The Silhouette - October 23, 2014

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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SRA meeting summary Tensions were high at last Sunday’s SRA meeting. We break down everything you need to know from the event.

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Halloween costumes on budget

REVIEW: Pre-Radcliffe Horns

You can have a clever, elaborate costume AND eat in the same week.

Check out some DIY costume ideas will start conversations.

ANDY breaks down the book, by Joe Hill, that is about to release as an anticipated feature film.

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MCMASTER, IT’S

Municipal elections are almost here. Are you ready to make an informed decision?

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LOOKING BACK

The Silhouette

Volume 85, Issue 10 Thursday, October 23, 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

AUGUST 19, 1988

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

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The Silhouette welcomes letters to the editor in person at MUSC B110, or by email at thesil@thesil.ca. Please include name, address and telephone number for verification only. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters and opinion articles. Opinions and editorials expressed in The Silhouette are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, the publishers, the McMaster Students Union or the University. The Silhouette is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the McMaster Students Union. The Silhouette Board of Publications acts as an intermediary between the editorial board, the McMaster community and the McMaster Students Union. Grievances regarding The Silhouette may be forwarded in writing to: McMaster Students Union, McMaster University Student Centre, Room 201, L8S 4S4, Attn: The Silhouette Board of Publications. The Board will consider all submissions and make recommendations accordingly.

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‘Students shafted by city’ In a move that spurred on students to protest in front of City Hall, Hamilton City Council passed a by-law limited the number of unrelated people that could live in a single-family home to five. The MSU president at the time, Suzan Fraser, called the legislation “discriminatory and undemocratic,” and difficult to enforce. This move happened after Westdale resident complained about the amount of lodging that were being converted to student homes, as university enrollment rose and rose. “Do we ask for family pictures? Do we ask for a blood test?” [originally published in The Silhouette as Students shafted by city.]

ONLINE

The sublime cinematography of Edgar Wright films Visit www.thesil.ca for frame-by-frame breakdown of the kind of cinematic techniques that made Edgar Wright a feature film powerhouse. It has gifs!

SECTION MEETINGS News: Thurs @ 11:30 a.m.

Opinion: Thurs @ 12:30 p.m.

Sports: Tues @ 12:30 p.m.

LifeStyle: Thurs @ 1:30 p.m.

Andy: Mon @ 1:30 p.m.

Photo: Fri @ 11:30 a.m.

Video: Thurs @ 12:30 p.m.

Online: Fri @ 12:30 p.m.

INSIDE

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News: PAGE 3 Feature: PAGE 6 Editorial: PAGE 10 Around Campus: PAGE 12 Opinions: PAGE 13 Sports: PAGE 17 Games: PAGE 22 Lifestyle: PAGE 23 ANDY: PAGE 27

If you can’t make a listed section meeting, feel free to e-mail the section editors at section@thesil.ca, replacing “section” with the one you want. (eg. news@ thesil.ca)

The Silhouette

Thursday, October 23, 2014

NEWS

www.thesil.ca

3

MUNICIPAL ELECTION BREAKDOWN

Ward 1 candidate profile: Tony Greco

Candidate profiles and debate summaries

PAGE 9

PAGES 4-5

Students turn out for SRA takedown After the proposed $215,000 party, students voiced their concerns at this week’s SRA meeting

Christina Vietinghoff Features Editor

The SRA meeting on Oct. 19 had unprecedented student engagement.

Over 50 students turned up in person on Sunday evening and throughout the livestream an average 250 viewers watched from home.

Many students were particularly interested in MSU President Teddy Saull’s motion that put forward several options for an end of year celebration, which would allocate up to $215,000 to Campus Events.

However, at the meeting Saull rescinded the most expensive options.

“There has been a lot of dispute about the $215,000 motion, and like I said, I think it’s

my job to push the organization to think but it’s also my job to listen, and there’s no doubt that there’s been a lot of noise made about this,” said Saull.

Although many students expressed frustration with the fact that this idea was put forward, the Board of Directors was happy that so many students became involved in the discussion.

“I hope that people don’t feel like this is a failure… I’ve never seen so many people come to an SRA meeting or talking on campus about the MSU,” said Saull.

The meeting addressed several other controversies as well.

The Women and Gender Equity Network Coordinator, Shanthiya Baheerathan, gave an update on the network and thanked Saull for his work on advocating for a sexual assault nurse on campus and getting a response coordinator.

However, both Baheerathan and members of the WGEN Advisory Committee highlighted the role of the SRA and Board of Directors in moving forward on the WGEN’s goals, particularly finding a space on campus.

“To be honest we haven’t gotten a lot of accountability from the VP Admin on this” said Ana Qarri, a member of the WGEN advisory board. “The point of the advisory board is to advise on what is going on with the centre, but we haven’t been asked to advise on anything. We felt like we’ve been kept out of any of the decisions that have been made.”

While the SRA failed to pass all options for an end of year celebration, they unanimously decided to spend $10,000 to expand this year’s Frost Week concert and provided CFMU $9,395.92 worth of hardware

Motion passed unanimously to spend $10,000 to increase the capacity of the 2015 Frost Week concert.

Options 2 ($170,000) and 3 ($95,000) for the year-end celebration both failed.

Saull withdrew motion to allocate $215,000 to Campus Events towards a year-end celebration.

upgrades.

They also passed a motion to recommend a week-long break beginning in the fall of 2015 to the Fall Break Committee.

One issue discussed that was not on the agenda was whether the BOD has any responsibility to engage with students on social media, when Anser Abbas jokingly asked Saull when he would be getting back on Facebook.

Saull explained that he chooses to engage students in person by devoting an hour each week to engaging students in the Student Centre. He said he prefers to keep his personal life separate from work.

“I find it demoralizing and I don’t like to subject myself to the environment where my personal life collides with the decisions that I’m trying to make at work,” he said.

Over 50 students turned up for this Sunday’s SRA meeting, and 250 viewers were watching from home. Average meetings run under 10 spectators.

“

There’s no doubt that there’s been a lot of noise made about this.

Teddy Saul MSU President

But with over 2,000 livestream comments, 1,594 students signing a change.org petition and countless students engaging through SRA members’ posts on Facebook, students seem to be saying that online engagement is the way to go. @cvietinghoff

Motion passed unanimously for CFMU hardware upgrades with a cost of $9,395.92.

Motion to recommend a one-week break beginning in the fall of 2015 to the Fall Break Committee passes by a tally of 18-9-1.

11 :1

SRA Highlights

Numbers and motions to take note of

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11:10 p .m .

12

6:50 p.

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7p

8:3 0

:5 10

4 CANADIAN CAMPUS NEWS Anthony Manrique Silhouette Intern

York University students threatened at gunpoint Multiple students at York University were threatened by a group of men in three separate but related incidents between 7:15 and 7:40 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18. The first incident occurred as a confrontation between two male suspects and a student, in which the student was left unharmed. The second and third confrontation occurred when five or six suspects approached and threatened a student with a handgun. York Security Services are currently working with Toronto police to investigate the incidents.

ISIS supporter hacks UNB Student Union website On Monday, Oct. 13, the UNB Student Union’s website was vandalized, depicting messages such as “I love you ISIS” and other, more serious statements in support of ISIS. The messages were taken down after two hours, and it has been declared that the messages were not a threat to UNB students.

Four cars stuck on UBC stairs within a two-week period Three different vehicles have become stuck after attempting to drive down a set of stairs at the University of British Columbia.

These incidents have forced the university to place a barrier in front of the stairs. Later that week, a fourth vehicle became stuck on a different set of stairs on the campus. UBC officials have stated they are unsure why the cars are getting stuck.

McGill enriches efforts on sustainability McGill University has recently released its new sustainability strategy, entitled Vision 2020.

The strategy identifies 14 specific goals that are intended to create a working definition of sustainability research, develop a networking platform to facilitate collaborative sustainability research, implement a sustainable laboratory program, and renovate underused indoor and outdoor spaces into community gathering spaces.

www.thesil.ca

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Mayoral candidates debate Eight mayoral hopefuls discussed issues most important to students

Mayoral candidates gathered for the debate in the MUSC atrium on Oct. 22.

Krista Schwab News Editor

Eight of the 12 mayoral candidates gathered in the atrium of the student centre on Oct. 22 to debate issues specifically important to the student population.

