The Sheaf - Oct 9, 2014

9 October, 2014 - The University of Saskatchewan Student Newspaper since 1912.

THE sheaf

Transit LockoutPg.2 continues /thesheaf1912

News U of S researchers make strides in bone loss study.

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Sports

culture

Men’s soccer picks up key wins at home.

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@thesheaf1912

@thesheaf1912

opinions

Beyond the mask: Non-superhero comics

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“Yes Means Yes” consent laws are an inspiration.

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Huskie athletes have strong weekend. Pg.6

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THE sheaf Editor-in-Chief: Anna-Lilja Dawson, editor@thesheaf.com

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The Sheaf is non-profit, incorporated and student-body funded by way of a direct levy paid by all part- and fulltime undergraduate students at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S).

Membership in the Society is open to undergraduate students at the U of S, but all members of the U of S community are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper. Opinions expressed in the Sheaf do not necessarily reflect those of the Sheaf Publishing Society Inc. The Sheaf reserves the right to refuse to accept or print any material deemed unfit for publication, as determined by the Editor-in-Chief. The Sheaf is published weekly during the academic year and monthly from May through August. The Editor-in-Chief has the right to veto any submission deemed unfit for the Society newspaper. In determining this, he/she will decide if the article or artwork would be of interest to a significant portion of the Society and benefit the welfare of Sheaf readers. The Sheaf will not publish any racist, sexist, homophobic, or libelous material.

Corrections • In the Sept. 25, we wrongly credited the women’s soccer photo. It was taken by Kaitlin Wong. We apologize for this error.

NEWS

Last Stand for Academic Freedom empowers students, faculty SOMA DALAI Faculty, members of the general public and a very small number of students slowly filtered into the Neatby-Timlin Theatre Oct. 1 to the sounds of live guitar music for “To the Wall: The Last Stand for Academic Freedom,” an event organized by the University Faculty Association to discuss the importance of autonomy for staff and students alike.

The Academic Freedom conference has been a yearly occurrence at the University of Saskatchewan since 2005 when faculty members Len Findlay, Richard Gray and Nurul Chowdhury founded it. However, this year’s conference occurred in March, before the events that transpired last spring which included the firing of tenured faculty member Robert Buckingham.

According to Richard Gray, a member of the Faculty Association, that firing was when the seeds for last week’s conference were planted.

“Because of what happened [last spring], we were asked to put another one together because we considered it an emergency — and others did as well. In fact, we’ve had responses and support from as far away as India, and China, and Europe,” Gray said with enthusiasm.

As main organizer of the event and chair of the Academic Freedom Committee, Gray was happy to step aside for a few minutes and speak to the Sheaf about the importance of academic freedom

HENRYTYE GLAZEBROOK Senior News Editor

UPCOMING EVENTS

©

sheaf oct 9, 2014.indd 1

Public Meeting with Dr. Andrew Potter & staff Tuesday, October 14, 7:00 pm

••• an eVenIng wIth thOmas KIng

In conversation and signing his new novel The Back of the Turtle Wednesday, October 15, 7:00 pm

in universities and why the Faculty Association felt this was a critical time for a discussion about academic freedom at the university.

“This past year, of course, we didn’t anticipate the number of problems that we had with the previous administration, with [then president Ilene BuschVishniac] and her attempts to remove the right to tenure from the collegial committees and put it exclusively in the hands of herself, and with a small consulting group,” Gray said. “That’s where you have the genesis of this particular event coming from.”

October’s conference was unique for another reason as well, as it was attended by university faculty members from across the country who viewed the U of S

as a symbol for the wider struggle for faculty autonomy occurring throughout Canada and the rest of the world.

“When other colleagues across the nation found out [about this event], they wanted to come,” Gray said, listing the names of a few of the 25 delegates from across the country who had come to attend. This list included Robin Rose, the president of the Canadian Association of University Teachers from St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, James Turk, the former director of the CAUT from Ryerson University and Rudy H. Fichtenbaum, the president of the American Association of University Professors from Wright State University.

“It’s quite incredible the number of people who are coming

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

to talk about it today,” Gray concluded.

Gray also spoke of the court case the Faculty Association began against the U of S regarding presidential powers over tenure.

While the faculty has won the decision that tenure should remain in the hands of the Board of Governors rather than the president alone, the university may still appeal. Gray also expressed hope that interim president Gordon Barnhart and interim provost Ernie Barber will be open to negotiating with faculty on the issue. Both Barber and Barnhart were slated to attend the Faculty Association’s evening event as a continuation of the Academic Freedom conference.

Turk was invited to give the hour-long keynote speech titled “The Contested Terrain of Academic Freedom.”

In his speech, Turk outlined numerous threats to academic freedom affecting universities today, including “legislation of civility,” the rise in proportion of untenured and non-tenure track faculty, the ineffectiveness of collegial governance, and infringe- ment of “the rights of academic staff to act freely as citizens with- out censure from their academic employer.”

Turk’s audience listened attentively, some nodding their heads in agreement as Turk outlined and substantiated his points. He ended his speech by emphasizing the need for faculty to know and aggressively protect their rights as academics.

Refunds offered for bus passes

If you spot any errors in this issue, please send them to copy@thesheaf.com.

VIDO-InterVac cOmmunIty LIaIsOn cOmmIttee

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

With an estimated 3,000 of their 12,000 monthly visitors rely- ing on buses in order to access their services, the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre has announced plans to offer temporary, limited hamper deliv- ery service for those in need of assistance until the transit lock- out is lifted.

Planned to be operated entirely on a volunteer basis, hamper delivery will be scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with the potential to stretch beyond those days if demand calls for it. Volunteers are encouraged to contact the Food Bank if they would like to

9/30/2014 1:58:21 PM

assist in the delivery process.

Laurie O’Connor, executive director of the Saskatoon Food Bank, said in an Oct. 6 press release that hamper delivery for everyone interested will likely not be possible.

“This service will be based upon critical and individual needs and available volunteer resources,” O’Connor said. “With the num- bers we are facing, we may not be able to meet the needs of every caller, but we feel strongly that we have a responsibility to try our best to respond to our community’s struggles during this time.”

Saskatoon buses have been suspended since Sept. 20, when city officials put a lockout into effect. The city and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615, which represents Saskatoon Transit Services, have been in an ongoing dispute over wages and pension which the latter group believes to be unfair, with

neither willing to budge on the matter. As of press time, the lockout continues to be in effect.

Plans have been put in place to bring the matter to the labour board on Oct. 14 and “prove to the citizens of Saskatoon that this lockout is not legal,” according to an ATU press release.

In the meanwhile, the City of Saskatoon has said that it will provide a refund to those who have been affected by the suspension.

Available monetarily through debit, cheque or as a one month extension, the refund is being offered to any transit user who holds a valid transit pass.

The refunds will be available through many locations including city hall, the downtown transit customer service centre and six of Saskatoon’s leisure centres.

An additional $20,000 is being set aside for advertising purposes in order to raise awareness

of the refund for the public.

University of Saskatchewan undergraduates will not be affected by the city’s refund since the U of S Students’ Union elected to withhold payment for U-Pass services from transit.

However, all university employees holding an EcoPass will be eligible.

The USSU has not announced any plans for a refund to U of S undergraduates as of press time, though president Max FineDay has been vocal on the problems students have been facing in light of the transit lockout.

Community members unable to access the Saskatoon Food Bank’s food basket program due to the transit dispute can call the Main Office at (306) 664-6565 and ask for Delphine Snakeskin, office manager. Volunteers interested in assisting with deliveries can call Rehanna Ahlstedt, volunteer coordinator, at (306) 664-6565 ext. 228.

NEWS

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

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Biology Club not just about microscopes RAINER KOCSIS Associate News Editor The University of Saskatchewan’s Biology Club offers a wide array of academic, practical and social activities.

“We do study sessions, we have exam files for [students] to look at and we put on events like pub crawls and bowling with the profs... fun stuff for the students to get to know each other,” said club president Megan Erickson.

Boasting over 100 members, the club is open to any U of S student who is currently enrolled in or has taken a biology class. Erickson says the club’s membership is primarily, but not exclusively, students majoring in the subject.

On Oct.15, 20 and 21, the club will be travelling to Osler, Sask. to research Northern Saw-whet owls.

The club catches the owls in mist nets, which are strips of nylon mesh suspended between two poles at a high altitude. The nets allow the club to capture the birds without injuring them.

“We take measurements of their

wingspan and how old they are and we weigh them,” Erickson said. “It’s really fun.”

The club plans to host several fundraisers in the first term, including a Halloween pub crawl on Nov. 1 and a burger and beer night on Nov. 21.

In term two, the club will help organize Bioscan, a three-day science fair organized by the division of science in the College of Arts and Science. The annual event invites local elementary school groups to experience hands-on biology displays, films, guided tours, guest speakers, scavenger hunts and research exhibitions. This year’s event was held March 9–11 in the Biology Building and had nearly 600 people in attendance.

“It’s fun for kids to look around and see what they can do as a biologist,” Erickson said.

The club’s most high-profile event is the annual Kenderdine Commemorative Gala. The black-tie fundraiser aims to support students affected by the closure of the Emma Lake Kenderdine campus.

After operating for 77 years, university administrators decided to close the facility in November 2012 due to operating costs. The satellite campus is slated to remain closed until 2016.

U of S students pursuing an

honours degree in biology are required to complete a two-week fieldwork course that was previously offered at the Kenderdine campus. The course is currently being run out of Kinasao, Sask., but Erickson says the facilities are inferior to those at Kenderdine.

This year’s gala was held on March 7 at the Radisson Hotel and featured keynote speakers Ric Driediger and Paul Trottier as well as live musical entertainment.

Erickson is optimistic that the club’s advocacy will shorten the facility’s closure.

“There have been whispers that the interim president is wanting to bring back the Kenderdine campus,” Erickson said.

In her fifth year of biology, Erickson says the club is a great place to meet people with common interests.

“We’re kind of nerdy but we’re a lot of fun,” Erickson said. “We have a lounge where you can hang out between classes. Everybody gets to know each other.”

The club has weekly meetings every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. in Biology 248.

Students can contact the U of S biology club online at usask.ca/ biology/bclub or by emailing biology. club@usask.ca.

green fertilizers, is a mineral that accumulates in sewer pipes. The compound tends to clog the pipes and prompt expensive repairs.

Major cities around the world including Vancouver, Edmonton and Saskatoon extract these stru- vite precipitates from waste water pipes and convert them into a fertilizer that is meant to be envi- ronmentally friendly.

“This is a common phenomenon and has been known for a long time,” Pan said. “On the one hand, you solve the problem of these pipes being clogged and on the other hand our lakes and rivers become less

polluted because you take out the phosphate and ammonium.”

Pan’s team found that certain natural fertilizers, while effective, pick up arsenic molecules and release them into the soil, potentially contaminating water and crops.

“Phosphate, or PO4, is a tetrahedron in geometry,” said Ning Chen, one of the researchers on Pan’s team. “Arsenate also has this kind of shape, which is how it gets into the crystal structure of fertilizer.”

The team collaborated with the Canadian Light Source and the uni- versity’s Structural Science Center to synthesize struvite crystals, then used a technique called x-ray absorption spectroscopy to view the compounds up close.

“Our PhD student Jinru Lin is very good at synthesizing crystals, so she did the synthesis and all of the analysis,” Pan said. “The crystals she grew were a few millimeters in size and from chemical analysis we found that struvite can pick up hundreds of PPMs of arsenic.”

