The Ontarion 161.1

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Hillside Festival

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Copenhagen

161.1

Jan. 14 - 20, 2010

www.theontarion.ca

Torch takes a fall ELIZABETH MCLEOD

Rashaad Bhamjee

For the time being, U of G students can stop worrying about the fate of their universal transit passes.

Universal bus pass is safe for now Negotiations begin to increase the price of U of G universal pass; referendum will determine outcome NICOLE ELSASSER After the city called into question the U of G universal bus pass system during a budget review process, “feathers were ruffled” according to Central Student Association (CSA) local affairs commissioner, Galen Fick. Fick said, however, that the Guelph city council meeting on Dec. 15, a meeting where council voted to table the proposal and continue the universal pass, can be considered “a win” for those in favour of the universal pass.

The universal bus pass is a system that has been in place for University of Guelph students since 1994 and has seen all students pay for a mandatory bus pass in their student fees; this subsidizes the price of the passes overall. The budget discussion in question came as a result of the City of Guelph making cuts to community programs to compensate for a sizeable deficit in revenues. While the discussion of transit prices for student riders

December 28 was supposed to be a day of unity for Guelph, as the Olympic torch relay passed through the city. Torchbearer Cortney Hansen, the successful applicant who earned the duty of carrying the torch, awaited a very proud moment.

These hopes went askew, however, and Guelph was brought to the nation’s attention, and not in the way that had been anticipated.

The torch and flame have long been symbols of the Olympic Games, with origins dating back to ancient Greece and the first Olympics. For the purpose of the relay, the torch is ignited months before the intended games at the birthplace of the Olympics, Olympia, Greece. The torch is proposed to be a symbol of peace between participants and continents.

Canadian groups protesting the Olympics, such as the Olympic

Resistance Network, present a different version of flame folklore.

According to the Olympic Resistance Network, the Olympics are, “far from being simply about sport, the history of the Olympics is one rooted in displacement, corporate greed, repression, and violence. The effects of the upcoming Winter Games are apparent to everyone – expansion of sport tourism on Indigenous lands, and increasing homelessness.”

There have been no shortage of protests along the path of the torch relay across Canada, and at times, these groups have been noted as a security threat.

Anna Hunter of the Olympic Resistance Network outlined the aims and means of the organization in a press release.

“Simplistically classifying Olympic resistance and disruptions as violent is a scare tactic,” said

Making a splash!

>

SEE “TORCHBEARER,” PAGE 9

the issues this week

4

in the city was one item on a list of nearly one hundred proposed changes or cuts to community programs, U of G students and University officials were quick to question the thinking behind eliminating the universal bus pass system.

After the idea of changing the universal bus pass had been added to the city’s budget agenda, Ann Pappert, the Director of Community Services for the City of Guelph, told the Ontarion that the idea was about seeking equality for all full-time learners in the city. The price per month for high school and college students stands at $62, with U of G students paying the equivalent of $15 per month.

According to Galen Fick, due to the mandatory buy-in of the universal pass, the prices of each pass are not comparable.

“It’s not really fair to compare it to a non-universal system as apples to apples,” said Fick. “I think you can compare it to what are we benefiting from it and what are we paying for? If those things don’t line up, then we can reevaluate that …it’s essentially a social service that we all buy into, so we get it cheaper.”

Rashaad Bhamjee

SEE “NEGOTIATIONS,” PAGE 3

Chantique Payne helped lead the Gryphons swimming team to 15 event victories in Sunday’s local meet.

>

Hunter. “We will do whatever we can to disrupt the 2010 Olympic Winter Games because disruption has proved extremely successful.”

It was these grievances that led to the organization of a protest held in St. George’s Square on Dec. 28.

The protest organizers of Olympic Resistance Guelph had hoped to raise awareness of the negative impacts of the Olympic Games and to send a message of unity to all of those being affected. A seemingly peaceful protest at the outset, with the initial distribution of pamphlets, the events that transpired brought Guelph’s leg of the torch relay to the nation’s attention.

The relay traveled down Wyndham St. N., and as it came to MacDonnell St., a group of protesters approached the entourage.

It was at this time that Hansen fell

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THE ONTARION

NEWS

161.1

The business of being an “adult” Students face the stressful decisions that come with leaving university NICOLE ELSASSER Victoria Michalowsky came to the University of Guelph to get her undergraduate degree in fine arts; she assumed that eventually she would become a teacher. Like many other students before her, Michalowsky changed her mind and suddenly had no idea of what to do after she left university.

“I didn’t want to [teach] anymore but I didn’t know what else to do and to be a practicing artist never really was an option for me,” said Michalowsky. “I’m in fine arts because I love art and I figured I could become a teacher if I wanted. The art world really isn’t for me so that wasn’t an option.”

So Michalowsky, now in her fourthyear of a major in fine arts and a minor in English, did what most other university students will have to do at some point. She made some big decisions. Eventually Michalowsky decided to take on the stressful process of applying to graduate school for Information Sciences and pursue a career as a librarian.

“It’s still really hard because I hate applying to grad school. I hate it. It’s a lot harder than applying to university,” said Michalowsky. “It’s more expensive. You have to have the references…and all of my fine arts classes don’t count towards my admissions because they’re not academic. All my marks rely on the courses that I figured would be secondary which kind of sucks.”

Michalowsky arrived at the decision to pursue a possible career as a librarian based on a careful consideration of her interests, past experience and qualifications.

“I worked in a library in high school and I really liked it,” said Michalowsky. “I also work in a museum when I go home during the summer so this program will allow me to either go into a library or become an archivist or work at a museum or a gallery. It combines everything I’ve liked about the jobs I have had. Plus I really like books and English is my minor.”

This kind of assessment, according to

path that many students leaving with their undergraduate degrees choose to take. Baskey is planning on teaching English overseas; hopefully, she says, in either South Korea or Dubai.

Aside from the desire to travel abroad, Baskey sees a year teaching English as a much-needed break and a time to decide what her next step will be.

“I’ve been in school

since Jill Ferguson, a career advisor for Cooperative Education and Career Services at the University of Guelph, is among the strategies that they suggest to students who are trying to decide on a career path. Ferguson suggest, however that the most important thing for any person to do when making these “big decisions” is research.

“One thing that I highly suggest that anybody does when they’re looking at doing research or informational interviews with people that are in the industry that they would like to get into is talk to them about what a typical day is like. How did [they] get started?

What are the career options or paths that somebody in this type of work can get into,” said Ferguson. “[They should] do things like that so that they are coming into it informed as opposed to ‘That job title sounds good.’ So they’re coming at it knowing what that job actually entails on a day-today basis.”

Justine Baskey, a fourth-year English student at the University of Guelph, is taking another

kindergarten and haven’t taken a break from high school to university,” said Baskey. “I just think I need some time to be something other than a student…

I need time to situate myself and decide who I am and who I want to be as opposed to going right into more schooling and finding out several [thousands of dollars] later that I don’t want to do what I’m studying anymore.”

No matter what their next step will be, both Baskey and Michalowsky seem in agreement that finally leaving the University of Guelph will be an odd mix of exciting and frightening.

“I thought I was okay with it but I’m kind of getting a little bit scared because I really like Guelph,” said Michalowsky.

“I’m worried about learning a whole new campus and a whole new routine. It’s like I’m leaving high school again except more important in a way. Once I get there, I know I’ll be okay but it’s the anticipation and the waiting to see if I got in [to graduate school] or not that really scares me.”

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Negotiations approach for new universal pass price <

CONTINUED FROM COVER

Fick explained that the CSA will enter into negotiations with City of Guelph officials to increase the price that U of G students pay for their bus pass; he claims that the city is seeking an additional $400 to $470 thousand from those negotiations.

“The oneness is on [the CSA] to go into the negotiations and find some kind of common agreement. I’m not prepared accept arbitrary numbers just because they say ‘we need to get some more money,’” said Fick.

“I need to have it justified… [but] I think it’s not necessarily unreasonable to say that student ridership has gone up or we have more express routes or whatever those sorts of things…I don’t think that that’s unreasonable to bring to the table.”

I’m not prepared accept arbitrary numbers just because they say ‘we need to get some more money? I need to have it justified… [but] I think it’s not necessarily unreasonable to say that student ridership has gone up or we have more express routes or whatever those sorts of things…I don’t think that that’s unreasonable to bring to the table.

Galen Fick CSA local affairs commissioner According to Fick, once a number has been agreed upon in the negotiations between the university and the city, the proposed increased price will become a referendum question for students to vote for in an election.

Fick explained that should the students reject the proposed increase in the referendum then the U of G would no longer have a universal bus pass.

“I consider it a win and I think that all the e-mails from students really played a really big part,” said Fick. “I feel like it was good to have that bulk of student pressure and I think that people at the city know how seriously students care about this and we weren’t going to take it likely to just have a proposal to eliminate what we have. I think it was really good to see that outpouring of support from students.”

3

According to research, having some “junk in the trunk” is healthy Oxford scientists claim that having more weight on thighs and bottoms may actually provide benefits for heart disease and inflammation. While too much weight carried in the bottom is not recommended, according to a recent published study, a person who has more body fat on their thighs and behind is less at risk for heart disease and diabetes than one who carries weight on their waist. According to the research, the fat on the lower body is more resistant to fat burning techniques, which they claim is very positive.

This slowness to shift releases less inflammatory hormones thereby leaving one less susceptible to cardiovascular disease among other things. Scientists are now searching for a way to deliberately increase lower body fat in some people. (BBC)

The Vatican doesn’t like Avatar Despite shining praise coming from all sides, the Vatican was not as keen on James Cameron’s 3D blockbuster sensation, Avatar. The Vatican’s newspaper and radio program disliked the film’s “sappiness” and pointed to simplistic plot and emotionally shallow characters as the film’s primary weakness. Also taken issue with was the “superficial eco-message” where in defense of nature, the characters lean more towards the worship of the natural world over religion and the ecosystem becomes the divine.

Despite the criticism, the Vatican did applaud of the 3D visuals and pointed to it as the films most compelling attribute. (Globe and Mail)

Prime Minister claims prorogation is a chance to get work done without the distractions of democracy In an interview with Business News Network, Prime Minister Stephen Harper suggested that, by proroguing parliament, he will be able to get the “serious business of the nation” done without interruptions and discussion from opposition MP’s. He claimed that once Parliament reconvenes “the games begin” and that time is needed for serious economic strategies to be explored outside of official government. Harper then suggested that confidence motions seeking to topple his government would likely be presented when parliament is back in session and added that economic markets dislike “that kind of instability”.

(Globe and Mail)

4

JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

NEWS

THEONTARION.CA

Scam artists attack U of G Cyber criminals continue to be a menace, threatening personal security and the reputation of the university DANIEL BITONTI From a small office on the second floor of the Computing and Communication Services (CCS) building, Doug Blain monitors the lifeblood of University of Guelph communication. He says we’re under attack right now, as he scrolls through hundreds of email alerts on a desktop computer.

Yet, the emails are notifying him that it is uoguelph accounts sending out spam messages, most oftentimes scams.

“Here’s one,” says Blain.

“Hello, this is [Name withheld} of the 1st Battalion Scots Guard, but redeployed to Iraq, I am seeking your assistance to evacuate $12.7m to you,” Blain reads from his screen.

The email was sent from a uoguelph email address to AOL users.

“Clearly spam,” Blain says.

As manager of IT security,, Blain is the University of Guelph’s last line of defence against a class of sophisticated international cyber criminals who prey on the naive, threaten personal security and tarnish the university’s reputation. They’re getting smarter and they’re not going away.

“It’s the worst it’s ever been,” he says.

