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S The Silhouette
WESTDALE’S
STRAY CAT PROBLEM
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
Who’s to blame for the surplus of stray cats in our neighbourhood?
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November 1981
Winter on campus The cover of the 1981 “Literary Supplement” — the equivalent of today’s “Andy Magazine” — featured a snow-filled shot of campus this time 34 years ago. This photo was taken from the window of Hamilton Hall.
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www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
In this
issue:
The Silhouette
News
Hamilton2Paris rally hopes to bring a large number of local groups together Page 4
| 3
WGEN launches first Trans Visibility Week Page 8
Accessibility for all In the new year, the MSU will begin work developing Maccess, its newest service, with the goal of improving advocacy for accessibility issues on campus The SRA ratified the decision to make Maccess a service at last month’s meeting.
Rachel Katz News Editor
The MSU is well on its way to launching Maccess, its newest service. As the name suggests, Maccess will cater to students with both visible and invisible disabilities, with the goal of peer-based support and advocacy. “What's different about this [service] is that it's peer-centric and that it also helps to capture students who maybe suffer with acute disabilities, so that captures students who deal with mental health concerns,” explained Giuliana Guarna, VP (Administration) of the MSU. “We know there's a desire for peer support and we know there's also a desire to have an advocacy component that teaches students self-advocacy and also in the sense of campaigns and educating the campus, and advocating to the university.” Guarna hopes the service will help prevent students from feeling “othered,” and while Maccess does not have a confirmed space yet, due to the logistics of physical accessibility concerns, she stressed the importance of finding a non-medical space. “Many students don’t find the medical resources to be sufficient,” she explained. She also hopes Maccess will pioneer a better ally system for students with disabilities. While Student Accessibility Services runs its own version of the program, she said, “Many of the students who are part of the ally program don’t actually have a disability. So they don’t really appreciate the nuances
C/O THE SILHOUETTE ARCHIVES
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What’s different about this [service] is that it’s peer-centric and that it also helps students who maybe suffer from acute disabilities, so that captures students who deal with mental health concerns. Giuliana Guarna VP (Administration) MSU
of navigating the university while having a disability.” The service would hopefully launch a version of the program where students with disabilities could share tips about accommodations. Ultimately, it will be Alex Wilson, the service’s newly hired coordinator who will work to shape the service. The selection committee, made up of Guarna, Brandon Stegmaier, the MSU Services Commissioner and Nishan Zewge-Abubaker, the MSU’s Diversity Services Director, worked with a set list of competencies to find a candidate who fit the job description. “[We wanted] someone who understands what is currently happening on campus with regards to disability
and what services already exist,” explained Guarna. “Second, we are looking for someone who can build an inclusive space that would operate under an anti-racist framework and that had knowledge of intersectionality.” To Guarna, Wilson displayed all the qualities the committee looked for. “I think he has a very thorough understanding of the role of peer support based on his role with SHEC. He also has a very strong understanding of working with campus and our community partners,” she said. In regards to the role that lived experiences with disability played in hiring, Guarna said that the committee never said that they were exclusively going
to hire someone with a disability, visible or invisible. “We never even said we were going to hire someone with a disability. I mean, obviously we would hope that we do, because they're going to have that more nuanced understanding; however, I don't think it's even fair for us to have to expect a student to self-identify, because again, that is a barrier. And that in itself creates a barrier for those students, having to say, ‘I have this disability.’” Wilson, for his part, is looking forward to taking on his new role. Starting in January, he will work six hours a week on developing the service, a job he will continue over the course of the summer, the goal being to officially launch the service Sep-
tember 2016, though it remains to be seen in what form. “The next few months will be very dynamic as we look at how the collaboration between SAS, SWELL, SWC, HRES and Maccess turns out.” He also cited that finding a permanent, readily accessible space was another factor that would be vital in getting the service set up. While progress has been made, the Maccess has a long way to grow yet, and it will be exciting to see how the new advocacy service develops.
@RachAlbertaKatz
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NEWS
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Hamilton2Paris to City Hall On Sunday, the largest environmental rally Hamilton has ever seen will take place in anticipation of the Sustainable Innovation Forum
Jason Woo Lifestyle Editor
This weekend, environmental groups around the world will march locally as part of the Global Climate March initiatives, set to coincide with the Sustainable Innovation Forum. The forum, taking place as part of the Conference of Parties in Paris, is the culmination of work from Climate Action and the UN Environment Programme, and will convene participants from business, government, finance, UN NGOs and civil society. Leaders at the conference, the most important one since the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, will discuss how to set and meet goals to mitigate climate change. Those participating in the Global Climate March aim to show the world and those participating at SIF15 the demand for broad and bold climate action. The Hamilton march, dubbed Hamilton2Paris, will take place this Sunday, Nov. 28, and will be the largest climate change rally the city has ever seen. As such the event serves as not only a demand for political changes in regards to climate change policy, but also to disseminate information to the public and to get different groups together to form an interdisciplinary approach to combat climate change. Agnes Richard, outreach coordinator for Hamilton2Paris, already qualifies the event as a success. “I could say right now that we are successful … we tied together groups that haven't worked together before.”
Such groups include Food Not Bombs, the Hamilton Labour Council and the Ontario Secondary School Teacher’s Federation, as well as Indigenous and religious groups. “[Hamilton2Paris] is also about creating awareness and promoting sustainability in Hamilton. For example, community car share [aims] to give alternative options for transportation, allowing people alternative ways to get to where they need to be. Our initiative is basically giving people the option to divest from their normal ways. It's about transition and advocacy, creating momentum to create a community of change,” said Robyn Sifton, social media manager for Hamilton2Paris.
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I could say right now that we are successful . . . we tied together groups that haven’t worked together before. Agnes Richard Outreach Coordinator, Hamilton2Paris
Various prominent Hamiltonian climate change activists will speak at City Hall. Among them are Peter Hopperton, a G20 activist who is leading an anti-capitalist group in the march, and Danielle Boissoneau, a First Nations speaker
and Indigenous Peace Education Outreach Coordinator. Following the speeches, participants will be asked to take a pledge meant to continue the momentum of the rally. Part of the pledge asks participants to contact their Members of Parliament to ensure that they remain committed to the outcomes of SIF15. However, Hamilton2Paris won’t be a completely somber event, with poets and musicians scheduled to perform. On why McMaster students should join the rally, Waverly Birch, a member of Fossil Free McMaster, mentioned the large scope. “[Hamitlon2Paris] is part of a global climate march, so it's going to be bigger than just going out to do something on campus. If [climate change] is something someone's really interested in, that is a good way to get involved.” The march will also be a networking opportunity for students interested in pursuing fields related to climate change. Conner Hurd, coordinator of Fossil Free McMaster, added, “If I was a business student, I would really want to get involved with [Tim Nash, a sustainable economist] just because I feel as if fossil fuels is sort of a sunset industry and he manages investments for companies.” Agnes Richard emphasized that students should join the fight against climate change now because it will affect their career. “Climate change has the potential to upset our whole economy. So students who are focused on one set of course studies with the intent of developing a career have to
Canadian campus news Isaac Kinley Contributor
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[Hamilton2Paris] is part of a global climate march, so it’s going to be bigger than just going out to do something on campus. Waverley Birch Fossil Free McMaster
look sideways and realize that as all-encompassing as that is for them right now, by the time you get ten or 15 years out all those plans could be completely changed.” “Given that, connecting with the community is a good way to provide yourself with avenues to find alternatives to a career path … By looking outside your specific focus, even briefly, [it] gives you the tentacles out into the community that you can pull on later,” said Richard. McMaster students interested in joining the rally should meet the Fossil Free McMaster group at south side of Victoria Park (King W and Locke N) at 2:30 p.m. The rally itself starts outside City Hall at 3 p.m. To show solidarity, students are encouraged to wear orange or maroon.
First generation students show higher rates of success Statistics Canada released a triennial report showing that on average, students who immigrated to Canada achieve better educational outcomes than Canadian-born postsecondary students. They were more likely to have graduated from high school and to graduate from university. Some effect of origin country was also observed, with educational success being highest among students from East and South Asia.
The fall break effect In response to requests from student groups and concerns about the mental health of university students, more than half of Ontario’s universities, including McMaster, have now implemented fall breaks ranging from one day to one week during October or November. Universities hope that the breaks will allow students to recuperate from stress and catch up on studying.
Saskatchewan universities set new goals Last week, the presidents of all the universities in Saskatchewan announced intentions to close the disparity in educational outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the province. The announcement was made last Wednesday at a forum in Saskatoon on how Saskatchewan universities can help to implement the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada on residential school experiences.
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NEWS
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
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McMaster adds to list of accolades Canada’s Top 100 Employers list McMaster University as one of its winners for 2016 Steven Chen News Reporter
McMaster is a significant employer in the HamiltonNiagara region, with 4,393 full-time and 3,052 part-time staff. C/O JON WHITE
Hey, Present your valid McMaster I.D. on
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On Nov. 20, McMaster secured another award for its trophy case, after being named as one of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers for 2016. Now in its ninth year, the annual competition is organized by the editors of “Canada’s Top 100 Employers.” The competition recognizes McMaster University for the role it plays in the Hamilton-Niagara region as an industry leader for employment. McMaster distinguished itself under the eight evaluation criteria set out by “Canada’s Top 100 Employers,” including the physical workplace, work and social atmosphere, financial and family benefits, health and community involvement. Wanda McKenna, executive director of human resources here at McMaster, is proud of the university’s accomplishment. “We have always believed that McMaster is a fantastic place to work,” she said. “And given the fact that this is our very first time entering the competition, it just goes to show that McMaster does offer a fairly comprehensive package in terms of being a great place to work and teach.” Comprised of 4,393 fulltime employees and 3,052 part-time employees, McMaster is not only one of the largest employers in the Hamilton-Niagara region, but also one that is committed to cultivating a group of passionate staff. “[The staff] at the university are absolutely dedicated to its mission, its research and its teaching,” acclaimed McKenna. “They love student environments, they love being with students and seeing them learn and grow. It is always fantastic to work with staff that resonate full of such energy.” “Canada’s Top 100 Employers” features McMaster University’s benefit pension plan, retirement planning assistance, scholarship program and inclusivity of working groups as defining reasons for being selected as one of Hamilton-Niagara’s Top Employers. The thoughtful outlook that McMaster has for its staff is also expressed by the flexible work options, the gen-
erous paid vacation allowance and the apprenticeship/skills training programs that it offers. A strong focal point of the Forward With Integrity campaign has been fostering strong relationships with the Hamilton community. “Community engagement is one of the pillars and priorities for the university, and that means ensuring a diverse employee population that is also reflective of our student population,” said McKenna. “We are trying to reach out to different members of the community and tell them that McMaster is a great place to work.” The selection for the Hamilton-Niagara Top Employers is also based on their progressive and forward-thinking programs. In this area, McMaster has irrefutably shown merit in terms of both its academics and employment programs. “The university's vision [revolves] around creativity, innovation and excellence,” she said. “It fosters an environment where our students can also thrive and succeed. McMaster has been able to become a Top 100 university in the world because of its faculty and staff. And continuing to attract and retain the best, has helped McMaster to continue to be the best environment for its students.” With this, McKenna sets her sights on propelling the continuous evolution of McMaster as a workplace and employer. In the next few months, the university plans on instituting employment equity services to break down the barriers that exist between designated working groups. The intention is to level the playing field, allowing all members of the community the opportunity to find and continue an employment. “I think that McMaster has a bright future ahead of itself,” said McKenna. “We are trying to position [ourselves] such that we have the right people — our greatest assets are the people, and it is the people who will be the deciding factor for our success in the future. We aim to continuously look forward and [assess] how are we going to improve, so that we can continue to offer the best environment for our students.”
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FEATURE
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
GONE A
STRAY
The neighbourhood surrounding campus is currently littered with stray animals. Are students to blame for this issue?
