Thursday, October 16, 2014
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Writer in residence McMaster’s new writer on campus aims to foster creative writing and develop the skills necessary to further student projects.
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Send-off concert debate
Falling in love with the Steel City
The MSU wants to host an end-of-year concert for students — with student money. Two SRA members weigh in.
Lifestyle walks you through some fallfriendly locations in Hamilton, before winter rears its ugly head.
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LOOKING BACK
The Silhouette
Volume 85, Issue 9 Thursday, October 16, 2014 McMaster University’s Student Newspaper
EDITORIAL BOARD executive editor | thesil@thesil.ca Andrew Terefenko @andrewterefenko managing editor | managing@thesil.ca Julia Redmond @juliaeredmond production editor | production@thesil.ca Amanda Watkins @whatthekins section editors
Krista Schwab @kschwabi assistant news editor Patrick Kim @patrickmkim features editor Christina Vietinghoff @cvietinghoff opinions editor Ana Qarri @anaqarri sports editor Scott Hastie @scott1hastie assistant sports editor Laura Sinclair @Lsinkky lifestyle editor Jason Woo @jayjai223 assistant lifestyle editor Tobi Abdul @toe_bee andy editor Tomi Milos @tomimilos assistant andy editor Michael Gallagher @mikeygalgz news editor
online online editor online reporter
William Lou @william_lou Shane Madill @shanemadill art
Jonathan White photo reporter Eliza Pope @eliza_pope multimedia editor Catherine Chambers @catherineEBC video editor Colin Haskin @colinhaskin photo editor
MARCH 4, 1955
Mac bleeds student body for recordbreaking blood drive “In what has been termed the most successful blood drive yet, the Canadian Red Cross Society secured 439 pints of blood from McMaster students, staff and graduates.” This is enough blood to fill over five cars’ gas tanks. Over 47 percent of the student body came out to donate. Two lucky donaters won free tickets to the Junior-Senior Dance among other items awarded by local vendors and shops. [originally published in The Silhouette as 439 Lose Pint In Big Drive.]
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The Silhouette
Thursday, October 16, 2014
NEWS
www.thesil.ca
3
Recent McMaster study examines Canadian habits with exercise in dealing with stress
Hamilton’s Cranksgiving cycling event raises money and groceries to give back to community
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Water Week at Mac Going global Dignitaries arrived at McMaster to speak on local and global water issues
New International Strategy Advisory Group facilitating greater international opportunities at Mac “We are looking at financial support, but we are also trying to make sure that we pre-select the universities with whom we @kschwabi want to engage, so that we can McMaster faculty and students be sure that the students from will be seeing an increase in McMaster who go somewhere will have a good experience,” international opportunities as a result of the establishment of said Mascher. the new International Strategy Soon students may be Advisory Group. The group, a seeing a push for international part of the University’s internaexchanges and more financial tionalization plan, met for the support in addition to the first time in early October. already present travel scholarThe ISAG is the first ships as a result of the ISAG. advisory group of its kind at “As far as the financial McMaster, and will help guide support for student mobility is the decisions made by the concerned, we need to see – we Office of International Affairs, need to talk to the individual including the areas of research faculties,” said Mascher. “We and student need to find the international appropriate veexchanges. hicle to finance “Our first it. But the idea goal, of course, of incentives is to be sure and support McMaster has certainly University found broad remains one agreement.” of the leading The adresearch-intenvisory group sive universities is made up of in Canada,” said staff from a Peter Mascher Peter Mascher, range of disciAssociate Vice-President Associate plines, includ(International) and chair of Vice-President ing the areas of (International) global health, ISAG and chair of the graduate studISAG. “In the ies, social work, modern competitive environchemistry, epidemiology, and ment, if you want to be reglobal justice. search intensive in virtually all “We want to eventually disciplines, it means you have to develop a global culture,” said have partners internationally.” Mascher. “We often talk about The ISAG has already community engagement, we established two international think about community as the research funds, which have selocal environment and that is cured funding for the first year. of course very important, but Another goal of the ISAG community is much broader. If is to encourage undergraduate we see ourselves as citizens of students to pursue international the world, then the community exchanges. There are currently becomes much broader.” more international students The ISAG will meet on attending McMaster than there a quarterly basis, with the are McMaster students particultimate goal to enhance Mcipating in exchanges, a trend Master’s global presence, and that Mascher says is Canastudent and faculty engagement da-wide. worldwide. Krista Schwab News Editor
Hamilton Harbour was the location of the final Water Week event on Friday, Oct. 10. C/O HEATHER O’LEARY
Patrick Kim Asst. News Editor @patrickmkim
Living next to the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, it’s easy to take water for granted; it’s ever-present, and the idea of water scarcity or extreme weather is a distant notion. But while McMaster Water Week may have come and gone, the take home message has been clear: water is the world’s most valuable resource, and the global water crisis takes many forms, both globally and locally. From Oct. 6 to 10, McMaster was home to a number of dignitaries and guests in order to raise awareness and understanding of the broad influence that water has as a resource. Hosted by the McMaster Water Network, events such as panels, discussions, and workshops were all held throughout the week facilitating discussion on the primary concerns with water in the world, moving forward. “The goal of McMaster Water Week is part of a broader initiative to build a network of researchers, students, and partners in the community - where community is defined both
locally and globally - who are working together to address the challenges associated with the global water crisis,” said Dustin Garrick, Philomathia Professor in Water Policy and Research and head organizer of the weeklong events. Garrick, who officially joined McMaster University last January from the University of Oxford, has been involved water policy work for the past twelve years. What Garrick stresses is that water is linked to a number of global issues, whether it’s with climate change adaptation, public health, or water and development. “The issues that are relevant in a given place are different; it could be flooding and pollution here, or water scarcity and environmental collapse in another area,” Garrick said. “To solve these types of problems, you need to bring together different disciplines. You may have specialized training in health sciences, public health, which addresses one component of the problem, and specialized training in public policy, another component of the problem; and even beyond that you can bring in engineering, natural sciences,
in understanding the challenges around water.” The importance of student involvement, as well as the variety of skills obtained from different disciplines, was something that Garrick hoped to convey throughout the week. Students, in addition to helping organize the events, showcased 56 project posters in the MUSC atrium during the week, with the opportunity to share their research relating to water. In total, over 700 people were counted among the attendance during the week, which comes to around 400 unique people when accounting for attending multiple events. But while the week’s events were a success, Garrick is more interested in what can happen beyond the event. “The most important thing is that these events would benefit the students, and would give students the opportunity to become the next generation of water leaders, who are going to require the kind of interdisciplinary skills that we’re discussing,” he said. “The focus now is using this as a foundation; it’s a beginning point, not an endpoint, and we have a number of plans to continue it.”
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If we see ourselves as citizens of the world, then the community becomes much broader.”
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McMaster is partnered with over 70 universities for student exchange opportunities.
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Between incoming and outgoing student exchanges, McMaster is involved in over 300 international student exchanges each year.
4 CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Krista Schwab News Editor @kschwabi
www.thesil.ca
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Cranksgiving cycling a success The city-wide scavenger hunt raised over 839 pounds of food and health items
Laurentian opens new Speech and Language Clinic Laurentian University, located near Sudbury, Ontario, has opened a new Speech and Language Clinic which will be used by the Speech-Language Pathology Bachelor’s and Master’s programs. The clinic will help prevent, identify, and treat speech, language, and swallowing disorders.
Vancouver Island University to offer tuition-free training programs Vancouver Island University will now offer four new tuition-free programs for unemployed people who are looking to upgrade their skills. The programs include the Culinary Arts, Building Service Worker, Class 1 Driver, and Security Worker courses, beginning in October.
Cranksgiving participants getting ready to start the citywide scavenger hunt. C/O WELCOME INN COMMUNITY CENTRE
Study from Guelph identifies health risk of frying oils A new study from the University of Guelph calls into question the quality and safety of oils used for deep-frying in restaurants. The researchers found that the oils from their sample group have extremely high oxidation levels, leading to potential health risks. “What I was seeing in my visits to these restaurants was that oil would sometimes be used for days at a time,” said Anitta Sebastian, health inspector and Master’s student at Guelph. The study suggests that restaurants should use oil test kits to ensure high quality food service.
Bell donates $1 million to support university mental health programs The Bell Let’s Talk program has donated $1 million to McGill University and Université de Montréal. At the Université de Montréal, the funding will go towards programs such as mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. McGill University will be putting their donation towards funding the McGill Wellness Portal.
Christina Vietinghoff Features Editor @cvietinghoff
They braved headwinds, traffic, and last-minute Thanksgiving grocery shoppers. The 51 participants of Cranksgiving Hamilton crossed from west to east and cycled up and down the escarpment in a cross city scavenger hunt, with items gathered donated to the Welcome Inn Community Centre. Rather than paying to enter, participants used their purchased items on a list, spending more than $1,500 and carrying over 839 pounds of food and hygiene items. This was the second year the event was run in Hamilton by Heidi and Reuben Vanderkwaak. They started it out of a love of cycling after seeing a story about the event in New York
City. “I saw then that Cranksgiving had been happening in many cities and there was a ‘how-to’ guide on www.Cranksgiving.org so we just looked at each other and said yes, we have to do this!” said Heidi. The event combines two values: cycling and community. “What we like about this ride is that not only is it a chance for us to give back and to be thankful for what we have and provide food to others but also it’s using our bikes for something that is a lot of fun,” said Reuben. The ride is also a way to get more people to see bicycling as a mode of transport, and even as an option for grocery shopping. “A lot of people last year that came out said ‘I didn’t realize I could run around and gather all these groceries by bike, so now I’m going to try doing it on my own too,’” said
Reuben. Participants had a chance to win prizes like a NYNE portable bike speakers, a Wike Bicycle Trailer made in Guelph, and trophies made from upcycled bike parts from New Hope Bikes. Prizes were given to the fastest male and female participants in the 25km and 10km distances, but also to the heaviest haul (Matt Grande, 76 pounds) and Most Generous (Emma Cubitt, $136.22). Several McMaster students participated, and one Mac student, Jackson Waite, was the winner of the male 25km distance. He said the sense of community amongst cyclists also extended from non-cycling residents. “It was really nice to take in the kindness of Hamiltonians during the race. At the stores when I asked if I could jump the line, everyone was more than willing to let me through, the same when I was asking for
directions in the east end where I was getting pretty turned around,” said Waite. Cranksgiving events have been a fixture in New York City for 15 years, and are starting to take off across North America with 35 locations hosting an event this year. Cranksgiving is only held in two locations in Canada: Hamilton and Vancouver. But some participants that came to Hamilton from Toronto have expressed interest in hosting a Cranksgiving in Toronto next year. The event showed how viable and fun biking in Hamilton can be. “It’s the best way to get around,” said Waite. “You can cover way more ground on a bike, you get some solid exercise in and the endorphins flowing, and for me, most importantly, you’re not stuck waiting forever for the HSR.”
Thursday, October 16, 2014
www.thesil.ca
Cultivating the creative New Writer-in-Residence assists with creative projects
5 Chemistry Research
Coping with stress through exercise Abi Kirubarajan Meducator Columnist
Hal Niedzviecki is available by appointment on Mondays at McMaster and Wednesdays at the Hamilton Public Library. KRISTA SCHWAB / NEWS EDITOR
Rachel Katz Contributor
discuss photography, painting, or any creative medium that falls outside the area of standard essay writing. To get people into the creative spirit, Niedzviecki will be hosting four sessions over the lunch hour, the first of which is Oct. 20. Each session will be about learning how to think about the world in a creative way, with the first focusing on how to tap into one’s creative side.
Creative writers in the McMaster and Hamilton community will now have an opportunity to develop their skills through one-on-one sessions and writing workshops with McMaster’s Writer-in-Residence. This year, Hal Niedzviecki will take on the role to assist aspiring writers for a variety of creative projects, both large and small. To become McMaster’s 2014-2015 Writer-in-Residence, Niedzviecki went through a lengthy application process. “I had to… talk about what [I] want to do, and who [I am], and why [I] would fit in. I was honoured to be selected.” As the Writer in Residence, Niedzviecki Hal Niedzviecki will spend the next eight Writer-in-Residence months at McMaster to hone in on his craft. “It’s a great boost of confidence,” he said. “An opportunity like this, where you get to divide your “I don’t think there’s one time between writing, thinktype of person who’s a writer, I ing about writing, and talking think we all have the capacity to other people about writing to… find some way to articulate really helps you focus.” creatively what we see out in Niedzviecki is also availthe world,” he said. By leading able to meet one-on-one with creative writing exercises, he members of the McMaster com- hopes to help both experienced munity to give input on their writers and novices to improve creative writing. their skills. “I see my job on campus In Nedzievski’s eyes, the as being able to foster creativity three most important skills for and those things that have no a writer to have are virtually place in the classroom.” the same as those required for He is also available to “good” writing.