Michael Baldasaro, Ejaz Butt, Brad Clark, Fred Eisenberger, Warrand Francis, Crystal Lavigne, Brian McHattie, and Michael Pattison were all present at the debate.

The candidates provided a variety of perspectives on the topics, which have been highlighted below.

Improving transportation Only McHattie, Eisenberger, and Baldasaro were on board for light-rail transit, while Clark, Francis, and Lavigne opposed its implementation.

Baldasaro suggests a north and south LRT line, citing the infrastructure deficit as the reason not to build an east-west LRT line.

“Nobody cares about going to Mac and Stoney Creek that lives in Flamborough, Dundas, Ancaster […] everybody in this room including me at some time has to go to Toronto. The best way to do that would be on a downtown LRT from GO station to GO station,” said Baldasaro.

Instead, Clark suggests executing an eight-year plan to increase B-line and A-line bus services that run northsouth and east-west in the city.

Baldasaro opposed this idea, stating: “The BRT, fossil fuel vehicles are dinosaurs; […] electricity is tomorrow.”

Many candidates opposed LRT because it would take

away lanes and cause more congestion for drivers. To avoid this, Butt suggested creating an underground LRT system.

A more unique approach to oppose LRT is Lavigne’s plan to bring gondola transit, or cable cars, to Hamilton. She claims cable cars are an environmentally friendly option and will act as a tourist attraction for Hamilton. Additionally, Francis claimed that a high-speed dual monorail system on both Main and Barton street will solve this issue. He proposed that McMaster engineers could design the system and it could be built from steel materials made in Hamilton, creating jobs and a new model that could be sold to other cities.

On the other hand, Pattison suggested a referendum to ask citizens what they want, as well as expanding bike lanes.

Creating employment opportunities When asked to highlight how they will provide employment opportunities to students and new graduates, most candidates responded.

Clark highlighted his international business development plan to develop partnerships with CEOs and union leaders in the city. He plans to use their connections with businesses in foreign countries and entice them to move to Hamilton. In contrast, Eisenberger argued that 80 percent of growth opportunities will come from businesses that are already here in the city.

McHattie focused on advanced manufacturing in Hamilton, citing health care and the research going on at McMaster Innovation Park as an important sector for jobs.

Lavigne expressed the importance of keeping the

younger generation in Hamilton by offering employment opportunities that youth want, including flexible work hours.

She did not, however, provide insight into how those jobs would be created.

Housing by-laws The candidates all agreed on finding a balance between pleasing permanent residents, land owners, and renters. Many opposed the by-law that would require rental houses to be licensed.

“The original proposal that came forward from a number of the councillors was to license student housing. And when that came forward, I opposed that because the reality is you can’t license a class of citizens,” said Clark.

Francis proposed building a new student residence close to campus, but provided no further details.

All agreed that rental conditions are sub-standard, but did not offer many concrete solutions to the problem.

Environmental concerns Each candidates all approached environmental concerns differently. McHattie described the improvements that have been made in Hamilton, including the recently improved sewage treatment system. As part of his platform, McHattie wants to found a trees and parks trust, as well as implement an air pollution by-law similar to ones in Oakville that prevent small particles, which are often the most deadly, from entering the atmosphere.

Eisenberger also emphasized the sewage treatment successes and claims that automobile emissions make up a considerable amount of

C/O YOUSIF HADDAD

pollution. He suggested a more environmentally friendly transit system to help combat this issue.

Francis stated that his monorail system would be environmentally friendly, but stressed the issue of decline of the bee population.

“My most important thing is what are we going to do in 2035 when there’s no more bees in North America? We only have four years after the bees die, after four years, we’re dead,” said Francis. “As mayor, I’m planning a massive bee re-population program where we can get the bees and sell them to all of the parts of the world where the bees are dying off.”

Final remarks Clark, Eisenberger, and McHattie offered the most detailed answers, especially in the areas of transit and economic development. Butt, Francis, Baldasaro, and Lavigne offered the most unique ideas in their transit plans, but left out the details at how these projects would be funded.

McHattie and Eisenberger seemed to be the audience favourites, with the most visible support from those who attended. Baldasaro acted as the comic relief for the debate, offering strange solutions that often involved his hemp farm.

Overall, the debate addressed key issues that affect students and provided many different solutions for the problems. Now it is up to Hamilton to decide which will be the most effective for improving Hamilton’s transportation, job market, housing, and tackling environmental concerns.

The municipal election will take place Oct. 27. @kschwabi

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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Mayoral Candidate Profiles Meet the front-runners of Hamilton’s 2014 Mayoral race

Brian McHattie

Twitter: @BrianMcHattie Website: www.mchattie2014.ca

Brian McHattie is currently the councillor for Ward 1 and is one of 12 candidates running for Mayor of Hamilton. McHattie’s platform focuses on building safer neighbourhoods, stimulating economic growth and jobs, improving transit, creating an open participatory government, and improving environmental regulations.

McHattie believes that students will be impacted the most from his transit plan.

“I’ve got a four part transit plan, and it begins with enhancing local transit,” said McHattie.

“Over years of being the Ward 1 Councillor in the McMaster area working with MSU and

others, the frequency of busses has been a problem.”

The plan includes increasing the A-line service that runs to the Hamilton mountain, creating applications with real-time data, and adding a light-rail transit line that runs from the McMaster area to Eastgate Square. He is also interested in working with the Graduate Students Association to get part-time students annual bus passes.

“We’re hoping to get a downtown campus so it’s important to have that linkage.”

McHattie also has plans to improve the downtown core of Hamilton.

Krista Schwab News Editor

“I’d love to see a student residence downtown, I’ve had discussions with Mac about a grad residence,” said McHattie.

“One of the challenges, we’ve worked with MSU over the years, is the student bubble that is Westdale and McMaster itself.

A lot of students don’t get to other parts of the city.”

Another important issue to McHattie is the environment.

Previously he ran a business called the Green Planet Tour Company, and worked for Environment Canada as well as the Hamilton Conservation Authority. If elected, he plans to have a portion of Hamilton’s green space declared the Cootes

to Escarpment National Park.

Another portion of his platform describes working with the Ministry of Environment to create stricter rules around pollution and air quality in Hamilton.

When asked what makes him unique above the other candidates, McHattie responded, “I think it’s my ability to work well with others. Over the past 11 years on city council I’ve developed a great relationship with my fellow councillors.

That is absolutely critical to the success of a mayor; the mayor only has one vote.”

Hamilton community.

“The train can’t leave the station until the community is on board,” he said.

Eisenberger places a strong emphasis on building community. This includes a more customer-friendly government and adding more affordable housing options, which will improve the quality of life of residents in the city.

“We need to continue to work on improving our quality of life in the city of Hamilton, which talks about the cultural capacity, the music industry, the arts; things that people can enjoy beyond their working day.”

He also wants to work to end local poverty in Hamilton.

“One in five in our city is at or below the poverty level and we need to deal with that as well as deal with economic development,” said Eisenberger. “It has to be prosperity for everyone.”

His platform also emphasizes building relationships with the provincial and federal government to encourage the government to invest in Hamilton.

“That’s what I did when I was mayor, and that’s what I’ll do when I am mayor again.”

He also wants to implement an international business development plan that will help bring economic development to Hamilton. “[The plan] enables the mayor to appoint business ambassadors for the city to work directly with the mayor’s office to introduce Hamilton to business leaders internationally who are looking at diversification or expansion,” said Clark.

Another key platform point is the creation of more high paying jobs in the city. Through the Team Hamilton initiative, Clark is hoping to attract U.S.

and overseas businesses and to form partnerships and investments with local businesses.

Part of this initiative would also encourage the participation of youth ages 15 to 25 in the local political system, through the implementation of a Youth Cabinet. The thirty member Cabinet’s role would be to organize youth forums throughout the city and generally advise on community issues with a youth perspective.

“There are 69 ideas in [my] platform and they are actually substantive, concrete ideas that will improve our city.”

Fred Eisenberger

Twitter: @FredEisenberger Website: www.fred2014.ca

Fred Eisenberger served as Hamilton’s mayor from 2006 to 2010 and is currently one of the front-runners for the 2014 election. His platform is centralized on bringing prosperity to Hamilton in the form of economic development, quality of life, and by investing in transit.