Amanda Watkins Editor-in-Chief
“I thought in your lease, there’s supposed to be no pets,” says Enid Pagnini, an 87-year-old Westdale resident, surrounded by her five adopted cats. Pagnini contacted us not long ago about the stray problem she’s noticed in the city. The former teacher, cat rescuer and 42-year-strong Hamiltonian finds it difficult to understand how so many students have pets to take care of, when they already seem to have enough of a challenge taking care of themselves. Hamilton is not immune to the issue of stray animals, a growing problem across North America. Cats and dogs alike are known to wander neighbourhoods and forested areas, causing alarm to local residents and forcing these same residents to jump to conclusions about where these animals are coming from — in particular, irresponsible student pet owners. Students have been known to abandon pets in the neighbourhood, but they are not the only group contributing to the problem. Stray animals have been an issue in the city for years, and its citizens across the board contribute equally to the matter. According to a 2013 study by the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, shelters across the country brought in a total of 103,000 stray cats and 46,000 stray dogs in one calendar year. While students may not be at the root of the issue, we are still contributing to it. Should certain precautions be taken by students and the university to ensure that we are not adding to this growing municipal issue? In regards to Pagnini’s earlier comment about having pet clauses in leases, according to the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act, it is illegal for a
“
Shelters across the country brought in a total of 103,000 stray cats and 46,000 stray dogs in one calendar year.
landlord to stipulate that pets are not allowed. While animals may seem like something forcefully preventable for student house renters, a landlord can only request for the removal of a pet if they are a danger to other tenants. With this in mind, it then becomes solely the responsibility of the student tenant to ensure that they are responsibly taking care of their animal. Pagnini, along with other longtime Westdale-Ainsliewood residents, has seen numerous students over the years acquire animals and mysteriously part with them before graduation. “They get their pet, while they’re still living at home, and the parent really takes care of the cat or dog. And then the child goes to university and the parents say, ‘take the cat!’” said Pagnini. “And then they dump them. And that bugs me, that really, really bugs me.” According to an independent survey conducted by The Silhouette, only three percent of survey respondents admitting to “dumping” their pet outside, whereas a majority 82 percent of respondents claimed to have hung onto their pets long-term. “It’s not nice to see a starving cat. It’s a very, very sad picture.”
While Pagnini’s anger towards the abandonment of animals is justified, there is no way to identify where these strays are directly coming from and who is to blame for the animals she sees in her neighbourhood.
WHO TAKES IN THE STRAYS? Karen Reichheld, the manager of Animal Care and Adoption at the Hamilton/ Burlington Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has been working with strays for the last six years and has seen a pattern in the types of situations that lead to the surrendering of animals to the HBSPCA, as well as the situations that lead to adoption. “Typically we’ll see people bringing animals in if their animal is having issues or they may not be able to take care of them, and then they would surrender,” said Reichheld. “We bring in 1,000 animals from Hamilton animal services each year.” As of the end of October this year, the HBSCPA took in 651 surrendered animals, and found homes for 1,738 of their animals. “We have many different people come and adopt from us. It could be younger people with their first place, it could be families, it could be a single person in the community just looking for a companion…. Definitely it would include students,” said Reichheld.
At the SPCA, there is a standard adoption process that ensures animals are going into homes that will adequately care for them. “When students arrive at our doorsteps, we do want to counsel them,” said Reichheld. “Anyone who adopts needs to have a plan.” The counseling service offered by the SPCA is part of their “Meet Your Match” program, which gives future
FEATURE
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
pet owners the option to learn about an animal’s personality before deciding on which one they will take home. According to our survey, only 36 percent of student pet owners acquired their pets from family homes, whereas a larger 44 percent made the choice to adopt their pets after moving into their student houses. It seems that students are consciously making the choice to care for these animals,
and with the SPCA’s precautions and training in place, these adoptions should theoretically be long-term solutions for these formerly stray animals. In addition to their adoption service, the SPCA also offers foster care programs for people who are interested in taking care of an animal, but may not be prepared for a lifetime commitment. The foster program is a great alternative for students who want to have an animal, but are worried they won’t be able to take care of the animal after they vacate their student house. “You have to become a registered volunteer of the HBSPCA. You come to an information session, you tell us what you’re interested in, we counsel you, provide food, medical care,” said Reichheld. “All you have to do is provide the space and the love.”
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
At the home of 87-year-old Westdale resident, Enid Pagnini, one of her five adopted stray cats, Mickey, poses for a photo. JON WHITE/ PHOTO EDITOR
If students are doing a good job taking care of animals, and the SPCA is helping those who aren’t, what’s the problem? The issue with stray animals is that they are not a problem that will simply be solved overnight, and even those of us who do not have pets already in our student houses should be taking precautions to reduce the impact we have on wildlife and stray animals. “If somebody finds a cat, and believes it has an owner, don’t feed it, don’t let it come in. Even just petting it and encouraging it to come by, don’t do that, it’ll likely go home,” said Karen Edwards, the Animal Services Advisor for the City of Hamilton. 35 percent of student respondents from our survey confessed to having fed stray animals that they found outside their homes. While caring for stray animals may seem like a good idea at the time, allowing them to become dependent on you can prevent previously owned animals from returning to their homes. The SPCA sheds a more positive light on animal adop-
tion, but the City of Hamilton knows that it is simply not feasible for all stray pets to find homes or live a safe life. “We deal with stray animals. So with regards to dogs, we will go out pick them up on the road. We don’t pick up cats anymore, because there are a lot of unowned cats roaming, and we are ending up with far more than we can handle. So in order to lower our euthanasia rates, we stopped picking them up on the road. We will pick up anything that’s injured, ill or deceased, but alive and healthy, we don’t want to have them coming here,” said Edwards. “We do also take owner surrenders, they pay us a fee and we will take the animal. We do not promise adoptions. Because we don’t even have an adoption program, we rely on our partners. We work with them as much as we can, but there’s no guarantee because we aren’t responsible for their program.” In an effort to reduce the number of stray animals, especially cats that are found in Hamilton, the city is working to develop a cat-licensing program that will require owners have the same responsibilities they would with a dog. They also passed a bylaw that makes “outdoor cats” illegal, to avoid owned cats from mixing in with strays. “We’ve reduced our intake so it may seem like there are more out there. It’s not an easy, measurable thing. It’s not an uncommon thing, it happens all across North America, it’s not just a Hamilton thing, even though a lot of people think it is just a Hamilton thing,” said Edwards. A number of the stray animals we see in our community are tacked onto the issue of an ongoing wildlife crisis across the country. That is in part true, but many strays are still found sporting signs of previous ownership like declawing and neutering. As student residents of this city, it is just as much our responsibility to ensure that we take care of the animals we own and do what is best for strays. We may not all be able to take in five cats or care for a foster, but efforts should be made to ensure we are able to care for our animals. Regardless of whether it’s in our leases or not, committing to a pet is a contract. @whatthekins
THE STUDENT
PET SURVEY The Silhouette conducted an open student survey about pet owndership and stray animals in Hamilton. The results are as follows:
HOW DID YOU ACQUIRE YOUR PET?
Adoption (49%)
From family home (36%)
It was a stray (11%)
Foster care (4%)
11
The percentage of students who ^ do not know where their pets will go after they move out.
HOW COMFORTABLE DO STRAYS SEEM AROUND YOU? Not at all comfortable 12% They will let me pet them 35% They will approach me 23% They will let me feed them 4% They will enter my home 27%
THE MOST COMMONLY SPOTTED STRAY ANIMALS
8%
RODENTS
85% CATS
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NEWS
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Trans Visibility Week McMaster’s first Trans Visibility Week educated students about trans issues and commemorated lives lost to anti-trans violence Alexandra Florescu News Reporter
It’s clear that the year old MSU Women & Gender Equity Network is settling comfortably into the fabrics of the campus. From November 16 to 20 WGEN ran a weeklong campaign for Trans Visibility Week. Events revolved around awareness, acceptance and the promotion of open discussion. Hayley Regis, WGEN coordinator, is enthusiastic about the support. “Last year we ran a little event on trans visibility, trans programs and trans rights, but that was only a pilot. This year we wanted to do something on a larger scale,” she said. The week opened with
events like Trans Archive and mini information sessions geared towards teaching people how to be better allies. “I want people to know what trans is,” explained Regis. “I did Welcome Week training and a lot of people didn’t know that being trans is not a sexuality. We want to be able to explain things to people who have never been exposed to this kind of stuff before, making it accessible while still doing advocacy.” Monday ended with a screening of the Marsha P. Johnson documentary ‘Pay It No Mind.’ This is not the only movie made in the name of revolutionary trans activist Johnson; The 2015 film Stonewall has been critiqued for promoting cis-whitewashing, a topic of conversation that came up in
the discussion period after the viewing. “A lot of people who came out were already engaged in conversations about trans identity,” gearing the event more to those already immersed and familiar with the community. Wednesday’s activities largely revolved around selfcare, with activities such as yoga and a storytelling circle. Friday featured a talk with a talk from keynote speaker Dr. Carys Masserella. Dr. Masserella leads the team of physicians at the Quest Community Health Centre, a care clinic specifically for transfolk located in St. Catherine’s. “I think people from a lot of different areas of McMaster would be interested in seeing a talk by someone that works as a doctor but works as a doctor
that runs one of the only specialized clinics in Canada.” The week ended with a vigil for those who have passed in acts of hate and anti-trans violence. Candles were decorated in the WGEN office before hand, sparkles and markers strewn about by those who walked in to show their support. Moving forward, Regis hopes to have similar events sprinkled throughout the year. “While we have the underying rhetoric of supporting survivors and transfolk and anyone really, we are working towards showing that more outwardly.” Downsizing to a single day or hour of events instead of a whole week would allow for more frequent events as well as the potential for repetition
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I want people to know what trans is. Hayley Regis WGEN Coordinator
of the events that garnered the most support. For Regis, she would love to see have another viewing of ‘Pay It Forward,” her favourite event in what was a successful week of advocacy by WGEN. @alexxflorescu
McMaster’s “Pray for Paris, Pray for Humanity” In the wake of recent terrorist attacks including those in Paris and Beirut, McMaster students held an open dialogue to encourage discussion and closure Saad Ejaz Contributor
Despite cold temperatures, McMaster students stood in solidarity with the victims of recent tragic events around the world, including the Beirut bombings and Paris shootings. On Nov. 8, the Political Action Committee of Overcome the Gap, an MSU club, held an open dialogue to commemorate the lives lost around the world. Dozens of students gathered outside at Mills plaza at 7 p.m. The event had a number of speeches, musicals and spoken word poetry that honored the victims of the tragic events that took place. Several students delivered an impromptu speech and also signed a banner to honour the lives lost. Taaha Muhammad, President of Overcome the Gap, mentions that the focus of the event was to show equal solidarity to victims of the attacks in Baghdad, Beirut and France, and two earthquakes in Japan and Mexico. “The goal was to raise
awareness about all the issues going on in the world. It wasn’t to emphasize the ‘greater importance’ of any one tragedy, but rather to enlighten us of being more cognizant, understanding, and holistically knowledgeable and sympathetic individuals. We realized the Paris shootings resonated in the hearts of many as it was spread all over the web and social media, and we used this as an opportunity to get people together to discuss a common issue and how to move forward from there,” said Muhammad. The aim of the event was to unite students to understand that there are more things we all have in common than it often seems. Many McMaster and Hamilton organizations attended the event, including the Muslim Student’s Association, Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student's Union, Grace Mandarin Alliance Church, LIFT Church and the Downtown Hamilton Mosque. Umair Majid, cofounder of Overcome the Gap, emphasized
unity and a progressive society. He stated, “Our objectives as an organization have been consistent with collective action …We wanted to use recent events as an opportunity to bring together individuals from different backgrounds, cultures and religions. Therefore, we held a shared and open dialogue called ‘#PrayforParis: #PrayforHumanity: Where Do We Go From Here?’” The event was a great success, according to Muhammad. “There was a sound number of people there and all who came walked away enlightened by the perspectives shared,” he said. “I think having an outlet like this event for us to share our joint sincerities and condolences for those affected by the tragedies around the world really served as a catalyst for positive change. It brought people together, despite their differences, and students walked away having internalized a multitude of perspectives centred around one common theme: humanity.”
