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ROOMMATE POLITICS 161.5

Feb. 11 - 24, 2010

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Rashaad Bhamjee

This year, Hillside Inside was certainly a success. But where will the festival be in the future? For full details, see Hillside Inside, page 14.

A brain injury by any CSA transit negotiations other name update KATELYN DINGMAN It’s very possible you know someone, whether it be a family member or a close friend, who has suﬀered from at least one concussion. But how many of us know of the true damages that hitting your head can have on your health? Carol Dematteo, an occupational therapist and associate member of the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, believes that if the scientiﬁc term, ‘mild traumatic brain injury,’ is applied to concussion patients, a more serious approach will be taken to dealing with the injury. In a clinical study, Dematteo, along with a group of Canadian researchers, found that children diagnosed with a concussion spent fewer days in the hospital and returned to school sooner than children with head injuries that were not diagnosed as a concussion. The research team for the Brain Injury Association of Canada argue that concussions are mainly diagnosed via an extensive examination of symptoms concussions are a largely invisible

injury in which a CT scan of the individual’s brain will show no abnormalities. “During a concussion, the brain itself is being damaged,” said Pettell. “Axons, which are the long fibres of a neuron, capable of carrying outgoing messages in the brain, are stretched, torn or inflamed and this damage does not show up on CT scans. “The term, ‘mild traumatic brain injury,’ is meant to mainly target parents, but it is also important to raise awareness of the seriousness of this condition in sports organizations, both professional and amateur,” she said. The term, ‘mild traumatic brain injury,’ will replace the term ‘concussion,’ not through isolated public campaigns, but through a simple trickling down affect. “The term is quickly being adopted by medical professionals, along with sports coaches who then inform parents of the seriousness of a mild traumatic brain injury,” Pellett said. Michelle Fisher, a parent of two adolescent girls, one of which has had several concussions, >

SEE “RESEARCHERS,” PAGE 13

Board of directors vote on referendum question to increase price of bus pass NICOLE ELSASSER After weeks of negotiations with Guelph Transit, Galen Fick, the CSA’s local aﬀairs commissioner, has put a question forward to the CSA Board of Directors asking to increase the price students pay for their universal bus pass. Changes to the universal bus pass has continued to be a contentious issue ever since the price and viability of the pass was placed under scrutiny by the city during a budget review process in December of last year. Since that initial discussion, negotiations have begun between the CSA and Guelph Transit. The CSA’s goal is to arrive at a fair price that students will pay per semester. The product of these negotiations is a carefully worded question proposing a price increase to the universal bus pass. It reads: “Do you support the continuation of the Universal Bus Pass (UPass) by raising the semester fee by $20.52 for Spring

and Fall 2010 which represents an increase from $61.63 per semester to $82.15 per semester, followed by a $2.00 increase to $84.15 in Winter 2011 semester and a $2.00 increase to $86.15 for the spring/fall 2011 and winter semester 2012, representing a total increase of $24.52 per semester in the UPass over two years? On Feb. 10 the CSA Board of Directors decided whether or not to support the proposed question and determine whether students will vote on the issue in a referendum. At the time of press, the CSA Board of Directors had not yet reached a decision on the question. But according to Fick, it is unlikely that the board will deny students the ability to vote on this issue themselves. “I can’t conceive of how they would not,” he said. “If the board votes to not have this referendum question go forward, they are essentially voting to eliminate the universal bus pass and not allowing students the democracy to not vote themselves.” For updates on this story, please check theontarion.com.

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The Ontarion is now hiring CONTRACT POSITIONS May 2010 - April 2011 PRODUCTION STAFF The LAYOUT DIRECTOR works with the Editor in Chief to create the overall look of the newspaper, using cohesive and consistent design principles for weekly page layout.

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The Ontarion’s Employment Equity Policy is a proactive measure to recruit qualiﬁed people from a variety of ethnic, religious and class backgrounds, lesbians, bisexuals, gays and transgendered people, people of colour, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities and women. Members of the previously identiﬁed groups are encouraged to self-identify.

Applicants are required to provide a cover letter, resume and a portfolio of at least 6 relevant printed samples of their graphic work (which will be returned to them when the hiring process is complete) APPLICATIONS DUE FRIDAY MARCH 5TH AT 4 PM TO: The Ontarion Hiring Committee UC 264, University of Guelph, Guelph ON N1G 2W1 Fax: 519-824-7838 s Email: ontarion@uoguelph.ca

FINE PRINT Only those applicants granted an interview will be contacted. The Ontarion offers a learning environment in student media and considers this in their hiring process. To obtain a copy of the Ontarion’s Employment Equity Policy and/or the Job Description for this position, please email us at: ontarion@uoguelph.ca The Ontarion reserves the right to prioritize candidates who currently live in, or who commit to moving into, Guelph or the immediate surrounding area, during the duration of their employment

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161.5

CFS-O referendum denied to student organizers

Black history month kicks off A celebration kick starts U of G’s black history month Josh Doyle

“I have a dream today!” Perhaps the most emblematic words in the struggle for racial equality. They were uttered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial by the great Martin Luther King Jr. Back in 1963, he was speaking to an American public that was divided by segregation and prejudice, a crowd full of doubt. He made them believe. Nearly 50 years later, those words have not lost their effect. And G.B. Olarewaju, a member of the C.J. Munford Centre, repeated those words in the UC courtyard on Feb. 5 at the University of Guelph. He recited Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech as part of a Black History Month celebration. Although Olarewaju did not argue for civil rights or equal employment opportunities, the crowd appreciated his words all the same. This was one of the many features of the hour-long event put on by the C.J. Munford Centre. There was also spoken word poetry, diverse speeches and dances by performers of varying racial backgrounds. The event was kicked off in style with the Caribbean inspired belly dancing of Cassandra Fox, followed by the smooth b-boy skills of Ryan Antooa. According to organizers, all of the credit for putting on the event should go to the C.J. Munford Centre, a resource centre for students of colour. Yonae Rolle, a student life facilitator at the centre, and Leon Johnson, outgoing president, shared their thoughts on Black History Month with the Ontarion.

“I really feel it’s a time for celebration,” said Rolle. “It’s a way to express your freedom and bring recognition so more people know about [the history], so that more people can celebrate with you.” Her enthusiasm was

Daniel Bitonti

There are a lot of histories that go untold. It’s really important to bring those up and discuss them and to celebrate other people’s histories and their achievements and to do that throughout the year. Leon Johnson

outgoing president, CJ Munford Centre undoubtedly part of the driving force behind Friday’s event. Johnson also brought an interesting outlook to the atmosphere. “There are a lot of histories that go untold. It’s really important to bring those up and discuss them and to celebrate other people’s histories and their achievements and to do that throughout the year,” said Johnson. “These things have brought us to where we are. I like the idea of having time to celebrate history, because it doesn’t really seem reflected in everything else growing up in Canada. You don’t learn very much about your history.” According to Rolle, black history needs more recognition. “If you look on the student page right now, do you see anything stating black history month?” asked Rolle.

Courtesy

G.B. Olarewaju spoke at Friday’s Black History Month celebration in the UC courtyard. The University’s homepage mentioned nothing in regards to Black History Month, not even under Campus Events. However, Johnson explained that he feels African Americans need this time to celebrate regardless. Rolle shared a similar outlook. “It should not only be a month, it should be an every day thing for people of all colours, because it represents freedom,” said Rolle. The more they spoke, the more it became clear that this event was about more than just celebrating a culture’s history for one month out of the year; it was, and is, about freedom, about celebrating progress, all the time. C.J. Munford Centre will be

hosting another event at East Town hall on Feb. 26. According to Rolle, the event will be much larger than Friday’s event. “We’ll have food from the Caribbean, Span food and Africa, cultural dances from all over the world, poets, spoken word, more dancing and just basically another celebration to bring awareness,” said Rolle. For those who are hesitant to embrace a celebration like this one, Rolle encourages them to try new things. “To step out of your comfort zone and experience the culture. You’ll surprise yourself with how comfortable you’d be,” said Rolle. “A party isn’t a party without a lot of people!”

Drop Fees and the Taskforce Against Racism campaigns. CSA executive elections will run Mar. 8-12.

undergraduate and 1 graduate) at the Board of Governors, which is made up of 24 seats and oversees the actions of the administration. The Board of Governors is the highest decisionmaking body at the university and it theoretically looks to ensure the actions of the senior administration (the university’s president and vice presidents) are in the best interest of all. It is also important to note that the university’s president sits and has a vote on this board. The Board of Undergraduate Studies elections runs until tomorrow. The best way to learn about the structure of your university is through participation. Student representation can be questioned time and time again, but if one is truly interested in getting involved, one should approach their elected representatives or attend open meetings such as the CSA Board of Directors meetings. Most importantly, make an effort to inform yourself on the various candidates’ platform and why they seem to think they’re the best choice. These groups exist as tools for you. Use them.

Our union. Our caucus. Denise Martins

It’s election season at the University of Guelph. But many students will go their entire university careers unaware of the elected bodies in which they are represented, as well as the different avenues available for advocacy. This is completely understandable, as it can be quite a task to puzzle together the distinct structures of these groups. It is important to be informed about the possibilities available for students to voice their concerns. It is also important for students to be aware about what is at stake during the different student elections. The University of Guelph, like many other campuses, has three large groups with the sole purpose of representing students. The Central Student Association and the Graduate Student Association The Central Student Association (CSA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA), both of which work as student unions, provide advocacy at the university, municipal,

provincial, federal, and global level. While the CSA represents undergraduate students, the GSA exists for graduate students. The CSA is made up of five elected executives with distinct portfolios. Their duties are managed by the CSA’s Board of Directors, which is made up of representatives from each of the colleges and five student organizations. The CSA is completely funded by students, and the executive commissioners are full time portfolios. This allows them to constantly protect students’ interests in many different aspects, recognizing that the interest of students may not always be the same as the interests of different institutions. Through collective bargaining, the student union has been able to provide students with the universal bus pass, the student food bank, the bike centre, trick-or-eat, and many other services. The CSA and GSA are members within the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which unites student unions from all over Canada in order to create a united front in larger campaigns such as the

The Student Senate Caucus The third body is the Student Senate Caucus (SSC). The SSC is a group of students elected by peers in their program to oversee the university’s administrative decisions and works to ensure student input is present in all decisions made by the administration. The SSC is part of the Academic Senate, the highest decision-making body for academic matters, which also includes faculty and administrators. Memebers of the SSC meet to discuss matters outside the Academic Senate meetings in preparation for the next meeting. It is also important to note that you can be part of both SSC and CSA. In fact, there are incumbent student union executives that are currently involved in the SSC. Furthermore, though the CSA does provide students with some representation at the university level, the SSC has three seats (2

According to the chairperson of the Ontario component of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS-O), there will be no referendum held at the University of Guelph in March on continued membership in the federation. In September, Guelph student organizers had circulated a petition requesting a referendum to be held on membership in CFS-O on March 29, 30, 31. According to CFS-O bylaws, the federation must receive a petition initiating a referendum process six months in advance of the referendum date. The Ontarion confirmed in October that a process server delivered a package to CFS Ontario on Sept. 29, including the petition and a letter from the University registrar verifying the signatures of 10 per cent of the undergraduate student body, a CFS-Ontario de-federating requirement. But CFS-O bylaws stipulate that petitions must be delivered by registered mail. Shelly Melanson, CFS-O chairperson, told the Ontarion on Tuesday that the Guelph petitions had arrived by registered mail on Nov. 9. “Any petition that is going to initiate a referendum process must be received six months prior to the date of the referendum. Because this petition failed to meet the notice provision under Article 5 bylaw 2, the petition is not in order,” said Melanson. Melanson also explained there had been problems verifying signatures and student numbers on the petition, a problem that currently mirrors the situation with the University of Guelph petitions sent to CFS-National. In October, Gavin Armstrong, the CSA’s communications and corporate affairs commissioner, told the Ontarion, “that it would be very poor of CFS-Ontario to deny the petition based on the fact that it was served by a process server and not registered mail.” “We are currently looking into our options and into the bylaws,” Armstrong told the Ontarion on Wednesday.

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

NEWS

THEONTARION.CA

U of G seeks to make positive change through conference L ongevity and u n i q u e d e l i ve r y sustains campus and community radio in Guelph HEATHER ELIZABETH BRAID & JOHN JAMES WILSON According to an attendee at the Positive Social Action conference held in Rozanski Hall on the weekend of Jan. 29, “On some scale everyone wants to help other people, and on some scale everyone is a volunteer.” The conference, hosted by Student Volunteer Connections, an independent student run organization operating out of McNally House, oﬀered a full range of talks from distinguished speakers, including Alistair Summerlee, with the goal of spurring positive social action. The general reﬂection was that the event succeeded, but many were concerned by the lack of participation. Though a few local high school students participated, some attendees felt it should have been opened up more to the broader community.

A recurring theme amongst the attendees and organizers was how to get new students involved in social action. Galen Fick, the CSA’s Local Affairs Commissioner, felt that most students seem to be apathetic to the problems and issues around them, and this was recently demonstrated by the lack of student response to controversial changes proposed recently by the CSA. However, participating students were very enthusiastic when extolling the personal benefits of volunteering in the community. As busy students with classes, deadlines, and recreational activities, many students feel they don’t have time to donate, but several participants in a discussion group came to the conclusion that it’s more about the choices one makes. Most of the attendees felt that everyone should be a volunteer, and would be, if given the opportunity and the right focus for their passions. Ray Zahab, the keynote speaker, captured this point. “To exact a difference you have to find your passion and the steps will present themselves,” said Zahab. Another keynote speaker, Greg Overhott, expressed a similar

teaching,” said Overhott. Zahab spoke about how he transformed his life and followed his brother’s example to become an ultra marathon runner. This path led him to Africa where he became aware of the problems faced by local communities in accessing water. He told a story about one race where a young girl stole an almost empty bottle from his backpack, for the few drops of water remaining. Zahab became an activist, and through his passion for extreme endurance sports, he generates awareness and funds for various water charities in Africa. He has highlighted issues surrounding climate change and has engaged with schools through his latest South Pole expedition. Overhottt concluded his presentation with ﬁve steps he suggested that you should follow to be successful in actualizing positive social change: Katie Malo

Mr. Something-Something performed at the Positive Social Action Conference at the U of G on the weekend of Jan. 29. sentiment when discussing the charity he started, Students Oﬀering Support (SOS). SOS is a Canadian charity lead entirely by students that

seek to raise money to build shelters in developing countries. “We didn’t know what we were doing, we were just passionate about

1. Find your passion 2. Do your research 3. Determine what you can do to create value 4. Find a way to generate sustainable support 5. Just do it

Is it enough to be buff? Body image awareness event at the U of G

ideals and really gotten away from health at every size,” said Skinner. “We are equating thin to ﬁt and fat to unhealthy when that’s not really accurate.” So why are we all so obsessed with an image we can never attain?

CALEY SKINNER In discussions about body image, conversation usually focuses on issues facing women, with men being left on the sidelines. But an increasing concern is now being placed on body image issues affecting men. According to Matt Stafford, a student at the University of Guelph, he believes men feel pressure to look a certain way, but that there’s a different set of expectations than for women. “Guys are insecure because of what’s shown in the media, for sure,” said Stafford. “A good example is when you go to buy boxers, you have to look at six packs and stuffed underwear pictures…guys want to be strong, while girls want to be skinny.” The Body Image Awareness event, held at the U of G campus on Feb. 9, explored the issues surrounding body image dissatisfaction and deconstructed media portrayals of the ideal body. Jeans in various sizes were hung on display and covered with art under the headline, “Be comfortable in your genes/jeans.” Cutouts of unhealthily thin models papered another kiosk with a sign reading, “Ralph Lauren – What were you thinking?” Another display read, “Don’t judge people by the color of their skin OR by the size of it!” According to Ashley Skinner, the Wellness Centre’s senior peer, the goal of the event was to clear up misconceptions that society

The major diﬀerence is that a lot of men don’t talk about their struggles because we live in a culture where men aren’t supposed to reveal their emotions. What this causes is a lack of resources and support out there for the men who are struggling. Daniel Poulin OUTline coordinator for Student Life

Rashaad Bhamjee

The Body Image Awareness event in the University centre had activities intended to engage university students in thinking critically about their own body image. has about the diﬀerence between fat and thin.