For students, Eisenberger believes that economic development in Hamilton is the most important issue.

“Everyone that studies ultimately wants a job, certainly many that are currently in university or college are potentially aspiring to work in Hamilton,” said Eisenberger. “We want to

be a city that provides opportunity where people can come live, work, play and raise a family here, so the economic drive needs to be first and foremost when it comes to achieving that.”

To encourage more people to live in Hamilton, Eisenberger wants to attract more businesses city-wide.

He was also the first to propose bringing light-rail transit to Hamilton, and wants to invest in improving transit in Hamilton. But before implementing this plan, he wants to spend six or seven months gathering feedback from the

Brad Clark

Twitter: @BradforMayor Website: www.bradformayor.ca

Brad Clark is a Stoney Creek resident with a long history in both municipal and provincial politics, serving as an Ward Councillor, MPP, Minister of Transportation, Provincial Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour and as a parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Clark is set on bringing his experience in the city and in Queens Park as mayor of Hamilton.

Clark plans to provide opportunities to students by creating paid internship positions at the mayor’s office. “[Interns] would be able to

actually experience the policy development phases as well as what happens in the political arena at a municipal level,” said Clark. “It has been my experience that that type of internship does open doors for students.”

In terms of transit, Clark feels that LRT would not be an affordable option and that the city should implement more affordable projects such as bus service expansion. Some of these expansions are outlined in Clark’s eight-year plan and include increased transit services, in addition to the expansion of GO bus service.

The Hamilton municipal election will take place on Oct. 27, 2014. To find information about all 12 mayoral candidates and voting locations, visit Municipal Elections at www.hamilton.ca

6

www.thesil.ca

Thursday, October 23, 2014

FEATURE

The cost of being

THE KING OF CLUBS This year, McMaster is home to 304 clubs under the McMaster Students Union branding.

That’s 304 clubs that receive the full benefits of MSU affiliation, which includes funding to support club initiatives, eligibility for the use of the lockers and/or offices in ClubSpace, and the ability to use the MSU name and various MSU advertising services free of charge.

These and other benefits are outlined in the MSU section of McMaster’s Policy on the Recognition of Student Groups.

However, not outlined directly in this document are other, implicit benefits that a club receives as a part of the MSU. Most importantly, a sense of legitimacy is entitled to each and every MSU-affiliated club as a reflection of the unique contributions made to the university’s goals and values. This tacit endorsement on behalf of the school is arguably the most valuable of the benefits a club can receive.

But that sense of legitimacy fades when the meaning of being a club on campus is overwhelmed by an oversaturation of causes and agendas.

Currently, McMaster runs one of the largest clubs systems in the country, despite its undergraduate population of 25,900 falling well outside of Canada’s top ten largest schools. For comparison, the University of Ottawa Mailboxes in the MUSC ClubSpace are are always flooded with mail from the 304 clubs the MSU supports C/O PHOTOG NAME

has 10,000 more undergraduate students than McMaster, yet hosts just over 175 clubs. And while the University of Toronto runs 800 clubs for its undergraduate population of 68,000, this number is spread across its three campuses.

The only two campuses in the country that definitively have a larger clubs program than McMaster this year are Queen’s University, with 400 clubs for an undergraduate population of 20,500, and the University of British Columbia, with 370 clubs for a student body nearly twice as large as McMaster’s.

“We are confident that the size in terms of funding, number of clubs, and reach is one of the best in the province and also in Canada,” said MSU VP (Finance) Scott Mallon of Mac’s clubs.

This is a point of pride for McMaster students, and rightfully so. Students can attribute the passion and diversity at McMaster as contributing factors behind the extensive clubs system.

Of the 304 clubs this year, 29 of them are classified as “cultural” clubs; “social issues” make up the largest cohort of clubs at 106. And whether it’s with an oversaturation at ClubsFest or a dilution of funds to clubs, there are real drawbacks to such a large clubs system.

It’s a problem that

compounds upon itself, too; a large volume of clubs comes with an increasing number of student executives, and the implicit pressure for students to be executives of their own clubs. This mentality is of particular relevance to students applying for professional schools or looking to expand their resume, with less of an emphasis on what the club can provide for the school, and more on what the club can provide for the individual.

This has led to a large turnover of clubs in the past year. During the 2013-14 academic year, 365 clubs had been approved for MSU affiliation; only 279 of them are returning clubs for the current 2014-15 academic year. And out of 86 clubs that were newly ratified one year ago, 25 of them are no longer in the MSU clubs directory this year.

While losing 29 percent of first-year clubs can be swallowed as a part of student-led initiatives, that’s 25 clubs dispersed only a few months after they had been deemed unique, beneficial, and, most importantly, sustainable.

Griffith Dias, MSU Clubs Administrator, explained that new clubs need to be able to prove their niche and contribution to the McMaster community.

“We read the application and see if they

“

...the success of a club diminishes as years go by because the student leaders graduate and they cannot find the students to continue the club.

Griffith Dias MSU Clubs Administrator

provide something to the community, provide an actual enhancement to the life on campus,” said Dias. “Another aspect [we look at] is a unique and inclusive environment that [addresses] the McMaster community’s needs right now.”

However, this raises an important issue regarding club sustainability.

The current application process depends largely on the niche a club fills and its potential benefit to the McMaster community.

But outside of anecdotal questions in an interview, there is currently no requirement for new club executives to address the sustainability of the driving idea behind their club, and its sustainability past an executive’s time at Mac. Dias explained, “the

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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7

McMaster has one of the largest club networks for its students.

Kim But does this lead to a better student experience? Patrick Asst. News Editor

majority of the time, the success of a club diminishes as years go by because the student leaders graduate and they cannot find the students to continue the club. But, at the same time, some clubs were not following McMaster or MSU policies and were given chances to improve throughout the year.”

With the current system in place, the MSU is able to reevaluate clubs on a year-to-year basis, but the system is currently more designed to solve problems rather than prevent them. Still, compared to last year, it seems there has been a conscious effort on the part of the MSU to better regulate the clubs that receive certification and funding.

“The clubs listing did reduce from 2013-14 to 2014-15; a lot of clubs did not choose to reapply again, and there were a lot of issues with some clubs regarding risk management and event approval,” Dias said. “Some of them, we couldn’t give them status again.”

What’s important to note is that clubs do not require MSU status in order to gather as a group on campus. Greg Chen, a third-year Health Sciences student, has run an unofficial recreational math club for the past two years, with an attendance of 5 - 10 people each week.

The group works on and discusses math problems and problem-solving chal-

lenges. While acknowledging the benefits of MSU affiliation, Chen explained that he hasn’t seen the need for it yet.

“In terms of the funding, just by the nature of the meetings I haven’t had a need to [apply],” he said.

“My biggest asset at this point in my life is my time, so applying for MSU club status might actually be of negative value for me, just because of the administrative overhead that could potentially be involved.”

“Being unofficial of course has downsides with regards to promotions, but it’s kind of exciting at the same time,” he continued.

“Everyone in the group feels some level of ownership over [the club], partially because it’s so small, and partially because we realize that the only reason why the group exists is because of the people who show up; we have nothing else driving it.”

Issues such as funding are inevitable when examining how a large clubs system has potential ramifications on clubs with a need for a larger budget. Currently, the MSU already provides $100,000 towards club funding. Mallon explained that this budget is more than adequate.

“There are a lot of clubs that do not spend their total allocation.

However, the MSU has not decreased the clubs budget because of this. Each year, the clubs that prove their

responsible spending are eligible for more funding.”

But clubs do lack a wider range from which to request funding; allocations begin at $150 for new clubs, to a cap of around $1,000, based on each club’s requests to the Clubs Administrator.

“MSU funding for clubs is just one aspect that is provided for clubs,” Dias explained. “But we do encourage them to go out and have fundraisers and seek other avenues for fundraising initiatives [...] for their club in general.”

Clubs at McMaster span from small enthusiast groups with little to no operating cost, to clubs like The Meducator and Smiling Over Sickness, which run budgets well beyond the maximum allotment provided by the MSU. Responsible funding is undoubtedly a priority for both the MSU and students, and a club like SOS does earn a lot of its funding through fundraisers.