Many students attended the event on Nov. 8. C/O REHAN PERVAIZ
Imam Syed Torah was featured as one of the event’s speakers. C/O REHAN PERVAIZ
NEWS
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
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A bigger brew Fourth-year Commerce student Matthew Cummings is growing his passion into his very own micro-brewery Patrick Kim News Reporter
For Matthew Cummings, brewing beer is a way of bringing a community together. That, and a chance to experiment with a kind of depth and flavour of beer you won’t see on your typical shelf at the LCBO. “I’m always working on formulating recipes, trying to think outside the box,” he said. Cummings is a fourth-year Commerce student at McMaster and is currently aiming to turn his passion of home-brewing into a true craft micro-brewery. With “craft beer” becoming more and more popular in mainstream stores, Cummings hopes to make a splash in a growing craft-beer market with his very own business in Pint Pursuits Brewing Company, something he began as a hobby. “I started home-brewing
about two years ago . . . everyone that does their first batch of beer thinks, ‘yeah this could be something one day,’ but then that hits the back burner,” he said. “It was just a hobby [but] I’ve been getting into it pretty seriously over the last year or so, and coupling that with my finance background, I thought I could make a go at a business side of it, and I kind of saw a real niche market to build myself into.” Cummings spends over 20 hours a week either working on the business side or brewing in his garage on weekends back home in St. Thomas, ON, but he explained that making money isn’t currently one of his priorities. A lot of his time right now is spent putting his name out there and developing a sustainable idea he can continue to grow after he graduates this year. “A lot of people are great
brewers, but there’s so much behind it that you need to understand financially; it’s not a money-making business . . . it’s more for the passion of it.” One of Cummings’ current goals is to raise enough capital to purchase industry-standard, small-scale brewing equipment in order to establish himself as a legitimate nano-brewery before hopefully expanding as a micro-brewery. Donors have pledged a little over $7,000 of the $11,000 goal Cummings set on Kickstarter, with a deadline set for Dec. 6. Cummings’ website details a few of the beers he has created so far, several of which contain unique and unexpected components like chocolate and Japanese Sorachi Ace hops. “I’m just excited to see where the market goes and if it supports the style that I bring to the table. I’m brewing to appeal to a unique palette; not every-
C/O MATTHEW CUMMINGS
one’s going to like sour beers or what not, but I hope [people] are open to trying new things.” Cummings emphasized he wants to fill a unique niche in the Hamilton market, and has already experienced some success with his beers at a public level. This past summer at Hamilton’s 2015 Because Beer Festival, Cummings’ Chocolate Old Ale won third place in its category, along with an honourable mention for his Double IPA in its respective category.
“My favourite part about brewing is just being able to share the beer; brewing itself is extremely tedious, and I enjoy formulating different recipes and what not, but my favourite part is the end result and giving it to somebody and having them really be able to pick apart different aromas and tastes of the beer.” @patrickmkim
ONLY AT
@MSU_1280 T W E LV E I G H T Y O W N S T H U R S D AY S .
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH WITH:
$2 COVER BEFORE 11PM | $4 COVER AFTER 11PM
DOORS OPEN AT 9:30PM $4 DOMESTIC BEER | $4 RAILS (VODKA, RUM, RYE, & GIN)
10 |
HUMANS
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Life of a Mesopotamian refugee McMaster students camp in front of the Student Centre to raise money and awareness about the plight of refugees in Iraq and Syria
Jason Lau Photo Reporter
Sarah Mamo, President of the McMaster branch of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Union, helped organize a fundraiser that caught the attention of many students and staff walking by the entrance of the Student Centre last week. From Monday to Thursday, a group of students from the ACSSU spent four days and three nights simulating the life of a Mesopotamian refugee, including sleeping in a tent outdoors, not using their personal electronics, and only eating food that was donated by others. After facing turbulent weather and personal struggles to spark a conversation about the plight of internally displaced refugees in former Mesopotamia (now Iraq and Syria), Sarah spoke with The Silhouette about her group’s experiences. What aspect of the event surprised you the most? S: We got so much food, which is amazing. We’re so thankful for the McMaster community for that. While we were trying to live like them, we are way more advantaged than they are. Even though we were outside, look at how much food we had. We were okay. I mean one day we got really hungry and we had a pot of rice. We came down to 1280 and asked them to heat it up for us — they said ‘okay, no problem.’ These refugees don’t have that. It’s so hard to replicate this when we’re so privileged. So even though you’re trying, you can never experience what they’re going through. So how do you tell the story of Mesopotamian refugees when we can never really experience what they’re going through? S: By raising awareness, that’s for sure. I know a lot of my volunteers as well as my family alone — we’ve been through this. We weren’t refugees in the way that they are now that they are stuck on mud and grass,
sleeping on it through the cold, rain, sunshine, just trying to get somewhere. It’s hard to replicate it because for them, there is actually nowhere to go. Whereas for us, if it’s really cold one night to the point where it’s dangerous and life-threatening, we can go into the Student Centre to sleep. We have that option. That’s not something for the refugees. You cannot go anywhere. You’re stuck where you are until Western powers let you. You can’t go back. Once you go back, you die. There’s no option for them. You choose death, or you choose risking your life, where you might die, you might live — let’s take the chance, right?
“
It’s hard to replicate this when we’re so privileged. Even though you’re trying, you can never experience what they’re going through. Sarah Mamo McMaster President of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student Union
Could you clarify what you mean by that? S: Where they are now, if you want to go back, you are going back to a very unsafe environment. Right now their situation is horrible. They’re in mud, they’re in the rain, they’re in the cold. They don’t know where they’re going; they don’t know what’s coming. But going back — you know for sure you’re going back to conflict, going back to unsafe zones, going back to
Emilia Dinkha takes a midday rest inside the tent that was set up just outside the Student Centre. Sleeping on thin mattress pads and heated only by their own bodies, this tent housed six students for the three nights of the event.
death. There is no option. Within maybe a month, two months, a year, you are most likely going to be on the streets in the middle of the conflict or you’re going to die. There is no choice. So when people say, ‘go back to your home,’ where do you want me to go back to? There is nothing for me. There’s no hope. There’s no future. There is nothing. You either live in the conflict or try to get through it. Mentally, you’re dying — even though physically you might not be dead. Mentally, you’re gone. Or you just stay by the borders, with the hope that you might be let into [a safer country].
In order to realistically experience the life of a refugee, volunteers for the event ate only food that was donated, such as this pot of soup that a McMaster Student left for the group.
Was it challenging to stay outdoors for such long hours, especially since it’s been getting colder? S: It was cold, but [our sleepers] knew that on Thursday night they were going to be back in their own beds. These people don’t have that choice. There is no bed for you to go back to. There is no home for you to go back to. There is no country for you to go back to. You’re displaced within your own home. Especially the ones when ISIS took over Mosul — you’re fleeing up north. You’re
Students walk by the event poster that depicts a young Mesopotamian Refugee in an actual refugee camp.
HUMANS | 11
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
“
On Thursday night, we were going to be back in our own bed. We knew we had somewhere to go at the end of the event. The people we are doing this for don’t.
displaced within your own country; do you know how hard that is to face, to come to terms with? You just don’t know where to go from there. We are so privileged to be where we are because even though you’re living in Hamilton, whether you lose a job, whether you don’t have that much money, whether you’re in debt, you’re still a little secure in where you are. I don’t want to compare it to homelessness; everybody has their own suffering. But especially for us, Thursday night you were going to be back in your own bed. You knew you had somewhere to go at the end of the event. Every night, parents were there giving us food, clothes, and extra blankets; we were so privileged to have that. Whereas the people we are doing this for don’t. That’s why it’s so important to raise awareness and to show that [Mesopotamian refugees] are fleeing exactly what Paris is fearing, or what the Western countries are fearing. We are on the same side. They’re not distinguishing the extremists from the numerous refugees who are fearing exactly what people are scared of. What Paris experienced — they experience 24/7. How did the McMaster community respond to the event last week? S: We’re so overwhelmed by the generosity from the McMaster community. People were constantly bringing us food. That was the one thing that they were worried about, I think. To see a visual of what people go through, made them feel for us and it made them bring us a lot of food. We were non-stop getting coffee and tea because they wanted us to keep warm. Now imagine that they were seeing the refugees there. They would do the same thing. When you see the suffering instead of just hearing about it, it makes you do something. It just made me think that if they were to actually see the refugees, the support would be so overwhelming, and there would not be the number of refugees there are now. People would be located somewhere safe by now, if people were to actually see it, instead of just hear about it or see the few pictures they do online. That was our main goal: to raise awareness and to make it real. Not to
just make it another news story about refugees, about this number fleeing and trying to cross borders. It was actually to show you, and to actually tell our own experiences, or the experiences of people we know who are currently going through it. And what was your own experience like? S: I was born in Iraq, and my family left when I had just turned one year old. My parents weren’t happy with the living situation in Iraq, and just the way the country was with all the wars that happened. My dad was in the military, and he did not want us to stay anymore. They decided to leave. We went to Jordan for a year and my younger sister was born there. We were there about a year and a half. It was very expensive to live there; they do not give you citizenships, benefits — they don’t give you anything. It’s a country that is well off, but at the same time, can’t afford to give everyone the benefits that Canada gives you. So my parents knew they had to leave. At the time we were there, we weren’t citizens of the country. We weren’t immigrants of the country. We were just displaced people, trying to get somewhere. From there, they applied to Australia, Canada and United States. It was taking a very long time to process the applications. A lot of our family had moved on elsewhere. I think we were one of the last families remaining in Jordan, and my parents couldn’t stay there anymore. So we left to Libya. We were there for six and a half years. I grew up there. My childhood was there, and my sister’s as well. We attended school there. It took us about an hour and a half to get to church every Sunday, and the church we went to was a Korean church because there was not a large Christian population. The school we were in was very strict, it was not comfortable living. My parents were not living there as a long term thing — you did live in fear. I grew up with amazing parents, sisters — but the country itself was not a place where my parents wanted to raise us. So for six years there, my parents were working just trying to get us somewhere else. It took us six years for us to get to Canada. I was young, but I remember
how hard it was on my parents, and us. It wasn’t home. You weren’t living where you knew you had a future. It was just a place where time stood still, because you’re trying to get somewhere where time will eventually move forward. The memories were definitely not happy. We eventually made it to Canada, and we started all over. My parents had nothing. Their credentials — my dad is a math teacher, and my mom passed away when I was nine, but she was educated as well. They had to start all over. My parents worked separate shifts. My mom worked day shifts, and my dad worked night shifts. They never saw each other. We only saw our dad in the morning, and my mom in the evening, so they were taking care of us at separate times. It was hard, and for about two to three years, that was our life. But we made it out of it; look at us now. We’re living comfortably. I’m living amazingly and I owe it all to my parents. My dad raised us well; he did a great job, I think. My older sister just became a full-time teacher, in a city where you can’t find a job as a teacher. I’m just about to graduate in April with a double major, I have a lot of paths now in front of me. My younger sister is at Mac, too. We made it, and we’re continuing. Just because you start off with nothing, it doesn’t mean you can’t make it. And I know that from my own experience. That’s why when I see refugee stories, it brings back so many memories, and I just feel so bad. I don’t want anyone to experience it.
The Ishtar Gate is depicted beside the refugee tent, where donors can leave a symbolic brick on with their name, translated into Syriac. Right below it lies the group’s entirely donated food supply.
A final vigil is held for all the Mesopotamian refugees under a lamp post in Mills Plaza.
Do you have anything to say about your group of volunteers? S: To actually care about other people, and to care about people who they don’t know — that’s something I think that’s very difficult for people … it’s to have the empathy for somebody you don’t know. They were all doing it for people they don’t know, and I am more than thankful for them.
Sarah Mamo tells her story at The Silhouette office after a long week of living as a refugee, but it doesn’t mean that she wasn’t once a refugee herself.
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
The McMaster Students Union
PRESIDENT’S PAGE As the calendar year comes to a close, I want to reflect on my first seven months as MSU President. Reflecting on this job allows me to appreciate my own effort as well as the efforts of those around me. Reflection also allows me to recognize the progress that we have made together so far, while acknowledging those goals that have yet to be achieved. During my presidential campaign, I made a number of concrete promises to students. In the spirit of accountability and transparency, I highlight below some of the promises I have already fulfilled, as well as projects I will be working on in the second semester. Some projects
are more complex than others, but the complexity makes this job interesting and enjoyable. I did not accomplish any of these things on my own. Much of the credit belongs to the people around me, who are always willing to contribute. These people are too numerous to thank individually. If you have helped out on a project, even in some small way, know that I am grateful. You make my job worthwhile, and the MSU could not function without you.