Long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to several forms of cancer, according to Health Canada. Exposure to high levels of arsenic can also cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, numbness and skin problems.

However, Pan isn’t suggesting struvite fertilizers should come off the market. He merely cautions

KATHERINE FEDOROFF/ PHOTO EDITOR

The biology club has over 100 members, including president Megan Erickson.

U of S scientists find arsenic in fertilizer RAINER KOCSIS Associate News Editor Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are concerned that so-called “green” fertilizers may not be as safe as they sound.

Geological sciences professor Yuanming Pan says naturally-sourced fertilizers can potentially leach arsenic into the soil, water and crops.

“About 10 years ago people around the world began to recover struvite from waste water and use it as fertilizer,” Pan said.

Struvite, the active ingredient in

RAINER KOCSIS / ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Yuanming Pan has discovered arsenic in some supposedly “green” fertilizers

that all countries should have strict regulations on their production.

“Countries like Canada, most of the European countries and the States have very strict regulations for waste water so it’s not an issue because the waste water is treated beforehand,” Pan said. “This isn’t true of every country. In this case it would be a problem.”

Struvite fertilizers made in Sas- katoon claim to have an arsenic content below detectable limits. Ostara Nutrient Recovery Tech- nologies, one company which produces green fertilizers in Saska- toon, boasts a product which has an arsenic level 100 times lower than conventional fertilizers.

The team’s research began in 2009. Pan says he decided to look into phosphates because “they have a huge impact on the world.”

Pan attributes the success of the project to the tools at the CLS and the Structural Science Centre.

“We are able to do analysis that other people can’t. That makes the work even more interesting,” Pan said. The team used Chen’s Hard X-ray Micro-Analysis beamline to view the compounds.

“Without the synchrotron you wouldn’t see anything,” Chen said.

“Chemical analysis tools are very accurate but they won’t tell you where the arsenic is. They can give you chemistry information but not structure information. We

knew there was arsenic in [the fertilizers]. The question was where they are located in the structure.

“You have to know where the arsenic is before you can deal with it. Other technologies cannot give you this information. The CLS played a key role in this particular project.”

Pan says he has already started to follow up on this research.

“We have received funding from the federal government to do sequestration of radionuclides,” Pan said. “To remove these radionuclides from contaminated water would be a huge benefit. We think these phosphates can be used to precipitate radionuclides, but we would have to use the highly sensitive techniques at the CLS.” Green fertilizers have been around since humans first began growing food. One hundred years ago, Chile harvested enough bird and bat guano to make it one of its top exports. But today, with limited availability of guano-based fertilizers, more countries are switching over to producing struvite fertilizers.

“As long as existing regulations are followed, [struvite fertilizers] are safe to use,” Pan said.

“We know from our experimental results that struvite can pick up arsenic. If the waste water is already treated then it shouldn’t be a problem, but if it’s not treated then it becomes a concern.”

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NEWS

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

Study finds possible differences between bones of men and women TAYLOR BOROWETZ

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have found key information illuminating what happens to human bone cells as we age.

Working with a team led by Canada Research Chair David Cooper, PhD graduate Yasmin Carter is exploring the difference in bone structures between the sexes and why osteoporosis disproportionately affects women.

The team’s specialty is bone imaging, the process of looking at 3-D micron-resolution images at the cellular level which works with the same principles as a CT scan.

Mechanosensation and mechanotransduction are two very technical terms that represent how bones sense loading, Carter said.

For example, it can recognize how much you weigh, if you’re running or whether there is a bone injury such as a fracture.

Carter said that if a change in the system occurs, there is an alteration in its ability to respond to or sense damage. Both genders experience bone loss as they age, but for one in three women in Canada, it progresses further and leads to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis results in many fractures and notably harms quality of life.

Carter was astounded to discover that hip fractures, a common injury with osteoporosis, in Saskatchewan cost the provincial healthcare system $25 million in 2007 alone.

With one in three women in the western world carrying this physical burden, the cost becomes huge.

The osteocyte system is the network of cellular spaces in bones.

It may seem miniscule, Carter explains, but one millimeter of bone contains 30,000–40,000 cellular spaces.

“What we were interested in is whether or not we could see some differences in this cellular space system as women age,” she said.

She mentions that many groups are asking these questions, but have to base their studies on

animal models whose systems simply do not have an adequately similar structure.

Both the bones in an animal and the stresses they undergo daily differ greatly from those of a human.

Carter says the main issue they have is actually age-related. Shorter lifespan makes it very difficult to reproduce what an actual 80-yearold person might experience. For example, the average rat lives for two to three years.

She says the team is very lucky to have had access to the Melbourne Femur Collection, a collection of thighbones curated by a group of collaborators in Australia with permission from the next of kin.

The MFC provided the team with human samples. Carter explains that they’ve been able to look at a fairly significant number: 68 individuals, 30 of which were female.

The team did their preliminary work at the Advanced Photon Source outside of Chicago and have followed-up and tested it at the Canadian Light Source. Carter says their study would have been impossible without a synchrotron,

as they allow you to see 3-D images of tiny samples in a non-destructive way.

All of their work has come to a surprising conclusion.

“We have identified a possible difference between the bones of men and women at this cellular spaces level,” Carter said.

There had to be some difference in functionality because of the bias osteoporosis has towards women, she continued, but no one has ever been able to find the right track.

Cellular spaces themselves are larger in young women and they become smaller with age. Carter explained that this is in contrast to those of a male, which stay basically the same size throughout their lifespan with minimal expected loss.

Because these bone spaces are initially approximately one-third larger in women, she speculated that there has to be a biological pressure for them to be larger.

Her theory is that this network of spaces can act as a storage system for minerals like calcium or phosphate that will be required to produce offspring later in life.

Carter said you theoretically can’t, especially in the past, eat enough minerals to support fetal development. Instead of doing this on demand, your system was always prepared for it.

Their hypothesis is that when a woman becomes pregnant, these stored minerals can be put to use.

Now they have to work to prove it.

Another variable Carter would like to look at in their studies is whether or not the women sampled have had children. If their conclusion is true, the number of children a woman has had would undoubtedly affect her bone structure.

They also witnessed the cellular spaces becoming smaller in older women, which happens through a process called “infilling.” When infilling occurs, layers of minerals attach into the bone cell spaces.

The cells are connected together through tiny canals that are used to communicate between cells, acquire nutrients and allow the waste produced by the cells to be removed. She said the infilling may interrupt this system, which

could reach a tipping point where portions of bone no longer have a functioning mechanotransduction system — the many processes by which cells convert mechanical stimulus into chemical activity.

This could be a possible reason for osteoporosis.

Carter said their next task is to go back to the cellular level to look at surrounding soft tissues and dig deeper into the effects of the infilling process. For this step, they will go back to work with confocal microscopy. She also hopes that they can identify specifically which materials are being filled in the cells.

The implications of this work could be quite vast. She questions why the osteocyte system operates the way it does, and whether infilling can be stopped.

To answer these queries, the team needs to sample more data throughout the age range and find when the infilling process starts to occur.

Their findings could greatly reduce suffering from age-related bone degradation.

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

5 Men’s Huskies sweep Golden Bears, remain undefeated sports

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

ALEXANDER QUON The University of Saskatchewan men’s soccer team remains undefeated this season, having won both games of their doubleheader against the University of Alberta Golden Bears this past weekend.

At the beginning of the weekend, the Huskies sat only one point above the Bears in the standings. The Dogs stormed back from last’s weeks disappointing trip to Lethbridge where they went 1-0-1, to destroy their divisional rivals and place themselves squarely atop of the Prairie Division. The Huskies now sit with a 7-0-1 record.

Oct. 3 saw the Huskies play host to the physical Golden Bears at PotashCorp Park.

With both teams hunting for a first place spot, the contest was supposed to be a tight one. Fortunately, the Huskies scored early and never let up, controlling the Bears for the remainder of the game.

Garrett Peters opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a well-timed header from teammate Brett Levis’ perfectly placed free kick. The duo continued to complement each other throughout the game as they, along with midfielder Mitch Bauche, were able to combine a series of quick passes to one another and eventually work it to Luigi Bekwayo who scored in the 37th minute.

Bekwayo’s placement of the ball past Alberta’s goalkeeper, Connor James, was perfect into the top of the net for his first goal of the season.

The opening of the second half saw the Golden Bears surge back and cut the Dogs’ lead in half. A shot in the 54th minute bounced off the of Huskies keeper Michal Bandula’s outstretched hands landed at the feet of Alberta’s C.J. Gilroy who easily put the ball into the open net.

The Huskies were not to be deterred as substitute striker Bobbi Nicholat broke away from his marker in the 79th minute to score a third goal for the Dogs.

The final insurance goal came by the way of

a penalty kick as the Golden Bears were called for a handball in their own box. Hus- kies captain Jordian Farahani stepped up to take the kick and was able to strike it past the hands of James. The Huskies finished the day with a scoreline of 4–1.

After a one day break, the two teams met once again at PotashCorp Park. While the first game was competitive between the two teams, the Huskies controlled the game from start to finish; scoring six goals and allowing the Golden Bears to score only one.

The Huskies jumped out to an early lead with three goals coming within the first 17 minutes of the match. Tyler Redl was able to score his first and second goals in CIS competition in the seventh and 17th minute.

Huskies star striker David Brown scored two goals in the match. He opened the scoring in the second minute of the game with an unassisted goal sailing past the goalkeeper James. Brown’s second goal came in the 32nd minute, this time from a penalty kick after Alberta defender Tyler Graham received a yellow for a handball inside the box. Brown’s second goal of the weekend now has him tied for the most goals in the Canada West conference with seven.

The Dogs dominance continued into the second half as Bekwayo, the breakout star of the weekend, was able to score two goals in the 64th and 89th minutes, his second and third in his Canadian Interuniversity Sport career. Bekwayo scored his second goal on a penalty.

Alberta was able to score a lone goal in the 72nd off of a penalty kick after Saskatchewan defender Fabian Dale brought down an Alberta player in the box.

“I honestly didn’t expect this,” Farahani said, referring to their 6–1 win over the Golden Bears. “It’s an unreal feeling so we’ll enjoy it for today and then come back to the training pitch on Tuesday and reset.”

While not competitive in terms of goals, the pair of games was as physically punishing as any match the Huskies have had this season.

Over the course of the weekend 11 yellow

cards were shown; three to the Huskies and eight to their physically larger rivals.

With two wins over their closest rivals and a goal differential of 10 to two, the Huskies were able to show why they now stand seven points above any other team in the Prairie Division.

“This was a huge weekend. This was the weekend we had chalked down at the beginning of the season as our be all weekend,” Farahani said. “I think mathematically now, we

KATHERINE FEDOROFF/ PHOTO EDITOR

Luigi Bekwayo (above) scored three goals this weekend as the Dogs took both wins over U of A.

Canada West Standings

Upcoming Games

Men’s Soccer Men’s Hockey

Oct. 10 & 11 vs. Alberta Golden Bears @ 7 p.m.

Women’s Hockey

• Oct. 10 at Manitoba Bisons @ 6:30 p.m.

• Oct. 11 at Manitoba Bisons @ 3 p.m.

men’s soccer

Oct. 11 & 12 vs. Winnipeg Wesmen @ 2:15 p.m.

men’s basketball

just need two points to lock up that first place which is huge because that means a home game and we’ve never had a home playoff game before.”

