibition gallery.

The centre of the room held the largest pieces, which were displayed individually. There were chairs with handles and long coffee tables.

Lining the walls around the room, the works progressed by year, starting with cabinets submitted by first-year students Richard Chan and Jing Sao.

“This is a final assignment, and a representation of what we have learned,” said thirdyear student Tim Steadman.

“Any student is allowed to submit a piece, so the show is comprised of a variety of skills and experience.”

Though many of the pieces were the same type of furniture, the design and style varied reflecting the personality of the student.

Many varieties of wood were used, including ash and walnut, and the pieces featured different finishing and styles. Some pieces rendered a traditional style, where as others had intricate designs.

Third year student Josh Fawcett-Drummond finished a wine cabinet with sand blown glass doors.

Each piece was plated with the student’s name and year, giving an insight to what the students learn as they progress.

“At the beginning of the program, you work with smaller models and concepts before moving on to making a finished product,” said Steadman.

“There are several variations

photograph by rachel lee-thomas

Seamlessly blending form and function

that the furniture goes through in order to make sure it will function.”

Before a piece can be finalized, it must be tested to ensure it can hold proper weight, and facilitates good posture.

“Throughout the year we work on smaller assignments, and then we get to decide what we want to work on to submit,” Steadman said.

Craft and Design graduate Courtney Black attended Sheridan’s Furniture program from

2012 to 2014. Upon finishing, students had the opportunity to make business cards to help promote their work.

“I’ve got a shop in my garage that I work in during the summer,” Black said. “It’s not insulated so I am working on that.”

Black posts photos of her woodworking on her website where she has a variety of bowls, chairs, and tables on display.

“It was a really great experi-

Students gathered in the A-Wing gallery last week to admire and critique pieces produced by students in the Furniture program.

ence at Sheridan and I learned so much,” Black said.

Students mingled and browsed, as it marked the penultimate day of the exhibit.

“It’s bittersweet to be graduating this year but also rewarding,” Steadman said.

Spa ritual: A salt-laced path on the way to achieving zen BRITTANY PREOCANIN You’re laying on a yoga mat in a dimly lit room. A low humming sound comes from the vent by the door. To your left is a hot cinnamon spice tea, and to your right is a yellow, earthtoned marble wall made of salt.

It’s not your average table salt, nor is it the fancy sea salt Gordon Ramsay and other expert chefs use.

It’s pink Himalayan salt and it covers the wall of a private salt cave at Zen Bar Healing.

Once used as a healing ritual in Europe dating back to the early 19th century, Zen Bar’s sodium-laced cave is meant to help those who suffer from respiratory ailments, stress and skin disorders.

“The salt cave has the same healing benefits in one hour that you would receive from sitting ocean-side for three days,” said Carrie Rowan, founder of Zen Bar Healing on Cornwall Road in Oakville.

Although there wasn’t sand around me, or the sound of waves, the ambient yoga music playing over the speakers was soothing and made the environment a bit more comfortable.

For someone who is always connected, having my phone in the room was the best part. You can also bring in your computer or books if you choose

to do work instead of meditate.

Rowan said she has even had students book the salt cave for a study session with friends.

The room also has a generator that crushes tiny particles of Himalayan salt into dry aerosols that are pumped into the space during the hour of salt therapy.

I noticed a white dusty patch on the floor under the vent. Being curious, I ran my hand across the hardwood

The salt cave has the same healing benefits in one hour that you would receive from sitting ocean-side for three days.

CARRIE ROWAN

Founder, Zen Bar Healing floor beside me, leaving a thin coating of salt residue on my fingertips.

The purpose of the salt wall and salt particles blowing through the air is to balance the ions within our bodies.

“Salt caves emit negative ions, which are therapeutic and healing to the body,” said Rowan. “Positive ions are created by anything electric, our computers or phones. So the negative ions contained in this specific salt re-

store the body to a natural balance by counteracting the positive ions.”

So whether you are working on your computer or need a place to meditate, the salt cave provides a space that can be rented out privately or with a group.

After putting my phone away for the second half of the hour, my body started to mold to the floor. I grabbed the black fleece blanket that was provided for me and slipped into relaxation.