“
It is a pleasure and an honour to serve as your president. The Summer and Fall terms have been electrifying. I am super excited for an even better Winter term, full of programs, events, and infrastructure upgrades that will make our campus more fun and more accessible to all who study, work, and live here. If you have comments or suggestions on anything related to the M S U , feel free to drop by my office in MUSC 201. You can also call me at 905-525-9140, ext. 23885, or send me an email at president@ msu.mcmaster.ca.
If you have helped out ... know that I am grateful.
”
Thanks to the drive of the Mac Bread Bin coordinator and his team, we already have a community kitchen in Bridges Cafe, where a professional chef runs workshops on how to cook various dishes.
In partnership with the VP Education and the Education team, the MSU will a Tuition 101 campaign and a letter-writing campaign in the second semester.
Students returned from summer to the welcome sight of upgrades in the student centre, particularly more kitchen stops. This includes toasters, microwaves, and kettles in MUSC.
The planning for Frost Week is in full swing. Expect a frosty week packed with fun events, just as great as previous years and with a few new additions.
In partnership with Alumni and the SSC, the MSU engaged in in productive discussions on how to empower and encourage womenidentified individuals to take up leadership and governance positions.
The ideas have been collected. Students will get a chance to vote on them in January, once the VP Finance, other campus partners, and I have established their feasibility and sustainability.
At the beginning of my term, the SRA approved the creation of a tuition task force, in order to investigate McMaster’s tuition breakdown and available financial assistance.
Expect to see Gender Neutral Washrooms introduced during the Winter term, accompanied by an educational campaign focused on accessibility and sensitivity.
MSU Clubs now have more funding, and the Clubs department has more administrative staff. In addition, Clubspace bookings are moving online, and the new Clubs newsletter has seen a good response.
In April 2016, this hugely popular event will return for a second year, with more rides, more games, and more food to close out the academic year. Get excited.
The President’s Page is a space sponsored and used by the McMaster Students Union (MSU) Board of Directors (BoD) to communicate with the student body. It functions to highlight the Board’s projects, goals, and agenda for the year, as well as the general happenings of the MSU.
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
The Silhouette | 13
Editorial Grieving as a student body Dealing with a death on campus is shocking but is unfortunately not something new
Amanda Watkins Editor-in-Chief
Three weeks ago, one of my staff members came knocking on my office door. “I recently found out about something, and I’m not sure what to do.” The following 40 minutes were then spent discussing the difficult issue of covering the death of a student in the paper. When someone the same age as you passes away due to sudden or violent reasons, it is never an easy discussion. It is something that needs to be done while still respecting the privacy of the deceased’s family, while still maintaining integrity and honesty in coverage. As a student news outlet that covers campus-related issues, the passing of a student can be a challenging but important story to cover. As some of you may have heard, on the night of Saturday,
Nov. 21, a fellow Marauder passed away from a tragic accident. Mariel Garcia, a first-year Humanities student, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run. The accused was recently released on bail, and the family is currently raising funds to pay for the funeral. Garcia is not the first student to pass away during this school year. This is not meant to at all take away from her unfortunate and untimely death, but it is a reality that many students are sheltered from. Our campus functions just as the rest of the world does — issues arise, conflicts are resolved, and sometimes, unfortunately, people will die. There is a certain grief that comes across the student body that needs to be respected at a time when the loss of a life is affecting many. When you hear about the passing of a stranger in the paper, does it add or take away from your experience of grief? Is it our place to cover the death of a student?
As a newspaper governed by the ongoings of student-aged people, the notion of death can feel surreal in our community. We are taught that young people are not meant to die, and when it does happen, it is something to study and publicize. And while there can be merit in that, when you see someone’s face on a front page, it can be tough to associate them with a real person who once sat in the same lecture halls you may be in right now. We have chosen not to write a piece specifically about the loss of one of our students as a way of allowing our campus community enough time to grieve together. If someone close to you at McMaster has passed, and you would like to see a memorial, article or investigation related to their life or death, we ask that you contact us. @whatthekins
to Daniel the Nude Prince.
to surprise emotional visits.
to bread.
to so little time (not the Olsen twins TV show).
to 48-piece nuggets and the mega potato.
to “two of them.” to the back end.
to thirst traps.
to the network failure.
to four seasons of island life.
to
.
to Sarah’s Google translate.
to the long lost ad.
to conditioning.
to illnesses.
Get involved with The Sil! NEWS
OPINION
LIFESTYLE
SPORTS
ANDY
Are you interested in current affairs, campus events and student politics? Join our News team as a writer or photographer!
Do you have something you want to get off your chest? A pressing opinion about campus life or the community? Write for Opinion!
Are you a foodie, fashionista or pop culture enthusiast with an interst in student life and Hamilton? Write for Lifestyle!
Do you stay updated with Marauder sports? Do you have commentary to share about your favourite teams? Join the Sports team!
Are new music, movies, arts and games constantly on your radar? Get involved with our arts and entertainment section, Andy!
Send them an email at: news@thesil.ca
Send them an email at: opinion@thesil.ca
Send them an email at: lifestyle@thesil.ca
Send them an email at: sports@thesil.ca
Send them an email at: andy@thesil.ca
Or, attend their volunteer article brainstorming meeting on Tues. @ 12:30
Or, attend their volunteer article brainstorming meeting on Tues. @ 10:30
Or, attend their volunteer article brainstorming meeting on Tues. @ 11:30
Or, attend their volunteer article brainstorming meeting on Tues. @ 2:30
Or, attend their volunteer article brainstorming meeting on Mon. @ 4:30
Abilities AbiliTEAS
McMaster Alzheimer’s Society Bake Sale
When: November 26, 2015 from
When: November 27, 2015 from
06:30PM until 08:00PM
09:30AM until 03:30PM
Where: MUSC 204
Where: IAHS Lobby
*ABILITEAS HAS A NEW TIME*
Come grab some delicious baked
MSU Diversity Services’ Abilities pillar has
goods and help support the McMaster
a weekly series called AbiliTEAS!
Alzheimer’s Society at our Bake Sale on November 27th from 9:30-3:30 in IAHS!
If you are a student with a disability, we will be offering snacks, resources and peer support in a space where you can bond over lived experience and engage in meaningful dialogue. The event has been moved to 6:30pm-8:00pm and will take
Bridges - Relay For Life Coffee House When: November 27, 2015 from 08:00PM until 11:00PM
place at this time for the rest of the term.
Where: Bridges Cafe
Come join in on a supportive space!
Relay for Life will be hosting a Coffee House
MSU Maroon Formal When: November 26, 2015 from 07:00PM until 07:00PM Where: Scottish Rite Club Featuring DJ Macro.
performed by students a way to raise money to find a cure for cancer. Contact beth. ekron@hotmail.com for more information!
MSU Presidential Election Nominations When: December 01, 2015 at 12:00PM until January 15, 2016 at 05:00PM
Bridges - MacBEAT Jam
Where: McMaster University
When: November 26, 2015
Nominations for the MSU Presidential
from 08:00PM until 11:00PM
Election will be opening this December
Where: Bridges Cafe
1st 2015 at noon!
MacBEAT invites you to a musical get-
The President is one of the most
together wherein students collaboratively
important roles in deciding the direction
create music! For more information,
of the MSU and will be elected at large
contact macmusicnet@gmail.com.
by the students. If you are interested in running, find nomination forms on the
Elections page during the nomination period at: https://www.msumcmaster. ca/services-directory/31-electionsdepartment/presidential-election Be sure to submit your forms before 5pm on January 15th 2016.
VISIT: msumcmaster.ca/calendar to view the full calendar of events!
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
The Silhouette | 15
Opinion The high price of student bills Should students pay for their off campus utilities directly, or through their landlords? Josh Ruf Contributor
When renting, students generally have two options: either pay separate monthly utility bills for water, electricity, and gas, or pay their landlord a flat rate every month. Many students living off campus opt for the latter — students pay a set price for monthly utilities and the landlord pockets the excess. How well does this system work? The first disadvantage is that students have no financial motivation to conserve energy. They act like customers at an all-you-can-eat buffet, consuming as much as possible and giving no thought to waste.
People like to joke that students are cheap and eat nothing but Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles, but in regard to our energy consumption we don’t tend to skimp. Students leave lights on, take hour-long showers and crank up the heat. Living like this, students might miss the opportunity to learn about energy conservation while living independently; a lesson that is integral to combatting our unsustainable lifestyles. Because landlords have the potential to make a profit on student’s utility payments one would expect them to strive for energy efficiency by using LED light bulbs and proper insulation. However, this does
not seem to be the case. Student houses often have old and inefficient appliances, insufficient insulation, and incandescent light bulbs. Since student rental property is an investment, most landlords want to minimize their initial capital input. Unfortunately, the alternative to paying your landlord a monthly flat rate for utilities is not much better. Students who pay the bill themselves might be more likely to turn off lights and keep the furnace on low, but positive action might end there. Without profit as motivation, landlords will be even less likely to invest in an energy efficient home, and because students have relatively short tenancies,
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Sustainable behaviour is achievable through strategically implemented incentives.
they won’t purchase expensive energy efficient products that take many years to become worthwhile. Most economists agree that sustainable behaviour is
achievable through strategically implemented incentives. The question becomes which is more likely to lead to positive change: students’ desires to live cheaply? Or landlords’ desires to maximize profits? So far, neither has worked. As behavioural economist Dan Ariely wrote in his book Predictably Irrational, “money, as it turns out, is very often the most expensive way to motivate people.” Perhaps it is time to turn our attention to other motivational tools to improve student housing and to reduce wasteful energy practices.
BDS does not single out Jewish students at McMaster This non-violent divestment movement is not anti-Semitism Lina Assi Contributor
Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions was introduced to our campus last March at the General Assembly, and has been a contentious topic on campus. This debate has led to several misconceptions amongst the McMaster student body. One of the main criticisms has been that BDS targets our fellow Jewish students, and it has been mislabeled as anti-Semitic. This begs the question, if a movement that promotes ethical purchasing is unjust, aggressive and bigoted, how was it adopted in a vote that included more than 600 McMaster students at last year’s General Assembly? In short, the BDS move-
ment is not a discriminatory policy. It does not target McMaster students of Jewish faith, nor does the BDS movement seek to dismantle the state of Israel. The main objective of the BDS movement is to hold Israel accountable for its infringement of international law that seeks to provide indigenous Palestinian communities with their basic human rights. The lack of knowledge regarding the BDS movement has led to the derailment of tackling the main issue of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories. BDS was supported by many student groups and non-government organizations, including the Hamilton Chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace. Last year, students in support
Students at 2015 MSU general assembly last year voted in favour of BDS.
of Palestinian human rights organized initiatives on campus that involved Jewish and Israeli speakers that addressed the infringement of human rights by Israel. One of the main catchphrases of the student groups promoting Palestinian rights on campus is “we don’t want your anti-Semitism!” An organization of students on campus that seek to bring justice to one ethnic group, and injustice to another, would be counterintuitive and quite frankly, hypocritical. Students that support BDS legislation on our campus did so to speak out against injustice to the indigenous Palestinian population and, I assure you, would do so again for any injustice we witness today. The
BDS legislation on our campus strictly addresses corporations that are profiting from the illegal settlements in the Palestinian Territories, settlements that have displaced thousands of people and caused harm to the Palestinian communities on several levels. As a McMaster student, I invite you to take it upon yourself to pass judgment on this movement only once you have done your research about what BDS legislation on our campus means. It is an initiative that seeks to promote justice in accordance with our values at McMaster. To pass a snap judgement does not do justice to any party involved in this complex issue.
“
An organization of students on campus that seek to bring justice to one ethnic group, and injustice to another, would be counterintuitive
16 |
OPINION
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Deck the halls with creepy ads Bloomingdale’s advertisement is not in keeping with the holiday spirit Naeema Bawa Contributor
‘Tis the season for holiday fun, but American department store Bloomingdale’s steered us in the wrong direction with their recent Christmas advertisement that sparked a worldwide conversation about rape culture. A young man is fixed on a laughing young woman who is unaware of his anchored gaze. Between them lies the caption, “Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking.” To think that this advertisement made its way through a team of marketers and advertisers and managed to be authorized right through to its publication speaks loudly of the issues regarding rape culture. Spiking someone’s drink is illegal, yet this retail powerhouse assumed that it could be part of holiday festivities. The emphasis of the words “best friend” makes it clear that Blooming-
“
To describe the endorsement of drugfacilitated sexual assault as being in “poor taste” belittles the entire concept of date rape.
dale’s is not concerned by the fact that 82 percent of sexual assaults are committed by non-strangers. It condones the cause of 75 percent of all reported rapes, which are committed by a date or an acquaintance, and the 25 percent of rapes that are facilitated by drugs, with alcohol being the most common.