“It’s about how our culture has come up with these crazy

“The three main triggers for body dissatisfaction and eating disorders are low self-esteem, poor body image and dieting,” said Skinner. “The point of this is to get away from the number on a scale. If you’re healthy, and if you’re eating a variety of foods that are nutritious and good for you and getting physical activity, then your body will fall where it needs to fall to be healthy.” A display dedicated to the body image issues faced specﬁcally by men was decorated with pictures of tanned, muscular models asking

the rhetorical “What a real man should look like?” Daniel Poulin, OUTline coordinator for Student Life, explained the media’s role in perpetuating negative expectation about the male body. “The media really emphasizes that to be a man you have to be this big, muscular, hypermasculine individual,” said Poulin. “For some reason being smaller somehow makes you less of a man, which isn’t the case, right? I think that there is a lot of struggle with that.” But this raises the question of why less attention is paid to body image issues facing men? “The major diﬀerence is that a lot of men don’t talk about their struggles because we live in a culture where men aren’t supposed to reveal their emotions,” said Poulin. “What this causes is a lack of resources and support out there for the men who are struggling.” Body image issues are actually exacerbated by the student setting. According to Skinner, university campuses are breeding grounds for body dissatisfaction. “The more education you have, the bigger the risk factor,” said Skinner. “And I think that’s tied up with a lot of things, perfectionism for instance.” Skinner explained that the Body Image Awareness event and its representatives place an emphasis on being happy and comfortable in your own body rather than ﬁghting it with extreme measures. “We live in a country where we have what we need, but we drink our food or put it in a powder instead of eat it,” said Skinner.

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161.5

IN FOCUS

The dirty dish that broke the camelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back Why the little things can cause the biggest conf licts between roommates NICOLE ELSASSER At ďŹ rst she thought it would be kind of nice to have her roommateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cat in the house, but quickly, Pam Martin, a fourth-year arts and science student at the University of Guelph, discovered that this just wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the case. According to Martin, the cat itself was very nice but her roommate just didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bother to clean up after it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was fur all over the furniture, and it would stick to my clothes when I sat on our couches and it would accumulate into balls on the ďŹ&#x201A;oor which just looked dirty,â&#x20AC;? said Martin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Its owner also wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t clean the litter box which was in a bathroom shared by ďŹ ve other people. The litter pebbles would get ďŹ&#x201A;ung onto the ďŹ&#x201A;oor and spread around the house. The stench was just horrible.â&#x20AC;? Then, Martin explained, there was this roommateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apparent inability to do dishes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dishes are shared.People expect to be able to use a plate or fork or whatever whenever they need it,â&#x20AC;?

said Martin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When somebody in the house isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t washing the dishes and they use and just leave them on the counter, it gets really frustrating. It clutters the kitchen, can attract ďŹ&#x201A;ies and other vermin but mostly I think it creates tension.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s this tension that seems to amount to the largest conďŹ&#x201A;icts between people sharing a common living space. According to Karl Hennig, a psychology professor at the University of Guelph, just like â&#x20AC;&#x153;the straw that broke the camelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back,â&#x20AC;? these minute annoyances occurring between roommates, are called â&#x20AC;&#x153;small stressorsâ&#x20AC;? and when they accumulate, they can take the same toll on a relationship that a larger stressor can. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If it happens once, or twice [thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s] forgivable but when it is repeated, and especially if you have told the other person to stop [or] change this behavior then it becomes personal. The little thing has become a personal,â&#x20AC;? said Hennig, in an email interview. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[It becomes] an attack on oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very being. The little thing becomes, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;You just are inconsiderate. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care about me, my feelings, or what would make me happy. You are intentionally trying to make me crazy.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

leaving dirty dishes in the sink for days on endâ&#x20AC;Śthe not buying toilet paper when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s their turn, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s those small things that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think about that add so many annoyances to your day. They add up.â&#x20AC;? Hennig explained that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to communicate and clarify what the issues are because often the smaller annoyances can become â&#x20AC;&#x153;the tip of the icebergâ&#x20AC;? in relationships. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every word and gesture is saturated with more meaning than the word or gesture itself,â&#x20AC;? said Hennig. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like an iceberg, most of the volume is underneath the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surfaceâ&#x20AC;Śpeople get frustrated not knowing how to express what the issue is, not knowing how to clarify or seek clariďŹ cation. Frustration leads, of course, to anger and harsh words being said.â&#x20AC;? Martin echoed this idea when she explained that by communicating about the smaller things that create tension, a shared home can be a harmonious place. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think being able to talk about the little things that bother you about the people you live with is very important,â&#x20AC;? said Martin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It might not be that they are speciďŹ cally trying to annoy you but that they just arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t aware.â&#x20AC;?

Katie Malo

Dishes tend to be a common source of conďŹ&#x201A;ict between roommates; according to psychologists, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the build up of these little annoyances that causes long-term resentment. According to Kyle Gillespie, a fourth-year marine biology student at the University of Guelph, the little things in a roommate relationship can, at times, be more diďŹ&#x192;cult to deal with than the

bigger issues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The day-to-day things really grind you down. When something big happens, you can usually talk it through and resolve things,â&#x20AC;? said Gillespie. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The little things [like]

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ARTS & CULTURE

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

The artist formerly known as Final Fantasy Owen Pallett talks candidly about misconceptions of his new album, journalists and his recent name change ZACK MACRAE “It’s not a concept album,” said Owen Pallett, sitting knees to his chest in the hallway of the artist/media area of the Sleeman Centre after his performance at Hillside Inside last weekend. While answering questions with a certain degree of elegance, the singersongwriter, violinist and composer from Toronto is noticeably worn out. Fidgeting with his car keys, jacket already done up, the interview seems to be routine for Pallett. Lately in papers, magazines and on the radio, Pallett, known formerly as Final Fantasy seems to have a monopoly. Maybe it’s because of his newly released album Heartland that has received widespread critical acclaim as one of this year’s best concept albums. Or perhaps the interest is coming from his live

show and his ability to pull together multi-layered orchestral pieces out of thin air using his trademark looping pedal. It seems that during this particular interview, Pallett skips the formalities and clears the air a little bit. The following is a candid conversation with Owen Pallett where his words speak for themselves. The Ontarion: I understand that Heartland was your ﬁrst concept album. Owen Pallett: Not really actually. I’m the sort of person that feels as if every record is a concept record, even if there is no concept. I feel that the absence of the concept is in itself a concept. I’m not trying to get too theoretical or anything like that, I’m just trying to skirt the notion that this is a concept record cause it really isn’t. I never really described it as such, people just kind of jumped on that because they thought it was a comfortable way to describe the record. It’s a record that does have a mythology behind it and I don’t want that mythology to aﬀect anyone’s listening experience.

Unless they wanted it to. It kind of bummed me out a little bit when the record was put out in the UK. All the people could talk about was ‘Oh, it’s a prog rock record or a concept record,’ when it’s really the opposite of that. It just had a narrative behind it. TO: So you didn’t want the narrative to take over other aspects of the record? OP: Yeah. I don’t know man, maybe I just didn’t write the press release properly or something. I should of actually wrote ‘it’s not a concept album’ on it. In the last four months I’ve formed a very different opinion about music journalists. Which isn’t to say it’s a negative one. I just think a lot of them are closer to being writers then actual journalists. I had to decide at a certain stage whether or not I wanted to draw attention to the mythology of the record, or whether or not I just wanted to put it out. TO: I read that you were also writing a score for a film. OP: Yeah, I was fired actually. And that sounds harsh, but getting fired in the film industry is far less of a big deal than it is in say, an accounting firm or something. TO: What happened? OP: It was just a scheduling conflict.

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TO: Keeping Heartland in mind, was writing this album similar to writing a film score? OP: No, it was the opposite actually. When you write a film score you are typically trying to create a music that will pick up the image. But when I make a record, that music can exist without any sort of imagery. My music exists best when people are engaging it on a level without any visuals. But when it comes to making a film score, you are so much in service of the director. To be honest it’s so far removed from any sort of creative activity. It’s the sort of thing that in order to accomplish you need the same set of skills that you do as a songwriter or arranger, but the motivations are completely different TO: You’ve said in the past that you

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Rashaad Bhamjee

Owen Pallett sheds the moniker and performs at Hillside Inside. wrote albums with friends in mind, but with Heartland you’ve engaged a larger audience. Who, if anyone did you write Heartland for? OP: No one person in particular. I was hoping to make a record that I could give to people that I didn’t know and have them appreciate it without having to know anything about me. Which wasn’t necessarily the case with the earlier records. With those I might have been speciﬁcally thinking ‘Oh, I wrote this record to make my boyfriend happy,’ or ‘to make my friend Steve happy.’ So with this record it was a really diﬀerent experience to be thinking about strangers. It’s an interesting thing, you know. And it was something I hadn’t thought about until working on this one. TO:With this record, just listening to it and watching you perform, it seems like you’re putting a lot into it. I understand that you did the singing, songwriting, arranging, producing and performing. Was this album more exhausting or stressful to make then previous ones? OP: Yeah, much more. It was

really difficult actually. I guess I didn’t anticipate how much work was going to be involved in selfproducing an orchestral record. If I were to say this to any one of my composer friends they might kind of roll their eyes at me, but it is actually like a big deal when you are singing and writing the lyrics and putting all the stuff together. So having to look pretty for a photo shoot or something like that did get the best of me at times. TO: The name change was due to going international and experiencing difficulties with copyright laws. How do you feel about breaking out of Final Fantasy and coming into your own? OP: It’s weird to me, I’ve just never really associated the Final Fantasy music with my person. Final Fantasy was kind of just this thing that I did. Even now I use the words Final Fantasy to describe this particular kind of music that I make. What I need is a new band name, but I think it’s kind of late for that. I can’t really expect to go from one name to another, even Prince couldn’t get away with it.

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Zavitz gallery hosts Makin’ Mamma Proud/ Fretwork this past week Col laborative exhibit tries to reclaim household skills as forms of art ANDREW TOWNSEND Makin’ Mamma Proud/ Fretwork (MMP/F) is a super swell group show featuring the work of your four favorite gals. But don’t take my word for it. Actually, those aren’t my words, they are the words of the four favorite gals in question: Danica Evering, Bailey Govier, Charlotte Hodgson and Victoria Michalowsky. From Monday Feb. 8 until Friday Feb. 12, the Zavitz gallery on campus will be host to the wonderful group exhibition that aims to bring fretwork forward into the new generation. But you probably want to know more than that. Victoria Michalowsky has been drawing ever since she was a little girl, sewing for a long time, started embroidery in the summer, and picked up knitting this past fall. It is the second-tolast skill that is being highlighted

in MMP/F. Victoria’s series of handkerchiefs and napkins embroidered with slogans and lyrics from pop culture are both dainty and bold, as if some of the heart’s greatest emotions could be used to house your snot. I’d deﬁnitely recommend picking those up. Charlotte Hodgson’s pieces explore everything from the imagery of quilting to home photographs, framing, and household knickknacks. While I think that ‘tchotchkes’ is a racist term, Hodgson’s depictions of home artifacts brings the quaint in conﬂict with questions of what can be considered an art form; is it craft, technique, or production? Charlotte’s been doing art since kindergarten. The needlepoints are the work of Bailey Govier, who says she inherited her craftiness from her mom. From a practice that usually elicits framed images of ‘Home is Where the Heart Is’ or ‘God Bless This Kitchen,’ Bailey has created warm inviting messages like the chorus to Jay-Z’s “99 Problems” or (my personal favourite) ‘Kill Whitey,’ underscored by a row of colourful crayons. This is probably one of the craftiest and most

humourous mash-ups of class and crass I’ve seen in a long time. And if you’ve had the time to stop by the gallery between 12:30 and 2:30 before today, you’ll have seen Danica Evering oﬀering to alter and improve upon your worn out clothing. Coupled with a clothing-focused video, this work is an opportunity for audiences to forever live with a piece of art, unless they give away their clothes. Depending on your deﬁnition of art, Danica’s been sewing since she was six and once made a three-piece dress that she promptly wore to school. All of the works emphasize a skill that these women are trying to reclaim as an art form. These trades are arguably very in vogue right now, but otherwise lost to much of our generation. However, if the post-industrial age is nigh, the know-how of these aspiring, young artistic geniuses will be in demand for our very survival. The exhibit ends on Friday, but there is a gala reception in the Zavitz art space from 7-10pm tonight. This opening/ closing reception is an excellent place to fanagle a handkerchief, needlepoint, quilt patch, or last minute clothing alteration before

Rashaad Bhamjee

Danica Evering alters and mends clothing as she sits in at the Zavitz gallery earlier this week. the works are (according to the artists) burned, hung up in their homes, given away as gifts, or submitted into further shows.

It’s a fancy aﬀair, so please dress accordingly. Perhaps what you wore to your mom’s birthday party?

The Ontarion is now hiring CONTRACT POSITIONS September 2010 - April 2011 EDITORIAL STAFF The NEWS EDITOR coordinates with volunteer writers to obtain news stories for the paper. This can be campus, national, or international news.

The ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR coordinates volunteer writers to obtain entertainment related stories for the paper. This may entail music, video, theatre, literature, live bands and more.

The SPORTS EDITOR coordinates volunteer writers to obtain a balanced presentation of sports, ﬁtness & health related news at the University of Guelph.

All SECTION EDITORS are responsible for providing volunteers with skills in journalism, in the form of individual consultation and workshops with regards to content, format, style and editing. Editors will participate in the Ontarion’s move towards an increased online presence.

Proven written and editing skills are required along with experience in volunteer management. HOURS 24-28 PER PUBLISHING WEEK The Ontarion’s Employment Equity Policy is a proactive measure to recruit qualiﬁed people from a variety of ethnic, religious and class backgrounds, lesbians, bisexuals, gays and transgendered people, people of colour, Aboriginal people, people with disabilities and women. Members of the previously identiﬁed groups are encouraged to self-identify.

8 A &C The record renaissance RTS

ULTURE

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

ZACK MACRAE For Chad Tindall, “it’s all about crate digging.” It means spending hours in the stacks at some guy’s house in Sault St. Marie in hopes of finding that one authentic hi-fi track that no one else has. Or making special trips to the United States on the hunt for an elusive sample. If you were to call Tindall’s preoccupation with vinyl and finding the perfect sample an obsession, you might be right. In fact, Tindall, who DJs under the name Chadillac, would probably agree with you. “I do crate digging all over the place,” says Tindall. “Sometimes I go down to Detroit to dig, that’s where the best stuff is.” The act of “crate digging” is a practice that all vinyl aficionado are deeply concerned with. It’s the thrill of the hunt; digging through seemingly endless dusty record jackets in stacks of old milk crates. However, shop owners are noticing that it’s not just the few analog audiophiles that are involved in this nostalgic activity. In the last five years, a growing number of listeners have been trading their CDs in for vinyl. Vince Dabin, co-owner of Waterloo’s specialty vinyl shop, Orange Monkey, isn’t surprised by the interest he’s been getting lately. Over the last 16 years Dabin, and his business partner Charles Janzen have been involved in preserving a culture that many people are now picking up on. “We probably sell about 20 records for every one CD,” says Dabin. “A lot of our records are only $2.50 so someone will come in here with 20 bucks and walk out with a mitt full of records.” Janzen, who Guelph locals might recognize as the bearded fellow who DJs for funk night at the Albion Hotel, is confident in the product that he sells and remains faithful to the ‘hot wax’ pressings. “A record played on a nice turntable will always sound better than a CD,” Janzen states. In the last couple of decades, independently owned, specialty

Zack MacRae

The ceremony and nostalgia that is involved with listening to vinyl is taking consumers oﬀ of computers and putting back into the record shops where they belong. vinyl shops like Orange Monkey have carried a lot of weight on their shoulders. Because of an evolution in technology, the vast majority of record companies discontinued their vinyl pressings and adopted CDs, rendering vinyl obsolete. In the early 90s interest in vinyl was exclusive to a few niche markets and individual collectors. As Dabin states, “We opened up in ‘93 and we were trying to keep vinyl alive back then.” Small specialty vinyl shops acted like museums, preserving a culture and a medium that many consider to be the way that we are supposed to hear music. Orange Monkey is ripe with musical history. From wall to wall and in the spaces between, the crowded attic space located above a local bar is ﬁlled with busting record crates and hanging memorabilia. Over the last 16 years, the shop has moved thousands of records onto the turntables of a whole new generation of listeners. “Back in the ‘90s we couldn’t sell Meatloaf to save our lives, and now

we can’t keep it in stock,” Janzen admits. Janzen says that in the last five years, records have seen a renaissance, where more and more people are coming in asking for their current and classic favorites on vinyl. So how is vinyl coming back from the dead? Why the sudden interest? It’s actually quite an interesting and unique phenomenon if you take into account other forms of media like tape and more recently, CDs that have been phased out by technological advances. It seems that vinyl has bypassed this idea of “the survival of the fittest,” where consumer convenience is a deciding factor. In fact, in this case “advancements” in technology are more of a hindrance than a benefit. The discrepancy here is between analog and digital recording. With digital recording, some of the fidelity of the sound, or the quality of the reproduction of the original sound, is lost when analog signals are compressed and

converted into discrete numbers. Analog recordings, used traditionally on vinyl, stay true to the original source, storing sound waves on the record as a physical texture. When the needle of the turntable interacts with the texture in the grooves of the record, the result is a high-fidelity experience. Peter Bradley, Music Coordinator at CFRU 93.3 FM, Guelph’s campus and community radio station still spins vinyl on his appropriately named “The Peter Bradley Morning Show.” “I think we are a long way away from people letting go of this physical tradition,” says Bradley. “People want to see the cover, read the liner notes and have some further interaction with the artist beyond the audible aspect.” Tindall, who also hosts a show on CFRU called “Fishing with Boston” uses vinyl almost exclusively in his broadcasts and seems to profit from this choice. “It gives me an advantage because lots of the time I end up playing stuff that other people don’t have

… Some of my best vinyl tracks are songs that I know people wouldn’t be able to download.” For Toronto resident, Alain Levesque, juggling two jobs as a cook and commuting to work everyday by bicycle, doesn’t leave him with a lot of time to sit down and listen to records. Record companies are now providing listeners, with the purchase of a record, a digital download code that is servicing every possible need. “The digital downloads give you the best of both worlds. I get a hi-ﬁ copy on vinyl and a digital version that I can listen to when I’m away from my turntable.” Whatever the reason, the preservation of a unique and functional piece of media is in good hands. When Bradley speaks about his preoccupation with vinyl the reasons are clear: “I think part of it is the ceremony, part of it is the art work, put of it is the sound, but the combination means that vinyl and physical mediums of music aren’t going anywhere.”

