The Sil - November 12, 2009

InsideOut delves into the pros and cons of lying in our society.

Cinderella story: Marauders take home OUA title.

see page B1

see page B7

McMASTER UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER / THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

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The Silhouette Est. 1930

CUPE votes to accept University’s offer

Lest we forget: 91st annual memorial at Gore Park and McMaster, see A4

SELMA AL-SAMARRAI

VOLUME 80, NO. 13

Toronto to host 2015 Pan Am LILY PANAMSKY

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The CUPE 3906 union held a ratification vote on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 where 58 per cent of the membership accepted the University’s offer, consequently ending the union’s week-long strike. The University’s best contract was initially tabled on Oct. 31 and as a result caused the union’s bargaining members to call a strike, which started Nov. 2. The proposed contract has received no changes since. The union represents 2,700 employees at McMaster.

Derek Sahota, CUPE 3906 Unit 1 bargaining team member explained that the scrutineer decided against releasing the amount of union members who participated in the vote. “We certainly know it was a good chunk of the membership, certainly much more than the previous vote,” explained Sahota.

One of the union’s bargaining team, Rebecca Strung, explained that the university’s best offer that CUPE voted in favour of did not address or change any of the pressing issues that have been frequently addressed in previous negotiations. These issues include increasing the benefit fund, preventing the decrease of take home pay for graduate TAs that occurs due to rising tuition that isn’t compensated in their pay, placing class size caps and defining the role of a TA. Specifically addressing the benefit fund, Strung added that the university’s lack of increase to the benefit fund is likely to cause cuts to the hardship fund and to the childcare fund and reduction to vision care and UHIP rebate.

Regarding the back-to-

CHRISTOPHER CHANG/ SILHOUETTE STAFF

Veterans and fellow Hamiltonians gathered in remembrance at a ceremony at Gore Park. The ceremony • PLEASE SEE RATIF., A5 included seven WWII planes that flew by prior to the 11 a.m. moment of silence.

Toronto edged out Lima and Bogota to win the bid for the 2015 Pan American Games. It was announced on Nov. 6 that Toronto and the surrounding area won the bid to host the two-week games.

The Pan Am Games is a large summer sporting event held every four years for athletes of the 42 Pan American Sports Organization member countries that includes more than 40 sports. Executive Director of Tourism Hamilton discussed early projected numbers for the overall Pan Am games. “[The estimated number of visitors] that will come into Southern Ontario is 250,000. We haven’t done the projections [for Hamilton] yet, but we will…The economic impact will range somewhere between $1.5 and 2 billion.”

The Pan Am project will run an estimated total budget of $1.4 billion, partly subsidized by the federal and provincial governments, plus $1 billion for an athlete’s village, and it will involve 17 municipalities, three universities – including McMaster – and over 50 venues.

The city of Hamilton will be one of the cities hosting events for the games. A new 15,000-seat stadium will be created over the next six years to host athletics events during the Pan Am Games and further Tiger Cat football games; the preferred location for the stadium is north of Barton Street, between Bay Street and Queen Street. A practice track just outside of the stadium will also be created. Hamilton is also receiving a velodrome, an indoor cycling facility. Additional events • PLEASE SEE HAMILTON, A5

Mac to host 8th annual Peace Education conference Peace Education conference focuses on peace and equality within the education system

CHRISTOPHER CHANG/ SILHOUETTE STAFF

The eighth annual Peace Education Conference, held at McMaster this year will focus on bringing peace into the school system.

MELANIE FERRIER SILHOUETTE STAFF

From Nov. 13 to 15, the Hamilton Center for Teaching Peace will be hosting their eight annual Peace Education Conference titled, “Loving Teachers, Living Schools: Sharing Our Paths of Peace” on the third floor of the McMaster student centre. This year’s conference will

Inside the Sil this week

focus on bringing greater peace into the school system, exploring gender and sexuality in the system, and on how greater social and spiritual intelligence can be incorporated into school curriculum.

The Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace (CCTP) is a national and non-profit organization dedicated to building healthier communities and encouraging

Poverty in Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A3 O.U.C.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5 Speculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A12 Storm Chasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B3

world peace. The CCTP envision of the conference is primarily for great opportunity [for students]. an education system where students the CCTP, to bring “greater peace There are so many different topics are exposed to a into our schools”, that are being covered … [and] nurturing learning as previously there is a lot of room for input.”

You often hear Cox added that this is also environment, and mentioned, they plan hope to advance students who are to launch their school a chance for students to address this vision through education issues they feel should be dealt with, annoyed about peace lectures, workshops, program and finally, “you often hear students who are [different aspects they hope to raise upset or annoyed about [different and panel of their education.] awareness and get aspects of their education]. This is discussions.

C h i e f working towards an an opportunity to take those feelings This is an and concerns, explore them, and do among these action plan. activities will be the opportunity to take The conference something about them.”

Anyone interested in launch of CCTP’s those, explore them is open to anyone National School and do something.” interested in participating in this year’s Peace Peace Education education or social Education Conference at McMaster Program. Another justice issues. is encouraged to visit the conference important aspect of Students are seriously website www.schoolpeaceprogram. the conference will be a lecture, encouraged to participate, “it is a org. given by key note speaker Dr. Ian Harris, entitled, “Overcoming Violence through Education: Exploring Masculinity, Violence and Peace.”

Other events include a meet and greet at the Sky Dragon Centre on Thursday evening and a social event named, “Celebrating Each Other” at the First Unitarian Church on Friday night. “Celebrating Each Other” will feature singers Tristan Raganan, Vince Waters, and The Subterraneans. Dance groups, including The Rhythm Divine, will also be performing. The social event will be open to all members of the community.

According to Chelsea Cox, one of the coordinators of the peace education conference, the purpose Andy reviews PostSecret’s contribution to the space left for

those still in the closet.

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Lacrosse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B8 Basketball victories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B9 Sky Gilbert’s new book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C5 Men Who Stare at Goats . . . . . . . . . . . .C12

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

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

THE SILHOUETTE • A3

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Good Shepherd warms up Hamilton As temperatures drop this fall Good Shepherd prepares to help out Hamiltonians in need

W

ith winter on the way and exams approaching faster than many of us wish to consider, much of the McMaster community is faced with mundane matters such as early holiday shopping and finishing final midterms and papers. However, for an unprecedented number of Hamiltonians, this time of year raises primary questions and concerns regarding whether a safe and warm place to live will be available during the winter months.

NICOLE IANCOVITZ AND GRACE EVANS / THE SILHOUETTE AND SENIOR ANDY EDITOR According to the Social Planning a pro-active approach to alleviate and Research Council of Hamilton some of the dangers that are felt by (SPRC), 90,000 Hamiltonians individuals living in poverty and were living in poverty in 2005, homelessness. While emergency with Hamilton’s current poverty shelters are not a novel concept rate resting at 18.1 per cent. Not in Hamilton, they are still lacking only are these statistics shocking to significantly in terms of funding many given Hamilton’s reputation and availability. as a major industrial centre, but According to the SPRC, these are also numbers that we only 509 beds were available in tend to ignore, opting to believe Hamilton in 2006, with 40 beds that these sorts of astounding rates reserved for, “out of the cold” of poverty are reserved for larger emergencies, and 20 beds reserved urban areas or the Third World. One for youth on the streets. In an needs to merely hop on the HSR to urban centre such as Hamilton the downtown Hamilton to be amidst a SPRC records maintain that 4,000 rising epidemic within the national individuals stayed at a Hamilton dilemma that is Canadian poverty. emergency shelter at some point M a n y in 2006. With a total factors which of seven emergency contribute to the In Hamilton, a major shelters in Hamilton, problem of poverty source of support the city reserves a and homelessness 42 consecutive night for those living limit in which any in Hamilton are directly related to below the poverty individual may stay the over-burdened an emergency line is, The Good in social assistance shelter, and with two programs which Shepherd organi- exclusively female are experiencing zation - a Catholic emergency shelter difficulties keeping in Hamilton (Mary’s up with increased health and social Place and Martha costs of living. In the service agency.” House provided by year 2006, 45,262 Good Shepherd), Hamiltonians were many individuals are unable to afford accessible housing, being turned away when seeking a and 45 per cent of renter households place to stay. were spending 30 per cent of their It can be seen, through income on shelter, putting these an analysis of Hamilton’s poverty local families at great risk of rates, that its policies and structures becoming homeless. can also be a hindrance rather than a This reality is not made any pro-active approach in the reduction easier given the current economic of poverty. recession, which placed significant For example, in order to impact on Employment Insurance be eligible to receive welfare, an (EI). The recession contributed to individual must first complete an a substantial rise in EI, with 12,480 extensive application, including Hamiltonians drawing from EI income information, budgetary resources in May 2009 – a 139 per requirements, reports pertaining to cent increase from last May. progress in an educational or training With more competition for program, a report of employment or low-wage jobs, the primary effect proposed employment information, of the current global recession and a report from an approved is an increased poverty rate in health professional to assist in Hamilton looming in the future. The the determination for welfare Ontario Association of Food Banks assistance. proclaimed that Ontario’s poverty After approval, the rate will rise to 17.7 per cent by individual must submit further 2010. The worry is that if Hamilton’s information on a regular monthly poverty rate continues at its current basis. The problem is that this trend of being three to five percent documentation is not easily higher than the Ontario average, obtainable. While the welfare then, according to the SPRC’s 2009 system does assist in pulling people assessment, Hamilton’s poverty rate out of poverty, it forces them to be could rise to as much as 21 to 24 per dependent on the government for cent within the next few years. assistance. Welfare recipients can There are many institutions only continue to receive welfare if and organizations, which are taking the wages they receive do not cover

cost of living, and the system does not allow individuals to put extra money aside as savings, to help them better their situation.

In further assessing Hamilton’s welfare system, it is interesting to note that when Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia introduced cuts to welfare, the three provinces experienced a decline in the use of social assistance and an increase in employment. While this decline may have been due to favourable economic conditions, it might also have been due to the policy changes themselves, seeing as Manitoba, which did not affect similar changes, did not experience the same benefits.

Quebec, by contrast, experienced a dramatic reduction in poverty in the past decade due to a law passed to “combat poverty and social exclusion,” which raised the province’s minimum wage, improved social assistance, initiated a working income supplement and instituted a universal family benefits program to support the poorest households. As a result, the child poverty rate declined to less than 10 per cent from 22 per cent between 1996 and 2005.

To compare Hamilton’s poverty rates to those on the national scale is to assess whether our region is in keeping with national statistics. Canada’s child poverty rate is 15.1 per cent, which is higher than the average of seventeen developed countries according to the Conference Board of Canada.

This means that one in seven children in Canada lives in poverty, with Canada ranking 13th out of the seventeen countries studied.

Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway have the lowest rates of child poverty (less than 5 per cent), with a demonstrated relationship between social programs and poverty rates in these countries proving more and more beneficial.

While child poverty fell from 15.8 per cent in the mid1980s to 12.8 in the mid-1990s, it has increased to 15.1 per cent, with Canada experiencing the second highest jump in the child poverty rate out of the fourteen countries in which this archival information is tracked. The only way to reduce poverty in Canada is through a national, long-term anti-poverty strategy, according to the Canadian National Council of Welfare. This strategy must include timelines

and targets, as well as a method to encourage participation among all levels of government.

Considering these bleak national and regional statistics, it is important to note that Hamilton is not at a total loss, with many local organizations and institutions fighting to address this social injustice that many within the Hamilton community face. The SPRC is attempting to address Hamilton’s critical issue of poverty through a three-year initiative, launched in 2007, entitled, “Everyone Has a Home: A Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness.”

This program attempts to make use of community resources in order to ensure housing and fair wages for minority groups that are experiencing the effects of poverty on a large scale. Believing that results can only be achieved through a shared understanding of that which contributes to poverty (i.e. lack of income, housing, support services), and a shared definition of homelessness, the SPRC hopes to tackle this issue and significantly reduce the effects of poverty at the local level.

In Hamilton, a major

women in 1995, the Emmanuel House for individuals with terminal illness in 1998, the Notre Dame House for street youth in 1998, and an emergency residence called the Family Centre in 2005.

The Good Shepherd most commonly deals with the working poor in Hamilton. These families consist of people who are able to maintain their housing costs, but have little left over to provide food for their families. The Good Shepherd attempts to offer support to these families and to individuals living on the brink of or just below the poverty line. The Hamilton community can offer support by dropping off food donations to the food bank on Mary Street, or can donate clothing or money to the Delaware Centre.

While much is being done to combat the issue of poverty in Hamilton with organizations taking proactive steps to reduce poverty in Hamilton, such as the SPRC’s “Everyone has a Home” program, the Good Shepherd and the Mary Street food bank, a cohesive governmental response is still required. The SPRC stresses that many of the statistics compiled by the City of Hamilton’s

WILL VAN ENGEN / PHOTO EDITOR

The Good Shepherd provides many services to Hamilton including food banks, shelters and employment resources. source of support for those living below the poverty line is, The Good Shepherd organization - a Catholic health and social service agency that aims to serve all in need through their slogan, “faith in people.” The first Good Shepherd center was opened in Hamilton in 1961 and offered food and shelter to homeless men. Since then the Good Shepherd has opened the Martha House for women in 1983, a food bank in 1986, the Brennan House for teens in 1991, Mary’s House for homeless

Community Services Department do not necessarily account for everyone living in severe poverty or homelessness, as many individuals remain “hidden” on the streets. Let us be reminded that it is not only the responsibility of struggling organizations and institutions to address the social injustices of poverty and inequality, but for those of us at McMaster, as community members, to focus our efforts on eliminating poverty in the Hamilton region.

A4 • THE SILHOUETTE

Newsbites

Compiled by Jennifer Bacher Health worker fired for giving flu shot Senior health officials in the Canadian province of Alberta said on Wednesday they had fired an unidentified worker for giving National Hockey League players preferential access to the H1N1 flu vaccine. The controversy boiled over this week when it was revealed that players for the NHL’s Calgary Flames and their families received shots on an exclusive basis one day before the province closed public flu clinics due to a shortage of the vaccine.

Online auction for rich and famous An Internet auction site devoted to millionaires is likely to profit from the worst global recession in decades. Millionaires suffering from the recession now have a place to sell their expensive items without having to resort to the pawn shop. The company said its website aims to exploit a market function between internet sales sites such as eBay, which are available to the general public, and auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s for fine art and collectibles. The site facilitates sales and trades of everything from arts and antiques to commercial properties, businesses and foreclosed homes.

Man makes living by wearing t-shirts A T-shirt a day has kept an American man making about $85,000 a year by selling advertising space on his torso.

Jason Sadler, 26, a former marketing professional from Florida, founded his own company, www.iwearyourshirt.com, in 2008 with the idea to wear a T-shirt supplied by any company and then use social media tools to promote the firm. Sadler has already begun filling his 2010 calendar. He is also expanding services by hiring another individual to wear a shirt a day on the west coast of the United States.

Man provided own photo for mug shot A British man on the run from police sent a picture of himself to his local paper because he disliked the mug shot they had printed of him as part of a public appeal to track him down. When it appeared in the South Wales Evening Post, the 23-year-old sent the newspaper a replacement photo of himself standing in front of a police van.

They obligingly printed it on the front page. The police thanked him for helping them in their appeal saying, “Everyone in Swansea will know what he looks like now.”

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Lest we forget; A day for peace PAIGE FABER

FEATURES EDITOR

This year, Canada celebrated its 91st annual Remembrance Day memorial service to honour our troops lost and living. Two of the many ceremonies held yesterday took place in downtown Hamilton and on campus at McMaster.

In Hamilton, the memorial was held at downtown Gore Park and Cenotaph, at the area of the park named Veteran’s Place. This year, despite the cold and windy weather, there was a substantial crowd gathered to pay homage to their fellow Canadians. By the time the ceremony started, the crowd was stretched from the edges of the buildings on King Street East and filled the park.

Waiting in the crowd before the ceremony started, seven WWII military planes flew over Jackson Square Park in honour of their fellow patriots. As the planes flew over, the crowd cheered and many veterans turned to each other with faces lit up and began naming the plane models and types, sharing a few stories about their experiences as members of the Canadian forces.

The ceremony started just before 11 a.m. with introductions to those involved in the ceremony, the key figures in this years’ memorial were Mayor Fred Eisenberger, the Hamilton Veterans Committee and Deacon Bruce Lacillade as the Officiating Clergy. Others involved in the memorial were the

Silver Cross Mothers, Bev McCraw and Linda Learn. The ceremony included several hymns, wreaths laid on the cenotaph, the traditional reciting of “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae followed by the Last Post and the two minutes of silence.

This was followed by a lament and a reveille performed by the Dundas Concert Band and the East Hamilton Strings.

The speakers expressed their appreciation for all of the youth and children that were in attendance. The ceremony even included a pop-rock song entitled, “Canadian Heroes” by a local band which was played at the end of the service. After the final remarks, the crowd slowly dispersed as many walked up to the cenotaph to look at the wreaths that had been laid and to speak with friends and family that they knew.

At McMaster, the Remembrance Day ceremony was held in Convocation Hall and was organized by the McMaster Alumni Association. The ceremony followed a similar progression to the one at Gore Park, with a hymn, welcoming message and prayer.

This memorial also included the Last Post, lament, reveille, and two minutes of silence. Those involved in the service included Peter George, president of McMaster, and the president of the McMaster Students Union, Vishal Tiwari.

In addition to the traditional services, a reading of the Honour Roll, a list of former

CHRISTOPHER CHANG / SILHOUETTE STAFF

A participant at the Remembrance Day ceremony at Gore Park bows his head during the moment of silence. and present McMaster students who died fighting for Canada, was read. George read the names of 56 students who perished during WWI and WWII, and two that have died in the Afghanistan war.

George thanked and remembered those lost in war and said, “Rest in peace for we have not forgotten the price you gave for our freedom.”

This year Charles Johnston and the Alumni Association are building biographies of those listed in the McMaster Honour Roll so that they may be remembered further.

Both Remembrance Day services paid great tribute to those who have fought and sacrificed

much for Canada, for those who lived and for those who did not.

Although the attitude of the memorials is sombre, they include aspects of peace, hope, and freedom that are uplifting and encouraging of Canadian patriotism. The speakers maintained that the importance of Remembrance Day is to not focus on the concept of war and suffering, but to focus on what emerged from that war, which is peace, freedom and nationalism to honour those who bravely gave their life and service to the preservation of Canadian values.

With files from Lily Panamsky

Student lobby groups take action Jacob Serebrin

CUP QUEBEC BUREAU CHIEF

MONTREAL (CUP) – Graduate students at several schools across the country are taking issue with a national student lobby group’s call to end tuition and education tax credits.

The call is part of the “Education Action Plan” released by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) in October. According to the plan, non-refundable education and tuition fee tax credits cost the federal government almost $2.5 billion annually – money that the Federation wants to see redirected to upfront grants.

A group of graduate students at McGill, the University of Manitoba and the University of Calgary, who sent out a joint press release on Monday, say that if these tax credits were cut it would hurt them. By taxing graduate scholarship and fellowship income, recipients of such income could be taxed as much as 30 per cent of their funding, say the group members.

Fellowship funding is a

key income component for graduate students who often, because of the extent of their research, have no opportunity to seek other employment. Taxing that income would make it even more difficult for some graduate students to get by. “Broadly speaking, there would be thousands of people who would be paying a lot more money,” said Daniel Simeone, president of the McGill Post-Graduate Students’ Society.

According to Simeone, “the average federal or provincial scholarship is in the $17,000 to $20,000 range.” He said that taxing these scholarships would hurt anyone receiving such funding.

But Gaétan Beaulière, deputy chair of the CFS graduate caucus said that because many students have low incomes, they would not be taxed to a great degree in the proposed Education Action Plan.

“We’re talking about the largest grants that are available to graduate students,” he said. “[Like] the Vanier Scholarship for instance, which is $50,000 a year, and

students currently don’t pay any tax on it.”

Beaulière said that if the tax breaks were scrapped, the money should be put in to needsbased upfront grants that would be available to graduate students.

While undergraduate students outside of Quebec now have access to the Canada Student Grants – which replaced the government’s millennium bursaries this year – graduate students do not.

“If this recommendation were to be accepted all students who have financial needs would be better off,” said Beaulière. “Tax credit measures are simply not the most effective way to alleviate student debt or improve access.”

But Simeone said the tax exemptions have helped many students deal with increasing inflation. He said that fellowship amounts have not increased in over five years.

“Part of the nature of graduate studies is that it’s very time intensive,” he said. “If you’re in chemistry lab you have to be in your lab from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every

day, so you can’t get a another job.”

At McGill, the largest percentage of graduate students is in the sciences.

“For the vast majority of graduate students who are working in labs,” said Simione, “it’s like a job, but it’s like a badly paid job, and the tax free status of your low salary makes it a little bit more reasonable.”

The CFS’ Education Action Plan also calls increased funding for the social sciences and humanities and a doubling of the number of Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS). According to Beaulière only four percent of the over 140,000 graduate students in Canada receive the scholarships.

Vahedi said he had problems with the way the way the action plan was drafted, citing a lack of consultation between the CFS and graduate students’ associations.

But Beaulière said that all CFS campaigns are voted on at national meetings. “Direction comes from the membership,” he said, adding that the recommendation to cut tax credits is “more than 12 years old.”

THE SILHOUETTE • A5

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Hamilton gets share of Pan Am glory McMaster University will donate its facilities for athlete training

Hamilton, will have the opportunity to participate in the Pan Am project such as volleyball will be held at as well. A new swimming pool will be constructed at the university, Copps Coliseum.

Roger Trull, president the outdoor running track will be of University Advancement at resurfaced, and the Ron Joyce McMaster, stated, “Hamilton is the stadium field will be redone to meet largest recipient of facilities. We international standards.

No medal events will be desperately need [a new stadium] and… I don’t think there is a held at the university and that the permanent velodrome in Canada, new facilities will be used as training so it allows Hamilton to become the facilities, but Trull maintained “A lot of this is still up in the air, it’s cycling centre of the country.”

The estimated cost of the very common with these bids, that stadium is $150 million. Hamilton when a bid is won, you get down Ward I Councillor Brian McHattie to the real work and lots of stuff stated that, “So far the city council changes—even the sites of various has allocated $60 million for the events.”

Adames estimated the stadium from the Hamilton Future Fund, which a source of funds job creation for the Games will we have internally here, but for be about 10,000, including jobs the stadium to go from a 15,000 that deal with initial construction, games-planning, seat capacity to a and operation of 25,000—which is facilities.

The what we would need McMaster estimated number of for Ti-Cat games and University, being a initial construction larger events like that—the additional strong partner to jobs for the stadium, funds—some 50, 60 the city of Hamilton, velodrome, and pool in Hamilton is 2000. million—will have will have the Trull maintained to be raised from that, although the Pan private sources.” opportunity to T r u l l participate in the Am games will not generate monetary explained, “There’s Pan Am project profit to McMaster, a funding formula the university’s that they have. So the as well. participation in the government pays 56 Pan Am project will per cent of the cost, and the host city, or in our case, the be beneficial to the school. “I think university, pays 44 per cent of the it’s a great thing. It’s certainly a great thing for Hamilton, and you cost.”