But the cap on funding is the product of an imbalanced and limited supply, a symptom of such a large pool of clubs. Of course, clubs, and new clubs, are still the lifeblood of student initiatives; but considerations beyond niche need to be evaluated, as the sustainability and benefit to other McMaster students are just as valuable, if not more.

STUDENTS

TO CLUB

RATIO @MCMASTER

85 STUDENTS PER CLUB

@GUELPH

245 STUDENTS PER CLUB

@WESTERN

138 STUDENTS* PER CLUB

@QUEENS

51 STUDENTS PER CLUB

@OTTAWA

207 STUDENTS PER CLUB

CLUBS BY CATEGORY SOCIAL ISSUES (106) ACADEMIC (77) RECREATIONAL (61) CULTURAL (29) RELIGIOUS (23) UNCATEGORIZED (8)

29% OF THE CLUBS RATIFIED DURING THE 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR ARE

NO LONGER LISTED AS OFFICIAL MSU CLUBS

* NOT INCLUDING STUDENTS FROM AFFILIATED COLLEGES

8

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

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Wednesdays 6:00pm | 6:30pm | 7:00pm Last pick-up from Fortinos at 8:00pm Pick-up From Mary Keyes Residence At The Cootes Dr. Entrance

WANT TO GET INVOLVED? Volunteer to be a writer, photographer or videographer for The Silhouette

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DID YOU KNOW?

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* with the completion of your new patient exam and professional cleaning appointment.

FILICE DENTISTRY HAPPILY ACCEPTS THE MSU DENTAL PLAN. WWW.FILICEDENTAL.COM

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

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9

Ward 1 Candidate Profile: Tony Greco Tony Greco is advocating for a diverse community council and more green spaces when students finish their prodents, professionals, businesses; grams and they come out in the the whole ward will be covered, real world, across Hamilton and so any decision that gets made, in Ward 1 there’s opportunities gets made with the final results for them to find a job,” he said. […] of what people really want “Being involved to see.” with the WorkGreco force Hamilton has also been Training Advisovery involved ry Board, I’m a in promoting little bit expegreen spaces in rienced in that Hamilton, citing aspect.” his involveGreco is ment with the interested in development of having strong the Locke Street representation area as a prime for Ward 1, both example. Greco at city hall and in is the chair having a diverse of the Locke council for within Street Business the ward.

Improvement “I want to Area and one of Tony Greco create a Ward the founders of Ward 1 Candidate 1 Community the Locke Street Council which Festival. With will involve more people at the Ward 1, he noted that Westdale table, not just the two or three is a great area and an example organizations right now that of how he’d like to approach dictate pretty well what they the rest of the ward, while still like to see. My way of seeing it is hoping to help improve the that the community council will businesses in the Westdale have input from students, resineighbourhood.

“

Tony Greco hopes to lower residential taxes, create more jobs, and add green space in Ward 1.

C/O TONY GRECO

Patrick Kim Asst. News Editor

This is the sixth and final profile in a series highlighting the six candidates for Ward 1 Councillor in the upcoming municipal election.

Tony Greco is taking his experience as an organizer and

liaison in a number of Hamilton initiatives and hoping to apply them to Ward 1.

A big part of his campaign is addressing the residential taxes in Ward 1, which are among the highest in the city. Greco hopes to confront it by creating new jobs and business opportunities, increasing the tax base, and lowering residential taxes.

“There’s not many jobs available at this time, and we have to do something more, so

Institutional Research and Analysis

UH, Room 207 1280 Main Street, West Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4L8

Any decision that gets made, gets made with the final results [...] of what people really want to see.”

Phone: 905.525.9140 Ext: 23530 Fax: 905.546.5213 Email: avpira@mcmaster.ca www.mcmaster.ca/avpira

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ONE PART-TIME UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE ON THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT FEES COMMITTEE: Applications are invited for one PART-TIME UNDERGRADUATE representative on the University Student Fees Committee for a one-year term ending on June 30 2015, renewable for a second 1 year term commencing July 1, 2015.

Applications, definitions about eligible candidates, nominations and nomination procedures are available in the office of the Associate Vice-President, Institutional Research and Analysis, University Hall, Room 215 or through the website http:/www.mcmaster.ca/avpira/student_fees_committee.html.

Forms must be received by the Associate Vice-President, Institutional Research and Analysis, University Hall Room 215 or by email to avpira@mcmaster.ca by 4:30 p.m. on FRIDAY, October 24, 2014. Successful applicant will be notified by Friday, November 14, 2014.

The University Student Fees Committee meets monthly.

Questions about the University Students Fees Committee may be directed to the Associate Vice-President, Institutional Research and Analysis who is the Chair of the Committee, telephone 905 525-9140, ext. 23530, or email avpira@mcmaster.ca

Greco also explained how students are an important part of his campaign, with student housing as an issue he is hoping to address.

“I really believe that student housing is one of the big issues, and it’s been going on for a long time. Nothing really [gets] done over the years, it is just lots of talk.”

Having had the chance to speak with students over the past few weeks, Greco also talked about the importance of safety and lighting around campus. “[Students] are very concerned about the safety and the lighting on campus; it should be on 24 hours, from [sunrise] to sunset. Right now they’re closing the lights at 11 o’clock, so I think that’s one issue that should be taken care of.” @patrickmkim

Visit www.mrtonygreco. ca to learn more about his campaign.

The Silhouette

10

EDITORIAL

www.thesil.ca

Thursday, October 23, 2014

S

The power of fear The power of terrorism is in the fear it inspires. Don’t let it take away your way of life.

Andrew Terefenko Executive Editor

What happened in Ottawa was a tragedy.

Canadians shouldn’t have to compromise the sense of comfort and safety they have worked for decades to create, but that is unfortunately the route this event will take.

For the woefully uninformed, a gunman opened fire on soldiers standing guard at the war memorial on Parliament Hill. There were many rumours flying around on Twitter and social media circles (as well as briefly alluded to in speeches) that this may have been tied to ISIS. Those rumours are terrifying people. And terror is one of the hardest weapons to combat, especially for a country so used to seeing it happen everywhere else.

Canadians can do something to fight back against attacks such as these, and it is the hardest thing to do when panic is surrounding them. Carry on. It seems simple, and maybe a bit insensi-

tive given the casualties that arise from such attacks, but it is the best thing every individual can do.

It may seem callous to some, and others may accuse you of not caring, but if you alter your way of life because of terrorist activity, then they are acccomplishing exactly what they set out to do.

Terrorists don’t seek indiviual lives, they seek to change the mentality of the uninvolved. They seek to anger the masses into sinking down to their level. “If we blink, then the terrorists have won,” is one permutation of the widely-bastardized adage, but it holds truth in that the best defense is to not take offense.

By no means should you not engage in discourse with your peers on the topic. Canadians, after all, have the right and responsibility to defend their ideals and lives, but it doesn’t have to be done under a veil of fear. We can fear for the lives of those involved, and hope your friends, families and fellow students in Ottawa come out unscathed, but tomorrow we should wake up eager to take on the world.

It’s a solemn reminder that we enjoy a different standard of life in Canada.

On Streaming

So students got pretty fired up about the SRA meeting last Sunday. Tensions were high, and the livestream comments were heated, if not sometimes a bit strongly-worded. I just want to remind readers and viewers alike that while participating in discourse is incredibly encouraged, it is poor form to reduce yourself to personal attacks and uneducated slander.

The SRA members were doing their best to answer questions and address any concerns that students had about MSU

The idea of violent activity happening in such a public place is unheard of, yet it is a grim, daily reality in many parts of the world.

We should use this opportunity to embolden our resolve; to reaffirm the tenets that make our society great.

To be Canadian means to give everyone the benefit of the doubt.

To be Canadian means to assume that everyone else has your best interests in mind, not just you.

To be Canadian means to feel safe around the world, because people from our country have created an international understanding that we are courteous, patient, and tolerant.

To be Canadian means to welcome all citizens with open arms into our seat of government, to see how the sausage gets made.

Don’t let anyone, or any event change what it means to be Canadian.

“Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.” -Pierre Trudeau

spending, but many online comments were variations of “X doesn’t know what he’s doing,” or “Let’s spend the money on Y instead.”