How many licks does it take to get to the centre of a pussy pop? KELSEY RIDEOUT It’s only once a year that War Memorial Hall becomes packed with women talking about their vaginas, proud men wearing dress shirts reading “this is what a feminist looks like,” and couples smiling aﬀectionately towards each other, while enjoying an on-stage production and licking chocolate “pussy-pops.” Indeed, the Vagina Monologues is far oﬀ from a typical play. And to the delight of many, the oneof-a-kind show was performed on campus this past Friday evening. The play opened with a simple set that consisted of a single couch and nearly a dozen women sitting, relaxing, and chatting

together. The women made no delays about expressing their steadfast frustrations with one another - they were all mutually worried about the state of womens’ vaginas. Monologue after monologue, the actresses defended that concern, depicting a wide range of problems that women and their vaginas are faced with on an ongoing basis. Amanda Kutner, a second year theatre student, explained the whirlwind of emotions that she was going through, during and after performing her piece, “The Little Coochi Snorcher That Could”. “I feel shaky. There is

excitement everywhere. Once you get on the stage it’s nervousness, and once you get oﬀ, it’s just excitement. Everyone responded so positively to everything…I was so happy there were so many males in the audience, taking such an active part in it.” After many daily ﬁve-hour rehearsals, Vagina Monologues executive producer Melissa Strickland was glowing with pride after seeing the play come together on stage. “These girls blew my mind,” said Strickland. “I feel so excited. I’m so grateful for this cast and I can’t get over how amazing they are.” This year’s organizers emphasized that the play was

about much more than women gossiping about their “titas,” “G-spots” and “beavers.” The Vagina Monologues raises funds for the V-Day Campaign, a global movement to end violence against women and girls. The money collected from Friday’s performance went towards aiding the women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation plagued with war and femicide, the deliberate destruction of women and their bodies. Ian Pietras, one of the executive event coordinators of the Vagina Monologues, discussed why it is so critical that men attend the play and absorb the script’s main messages centered on anti-

violence. “It’s extremely important to have males involved, and to get more males involved … as men are mostly the perpetrators. If men are not getting involved, we cannot stop violence against women,” Pietras explained From ranting about the idiocy of cotton tampons to showing the horrors of sexual violence used against women as a tactic of war, the Vagina Monologues was captivating, leaving the audience laughing, crying and yelling “cunt” at the top of their lungs. But at its core, the performance was certainly intended to help inspire the audience to make a diﬀerence for women everywhere.

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LIL WAYNE REBIRTH

HHip-hop is arguably the only profession where the larger your ego gets, the greater the reward. And so the ego gets even larger. Perhaps you’ve heard of Kanye West? Although Mr. West’s and Dwayne Carter’s (Lil Wayne) back stories are quite diﬀerent, their conﬁdence is a common

denominator and their willingness to take chances sets them apart from other rappers. In a lot of ways, Rebirth is Wayne’s version of Kanye’s 808s and Heartbreak: the albums look better on paper than they sound. It takes a character like Wayne to claim to be the “the best rapper

alive” years before proving it by dropping Tha Carter III, the bestselling record of 2008, outselling Coldplay, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. Since Tha Carter II (2005), Wayne has been unstoppable. There are a few less-than-par mixtapes, but plenty of club features (“Sweetest Girl,” “100 Million,” “Let It Rock,” “Forever,” etc.) to tide us over between albums. Like Michael Jackson, Lil Wayne got his start very young and had his ﬁrst solo album at just 17 years old. He’s now 27 years old and has seven solo albums and 10 oﬃcial mix-tapes. In truth, Wayne’s secret has always been quantity, not quality. In that respect, a consistent album like Tha Carter III is more of an anomaly than a standard by which to compare his future work.

From sex pistol to folk troubadour TOM BEEDHAM At the Guelph Youth Music Centre (GYMC), considerable mystery surrounded what Friday evening’s events will entail. Advertising for the show could have been described as minimal (consisting mostly of a few ﬂyers in Guelph’s downtown shop windows), and the GYMC—in all the glory of its theaterlike seating—wasn’t exactly the quintessential punk haunt. Smokers shuﬄed cold feet in the snow outside the entrance, chewing over whether there would be a bar: “There’s gotta be. It’s Glen Matlock. He’s a Sex Pistol for chrissake!” Glen Matlock has a special place in Sex Pistols history. As the bassist for London’s seminal punk band, Matlock wrote most of the songs on Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, but punklore has it that he was excommunicated from the Pistols in 1977 for liking The Beatles too much. The truth, as Matlock tells it in his autobiographical I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, is that he left because he was “sick of all the bullshit.” Whether or not that “bullshit” had anything to do with guitarist Steve Jones’ frustration over Matlock’s insistence that he learn Beatles chords for Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols, will be debated for as long as the Sex Pistols remain relevant. Making his way up to the same kitchenette counter that’s open to everyone else in the GYMC lobby, no one recognizes Matlock as the mere footnote in punk rock history that he has been reduced to by some storytellers. But many are aware that this is the man who begat a new sound, and the bassist who could actually play it. With psychedelic country rock band The Sadies opening, there was not an electric bass in the building. Sadies bassist Sean Dean played an upright acoustic, but it did more than keep the beat, it served as a subtle but downright reminder that it was not 1976, and that this would not be the same set from an early Sex Pistols gig. No one

Originally, Rebirth was set to release in April of last year, but had several set backs. That, combined with Wayne’s new-found love for the guitar, made the anticipation for Rebirth overwhelming. But if you’re like me, when “Prom Queen” (the first single) was released last January, the excitement of an allrock Lil Wayne album fizzled. There are a lot of possibilities why Rebirth doesn’t live up to its hype. Wayne’s gun possession legal problems likely didn’t help, but it’s probably simpler than that. Wayne is not a rocker (yet). Perhaps, we’ll have to wait for Rebirth III before he makes another magnum opus. I want to like Rebirth, especially with all the other critics knocking it. And even with all the highschool references, I’m afraid I can’t pass this album off as appealing

to the younger demographics, like previous Sound Checks (Ke$ha and Weezer). Lil Wayne doesn’t try to appeal to anyone, that’s part of his shtick. He is a Gangster. If you’re not convinced, watch the infamous Katie Couric interview. On Rebirth, Wayne was on some rock tip. Unfortunately for us, we’re still on Wayne’s tip. Here’s hoping that Tha Carter IV is something you can drive to without feeling embarrassed when the cops stop you. Notable tracks: “Drop The World” ft. Eminem, “One Way Trip” ft. Kevin Rudolf & Travis Barker, “Prom Queen” ft. Shanell Listeners may also enjoy: Jay-Z/ Linkin Park – Collision Course, Mos Def – New Danger

Woodpigeon visits U of G for nooner

Haydn

Glen Matlock, original bass player for the Sex Pistols, is credited as the co-author of 10 of the 12 songs that appear on the Sex Pistols’ only full length album. is dressed in robes that are straight out of Malcom McLaren’s clothing boutique ‘Sex.’ There are no ragged ﬁshnet shirts, no bondage belts jingling among the mass, and leather, if present, is brown and well kept, not tattered and black with haphazard stud jobs. Perhaps this was a crowd that grew up and beyond the unforgiving nature of Johnny Rotten, much like the man they had come to see. When Matlock was done his sound check, a lone bagpiper blasted into the room and erupted into a rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Fusing folk method with a classic rock anthem, this was the perfect harbinger for what was about to come. Matlock’s acoustic show proves that music doesn’t have to be vicious to be punk. Making a point about punk aesthetic in an interview with Max Chambers, he points out that, “People talk about punk as a musical style, but also there’s a spirit involved in it.” He cranks out covers of Sex Pistols songs like “Pretty Vacant,” “God Save the Queen” and the Monkees’ “(I’m Not Your) Stepping Stone”—

a song that every Sex Pistol can say they’ve spent some time with (even Matlock’s bass incompetent, yet crowd pleasing successor Sid Vicious covered it during his brief solo career). To the accepting crowd that sings along, Matlock has no problem disciplining the audience for their lack of familiarity with the chorus to Small Faces’ “All or Nothing,” looping the chords ad nauseam and saying “I can do this all night,” sitting back on the Sadies’ bass drum to further his point until he got the response he wanted. Despite the demanding nature he took on during “All or Nothing,” Matlock is anything but arrogant; he is cheeky, but humble. Matlock proves he’s above his Sex Pistols celebrity even when he’s not playing the traveling troubadour. In response to Haiti’s earthquake in January, he’s teamed up with Nick Cave, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie (Primal Scream), Mick Jones (The Clash), and Shane MacGowan (The Pogues) to cover Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell On You,” which is set for release later this month.

Rashaad Bhamjee

Toronto’s Woodpigeon plays in the University Centre courtyard on Wednesday at noon before heading down to the eBar for a performance with Attack in Black.

SPORTS & HEALTH

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

Crunch time for Gryphons volleyball DAN HOWSE

Screaming fans, highlight reel plays and ﬂustered opposing coaches calling timeouts. If this isn’t the image varsity volleyball conjures up, you probably haven’t been to any games at the W.F. Mitchell Centre this year. “The place is rocking,” said Gryphon women’s coach Paul Funk. “Not too many teams like coming into our gym.” Last Friday, both the men’s and the women’s teams took on tough, division-leading McMaster Marauders teams. Although the 11-6 women lost three sets to none, the 10-7 men’s team made up for it, crushing the 14-3 Marauders in a three-set shutout themselves. This wasn’t the ﬁrst victory the men’s team has had over McMaster this year. “Right now I think we’re in their heads a bit,” said men’s coach Cal Wigston. With two of Mac’s three losses coming against Guelph, it seems that the Gryphon men’s team has their number. That’s no surprise for Wigston. “We’ve spent a lot of time preparing for Mac, watching a lot of tape and talking through what they do,” he said. With a bevy of frontline players six-foot-four or taller, Guelph has the size to deal with McMaster’s intimidating frontcourt. More importantly, they prepare for that

Rashaad Bhamjee

The Gryphons front-line combination of Riley McAllister, Kevin Stewart and Jonathan Whitton (left to right) has been instrumental in leading the offensive attack. frontcourt and have the skills to disrupt its attack. “They’ve got two very good middle hitters,” Wigston explained. “So we try to serve as aggressively as we can, which makes it difficult for them to try and set those middle hitters.” Without giving away too many of Wigston’s strategic secrets, it’s suffice to say that this Gryphon team’s level of preparation for McMaster is the rule, not the exception to it. When Wigston took control of the program, he envisioned a patient ascendance to the OUA throne with a four-year plan. Not surprisingly,

he’s in year four currently. “[It’s the] fourth year – let’s see what we can do with this team,” said Wigston, recalling the initial meetings he had with the assistant coaching staff, “as far as gunning for a championship.” While varsity teams are an ever-changing mix of veteran players moving on and new players developing, it would be hard to deny that this team is currently peaking. The team’s do-everything captain on the left side, Albertan import Jonathan Whitton, is in his fifth and final year of eligibility as is last year’s OUA Libero of the year, Gabriel

DeGroot. Big middle hitters Andrew Revie and Kevin Stewart are both in their fourth years. And with all due respect to Winston Rosser, the right side, second-year player with the wicked spike, most of the team’s core has spent three to five years developing. This is a team that is eying a championship now. So why the seven losses? Both Wigston and Revie chalk it up to a lack of focus. “The issue we always have is never being strong enough or physical enough,” Revie explained, “[Our problem is] the little mental hiccups we go through.” Although the playoffs don’t begin until after reading week, this men’s team has already began preparing like every set could be their last. “You can’t just expect to turn on the mindset and turn on focus once the game starts,” Revie said. “You have to be building up to that focus and that mindset constantly.” The Gryphon women’s volleyball team finished last season with a record of 8-11, missing the playoffs. With many of those losses coming

down the final stretch, head coach Paul Funk decided to shuffle the deck this year. The result has been a dynamic squad that is fun to watch. More importantly, they’ve posted the first winning record since 200304. “We’ve added some very good first-year players,” Funk said. “And we’ve had some other people who have played different positions last year who have adjusted to new positions and done very well,” he added. Although last year’s team started strong, the opposition eventually realized that the women’s team had trouble picking up kills. “We didn’t have enough offensive firepower” Funk said. This season, that’s changed. “I have lots of options on the court now,” said third-year starting setter Melissa McGinn. With the addition of six-footthree rookie Erinn Bickle to an already potent six-foot frontline that includes fourth-year Kylen Van Osch, third-year Claire Sandor and second-year Brooke Lloyd, McGinn has what she called “a ton of go-to players” at her disposal. Although the women’s team actually has the better record than their male counterparts at 11-6, the ultra-competitive OUA West division has the Gryphons currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. However, with two more road games to go, the team’s playoff hopes are still very alive. “Every game is a big game,” McGinn said. “We’re all pretty pumped.” The men’s team has two more road games as well before one big final home game of the year on Feb. 19 to close out the regular season. Although Coach Wigston knows this game is during reading week, he encourages anyone who can make it to come check out what is sure to be a raucous affair.