After the company received immense backlash through social media, they apologized with the most poorly deficient tweet they could craft: “We heard your feedback about our catalog copy, which was inappropriate and in poor taste. Bloomingdale’s sincerely apologizes.” To describe the endorsement of drug-facilitated sexual assault as being in “poor taste” belittles the entire concept of date rape even further than the advertisement succeeded in doing. It is advertisements like this that take us backwards in making any progress to help men and women truly understand rape and consent; and yes, both genders would benefit from education on the matter. While consent may seem to be straight forward enough, many are still in need of clarification of standards like affirmative consent (which is relying on a clear and enthusiastic ‘yes’
from a partner) and continuous consent, to better grasp the legalities of sexual assault. Memories of Bud Light’s appalling “Up For Whatever” campaign earlier this year resurface as another disturbing verification of rape culture. Bottles with slogans reading “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night” stocked the shelves. The campaign perpetuated rape culture, displaying complete ignorance of the strong relationship between alcohol and sexual assault, and invalidating the fundamentals of consent. Bud Light issued a public statement attributed to the company’s vice president, explaining how they regret the campaign’s message and “would never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behaviour.” Multiple other spokespeople acknowledged the mistake made, apologizing on behalf of those behind the campaign. Bloomingdale’s, on
Bloomingdale’s 2015 holiday catalogue featured the above ad, which has sparked conversations about date rape and consent. C/O THE TELEGRAPH
the other hand, chose to make a weak apology through an incredibly impersonal and brief tweet that fails to address the experiences of victims of date rape and sexual assault. Since the advertisement is part of a Bloomingdale’s print catalogue, it cannot be retracted. Greater measures should definitely be made to exhibit corporate social responsibility and display a stronger understanding and regret for this insensitive wrongdoing. A decent apology is a great place to start.
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OPINION | 17
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
Tinder allows users to reject or connect to others based on their photos and profile C/O QUARTZ.COM
Your preferences are racist We should be critical of our own dating decisions
Talia Kollek Opinions Editor
“Do you only date people from your own background?” my friend asked. I’d like to think the answer to that question is no. My partners have all been radically different from each other — in personality and appearance — and I’ve never been accused of having a “type,” but one thing I had never really thought about was that most of my partners so far have been white. I’m not alone in my apparent habits. OKCupid data from 2009 to 2014 shows that the vast majority of members had either a preference or indifference towards dating someone from their own race. However, the data also shows us something a little bit nastier: 82 percent of heterosexual non-Black men said that they weren’t interested in being matched with Black women, and Asian and Black men were significantly less popular among heterosexual female
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users. This may be information from only one website, and for a set number of years, but it is indicative of wider trends in the way we approach our relationships. It’s not terribly surprising that racism seeps into all aspects of our society, including our romance, but you might be wondering why your preferences are a big deal. Discriminating against someone in a job interview most likely has a larger impact on them than deciding not to ask them to dinner (also, if you aren’t interested in dating someone because of their race, I’m willing to bet that person isn’t all that interested in getting a meal with you anyway). However, we can’t say that racial preferences in romance have no effect whatsoever. In her article for Vice magazine about the experience of being a Black woman on Tinder, Eternity Martis talks about the impact that racism has on a user’s self esteem. Being hypersexualized, tokenized and fetishized from all angles when looking for a
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relationship understandably takes a toll on one’s feelings of self worth. Martis is not alone in her experiences, which are unfortunately not uncommon. This begs the question: if our preferences are not random, and are instead part of larger societal trends, where do they come from? Some explanations might include evolutionary psychology, but if humans are programmed to be attracted to physical prowess and symmetry, why should this exclude People of Colour? Another explanation might be that we are interested in people from our own racial background, but if this was the case then we wouldn’t see specific discriminatory trends in dating patterns. Instead the answer is exactly what you would expect: ubiquitous White supremacist beauty standards. We can see the ways this manifests in media representation. How often do we see Asian men as romantic leads in Hollywood blockbusters? On television shows,
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Being hypersexualized, tokenized, and fetishized from all angles when looking for a relationship understandably takes a toll on one’s feelings of self worth.
how often are Black women described as “the one”? When you can count the number of interracial couples in contemporary media on one hand, it starts to make sense why racism might make its way into our dating lives. At this point you may be feeling insecure about your
preference for brunettes, or wondering if you have been fetishizing that tall guy you see in the student center based on his height. Don’t fret. Having preferences is not the same thing as discriminatory dating. I’m not proposing that we should all date people we aren’t attracted to in order to prove a point, nor am I demanding that you change something you may have no control over such as what features you are attracted to. People in interracial relationships are not necessarily more enlightened than the rest of us, and people who date those from their own backgrounds are not necessarily more racist. What I’m asking instead is for us to take a step back, and look at our race-based preferences critically. Let’s demand better representation in our media, expect respectful interactions on dating websites, and think twice before we dismiss someone as “not our type.” @TaliaKollek
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18 |
OPINION
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Working with anonymity Online activism should be embraced by international intelligence agencies Sunanna Bhasin Opinions Columnist
ISIS’ recent actions have had a global impact, especially the major attack on Paris that killed over a hundred people. There have been various reactions, but the response by the hacktivist group, Anonymous, has especially garnered attention. Anonymous is a hacking collective formed in 2004 with members from around the globe, and their latest target is ISIS. People
have mixed feelings about the organization. They are difficult to track and could potentially release inaccurate information doing more harm than good. However, in the fight against ISIS, the people involved with Anonymous are exactly who we need to foil their future plans. These people come from diverse backgrounds and include expert hackers as well as working professionals who engage in smaller scale online activism. The main issue with Anonymous’ activism is that
because it is so quick to release data on specific persons of interest, there are many opportunities for error. The most productive way for Anonymous to operate would be in concert with intelligence agencies like CSIS and the CIA as opposed to freely releasing information to the masses independently. Anonymous’ hacktivism is comparable to citizen journalism — there is no central power controlling the content that is released to the public, and fact-checking cannot occur
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until the information is out there. There is a reasonable amount of concern regarding Anonymous’ system of online politicking. Author of Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous, Gabriella Coleman, told CBC in a recent interview that she is very worried about “doxxing,” the practice of determining a person’s real identity and releasing it online. She notes that if anyone were incorrectly named, the ramifications could be disastrous for affected individuals. While the vast majority of people generally agree that ISIS must be stopped, Anonymous’ methods of doing so can be questionable. For example, two Anonymous members hacked Australian and international government websites from Perth and Sydney in May 2014. They stole personal data, an act that resulted in their arrest. The Anonymous network must remember that just because it is capable of wreaking online havoc, it should still operate within legal boundaries. However, when a network is so extensive and there is no one at the helm of the operations, who is to be held accountable? More importantly, how do we find those involved? While one would like to believe Anonymous to be the Crime Stoppers of the online world, it can be dangerous to give individuals a platform to release highly sensitive and confidential information without considering national security. On the other hand, having a global network of people watching criminal organizations like ISIS also has its benefits. This past summer, Anonymous affiliate, GhostSec, presented data collected after carefully monitoring ISIS social media accounts to U.S. national security. This intelligence helped prevent a planned attack in Tunisia. In addition, the group provided law enforce-
“
Anonymous’ hacktivism is comparable to citizen journalism.
ment with leads that were considered instrumental in foiling a terror plot in New York this past July. Third party groups like Anonymous have their merits. They are able to focus on smaller things that have far-reaching impacts. For example, Anonymous removed over 5,000 ISIS Twitter accounts recently in hopes of reducing their online presence and stopping the spread of propaganda. This act was the effort of many ordinary people coming together and mass reporting the accounts to Twitter. It is a means to distract, but also to prevent outreach to people abroad who may be susceptible to the misinformed temptations associated with joining ISIS. Anonymous and online vigilantism have their flaws, but their value should not go unnoticed. We should be thankful for the members of Anonymous who do maintain correspondence with law enforcement because they have been crucial in identifying perpetrators in the past and will likely continue to do so. Rather than condemning a group that generally aims to create positive social change, we should find a way to ensure that they do not operate entirely separately from intelligence agencies in order to establish a systematic way of releasing accurate information to the public. @SunannaB
OPINION | 19
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
WGEN
Yourself and your uterus Mia Kibel WGEN
This week we’d like to talk about a topic you might expect from your friendly neighborhood feminists: periods and birth control. Compared to other normal health events, there is a lot of ignorance surrounding contraception and menstruation. Most people can only name two or three kinds of birth control and one or two menstrual products. There is a lack of available information about cheap, environmentally friendly and equitable products. This is a huge disadvantage for anyone with a uterus; period-havers deserve choices that reflect the huge diversity of experience surrounding menstruation and contraception. Everyone knows someone who feels that the pill made them crazy, who bleeds through tampons, or who can’t afford to be buying this stuff every month, which is just a few of the reasons why we need to know about as many of our options as possible. In the spirit of publicizing alternatives, I want to tell you about a method of birth control and a kind of menstrual product that are radically different from the kind we normally see. Pregnancy can only occur when a person is ovulating, which normally happens once a month. Users of the “fertility awareness method” (FAM) prevent pregnancy by tracking their ovulation cycle, and avoiding pregnancy-causing sex on fertile days. It is possible to predict fertility to a high degree of accuracy using just a thermometer — there are even apps and thermometers available specifically for tracking fertility. However, when combined with other fertility tracking techniques, a regular thermometer is just fine. When tested in academic studies, the fertility awareness method (when used properly) shows pregnancy prevention rates similar to the pill — around 99.3 percent! It is completely hormone-free, creates no waste — except for possibly thermometer batteries, and paper for period-math — doesn’t cause heavier bleeding or cramping like some IUDs, is cheap and is comparative to other contraception in terms of safety. Much like the lack of awareness surrounding FAM, most people also don’t know
that a period doesn’t have to last five to seven days. Menstrual extraction is a process by which you can have your entire period all at once, not over a week. It can be done by a regular person — you! — not just medical professionals, with cheap and easily accessible equipment. If you’re interested, search around; there might be a feminist group or a midwife in your area that teaches the practice. This could make a huge difference in the lives of many. Currently for people who don’t use hormonal birth control, period skipping options are slim. There are those who might not want to have a normal period; it might be someone with severe cramps and an upcoming vacation, someone who is made uncomfortable by their periods, a sex worker who doesn’t want to lose a week’s worth of income, or an athlete with an upcoming event. The only way to spread these revolutionary practices is to talk about them. Common arguments against these ‘radical’ solutions are that they require too much work, or that people do not yet have enough knowledge about their own biology. These are not good reasons to avoid the conversation. Individuals can decide for themselves if something is too much work or too hard, and we can’t just assume people are “too grossed out” or “too lazy.” These options are radical not because they are different from the norm, but because they assume that period-havers are capable, intelligent and responsible owners of their own bodies. They take the control away from companies and doctors, and give primary responsibility to the individual. Current discourse around menstruation does not even begin to cover the full diversity of period-havers. Without these conversations, people who don’t fit the ‘normal’ menstruating mould will have no one to ask for advice, because doctors, friends, and parents aren’t always informed about the whole range of options. We all deserve solutions that put us in control, and that allow us to experience normal life events with dignity and empowerment instead of secrecy and shame. We are not going to stop talking about our uteri.