The Huskies now remain at home where they will host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen for another weekend double header on Oct. 11 and 12. The Huskies will look for those points to lock down the first position and a home playoff game.

women’s basketball

• Oct. 9 at UFV Cascades @ 5 p.m.

(U of R tournament) • Oct. 10 at Carleton Ravens @ 1 p.m. (U of R tournament) • Oct. 11 at Regina Cougars @ 1 p.m. (U of R tournament)

men’s volleyball

• Oct. 10 & 11 at Winnipeg Wesmen @ 7:30 p.m.

women’s volleyball

• Oct. 10 & 11 at Winnipeg Wesmen @ 6:00 p.m.

Oct. 9 vs. Lakeland Rustlers @ 12 p.m. (exhibition)

- Home Game

Women’s Soccer

Football

Prairie Division 1. Saskatchewan 2. Alberta 3. Calgary 4. Lethbridge 5. MacEwan 6. Lethbridge 7. Mount Royal

W-L-T 7-0-1 4-3-3 5-3-0 3-3-2 3-5-2 2-5-1 1-6-1

Prairie Division 1. Calgary 2. MacEwan 3. Saskatchewan 4. Alberta 5. Regina 6. Manitoba 7. Mount Royal 8. Lethbridge

W-L-T 6-1-3 6-1-1 5-2-3 4-1-3 4-2-2 3-4-1 2-7-1 1-7-2

1. Calgary 2. Saskatchewan 3. Alberta 4. Manitoba 5. Regina 6. UBC

Pacific Division 1. UBC 2. Victoria 3. UBC Okanagan 4. UFV 5. Trinity Western 6. UNBC 7. Thompson Rivers

W-L-T 8-0-0 6-1-1 4-5-1 4-4-0 3-4-1 3-7-0 0-7-1

Pacific Division 1. Trinity Western 2. Victoria 3. UFV 4. UBC 5. UBC Okanagan 6. UNBC 7. Thompson Rivers

W-L-T 7-0-1 7-0-1 7-1-0 5-2-1 0-7-3 0-8-2 0-8-0

1. Saskatchewan 2. Mount Royal 3. Alberta 4. Calgary 5. Manitoba 6. UBC 7. Regina 8. Lethbridge

Men’s Hockey

W-L 4-1 4-1 3-2 2-3 1-4 1-4

W-L-OTL 4-0 4-0 3-1 2-2 2-2 1-2-1 0-4 0-4

woMen’s Hockey 1. Alberta 2. UBC 3. Calgary 4. Manitoba 5. Regina 6. Mount Royal 7. Saskatchewan 8. Lethbridge

W-L-OTL 2-0 1-0-1 1-0-1 1-0-1 1-0-1 1-1 1-1 0-2

6

Sports

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

Cross-country team remains strong ANNA-LILJA DAWSON Editor-in-Chief

SERENA LIU

The women’s soccer team outscored Lethbridge 8-0 on the weekend to win both games.

The Huskies cross-country team showed that hard work and dedication can lead a team to improve overall at the Sled Dog Open.

Taking place at Victoria Park on Oct. 4, the Dogs put on their sole performance in front of a home crowd for the season.

The women’s five-kilometre run started off the event with Emma Cook-Clarke of the University of Calgary Dinos taking first place with a time of 18:05. Fellow Albertan, Danielle Thiel of the University of Alberta Pandas took second, followed by Rebekah Sass from the University of Manitoba Bisons.

The Huskies made their first appearance at the finish line when Anna Scheider finished the race at 20:01, taking 22nd place.

teammates Denise Humphreys, Brandey Blahut, Shannon Del Bigio and Sonia Rees all crossed the line in the 20th minute.

Totalling in 140 points, the Huskies took sixth place on the day with a combined time of 1:41.44. The U of A earned first place with 40 points and a total time of 1:34.46.

With a strong performance, Robert Bigsby led the men’s team with an 11th place finish and a time of 26:18 in the eight-kilometre run. Hayden Hollowell and Taryn Heidecker followed in the 27th minute.

Matt Johnson, of the Cougars, took first place with a time of 25:04.

The men’s team was able to place fifth out of six teams with 126 points and a total time of 2:16.84. The Dinos led the men’s competition with a score of 29.

Women’s soccer hammers Pronghorns Women’s team drops puck on fresh season AUSTIN ARVAY Sports Editor

Sweeping the visiting University of Lethbridge Pronghorns with wins of 3–0 and 5–0, the Huskies women’s soccer team had a huge weekend picking up six crucial points.

On Oct. 3, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies were absolutely dominant as they outshot Lethbridge 23–1 and controlled the play the entire game. Midfielder Kelly Cerkowniak opened the scoring in the first minute of the game and then added another in the 29th minute to expand the Dogs’ lead to 2–0.

Defender Erica Parenteau put the icing on the cake as she buried home a penalty kick in the 65th minute to give the Huskies a 3–0 victory.

The two teams then took a day off before renewing hostilities on Oct. 5 where it was much of the same for the homeside.

In the second contest the green and white would put 17 shots on goal compared to the Pronghorns’ mere two. Keeper Cara Santaga

posted a clean sheet on both matches of the weekend.

Cerkowniak would start the party again for the Huskies, this time in the sixth minute as she slipped one past the hapless Lethbridge keeper. Then in the 19th minute Erica Hindmarsh would score her first of two on the afternoon to widen the gap to two. Two minutes later, Jenelle Zapski scored on a quick shot that found the bottom left corner. Zapski would bury it again in the 45th minute to give the Dogs a 4–0 advantage at halftime. Those two markers would give her 10 on the season — leading the Canada West.

Hindmarsh would add another goal in the 65th to give her 19 points on the season, second to only Zapski in the Canada West scoring race.

With the wins, Saskatchewan runs its record to 5–2–3 which puts them in third place in the competitive Prairie Division. The squad will now have a bit of rest with the bye week coming up next on their schedule.

Plenty of fireworks in Huskies victory AUSTIN ARVAY

In the annual Blackout game at Griffiths Stadium, it would be the University of Saskatchewan Huskies who would walk away victorious over the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds by a final score of 31–25.

Running back Shane Buchanan scored two first-half touchdowns and added 153 all-purpose yards as he staked the Huskies out to an early lead that would not be vanquished. The Dogs used a big second quarter to their advan- tage as they outscored the Thunderbirds 12–0 to have a 19–7 lead at the intermission.

The lone touchdown for the Dogs in the second half belonged to receiver Brydon Ozmun who scored on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Drew Burko. Bruko finished the day 19 of 33 passing, while recording 212 yards and a touchdown.

Following the Ozmun touchdown, UBC returner Marcus Davis would take back the ensuing kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown to cut the Huskies lead to 29–17 early on in fourth frame. Davis recorded 335 all-purpose yards

— which was just over half of the T-birds team total.

UBC would add a late touchdown to cut the lead to six, but that was as close as they would get as the Dogs ran out the clock for their fourth win of the season. The win improves their record to 4–1 while the loss drops the Thunderbirds to 1–4 on the campaign.

Leading the way on defence was linebacker Geoff Hughes who tallied 6.5 tackles and also had a pass deflection. Andrew Abbs had the lone interception for the green and white early on in the third quarter.

Following the annual halftime fireworks show, smoke lingered on the field of play causing a visibility hazard which resulted in a lengthy 40-minute delay before the second half got underway.

Both teams will now have a bye week during the Thanksgiving weekend where no games will take place. The Huskies find themselves tied for first in the Canada West after the University of Calgary Dinos were forced to forfeit one of their wins from earlier this season due to an academically ineligible player.

AUSTIN ARVAY Opening up the 2014–15 season, the University of Saskatchewan women’s hockey notched their first win of the year against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds while on the road.

The Huskies had a decent start to the weekend with a 5–4 shootout victory on Oct. 3 and then dropped a 2–0 contest the following day.

The reigning Canada West champions started off very slowly, trailing 3–0 late in the second period, before Huskie Kaitlin Willoughby scored a powerplay goal to cut the lead to 3–1 heading into the final 20 minutes of action.

Forward Kandace Cook brought the Huskies within one as she scored off a poor UBC line change. Two minutes later, forward Marley Ervine would tie the game on the powerplay beating T-birds goalie Danielle Lemon. However, just a minute later, UBC’s Devon Morrison would give the Thunderbirds the lead back after a nice passing play

to make the score 4–3.

With time winding down, last year’s Canadian Interuniversity Sport Rookie of the Year, Willoughby, evened the score at four putting a nice shot past Lemon. The game would head to a shootout where Huskies goalie Cassidy Hendricks stopped both UBC skaters. Willoughby and Cook would score for the Dogs in the mini-game to propel them to their first win of the season.

The following day was a different story as the Huskies were held scoreless in the 60-minute contest and only managed 16 shots on goal. UBC’s Samantha Langford stopped all 16 shots she faced picking up her first shutout of the season. Emily O’Neill and Sarah Casorso scored the goals for the Thunderbirds as they picked up win number one of the season. Hendricks stopped 26 of 28 in the losing effort.

On. Oct. 10 and 11, the Huskies will face the University of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg. Both teams are showing 1–1–0 records and the points at stake will be crucial to conference positioning in the early season.

Huskies hockey continues hot start AUSTIN ARVAY

The University of Saskatchewan men’s hockey team is ranked fourth in the country as they picked up wins number three and four this past weekend over the visiting University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

The game on Oct. 3 was an intense one that would end with the Huskies prevailing in overtime. Fifth-year forward Craig McCallum scored the game-winner at 3:07 of the extra frame to give the Huskies the win and two points in the standings.

Saskatchewan’s Matthew Spafford got the Huskies on the board first as he beat Thunderbirds netminder Matt Hewitt off a scramble in front of the net for his first goal of the season. Then early on in the third, UBC’s Adam Rossignol tied the game as he beat Huskies goalie Ryan Holfield on a quick shot that would force overtime. That was

Holfield’s only mistake of the evening as he stopped the other 25 shots he faced.

On Oct. 4, rookie goaltender Jordan Cooke stole the show as he stopped all 36 shots and recorded his first career shutout. It wasn’t until the second period that the Dogs would solve T-birds goalie Eric Williams, but they would only need one as it turned out with Cooke’s stellar play between the pipes.

Forward Jesse Ross broke the deadlock at 9:07 of the middle stanza for his third goal of the season. Sean Aschim would double the Dogs’ lead after he beat Williams late in the second. Defenceman Jordan Fransoo scored twice in the third period — both on the powerplay, to give the Huskies the 4–0 victory.

The green and white are 4–0–0 on the young season and will now play host to the visiting University of Alberta Golden Bears on Oct. 10 and 11 who come in at 3–1–0.

Sports

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

7

Coming to the defence of Nail Yakupov Misguided expectations could define the young Russian’s future

CODY SCHUMACHER Production Manager Nail Yakupov has gotten a lot of flak for failing to meet the expectations that come with being drafted first overall, but this year some things just might be different.

Looking back to April 27, 2013, an ultimately meaningless game between the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks was being played out — the last game in yet another season that the Oilers underwhelmed almost everyone’s expectations.

The game started rather slow but switched gears when in the final frame Yakupov scored a hat-trick in the span of just a few minutes.

Rexall Place was electric and for a moment everyone forgot that the game was all but a formality. This was an early glimpse at what Oilers fans and management would grow to expect out of Yakupov and assumptions about the damage he’d do the following season quickly reached the unrealistic.

Let’s jump forward now to the following November where an atrocious start had the Oilers all but out of the playoff race long before Ol’ St. Nick was coming to drop off my yearly stipend of coal and whisky.