McMaster University, know, what’s good for Hamilton being a strong partner to the city of is good for McMaster. The pool is

• CONT’D FROM 1

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Many of the athletic events for the Pan Am Games will be hosted in Hamilton at the future stadium. something that we really need and we would really benefit from, we’ve got a lot of challenges to figure out how to pay for it, all that kind of thing, so it’s not going to be an easy process for us, but it will be a great addition to our campus for sure.”

Trull remained optimistic about the changes the Games will bring to Hamilton. “It’s going to

build profile, it’s going to help revitalize downtown by putting the stadium and the velodrome there, and the whole process has been a big partnership between the city and the University and that will continue.”

“This Pan Am Games victory actually goes back a long time,” said Trull. Hamilton bid and

lost to New Delhi, India for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and then bid and lost once again to Halifax for the 2014 Commonwealth Games; Halifax later withdrew its bid.

Rio de Janiero, Brazil hosted the last Pan Am Games in 2007 and Guadalajara, Mexico will host the 2011 Games.

Ontario hip hop competition returns to Mac SELMA AL-SAMARRAI SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

JONATHON FAIRCLOUGH / SILHOUETTE STAFF

McMaster’s hip hop team, pictured above, will be participating in the seventh annual Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop, which will be held at McMaster University on Nov. 21.

NOV. 18 - 20 STUDENT CENTRE

Wed. 9am Fri. at 5pm

This year’s seventh annual Ontario Universities Competition for Hip Hop (O.U.C.H.) will be held at the Burridge Gym in McMaster University on Nov. 21.

O.U.C.H. was founded in 2003 by a student in the University of Waterloo and has increased in size and popularity since. Five of the six annual O.U.C.H. competitions have been held at McMaster University due to the fact that the winning university hosts the competition the following year, and McMaster’s team has won five times since O.U.C.H. first began.

Kylie Thompson, co-chair of O.U.C.H. for this academic year, explained that a varying number of 10 to 20 universities participate in the annual O.U.C.H. competition.

This year, 15 universities are participating in O.U.C.H. There are nine committee members in O.U.C.H. and a total of approximately 40 people, including volunteers.

In addition, this is the first year that McMaster’s team is

officially involved with a charity— War Child Canada. Thompson explained, “We hope to donate whatever profits we make to War Child Canada. War Child is a really great committee that also has a chapter here at Mac so we collaborated with them.”

War Child Canada is a Canadian Charity is a Canadian Charity that provides humanitarian assistance to children affected by war around the world.

Last year’s O.U.C.H. competition was held at the Hamilton Place Theatre and garnered the attendance of an estimated 1,700 people.

This year’s performers include hip hop up-and-coming artist Trish and performance group Rated Inc. Thompson concluded, “I think at least for the dance community at Mac, it’s a huge source of pride being that we won five out of six prizes that have ever been given out. I feel it’s an entertaining event, so much fun and so much energy within the room that it’s just so much fun for whoever goes to it.”

Ratification vote proves divided union • CONT’D FROM 1 work protocol, the agreement stipulated that unless an employee submitted a Weekly Verification of Intent to Work form to their course constructor on or before Nov. 9, they will be paid 2 hours less for every day that they participated in the strike, totaling a ten hour decrease in pay. The Weekly Verification of Intent to Work form entailed the union member’s signature verifying that they will be working throughout the strike.

Strung described this pay decrease as, “punitive” further adding that it eliminates approximately 7.7 per cent of this semester’s pay for all union members who chose not to work

throughout the strike.

Sahota expressed, “I think it’s the democratic will of the locale and we respect that, definitely represents a divide in our locale, TAs across campus have different working conditions, which shows it’s something we need to work towards in the future to build solidarity in the union. Those who do have good working conditions in the moment need to help support those who don’t because we need to have these issues raised… our path as a union over the next two years is to get everyone to understand how important these issues are and we need to fight together for them.”

TA’s and RA’s returned to work on Wed. Nov. 11.

A6 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

EDITORIAL McMaster University’s Student Newspaper

The Silhouette TheSil.ca Editorial Board

Hamilton’s party, Toronto’s hangover

Senior News Editor Selma Al-Samarrai Assistant News Editor Lily Panamsky Features Editor Paige Faber Opinions Editor Peter Goffin Sports Editor Brian Decker Assistant Sports Editor David Koots Insideout Editor Lindsay Jolivet

Staff Photographer Terry Shan Multimedia Editor Ava Dideban Production Editor Katherine Marsden Web Editor Jason Lamb Health Editor Sarah Levitt Distribution Coordinator Jonathon Fairclough Ad Manager Sandro Giordano

Senior Andy Editor Grace Evans Music Editor Corrigan Hammond Entertainment Editor Myles Herod

Silhouette Staff

Sam Colbert, Joey Coleman, Kevin Elliott, Noah Nemoy, Julie Compton, Jenifer Bacher, Michael Hewak, Christopher Chang, Lauren Jewett, Jacqueline Flaggiello, Natasha Pirani, Amanda Fracz, Cassandra Jeffery

Contact Us Volume 80 2009-10 • McMaster University Student Centre, Room B110 McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, ON L8S 4S4 • Fax: (905) 529–3208 • E–Mail: thesil@thesil.ca • Production Office: (905) 525-9140, extension 27117 • Advertising: (905) 525-9140, extension 27557 • 10,000 circulation • Published by the McMaster Students Union

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personal life as they should. If you have been a victim of sexual assault and need support call SACHA’s 24hour support line at 905-525-4162.

Re: Why I voted ‘yes’

Managing Editor Bahram Dideban

Photo Editor Will van Engen

Letters (continued):

Rachel Daca, Teen, Jayne, Zeynep, Andrea, Brittney dacar@mcmaster.ca

Executive Editor Jeff Green

Assistant Insideout Phyllis Tsang

thesil@thesil.ca

executive editor: extension 22052

PHYLLIS TSANG / ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR

While the Toronto elite is split between celebrating and loathing their successful bid for the 2015 Pan American Games, Hamilton is poised to be the biggest winner in the event that will etch David Miller’s legacy in Toronto.

To some, Miller will be remembered as the garbage strike mayor who has cemented a serious bill in Toronto’s future. The Pan Am Games, just like every other sporting competition of its nature, will never stay on budget. As it stands, the bid calls for nearly $500-million in private and municipal funding. The Feds and the province are on the hook for another $500-million each, and Miller sweetened the deal by reminding us that if (read: when) the costs exceed the estimates, the province will foot the bill.

So it’s a win-win right? Well, not exactly.

Forgive my candor, but the Pan Am Games are a B level competition.

The recognition, reputation and allure that was Toronto’s main motivation for the games is not there anymore. It’s not heavily covered, visited and, as sportswriter Gare Joyce puts it, the Pan Am Games are “a devalued sports brand or franchise.”

Once the peak of track and field, most would agree that the European circuit is now at a higher level than the Pan Am Games.

Considering those facts, Toronto has bid and won B level games at a price that far exceeds the benefits – and that’s why Hamilton should be happy.

Hamilton won’t take the blame for bid; it was David Miller’s baby.

We’ll remember Miller when we (as a province) have to pay back the colossal cost of the games. Hamilton, however, will get a new Ivor Wynne, a velodrome, light rail transit, an improved pool and improvements to Copps, among other benefits. Sure,Toronto’s name will be on the logo, but it will also be on the bill. It’s like a party without the clean up; what more could you ask for?

It also represents a step forward for our chances at an Olympic games. Before the selection of Rio de Janeiro as the site for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games, they hosted the Pan Am Games in 2007. It didn’t bring them any sort of prestige or status, but it did strengthen their Olympic bid, and provide an infrastructure for athletic success when they do host the games.

But before you jump on the Toronto 2020 or 2024 bandwagon, I doubt the Olympic Committee will repeat the United States’ Atlanta – Salt Lake City 8-year separation selections for one country.Vancouver’s winter games will undoubtedly nix any hopes at a summer games in Toronto.

The silver lining in all this is the combination of the gains for Hamilton and the future success of Canadian athletes. A step forward for some; but a leap back for Toronto.

• Jeff Green

Corrections

The Silhouette makes every effort to be accurate. If you discover a mistake, please notify us via email at thesil@thesil.ca with the subject “corrections.” We will include the correction in the following issue of the Silhouette.

The following is a prepared speech presented to CUPE 3906’s Special General Meeting Sunday, November 8.

Hi, my name is Pat Savage and I’m a first year Masters student in the Psychology Department. I am the author of the petition signed by 151 members that resulted in tonight’s Special GMM and ratification vote.

I’m also an international student and I have a wife who has a Bachelors degree but works part-time at minimum wage, and who still has to pay over $1000 in UHIP fees.

I want to make it clear from the start that I am incredibly grateful of all the hard work that the leadership has put in, and the hard work we’ve all put in, whether bargaining, voting, picketing, conscientious strike-breaking, or just debating this together. During the last week I let my emotions get the better of me and said some unfair and inappropriate things about our leadership. I can only apologize for that and ask for all of your forgiveness.

I also want to make it clear that I am by no means opposed to unions in principle. On the contrary, I believe strongly in workers’ rights, and one reason I’m so against this strike is that, by claiming that $40/ hr + benefits is somehow an unfair contract for our labour, we’re abusing our status as a union of parttime workers to address grievances we have as full-time students, and in doing so we are hurting the cause of workers’ rights in Canada and throughout the world.

At the end of the day, what we’re doing is using our workers’ union as a vehicle to address issues of access to graduate education. I know that there is a stark divide in this room alone between students in the Sciences who mostly get guaranteed scholarships and students in other departments who mostly don’t. As someone who chose a Masters in Psychology that I could afford without loans over one in Music that I couldn’t, I know this isn’t fair. If the only result of a more generous contract was that we made graduate study more affordable for everyone, I would be overjoyed.

Unfortunately, the money for our extra demands has to come from somewhere, and whether we want it to or not it’s going to end up coming at the expense of increased tuition for undergraduate students.

So, I want us all to take a moment to think carefully about this: what’s more important – access to undergraduate education, or access to graduate education? I’m sorry, but my vote is with undergrad.

We all managed to get ourselves Bachelors degrees somehow, and I think that that makes us privileged enough already that we should be willing to either go out and work for a living or take out loans and make other sacrifices to get a Masters

or PhD that significantly increases our lifetime earnings before we ask students who can’t afford to even get their Bachelors to sacrifice on our behalf.

Despite my unhappiness with the way this whole strike has been conducted, I don’t think it’s all been a waste, because it’s exposed very deep and very real issues we have as graduate students that the University can’t afford to ignore.

This is not the right time or place to deal with these issues, but I hope you will join with me in voting “YES” to ratify a contract that is more than fair and then funneling all this energy and passion that we’ve been putting into our squabbling into putting unified pressure on the University to deal directly with the issues we have as graduate students, not as workers. We don’t need to hide behind our Union to have unity.

Pat Savage 1st year M.Sc., Psychology

Re: Scabs and Solidarity I am deeply offended and outraged at the unfounded and grossly overgeneralized comments made by Jeff Green regarding undergraduate teaching assistants who have continued to work during the CUPE 3906 strike.

I wonder if Mr. Green has spoken to any of the TA’s he so quickly characterized as “selfish, privileged, and pretentious”. If he did, he may quickly learn that these TA’s are not arrogantly rebelling against the union. Instead, many undergraduate TA’s do not have the luxury of picketing regardless of their allegiances. This dedicated group of students rely on their jobs for food, rent, and tuition. While the union offers compensation for picketers, they require a minimum of 20 hours a week and would not adjust this for undergraduate members. As fulltime students who only work 6-10 hours a week to begin with, picketing with any hope of compensation is physically impossible for the majority of undergraduate TA’s.

What is more, issues the union is currently fighting for are directly related to graduate TA’s with only a minimal raise being discussed for undergrads.

While undergrads understand and appreciate the value of the union, they are clearly communicating that they would rather do their jobs than make a few cents more an hour.

Mr. Green is remarkably understanding, however, towards working graduate TA’s. There are hundreds of graduate TAs, none of whom has expiring cell samples, that have decided to keep working.

Why are the undergrads solely responsible for this conflict?

I do agree with Mr. Green on one issue. The students, not the administration or the union will feel the brunt of a prolonged strike.

Perhaps this is yet another reason why undergraduate TA’s have selflessly opted to remain in the classroom instead of on the picket lines.

Janine Van Nus

Letters:

Re: Sexual assault at McMaster 1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted (SACHA, 2009).

According to the McMaster’s Security Department, from 20052008 79 students have reported issues of Harassment, including sexual harassment. Sadly, only one to two cases of sexual assault are reported a year. People who have been victimized on campus are often referred from one service to the next. This can often lead to feelings of unimportance, powerlessness, and anger, which frequently lowers the likelihood of reporting.

Personally, as a victim of sexual assault on campus, I did not feel confident in the resources available to me as a victim.

Confusion surrounding the issue and the support offered suggests this issue is more prominent than

the statistics suggest. We must question how many other students have suffered similar experiences?

Sexual assault and harassment on campus is clearly a veiled issue. I think that the University should be doing more to provide support for their students.

McMaster currently provides fragmented service to persons who have experienced sexual assault. We request that McMaster unify these services and create a cohesive center for persons who have experienced sexual assault or violence. It is a moral duty of the University to provide these kinds of services to students in order to prevent incidents and deal with cases in an appropriate manner. This would allow those who are deeply affected to carry on with their studies and

to the union market for the super wicked popsicles. to the m.j. ventriloquism world tour, “we thought it was it, but that is not the case.” to brother jimmy’s. in advance. to no more strike. to p.t. - you are the google. to friday the 13 at port dover.

to italians acting like ticos. to people who just don’t quite get it, or didn’t bother to read all of it. to meatballs. to killing puppies. to long, thin, narrow and sticky. say it three times fast. to japanese aerobic teaching english. youtube that.

THE SILHOUETTE • A7

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

OPINIONS

?

opinions@thesil.ca

Put an end to war now

How did the strike affect you?

No room for armed conflict in modern world Peter Goffin

OPINIONS EDITOR

Feedback

“I didn’t get feedback for an essay proposal.”

Andre Gouveia

“I only had one assignment canceled.”

Sabrina Paez-Parent

“As an undergrad TA, I didn’t work. For my own courses the profs stepped in and helped.”

Compiled by Christopher Chang and Michelle Ng

production office: extension 27117

Jacky Chan

Remembrance Day is a fine and deserving tradition. I really do believe that. And honouring the men and women who have been killed while serving in the armed forces is commendable. But it seems to me that we could stand to have a damn sight fewer men and women being honoured posthumously.

It seems to me that we could stand to get out of the business of making something so disgusting as war.

We, as a society, are at the pinnacle of human accomplishment. Technologically, economically, medically, educationally we are farther advanced than any people has ever been at any point in history. And yet, somehow, we continue to engage in the most hideous, primitive act of which humanity is capable.

That’s what war is: an exercise in baseness.

And the fact that, at this stage of our development, we are still committing war is completely out of step with the level of intelligence and modernity we claim to have. It’s surreal. It’s absurd.

It’s absurd that every day a government which is supposed to protect the interests of our population sends more and more members of that population into the gravest danger there is. It’s absurd that while life here goes on completely unabated, coffins are being loaded off planes and repatriation ceremonies are taking place. It’s absurd that those coffins and ceremonies are even necessary.

Most of all, it is absurd that I have a cell phone and a computer and the Internet and am connected, through these things, to the entire rest of the world, that I can have marvellous conveniences at the push of a button, and all the while we are

Laura Varga

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

the names and the pictures of the 133 people we’ve lost in Afghanistan. Look at the name and picture of a single one of the people we’ve lost. Because even that one is far too many. The list of dead, seen in part or in full, is the greatest single reason not to be at war, in Afghanistan or any place around the world. That list is our greatest reason for peace.

Forget the politics. Forget the government.

Forget the rhetoric and the reasoning and the excuses.

War is war, regardless of the motivations for making it. It is never any less heinous or any less useless.

And it is never noble. Nobility is the preservation of life.

Nobility is peace.And we have got to be able to achieve it.

After all that we, as a society, have accomplished, after all the progress we have made, we must be capable of finding an alternative to tanks and guns and bombs and death, to war in all its forms. There has got to be a better way.

True tales from E.R. isolation

Medical staff get crazy about H1N1 prevention

Cassandra Jeffery SILHOUETTE STAFF

“The blockade was annoying.”

Ever last serviceman and woman should be brought home. still solving conflicts the way side of the Earth to kill and we did a hundred years ago, a be killed. The notion eludes thousand years ago, ten thou- us that there is no place for sand years ago: with violence. war in a decent world. That a

The reasons for proper society, a reasonable war change, the tools of war people, does not commit war. change, but war is still war.

This is not to belittle It remains the same awful, the effort or sacrifice of the backward, inane entity with men and women, the boys the same devastating and un- and girls, on the ground in Afnecessary results. We, how- ghanistan or any other place ever, as people, are supposed we have ever sent them.They to have evolved. That’s what are doing the most dangerous makes this all so maddening. job in the world and deserve

Somehow hon- credit for doing it. But every ouring the victims of wars 60 time one of our servicemen or 90 years gone by, while sad or women gets killed, the and solemn and effecting, is a question comes screaming little more tolerable, largely to the fore: “Why the hell are because we tell ourselves they over there and risking that nothing like those wars their lives in the first place?” could ever happen again.

The answer is that They are relics of an ignor- there are no reasons good ant and unsophisticated time. enough. Our brothers and Half the point of Remem- sisters simply shouldn’t be brance Day is to remind us there. They shouldn’t be how terrible a thing war is in anywhere other than at hopes that it never happens home, here, going to school again. And yet here we are, or raising families. Anything in the year 2009, the twenty- else is simply indefensible. first century, sending Can- Just try to justify adians, many of them effect- the war – hell, try to justify ively children, to the other any war. Then take a look at

I’m sure there are many sceptical individuals who have questioned the severity of this year’s pandemic, the dreaded Swine Flu.

Everywhere you turn, news of the virus is sweeping the nation and people are franticly running to the clinics for a three hour wait to get the shot. Expectant mothers are pushed to the back of the line so athletes will be the first ones saved. God forbid they get sick! Give me a break! Are we really that concerned where we need to rush out and buy a year’s supply of face masks? Yes, don’t worry, a little piece of paper will protect you from the Swine.

Everyone grab your hand sanitizer, it’s guaranteed to kill 99.9 per cent of germs!

Hospitals are overwhelmed daily and if you rush into Emergency with a slight

fever then you automatically have the Swine flu. Brace yourself, because next thing you know you’re quarantined.

Last Thursday I left school with a sore stomach and when the pain grew worse I did what any worried person would do—turn to the doctors. They have the answers right?

S o I rushed into Emerge complaining about abdominal pain and they immediately ask me a thousand questions. When did this start? Do you have a fever?

Where does it hurt?

Can you please pee in this cup? Seriously, no I don’t want to pee in a cup I want this searing pain in my stomach to go away!

At one point they asked me, “Do you think you have swine flu?” What kind of question is that? You’re supposed to be the doctor, but yes, just because I have stomach pains that must automatically mean I have the sickness.

The next words out of the doctor’s mouth are something that I’d rather erase from my memory: “Ma’am, we’re going to have to isolate you.” Sorry, I don’t think I quiet heard you; you’re going to have to isolate me? Great, so now I’m stuck in a four by four closet as the delightful sound of harsh coughs ring in my ears from nearby Swine Flu subscribers.

Isolation isn’t so bad though. The ice chips are

satisfying and you usually get a lot of attention from the nurses, who insist you’re going to be just fine. So as long as you can ignore the uneasy feeling of everyone around you wearing gowns, masks, and gloves because you have a potentially fatal sickness, then maybe you will be just fine.

After an hour of lying in pain, two cups of ice chips, and three more “you’ll be fine, don’t worries” from the nurses, the doctors finally break the news to me. Turns out I didn’t have Swine Flu at all, but a case of good old appendicitis.

I don’t know whether I should be jumping for joy because I don’t have the notorious illness or be even more upset now because I have to wait another five hours until surgery.

Oh well, it was a diagnosis and that means morphine would soon ease the pain. My night was look• SEE QUARANTINE, A10

A8 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

THE SILHOUETTE • A9

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Pro vs. con: fundraising on campus

WILL VAN ENGEN / PHOTO EDITOR

Students can do good, little by little Student-run charities aren’t enough Peter Goffin

OPINIONS EDITOR

Student-organized fundraisers can be so frequent that we tend to forget what their deal is. And, like a lot of things on campus, they can end up being dismissed as an inconvenience, if they are thought of at all. They can get criticized as being ineffective or insincere.

Some people might say that students don’t really understand the troubles of the world, or care, but give charity as an affectation, helping themselves to look good or feel important. Some people might say that only the hot charities and trendy causes, like camps for the refugees of Darfur or relief for the victims of the most recent natural disaster, get attention.

I don’t know if that’s true or not. I don’t know what turns the average campus philanthropist on. But I don’t think that it necessarily matters so much who we help, or why. For one thing, I don’t think that there is any ranking system that says we ought to help people in order of their proximity to us. As far as I can tell, we’re all people and helping one starving man is as good as helping another.We’ve got more than enough wealth to spread around amongst the various worthy causes. And the feelings that accompany the help and the donations don’t really matter much either. Even if charity is given for show, or on a dare, or out of spite, what matters is that the lot of someone somewhere is improved.

“That’s all a nice picture, with the world-wide benevolence and all,” some people might say, “but how much world-saving can a university studentrun organization possibly manage to do?”

Well now there might be something to that. How can a few broke students, disconnected from the real world accomplish anything by soliciting other broke disconnected students? It would be a pretty tall order.

Listen: it’s pessimistic and it’s defeatist and altogether far too practical a thing to admit, but no university student collecting nickels and dimes is going to stop a war or end a famine or cure a disease. Just because a handful of Political Science students have adopted a cause and made a poster and set up a table in the quad, does not mean that the people of a tsunami-devastated region will suffer any less.

But no amount of effort, no sum of aid money, however small, has ever done an inch of harm. Maybe they only raise $50.

Maybe they only raise five. But that’s 50 or five dollars that the fight against AIDS in central Africa or the Red Cross workers in the Sudan

didn’t have before, and would never have, if it weren’t for the efforts of a few students.

It’s what we do. It’s what we’ve always done. For decades, students have championed causes and collected money and handed out pamphlets and held demonstrations. We’ve been passionate and zealous about events going on in parts of the world we’ve never been to and have no ties to. In several instances we have even had a positive influence on the world at large.

And for at least that reason we should keep on doing all of those charitable things. No one else will.

As students we have the time and the energy and the frame of mind to dedicate ourselves to this kind of work.We aren’t yet raising families or coping with full time jobs. Maybe most importantly, we aren’t yet embarrassed by immersing ourselves in a cause and asking our peers for help.