C/O DEVIANTART, JUSTINE ESSIE DALIPE
Its time to talk, period
20 |
GAMES
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
CROSSWORD
ACROSS 1. Designer Christian ____ 5. Root beer, e.g. 9. Harpoon 14. Olden times 15. Formal accessories 16. Chinese “bear” 17. Flock mamas 18. Building wings 19. Civic gp. 20. Scoundrel 22. Lab container (2 wds.) 24. Let loose 26. Always, in verse 27. Phone bug 30. Large bodies of water 33. Busy activity 34. Musician ____ Clapton 36. Creature 40. Acquire knowledge 42. Rogue 44. Golf stroke 45. Bemoan 47. Astronauts’ gp. 49. Kindled 50. ____ in full 52. Reagan and McDonald 54. Health resort 57. Eases up 59. Sidewalk material 62. Cuddle 66. Pond growth 67. Lighten
69. Huron’s neighbor 70. Young insect 71. Bad mood 72. Rod and ____ 73. Laundry machine 74. Chef’s units (abbr.) 75. Williams and Koppel
DOWN 1. Tinter 2. Dubuque’s state 3. Native metals 4. Save 5. Outstanding
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6. Frying need 7. Letter after gamma 8. Evaluate 9. Minor quarrel 10. Historian’s concern 11. Come afterward 12. Mud brick 13. Marathon runner 21. Insect’s feeler 23. Mets’ bygone home 25. Grand 27. Room partition 28. Mental image 29. Ramble 31. Moderately slow, in music 32. Knight’s title 35. Soup container 37. Flour factory 38. Eager 39. Leases 41. D.C. VIP 43. Challenge 46. Grow weary 48. 14-line poems 51. Loathe 53. Declare 54. Burn with hot water 55. ____ bear 56. Furious 58. Tilts 60. ____ in (collapse) 61. Aft 63. Lumber source 64. Fibbed 65. Slithery swimmers 68. Small drink
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The Silhouette | 21
Lifestyle THE SKINNY Jason Woo Lifestyle Editor Christmas Bling sweaters
This week in things you didn’t know you wanted: ugly Hotline Bling Christmas sweaters. Tony Madalone, the owner of Fresh Brewed Tees and the creator of the sweater, said that sales are through the roof. Sales reached $20K in just a few hours. That can only mean one thing, you need to get your own. You can cop one for not 10 bands, 50 bands, 100 bands, but $50. Merry 6-mas, Marauders.
The Nazi Subway
The positive psychology of Christmas Amazon has pulled the ads for its new show The Man in the High Castle from the NYC subway after some claimed it looked like Nazi propaganda. The show is the story of what would happen if the Axis powers won World War II.
The real Rock saves Rock the dog
A sick dog named Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson at the L.A. shelter has a serious heart murmur and requires an expensive surgey. Luckily, the real Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, a dog lover and general bae, donated a big chunk of the surgery bills.
Christine Chow Lifestyle Writer
After a particularly rough day of classes, few things in life are better than relaxing to the festive croon of Michael Bublé’s voice as he sings all the holiday classics. It’s around this time of year that I begin counting down the exact number of days until Christmas Day, blasting Christmas music around the house on my laptop speakers, and nagging my housemate endlessly about the next time she plans on visiting her home in Toronto to pick up our decorations. All of this probably makes me guilty of propagating the widespread pre-Christmas consumerism rampant in early to mid-November, but I love it. For Western society, Christmas probably marks the largest marketing event of the year. I remember heading to Fortinos a couple of weeks ago, only to find the shelves already cleared of markdown post-Hal-
loween candy and readily stocked with ribbon-and-tinsel wreathes. When I went to the Eaton Centre that very same weekend, I found it swarmed with what must have been half the city, flocking to the mall to get their holiday shopping out of the way. This was weeks away from December, let alone Christmas. Most widely perused streets now have their trees adorned in Christmas lights, and every coffee shop I pass by is promoting peppermint-flavoured drinks emerging to reclaim their menu space after a yearlong slumber. It’s almost as if November itself doesn’t exist: the transition from Halloween to Christmas seems to occur in the blink of an eye. And yet, despite being a highly commercial time of the year, the thought of Christmas is usually the one thing keeping me sane in the weeks leading up to exams. There is something intrinsically happy about the preparatory Christmas atmosphere, whether it consists of curling up on the couch with
a book in one hand and a steaming cup of hot cocoa in the other, dancing to Jingle Bell Rock during house cleaning and seeing the slight smiles on my housemates’ lips as they mouth the words in tandem, or even simply knowing that the gift you intend on giving someone will be absolutely perfect in letting them know how much you appreciate them. Christmas isn’t something that has an expiration date. If there’s one thing the retail sector has done right, it’s in saying that it’s never too early for a bit of Christmas spirit. Underneath all the seasonal holiday promotions and crafty Christmas-themed ads (here’s looking at you, Coca-Cola) lies a far less tangible and far more valuable feeling, shaped by a time dedicated to our personal experiences with the people we love in the places we call home. The energy that comes with Christmas hype can and should be harnessed for motivation in getting you through the last few gruelling weeks of school, and
the many social events hosted in its honour leading up to Christmas Day also serve as a reminder to take some time off for yourself, rather than working to the point of keeling over. Winter is coming, and maybe the white walkers are coming with it, but if winter is coming, that means Christmas is too. And let’s be real: if you can handle multiple courses’ worth of exams, taking down a couple of white walkers in the meantime before Christmas gets here should be no problem at all.
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LIFESTYLE
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
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If you walked through the MUSC atrium this past Tuesday, then you might have noticed tables of people with cotton swabs in their mouths (for charity, of course!). This was the Get Swabbed event organized by OneMatch and run by the AEPi fraternity and DeltaPi sorority with the help of additional volunteers. And no, despite the name, OneMatch is not a dating site. The goal of Get Swabbed is to recruit new registrants to the OneMatch registry for stem cell donation. The cotton swabs are for collecting cell samples from the insides of your cheeks. These are sent to the Canadian Blood Services for lab tests and human leukocyte antigen typing. Your DNA is then kept in the registry for several decades. The one match team will contact you if your DNA is matched to a patient requiring a stem cell transplant. Based on patient needs and the decisions of the medical team, there are two ways that you could be asked to donate your stem cells. Firstly, you could donate via a peripheral blood stem cell donation. This is a non-surgical procedure, completed in an outpatient clinic at the hospital where your blood stem cells are boosted, followed by a blood donation. Alternatively, you could donate via a bone marrow stem cell donation. This is a surgical procedure where stem cells are removed from the iliac crest at the back of your hip bones. Donors are placed under anesthesia for the full procedure and the recovery is usually quite quick with some mild pain to be expected. Your option to refuse donation will also be accepted. The Canadian Blood Services work together with global organizations to match donors and patients. This global collab-
oration means that you could be matched to a patient on the other side of the world. Patients commonly in need of stem cells are those suffering from cancer, aplastic anemia or various inherited blood diseases. Imagine the phone call telling you that you are the only person in the world that can save the patient’s life. We all have the chance to make a true impact. Tuesday’s event was a great success, with over 160 new McMaster registrants to the OneMatch database. More Get Swabbed events will be held over the year, so don’t fret if you have missed this one. Alternatively, scan the QR code for OneMatch’s website below to register by mail from your home. Get swabbing to save a life! SWABBING 101 Who is eligble? You may be eligible to join if you are between 17 and 35 years old. Health problems that could make you ineligible include: heart conditions, cancer, blood diseases, insulin-dependent diabetes and infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS or hepatitis. There are also height and weight restrictions.
What happens if I’m a match? Your blood will undergo additional testing to determine the full extent of your compatibility. You will also need to be tested for transmissible diseases. You will complete a physical examination and routine medical tests. If you agree to proceed, the patient will be notified and the elimination of his or her diseased bone marrow will begin.
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
The Silhouette | 23
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“Stand up. Stretch. Take a walk. Go to the airport. Get on a plane. Never return.” This is one of the more popular memes about studying to pop up in everyone’s least favourite month, November. I dare you try to escape the flood of study memes during this year’s exam season. In that sleep-deprived, “what is life?” state, study memes are the university student’s main form of solace. During fall finals the urge to just hop on a plane is almost unbearable. As temperatures plummet into the negatives and the amount of sunlight continues to decline, the darkness of exams is a repelling force that is enough to push anyone onto a plane headed for a warm destination. Thankfully, the force of “you will fail life” tends to be stronger, and usually acts to keep those within the university population firmly rooted. Believe it or not, as unhelpful as the above tip may seem, there lies within it a noteworthy statement: “take a walk.” Whether you regularly exercise or not, a mere five minutes of moderate exercise is all it takes to enhance your overall mood. Just think of all that this insinuates; actually don’t think, rest your academically distraught brain and let me delve into the realm of possibilities that this statement holds. All those times that you end up walking during exam season (be it to the library or grocery store) and feel that your chosen method of transportation is wasting precious study time, think of Jim Carrey’s Grinch waving his hairy green finger while saying “wrong-o.” You may just be doing more
good than harm to your studying. That stroll you are engaging in is considered to be light physical activity, which not only counteracts many detrimental health risks posed by long periods of sitting, but also boosts your mood and creative potential. Endorphins, which are one of the countless “feel good” substances within the brain, are released during exercise and are active in reward systems to create a sense of pleasure. Numerous studies claim that being in good spirits can enhance your productivity — mix this with coffee and your studying efficacy may just reach an all-time high. A properly timed workout session of moderate exercise is known to show a more pronounced effect. Regular exercise promotes brain growth within the hippocampal region (a part of the brain dedicated to memory formation) and prevents brain deterioration. Committed exercisers may also find a stronger sense of satisfaction at the end of a workout. Regardless of how much exercise you normally engage in, just know that even small amounts can help. Amidst the countless hours of studying you will undertake during this year’s upcoming finals, do not feel guilty for the many walks you may take to the fridge for another snack. Instead, consider extending this journey into a light stroll around the house before reaching your food destination. The benefits of that walk could be doing more for your studying than the snack you will grab.
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LIFESTYLE
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Je suis Franco-Ontarienne Hélène Caron Contributor
The tragic events in Paris had many frantically looking for friends and family currently in the cité des lumières and prompted a number of us to post “Je suis Paris” on our Facebook page out of solidarity. However, our links with France may be much closer than we think and I’m not referring to the latest events. I’m going way, way back. In early 17th century, Samuel de Champlain officially met a Huron-Wendaat chief in Toanché (now Penetanguishene). Did you know that 2015 marked the 400th anniversary of French presence in Ontario, with celebrations happening throughout the province? And that Hamilton is an officially designated bilingual city with many francophone community organizations? If you didn’t, don’t feel bad. I moved here from Montréal in 1996 and I didn’t know either. A brief
Google search at the time yielded very little on the French community whereabouts in Hamilton and I went on with my life until, one fateful day in 2002, I walked downtown Hamilton and saw a French-written sign in a window. Seconds later, I was chatting with Claudette Mikelsons, now president of Collège Boréal in Hamilton. “Oh yes, there is quite a large French-speaking contingent in Hamilton and area,” she told me. According to ACFO-Régionale Hamilton’s current website, about 45,000 people speak French in our area. “Quoi? But where are they?” I asked, stunned. Outside my workplace, there wasn’t a speck of French — many would lovingly try, but there was no French connection there. Believe me, I wanted and needed to connect with French-speakers in Hamilton; I felt like assimilation had wrapped its fingers around my neck. Without kids and not being a church-goer (schools and
churches are recognizable institutions within the community), I somehow fell in a Frenchless vacuum until that day in 2002. That chance encounter led me to understand the breadth of the greatest issue facing French Canadians outside Québec: invisibility. Franco-Ontarians are a minorité invisible. We don’t look different and heck, many of us don’t even sound different. The community is not visible in mainstream English media either, even if French is this country’s second official language. Kudos to CFMU (I started the “French Toast” radio show there in 2010) and The Sil for taking a national leadership role and willingly offering a space where we can talk about all things French. Take note, Spectator and other mainstream media. Anyway, after my encounter with Claudette, I started volunteering on the Board of Centre Français, which organizes fun and entertaining cultural events in French in Hamilton.
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By getting involved, I met dynamic French-speaking people who wanted to contribute to our city’s vitality by ensuring French cultures’ (yes, there are many French cultures even in Steel Town) solid and vibrant place in an inclusive manner. I help organize the logistics for Mac-O Franco Ontario, an event about the rich cultural heritage of French presence in Ontario that will involve just under 200 McMaster students. They will showcase a wide range of French-Ontarian heritage aspects on Dec. 7 in the student centre’s Marketplace area, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Seven francophone community organizations will also be there to talk about the services they offer in addition to interacting with McMaster students. Finally, one last reminder – our heritage unites us all one way or another. Nous sommes Paris. Nous sommes Franco-Ontariennes et Franco-Ontariens.
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FrancoOntarians are a minorité invisible. We don’t look different and heck, many of us don’t even sound different.
The Department of French would like to thank Assemblée de la Francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) and Patrimoine canadien for their financial support of Mac-O Franco Ontario.