The combination of new coaching, historically bad goaltending and minor league defenceman imploded, leaving the Oilers brass with enough humble pie on their

faces to impress the three stooges.

Yakupov, who led the Oilers in scoring in the condensed 2012–13 season, had managed only a single goal through the first 15 games and people began to wonder if the Oilers made the wrong pick — ignoring the fact that this was a 19-year-old who had just passed the 60 game mark of his National Hockey League career.

The real ugly stuff began when Yakupov would see his ice time dwindle to the point of becoming a healthy scratch. The media then pitted rookie head coach Dallas Eakins and Yakupov against each other, leading the young Russian

to have to answer tough questions from reporters on a nightly basis — all while being under-armed in the English language. Reporters asked him if he wanted to be traded, what would he do if his ice time didn’t increase, had he considered leaving for the Kontinental Hockey League.

Listen, I’m all for players having to answer to the media — they are professional athletes being paid rather handsomely — but some of the answers Yakupov gave seemed to be taken out of context. Yakupov’s agent, Igor Larionov, would only make things worse when he accused the Oilers of mishandling

his client and proclaimed that they were open to a trade. To be fair, this was an agent protecting a young client that pays him — it just came across horribly.

Yakupov’s 2013–14 season would end prematurely due to injury — when the dust settled he managed just 11 goals while going a horrendous Saskatchewan midJanuary-like -33. He needed to be a lot better, but some of his problems are projected to improve this year based on what some basic analytics can tell us about last season.

Offensively, Yakupov saw his shooting percentage plummet from a likely unsustainable 21 per cent

in his rookie year to a rather disappointing 9 per cent in 2013–14.

It isn’t unrealistic to expect Yakupov’s shooting percentage to take a healthy jump into the 12–15 per cent range this year. A combination of better puck luck, more powerplay time and a rise in linemate quality should help this.

On the defensive side, Yakupov is quite obviously never going to be an elite player, but last year’s brutal showing also isn’t likely to repeat itself either. In his first year, the Oilers team save percentage was .917, which was roughly the league average. However, last year the Oilers team save percentage was .901, good enough for fourth worst in the league and helped the Oilers give up the most goals in the NHL. Obviously this hurts everyone on the team’s plus/minus, but even more unfortunate for Yakupov was that his personal on ice save percentage was the second worst in the entire league — .882 at five on five, according to The Copper & Blue.

Improved goaltending, a better defensive core and almost guaranteed better luck should turn his -33 into something closer to respectable this season.

All of this is not to say that Yakupov doesn’t deserve a large share of the blame for why last season was a total train wreck. He needs to be substantially better than last year and commit to improving his game at both ends of the rink. But if Yakupov can turn it around and get some better puck luck, he can give Edmonton a dynamic that the other young Oilers don’t bring: a shoot-first power play option with a growing mean streak.

Fighting is just part of the game KADE GATES When it comes to fighting in the National Hockey League, those who are against it need to take a step back and see banning it will not have the desired effect. If you want to cut down on concussions, eliminating fighting from the sport isn’t the way to go.

“It’s part of the game, it always has [been] and I think it always will be,” Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil said in a CBC article. In one sentence, Neil summarized the views of 98 per cent of the NHL players per a 2011 poll done by the NHL Players’ Association and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

The Toronto Star reported Buffalo Sabres captain Steve Ott voicing his opinion on fighting with, "I hate that it's even being talked about."

A more recent poll done by Angus Reid suggests that roughly two thirds of Canadian hockey fans support the banning of fighting in

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

hockey at all levels, including professional. There are many arguments against fighting in hockey but this is about the pros to keeping fighting in the game.

“Stick work” is an overarching term for slashing, hooking and cross-checking infractions. Over the last five to 10 years, stick work has become increasingly prevalent in the hockey world as the rules against fighting have carried more supplementary discipline.

The Chris Simon incident would be a perfect example of how fighting can be a better alternative to using your stick. In March 2007, Simon was playing for the New York Islanders as they went up against the New York Rangers. Late in the third, Rangers forward Ryan Hollweg checked Simon into the boards.

Then as play continued, Simon got in front of Hollweg and took a twohanded baseball swing with his stick, colliding with Hollweg's chin which resulted in stitches for Hollweg. Simon was handed a 30-game

suspension, the longest in NHL history.

Now by no means is fighting safe, but as with most sports there are health risks. Concussions are the real sticking point here as most professional, non-fighting supporters believe that eliminating fighting will stop the trend of concussions going on in the NHL. Unfortunately for fighting, it only appears in the media when something bad happens.

To start off last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens faced off in a season opener where Colton Orr and George Parros got into a fight.

Parros slipped at the end of the fight and fell face first into the ice receiving a concussion.

Most players around the league, including Jared Boll called the incident "an anomaly." Boll went on to say: "There are not many concussions if you watch fighting. I think it’s the easiest target that people go after: get fighting out of the game and it’ll solve everything."

If concussions are what people want eliminated from the game, it comes down to teaching kids how to properly hit and teaching coaches to encourage clean hitting and not targeting players known to be in dangerous positions. Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau called

fighting more for protection. In baseball, pitchers throw at batters, if things get out of hand, usually resolving the issue with nothing but a couple of bruises. In hockey, would you rather some bruised knuckles and fat lips, or broken bones and scarred faces?

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

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Sports

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

A tale of the fall of one of the world’s greats MICHAEL KNIGHT

FLICKR / MATTHEW WILKINSON

After a dismal 2013–14, new manager Van Gaal is looking to bring ManU back to top form.

Manchester United are a main stay when talking about potential Premier League champions — at least they used to be.

Recent managerial changes have seen United fall from the top of English Premier League. Times are changing, though, as a new hope is on the horizon.

Since the inception of the EPL in 1992, Manchester United has been the team to beat. They have been crowned champions 13 times and finished as runner-up five times. In fact, from 1992 to 2013, the worst position that Manchester United had finished was in third place. All of the while the team was under guidance of one of the greatest football managers of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, all good things must come to an end. Ferguson announced that he would be stepping down as manager at the end of the 2012–13 season after an illustrious 26-year stint. The Manchester United front office was then faced with the daunting task of finding a replacement for Ferguson.

Enter David Moyes, Ferguson’s fellow Scotsman and long-time manager of Everton. Moyes had been at the helm of Everton since the start of the 2002–03 season and had kept Everton in the top half of the table from 2006 onwards. However, the expectations for Moyes at Everton would pale in comparison to his expectations managing United. Many Manchester supporters had initial doubts about Moyes, boy, were they right.

The first season without Ferguson didn’t go so well. Moyes’ bizarre strategies, coupled with departures of some of the team’s best players, lead to a season to forget. The shoddy play throughout the season had United finishing with a record of 19-7-12, good for seventh place in the Premier League. This would be their worst finish since the 1989–90 season. Subsequently, Moyes was fired.

Enter Louie van Gaal. During the off-season, the United front office was determined to fix

United. This time around, the new manager seemed fit for the position. Van Gaal had previously managed high-profile teams such as Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the Netherlands’ National team, so there was little doubt that he could handle the pressure while at Manchester. The United ownership also opened up their wallets, spending almost ₤150 million — approximately $221 million on new signings during the off-season.

Spirits were high for the start of this year’s campaign. However, the excitement would soon come crashing down as United opened the season going 2–2–2 — hardly a stellar start. Defensive lapses riddled United’s back line, usually leading to unexpected goals. Young defenders and a questionable formation — only three defensive backs — were to blame.

United fans have now seemed to have once again given up hope on their team. Competitors Chelsea and Manchester City are already firing on all cylinders, while United has barely started its engine.

Fans shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the season, though.

During the first six games, United has shown us glimpses of Ferguson-era teams, playing with precision passing and a deadly counter attack. New world-class talent has also made the squad able to compete with other top teams.

The current team has yet to gel, with new players and a new manager who is as opposite of Moyes as red is from blue. Van Gaal knows how to manage teams, he knows how to work with star players and the bottom line is that he knows how to win. Driven to compete and determined to win back the loyalty of their huge global fan base, United have become a completely new squad. The Ferguson era is over and we mustn’t compare the current state of the team to the legendary teams of old. The van Gaal era has only just begun, and soon fans will once again be rejoicing with “Glory, Glory Man United.”

THE sheaf Are sports your thing?

Then why not write for the Sheaf? sports@thesheaf.com

Sports

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

9

NFL week 6 picks: Brady is back AUSTIN ARVAY Sports Editor Oct. 9 Indianapolis (3–2) at Houston (3–2) Every Thursday nighter so far this year has been a blowout, but this one could be closer than people think. Houston’s defence has been lights out all season and they nearly pulled one out last week in Dallas, just falling short in overtime. Andrew Luck has been unstoppable and he should keep it going this week.

Take: Indianapolis Oct. 12 New England (3–2) at Buffalo (3–2) Quarterback Tom Brady played one of the best games of his career last week after many were saying he was past his prime. The Patriots now get a surprise division rival in Buffalo who pulled a miracle last week against Detroit.

Kyle Orton will not beat Tom Brady.

Take: New England Oct. 12 Carolina (3–2) at Cincinnati (3–1) Cincinnati was the last team in the league to lose a game and it came to a Patriots beatdown.

At home they are a much better team and their high-flying offence comes in against the Panthers.

Carolina mounted a big second half comeback last week and took down the Bears. Despite their success, Carolina’s offence isn’t good enough to beat the Cincy defence.

Take: Cincinnati

Oct. 12 Pittsburgh (3–2) at Cleveland (2–2) Pittsburgh won ugly last week and now have to travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns, who last week erased a 28–3 deficit to win over Tennessee. Quarterback Brian Hoyer at times displays greatness, but at others looks flat out bad. The teams met previously in week one with the Steelers winning on a last second field goal.

Take: Pittsburgh Oct. 12 Green Bay (3–2) at Miami (2–2) Led by Aaron Rodgers and Eddie Lacy, the Packers rolled last week versus Minnesota.

Miami was on bye and now has to take on one of the most feared offences in the league. Green Bay seems to be hitting their stride.

Take: Green Bay Oct. 12 Detroit (3–2) at Minnesota (2–3) The loss of superstar receiver Calvin Johnson seriously hampers the Lions offence, as they put up only 14 points last week. With Teddy Bridgewater under center, the Vikings seem to be undergoing a resurgence and at home they could take down a wounded Lions squad.

Take: Minnesota Oct. 12 Denver (3–1) at New York Jets (1–4) Quarterback Peyton Manning is quickly moving in on the all-time passing-touchdown record and he will destroy the Jets defence.

New York’s embarrassment continued as their losing streak hit four last week against San Diego.

This one will get ugly.

Take: Denver

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Oct. 12 Baltimore (3–2) at Tampa Bay (1–4) The Buccaneers let one slip away last week as New Orleans took the win in overtime.

Baltimore lost a close one to Indianapolis and thier offence has been great all year with the emergence of receiver Steve Smith Sr. Tampa Bay has been playing better but the Ravens are too good.

Take: Baltimore

Oct. 12 Washington (1–4) at Arizona (3–1) Against a superior Seahawks squad, the Redskins kept it close until the bitter end but now they get a road game in Arizona. Denver beat the Cardinals defence badly last week by Denver, which was their first bad performance of the year. It won’t happen again against the ‘Skins.

Take: Arizona

Oct. 12 Jacksonville (0–5) at Tennessee (1–4) This week sees a battle of the two of the worst teams in the league. The Jaguars are still looking for that elusive first win. With Charlie Whitehurst as their quarterback, the Titans haven’t been looking too bad in recent weeks.