Currently, the attackers are

Nigerian entrepreneurs from Lagos. Sometimes it’s criminals from China or Brazil. Last week, an email was sent to a number of uoguelph accounts notifying users about a quarantine exercise being conducted by CCS. The message looked authentic: it said it was from the CCS Help Desk and

They want to use our resources.

We have very powerful machines and a very large network connection.

Doug Blain manager of IT security at the University of Guelph

had the university’s information at the bottom of the message.

But several things indicated it was a fraudulent email. CCS frequently reminds users that they will never ask them to reveal their passwords. Blain says this should be the biggest red flag of them all.

Moreover, the message was sent from a Hotmail account.

The message was only one of many that make their way to various uoguelph accounts on a daily basis, all with the markings of a fraud.

For a cyber criminal, the lure of having access to a uoguelph account is the ability to send out hundreds of thousands of emails

in a matter of a few hours.

“They want to use our resources. We have very powerful machines and a very large network connection,” says Blain. “Each one of these accounts is very powerful. Normally what [cyber criminals] would do in the past is compromise someone’s machine in their home. They might be able to get off a couple of thousand emails a day. The speed and capability we have means they can do a lot more damage.”

Before the holiday break, there was no limit on the number of emails that could be sent from uoguelph accounts. A uoguelph email account had the potential to send hundreds of thousands of spam emails in a couple of hours.

And on several occasions this is exactly what happened.

Since last weekend, at least 14 uoguelph users revealed their passwords, or fell prey to “phishing” as it’s know in the IT security world. According to Blain, messages are the most effective when there are real similarities with authentic CCS messages. The more sophisticated criminals sometime send links to uoguelph accounts, leading users to a replica of the uoguelph website where they are advised to reveal their credentials.

The spam emails sent from harvested uoguelph accounts are money scams. In the example of the soldier who found the $12 million, if someone was gullible enough to reply, Blain says the cyber criminal might then ask for a sign of good faith, perhaps a couple thousand dollars for something like an export license fee. An email was recently sent

from a uoguelph account notifying Hotmail and AOL users that they won a Nokia Mobile contest prize of $10,000. For the cyber criminal, just one or two people getting duped by the emails make the scheme a success.

For a university, the consequences of all this can be severe. Hotmail has blacklisted uoguelph accounts in the past because of the hundreds of thousands of spam messages coming from accounts. On one occasion uoguelph accounts were blacklisted by Hotmail for 72 hours.

“It is a significant problem, I don’t know if I can quantify it, but it is a significant problem because a lot of students redirect their mail to their hotmail accounts and we have a lot of suppliers and friends at the university, and other partners we have who use Hotmail and AOL,” says Michael Ridley, the chief information officer at the University of Guelph.

While the university’s Ironport system filters 97 per cent of emails coming to uoguelph accounts, Blain goes through hundreds of emails from AOL and Hotmail users on a daily basis who have tagged uoguelph emails messages as spam. When Blain comes across a uoguelph address sending out spam, he immediately locks it, meaning no messages can be sent from that address until he has consulted with the user.

“If over and over again we are getting complaints about our material being spam they [email providers] will say we are not a reputable site,” says Blain.

It was only after CCS made an agreement with Hotmail

to monitor spam alerts that uoguelph users were taken off the black list.

The recent decision to put a daily limit on the number of emails sent from a uoguelph account is a new way of dealing with the problem. Due to security concerns, Blain could not reveal the limit, but said there is a fine line, as some real uoguelph users need to send thousands of emails a day.

“We are trying to find that nice balance between not interrupting a good service, but not having a service so valuable that is so attractive to these spammers,” he says.

But the possibility of cyber criminals one day harvesting accounts to blackmail people, or use their access to account to search for financial information is another real concern; improving security is a continuous battle.

Cyber criminals can also find other ways to harvest accounts without asking for password information, and Ridley believes with the new limits on email, cyber criminals will now work laterally, using more accounts instead of going deeper into a single one.

“It’s a huge priority. In the last three years especially we have dramatically changed our stance on IT security, and largely because the attacks are more frequent and more vicious and more successfull, “ says Ridley.

“Truly, the real breakthrough will be between people’s ears.

It’s thinking about what they are doing and how they are compromising themselves and others.”

K I T C H E N E R WAT E R L O O

Clinic

THE ONTARION

161.1

ARTS & CULTURE

5

Inside Hillside Inside ZACK MACRAE This past summer I went to Hillside, Guelph’s renowned outdoor music festival. There were drum circles until four in the morning, the best local foods, an obvious focus on sustainability, skinny dipping, and of course a diverse line-up of talented musicians.

During the day, I volunteered at the front gate greeting the many people, young and old, who had bought weekend passes. When I wasn’t volunteering I was able to take advantage of the many workshops, food vendors and stages that the festival had to offer. Camping out at the Guelph Lake conservation area for the weekend in the volunteer area, affectionately known as “tent city,” was the most memorable experience of my summer. The best part about Hillside was that it helped me understand the diverse group of people that make up our strong community.

So with the third annual Hillside Inside Festival to be held at the Sleeman centre in early February, how does the festival keep its integrity and non-corporate status?

Sam Baijal, Hillside Artistic Director and festival veteran of over 20 years, views the summer and winter festivals as one in the same.

“The core ethics of the festival are still the same, we are self-sustainable.

We have been green before the word was being used,” he said.

The Inside festival will still focus on the importance of recycling and environmental consciousness. All of the dishes used at the festival are reusable, with a dishwashing station set up in the zamboni room.

Festival planners are also forerunners of a rather novel idea that other festivals just have not come around to yet: free water. Imagine that, you bring in a reusable drinking container and get as much free water as you can drink.

One of the major challenges that festival planners came across with having an outdoor inspired festival in a hockey arena, was creating a natural and organic setting.

“We had to Hillside-ify it,” said Baijal.

Much like the summer festival where you could walk around to several stages, Inside will have two alternating stages for ongoing music.

The audience will be standing on astro turf and the décor around the arena will try to take you into a Hillside state of mind.

One of the reasons that Hillside Inside exists is to give University of Guelph students, who may not be around in the summer, a chance to experience what Hillside is like. It’s an opportunity for students to interact with the downtown community and see great music at the same time.

Festival planners are trying to bridge the gap between the university and downtown core, introducing many

Jamie MacDonald

Rashaad Bhamjee

There are obvious differences between Hillside and Hillside inside, but the intention and focus on community remain the same. studentstothepossibilitiesofdowntown Guelph. The initiative is primarily a downtown revitalization project.

“Part of our initiative is to help the downtown sector,” said Baijal, “to being some vibrancy into the community.”

With artists like Ani Difranco, Hawksley Workman and Woodhands

playing, Baijal is hoping to bring in a diverse crowd.

“The programming is totally a slice of what you would see in the summer. It’s not designed for one age group, it’s for a diverse audience,” he said.

For Baijal the best part about the Hillside experience is watching the

audience enjoy the music.

“There is a cross pollination of age groups,” said Baijal, “parents discover artists that their kids listen to and vice versa.”

So if you are a student who might not be around this summer, get “Hillside-ified” Inside, this winter.

Clues and Etaoin Shrdlu at eBar tonight Montreal undercover band visit Guelph ZACK MACRAE Clues, the five piece multiinstrumental indie pop band that hail from the vibrant city of Montreal, will bring their unique brand of jittery pop to the Royal city tonight at the eBar. Opening for Clues will be Etaoin Shrdlu.

Clues has been laying low in the Montreal music scene, carefully crafting a sound that they are the originators of since 2007. Started by Alden Penner formerly of Unicorns, and Brendan Reed formerly of Arcade Fire, the group gained three more members and started playing small venues and house shows around Montreal.

With a highly theatrical and frantic set, their stage show is as intriguing as their name. Throughout the set, band members switch instruments

like a game of musical chairs, only without the chairs, and the weird array of electronics on stage (including an old Commodore 64) give the group a unique backdrop to set their vocals on.

Clues first full length, selftitled album was released earlier this year on Constellation Records and received critical acclaim and much attention from outside of Montreal.

In 2008, Clues put a lot of their energy into creating and launching VillaVillaNola.com, an online music store where users can digitally download albums for a fraction of the price you would pay elsewhere. The site gives local underground Montreal artists an outlet to sell their albums, where one may not have been available before.

Openers for the evening, Etaoin Shrdlu are a band from Toronto with a funny name that has no real pronunciation.

Etaoin Shrdlu is the approximate order of frequency of the twelve

most commonly used letters in the English language, and is a non sense phrase sometimes accidentally printed on Linotype machines.

With a highly theatrical and frantic set, their stage show is as intriguing as their name.

Etaoin Shrdlu was originally a side project put together by a number of talented musicians from different bands around Southern Ontario. The group explores a style of instrumentation that has been lost in recent years and could be described as classical hardcore. Etaoin Shrdlu will be playing the eBar tonight in support of their debut album, Mating Calls.

Yannick Grandmont

Montreal’s Clues will play the eBar along with Etaoin Shrdlu tonight at 10pm.

J . 14 - 20, 2010 6 A dying art: black & white photography AN

More than just point and shoot EMA SUVAJAC There is a simplicity to black and white photography, where careful construction of crisp contrast, gray tones and smooth depth of ďŹ eld combine to form an image of depth and complexity.

Look closely and notice the grain of the ďŹ lm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an entire image composed of millions of tiny individual specks of black and gray.

photo printing in one of the bathrooms in our apartment.

There, as a curious toddler I sat on his lap and watched as images magically appeared on previously bare paper â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a set of railroad tracks leading into a dark, stone-framed overturned â&#x20AC;&#x153;Uâ&#x20AC;? of a tunnel. I understood that these were photos that my father had taken, but how he manipulated this photo from a tiny negative onto a whole sheet of white paper was a mystery to me. These images and questions stayed with me as I toyed with my Minolta, and later,

Look closely and notice the grain of the ďŹ lm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; an entire image composed of millions of tiny individual specks of black and gray.

If you remember your ďŹ rst camera, it was likely a ďŹ lm camera â&#x20AC;&#x201C; perhaps you still own a ďŹ lm camera. My ďŹ rst ďŹ lm camera was an automatic Minolta, and with this camera I consumed more rolls of ďŹ lm than Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve cared to count.

Growing up in Sarajevo, my father had constructed a tiny makeshift darkroom for black and white ďŹ lm development and

THEONTARION.CA

when I turned to my ďŹ rst point and shoot digital camera. I had a yearning to learn these basics, even though I was growing up in a time that was quickly making these basics obsolete.

With a digital camera and a decent memory card, anyone is capable of taking hundreds, if not thousands of photographs.

By probability alone, one of those photos is likely to be quite

Ema Suvajac

Suvajacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s black and white images from around the University of Guelph campus fantastic. With ďŹ lm, the odds are not in your favour, coming to wanton pointing and shooting.

A roll of ďŹ lm with 24 exposures must be thought out. If you are using a manual single lens reďŹ&#x201A;ex camera (SLR), the aperture and shutter speed must be set to work in tandem with your conditions to achieve your desired eďŹ&#x20AC;ect.

You must compose your image, check your cameraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s built in light meter one last time, make any last minute adjustments, take a breath, and press the shutter release.

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These all seemed to be overwhelming tasks to me, having grown up using cameras that automatically decided everything but the actual composition of the photo itself. Not to mention the developing of the ďŹ lm and printing of the photos. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know where to start. I remembered that tunnel, slowly appearing from white to gray to black, and decided that one day I would learn.

Upon arrival at the University of Guelph nearly ďŹ ve years ago, a new world of possibilities and a seemingly endless number of clubs were presented to me during the CSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club Days.