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“I’ve read stuff that’s not well written, but it’s really gripping and fascinating and powerful because it really is a powerful articulation of what the person is trying to say…. The only real step to writing is to be true to what you want to say and pursue that until you’ve said what you want to say.” Niedzviecki believes there is no point at which one becomes a seasoned writer. “There’s no moment when I said, ‘now I’ve got this,’” he said. “It’s not about winning an award or selling a lot of books or receiving acclamation from society. For me it’s the battle with the word, it’s a personal wrestling match you never win.” When asked to give a piece of advice to writers hoping to improve their skills, Niedzviecki said, “Don’t worry about what other people are thinking about your work or you. Don’t worry about the judgments swirling around you or anyone who [questions] you. Just write. Just try to find that place inside you where it all comes out on the page.” Despite having only begun his residency, there is no doubt that Hal Niedzviecki has already brought a high degree of enthusiasm and a great deal of wisdom to McMaster. Between leading workshops and meeting privately with the university community, he will help to bring creative thinking and writing to McMaster.
I see my job on campus as being able to foster creativity and those things that have no place in the classroom.
With midterms looming and the temperature plummeting, it’s easy to forgo walks outside and other physical activity. However, the benefits of exercise are not limited to the body as physical activity also improves mental health. Unfortunately, stress is a major issue for today’s university students. From strenuous examinations to living away from home, university students do not have it easy. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 30 percent of university students have symptoms of depression that affect day-to-day activity. In addition, a 2008 survey found that over 40 percent of college students are stressed often, with over 20 percent of students feeling stressed for the majority of their day. However, according to a recent McMaster study, less than half of Canadians use exercise to cope with stress and anxiety. Researchers from the Department of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, as well as the Department of Kinesiology, used data from over 36,000 Canadians to find their results. Exercise, out of thirteen possible coping behaviors, was ranked to be the eighthmost popular. Only 40 percent of Canadians stated that they exercise regularly to purge anxiety. More popular coping mechanisms included communicating with friends, problem-solving, denial and attributing failures to others. Exercise as a stress-reliever was found to be more common in young, female, single, and non-smoking demographics. The study also found that people who exercised regularly were less like to abuse alcohol or drugs, in pursuit of coping mechanisms. John Cairney, a lead investigator, said, “we know stress levels are high among Canadians, and that exercise is effective at managing stress and improving health and well-being, so the fact exercise is number eight and that less than half of the population use it is worrisome.” Exercise is a known stress-reliever, as it floods the body with endorphins. Endorphins are neurotransmitters that inhibit pain and reduce stress. They trigger feelings of happiness, by also modulating appetite, releasing sex hormones and enhancing immune response. Moreover, regular workouts ease the physical symptoms of stress. For example, exercise relaxes tense muscles and tissue, alleviating pain from stress-related neck aches and back pains. Exercise also helps individuals sleep sounder, combatting the insomnia that can arise from anxiety. In addition, exercised muscles generate copious amounts of a protein known as PGC-1(alpha)1. This protein eliminates stress-related neurochemicals, such as kyneurenine, in the brain. When a Swedish study genetically modified animals to contain this protein, they found that the GMO animals were less likely to get depressed and anxious in unsettling environments. It’s a shock that a majority of Canadians do not take advantage of exercise to combat stress. So next time you feel overwhelmed about exams or relationships, consider taking a walk. It will not only clear your head, but also trigger a plethora of physiological responses to help you feel better. As Cairney said, “exercise as a coping strategy for stress can be a ‘win-win’ situation.”
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www.thesil.ca
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Ward 1 Candidate: Brian Lewis Businessman Brian Lewis aims to bring economic development to Ward 1 Economic development for business growth and retention is the focal point of Lewis’ This is the fourth in a series platform, and he believes his highlighting the six candidates marketing and business backfor Ward 1 Councillor in the ground will help him achieve upcoming municipal election. these goals. Lewis is hoping to The Silhouette will be profiling implement an effective network each candidate in advance of the between students and local election on Monday, Oct. 27. business owners, who expressed their interest in hiring more Brian Lewis sees himself as a students. businessman with a lifelong “Healthier employment commitment and passion for rate creates healthier communiHamilton and the Westdale ties,” said Lewis. community, but without aspiAn important theme in rations for multiple terms as a Lewis’ platform is communicacareer politician. tion with the public. This theme Lewis is an independent is evident in multiple areas, inbusiness owner who works cluding in relationships with the with other small business and university, when contributing non-profit agencies in the city, to a new transportation plan, curating communications, sales, and in providing opportunities and marketing as well reprefor community feedback. As a senting clients in municipal Ward 1 Councillor, Lewis’ goal government matters. is to improve communication to He has the public worked in multiple with Mcareas. Master’s In Athletterms of ics and student Recreation housing isDepartsues, Lewis ment, the sees a Hamilton resolution Bulldogs, through the Hamilcollaboton Sports ration beHall of tween the Fame, and university, has been an business executive leaders, board and city councommittee cillors, member for communiBrian Lewis many local ty associaWard 1 Candidate organizations, and tions. student Lewis leaders. emphasizes This will the need for address the local community to work absentee landlord issues and with McMaster to maximize by-law enforcement, while also the positive aspects of their rela- building upon the positive relationship and solve issues. tionship McMaster has with the “I’d like to build programs community. so that we’re retaining students Lewis believes that Mcwithin the community,” said Master should play a greater Lewis. “Hamilton is just such role outside of the university a vibrant and wonderful place grounds, and acknowledges to live […] I’d be able to ensure some of the benefits to inthat we are showing them how creased student presence in great a city this is by creating certain areas for local business jobs and working together on owners. building a healthier community.” Daniel Arauz Contributor
Brian Lewis is one of six candidates running for Ward 1 Councillor in Hamilton.
C/O BRIAN LEWIS
ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT (ACADEMIC) 905-525-9140 Ext. 2 4672 University Hall, Room 203 Fax: 905-546-5218 1280 Main Street West E-mail: avpaced@mcmaster.ca Hamilton, Ontario, Canada www.mcmaster.ca/vpacademic L8S 4K1
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ONE FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ONE PART-TIME UNDERGRADUATE REPRESENTATIVE ONE GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ON THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT FEES COMMITTEE: Applications are invited for one FULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT, one PART-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT and one GRADUATE STUDENT representative on the University Student Fees Committee for a one-year term commencing July 1 2013 – June 30 2014. Applications, definition about eligible candidates, nominators, and nomination procedures are available in the office of the Associate Vice-President (Academic), University Hall, Room 203, or its website www.mcmaster.ca/vpacademic/student_fees_committee.html. Forms must be received in the office of the Associate Vice-President (Academic) by 4:30 p.m. on FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2013. Successful applicants will be notified by April 5, 2013. The University Student Fees Committee meets monthly on the third Monday from 2:30 – 4:00. Questions about the University Student Fees Committee may be directed to the Associate Vice-President (Academic) who is the Chair of the Committee, telephone 905-525-9140, ext. 24672, or email avpacad@mcmaster.ca
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I’d like to build programs so that we’re retaining students within the community. Hamilton is just such a vibrant and wonderful place to live.
Visit www.brianlewisone.com to learn more about his campaign, or follow his twitter @LewisforOne. The election will take place Oct. 27 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Ward 1 Candidate Profile: Sandy Shaw Sandy Shaw plans to use her experience to address the youth unemployment rate Daniel Arauz Contributor
This is the fifth in a series highlighting the six candidates for Ward 1 Councillor in the upcoming municipal election. The Silhouette will be profiling each candidate in advance of the election on Monday, Oct. 27. Sandy Shaw has been a prominent leader in the Ward 1 community for over 30 years. As a potential Ward 1 councillor, she is aiming to use her passion for all things community, her skills in finances, and her social justice orientation to enhance life in Ward 1. Shaw is a McMaster graduate who has worked as a senior researcher for the United Way, was the first female Chair of First Ontario Credit Union, and was the author of the first Women and Poverty report in Hamilton. She currently serves as Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for First Ontario Credit Union and as Director of the HW District school board’s Hamilton Arts Council and Equity Foundation.
One of the key issues in her platform tackles the career prospects for students. Shaw feels the 14 percent youth unemployment rate and difficulty in finding decent paying work need to be at the top of City Council’s agenda. “It’s something that seems to have slipped through the cracks…I have four kids, I have four grandkids and I think it’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart but also really important for our community.” Shaw tells the story of her sister who graduated from McMaster’s nursing program and had difficulty in finding work after her studies. She ended up moving to the United States for a teaching job. Meanwhile, Shaw was working on a Workforce Planning Board where an urgent need for nurses was raised by a local hospital. “I was just baffled we had these two large institutions, one that’s graduating nurses and the hospitals that can’t find the nurses.” Shaw believes that this can create significant problems for Hamilton’s aging population.
She believes that the situation could be improved if the city created a lending or micro-loan program for young people through student loans, entrepreneurships, or skilled trade apprenticeships.
Shaw also wishes to ensure that students have access to safe and affordable housing. Previously, she had experience advocating for this issue though the Affordable Housing Taskforce committee, and
The Bourns Lectureship in Bioethics and the McMaster Centre for Scholarship in the Public Interest present a lecture by
Dorothy Roberts George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology Raymond Pace & Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights
Fatal Invention:
The New Biopolitics of Race October 23, 2014 7:00 - 9:00 pm CIBC Hall at the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) Room 319 Admission is free Refreshments will be served All are welcome For more information: info@mcspi.ca or visit http://mcspi.ca
Ward 1 Candidate Sandy Shaw
Visit www.sandyshaw.ca to learn more about her campaign. On October 27, Hamilton will also be electing its new mayor in addition to its Ward Councillors. Running for office includes incumbent Fred Eisenberger and former Ward 1 Councillor Brian McHattie. Check www.thesil.ca for a livestream of the mayoral debate next Wednesday Oct. 22 at 3 PM.
believes that it can be resolved by ensuring certain areas in the community have a mix of both affordable student and low-income housing, as well as other housing options.
Local Food Day
EDM Night
Mac Farmstand
When: October 16, 2014 from 11:00AM until 04:00PM
When: October 16, 2014 at 09:30PM until October 17, 2014 at 02:00AM
Where: Beside Nina de Villiers Garden
Where: TwelvEighty Bar & Grill
When: Every Wednesday and Thursday from 11:00AM until 04:00PM
MacBreadBin, Mac Farmstand and MACgreen are partnering to bring you Local Food Day! Are you interested in bringing local food to campus? Stop by and enjoy free samples of local foods, a blind taste test, games, and more! If you have any questions, feel free to contact, SRA University Affairs Commissioner Alan Rheaume at srauniv@msu.mcmaster.ca or the MacBreadBin Director Rachel Sullivan at macbreadbin@msu.mcmaster.ca
SHEC Bar Blitz @ 1280 When: October 16, 2014 from 09:30PM until 01:00AM Where: TwelvEighty SHEC volunteers will be present to spread awareness to the McMaster community about partying safe! We will have volunteers walking around the club distributing condoms and other volunteers giving out water, SHEC your drink cards, and telling students about SHEC and all our services.
Angry Orchard Club Night Featuring DJ Watts. $4.00 rails and domestic beer all night long!
Ecological Service Day When: October 18, 2014 from 10:30AM until 02:30PM Where: McMaster Forest & LOT M On Saturday October 18th MACgreen and the McMaster Outdoor Club will be heading out from McMaster to 1) Build a brand new wooden fence out at Mac Forest to replace the dirty wire one we took down 2) Finish off the Turtle Habitats at Lot M and maybe start seeding the area for native species. We would love it if you could come out and volunteer your time on Saturday. Lunch and transportation will be provided. SIGN UP AT: http://goo.gl/forms/aFZhkgI8nP
Where: Outside University Hall We are a student-run campus farmers market aiming to provide students, faculty, and staff access to fresh and local fruit and vegetables from June to October.
CFMU Volunteer Orientation When: October 22, 2014 from 07:00PM until 08:30PM Where: CNH 102 New and prospective volunteers; come out and learn all about what makes CFMU tick. Orientation is mandatory for volunteers and on-air hosts, and it’s the first step in becoming one of the team. All are welcome and you don’t need to sign up!