Take: Tennessee

Oct. 12 Dallas (4–1) at Seattle (3–1) Dallas is off to a surprising start as quarterback Tony Romo is playing better than anyone anticipated. However, this year Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is on a whole other level.

He has been the best player on arguably the best team in the league this season. Seattle doesn’t lose at home.

Take: Seattle

Oct. 12 San Diego (4–1) at Oakland (0–4) In another matchup featuring a hot quarterback against a poor defence, Philip Rivers will look to light up the winless Raiders. The Chargers defence shut out the Jets last week and now get the equally weak Oakland team. This one too, will be a blowout.

Take: San Diego

Oct. 12 Chicago (2–3) at Atlanta (2–3) The Atlanta Falcons are two different teams on the road and at home. Luckily they are in the Georgia Dome this week where they are 2–0 on the season. Chicago’s defence has been abnormally poor this year, especially against

the run. Their offence should have a good week though matched up against the second-worst defence in the league.

Take: Atlanta Oct. 12 New York Giants (3–2) at Philadelphia (4–1) A divisional matchup between two bitter rivals will be the nightcap this Sunday. Quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants have won three in a row, while the Eagles have been hot out of the gate thanks, in large part, to their defence and special teams. It’s a toss-up but the Eagles are at home.

Take: Philadelphia Oct. 13 San Francisco (3–2) at St. Louis (1–3) It’s already looking like a lost season in St. Louis as every team in their division — including the San Francisco 49ers — is above .500. Quarterback Austin Davis is getting better each week, but is in for a real test against the San Fran defence.

Take: San Francisco Byes: Kansas City, New Orleans Last week: 11-4 Overall record: 45-31

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9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

2014 / 2015 AUSTIN ARVAY Sports Editor Last year was a disappointing season for a majority of Canadian hockey fans as seven of our eight teams failed to make the playoffs. This year promises to be different with a few teams ready to take the next step, as well as a couple teams who made big off-season moves in hopes to be competitive now.

calgary flames Key additions: LW Mason Raymond, G Jonah Hiller, LW Brandon Bollig and RW Devin Setoguchi Key losses: C Mike Cammalleri, D Chris Butler, LW T.J. Galliardi and G Joey MacDonald It was definitely a long year in Calgary, having to deal with the first full season without longtime captain Jarome Iginla and recently retired goalie and fan favourite Mikka Kiprusoff, not to mention the floods that put the Saddledome under water.

A bright spot for the Flames was the emergence of rookie center Sean Monahan. He scored 22 goals in his inaugural season and the Flames will rely heavily on him to produce on the second line as well as logging some big power play minutes. Looking to crack the opening day lineup, is fourth overall pick Sam Bennett who will look to koin Monahan at the center position.

The off-season acquisitions of forwards Raymond and Bollig will help their depth on the front-end, but the Flames still lack scoring prowess as no one on their projected lineup has ever scored 30 goals in a season. With first line wingers like Curtis Glencross and Jiri Hudler, you just can’t expect to be competitive in the very tight Western Conference.

Young players Johnny Gaudreau, Sven Baertshci and Markus Grandlund all will be good players in the future, but at this point in time aren’t experienced enough to make a big difference.

Defenceman Mark Giordano was named the newest team captain and he anchors a veteran defensive corp. While Ladislav Smid, Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland are all proven players, they are all past their primes. Kris Russell and T.J. Brodie are two young and talented players whom the Flames should be grooming.

In net, Hiller was acquired this summer from Anaheim. His play has been in decline the past couple of years but he can still be relied on to make key saves and steal some games. With such a young team around him, the Flames may count too heavily on Hiller to be the backbone of the team.

This is definitely a rebuilding year for Calgary and another top five pick is a likely endpoint.

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing though as the Flames are in desperate need of scoring abilities up front, preferably a dynamic winger.

The future is bright for the Flames — the outlook on the 2014–2015 squad however, is not.

Canadian nhl previe Montreal canadiens

ottawa s

Key additions: LW T.J. Galliardi, C Matthieu Perrault and G Peter Budaj

Key additions: RW P.A. Parenteau, D Tom Gilbert and C Manny Malholtra

Key additions: RW Ale Legwand

Key losses: C Olli Jokinen, RW Devin Setoguchi and G Al Montoya

Key losses: C Daniel Briere, LW Thomas Vanek, D Josh Gorges, RW Brian Gionta and D Douglas Murray

Key losses: RW Ales Hem

The midseason firing of coach Claude Noël seemed to do wonders for the Jets. After Paul Maurice took over, Winnipeg immediately won eight of their first 10 games under his guidance.

Former first round pick Mark Scheifele will likely center the top line with the speedy Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane on his wings. This line has the right blend of speed, skill and size and could be dangerous for the Jets all season.

Since moving to Winnipeg, the Jets’ main problem has been their lack of secondary scoring, which could once again be an issue this season.

The second line of captain Andrew Ladd, Dustin Byfuglien and Bryan Little won’t score as much as they will need to in order to keep up with the other powerhouses of their division­ — like the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues.

The addition of Galliardi and Perrault will bolster their third unit with the final member being Michael Frolik. These three will be counted on to play solid defence as well as to chip in offensively.

Standout young defenceman Jacob Trouba will head a young defensive group that also features Zach Bogosian and Tobias Enstrom.

Trouba was rock solid last year putting up good offensive numbers while still being above average in the defensive end.

Mark Stuart, Grant Clitsome and Paul Postma round out the unit and these veterans will need to step up and play sound defence seeing as Trouba and Enstrom like to jump up in the play.

In net the Jets recently went out and got Peter Budaj who has been a quality backup his whole career. Ondrej Pavelec will again be leaned on to start the majority of games. He has been stellar in the past but if he slips up this year, Budaj will be there to step in.

Being in the extremely tough Central Division the Jets will be hard pressed to make the playoffs this year. They have some quality prospects coming up but now just isn’t quite their time.

Montreal was the only Canadian team to make the post-season last year and they came within two wins of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

The 2013–14 season was definitely a success, but it will be extremely hard to match with all the pieces that departed this summer.

Newcomer Parenteau will give them a reliable scoring option on the second line, something that neither Briere, Gionta or Vanek could give them in the playoffs. The loss of solid stay-at-home defenceman Gorges will hurt, but he is replaced with a similar player in Gilbert.

In net, Carey Price gives them stability as he is fresh off his gold-medal winning performance at the Sochi Winter Olympics. He is one of the best in the league and should be in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy — given out annually to the league’s best goaltender.

After signing an eight-year extension, P.K. Subban will be with Montreal for the long term. This is good news for Canadiens fans as he is an electric player who can take over a game — the playoff series versus Boston is a testament to that. He is one of the best defencemen in the league and he is the centerpiece to a fairly strong defensive unit.

Andrei Markov, Alexei Emelin, Nathan Beaulieu, Mike Weaver and Gilbert join the back-end ranks and all are responsible defensively. With some playoff experience under their belt, this group should be very strong moving forward.

The lines of forwards are well balanced but the top unit of Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher will need to be good or the Montreal media will be all over them. Alex Galchenyuk, Tomas Plekanec and Parenteau will be a capable second line and they will even get scoring from the third line of Lars Eller, Rene Bourque and Dale Weise.

Building off last year’s momentum, the Canadiens should make the playoffs once again. With a superb goalie and three good scoring lines, maybe Montreal will return to do some damage.

Winnipeg jets

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toronto maple leafs vancouver canucks

Edmonton oilers

Key additions: LW David Booth, D Roman Polak and C Mike Santorelli

Key additions: C Nick Bonino, G Ryan Miller, RW Radim Vrbata and D Luca Sbisa

Key additions: D Mark Fayne, D Nikita Nikitin, and LW Benoît Pouliot

Key losses: C Dave Bolland, D Carl Gunnarsson, LW Mason Raymond and C Jay McClement

Key losses: C Ryan Kesler, D Jason Garrison, LW David Booth and C Mike Santorelli

Key losses: C Sam Gagner, D Mark Fraser and LW Ryan Smyth

An epic collapse that saw the Leafs go 2–12 down the stretch was the only thing that kept them out of the playoffs. With a major shakeup on the roster and in the front office, things are changing in Toronto.

The top line of Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk and Phil Kessel remains intact for a third straight season. However, they will have to play on a more consistent basis to help the Leafs’ playoff chances.

The newly formed second line of Nazem Kadri, Joffrey Lupul and Brandon Kozun will be interesting to watch as Kadri and Lupul develop more chemistry and rookie Kozun brings new energy each game. The third and fourth lines are made up of mostly newcomers and they will be counted to help the Leafs’ defensive game.

With the departure of Gunnarsson, captain Dion Phaneuf will have a new partner on the top defensive unit. With our sights set on veteran Stephane Robidas, they will likely be the two who are counted on to shut down the opposition’s top threats. The exciting duo of Morgan Reilly and Jake Gardiner return for another year and with more experience, they should be even better.

In net, it’s Jonathon Bernier’s job to lose as he will probably start 60 or more games this season. James Reimer is a capable backup but he is set on a starting position, so don’t be surprised if he gets dealt this year.

The management made defence a priority as they acquired two veteran, stay-at-home defencemen to hopefully help out Bernier. If the forwards keep scoring goals like they have in the past, the Leafs should be a playoff team.

It was a year to forget in Vancouver as former coach John Tortorella’s antics were a definite distraction, ultimately losing him the respect of his players. Both Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider ended up dealt and that led to the dismissal of general manager Mike Gillis. All this led to the Canucks missing the post-season for only the third time in 13 years.

The goaltending situation has been a mess in Vancouver in recent years, but the addition of Miller should hopefully finally provide some stability in net.

On defence, the Canucks return their top four Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis and Chris Tanev. All of them are very defensively capable and this should bode well for the Canucks fortunes, as they won’t allow too many goals this year.

Newcomer Vrbata should help reignite the lack of scoring the Sedin twins encountered last season on the top line. The second combo of Alex Burrows, Bonino and Chris Higgins isn’t the strongest and they will have to play above expectations to help make the Canucks competitive in the West.

Likely to center the third line, rookie Bo Horvat he could be an exciting player to watch this year. His linemates Shawn Matthias and Jannik Hansen will undoubtedly help make the transition easier for the rookie. The projected fourth line of Hunter Shinkaruk, Linden Vey and Zack Kassian will be a youthful and energetic line that could produce some points.

Willie Desjardins will take over behind the bench and that could be the most valuable move the Canucks made this summer. He is a significant upgrade at the coaching position and is definitely a player’s coach.

With Desjardins at the helm, the Canucks will be better than most people expect. If the Sedins can get back into form and stay healthy, and the defence and goaltending remain strong, then the Canucks could be a dark horse to make the playoffs.

After a horrendous season last year saw their head coach have multiple fights with his young stars, the Oilers again found themselves with a top three pick. They simply didn’t generate enough offence and couldn’t keep pucks out of their net.

The latter could be solved this year as the Oil have a terrific tandem in net between Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth. After former netminder Devan Dubnyk was shipped out of town, the team has made strides to improving their league-worst goals against by refining their backend. Fasth and Scrivens are both relatively young and haven’t proven themselves yet as NHL elite goalies, but the friendly competition and the drive to get to that level could be a good thing for Oiler fans.