The humble folding tables and cardboard booths and home-made Bristol board posters might not inspire a lot of confidence in their ability to change the world. But it’s an extremely poor show to denigrate something because it doesn’t accomplish a grand gesture, or doesn’t show direct results, especially when it comes to charity. I think the model of behaviour that we should aspire to is one of commitment and perseverance regardless of the immediate outcome. If we believe in altruism, believe in the well-being of our fellow man, it shouldn’t matter where he lives or that we can’t affect a massive change, or that we won’t get to see first-hand how five dollars changes a hospital or a school or a rural village or a refugee camp. I know it sounds naive, I know it sounds a little too much like high school World Issues class idealism. But if we really believe in helping each other as human beings (and we should, by God, we really should) then the quantity of good that we do and where that good is done doesn’t matter. If you can help even one person, or be a part of a group that helps just one person, you’re doing pretty well in my book.

We may never meet the people that we help, we may never see what we’ve actually accomplished with our food drives, and bake sales, and fundraisers and awareness campaigns. But let it be known that we do accomplish something through these activities.

And even if that something is a single kid getting a single meal, or item of clothing or drink of clean water that he would not otherwise have had, I think it’s more than worth surrendering a little time and space and attention on campuses.

Lawlerbone by Zach Ellis and Peter Hindrichs

Alex Steiner OPINION OPINION

finger tips if you’d only be good enough to support a cause and give your quarters.

Now, not only can you claim to supWhen was the last time you walked port a given cause,and youdidn’t can also you conWhen was the last time you walked through the Student Centre see say a bake through the Student Centre and didn’t tributed to helping fi x grand world problems sale? Let’s try again. When was the last time you walked through the Student Centre and see a bake sale? Let’s try again. When was by dropping your quarters at one of the didn’t seetime a fundraising booth or a charity collecting your change? How about the rest of the last you walked through the Stumany booths that take up residence around campus?

Around here , there are clubs, charitable groups, throughout and social networks of students all dent Centre and didn’t see a fundraising campus our school terms. trying to our money, quarter quarter, to fund programs diverse booth or take a charity collecting yourbychange?

So tell as me, why asdonew youbanners bother for offices or toabout send support to countries faryour away.change These into student organizations How the restdonations of campus? dropping a donation box in vie for our attention wallets in efforts the to fundraise forIscauses and Around here , thereand areourclubs, charitable first place? it that innocuous easy to buy offgrand your alike. Some, the bake sales, play our sweet tooth.

Others get us with flthink yers and groups, andlike social networks of on students social guilt?

Do you actually that the all trying to takestill our by money will do good the pamphlets; others usemoney, bannersquarter and involved volunteers.

All some of them cry or outistoitusjust as we quarter, to fund programs as diverse as most convenient way for you to feel selfl ess? sweep past, briefly engaging or actively ignoring them. new banners for offi or to send has some Fundraising is ces a simple idea thatsuphas far-reachingMcMaster implications.

The aim isgood to groups port donations to countries far away. that do solid work, but if they don’t get people to contribute to a cause by whatever means you can justify. If you want to put These student organizations vie up a booth, you wouldn’t even think call people by phone, you can. If you want to hold rallies and cry out your message so to go for our attention and our wallets in ef- seek them out and give them your quarpeople will support your cause, you can. If you want to panhandle on a busy street and forts to fundraise for causes innocu- ters, let alone your time or effort. Mac Bread say you’ll a cut of the money to a specifi c cause, you can.

Some the how manymany ous and give grand alike.

Some, like raised the bake Bin runs all year round andof yet forms play of fundraising appear on campus frequency because, we sales, on our sweet tooth.

Otherswith get consistent of you know where their as offistudents, ce is? Have are nothing if notand trying to buy offothers our individuality guiltout in one convenient us with flyers pamphlets; still you and helped withsweeping any of the groups that donation of pocket change. volunteers. All help other students? How about the health use banners and involved fundraisers.

Get a and volunteer to centers sit around ask for freewere of them Student cry outgroups to us love as we sweep past, medical onand campus that briefl y No engaging actively ignoringforthem. putinvested in placebyand staffed forand your benefit? money. cost toorthe group except the time the volunteer, if they Fundraising is a simple idea that Did it ever occur to you to don’t mind then it’s a simple numbers game of how many hours are needed to get a certain has far-reaching implications.

The aim is to seek them out and give them your dollar amount to fund whatever you want, be it team hoodies or charity donations. get people to contribute cause by whatquarters before they up a booth?

Come to think oftoit,afull-scale organizations, like Red Cross, loveput fundraising too. ever means you can justify.

If you want to But I understand, you have lives.

So many not-for-profits and charity organizations rely on fundraising and do it on busy campus. call people by phone, you can. If you want There are tests to take and papers to write.

Do you feel that you help one of the many groups by dropping a couple of quarters off on to hold rallies and cry out your message so Books need reading and there is much studyyour way to support class? Doyour you cause, feel that your made a noticeable difference? people will you can.fifty If cents ing to be done.

And, you’d help out Does if you had contributing one of the make you feel but involved? aid and relief life. all you want to to panhandle on booth a busy charities street and the time, it’s notForeign a priority in your at your you’d be good to support a cause givenot your quarters. say you’llfinger give atips cutif of theonly money raisedenough to Empathy forand those next to you notc only can youcan. claim to support a givenisn’t cause, can also say youit contributed aNow, specifi cause, you Some of the many oneyou of your priorities seems. Just outto helping grand world problems dropping your at one the many booths forms of fixfundraising appear on by campus side of quarters campus, not 10 of minutes walk from with consistent frequency because, stu- campus a Salvation that take up residence around campusasthroughout our is school terms. Army house. Did you dents, weSoare to dropping buy think of change helping into out athere without intentell nothing me, whyifdonot youtrying bother your donation boxthe in the off our individuality and guilt in one sweeption of using it to pad your resume?

Every first place? Is it that easy to buy off your social guilt? Do you actually think that the money ing convenient donation of pocket change. student enrolled at McMaster has a student will do some good or is it just the most convenient way for you to feel selfless?

Student groups love fundraisers.

Get withwork, a HSRbut pass on it.

Hamilton’s McMaster has some good groups thatcard do solid if they don’t put up core a volunteer to sit around and ask for free has a whole group of charities, organizaa booth, you wouldn’t even think to go seek them out and give them your quarters, let money. No cost to the group except for the tions and groups that need you and your aloneinvested your timebyorthe effort.

Mac Bread runs all year round anddon’t yet how time volunteer, and Bin if they quarters but you givemany themofa you thought. know mind wherethen theirit’soffia ce is? Have you helped with any of the groupsheart that for helpthe other don’t simple numbers game out Where’s your bleeding downstudents?

Howhours aboutarethe healthto and onportion campus that werecity’s put inpopulation? place and of how many needed getmedical a cer- centers trodden of this staffed for amount your benefi t? Did it ever you occur to you to seekDon’t them bother out and looking give them tain dollar to fund whatever want, up your the staquarters before they put a booth? be it team hoodies or up charity donations. tistics of Hamilton’s unfortunates, it’s Come to think ofyou it, have full-scale or- There both are shocking and anddepressing.

Don’t But I understand, busy lives. tests to take papers to write. ganizations, like Red Cross, love fundraising think of the people that could be helped Books need reading and there is much studying to be done. And, you’d help out if you had too.

So many not-for-profi ts andin charity by your quarters.

Your livesisn’tare the time, but it’s not a priority your life.orEmpathy for those not next to you one busy. ganizations rely on fundraising and do it on And the fundraisers for hoodies of your priorities it seems. Just outside of campus, not 10 minutes walk from campus is are a campus. you feel Did that you youthink help ofone of more convenient harsherofreality SalvationDo Army house. helping out there withoutthan the aintention usingthat it the many groups by dropping a couple of a bus ride would show you. So don’t think to pad your resume? Every student enrolled at McMaster has a student card with a HSR quarters off on your way to class? Do you about it. Smile at the volunteer and give the pass that on it.your Hamilton’s core has a whole group of charities, and groups feel fifty cents made a noticebooths yourorganizations fleeting attention as youthat hurry need difference? you and your quarters but you don’t give them a thought.

Where’s your able Does contributing to one past. Your quarters are so wellbleeding spent here, heart the downtrodden portion thisin-city’s population? of theforbooth charities make you offeel where the only people who matter are those Don’t bother looking theatstatistics unfortunates, volved? Foreign aid and reliefupall your of whoHamilton’s come to your door andit’s putboth up a booth.

A10 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Students should get involved Quarantine and a We need improved awareness and activism bumb appendix • CONT’D FROM A7 ing better, the pain was subtle, and I was free from isolation — gloves and masks no longer required, right?

Wrong! They, the ice chip providers, kept me in the isolation ward even though I did not have Swine Flu.

Talk about irony. They isolated me for the sole purpose to keep the healthy ones Swine-free, but they secluded me with a bunch of sick people for hours. For what?

To contract the flu I didn’t have in the first place? Yes, hospital, that makes complete sense.

Not only will I be appendix-less, but I’ll probably end

up with the Swine flu anyways.

Good thing I’m all ready in the hospital— back to isolation for you.

Maybe the Swine Flu is a cause for concern, but not everyone who walks through emerge doors is doomed for isolation. But hospitals don’t care about that.

They’re concerned with the so-called Pandemic, which the government is spending millions of dollars on.

Word of advice: be careful what you say in emerge. “What’s that? You’re leg is broken? Isolation!”

WRITE FOR THE SIL Students used to take far more political action.

Danno Atouria OPINION

When the term “student” is heard, the usual image which comes to mind is a young man or woman holding books, stressed over a midterm coming up and pulling his or her hair out. This image differs greatly from the youthful vitality of the active student, the progressive thinker, the revolutionary actor. The difference between the passive and active student is clear through the day-today activities in which they partake.

This difference in students is witnessed, sadly, through the hardships the students face in their daily lives. For example, although the CUPE strike came to an end last Monday, the fact that the strike even began shows the lack of active students within the McMaster community. Student reaction when initially hearing of Peter George’s $ 1.4 million retirement package, with $300,000 in benefits, should have created such an uproar amongst the students that funding allocations (back to the students/T.A.’s) should have been dealt with last year. What makes things worse is that students’ tuitions continue to increase with no signs of them decreasing.

Compare the lack of student awareness and activism with other student movements that have shaped world events, even those who “failed” to accomplish their main goals. One can easily be reminded of the Tiananmen Square student protests. Although those protests ended in brutal and bloody suppression, their legacies live on and the participating students are remembered to this day.

One can also compare this student activism to the Assyrian Democratic Movement’s student bodies who struggled against the suppression experienced under the Saddam Hussein regime. Currently, the movement has become a political party and is currently facing similar issues due to the invasion of Iraq and the persecutions that came out of it.

And yet, students who face such dire situations remain resolute that a positive outcome will occur.

Closer to home student activism was greatly witnessed during the 1960’s and 1970’s when students challenged many aspects of their governments and traditional values within society. Although sometimes looked upon negatively, the hippie move-

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

ment was one of radical change brought on by a student population as a reaction of their time.

Now, the argument is not that McMaster students should rally up and join a cause simply because they are students, but rather that they should be knowledgeable on certain events occurring on campus. A week before the beginning of the CUPE strike, a majority of students did not even know there was even a breakdown in T.A. and R.A. contracts. Also, the issue of Peter George’s $1.4 million retirement at the expense of rising tuition costs must have raised some concern amongst the students.

Being knowledgeable about events is the first step to student activism.

Being informed about events is the first step to student activism. Educating yourself, making decisions and acting on your knowledge. Only when you do these things will you transition from being a passive student to an active one. That will give birth to the ideal student who will have an extensive knowledge of all campus affairs and the willingness to act on this knowledge in a positive manner for the betterment of student life in general.

COME TO MUSC B110 OR E-MAIL THESIL@THESIL.CA BECAUSE THERE’S NO OTHER REASON TO EVER COME TO THE MUSC BASEMENT. EVER.

THE SILHOUETTE • A11

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

CUPE struggling with participation

Union may not be as representative of members as it should be Henry Haiser OPINION

The recent labour dispute between Teaching and Research Assistants, represented by CUPE 3906, and McMaster University, should caution us to consider what is at stake when apathy is ignored. The T.A./R.A. bargaining unit consisted of 2,700 members, yet on the eve of strike action, less than 300 of them were sitting in attendance at the General Membership Meeting where a vote, on whether or not the University’s offer should be taken to a vote, took place. Sixtynine per cent voted to not vote on the offer. Several factors contributed to such low attendance. Notice of the meeting was short, the agenda was not made clear ahead of time, but I believe the main reason was that union apathy runs rampant among students at McMaster.

The week-long strike saw somewhere between 200 and 300 picketers (10 per cent of the bargaining unit), yet many T.A.’s continued to lead tutorials, and conduct labs all across campus. It took a group of students to petition the union to call the offer to a vote, which in turn, immediately halted strike action. It should be emphasized that the offer that was

eventually accepted, was the exact same offer that was on the table the day before picketing started; the strike accomplished nothing.

So, how did this happen?

The CUPE 3906 bargaining team was in possession of a “strike mandate” which permitted them to call for strike action if they deemed it necessary. However, the voter turnout results of the vote that gave them this mandate were never officially disclosed. If a mere 10 per cent of the bargaining unit was in attendance the day before they are either “on strike”, or “scabs”, it is doubtful that any more than this participated in the strike mandate vote in September.

The bargaining committee listened to the bargaining unit, but overlooked that only a small minority attended meetings, and exercised their right to vote. The silence was deafening.

In ignoring the apathetic majority, CUPE 3906 set themselves up for an embarrassing, and potentially damaging episode. Strike action implicitly depends on participation of the majority, in order for it to be used as a successful tool to generate bargaining leverage.

Why does it seem that the bargaining team blindly overlooked such a vital el-

TAs went on strike and then came back, but were those decisions made by a select minority? ement, in this case- reality?

I urge the CUPE 3906 executives to consider that low voter turnout is actually quite meaningful when the vote is regarding strike action. Percentage quotas must be

met, but sample size cannot be disregarded. Let us hope that CUPE 3906 has learned a valuable lesson from all of this. In the aftermath of this dispute, the CUPE 3906 executive will have to work very hard to

WILL VAN ENGEN / PHOTO EDITOR

convince both the administration, and its members, that they are in touch with the will of the majority of the bargaining unit, if they expect to apply any pressure during future collective bargaining periods.

Make opinions not war.

Write for Opinions. opinions@thesil.ca Section meetings Tuesdays at 1:30 MUSC B110

A12 • THE SILHOUETTE

SpeculatoR The Hamilton

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

INSIDE THE SPECULATOR A10: Ham.

C5: Bacon.

L19: Ham rolled in bacon. Take that, swine.

Thursday, November 12, 2009 F Peace. Sure. But give the CFL a chance too.

Learn how to wear thy hair of the face Newly discovered Biblical passage reveals guidelines for mustaches BUCK HOROWITZ SPECULATOR

If you have noticed an increase in silky, ratty mustaches in recent days, it is because this is the month of November. The air is colder and faces need protection. It is also because of Movember, a facial hair-based initiative to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancer. Never have two such worthy causes - facial hair and cancer awareness - been so combined so admirably.

And so, in the interest of those causes, the Hamilton Speculator presents to you a rarely quoted, oft-overlooked passage from the Old Testament, Gable 3:11, the mustache Psalm: “And God sought out man and said unto him, ‘Thy mustache has been growing patchy and odd, my son, and thy brother wears no mustache at all.’ And man replied, ‘But, oh God, we have no guidelines by which to grow and trim the hair of the face.’ And God said, ‘My child, take these ten commandments of facial hair and let them be the decree by which you live your life and groom thy whiskers.’

And lo did God hand down ten rules for the growing and the wearing of the hair of the face. And man received them and did pledge to live by them. And it was good.

1. Thou shalt grow thy facial hair full and thick, for thou art man, and were made in my image. And thou hast suffered through puberty for a reason.

2. Love thy mustache and treat it as you would have it treat you.

3. Thou shalt not worship false facial hair idols, for only a select few will be true blessed wearers of the hair of the face. And their names shall be Reynolds, Selleck, and Lennon circa “Sgt. Pepper”.

4. Thou shalt observe the trimming day, and regard it as holy. Six days thou shalt toil and let thy mustache grow free, but on that seventh day, lo that seventh day, thou shalt trim that face weasel lest it be condemned for disrespectability.

5. Thou shalt at all times covet the facial hair of those with a fuller, thicker beard than thyself, for they are blessed and deserved of your envy.

6. But thou shalt not steal or do injury to the facial hair of thy fellow man, for it is a terrible sin against nature to desecrate a thing so sacred.

7. Thou shalt hold the will of no person, not girlfriend nor mother nor employer, in greater regard than thy mustache. Nurture and care for it against all of their protestations.

8. Though vanity may be a sin, thou shalt draw attention to thy hair of the face at every opportunity, for it deserves to be seen. Stroke thy beard when at thought or at rest, and twirl thy mustache in public for no apparent reason.

9. Thou shalt not wear thy moustache in irony or for humourous effect.

Sport thy ‘stache with pride and dignity or not at all.

10. Honour thy father and his ‘stache, for he will teach you the ancient ways of the hair of the face.

McMaster to get its monorail track Leonard Nemoy to attend opening ceremony. You know the song.

KINGSLEY MORRIS SPECULATOR

With the passing of Bill 647(2) MLXVVI, McMaster staff is inching closer to solving its transit/ existential crisis once and for all.

Two words: Monorail. A word synonymous with innovation, futuristic stuff, and female ecstasy.

If approved by MSU board of directors, McMaster students may see a monorail on campus no later than when their grandkids enter grad school - or as it will be called in 2067: the Academy of Coffee and Pretention Inc. “It’s entirely economically feasible”, commented McMaster Finance Dude, who wished to remain nameless (and pantless for that matter). “According to my research if 1280 makes its projected profit of $13 million this year and if

a certain university president gives up their $1.4 million retirement bonus, we should have enough money for at least 60 ft. of track.

Better yet, if the school continues to short-change its TA’s and continues to cut benefits and pensions to its staff members, we’ll be able to make a scale replica of the entire project – complete with a 60-foot clitoris deity shrine in front of Wallingford Hall.

The architect of the monorail project: a one Lyle Lanley, graduate of Queen’s Engineering programme and recent recipient of the 2009 Aryan posterboy contest. His other projects include “stop resisting!” batons, for University of Western security guards and airlift helicopters for Lakehead University, wherever that hell-forsaken school is.

He refused to comment on

the McMaster monorail but strongly denied responsibility for the crude 60-foot reproductive organ that has left many special interest groups at McMaster in hysterics.

Interviews with contributing members of the ‘Monorail Action Plan’ proved to be fruitless, as any question posed to them always ended in a lecture on what a monorail actually does, and what they can do for the student body.

Without any feedback for the Speculator to openly mock or grossly distort, we are left to petty arson.

Nothing overly dangerous, just enough to get a message cross. Bicycle fires, scooter explosions.

Simple combustions as simple solutions.

And of course some kidnapping for ransom too.

The proposed Mac monorail. Monoraaaaaaaaaail!

“What Did You Learn This Week, Timmy?”

“I learned that there are classy genital jokes and unclassy ones.”

Disclaimer: Stories printed in The Hamilton Speculator are fact. Any resemblance to persons real or dead is likely intentional and done out of spite. Opinions expressed are those of The Speculator and if you disagree with them you are wrong. And stupid. Possibly ugly as well.

THE SILHOUETTE • B1

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

INSIDEOUT

Mac vs. Queen’s showdown Sports, B7

production office: extension 27117

The actual invention of

lying

In a world where lying is pervasive, does it have a purpose?

LINDSAY JOLIVET INSIDEOUT EDITOR

After prolonged research on myself, I brought out the fundamental duplicity of the human being. Then I realized that modesty helped me to shine, humility to conquer, and virtue to oppress.”

–Camus, The Fall

Camus’ words revealed the complexity of honesty and dishonesty, virtue and vice. Through his observation that moral behaviour can cause damage, he implied the potential of immoral behaviour to prevent that damage. I’m talking about lying, that baffling concept with the power to destroy relationships and restore egos.

The quote above, among others, introduces Sissela Bok’s Lying, a course text for Ethical Issues in Communication. Bok’s text shows us that dishonesty can become a complex moral issue. For example, the first lines of the book ask, “Should physicians lie to dying patients so as to delay the fear and anxiety which the truth might bring them? Should professors exaggerate the excellence of their students on recommendations in order to give them a better chance in a tight job market? Should parents conceal from children the fact that they were adopted?”

These are difficult questions, which reveal the potential of lies to bring

insideout@thesil.ca

comfort, confidence and closeness, however false they may be. The familiar proverb “honesty is the best policy” may not be as simple as it seemed when we were told to believe it as children.

Research indicates that most people lie; however, the Professor of Ethics in Communication, Dr. Violetta Igneski, is not concerned about empirical research. “In my class, I aim to teach students ways of reason- B3 ing through difficult situations E, T and ways of weighing BA E various reasons and or- D E dering different be- SE E S liefs and values EA L •P

AVA DIDEBAN / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

How-to-do-it

Recycle WILL VAN ENGEN PHOTO EDITOR

A friend of mine once told me: “McMaster is where brain cells go to die.” I didn’t understand her at first. How could a centre of higher learning be the final resting place for our young people’s minds?

A quick glance at the recycling bins on campus brought

her words into sharper relief.

Despite the ubiquity of bright blue recycle bins scattered across campus, it seems that the garbage bins are always full of paper, cans and bottles. (Which are recyclable by the way!)

Worse still, recycle bins are full of garbage that can’t be recycled.

Despite producing worldclass research, our students are unable to do the grown-up equivalent of putting the circle block into the circle hole. Perhaps in addition to the first year repertoire of mandatory courses, Recycling 1A03 would help students navigate the intricate workings of McMaster’s evidently

baffling recycling program.

With this knowledge, perhaps students will not only learn the basics of shape recognition but also the differences between paper, metal and glass, surely skills transferable to any workplace setting and adult life in general.

In the spirit of the Howto-do-it series, here is a simple instructional guide to recycling:

1. Think back to grade two.

2. Place recyclables in the recycling bin.

3. Put garbage in the garbage bin.

Does this belong in the recycling? For those who said “No,” good job!

4. Pat yourself on the back.

Jordan Collver History Belt: (BMW) Salvation Army $3

Coat: Topman £70

Shirt: H&M £15

Pants: Thrift $15

Cardigan: Primark £10

Favourite artist: John Williams Favourite quote: “Want me to heat those up for you?”

“Fine like this.”

Personal Style: “Casual, earth tones, geekish What you look for in a significant other: “Low maintenance, sense of humour, dorky.”

ThreadCount WILL VAN ENGEN / PHOTO EDITOR AND TERRY SHAN / PHOTOGRAPHER

B2 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Affordable housing for Hamiltonians

Homelessness is still a big issue, but organizations are trying to help PHYLLIS TSANG

Municipal Affairs and Housing (MAH) announced on its website that it is “developing a new, longDo you know you might be at risk term housing strategy to make it of being homeless? easier for Ontario families to find Homelessness—simply and maintain affordable housing.” put—is the lack of a place to live.