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Ford, Payne shine at OUA Championships Gryphon teams combine for 14 medals in St. Catharines MIKE TREADGOLD Going up against perennial powerhouse squads from U of T and Western, the Gryphons swimming teams proved that they belonged to be mentioned among the province’s best schools at the OUA Championships last weekend in St. Catharines. Led by a several dominant individual performances by Andrew Ford and Chantique Payne, both named OUA all-stars following the meet, Gryphon swimmers combined to win six gold, one silver and seven bronze medals over the four-day event, hosted by Brock University. Ford’s gold medal haul began on Friday with a winning performance in the men’s 200m individual medley, followed up with another gold medal win in the 100m backstroke race on Saturday. Ford ﬁnished the tournament magniﬁcently with two more individual gold medals in the 400m IM and 200m backstroke on Sunday. His four-day winnings of four gold and two bronze medals gave him the male Dr. Jeno Tihanyi

IM award, along with his all-star nomination. “Andrew is a world-class athlete and his goal is to make the Olympic team,” said head coach Don Burton. “To win all of his events at the OUA level fits right in with that plan.” Wil Wright, Matthew Stephenson and Ben Roberts, who also received an OUA all-star nod, were the other Gryphon individual medal winners as the men’s team finished with 468 points, good for fourth place overall and an improvement over last year’s fifthplace finish. On the women’s side, Payne continued to assert herself as one of the country’s most prolific athletes, particularly in the butterfly events, winning a pair of gold medals in the women’s 50m and 100m butterfly races, along with a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle competition, earning her OUA all-star status. “Chantique’s 50m butterfly time was hundredths of a second away from being her personal best,” said Burton. “Considering she didn’t have her best turn or finish, it was a very fast time for her final result and it shows that she has potential to go even faster.” “I’ve been working really hard on

my turns and usually they’re pretty good,” said Payne. “For some reason, my split times were way off [at OUAs] but it pulled together okay.” Payne’s spectacular performances, along with a bronze medal finish by Bethany Flemington in the women’s 50m backstroke, were enough to earn the Gryphon women a seventhplace finish with 262 points. Payne’s 2009-10 season has been nothing short of outstanding. The third-year swimmer appears poised to make numerous appearances on the podium at the CIS national championships in Toronto later this month, qualifying for no fewer than ten different events, yet in accordance with league rules, she is only allowed to compete in four. Payne will be among the favourites in the butterfly and freestyle strokes, both at the 50m and 100m distances. “I’m really excited for these CI [championship races],” said Payne. “This year, I swam a lot faster at the beginning of the season and I’m really looking forward to the next step. “Two years ago, I won bronze in the 50m butterfly and last year, it was silver. The girl who beat me both times has now graduated so

Rashaad Bhamjee

With two gold medals at the OUA championships, Chantique Payne is poised to take a run at a national title. we’ll see how things go. I really want to move up to the gold.” Payne will be joined at the CIS championships by Ford, Stephenson, Wright, Roberts,

Flemington, Scott Van Doormaal, if he is capable of competing, and any other Gryphon qualiﬁers between now and Feb. 19 when the events begin.

them,” he said. “The younger guys try and keep pace and want to live up to what the guys before them have accomplished.”

are from, is the ‘feel’ of campus.” The success of Gryphon football recruiting in the Niagara region has provided a wealth of talent for the current Gryphons roster, while also strengthening the recruiting foundation in the area for the future. “Once there were some wellknown, big-time football players in the Niagara community, Gryphon football [achieved] a level of respectability in the region,” said Walters, on the recruiting success stories. “McMaster University had the run of the Niagara region until four years ago when we stuck our nose in there and now we go toeto-toe [with any school].”

A regional goldmine Niagara region has proven to be a foundation for the f uture of Gr yphon footbal l

Most importantly, there is no hometown university [in Niagara] to compete against [for recruits].

JUSTIN DUNK The Niagara region, an area that attracts people to its worldly wonder, wax museums and wine culture, has also been catching the attention of the coaching staﬀ of the Gryphons football team. The area has developed into a recruiting hotbed for the football program, led by head coach Kyle Walters. “When I took over as head coach, other than locally [in Guelph], we had no strong recruiting region,” said Walters. “There was no Guelph presence anywhere else [in Ontario].” Since Walters took over the coaching duties in 2006, he has enjoyed considerable success in convincing student-athletes from the Niagara area to join his team. “Most importantly, there is no hometown university [in Niagara] to compete against [for recruits],” he said. “It’s a huge region. From Grimsby all the way to Fort Erie, and everywhere in between, [there is] a drawing of about 30 schools. Obviously, if there are 30 schools, there is a likelihood of more highend [players].” The high-end talent from this area of Ontario is undoubtedly impressive, and fortunately for the Gryphons, they have been able to bring some of these gifted athletes to the Guelph campus.

Kyle Walters Gryphons head coach

Rashaad Bhamjee

Wide receiver Jedd Gardner is the most successful recent Gryphon recruit from the Niagara region. Defensive backs James Savoie and Sebastian Howard, both from Niagara Falls, have been ﬁxtures in the Gryphons starting lineup ever since they set foot in Alumni Stadium. Howard recorded six interceptions in his rookie year in 2007, while Savoie has become a two-time All-Canadian in just three seasons with the Gryphons. Four other players from the region suited up for the Gryphons last year, with Jordan Duncan, Michael Millar, Nick Woehl, and Corey Davidson all having seen extensive playing time since

joining Walters’ team. But the player with the greatest impact from the Niagara region is wide receiver Jedd Gardner. The third-year Gryphon is a game breaking talent and he has become known to fans for his speed and explosiveness. Gardner believes that the Niagara region has produced talented football players in recent years because of a dedicated work ethic. “The guys in Niagara work extremely hard, and set the example for the guys younger than

Gardner has become a crucial part of the Gryphons oﬀence and a lot of this is attributed to the work ethic he learned while growing up in Niagara Falls. The speedy wide receiver was tracked down by Walters and was interested in attending and playing football at the University of Guelph for several reasons. “The main things that drew me to Guelph were coach Walters, the campus being all in the same location, and the opportunity to play [football] early in my career,” said Gardner. Gardner earned a starting job late in his ﬁrst season with the Gryphons. Now both Gardner and Walters are showing other potential players from the Niagara region the opportunities that Guelph can provide, from both an athletic and educational standpoint. “The campus has a unique culture,” said Walters. “The number one reason [players] come to Guelph, regardless of where they

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FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

SPORTS & HEALTH

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Gender empowerment: now available on wheels Roller derby attracts participants from all walks of life DENISE MARTINS A new culture is emerging right in our own backyard. Women from all walks of life are engaging in a full-contact sport that’s both competitive and dangerous. “There’s a bit of a glamour about it. You get to dress up and act tough,” said Jessica Buchanan, a second-year zoology student at the University of Guelph that embraced roller derby after watching Drew Barrymore’s Whip It, a movie about a young girl’s journey to becoming a roller derby master, starring Juno’s Ellen Page. “I thought I would try and ﬁnd a team just to watch and I didn’t realize that there’d be a team so close to Guelph,” she added. “Their ‘fresh meat-n-greet’ was only a couple of weeks away so I decided to go check it out. That’s when I decided to join the team.” The Tri-City Rollergirls invites girls from Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area to put on roller skates and kick some butt. The Tri-City Rollergirls are a roller derby league with three teams: two local teams (Vicious Bitches and Venus Sly Tramps) and, because

Courtesy

Roller derby in the Tri-City area has attracted countless thrill-seeking participants to its full-contact atmosphere. chasing after friends in roller skates is not satisfactory enough for these thrill-seeking women, one travel team (Thunder). Although roller derby has been around for almost 80 years, only in the past couple of years has it

reemerged and turned into the empowering phenomenon it is today. It has now become a way for women to ﬁght against the status quo under which women have historically been expected to fall

under and create something new and original. “It’s just not part of the mainstream which I think is also one of the things that draws a lot of people to it,” Buchanan said. Buchanan, like many other

girls, joined the Tri-City Rollergirls in search of adventure and individuality. What she didn’t know was that she was also enlisting to be part of a world of unity. “I don’t think I realized how much strategy is needed and how important team cohesiveness and communication is to playing a good game,” she said. “That’s something the coaches and captain are always emphasizing.” According to Suzy Slam, vice-president of the Tri-City Rollergirls, it’s all kinds of girls who enlist in the dangerous sports. “We have such a variety,” said Slam. “We have a lot of professional women, many women with varying university degrees. “We have teachers, engineers, stay-at-home moms, social workers, anything and everything. It just covers the whole sort of gamut of women.” Empowerment, a sense of unity, and the chance to nail someone to the ﬂoor? It’s not surprising that this phenomenon has been growing so rapidly. At this rate, young girls may soon begin to abandon their tea sets and invest their piggy-bank savings on a pair of roller skates and protective gear.

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Participant initiative on the slopes RYAN CUNNINGHAM The evolution of the helmet and its usage can be seen throughout sports and recreational activities, specifically hockey, and even more recently, biking. Helmets start out as being a safe option for players/ cyclists, but usually an unattractive alternative in the eyes of fellow athletes. As accidents, specifically head injuries, continue to escalate, the movement towards the legislation on mandatory helmet use becomes more pronounced. After a while, what once was seen as a ridiculous looking piece of safety equipment transforms into part of the ensemble (hockey) and the law (biking). Skiing and snowboarding could be the next two sports to follow in this path as safety issues become more discussed. “It’s a hot topic. Should helmets be mandatory or not?” asked Gene Matthews, area manager at Glen Eden ski and snowboard centre in Milton. “But at Glen Eden, we don’t want to just wait for legislation. We do everything we can to promote the benefits from wearing a helmet and no harm can come from wearing one.” “I guess some would argue that for comfort’s sake, a helmet isn’t the most comfortable thing to wear,” said avid recreational snowboarder Daniel Egan. “Style has become a big part of snowboarding. You want to look cool.”

And according to Matthews, retail companies also pay attention to aesthetics and have successfully managed to manufacture equipment that is both safe and stylish. “Retailers that we deal with are proactive in the equipment that they provide,” said Matthews. “Their helmets are safe, yet stylish, and that are hugely beneficial when working with children and trying to encourage usage.” A recent research study done at the University of Calgary discovered that helmet usage while skiing and snowboarding reduces the risk of head injury by 35 per cent. The intercontinental study assessed the head injuries of more than 45, 000 skiers and snowboarders and determined that only one in five injured participants was wearing a helmet. In order for helmet use to eventually become legislated, the popularity of the equipment must increase. This process has taken many years as it did in hockey; however, more and more people are using them and instructors and professionals alike are setting an example for beginners and amateurs. “Helmets are always a good idea,” said Matthews. “We require that our entire staff wears a helmet and we encourage all of our participants to follow suit. For our school visit program, we

Jukka Zitting

Laws mandating the use of bicycle helmets among minors came to fruition in 1995. Will we soon see the same legislation on the slopes? provide free helmets to encourage their usage.” According to Matthews, skiers and snowboarders have taken it upon themselves to wear a helmet and if and when the legislation does come through, it will almost be a moot point. “When we look at our hill, 65 to 75 per cent of our participants

are already wearing helmets,” said Matthews. “The growth in the past ﬁve years has been exponential. Knowledge is increasing across the board and helmets are looked at as being far more acceptable for use now.” Furthermore, if history repeats itself, as is often the case, any kind of safe practice legislation will not

deter participation. “If the legislation does happen, it will not negatively impact the sport, whatsoever,” said Matthews. “Look at hockey. Two generations ago, there were not helmets or facemasks. When it became mandatory to wear both, you didn’t see a decline in the number of kids playing hockey.”

Researchers suggest concussions need a new moniker <

CONTINUED FROM COVER

said that although steps were taken following her daughter’s accidents, if she had been told that her daughter had a ‘mild traumatic brain injury,’ she would have prohibited her from sports and vigorous activity for a longer period of time. Through their research, the Brain Injury Association of Canada found concussions to have long-term effects if not treated properly. If a concussion goes untreated, symptoms can worsen and continue for the individual for long periods of time, a condition referred to as ‘post concussion syndrome.’ Most of the time, these symptoms include long-term headaches along with dizziness and balancing difficulties. Depending on the severity of the concussion, other symptoms become apparent. “In a more serious injury, individuals may have difficulty processing information at a regular pace, which could affect the individual’s mood, making them agitated and irritable, and externally having a negative effect on the individual’s learning capabilities in both school and workplace settings,” Pettell said. Canadian occupational therapists concur that concussions must be taken more seriously and it is the responsibility of the public

to acknowledge the seriousness of the condition. Utilizing the term, ‘mild traumatic brain injury,’ becomes a helpful tool in this awareness

The term, mild traumatic brain injury, is meant to mainly target parents, but it is also important to raise awareness of the seriousness of this condition in sports organizations, both professional and amateur. Ellen Pettell occupational therapist initiative. If a concussed individual receives proper treatment for their condition, it is likely that they will experience no long-term eﬀects. “Treatment for a mild traumatic brain injury includes following rest recommendations and not straining yourself following the injury until all symptoms disappear,” said Pettell. “In the majority of cases, this [rehabilitation process] takes seven to 10 days, but can take several weeks to a month.”

Basketball (M) Basketball (W)

Hockey (M)

Guelph vs Western: 80-84

Guelph vs York: 7-5

Lakehead Windsor McMaster Western Brock Waterloo Laurier Guelph

14 13 12 10 8 8 7 5

4 5 6 8 10 10 11 13

Guelph vs Western: 47-70 Windsor Western Brock Lakehead McMaster Laurier Waterloo Guelph

17 14 11 11 11 7 4 2

1 4 7 7 7 11 14 16

Waterloo Lakehead Western Laurier Guelph York Windsor UOIT Brock

West

L OTL

19 18 19 16 13 11 10 10 9

6 6 7 7 10 12 13 15 16

1 2 0 3 4 3 4 1 1

Hockey (W)

Volleyball (M)

Volleyball (W)

Guelph vs Brock: 2-3

Guelph vs McMaster:3-0

Guelph vs McMaster: 0-3

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

L OTL

24 18 16 13 13 10 10 11 6 4

0 5 8 9 10 12 12 14 16 16

0 2 1 3 2 4 3 0 3 5

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

14 14 13 11 10 10 8 8 4 3 0

3 3 4 6 7 8 9 8 14 14 19

McMaster Waterloo Western Brock Guelph Laurier Windsor

Nordic Ski Gryphon results in Hepworth: Open Women – 7km skate: 1. Laura Hewitt 19:50 2. Vesta Mather 20:04 3. Lindsey Chapman 20:21 4. Annalee Winter 20:35 5. Laura Campbell 23:07 6. Jessica Blenkarn 23:09

Junior Women – 7km skate 2. Jennie Hissa 22:03 3. Gillian Rockwell 23:09

Open Men – 14km skate 1. Matti Little 34:58 2. Ian Ritchie 35:16 4. Erin Purdon 36:39 5. Patrick Twohig 37:11 6. Mike Weersink 37:41 7. Jordan Forsyth 37:51

Track & Field York Open Gold Tara MacDonald - 1500m Women’s Team - 4x 400m Julia Wallace - High jump Kim Richardson - Triple jump Silver Sarah Peirce - 60m Samantha Beattie - 1500m Julia Wallace - Triple jump Bronze Meg Lowry - Shot put Brit Heard - Weight throw Mike Lopatowski - High jump Kevin Honig - Triple jump Brent Roubos - Shot put

Junior Men – 14km skate 1. Scott Weersink 36:40

Swimming Meyo Invitational (Notre Dame) Guelph Results Men’s 1000m Women’s 300 m 13. Rob Jackson 38. Shauna Malek 19. Evan Stevens Women’s 800m 11. Rachel Aubry 17. Lydia Frost 20. Nadine Frost Women’s 1000m 2. Nadine Frost 5. Jess Vanhie 7. Lydia Frost Women’s 1 mile 13. Jess Vanhie Women’s 3000m 4. Rachel Cliff 24. Courtney Laurie Women’s 4x400m 24. Guelph Men’s 800m 4. Dustin Gamble 36. Evan Stevens 41. Rob Jackson

Men’s 1 mile 4. Kyle Boorsma 18. Nigel Wray Men’s 3000m 15. Allan Brett 31. John Parrott Men’s long jump 25. Guyson Kuruneri Men’s shot put 10. Tim Hendry Men’s weight throw 14. Dustin McCrank 25. Tim Hendry

OUA Championships (Brock) Gold Andrew Ford - 100 back - 200 back - 200 IM - 400 IM Chantique Payne - 50 butterÁy - 100 butterÁy Silver Ben Roberts - 50 back Bronze Chantique Payne - 100 free Bethany Flemington - 50 back Wil Wright - 50 butterÁy Matthew Stephenson - 200 breast Men’s Team - 400m medley relay - 200m medley relay - 200m freestyle relay

16 13 13 12 11 5 1

2 5 5 7 6 12 17

Clockwise from top left: Basia Bulat, Martin Sexton, Elisapie Isaac, Delhi 2 Dublin, Woodhands, Bahamas, Hawksley Workman, Ani Difranco Sam Baijal, the artistic director at Hillside, is already making plans for next year’s winter festival. With rumours that the Inside festival might have just had its last year, Baijal speaks quite the contrary. “Whatever it ends up being next year,” says Baijal, “we already have a map of all kinds of different venues that we want to use. We want to have different artists play in different spaces.” The idea is to expand the Inside event into the larger community of downtown Guelph. This past weekend saw the last of Hillside Inside in its original configuration. The day-long event was held on

WRITTEN BY ZACK MACRAE PHOTOS BY RASHAAD BHAMJEE

two alternating stages, set up on AstroTurf and underneath an impressive, but not abrasive light show. The festival played host to a line-up that you would count on seeing at a Hillside festival. It was a diverse evening. Folk artist Basia Bulat warmed up the crowd and made a point to play a couple of songs on her autoharp, citing that a folk festival wasn’t really a folk festival without an autoharp. Just a few hours after, Bahamas, a drum and guitar duo fronted by Aﬁe Jurvanen, seduced the island stage. Ripe with sarcasm and a 70s-sounding fuzz on his guitar, Jurvanen’s hilarious wit in between songs rivaled his

actual performance. Ani DiFranco, in her only appearance in Ontario, was the headliner of the evening. Her performance was nothing short of inspiring. A strong lyricist with a boisterous style on the guitar, Ani commanded attention from the crowd and made sure she kept it throughout her entire set. The only aspect of the festival that seemed out of place was the place itself. Although not glaringly obvious, sidestepping the corporate presence in a hockey arena called the Sleeman Centre is no easy task. Avoiding corporate sponsorship and keeping the event a grassroots festival has been priority for Hillside

organizers since day one. That’s why next year, Hillside will take a new approach and branch out from the summer and winter festivals to become more involved in other aspects of the community. The plan, as Baijal explains, is for the Hillside name to realize it’s potential as a promoting body. This means co-sponsoring and presenting diﬀerent community events and partnering up with other organizations like the Jazz Festival that is held annually in September. “The map that we have laid out for next year’s event also involves an educational component,” Baijal says. Next year, Baijal and

other organizers are looking to provide workshops that complement the philosophies of the Hillside experience; namely sustainability, social consciousness and of course, music. Ideally, Baijal is proposing a festival with multiple venues around downtown Guelph that patrons can skip between to hear their favourite bands. Baijal is looking to make food a key component of the festival as well, with downtown restaurants participating at some level. “We are even looking at hosting an ice skating party at the newly built civic square where bands will play outside on a covered stage,” says Baijal excitedly.