Captain Andrew Ference was asked to do a little too much in first season in Edmonton, but this time around he’ll have more backup on the defensive end. Nikitin, Fayne and Jeff Petry will all contribute nicely to keeping pucks out of the Oilers net. Starving for a playoff appearance, young guys like Justin Schultz, Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse also will want to add to the team’s potential success. Schultz is the best offensively gifted defenceman the Oilers have, making him a key to their rebuild.

Up front, it’s hard to find any team in the league to match the Oilers’ skill on the first two lines. Taylor Hall had a breakout season and is now poised to build off of a seventh place finish in the NHL scoring race. Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins join him on the top line, both of whom are extremely talented players.

That being said, Nugent-Hopkins is the only one who is strong defensively which is just one of the reasons for the team’s struggles.

Developing his budding players will be the key for coach Dallas Eakins, as he is armed with the most dangerous group of young stars in the league. If he can get all of his skilled forwards to buy into the defensive system, the Oilers may just make the jump to a playoff caliber team.

Their second line of rookies Leon Draisaitl, Nail Yakupov and David Perron could quietly be one of the better second lines in the league.

Perron’s gritty play at both ends of the ice combined with Draisaitl’s size and Yakupov’s sheer talent could be a lethal combination for years to come.

With the additions of Teddy Purcell, Boyd Gordon, Matt Hendricks and Pouliot, the Oilers have a nice veteran blend of third and fourthline talent. All of these players have post-season experience and will greatly support the young players in the 82-game grind.

The Oilers have potential to be a playoff team, but in the tight Western Conference they could be a year or two away from finally getting a taste of playoff hockey.

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

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Culture

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

We can’t all be heroes: Comic books beyond capes and spandex

MADISON TAYLOR Culture Editor Comic books and graphic novels don’t have to be about rippling abs and superpowers to be great reads. There’s an entire world of twisting plot lines and enchanting characters that equally deserve the reader’s attention.

Don’t get me wrong — a good actionpacked superhero story is enjoyable for any person. The plot arc of the long-absent or dead parental figure, the desire for

vengeance and the inevitable donning of a slinky spandex costume and a badass new nickname is undeniably appealing. The reader knows exactly what they are getting into when they crack open a superhero comic and this brings with it a sense of comfort.

But there is a world of comic books and graphic novels that extends far beyond the mask-wearing vigilantes. These deal with unlikely heroes, often believable scenarios and real world issues — and this is perhaps the reason why they hit so close to home.

This article will look at three brilliant comics whose fascinating stories act as a gateway into the world of the non-superhero graphic novel.

Kicking off the list is author Brian K. Vaughan and illustrator Pia Guerra’s Y: The

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

Last Man. A five-book dystopian series, Y explores a world in which the Y-chromosome has been eliminated from Earth, leading to the sudden death of every male, both human and animal — with two exceptions.

Yorick Brown and his pet capuchin monkey Ampersand are the last two males standing after the mysterious gendercide.

In a desperate attempt to reach his fiancée Beth DeVille, who is stranded in the outback of Australia, Yorick embarks on a dangerous journey across the world. Alongside his reluctant companion and bodyguard Agent 355, Yorick battles the Amazons — a gang of bloodthirsty women who believe that the eradication of the male is the best thing to have happened — and gets sidetracked by alternate plotlines in his fumbling attempts to keep both himself and possibly the human race from extinction.

Y is a fascinating, beautifully illustrated look at a world without men. Vaughan’s use of character development is perhaps the most impressive aspect of the novel as it explores the personalities of strong female figures such as Agent 355, Dr. Alison Mann — expert in human cloning who may have the answer to the catalyst for the gendercide — and Jennifer Brown, Yorick’s mother who also happens to be a prominent member of the now wholly female American government. Characters such as these engross you in the storyline to the extent that you may find yourself cheering alongside your favourites when they succeed and mourning with them when they fail — a hallmark feature of a well-written plotline. A page-turning journey, Y compels readers to return to it again and again.

If dystopian worlds are up your alley, author and illustrator Matt Kindt’s threebook series Mind MGMT is certainly worth a read as well.

Taking place after a flight in which all the passengers simultaneously lose their memories, Mind MGMT follows the story of young ambitious writer Meru who is seeking answers to this large-scale bout of amnesia. In the process however, she stumbles upon a much bigger and darker secret — an undercover government program called Mind Management.

In a world where talking dolphins, subliminal messaging, psychics and unkillable assassins are the norm, Meru struggles to put the pieces together to solve the mystery

of the amnesia flight and discover the location of Henry Lyme, the one person who managed to escape the plane unscathed.

Mind MGMT is an unsettling and fastpaced thriller that unfolds in a series of gorgeously illustrated frames that almost look as though they were created with watercolour paint. Dealing with some truly disturbing instances of mind control and government conspiracy, the novel leaves the reader baffled and sus- picious of everything around them — but in the best possible way. A comic that can make someone question their own reality is truly a work of art and Kindt’s masterful storytell- ing in Mind MGMT is certain to make anyone check their phones and teddybears for bugs.

Last but not least is the deeply disturbing, skin-crawling world of Charles Burns’ Black Hole.

A word of caution for anyone delving into this graphic novel: The phrase “viewer discretion is advised” has never been more applicable. Unfolding the lives of a group of detached teenagers in the 1970s, Black Hole deals with what would seem to be stereotypical vices — sex, drugs and alcohol — by taking them to a whole other level.

Naturally after indulging in gratuitous sex and drugs, you would expect at least one of the characters to get a nasty sexually transmitted infection — but no one could have predicted this result.

The small Seattle suburb quickly becomes riddled with mutated, tail-sprouting teens carrying a rare and particularly gruesome form of STI. It is this disease that gives the comic that horror-movie feel. With fullpage illustrations of festering wounds and deformed genitalia, Black Hole certainly isn’t for the faint of heart — but the exploration of the feelings of alienation and emotional instability that often accompany adolescence are what make the novel resonate so strongly within the reader’s mind. Much like seeing a train wreck happen, a sort of horrified fascination accompanies the reading of Black Hole — as much as you want to, you just can’t seem to pull your gaze away. It is this feeling that makes Burns’ work linger in the mind long after it has been put down.

While there will always be a special place in the heart of fans for iconic superheroes, diving into the world of the alternative comic is a rewarding and insightful journey in which the most average and unassuming of charac- ters are given their chance to shine.

Upcoming events Thursday oct. 9

Friday oct.10

Saturday oct. 11

Sunday oct. 12

Monday oct. 13

Tuesday oct. 14

Wednesday Oct. 15

Pulp Fiction 20th Anniversary Screening at the Broadway Theatre

Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer at Louis’ Pub

Untimely Demise at Amigos

Dusty Tucker at Rock Bottom

Monday Jam at Louis’ Loft

Sloan at O’Brians Event Centre

Open Stage at Amigos Cantina

Vampires and The Faps at Vangelis

Less Than Jake, Big D and the Kids Table and The Interrupters at Louis’

Martin Yanovsky at Bon Temps Cafe

Keith Hallet at the Bassment

17 Seconds of Fuel at Bud’s On Broadway

3-6-9 Karaoke with host Brendan Flaherty at Rock Bottom Vishten at the Bassment

The Dead South at the Bassment Band Wars Final at Rock Bottom Zion I, Nolto, Parab Poet, Hustle & Thrive and the Hip Hop Hippies at Amigos Cantina

Altera with Bastard Poetry at Rock Bottom Eileen Laverty at the Broadway Theatre

Open Mic Night with host Brooke Nichols at Rock Bottom Outcast Empyre at Bon Temps Cafe Menopause the Musical at TCU Place

Culture

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

13

The Wooden Sky returns to do back-to-back shows in Saskatoon BRAEDEN HURSCH On Oct. 2 and 3, Toronto-based indie band The Wooden Sky rocked out at Amigos Cantina.

Currently touring Canada to promote their new album Let’s Be Ready, The Wooden Sky must have decided that two shows were better than one.

The band is a mainstay in the Canadian indie scene, playing in Saskatchewan several times a year including last year’s Ness Creek Music Festival.

The polished and practiced sound of The Wooden Sky stems directly from the extensive touring and live performances that the band does. Regardless of the venue in which they are playing — whether it be the open air stage at Ness Creek or the enclosed space of The Bassment — they have exceptional sound quality.

The desire for a clean sound was evident from mic check as the band adjusted dials and levels then broke into a full rendition of “Child of the Valley.”

Many bands, a simple “check, check” into the microphone

would do before leaving the stage, but The Wooden Sky had fans running from their tables towards the stage thinking that the show had already begun without an opening act.

“Sorry, just doing a bit of a sound check,” apologized lead singer Gavin Gardiner after the applause had died down.

Opening act High Ends arrived onstage shortly following The Wooden Sky’s sound check and had the place moving to

their rock and synth sounds.

High Ends displayed strong harmonies and exceptional musicianship and left the crowd hoping that they would be back again for their own concert soon. Yukon Blonde’s Jeffrey Innes created High Ends only earlier this year and the group released their first album Super Class on Oct. 7.

In true Amigos fashion, The Wooden Sky walked onto the stage at midnight to play to an

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The Wooden Sky are familiar faces in Saskatoon’s concert lineup.

expectant — and in some cases extremely drunk — crowd of Sas- katoon fans.

The venue was near capacity when the band broke into their first song “Child of the Valley” — this time not as a sound test. The set-list was well conceived, as it was weighted more towards known and loved songs with new material interspersed in moderation. A 13-song set was performed which included some upbeat crowd favourites like “Bit Part,” “Angels” and “City of Lights,” as well as some of their more stately songs such as “Dancing At My Window” and “Something Hiding For Us In The Night.”

Like any band with a hefty musical catalogue, The Wooden Sky saved their best for last with a four song encore including “Oslo,” “Oh My God” and “Late King Henry.” They then surprised the audience by closing with a cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl.”

The late scheduling that Amigos is so well-known for played a factor in the slight thinning of the crowd towards the end of the show, but the

appreciation they had for the high quality bands was evident in the chants for one more song even after the show was undeniably over.

Afterwards the band stayed around to talk to the crowd at the merchandise table. The members were genuinely happy to converse with people who stayed for the whole show despite their blood alcohol level.

A remarkable thing about the crowd at The Wooden Sky’s show was the number of people who were singing along word for word. Saskatoon’s appreciation for and knowledge of indie bands is constantly progressing.

Yet it is interesting that a band like The Wooden Sky needs to play two consecutive shows in a small venue instead of one show in a larger venue.

There is a need in Saskatoon for an intermediate-sized venue that can stand between venues like Amigos or Capitol Music Club and larger venues like O’Brians Event Centre and TCU Place. If Saskatoon gained a venue that could fill up for one night of The Wooden Sky it would bring other great acts to the city.

How your sleeping brain makes decisions without you VALERIE FRANKLIN The Cascade (University of the Fraser Valley) ABBOTSFORD, B.C. (CUP) — Ever get the feeling you can’t shut your mind off? That’s because you can’t. The brain is constantly working and now scientists have begun to map the amazing things it can do even while the conscious mind has gone to sleep.

According to previous studies, a portion of the brain continues to stay alert while the body sleeps, in case of danger. However, a recent study from École Normale Supérieure de Paris took that idea further: What if our sleeping brains not only remain alert, but are capable of processing ideas and making decisions without the conscious mind’s awareness?

In the experiment led by cognitive neuroscientist Sid Kouider and PhD student Thomas Andrillon and published online in Current Biology, researchers hooked 18 participants up to an electroencephalogram then instructed them to categorize words by pressing a button as they were falling asleep.