After all, Zen Bar Healing is meant to be a vacation spot in Oakville’s own backyard. It’s a place to go away, pamper oneself and relax for an hour or two.

Although relaxation was the only thing on my mind, the salt caves are also said to help reduce respiratory ailments such as asthma, bronchitis, inflammation and common colds.

Sala Horowitz wrote in Alternative and Complimentary Therapies, “patients with respiratory disorders are recommended four sessions to check for beneficial treatment. The Halotherapy plan then entails 14 one-hour sessions over a two-month period.”

The air in the salt cave that Dr. Dorota Wronska, a laryngologist in Kielce, Poland recommends, is saturated with elements like iodine, magnesium, potassium, chloride, bromines, selenium and copper.

“The amount of minerals and trace

elements occurring in salt caves together with adequate temperature and humidity is necessary for the correct operation of the upper and lower respiratory tract,” says Dr. Wronska.

“These procedures are appropriate for the recovery of an inflammation of the nasal cavities, throat and larynx.”

Within 20 minutes of sitting in the spa, I could breathe clearly through my nose, a feeling that’s foreign to me because I am often congested by allergies.

“You will experience healing after one session, especially if you suffer from any sort of bronchial upset or some sort of infection,” according to Rowan.

Nearing the end of my session, I noticed a small clock on the shelf and took advantage of my last 10 minutes in silence.

Even though it was 8 p.m. when I left, I was much more energized than when I arrived for the appointment.

After only one session, I would recommend the salt cave to students who feel stressed or have an interest in yoga and mediation.

The salt cave is also a perfect place to get away for an hour to rest in complete silence with no interruptions.

Zen Bar Healing customers can book one hour in the room privately for $36 or as a group of four for $120.

thesheridansun.ca

April 23 - April 29, 2015

\9

Dating

Competitive programs, competitive couples

Second-year animation students Christine Le and Jonathan Kang practise drawing in their sketchbooks.

Dating in a college program can be a bit of a balancing act since couples spend most of their time with each other.

Romance can sometimes be hard to maintain and competition can lead to conflict.

Sheridan’s Animation program is competitive and demanding. It attracts students who want to be the best at what they do. Then throw dating into the mix.

Christine Le, 21, in her second year of Animation, admits one of the drawbacks of constantly being in a classroom environment with her boyfriend is they don’t see each other as romantically as before.

“You know the honeymoon phase? I think it would have lasted a lot longer if you weren’t in the same program,” said Le. “It’s not that comfortable is a bad thing either. Comfortable can be good.”

Jonathan Kang, 19, Le’s boyfriend, who is also in second-year Animation, admits the competition can get in the way, but they deal with it by helping each other.

“We are in a competitive program, but the thing about art is everyone has their strong points. We have different interests and that takes the heat off,” said Kang. “She prefers painting when I could care less about painting. I’m into drawing.”

While some couples get competitive when looking for jobs, both Le and Kang say they want to be freelance artists. They think being in the same program makes them stronger.

“I guess it’s good because we share

photograph by courtney blok

COURTNEY BLOK

similar interests. In some relationships they don’t work out because they have nothing in common,” said Kang. “We also bounce ideas off each other and try to help the other one improve on their weaker points.”

Clairelise Folch, a psychotherapist, says couples that share the same working environment should no longer consider themselves a couple when working together.

“In class, you’re classmates, not a couple. You need to make the separation clear,” said Folch. “But even as a couple outside of the class, you need to draw your boundaries. Everybody is an individual and sometimes you need space. It’s very important to tell the other you need space. “ Le agrees.

“I haven’t been very good at it. Sometimes I’ll just be like go ahead without me. I’m just going to stay here and do work,” said Le. “I’ve never said the actual words, ‘I need space.’ ” Rob Kiss, 19, and his girlfriend Paige Reid, 20, are both second-year Media Arts students. They find themselves in a similar circumstance as Le and Kang.

“We don’t really have boundaries,” said Kiss. “We can sense when the oth-

er is not up to being around the other or around people in general. We know how to distinguish times between when we are being serious or being playful.”

Kiss and Reid find the time-consuming program to be more of an issue than the competitive aspect.