One club immediately caught my attention â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Photo Arts Club.

On their table was an old Pentax SLR, a positively ancient yet indestructible-looking camera, and numerous black and white photos that had been mounted to thick cardstock. The club held workshops for beginners â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I learned what all those little knobs and dials on the Pentax did and how to ďŹ nd my way around a darkroom. I signed out equipment and went out into the world, taking my ďŹ rst ďŹ lm photographs with an SLR camera.

It was liberating to have complete control over a photograph.

My ďŹ rst time in a darkroom developing black and white ďŹ lm was bittersweet. I spent well over an hour and a half developing a

roll of ďŹ lm; the process should only take around 45 minutes. When I ďŹ nally removed the ďŹ lm from the lightproof container where I had treated it with chemicals, and pulled apart the reel onto which it was loaded, I was surprised.

Not a single photo â&#x20AC;&#x201C; just one very black frame at the end of the roll.

I laughed out loud â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I had loaded the ďŹ lm wrong and had taken 24 exposures on one single frame.

Since then my skill (and perhaps luck) quickly improved, and I have photos to show for it. Being in full control of the photograph you are developing is incredibly rewarding.

While digital photography is convenient, fast and allows you to review your work instantly, ďŹ lm photography forces you to think and compose. Of course, this is also possible with digital photography, however for many of us it is just too tempting to point and shoot and see what happens.

Even if you love digital photography as much as I do, stepping back into the realm of ďŹ lm photography has its many beneďŹ ts. You develop an understanding of composition, how photography has advanced, and begin to appreciate the roots from which it has grown.

Now, I have ďŹ nally satisďŹ ed the curiosity that I ďŹ rst had as a two-year-old watching photos magically appear on plain white paper.

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The Canadian Arthritis Network and The Arthritis Society invite you to visit www.arthritisnetwork.ca for more details. Click on Training Programs or call 416-586-4800 Ext. 4798. Deadline for applications: January 29, 2010.

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ARTS & CULTURE

161.1

7

What are you reading?

HAWKSLEY WORKMAN MEAT

This week, University of Guelph alumnus Steffan Bergen talks about Max Brooks’ World War Z Screw vampires, zombies are cooler!

In media and popular culture the horror genre has seemingly been transformed into romance, just look at the runaway success of the Twilight book and movie franchise. However, the romance and brooding of Twilight does not resonate with me. I prefer a more traditional horror story with scary and chilling writing.

World War Z (WWZ), written

by Max Brooks, delivers these chilling and gripping storylines with every chapter and every page.

WWZ is a follow-up book to the 2003 novel, A Zombie Survival Guide, which introduced the “rules” or “framework” of zombies.

The zombies are moved only by their craving to consume living flesh and, although they are slow moving, they tirelessly pursue their human prey.

However, this novel is not your typical zombie gore fest and re-invents the zombie/horror

genre. The book’s plot consists of numerous interviews with people from all over the world and from all walks of life who talk about their experiences with the zombie outbreak. This narrative style, combined with the extensive research Brooks did on technology, economics, culture, politics and military tactics gives the book a historical and eerily realistic feel.

WWZ’s plot begins with an initial zombie outbreak and follows the world’s response as the outbreak quickly spreads and the human race teeters close to extinction. The apocalyptic story explores major themes such as survivalism and touches on the more sombre aspects of the human condition, like uncertainty and anxiety about the end of the world. Brooks is also quite critical of government bureaucracy, corporate greed and American isolationism throughout WWZ. This book was highly addictive. As soon as I finished

the first 50 pages, I could not put the book down and found myself finding and making time to read. I quickly tore through the novel and still find myself re-reading sections, lusting for more novels from Max Brooks and anticipating the movie adaptation of WWZ that is in the works.

For other great fiction, check out Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. Larsson’s crime novels are also highly addictive and schooled me in Sweden’s geography, currency and love of open faced sandwiches.

The Ontarion is asking you about what you’re reading, and why you are reading it. If you have a book that you want to share your opinions on, send an email to onarts@uoguelph.ca

It’s an endless debate between music aficionados which is better: originality or diversity. While pop music often gets away with neither (for better or for worse); to make it with the snobs you’re going to need to be either “newsounding” and/or eclectic. Ryan Corrigan, better known under the pseudonym Hawksley Workman, isn’t trying to re-invent rock and roll, but he sure knows how to use diverse sounds to float his tangible lyrics in a classic way.

In fact, diversity is a word that comes up a lot if you read about Hawksley Workman. It can be partly attributed to his multi-instrumentalism, off-thecuff/stand alone albums and perhaps having virtually total creative control by doing his own production. Workman has also been known to produce for some notable Canadian artists such as Teagan & Sara and Great Big Sea. While the range of textures used offers us the odd gem, it makes for some flat moments and intolerable screeches. The result is a good album but with skippable moments.

The first of two new albums, Hawksley Workman is due to release a new album called MEAT on Jan. 19. But for those of you that can’t wait five days, 7/11 tracks are streamable from the Hawksley Workman official website or purchasable from iTunes or the band’s label Six Shooter Records.

If you check Wikipedia, Workman is defined as “glam rock or cabaret pop.” Make no mistake; MEAT is about as rock and roll as they get, foreshadowed by a cover of his scruffy face, saggy

black toque and yellow oversized sunglasses plastered over a naked female outline.

But Workman isn’t finished with 2010 yet. According to his official website, Milk, the second album in the series, will be released via non-traditional digital strategy which will unleash singles from the album over a five-month period.” Milk and MEAT…not very kosher of him.

Along with other favourites from his previous 10 studio albums, Hawksley Workman will likely play songs from MEAT during his Hillside Inside performance on Feb. 6 in Guelph.

Notable Tracks: “song for sarah”, “you don’t just want to break me (you want to tear me apart)”, “well make time (even when there ain’t no time)” Listeners May Also Enjoy: Citizen Cope – Clarence Green Wood Recordings, Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

NEW: Next Sound Check Album: Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) - Heartland Before Sound Check reviews it, give it a listen. A new feature to Sound Check, form your own opinion about an album before you see mine in print. As always, readers are invited to comment on the album, the artist or the article itself at www.theontarion.ca.

-DANIEL WRIGHT

8

ARTS & CULTURE

JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

Featured Artist: Stephen F. Fisher

Clockwise from above-left: Untitled, Untitled, Untitled

In land art there is a tradition of use of space, and in particular a reaction to space. We see in these works a physical response to the space. With Michael Heizer the space was simply a large track of land that he could bulldoze, reshape, and dominate. For Richard Long the space represented more of an emotional attachment to space where his circles of rocks and his walks manifest themselves as attempts to become part of the space. Stephen Fisher creates a different dialogue, a different stream, than those land artists of the 1960s.

With Fisher’s work there is a use of space and an investigation of space, but not real space, more like a non-space space. Fisher references place in a context removed from its original situation.

He engages the non-placeness of the map and how it references place, but isn’t actually a physical thing. With his work there is as much care given to the map as there is given to the physical map itself (i.e. the paper it is on). His wall sculptures address this idea as he exaggerates the paper’s physical size to gigantic proportions; a scaling up effect similar to the scaling down land goes through to be transposed onto a map.

Another very interesting avenue in Fisher’s work is the map mash ups. Just think of it as if Girl Talk was a cartographer. Fisher takes the real features on the map, things like countries, provinces, landscape features and mashes them up, in essence creating a new space out of existing spaces. Unlike Heizer who dominates a relatively small piece of land and presents to scale, Fisher uses the entire world on a 3 by 2 foot piece of paper. The question is (and I know Tony Sherman would ask this): Is Fisher then playing god?

But the thing is, I don’t think it really matters. -Miles Stemp

THE ONTARION

Torchbearer knocked down in Guelph leg of cross-country relay <

SPORTS & HEALTH

161.1

CONTINUED FROM COVER

to the ground. The flame was not extinguished in the fall, and Hansen was able to finish her leg of the race, however, the incident certainly did not go unnoticed.

This was the first instance of physical confrontation in the torch’s journey thus far.

Guelph Police, in cooperation with specialty RCMP security detail, were positioned at the run spots across the city, yet due to the random and isolated nature of this incident, it was unforeseeable and therefore impossible to plan for. “[The incident] was a black eye to Guelph on a day of celebration,” said Sgt. Douglas Pflug of the Guelph Police department. “Guelph prides itself in being ranked one of the safest cities in Canada and it is unfortunate that an incident of this nature tainted this day where Guelph was on the national stage.”

Pflug asserted that the police “recognize the right to protest, but in this case, the protest unfortunately had unconstructive effects.”

Brittney Simpson, 19, and Kelly Pflug-Back (of no relation to Sgt. Pflug), 20, are the two protesters who have been charged with assault in connection with the incident and are to appear in court in February.

Conflicting reports have surfaced in regard to the charges.

Protesters claim that police initiated the contact and that no protester ever made contact with Hansen, and that she simply fell.

Other accounts claim that Hansen seemingly tripped over the leg of a police officer who was struggling with protesters. The investigation into the cause of the fall is ongoing at this time.

9

“It’s not easy” JOSH DOYLE While millions of people spent their New Year’s Eve celebrating, reveling in the joy of completing another year’s hardships and enjoying another year’s prosperity, in the back of many minds was a plan for the future.

You may be familiar with the term ‘New Year’s resolution,’ and if you’re not, well, perhaps your resolution should be to pay attention to modern culture. New Year’s resolutions date back to the early days of the Roman calendar.

They begin on 1st of January, as that month, named after Janus, the god of beginnings, brings in the New Year.

Since then, New Year’s resolutions have been used as a catalyst for change in the lives of people around the world. What is most interesting about these promising goals for the New Year is exactly what people are trying to change. What is also interesting is how many will succeed. According to several news sources, this year’s popular resolutions are similar to last year’s, and the year before that: quit smoking, lose weight, and get in shape.

It might be that these resolutions are always frequenting the top ten lists because they’re such healthy ideas.

It could also be because no one succeeds in keeping them.

Recent studies by the science website, Quirkology showed that while 52 per cent of people felt confident about achieving their New Year’s goals, a disheartening 12 per cent were actually successful. Such a low score for

such an optimistic goal might leave one asking, why is everyone failing at this crucial time of change?

Apparently the reasons for failure are quite simple, and rather avoidable if one is careful and determined.

Most goals lack a specific aim, claims www.ctv.ca, and this makes it hard to know just what one is reaching for. People are more likely to succeed when they create a goal that is measurable – something concrete, as opposed to just setting out on the dream of skinny and hoping for the best. A resolution should also be approached with a system by which a person can assess their progress.

By setting small goals along the way, the job of getting fit or quitting smoking becomes less daunting, and seeing real results is often just the encouragement one needs to press on where others fail.

It can be argued that much of your success this year will come down to self-control, an area where only you can ensure success, and where most of the problems occur.

But it doesn’t have to be all teardrops and heartache come this February, when reality sets in and New Year’s resolutions start to crumble.

Recent success story and U of G student Jeremy Boychyn made it clear that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but

for this now non-smoker, it was no easy road.

“It’s not easy,” he began, in talking about quitting smoking last year. “A big part of the problem is association. So many things in your life are connected; you have a coffee, you want a smoke; you drink a beer, you want a smoke.

“Breaking the habit or achieving any goal has to do with your surroundings. It comes down to a lifestyle that promotes either the change you’re looking for, or staying the same.”

Boychyn also had some great advice on being vocal about your goals, and sharing your resolutions with the people you care about.

“It’s easy to let yourself down and make up excuses,” he said. “But it’s hard to let down the people around you.