The subjects listened to a list of words and pressed either a left or right button to sort them into categories, first selecting

words for animals or objects from the list and then sorting real words like “hammer” from pseudo-words like “fabu.”

Once the subjects fell asleep researchers repeated the experiment with a new set of words — with fascinating results.

Despite the subjects being completely asleep, the EEG showed that their brains were still able to understand and categorize the new words just as accurately as they had when they were awake.

When asleep, it took two to three times longer for the subjects to process the information.

Even the electrical activity that would have caused their fingers to press the left or right button was still present — although because they were asleep, their hands remained physically motionless.

The study shows that “the sleeping brain can be far more active in sleep than one would think,” Kouider said to the BBC. “This explains some everyday life experiences such as our sensitivity to our name in our sleep, or to the specific sound of our alarm clock compared to equally loud but less relevant sounds.”

Even more fascinating is that when they woke up, the subjects had no memory of the tests that had occurred while they were asleep. That means that not only

did they process and sort the information while asleep, but their brains did it entirely automatically without any guidance from their conscious minds.

What does this mean for the

average sleeper? Nothing yet — but it could pave the way to a future where you can wake up smarter than you were when you went to bed. Kouider told the Christian Science Monitor that

there’s a lot of interest inharnessing the unconscious brain’s power to learn while we sleep.

“I don’t think it’s science fiction,” he said. “I think that’s where we’re going.”

ANTHONY BIONDI / THE CASCADE

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Culture

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

Boyhood is our generation on the silver screen ÉMILIE LOPEZ Richard Linklater’s movie Boyhood is an incredibly moving portrait of childhood and adolescence.

Linklater had the brilliant idea to take the same actors along for 12 years of filming so that we see them growing before

our eyes. In particular, we see Mason (Ellar Coltrane) growing from five-years-old until the moment he leaves home to go to university and becomes an adult.

Boyhood is above all a coming-of-age story. The viewer watches Mason experience the common steps of life: elementary school, sibling problems, familial fragmentation, travel, first love, sexual education

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Ellar Coltrane has worked alongside Richard Linklater since he was five.

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and high school graduation. These stages of childhood mirror our own generation.

At the same time, the audience sees the influence of Mason and Samantha’s (Lorelei Linklater) parents, Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawk).

This is the generation who grew up reading Harry Potter before bedtime and listening to Blink-182 and Britney Spears — and the same kids who listened to their parents debating about the attacks on 9/11 and the implication of the United States in Iraq.

This movie is not solely focused on the children, however. It also deals with parenthood in all its joys and pains. Being able to watch the evolution of Mason’s relationship with his parents throughout the movie is really moving and simply another aspect that the viewer can identify with him.

Mason Sr. is very well aware of the problems that a family can experience from divorce to domestic violence, drinking problems and separation from one’s children. But despite his shortcomings, he also depicts good moments that can be shared with family such as reading to his children, camping and celebrating birthdays.

Most of all, Olivia and Mason Sr. show that parents can grow as much as their children, as both have obstacles to overcome, tough life choices to make and ultimately a role to fill within a family.

In terms of humour, the director plays

with the most wide-spread clichés about Texas — like when Mason receives his step-grandparents’ presents for his 16th birthday which include a Bible (with his name engraved on it in gold letters) and a shotgun. This setting is very important as Boyhood is not only the story of a boy growing up — it’s the story of a boy growing up in Austin, Tx. and all its traditions that add a special touch to the entire film.

From honouring the Texan flag as a boy when class begins to enjoying a midnight queso with his girlfriend as an adolescent, Mason’s identity and experiences rely heavily on his Texan roots.

The soundtrack is another important quality of the movie. From the Beatles to Lady Gaga, Linklater found songs that really fit into the time and generation he focuses on. Other artists featured in the film include Arcade Fire, the Foo Fighters, Family of the Year and Gotye. These songs also contribute to bringing the spectator back to the years that they see on the screen. The audience’s own memories resurface and they find themselves connecting to Mason on a deeper level — especially if they grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Boyhood is without a doubt an excellent movie and it is especially easy for viewers to identify with Mason’s history. It’s a film you certainly won’t want to miss.

15 Comparing the Sewol and Mount Polley Mine incidents opinions

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

ELLIOT CHO

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The Sewol ferry incident in South Korea caused an unnessary death toll of innnocent people.

When it comes to horrendous mistakes, Canada and South Korea both need to take responsibility for their actions, no matter how embarrassing they may be.

Back in April, I was deeply upset about what happened in South Korea. MV Sewol, a ferry that was sailing from Inchon to Jeju Island in South Korea, capsized while carrying 476 passengers onboard. Only 176 people were rescued. Most of the victims were high school students who were on a school field trip to Jeju Island — a popular vacation and honeymoon destination in South Korea.

The politics of how South Korea’s government dealt with the issue are both embarrassing and shameful. Unfortunately, it appears that a similar situation is occurring in Canada with the recent toxic spillage into Mount Polley Mine — and the Canadian government’s approach is equally lacking.

The Sewol incident revealed to the whole world just how laissez-faire economics can be, especially when it is in partner- ship with a corrupt government. Thanks to former South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak the South Korean government had eliminated a number of regulations on marine transport industries.

This allowed Chonghaejin Marine, a South Korean shipping company, to buy a ferry from Japan that was more than 20-years-old at the time of purchase. In fact, the ferry was considered too dangerous to operate and had been decommissioned for some time.

Worse yet, Chonghaejin Marine modified the inner structure of the ferry illegally so that it could carry more passengers and cargo. However, by greasing lots of palms and spending more money on buying dinners for safety inspectors and government officials — rather than spending money on safety training for the ferry’s crew — the company got away with it.

Even still, it appears that the safety training was done properly as the ferry’s captain and crew were the first ones to evacuate from the ship before it capsized. Unfortunately, the majority of passengers stayed on board and waited for help — just as they were instructed to do by the captain.

What made me furious was the way South Korean authority dealt with the situation. Accord- ing to Newstapa, an online South Korean news agency, the Korean Coast Guard didn’t even bother attempting to rescue passengers at all for the first 48 hours. All they did rescue were those who were smart enough to jump off of the ferry.

Even though the weather was spectacular and the chance of saving at least some of the passengers was quite high, the Korean Coast Guard did not act.

In midst of all this, the South Korean media sold an astronomical number of lies to the public.

At first, they reported that there were hundreds of rescuers at the scene. This was an outright lie as the rescuers were miles away from the scene. The students’ parents begged the president to do something. One lady even went on her knees in front of South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and begged her to do something. All the tears and desperate calls for help were meaningless — a few days later, what should have been a rescue mission became a recovery mission.

I must confess that I am disgusted with the way South Koreans behaved after the incident. Even though the president performed horribly when handling the situation, they still gave most of their votes to the president’s party in the parliamentary election in June. The public went into collective amnesia by happily watching their national soccer team get humiliated for their pathetic performance at the World Cup. But that is not all. Some of the politicians from the president’s party and members of South Korean extreme right-wing groups have openly mocked the victims’ family. They argue that the families are just trying to get more compensation from the government. Some of these extreme right-wing group members even went as far as organizing a party where they binged on pizza and chicken in front of the families who were on hunger strike to demand justice for their loved ones. Of course, this was an effort to save the president’s face by shifting the blame away from her.

Sadly, I have to say that I am also witnessing the same unfortunate habits in Canada. The Mount Polley Mine incident in British Columbia occurred in a place that is not too far away from the Fraser River, the province’s most important water source. Tons of harmful heavy metals and toxic chemicals have been spilled into Polley Lake and unfortunately, this incident has been slowly drifting away from our memory.

What vexes me is that the Canadian media has been silent about the incident at the Mount Polley Mine for a while. The official report declared that the water in the area is fine for drinking quality but according to the report from VICE, the water sample collected from the area near the pond shows that the water in the area has been contaminated with questionable substances.

Is Canada also taking the same path that South Korea has been on for a long time? It might be a good idea to learn from others’ mistakes and speak up, even on issues we would rather remain silent on. Perhaps it is time to look back and see whether we have been on the right path.

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Opinions

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

What has social media turned us into?

MICHELLE MANABAT

Social media has become a big part of our identity — most of us can’t live a day without it — and it’s easy to see that it affects us in both positive and negative ways.

However, it’s important to note that outside of social media we still need social lives.

Through Facebook, I stay in touch with my friends and relatives from all over the world — the purpose it was made for. Unfortunately, Facebook and other social networking sites are so popular that they’ve become a sanctuary for people who are seeking unnecessary attention.

I thought I had decent friends until I saw their duck face selfies, pictures of everything that goes through their heads and depressing statuses about how their life sucks — which more often than not is just an exaggeration of something so small — like how a Starbucks employee misspelled their name. I do hope they realize that they are just making themselves look stupid, but other problems do exist in social media besides the trivial.

“Social media makes us antisocial” is almost cliché, but researchers have found evidence that it might actually be true.

Psychologists believe that because communicat- ing online is so easy and convenient it prevents us from developing real, interpersonal communication skills.

“I think that with kids, it’s a lot easier to communicate certain things online than it is to in person,” said Michael S. Broder, renowned psychologist and bestselling author.

“I mean, kids who have a problem relating socially have found a way to avoid learning those skills and I don’t think that’s a good thing at all.”

Social networks might have the power to interfere with how we personally interact with other people, but I think we can decide whether to let this happen or not. I love being connected to my friends who live on opposite sides of the world. Therefore I check Facebook a lot, but my phone — which is my portal to social networks — is not stopping me from hanging out with my other friends. We do fun activities together and have real face-to-face conversations. Just because some people are incapable

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

having social interactions in the real world doesn’t mean social media stops everyone from doing so.

There are also some people who are more comfortable behind the screen and prefer socializing online.

Patricia Greenfield, director of the Children’s Digital Media Center in Los Angeles, believes that instead of having intimate relationships with others, young adults procure personal support and affirmation from “likes” and feedbacks to their online posts.

“We found in our study that people — college students — are not getting social support from being on the phone. They’re getting social support through bigger networks and having a sense that their audience is large,” Greenfield noted in her research. “The whole idea behind intimacy is self-disclosure.

Now they’re doing self-disclosure to an audience of hundreds.”

Social media has pros and cons regarding its effect on our social skills. But the most serious problem brought by social networks is cyber-bullying. Bullying in social networks is usually worse than in person because cyber-bullies are often unaware of how their hateful posts affect others. Additionally, bullies may be more likely to say things they wouldn’t otherwise.

“They probably wouldn’t engage in bullying activity if they were face-to-face because of the consequences if they were caught in person by authority figures,” said Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor in Lemoyne College.

In extreme cases, teens and adults have committed suicide after being bullied online. The Canadian government has created laws against cyber bullying and has been actively raising awareness.

While it is a good thing that the government is putting in effort to provide online protection, people need to realize that the solution is sometimes as easy as clicking the “block” or “unfriend” button.

Social networks can be considered an addiction because people can’t stay away from them and they can even ruin lives, but let’s not forget their advantages. People from all over the world communicate mainly through social media, and news trends and information spread faster than ever.

Social media influences us more than we care to admit. Every once in a while we need a reminder that social media is supposed to improve our social life — not replace it. We have to learn how to control our networks before they controls us.

Taylor Swift takes one small step for feminism SAMUEL RAFUSE While large movements often seem to make the most social progress, perhaps it is the smaller steps that truly make the difference — especially when it comes to feminism.

Taylor Swift’s stance on feminism has always been somewhat of a sit-down approach until recently.