The Silhouette
10
EDITORIAL
www.thesil.ca
Thursday, October 16, 2014
S
More details, less dreaming Scott Hastie Sports Editor @scott1hastie
The Student Representative Assembly is on the verge of making a $215,000 decision. MSU President Teddy Saull introduced a motion to allocate the substantial amount of cash to Campus Events to throw a year-end celebration. The logic behind the spending is that the MSU, a non-profit organization, has been posting healthy surplus for the past handful of years, and so the union is making money from students. On Oct. 19, the SRA will vote on this proposed celebration, where there are three options of dollar amounts to give to Campus Events. I’m not arguing about the need for a year-end celebration – you can do that in the opinions section this week. It’s the process that’s wrong. In asking for the allocation, Saull does not provide a tangible outline for what the money will get. The act, venue, date and length of the event are all unknown. The SRA is voting on something that they know nothing about. As currently presented, this is a
pipe dream. And “dreams” are an overarching theme to Saull’s time as President. For my money, I do not want dreams. I want plans with timelines, known quantities, and firm details. Instead, the memo provides only the bare bones of a plan. Saull’s goal is commendable. He wants to provide students with value for their money, and he believes that a year-end party is the way to provide that value. Never mind that he has not looked for student input, why is the conversation revolving around spending the surplus instead of solving the over-taxing of students? Let’s figure out why we continue to make more money than needed year after year, and then adjust the fees accordingly. Long-term, there could be ramifications from this seemingly one-off decision. The language used in Saull’s memo references the Emergency First Response Team as an example of student administration taking a leap to create something new for students. He also references the Homecoming Expo, the Peer Support Line and Spark – all programs that run every year. Referencing those programs as
justification for the party is dangerous territory. This is supposed to be a way of spending student surplus, not the creation of an annual event. And with $5 million in MSU reserves, this party could become a regular thing, which is not what is being pitched in the memo. It is possible that this is what students want. But the memo only went online on Oct. 9, and the MSU has not provided much opportunity for student input. @MSU_McMaster has not tweeted about it. To his credit, finance commissioner Daniel D’Angela asked for feedback via Twitter, prompting some discussion. Saull has not even tweeted about his own idea. The process of getting this “dream” actualized is a sham, and the SRA should recognize this. You should not get to pitch a loose idea and ask for a cheque – especially one drawn from surplus money – to achieve it without any semblance of planning and foresight. With the lack of the information and insignificant student input, Sunday’s vote will be a representation of what the SRA wants, not what students want.
To Speculator photoshoots.
To Bill Hader’s unfortunate ratings.
To not knowing if an article is satire or not.
To keychains.
To argyle.
To typo tpyos.
To raisins. Grapes but better in every way.
To the ban on Tuesday.
To turkey necks. To leftovers. To puppies learning how to climb down stairs. To dreams of Shane. To curious parents. To HBO Go. To Friends on Netflix.
Letter to the Editor
McMaster Rankings Remain Strong (October 9, 2014) makes clear that McMaster’s high standing in Health/Medicine is a major determinant of its high global ranking as a university. But having “McMaster specifically performs well in the evaluation of its science programs” as the only other mention of a particular field may leave the impression that non-science parts of the university never score well. But one of the three rankings discussed in the article, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), puts Social Science at McMaster at 48th in the world, close to the 45th for Medicine. ARWU puts McMaster in the 151st200th category for both Science and Engineering. The Times Higher Education rankings only single out
Health/Medicine at McMaster. The more detailed QS rankings also highlight Health/Medicine, but list McMaster in the top 200 in the world in a remarkable 21 subjects, including those in Business, Engineering, Humanities, Science and Social Science. All such rankings need to be taken with a huge grain of salt. But it is clear that of the fields at McMaster, Health/ Medicine consistently has the highest global rank. The other subjects that contribute to McMaster’s high rankings come from many parts of the university.
To office naps.
-Mike Veall
To the bicycle agenda.
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To sticker comments on facebook. To Machete and Spy Kids existing in the same universe. To “Danny”
To October, really?
To ebola paranoia this side of the Atlantic. To blood shortages. To getting carded at 50. To the animal sex tourism industry. To the mysterious half-empty Starbucks cup in the bathroom. To grape Crush. To transcript typos. Haliax is not a place. To application deadlines. To hostile takeovers of the managing desk. To weird noise arms races.
Find us at either of our locations: Eastgate Square 75 Centennial Pky N, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2P2 Underground Media + Design McMaster University Student Center 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4S4
11
www.thesil.ca
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The McMaster Students Union
PRESIDENT’S PAGE During this time, we are once again make an informed vote. At msumcmasfaced with the assumption that students ter.ca/macvotes, you can find the docu“don’t vote”. But are students really the ments necessary for voter identification, only ones not showing up at the polls? as well as the time, date, and locations In 2010, the voter turnout for the Ham- of this year’s polls. You will also be able ilton mayoral election was 40.5%, while to find information about your mayoral the voter turnout in Ward 1 was 40.7%. and Ward 1 candidates, as well as their Voter apathy is not just a student issue, respective platforms. but rather a much broader issue facing Another integral component of the municipalities nationwide. However, I MacVotes campaign is the MSU Maybelieve that now more than ever, stu- oral All-Candidates Debate, which will dents are engaged in their city’s politics, take place in the McMaster University have a desire to exercise their right to Student Centre on Wednesday, October vote, and will have a greater impact 22 from 3:00 p.m. in the 2014 election. to 5:00 p.m. The McMaster StuDuring this dents Union (MSU) debate, McMASTER UNIVERSITY HAS continues to utilize the students MacVotes campaign w i l l to not only engage have students in the t h e election process, opFULL-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS but to also ensure that students have the information required to
21,281
2014 is the year of elections. In June, we elected a new provincial government, and it is now time to decide upon the leadership of the city we call home. On October 27, Ontario will head to the polls to elect the mayors, councillors, and school trustees of their respective municipalities.
portunity to ask the candidates any questions they may have, and learn more about how candidates will contribute to student life in Hamilton. I sincerely encourage everyone to join the election conversation, both at the debate and online. Use the hashtag #MacVotes to make your voice heard in the Twitterverse. As members of the wider Hamilton community, McMaster students have a say in the leadership and future direction of our city. Visit msumcmaster. ca/macvotes to learn how, when, and where to vote. It is time we demonstrate that we are not only engaged citizens, but that we also have valuable input to give. Do you have issues with your landlord? Vote in this election! Do you have something to say about the city’s transportation system? Vote in this election! Do you have any opinion, big or small, of the city in which you study and live? Get out and vote in this election on Thursday, October 27.
10,641 128.5% WHICH MEANS THAT ON OCT. 27TH, IF EVEN 50% OR
D U R I N G T H E L A S T M U N I C I PA L E L E C T I O N , WARD 1 SAW A TURNOUT OF 40.7% & A TOTAL OF
8,279
OF MAC STUDENTS VOTED
IN WARD 1, IT WOULD EQUAL
OF THE PAST WARD 1 VOTER TURNOUT
ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS VOTED
Municipal Elections. Oct 27, 2014. Mayoral Debate. Oct 22, 2014.
www.msumcmaster.ca/macvotes The President’s Page is a space sponsored and used by the McMaster Students Union (MSU) Board of Directors (BoD) to communicate with the student body. It functions to highlight the Board’s projects, goals, and agenda for the year, as well as the general happenings of the MSU.
TEDDY
SCOTT MALLON
NARRO PÉREZ
RODRIGO
JACOB
President
VP (Finance)
VP (Education)
VP (Administration)
SAULL
BRODKA
12
Around Campus
“Tell me about your tattoo.” “I’ve got a bunch of tattoos actually. This one is a really silly story. So I was in Mexico, and a friend of mine called me up and said, ‘Brady, where are you? Are you coming?’ And I said ‘to what?’ He goes, ‘come on, you promised! You said you were coming to this festival.’ And I was like ‘ok, I guess if I promised, I’ll be there.’ So it was 7 p.m., and I just started driving to El Salvador. It took 11 hours or something like that. I passed out when I got there, and when I got up the next day, I just asked him ‘so what is this festival? Refresh me.’ And he goes, ‘Las Boles de Fuego’, which means the Balls of Fire. I remembered that when I was really drunk I had promised to come to it. It’s this festival in El Salvador that’s supposed to commemorate some volcanic eruption that occurred 100 years ago. But, realistically, all the gangs in El Salvador are in a truce right now, so they use this festival as a sort of a way for these gangs to blow off some steam. What they do is they take these balls of cotton and wrap them up in steel twine and put them in crates of kerosene for 3 months. Then on August 31st, they take the crates of steel balls, dump them into the streets and light them on fire. And you get 3-4 gangs that are cool with each other to team up, and then
www.thesil.ca
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Eliza Pope Photo Reporter @eliza_pope
another 3-4 gangs that are cool with each other and have a fireball fight for 20 minutes or so. My friend in El Salvador owns a modeling agency, so I thought there’s no way we’d participate - I thought we’d just see the festival and then go. But he said ‘so, my friend’s in this gang - you wanna go meet him?’ And I said sure. So we show up, and this guy’s tattooed all over his face, and his all over his head. He says ‘hey man, you want to join our gang for the night? You can be an honourary member!’ And I’m like ‘ok, I’m here, might as well.’ So we did this fireball fight, you know, where you see one of your team members burning, and you just go and pat the fire out. As one does when lit on fire. So anyways, after, the guy comes over to me and says ‘ehh, let’s go get tattoos!’ So I said ‘yeah let’s go!’ That’s the logical next step after a fireball fight. We walk down the street and there’s this guy, basically in a hole in the wall, and he’s just doing tattoos in this barber chair. Now El Salvador is basically owned by America, so they use a lot of English words there. And so our team name was Los Reckless Diablos, the reckless devils. We’re like ‘what should we get tattooed?’ And we decided on our team name, so we got ‘reckless’ tattooed there.”
“Tell me about a trying time in your life.” “I’m sixteen years old, there’s no such thing.”
“Tell me about an event that helped shape who you are?” “Realizing that relationships aren’t perfect. Seeing my mum and dad kinda distorted my view of futures and marriages and love, and it just changed what I thought about it all. Especially realizing that it’s not a permanent thing and that it can dissipate so quickly. So seeing that, as well as getting over that and moving on past, it was a big thing.” “How did it change you?” “Well I guess it changed me for the better because now I see what kind of person I want to be in the future, and what kind of husband and father I want to be. Actually it’s definitely for the better, ‘cause now I see myself in the future being a better person than I might have been without this realization. Seeing exactly what not to do motivates me to be a better person.” “What’s one thing your dad did that you would do differently?” “He just treats my mom like crap. And it’s one of those things where if you claim to love someone so much and you’ve spent 18 years with someone, how do you just go from treating them like your wife, to treating them so badly?” “How did that affect you growing up?” “Up until I was 10, I was sheltered, I was ignorant, I’d say. You don’t really get to see what happens behind closed doors and what your parents are like apart from what they show you. But I matured really early, and so as soon as I was 12 or 13, I kinda realized it’s not what it seems to be and there’s so much more that happens than I realized. So moving forward in my life, being a good person is something that I really want to do. It’s important to me.”
“If you could change one thing about yourselves, what would it be?” “Procrastination, definitely.” “Emotional and mental difficulties, I wish I didn’t have them. Depression, anxiety, that kind of thing. I wish it didn’t happen that way. Like anxiety about my body and with eating, I wish that just disappeared.” “How has that affected you?” “Well I almost died. Really it could be the death of me if I don’t manage it. I just wish it were easier.” “What are you most confident about?” “My sociability, being personable.” “I have a good brain. I’m smart, and I like that I can learn. Not everyone has an easy time with that, so I’m lucky.”
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The Silhouette
Thursday, October 16, 2014
www.thesil.ca
OPINION
13
Last Tuesday, Parliament voted to join the war in Iraq. Was it the right decision? PAGE 16
THE GREAT SEND-OFF DEBATE Spend elsewhere Eric Gillis SRA Bylaws Commissioner
Recently, a proposal was put forward to the Student Representative Assembly by current President Teddy Saull, asking that the SRA vote to allow the MSU spend a whopping $215,000 on a “year-end celebration.” Or, in other words, a gigantic party. A huge, expensive party that that costs you $215,000 of your money. To the proposal’s credit, there are “cheaper” options, but all of them, save for the absolute “cheapest,” are in the six-figure range and even the cheapest one is a superbly inexpensive $95,000 of your money. And the kicker? You’d still have to pay for tickets. So not only is this proposal suggesting we should spend a huge sum of your money on a party, but that you should have to pay a fee on top of it to attend the events of this party. The proposal does acknowledge that this is a “substantial amount” of money, but then goes on whimsically waxing poetic of dreams in an attempt to reassure everyone that it’s all okay. You see, the proposal informs delightfully: we, as an organization, have a surplus. And we shouldn’t have a surplus, because we’re a non-profit organization. Hence, this huge expensive, gigantic, party will help us get rid of our surplus like any good non-profit student government should strive to do. This is indeed true. A non-profit should absolutely be striving to not have a surplus. I agree with the sentiment entirely, as I’m sure most of my fellow SRA members do. But I want to talk about priorities. Consider the following: why is it that we can apparently manage to pull something like this off with a six-figure price tag in a mere four months, yet we are evidently incapable as an organization of getting even
If there is a surplus, we should aim to spend it on something more necessary. a rudimentary implementation of a women’s centre on campus in a timely manner without significant bureaucratic mess and delay? How is it that an absolutely massive party is a more easily accomplished endeavour? For over three years now there has been an active movement to make the Women and Gender Equity Network happen – this is not a new conversation. So where’s the women’s centre? What about your financial needs? Don’t you wish there was a little more emergency financial aid available? The MSU could be providing that. If we have a surplus we need to be getting rid of couldn’t we be helping our fellow McMaster students in need? Wouldn’t that be more in line with what we should be doing as an organization? Further, didn’t Union Market raise its prices on coffee recently? Aren’t some of the prices on goods in Union Market, like chips, overpriced? If we’re making a surplus, do we need to be charging those prices? The same goes for TwelvEighty. If we have a surplus we need to get rid of, couldn’t we be charging a little less and actually put together some healthy nutritious meals for students on a budget? And what about our student employees? We pay most of them a wage that is well below the poverty line. Yet, we have a surplus that we evidently need to get rid of. So, why don’t we strive to pay all of our student employees a living wage? This would help our fellow student employees with their school fees and, given our financial situation, would be a prudent financial decision. Why not invest in our employees? The answer to these questions is quite simply: priorities.