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
The Silhouette | 25
Sports Learning from losses
LEAGUE AT LARGE
McMaster Men’s Basketball comes off two road wins at Queen’s and York
Men’s Basketball CIS Top Ten 6. WESTERN 7. McMASTER 8. CALGARY 9. UPEI 10. UBC
1. OTTAWA 2. CARLETON 3. McGILL 4. BROCK 5. RYERSON
Women’s Basketball CIS Top Ten 6. McMASTER 7. BROCK 8. LAVAL 9. WINDSOR 10. ALBERTA
1. SASKATCHEWAN 2. SAINT MARY’S 3. McGILL 4. RYERSON 5. REGINA
Men’s Volleyball CIS Top Ten 6. LAVAL 7. SASKATCHEWAN 8. WINNIPEG 9. TRINITY WESTERN 10. QUEEN’S
1. McMASTER 2. ALBERTA 3. MANITOBA 4. CALGARY 5. UBC
Stephen Maar was named Pita Pit Athlete of the Week.
Women’s Volleyball CIS Top Ten 1. ALBERTA 2. TRINITY WESTERN 3. UBC-OKANAGAN 4. TORONTO 5. McGILL
Joanna Jedrzejewska was named Pita Pit Athlete of the Week.
JON WHITE/ PHOTO EDITOR
@_jayceecruz
Men’s Wrestling CIS Top Ten 1. ALBERTA 2. McMASTER 3. BROCK 4. CALGARY 5. REGINA
6. WINNIPEG 7. SASKATCHEWAN 8. GUELPH 9. CONCORDIA 10. WESTERN
WEEKEND ACTION Men’s & Women’s Volleyball
FRI
material — they also study their opponents from what dribble moves they like using against different defenses to where they like to shoot on the floor. “I think what we’ve done a great job on is learning from the losses. I think this is what this team does in general over the years. We’re good at not overreacting to wins and taking lessons from losses and going forward with them. I really like this group,” said Connolly. “I like their commitment to success, their commitment to each other, and their willingness to bring issues forward. I’m really happy with what I’m seeing from them right now.” McMaster will host Guelph this weekend in hopes of ending 2015 on a winning note. Tip-off is at 3 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 28. This will be their last game until Jan. 13, 2016 when they head to Waterloo to start their second half of the season.
VS.
Men’s & Women’s Basketball
SAT
The beginning of the season started out with a heavyweight OUA tilt between the No. 4 Brock Badgers and the No. 8 McMaster Marauders. Right off the jump ball, McMaster had a chance to make a statement win at home and upset one of the top teams in the country. The team led for a good portion of the game, but couldn’t pull the upset off. A few weeks ago, McMaster hosted No. 5 Ryerson and put up a solid fight despite being short-handed due to injuries. They came within five in the fourth quarter, but went cold as the Rams handed the Marauders their second loss of the season. McMaster is entering their last weekend of 2015 with a 4-2 record and a three-game winning streak. Last weekend they beat Queen’s, 84-71 and beat York, 88-74. Their only two losses (three, if you count the preseason loss to McGill), as Head Coach Amos Connolly points out, have come at the
34.4 (Ryerson). Part of learning from these losses is how McMaster players prepare for games studying scouting reports. The coaches give players information regarding opponents’ strategies and tendencies so that players can prepare and respond accordingly. “One of the things that was really critical was getting a better understanding of what the guys’ needs were for scouting reports. It was about figuring out what type of information they wanted to see. What we thought was enough for them, wasn’t,” said Connolly. “Now we’re in a place where we’re pretty clear on our end on what they need and we’re giving them the information they want. It really helps them in their game prep. There’s always this risk that you’re going to give them too much to study, but this group loves a lot of information.” More game prep information has helped McMaster respond and adjust to what they’ve learned from their losses. Homework for student-athletes doesn’t just involve course
AT
Men’s & Women’s Basketball
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Jaycee Cruz Sports Reporter
hands of conference opponents ranked higher than them. Is that an excuse for not pulling the upsets? No. It’s just something to take note of especially since McMaster was in prime position to grab the win in each of those games. McMaster has shown fight against top-tier competition, and with a banged up roster. “In every one of those losses our opponents highlighted a weakness of ours. McGill hurt us on the boards and shot the three really well. Brock turned up the pressure in the second half and we struggled with the press,” said Connolly. “Ryerson blocked our down ball screen in a way that we hadn’t seen at that intensity. Each loss opens your eyes up to a different thing.” Since the Brock loss on Nov. 4, McMaster has outrebounded four of their past five opponents by a margin of 155 to 131. After allowing McGill to shoot 35.3 percent from three, Mac has held their last six opponents to an average of 28.5 percent from deep, with the lowest being 22.2 percent (Toronto) and the highest being
6. UBC 7. DALHOUSIE 8. SHERBROOKE 9. McMASTER 10. MONTREAL
AT
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SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
Women’s volleyball confident McMaster Women’s Volleyball has been ranked in the CIS Top Ten for most of the season
JON WHITE/ PHOTO EDITOR
Jaycee Cruz Sports Reporter
People say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. For the McMaster Women’s Volleyball team, this saying is certainly true. They are, as Head Coach Tim Louks calls it, “coming to want” instead of coming to work. “They want to be at practice. They want to perfect that passing technique. That’s not fun stuff. That’s just repetition,” said Louks. “They all want to be better passers and they want to touch the ball better. They want to master the details.” Fifth-year captain and outside hitter Lauren Mastroluisi understands the importance of details. “We are so prepared for every team that we play against. We are studying them hard; we know individual and team
“
We do have swag. I think it’s sort of a confidence. We’re not cocky. Lauren Mastroluisi Outside hitter, McMaster Women’s Volleyball
stats,” said Mastroluisi. “I honestly don’t think we can study teams more than we do right now.” This high-level preparation has translated itself well. Two preseason tournament titles, a 6-1 record, and consistent appearances in the CIS Top Ten are on the resumé of the McMaster Women’s Volleyball
team a month and a half into their season. Their only loss was a five-setter on the road at Guelph — a team that they beat in the Thanksgiving Classic in Burridge. Since the Guelph loss, McMaster has won 15 of its past 16 sets and is on a five-game winning streak. The team wants greatness and is willing to put in the work to attain it. You could say they’re on a roll. They’re even doing it with a little swagger. “Oh yeah. You should’ve seen Rebecca Steckle. She had career-high numbers against Western. She’s bringing a little energy, a little swagger to that whole thing, but not arrogantly,” Louks said. “It’s fantastic to watch. I think her attitude is representative of our team and I think we’ve got something special.” “We do have swag. I think it’s sort of a confidence. We’re not cocky. It’s a quiet confidence that we carry around with us. We have such a talented team
and we know that, but that Guelph loss humbled us and we’ve used that as an extra kick to get us back on track,” said Mastroluisi. McMaster knows they have a lot to play for and that opponents have a target on them. This seems to be the case for both the men’s and women’s teams. In the latest CIS Top Ten poll, McMaster and Toronto were the only two OUA teams at No. 9 and No. 4, respectively. McMaster is also currently atop the OUA West. “100 percent I think this team has what it takes to win the OUA. We have so much potential this year to do well,” said Mastroluisi. McMaster heads to Kingston this weekend to play Queen’s (Nov. 27) and RMC (Nov. 28) for their last games of 2015. Both matches start at 6 p.m. @_jayceecruz
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
6-1 Wins vs Losses
5/7
Of the games played have been perfect 3-0 sets
2.58
Service aces per set, second most in the OUA
BASKETBALL
STUDENTS WEAR MAROON & GET IN FREE* * student card must be presented upon admission
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28TH 1 & 3 PM | BURRIDGE GYM
We will be collecting unwrapped toys or monetary
donations in support of the CityKidz toy drive at the game.
28 |
SPORTS
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
First half of season nearing end With a current 4-2 record, the McMaster Women’s Basketball team is looking to end the 2015 season with another win
C/O TINA CHATTERJEE
Sofia Mohamed Sports Editor
The 2015-16 season had a strong start for the McMaster Women’s Basketball team. A perfect pre-season and a No. 1 spot in the country was something novel to a young team that has had to fight for a seat amongst strong contenders. With a current ranking of sixth in the country’s top ten list, there is still a lot of time in the season to get back to the top spot. This past weekend is a telling sign of the team’s continuous learning process. The team went on the road
to play Queen’s and York. They came back home with a win and a loss. Friday’s game had the Marauders getting back on the bus with a 53-60 loss to the Queen’s Gaels. It was a low scoring game for the Marauders, something that fans are not used to seeing. McMaster’s leading scorer was guard Danielle Boiago, who added 13 points on the board. Shooting the ball did not go well that night for the Marauders as they only made 30 percent of their shots from the floor. “We look at numbers because stats don’t lie. For the team, everybody’s numbers have to be better. We look at it to see what else we need to
work on,” said interim Head Coach Anne Marie Thuss. After Saturday’s win at York, there is no doubt that the team is constantly learning from their losses and their mistakes. There was no time for repeating the same mistakes as the Marauders played back-toback games this past weekend. Friday’s loss to Queen’s prepared the team very well for the dominating win at York’s home court the following day. The performance was greater for McMaster as they ruled over York and came out with a 86-45 win on Saturday evening. The end of the first quarter saw the Marauders hold a 30-point lead over the
York Lions as the score after the first quarter was 32-2. It was McMaster’s game right from the jump ball. Boiago put up 24 points, the leading scorer of the weekend. The team improved their field goal percentage to 47. “This team scores in a multitude of ways. It’s not just being fast in transition, it’s not just one player hitting shots. They all contribute and they all will contribute even more as the season goes on. They are very unselfish players and let the offense run through and then you’ll see fantastic and entertaining plays,” said Thuss. The Guelph Gryphons will visit Burridge Gym on Sat. Nov.
28 as the Marauders will look to hold a two-game winning streak before the student athletes go on their holiday break away from regular season play. This break will give the players some mental time to prepare for the second half of the season, and to continue to improve their game play in their pursuit of an OUA banner. The team will have over a month away from games until they return for basketball action on Jan. 13, 2016 when they head to Waterloo.
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SPORTS | 29
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
COACH’S
WORDS Head coach Dave Preston shares thoughts on his championship calibre Men’s Volleyball team
C/O MONISH AHLUWALIA
I like our attention to detail on the defensive side of the ball. We’re playing tough defense right now. We want to defend. We want to stop opposing offenses.
In practice our guys play against one of the best teams in the country every day. They’re going to get good. When you’re training against some of the best men in the country every single day, it’s not that big of a deal when they play against big teams.
C/O MONISH AHLUWALIA
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www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
The Silhouette | 31
andy Review: Life is Strange
The episodic game takes you back to high school, albeit with a few twists
The Verdict
Trisha Gregorio Andy Writer
Transitioning from Telltale’s episodic The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, I went into Life Is Strange not entirely sure what to expect. The premise was simple: an interactive adventure game played from the perspective of photography student Max Caulfield. However, it throws time travel and the butterfly effect into the mix to make one of the most intriguing games I’ve encountered this year. The game is set in the fictional town of Arcadia Bay, where protagonist Max is in her last year of high school at Blackwell Academy. The episodes take place over the course of one week in October 2013, and the first episode opens with Max’s discovery of a sudden ability to rewind time. This, I discover later, allows me as a player to redo virtually any action I take in the game. While that sounds like a welcome contrast to games where you have to watch your character fade off behind a “Game Over” screen, Life Is Strange is quick to remind its
players that it isn’t as nice and convenient as it seems. The butterfly effect is heavily incorporated into the gameplay, and I learn early on that each of my choices, no matter which one I pick and how many times I rewind time, may have long-term consequences. In this sense, there’s a blurry line between the right and wrong choice, and instead, I’m left nervously waiting for my own choice to backfire on me. This, I believe, contributes most to the intrigue of the game. Instead of being given the chance to truly start over from scratch, you suffer through the possibility of being wrong. It’s a feature that allows the player to be deeply involved, and to have an emotional attachment that’s not purely to the character you’re playing the game through. There’s a connection to the storyline brought by the knowledge that it is your choices that are shaping the story, and that any of your actions can influence how the game will ultimately play out for you. We also get a glimpse of potential themes in the game, an element I appreciate in a storyline featuring adolescents.
“
The butterfly effect is heavily incorporated into the gameplay, and I learn early on that each of my choices, no matter which one I pick and how many times I rewind time, may have long-term consequences.