X is likely a student or recent alumnus, just like you, and he or she is trying their best to represent their faculty’s interests and the interests of the wider student body. Y has probably already been suggested in the past with no concrete plans.

Please do at least as much research as the people you are criticizing before you call their aptitude into question.

to Prezi. to prison tattoos. to joke candidates, even if they aren’t aware they are one. to chocolate almonds. to linger. to aromatic gum. to the yass cat. to that gerudo valley remix. to gondolas, tunnels and hovercrafts. to “the clubspace can’t even handle me right now.” to mid-day sunshine breaks. to the new bylines. to the newly-hired staff reporters. welcome to the family. to our large stream audience. to hot Drake takes. to sil-ky smooth.

to questionable cabbage. to coconut water. to broken promises. to the demise of bees. to the ad bonanza. to the first 3 seconds of stay high staying firm in my memory. to the final few weeks of funny speculators. steam has to run out eventually. to apartments that are always the other extreme end of the outside temperature. to clouds ruining mid-day sunshine breaks. to imperative debate bathroom breaks. to UTS and the impressive email barrage. to the Royals’ poor start. to nationalism.

Be the most popular person in the room!

McMaster Association of Part-Time Students

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Information Assistant (Casual / Part-time)

Our information assistants are known for their friendliness, helpfulness, and knowledge about McMaster and how to navigate the university system. As the ‘face’ of MAPS, our information assistants are always ready to help, and create a warm and inviting atmosphere in the office and over the phone.

To excel in this role, you should be someone who… enjoys meeting and interacting with people; is computer literate, comfortable working with Windows 7 and MSOffice 2013, is able to guide/train part-time students using the university’s online systems; is reasonably familiar with the academic and non-academic services on campus (or be a quick study); is able to assist with other general office duties and able to provide some administrative support to the executive director.

Preference will be given to McMaster students, but we’ll make our hiring decision based on how well the successful candidate demonstrates the qualities we are looking for. For more information or to apply, visit www.mcmaster.ca/maps/workhere.html, visit us at MUSC 234 or call 905.525.9140 x22021.

As we plan to maintain a list of qualified candidates for the year, there is no closing date for applications.

11

www.thesil.ca

Thursday, October 23, 2014

The McMaster Students Union

PRESIDENT’S PAGE

Over the past week, there has been a lot of talk about the McMaster Students Union (MSU)’s financial affairs. Words such as surplus, expenditures, allocations, and reserves have been tossed around endlessly. For many, these words do not carry a lot of meaning. It was fantastic to see so many MSU members engaged in the conversation, but the recent events have highlighted the need

for MSU members to learn more about the financial standing of the organization.

At the Student Representative Assembly (SRA) meeting of September 29, the Assembly voted in favour of passing the 2013-2014 Audited Financial Statements for the MSU, which can be viewed in its entirety at msumcmaster. ca. Every year, the MSU receives an external audit of all finances and spending from the previous year.

The auditors then compile and submit a report with recommendations to the Board of Directors, which is then passed on to the SRA. Last year, the MSU ran a surplus of $286,024. This means that in our yearly operations (which include services, clubs, admin-

istration, etc.) the MSU generated more money than was spent. When the MSU carries a surplus, the money is put into reserve which is invested in capital improvements, one-time expenses, and/or kept as back-up funds if the organization was to ever run a deficit.

Although the MSU is carrying a surplus from last year, it is important to know that the organization is taking steps to decrease this sum in 2014-2015. Recently, via referendum, the MSU reduced the CFMU 93.3 FM fee by nearly one third. Additionally, this past year the MSU froze its own fee. We intend to continue to freeze the fee again this year. The MSU is able to do all of this while simultaneously increasing the operations and scope of our services. We will continue to strive to provide as much value as possible to the undergraduate students of McMaster University. In terms of value, last year the MSU generated two and a half times the value of student fees invested into the

organization.

As for the auditors’ recommendations – there were a mere few, including minor tweaks to the way in which the MSU tracks intercompany transactions, and suggests conducting inventory spot checks at Union Market more often.

The bottom line is that the MSU sits in an excellent financial position, thanks to the diligent leadership of our staff and service managers. We are able to fund a growing amount of services, while creating opportunities for students to succeed and enjoy their time at McMaster. This year’s surplus represents 2% of the organization’s total budget. An auditor’s report indicating a surplus equal to 2% of the organization’s operations and only minor reccomendations to alter current financial practices, is a strong indication that the organization is in excellent financial health. The MSU will continue to look for ways to keep our spending and services running as efficiently as possible.

in terms of equivalent value YO U P U T

75¢

I N TO T H E

& GET BACK OVER

$2.00 but what’s the real breakdown?

MSU STUDENT FEES ACCOUNTED FOR

$2,475,609 OF THE TOTAL 2013-2014 REVENUE BUT MSU EXPENDITURES TOTALLED

$9,069,791 OVER THE COURSE OF THE FISCAL YEAR MEANING THE MSU ADDED A VALUE OF

$6,594,182 without generating a deficit

MSU EXPENDITURE VS. REVENUE SINCE 2004 $15,000,000 $12,000,000 $9,000,000 $6,000,000

04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10

10/11

12/13

13/14

14/15

15/16 PROJECTION

REVENUE

EXPENDITURE

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.

11/12

TEDDY

SCOTT MALLON

NARRO PÉREZ

RODRIGO

JACOB

President

VP (Finance)

VP (Education)

VP (Administration)

SAULL

BRODKA

12

Around Campus

www.thesil.ca

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Eliza Pope Photo Reporter

“Do you have any irrational fears?”

“Elevators. It’s because of this one time when I was little and I rode the elevator with my friend.

He kept kicking the door, and the elevator started to shut down with us in it. I never take the elevator now if I can avoid it.”

“Tell me about the most dangerous thing you’ve ever done.”

“I’ve done a few things. Recently, my friends put me in one of those big road pylons and rolled me down the road. Cars were on it and everything - it was pretty bad. Alcohol made me do it.”

“What’s one exciting thing you’ve done?”

“Well, I was on the Discovery Channel one time. That was pretty cool.”

“What’s a motto you live by?”

“Live long and prosper.”

“What’s your worst childhood memory?”

“When I was born, I had an underdeveloped muscle in my throat, and it would often flap over my windpipe and block my ability to breathe. In order to cure it, my parents would have to turn me upside down. There’s a story my parents like to tell of being in a restaurant and this happening.

They had to hold me upside down by my feet in order to keep me alive, but everyone in the restaurant was upset at my parents.”

“And your best memory?”

HAVE A STORY TO TELL? EMAIL PHOTO@THESIL.CA AND BE ON THIS PAGE NEXT WEEK!

“One day my dad kept me home from school, and we ordered pizza and watched old Adam West Batman all day. That’s my best memory.”

IF YOU DRINK, DON’T DRIVE.

CALL BLUELINE! 905.525.0000

W W W. 5 2 5 B L U E . C O M

The Silhouette

Thursday, October 23, 2014

www.thesil.ca

OPINION

13

VOTING

1O1

Why should municipal politics matter to you?

PAGE 14

Blowing the Extending voting rights to non-citizens whistle on nationalism Ana Qarri Opinions Editor

15 percent of Toronto residents and six percent of Hamilton residents will be ineligible to vote this municipal election. These are residents who pay taxes, participate actively in civic life and care about the communities they live in. Quite often, they are also the ones who need social services the most in a concentrated period of time.

These are the permanent residents of Canada – those slowly walking the path from immigrant to citizen. They are legal, landed immigrants who live in Canada for four years before applying for citizenship, an application process that sometimes takes multiple years.

In a survey conducted

by Forum Research, a Toronto-based research firm, it was found that 53 percent of Torontonians aren’t comfortable with giving permanent residents the right to vote at the municipal level.

Last June, the City of Toronto Council recommended that the province inquire into giving permanent residents voting rights in municipal elections. However, so far nothing has been done on this issue.

Organizations that focus on civically engaging immigrant and diverse groups in politics have continuously recommended that municipal voting rights be extended to permanent residents.

Many, like Doug Ford and John Tory, think that giving permanent residents the right to vote would make Canadian citizenship less special. This is a misguided argument, founded more than anything else in an irrational fear of immigrants having a voice. There are other

things exclusive to Canadian citizenship that don’t include the right to vote, such as a passport and government security.