Consultation sessions to Three categories are proposed by survey Ontarians’ opinions were Sabine Springer, a researcher at the held across the province from June United Nations Centre for Human to September. Housing advocates in Settlements, to describe a wider Hamilton convened four meetings range of homelessness. They are: “to get a sense of tenant concerns absolute (living on the street), hid- and to generate solutions to put forden or relative (staying temporar- ward to the provincial housing minily with friends or ister Jim Watson” family, a.k.a. “couch before Hamilton’s surfing”), and at-risk ..a staggering 4,258 consultation session (those who spend active applications on Sept. 10. more than 50 per “More than 200 cent of their total were waiting in line Hamilton residents income on housing for social housing turned out presentcosts). ing forceful and M a n y in 2006 and 26,000 articulate input at Hamiltonians fall households spent a consultation sesinto one or more more than 50 per sion,” Wood reportof these three cated. egories for a lack cent of their income Discrepancy beof safe, affordable, tween low income on rent. adequate and secure and rental rates is housing. one of the deepest Almost 400 men, women concerns raised by community acand children stay in emergency tivists, according to the list of ideas shelters on any given night in Ham- and concerns compiled by Wood ilton, according to Any Given Night, and his colleague Jeff Wingard dura statistical report on homelessness ing the meetings. in Hamilton by the Social Planning “One big issue for us is & Research Council of Hamilton. [that] people’s income doesn’t Moreover, a staggering match the price of housing in the 4,258 active applications were wait- rental market,” Wood explained, ing in line for social housing in referring to people working at a 2006 and 26,000 households spent minimum wage or receiving social more than 50 per cent of their in- assistance. come on rent.

“15 years ago that amount “The McGuinty govern- was more or less equal to what’s on ment has promised an affordable the market, but now there’s a big housing strategy,” said Robert gap.”

Wood, a Community Development In the 1990s, rent for a Co-coordinator at McQuesten Legal one-bedroom apartment averaged & Community Services and the for- $400 a month and an unattached inmer Executive Director of Hamil- dividual living on social assistance ton’s Housing Help Centre, “we are received $414 for shelter allowance. putting ideas together on what the Currently, rent for a bachprovince needs to do for homeless- elor apartment averages $489 a ness in Hamilton.” month and a one-bedroom apartThe Ontario Ministry of ment averages $630 a month, but an ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR

unattached individual only receives $335 for monthly shelter allowance from Ontario Works, a program which provides financial, employment, and health assistance for those who demonstrate immediate financial need for food and housing cost.

On average, an individual is looking at a $281 gap between shelter allowance and average rent, while a lone parent with two children needs an extra $155 on average to fill the gap.

Do the Math, an initiative started by The Stop Community Food Centre in Toronto is taking a creative approach to raise awareness. People can fill out a budget worksheet on its website to find out whether “a single person on social assistance receives enough income to live with health and dignity.”

Daily Bread Food bank in Toronto proposed a partial remedy to those who are spending more than 30 per cent of their income on rent. In essence, the program will pay 75 per cent of the difference between actual rent paid and 30 per cent of the applicant’s income. This program has been implemented in Quebec and similar programs exist in Manitoba and British Columbia, as well as countries like Sweden, Australia, France, and New Zealand.

Other concerns raised during consultation include the need for social housing, the quality of low-income housing, and waiting time to access affordable housing.

Improving financial assistance is only one of the ways to combat homelessness. Tenant education, budget/credit counselling, and linkages to legal services are other ways to prevent people from becoming homeless.

If you have ideas to share with the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, fill out an online questionnaire on the website. OMA is accepting submissions until Dec. 31.

Almost 400 Hamiltonians stay in emergency shelters on any given night.

PHYLLIS TSANG / ASSISTANT INSIDEOUT EDITOR

THE SILHOUETTE • B3

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Debating the place of lying in society The professor of Ethics in Communication weighs in on telling lies • CONT’D FROM B1 they hold, rather than teaching them facts about lying,” she explained.

Dr. Igneski is interested in moments when it is good or right to lie, if it is ever right.

Motivation informs whether a lie is justifiable. We are all familiar with little white lies that protect others’ self-esteem.

Altruistic lies protect those being lied to from painful or difficult truths.

Dr. Igneski listed questions individuals can ask to determine whether lies are justifiable. “Would it really protect the individual being lied to? Would it really bring about the best consequences? Are they really doing it for altruistic reasons, or is their an underlying personal benefit?”

Convincing yourself that your motives for lying are selfless when they are not is common, but problematic. “It’s important for people to look at the big picture,” stated Dr. Igneski, “Before one is able to figure out if it justifiable to lie in the situation, they have

to consider all of the effects and whether or not they would want to be treated in this same way.”

From a broader societal perspective, many have argued that lies are beneficial, even necessary, to maintain balance in a world of chaos.

Nietzsche, for example, stated, “There is only one world, and that world is false, cruel, contradictory, misleading, senseless…We need lies to vanquish this reality, this “truth,” we need lies in order to live.” Bok presented this example in her text as a confusion of the many unintentional or blameless deceptions in life and deliberate lying.

She argued that we must distinguish between the intentional deceit of others and other factors that influence human experience to determine whether it is possible for people to be entirely truthful.

Although, the recent film The Invention of Lying, directed

by Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson took a stance similar to Nietzsche. The film presented

a world in which no one could lie and the characters were constantly miserable under the weight of painful truth. Then Gervais’ character invented lying, with it creating a skeleton version of Christianity and a sense of hope that people simply did not have in their world of perfect honesty.

Gervais’ did, however, admit his lie at the end of the film. Interestingly, he revoked his lies for the sake of a personal relationship.

Lying is frequently a problem in relationships, romantic or not, and altruism is not always a sufficient justification for the person being lied to. “I think at the centre of any (close) relationship is respect and trust. You would have to ask yourself if you feel like you are being respected by a person who is deceiving you (for good or bad ends),” Dr. Igneski stated.

Trust is built on honesty, which means lying can be a damaging force. “We couldn’t engage in the most simple or basic relationships with others if we couldn’t trust that they were telling

us the truth. Think of a simple example of stopping a stranger to ask for directions. All of our interactions and communications with others rest on an assumption that they are generally being truthful.”

However, Igneski maintained that there are certainly benefits to lying. She gave the example of telling me I was the best journalist she had ever read and as a result, giving me the confidence to continue writing. While this is a positive outcome, she cautioned against missing more subtle implications of lies like this. Can I trust anything else she tells me?

If I believe her and choose writing over another pursuit, would she be responsible for misleading me? She also added, “Is it up to me to decide what you would want to hear or what is best for you? Isn’t this too paternalistic?”

Her provoking questions return to the issue of whether or not any lie is completely harmless in the grand scheme of things, which she also addressed. She gave other

examples, such as “how you would feel about your colleagues, friends, parents, professors or perhaps the government withholding information or straightforwardly lying about some important fact because they deem it in your best interest.”

To this, Dr. Igneski added another provoking question: “Does it matter if there is a benefit to it?”

Despite its pervasiveness, Dr. Igneski does not believe lying is an unavoidable part of the human condition. “However,” she stated, “it would be extremely difficult to avoid.” People lie to protect themselves and others, sometimes with damaging effects. Nonetheless, Dr. Igneski felt it was important to try to avoid lying.

“I think it would be an unrealistic goal for someone to say they will never lie; however, it would be realistic for someone to say that they will more seriously consider the perspective of the person being lied to, the long-term consequences to their relationships and to society more generally.”

Driving into the eye of the storm

Storm chasers like Warren Faidley find adventure in the weather STEPHANIE HAUCK

it, “Patterns of storm paths may be used to image the evolution and effects of storms for a given area and, Follow that storm! as a consequence, may be used While most of us take in assessing the risks of destrucshelter in severe weather condi- tion by hurricanes for the areas in tions, storm chasers are driving into question.” the eye of the storm for the love More specifically, Dr. of weather, science and money. Riller stated, “Parameters such as Perhaps this is a profession many wind speeds, fluctuations of atmoswould hardly consider but for storm pheric pressures and magnitude of chasers it is clear that nature’s worst rain fall close to the eyes of hurriis camera’s best. So, although the canes can be measured on storm idea of chasing after chases and can be a hurricane or tornacompared to other do is probably not on Besides enabling quantitative meteormost of our minds data in orthe collection of ological – these wild Storm der to gain a more Chasers take under- data, storm chas- profound understanding weather ing provides the standing of the evopatterns to the next lution and effects of general public with individual storms.” level. ‘ “ S t o r m a glimpse of what Besides enabling chasing’ may be the collection of to expect when valuable in better data, storm chasing Mother Nature understanding how provides the genhurricanes work comes knocking. eral public with a as storm paths and glimpse of what to touch downs can be expect when Mother mapped and compared to other me- Nature comes knocking. teorological data or even the topogAlthough no one will ever raphy of the Earth’s surface,” stated know for sure who was the first perDr. Ulrich Riller, an Earth Sciences son to purposely place themselves professor here at McMaster. in the middle of a storm, it is clear Dr. Riller further ex- that the modern concept is recreaplained, “The latter influences tional, for the “love of the storm.” storm trajectories (storm paths) to Warren Faidley, an acsome extent.” credited journalist and possibly The result of this analy- one of the most well-known storm sis is insight into the risks and pat- interceptors and survival experts terns of storms. As Dr. Riller put stated in an interview on Voice of SILHOUETTE STAFF

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

Imagine getting close to a storm like this? Storm chasers follow them all the time.

America, “The thing I love about storm chasing is that it encompasses a lot of things I enjoy—the travel, adventure and as a photographer what I really love is getting a great shot…under the worst imaginable conditions.” With over 20 years of experience Warren is considered a leader in storm safety and survival as he has been seen on feature programs on stations such as Discovery, CNN and the Weather Channel.

Although storm chasing may seem rather simple, it is evident that there is a level of skill,

knowledge and bravery that goes into each and every storm chase.

Storm chasers often review weather data, track forecasts and watch storm fronts. If the front looks promising the chase begins. However, for the most part storm chasing is a waiting game. Waiting for the perfect storm and then playing tag with it as it progresses.

So, does chasing a storm sound as thrilling as skydiving?

Perhaps not. But Julia Marcu, a third year Commerce student held, “It [is] really cool, adventurous and [involves] a lot of courage to

do it.” She concluded, “I am nowhere close to being brave enough to chase a storm.”

Are you brave enough to tackle the face of a storm? Or is storm chasing a series of adventures that should be left for the experts?

It seems that for most of us the closest we’ll get to storm chasing includes popcorn, a couch and the classic film Twister. Next time nature decides to cause a little destruction, picture yourself at a storm chaser’s side, witnessing some of nature’s most life threatening storms.

B4 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Social media job searching grows Career Services advice on pros and cons to networking online AYDA ASKARI THE SILHOUETTE

Profile pictures, friend links, and the occasional Youtube video are not uncommon themes to anyone accustomed to the chatting interfaces of Facebook and Twitter. But on a more important note, these qualities should not be deemed as mere aspects of social networking, for as Jacqueline Hampshire and Kim Pedlar from Career Services described, they are only the beginning stages of career research.

“Over the last few years, company Facebook pages have become socially acceptable,” stated Jacqueline Hampshire. Students are encouraged to “fan the pages to receive updates” as such a method of organizational research provides the effective “real time information on what is happening.”

However, this research method takes a different approach than Twitter as it does not serve “the same purpose as Facebook,” noted Hampshire. “It does not have the same social aspect” and it is quickly moving away from the quick tweets—also known as minute-byminute chat updates. Individuals may now use Twitter to “follow organizations on what is happening” and to seek underlying information such as what “people have said” about respective industries. And as Hampshire conveniently pointed out, this Twitter-based research is not subject to individuals bearing a Twitter account. Those who do

not wish to make a profile may still make use of this abundant resource by simply tapping into search.twitter.com.

Moreover, these media career searches are not subject to specific age groups. According to the growth rate trends of Facebook itself, the fastest growing demographic includes the age range of 35 plus, making the reality of the ever changing demographic even more apparent.

But among the pros of job search and career marketing in these two medias, there also arises a few points of concern with respect to the all-powerful electronic footprint. Students need to reflect on “what [they’re] posting” as well as “what others are posting about [them],” addressed Pedlar. Fanning of pages requires student profiles with a degree of professionalism, and this is more or less self-explanatory. To put it in perspective, a profile is essentially never disabled.

As Jacqueline elaborated, “You will always have your Facebook account until the day you get your death certificate.”

Another interesting site that arose in the discussion of career networking was that of the site LinkedIn. This professional networking site was described to be “simpler than Facebook” but richer in quality. It allows students, “even as first year students to grow rich profiles and to promote connections,” Pedlar held. Descriptions with regards to volunteer intern-

S E X AND THE STEEL CITY

Manori Ravindran teaches rejection 101

LAUREN JEWETT / SILHOUETTE STAFF

Rejection is an art form that deserves to be mastered.

MANORI RAVINDRAN SILHOUETTE STAFF

Rejection. Most people cringe at the prospect. Whether you are meting it out or on the receiving end, the entire confrontation is an unpleasant experience. You probably remember a past rejection: downtrodden, dejected, and downright miserable, you rarely stop to think that you will ever be doing the rejecting.

However, it is more than likely that, one day, you, too, will be the bad guy in a sticky situation.

McMaster sociology graduate student Morgan Chapman argued that there are no shortcuts to get around rejection: “There’s no easy way to tell someone that they aren’t the one, or that you’re not even going to give them the chance to prove to you that they’re

the one.” However, if you are in a relationship, are engaged, or even married, all you have to say is, “Sorry, I’m not single” and it’s mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, things become complicated when you are single, aren’t interested, and have to answer that dreaded question: “Why not?”

There are all sorts of reasons why not. Perhaps you’re not attracted to your admirer. Maybe your personalities don’t click. Or it could be that you are just plain freaked out by their obsession with Battlestar Galactica. The “honesty is the best policy” motto is a good one to adopt, but not to the point of brutality. Telling someone they are ugly or uninteresting will hurt their self-esteem even more and damage any chance of friendship. Therefore,

AVA DIDEBAN / MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

Social media is only a start to job search, but not a replcaement to the traditional resumes and job listings. ships, classes, and jobs may be posted by students and viewed by possible employers. More importantly, it is different than both its Facebook and Twitter counterparts as it strives on the quality of its connections rather the abundances of contacts.

Even more so, the site shows promise of growth across the universities and is, as Pedlar described, known to “grow by a million people every 2 weeks,” allowing students once again to globally market themselves in any industry.

And perhaps the most interesting discussion that came about near the end of the interview dis-

rather than indulging in your reasons for rejection, be as succinct as possible; this means no segueing into “If Things Were Different” scenarios or overcompensating with empty compliments. It is best to say that you are flattered by their interest in you but just don’t feel the same way.

Immediately after you have dealt the blow, you may encounter some post-rejection remorse. Chapman advised, “The easiest way to reject someone without feeling guilty is to engage in some serious apathy…just not caring. Some might say that makes me heartless, but I like to think of it as appealing to higher loyalties. It’s really for the best, for everyone.”

Distancing yourself from the situation may be wise when you consider the inevitable rejection backlash. Low-blow insults, teethbaring, and crocodile tears are all fair game. But be strong and keep your ground! Your former fan is nursing a bruised ego, so don’t take it personally: it’s only their anger talking.

Ultimately, the golden rule of rejection is not to lead your admirer on: if you are not into them, you need to tell them so, and in a timely manner. Leading on someone who may harbour feelings for you is unkind, especially if you have no intention of becoming romantically involved. If you would like to remain friends, say so, but if you have no desire of investing in a friendship, then don’t mention it.

After the dust settles on even the most awkward situation, the question remains: How do you go about interacting with someone you have rejected? It depends on the situation. Chapman noted, “Drunken rejections are the easiest to give and take, in my opinion.”

Indeed, it might be easiest to laugh things off if the other person can pretend it was the booze talking, but this is not always the case. Spending time with someone you recently rejected can be awkward for both of you.

Undoubtedly, rejection is an art form that deserves to be mastered. While the wrong turn of phrase can land you on someone’s hit list, a little diplomacy can help smooth over a potential disaster.

So, next time, rather than telling your devotee that they are the last person on Earth you would ever go out with, take a little time to consider their feelings and make it a rejection they’ll never remember.

cussed the importance of actively advocating Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn profiles as well as other stand out hobbies among applications. Interestingly noted, individuals are known to even market their level of accomplishments on certain video games—such as World of War Craft. Surprisingly enough, certain employers are even incorporating these skills as into the teamwork and group collaboration categories—lighting insight into possible business and board meeting strategies. Moreover, if the applicable job deals with gaming, such as computer gaming design,

levels of gaming achievement may help set candidates apart or even secure positions in certain cases.

As a take home message, students should actively peruse online social medias not as sole replacements to the traditional resumes and job listings but rather as insider perspectives of the opportunities at hand. McMaster University Career Services further provides career information regarding economic trends, news, and employment information which can be accessed via their Facebook page and their student run blog: Water Cooler Gossip Blog.

PumpingIron

Give exercise bands a chance

Cardio is often overlooked BAHRAM DIDEBAN

remember this rule: after you do a set of any exercise pull out the band and do a set with any number of reps There are plenty of benefits to above 15 but below 25. Based on working out with exercise bands, this rule, choose a strength that will but although every gym has them, allow you to complete your chosen they’re hardly ever used; especially number of reps while making the by the group that might benefit the last few difficult. Never do more most from them: men. than you can handle, especially While it seems a bit when supersetting with another unmanly to pick up a yellow rubber exercise since your tired muscles band to workout with in the gym, will put too much pressure on your there are too many reasons why joints and you’ll become more most men should add prone to injury. it to their workout A simple example While it seems a routines.

For of a routine involving example, most men bit unmanly to pick an exercise band will concentrate more on up a yellow rubber go something like weight training and When you head band to workout this. ignore their most into the gym first with in the gym, remember to warm important muscle: their heart. Weight there are too many up for 10 minutes and training can (and stretch well. Next, should) cause you to reasons why most jump on the bench break a light sweat men should add it press and perform but it is not quite to their workout... a regular set with enough to exercise your chosen number your heart. The of reps. Once you’re proper resistance finished that and band routine when added to a before you rest, grab the exercise regular routine will cause no extra band and wrap it around a pillar or a time added to your workout but will post. have three huge benefits.

Get into position to First, it will give that little perform a standing bench press and extra push to your heart, which, grab the resistance band handles although not enough on its own, with your palms parallel to the floor. is a good start. Second, because of Bend your knees and position the the stop-go-stop-go nature of the band so it’s at chest level, breathe routine, it will cause serious weight in, and perform each rep as you loss that will lead to a more toned exhale. physique. And third, because it There are too many encourages training movements exercises done with bands to list rather than individual muscle here but they generally involve the groups, it will help in working same design. The band is attached out muscles that were previously to an immovable object like a untouched. On top of all this, it also machine, a post or even wrapped greatly decreases the chances of under your feet and then pulled injury. against its resistance. In order to Exercise bands come in make a proper routine, do some a variety of colours, which are research to find exercises that can indicative of their strength. Bands be added to your regular workout. can range from yellow, which is And don’t forget, there are a lot of the lightest, all the way to silver, professional personal trainers that which is the toughest. In order to you can contact at The Pulse for incorporate them into your workout expert advice.

MANAGING EDITOR

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

THE SILHOUETTE • B5

Interactive

Kyle’sCrossword

Sudoku You should know how this goes by now.

3 8 8 4 1

48- Architect Saarinen 50- Animator Avery 51- Draft classification 53- Emperor of Rome 54-68 55- Research deeply 58- Perilous 63- "The Time Machine" race 64- Stomach woe 65- Pigeon coop 66- Category 67- Keyed up 68- Again 69- Don Juan's mother 70- Give it ___!

71- Back talk Down 1- Hindu lawgiver 2- Black, in poetry 3- Deprived of sensation 4- In ___ (unborn) 5- Former French colony of North America 6- Work of a tailor 7- Salinger girl 8- Sows 9- Half a fly 10- Underestimate 11- Libertine

12- Citrus coolers 13- ___ majeste 21- Now ___ me down...

22- Fellow 25- Ruse 26- Gillette razors 27- Every 24 hours 28- Gastropod mollusk 30- "The ____ has landed."

32- Inactive 33- Phase 34- Old-style fax 36- Plum brandy 38- Verdure 41- Bang-up 45- Achy 47- Hydrocarbon suffix 49- Sense of loss 52- Freud contemporary 54- Killer whales 55- Lucie's father 56- North Carolina college 57- Knowledge 59- Skin disorder 60- Mrs. Chaplin 61- Salt Lake City hoopsters; 62- Puts in stitches 64- "Respect for Acting" author Hagen

Solutions

Solution to last week’s crossword and sudoku

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BreadBin

By Sandy Chase / CUP Graphics Bureau Chief

Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com (http://www.bestcrosswords.com). Used with permission.

Across 1- Course list?

5- Bikini blast 10- Orsk's river 14- Adjoin 15- Lawsuits 16- Lymph ___ 17- Iditarod terminus 18- Actress Anouk 19- Membership fees 20- Uninhibited 22- Farm birds 23- A dish with many ingredients 24- Boot attachment 26- Commercials 29- River in central Switzerland 31- Ancient musician 35- Aromatic herb 37- Othello villain 39- Chip in 40- 100 dinars 41- Wrathful 42- Blue hue 43- Et ___ 44- Eyeball 45- Suit fabric 46- Wood spirit

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Mashed potatoes The Good Food Boxes of November just came in, and the reliable potato made another appearance. Potatoes can be prepared in a variety of ways, and they can store for a considerable amount of time in a dark, dry place. As a common side dish, mashed potatoes are easy to make for almost any occasion. I like to leave the skins on because they’re healthier, and you can’t taste the difference.

Ingredients:

• 3 large potatoes • 2 tablespoons margarine or butter • 4 tablespoons milk • Salt and pepper 1. Wash the potatoes.

2. Cut into 1 inch x 1 inch pieces. This doesn’t have to be exact, but the smaller the pieces, the quicker they cook.

3. Boil for 15 – 20 min., or until a fork easily breaks through a potato piece.

4. Drain in pot.

5. Use a fork or a potato masher to mash the potatoes.

6. Add margarine or butter, salt and pepper, and a little milk.

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

Mashed potatoes are great for all occasions.

7. Continue mashing until the potatoes are smooth.

Tip #1: Don’t add all the milk at once. Use small additions while mixing until the potatoes are the desired consistency.

Tip #2: Warm the milk first for a smoother result.

Tip #3: Mash in grated cheese for a twist.

• Rebecca Ang / Mac Bread Bin Co-Director

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Nov. 11 - 13, 2009 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

MAC Fair: Museum of Art Craft Fair McMaster Museum of Art McMaster Museum of Art is bringing the local craft community and the arts in Hamilton on campus. Meet local artisans while browsing and shopping for pottery, jewelry, crafts, sculpture, glass and much more.

Nov. 12, 2009 at 7:30pm Judaism Does Not Equal Israel: The Rebirth of the Jewish Prophetic McMaster University Health Sciences Centre Room 1A6 Independent Jewish Voices and McMaster Muslims for Peace and Justice present Marc H. Ellis, a renowned Jewish liberation theologian and Director of the Centre for American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University in Texas, to speak on themes in connection with his newly-published book “Judaism Does Not Equal Israel: the Rebirth of the Jewish Prophetic.”