“The most competitive part is trying to be as good as the best in the class,” said Reid.

“We’re both so busy, we can get stressed or annoyed very easily and will take it out on each other when we don’t mean to. “ While Kiss would like to work as a camera operator in the media field, Reid wants to explore a career in sound.

“It’s not so much her and I competing, but it’s the groups we’ve been put into. There’s always competition between crews and not so much individuals,” said Kiss.

They agree it’s nice to have someone who supports and understands you.

“We have worked on the same crews as well as different crews and it’s never really competing but more supporting their work and decisions they make,” said Reid.

“We give each other suggestions as to what will make their piece look better,

sound more interesting or what needs to be taken out overall.”

When problems do arise, they’re often easily fixed by communicating.

“There are times when we stress about finishing a project or one of us cares more than the other,” said Reid.

“We recently had to finish a final project and one of us thought the other didn’t care the way the other did, but everything worked out and the end result of the film looks good.”

Folch thinks the key to a healthy relationship is making sure you’re both on the same page.

“You can bring this up with your partner very gently,” said Folch. “Every couple needs time as individuals as well. This conversation is very important. It’s all about respect. You need to talk about your needs.”

While there can be downfalls of being in a competitive or time-consuming program with the one you love, there are also perks.

“People who have the same interests sort of see the world through the same glasses. They have the same perspective about something in life,” said Folch. “You have a lot to talk about, and that’s a good thing.”

Emotional stories shared at SAS addiction awareness meeting KAHFEEL BUCHANAN Everyone needs someone to talk to, and Sheridan’s Substance Awareness Support group held its first event last Friday to lend an ear.

The addiction awareness meeting was organized to educate students on how drugs can affect lives psychologically, socially and physically.

“Drug addiction is a serious disease. People die, I know people who have died because of it,” said co-founder and Media Fundamentals student Marco D’Auria.

The event’s five speakers each tackled the issue of addiction by sharing personal experi-

ences with drugs or addicts.

Mikaela Ivanco, 21, a recovering heroin addict, explained what caused her to become an addict. More than a few attendees teared up when she told the story of her late boyfriend Tyler’s death from an overdose.

“I urge anyone who wants to do drugs to stop. It’s not worth it, trust me,” said Ivanco. She also explained the mindset of an addict from her own perspective and how they can be helped.

In July, it will have been two years since Ivanco broke her heroin addiction. She is currently a student at University of Toronto Mississauga, an experience that has turned her life

around.

“Connect, connect, connect,” said speaker Bob Chuckman, who has a master’s degree in social work and is a former addict.

He believes that addiction isn’t the fault of just the individual.

“Addiction is rooted from the way we treat people. The way we treat people causes them to use drugs,” he said.

“We need to build a community that forms deep, meaningful connections.”

Many addicts use drugs as an escape during tough times, he said.

“Our goal is to have a support system for drugs and alcohol at Sheridan,” said D’Auria, whether it’s for students or

someone they know.

The group began in January but the turnout hasn’t been as strong as D’Auria hoped. He plans to host one event per semester.

“If you think you have a problem, then talk to someone,” said D’Auria. “You don’t even have to come to us. The longer you don’t speak to someone, the worst it gets.”

Students can join the Substance Awareness Support Sheridan group on Facebook.

Jay Armstrong was a student at Sheridan 10 years ago. He spoke at the event about his past experience with addiction, and how he almost succumbed to it until his former girlfriend,

now wife, helped him turn his life around.

“I am so grateful we get to hear other people’s stories,” said Armstrong. He said he was enlightened by the other stories and perspectives.

The drugs discussed ranged from alcohol and marijuana to cocaine and heroin. Students were offered free snacks and drinks during the two-hour event.

Halton police officer Paul Foley showed a slide presentation to educate students on the different drugs that are currently prevalent in the area. The event covered everything from how a person becomes an addict, to how to help someone get clean.

No excuses!

Access Career Centre resources to enhance your employability!

Develop your job search tools: sheridancollege.optimalresume.ca/ Job opportunities: Jobs.sheridancollege.ca Sheridancollege.magnet.today Get involved!