“Just

knowing that your friends and family know what you’re working towards is a huge help in pushing you to do better, in pushing you to succeed.”

Studies show an increase in success when resolutions are made public.

So whether your resolution this year is to quit smoking, lose some weight or just live a happier life, keep in mind that there are things you can do to help yourself: t.BLF ZPVS HPBM NFBTVSBCMF and specific. t"TTFTT ZPVS QSPHSFTT BMPOH the way.

And finally, share the goal with your friends. They’re the ones who’ll keep you going when the going gets tough. Good luck everyone, and Happy New Year.

Sanja Gjenero

10

JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

Synthetically pleasing news Ad ve r s e p l ay i n g conditions a thing of the past, as rugby field will receive an upgrade MIKE TREADGOLD For anyone who witnessed the Gryphon women’s rugby team fight for their OUA championship last October, it was clear that the quality of play did not match the quality of the playing surface.

One of the nation’s top teams throughout the season, the Gryphons, who went undefeated in conference play, were plagued throughout the season by having to deal with a substandard playing surface. The grass field just north

slowed considerably.

Recognizing that the wear and tear of the surface was limiting the final product, the department of athletics has ratified the conversion of the rugby pitch to a synthetic surface, a project that will be completed in time for the Fall 2010 semester.

“We are in desperate need of at least one synthetic surface,” said athletic director Tom Kendall.

“We had to find a field that we could turn into a synthetic field that would be the least expensive to do.

The rugby pitch became the ideal surface for the department to convert, given that it is already a fully constructed field, complete with lighting. There will be no necessary excavation and the process of installing the synthetic

It just gives us more flexibility. It’ll enable us to have a surface that we can use in inclement weather and that’s been the major problem for us.

Tom Kendall athletic director of the East residences became torn up due to overuse and failed to respond to inclement weather conditions.

Forced to deal with constant rainfall and competition for playing time with the practicing Gryphons football team, the rugby pitch became, for lack of a better description, a mud bowl. Traction for players ceased to exist and the normally fast-paced games were

surface will be a relatively easy and swift project.

It is critical to note that this development is in no way related to the student referendum that took place last March, when U of G students voted to increase their athletic fees to fund the construction of a new recreational facility and the construction of two synthetic surfaces near East Ring Road.

Rashaad Bhamjee

Slogging through the mud became a regular occurrence for the Gryphons rugby teams this season.

“The important thing is that this is not part of the referendum commitment,” said Kendall.

“We’re not using any of that (student) money to fund this project.”

In December, the referendum project was put on hold for at least one year due to difficult economic issues on the entire campus; however, through intramurals, students will still be able to use the new field.

The new project will be funded through three streams.

Two minor contributions will come from a small budget surplus within the department along with a slight inclusion from operating

expenses.

The major source of funding, however, will come from summer rentals of the new field. Local teams will be able to rent the new surface during the summer months when students are not in Guelph, providing a substantial revenue stream for the project.

Because the field has always belonged to the rugby teams, they will receive priority access; however, Kendall also noted that the football and field hockey teams will also use the synthetic surface for practice time, as will some of Guelph’s intramural teams. The rugby teams will still have the opportunity to play their games

on the grass fields near East Ring Road.

The versatility of the new field is what makes this project such an outstanding development.

“It just gives us more flexibility,” said Kendall. “It’ll enable us to have a surface that we can use in inclement weather and that’s been the major problem for us. We’ve had practices and intramurals cancelled because the weather was too bad. This will give us an opportunity to complete schedules.

“We’ll be able to use this (new) field from the early afternoon until midnight. There won’t be any issues with wear and tear.”

Conestoga College invites you....

to attend a Post-Grad Fair Visit 5 other colleges while you are here

R UT OU O B A P LEARN TIVE CO-O A S INNOV PROGRAM EE DEGR

When: Thursday Jan 21st, 5:00pm – 7:00pm Where: 299 Doon Valley Dr. Kitchener, ON. E Wing (Door 6) www.conestogac.on.ca Are you ready to graduate but aren’t exactly sure of a career path?

Or maybe you need further skills to top off your diploma or degree.

Program coordinators of our highly respected post-grad programs in Health & Community Services, Business, Engineering and IT, Media and Languages will be on hand to answer your questions and give insight into their programs.

THE ONTARION

SPORTS & HEALTH

161.1

11

That important little additive GENNA BUCK If you reached for a stick of gum, a diet soft drink, or a low-fat yogurt today, chances are good that you consumed some aspartame.

Commonly found in packaged foods and drinks, aspartame is an artificial sweetener popular among people looking to limit sugar intake. Unlike table sugar, sweeteners such as aspartame are low in calories and do not spike blood sugar levels or promote tooth decay.

Whether or not this food additive is detrimental to human health has been the subject of controversy since it was approved

by Health Canada in 1981. Its reputation is dreadful; in fact, you have probably caught a friend with a diet soft drink only to have them explain, flustered, “I know! It’s bad for me.”

But is it?

Not really, according to campus dietician Erin Armitage.

“I don’t have a problem with my clients using aspartame-sweetened drinks, yogurts, or other products,” said Armitage. “It’s been really extensively studied and I’m not concerned really about the health risks.”

Indeed, the two amino acid compounds that make up aspartame, phenylalanine and glutamate, are harmless. They are plentiful in the body and occur naturally in many foods.

Health Canada has set the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame at 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day.

For an adult weighing 150 pounds, that amount is equivalent to 20 cans of diet soda or 97 packets of sweetener each day.

In reality, dozens of research

studies show that when giving laboratory animals doses of aspartame many times greater than the ADI, even throughout their lives, this does not result in a shorter lifespan or a higher incidence of cancer, the one disease that is brought up again and again in the debate over aspartame’s safety.

Headaches are the only widely reported symptom as a side effect of consuming aspartame.

Headaches, unlike cancer, are not life-threatening, and can be avoided by cutting out aspartame if it is the suspected cause.

“I have no way of knowing or objectively evaluating whether it’s the aspartame causing headaches or something else,” said Armitage.

Still, many people are convinced that aspartame is unhealthy or even deadly.

The Internet abounds with speculation that aspartame consumption causes diseases such as lupus and Alzheimer’s or that it was approved by the American Food and Drug Administration only because of intense financial pressure from the food industry.

Conspiracies notwithstanding, there is absolutely no proof that aspartame is harmful in typically consumed amounts.

‘Not harmful,’ however, should

not be misconstrued to mean ‘good for you.’

“I usually advise people to limit diet sweets and drinks in general,” explained Armitage. “They don’t offer any health benefits.”

There is one emerging area of artificial sweetener research that is very troubling: it does not appear that replacing sugary foods with artificially sweetened alternatives actually promotes weight loss.

A recent study in Behavioural Neuroscience found that animals use sweet taste to predict the caloric value of food. When dietary sugar was replaced with sweeteners, rats consumed more calories to compensate. Hunger, weight, and body fat levels subsequently increased.

The public has been uneasy about accepting sugar substitutes for thirty years now. Perhaps consumers have always known – just not consciously – what scientists are only beginning to understand: enjoying natural sugars in moderation is a fundamental part of eating.

The passing of a legend On Thursday Dec. 10, former Gryphon soccer coach Guenther Zemanek passed away. He was in his 90th year. Zemanek worked with both the men’s and women’s teams between 1982 and 1990 and was honoured with the Dr. John T. Powell Award in 1997, given to an individual who has shown exemplary effort and devotion in his/her contribution to Gryphon athletics. Before he and his wife, Hannelore, immigrated to Canada following World War II, Zemanek played professionally in Austria. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ontario Soccer Association and was given a lifetime membership by the Guelph Soccer Club.

Coaching retirement After nine years of leading the Gryphons varsity rowing team, head coach Brian Sulley has announced his retirement. Sulley was one of the leading individuals who campaigned for the club to reacquire intercollegiate varsity status in 2001 after nearly a 20year hiatus. For his efforts in 2001, Sulley was also named OUA Coach of the Year by his peers. In 2009, the Gryphon rowing team earned its first OUA gold medal in 30 years when Kerith Gordon and Nicole Gough captured the women’s lightweight doubles crown. Three other Gryphon crews medaled in the provincial championships.

Sulley will be replaced as head coach

by Alan Oldham.

Back in the pool After attending a two-week training camp in Florida, the Gryphons swimming team returned to Guelph on Jan. 9-10 for a pair of local meets – a dual meet with U of T on Saturday, followed by a larger event on Sunday that welcomed athletes from Laurier, Waterloo, Brock and a Huron team. In Saturday’s event, Chantique Payne shone for the Gryphons once again, qualifying for her ninth CIS race that will take place in February. In Sunday’s events, the Gryphons won 15 of 36 events, led once again by Payne, as well as Andrew Ford and Bethany Flemington.

Blades of Steel After struggling throughout much of the first half, the Gryphon men’s hockey team played inspired hockey over the break, achieving their first ever win of the annual Steel Blade Tournament, hosted by Brock University. After dropping their first tournament game 4-2 to the host Badgers, the Gryphons stormed back in the second game, defeating Western 8-5 in a gigantic upset over the Mustangs, who entered the tournament ranked third in Canada. In the final game, the Gryphons and Badgers met yet again, but this time with different results as Guelph took the final game by a score of 4-1. Gryphons rookie centre Thomas Kiriakou led the club with eight points in the three games, including five assists in the win over Western.

anadians don’t care about the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalized.

Or at least that is what the world now thinks of Canadians as a result of the Canadian government’s poor performance at the recent UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Canadians have traditionally prided themselves on their big hearts and their willingness to protect the world’s most vulnerable. But that image of Canada is fading fast. The Canada of the present is selfish, uncooperative and obstructive.

As a youth delegate in Copenhagen, I watched day after day as Canadian government officials obstructed progress at the climate talks. The Copenhagen conference was one of the most important negotiations to have ever taken place on the planet, yet right from the get go, the Canadian government was playing hardball, coming into the conference with unacceptably low targets and refusing to strengthen them one bit. Canada has committed to a 20 per cent reduction below 2006 levels. This may sound ambitious, but according to the international base year of 1990, Canada’s targets equate to a weak three per cent reduction. This came at a time when the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) called for a cut of 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels for industrialized nations.

Such drastic cuts are necessary to effectively mitigate climate change.

Canada is effectively saying the best they can do is three per cent.

Canada is barely doing anything, with targets among the worst in the industrialized world.

Canadians are turning a blind

C

eye to the struggles of the poor and vulnerable and we are disrespectful to the global mitigation process.

By setting such low targets and ignoring the global process, Canadians are telling the world they don’t care. And while I presume Canadians would hate to think that this is a fair depiction of them, how is it not when people from small island states or coastal regions see a government that has committed to minimal action on climate change.

How do we tell them we care when we continue to allow one of the most destructive projects on the planet thrive in Alberta? How do we tell them Canadians care when we are still bickering about whether or not climate change is real?

Well, climate change may not be real for us in Guelph, but it is a reality for billions of people in the world, and it is real for Canadians.

Many of us forget that the indigenous communities of Canada are already experiencing the consequences of climate change. We forget that they are most vulnerable to intensified changes in our climate and water quality because many of them still live off the fish in their streams and animals in their arctic.

In Copenhagen, I heard about the struggles of many fellow Canadians as their indigenous communities were being directly affected by Tar Sands development. Residue from the oil sands is polluting their river basin and causing alarming rates of cancer.

Sue Deranger, a Dene woman belonging to the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation of Northern Alberta, told me that in one month, she lost 13 family members due to cancer related diseases.

“How can that be?” she asked.

“For money, for profit? And when the world dies and our mother earth cannot survive anymore, what will their money do for them? Can they eat it, can they drink it? They’re making us lose everything.”