Nov. 13, 2009 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Blue Notes and Sharp Chicken: The Linked Senses of Synaesthesia Psychology Building Room 155

9 3

Write for

INSIDEOUT S E X AND THE STEEL CITY How-to-do-it ...and more

contact us at INSIDEOUT @ thesil.ca

Do you hear music in colour? Does chicken taste pointy to you? Perceive M’s as blue? Dr. Daphne Maurer will speak on Synaesthesia and the hidden synaesthesia in all of us. See McMaster Alumni Association website for event details.

Nov. 14, 2009 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

How 10 Plays Become a Season Health Sciences Centre Room 1A1 Shaw Festival Literary Manager Joanna Falck will discuss the behind-the-scene process of the theatre’s development.

Nov. 15, 2009 at 3 p.m.

McMaster Chamber Orchestra Fall Concert Convocation Hall University Hall, Room 213 Director and associate professor Kieth Kinder and musically-gifted McMaster students will be joined by guest pianist Shoshana Telner to perform music by Haydn, Humperdinck, Saint-Saens, and Canada’s own Donald Coakley in the premiere of McMaster Chamber Orchestra concert of the 2009-2010 season. Contact Chris Cunningham for tickets and details.

Nov. 16 - 21, 2009 during Titles Bookstore hours Author Reading: Marjorie Harris - McMaster Alumna Titles Bookstore GH-B101 McMaster alumna and an organic gardener since the 1960s, Marjorie Harris, will be reading from her completely updated edition of Ecological Gardening, a sixteen-year-old environmentally-conscious guide to gardening, in Titles Bookstore.

Nov. 16 - 21, 2009 Hurt Penguins Book Sale Titles Bookstore GH-B101 Titles Bookstore is having a giant book sale. Thousands of slightly imperfect books are on sale starting at 99¢, and new titles are brought out daily.

Nov.17, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.

From Cosmic Dawn to the First Planets:The Rise of Complexity Chester New Hall Room 104 Come and learn about the latest findings on the sources of First Light - the illumination produced by the first generation of stars and galaxies after the Big Bang. The lecture will also highlight other works about detecting light from the formation of solar systems in distant galaxies, and witnessing the formation of planets billions of years before our own

THE SILHOUETTE • B7

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

SPORTS

production office: extension 27117

email: sports@thesil.ca

Men’s soccer team tops in province Cinderella Marauders grab OUA gold in fourth straight shootout BEN ORR

SILHOUETTE STAFF

Despite early season troubles and less than stellar regular season results, the McMaster men’s soccer team is heading to the CIS Championships this weekend as OUA champions. After four playoff games, all featuring shootout wins for the Marauders, McMaster claimed their first provincial title since 1992 this weekend, defeating the number one nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues in the final.

The McMaster men rolled into the Final Four on the heels of two come-from-behind, shootout victories. Little did they know, this experience would serve them well on their path to OUA supremacy.

Opening the playoffs against the Guelph Gryphons, the Marauders would be considered underdogs in every game they played in the postseason. Missing the playoffs in 2008, McMaster men’s soccer suffered three straight losses to start the 2009 campaign and would finish the regular season with a record of 6-7-1, just enough to make it into the OUA playoffs as the fifth seed. The first round clash was the first shootout victory in what would become a trend in OUA soccer. After Aaron Boothe (Whitby, ON) scored on a 25 yard blast to force extra time, Anthony Costa (Stoney Creek, ON) sent the Gryphon’s fan home disappointed, burying the shootout winner.

The victory sent the Marauders to Windsor to face a Lancer team that had already beaten them twice in the regular season.

Not fazed by their record against their nationally ranked opponent, McMaster again came from behind to force extra time.

After conceding a goal in the 49th minute, the Marauders waited until the 72nd minute to score the equalizer. Rookie midfielder Khalil Rajan (Markham, ON) sent a free kick into the Lancer area and after a scramble in front of Windsor keeper Dan Mendonca’s (London, ON) net, Kyle Grootenboar (Brantford, ON) pounced on the ball and tied the game for the Marauder men.

Finding themselves in yet another shootout, McMaster matched Windsor goal for goal in the five-man shootout. With their sixth shooter, the Lancers sent Mendonca to the line. Facing his fellow goaltender, Matthew Grant (Hamilton, ON) made the diving save, giving Omar Nakeeb (Mississauga, ON) the opportunity to play hero for the Marauders.

He would not disappoint, sending the ball just out of the reach of Mendonca.

The nail-biting win sent the men to the OUA Championships in Toronto. Their first match came against a Carleton Ravens team which had upset a strong Queen’s Gaels team to earn a berth in the tournament.

After a spirited yet scoreless game, which included yet another stellar performance from keeper Matthew Grant, McMaster entered a third consecutive shootout. Undoubtedly playing on their experience, Mac again came away with the win, capitalizing on three penalties to the Raven’s one,

PHOTO C/O MCMASTER ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

The Marauders captured the OUA gold medal this past weekend after defeating Toronto 5-4 in penalty kicks. scoring a 1-0 victory. in the third minute, testing Toronto over the McMaster goal did the end

The shootout success keeper John Smits (Mississauga, to end action resume. meant the Marauders would face ON) early. The Blues returned the McMaster had the best the number one ranked Toronto favour, with Geoffrey Borgmann chance of the game in the 69th Varsity Blues, who had defeated the (Dixie, ON) sending a shot into the minute, as Chinomnso Nwamadi Western Mustangs 5-4 on penalties bottom right corner, keeping Grant (Brampton, ON) hit the cross bar. to earn a 3-2 victory in the other on his toes in the seventh minute. Despite unrelenting pressure from OUA semifinal. It also meant the The Marauders continued to apply the Marauders, and chances from men would be guaranteed a trip to pressure in the Toronto end, but both sides, for the fourth time in Langley, B.C. to participate in the thanks largely to Blues defenders four games in Toronto, the game CIS Championships. Still, it was Yannis Gianniotis (Toronto, ON) would be decided by penalty kicks. clear the Marauders wanted to enter and Darragh McGee (Donegal, After the first five shooters that tournament with OUA gold Ireland), the game remained for each side, the teams were still to their name, and this desire was scoreless going into the break. deadlocked. Mark Reilly (Hamilton, evident in their performance on The Marauders came out ON) capitalized first in the sudden Sunday. of the half inspired, controlling death shootout for the Marauders,

McMaster began the the ball for the first 15 minutes with Toronto’s Borgmann equal to final firing on all cylinders, with of play. Only when third-year the task. Next up was Grootenboer, Monkgogi Moseki (Hamilton, ON) Blues midfielder Scott Nesbitt who would not disappoint, forcing registering the first shot of the game (Scarborough, ON) fired a shot just • PLEASE SEE MEN, B8

Queen’s knocks out Marauders Women’s McMaster’s season over after 32-6 loss in OUA semifinal DAVID KOOTS

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Six minutes into the first quarter, the Marauders football team conceded their first of four safeties on the day in order to prevent punting into a fierce, game changing wind.

The safety would give the Queen’s Gaels an early 2-0 lead, a lead they would never relinquish on route to defeating the Marauders 32-6 in their OUA semifinal at Richardson Stadium in Kingston.

The win advances the Gaels to the 102nd Yates Cup, in which they will host the Western Mustangs. Western defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks in the other conference semi.

“The bottom line was we didn’t execute at a particularly high level on the offensive end,” said McMaster head coach Stefan Ptaszek. “That’s one of the best defences in the country. You cannot be average on offence and have any success against them, you gotta be very very crisp, and we were not.”

The Marauder defence was up against OUA All-Star quarterback Danny Brannagan (Burlington, ON) and a powerful Gaels offence, but the unit stood its ground and limited Queen’s offensive gains. Ptaszek praised his defences play on the day, expressing his belief that they are among the best in the province.

“I thought Mr. Brannagan, who usually throws for three to four hundred plus, looked a little uncomfortable today and our kids hung in and survived and we put them in a lot of bad situations so defensively I thought we were great.”

Brannagan accumulated 161 yards passing while running backs Marty Gordon (Kingston, ON) and Jimmy Therrien (Montreal, QC) added 57 and 89 rushing yards, respectively.

The McMaster offence had to contend with the wind all day and was held to a pair of Andy Waugh (Perth, ON) field goals, their second touchdownless game against Queen’s in 2009 after dropping the regular season matchup 8-7. Mac almost broke the touchdown drought

Volleyball takes two FRASER CALDWELL SILHOUETTE STAFF

PHOTO C/O JC PINHEIRO / FREESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Running back Joey Nemet had 54 rushing yards against the Queen’s Gaels in Mac’s 32-6 loss on Saturday. when second-year quarterback Kyle giving Queen’s the ball on the 22- Marauders all day long. McMaster, Quinlan (South Woodslee, ON) yard line. Five plays later, Therrien the second best rushing team in the found running back Jordan Kozina would punch the ball in from a yard conference, finished with only 130 (Brantford, ON) open in the end out. yards on the ground while adding zone on third down late in the first Queen’s would turn over 218 yards through the air. half, but Kozina could not hold on the ball twice in the dying minutes “That’s the irony of the to the ball. of the second quarter, as James difference between them and

“Jordan’s going to make Edwards (Hamilton, ON) would some of the other teams in our that catch 99 times out of 100, and recover a fumble at the Gaels’ 28- conference,” Said Ptaszek about it was the one time out of 100 he yard line, setting up Kozina’s drop the Queen’s defence. “Other teams didn’t make the catch,” said coach five plays later. After the turnover in our conference, to shut down our Ptaszek after the game. on downs, Brannagan and the run game, blitz and take chances

Turnovers proved to be Queen’s offence attempted to move and Queen’s is able to slow our run critical for both teams as the Gaels the ball out of their own end, but a game down just sitting there and first two majors of the day were second late fumble would give the playing their base stuff so they’re created thanks to turnovers deep in Marauders back the ball and lead to not getting out of position to do Marauder territory. On the first of a 19-yard Waugh field goal. what they need to do.”

Quinlan’s three interceptions, the “There were some mistakes First year receiver Mike Gaels’ defensive front forced him in the ballgame, fortunately we Dicroce (Hamilton, ON) had one out of the pocket and in desperation made [fewer],” said Queen’s head of the more unusual days in OUA he threw the ball into double coach Pat Sheahan. “In all honesty, football, catching five passes for 80 coverage where defensive back today, we looked like the team that yards, rushing once for seven more, Matt Vickers (Stittsville, ON) came should be moving on. I don’t think and passing twice for 25 yards. To down with the ball at McMaster’s that’s any slight on anybody, I think cap things off, Dicroce also returned 35-yard line. In the second quarter, from the get-go we came out and four kicks for 56 yards and punted Waugh was set up to punt on third came after it.” twice for 66 yards. down but let the snap get away The Queen’s defence “[Dicroce] is one of several from him and had to fall on the ball, came out fired up, and limited the • PLEASE SEE FUTURE, B8

Looking to rebound after splitting their games the previous week, the McMaster women’s volleyball team swept aside the challenges of Queen’s (25-13, 22-25, 25-11, 2522) and Royal Military College (2515, 25-16, 25-14) this past weekend.

The wins improve the Marauders’ record to 4-1 on the season, putting them in second place in the OUA’s Western division.

Friday’s match saw McMaster defeat Queen’s in four sets, dominating for long spells in the process. The first set opened with the Marauders in great form, streaking out to a 6-1 lead after a strong serve from Larissa Puhach (Burlington, ON) confounded the Gaels’ back row. The rout would continue on the strength of an impressive showing from McMaster’s Shannon McRobert (Whitby, ON), who contributed two aces and a powerful kill to stretch the Marauders’ lead to 15-2.

The advantage would continue to grow, culminating in a 22-5 score line after highlight reel kills from Sarah Kiernan (Hamilton, ON) and Puhach, and an intelligent tip crafted by All-Star setter Jennifer Holt (Hamilton, ON). On the brink of victory in the first set, a number of Marauder errors would allow Queen’s to claw back several points, before the Gaels served long to seal the set for their opponents at 25-13.

Despite being dominated in the first frame, Queen’s demonstrated its resolve in the second, raising its game to level the match. McMaster appeared disorganized to begin the set, dropping the first three points to fall behind early. The Gaels were setting a torrid pace, reaffirming their new found confidence with a textbook ace at 6-11. McMaster would fight back to within two points of their rivals, but strong serving maintained Queen’s slender lead. The Marauders stayed close with the help of a Kiernan ace and a typically strong block from • PLEASE SEE GAELS, B10

B8 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Future looks bright Men off to B.C. for Nationals • CONT’D FROM B7 first year kids that’s not playing like a first year kid anymore,” said Ptaszek. “Mike is an extremely talented athlete.”

The loss spells not only the end of Mac’s 2009 season, but also the end of the playing careers for several Marauder stalwarts.

Edwards, Justin Vince (London, ON) and Matt Giordano (Hamilton, ON) are all in their last year, and chances are good that other players will not be returning for 2010.

“I hope they take some pride in the fact that they taught a young football team that they can compete with the top four in this conference and if they take a few more steps, maybe we won’t be done in the semi-finals in years to come, so they have set us up for success,” said coach Ptaszek about his veterans.

“The good news is that is a team that had 12 first year guys out there and that is very young and it’s not laden with fourth and fifth year kids like the team we played across the way. So the future is definitely bright, wanted to take our shot at someone who thinks the future is now for their program in the Queen’s Golden Gaels and we took our shot, we went down swinging.”

On Wednesday the OUA released its All-Star team, with offensive guard Justin Glover (Hamilton, ON) and linebacker Ryan Chmielewski (St. Catharines, ON) getting first team nods.

Offensive tackle Matt Sewell (Milton, ON), defensive end Steve Cecchini (Thorold, ON), halfback Byron Metcalfe (Pickering, ON) and cornerback Cody Lynch (Stoney Creek, ON) were all named to the second team.

• CONT’D FROM B7 Toronto to equalize once more.

McGee would not be up to the task, sending the ball high and wide left, giving the aptly nicknamed Cardiac Kids the OUA title.

The championship is the first for McMaster men’s soccer in over a decade and a half, and is as unlikely and exciting as any in OUA history. McMaster has attracted the attention of the nation, with Grant earning CIS BlackBerry male athlete of the week for his spectacular play in posting backto-back shutouts in 220 minutes of playoff action and stopping six of 11 penalty kicks.

The Western Mustangs defeated Carleton earlier in the day in what was the third shootout game of the weekend. Mustangs’ keeper Andrew Murdoch (Burlington, ON) made the final save, securing the 3-2 shootout victory and OUA bronze.

OUA award winners and All-Stars were named last week and the McMaster men had a pair of second team All-Stars in fourth-year midfielder Grootenboer and secondyear defender Garret McConville (Ottawa, ON). In comparison, Toronto had three first and second

PHOTO C/O MCMASTER ATHLETICS AND RECREATION

The men’s soccer team will travel to Langley to face Canada’s best. team All-Stars, showing once again that the Marauders got hot when they needed it most.

On the women’s side of the ball, McMaster midfielders Tara Dawdy (Burlington, ON) and Cheryl Druchok (Palgrave, ON) also received second-team nods.

Perhaps the biggest honour of all went to Maria Cusimano (North York, ON) who won the OUA West Community Service award in light of her immense volunteer work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hamilton and Burlington, Hess

Street Public Elementary School and the McMaster Healthy Living Initiative.

The McMaster men will now travel to Langley to compete in the CIS Championships, which take place Nov. 12th to the 15th, competing against teams from Canada West, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada, but also against the Toronto team which they defeated in the OUA final. All games are available live on SSN Canada. The Marauders first match is slated for today at 3:30 p.m. against the McGill Redmen.

Lacrosse earns silver in Ottawa BEN ORR

SILHOUETTE STAFF

PHOTO C/O RICHARD ZAZULAK

Mike Dicroce will be one of many returning offensive weapons in 2010.

The McMaster men’s lacrosse team had their Cinderella run ended by the Brock Badgers, but still claimed CUFLA Baggataway Cup silver this past weekend. After advancing to the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association Final Four for the first time since 1992, the Marauders ran into an undefeated Badger team after upsetting Guelph and Trent.

After going 7-3 in the regular season, the Marauders entered the playoffs against the Gryphons, earning a thrilling, comefrom-behind victory. Trailing 6-1 at half time, McMaster roared back.

Fuelled by three Mario Cupido (Hamilton, ON) goals, the men extended their season by claiming

an incredible 10-8 victory, sending themselves to Carleton Raven Field for the CUFLA final four.

The Marauders would draw the no. 3 nationally ranked Trent Excalibur in the their semifinal, who had gone 8-2 on their 2009 campaign. Again, heroics would be necessary.

Facing another tough start and a 5-1 deficit at the half, the Marauders would rally, tying the game at seven with only five seconds remaining.

In the second extra time period McMaster would again fall behind, needing two goals in 21 seconds to force triple overtime.

Finally, McMaster third year attack Gavin Barrie (Peterborough, ON) sent his hometown Excalibur packing, scoring his second goal of the game.

After defeating McGill in the second semifinal, a confident Brock team would face McMaster in the championship. A win would cap a 13-0 undefeated season for the Badgers.

In the final match of the year, Mac found their role to be reversed. Accustomed to coming from behind, the Marauders went up 3-1 early, only to have the Badgers fight back into the game, taking a 6-5 lead to the half. Brock won a tight third quarter, and despite winning the fourth, Mac fell 12-11.

Kevin MacRory (Etobicoke, ON) was named player of the game for the Marauders, netting five goals and an assist on the day for 11 goals and three assists on the weekend. Tournament MVP honours went to Brock goaltender Brett Kikot (Toronto, ON).

THE SILHOUETTE • B9

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Marauder women sweep Kingston trip Rookie Rosenkranz, veteran Smith lead Marauders to 2-0 start BRIAN DECKER SPORTS EDITOR

With a mix of youth and experience, the McMaster women’s basketball team kicked off its conference season in style this past weekend, sweeping a Kingston road trip with victories over the Royal Military College Paladins and the Queen’s Gaels.

Veteran guard Taylor Smith (Hamilton, ON) and rookie forward Nicole Rosenkranz (Niagara Falls, ON) led the Marauders to the two-win weekend.

Smith, a fifth year Marauder in her final season of eligibility, and Rosenkranz, a 6’ rookie, come from opposite ends of the spectrum, but are both key components of the McMaster squad.

“Taylor’s our leader on and off the court,” said Head Coach Theresa Burns of Smith, a 20082009 first team All-Star. “When she’s on the court, everybody settles down and the team has absolute trust right from the coaching staff through every player on the bench.”

“[Nicole’s] got a natural instinct for the ball, she’s just a ball magnet… she’s got great instincts around the hoop, finishes well and has a soft touch,” Burns said of Rosenkranz.

The Gaels made life difficult for the Marauders on Saturday night, riding big

performances from guards Katie Guthrie (Orillia, ON) and Brittany Moore (Hannon, ON).

The two scored 30 and 24 points respectively, and hit all seven of the Gaels’ three pointers.

The Marauders locked down on Guthrie in the fourth, however, limiting her to zero points in the final period and forcing her to put the ball in the hands of the Gaels’ less experienced supporting cast.

With the game tied at 66 with just over 90 seconds remaining, Rosenkranz made a difficult pass in the paint to third year forward Taylor Chiarot (Hamilton, ON), who converted an even more difficult finish while being fouled.

The basket and subsequent foul shot gave the Marauders a three-point lead, and after veteran guard Rebecca Rewi (Ancaster, ON) drew a charge on the next Queen’s possession, the game was in hand for the maroon and grey.

“We just put a lot more focus on our defensive end and were a lot more committed to running our break and getting scoring chances,” said Burns. “Everybody was more focused on turning up the intensity a little bit.”

Rosenkranz and Chiarot proved to be a potent combo in the paint, creating a number of scoring chances for each other

with unselfish and creative passing.

Rosenkranz led the Marauders with 21 points on the night, while Chiarot poured in 17.

“It’s a match-up problem, because if you put your best D on one of them, the other one’s gonna kill you,” Burns said of the tough time opposing teams will have defending Mac’s frontcourt duo.

One night earlier, the Marauders took a preemptive strike and built a double-digit lead before the Paladins knew what hit them. Rewi and veteran forward Lisa Marie Iavarone (Hamilton, ON) each scored 18 points on the way to an 81-43 blowout.

McMaster led 27-1 with four minutes remaining in the first quarter, virtually deciding the game in the opening minutes. Mac shot a blistering 67 per cent from the field in the first half, and never gave the Paladins a chance to even think about winning.

Rosenkranz scored 15 points in just 10 minutes of action, coming off a bout with the flu.

Smith posted an 11 point, six assist, five rebound performance in controlling the McMaster offence.

The Marauders’ next action takes place on Friday night against the Toronto Varsity Blues, followed by a Saturday night match up with the Ryerson Rams. Both games take place at 6 p.m. in the Burridge Gym. Taylor Smith has the trust of her Marauder teammates and coaches.

SILHOUETTE FILE PHOTO

No. 4 Marauders kick off conference play BRIAN DECKER SPORTS EDITOR

JEFF GREEN / EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Keenan Jeppesen led the Marauders with 16 points against Queen’s.

After looking like they would steamroll any team who came their way in an undefeated preseason, the McMaster men’s basketball team found their first true test of the season against the scrappy Queen’s Gaels. Despite a pesky defence and a loud arena to contend with, however, Mac showed their mettle and came out on top with a 56-50 victory.

The win followed a 94-63 beatdown of the Royal Military College Paladins, where the Marauders shot the lights out and showed off their depth and young talent. Rookie Victor Raso (Hamilton, ON) poured in eight three pointers and averaged 15 points to lead the Marauders over the two games.

The Gaels came out ready to battle Mac, currently the no. 4 team in the CIS national rankings.

Led by lightning-quick point guard Baris Ondul (Istanbul, Turkey), Queen’s gave the Marauders a taste of their own medicine, putting pressure on the ball and filling the passing lanes. The highenergy defence proved effective in frustrating McMaster’s halfcourt offence, forcing Mac into 23 turnovers on the night.

With the pressure on, the maroon and grey turned to veteran forward Keenan Jeppesen (Stoney Creek, ON). The 6’7” standout broke down the Gaels’ defence bitby-bit, using his superb ball control and court awareness to split double

teams and get to the basket. Coming off a bout of the flu last week, Jeppesen led Mac with 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night.

After the Gaels pulled to within one point behind the play of bruising forward Mitch Leger (Kingston, ON), Jeppesen curled off a screen from pivot Ryan Christie (Hamilton, ON) and nailed a fadeaway jumper with 30 seconds on the clock. The screen-and-roll between Jeppesen and Christie proved to be an effective play all night, utilizing Christie’s size and Jeppesen’s court vision to create open looks at the basket.

“In the late minutes we had our key guys take some shots and we defended… we defended really well and rebounded really well at the end. Keenan got up and played some basketball,” said Head Coach Joe Raso, who stressed that the Marauders will need to cut down on mistakes in future contests.

