See PowerShift page 7
See Ridgebacks page 35
Volume XL, Issue 6
November 6, 2012
Demons descend upon E.P.’s Durham dresses up for Halloween at the pub Kris Cuaresma The Chronicle
T
he best psychic in the world you can ever go to is yourself if you simply trust your own instinct. And the collective instinct of a capacity crowd at E.P. Taylor’s on Oct. 31 was to enjoy one of the biggest Halloween parties on campus. This year, the 19 plus-event had a $2 cover with all proceeds going towards Movember. It was the first of many events on campus to raise awareness for cancer research this month. As one of its marquee nights, the Student Association realizes how important it is to make Halloween bigger and better every year. “Along with St. Patty’s and First Blast, Halloween is one of our biggest nights,” said Derek Fullerton, vice-president of Campus Life. “It’s such an easy draw for students. It’s a fun night and everyone gets to dress up and kind of act like a goof.” Those who were lucky enough to get in during the first hour had an opportunity
to speak to professional psychic Dan Valkos. Anyone curious enough to find out about their future was allowed three questions. When Valkos makes appearances at colleges and universities, the psychic typically answers questions about relationships and future career paths. And here at Durham College and UOIT, it wasn’t any different regardless of the reception. “I’ll never lie to somebody and tell them something just because it’s what they want to hear,” said Valkos. Having been in the psychic field since 1969, Valkos was introduced to the paranormal world as a skeptic. But after being proven wrong multiple times, he decided to dedicate the rest of his life to his new craft. And according to Valkos, regardless of what a student decided to be for Halloween, everyone is naturally capable of being psychic. “Everybody is psychic to one extent or another. You often develop your own abilities,” explained Valkos. “We all have intuitive abilities. The only difference between you and I is that
Jeff Budgell/Student Association
E.P. TAYLOR’S PUB: Durham College and UOIT students celebrate Halloween 2012 in style. I’ve been developing it longer.” “The best psychic in the world you can ever go to is
yourself if you simply trust your own instinct,” added Valkos when asked to predict the first
sentence of this story.
See Goblins page 3
Broken water main closes DC, UOIT
Courtney Morin The Chronicle
On Oct 29., Durham College and UOIT students were surprised to hear the north campus had closed their doors, because of a broken water main. Around 3:30 a.m., some students realized there was no water in their on-campus residence buildings. They notified the residence’s front desk staff, who quickly notified campus officials. By 4 a.m. it became
clear that the water was not working across the campus. With no water, and no explanation as to why, both Thomas Lynch, director of Durham College/UOIT campus safety and Scott Bronson, manager of public safety, security and emergency management on campus, were called in. Upon arriving, it was obvious to Lynch and Bronson that the problem originated in the middle of Simcoe Street, just north of the campus. The street was blocked off and
lined with work trucks. An underground water main had broken, causing a sinkhole in the road. The water main, connecting the campus to its water supply, needed to be shut off immediately and repaired. The shut-off affected the entire campus, nearby homes and a few local businesses. The campus runs on two separate water lines: the domestic line, which supplies toilets, sinks and water fountains, crucial for everything from food preparation
to cleaning on campus; and a fire supply line connected to the sprinkler systems that can be shut off without needing to close down the campus. The campus would simply be placed under a fire watch. Lynch understood problems like these took time to fix, so with both water lines down the decision was made to shut down the campus, place the campus under fire watch and the emergency response management team was brought in to help.
With off-campus students no longer a factor, the focus shifted to taking care of the almost 15,000 students living on campus. With the help of the emergency response team, a water truck supplied the residence with running water. Porta potties were brought in for those in the South Village. Food services supplied the students with food prepared off campus. Officials monitored the repairs and opened the doors Wednesday morning.