Check out Sheridan’s CCR via Access Sheridan Enhance your career management knowledge: careermanagement101.sheridancollege.ca Visit us in person: Davis B230 Student Services HMC Welcome Desk Trafalgar D103 Career Centre

thesheridansun.ca

April 23 - April 29, 2015

\ 11

Food Review

Pho-menting desire for Vietnamese cuisine Pho Mi 89 is one of those places everyone just seems to know, and for good reason. Located at the corner of Oakville’s Dundas St. and Prince Michael Dr., it’s got all the qualities of a restaurant that students typically love – it’s close to campus and offers quality food at a cheap price.

One of their biggest sellers is pho, a Vietnamese soup made with beef broth, rice noodles, thinly sliced meat and herbs.

Originally a street food, vendors would carry mobile kitchens and serve the dish from dawn to dusk to people as they pass.

Pho is now sit-down fare and is popular around the world.

Today, pho has changed a bit, however. The distinct broth remains the same with its strong flavours of charred onion, ginger, clove and star anise. But now pho can be customized with bean sprouts, Thai basil and lime on the side, along with several sauces including hoisin and the ever-classic Sriracha.

The restaurant doesn’t just

photography by cait carter

CAIT CARTER

sell soup. It provides several options based on Vietnamese cuisine, including options like fried rice, congee and even frog.

The place is open and clean.

The tables are seat-yourself and menus are waiting at

A mix of salad, Vietnamese sausage, and ribbons of rice noodles, this dish looks good, but doesn’t taste the part.

every spot. The names for each dish are written in Vietnamese, but are also given numbers. Descriptions are in English as well so it’s easier to understand the menu. Patrons write down their orders for servers, including the cost

The classic pho tai at Pho Mi 89 is the big seller- good flavour and big portions are what keep people coming back for more.

Sand from there it’s smooth sailing.

The atmosphere at Pho Mi 89 is comfortable – staff is friendly and love to laugh with customers. They make recommendations if they see someone ordering something they might not like, and offer other options, such as the barbecue pork rolls that were suggested instead of Vietnamese pork. They love to poke fun when they have the chance. It’s a personal touch that helps makes the restaurant better.

The pho tai at this place is stunning. A beautiful broth is the star of this dish – there’s no need to add any sauces to create an ideal bowl of soup. The meat is sliced thin, cooked adequately by the hot broth and the sliced onions are a nice addition. You must order this. It is mandatory.

Sadly, the problem with Pho Mi 89 is everything else.

Having tried other dishes on the menu, nothing else compares to the pho. The cold rice rolls filled with either shrimp or barbecue pork are the only other things that can be consumed happily.

Banh canh cua, gio heo, a crab-and-pork udon soup, is a confusing mix of red broth that seems to signify spice, but doesn’t follow through.

Crab and pork udon soup is on the menu, but doesn’t quite meet the standards of Pho Mi 89’s classic pho tai.

No spice was found. The unappetizing dish offers mock crab and pork slices that were more fatty than meaty.

Several strange dishes are on the menu at Pho Mi 89, and out of curiosity the banh out cha lua was ordered – rice cake with Vietnamese sausage.

What arrived was hardly expected. The rice cakes were a pile of flat rice noodles topped with lettuce, carrot, Thai basil and dried onion flakes. Vietnamese sausage is more akin to warmed, flavourless bologna. The dish is served with a pleasant vinaigrette, but the sausage tasted weird. The salad was eaten, and the rest left behind.

The service is varied. On a slow night, the food is on the table in minutes, but on a busy night it can take 30 minutes or more. Bubble tea can also take a while, but is a satisfying end to the meal.

Get the pho, and that’s about it. It’s worth the $6 for a massive bowl, and the restaurant knows what it’s doing.

Pho Mi 89 2501 Prince Michael Dr. (Dundas Rd. & Prince Michael) Oakville, ON Open seven days a week 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

(905) 257-8088

Print new possibilities.

Engineering Sciences Purposeful creativity counts: when you’re crafting a ground-breaking prototype in our 3D printing lab — and building a lifetime of satisfying work. It’s the must-have skill for the 21st century. And it’s right here at Sheridan.

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