Whatever the case may be, an outdoor ice skating party sounds like a lot more fun then an indoor hockey rink. Baijal and the rest of the Hillside team are using the last three years of Hillside Inside as a learning experience, casting certain ideas into the future while leaving others behind. The Inside series had a good run over the past three years and it will be interesting to see what organizers come up with next year.

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

SPORTS & HEALTH

THEONTARION.CA

Down, but not out: Van Doormaal leads by example On

tarion

MIKE TREADGOLD In previous editions of this column, I have attempted to draw attention to courageous performances, as I believe that these are the events worth writing about, regardless of the outcome. You may remember that I previously compared the Yates Cup performance of hobbled Western Mustangs quarterback, Michael Faulds, to the display of strength by former Toronto Maple Leaf, Bobby Baun in the 1964 Stanley Cup playoďŹ&#x20AC;s. I suppose that Gryphon swimmer Scott Van Doormaalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance at the OUA Championships last Thursday should be mentioned in a similar light. Here was an athlete, so determined, and so competitive that he would risk further injury at the pinnacle of his sport. Back in December, Van Doormaal, the senior-most member of the Gryphons team and one of the elected captains, broke his foot. I can only imagine how a swimmer could contend with such an injury, but I suppose, as a former baseball player, I could liken it to breaking a pitching

arm, just weeks before the playoďŹ&#x20AC;s began. Nevertheless, Van Doormaal remained committed to competing, committed to providing his team with the kind of leadership that captains are expected to demonstrate to their teammates. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth noting that Van

Doormaal had won multiple medals at the OUA championship level, excelling in both the medium and long distance races. 2010 would have likely been no diďŹ&#x20AC;erent, and along with Andrew Ford and a host of other supremely talented Gryphon men, this team was poised to be a profound national

But despite the obvious physical limitations, there was no breaking of his competitive spirit. Broken foot notwithstanding, Van Doormaal was there to compete. Doormaal is much more than merely your average swimmer with this Gryphons team. Aside from being a team captain, the ďŹ fth-year student-athlete was, and still is, a nationally-renowned competitor, who would have been a major threat to stand on the podium in the upcoming CIS championship races. In each of his previous four seasons with the Gryphons, Van

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threat. Nevertheless, at least from an individual perspective, Van Doormaalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season was derailed by the now-infamous broken foot. But despite the obvious physical limitations, there was no breaking of his competitive spirit. Broken foot notwithstanding, Van Doormaal was there to compete. Now keep in mind that I did not personally observe this

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0DNH \RXU DFDGHPLF IXWXUH PRUH Ă H[LEOH ZLWK $WKDEDVFD 8QLYHUVLW\ At Athabasca University, our large selection of courses and programs can be a big plus to your academic career. So be sure to keep us in mind like Sarah did. Sarah is attending university full-time in Calgary, Alberta. But in order to maximize her schedule, she needed to take some courses that werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t available during the times she wanted. The solution? Sarah is taking some AU courses and will transfer the credits over towards her degree. AU offers RYHU FRXUVHV DQG XQGHUJUDGXDWH DQG JUDGXDWH GHJUHH GLSORPD DQG FHUWLĂ&#x20AC; FDWH SURJUDPV to select from. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 16 or older, and are eager to learn, you can study at AU. Academic choice. Another reason why AU stands out as a global leader in distance learning excellence.

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event. This column is, instead, a recollection of stories that have been communicated to me by others who did happen to bear witness to the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1500m freestyle race at Brock University this past weekend. Gryphons team head coach, Don Burton, had his fair share of superlatives when describing what happened in St. Catharines â&#x20AC;&#x153;Swimming with one foot is virtually impossible,â&#x20AC;? said Burton. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Scott did a phenomenal job of leading by example, above and beyond the call of anything that anyone wouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve ever expected of him.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We all know what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like to have injuries,â&#x20AC;? said fellow captain Chantique Payne. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Just to see how Scott tried to step up and [compete] for our team, it was really inspirational.â&#x20AC;? The stories all have the same message: Van Doormaalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance was nothing short of phenomenal. Requiring the aid of crutches to approach the blocks at the start of the race, Van Doormaal hit the water for 30 laps of one-footed competition against the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most accomplished (two-footed) distance swimmers. Competing against the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best, Van Doormaal ďŹ nished 14th overall in the 1500m race, taking three points for his team. The result, though incredible, is not the story here. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the eďŹ&#x20AC;ort that makes this story so compelling, so newsworthy. Time and time again, university athletes have proven themselves to be the ultimate competitors. And so long as these stories exist, I will continue to publish them. Too often, stories in the media highlight the negatives associated with athletics; these stories are stale and often, unworthy. If you have a story about a local athlete that deďŹ es expectations for the purpose of competing, I want to hear these narratives. This is the space for those refreshing tales.

Gryphons win streak hits four

The Gryphon menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hockey team has picked the right time to hit its stride. Following a 4-3 win over Western on Thursday and a 7-5 victory over York on Saturday evening, the Gryphons (13-10-4) win streak is now at four games and they have taken points in eight of their past nine games. Leading 6-1 after two periods on Saturday, the Lions stormed back to make it 6-5 before Tim Priamo scored on an empty net to seal the Gryphon win. Scott Van Bommel made 20 saves in goal for the Gryphs.

Gryphons dominate Nordic podiums

The Gryphons Nordic ski team had an extremely successful weekend, competing in the Suntrail Source for Adventure skate race in Hepworth, ON. In the senior womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 7km race, the Gryphons swept the podium, led by Laura Hewitt, Vesta Mather and Lindsey Chapman. In the junior womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race, Jennie Hissa and Gillian Rockwell took silver and bronze, respectively. Not to be outdone, Matti Little and Ian Ritchie ďŹ nished 1-2 in the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14km race. Scott Weersink won the junior menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race.

New head coach for womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lacrosse

With former head coach Garry Dobbie stepping down to pursue other opportunities, Steph Green was named as the new head coach of the Gryphon womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lacrosse team. Green is a former stand out player, assistant and head coach of the team, winning Player and Coach of the Year awards back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as a pair of OUA silver medals. The Gryphons are coming oďŹ&#x20AC; of a winless 0-11

THE ONTARION

Life

161.5

makes cinnamon buns in the morning

17 a how-to student guide on

Finding a home.

NICOLE ELSASSER

DENISE MARTINS

While for many university students weekend mornings are the time for catching up on much-needed sleep, or punishing oneself for the misgivings of the night before, there truly is nothing like getting up (of course if you can) and making warm cinnamon buns. Yes, while cinnamon buns can certainly be found at the nearest supermarket, these beloved pastries are always better when they aren’t the cookie-cutter, too-perfect kind you can get in a plastic package of six. While making fresh cinnamon buns may seem a bit too ambitious, especially for less-experienced bakers, I assure those with reservations that with a little care it is very possible to make absolutely delicious cinnamon buns. I do, however, have a piece of helpful advice: make the dough the night before and allow it to rise overnight. The preparation of the dough and the rising time takes the longest – therefore if you get it done before bed, by the morning the hardest part is over and you can simply enjoy the smell of cinnamon and butter ﬁlling your house.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. You are either ready to move past on-campus residence or have had enough of your horrifyingly messy housemates. Whatever it is, you are ready to look for a new place to call home. Ontarion Life will break down each step in the quest to find the best in offcampus housing. Step 1. Choosing priorities The first challenge is coming up with a list of things that are essential for your living situation. While you might think this obvious, oftentimes people will rent a house without being mindful of the little consideration. Of course, these things change depending on the individual. Firstly you must take into account your budgetary constraints. Yes, we all want a swimming pool in our living room, but how many of us can afford it? Some other key needs that come into question are personal bathrooms, kitchen size, room size, parking space, smoking restrictions and pet-friendliness. Step 2. Finding your choices

Kyle Gillespie

INGREDIENTS Dough

1 cup milk 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 teaspoon salt 5 cups ﬂour 1 package yeast 4 eggs Filling

1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup brown sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon Glaze

1 tablespoon vanilla 4 tablespoons cream 1 cup powdered sugar

In a saucepan, warm the milk, 1/2 cup of butter, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, vanilla and salt slowly over low heat. Be sure not to allow the mixture to simmer or cook because too much heat will later kill the yeast when added; warm up only enough to melt the butter. While the butter is melting, put half the flour in a large bowl with the yeast; there is no need to proof the yeast as long as you are sure it has not expired. Add the warm milk mixture to the flour and mix it with a wooden spoon until fairly smooth (do not try to use electric beaters as the dough will be too heavy and you will only end up with a horrible mess). Add each egg, one at a time, and ensure that the mixture is smooth before adding the next one. Add the remaining flour and begin kneading the dough with your hands. Knead the dough until it is soft and no longer sticky to touch. This should take about five minutes, but if the dough remains sticky, simply add a bit more flour. Lightly grease or oil the sides of a large bowl and place the ball of dough in it. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest in a warm place until the dough has doubled

in size (usually one or two hours) or overnight if you wish. When ready, knock the dough down and allow it to rest for a few minutes. While the dough rests, mix together the room temperature butter, one cup of brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl for the ﬁlling. Flour your counter, the dough, your hands and your rolling pin and roll the dough out until it is a long rectangle about 18 x 12 inches. Evenly spread the cinnamon ﬁlling over the face of the dough but leave a one inch uncovered edge on the long side of the dough. This will help the roll to seal. Roll tightly from covered long edge to the uncovered one and brush the outside of the log with melted butter. Slice the dough into 12 to 16 sections, turn each on their side and place in a slightly oiled baking pan. Rest until the rolls swell into each other in the pan. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees. When the rolls are ready, bake for 40-45 minutes. After they have cooled, mix glaze ingredients and drizzle over the rolls. Serve and enjoy. Recipe for cinnamon buns adapted from Michael Smith

There are a variety of ways to find advertisements. The cannon’s website, cannon.ca, is free and very user-friendly and most students choose to use it to advertise open vacancies. A very good way to find a good place is to ask your friends. Most students move around a couple of times during their school careers and as a result, most students are connected to someone looking for a tenant to fill an empty room. These are usually also the best places and are rarely advertised. So keep your ear to the ground. Step 3. Shortlisting Once you have a list of your dreams homes, you might need to narrow it down. The thing you want to look for now is location. Are these places close to a bus stop? Is this space accessible? Where are the nearest stores? You may find a house with a spacious yard and a spectacular kitchen, but you might end up having to walk over twenty minutes every day just to get to the nearest bus stop. In the middle of a winter storm, this can certainly become an issue.

Step 4. Visiting Once you have your short list, start e-mailing all the landlords and schedule a time for you to visit. If you plan to rent a house with friends but some are unable to make it to for a tour, don’t forget to bring a camera to document your trip. Things you want to watch out for are water stains on the walls and roof, water pressure, availability of the landlord and the number of outlets per room. This would also be an opportune time to ask questions regarding things like the length of the lease, painting the walls, and parking fees. Step 5. The lease Now that you’ve found the perfect place, it’s time to cross the ‘t’s and dot the ‘i’s. Make sure to read the entire lease. Things to watch for in a lease are policies on guests, smoking and pets. Do note that the Ontario Tenant and Landlord Act (2006) states that only under extreme circumstances may the landlord terminate a lease because of a pet (for more information on this refer to section 76.1 of the Ontario Tenant and Landlord Act, 2006). Remember, there are certain things that landlords are required to do, such as _____. It’s a good practice to know your rights and start exercising them early in a lease. Congratulations, you now have a home! If you’re an undergraduate student and require any further assistance regarding tenancyrelated concerns, you actually have a commissioner within your student union, the local aﬀairs commissioner, whose portfolio includes advocacy around tenancy issues. Visit the Central Student Association’s website for contact information.

LIFE

VH.%

I really want to get into...

NICOLE ELSASSER When I decided to get into wine, I was a bit intimidated by all of the stereotypes about wine snobs swirling and swishing and spitting out sips of 20-year-old merlot. While it is perhaps one of the most widely enjoyed beverages on other continents, I found that there seemed to be an idea in many North American circles that drinking and appreciating wine is an arduous task reserved only for those with enough money and pretension to truly taste what’s in their glass. In truth, my road to getting into wine was be paved with friends at dinner parties reminding me that they’re Italian, Spanish and French and therefore have an appreciation for wine that is naturally superior to my own. They may have reminded me of this while eschewing the wine I selected for that very evening. This criticism might even have made me feel so inferior that I wanted to run as fast as I could into the tender loving arms of my choice domestic beer. Don’t be frightened by this possibility. Arm yourself with

some basic wine knowledge and quickly you’ll be oﬀ on your way into the glorious world of wines. In my experience, the best place to start was to do an actual wine tasting. There is nothing for a budding wine connoisseur

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

Each week, Ontarion editors will divulge their sage advice for breaking into a possibly intimidating aspect of culture. Anything that might overwhelm and seem impossible to "get into," Ontarion editors will seek to demystify and make the transition from neophyte to connoisseur a simple one. like being able to taste a range of vintages, grape varietals and levels of dryness. Generally people who conduct wine tastings are trained to guide you through the experience by explaining what notes you should be able to taste

in each wine and the best foods to enjoy them with. Another helpful approach is to experiment by ordering diﬀerent glasses of wine at restaurants, preferably with the help of a sommelier. Sommeliers are trained

Julia Shonﬁeld

professionals that work in ﬁne dining restaurants. They specialize in wine, and can provide assistance in helping you select one based on either your personal taste or even what wine would best compliment your meal. The next step is good oldfashioned trial and error. With some basic information, you can stop by the LCBO and start buying bottles. Make sure to really taste the wine and think critically about whether or not you are enjoying it. Something I discovered on my quest to appreciating wine was that the LCBO provides a quarterly food and wine magazine available for free at their stores. The pages are stocked with types of wines and descriptions to give you some indication of what they’ll taste like, not to mention recipes for foods to pair them with. Ultimately remember that wine should be, and is, a pleasure. It is neither for special occasions nor the pretentious. Drink it often and with great enthusiasm and remember that a great bottle of wine need not be purchased for a king’s ransom.