Poor free throw shooting kept the Gaels in the game, with the Marauders shooting a paltry 46 per cent from the charity stripe on the night. Jeppesen struggled most all, going just 3 for 11.

In the game’s late stages, however, Mac made the ones that counted, with guards Raso, Scott Laws (Gormley, ON) and Tyrell Vernon (Hamilton, ON) helping to lock up the win.

Christie, a 6’6” rookie, registered his first career doubledouble, chipping in 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Against RMC, the Marauders showed off their depth

and young talent, scoring 47 bench points to the Paladins’ eight. With Christie in early foul trouble and Jeppesen recovering from the flu, Mac turned to Raso for scoring punch. The 6’4” rookie calmly knocked down six threes in his conference debut, and poured in a game-high 22 points to pace McMaster.

Laws and Jermaine DeCosta (Hamilton, ON) each hit two three pointers on the way to 10-point games, while Jeppesen chipped in 12 points in just 14 minutes.

Mac’s three point shooting was the story of the night, with the maroon and grey shooting a redhot 57 per cent from downtown.

“We shot the ball incredibly well,” commented coach Raso.

As the no. 4 team in the country, Mac will have to cut down on the costly errors they made against Queen’s when the no. 8 Toronto Varsity Blues come to the Burridge Gym this weekend. While the Marauders have clearly risen to become one of the best teams in the OUA, coach Raso said it will be important to come out and prove it this weekend.

“Don’t tell me what you did to get better, prove to me that you got better,” said Raso, quoting a coat of arms outside the RMC locker room.

McMaster will host Toronto at 8 p.m. on Saturday, followed by an 8 p.m. game against last season’s OUA scoring leader Boris Bakovic (Toronto, ON) and the Ryerson Rams on Saturday.

B10 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

McMaster takes No. 1 ranking with two wins Men move into first in OUA with 6-0 record FRASER CALDWELL SILHOUETTE STAFF

The McMaster Marauders men’s volleyball team faced the toughest test of their young season this past weekend, in the form of their unbeaten rivals, the Queen’s Golden Gaels. Week-long hype produced a crowd and an atmosphere unequalled yet this season, with Burridge Gym filled to the rafters, and vocal in its support of the one of the country’s elite volleyball squads. What followed was a match of the highest order, with McMaster squeaking out a victory in three hotly-contested sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-13). They would close out their weekend by shutting out the lowly Royal Military College Paladins on Saturday night (27-25, 25-23, 2516). For their efforts, the Marauders became the number one ranked volleyball team in Canada for the first time in the school’s history.

Friday’s epic encounter between OUA powerhouses saw both teams playing at an extraordinary level, until a demoralized Queen’s side faltered in the third and deciding frame.

The first set would begin in worrying fashion for the Marauders, as the energized Gaels grabbed the first three points, en route to an early lead. McMaster looked in danger of falling off the pace when Shawn Bench (Hamilton, ON) produced a superb ace to bring his squad back to 6-8. However, Queen’s would continue its torrid pace into the second technical timeout, going into the break with a 13-16 lead.

The Marauders’ efforts would finally see results when Kevin Stevens (Winnipeg, MB) fired an ace to bring the teams within a point, and Paul Podstawka (Ancaster, ON) levelled proceedings at 18, blasting a kill off of the Queen’s block. With the momentum shifting in their favour, McMaster opened a late set lead thanks to an amazing tip by veteran Tyler Santoni (Kingston, ON) with the score 19-18. Visibly rattled, the Gaels would selfdestruct to give away the set only a few points later, first firing a serve long to give the Marauders a set point, before fumbling an attack at net to seal it in McMaster’s favour.

The second frame would unfold exactly as the first had before it, with Queen’s opening strongly and carrying a lead for long spells, before succumbing to the immense pressure of the McMaster attack in the later stages. The Gaels began in fine form, streaking to an early 2-8 lead after a disastrous miscommunication left McMaster’s attack in shambles. The Marauders struggled to mount any offense in the face of the Gaels’ assault until mid-set, when Jeremy Groenveld (Welland, ON) would singlehandedly come to dominate the game. McMaster’s primary outside weapon, Groenveld produced a spellbinding display to drag his team back to level terms, coming up with two consecutive kills, followed by an authoritative block to bring Mac within three at 11-14. His rampant play continued, and after a spree of brilliant kills, the game was finally level at 17.

Queen’s had no intention of capitulating, and the set remained in the balance until the final points, when the combination of a thunderous cross-court smash from the ever-present Groenveld, and a Gaels service error brought McMaster a set point. Shawn Bench would once again prove decisive, stuffing a Queen’s attack to clinch the frame.

The loss of two close sets seemed to demoralize the Gaels, translating into a much less competitive third. The Marauders would race out to an early lead, with the score reaching 7-3 after a defensive gaffe by Queen’s gifted them the point. McMaster would continue to widen its lead as the set progressed, sending the period into its second technical timeout with the score 16-6 after a great solo block from Santoni. The Marauders’ dominance was not to be resisted, and they would seal the set and the match with consecutive blocks from Santoni and Podstawka.

Jeremy Groenveld finished the game with an incredible 19 points, nearly double that of the game’s next leading scorer. Setter Ryan Hudson (Winnipeg, MB) won the player of the game award for his performance, which included a game-leading 26 assists.

After the drama of Friday night, Saturday’s game against the OUA’s bottom-dwellers, the RMC Paladins, was less than exciting.

McMaster used the opportunity to play many of its less experienced members, resulting in a game that was often sloppy, and much closer than need be. The first set saw Mac commit numerous errors, frequently gifting points to their opponents from the service line. Thankfully, RMC seemed quite willing to return the favour, and would lob a serve horribly long to seal an uninspiring frame for the Marauders.

Errors once again plagued the second set, with McMaster falling behind 9-10 after a botched swing by Tyson Alexander (Shanty Bay, ON). The period seemed destined to go in the Paladins’ favour until hitters Alexander and Shayne Petrusma (Bowmanville, ON) began to find their range in the late going. After a Petrusma kill Kevin Stevens and the Marauders beat Queen’s in three straight sets. off the RMC block, the Paladins forfeited another crucial point, firing a smash long on set point.

McMaster would finally pull away in the third set, as errors overtook RMC’s game.

With the Marauders dominating, the Paladins gave away a point in typical fashion with the set at 2013, dumping yet another serve long.

The self-destruction was complete when RMC hit the antennae to give McMaster a match point, and launched a serve wide to seal the game for the home team. Second year setter Myles Barr (Winnipeg, MB) received player of the game honours for his 32 assist effort, while Tyson Alexander led the Marauders with 15 points.

With the weekend sweep, McMaster improved its record to a perfect 6-0, taking sole possession of first place in the OUA standings.

Even more impressive, the Marauders overtook the Alberta Golden Bears in the CIS rankings, reaching the pinnacle of Canadian University volleyball for the first time.

With two more wins to their name, the Marauders now take an extended break from competition Jeremy Groenveld has been a pillar in the Marauders’ rise to No. 1. before hitting the road for games against Waterloo (Nov. 20) and Laurier (Nov. 21).

PHOTO C/O LARRY SKELLY

PHOTO C/O LARRY SKELLY

Gaels, Paladins fall to Mac Women’s volleyball moves to 4-1 on season • CONT’D FROM B7 McRobert, before the Gaels earned a kill off of an errant Mac block to take the second set 22-25.

The third set saw a strong response from the Marauders, who eclipsed their effort in the first to win a lopsided period in convincing fashion. Where McMaster had been disorganized to open the second set, Queen’s would prove likewise in the third, losing the first three points due to defensive miscues. The Marauders took full advantage of their opponents’ weakness, jumping out to an 8-1 lead after a combination block by McRobert and rookie Kailee Stock (Newmarket, ON).

McMaster stretched their lead with a mixture of stubborn defence and precision attacks, which was on display to great effect when Sarah Kiernan ended a long rally with a tip to send the Marauders into the second technical timeout with a 10 point lead. Mac closed out the set with emphatic blocks from Holt and Stock, before the Gaels served long to once again gift the Marauders a set.

The fourth and final set was to be much closer, with both teams playing at a high level. With the score deadlocked at eight, Kaila Janssen (Oshawa, ON) produced a huge kill and a crucial momentum

shift for the Marauders. The most competitive points of the match were to be played mid-set, with several extended rallies won by both sides. McMaster took a decisive advantage late in the period, with heavy kills from Puhach and Kiernan, before Kailee Stock ended the match with a cross-court smash.

McRobert would be named the Marauders’ player of the game, finishing the match with 16 points.

Sarah Kiernan led the game with an impressive 22 point performance, while Jennifer Holt contributed a game-high 29 assists.

Saturday’s game against the RMC Paladins proved to be a much more straightforward, if less exciting affair. Playing a Paladins side fielding only seven players, the Marauders dominated despite struggling to find their form at times.

In the first set, a tight opening gave way to a sizeable McMaster lead. This was fuelled in large part by the play of Marauder veterans Sarah Kiernan and Genevieve Dumas (North Bay, ON), with the former producing a brilliant ace at 11-6. Persistent RMC errors made McMaster’s job all the easier, and Dumas would clinch the first with a strong kill at 24-15.

The second set was more of the same, with RMC still

struggling to keep the ball inbounds.

Despite several dire periods of play, McMaster was never in any real danger, as the Paladins seemed content to gift points at an alarming rate. The error-prone set was put to bed after Meghan Jamieson (Chatham, ON) fired a smash off of the RMC block and the Paladins followed with another errant ball.

The game would be clinched in the third, when the Marauders used an early 8-1 lead to full advantage. The insertion of McRobert into the match raised McMaster’s game considerably, and she would contribute several key kills before bringing her squad into the second technical timeout with an 11 point lead after a strong combination block with Kailee Stock. The writing was on the wall for the hapless Paladins, and the influential Dumas would bring their struggle to an end with a rolled kill for 25-14. McRobert led the Marauders with eight points in the win, followed closely by Sarah Kiernan with seven.

Following the weekend sweep, the Marauders enjoy a 4-1 record, trailing only Waterloo in the OUA West standings. The women saw action at home last night against the Guelph Gryphons but results were not available at press time.

THE SILHOUETTE • B11

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

Title hopes dashed for men’s rugby BRIAN DECKER SPORTS EDITOR

For just the third time in eight years, the Turner Trophy will not be returning to McMaster. A quest to repeat as OUA Champions was ended last Saturday when the Marauders fell to the Queen’s Gaels 17-8 in their OUA Semi-final match.

And while that may make the 2009 season seem like a failure, the final match was full of details that showed the character of McMaster rugby and the players on the team.

An undermanned Marauder squad took to the match missing six players due to injury from its 2008 OUA Champion team, while facing a Queen’s squad loaded with seniors and experienced players looking to avenge their loss to Mac in that same OUA Championship last season. The Gaels had already feasted on the injury-riddled Marauders earlier this season, cruising to a 59-5 beatdown on Sept. 26 at Kingston field where this very game would be played.

Trailing 14-3 with just 15 minutes remaining in game, McMaster began an all-out attack in a final attempt to salvage their

season. Head Coach Dr. Phil White called the last-chance effort “the most inspiring 15 minutes that I have ever witnessed as a McMaster coach,” as veterans and rookies stood side-by-side to defend their crown.

After five minutes of keeping Queen’s attack at bay just outside the Mac goal line, a penalty against the Gaels allowed the ball to move back upfield, from where Dr. White described the Marauders’ offensive strategy as “the rugby equivalent of hand-to-hand combat.” Overloading the offensive channel with attacking players, McMaster inched closer towards the goal-line, allowing third year lock Lucas McIvor (Guelph, ON) to charge across the Queen’s line for an exclamation point try.

Though the final charge was not enough to win the game, it was enough to show that however beaten and undermanned, the team would fight to the very end.

After the win, the Gaels were sure to honour their opponents on the McMaster side, who have become a highly respected force in the OUA over the last decade.

“I don’t know when the last time was that we beat McMaster in a playoff game… I was very impressed with the way

Mac played, they were a different team than the one that we faced [in September] and they presented a huge challenge for us today,” said Queen’s Head Coach Peter Huigenbos.

“Mac’s always been an awesome team and we never expect an easy game against them,” commented flanker Alistair Clark (Oakville, ON), who shared time with Marauder All-Stars Keegan Selby (Lindsay, ON) and Shawn Windsor (Stoney Creek, ON) on the Ontario Blues Americas Cup team. “The last time was not a fluke because we played well but we just had a really good game. This is exactly what we expect out of them.”

The Marauders gained a boost in the return of scrumhalf Joel Waldock (Tottenham, ON), playing in his first game of the season after injury absence. The 2007 and 2008 All-Star was a vital component of the team that took down the Gaels in last year’s final.

Also of note for the Marauders this week was flanker Selby receiving the Dr. Jack Kennedy Award for being McMaster’s top male studentathlete. The two-time OUA MVP achieved an 11.7 sessional average last year, and also received the Ivor

Wynne trophy as the school’s top male athlete on a team sport. This puts Selby in a league of his own as the only athlete to ever receive both awards in the same season.

To close their season, the Marauders now look to Saturday’s

bronze medal match against the Brock Badgers. The Badgers defeated Mac 34-17 on Oct. 3, but Mac played without both Selby and Windsor. The game takes place at 12 p.m. at Fletcher’s Field in Markham.

CHRISTOPHER CHANG / SILHOUETTE STAFF

Sam Roberts and his Mac side couldn’t knock off Queen’s on Saturday.

Awfy-Wick celebrates 25 years of fun DAVID KOOTS

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

This past Friday marked a momentous occasion in McMaster Intramural sports as Awfy-Wick, a Flag Football team, played in its 25th consecutive playoff season.

Most undergrad students at Mac, myself included, had yet to be born when Awfy-Wick (derived from Scottish slang meaning awfully wicked) first took to the field in 1985.

The squad still sports two original members, Todd Ford and

John Kimpton, who started the team during their days at McMaster.

Since 1985 the team has seen a changing of the guard, with new additions to the crew, including the father-son combination of Chris and Lucas Arnold.

The reason for the team’s continual return is the simple fact that Mac Intramurals are fun to play. Many of us played sports throughout high school, but now being in university we find it harder and harder to fulfil our passion for playing sports due to lack of time or organized leagues.

Intramurals offer the chance to get back out on the field, court, ice, or pool to either compete or simply go out and have fun.

Most sports offer three levels of competition, ranging from the A leagues, which are nearly as competitive as high school sports, to the C league meant for beginners.

Additionally, many sports have coed leagues as well.

I had never played a basketball game in my life before coming to Mac, but the past two years I’ve played C level co-ed basketball and had a great time

doing it, despite my obvious lack of skill.

At the same time, the men’s and women’s soccer leagues can be as fierce and competitive as any high school sports I’ve played in or watched, but with a better spirit of sportsmanship. All players, experienced or beginners, have the chance to go out, stay active and have fun while battling it out for the coveted Intramural Champions T-Shirt.

Speaking of Intramural Champ T-Shirts, Awfy-Wick picked up their own in the mid-nineties, a

feat they are hoping to reproduce this year. Their next challenge looms tonight against No Punt Intended, a team comprised mostly of students who had likely not been born in 1985 when Ford and Kimpton first took to the flag football field.

The fall sports are all wrapping up but sign up for basketball, volleyball, indoor soccer, cricket, badminton, and squash are all right around the corner. With costs ranging from $5 to no more than $25, you have no reason not to check out the Intramural leagues this year.

Marauder pair claim gold at Nationals

BRIAN DECKER / SPORTS EDITOR

Six Mac boats raced in the Canadian University Rowing Championships.

DAVID KOOTS

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

History was made in McMaster Marauder sports two weeks ago at the Canadian University Rowing Championships (CURC) in Montreal, as Mac won its first ever CURC gold medal. Fourthyear Kinesiology student Alethia Hazaras (Dundas, ON) teamed up with third-year Life Sciences student Emily Loyer (Bridgenorth, ON) to claim first place in the lightweight women’s doubles.

The duo finished in a time of 7:55.50, three seconds ahead of the second place finishers from the University of Victoria. A week earlier the pair had placed fourth at the OUA Championship, and with all three OUA podium boats present, the Marauders stepped up their game at the right time to claim the top prize.

The six boat A Final was not without its stars, as national team rower Rebecca Gregory (Brampton, ON)) was rowing for Brock. In 2008, Gregory was the Marauders captain and named female oarsmen of the year. As

well, the Guelph team had looked strong in claiming the OUA gold only a week earlier.

Hazaras added to her medal haul later in the day when she crossed the line third in the lightweight women’s single’s A Final. Hazaras finished in a time of 8:50.00, seven seconds behind the first place rower from Queen’s and three seconds behind the Western Mustang in second place.

In total, the Marauders had six boats compete in a possible 12 events in the regatta, with the other four boats all rowing in the B Final.

In the women’s singles, Mac’s boat finished in third place in the B Final, while the lightweight men’s singles, doubles and fours saw finishes of second, fourth, and third, respectively.

Overall, the Marauder women finished with 34 points to place 10th out of eighteen teams while the men scored 15 points to place 13th out of 17 teams.

The Western Mustangs women claimed first overall while the Victoria Vikes took first for the men.

B12 • THE SILHOUETTE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2009

HEALTH

production office: extension 27117

in partnership with SHEC

The thyroid plays a vital endocrine role LAURA MCGHIE SILHOUETTE STAFF

This semester, there are many health concerns that students have been worrying about. But often, focusing on one problem— say swine flu—can cause us to neglect our bodies and ignore other important indicators of health.

Although some symptoms, like gaining weight, feeling drained, or feeling sad, may seem like a normal part of a university student’s life, together they could also indicate a larger health problem relating to one’s thyroid gland.

The thyroid is a butterfly shaped endocrine gland situated in the lower front of the neck. As the largest endocrine gland, it regulates bodily functions by producing thyroid hormones, T3 and T4, which are transported throughout the body in the bloodstream. These hormones control many aspects of our metabolism as they regulate the speed at which the body produces protein, burns energy, and responds to other hormones.

A healthy, functioning thyroid, therefore, keeps a person warm and helps to maintain a healthy body weight. Other organs, such as the heart and brain, also rely on the thyroid hormones for proper functioning. The thyroid controls the speed of bodily processes, meaning that most cells respond to thyroid hormone with an increase in the rate at which they normally function.

A poorly functioning or unhealthy thyroid can have significant effects on a person’s weight, mood, and energy levels.

Although there are various health issues associated with one’s thyroid, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are the two most common among younger populations.

Hyperthyroidism is caused by an overproduction and distribution of thyroid hormone.

In most cases the entire gland overproduces the hormone due to an immune deficiency in which the patient’s immune system attacks his or her thyroid. This form of hyperthyroidism, known as Grave’s disease, occurs in women more often than men, and is generally found in younger populations around the age of 30. Additional causes of hyperthyroidism include inflammation of the thyroid gland, known as thyroiditis, as well as the loss of hormone-releasing regulatory mechanisms in a single thyroid nodule.

While a person may develop hyperthyroidism for various reasons, its signs (what a physician can measure) and symptoms (what a patient feels) tend to remain constant.

Hyperthyroidism is typically characterized by weight loss, heat intolerance, insomnia, fatigue, fast and/or palpitating heart, increased bowel movements, muscle weakness, and hair loss.

Generally, people overlook symptoms of hyperthyroidism until they become severe.

These symptoms have a gradual onset, so a hyperthyroid can go undiagnosed and untreated for months. Additionally, certain symptoms tend to be absent in older populations, who may only lose weight or suffer from depression.

As a result, detection in these groups may pose specific challenges.

Yet, once suspected, diagnosing hyperthyroidism is generally easy using blood tests.

Treatment for hyperthyroidism also varies depending on the case, but in general, once diagnosed this disorder can be effectively treated.

Treatment options include antithyroid drugs that prevent the

CHRISTOPHER CHANG / SILHOUETTE STAFF

Thyroid hormones affect our weight, mood and energy levels as well as the rate at which our cells function. thyroid from producing hormones; radioactive iodine, which targets and kills thyroid cells; and partial or total removal of the thyroid gland.

Hypothyroidism is another endocrinal problem that results from insufficient production of thyroid hormones. Overall, hypothyroidism is a relatively common disorder that affects millions in North American.

There are two common causes of hypothyroidism. The first is a result of previous or current inflammation of the thyroid gland.

Similar to hyperthyroidism, this inflammation is often related to immune response within the individual.

Previous medical treatment is the second common

cause of hypothyroidism. Many thyroid problems result in the partial or total removal of the gland, meaning there often are not enough cells left to produce the body’s required level of thyroid hormones.

Hypothyroidism has other causes, such as a poor functioning pituitary gland or radioactive iodine therapy, but many of these are much less common.

Due to the thyroid’s important role in maintaining metabolism, people lacking thyroid hormones normally show symptoms associated with a slow metabolism, such as weight gain, difficulty losing weight, and intolerance of the cold. Additional symptoms

include weakness, fatigue, dry skin, constipation, depression, memory loss, irritability, and decreased libido. Women may also experience abnormal menstrual cycles.

As with hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism is often easily diagnosed through blood tests and treated through drug therapies. With treatment, most patients recover completely. Yet, in rare cases this process can be complicated, and symptoms of hypothyroidism can worsen, resulting in severe depression or heart failure. Should you have health concerns relating to the symptoms mentioned above, consult with your doctor and voice your concerns.

Getting by with help from our friends

Healthy relationships have mental and physical benefits for our health STEPHANIE O’NEILL THE SILHOUETTE

As we bury ourselves under a pile of books during midterm season, it is sometimes difficult to find time for coffee with a friend or a chat with mom over the phone. Though cutting out extracurricular activities may seem like the best option, it could have an effect on your well-being.

There is evidence that sacrificing positive social relationships for the benefit of anything else can push you into a downward spiral leading

to depression, loneliness, jealousy, guilt, anxiety and even decreased immune system functioning.

Studies have often shown that well-being may be a result of healthy relationships; not only the other way around. In the study “Very Happy People” by Ed Diener and Martin Seligman, 222 undergraduate students were screened for happiness using various scales. No one who was happy had poor social relationships, compared with the very unhappy people. The upper 10 per cent of very happy

people were more social, had more romantic relationships, were more extraverted and agreeable, less neurotic, and scored lower on psychopathology tests.

No variable was sufficient for happiness, meaning there was no variable that reliably predicted happiness. Good social relationships, however, were necessary as every happy person had good social relationships.

A large part of the variance in happiness scores of very happy, average, and very unhappy people

MICHELLE NG / SILHOUETTE STAFF

Spending time with friends and family not only makes us happier, but also helps prevent disease.

could be predicted by interpersonal relationships. Unhappy people had significantly worse social relationships than the average person. Though it is not clear which way the causation arrow points, studies like these suggest that positive social relationships and happiness are inextricably connected.

So how do you know if your social life is benefiting you? How can you tell if you are lacking? Though it might seem obvious that one would crave social interaction if it were missing, this is not always the case. In fact, people who lack social relationships or are excluded often withdraw from others and sometimes even lash out against those who try to become close to them. This reaction results in a vicious cycle that can lead to depression and other forms of psychopathology.