The Proposal
MSU President Teddy Saull put forward the following proposal in a memo last week:
“I am asking that MSU Incorporated approve a substantial amount of money to provide seed funding to a yearend celebration through Campus Events.” This proposal is based on the recent budget figures released by the MSU in which they projected a surplus of $131,389. Option 1
The MSU will allocate $215,000 to Campus Events for a year-end celebration. Projected bottom-line loss (after ticket sales and revenue): $90,000 Option 2
The MSU will allocate $170,000 to Campus Events for a year-end celebration. Projected bottom-line loss (after ticket sales and revenue): $70,000 Option 3
The MSU will allocate $95,000 to Campus Events for a year-end celebration. Projected bottom-line loss (after ticket sales and revenue): $45,000 [The options are scaled to an estimated audience of 5000, 4000 and 2000 students respectively.] Want to get involved?
Attend the next SRA Meeting in Gilour Hall, Room 111 at 6:30 p.m. to voice your input, or follow the event livestream at www.thesil.ca
Money well spent This is money brought in by students, and we want to return it to them in style. The typical Student Representative Assembly meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. “O Canada” is played by 6:45 and the next two to four hours are spent talking about various issues regarding governance and post-secondary education. All pretty exciting stuff in my opinion, but I will admit it’s not a page-turner. However, this Oct. 19, the meeting will be very different. At this upcoming SRA meeting, your student representatives will be voting on allocating $215,000 from the MSU to a spring McMaster Send-Off concert. I will be voting in support of this allocation. An expenditure of his size comes with many legitimate concerns and questions that I will try to address. The first concern is that the MSU should be funding services, instead of recreational events. The MSU is one of the most important service providers for students. This past fiscal year, the MSU spent more than $3.5 million on over 20 student services, from the Child Care Centre to EFRT. These services greatly enrich student life, and make McMaster a safer and more inclusive community. We also have one of the strongest Campus Events staff in the country; hosting shows of such international acclaim as Steve Angello and Lil' Jon. We are not forced to make a choice between great entertainment and great services. Fun events and investing in student-run events are not mutually exclusive, and our record proves that. Another concern is that spending so much money on a concert is financially irresponsible. Over the last three fiscal years the MSU has run a $1.5 million surplus and this year a projected $130,000 surplus.
Daniel D’Angela SRA Finance Commissioner
We currently have over $5 million in reserves in cash and near-cash assets. According to our own comptroller Maggie Gallagher, “the success of the past three years has put the organization in a very healthy financial position. The year-end celebration is a financial risk that we are ready to handle.” After accounting for projected ticket sales, we would lose at most $90,000 for the MSU, still leaving a healthy $40,000 projected surplus in 2014. In our constitution, it states that we will “draw into a true society all students at McMaster University” by “foster[ing] activities and events which will enhance the University experience of its members and contribute to the life of the University as a whole.” Nothing better outlines and clarifies why this concert would be such a boon to McMaster and its students. This concert would bring together over 6,000 students, making it the largest event in our history. It would change the game, not only at Mac, but all Canadian universities. It would it provide a phenomenal experience to at least a quarter of our members, provide value to members who traditionally are not always targeted by our services, create a new tradition, and build campus pride. To provide one last piece of encouragement for this motion: our last concert sold out in 36 hours and 2,000 students attended. Our Welcome Week concerts routinely have over 5,000 attendees and cost $50,000 each. Now imagine what we could do with $215,000.
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FEEDBACK
Thursday, October 16, 2014
How would you spend $215,000 to benefit students at Mac?
Rachel Flores
Rihaina Lloyd
Political Science II
Stephen Speer
PoliSci/History III
Some people have to get two jobs in the summer to pay for thier tuition. The money should go to students who really need it.
Sohana Farhan
Divinity College
I would spend it on making more scholarships for those who need at McMaster since there aren’t that many.
I would see where there is more interest in what is not currently available and divvy up the money proportionally.
Life Sciences II
I would spend it on building a nap room on campus.
Stop the appropriation of Black hair Tobi Abdul Asst. Lifestyle Editor @toe_bee
Despite some people claiming that we now live in a "post-racial" era, racism is alive and well in the form of institutional and systemic racism, microagressions, and cultural appropriation. We're now in a time where black hair is being appropriated without recognition. Rita Ora, Katy Perry, Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and other celebrities have been pictured wearing cornrows as of late and many media outlets have called it a "new trend." To say this is to erase an entire culture and history of people who have long been ridiculed, stereotyped, and disrespected for wearing a hairstyle that has been part of black history since 3000 B.C. This isn't like childhood
when you wouldn't let someone else have something because you had it first; the appropriation of cornrows is a slap into the face to any black man or woman who has had to deal with the societal backlash that came along with wearing them. In middle school, I hated the questions, snickers, and comments so much that I stopped wearing braids, even though anyone who came back from vacation with beads and braids was the center of attention for the week they had them. In fact, it was only eight years later, after repeatedly chemically straightening my hair as soon as it even remotely looked “kinky,” that I decided that I loved braids and went back to the hairstyle. In a society where a woman's beauty lies in the length and texture of her hair, black woman have been told that they aren't beautiful be-
cause their hair isn't. Thousands of employees all over North America, mostly in the United States, were fired because of unprofessional hairstyles like cornrows and dreadlocks. They were associated with gang activity, ghetto lifestyles, poverty, and a lack of intelligence. Black hair has been regulated through legislation in the military, workplace, and education system but also through societal values and expectations. The emergence of the cornrow trend only serves as a reminder that something is new and fashionable when accessorized with fair skin and smooth hair. Marie Claire and other fashion magazines have been culprits of the attempted rebranding of cornrows, but the L.A. Times were by far the worst culprit. The newspaper printed that “cornrows are moving away from urban, hip-hop to more
edgy and chic” and also that “they have to be on the right person with the right clothing.” Braids were worn as a specific part of black style. Many people endured sitting between their mom, family member, or hairdresser's legs for hours, enduring pulling, twisting, combing, and the throbbing headache after being done, just so we could carry a bit of our history on our heads. Black people seem to serve as a societal tool for finding new trends. Whether it is big butts, twerking, or hair, it always sends the message that nothing can be cool when associated with blackness. Pieces of our culture are taken, repurposed, and marketed as hot, edgy, and new. We are left out of the conversation about a trend that we have fought to feel proud of.
Our hairstyles are cool enough to wear, but not quite cool enough to get the recognition or respect we deserve. For the mainstream, it's a fleeting trend, but to black people, it's a lifestyle.
Pro-life activism has a place on campus Amber-Faith Miller Contributor
To begin, you should know that I'm a third year student studying English and Theatre and Film. While I enjoy my program for the most part, some of my classes make me feel uncomfortable. In mandatory film classes, I've been assaulted by disgusting images without warning. I had no way to protect myself from visual disturbances brought on by razor blades and guttural screaming. What would possess a professor to force students to experience this? My professors use these films as examples of contemporary art. In other words, I have to sit through the good or bad gruesome scenes for the sake of
higher learning. I'm sure you could think of a time when an idea, image or activity in class made you feel uneasy. How do we deal with course content that we don't like but cannot avoid? Sometimes, when faced with an image or idea that they don't like, some people choose to protest, and that's good. The great thing about university is that varying opinions can coexist peacefully, and even interact respectfully. How does one engage in productive discourse with an argument that they don't approve of? It starts with acknowledging the person before judging their opinion. Imagine how dignified our debates would be if we actually listened to understand our opponent, instead of cutting
them down while trying to have the last word. We are losing our ability to debate with friends, and our ability to stay friends with people whose ideas differ from our own. "What do you think about abortion?" I genuinely want to know. It's okay if your opinion differs from mine; the important thing is that we respect each other, while holding firm to our core values. This past Thursday Oct. 9, McMaster Lifeline's information table was set up in hopes of sparking a good conversation. Pro-choice advocates began to protest at the table beside us, which generated even more buzz. We engaged passers-by in interesting discussions focused on basic biology and human rights.
Unfortunately, not all the protesters were willing to engage in any discussion about abortion. Instead, they summed up their views in fourword phrases and had some choice words to speak about the pro-lifers next to them, including the phrase "f*** these people." As a group advocating for human rights, we show plastic models of humans in their earliest stages of development, from blastocyst to embryo to fetus. These 3D models by no means depict a gruesome image, but are a tool for learning how the pre-born develop in the uterus over the span of nine months. If any of the pro-choice protestors wanted to know where we got these models, we
gladly would have told them. Yet, they refused to speak with us, or even look at the images they were protesting. This makes me wonder whether these protestors wished to teach us or shame us. You may disagree with some or all of the things I said in this article, but thank you for reading it regardless. I heard once that "everyone [in Canada] has the freedom of speech, but that doesn't give one the right to be heard." Expression of opinions and active listening are invaluable tools for expanding our horizons as students, and making our campus a true medium for free speech.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
www.thesil.ca
15
How we’re failing Aboriginal women The injustices faced by Aboriginal women are rooted in a history of racism and dysfunctional policies Grace Kennedy Contributor
Women gather outside Toronto Police HQ to protest lack of inquiry on missing and murdered Aboriginal women. C/O SHAFIQULLAH AZIZ
The death of Tina Fontaine, a 15-year old Aboriginal girl who was missing for over a week in Manitoba before her body was found in a river, re-ignited calls for a public inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. The facts on this topic are heartbreaking. The RCMP published a report this year stating
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that between 1988 and 2012, there were 1,017 homicides and 164 unresolved missing cases of Aboriginal women. While the ratio of unsolved versus solved cases is almost equivalent to the wider population, the statistic that really causes discomfort is that Aboriginal women account for 16 percent of female homicides while only representing 4.3 percent of the total female population in Canada. There has been overwhelming media and political uptake on this issue. One of the prevailing opinions is that the inquiry should take place and underlying societal forces must be revealed to explain the overrepresentation of Aboriginal women in these cases. Equally dominant is the opinion that a public inquiry should not take place because the social conditions that contribute to these cases are already known, so an inquiry will waste resources without guaranteeing outcomes. While the RMCP report states it doesn’t intend to blame victims, it outlines “descriptive statistics to inform social interventions,” listing employment status, list of intoxicants, and involvement in the sex trade. A good case of “we don’t want to blame victims, but…” In light of how police handled Fontaine's case, it seems to me that something else very ugly is lying in the background. It has come to light in Fontaine’s case that prior to her disappearance she was pulled over in a car with a man who was driving under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested, and she walked away. She had been under the care of a child welfare agency before running away. In recent years, the insufficiency of care in child welfare and their impersonal treatment of individuals has caught the public’s attention. Giving youth autonomy to run away has become a normalized excuse for what is actually incompetence. We don’t allow youth under the age of 18 to vote or drink alcohol, but apparently they have the informed ability to keep themselves safe and healthy on the streets. I keep hearing and reading from police, social workers, and relatives that it isn't their job to monitor children who are just going to run away. Child welfare agencies usually have to balance the children’s and family’s autonomy with what is in the best inter-
est of the child. In policy, this seems to make sense, but foster care often leads to dangerous circumstances. Tamara Murdock, an Aboriginal youth, told CBC last month “you take off running away from your foster home and you’re looking for something that ain’t at home... you’re looking for love or guidance, but it’s not something you can find on the street...They’d tell me that I’m putting my life in danger by doing that and drop me off at home... That was about it. I wouldn’t hear from them again.” The most troubling issue is the lack of attention from the non-Aboriginal population regarding these issues. There seems to be a dichotomy when addressing missing youth; let them be “runners” for some time, but when it gets too long, put out a missing persons notice. The Globe and Mail columnists Gary Mason compared Fontaine’s case to a case in the U.K. of Alice Gross, a 14-yearold. A manhunt of 600 police offers was executed to search for her, compared to Winnipeg’s seven-person search for Fontaine. Mason asks how Canada can view the life of a human so differently from England. It’s all too easy to reiterate the policies that allow our social and law protection services to operate in the ways that they do. The ugly reality is that these services continue to operate in dysfunction because they reflect a larger picture of the relations between non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals in Canada. Even the journalists who offer a “deeper” analysis of structural problems behind these tragedies - such as the legacy of residential schools, poor housing, and economic conditions - skirt around the issue of racism in our society. Overt racism is easily seen online in comment sections, in our social circles and in social practices. But I think what Mason alludes to is the covert racism implied by our complacency when we do not demand accountability for these injustices. The vastness of issues, actions, and dialogues that need to happen to realize equity in Canada is overwhelming. I think we need to remember that if we aren’t part of the solution, we’re part of the problem.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
On joining the fight against ISIS Did the House of Commons make the wrong decision last Tuesday?