The teenage aspect is strong and constant, and it’s nice to see that playing through Max actually feels like being in the mind of a teenage girl. She’s not perfect, and when you are making choices through her, you get to truly experience the uncertainty and frustration that would come if you were to make those same choices in real life. Some of the conversations throughout the game feel stilted and nuanced, but the emotional undercurrent remains present in the implications that grow stronger as more is revealed of the central characters. Online reviews criticize the awkward dialogue and the lack of lip-syncing, but these are issues that can be easily overlooked once you get into the storyline. The only problem I found with Life Is Strange is that, for a game heavily relying on choices and consequences, there isn’t always a wide variety of decisions to pick and choose from. If there’s anything to be truly frustrated by in this first episode, it’s that you’re awarded the freedom to choose, and yet trapped by options that are at some points too rigid and blackand-white. There may be game
conventions to follow, but there are quite a few scenes — Max’s interactions with other Blackwell students, especially — that could have been designed better. Nevertheless, I am hopeful for the next few episodes of Life Is Strange. There is a lot of room left for character development, and it’s exciting to anticipate what the rest of the game has in store. It’s early on in the storyline, and the game has done well thus far considering the experimental TV series format. It’s a fantasy world that’s fresh and interesting despite its clichéd flaws, and if anything, it has definitely captured my attention. The first episode has set up an interesting world left to be explored, and has shown signs of subverting video game archetypes. The next few instalments will establish whether the game can follow through on these promises. After all, who doesn’t want to live vicariously every now and then through a time-traveling high school student? @tngregorio
32 |
ANDY
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
The Andy approval matrix COMING UP
The best and worst in arts and culture. This is a concept borrowed from New York Magazine. We hope they don’t mind.
IN HAMILTON MUSIC
BALTIMORE HOUSE NOV 27 > MOTEM NOV 29 > The Gordian Contention DEC 4 > Moon King THE CASBAH
NOV 27 > Paper Kites
NOV 28 > The Dears
HIGHBROW “There was only one time in American history when the fear of refugees wiping everyone out did actually come true, and we’ll all be sitting around a table celebrating it on Thursday.” - John Oliver
THIS AIN’T HOLLYWOOD
> Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
This week’s quick pick
Daniel Caesar
Pilgrim’s Paradise Daniel Caesar is low-key my favourite artist right now. The Toronto-based musician had me hooked with last year’s Praise Break, and his most recent release, Pilgrim’s Paradise, has served to admirably prolong the emotional high his music inspires. Caesar’s distinct brand of R&B blends electronic elements with sparse piano arrangements, and tops it off with his satin-like voice. Praise Break emanated the air of an artist still discovering his lane. With Pilgrim’s Paradise, the IXXIcollective artist has paved his own and the results are incredible. “Paradise” finds Caesar linking up with Toronto jazz stalwarts BADBADNOTGOOD and is a clear EP standout. Hit play and let Caesar whisk you away into a hazy introspective journey.
DESPICABLE
WESTDALE THEATRE
Facebook just rolled out profile videos instead of profile photos exclusively. Now you can check up on your exboyfriend’s new relationship with more interesting, informative results.
Baltimore’s BWI Airport played host to Animal Collective’s debut of their yet-tobe-announced album. Imagine missing your connecting flight and having to listen to it.
People are continuing to hate on the Oxford Dictionary for naming the “face with tears of joy” emoji as the 2015 word of the year. Get a life.
In addition to the new profile videos, Facebook is making it easier to get over scumbag ex-boyfriends with the new feature that fine-tunes how much content you see from ol’ Chad.
LOWBROW
BRILLIANT
Rapper, Killer Mike and presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders, enjoyed a bite together at Busy Bee in Atlanta.
FILM
Experiment
Johnny Depp expressed his support for his daughter, Lily Rose’s, sexual fluidity.
If you didn’t have a reason to have children before, you do now! In case you die in the next 88 years, at least have some offspring to hear Wu-Tang Clan’s album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
NOV 28 > Martin Verrall NOV 29 > Grey Cup Party
Currently Playing > Mr. Holmes > Stanford Prison
We have moved out of Scorpio season and into Sagittarius season! ‘Tis the season for the free spirits!
ANDY | 33
www.thesil.ca | Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015
Review: Jessica Jones
Krysten Ritter stars as Jessica Jones in the new Marvel comicbased series. C/O NETFLIX
The Netflix-exclusive Marvel adaptation has us jonesing for more from Krysten Ritter Hess Sahllolbey Contributor
Ever since Iron Man hit the big screen almost a decade ago, Marvel has been creating a universe that’s only become bigger and better. After having seen every episode since its debut on Friday, I’ve decided that Jessica Jones is no exception. I’m still reeling from how realistic, dark and amazing it is. The second series from Marvel’s four-show agreement with Netflix after Daredevil, Jessica Jones is the latest addition to the growing mythology of the Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe. For the fans of the original Alias comic book by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos, it should be noted that this is not a direct adaptation of the comic. Where something like The Walking Dead follows the narrative of the comic books linearly without ever drifting from it, Jessica Jones is merely inspired from certain concepts in the comics. That’s not to say that elements from the comics are lost; instead, Jessica Jones takes its own unique spin. Jessica Jones is far darker than anything else in the MCU and focuses on the seedy side of New York City. Taking place after The Avengers saved NYC from an alien invasion in the first Avengers film, the series sees Jessica investigating superhuman threats in the city. Adult themes and subjects are not off limits in the show, including graphic depictions of rape, substance abuse and PTSD. All of those themes bring us a much darker and tormented hero, unlike any of the mainstream Avengers heroes. And that’s all thanks to the perfect casting of Krysten Ritter and David Tennant. Krysten Ritter has always brought a captivating presence to anything that she’s starred in. Her past shows like Breaking Bad and Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 solidified her as the perfect actress that could play the sarcastic, anti-social, quick-witted type that would still set aside their inner demons to help others. Anytime Ritter is on screen
as Jessica Jones, she easily gives her career-best performance as she conveys Jones’ damaged psyche and emotional turmoil in a genuinely realistic manner. Adding to that stellar cast is David Tennant as Kilgrave, the main antagonist of the series. This character, also known as the Purple Man, is dastardly creepy. A smile creeps across my face any time Tennant is on screen. He plays the role so terrifyingly well that I was always at the edge of my seat, holding my breath in anxiety and fear of what he was going to do to his next victim. His mere presence creates an unsettling atmosphere, coupled with his superpower to make anyone do whatever he tells them to do. Mike Colter, Rachel Taylor and Wil Traval were all fantastic respectively as Luke Cage, Trish Walker and Nuke. They had lots of chemistry and intrigue as their stories played out. On the contrary, Eka Derville, Carrie-Anne Moss and Erin Moriarty’s characters felt extremely one-dimensional with no depth or development. Their scenes were often stiff and boring to watch. I also can’t help but compare the sex scenes in Jessica Jones to those in Orange is the New Black. In Jessica Jones, they’re run-of-the-mill and overly explicit; on the other hand, Orange is the New Black’s sex scenes are funny, messy and heartbreakingly real. The scenes however still contribute to the noir drama and help flesh out the characters more. In the end, Jessica Jones is one excellent package. It contains all of the classic film-noir elements including saxophone music, jump scares, shadows through glass, long panning shots and voice-over monologues that left me wanting more. In fact, this neo-noir psychological thriller had such an abundant supply of detectives, superheroes and super villains, that it made me wonder why we even need the Avengers films when all the real drama is playing out on the small screen.
The Verdict
A UNIQUE JOB AN ICONIC LOCATION AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER
Become a PARLIAMENTARY GUIDE Applications due January 15, 2016 This summer, be part of the action at the Parliament of Canada. Find out more and apply online at
parl.gc.ca/guides
34 |
ANDY
Then vs. Now
Thursday, Nov. 26, 2015 | www.thesil.ca
ANDY dives into the past to discover what T.V. show you should catch now
Gizelle Panton Intern
If you enjoyed watching America’s Next Top Model during your younger years, you’ll love the new spin-off show of the infamous Keeping Up with the Kardashians series, entitled Dash Dolls. The latter show will be sure to rekindle the pleasure we felt as we watched young aspiring models fight to attain prestige, while simultaneously trying to remain on top of the food chain without compromising their professionalism within the ANTM house. The reality series premiered on the E! cable network on
If your favourite childhood show was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you’ll enjoy FX’s original series, American Horror Story, which takes the familiar undertones of dark humour and transforms them into a viscous feel of pure terror. The new season features a haunting hotel with an obscure history and peculiar tenants with strange habits. A middle-aged police officer is on the search for a killer that has been committing murders, inspired by the Ten Commandments found in the Old Testament. He ends up at the Cortez hotel and is immediately transfixed by its strange and eerie nature. His
Zoey 101 was the show that made us all want to enroll into a boarding school. Bright dormitories, flat screen TVs in each lounge room, a variety of sports and academic courses, not to mention the coolest mobile phone: the TekMate. Although Scream Queens does not provide their students with the same snazzy technology as Zoey 101 did, the show is still good if you want to relive the days you once spent envious of the dorm life at Pacific Coast Academy — the only difference being that a serial killer is on the loose at the Scream Queens school, Wallace University. The series begins with a flash-
September. It features a group of young women that work for the Hollywood boutique Dash, owned by the Kardashian sisters. The series focuses on their dramatic lives in the Doll Mansion. From breakups to makeups, catfights to mended friendships and reunited families, every episode is full of more drama than the last and is sure to enchant viewers with the glamorous lifestyles of each Doll.
goal is to find the killer whom he believes to be connected to the hotel, and to find his missing son. Throw in a couple murders, sex, some unnerving bleachblonde haired children that never age and Lady Gaga as the hotel’s striking and bloodthirsty concierge, and you have the perfect recipe for a thrilling series that is sure to keep you transfixed.
back to an old murder that took place in the 1990s, introducing viewers to the Kappa Kappa Tau house and its dark history. Cut to the present, where a group of catty sorority snobs portrayed by Emma Roberts, Ariana Grande, Abigail Breslin and Billie Catherine Lourd is forced by their Dean to accept anyone who wants to join the sorority. The series then takes a dark turn with the birth of a Red Devil serial killer who begins to target the sorority members and their friends.
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DICK PICS From Gere to Pr yor, we count down the best movies starring ac tors named R ichard C1
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HAMILTON SPECULATOR Just Joshing around since 1934
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NOV. 26, 2015
The Speculator’s guide to...
Getting into the holiday* spirit It don’t matter if you’re black or white, or if you know which Michael Jackson song we just quoted, this is a list for all peoples: * Ok, but not like all holidays, just the important ones. Get over yourself.
- Embrace seasonal depression. Dreading seeing your extended family and former high school friends over the next few weeks? Worry not, the numbing effects of Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder are just what you need to get through this time of the year! Embrace your depression and have the best holiday season you’ll probably end up blocking out forever! - Get drunk. Nothing says “Holiday Cheer” quite like six vodka cranberries at your office party, drunkenly making passes at your coworkers and then crying in the bathroom. - Make some decorations. Macaroni Stars of David never stopped being adorable. Make a few for your friends and family and watch their reactions as they open your gifts and question your use of good food to make garbage decor. You’re welcome. - Put up a tree. A three-foot tall tree in your sparsely furnished student house is guaranteed to make any space look sadder — but, more festive. If you’d prefer to grow your own, try planting one with seeds and water. The tree should be ready for next year, or, will die from the cold. - Sneak into your friends’ homes. There’s nothing like breaking into your friend’s home, eating all their snack foods and leaving them ambiguous gifts under their plant life to get them excited for Santa. When they call you the next day crying about a break-in, you’ll get the last holiday laugh. - Burn down a Starbucks. Jesus lives and every coffee shop should acknowledge that. Plus, all those hate crime-induced fires need some competition for airtime. The best way to change the news is to make new news. Your holiday adrenaline will be off the charts.
INSIDE LONG-WINDED LISTICLES A3 CRIMES WHITE PEOPLE CAN GET AWAY WITH COMMITTING A4 NAMASTAY YOUR ASS AWAY FROM AMERICANIZING EVERYTHING YOU CAN B4 JUSTIN BIEBEER: THE DRINK OF TODAY’S YOUTH B6 ADELE IS ACTUALY 27 C6
PER ISSUE: Michael DeGroote character updates.
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