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DENISE MARTINS By day, Anne McKee is a third year student in environmental science ecology. At night, she is vicepresident of possibly the geekiest and friendliest club on campus: Flash Club. If you’re into fantasy, literature, anime, sci-fi, or horror then this club is for you. Flash club shares their office (and in many cases, their membership) with the games club and is visible to anyone who walks by the second floor of the University Centre. With four-hour long film screenings every weekday, and Saturday morning cartoons with green eggs and ham (and purple pancakes), Flash Club has rightfully attained the reputation of one of the most active clubs on campus. But daily events are not enough for this insanely devoted group of followers, so the club also holds annual events such as the Guelph Anime Convention (Con-G) held in late February at the Ramada. Also as an extensive part of their membership is shared with Games Club, both of these clubs unite to organize many amazing events such as midnight nerfwars in the University Centre during Gryph Con in March. Whether it’s because of their obsession with strategy in games, or due to serious discussions on the right procedure during a zombie apocalypse, this club has definitely

Rashaad Bhamjee

attained a cult-like following on our campus. “The people in the club tend to be very well-knit together,” said McKee. And so when someone realizes that they like the club, they bring in their friends and it gets very big very quickly.” Flash Club has one of the highest memberships of all CSA clubs. Its only rivals are the Muslim Student Association and Campus for Christ. Annual membership is only $5 for either the Flash Club or Games Club, or you can just pay $8 for

membership in both. If you plan to be an avid member, this membership pays off in the form of discounts for the clubs’ events and at the local comic, anime, and game store, the Dragon. The question in everyone’s mind right now should be “how do I join?” And the answer is simple: either approach the club’s table on the second floor or e-mail flash@ uoguelph.ca and prepare to be absorbed by a world where anything and everything is possible.

THE ONTARION

LIFE

161.5

Dan O'Keefe's Vegan Challenge: part 3

DAN O’KEEFE

Off the campus and into the city

As I mentioned before, every hospitality location on campus can offer something that is vegan friendly. Fresh fruits and vegetables are great, but they can get boring after a little while. So, this week, I took a look offcampus and around the city to see where vegan Guelphites might find some of their foodstuffs. A very useful tool for any vegan anywhere is the website, www.happycow.net. Happy Cow is an online “compassionate eating guide,” which calls itself “the most trusted source for finding vegetarian food since 1999.” It contains a database of vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants from around the world, as well as recipes, discussion forums, and shopping links to numerous vegan/vegetarian online stores. I used Happy Cow to find three restaurants, two food stores, and a bakery in Guelph. A friend of mine took me to Wild Organic Way at 22 Carden St., located across the street from Guelph City Hall. This lovely little restaurant offers a diverse menu with some amazing and delicious dishes. One of these dishes is Tasty Tacos: corn tortillas surround a blend of sunflower seeds and sun-dried tomatoes, sitting beside a salad of organic mixed greens with the restaurant’s own salad dressing. This was absolutely delectable, very much like the long list of desserts and smoothies also featured on the menu. Wild Organic Way takes

veganism to the next level – raw veganism. The vast majority of their dishes contain only raw ingredients. As basic biology tells us, proteins exposed to

I am also considering remaining completely vegan. It may be the initial enthusiasm that often accompanies something new; however, I have been completely engulfed by veganism after only scratching the surface. extreme conditions, such as heat from cooking, are irreversibly denatured, and provide little beneﬁt in comparison to an unheated and unaltered protein. Raw vegans limit the amount of cooked food they consume in order to obtain more of the beneﬁcial proteins and nutrients from their foods that cooking would otherwise destroy. The Cornerstone is another downtown vegan option. This cozy and relaxed little restaurant sits on the corner of Wyndham St. and Carden St. The Cornerstone serves a variety of dishes and their menu marks all of the vegan options with a ‘v.’ The diverse menu ensured that both my omnivorous father and vegan self could have a suitable and enjoyable meal together when he

A simple yes or no. . . As part of the new Life section, the Ontarion staff and volunteers will share their awkward anecdotes and uncomfortable situations on a weekly basis. Go to the ontarion. ca to vote each week on situations that are much more than simple yes or no questions. Hell, I’ll admit, I’m probably the worst person to go out on a date with. I’ve been heavily influenced by the great modern philosophers of dating, most notably the dudes from Keys to the VIP and Jerry Seinfeld. Yeah I’m superficial. Yeah, okay, if a girl eats one pea at a time it’s a deal breaker. I have problems. But what happened to me the other night on a first date sparked debate amongst some of the greatest minds of the era (I have three friends doing their masters). And I believe my reasons for not calling this young woman back were justified, not neurotic as one academic put. So we want you to decide. So here it is, and mind you this really is a true story. We went to a show. We laughed. I touched her hand. She smiled.

Rashaad Bhamjee

U of G student Dan O’Keefe remains dedicated to his goal of living as a vegan for the month of February. visited me this past weekend. Stone Store Natural Foods is located at 14 Commercial St., just off of Norfolk St. They offer an abundance of organic and health foods, catering to vegans and vegetarians as well as health-conscious omnivores. Here, I picked up some groceries, including milk-free chocolate – perfect for a vegan Valentine’s Day – and organic peanut butter with only two ingredients: peanuts and peanut oil. As an added bonus, this store offers a

10 per cent discount for students every Monday. A little further north at 355 Elmira Rd. N. lies the VegeHut Natural Bakery. This bakery makes delicious breads and baked goods with organic ﬂour and without preservatives. Most of their products use honey as a natural and healthy alternative to sugar. Technically, honey is not vegan, since it comes from bees. However, as the bees are generally not killed, some vegans will consume honey. This is one

of the grey areas of veganism. The choice whether or not to consume honey is at the discretion of each individual vegan. Regardless of the decision, Vege-Hut offers products with and without honey. In an effort to remain true to the official definition of veganism, I chose a tasty loaf of sourdough bread and some almond cookies, all without honey. Over the weekend, my friend took me to the Farmer’s Market on Gordon St. just outside of downtown Guelph. Stocked full with a plethora of fresh fruits and vegetables, this was the perfect place to load up a few bags with close to my weight in produce. In addition to produce, I purchased some apple cider and the perfect vegan Super Bowl snack: pizza crackers and spicy chipotle dip from Sprouting Life, a small vegan food business that operates out of the Farmer’s Market. As for me, I still feel awesome. I’ve cut out the vast majority of processed foods, and I’ve never felt better. I’m actually contemplating continuing with some aspects of veganism past February. I might return to vegetarianism, or possibly have one vegan meal per day. But, I am also considering remaining completely vegan. It may be the initial enthusiasm that often accompanies something new; however, I have been completely engulfed by veganism after only scratching the surface. We’ll see if I change my mind as the Vegan Challenge continues.

Should she stay or should she go?

We walked downtown. It was snowing. Ah, she’s pretty. So as we were walking I asked her if she was hungry and she said she certainly was. I liked her style. So we dined, late as it was. When the meal got there I dug in. She picked at her meal. This was the ﬁrst alert. Why say you’re hungry when you’re not? But okay, I cut her some slack. She was nervous right? But when the bubbly waitress came and asked her if she wanted to pack up her meal, she said no. No? She had taken literally two to ﬁve bites. I was paying too!! It wasn’t her small appetite that bothered me; it was the fact that she wouldn’t bag a perfectly good meal that I could have eaten the next day for lunch. Again, I cut her some slack. This wasn’t the deal breaker, I only tell you this little incident to contextualize my later decision. So we left. It was still snowing. We laughed. Again I touched her hand. So what, I was digging her. No big deal. I still liked her style. So I invited her over to my place. We drank wine. We talked movies.

She had never heard of Life Aquatic. Again, I cut her some slack. I was still digging her. My socks smelled. I changed them. I knew I liked her So, then it began. A small kiss led to some heavy petting. A voyage into my bedroom let to an exploration of each other’s bodies. So we had some fun, some PG 13 fun. As the legendry R & B singer Monica once said, ‘I don’t get down on the ﬁrst night.’ And given that, you can only do so much PG 13 fun before it gets a little monotonous. So we stopped. And then she did it. Lying there, in my bed, she turned to me and said, ‘should I just, uh, maybe, uh stay the night?’ Okay, let’s be real, that’s not really a question. It’s a statement that’s she’s staying over. I didn’t really have a choice. So again, lets break it down: it was the ﬁrst date. I invited her up. I invited her to my room. I clearly showed that I was interested. It was three in the morning. But here’s my thing: sleeping in the same bed with someone you just met is more intimate than

having sex with them. You’re asleep; they could be awake watching you. Then there’s the spooning politics that inevitably ensue. Do we cuddle? Is there a morning kiss once both people are up? And fuck, sometimes, rarely, when I’ve had a lot to drink I’ve pissed the bed. Like three times. Four, maybe. And when it’s happened with a girl it’s been cool because I’ve been in long term relationships with them. Goddammit I wasn’t ready for this. But I had no choice. She stayed. And I slept pressed against the wall. I didn’t pee the bed, though. So she left the next day. And I never called. And so the debate ensued. When I told the story, opinion was divided. Some thought that because I had invited her up, because it was late in the morning and because we had fooled around, it was her ‘right’ to stay. Others felt that in no situation, regardless of the fact she was a woman and it was three in the morning, do you ever invite your self to sleep over. And remember, she threw away a perfectly good meal.

You decide on the ontarion.ca. The question is: In this situation, should I have simply assumed she was staying the night when I invited her in. Yes or No?

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OPINION

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

THEONTARION.CA

L OOSE CANNON

February- a hidden love A student union story is as a student A poetic argument to love the lonely union does month KELSEY RIDEOUT And it’s come. February. The most trying month of them all. The month that challenges us to get up even earlier to make sure we have the time to throw on our long johns, pack some tea, double our socks, grab some tissue for our runny noses, and most critically, ensure our wet hair has dried, or risk facing the anguish from frozen solid pony tails, eyelashes, and even on occasion, nose hairs. Yes, it’s come and it’s here to stay, well at least for 28 days. But here’s the thing, its ﬁerce winds are sometimes so unbearable, time and space and all logical realities get blown over the edge and we start to tremble in fear as we truly come to believe that February, may very well last forever. Perplexity begins to surface. The mornings darken to feel like nights, the evenings draw out to resemble afternoons, and weekends suddenly grasp the stress that should characterize weekdays. Our resolutions and goals begin to lose some of

their stamina, we find ourselves arriving late for meetings we had been obsessively on time for, and like no other period of the year our daily routines feel more overwhelming and difficult to adhere to. We begin to realize that we are not so far off from our fellow bears and groundhogs, as in a time like this, stocking food and finding a warm cove to hibernate in would make perfect, blissful sense. February. The month that makes us feel backwards. The month that makes the most enthusiastic lover of the outdoors begin to loathe the winter. So herein from a shared misery, we can find an inspiring, if not revolutionary idea. Can we learn to love February? Like really, really love. I’m talking about one of those deep, passionate, stimulating loves. Is it possible? Can we even find a feeling that transcends a mediocre dislike or a lukewarm half-hearted one thumb up? Can we challenge ourselves to take the time to look around us, feeling with our bodies, minds and hearts, to recognize the hidden beauties that exist in this seemingly endless month? How about the taste of a warm hot chocolate on a crisp,

clear, moonlit February night? How about the sight of a precious young child, wrapped from head to toe, wobbling slowly like a happy starfish? How about the gratitude that comes from hot, delicious soup being absorbed by a cold body? How about the freedom that arises from twirling and whirling on a smooth surface beneath skates, outside on the rink that has finally frozen over? How about the outpour of kind actions, the giving of scarves and mitts, and snowsuits and hats, for those who find February without garments to protect them? How about the brilliance that is shown, when the sun, the snow, and the blue skies above, synchronize to permeate the outdoors with a glowing, shimmering, stunning show of illumination? Maybe there is a hidden love story that’s buried beneath the blizzards of February after all. Perhaps all we have to do is be more open to it, and remember that the best love is often drawn without straightedge angles, coloured with dark, unexpected shades, and found in the most undesirable circumstances. February. Maybe not so distressing after all?

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GREG BENETEAU

This Valentine’s Day, send a little love to the Central Students’ Association Executive. They need it. Following an outcry over the elimination of preferential hiring for marginalized groups, the CSA exec is again under fire, this time over a proposal to merge the CSA-operated Human Rights Office with its Legal and Legal Resource Rooms to form a new Student Help and Advocacy Centre (SHAC). By the time this article publishes, the proposal will have already been debated at Wednesday’s Board of Directors Meeting, which promises to be one of the longest and most wellattended meetings of the year. I’m all in favour of castigating politicians for bone-headed moves, and there’s plenty of blame to go around in this fiasco. In the case of employment equity, it’s apparent that groups representing marginalized student on campus were not informed that a change was in the works. CSA Human Resources & Operations Commissioner Josh Gaber, who proposed the change, defended the process by saying the CSA had consulted extensively with the University’s Human Rights and Equity Office. The HREO, in turn, pointed out that the current policy – awarding jobs to self-identified applicants from marginalized groups if they scored within the top five per cent of job interviews – was nothing more than wrongheaded affirmative action that conferred special status upon certain people, rather than eliminating barriers to equal opportunity. But if change was needed, fair warning could have been given. For groups that have historically faced discrimination in employment, doing away with the current policy without giving them a voice in the process added insult added to injury. And the new policy of tracking whether marginalized people are applying for jobs offers no revised strategy for achieving actual employment equity. Some changes were introduced so quickly they outpaced the very people who proposed them. How else to explain the fact that CSA Academic Affair Commissioner Nathan Lachowsky and External Affairs Commissioner Momina Mir, authors of the SHAC proposal, have tabled the motion at the same meeting that the Human Rights Office staff gets a chance to respond to it? Some CSA staff affected by the SHAC

proposal had no idea there was anything amiss until last week’s article in the Ontarion – this despite the fact the CSA has a communications and corporate affairs commissioner responsible for keeping an open dialogue with the outside world. That being said, I think the motions should be opposed on the grounds that they were poorly planned and executed, rather than accusing the executive of attempting to destroy progressive student politics as we know it. Others aren’t so sure, and a pamphlet circulating around campus is warning that the leaders of the CSA have “advanced ‘initiatives’ that are regressive and at odds with what student unions are supposed to be doing.” Reading the “CSA? WTF?” pamphlet, you might get the impression the anonymous authors struggled to fill two whole pages’ worth of grievances against their supposedly tyrannical student overlords. Charges in the pamphlet range from the inane (the new full-time Policy and Elections job was filled by a non-student) to the false (The CSA doesn’t post its budget surpluses; the CSA’s old hiring policy was “in line” with the federal Employment Equity Act) to the nonsensical (changing executive titles is an attempt at “personal advancement). It accused this year’s executive dropping the ball on supporting tuition initiatives like the Canadian Federation of Students “Drop Fees” campaign. In fact, student activism and support for the CFS on this campus has been on life support for several years. It takes more than one generation of leaders to cause the kind of apathetic attitude seen by most students, let alone fix it. But let’s take their allegations at face value. If it’s true that the CSA Executive is made up of bloodsucking careerists whose primary goal is climbing the corporate ladder, then those naysayers need to step up and offer a different direction for the organization. And while they’re at it, they’ll also need to replace the CSA Board, who voted in favour of scrapping employment equity. As luck would have it, the deadline for nominations in the CSA General Election is this Friday. Let’s have this debate in a public forum so that students can decide what direction the CSA should take. As Forest Gump would say: A student union is as a student union does.