In August, Swift told the Guardian: “As a teenager, I didn’t understand that saying you’re a feminist is just saying that you hope women and men will have equal rights and equal opportunities. For so long it’s been made to seem like something where you’d picket against the opposite sex, whereas it’s not about that at all.”

Other celebrities have taken a stance on the issue. Beyoncé’s performance at 2014’s Video Music Awards — boldly standing in front of a sign that read “FEMINIST” and unashamedly strutting her unique combination of powerful sexuality and sincere humility — will surely be one of this year’s highlights in the movement for feminism and equality. Also makng the list is Emma Watson’s poignant United Nations speech. However, it will be the smaller moments that really define the turning points of 2014 in terms of advocacy for equality and feminism, at least for me.

Although this year has had an incredible amount of gains for the feminist movement, it did not come

without its share of setbacks, most notably the scandalous celebrity nude hack that seemed to set us back several decades in progress.

Thanks to women like Watson — and now Swift — this blow turned out to be far less severe than it could have been.

Yet neither Watson nor Swift’s actions have gone uncriticized.

Watson has attracted a manner of backlash from those outspoken against feminism, from those who are on the fence and even from members of the feminist movement who claim Watson missed the point with her HeForShe campaign.

The biggest criticism of Watson’s campaign is that once again men have become the heroes in the story, stepping in to finally get the job done after women tried but failed. I do not disagree with this sentiment; feminism is about empowering women to obtain equality, which will never happen as long as men keep saving the day, so to speak. Still, Swift’s statement perhaps has more relevance than we gave her credit for.

Swift appeared on the French Canadian TV show Tout le Monde en Parle where she stated, “I think when it comes to females in the media, you’ll see something that kind of upsets me, which is that females are pinned up against each other, more so than men...

One thing I do believe as a feminist is that in order for us to have gender equality we have to stop making it a girl fight. It has to be

more about cheering each other on, as women.”

Throughout history the small victories have proven to be the most important, and having Swift on board is surely one such step that tips the scales toward progress.

Undoubtedly Swift holds influence over countless young fans and she has proven to be a good role model — despite the misguided complaints that her love life and breakup songs have a negative effect on them.

However, the suggestion that Swift is somehow unfit to speak on behalf of other women due to her personal life is another distraction cleverly aimed at intending to dismantle the validity of a strong, outspoken woman. After all, how many of our favourite heroes only became so after radically overcoming their past struggles?

However, the question remains: what can men do to help? Equality must include everyone by its own principles, but when women are trying to achieve the right to be taken seriously, is involving men the best way to go? While it is refreshing to see Tom Hiddleston, Harry Styles, Russell Crowe and many other male — and female — celebrities lend their support to feminism, it is also important that they support the revolution for equal opportunity without feeling the need to make it all about men.

Swift is not the first celebrity to recently embrace feminism after a struggle to reconcile with the

term and she won’t be the last.

The movement started long ago and has come a long way since, but each step proved to be essential for the next, each drawback a

requirement to some future progress — and it’s time we recognize that we all have something to learn about gender equality. It is never too late to take a stance.

FLICKR / AVRILLLLLLA

Taylor Swift joins the ranks of celebrities who are in support of feminism.

opinions

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

17

Yes to “Yes Means Yes” FATUMA ADAR

When it comes to tackling issues surrounding gender equality and zero-tolerance policies for sexual abuse, the college environment is undoubtedly the right place to start.

In recent months — and even more so in the last few weeks, we have taken incredible strides in these two areas.

The most recent news to put a smile on my face is the passing of California’s Affirmative Consent Law, more popularly known as “Yes Means Yes,” a law that protects students attending post-secondary institutions that take state financial funds.

The law takes a new approach to the idea that “no means no,” in terms of sexual consent, and does away with some ambiguity by asserting that a party must provide an affirmative response in order to consider the act consensual.

The reason why this is such a stride forward is because too often sex crimes go unpunished because of loopholes and the lack of a verbal refusal to engage. There are many reasons why someone can be kept from saying “no:” confusion, lucidity or even fear. “Yes Means Yes” entails that both parties

can affirm their consent and make their choices clear.

The law isn’t perfect, of course, but it is a step in the right direction.

There is the issue of what kind of body language can be constituted as consent, like a head nod or moving intimately closer to the other party. While a work in progress, it’s still something.

As I’ve mentioned, the bill applies to post-secondary institutions that take funding from the government, so it is something enforced — at the moment — strictly at public colleges and universities. But in all fairness, that is a great place to start.

The passing of this law reminded me of the story of Emma Sulkowicz from this September. Sulkowicz is a senior student at Columbia University who vowed to carry a mattress around campus as long as she still attended school with her alleged rapist. She displays a strong satirical symbol of the neglect that even the Ivy Leagues apply to these serious assault cases.

It’s important to understand the extent that a victim of a sexual crime has to go to in order to bring attention to their situation, as it is an incredible feat for victims to come forward to talk about their assault. If the university that you’re attending can’t take that seriously

— or in even worse scenarios — tries to convince you that you’ve misunderstood the situation and invalidates your case, society itself will sink deeper into this victimblaming culture.

Dismissing people as becoming over-sensitized and society being once again “muzzled” by political correctness is an easy trap to fall into. But when it comes to someone being able to enforce their rights over their own body, there is no excuse for anyone to cut corners. And if we aren’t able to set a standard of mutual respect in a learning environment, how will that trickle out into culture?

Laws like “Yes Means Yes” start a positive discussion and I hope that it becomes something that spreads to other universities. A safe study environment is key for any student’s success — something that should be a primary concern for a university. This includes mental and physical safety, and crimes against these basic human rights should be addressed and not swept under the rug.

In the meantime, if anyone finds themselves in a situation where someone doesn’t undertand either that “no means no” or the reinvented “yes means yes,” I encourage you to speak to someone and not refrain from allowing

your voice to be heard. Like Sulkowicz, if you feel like you have to say something that should be said, then say it. Being able to do so not only gives you an opportunity to

address the situation, but also gives others the courage to do the same.

Closing with words that have been buzzing around campus for days, consent is beautiful.

STEPHANIE MAH / GRAPHICS EDITOR

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Opinions

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

The daily trials of a basic bitch KATHERINE FEDOROFF / PHOTO EDITOR

NAOMI ZUREVINSKI Opinions Editor Accusations of being a basic bitch may be an insult to some, but like any other stereotype it exists for a reason. I’m no amateur when it comes to yoga and juice cleanses, but some elements of being a basic bitch are

— you have to admit — a little funny.

The term “basic,” in its colloquial definition, means that someone identifies with elements of society that are mainstream and popular. Perhaps you will see that it’s humorous or perhaps you will think it’s trivial — either way, here’s a glimpse of a day in the life of a basic bitch: I love fall for so many reasons — being back at school is such a great opportunity for me to get into my routine. My favorite thing about fall is definitely

fashion; whipping out my Steve Madden combat boots, throwing on my army jacket and of course my go-to for back-to-school: leggings. You can pair them with anything and they are so comfy and casual — definitely essential for early classes when I’m trying to pull off my “I just woke up, but I’m still so cute” look.

I’m so ready to get back into a schedule of cleansing and working hard at the gym. I’m totally not like other girls — I work out.

After walking 15 minutes on the treadmill, I usually do some

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five-pound dumbbells for my arms and then a few sit-ups. I do enough to tone me up but won’t do anything too strenuous that would mess up my hair.

I also definitely need to eat healthy during the day; I love a kale salad for lunch — so filling! I might even go vegan — because OMG those poor animals. And I’m definitely gluten-free — TBH I’m not totally sure what gluten is, but I can’t even eat that. Like, I can’t even. Thank goodness they make gluten-free cakes and cookies though; I love those — a girl’s gotta have her snacks.

My classes are so boring, like why am I even here? I’m so glad I have Instagram to keep me occupied. I’m totally following a few toning up accounts — they always post great inspirational quotes and I always screenshot before-and-afters on my iPhone for inspiration — #fitgirl.

If Insta bores me in class, I’ll just work on my Pinterest wedding board. I have the perfect dress and theme picked out. Now I just need the boy — that’s what Tinder is for, right? (OMG girl, why isn’t he texting me back!?!?

We had such a great heart-toheart at the Scuzz!)

Fall is also the perfect time for me to get back into my yoga routine. My yoga instructor changed my life — I’ve been so inspired and in tune with the earth lately.

This summer I got this really nice tattoo to represent my dramatic personal growth. I wanted something mean- ingful and unique so I went with a cute foot tattoo with “Live, Laugh, Love” in loopy cursive. I feel like it speaks to me in a really deep way and it’s one of my favorite quotes. I really try to live my life like that — living, laughing, loving (#blessed).

I practically live on the Murray Library fifth floor and I am so

busy with homework that I barely have time to watch any good shows, like Keeping Up with the Kardashians — thank goodness I can keep up with them on Insta.

But I do love a good library selfie — the “OMG so much homework” ones where I pose with my pumpkin spice latte (OMG I love pumpkin spice! #pumpkin #spice #pumpkinspice #nonfatnowhip #PSL). I need to let my followers know that I’m working hard.

A little white wine and some california rolls also make for such a great Monday-night-in kind of homework treat. I need my sushi to be authentic though, none of that fake crab stuff. I need real crab! (OMG whoops, is crab vegan? Looks like I won’t Insta this meal since I told everyone I was vegan... #awk).

The weekend could not come soon enough though. For while the super pretty fall colors last, I arranged a quick photo shoot with some of my best girls. I’m thinking we should snap some pics throwing leaves in the air. By the river would be the best destination for that — not overdone at all and I want the shoot to be unique. We should totally hire a professional photographer, I need these to be good for Facebook so I can update my profile pic! I haven’t updated since last week, wow, I am so behind.

Fall definitely has its ups and downs, but with pumpkin spice in hand, I know I can get through it. I think I’ll throwback something from the summer on Thursday though — probably me in some high waisted jorts (“umm... helllo?

Jean shorts, obviously!”) and a super cute crop top. I was looking fierce this summer that I gotta keep the memories alive and the likes coming in. I almost have 400 Insta followers — as per usual, go me (#basicbitch).

Campus Chat Humour

9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

19

If you could invent a chip flavour, what would it be?

Hummus flavour.

Macaroni and cheese.

Jennifer Ifeacho

THE sheaf

Buffalo wings.

Kyle Siemens

Volunteer for graphics! graphics@thesheaf.com

Strawberry chips.

Mikaela Sibbala

Mitch Hillis

20

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9 October, 2014 - THESHEAF.COM

BY-ELECTIONS CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

MEMBER OF STUDENT COUNCIL FOR: COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE & BIORESOURCES INDIGENOUS STUDENTS WESTERN COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE NOMINATION FORMS AVAILABLE AT THE MEETING.

MANDATORY MEETING: Member of Student Council Orientation 4:30 p.m. October 14, 2014 WHERE: Roy Romanow Student Council Chamber Room 110.3, Upper Place Riel

For More Information Visit ussu.ca/elections

Hunger is on the rise!

Join Meal Exchange this Halloween as we Trick or Eat door-to-door- to collect food and raise voices about hunger in Canada. Learn more at:

#trickoreat

CONTACT THE USSU FOOD CENTRE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Room 110, Upper Place Riel • ph: 306-966-1792 • email: food.centre@ussu.ca

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MONDAY

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OPEN MIC NIGHT AND JAM CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR DETAILS. facebook.com/louisUofS

9PM 19+ EVENT