On the other hand, the benefits of being happily social are many. Studies have shown that people who are happy perform better at work, earn higher incomes, are more likely to get and stay married, have more of a perceived purpose in life, are more productive, and might even be less likely to suffer from certain diseases and physical ailments. Positive social relationships affect hormonal, cardiovascular and immune systems of the body; the health hormone oxytocin is released, which lowers blood pressure, increases ability to handle stress and increases desire to engage in more positive social contact. Decreased incidence of

cancer as well as an increased resistance to upper respiratory infections has been reported in socially active people, and social men had lower levels of antigens indicating prostate disease.

Links have been made between lack of positive social behaviour in societies (for example, volunteering, trust, reciprocity) and crime and corruption. Promoting positive, long-term relationships for ourselves and for others is important, especially if we find ourselves withdrawing from our circles or if we find ourselves unwilling to engage in social interaction. Constantly cultivating a social aspect to our own lives is a crucial part of ensuring our own happiness, health, and that of the community we live in.

It may be difficult at first, especially with interminable project due dates and other deadlines filling up the calendar, to set aside social time with friends, family, and maybe even new people. If you are used to setting aside giant chunks of time for studying, consider breaking it up and planning for a couple of chats with roommates in between sessions. You could also schedule a dinner or outing, with start and end times pre-determined, with friends and/or family on an evening during the week so there is something to look forward to. As an incentive to try these measures, know that you will be avoiding a slippery slope into bad health, while improving not only your own happiness and well-being, but your physical health as well!

pride issue queercore • sky gilbert’s new book • hamlet’s dorm men who stare at goats • ron hawkins • gay postsecret

index

C2 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

thursday, november 12, 2009

Senior Editor: Grace Evans Entertainment Editor: Myles Herod Music Editor: Corrigan Hammond Contributors: Kevin Elliot, Phil Wood, Roxanne Hathway-Baxter, Chris Hoy, Dan Hawie, Harrison Cruikshank, Julie Compton, Jemma Wolfe, Matt Herron, Noah Nemoy, Derek Hung

Cover: Will van Engen

this week

what’s inside

in the hammer

feature

Ron Hawkins: “Ron Hawkins, one of this country’s most acclaimed songwriters released his eleventh album, 10 Kinds of Lonely, this October.”

nov. 20 nov. 30

Ron Hawkins Hamilton Place Studio 8:00 p.m.

Stone Temple Pilots Copps Coliseum 8:00 p.m.

Holly McNarland Casbah 9:00 p.m.

andy’s pick

Protest The Hero 1280 8:00 p.m.

because it’s happy hour somewhere...

p.10

dec. 10

Karl Wolf Absinthe 8:00 p.m.

now

music

nov. 13

p.12

nov. 14

Men Who Stare At Goats: “Ditched by his wife for a one-armed co-worker, journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) flees to Iraq in desperation of making something of his crumbling life.”

nov. 17

write for andy. musc b110.

art

Sacks and the City Art Gallery of Hamilton 123 King St., Hamilton 905-577-6610 ext. 248 info@artgalleryofhamilton. com

sept.12-nov.8

film

Don Henley Copps Coliseum 8:00 p.m.

nov. 17

p.4

The Wooden Sky Absinthe 8:00 p.m.

nov. 18

p.8

The Constantines Casbah 8:00 p.m

The Balconies 1280 9:00 p.m.

nov. 18

Hamlet’s Dorm: “When I walked into the dress rehearsal for Hamlet’s Dorm, six Hamlets were snuggling together in a bed on stage, Damien Rice was blasting from the sound system, and the director was singing ‘little Hammies, in pyjammies.’ “

music

Lights Copps Coliseum 8:00 p.m

nov. 19

Queercore: “A counterculture within a subculture? That’s disenfranchisement once removed, a somewhat rare thing. It’s also pretty cool, at least when it’s intentionally self-imposed, and for good reason.”

Westdale Theatre Law Abiding Citizen Wed-Sat: 9:20

The Sadies Casbah 8:00 p.m.

theatre nov .24-jan.3

culture

opening

p.6

2012 Pirate Radio The Messenger Women in Trouble

playng

film

nov. 20

Thats Entertainment: “It may come as some surprise to you, but many significant artists, writers, actors and musicians are gay or bisexual. For some, this sexuality is woven into their work, and helps define them as creative forces.”

White Christmas

by Ron Ulrich Theatre Aquarius 190 King William St. 1-800-465-7529 boxoffice@theatreaquarius.org

messed up computers. messed up aerosmith. cary grant. cereal three times a day. the rockettes. sarah bolduc.

write for andy please meetings are mondays @ 1:30 MUSC b110

andy@ thesil.ca

thursday, november 12, 2009

f.u.b.a.r.

member, voted for the gay themed romance.

Why is this a taboo subject? Well, in Brokeback’s case, its editorial column defeat came with many myles herod of the older academy member’s (and I mean What’s the deal with Hollywood? old) distain in what they saw A town built on the reputation of as America’s purest genre, the such liberal ideals, yet so afraid of Western, tarnished by two men the lending voice to the gay and falling in love and (gasp) having lesbian community. Sadly, the term sex. The decrepit Ernest Borgnine, homosexual still holds negative all of 92 years young, had the most connotations within the world disheartening comments of all, of cinema. As of recent, the 2005 stating, “I didn’t see it and I don’t film Brokeback Mountain, which care to see it…If John Wayne were garnered eight Oscar nominations alive, he’d be rolling over in his for its portrayal of two gay grave.” While the actor’s slur came cowboys, was met with as many across as appallingly arrogant, it discriminators as it had admirers. also reinforced a hidden fear, a fear A frontrunner for best that some in tinsel town cannot picture, its legacy as the first comfortably market homosexuality crossover film to achieve such to the masses or accept it themselves.

With the exceptions of prestige was not to be. When Jack Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Nicolson announced the winner on the night of March 5th, a Harris, the choice in coming out has dismayed murmur rang out in long been acknowledged as career the Kodak Theatre, as the racially suicide. A notable example is that charged Crash beat out the film so of Rock Hudson: dashing leading many felt was the best film of the man, recognized for romantic year. Even Nicholson was shocked, comedies of the 1960’s. One of the stating to reporters afterwards first major stars to succumb to the that he, a long serving academy AIDS pandemic, Hudson’s death

column

was thought to be the result of a tainted blood transfusion. When word got out of his homosexuality, many colleagues, including friends had no idea of his secretive life.

More recently, Jodie Foster, respected actress and twotime Oscar winner, reluctantly admitted to her homosexuality, not by means of self acceptance but from being outed by non other than self proclaimed “Queen of All Media” Perez Hilton and the LGBT magazine, Out. Her script choices have strangely stalled in the last few years from a creative standpoint.

As for Perez, he’s a selfmade industry. A magnet of much criticism, Hilton’s tactics have not only outed Jodie Foster and Lance Bass, but have gone onto speculate the personal lives of Tom Cruise and silver haired CNN reporter Anderson Cooper.

While Cruise’s sexuality has been widely discussed and written about, most recently in Andrew Morton’s unauthorized biography, these accusations have taken a backseat to his inane theories of psychiatry and the almighty Xenu.

I can see Hilton’s intent.

Although obnoxious in terms of degrading his peers, he strives for

the big tickle compiled by michelle ng &

“i don’t know, is lady gaga queer?”

nikki roy

the silhouette’s art + culture magazine • C3 unification in an industry still weary of the unknown, where the perception of an actor and their sexuality are still highly magnified.

The film genre known as New Queer Cinema, a sub category of the American independent film movement started in the late 1980s, focusing heavily on issues of identity and culture, bringing about a bevy of talent that is still prospering in Hollywood today.

Its most prominent graduate, director Gus Van Sant, started off on low budget features, casting unknown street kids and imbuing a stylistic atmosphere in black and white rather than develop a full formed narrative.

Over the years he has gradually moved away from his humble beginnings and onto high profile pictures such as Good Will Hunting, Elephant, and My Own Private Idaho – which quite possibly features Keanu Reeves’ greatest acting achievement, as a homeless street hustler.

Just last year, Van Sant reached an artistic apex where his film, Milk, received eight Oscar nominations. Centering on the political career of Harvey Milk, it boldly confronted the homosexual

culture of San Francisco in the 1970s as well as the bigotry felt and still seen today (Proposition 8).

For his portrayal of the slain gay politician, Sean Penn won his second Oscar, making up for Brokeback Mountain’s robbery only three years prior. In a speech that reflected California’s recent choice in opposing equal rights for same sex partners, Penn, in moment of world wide attention, challenged the resistance stating “I think it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect, and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if that continues in way of support.” As the crowd erupted with cheers and applause, he bookended his speech with a plea for alliance, “We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.”

In an industry where almost anything goes, it’s amazing that this topic is still an issue.

Then again, there’s hatred all over the world, far removed from the smoke and mirrors of sunny Los Angeles and the cultural metropolis of New York City. For all the good this generation has to offer, there will always be the bad. Let’s hope things change.

q: who is your favourite queer artist or actor?

christopher chang

“sir ian mckellan.” nelly sharma

“i don’t have one.” phil picassinos

“neil patrick harris.” david zhitomirsky

“ivan e. coyote” elizabeth cripps

C4 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

feature

to frosh or not to frosh

thursday, november 12, 2009

andy looks at mcmaster theatre’s interpretation of hamlet’s dorm When I walked into the dress rehearsal for Hamlet’s Dorm, six Hamlets were snuggling together in a bed on stage, Damien Rice was blasting from the sound system, and the director was singing “little Hammies, in pyjammies…” with some stagehands to the tune of the Bananas In Pajamas theme song. It was clear that this is no ordinary production of Hamlet.

This fall, the Theatre & Film Studies 3S03: Major Production Workshop class is presenting an adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic Hamlet. Twenty students, under the direction of Professor Peter Cockett, have been working since September on all aspects of the show’s production to produce a fresh take on the centuries-old masterpiece.

The show, which opens today at the Robinson Memorial Theatre, is Shakespeare at his most contemporary. Staged in a university dorm, Hamlet is reinvented as a university student struggling with the usual problems of papers, friends, exams, and romance. Oh, and the fact that his dad, the University of Elsinore’s President, who has been murdered by Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, is pestering him to avenge his death.

By setting the play on campus, Dr. Cockett explained how “Hamlet is a play about choices, self-defining decisions that determine our identities. Hamlet is a student and a university setting is perfect for the play because student years are formative years.

Decisions made at university determine the kind of people we become in later life.”

In Hamlet’s Dorm, we get to watch Hamlet struggle with decisions that define who he is, and what he will be, in a way that is relevant to students. This production incorporates a tremendous amount of multimedia to reinforce the modernity of the play, and make modern audiences connect. Contemporary music such as Nine Inch Nails and Damien Rice, three different projection screens, Skype, cell phones, and laptops are all part of Hamlet’s Dorm. On top of this, Dr. Cockett said, “The action of our play … takes place in Hamlet’s bedroom. The other characters are constantly invading the room and there is a sense that the very walls are porous. Our play examines the notion of the private and the public in our society today. Increased surveillance and people’s willingness to

publish their lives on the Internet have altered the way we form our identities.”

Shakespeare’s original script has been heavily edited and rearranged, bringing the running time of the play down to an hour and a half, compared to the four hours a classical production would entail. Scenes have been reorganized or eliminated, and some lines are borrowed from other scenes, yet every word in the play is still Shakespeare’s own. This creates an interesting experience for those familiar with the original script.

On the other hand, those who don’t have a firm grasp of the plot and language of the play may be confused at some points of the performance by the multiple actors playing one character. In this production, there are six Hamlets and two Ophelias. As Dr. Cockett explained, “You can’t take one person to represent everybody else because we live in a diverse society…if we’re going to have a Hamlet that speaks to our community then we need to have several Hamlets… so people can find different ways to access the character that Shakespeare wrote 406 years ago.” This leads to one particularly powerful moment during the dress rehearsal when the “To be or not to be” soliloquy was presented. All six Hamlets, functioning as one person, spoke over, or following each other, creating the most unique version of that iconic scene I have ever witnessed.

All of the actors are locals or McMaster students from every year and faculty, who attended the open auditions in September.

Chances are you’ll see someone you know.

Giving me one last word on the show, Dr. Cockett stated: “I hope [the audience will] have a good time. I hope they enjoy themselves.

I hope they’ll reflect on the decisions that they are making in their lives today, and the way that these formative university years will influence the people they become.”

Show dates for Hamlet’s Dorm are Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. (a preview performance with special $5.00 rate), Nov. 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, and 21 at 8 p.m., and Nov. 14 and 21 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10.00 for students and $15.00 for adults. To order tickets call 905-525-9140, extension 24246. All performances are held in Robinson Memorial Theatre on the first floor of Chester New Hall. Check out the Facebook for Hamlet’s Dorm for more details.

•Jemma Wolfe

thursday, november 12, 2009

literature

the silhouette’s art + culture magazine • C5

undressed and unconventional

andy explores the life and work of hamilton playwright sky gilbert Sky Gilbert has taken a break from the stage to publish a stimulating new collection of poetry.

The slim glossy volume is a lime-green colour and an uninhabited pair of tighty-whiteys lies flat on the cover. The title is printed in small black letters across the waistband: A Nice Place To Visit. It is impossible to overlook.

Though he wears many outfits (including the self-proclaimed “drag queen extraordinaire”) Gilbert is most well known for his abilities as a playwright and artistic director. He was involved with the Buddies in Bad Times theatre in Toronto for eighteen years before he moved to Hamilton.

In 2007, Gilbert founded Hammertheatre, a production group devoted to theatre research in Hamilton. Their most recent presentation was a locally placed and unabashedly intimate performance entitled Why We Tortured Him: A Meditation On The Nature of Violence, written and directed by Sky Gilbert. Although Gilbert chose to relocate the play to a smaller theatre, it got a great review in a popular local paper and proved to be a powerful performance despite the early opposition that spurred its unfortunate removal from Theatre Aquarius’s lineup.

Like much of his prolific body of work, the universe of Gilbert’s poems is bizarre, funny, and sexual. They assemble a colourful array of different objects from all over the world. Sub-par films, an Uncle’s old photos of Nagasaki during the war, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and Shakespeare all make an appearance.

As if mirroring the array of characters and subjects, the writing style is unusual and never fails to intrigue.

Not one of the forty seven poems has a rhyme scheme but some lines are rhythmically driven; others are numbered lists, diary entries, or movie reviews; there are a set of three prose poems near the beginning that are tragic and beautiful.

As a whole, the wide variety defies dedication to any one style or genre. But that is part of the appeal of poetry, the ability to adapt it to whatever purpose the writer wishes, no matter what tradition forbids or the status quo demands. In his own arena, beyond ridicule or reach, the writer has complete creative control. Poetry is not for erecting boundaries but for

breaking them down, something Gilbert is familiar with both on the stage and off.

The opening poem follows from the cover. It is entitled “Don’t Sleep With Anyone Who,” and packs three pages of amusing and, perhaps for some, distressful advice on when to keep your underwear on.

Arguably one of the best titles in the book begins a humorous denunciation of economic discrimination: “Why I Would Rather Chat With A Hamilton Crack Whore Than An Old Rich Toronto Lady With A Lapdog.”

Ultimately, though, the main subject is the writer himself. This slim book is a lime-green spotlight into the heart of an edgy playwright. He fills his poems with people from his life, both past and present; with thoughts on sex and advice on love; with his fears, his desires, and his weird sense of humor.

While some of the poems are erratic, and others seem at times to drag on too long, they usually hit the mark.

Gilbert’s forays into unexpected territories are revealing personally, and possess an everpresent lust for both the ‘dark and dangerouslooking’ gardeners at his father’s house, and for a better understanding of himself.

In the last verse of a poem called “Parker Posey” the author compares himself to the actress whose name is in the title: We are superior, awkward, lonely in a crowded room always on the lookout for a drug that will kill our next child in vitro always hungrily kissing because we seriously lack self-esteem and highly, highly underrated With such honest and affectionate accounts, the reader can get to know the writer in ways that are not possible through his plays.

The collection culminates with the “Queer Manifesto,” which is a proud denunciation of ‘dogmatism and pretentious imbecility’ in defense of the existence of queer. So ‘Say it proudly / We’re all fuckin queer’, and if you want more of Sky Gilbert keep one eye to the Hamilton Theatre Scene and another on the shelves of your local bookstore. There is plenty to go around.

•Matt Herron

C6 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

feature

thursday, november 12, 2009

that’s entertainment

harrison cruikshank pays tribute to notable queers in the arts For some writers, actors and musicians that identify as queer, their sexuality is woven into their work, and helps define them as creative forces. Others view their work as a separate entity from their sexual orientation, recognizing it as a significant part of their life, but no more significant than any of their other traits or experiences. Regardless, in the spirit of pride let us recognize the some of these creators and their accomplishments, both in the gay and art communities respectively.

Notable artists include Leonardo Da Vinci (14521519), whose contributions to the worlds of art and science are virtually unmatched, Louise Abbéma (1853-1927), Leonor Fini (1908-1996), Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Caravaggio, (1571-1610) whose paintings were laden with homoerotic subtext. Queer writers include a poet whom our future University President is an expert on, W. H. Auden (19071973), Lord Byron (1788-1824), Tennessee Williams (19111983), Stephen Sondheim (1930-), Truman Capote (19431984), Douglas Coupland (1961-), and Chuck Palahniuk (1962-), author of Fight Club.

The written word can have great influence on society, as can the writer, two traits exemplified through Gore Vidal (1925-) and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). In 1948, Vidal attracted incredible criticism from mainstream critics as he released The City and the Pillar, one of the first American novels to feature unabashed homosexuality, and Wilde, a fantastic playwright, was one of the first to fight for homosexual rights in Britain as a member of the Order of Chaeronea, a secret society whose goal was to end homosexual oppression.

Queer actors have also traditionally been on the forefront of improving gay rights. Marlon Brando (19242004) was one of the first openly bisexual actors in Hollywood and his casual approach to sexuality paved the way for many mainstream actors to come out after him. Rock Hudson

(1925-1985) also disrupted mainstream views of queers when his homosexuality was revealed in death.

Concealing his homosexuality for his entire life to preserve his image as a wholesome manly-man in the acting world, Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, one of the first major celebrities to succumb to the illness. Hudson’s death helped give HIV the mainstream attention it required. Ian McKellen (1939-) is another notable actor whose pursuit of equal rights for homosexuals is commendable. Commander of the Order of the British Empire since ’79 and a knight since ‘91, Gandalf’s credentials speak for themselves. In 1988, McKellen came out of the closet and helped found Stonewall, one of the United Kingdom’s most prominent LGBT rights groups.

Other notable gay or bisexual actors include Joan Crawford (1905-1977), George Takei (1937-), Jane Lynch (1960-) Rosie O’Donnell (1962-), Andy Dick (1965-), Drew Barrymore (1975-), Angelina Jolie (1975-) and Neil Patrick Harris (1973-), whose recent coming out in 2006 has in no way affected his ability to play a very convincing and sleazy womanizer in How I Met Your Mother.

Many great musicians of note were gay or bisexual as well, including celebrated Romantic composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). It was revealed through his correspondence posthumously that Tchaikovksy was comfortable with his homosexuality, but recognizing the negative impacts it could have on his work and family kept it a secret. Other musicians of note include, but are not limited to, Joan Baez (1941-), Janis Joplin (19431970), Lesley Gore (1946-), Sinead O’Connor (1966-), Ani DiFranco (1970), Billie Joe Armstrong (1972-), Rufus Wainwright (1973-), Clay Aiken (1978-), Lance Bass (1979), Owen Pallett (1979), Stefani Germanotta a.k.a. Lady Gaga, (1986-) and Tegan and Sara Quinn (1980-). Being twin homosexual sisters in a band together gets Tegan

ILLUSTRATION C/O ANDREW BAILEY

and Sara a little extra attention, but they dislike that their sexuality receives so much attention in relation to their music, not seeing it as so significant. An attitude that is now shared in part by someone who was once one of the most notable representatives of the LBGT community in music is David Bowie (1947-).

Once stating that he was “trysexual,” that is to say that he would try anything once, Bowie has since distanced himself with his bisexuality, claiming that for him it was just a product of the glam rock era and experimental, and that he was really a closeted heterosexual. Regardless, Bowie`s gender-bending outfits, and openly bisexual relationship with his wife of the 70’s, and outstanding music of all sorts have made him a significantly influential figure in both the LGBT community and the music industry.

Bowie’s superstardom allowed for many to be more comfortable with their own sexuality, a comfortability that has allowed other queer musicians to fight for causes. In 1976 Elton John (1947-) announced his bisexuality, and in 1984 he announced his homosexuality. Since 1986, Elton has used his music and his influence to help raise money and awareness for the fight against AIDS. His conviction in this fight is not in small part inspired by the deaths of his friends from AIDS, including Freddie Mercury (1946-1991).

While open about his sexuality since 1974, critics seemed to overlook this, and since Freddie was never one to detail his personal life, his flamboyance was seen mostly as just for show until his death in 1991 from AIDS. While his death was sad to say the least, it marks an important event in the fight against AIDS, as after his death his band mates in Queen organized the Mercury Phoenix Trust as well as a tribute concert for Freddie, all in the name of fighting HIV and AIDS. •Harrison Cruikshank

thursday, november 12, 2009

feature

the silhouette’s art + culture magazine • C7

cards of confession

postsecret provides a space for those still inside the closet Sex and sexuality play mirrored roles in our society.

They are both heavily provocative topics, and when we’re not throwing everything that we think about sex and sexuality at each other in fevered discussion, we’re repressing any trace of them from our daily lives.

For the most part, western society is still uncomfortable with human sexuality. Sure, we may be bombarded with sexual imagery and messages from all sides the minute we tune into the “tell-lievision,” or even walk outside, but those are arguably projections of sexuality that have been carefully constructed and rigidly enforced through a patriarchal and heterosexist filter. And on the flip side, most of us have been raised not to think about sex, and when that fails, we hide everything sexual about ourselves behind closed doors. We may joke about sex, boast about it, and even sometimes talk about it between friends, but for the most part we stray away from naked and honest conversation, afraid of what we’ll reveal of ourselves once we really get into it. Worse still, those who do not strictly identify as “heterosexual” are taught to keep everything about themselves a secret, and indeed much of the queer community is still misrepresented in our society. As it is, sexual desire is mostly frowned upon, especially sexual desire that doesn’t fit into social norms. A lot of the clandestine nature of sex-related secrets can be seen in PostSecret, the wildly popular project created

by Frank Warren in 2005.

PostSecret, which began as a community art project before becoming a weekly blog, has become nothing short of a virtual confessional booth for thousands. The PostSecret project includes the website that is updated every Sunday; Frank Warren pours over the thousands of secrets he receives that week before selecting twenty or so to post to the blog.

Warren has also put out five collections of secrets in book form, the latest PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God.