THE ONTARION

OPINION

161.5

HEUMANNLY POSSIBLE

Principles, habits and becoming less prejudiced JAMES HEUMANN I was recently talking to a fellow student of international development about biases. She said she was worried about being biased, since there were so many things she didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know yet, and this made her hesitant to write publicly. I told her that one of the major positive contributions of the postmodernist movement was that everyone is biased, and the role of a responsible author is to admit their biases up front and tell their story, from their perspective. Everyone is biased in some ways, regardless of which country or social class you grew up in (I know I am). So, if we write or speak, we should admit our biases (when relevant), and let the reader or hearer judge how it aďŹ&#x20AC;ects the message. But how do we deal with unacceptable biases? Can we reduce them? First, we need to talk about what biases are. The Concise Oxford Dictionary deďŹ nes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;biasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; as â&#x20AC;&#x153;inclination, predisposition (towards); prejudice; inďŹ&#x201A;uence.â&#x20AC;? So, why do we have certain inclinations in our beliefs? Why are we predisposed to believe certain things about a situation, even before we have the speciďŹ c relevant facts? Why do we prejudge? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the last question that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to focus on here. Well, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because of the kinds of organisms that we humans are. Nietzsche claims, in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Beyond Good and Evil,â&#x20AC;? that we need simpliďŹ cation, and in that sense falsiďŹ cation, in order to live. I think heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right, in that each of us has only a single human brain, whose cognitive capacities are limited, even when well trained, and whose input-output

capacities are extremely limited, as well as our time. Our knowledge of evidence starts at zero, and grows only slowly over our lives, and is limited to the quality of the sources of knowledge we encounter. To speed up knowledge acquisition, our brain evolved to simplify the world around us using generalizations encoded in linguistic form, as concepts. However it evolved, this categorization system can cause ethical problems in the modern world. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is my culture, and it is the best, so I should teach people of other cultures how to live just like me.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Women are like this.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Germans are like that.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh, his

excellent human character traits). (There is a third ethical approach, consequentialism, but I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t discuss that one here.) The classic deontological theory is Kantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, centred upon his categorical imperative: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.â&#x20AC;? This is basically saying you should only act according to universal principles such that you would be happy if everyone were to follow those principles (and no, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mention the name of any

good place to ďŹ nd advice about what principles one should apply in a given situation in order to avoid treating other people with discrimination â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is, in order to avoid letting oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prejudices cause one to violate oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral duties to another person. But sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very hard to say â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;noâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to a powerful impulse on the basis of intellectual principles in oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head. Many of our actions and reactions are a result of habits. In fact, the prejudices than can push one towards treating someone else in a discriminatory way could be seen, in part, as mental habits, themselves (a habit to

Deontology, such as in the language of human rights, is a good place to ďŹ nd advice about what principles one should apply in a given situation in order to avoid treating other people with discrimination â&#x20AC;&#x201C; that is, in order to avoid letting oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prejudices cause one to violate oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moral duties to another person. skin is that colour... now I know all about him!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; So, what should we do about it? What can we do about it? Here, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re at the crossroads of philosophy and a small corner of psychology (with some neuroscience thrown in, too). Under philosophy, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ethics that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re talking about when we ask what we â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; do. This problem calls for at least two of the main approaches of ethics: deontology (the philosophy of duties) and virtue ethics (the philosophy of habituated,

speciďŹ c person or group of people, like â&#x20AC;&#x153;everyone should obey James Heumannâ&#x20AC;?, because everyone is seen as equal). Kant says this implies we should always treat every person as an end, and never as a means to another end. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the language of deontology (which includes modern theories like that of John Rawls) that philosophers justify human rights Deontology, such as in the language of human rights, is a

judge things a certain way). And one will make life very hard for oneself indeed if one simply ďŹ lls oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head with a whole bunch of noble principles and then tries to constantly stop all the habitual thoughts and behaviours that violate those principles. Most of the time one will lose, in that game. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s where virtue ethics come in. Virtue ethics talks about the excellent human character traits that one should cultivate, and their opposites, the vices. Virtues are cultivated through

habituation (and you know how long it takes to build habits, or worse, to break bad ones ďŹ rst). The classic virtue ethicist is Aristotle, and his â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;golden meanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approach. For example, courage is a virtue. One who is afraid too much is a coward; one who fears too little is reckless; but one who fears in the right amount, somewhere between these two extremes, is courageous. Courage is acquired through acting as though one were courageous, in fear-inducing situations, and does this regularly, over a long time. Over this time it becomes easier to act that way. Some have criticized virtue ethics that it is not suďŹ&#x192;cient as a complete view of ethics, since it contains no compass as to which habits are morally good and which morally bad; that it winds up being based on cultural values. According to my current thinking, I agree with this criticism, and believe that we should look among the other approaches to tell us which character traits are virtues and which are vices. Regardless, once you ďŹ gure out your principles â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those that dictate what is the right and good way to treat other people - you can set about cultivating the virtues that will lead you to treat people in ways that tend to conform with those principles, by default, as your ďŹ rst, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;naturalfeelingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; impulse. How can you cultivate virtues? To answer that, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to get into a certain small corner of psychology, with its connections to neuroscience. But, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to save that for my next column, in two weeks time. Bit of a cliďŹ&#x20AC;hanger, perhaps?

Visit www.sundaycinema.ca for more info on these Central Student Association events 7:00 pm

10:00 pm doors

noon

7:00 pm

kite hill

docurama + guest lecture Thurs Feb 11

live music Thurs Feb 18

nooner Tues Feb 23

docurama Thurs Feb 25

thornbrough 1200 | free | Co-presented with MacLaughlin Library and the University Centre

e-bar | 41 Quebec | $10 | $8 with food item

uc courtyard

thornbrough 1200 | free

This powerful, beautiful and devastaingly effective piece of advocacy ďŹ lm-making will be followed by a Q&A session and a short introduction to local author Leah Lemieuxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new book.

Licensed/all ages. Co-presented with KYEO.

Broadcast live on CFRU 93.3 FM A great and beautiful blended noise.

Co-presented with MacLaughlin Library Another world is possible.

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

OPINION

THEONTARION.CA

Acting on accessibility MICHAEL RIDLEY I don’t have a disability; and that’s challenging for me. Challenging because I am less sensitive to the needs and struggles of those who do. It’s too easy for me to forget about the barriers. I’m a problem. For years Ontario has had legislation that supports the rights of the disabled for equitable access to services and resources. Much has changed. Many positive steps have been taken. But not enough. The recent Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is a valiant and aggressive attempt to address this. By moving from a focus on accommodation to the idea that accessibility should be “mainstream” AODA puts the challenge of access in a new light. The legislation has all kinds of legal requirements, compliance timetables, and even fines and other punitive bits. Those who focus on the low bar of compliance or avoidance of fines have missed the point. Key message: mainstreaming accessible design and delivery is good for all of us. To date, the culture of accommodation has dominated our thinking about accessibility. Essentially it meant you did something different for those with disabilities. AODA changes that. Accessibility is no longer an afterthought; accessibility is part of the design. Accessibility becomes a way of thinking and

acting. The accommodation paradigm has created some tension in the academy. Is providing accommodation (e.g. more time to write an exam, access to a computer for writing, setting a different assignment entirely) giving students with disabilities an unfair advantage? Is it sanctioned cheating? Some think so. Some resist the “special treatment” being requested by students. But equity does not mean equal. Accommodation was, and is, not about reduced criteria or expectation. Just different. And that is why mainstreaming our thinking about accessibility is so important. We have some very thoughtful and creative people on campus working on these issues. The Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee (APDAC) is a campus group comprised of students, faculty, and staff. By taking on more than a mere advisory role, APDAC has effectively advocated for a focus on disability issues both at Guelph and throughout the province. Their initiative to host the now annual Aiming for Accessibility Conference has positioned Guelph as a leader in bringing together this community to develop successful strategies arising from AODA. With the leadership of Teaching Support Services (TSS), APDAC has promoted Universal Instructional Design (UID). UID has been around

Rashaad Bhamjee

for awhile. It is a philosophy and approach that builds accessibility into learning materials and course design. The result is eﬀective learning strategy and accessibility all wrapped together. But it is slow to get traction. We can do better. The University of Guelph has been a leader in its eﬀorts to enroll and support students with learning disabilities. Through the work of Centre for Students with Disabilities (CSD) and the Library Centre for Students with Disabilities (LCSD), these

students are not merely gaining access to university, they are typically thriving when they are here. These are students who, without such support, may have never even considered applying to university. One clear strategy for accessibility is to create information and communications that can be reused in diﬀerent media or through diﬀerent tools. And anything digital is a clear winner. Create a document that can be read by a screen reader, converted into an MP3, or used

to create Braille output. Produce video that has captioning. Pay attention to the web standards for accessibility: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines, and User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (none as daunting as their titles might suggest). So let’s identify another elephant in the room: designing for accessibility is dumbing down the product. It’s too restrictive. It doesn’t look good. It’s less useful for those without disabilities. Yada yada yada. All true. True, if you are a linear thinker with a limited palette of options and little curiosity to extend your own skills or abilities. Innovation occurs in that space between creativity and constraint. If striving for accessibility is limiting your creativity perhaps you are beginning to get a sense of what someone with a disability must be feeling much of the time. Get over it. Move on. There is lots of scope and opportunity in accessible design. My rant here doesn’t let me off the hook. I’m probably no better than you in actually following through on the things I’ve raised here. I do not have a disability. My challenge is different. 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.

The ethical dilemma of on-campus parking and how to avoid a ticket JOHN J. WILSON Having lived in the UK most of my life, it seems to me that driving and car ownership presents a more complex ethical dilemma in Canada than it does in most other countries. Everyone must be aware that gasguzzling automobiles are largely responsible for global climate change, causing melting icecaps, widespread ﬂooding, hurricanes and other “natural” disasters. But in a city where the places you need to be seem unnecessarily far apart, owning a car and driving might seem less a choice than a necessity. For travel within the city of Guelph, the CSA and GSA does a good job promoting use of public transport by providing the student bus pass, but the city seems unable to provide a transit system that works. During the winter it can be incredibly frustrating when, after standing outside in freezing conditions, the bus you’ve been patiently waiting for drives past late, with “sorry bus full” glowing above the driver. Having lived in London, I can assure you these buses are nowhere near full by the

standards of other cities. While I always try to encourage my friends to walk or use public transport I remain constantly amazed at those who will drive short distances without considering the environmental consequences. If this is not important to them (and unbelievably this sometimes appears to be the case) I would have ﬁgured that the ﬁnancial cost would motivate walking. For those who have no option but to drive, perhaps because they live far from a bus route or out of town, the cost of parking on campus can require careful budgeting. During the “Thoughtfully Global, Thankfully Local” event in the UC last week, CUPE local president, Janice Folk-Dawson, raised the issue of whether it is appropriate for workers to be charged to park at their place of work. An interesting calculation would be to see how much a basic university wage is reduced due to incidental but unavoidable fees such as parking. Providing parking lots, with appropriate signage and regular maintenance, including snow removal is very expensive. Should

this cost be covered by only those who drive, or the community as a whole – is it your responsibility to provide the professor of your class with a place to park while she is teaching you, or should she be the one to foot the bill – is it her “choice” to drive? From another perspective, if parking was free on campus, how many people who currently walk or bus would instead drive? It is impractical to expect students to move into campus residences using public transport. Those who drive from their home towns to Guelph at the start of term, and keep their cars on campus ready to pack up again and return home also face substantial “extra” charges for parking on campus. Parking enforcement on campus can seem unnecessarily strict and dogmatic. Is it appropriate to ticket for overnight parking, under the rationale of snow removal when it hasn’t snowed for weeks and ploughing didn’t even happen? Signage in some lots can be small and ambiguous, and lines can be diﬃcult to see under a layer of snow, making occasional “infringements” unavoidable.

As someone who walks, bikes, or takes the bus to campus, my experience with campus parking and the associated ethical dilemmas have developed through my position as GSA rep on the parking appeals committee. This committee of six people vote on whether an appeal against an issued ticket is granted or (the most probable outcome with the current committee) denied. The committee is comprised of reps from the various unions on campus, and currently I am the only student. Based on my experience sitting for over one year on the committee, here are my recommendations to avoid a ticket in the ﬁrst place and what to do if you get one: 1. Take the bus, bike or walk to campus 2. Come to campus after 5pm weekdays or on weekends when parking is free in most lots. 3. If one and two are not practical be informed about where you can park, buy the appropriate permit and don’t forget to display it. 4. If you don’t drive to campus regularly use the vistor parking lot

instead of meters. 5. If is not practical and you have to park at a meter, be sure to overfeed it. Meetings, exams and doctors appointments always take longer than you expect and feeding an extra $2 to the meter is better than returning to your car <1 minute late and finding a $20 citation. [That said the fine for being late back to a meter is less than parking in a permit lot without a valid permit.] 6. Most lots have restricted hours at night for snow removal. Cars parked during these time are subject to tow. If you are studying in the library til 2am don’t forget your car could have been fine during the day but at that time of night might be parked illegally. 7. The “grace” parking period at the start of a semester doesn’t exist despite what other people might tell you. 8. If you do get a ticket a reasonable excuse for leaving your car parked illegally is being under the influence. Receiving a parking ticket for making the sensible choice not to drink and drive is usually looked on leniently.

THE ONTARION

OPINION

161.5

POP CULTURED

ANDREW T KNOWS S OMETHING ABOUT DINOSAURS

Half-time spectacular

Why I became ‘that guy’ I always hated

DUNCAN DAY-MYRON You are about to read an article about the Super Bowl written by someone who probably should not be writing about the Super Bowl. I am many things, but a sports fan is not among them. You have been warned. Truth be told, I’d never actually sat through an entire football game before in my life. I’ve sat through many halftime shows, but never the actual game. I didn’t even understand the rules until the fourth quarter. But there I was on Sunday night, beer in hand, in a crowded room, tuned in to America’s biggest game. So were many, many other people. Preliminary reports from BBM Canada report that 6.7 million Canadians

watched the game, with an estimated 16.64 million watching at least a portion of the game, or approximately one in two Canadians. According to Neilsen, in the United States alone, 106 million people tuned in, nearly 10 million more people than last year’s Super Bowl, and nearly triple last year’s Academy Awards. That’s 45 per cent of all American home televisions, or 68 per cent of the entire television watching population. I’m unsure of the exact sorcery behind calculating television ratings, but those numbers only account for home televisions, not audiences watching in bars, streaming it online, and can’t

accurately account for Super Bowl parties or shared televisions like those in dormitories. It’s hard not to wonder, even for the most devoted of football fans, what makes the Super Bowl such a huge draw, especially with regards to international audiences, considering the limited international success of the sport. Perhaps the most obvious contribution to this appeal is the way the broadcast acts as entertainment beyond the game itself. Beginning with Super Bowl XXV in 1991, popular music acts started performing at halftime shows, with the past decade 2000s have brought the biggest names to the event:

P h i l Collins, Britney Spears, U2, Shania Twain, the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Prince to name a few. And there’s also the star-studded lineup of pregame national anthem performers. It is not an event that attempts to celebrate the best of that year: it’s the best ever. If this year’s halftime show is any indication, that’s become their sole criterion. That is to say, the Who was terrible. To say they’re past their prime is an understatement. That show made me momentarily forget they ever had a prime. Seeing two men,

who in any other career would have been forced into retirement long ago, singing about “teenage wasteland” was absurd. But that’s not the point. The point is that the Who are legends. There is a far-reaching and deep-seated fondness towards them for their years of unadulterated greatness, however long ago that was. That’s all anyone could possibly expect the organizers of the Super Bowl to strive for, because as much of a big deal the halftime show is, it will always be secondary to, and accommodate the Super Bowl’s biggest audience draw. It is an excuse to have a party on a Sunday night. It’s become an unoﬃcial national holiday, a reason to drink, eat, and spend the day with friends a n d

f a m i l y, in the d a r k m o n t h s between New Year’s and Easter. I wasn’t the only person watching it on television that day who couldn’t possibly care less about football. The Super Bowl has become one of the few events in our culture that transcends any kind of audience-pigeonholing. It’s not speciﬁcally that there’s something for everyone, but rather that the aim is to be as populist as possible, and the universal appeal of the half-time show is probably as big, if not a bigger draw, to audiences than the actual game itself. That and the all the carbs.