Canada is officially at war. Last Tuesday, the House of Commons voted in favour of sending fighter-bombers along with personnel to join the allies in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. 155 conservative MPs won over the 134 opposed Liberal and NDP MPs. And so began the countdown of the three weeks until Canada sends six CF-18 fighter jets, two CP-140 surveillance planes, one aerial tanker aircraft and 600 military personnel overseas. Canada will be joining allied countries like the U.S., U.K., France, Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, and many others in the fight against ISIS. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that we must act with our allies to reduce ISIS’s capacity to launch terrorist attacks outside the region, including Canada. Normally the House of Commons does not have to approve combat missions, but when the mission was proposed, Harper promised he would put it up for debate before making any decisions. It seems to me that this was just an act of “kindness” on the Prime Minister’s part and that he really had no intention to follow through with any decision deviating from his own. In the aftermath of this vote, the big question is: did the House of Commons make the right decision? There is an abundance of evidence that would point to the obvious answer: no. For instance, the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. in 2003 led to even more instability in
the country. The same thing might not happen this time, however the government should learn from these mistakes so Canada does not end up in a 10-year war against Iraq. Harper also stated that it is important for Canada to uphold its reputation by helping instead of standing idly by. But this does not mean that Canada has to involve military action and put our own soldiers at risk. There are other options available for Canada, which Prime Minister Harper doesn’t want to consider. NDP leader Tom Mulcair devised an alternative action plan that improves Canada’s humanitarian response in Iraq. The plan would remove combat operations and increase humanitarian aid, the investigation of ISIS war crimes, and transport weapons to the allies in Iraq. Mulcair’s plan is what the government should be focusing on as it reduces the possibility of Canadian casualties and our risk of being “stuck” fighting this war. When the U.S. went wholeheartedly guns blazing to Iraq in 2003, it turned out to be a disaster. Canada should not be involved in a repetition of this mistake and should instead try a different approach as Mulcair has suggested. As much as it sounds like a conspiracy to say, I don’t think Prime Minister Harper is telling the Canadian public the whole story. There has been no real explanation of this military plan. There have been no answers to important questions such as: how much will it cost? When did the forces arrive, how many? What is Canada’s exit
strategy? It seems strange that the majority of MPs are voting for Harper’s plan even though he’s being so elusive about its details. The more logical option in this situation seems so obvious: voting for Mulcair’s wellthought-out plan with answers to the important questions. This would be the most logical vote, unless as I said, there is some other important information that is not open to the public eye. To further my “conspiracy,”
perhaps there is knowledge of an incoming terrorist attack on Canada from ISIS, and Harper’s plan is the best way to stop it. There have already been talks of ISIS-“inspired” attacks from within Canada. Additionally, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has disclosed information about 130 Canadians that travelled abroad to join terrorist activities, and 80 individuals who returned to Canada and are suspected of involvement in terrorist groups. CSIS has said there is
nothing for Canadians to worry about and that we should go about our daily lives and be vigilant. But I remain unconvinced. There could be an imminent terrorist attack given our government’s seemingly “easy” choice to join the warfare against ISIS. A decision like that has to be rooted in something deeper than Harper’s vaguely explained and mysterious plan.
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SPORTS
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The volleyball programs had an eventful exhibition weekend. Catch up on the results.
Women's rugby is reading for the playoff run. Is a CIS medal on the horizon?
PAGE 18
Cleaning up in Kingston
PAGE 21
LEAGUE AT LARGE The OUA at a glance
Men’s Soccer OUA East
Men finish first, women finish second at Queen's Invitational
OUA WEST
W L Pts
RYERSON 11 QUEEN’S 8 TORONTO 8 CARLETON 7 UOIT 4 LAURENTIAN 4 NIPISSING 3 RMC 3 TRENT 1
2 5 2 3 4 3 5 11 4
33 29 26 24 16 15 14 9 7
W L Pts
YORK MCMASTER GUELPH WESTERN WINDSOR LAURIER BROCK WATERLOO ALGOMA
13 1 9 3 8 3 8 2 5 1 4 2 1 6 1 2 0 2
40 30 27 26 25 14 9 5 2
Women’s Soccer OUA East
OUA WEST
W L Pts
OTTAWA 12 1 UOIT 11 2 QUEEN'S 8 3 TORONTO 8 1 CARLETON 5 4 LAURENTIAN5 2 RYERSON 4 1 NIPISSING 4 1 TRENT 2 1 RMC 0 1
36 35 27 25 19 17 13 13 7 1
W L Pts
YORK WESTERN LAURIER WINDSOR GUELPH MCMASTER BROCK WATERLOO ALGOMA
11 2 35 11 1 34 10 3 33 8 1 25 6 1 19 3 4 13 4 1 13 3 1 10 0 14 0
Football OUA
CIS TOP 10
MCMASTER GUELPH WESTERN WINDSOR LAURIER OTTAWA CARLETON QUEEN'S TORONTO WATERLOO YORK
W
L
6 5 5 5 4 4 3 1 1 0 0
0 1 1 1 2 3 3 5 6 6 6
LAVAL CALGARY MCMASTER WESTERN MONTREAL GUELPH MT. ALLISON SASKATCHEWAN CONCORDIA WINDSOR
Men’s Rugby
C/O PETE SELF
OUA
Laura Sinclair Asst. Sports Editor @Lsinkky
The Marauders cross country team took to the trails at the Queen’s Invitational meet on Oct. 11 in Kingston, Ont. At this meet, the men’s team finished first overall, with Taylor Forbes leading the pack at third overall. The women’s team finished second overall, with Maddy McDonald being the first Marauder to cross the finish line in third place overall. The men’s team managed to win for their third time in a row despite the absence of captain Blair Morgan due to illness, and top runner Connor Darlington due to injury. Morgan is a competitor that managed to work and train hard even throughout his sickness, and it took a lot of convincing from teammates and coaches alike for him to come to terms with the fact that he was too sick to race. “It took him two weeks and a string of bad workouts before he finally admitted he was actually sick. And even then it still took some convincing before he finally agreed to just rest up for the OUA Championships,” said
teammate Taylor Forbes. had more than just the regular Forbes debuted in this jitters before the gun went off. race, after taking a month-long “I was very nervous coming recovery after triathlon season. into this race. Not just general He was looking forward to race nervousness but nerracing his teammate and best vousness out of fear I may be friend, but will get the chance burnt out from a long triathlon to do so at the OUA and CIS season,” said Forbes. Championships, where Morgan “It’s tough for us triathletes will be in his best shape. to perform our best with backAs for Darto-back sealington, he was sons,” he added. experiencing Forbes was some tightness able to prove in his calf after that he was in an earlier work great shape, out, and the however, finishcoaches decided ing a team-best it would be third overall and best for him sticking with to sit this race the race strategy out, and run at Coach Sneyd Taylor Forbes provincials and had for him as McMaster cross country nationals when best as he could. he feels his best. Even with a “He’s as podium finish, much a part of however, Forbes the top seven as anyone else still believes that he has more in and he will be ready to go come the tank. nationals” said Forbes. “I thought I had it in me Forbes’ first race of the seato run away with the race, but I son was extremely impressive, underestimated by competitors especially after a very long and and paid for it pretty hard in competitive triathlon season, the last lap of the course,” said which saw him compete at the Forbes. World Championships. But Forbes first race speaks Standing on the start-line volumes for the kind of shape for the Queen’s Invitational, he he is in right now. This race has
“
I thought I had it in me to run away with this race.
gotten him one step closer to his final goal, which is to be an All-Canadian at the CIS Championships in Newfoundland. Not too far behind Forbes in the race were Gabe Ghiglione in 6th, Austen Forbes in 7th, Luke Charbonneau in 9th and Derek Van Schepen in 13th. The men’s team consecutive first place finishes have moved them up in the CIS rankings to second overall. On the women’s side, the team finished second overall, a feat that has moved them up in the CIS rankings to 8th overall. Maddy McDonald led the team, finishing third overall, right behind former teammate turned-Queen’s University grad student, Victoria Coates. Next to cross the finish line in Maroon and Grey was Gabrielle Foran, who finished 10th overall, Maddie Benjamin in 15th, Kierstin Myers in 17th, and Erin Mawhinney in 25th. The Marauders will get to tackle the same course again in Kingston on Oct. 25 at the OUA Championships. The team will take the next two weeks for a critical period of high-intensity training, followed up by some rest and recovery before the provincial championship meet.
QUEEN'S GUELPH MCMASTER WESTERN BROCK
W L Pts
W L Pts
5 5 5 4 4
1 2 1 0
1 1 1 1 2
26 RMC 25 LAURIER 25 WATERLOO 22 TORONTO 22
6 4 5 6
8 8 5 0
Women’s Rugby RUSSELL
SHIELS W L Pts
MCMASTER 4 QUEEN’S 4 YORK 3 TRENT 2 TORONTO 0
0 1 2 3 5
22 21 14 10 0
W L Pts
GUELPH WATERLOO WESTERN LAURIER BROCK
3 3 2 2 0
0 1 3 3 5
19 18 11 10 1
On the lookout: Athletes to watch this week Maicee Sorenson Women's volleyball › Thanksgiving Tournament All-Star Coming off of a successful weekend, Sorenson is sure to bring her A game to the season opener match this Friday Jori Mantha Men's Volleyball › 18.5 points against the Buckeyes Mantha will be sure to keep his all-star status for their first match against Western in the Burridge Gym Friday.
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Marauders are ready for Western Laura Sinclair Asst. Sports Editor @Lsinkky
CO/RICK ZAZULAK
The Marauders men’s volleyball team took the long trip to Ohio State University, where they played two exhibition games against the Buckeyes. The team came back to Hamilton with more experience under their sleeves, having lost both of the games in very different ways. McMaster lost the first game in three sets. They managed to keep the score close in the last set, only losing 25-27, but their last stint of effort wasn’t enough to keep the match going. In the next match on Saturday afternoon, the Marauders were able to shake off their last performance and come out with a bang. In this match, the Marauders were able to rally the Buckeyes to five sets, showing their full potential on the court. They lost the first two sets (20-25, 22-25), but then came
back hard in the third set to out-score Ohio State by seven points, taking the set 25-18. The Maroon and Grey managed to keep the momentum going strong in the fourth, winning the set narrowly with a score of 30-28. In the fifth set, the Marauders weren’t able to hold off the powerful Buckeyes, and lost 15-10. The leading scorers on the court for this match include Jori Mantha with 18.5 points, Jayson McCarthy with 16.5 points, and Brandon Koppers with 16. McMaster was able to take a good amount of experience from the exhibition games against the 2011 NCAA national champions. Mac will look forward to using this experience in their first match, on Oct. 17 against the Western Mustangs. “We want to make sure that we’re ready to go for the next weekend, that’s what we were focusing on, not necessarily going down and playing the Buckeyes,” said head coach Dave Preston. With a couple of exhibition
games behind them now, the Marauders currently sit at second overall in the CIS rankings, trailing behind the defending CIS Champions, the Alberta Golden Bears. The Marauders will hope to bring the same tactics and plays that they did in the second game against the Buckeyes to the Burridge Gym on Friday night, where they will face their OUA and CIS rivals – the Western Mustangs. This will be the first match against Western after the Mustangs crushed the Marauders gold medal hopes last season in the CIS semi-final.