And don’t worry, Fords and Torys of Canada, permanent residents will never outnumber bigoted individuals like yourselves.

There’s a reason advocacy groups have only been targeting the municipal level for now.

Some national decisions are understandably kept exclusive to citizens. However, politics at the municipal level are different. They don’t need to exclude a group that plays a crucial part in the communities that are represented. All decisions made in City Council only affect the city itself and its active residents.

Several political scientists, such as Ryerson’s Myer Siemiatycki, have studied the inclusion of immigrants and diverse communities in local elections, and have concluded that extending municipal voting rights to permanent residents is an important step in including diverse and disadvantaged communities in the local process.

Diverse communities are often disenfranchised in municipal elections. If they hold less clout than other groups, some campaigns will fail to canvass to them for strategic reasons.

Additionally, Siemiatycki argues that including non-citizens in the voting process creates a sense of belonging for newcomers that puts to practice much of what Canadian cities showcase as their approach to new immigrant incorporation.

The inclusion of permanent residents will increase the diversity of municipal voters, giving cer-

tain ideas a louder voice, and in some cases giving more strength to disadvantaged neighbourhoods.

It will also keep the municipal government accountable to newcomers whose local councillors are their first encounter with Canadian politics. Living actively in their wards but being constantly ignored in decision-making can be disheartening and disappointing as a first introduction to politics. Wards where a lot of new immigrants reside often fail to meet the needs of their residents, perpetuating cycles of poverty and insecurity.

The right to vote at the municipal level would give new immigrants a say in their city, neighbourhoods, services, and children’s schools. It would also force political candidates to actively listen to their voices.

Permanent residents shouldn’t be denied their democratic right to vote because the public is uneducated about what their inclusion in politics would mean. As Evelyn Myrie, former director of the Hamilton Civic Inclusion Council, points out, the voting majority has always been uncomfortable with extending voting rights to less privileged groups for no particularly good reasons. It’s time to stop denying civic-minded individuals the right to be heard. @anaqarri

Abandoned Serbia-Albania match a reminder of the Balkans’ conflicts

Tomi Milos ANDY Editor

Anyone who has had the pleasure of savouring ćevapi adorned with ajvar knows that good things come out of the Balkans. But for some time, a problem has been threatening the favourite sport of the southeastern European nations.

Soccer has always been plagued by organized fan violence, but it is in former Yugoslav nations like Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia, and Kosovo that a bevy of right-wing nationalistic hooligans have been wreaking havoc.

If you’re any of the aforementioned nationalities, you’ll know about the 1990 riot that occurred at Zagreb’s Stadion Maksimir between not just the players of Dinamo Zagreb and Crvena Zvezda, but the thousands of Croatian and Serbian supporters there. Tensions had been rising to a boiling point, with Croatia electing a president favouring independence from the Yugoslavian communist state and the riot — which saw Dinamo’s Zvonomir Boban rise to the defence of a fan and kick a police officer in the chest — marked the turning point that saw Yugoslavia enter into a brutal war.

Being Croatian and a Dinamo Zagreb supporter myself, I’ve heard laudatory talk of Boban’s kick at family gatherings after everyone’s had a few shots of rakija. I never thought anything of it until recently when I’ve begun to grow increasingly disgusted with such nationalism. As I’m sure other Serbians, Bosnians, and Albanians raised in Canada by diaspora parents can attest to, they’ve been conditioned by their family to, if not hate, then dislike their former neighbour.

What happened at the

match last week was avoidable and shouldn’t have happened.

I had grimaced upon hearing that the two had been drawn in the same group, but having seen the Croatia-Serbia World Cup qualification matches go off without a hitch — with the exception of Josip Šimunić’s cynical clattering of Sulejmani — I was optimistic about the chances of these two nations sharing the same luck. UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, took no chances and allowed no away fans into the match held in Belgrade. But all that did was create an even more toxic atmosphere in which flares were numerous and laser pointers where shone at Albanian players.

Near the end of the first half, a drone was flown over the field with a flag bearing the Greater Albania insignia. When it dipped towards the players, Serbia’s Stefan Mitrovic pulled down the flag, eager to restart play. He was subsequently rushed by several Albanian players who objected to his actions. From there, both benches erupted, and dozens of hardcore fans took to the field to throw chairs at the Albanian players and get punches in where they could.

One of the fans present on the field was Ivan Bogdanov, a Serbian member of Crvena Zvezda’s hooligan firm, the Deljie. Bogdanov is notorious for leading a massive riot in Serbia’s Euro qualification match against Italy in Genoa, and the question remains as to how such a volatile figure was allowed into the stadium, let alone onto the pitch.

While the hooligans and even some of the stadium stewards were assaulting the Albanian players, most of the Serbian players gathered around the Albanians to shield them from the violence.

Continued on PAGE 16

14

www.thesil.ca

Municipal politics matter Federal and provincial politics get all the glory Christina Vietinghoff Features Editor

I grew up in a village in New Brunswick where candidates running for office would campaign by waving from the side of the main road at cars driving by, creating a traffic jam as people slowed down to see if they could get any gossip on who their neighbours supported.

This, among many other reasons, is why I’m excited about Hamilton’s municipal election on Monday, Oct. 27. Hamilton’s population is over half a million people, close to the entire population of the province where I grew up. In cities like Hamilton, municipal politics matter.

Local politics are often an entry point into careers in politics, so the candidate you elect as your school trustee today may be tomorrow’s premier.

Furthermore, many issues at both the ward and mayoral level affect our daily lives in tangible ways.

“

If you live on Emerson you might be interested in Ward 1 candidates discussing turning the Emerson corridor into the next Locke street.

Or you might care about the proposal to make Main Street West a two-way street and the impact this would have on traffic.

If you bike to campus you might want to read up on the candidates’ stance on bike lanes and how they interpret the results of the Cannon St. bike lanes.

At a mayoral level you might want to look up what candidates think about waste management or violence downtown. You may, like me, be intrigued by Brian McHattie’s proposal to create a nationally significant park in Hamilton.

Even though you may be from another city and see this as a temporary part of your life, while you’re at McMaster, you’re a Hamiltonian, and you get to help decide the path of our community.

Your school trustee today may be tomorrow’s premier.

@cvietinghoff

VOTING

1O1 WHEN Polls are open

Monday, October 27 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

WHERE If you got a Voter Information Card in the mail, go to the polling location on the card.

Otherwise, you can check

vote2014.hamilton.ca/ WhereToVote

(you will have to fill out an “Application to Amend the Voters’ List”)

IDENTIFICATION You will need proof of address through a: Drivers License OR Health Card OR “Declaration of Identity” (which can be filled out at the polls)

FUN FACTS If you live in Hamilton, you can vote in both your home city and here If you don’t have three continuous hours off between 10 and 8 to vote, The Municipal Elections Act legally compels your employer to give you three paid hours off (at their convenience) to go vote.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

A critical look at Eisenberger’s platform Bianca Caramento Contributor

On Oct. 7, mayoral candidate Fred Eisenberger released his “comprehensive vision and detailed plan for creating opportunity and prosperity in Hamilton.” I was highly impressed by this lengthy policy book, for all the wrong reasons.

As a university student, I’ve added plenty of filler to my essays for the sake of reaching page requirements. But even I was impressed by the lack of substance Eisenberg presents in his 17-page manifesto.

Throughout the piece, there is a striking lack of elaboration.

He lists countless goals, with close to zero means of achieving them. Without exaggeration, almost every single point he lists under “Key Focus Areas” leaves readers asking for clarification and detail.

For instance, he promises to “renew Hamilton’s waterfront development initiative by expediting the implementation of recommendations contained in existing plans, studies and reports.” Which plans, you may ask yourself? He doesn’t say.

He also promises to restore our faith in municipal government and services “by ensuring efficient and effective quality service delivery.” How he plans on doing this is not mentioned.

He also treats poverty

reduction with the same regard, or lack thereof. And finally, he aims to find new strategies for infrastructure and inter-governmental partnerships. This begs the question: instead of promising to create and develop new strategies for numerous areas of municipal governance, why not lay them out in the policy book, as is its intended purpose?