And by they, she means the Canadian government, as under provincial regulations, energy companies such as Suncor are allowed to discharge up to 150 kilograms of oil and grease each day into the Athabasca river. There are currently five plants up and running and people already are experiencing the impacts. What will happen when all 21 proposed plants are up and running? How could I tell her Canadians care when we have legislation that allows for the pollution of their water sources?

How could I console a woman who has lost so much, just so Canadians can continue to use fossil fuels? I couldn’t so I just cried.

And I cried when I met Mohamed Axam Maumoon, a fifteen-year-old youth ambassador

from the Maldives, an island country in the Indian Ocean. He told me most of Maldive’s Islands are only 1 meter above sea level. I looked down at my barely 1.6 meter body and realized that the water would only need to raise past my waist to start flooding the islands he calls home.

I imagined the horrors of knowing your entire country would disappear underwater in the next 30 years and all of your country’s people would be rendered homeless. Small island states and low lying coastal regions are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to sea level rise and the increased intensity of natural disasters. These countries only collectively contribute to 0.6 per cent of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions, yet they are the ones on the frontline. At a conference session, Mohamed boldly asked, “would you commit murder, even while we are begging for mercy and begging for you to stop what you’re doing, change your ways, and let our children see the future that

we want to build for them?”

As outrageous a question as it may seem, it is important to realize that climate change is about life and death for the world’s most vulnerable countries. Yet, Canada is perfectly fine committing to a three per cent decrease of carbon emissions knowing perfectly well that three per cent will not do anything for these countries.

Many of the developing nations made it clear they will not sign a suicide pact, but the outcome was never up to them. The developing countries pushed for a scientifically based, ambitious and legally binding global climate deal in Copenhagen, but instead they got a weak political agreement with no specific targets.

The Copenhagen Accord, as it was named, allows countries to do what they like as long as global as long as they keep temperature rises to no more than 2C. With no specific targets set for greenhouse gas cuts, there is really no action planned to even meet this minimal goal. In fact,

You know Canada can be more ambitious because right now, these negotiations are about lives and deaths and Canada is not protecting the most vulnerable people and I am ashamed of that.

Taryn McKenzie-Mohr an 18-year old-University of Toronto student, expressing her frustration with Canada and Michael Martin, Canada’s lead negotiator

according to an UN analysis, the weak pledges made at Copenhagen are more likely to place the world on a path towards a devastating global temperature increase of at least three degrees. Three degrees would drastically melt the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, put the Amazon rain forest ecosystem at risk of collapse, and intensify droughts across the globe.

These projections sound extremely frightening, but they will most likely not be enough to change the majority of Canadians’ perception on climate change; it has not become real for them. Here in Canada, we have the comfort of our wealth, our water and our abundance of resources. It may be hard to see the fight to mitigate climate change as one of survival because we are not at the direct mercy of the mother earth. Our food supply depends on money, not the weather. Our source of water is the tap, not a far away waterhole. And our summers are cooled by air conditioners.

So what is it going to take to get Canadians to care? Because until that happens and we vote according to our values, our political leaders will stay the same and Canada will continue to project an image to the world that we just don’t care.

Luckily, many Canadians were at the conference to try to depict an image of Canadians as caring and cooperative but politically mislead.

Taryn McKenzie-Mohr, an 18-year old-University of Toronto student, found herself embarrassed to be Canadian when talking with youth from other parts of the world. She expressed her frustration at a daily 8 a.m. briefing with Michael Martin, Canada’s lead negotiator. Speaking with a great deal of passion and with

tears running down her face, Taryn lambasted Martin. This is what she said.

“You know Canada can be more ambitious because right now, these negotiations are about lives and deaths and Canada is not protecting the most vulnerable people and I am ashamed of that. I suggest you go talk to the African youth who are concerned that their children won’t have enough food and that their homes will be destroyed because right now what you are doing is awful and it’s horrible and I’m ashamed and embarrassed and I apologized to them and I told them I was sorry for what developed countries are doing to them but you know what saying sorry is not enough. You need to take action because I am embarrassed of what you are doing and I know a lot of people are and it’s not fair what you are doing, it’s just not fair and there is no excuse. No excuse.”

After her speech, the room full of 30 to 40 Canadians erupted in applause, but Mr. Martin simply said thank you and moved on to the next speaker. This is the stone cold face of Canada that the world has gotten to see in Copenhagen. How will people from different countries feel listened to if Canadian politicians won’t even listen to a voting member of their own?

This is not the Canada I know and definitely not the one I am proud to be a part of. Unless average Canadians like you and me mobilize to demand a government and an opposition that is committed to mitigating climate change, we do not care and we will not be able to protect the world’s most vulnerable including those in our very own country.

Canadians don’t care

by Yvonne Su

In December 2009 representatives from nations from around the world met in Copenhagen, Denmark for The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Many Canadian protestors were also present, raising awareness of many issues including Native Rights specific to the Alberta Tar Sands.

Top Canada’s dirty little secret is out. Canada’s poor performance in Copenhagen has earned us the name of climate enemy #1.

Middle Canadian youth demonstrate against the Alberta Tar Sands, one of the most destructive projects on the planet.

Bottom On Dec. 12, 2009, 100,000 people from all walks of life gathered in Copenhagen to participate in a peaceful march for climate justice.

Left Indigenous Environment Network gather with international youth to raise awareness of the health and environmental impacts of Tar Sands development.

Right The Canadian government continues to play an obstructive role at the UN talks and Canadians are getting sick of such poor leadership. Attendees in Copenhagen demonstrate their suggestions that Canada either Lead, Follow or Go Home.

14

JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

SPORTS & HEALTH

Volleyball (M)

Volleyball (W)

Basketball (M)

Basketball (W) Hockey (M)

Guelph vs McMaster:3-1

Guelph vs Queen’s: 3-2

Guelph vs Waterloo: 54-72

Guelph vs Waterloo: 59-55

Western McMaster Queen’s Guelph Windsor Laurier Waterloo U of T Ryerson York RMC

W

L

9 8 8 7 6 5 5 4 2 2 0

1 2 2 4 4 5 5 6 8 8 11

McMaster Waterloo Guelph Western Brock Laurier Windsor

W

L

10 10 7 7 7 4 1

1 2 3 4 5 8 9

Lakehead Windsor Waterloo Western McMaster Brock Laurier Guelph

W

L

9 8 6 6 5 4 4 3

1 2 4 4 5 6 6 7

Windsor Western Brock Lakehead McMaster Laurier Guelph Waterloo

W

L

10 8 7 6 6 4 2 2

0 2 3 4 4 6 8 8

West

Guelph vs Brock: 7-1 Western Laurier Waterloo Lakehead York Guelph Windsor Brock UOIT

Hockey (W) Guelph vs Queen’s: 1-4

W

L OTL

16 13 12 11 9 8 7 8 6

2 4 6 5 8 9 8 11 11

0 2 1 2 1 2 3 0 1

Laurier Queen’s York Guelph U of T Western Waterloo Brock Windsor UOIT

W

L OTL

17 13 11 9 8 8 6 5 6 4

0 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 11

Swimming

Nordic Ski

Track & Field

Jan 9 - Dual Meet w/ U of T Individual Winners Chantique Payne - 200 IM Ben Roberts - 100 Back Bethany Flemington - 100 Back Carolyn Michon - 200 Breast

Midland Ski Club Open Women 9 km Free Technique 1 Annalee Winter, 0:28:04.2 2 Laura Hewitt, 0:28:31.9 3 Lindsey Chapman, 0:29:04.6 4 Vesta Mather, 0:29:33.9 6 Laura Campbell, 0:32:04.4 7 Jessica Blenkarn, 0:33:57.0

Nike Sharon Anderson Memorial Meet Individual winners Dustin Gamble - 1000m Tomeizel Barry - 60m hurdles Matt MacDonald - 600m Kyle Boorsma - 1500m Shauna Malek - 300m Samantha Beattie - 3000m Meg Lowry - Shotput Tim Hendry - Shotput Kim Richardson - Long Jump Emma Dobson - Triple Jump

Jan 10 - Varsity Meet Individual Winners Andrew Ford - 100 Free - 400 Free Chantique Payne - 100 Butterfly - 400 Free Bethany Flemington - 50 Free - 100 Free Ben Roberts - 50 Back - 100 Back - 200 IM Will Wright - 50 Butterfly Matthew Stephenson - 200 Breast Chad Johnson - 50 Free Team Gold - 200 Medley relay (Men) - 200 Free relay (Men) - 200 Free relay (Women)

Junior Women 9 km. Free 2 Jennie Hissa, 0:30:35.1 6 Gillian Rockwell, 0:34:38.1 Open Men 9 km Free Technique 2 Ian Ritchie, 0:23:41.0 4 Matthew Little, 0:24:01.6 7 Erin Purdon, 0:24:14.2 11 Mike Weersink, 0:24:52.8 12 Jordan Forsyth, 0:25:12.1 13 Patrick Twohig, 0:25:51.6 Junior Men 9 km. Free 1 Scott Weersink, 0:24:36.1

0 1 1 3 2 2 2 3 0 2

Team wins - Women’s 4 x 200m relay - Women’s 4 x 400m relay - Men’s 4 x 400m relay

Samantha Russell (right) and the Gryphons suffered a tough loss last Wednesday against the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks. They rebounded for their second win of the season, defeating Waterloo on Saturday. (photo: Rashaad Bhamjee)

Mike Petrella and the Gryphons dropped their Àrst two games of the second half with losses against Laurier and Waterloo last week. The Gryphons currently sit in last place in the OUA west division and will take on Waterloo on Saturday. (photo: Rashaad Bhamjee)

THEONTARION.CA

THE ONTARION

SPORTS & HEALTH

161.1

15

Picking out the positives On

tarion

MIKE TREADGOLD To say that the 2009-10 season has been a trying campaign for the Gryphon women’s basketball team would be a blatant understatement.

Mired in a tie for last place in the OUA West, the 2-8 Gryphons have struggled with turnovers, a lack of outside shooting and most importantly, the lack of a hardened game-tested veteran player. All three co-captains from last season, guards Morgan Jean and Kris Yallin, along with forward Rachel Hancock, have moved on in various capacities, leaving the team desperately seeking leadership.

The team’s most experienced players, forwards Alex Russell and Kara Muhlhausen, were both solid contributors in previous seasons, but did so coming off the bench with limited roles. Both women, particularly Russell, who has really taken advantage of her new starting role, have had solid seasons, yet still lack that late-in-the-fourth-quarter mojo that only comes via game experience.

The most talented players on the current roster, forwards Jasmine Douglas and Samantha Russell, are in only their second seasons and still learning the ropes of OUA play. To this point, their play has been very solid, but expecting them to play the role of the seasoned on-court general is asking a little much.

Nevertheless, despite their

shortcomings and lack of a home victory to this point, the 09-10 season has still contained its fair share of positive performances worth noting.

Douglas, in just her second year has shown the ability to flat-out take over games. Sitting barely outside the top ten in league scoring, averaging just shy of 14 points-per-game, the fiery redhead has shown a tenacity to dominate the paint and crash the glass.

Along with her scoring prowess, Douglas sits fifth in the OUA in rebounding and third in blocked shots. The Gryphons’ lack of a consistent outside shooting presence has led to opposing defenders double-teaming Douglas inside the low blocks, however, her quickness and strength make her virtually undefendable one-on-one. She has

a commanding presence on the floor and is an obvious choice for future team captain.