Volleyball Numbers
Leading Scorers for Mac in Game 2 against the Buckeyes • Jori Mantha- 18.5 • Jayson McCarthy- 16.5 • Brandon Koppers- 16
Mac sees early success on the court
CO/FRASER CALDWELL
Scott Hastie Sports Editor @scott1hastie
Heading into the annual Thanksgiving tournament, the Marauders women’s volleyball team was an unknown quantity. After finishing second to Toronto without some key contributors, it is clear the Marauders will be a competitive team regardless of who is able to suit up. The opening game against Royal Military College saw some miscommunication among players, but their confidence grew as the game went
on. Granted, RMC is a weaker team, but for Mac to handle them in straight sets is a good sign. The first two sets saw the Marauders win 25-8 and 25-12 before RMC found their footing a bit in the third set and only lost 25-16. Their second game against the Queen’s Gaels was closer, with Mac still winning in straight sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-19). Queen’s is typically a powerhouse in the conference, but is undergoing a transition year with a new coach. Beating the Gaels meant Mac would take on the Varsity Blues – a team head coach Tim Louks expects to be at
the top of the standings this season. McMaster gave them a challenge, but were ultimately straight-setted to earn silver at the tournament. McMaster’s Maicee Sorensen and Joanna Jedrzejewska were named to the tournament All-Star team. The regular season gets underway on Friday against a tough Western squad. Mac has a tough schedule to start the season, playing Windsor and Ottawa before a trip to Thunder Bay, Ont. to take on Lakehead.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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19
Playoffs on the line in final weekend
“
The women’s soccer team can make playoffs this weekend, but needs outside help to climb the standings Scott Hastie Sports Editor @scott1hastie
McMaster’s Thanksgiving weekend was spent on the road this year, traveling the less-thanscenic southern Ontario stretch between London and Windsor. The women’s soccer team achieved lukewarm results against Western and Windsor. The 5-0 loss to Western is a negative, but the team bounced back to following day to grab a 0-0 draw against fifth-place Windsor. This weekend’s goal was to not drop any points, but two
weekend wins from Guelph means McMaster is battling the Gryphons for fifth-place. Brock is tied with McMaster but the Marauders have the upper hand because they have conceded four less goals. Fifth-place Guelph has only 17 goals against, but they have to play Laurier, Western and Windsor – teams who need to may be keen to run up score lines to improve playoff seeding. The Gryphons need to lose all their remaining games for Mac to jump ahead in the standings. With a double-header against the lowly Algoma Thunderbirds, it is fair to pencil the McMaster squad in for a playoff
spot. In their first year of OUA conference play, Algoma has 150 goals against in 14 games – an average of 10.7 goals against per game. Mac will face a tough opponent in the quarterfinals of playoffs, but playing Algoma for the final two games of the season gives the team an opportunity to get some offence going and inject the team with some confidence in the final third of the pitch. The Marauders have only scored nine goals all season, second-last to Algoma. Granted, all other teams have had the opportunity to beat up on the Thunderbirds
McMaster is battling the Guelph Gryphons for fifth-place. Sophia Ykema Captain Women’s Soccer
and inflate their goal totals. A fifth-place finish has incredible value because of the top-table strength in the OUA West. York, Western and Laurier are all top-ten ranked teams and one of those teams will finish in third place. Right
now, Laurier sits third but they only two points separate them from first place. As the regular season wraps up, McMaster will have their eyes on the scoreboards from around the league as their playoff fate won’t be decided by their own play alone. The OUA’s worst
McMaster’s final opponent of the regular season is the Algoma Thunderbirds. It has been a forgettable season for the Sault Ste. Marie team. › In their inaugural season, Algoma is 0-14 › Through 14 games, they have conceded 150 goals › They have scored five goals, but Mac has only scored nine
#15 rookie Nicole Pacheco has successfully handled an increased workload following team injuries. C/O FRASER CALDWELL
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18TH @ RON JOYCE STADIUM #3 MARAUDER FOOTBALL VS. LAURIER @ 1:00 P.M. Looking to get one step closer to an undefeated regular season. Tickets are available at the COMPASS information booth.
#2 WOMEN’S RUGBY OUA SEMI-FINAL VS. WESTERN @ 7:30 P.M. Winner secures a spot at the 2014 National Championship
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Women’s rugby looking for hardware Eyes for nationals
Scott Hastie Sports Editor
Three of four remaining teams will qualify for the CIS national tournament
@scott1hastie
The championship window for McMaster’s women’s rugby team has rarely been more open. The No. 2-ranked Marauder squad is set to host the 2-3 Western Mustangs in the OUA semifinals on Oct. 19. Should they win, they’ll host the winner of the Guelph-Queen’s game. Captain Cindy Nelles says the team is ready for the final stretch of the season. “Our coaching staff and strength and conditioning staff have done a great job being ahead of the health trends,” said Nelles. Mac did not play Western in the regular season, but the team expects a tough game regardless of the Mustangs’ middling record. “They are a very fit team, they always have been. But our team has the fitness and the strength to go toe-to-toe with them. I think we have a better strength and conditioning program. In order to beat Western, we have to play our style of
• Guelph is hosting the tournament this year, meaning they have an automatic entry
rugby,” said Nelles. The ceiling for this team is as high as it has been for years. The squad only graduated two players last year and has maintained a solid core of third and fourth-year athletes who have gone through a tough couple of years. McMaster was bounced in the OUA semifinals in the past two seasons. Along with the continuity, Mac won a sevens tournament
in March that helped increase the team’s on-field chemistry. The CIS national tournament is a realistic possibility for the team. Beating Western puts Mac through to nationals, but getting to the OUA championship game is not the end goal. “I have my eyes set on an OUA championship, and many of the girls also want to see that happen for us. We want to stick it to the OUA, we want to stick
it to Guelph, we want to stick it to Queen’s,” said Nelles. McMaster has had their fair share of doubters this year, prompting the desire to show up the rest of the league. Even After beating Queen’s 21-20, the CIS top ten still ranked the Gaels ahead of the Marauders. Expectations for the national tournament are high. “I think this team has a strong contention to be in that
•
OUA championship finalists each earn a berth
•
If Guelph beats Queen’s, the bronze medalist will go nationals
•
With only six teams at nationals, seeding is incredibly important. Winning the OUA means a higher seed
championship game,” said Nelles. A bold statement from the Marauder captain, but understandable too. With a veteran-heavy roster and a convincing regular season, McMaster could be walking away from the 2014 season with multiple medals.
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GAMES
DOWN 1] Litigious one 2] Director Preminger 3] Make high-pitched, whiny noises 4] Con arist’s accomplice 5] Evil hypnotist of fiction 6] Engine knock 7] Caribbean taro 8] Light on Broadway 9] Fatigued 10] American-born Japanese 11] Far from ruddy 12] Cosmetic additive 13] Headline material 21] Charged particle 22] S, for Socrates 25] Type of tree 26] Hunter in the night sky 27] Posts on a ship’s deck 29] Remove from the game 30] Goblin or bugbear 31] Acquire, as debt 32] Back composition 33] Microwaves, e.g. 34] Hemmed in
36] Take steps 39] Pantry pest 41] German poet Heinrich 42] Increase or enhance 48] Like some regions 49] Golf bag item 51] African ruminant 53] Ineffective, as a threat 54] Monthly expense, for many 55] It melts in your mouth 56] “____ of the Cave Bear” 57] Raconteur’s offering 58] Geishas’ sashes 59] Arboreal monkey 60] Home to Mount Konahuanui 61] “____ the Rainbow” 62] Not on the rocks Twitter Winner
Finish the crossword? Tweet your photo of the finished grid at @theSilhouette and we’ll publish the first three names each week!
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ACROSS 44] Mystery board game 45] Adjust, as a motor 46] USNA grad 47] Get from a parent 50] NY summer time 51] Low digit 52] “____ whiz!” 54] Odets play 63] First name in jazz 64] Black-and-white outfit
65] Cover the road 66] A less-than-average tide 67] Glitterati, e.g. 68] Train in a celebrated Duke Ellington song 69] “Beloved” author Morrison 70] Pine product 71] Mongolian tent
Last Week Solutions
1] Female hogs 5] Not be frugal 10] Tandoor-baked bread 14] Mormons settled it 15] The “V” in VCR 16] Maroon’s home 17] Pins and needles case 18] ____ a high note 19] Finish third 20] Expressing sarcasm, in a way 23] Nautical journal 24] Caesar’s 3 25] Organized criminals 28] Taking into custody 32] Watch vest pocket 35] Operatic song 37] Spinks who beat Ali 38] Grayish-violet 40] Features of most pro baseball games 43] Memorable soprano Lehmann
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LIFESTYLE into into Fall
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Down in the turkey dumps? Follow these fantastic pointers PAGE 24
Hamilton
Check out these Steel City destinations for the best autumn adventures Asefeoluwa Adobunrin Contributor
N
Bayfront Park 200 Harbour Front Drive If you are super stressed about midterms, just take a walk down the Waterfront Trail and de-stress. If you take a picnic, just be sure to leave the park as beautiful as you met it. If you would like to take a boat ride down the lake, or love bird watching, then Bayfront Park is perfect. Go with friends to watch the beauty of fall as the trees shed their leaves.
Escarpment Stairs Scenic Drive With a mind-blowing 289 stairs, this is a beautiful place for the adventurous, extreme cardio lovers, and people who love going down staircases, but not coming up. You can also watch the waterfall at the top of the stairs. Take a bottle of water with you, and make sure to wear jogging or running clothes.
Theatre Aquarius 190 King William Street Time to switch from big cinema screens to live plays. The intensity of background music and heartfelt plays makes this place a must see this fall. From the Mary Poppins musical to Agatha Christie’s mysteries, this theatre boasts a wide range of plays.
Royal Botanical Gardens 680 Plains Road West There are four distinct beautiful gardens: arboretum, Hendrie Park, Laking Park, and Rock Garden. This fall they have a “Great Pumpkin Trail” event running from Oct. 23 to 24 between 6-7 p.m. The colors of fall in this large botanical garden and its mix of woodland path and rocky grounds makes for a gorgeous outing. Student prices are also available.
Sassafras Point Outside Westdale By hiking through Cootes Paradise starting from Westdale, you can get to Sassafras Point, which has a breathtaking view. You can access the trail from Oak Knoll Drive. The trail is great to walk with friends, family, or pets, and offers gorgeous trees and boardwalks to spend a fall day.
AMANDA WATKINS / PRODUCTION EDITOR
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
Got Turkey Dumped? Five things you should definitely do after a breakup. Em Kwissa Contributor
Ah, post-Thanksgiving – the time when the honey-dipped optimism of summer makes way for the cool gray reality of autumn. The time that brings to an end the idealism of hometown hookups and vacation exploits, finding them far less attractive when faced with distance, obligations, and even just generalized staleness. A time of beginnings that bring endings. A time of turkey dumps! So, right in time for the end of the summer fling or the threeyear relationship that won’t survive the start of university, for all you evolved and civilized onceflame-now-burned people who are still friends on Facebook: A guide to the modern breakup, from the people watching it all unfold from the sidelines of your social media 1. Accidentally run into your ex. Get dressed up and go out. Maybe go to places you used to go as a couple. Maybe go places you know your ex loves. Maybe go places you heard Julia say your ex would be. Better make sure you have a great pair of jeans on. Not that you have to prove to anyone that you are a total catch. You will just be chilling with your friends.
2. Post constant status updates on Facebook and Twitter, preferably ones that can be accompanied by pictures of your face and/or body. Obviously you’re handling this whole thing with maturity and grace. You are not emotional or really thinking about your ex at all, so the whole idea of taking some personal time to heal and move on is clearly for people who are Not You. Time to assure everyone that you’re doing well. What better way to do that than with pictures of your face and body? Look how cute and fun you are! You are clearly loving the single life! This barrage of staged photographs of you smiling in a bathing suit / in spandex / in a towel while you’re “At the beach!” / “At the gym!” / “Just relaxin’ today!” is neither transparent to your ex nor annoying as fuck to everyone else. 3. Catch up with old friends. You know, the ones you never spoke to or saw for ages because you were too busy dating someone. Call them up! Let’s hang out! It’s not like you were at all crummy or neglectful! Take tons of selfies together! Look how many friends you have! And you know, you always wished you were closer with your ex’s friends... They seemed really cool. Well, breakups are a great time for self-improvement. Get out there and make friends, you! This won’t be
weird at all. 4. Keep everyone updated on your every passing emotion throughout this process. Sure, it’s a raw, emotional time, and your mind and heart are going to be changing every two to five minutes, but that’s why they made mobile apps. Why have an actual conversation with someone when you can just shout your feelings at everyone from your co-workers to your grandparents? It’s better this way. No one’s going to comment on a public Facebook post, “didn’t you say really awful things during the breakup?” or “do you think you’re maybe being a bit dishonest with yourself?” or “your poetry is really bad.”
happening. Keep tabs on them through mutual friends and social media. If you’re going to stay friends, you’ll want all this out in the open. You’ll want to have it all worked0 out. And who wouldn’t want to be friends with you?
You’re really nice until the chips are down and things get difficult, at which point you react the way any reasonable adult human would – by being mean to people you supposedly care about. Fair trade, right?