ANDREW T So, cell phones. Let’s talk about them. I’m taking a break from talking about the Internet to talk about cell phones. Now, I was a latecomer to the cell phone game. I got my first mobile phone in May of 2009. I haven’t even had one for a year. And I’m 21. Now, that’s an unrelated but somewhat substantial sounding fact, but the point is that I’m already wistfully imagining the freedom I had when I didn’t have my phone. Those were good times. Why didn’t I stick with them? To be honest, I wanted to be in the club. I wanted in, even though I knew (and still know) that this club hosts the worst parties. But let’s get real for a second. Who doesn’t have an open bar at a club party? The cell phone people. And who sets a limit on the number of cocktail weenies I can eat? The cell phone people. Well, whatever. I just wanted into the club. And there are some club benefits. I can remember this one time…and this other time…but specifically, this one time I was coming back from Montreal with these guys named Bled, Jay, Sam, and Jordan and they were all excusing themselves from our really important conversation about life and stuff in order to text people. On the one hand, I didn’t want to be that guy. But on the other hand, I did want to be that guy. I wanted to be all those guys. I wanted to have someone waiting to read my overly wordy and properly spelled texts! And now I am that guy! I spell all kinds of things! Did you know that T9 knows the words “Honka” and “Jackie Chan” but almost none of the curse words I use on a regular basis? So like I said, I did become that guy. I was hanging with some other guys last night (and one of the same guys), just hanging out and talking. And yes, I did spend some time responding to a few texts. Then I noticed Sean giving me that look. You know, that look that says, “Hey buddy. We’re having a conversation here.” He does this even though he and I both

know—like, we know—that I’m all about our conversations, and that I can do both at once. But still. Rude. I know. And I’d say “My Bad,” but such is the life and etiquette of being a cell phone user. Oh! And can someone please explain to me why cell phone etiquette somehow involves having the right to contact me at all times? You know what I mean? Like, sometimes I think I’ll just leave my cell phone constantly plugged in. Forever charging. I’d treat it like a landline, and maybe leave it at home when I went out to Cirque du Soleil, or if I went to the slightly less popular and sexual Circus of the Sun, or if I went to the even less popular and less sexual location of your house…Why? Because I can. And I’m the boss of the phone. The phone is not the boss of me. But think about how mad people would be if they found out I did that. I think that people have a crazy sense of entitlement over their ability to contact me whenever they want. Not just contacting me, but all people really. Like, what, I can’t wait to respond to a text? I can. And I do sometimes. My Grandma will wait whole weeks, apparently. Was there a real point to this week’s column? Um…no…just, be yourself. But don’t let yourself be you! That’s weird. Or maybe try thinking about how being constantly connected to your friends and family is both a good thing and a bad thing, but it shouldn’t be the only thing. I think the most important thing about cell phone etiquette is knowing how the people you’re physically with will react to you being constantly pulled into another social sphere. If they’re not into you texting and being slightly distracted – and I’m into that, I’m totally into that – then maybe they’ll feel like you guys spent all this time planning a big get together, and then you go ahead and party at the neighbour’s house down the street. Who does that? I’ll try to have more stories about girls next week. I feel unbalanced if I just talk about my guy friends. So I may not be able to mention Scott again for a while. Dang.

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

EDITOR’S PAGE

EDITORIAL

Black History Month will always be necessary Black History Month conjures up all kinds of thoughts and ideas about what exactly this celebration entails. Stories from the past. Awareness of past and present issues and injustices. Appreciation of a unique culture. The list goes on. The possibilities are endless. And as long as these ideas remain progressive and forward thinking, they are all correct. They are all worthy. Which is why we are somewhat troubled with any suggestion that Black History Month is irrelevant. Or unnecessary. Or outdated. To be clear, any educationallydriven exhibit, that draws attention to unfounded discrimination in our society, is worthy of our appreciation and must be sustained. These awareness initiatives almost always result in positive change. The very creation of Black History Month itself facilitated change. When Dr. Carter G. Woodson ﬁrst suggested that black history was worthy of a month’s study and appreciation in 1926 (then called Negro History Week but had its name changed in 1976 under the Ford administration), academics had barely even began to study such topics. Existing racial tendencies notwithstanding, blacks existed in literature almost only in the context of social standing, while success stories went largely untold. Black History Month ensures that those stories of freedom and success continue to be told. Critics contend that the appreciation of black history should not just be limited to the scope of one month’s worth of study; that rather, black history should be a universal and yearround area of focus. While we can’t help but agree with this contention that awareness should exist universally, we should also consider the result of Woodson’s original initiative: a speciﬁc and timely focus of black history helped bring the culture into the

The Ontarion Inc.

LETTERS

mainstream spotlight. Perhaps, by continuing to devote the month of February to black history, we can help further develop his intentions: to educate and make sure that these issues are never forgotten. Before we criticize the month entirely, let’s at least appreciate its intentions.

The fact that racism, homophobia and prejudice still exist on this very campus should suggest that we still need campaigns such as Black History Month to further educate our society. The fact that racism, homophobia and prejudice still exist on this very campus should suggest that we still need campaigns such as Black History Month to further educate our society. The fact that people even suggest that Black History Month is simply propaganda is appalling. For all the progress that we have made, there’s still a long way to go. Black History Month ensures that black history itself is not swept under the rug and is appreciated for what it is: remarkable, worthy and signiﬁcant. Black History Month should not be something that elicits criticism. Black History Month is about appreciation, awareness and education, and it will always be relevant and necessary.

Cities are made by and for the people who live there, and should not be spoiled by dangerous motorists who threaten pedestrians and cyclists. As a consequence, traffic rules need to change. For example, imagine the following scenario: all motorized traffic at intersections gets a red light to allow pedestrians and cyclists a safe passage. There is no right of way (over pedestrians or cyclists) for cars on any parking, commercial or industrial area outside roads. We introduce a law like in the Netherlands that holds motorists responsible if they collide with a pedestrian or cyclist, whether the accident was the driver’s fault or not. The speed limit on all city roads is 30km/h. The increasing number of oblivious, careless and dangerous drivers we tend to observe on Guelph’s roads, and on which the police as a consequence are cracking down now, are the most suitable lobbyists to achieve the scenario described above. If anyone does not understand this message, consider that at tffhe moment as a pedestrian or cyclist (which an increasing number of people choose to be for various reasons) it is simply unsafe to get around in Guelph. Every day we face dangerous situations, and this is due to certain drivers who seem to be unsuitable to be on the roads, see above, and on which the police has an eye on now. Additionally, the perception of cars in our society is way over-exaggerated, wrong in general and needs to change. Sven Becker Have you heard the news? The Canadian government has released their new emission targets. Rather than decreasing our emissions to 3 per cent below 1990 levels (which wouldn’t even meet our commitment under the Kyoto Protocol) we are now aiming for 2.5% ABOVE 1990 levels. After reading the newly announced emission targets I wanted to scream. How dare you weaken Canada’s emission targets Prime Minister Harper! How dare you ignore the concerned Canadians you represent? How dare you create policies that favour the oil companies over lives? We can do better and we must do better! I want to storm the streets with the thousands of other outraged Canadians and bring our message to Parliament Hill...oh wait... nobody is there to hear us. Where is accountability? Where is justice?

THEONTARION.CA

You cannot do this to my country Mr. Harper! I will not allow you to disgrace us and disappoint us even more. I urge fellow students and all Canadians to call your MP and the Prime Minister (613-9924211), write to local newspapers, talk to others about this outrageous behaviour. Together we will demand accountability and action from those who represent us! Joanna MacDonald Remember all those “nonpartisan, grassroots, spontaneous” rallies against prorogation from a few weeks back? Remember how they were “of the people,” composed of “regular Canadians” and transcended politics? At least, that’s the bill they sold to the media. Turns out, these rallies were organized by the NDP and the Liberals! Don’t take my word for it: check out rallyfacts.wordpress. com. For just a few local examples, the Hamilton rally was organized by Shilo Davis. Davis is a former NDP candidate nominee who also, in her own words “got the ball rolling” for Guelph’s rally. Mississauga’s rally was organized by NDP candidate Farah Kalbouneh. The rally in Waterloo was organized by Etana Cain, who also established UW’s NDP club. In Stratford, the organizer was Ben Veldman, a member of the Perth Wellington Liberals. The rally in Quinte West was set up by Bryan Bondy, who is so “non-partisan” that he uses the Liberal Party logo for his Twitter account. The Liberals and NDP working together is nothing new, and they desperately want a Coalition, since it’s the only way they can beat the Conservatives. However, the Canadian people said “NO!” to the Coalition, so instead they have been reduced to covertly planning rallies that appear “non-partisan.” Michael Sona President, Guelph Campus Conservatives

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 Denise Martins Copy editor Roli Wilhelm 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 James Hawkins Aaron Jacklin Rachel Jones Marshal McLernon Joanna Sulzycki Contributors

Tom Beedham Greg Beneteau Heather Elizabeth Braid Ryan Cunningham Katelyn Dingman Josh Doyle Justin Dunk James Heumann Dan Howse Katie Malo Dan O’Keefe Kelsey Rideout Julia Shonﬁeld Caley Skinner Andrew Townsend John James Wilson Daniel Wright

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.

THE ONTARION

CROSSWORD

161.5

60- Vow 61- Distribute cards 62- Greek island in the Aegean 63- Bridge positions 64- Cube creator Rubik 65- Cornerstone abbr. 66- How you used to be? DOWN

ACROSS 1- River in central Switzerland 5- Botanist Gray 8- Metallica drummer Ulrich 12- Rasp 14- Type of gun 15- North Carolina college 16- Capital of Vietnam 17- Capital of Calvados, in NW France 18- Egypt’s river 19- Town in SE Pennsylvania 21- Good, in a way

23- DDE’s predecessor 24- High mountain, as found in central Europe 25- Neighbor of Leb. 26- Sad 30- Chou ___ 32- Like a marsh 33- Occurring every three years 37- Primordial giant in Norse myth 38- Give up 39- Lymph ___

40- Guaranty 42- Doles (out) 43- Graduated glass tube 44- Bog 45- Clean air org. 48- ___ little teapot... 49- Atmosphere 50- Hindu Preserver 52- Song thrush 57- Capital city of Western Samoa 58- Zhivago’s love

1- Turkish honorific 2- Bedouin 3- Hindu princess 4- Collar type 5- ___ impasse 6- Date 7- Abolished 8- Actress Olin 9- “The dog ate my homework,” e.g.; 10Tumbles 11-Facial expression used by Elvis Presley 13- Fourscore 14- Nae sayer? 20- Half a fly 22- Duration 24- Old-womanish 26- ___ Little Tenderness 27- Jamaican exports 28- Egyptian goddess of fertility 29- Small tree 30- Construct 31- Type of sanctum 33- Fungal infection 34- Bit 35- Citrus coolers 36- Minus 38- Skullcap 41- Undoing 42- Sullenly ill-humored 44- Russian space station 45- Circumvent 46- Scottish musician 47- Continental identity of a Chinese person 49- Cries of discovery 51- Circle of light often seen around the head of saints 52- Horse’s gait 53- Attack a fly 54- New Age musician John 55- After the bell 56-Gaelic language of Ireland or Scotland 59- Loser to DDE

Congratulations to last week’s winner...

Mallory Van Wyngaarden Come by the Ontarion oﬃce to pick up your prize.

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

2 Bob’s Dogs!

The Ontarion needs volunteers to make crosswords or other games for the back pages! Submission deadline is Monday at 4.

FEB. 11 - 24, 2010

CLASSIFIED COMMUNITY LISTINGS

CLASSIFIED

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Contact: rmcleod@uoguleph. ca or x53244.

Rural Landscapers Needed! Planting small trees on farms across south Ontario. Guelph based, from April 19 - May 15. Excellent rates - earn $150+ per day. Treeplanting experience an asset. bartramwoodlands@ sympatico.ca or call 519-836-8774.

Writer’s block? Professional essay 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

PERSONALS Lost –MP3 player and Ipod, both in a small cellphone sized purple pouch with rainbow coloured Sanskrit lettering on it. If found, please contact monique vis@sy mpatico.c a or ontarion@uoguelph.ca. Reward. . SERVICES JEWELLERY + PARTY = $CASH. When you host a handmade jewellery party, YOU, the hostess, receive a percentage of sales. (519)3622749 or vglavac@uoguelph.ca for more info. HEADACHES? A 4-session program for decreasing stressrelated tension and migraine

THEONTARION.CA

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

headaches begins February 24 at 7:30 pm. Brochures at UC Information Desk or visit www. uoguelph.ca/~ksomers. DIVERSE STUDENTS & STUDENT OF COLOUR SUPPORT GROUPS. Mondays and Tuesday: One on One Support 10am-2pm, Discussion 1:30-3:30pm. Wed: One on one support, 10am-2pm. Discussion 5-7pm. Conﬁdentiality ensured. Munford Centre, Rm 54.

VOLUNTEER FOR THE ONTARION! Opportunities in writing for News, Arts & Culture, Sports, Opinion. Also opportunities in photography and graphics. Come to our Volunteer meetings in UC 264, every Thursday at 5:30pm or email ontarion@uoguelph.ca for information. Migrante-Ontario works to advocate for the rights of (im) migrant people, focussing on advocating for the welfare of persyns working as migrant live-in caregivers through organizing educationals and socials. Connect with us! Stay involved! migrante.ontario@ gmail.com

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11 U of G Beneﬁt Concert for Haiti. Peter Clark Hall 7:30pm. Tickets: $10 available at UC Info Desk, through college governments, or Interhall Council. All proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. For details: www.uoguelph.ca/ events WUSC Talk About Girls in Refugee Camps with Dahabo Noor Abdi, a Somali woman who overcame incredible odds to get an education. Learn how to help refugee girls like Dahabo beat the odds. UC Room 103, 5:30pm. Thursday at Noon Concert Series- “Celebrating 40 Years of Music Making”. Concerts start at 12:10p.m. on Thursdays in MacKinnon Room 107 (Goldschmidt Room). Admission FREE – donations gratefully appreciated. Everyone Welcome! Info: www. uoguelph.ca/sofam Blood donor clinic at Peter Clark Hall, 11am-6pm. Bring photo I.D., weigh at least 110

Ib., be feeling well and well fed, no tattoo/body piercing within 6 months. Additional eligibility requirements or to book appointment: 1-888-2-DONATE. www. blood.ca Macdonald Stewart Art Centre – Guelph’s Public Art Gallery and Sculpture Park. Exhibit: ‘Natalka Husar: Burden of Innoncence’. Feb 11-April 18. Opening reception today at 6pm. 358 Gordon St. 519837-0010. info@msac.ca www. msac.ca FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12 The cookbook What a Wonderful World is a taste of the ﬂavors of humanity Tim Tentcher the Author will be doing a book signing at Chapters 4-8pm. The School of Environmental Sciences hosts John Borden discussing “The SuperBoost Saga: Development of a New Product Based on the Honeybee Brood Pheromone.” >

CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

THE ONTARION

CLASSIFIED & COMMUNITY LISTINGS

161.5

COMMUNITY LISTINGS

Deguile University Presented by NSERCCANPOLIN (Canadian Pollination Initiative). 10am at Graham Hall 3301 Guelph Country Dancers contra dance with caller Judy Greenhill, and special guest band ‘Sixpenny Money’. Norfolk United Church, Cork St. entrance. Admission: $10, $8/students, seniors. Info: vickyrao@rogers.com or 519767-9933. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 13

T HURSDAY FEBRUARY 18

by Michael Slotwinski

Guelph Civic Museum Military History Lecture Series: Lecture 4: The Search for a Hero: Talbot Mercer Papineau and the Great War. 7:30pm, 6 Dublin St. S. (519) 836-1221 ext. 2775, guelph. ca/museum SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20 Guelph Hiking Trail Club Meet 1 pm to hike on the Elora Cataract Trail. Contact 1-905877-4134. www.guelphhiking. com.

Barber Gallery Exhibition Opening ‘Cwen Twenty Ten’ FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26 with twenty women artists. Free opening reception today Migrant Matters airs on CFRU-93.3 FM every fourth Friday (6-7pm) of the month. We hope to encourage critical thinking about the complex issues of displacement, immigration, citizenship, worker rights, and, violence and justice in our communities. MigrantMatters@gmail.com ONGOING: Stark Raven Radio on CFRU 93.3FM. 1st-3rd Tues of each month. 1-2pm. Local and international focus on resistance to colonialism and capitalism. Prison justice, indigenous sovereignty and self-determination for all peoples. 2-4pm. Exhibit runs Feb. 13March 9. 167 Suﬀolk St. W. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14 Dublin Street United Church Sundays @ 3. An organ concert with Michael Bloss: ‘A Bach Travelogue’. Suggested admission $20/door. 68 Suﬀolk St. W. Info: 519-8210610, Email: dublin@bellnet. ca, www.dublin.on.ca MONDAY FEBRUARY 15 Women of all ages are invited to share in singing 4-part a capella harmony with The Over Tones. Membership Drive &Vocal Lesson Event. February 15 and 22, 7pm at The Elliott Community Room, RSVP to overtones@rogers. com. Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Family Day 2010. A full day of free family-friendly activites! Scavenger hunt, painting, printmaking, behind the scenes tour, dress the bear. 358 Gordon St. 519-837-0010. info@msac.ca www.msac.ca

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.

SUDOKU

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It’s free in February – In recognition of Heritage Month, McCrae House is oﬀering free regular admission throughout February. Sunday to Friday 1-5pm, 108 Water St., www.guelph.ca/museum.

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8 Macdonald Stewart Art Centre Exhibit: Gunilla Josephson, E.V.E. Absolute Matrix. Runs from Jan 22-April 4. 358 Gordon St. www.msac.ca

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