Douglas is joined in the frontcourt by fellow second-year forward Samantha Russell, who is coming off being named OUA West Rookie of the Year for 2008-09. While her sophomore season has been somewhat more difficult than her first, Russell’s emerging versatility gives head coach Angela Orton the opportunity to play her in a variety of positions. With her outside game still improving, Russell has the opportunity to become a dangerous dual threat for the Gryphons’ offensive attack.

Lastly, rookie forward Samantha de Jong has surprised many in her first season. A tall forward with the strength to push players around

underneath, there have been several occasions where de Jong’s play looks strikingly similar to that of Douglas, giving the Gryphons a talented and powerful front-court rotation, along with the Russell sisters. For the second consecutive season, it appears that Orton’s recruiting class has turned out some frontcourt gems.

With the Gryphons on the outside looking in at the OUA playoff picture, it is important to note that this is a team still in the developing stages. With Alex Russell being the lone fourth-year player, the lady Gryphons are short on experience, but long on potential. By taking care of the ball and feeding it inside to the talented group of forwards, the wins will eventually come.

It just might take a little patience.

e-ink and other advances are making screens more effective for reading, more like the experience of reading from a page (reflected light), rather than traditional screens (direct light). The latter is responsible for eye fatigue that many experience after even short sessions at their computer.

So my 2009 New Year’s resolution was a mixed success.

Not nearly as heroic as planned but not a stinking mess either.

Paper, it turns out, is pretty damn useful. What about paperless in 2010? Dare I publicly announce this – again? I suppose it is the trying that matters not necessarily the success. Humbled but not defeated, into the breach once more. Here’s to paperless in 2010.

others. Not to shift the blame, but we all have to be on the same page (ouch, sorry about that). I don’t have ready access to a scanner; this was a mistake. If people are going to give me paper, the least I can do is scan it for further e-distribution and use. Pay it forward, digitally.

My biggest failing was my personal paper notebook; the journal that I carry with me to jot down notes during meetings, etc.

Combined with my near obsessive use of paper Post-It Notes (I have all sizes, colours, and shapes; it’s a sad, sad affliction), I was unable to do without this. Here’s why. I have a wonderful To-do list program on my BlackBerry; I could easily use this to keep notes during meetings. However, while writing notes in a notebook is socially acceptable in meetings, keying notes into your BlackBerry makes you a pariah. Not done. You’re obviously checking your email, and not paying attention. No one assumes you are merely doodling in your notebook.

While reading on the screen is generally no problem, I find that if the document is, say, over 10 pages I’m either printing it or only skimming it online. Sustained, continuous reading of a text on the screen is a problem. What about e-books? Very soon the Library will provide access to nearly 250,000 e-books; a collection that ranges from 17th century texts to current Linux manuals. Amazon claims that it sold more e-versions of Dan Brown’s new book, The Lost Symbol, than print copies.

Stunning if true.

All this is because of the rise in the past year of the e-book reader: the Kindles, Sony e-readers et al.

Very cool devices. For many, the key feature with be the readability of the screen. Technology like

OPINION OPEN CONTENT

Paperless in 2010?

MICHAEL RIDLEY New Year’s Resolutions? Meh. Let me tell you about my 2009 resolution: to go paperless. Yeah.

Right. What was I thinking?

The idea was to use as little paper as possible. I thought this was quite progressive of me. I even started a new twitter stream (www. twitter.com/paperless2009) to track my progress. A stunning 11 followers hung on my every word – not that there were many words; my tweets twitted away after a month or so - #fail.

When I talked about going paperless most of my friends and colleagues said something like, “OK, sure. Good luck with that,” in a tone of voice that really meant, “OK, sure. What are you, an idiot?”

Our paper dependency is deep; the 12 step program involves many changes and adjustments.

Looking back, what worked?

Quite a bit, really. For example, I attend many meetings with huge packages of documents associated with them. Senate, Board meetings, planning workshops, etc. can have hundreds of pages of documentation, minutes, reports, blah, blah, blah for each meeting.

Important information to read, reflect on, and have available to you at the meeting. Where I used to print out all this stuff for the meeting and then toss it away or file it (never to be found

or retrieved again), I now read it online, bring it to the meeting on my laptop, and e-file it later. I use e-post-it notes to annotate the texts with my comments.

Looking back, what didn’t work so well? Lots. Sigh. First off, the tweets I suppose. My resolve to document my progress was the first victim. More importantly, your ability to go paperless is dependent on the paperlessness of

Michael Ridley is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Librarian at the University of Guelph. Contact him at mridley@ uoguelph.ca or www.uoguelph.ca/ cio.

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16

JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

OPINION L OOSE CANNON

The Open Letter More than 500 university faculty members from universities all over Canada have signed a letter to the Canadian Government calling for immediate and drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The letter points out that the time frame of reductions is critical, dictated by earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s physical environment and not by

Expert opinion is cited for the view that, to be safe from such a catastrophe, atmospheric CO2 must be held to 350 parts per million -- a level which has already been surpassed! political or short-term economic considerations. The scale is global: climate knows no boundaries; Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emissions harm people everywhere.

Although the danger has been recognized for decades, governmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reaction has been inadequate. Dr. Chandler

Davis, an emeritus professor of mathematics, points out that the uncertainties in the scientistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; predictions were no excuse for inaction. As it turned out, emissions have been increasing rather than decreasing, and the eďŹ&#x20AC;ects of climate change exceed the worst-case predictions of a few years ago. Societies now face threats of unprecedented severity due to climate change, as detailed in the letter: unprecedented droughts, melting of mountain glaciers vital to major rivers, rising sea levels that threaten island nations and the deltas in Bangladesh and Egypt, and much more. Climate change and other contributing human activities are now causing species extinction at about a thousand times the natural rate.

The letter reviews recent data showing an added imminent danger of a qualitative alteration of climate. Higher than expected warming of the Arctic now leads to melting of the ice cap whose reďŹ&#x201A;ectivity cuts Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absorption of solar radiation, and to melting of permafrost that risks venting signiďŹ cant amounts of the potent greenhouse gas methane. These changes would aggravate the greenhouse warming seriously and are not reversible in human

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time scale. The letter reviews paleoclimate results to calibrate the task. The last time the world was 1oC warmer than preindustrial levels for an extended period, sea level was likely ďŹ ve meters higher than today. Expert opinion is cited for the view that, to be safe from such a catastrophe, atmospheric CO2 must be held to 350 parts per million -- a level which has already been surpassed!

The statement therefore calls for a precise timetable taking Canada to zero fossil fuel emissions in the near future. This means setting a time-proďŹ le of maximum allowable emissions, falling quickly to zero. The limits need to be absolute and not subject to trade-oďŹ&#x20AC;s of any kind.

This will inevitably mean winding down the tar sands project, and sizeable reductions of the military.

It will require deep readjustment of society. Canada has shown in the past that it is capable of quick response to emergencies, and this is an emergency.

The full text of the Open Letter with all the signatories is available at Sources (http://www.sources. com/Releases/NR695.htm) and on the Science for Peace website (http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/ open-letter-on-climate-change-tothe-government-of-canada).

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Ignatieff, jettison those speaking notes!

GREG BENETEAU Michael IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crossCanada visit to 11 post-secondary institutions might as well be called Prorogation Tour 2010.

That is, it seems like the Liberal leader has spent much of his time on campus attacking Prime Minister Stephen for dismissing parliament until March. (Nova Scotia Community College, Dalhousie University, Concordia University and lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;UniversitĂŠ de Montreal have been visited so far.

As I write, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; has ďŹ nished speaking at McMaster and Toronto and is headed west to Manitoba and Calgary).

From what I gather, the refrain is almost always the same; the Conservatives closed up shop to avoid accountability on controversial issues like detainee torture, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; claims â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quick to add that Liberal MPs and senators will report to work on Jan. 23, whether or not parliament is in session.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that prorogation isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an important issue. However, if the purpose of the tour is to help students get to know the â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;?

IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC;, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to have to jettison those speaking notes for something a bit more substantial. I suggest the following strategies to help make these chats a bit more interesting: Encourage participation in politics: This was one of the original reasons IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; claimed he wanted to visit Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s universities and colleges. So far, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s said nary a word to students about declining election turnout and increasing voter apathy.

In fact, he has defended the use of attack ads against the Conservatives on prorogation, claiming the Liberals are simply responding to public sentiment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to take any lessons in positive politics from Stephen Harper,â&#x20AC;? IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; told reporters. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the master of the negative stuďŹ&#x20AC;.â&#x20AC;?

Be that as it may, such negative sentiment tends to sow disillusionment about politics, especially among younger voters.

IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; should remember to say some nice things about the parliamentary system he eventually hopes to oversee.

Embrace the ivory tower: Try as he might in recent advertisements to portray himself as a woodlandsloving everyman, Michael IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a warm guy. Then again, neither is Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

But where Harper jettisoned his policy wonk persona for fuzzy sweater populism, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; can argue that the Conservatives have a vendetta against reason: Their action plan on climate change is MIA; funding for research and grants has been slashed; and support for higher education has never been a priority.

On campus, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; has a welcome audience for one of his Harvard-style lectures. He should make it very clear that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proud

of academic roots â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and chastise Harper for abandoning his.

Avoid too much prorogation talk: Stephen Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s holiday shutdown of parliament â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the second in just over a year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; inďŹ&#x201A;amed many Canadians and left the Conservatives vulnerable to opposition attacks. However, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the one leading the charge.

For one thing, the cerebral Liberal leader doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pull oďŹ&#x20AC; righteous anger very well (though heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far better than his predecessor, the perpetually surprised-looking StĂŠphane Dion).

And ranting about the PMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;crazyâ&#x20AC;? tactics leaves IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; open to criticism that he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to force an election. Why go about muckraking if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow it with a non-conďŹ dence vote?

Fortunately, this is one ďŹ re IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to stoke. An EKOS poll released last week found the majority of 1,114 Canadians surveyed â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 67 per cent â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are at least somewhat aware of Harperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to prorogue parliament.

Among those who were aware of the issue, 58 per cent opposed the move, and nearly two-thirds agreed that the prorogation was â&#x20AC;&#x153;antidemocratic.â&#x20AC;?

When it comes to prorogation talk on campus, IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; should let his backbenchers and supporters do the heavy lifting, and use his speaking time to deďŹ ne himself and his party to a generation of young voters.

Talk seriously about taxes and deďŹ cits: The Liberals have been desperate to ďŹ nd an issue that sets them apart from the Conservatives, who have drifted toward the centre of the political spectrum since taking power. The problem of deďŹ cit spending provides just such an opportunity.

In his latest report on Ottawaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deteriorating ďŹ scal position, Parliamentary Budget OďŹ&#x192;cer Kevin Page said the government will have a structural deďŹ cit of $18.9 billion in the 2013-14 year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assuming the economy recovers from the current economic recession.

The Conservative government is incencesed by Pageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reports, which question their management of the economy. Harper and Finance Minister Flaherty have since made it worse by backing themselves into a corner, claiming they can ďŹ x the mess without raising taxes or cutting spending.

So far,IgnatieďŹ&#x20AC; has talked vaguely about â&#x20AC;&#x153;growing the economy.â&#x20AC;? With an audience of students, he has an opportunity to explain what heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll do to keep Canada from falling back to the 90s, when the country was spending 35 cents of every dollar in revenue on servicing public debt interest charges.

Hell, why not propose a reasonable tax increase? If nothing else, it will get people talking.

THE ONTARION POLITICS

WITH

OPINION

161.1 PETE

EYE

ON THE

WORLD

Stephen Harper: A new terror front?

M D A multitude of factors should politician of the decade J Following the dramatic have been some indication of AMIE

PETE NORTON

If you’re anything like me, you must find Stephen Harper and his government detestable. You shouldn’t feel ashamed to admit it; there are a lot of us out there.