5. Keep trying to “work things out” with your ex. Even though that is something people do to prevent a breakup, and you are, in fact, broken up, give this a shot. Give your ex that highly comprehensive list of character flaws you compiled. Dredge up all that old crap you never talked about when it was actually
Hunkering down off-campus Beth Barr SHEC
The hunt for the ever-elusive perfect study spot is ongoing and exhausting. It begins with your first assignment or midterm. You venture to libraries; your eyes become heat-seeking lasers for electrical outlets. Eventually you move to unusual places on campus – that tiny tutorial room in BSB or that study room you booked three weeks in advance – until finally you explore outside the Mac bubble. Williams and My Dog Joe are great, but they’re far too well known – their policy of free wi-fi and refilling your tea water all day are amazing – but they lack outlets and crowds can be a real issue. So I’ve ventured further out of the Mac bubble
and found a few student-friendly and versatile study spots. All of the following are along a bus route (with a bit of a walk) and didn’t object to me hunkering down with my laptop and a re-fillable tea. My first adventure was to The Brain at 199 James Street North. Though probably more of a bar than a café, The Brain seems to tick all the boxes; outlets abound in the back half, board games and interesting art to keep a light atmosphere, as well as food and drink galore. Unfortunately, being a bar means they open at noon – but stay open til 2 a.m. Though I didn’t stay beyond midafternoon and I can’t speak to the atmosphere of this “bar scene,” I can speak to the awesome staff and incredibly chill music
they supply. They also sport a rocking assortment of rotating taps, just in case you need an adult-style study break. The second amazing location was Homegrown – located at 27 King William, just off of James. Here I found an interesting set of hours: from the early a.m. til 6 p.m. everyday, yet they’re open until 2 a.m. on nights with events (live local music, kareoke). The walls are covered in local art, and the stage in the front corner screams of rock shows and brings with it a multitude of extension cords. All food and beverages can be made vegan and/or gluten free by request, and the drink preparation station offers composting options. Again, refilling your tea water is completely acceptable, and the
wi-fi password is clearly posted. My only complaint was the music – while sitting through a staff change, I was startled to go from the smooth crooning of the Strokes to jarring horns. My final stop on this rapid-fire exploration was The Radius (151 James Street South). I found myself floored by the mile-high ceilings and huge amount number of communal tables – a concept I truly enjoy, especially with group studies in mind. The atmosphere was open and airy, and the music was low key enough that studying without headphones would likely be easy. They offer brunch until 3 p.m., though I found locating the menu to be difficult. Additionally, I was very politely informed that due to a private event that night, we’d all be
asked to leave by 5:30. Downtown Hamilton most definitely has a multitude of options – many of which are open to the student population and are willing to cater to our low budgets and large time commitments. At these café-bar-restaurants I found a dazzling selection of eclectic art and mugs, friendly staff, calm atmospheres and new music. These places – and those I’m sure I’ve not yet stumbled across – make the bus ride more than worth it. SHEC: Peer support, resource, and referral service, by students for students MUSC 202 905-525-9140 ext. 22041 M-TH 9:30-6:30, FR 9:30-4:30 Got a problem? Let's talk. We want to listen.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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Fashion Month: street style trends
Daniella Porano & Hayley Regis Contributors
D: While fashion month has sadly come to an end, New York, London, Milan, and Paris have been good to us on the runway, with so many beautiful shows that have already set the trends for Spring/Summer 2015 fashion (seriously, I am amazed at how many times designers can reinvent florals). While I adore and derive inspiration from runway shows, the constrictions of limited budgets, having to take the HSR and walk to school, and chilly fall days often make high fashion style inaccessible. Acknowledging the fact that runway trends can often be difficult to contextualize and work into our everyday wardrobes, street style trends can feel much more applicable to our regular university days. Trend 1: sweater and skirts D: London championed hundreds of pairings of sweaters and skirts in the most chic way possible. Echoed by my favourite way to style a skirt with a sweater, the fashion week
attenders paired chunky cable knits with a-line skirts that cut a few inches above the knees. To carry this style into winter, add nylons, over the knee socks, and knee-high boots. To keep it fresh, don’t tuck the sweater in (or perfect the half-tuck). H: I’m obsessed with the contrast between flowing feminine skirts and chunky knitwear, but one of my favourite looks this season was a fuzzy grey sweater paired with a bright skirt and sneakers. I like to layer up with tights in the winter and make up whatever leg heat I lose below by layering myself like a cozy student parfait up top. Trend 2: all-neutral outfit H: Another big thing this season was the all-neutral outfit. As I’m usually someone who aims to look like an extra from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air it’s hard for me to say this, but I am finding myself in love with the all-neutral look! I’ve been seeing and trying the kind of monochromatic look I’ve seen on bloggers and in style photos from London and Milan. Fashion week attendees have been rocking everything in the
spectrum, from white on white, through jean on jean, all the way to all black (fondly referred to as “The Uniform”). Look through your wardrobe for black jeans or leggings to pair with black sweaters or t-shirts for super simple utilitarian vibes. If you don’t want to feel like Wednesday Addams, maybe punch up your outfit with a bright lip, some statement jewellery, or swap one of the black pieces out for a grey one. I like to rock that with sneakers, but as it starts to get colder I’m bringing my boots back out. D: Let’s be honest here. There is nothing sleeker, cooler, and easier than an all-black getup. I personally found the varying warm shades of cream and grays as a welcoming beckoning to fall weather. While I love all neutral looks, I love to use them as a blank canvas for colourful accessories, like wearing all black with a red bag. Trend 3: new take on sneakers, over the knee boots, and ankle boots D: No outfit is complete without the perfect shoes. More than an afterthought or accessory, shoes transform outfits from bland to
fashion perfection easily. Fashion month revealed a plethora of sneakers, boots, and heels. For a fresh take on sneakers, put aside the inspiration of Adidas and Chanel runners, and try a slip on slide in plain black leather, plaid, or leopard print. D: Boot season is my favourite thing about fall, because it comes without worries about shoe-destroying winter snow and ridiculously copious amounts of salt layering the sidewalk. So we can focus on what matters: colours, textures, and new styles. This fall, the women of Fashion Month rocked over the knee and ankle boots in mostly neutrals or black. If you prefer boots without a heel, there are so many great options for those as well in the ankle or over knee height. H: I like to keep my footwear short, so I go for sneakers and oxfords. Ankle boots are a must, so I’m looking forward to investing in a black pair for the coming winters. My advice is to always go for something you can wear seven days a week without feeling weird about it, and that can accommodate a cozy sock for days you wish you didn’t have to go outside.
Trend 4: blanket scarves H: Now leave it to Burberry to basically pioneer a trend on its own, because really, if Christopher Bailey is doing something we probably should too. Inspired by the equestrian blankets worn by riders, Burberry gave us a final walk of models in matching monogrammed blanket shawls. These things are big, cozy, and exactly the kind of things a student needs to power through a last-minute cramming session in HSL. Too bad it’ll cost you over $1,300 of your OSAP; actually, I guess it’s a good thing it’s sold out. Head out to places like H&M and Value Village to hunt for you own, or get your hands on one of those Aritzia blanket scarves as an alternative your wallets will thank you for. D: Popularized by the Burberry runway and started streetwise by Olivia Palermo, blanket scarves are an outfit within themselves. Buy them in a pop of colour or pattern and wear them over neutrals to draw focus to them and wear them as a cape or tie them as a regular scarf and have the coziest fall day ever.
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In case you find yourself wanting to watch more Adam Sandler (but, why?), the comedy star has signed a movie deal with Netflix. Sandler will star and produce in four Netflix-exclusive films. Let’s hope that they are better than Jack and Jill.
Time Magazine released its annual unranked list of the 25 most influential teenagers including Malia and Sasha Obama, who was the youngest on the list. Lorde, Malala Yousafzai, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Rico Rodriguez of Modern Family were also featured.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES NOTIFICATION TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR DECEMBER 2014 FINAL EXAM ACCOMMODATIONS
Apple and Facebook have put policies in place to help women succeed in the workplace without worrying about that pesky biological clock. The Fortune 500 companies are now offering to pay for women to freeze their eggs so that they can truly have it all. Thanks Apple and Facebook, always looking out for the girls. Saturday Night Live received its worst ratings ever, thanks to Bill Hader. The ex-SNL cast member returned to host the Oct. 11 show which, despite decent reviews, tied with Charlize Theron’s episode for the lowest rated episode in SNL history.
All newly identified or returning students with a disability MUST attend an appointment with a Disability Coordinator before NOVEMBER 21, 2014 in order to receive final exam accommodations for December 2014. For more information, please contact STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES (SAS) by phone: 905-525-9140 x 20302; or in person at: MUSC (Student Centre) B-107;
Tobi Abdul Asst. Lifestyle Editor @toe_bee
or by email at: sas@mcmaster.ca
Movie Music ANDY weighs in on the best in movie soundtracks PAGE 30
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Exhibit: The Chamber
Keeping up with Coming up in Hamilton
Thursday, October 16, 2014
This week’s quick picks
MUSIC
THE CASBAH > Dinner Belles > Heavy Trash > Leonard Cohen Tribute > Del Barber and the Profiteers
OCT 18 OCT 19 OCT 20 OCT 21
HOMEGROWN HAMILTON > Songwriter Showcase
OCT 17
Ashanti Ft. French Montana Early In The Morning
THIS AIN’T HOLLYWOOD > Tommygun > Ric Taylor’s Masquerade > The Untouchable Ones > Metal Mondays
OCT 17 OCT 18 OCT 19 OCT 20
MOVIES
Westdale Theatre > Tracks > My Old Lady
OCT 3-16 OCT 10-16
MUSEUMS
MCMASTER MUSEUM > Workingman’s Dead by Leopold Plotek
I feel like Ashanti has been in the game since I was in elementary school, so it’s gratifying to see her flourishing. The R&B stalwart has been pretty quiet as of late, but things have heated up with the release of her new album, Braveheart. On her first single off the record, “Early In The Morning”, she teams up with Bronx rapper French Montana to great effect. The video has the pair playing musicians in love, seperated by their recording duties in different studios. It’s a fairly typical offering, but one that pleases the ear.
THE ANDY CHARTS
#
ALBUM TITLE
1
Cadillactica
2
...And Star Power
3
Hell Can Wait EP
4
Hi Scores EP
5
No One Is Lost
6
Lily-O
7
Buried Alive
8
Feels Good 2 Be Rich
9
Can You Digg It?
10
Kesha vs. Dr. Luke :(
Twin Peaks slated for 2016 return
Special Agent Dale Cooper is scheduled to once again appear on TV come 2016. David Lynch returns as the director of the cult TV show. Flip to page 29 for a fan’s take on the news and check out thesil.ca for the rest of the article.
Alex Florescu Contributor
Midterm season is upon us, school has begun to pick up and I’m starting to feel the stress. Last Friday was no exception. However, in between group meetings, library study sessions and online quiz completions, I found free time to visit Ian Johnston’s exhibit The Chamber at the McMaster Museum of Art. I went from frantically dodging the 20-minutes-afterthe-hour-crowd on my way over the museum to being the only one in a cavernous, nearly silent room. I say nearly silent because, as it was, there was a familiar sound emanating from the corner of the room. I ventured over and discovered that what I thought was a corner is actually another room. It is in this room that I found Johnston’s Chamber, a dynamic installation that towers above you one minute and lays flat on the ground the next. More specifically, it is an inflatable white bag that covers the surface area of the room. When fully inflated, the
installation fills the room in a white mass. In this state, the installation is accompanied by a recording of trickling water. It is this sound that first drew me to Johnston’s art piece, a sound that seemed so out of place in a museum. As I stood in front of the piece, I noticed, with surprise, that the installation was changing. The bag was slowly deflating, the sound of water was gradually replaced by the sounds of a crackling of a fire and the dimmed lights became strikingly bright. By the time all of the air had been vacuumed out of it, the bag had become completely plastered against the mass of objects piled underneath it. Through the nearly translucent nylon bag, I could make out familiar forms and colours. There were pots, pans, plates, board games, bins, lampshades and other common-use objects. As it turns out, these items were removed from a waste stream in Medicine Hat and incorporated into the installation - a comment on the detrimental effect of consumerism on the environment.
Intrigued to delve deeper into the motivation behind this piece, I watched an interview with Ian Johnston. The architect-turned-sculptor began his career in art by creating largescale ceramic installations. However, he soon discovered that he had a passion for vacuum forming - the art of placing a bag over an object and vacuuming the air out of it. He would do this to any range of objects, from bicycles to telephones to cappuccino makers. What fascinated him most was the bag, and how it would inflate and deflate to reveal and conceal its contents. It is from this discovery that he drew inspiration for The Chamber and the other pieces in his series of works called Reinventing Consumption. To Johnston, The Chamber represents the things we know exist but choose to ignore, things like consumption and refuse. With exhibits in several places around the world, one thing is for sure; Johnston’s message is loud and clear.
the
big
tickle What’s your favourite movie soundtrack?
Miranda
“X-Men: First Class”
Lucia
“Up”
Samantha
“Lion King”
Sean
“Shrek”
Teddy
“Avatar”
Thursday, October 16, 2014
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ALBUM REVIEWS
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Tinashe - Aquarius Jason Woo Lifestyle Editor @jayjai223
Over the summer Tinashe made a strong bid for song of the summer with “2 On,” which took the club by storm despite being a relatively low key banger. The DJ Mustard track is the most upbeat song on her debut Aquarius, which is a remarkably minimalist affair. Even though her past mixtapes were prime examples of experimental R&B done right, too often major label debuts have diluted an artist’s original style. As an actual cohesive body of work, Aquarius stands as the best debut mainstream album this year. On the surface, the signs of trouble are there if you take a peek at the track list; the hit making team Schoolboy Q, Future, A$AP Rocky, Cash-
mere Cat, StarGate, Mike WILL Made It, and more are all here. Tinashe’s style is also equally varied, having been compared to a host of greats like Janet Jackson, Alliyah, and Ciara. While these comparisons are flattering, they do a disservice to Aquarius. Tinahse is versatile enough to evoke the sound of all these artists while simultaneously merging her sound with current trends and managing all the cooks in the kitchen. It’s a thin line, but she walks it with confidence. Unfortunately, like many albums that intend on evoking a specific atmosphere, some tracks start to blend together. “All Hands on Deck” comes off as a high quality but desperate attempt at replicating “2 On.” Some of the interludes are pretentious, and Future almost kills the vibe on the sexy “How Many Times.”