The anonymous nature of PostSecret allows anybody to confess anything without feeling shame or judgement. As a result, many of the confessions express the sense of freedom found within the ability to finally share a secret. It shows: the secrets that are posted every Sunday on the PostSecret website range from light-hearted to harrowing. Contrasting ones about secret crushes or leaving poetry in library books are the ones about abuse, rape, death, suicide and other topics that are not discussed in the restrictive air of casual conversation between friends. And it’s

not surprising – the emotional release found within being able to finally tell someone about the trauma caused by an unspeakable incident is too good to be true for many whose options for emotional support include those who may react with shock, or worse, denial and rejection. So then it only makes sense that a huge bulk of the secrets featured within the PostSecret books and the website are those confessing sexual thoughts, desires and activities that do not conform to the social norms of a heterosexist society.

“I think about women...when I’m having sex with my husband” reads one card. “Sometimes I wish I was a BOY so I could make out with other girls,” reads another. One card even reads “I’m scared to death that my son will grow up to realize I’m gay and won’t love me anymore.” Secrets like these aren’t uncommon, and each of them are completely unique, right down to their design and presentation. More importantly, all of them are (presumably) secrets that have never been told to anybody else. And for those who are afraid to even mention in the slightest what makes their hearts tick, PostSecret is often the best fix in several ways. Aside from being able to confess a secret, just seeing a secret that reveals a situation similar to your own can be a validating experience.

The loneliness and isolation often felt by those who belong to the queer community, who may also feel stuck and out of options for dealing with their lives, is greatly alleviated through simply recognizing another human being who feels equally disempowered.

PostSecret then ends up working two ways: as a place of amnesty and confession, and as a place of recognition and connection.

The more I read the secrets posted on the PostSecret website, the more I am convinced that there is no such thing as “normal,” and that normalcy is a lie that keeps us from really seeing each other. I’m not saying that everybody is crazy, I’m just saying that it’s insane to force each other to adhere to a “normal” way of living, when so much of what we do goes against what is commonly agreed upon as “normal.”

PostSecret won’t inspire all of us to suddenly act kinder to each other or be more open. But just knowing that one other person shares a pain or predicament similar to your own is enough to let you know that you’re not alone. And PostSecret gives you more than one, it gives you thousands. What excuse will we have then for thinking of ourselves as the sum of our surfaces?

None. And that’s as good a start as any.

•Derek Hung

C8 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

feature

thursday, november 12, 2009

from the underground

andy’s kevin elliott discusses queercore, a punk counterculture

A counterculture within a subculture?

That’s disenfranchisement once removed, a somewhat rare thing.

It’s also pretty cool, at least when it’s intentionally selfimposed, and for good reason. When most people think of queer movements and queer groups in modern-day Western society, they’re likely to think of GLAAD, commonplace gay-rights activist groups fighting for equal rights, such as gay marriage, or probably even stereotypical depictions of gays in the mainstream media. There’s always two sides to every coin though: believe it or not, not every queer person would support anti-defamation against gays; not every queer person would be willing to advocate for gay rights; and certainly not every gay person resembles the happy-go-lucky and flamboyant Standford Blatch from Sex and the City.

Introduce queercore: a DYI-oriented underground punk counterculture that not only actively resists the mainstream, hetero-normative culture, but also resists the mainstream queer culture, which is composed of the types of groups who are “supposed” to represent them, such as GLAAD or gay-rights activists, for example.

Queercore got its roots in zines in the mid-1980s, but it soon transgressed into music, becoming a sub-genre of punk. The movement began in 1985 with the Toronto-based queer punk zine J.D.s, which would go on to influence more queercore zines such as Holy Titclamps, Homocore, Chainsaw, and Matt Wobensmith’s Outpunk. J.D.s had originally labelled the movement “homocore” but Wobensmith introduced the name “queercore” to better reflect the diversity of the queer groups the movement represented. Soon the movement grew to encompass mostly hardcore punk bands, but also involved records, clubs, videos, films, and even novels.

What makes queercore so intriguing and distinct from other, more mainstream queer groups? Queercore is a radical queer counterculture that can be, at times, quite violent in their opposition to the dominant queer culture.

The queercore zine BIMBOX once proclaimed that they were “at war with gays and lesbians.” It continued: “FACT: All victims of gay bashing deserve what they get.” Keep in mind that these declarations were written by queers.

Although the sometimes violent and hurtful methods which some queercore activists pursue are certainly debatable and not necessarily effective or condonable — nor reflective of the entire queercore movement — their motives, which exemplify queercore as a whole, do tackle an important dilemma which has plagued every minority group in recent modern history: identity through difference versus identity through sameness.

At issue with queercore groups is a variety of problems, all of which queer countercultures maintain are a threat to their queer identities. A main catalyst for the formation of queercore was their opposition to the assimilation of queer life into mainstream society.

Queercore represents a struggle over distinction between them and the mainstream queer culture, as queercore’s purpose is to establish an “us versus them” mentality; radical queer countercultures are against assimilation while the mainstream queer culture tries to achieve it. Queercore advocates resistance rather than the submission and therefore reproduction of the practices of domination that constantly push queer groups onto the path of normalization. Essentially, queercore is fighting to maintain their unique identities as queers.

For queercore, gay marriage doesn’t make gay people more free; instead it makes them less free, because their unique queer identity is becoming incorporated into mainstream society.

Queercore continues to make headway today.

Le Tigre, one of the first and most prominent queercore feminist bands, whose formation resulted from the underground punk feminist movement riot grrrl of the 1990s, reunited in 2009 to the delight of many. Olympia, Washington has hosted the music festival HOMO A GO GO three times since 2002, featuring performances by queercore bands, as well as film showings and booth setups for queercore zine artists to share and distribute their zines.

Last summer the festival was held in San Francisco for the first time. A similar festival, Queeruption, is hosted by a different city each year, and has visited Berlin, Rome, New York, and London in the past.

Closer to home, newer Canadian queercore bands are emerging and even adding electronic and folk elements to their music, such as Toronto’s Kids on TV and The Hidden Cameras. Montreal’s Lesbians on Ecstasy, who have previously toured with Le Tigre, are gradually turning heads throughout North America.

The queercore punk scene has also been blossoming in the U.K. lately with a plethora of new bands thanks to the recent formations of Queer Mutiny, an anarchist queer organization in the U.K., and the English record company Local Kid, which is a self-described “DIY punk feminist” underground collective which seeks to create “pro-queer spaces where they don’t exist — which is pretty much everywhere,” and to whom “the music industry can kiss [their] shiny asses.” Cool.

•Kevin Elliott

thursday, november 12, 2009

off the web tee fury www.teefury.com If you haven’t already bookmarked this, you seriously need to check out Tee Fury, where just one type of super rare limited edition t-shirts are sold per day. Each day, a series of artists from around the world who contribute a new design, providing only a 24-hour time frame where you may luck out on the best shirt ever! Did I mention they’re super cheap?

•Dan Hawie lizzy the lezzy www.lizzythelezzy.com Lizzy takes “muff munching” and puts it to a tune. Featuring her own theme song and accompanying animations, she takes a humorous approach to queer issues such as coming out and being a single lesbian.

Describing the dictionary definition of “coming out,” sarcastically retorting the simplicity implied, she states, “that’s not going to go down well. The only thing that will go down well is me, on your daughter.” But truly, she does manage to

under the radar

flip these issues upon themselves and ease a bit of tension amidst some more stereotypical attitudes.

•Julie Compton

the silhouette’s art + culture magazine • C9

off the rack

slap upside the head www.slapupsidethehead.com The site’s slogan is “combating bigotry the gayest way I know,” which ought to be pretty indicative of the objectives, and the attitude of the administrators. This blog exposes current events and social issues, which negatively target homosexuality, and diffuses them for their absurdity. Take for example, Scholastic’s recent decision to censor a children’s book that featured a family headed by two mothers. A Canadian blog, its consistent updates make for informed and up-to-date perspectives on issues, without convoluting them.

•Julie Compton the uniform project www.theuniformproject.com Today is day 196 of The Uniform Project, an undertaking of Sheena Matheiken in which she reinvents the same dress every day for a year.

Having sewn seven identical black dresses, the idea is for Matheiken to put together a new outfit everyday around the dress with vintage or handmade accessories and layers.

•Grace Evans

Victoria Day Written and Directed by: David Bezmozgis Starring: Mark Rendall, Holly Deveaux, Scott Beaudin and John Mavrogiannis Victoria Day is one of those films that feels like a snapshot in time. A coming of age film it shows a week in the life of 16 year old Ben Spektor who has to deal with hockey, school, the search for a missing classmate, love, sex, friends, parents and fireworks in the week leading up to Victoria Day weekend. This first film of Toronto author David Bezmozgis had a limited summer indie release but is now out on DVD.

Set in 1988 North York, Ben Spektor (Mark Rendall) is the star of his hockey team while the entire city is obsessed with Gretzky’s Oilers Stanley Cup run. Considered by family, friends, and rivals alike to have the potential to be the next Gretzky, he’s pushed to excel at both hockey and school. While Ben is on the verge of adulthood, he seems trapped in the past and idolizes the music and culture of the 60’s, along with his friends Sammy (John Mavrogiannis) and Noah (Scott Beaudin).

But Ben’s world starts to fall

apart when his rival and tormentor Jordan Chapam disappears at a Bob Dylan concert. He asked Ben to loan him five dollars for drugs at the concert and Ben is the last person to have seen him before his disappearance. The entire community becomes involved in the search and Ben starts to fall for and pursue Jordan’s sister Cayla (Holly Deveaux).

Ben’s week becomes one of contradictions and hypocrisy. He is outraged by his friends trying to use the situation to get on the news or skip school but Ben doesn’t come forward with what he knows.

His parents are angered that he’s ignoring his schoolwork by going out every night but are furious when he wants to give up hockey in favour of academics. At the same time that Ben feels that others are indifferent about Jordan’s disappearance, he’s going to parties or out with friends throughout the week. Throughout the movie Ben questions life and he doesn’t find easy answers.

Victoria Day is a fairly short film running just an hour and a half, but it’s one of those movies where the acting, story, and directing blend together seamlessly. It doesn’t really say anything but it’s a good representation of those awkward teenage years we all faced before we realised that the world isn’t the same as it use to be when we were younger.

•Noah Nemoy

music

C10 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

thursday, november 12, 2009

rompin’ with ron

canadian indie rock vet ron hawkins speaks with andy Ron Hawkins, one of this country’s most acclaimed songwriters released his eleventh album, 10 Kinds of Lonely, this October. And indeed, in the nearly two decades since his first band, The Lowest of the Low released 1991’s Shakespeare My Butt, Hawkins has essentially had three distinct careers.

When the Lowest of the Low split up in 1994, Hawkins put together a new project, The Rusty Nails. However, because their sound, as a more roots oriented, rockabilly project, was such a musical departure from The Lowest of the Low, Hawkins spent the later half of the nineties carving out a new niche for himself in the Canadian music scene.

“The Lowest of the Low crowd and the Rusty Nails crowd seem to have been two different crowds,” Hawkins explained. “When I started the Rusty Nails, a lot of the Low fans came out sort of to check it out and see what it was about. And I think I lost of a lot of the Lowest of the Low fans in the Rusty Nails because either they were put off by the horns or they just didn’t support the direction that the band was going in… But then the Rusty Nails gained a whole big fan base of their own because at first we realised that their were a whole lot of people yelling out Lowest of the Low songs at Rusty Nails shows.”

“Then when I did the Lowest of the Low reunions [in 2002 and 2004,]” he chuckled, “the funny thing that happened was that suddenly people were yelling out Rusty Nails songs ... and it was a sort of weird kind of justice after the all the Low songs that the Rusty Nails had to hear.”

It was around this same time that Hawkins’ influence, despite the praise that had being garnered upon Shakespeare My Butt since its release, upon the Canadian music scene began to receive explicit recognition from the music industry. Now Magazine voted Hawkins Songwriter of the Year in 2000. And then in 2008, The Lowest of the Low were inducted into the Canadian Indie Music Hall of Fame.

“It’s funny, Hawkins explained, “[because] with the Lowest of the Low, we always felt when we were doing it like we were incredibly popular and had a great grass roots audience but were not necessarily paid that much attention to inside of the industry. So [after] a lot of [these] things, [like] when we were being inducted into the Indie Rock Hall of Fame, I said: ‘does that mean we’re dead?

Are we dead now? Are we dead?’ Because it just seems so much like something that happens to you after you die.”

These awards, Hawkins explained, “[are] an acknowledgment of an achievement that we had with Lowest of the Low. And you know, The Songwriter of The Year in 2000, it’s a readers poll. So that sort of means something [else] to me. That sort of means there are an awful lot of people in Toronto in 2000 who hadn’t forgotten that I was writing music.”

Just as Hawkins broke with his audience’s expectations when he formed the

Rusty Nails in 1997, with his new disc, 10 Kinds of Lonely, he again set out to explore new musical territory.

“It sort of happened really organically. The first couple songs came out just naturally,” he explained. Indeed, “The Devil Goes Down,” which was the first song he recorded for this disc, set the tone for the rest of the record.

“I was kind of doing a bit of a Steve Earl impression when I was singing it. I felt like I was doing a country impression on that tune, but then it felt so right when I was singing it and playing like that, that the more songs came out, the more it just sort of fell into that folk-country, alt-country vibe.”

“In the past I think I’ve had a kind of protestant work ethic sort of engrained in me, which is that I equate a long struggle and chopping away and sculpting a song with it being good. What I learned right away was that I had a couple of good songs that happened in like twenty minutes or something and they were really good. I started to unravel that, think ‘wow, the amount of time you spend on it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better of worse or whatever.’ The minute I stopped that, the minute I opened that door, it seemed that a lot of these songs flowed really naturally and quickly.”

Despite his critical success, Hawkins has long been plagued by the very different legacy of his namesake, Toronto-based rock and roll pioneer, Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins. “A lot of people think we are related as well, but we’re not related at all,” Hawkins laughed.

“Maybe o n c e every six

months or something, I get a drunken phone call at like two in the morning, usually from some Irish lady or something who’s looking for Ronnie. I don’t know if she’s looking for a, you know, friend with benefits or something. But he’s definitely out getting a lot of older ladies calling. And I have to sort of set them straight on that one!” he joked.

Hawkins is playing at the Hamilton Place Studio on Nov. 18.

•Corrigan Hammond

in stereo

thursday, november 12, 2009

classic review

the silhouette’s art + culture magazine • C11

featured review

Owen Pallett’s (aka Final Fantasy) sophmore album is beautifully theatrical and musically complex.

2006’s He Poos Clouds, was the winner of the prestigious Polaris Music Award for the best Canadian album of the year. Comprised of ten tracks, eight of which are based on the famous game, Dungeons and Dragons, Pallett constructs a powerful and dark narrative that seems like it should be performed on a dimly lit stage in an old theatre.

Pallett’s background as a classical musician is evident throughout the album. The songs feature heavy string accompaniment

that builds up intensely and come to a much-anticipated releases.

He is masterful at creating string arrangements and this deviation from the typical musical limits of the indie-pop genre is completely refreshing.

Lyrically, the album delves into several different themes with as much variety as the instrumentation. Some songs are cryptic, dealing with issues like death and loneliness, whereas others are far brighter. The songwriting of the album is very creative and effectively tells engaging stories – notably, “This Lamb Sells Condos” which depicts a fictional interaction between Toronto real estate agent, Brad J. Lamb, and his wife.

He Poos Clouds is a musically diverse and lyrically fantastic album.

Pallett is an extremely talented musician and his songs all have a unique sound that translates into a

great listening experience. The dark subject matter is richly cloaked with skillful orchestration that is easy to get lost in. He Poos Clouds is a triumphant Canadian achievement and a musical masterpiece.

•Roxanne Hathway-Baxter

The Derek Trucks Band Already Free

Baroness Blue Record

The Black Heart Procession Six

Jay Z The Blue Print 3

Although he is just 30 years old, it seems like Derek Trucks has been around forever. He played with his uncle, Butch Trucks, in The Allman Brothers when he was just twelve. Since then he has become a virtuoso guitar player. Already Free is the Derek Trucks Band eighth CD since its self-titled debut in 1997. It has a definite southern feel to it in the blues/rock/soul genre. The group’s vocalist, Mike Mattison, has a gritty, soulful voice that is perfectly suited to the group’s music. The best tracks are covers: Dylan’s “Down The Flood,” soul legend Dan Penn’s “Sweet Inspiration” and “Something To Make You Happy” written by Paul Pena. The CD has a live feel to it, probably because it was recorded in the group’s home studio. The playing is great with Trucks wife Susan Tedeschi doing a fine vocal turn on “Back Where I Started.”

•Phil Wood

Georgia’s other favourite sludgemetal band (not Mastadon) crafts a truly epic masterpiece with their aptly named second album, Blue Record. Opting to rein in the muscular grunt of previous work, Baroness doesn’t sacrifice intensity, but instead refines it into a cosmic landscape of churning rhythms and cascading melodies.

The band effortlessly surges through devastatingly beautiful prog-rock arrangements, utilizing a rich palette of sounds that twists through spacey leads to roaring riffs only to melt into a contemplative lull, always dripping of a dirty southern charm. This is the kind of record to be ingested as a whole while you listen through a pair of good headphones, kick back somewhere and lose yourself in the music. Illegal substances optional.

•Chris Hoy

If the band name isn’t enough of a hint, the cleverly titled Six, courtesy of The Black Heart Procession has been released just in time to be the soundtrack to both Halloween, and its post October gloom. I highly suggest you refrain from listening to this if you’re expecting anything but a novelty album heavily calculated in the dark arts of witchcraft, and selfloathing. With tracks ranging from “Drugs” to “Wasteland,” and even “Suicide,” TBHP have certainly succeeded in creating the ideal Rob Zombie movie soundtrack. If you forget the overlapping existential droning, the production of Six proves somewhat redeeming: layers of eerie funeral organs, chilling percussion, and a roaring choir of the undead. If this album doesn’t work for you, it at least will in scaring away trick-or-treaters next year.

•Dan Hawie

While the first half of The Blue Print 3 lives up to the standards that Jay Z set with the first instalment in the now three part Blue Print series, many of the lacklustre elements of The Blue Print 2 plague the second half of the disc. The album’s first five tracks, including New York City’s current defacto anthem, “Empire State of Mind,” are among the rapper’s strongest work since returning from his short-lived retirement in 2007. Despite duets with the Kanye West and Kid Cudi, the massive momentum of the first half of the album dissipates into blandness following the disc’s sixth track. These tracks aren’t necessarily bad though, they just don’t live up to Jay Z’s usual standards.

•Corrigan Hammond

HHHH

HHHH

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Final Fantasy He Poos Clouds

Gossip Music for Men

HHHHH

The newest album from the threepiece American soul-punk band Gossip, Music for Men, closely follows their previous work with danceable, punk-laced tracks. Music for Men is a sweaty dance floor, album.

The power of the album is constant, and the songs all hold onto the same sort of sentiment that has garnered the band popularity: resistance and empowerment.

Some of the songs are grittier, with jagged guitar and violent drums, while others are more mixed with synthesizer and perky piano — but all are danceable. On the tracks that resemble disco, Brace Paine’s slinky guitars weave in and out of Hannah Blilie’s rapid drum precision.

Beth Ditto’s soul-punk vocals are strong and forceful. And if some of the songs seem familiar, that might be due to the many homages to vintage: Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye, among others.

“8th Wonder” is like a fierce telling off as Ditto’s repetition of “and if there’s another chance I’ll take it” marks it as a rousing postheartbreak anthem. “Heavy Cross” is another dance track with Ditto’s languid wailing overlapping with gentle synthesizers, before erupting into bursts of forceful something.

Music for Men is about dancing, sex, heartbreak, love and confidence; musically cutting and lyrically charged, this album could break your heart.

•Grace Evans

HHHH

C12 • the silhouette’s art + culture magazine

film

thursday, november 12, 2009

staring mediocrity in the face

clooney and cast falter with subversive comedy

The Men Who Stare at Goats Directed by: Grant Heslov Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor

HHH Ditched by his wife, journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) flees to Iraq in desperation of making something of his life. Hazily inspired by news stories about George W., and The War on Terror, he has an epiphany, jumps on a plane, and soon finds himself lost in Iraq with Special Forces operator Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). They get wrapped up in a mission to uncover truths about the New Earth Army founder Bill Django (Jeff Bridges, complete with braided ponytail).

A few other things happen somewhere in there as well, but the situation became rather convoluted and irrelevant quite quickly.

It was difficult to really know what to expect, going into the film. The movie poster, with its distinct graphic style borrowed from Saul Bass, prominent from the 1950s through the 1980s, was intriguing. Humorously

throwing in a goat, complete with a beard, next to the actor’s own distinct facial hair provoked curiosity. The trailer was funny. So maybe we find ourselves in theatres simply to answer the question, “what’s with the goat?”

Perhaps another casualty of book to film translation, the lack of supporting explanation for the plot and the practices of the US Army’s “Project Jedi” meant that the movie was devoid of any sustained exploration of the psychic investigations and military techniques. The book, upon which the film was based, by Jon Ronson, is a non-fiction account of New Age military techniques attempted by the US Army. Some of those featured in the film included the use of looped recordings of songs from Barney and Friends to inflict suffering on Iraqi captives; cloud-bursting techniques; and, of course, attempts to kill goats by staring at them.

With only a non-fiction assortment of controversial ideas to inspire a cohesive plot, it seemed instead that director Grant Heslov relied instead on his conglomerate of recognizable cast members to hold the film

together. Starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey it brings together a variety of backgrounds and talents, but ultimately fails to deliver. The extensive shots of Bob and Lyn wandering the desert could perhaps be taken as an atrocious metaphor for the lack of direction in the film.

If the intent was to provide a liberal critique of the US War on Terror, it was a very diluted one. It was impossible to realize the sheer absurdity of these mind-trick methods when they were paired with Will Ferrell-esque antics about colon irrigation, naked hot tub sessions, and goofy jokes about Lyn’s telepathic powers heightened to tunes of Boston. Complete with clichés about hippies and everyone tripping out on LSD, Kevin Spacey channeled his aloof, quirky acting habits perfectly into an acid trip about a scarab beetle.

Although George Clooney had his moments of dry humour, neither the storyline nor the comedy was particularly sophisticated. It seemed as though he was the only thing holding the film as a

cohesive whole. Tiresome references to 1960’s American society, Timothy Leary experiments, and drug culture made the whole movie tired and rather trite. McGregor`s somewhat pathetic foil to Clooney`s eccentricities was charming and funny at first, but inevitably became quite drawn out.

In the spirit of facial hair, a redeeming factor of the film might be the soup-strainer moustaches gracing the upper lips of the cast, and the jovial hairstyles during flashbacks in the film. But even with Jeff Bridges, The Men Who Stare at Goats is not likely to receive the same cult following as The Big Lebowski.

While funny here and there, The Men Who Stare at Goats struggles to find itself, settling for an ambiguous compromise between tired satire and unoriginal jokes.

Walking out of the theatre, I wasn’t exactly prompted to think about all of the novel military tactics, or the ineptness of certain strategies. Instead I was mostly perplexed by the film’s lack of focus, weakly linked to the psychological warfare strategies.

•Julie Compton