This level of ambiguity is borderline offensive. Not only are Hamiltonians capable of weighing the value of proposed policy, they require the opportunity to do so. Denying citizens the opportunity to learn of and assess a candidate’s policy makes it nearly impossible to cast an informed vote. The information simply isn’t provided.

It may sound great to try and reduce poverty, but without explaining the means in which he intends to try and do so, there’s no way of knowing whether or not they align with my views.

This is highly problematic.

It’s important to note that other candidates have offered platforms that allow Hamiltonians to exercise informed voting.

Perhaps what I find most impressive about Eisenberg’s book is that those other candidates, who have actually provided elaborate, detailed, and specific platforms, are left trailing in third place. What a world we live in.

Who are we voting for?

Understanding how our city is governed

Chris Litfin Contributor

Perhaps you’ve heard that there are municipal elections in Ontario on Oct. 27. You may have noticed the plethora of lawn signs, the people in suits knocking on your door, or the three-ring circus that is Toronto’s mayoral race. If you haven’t, you aren’t completely to blame.

Not only does the municipal election get very little play on the major media outlets, there are no less than six distinct races in each ward: Mayor, Ward Councillor, and Trustees for the English Public, English Catholic, French Public, and French Catholic School Boards.

Even for dedicated watchers

of local politics, it’s enough to make your head spin.

Hamilton’s municipal government is made up of one mayor, 15 councillors each representing a ward, and an army of bureaucrats. You get to vote for the mayor (one of twelve candidates) and one of the ward councillors. McMaster is in Ward 1, which includes everything west of Queen street and east of Dundas below the escarpment, so unless you commute, you will be voting for one of the six candidates for Ward 1 councillor.

Why should you care about Hamilton politics if you are from, say, Vancouver? Simply put, after McMaster, the City of Hamilton is the organisa-

tion you interact with the most on a daily basis. Want more buses late at night? Want the bike lanes on Sterling plowed during the winter? How about a program to make sure that the student house you rented from that sketchy landlord is actually safe? All of those things are municipal responsibilities.

The school board trustees are where it starts to get complicated. As a legacy of confederation back in 1867, most areas in Ontario are covered by four distinct school boards. Thing is, you only get to vote for one of them; which one you vote for depends on whether you have “education rights” for something other than the English Public School Board. Long

story short, unless you went to a Catholic/French/French Catholic high school, you probably don’t have “education rights” and so will be defaulted to the English Public School Board.

In any event, in Ward 1 there are five candidates running for the English Public School Board and two for each of the others. If you think that the race for School Board Trustee is unimportant compared to Mayor or Councillor, you are dead wrong. Think about it: roughly 90 percent of you are a product of Ontario’s education system. Didn’t like something about your experience? Now is your chance to do something about it.

The sad fact is that uni-

versity students often don’t vote. For proof, just look at the dismal turnout for many of the elections held on campus.

But there is a bigger problem here than the fact that university students are apathetic. As far as politicians are concerned, if you don’t vote, you don’t exist. Why should they spend time on some student-friendly initiative when they won’t see any benefit from it on election day? Aside from all the doing-one’s-civic-duty rhetoric, it’s in your own self-interest to vote. On Oct. 27, let’s all be self-interested and take the ten minutes to put three Xs on a piece of paper.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

www.thesil.ca

15

Addressing inequality in the MSU The MSU can be inaccessible to marginalized groups on campus Jyssika Russell Contributor

The SRA meeting on Oct. 19 demonstrated the power of student engagement, democracy, and the ability of the SRA to represent student voices during the year-end celebration motion, also known as #concertgate or #215kparty.

But still, the bigger question remains: how did it get this far?

MSU President Teddy Saull stated that he consulted both

the Presidents’ Council, a regular meeting with the presidents of the MSU, faculty societies, SOCS and IRC, and the MSU Finance Committee. Both bodies supported the year-end celebration, with the Finance Committee supporting the full $215,000 expenditure.

Yet, after The Silhouette published two articles about the proposal, there was a huge outcry from students, larger than anything I have ever seen since arriving at Mac in 2009. How is it that thousands of students

strongly disagreed with a motion that their elected student leaders supported?

The simplest answer I could come up with was the structural inequality of the MSU. Many of the 1,500 students who signed the online petition cited financial struggles in their disagreement. They felt that their hard-earned money was being spent on something that was frivolous, inaccessible, and unsustainable. As someone living in poverty with over $25,000 in student debt, I can’t

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help but agree. How did their elected leaders not represent these voices before the motion was brought to the table?

If you are a low-income student, it is harder to be or become one of those voices at the table.

For example, many community and leadership-building events hosted by the MSU occur in Hamilton over the summer, often on weekends. If you are struggling to fund your education, you’ll most likely be working and at home—potentially at a “student” job, like retail sales or summer camp, which often involves working evenings and weekends.

To attend one of these MSU weekends, which includes SRA and PTM trainings, Horizons, and CLAY, you would have to lose income by taking time off, and spend more money making your way to Hamilton. There are also no advertised bursaries for low-income students to attend these events.

While being involved in these events isn’t mandatory, it significantly affects your ability to be involved, to make connections, and to be at those meetings where your voice needs to be heard.

This doesn’t even include other student leadership positions that require large time commitments, like being a Welcome Week rep or planner,

or other leadership roles during the school year.

Even those student leadership positions that are paid, such as service managers in the MSU, pay just above minimum wage, and aren’t near the $14/ hr suggested living wage for Hamilton.

Many students literally cannot afford to be involved in student leadership.

How can this be solved?

Last year the concept of an Inclusion Council was brought to the SRA, to include historically marginalized voices on campus, including those of low income students. There were many reasons why it didn’t pass, and the concept is being further developed to bring forward again this year. Still, many SRA members questioned its necessity.

I firmly believe that if Mr. Saull had brought the year-end celebration to an Inclusion Council, a council designed to hear the unheard, he would have faced disagreement and dissent. He would have faced the 90 percent of students not involved in the MSU; those whom he ran to represent. He would have heard that bringing forward a motion for such a $215,000 celebration was not only unnecessary, but insulting to students who are struggling day to day to make ends meet.

50 students attended the Oct. 19 SRA meeting where the year-end celebration was debated.

CHRISTINA VIETINGHOFF/ FEATURES EDITOR

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Euro qualifier match a disgrace Continued from PAGE 13

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Others like Serbian fullback Aleksander Kolarov voiced their displeasure directly to the fans who were infiltrating the field.

Despite how admirable the Serbian team’s reaction was, it should not have been needed.

Allegations against Olif Rama, the Albanian prime minister’s brother, have surfaced, claiming that he controlled the drone.

While nothing concrete has been established, whoever flew the drone should be ashamed of themselves. There is a place for political statements, and a soccer pitch is not one of them.

The act was a rash one that endangered both sets of players and will ultimately lead to heavy fines being levied against both federations.

It is time for the Balkans to look inwards instead of finger-pointing any longer. While each nation romanticizes their past, all of their histories have

been built on a dangerous brand of nationalism that is no longer needed and should be stifled at whatever cost. Although there was a heavy police presence at the match, the hooligans were able to take the field all too easily, which raises questions of corruption that may answer how Bogdanov got into the stadium.

My reaction toward the riot was similar to the one that Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matić had as he lingered on the field after both teams had disappeared down the tunnel — one of disbelief and disappointment at what had just happened. Ethnic tensions will probably always be there, but it’s the responsibility of the more levelheaded members of each Balkan country to take the moral high road and attempt to separate soccer from state feuds. @tomimilos

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The Silhouette

Thursday, October 23, 2014

SPORTS

www.thesil.ca

17

McMaster's baseball squad has an interesting perspective of their forgettable season

The volleyball squad's opened the season this weekend, and the results will shock you

PAGE 19

PAGE 21

LEAGUE AT LARGE

MEN'S SOCCER

Mac strikers ready for playoffs

The OUA at a glance

Men’s Volleyball OUA

CIS Top Ten

W L

RYERSON WATERLOO WESTERN MCMASTER NIPISSING QUEEN'S TORONTO YORK GUELPH RMC WINDSOR

1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

ALBERTA TRINTITY WESTERN MCMASTER BRANDON UBC LAVAL CALGARY YORK SASKATCHEWAN DALHOUSIE

Women’s Volleyball OUA East

OUA West

W L

MCMASTER BROCK WATERLOO GUELPH LAKEHEAD WESTERN WINDSOR

2 1 1 0 0 0 0

W L

0 0 0 1 1 1 1

NIPISSING RYERSON TORONTO YORK QUEEN'S RMC OTTAWA

1 1 1 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 1 2

Football OUA MCMASTER GUELPH WESTERN WINDSOR LAURIER OTTAWA CARLETON QUEEN'S TORONTO WATERLOO YORK

CIS TOP 10 W

6 5 5 5 4 4 3 1 1 0 0

L

0 1 1 1 2 3 3 5 6 6 6

LAVAL CALGARY MCMASTER MONTREAL GUELPH WESTERN MT. ALLISON CONCORDIA MANITOBA SASKATCHEWAN

Notable quote C/O FRASER CALDWELL

A pair of wins last weekend has set up the Men's soccer team for a competitive playoff run. What are they doing to prepare for the national championship?