In the end, the blunders can be ignored because there are some real gems in the young starlet’s major label debut. “Feels Like Vegas” may be the best sex song since Beyoncé’s “Rocket” in a genre that has devolved into buff guys singing about how much they’re packing. “Bet” is almost without a chorus but succeeds because Tinashe’s oozing vocals move in and out of the spacey beat with ease. It’s a five-minute sonic experiment that rewards listeners with a euphoric outro by Dev Hynes. On “Cold Sweat,” she shows her range, quickly moving between breathy, rapping, and falsettos. For such a cohesive work, it is remarkable that after multiple listens, I still can’t pin down Aquarius’ genre. Drawing from pop, hip-hop, traditional and progressive R&B, Tinashe refuses to be pigeonholed – and that’s what makes her truly modern.
The Verdict
Childish Gambino - STN MTN/ Kauai Ana Qarri Opinions Editor @anaqarri
This time, Childish Gambino spared us the full-fledged multimedia attempt at bringing together his writing, rapping, and social media skills that made Because the Internet the clunky and confusing mess that it was. Still, he didn’t spare us all the drama. STN MTN / Kauai was released as a dual-sided concept album, following the same character from Because the Internet. It begins with Gambino dreaming that he’s running Atlanta and the last track, “Go DJ”, transitions into Kauai’s first track, “Sober”.
In STN MTN, the storyline is hard to follow and other than in the first and last tracks, the dream motif fails to give the track the dream-like and surrealist feeling you would hope for. If anything, Kauai sets a much more surrealist and mellow vibe than STN MTN. In STN MTN, Gambino’s style and lyrics sound like nothing more than mainstream rap with its misogynistic lyrics and not-so-subtle bragging, which don’t always fit with his voice or tone. It’s clear that Gambino wants to be different, and his creative endeavours are appreciated, but STN MTN’s generic lyrics won’t serve him well in this pursuit. Despite STN MTN’s shortcomings, Kauai sounds like
what Gambino fans (or at least this fan) expect from him. “Sober” is a beautiful and soft R&B song. “Retro” combines some of Gambino’s best musical talents: his singing, his falsetto and his witty lyrics. “Pop Thieves” is a great example of Gambino finally finding a cohesive way to explore different artistic mediums, featuring spoken word by noted mathmagician Jaden Smith. Overall, Kauai is gorgeous. The recurring beach sounds do what STN MTN couldn’t in maintaining a theme throughout. While it definitely has some questionable choices (did I mention Jaden Smith?), it’s worth listening to, if only to experience Gambino’s musical progress since Because the Internet.
Who killed Twin Peaks? Amanda Watkins Production Editor @whatthekins
Special Agent Dale Cooper and Audrey Horne
“Who killed Laura Palmer?” It was the unanswerable question that fuelled the world of Twin Peaks—the dark and dreamy 1990s drama about the death of a high school homecoming queen, and a television series that faced a premature ending of its own.
The Verdict
After being axed by ABC one and a half seasons in, the tension-filled mystery left the airwaves with viewers wondering how the critically acclaimed drama could disappear so quickly and unexpectedly. But just as the show constantly surprised with unexpected mysteries and details, it continues to live up to its mindfucking legacy as it will be returning for a third season more than two decades later. Twin Peaks will be returning as a nine-episode series on Showtime with show creators David Lynch and Mark Frost writing and producing. The revived series will make its
official comeback in 2016, coinciding with the show’s 25th anniversary. Thanks to the internet and its charming offspring Netflix, Twin Peaks has become an accessible and binge-able series. Its newfound availability has evolved its status from ABC’s rejected wild card to a certified cult classic with a renewed following and interest.
Read the rest of the article
At thorm households with onlineinto at www.thesil.ca three-camera sitcoms and artistically
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
[REVIEWS] Best Movie Soundtracks Lord of the Rings (trilogy) Released: 2001-2003 Composer: Howard Shore RT score: 91%, 96%, 94% Rachel Harper Contributor
Psycho Released: 1960 Composer: Bernard Herrmann RT score: 96% Michael Gallagher Asst. ANDY Editor @mikeygalgz
Her Released: 2013 Composer: Various RT score: 94%
Tomi Milos ANDY Editor @tomimilos
A Clockwork Orange Released: 1971 Composer: Wendy Carlos RT score: 89% Shane Madill Online Reporter @shanemadill
The Darjeeling Limited Released: 2007 Composer: Various RT score: 68% Nicole Vasarevic Contributor
The score for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, composed by Howard Shore, is incredible. The music fuses seamlessly with the visual action, while simultaneously inserting a physical presence that demands to be felt. Your spirits lift as you drift though the Shire; fear trembles in your bones as enemies surround you; your bearing is proud and strong whilst marching into battle; your heart
becomes soothed when you realize all evil is vanquished forever. It’s an incredibly moving score—at times giving glimpses into a fantastical place only existing within you, where happiness and beauty are everlasting.
Revolutionizing the way modern horror music is written, Bernard Herrmann’s work on Psycho helped make Hitchcock’s masterpiece one of the most influential movies of all time. Without the score, it’s easy to imagine Psycho’s best scenes fading from the audience’s memory. Picturing the infamous “shower scene” without the bone-chilling strings is almost impossible, as the music
helps express the fear consuming the viewers at home. In fact, the score in Psycho is so powerful that Hitchcock himself claimed, “33 percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music”. Cleverly taking advantage of the limited budget, Herrmann decided to use only a string orchestra to perform the music, and that decision helped make Psycho unforgettable.
Despite its gorgeous cinematography and impeccable costume design (those Band of Outsiders oxfords are just too good), Spike Jonze’s Her had a number of chinks in its make-up that took away from the beauty of the film. The score was not one of them. The Arcade Fire numbers lent themselves beautifully to the subdued character study of a depressed Theodore Twombly.
“Divorce Papers” is one of my favourite pieces in the sparse, piano-heavy score. Revolving around a simple chord progression, the song aptly conveys both the grief and hopefulness of Theodore as he begins a new chapter in his life, and it is soothing enough to have in the background as you study.
The synthesizers on the title track have not aged well, and the selections of tracks are familiar and relatively popular. What makes this soundtrack fantastic, however, is how well the film uses each track. Scenes of home invasion, rape, death, and many more unsettling themes are connected to these innocent-sounding tracks either through association or by intentional emphasis by using them
as plot points. This compilation of songs represents some of the finest uses of music in any era of cinema. Highly recommended to anyone who is not squeamish about the themes of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece or as a nostalgic reminder to other times having heard these pieces.
The Darjeeling Limited is a Wes Anderson film about family, culture and finding yourself. The soundtrack consists of existing scores from Bollywood hits and western music from the 60s and 70s. That it takes you on an immersive cultural journey is the least I can say about this film. The mixture of vibrant colours on the screen and the rich music gets under your skin
and gives you an intense feeling of wanderlust. Interestingly enough, even though the soundtrack consists of different languages and different cultures all the songs share the same themes of love, loss and happiness.
Did you know?
The complete recordings of all three LOTR movie soundtracks clock in at over nine hours.
Did you know?
Anderson’s revival of older artists in his movies tend to create new demand for their albums.
Thursday, October , 2014
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Made for After the success of Orange is the New Black and Game of Thrones, what other books would be better suited for the small screen?
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
This heart-wrenching novel follows David, a young boy in WWII England who is struggling with his mother’s death and his father’s remarriage. David turns to books to deal with the extreme changes in his life when suddenly the books begin whispering to him in his mother’s voice. As David follows the voice he ends up in the land of fairy-tales, only it is warped and much darker than anything Grimm could have written. As a television show the audience would get a chance to explore the macabre fairy-tale world that seems to “take” children as David searches to save his mother and restore his life to its original state. It would also be nice to see a show that’s set in the fairy-tale world that actually has some darkness to it (here’s looking at you Once Upon a Time).
Sarah O’Connor Contributor
The Millenium series by Stieg
The Night Circus by Erin
This popular book series has been made into a film twice, in Sweden the entire series was made into three movies but in North America only the first book made it to the big screen. This popular thriller mystery series featuring the fierce investigator Lisbeth Salander and once-famous journalist Mikael Blomkvist as they solve (and later become accused of) murders and disappearances actually did very well in the box-office, though much better in Sweden where the book series is set than it did in North America. Once again, a television series would have been a fantastic choice for the book series as it would have allowed a more detailed look at the cases Salander and Blomkvist were trying to solve as well as a deeper look into the protagonists (particularly Salander’s) dark pasts. The Millenium series could have been a grittier crime show that slowly got audiences into the darkness of the crimes instead of throwing it in their face as movies do.
A must-read novel for any lovers of magic, The Night Circus focuses on the performers at the mysterious Le Cirque des Rêves which comes without warning and is only open at night. While the novel focuses on many aspects of the circus, including the group of people who made it and how it began, it also includes the story of Celia and Marco. A daughter and son of two rival magicians the two (who are children at the beginning of the novel) are prepared for a duel against one another when they reach adulthood, when they expectantly fall in love. The Night Circus is much more than just a romance and it would be the perfect book to adapt into a television show in order to see the different back stories that led Celia and Marco to the circus and how the circus has affected those who created it.
Larsson
Morgenstern
A Series of Unfortunate Events by
Lemony Snicket This popular books series about the three Baudelaire orphans who deal with one tragedy after another had a majority of fans disappointed with the movie adaption in 2004 that combined the first three books into one movie. The main complaints towards the movie stemmed from the fact that the movie was more comic and lighthearted than the dark themes of the book which held more of a dark edge (the books are definitely an acquired taste). Had the books been adapted as a television series, audiences could have had the chance to understand the Baudelaire orphans as individuals rather than as a group. As well there would have been more time to explore the mysterious past of the Baudelaire’s family and their numerous relatives (whom the orphans had never met before the deaths of their parents) which was only briefly hinted at in the movies (what was with that spyglass anyways?).
SPRIG PICKLE We ask Hamiltonians which movies trigger their latent, sexually- deviant memories. S5
THURSDAY
THE
HAMILTON SPECULATOR MOST QUOTED IN THE WEST SINCE 1934
NOTSPEC.COM
OC TOBER 16, 2014
Will you take the president to prom? EMSU President hopes to become Prom King in self-hosted indulgence
Tpyo finds its way into text
MICHELLE SAVAGE Grammar-at-sea
Despite our best efforts, a tpyo has infiltrated the body text of a Speculator article. “We tried our best to bar the doors and blind the windows, but in the end it wasn’t enough to stem sthe tide of spelling oversight such as we have seen in our lifetimes,” said Michelle Savage, resident grammatarian and spelling enthusiast. The Speculator prides itself on minimizing the amount of errors in the publication, and to this end we utilize the time of three distinct copy editors to try and get as many eyes on the text as possible. “This level of incontinence is unacceptable. We will remain ever vigilant in hunting down stray tpyos but in the meantime we encourage readers to circle them and neglect to tell us where they are,” said Savage. To this end, we have a clarification from the last issue, in which we stated “four children have gone missing” from a downtown neighbourhood. They are actually dead, not missing. Our bad.
FREIDHILD AGUILERA Feat. Drake
“You know what students could really use right when they are powering down from stressful exams? An expensive, ill-timed and cold prom event that isn’t even free,” said Bear Peppers, President and CEO of the Eclectic Majestic Student’s Union. “And do you know who would be a really great role model and Prom King for those students? Yours truly.” Peppers has put forward a plan to the Student’s Reprehensible Assembly which would have the EMSU host a $15,000 event at the end of the year as a way of fostering community and resentment among the uninformed and beleaguered student body. “Sometimes you need to dream big. Nothing is bigger than picking me up a quarter to eight and showing me a good time, your future and
forever EMSU Prom King. If the students make the right decision,” said Peppers. Peppers has stipulated that, in order to qualify for a Prom King nomination, students must be current EMSU Presidents or CEOs, and must dream hard. “I’m not a cheap date, but you’ll find that you get your money’s worth with me, if you don’t mind vague promises and convenient lack of specific figures or forethought,” said Peppers. This won’t be the last of his initiatives, mentioned Peppers when asked about follow-up plans to this event. He mentioned a free endof-year event thrown for students (minus ticket costs for administrative and beareaucratic purposes) to remind everyone that his legacy is in fact in the works, and will be brought up in deficit discussions for years to come. “Stay salty, and vote Pepper.”
EMSU President Bear Peppers (below) hopes that the event will inspire future generations of students to remember he was there.
“A date with me is a date with destiny. And dreams. A dream of destiny.” Bear Peppers EMSU President & CEO
Disclaimer: The Hamilton Speculator is a work of satire and fiction and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. Unless you’re into that sort of thing. Then do what you want. I’m not your dad.
INSIDE ELECTIC AVENUE A3 DUMPSTER FIRES A6 OPINIONS THAT ARE CATEGORICALLY WRONG B2 PRESIDENT’S RAGE B5 FIRST SIGH-MESTER B7 TO BE IN A LION PRIDE C1 KNIT-PICKING IS SEW DONE C4 A VOTE FOR BUTT IS A VOTE FOR A SHITTIER HAMILTON. DON’T GET REAR-ENDED BY THIS CHEEKY CANDIDATE D2
PER ISSUE: 0.35g Metric Amounts INCL. HST, PST & three of it.