Last I checked Mr. Harper was polling higher than he ever has in his federal career, and still a clear majority of Canadians would rather vote for the Liberals, the New Democrats, the Bloc or the Greens. Despite the number of Canadians who want nothing to do with the Harper Conservatives, they have governed for nearly four years and they are comfortably in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future. For that reason, you can’t help but acknowledge Mr. Harper as the most outstanding Canadian politician of the last decade.

The job title ‘politician’ is one that abounds with negative stereotypes.

Shamefully, many of them are true and best represented by the most recognizable faces in our elected leadership. To be a politician with name recognition almost always implies a career of superficial selfexposure, manipulation of public perceptions, and a generally opportunistic personality. People who make difficult decisions or stand up for principles, meanwhile, are discarded, because they alienate one interest group or another. Politicians have a greasy image because if they have stuck around long enough for us to learn their name, they have usually done so by refusing to lead. Leaders don’t get reelected.

We have a perfect example in Mr. Harper. What is Mr. Harper’s national vision? Well, he says he stands for helping Canadian families by cutting taxes and keeping criminals off the streets. It doesn’t really inspire me, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. There are still some major problems with it. First, cutting taxes means scaling back government spending. You don’t have to be an economist - that’s simple math. Our government went from running perennial budget surpluses to running a deficit under the Conservative watch. The reason was a failure of leadership. It’s easy to cut taxes, but it’s considerably more difficult to cut spending. By trying to take a shortcut to popularity, the Harper Conservatives dropped the ball completely.

Then there’s the tough on crime facade. Whether or not you think harsher sentencing actually deters criminal behaviour, let’s once again give Mr. Harper the benefit of the doubt. Where is the legislation? Most of it is sitting on a shelf. The Conservatives found bigger fish to fry this last fall by initiating the dismantling the long gun registry. It had nothing to do with the law and order society that Mr. Harper has

preached and everything to do with grabbing rural votes.

Don’t get your hopes up for the tough on crime initiatives to go anywhere any time soon, either. If you’ve been following your political news at all over the holidays you may have heard that Mr. Harper has once again prorogued parliament. But it is

Politicians have a greasy image because if they have stuck around long enough for us to learn their name, they have usually done so by refusing to lead. Leaders don’t get reelected. just that kind of dialogue closing, progress stifling move that makes Mr. Harper the undisputed politician of the decade. With his second prorogation as inspiration, I would have had no trouble writing a lengthy column on what a dick our Prime Minister is, but it would have missed the point and invited a slew of uncharacteristically perceptive comebacks from the partisan hacks who defend him. Because honestly, if Mr. Harper is such a dick, why can’t the opposition defeat him? That is also simple math and it isn’t adding up.

Proroguing parliament doesn’t really bother Canadians because we don’t really pay attention whether parliament is in session or not. Most of us would rather not hear about any of it. Never is this more apparent than election time when our leaders are somehow able to leave behind their pathetic records of inaction and shameless politicking and run campaigns on vague promises and empty slogans. Nobody was paying attention so nobody really knows if the promises can be believed or what they’re even supposed to mean. Mr. Harper has been very wise to notice this disinterested trend in Canadian political culture. He has exploited it by muzzling his ministers and unleashing his political attack machine on his critics. He has done such a good job of closing the doors on popular participation and scrutiny that no one even bothers to get upset when he officially cancels the meeting of our elected representatives.

We’ve already prorogued government ourselves.

Capitalizing on the opportunity to make it official for us makes Mr. Harper the Canadian politician of the decade.

AC

17

ONALD

bomb scare threat on Christmas Day, Yemen has been on every newscaster’s lips, and the country is now set squarely within the cross hairs of the United States as well as Middle Eastern powers.

In recent weeks it has quickly become a hotspot for what has been termed a new wave of terrorism.

The threat is viewed as real enough, seeing the United States and Great Britain close their embassies in Yemen, Yet while the world buttresses itself against yet another terror threat, and the United States and her supporters dance with ideas of intervention, serious questions arise as to why so sudden a shift is taking place towards this little known, backwater nation? Is the United States as well as her allies capable at wielding enough force and influence on another front?

Addressing the sudden shift towards Yemen is a difficult one; it has been a nation unto itself since the Roman Empire. It is a nation divided along both religious and tribal lines and one that has held tight to many ancient traditions.

Yemen is also situated at a cross roads, between Africa and the Middle East. Due to this it has become a staging point for thousands of illegal African immigrants, moving north into the oil rich and economically sound nations of the Middle East and Europe.

Yemen’s importance much earlier on: her hold on tradition, the ease of which migrants have been moving through, and her current economic situation. Yet the fact of the matter is

Addressing the sudden shift towards Yemen is a difficult one; it has been a nation unto itself since the Roman Empire. that much of the world’s knowledge of this nation has come in the past couple weeks. The first that I heard about this growing concern was in the Toronto Star nearly three months ago. They went so far as to interview Osama Bin Laden’s ex bodyguard and driver, a so called “reformed terrorist” who opened their eyes up to a Yemen that seemed to be a terror rehabilitation center, a nation where terrorists go to get well.

Yet that raises the question: if hundreds of terrorists are shipped into Yemen by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United States to undergo some form of corrective work, does this not perhaps actually

give terrorism a chance to ferment and grow within the country? While you may send drug addicts to a center, and many may get well again, there are still those that will relapse.

If you send the most dangerous, fanatical and faithful into a nation to be fixed, some will of course come out new individuals, yet others with most certainly not; it is sadly the case that not all people can be won over and brought back. Some form of contingency should have been put in place, with someone realizing that this does present a considerable rise in the long run.

In terms of the ability of the United States and her allies to confront whatever challenges and threats Yemen may produce, the fact that the United States has had issue winning a war on two fronts, not to mention over the course of nearly nine years, the opening of a third and equally unpredictable front within Yemen would mark a dangerous point for a nation already spread thin and reeling from internal issues.

The threat that Yemen, and the radicals that use her borders as a base, is one that should have been realized and addressed much sooner.

And while still very much dangerous situation, it must be dealt with in ways other than the traditional “war on terror.”

The Unites States is spread far to thin and this traditional model has yielded little in the way of results in the past decade.

MATURE THEME, DISTURBING CONTENT

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EDITOR’S PAGE

161.1

EDITORIAL

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Re g a r d l e s s o f t h e outcome, torch fiasco a black eye for Guelph Political issues and criticisms surrounding the Olympics are vast and often justified. Whether it’s discrimination against our Native peoples and their lands, the excessive corporatization of the Games itself or the proliferation of false and arguably unnecessary nationalism, the Olympic Games has its fair share of detractors.

Furthermore, these lobbyists are currently coming to the forefront of local and national media coverage, as well as water cooler banter, given that for the first time since the Winter Games were held in Calgary in 1988, Canada will be hosting this spectacular event next month.

For better or for worse, the Olympic Games undoubtedly generates discussion.

And in light of events that took place on Dec. 28, the city of Guelph is attracting considerable attention across the country, much of it negative.

During the Guelph leg of the cross-country torch relay, torch-bearer Cortney Hansen was allegedly knocked down by a protester, when anti-Olympic activists – many of whom belonged to a group called the Olympic Resistance Network – clashed with police.

Bearing slogans such as, “No Olympics on stolen native land!” and “Homes, not games!” the protesters seemed initially peaceful, distributing pamphlets outlining their arguments to the crowd of approximately 1000 observers, as the famed Olympic symbol made its way through the downtown core.

What followed this largely progressive demonstration is still under investigation but has, nevertheless, cast a dark shadow over the Royal City.

Authorities are still trying to determine what exactly caused Hansen to fall – an officer’s foot or a protester’s malice – however, regardless of the outcome, this issue reflects poorly on the city of Guelph.

Similar protests have occurred across Canada during the torch trek, yet the Wyndham St. fiasco was the first such

physical confrontation. Whether it was a group of overzealous and disobedient protesters or the excessive overreactions of some overwhelmed officers, Guelph has attracted national attention for all the wrong reasons.

Two women associated with the resistance group have been charged with assault, while the protesters allege that the only violence that occurred was when an RCMP officer punched a protester. Witness accounts remain convoluted and contradictory, however, it is difficult to look at this as anything other than a black eye for Guelph’s renowned activist culture at a time when the community was in the national spotlight.

With the investigation ongoing and conclusions still lacking, it would be too subjective to pass judgment at this point on which story is true and what actually happened on the cold December morning. Regardless of the outcome, however, the entire event is a shame.

Confusion notwithstanding, other communities read this story and are left with a sour taste in their mouth about what Guelph stands for.

Peaceful resistance and activism have been shining features on which the city has been able to hang its hat for several decades. Gwen Jacob’s 1991 topless stroll through downtown Guelph comes to mind when one recalls a progressive and non-violent example of the city’s activist culture. Sadly, the Olympic resistance will not achieve such reverence and admiration.

On proroguing Parliament The last few days, I’ve been getting a good laugh out of the Liberal “outrage” over Prime Minister Harper’s prorogation of Parliament.

The Liberal performance should win an Oscar. However, I’m just curious, where was the Liberal “outrage” when PM Chretien prorogued Parliament for four months in 2003 as oppose to PM Harper’s current prorogation of 20 days? Where was the Liberal “outrage” when Chretien shut down Parliament in 2000 so that he could call a snap-election against days-old Opposition Leader Stockwell Day? Is that crickets I hear?

Liberals have accused the PM of taking a three-month holiday, when in reality only 20 days of actual work have been prorogued. Also, PM Harper stayed in Ottawa after the prorogation to continue working.

Where were Ignatieff and Layton?

Iggy was on an “academic” schedule vacationing in Europe, and Layton was scuba diving in Belize. So while PM Harper works in Ottawa, the Professor is on sabbatical, and the

FROM

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The Ontarion Inc. Dipper dives.

The average PM prorogues Parliament 3 times and this is only PM Harper’s second, so the argument that he is somehow “undermining” democracy is just plain wrong. Additionally, any Bills which were dropped as a result of the prorogation can be revived by a simple majority vote, contrary to the Liberals’ misleading statement that all the government’s work would be “shut down.”

Just because Liberals do not know how the Constitution works is no excuse for them to feign madness and label the PM a dictator. Then again, the Liberal Party never has been very good at following laws.

My suggestion for the Liberals would be to empty those brown paper bags they’re so famous for, and calm down by breathing into them slowly.

Michael Sona President, Guelph Campus Conservatives

THE ARCHIVES

 years ago...

University Centre Room  University of Guelph NG W ontarion@uoguelph.ca Phone: -- General: x Editorial: x Advertising: x Accounts: x Fax: -- Editorial staff Editor-in-chief Daniel Bitonti Arts & culture editor Zack MacRae News editor Nicole Elsasser Sports & health editor Mike Treadgold Associate editor Fraser Pennie Copy editor Terra Borody Web editor Sarawanan Ravindran Production staff Photo & graphics editor Rashaad Bhamjee Ad designer Anne Tabata Layout director Duncan Day-Myron Office staff Business manager Lorrie Taylor Office manager Monique Vischschraper Ad manager Chris Hamelin Board of directors President David Evans Chairperson Timothy McBride Treasurer Curtis Van Laecke Secretary Justine Baskey Members Matthew French Andrew Goloida Aaron Jacklin Rachel Jones Marshal McLernon Joanna Sulzycki

Correction In the Dec. 10 edition of the Ontarion, the article titled “Filling the Field” contained a picture of high jumper Julia Wallace, competing in the Zoltan Tenke Field Classic. The picture was incorrectly captioned as Shaneista Haye competing in the York Christmas Open. The Ontarion regrets the error.

Contributors

Greg Beneteau Steffan Bergen Genna Buck Josh Doyle Krystian Imgrund Jamie MacDonald Elizabeth McLeod Peter Norton Michael Ridley Miles Stemp Michael Slotwinski Daniel Wright Ema Suvajac Yvonne Su

From The Ontarion vol. 50 issue 7, Feb. 15, 1998

The Ontarion is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors. Since the Ontarion undertakes the publishing of student work, the opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Ontarion Board of Directors. The Ontarion reserves the right to edit or refuse all material deemed sexist, racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for publication as determined by the Editor-in-Chief. Material of any form appearing in this newspaper is copyrighted 2009 and cannot be reprinted without the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. The Ontarion retains the right of first publication on all material. In the event that an advertiser is not satisfied with an advertisement in the newspaper, they must notify the Ontarion within four working days of publication. The Ontarion will not be held responsible for advertising mistakes beyond the cost of advertisement.

The Ontarion is printed by the Guelph Mercury.

Thursday January 21 2010, 5:30pm in University Centre Room 441

THE ONTARION

COMICS & CROSSWORD

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ACROSS 1 Entice 5. Elvis accessory 9. Partied, with monsters 15. Waffle maker 16. Turtle clusters 17. Sealed vial 18. Dire missteps (2 wds.)

20. Fantasy creatures 21. Meatheads 22. Extents 24. Soccer or hockey 27. Standard 28. Side road 29. Hansom, for ex.

32. Trojan ally 34. Curiosities 36. Used extensions?

37. Vine fruit 39. Row 40. Los ____ 42. Playground retort (2 wds.)

43. Whichever 44. Like a debutant 45. & 47. Fleming’s number (3 wds.)

48. Schedules 50. Acme prod.

51. Delete

54. Vocation 55. Greek letter 56. August 57. Moved it 58. Assemblage (2 wds.)

62. Studies 63. Tip 64. Canonized one 65. Hawaiian dish 67. Probation grade 68. There was ____… (2 wds.)

69. Implied words 71. Ocean number 74. T.V. drama (hyph.)

79. Shed 80. Some bags 81. Tractable 82. Put away 83. Flock animals 84. Alone

1. King or queen 2. Progress 3. Pop. grocery 4. Singer Rundgren 5. West Indy revolutionary 6. Baba, et al.

7. Sword rival 8. Experimenter 9. Got commission (3 wds.)

10. Network marketing company 11. Resorts 12. Ben-____ 13. Ferrell film 14. ____ Moines 16. Civic mandate 19. Prune 23. G.H.W.B. predecessor 24. Wise guys 25. Sports star Bobby, et al.

26. Winded 28. Annual celebration (hyph.)

29. Supervised together (hyph.)

30. English river 31. Banting’s partner 33. Had soup 35. Zip 36. Hedged 38. Practice piece 41. Soap tycoon 43. Bundy and Capone 44. Started: (abbr.)

46. Haggled 47. Movin’ ____ (2 wds.)

48. Heart problem 49. Profit 50. Rigid 52. Judicious 53. Other than 55. Recorder kin 59. Lip 60. Speaks up 61. Arial and Verdana 64. Actor Carrell 66. Slippery 68. Confess 69. Dole out 70. Newts 71. Med. ward 72. Rent 73. Punk offshoot 75. Impress 76. Cereal grass 77. The Bride 78. Gas label: (abbr.)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

B P A E R P E B R A T

A F A R

R A T E

A B O R T

Deguile University by Michael Slotwinski

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A N A L G O D A O D E D G E L C A N O O O D G P T O R E S A G N D I R I N D I A L I T L A N A E T D I R E B O D T I R E S B E A

S E M I N A L E T A V E N D

I M A X

T O R I

A T A R I

R E T H E S L E M T E T N E N R I O L

A B O D E S

L A O C A X I V O D I N E D U X I S C A R I N E M S L A B O E I G U A S C E N T

P E N I S

T E S T

C E D E

K E E N

Submit your answers to UC 264 by Monday at 4:00 for a chance to win

2 Bob’s Dogs!

R T U R N A S

Congratulations to last week’s winner...

Wayne Marsh Come by the Ontarion office to pick up your prize.

SUDOKU

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JAN. 14 - 20, 2010

CLASSIFIED

THEONTARION.CA

CLASSIFIED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES SUMMER OF YOUR LIFE! CAMP WAYNE FOR GIRLS –Children’s sleep-away camp, Northeast Pennsylvania (6/198/15/10). If you love children and want a caring, fun environment we need Counselors and Program Directors for: Tennis, Swimming, Golf, Gymnastics, Cheerleading, Drama, High & Low Ropes, Camping/Nature, Team Sports, Waterskiing, Sailing, Painting/ Drawing, Ceramics, Silkscreen, Printmaking, Batik, Jewelry, Calligraphy, Photography, Sculpture, Guitar, Aerobics, SelfDefense, Video, Piano. Other staff: Administrative, CDL Driver (21+), Nurses (RN’s and Nursing Students), Bookkeeper, Nanny. On campus Interviews January 27th. Select The Camp That Selects The Best Staff! Call 1.215.944.3069 or apply on-line at www.campwaynegirls.com

ONTARION job opening for COPY EDITOR. Required availability: Mon. afternoon/ evening & Tues. mornings. 10 hrs/ week at $10.50/hr. Must qualify for the WORK STUDY PROGRAM (offered through Student Financial Services). Posting Closes: Jan 18, 4pm. Send resume/cover letter to: ontarion@uoguelph.ca or Fax: 519-824-7838 Phone: 519-8244120 x58265.

ONTARION job opening for ASSOCIATE EDITOR. 15 hrs/ week at $10.50/hr. Must qualify for the WORK STUDY PROGRAM (offered through Student Financial Services). Posting Closes: Jan 18, 4pm. Send resume, cover letter and 3 samples of your writing to: ontarion@uoguelph.ca or Fax: 519-824-7838 Phone: 519-8244120 x58265.

Have the summer of your life at a prestigious coed sleepaway camp in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, 2 ½ hours from NYC. We’re seeking counselors who can teach any Team & Individual Sports, Tennis, Gymnastics, Horseback Riding, Mt. Biking, Skate Park, Theatre, Tech Theatre, Circus, Magic, Arts & Crafts, Pioneering, Climbing Tower, Water Sports, Music, Dance or Science. Great salaries and perks. Plenty of free time. Internships available for many majors. Interviews on Feb 3. Apply online at www.islandlake.com. Call 800-869-6083 between 9 and 5 eastern time on weekdays for more information. info@islandlake.com.

help available for all subjects and levels. Masters and PhD graduates specializing in editing and research.

Toll free: 1-888-345-8295. Email: customessay@bellnet.ca Visit us: www. customessay.com

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES Score High. A free after-school tutoring program needs volunteers to assist with tutoring immigrant children and youth aged 7-18.

Information: 519-836-2222,ext.236.

help support its operations. Great opportunity to give back to the community with flexible hours.

Training is January 26 and 27.

Details and applications: www. uoguelph.ca/~outline.

NON-PROFIT EVENTS FUNDRAISERS ART SHOWS CLUB MEETINGS SEMINARS and other community events can be listed in the Ontarion’s Community Listings section!

Submit your listings to Monique at ontarion@uoguelph.ca

by Monday at 4pm Please include:

SERVICES

Formerly Student-Supportfor-Migrant-Workers-Guelph, Fuerza/Puwersa-Guelph (meaning ‘strength’ in Spanish and Filipino) contributes to the struggle for the rights of racialized workingpoor migrant people, promoting their right to dignity and agency.

Do get involved! Contact: fuerza. puwersa@gmail.com.

Writer’s block? Professional essay

OUTline is seeking volunteers to

tGVMM DPOUBDU JOGP tUJNF BOE EBUF PG UIF FWFOU tUIF MPDBUJPO Maximum 30 words

THE ONTARION

COMMUNITY LISTINGS

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COMMUNITY LISTINGS T HURSDAY JANUARY 14 The Ontarion Volunteer Meeting – interested in volunteering for your student newspaper? Come join us in UC264, 5:30pm.

Opportunities in writing for news, sports, features, arts & culture, photography and graphics. All welcome, no experience necessary. Info: x58265 or email: ontarion@ uoguelph.ca

SATURDAY JANUAR Y 23

the Future of Agriculture.” with plant agriculture professor E. Ann Clark.

4-6pm, 124 Richards Building.

Free, everyone welcome.

Information: eco2.guelph@ gmail.com or eaclark@ uoguelph.ca

Rainbow Chorus, the Waterloo Wellington Chorus of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Friends, 15th anniversary concert, “A Celebration in Song”. 8pm, Harcourt United Church. Advance tickets: $15/adults/students. $5/ children. Door: $20. www. rainbowchorus.ca

Little Treasures Group Show at the Whitestone Gallery. 80 Norfolk St. Free Admission.

11am-5pm.

Open Monday - Saturday 11am-5pm, Sunday 12 pm4 pm. http://guelpharts.com/ whitestonegallery

S UNDAY JANUAR Y 24

SATURDAY JANUARY 16 Guelph Hiking Trail Club: Meet 1 pm to hike on the Elora Cataract Trail. Contact 1-905-877-4134.

MONDAY JANUARY 18 The Stress Management and High Performance Clinic is offering a foursession relaxation “booster” class. 7:30pm in UC335.

For information, pick up a pamphlet at the Information Desk, UC Level 1, visit www. uoguelph.ca/~ksomers or call x52662.

T HURSDAY JANUARY 21

New Photo Exhibit at Guelph Civic Museum: Through the Lens: Photographic Images of Guelph. Running until January 31. guelph.ca/museum.

Organic Agriculture Seminar Series: First lecture “Organics, Sustainability and

Military History Lecture Series Continues at Guelph Civic Museum. Lecture 1 U-boats in the St. Lawrence, 1942-1944: A Most Uniquely Canadian Battle, presented by Dr. Roger Sarty from Wilfrid Laurier University. 6 Dublin Street S. Information: 519836-1221 x2775.

Scotland’s favourite poet will be celebrated at Robbie Burns Day at Guelph Civic Museum, 1-4:30pm. 6 Dublin St. S. Admission for this event: Adults/$6, Seniors, Students, Children/ $4, Families $12.

Info: 836-1221 or guelph.ca/ museum.

If you have experienced the death of a loved one, you might be struggling with feelings of loss, anger, confusion, sadness or many other strong emotions.

Counselling Services offers a support group for students, starting soon and running for 6 weeks.

For more information or to register contact Counelling Services, 3rd floor UC, ext. 53244

ONGOING: Treasures from the Collection: Until April 25, 2010, McCrae House, 108 Water St. (519) 836-1221, guelph.ca/museum. Artifacts, photographs, archival material of the McCrae House collection. Winter Hours (Dec-June) Sun - Fri, 1-5pm.

Summer Hours ( July-Nov) Daily 1-5pm.

$ #" ! $70

FOR U OF G STUDENTS:

AT CSA OFFICE, UC LEVEL 2, ROOM 274 (ONLY 400 TICKETS AVAILABLE)

/1 2 HER ONLY ONTARIO APPEARANCE

9 :;%&' () * 1 + ,- .032 4- 5 678 HIS ONLY ONTARIO APPEARANCE

! ! ! ! !

! !

Tickets $75 ! hillsidefestival.ca ! ticketpro.ca ! 1.866.598.4455 Hillside OfямБce 123 Woolwich St. RESERVED SEATING FLOOR ACCESS IN/OUT PRIVILEGES