Tom Lewis Contributor

Two wins over OUA West Division whipping boys Algoma last weekend capped an impressive tilt at the Blackwood Trophy for McMaster men’s soccer, and spirits are high as they head into the playoffs.

Over two fixtures, the Marauders struck twelve goals past a hapless Algoma defence, conceding just two in reply.

Those victories earned Mac a strong finish to the OUA West Division, with eleven wins, three draws and two defeats leaving them in second place, four points off third, but eight from the division’s strongest outfit, York.

Head coach Dino Perri was satisfied with his side’s performance this season, but had some reservations. “We have been inconsistent. We have had some great games and some mediocre games,” said Perri.

“If we showed up to play each and every game we would

be undefeated heading into the had great contributions from a playoffs.” number of different players.”

Co-captain Paterson “We can play any of our Farrell echoed his coach’s guys without hesitation, which thoughts. will be useful heading into the “Overall playoffs,” said our perforFarrell. mance this One of year has been McMaster’s great, but most impresno season is sive perforperfect. We’ve mances this had a few at home came speed-bumps against Brock, along the a Septemway, but were ber fixture able to fight in which the through them Marauders and finish were on song, strongly,” said beating their Dino Perri Farrell. opponents by Head coach Both five goals to nil.

Marauders Men's soccer coach and “In my captain were opinion, that quick to praise was our best the team’s strength in depth. game this year. We had a lot of “It really has been a team energy and executed our game effort,” said Perri. “Throughout plan perfectly. It gave us an the course of the year we have indication of how well we can probably started over twenty actually play,” said Farrell. different players, and we have McMaster’s second place

“

We have been inconsistent. We have had some great games and some mediocre games.

finish has earned them a bye to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

The Marauders will head in to their first playoff game confident they can take on all comers.

“We just need to tidy everything up a bit. We are in good shape and are playing well, but need to make sure we are focussed for the full game and play how we are capable of from start to finish,” said Perri.

He finished with a volley of encouragement for his players as they prepare for the biggest fixtures of their season so far.

“I think that this group has what it takes to turn it on for the playoffs, and to do what we need to do in order to challenge for the championship and make a nice run at nationals,” Perri said.

Paterson added, “Our goal of winning a national championship this year hasn’t changed, but we need to take it one game at a time, work hard and focus on what we can control.

“I have the utmost confidence in our players and coaching staff, and that we will be focussed and ready for our first game next Sunday.”

“We won't lose again, that's for sure.”

Will Finch After the loss to McMaster Western Quarterback

Western then lost to Guelph, 49-46

On the lookout: Athletes to watch this week Mark Reilly Men's soccer › Team-leading eight goals this season McMaster wants to get back to nationals, and a win on Sunday will get them there.

Cindy Nelles Women's rugby › 2x OUA athlete of the week Mac has eyes on capturing gold against Guelph. Nelles put together a stellar performance against Western - the Marauders will need the same against the Gryphons.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Mac sweeps Western and Windsor John Bauer Contributor

When the CIS released their preliminary top 10 women’s volleyball rankings for the year, last year’s OUA champion McMaster Marauders were noticeably absent amongst the contenders. The team responded to being left off the rankings, winning both of their weekend matches in straight sets.

The Marauders began their title defence Friday with their home opener against the Western Mustangs. The game was never really in doubt, as the Marauders won in straight sets 25-17, 25-20, 25-16.

Returning outside hitters Joanna Jedrzejewska and Lauren Mastroluisi carried the bulk of the offensive load for McMaster, more often than not set up by Caitlin Genovy. Taylor Brisebois and Maicee Sorensen pitched in with 10 and 9.5 points from the middle court, respectively. To top off the evening, rookie Katie Zutautas got into her first OUA game and made her mark with a service ace.

It was more of the same

Saturday when the Windsor Lancers visited Burridge gymnasium. Jedrzejewska exploded for 20 points, and the trio of Jedrzejewska, Brisebois, and Mastroluisi ravaged the Lancers defence for four service aces each. The Maroon and Grey cruised to a 25-23, 25-9, 25-12 victory, holding Windsor to a zeropercent conversion efficiency in the final two sets of the game.

The Marauders will face their first real test on Oct. 25 in Ottawa versus the no. 4-ranked Gee-Gees, no doubt looking to rebound from a 0-2 start.

Volleyball fans can catch the action via live stream on OUA. tv starting at 2:00 p.m.

Volleyball Numbers

Leading Scorer for Mac vs. Western • Joanna Jedrzejewska14.5 • Caitlin Genovy- 30 assists C/O FRASER CALDWELL

Marauders lose to Western in heartbreaker Laura Sinclair Asst. Sports Editor

The Western Mustangs were able to pull off a comeback against the Marauders on Friday night, clawing their way out of a two-set deficit to end up taking the match in five.

The Marauders have been in that position with the Mustangs several times before, playing in a five-match thriller two out of four times last season.

Usually Mac came out of five matches with a victory, but this game would not follow suit.

After several ball-control troubles on the Marauders end, the Mustangs were able to capitalize on their mistakes, and win three sets consecutively.

“We didn’t serve and pass as well as we did in the first two sets, and because volleyball is a progressive sport, when your first two contacts aren’t as clean as you want them to be, it starts to erode after that,” said head coach Dave Preston.

In the last three sets, although the Marauders kept it close, they had trouble staying consistent, and had no response to increased pressure from the

Mustangs.

“My concern specifically was with how we handled that environment. I wasn’t completely satisfied with what our reaction was to that adversity,” said Preston.

“We have to make sure that when we’re faced with those adversities, that everybody is handling them the same way, and I don’t know if that was exactly the case on Friday night.”

The Marauders knew that they were in tough territory against the 2014 CIS silver medallists, and although the Marauders are currently ahead of the Mustangs in CIS top ten rankings, this does not change the fact that the Mustangs are undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with this season.

“It’s not like we cashed in our chips against a weaker opponent. They’re very, very good,” said Preston.

The reality for the Marauders is that they did not have a lot of preseason action. The game against Western was only the fifth game the team has played.

The team’s preseason did not go exactly how the Marauders had planned, losing two games on the road to Ohio State, and only playing one other preseason match, the

C/O YOSEIF HADDAD

Marauders have not had a lot of opportunities to apply what they have been working on in practices to a game situation.

“As we put more and more matches under our belt, we’ll be more game-tested. So we’re going to continue to stay on the path we’re on, we’re going to continue to develop our fundamentals, we’re going to continue to work through our systems and get more gameready so that we’re confident enough to make the pushes when the pushes are required to be made,” said Preston.

Although the Marauders did not take advantage of the opportunity to win their first game of the season on home court, the team was able to recover quickly after the game, which was shown in their next

match against the Windsor Lancers on the following day.

“We’re not going to harp too much on what we didn’t accomplish before, it’s what is in front of us that matters,” said Preston.

The Marauders moved on from their tough loss to beat the Lancers in three straight sets, a feat Preston was particularly proud of.

“It’s very disappointing to lose your first match of the year.

You only get so many firsts, and you want to take full advantage of that, and we didn’t. But more importantly, you want to recover on your missed opportunities, and we did that.”

In practices, McMaster will be looking to work on fundamentals so that they can get back on track to reaching their

full potential in matches.

The most important focus of the team, however, will not be on their opponents, what they are bringing to the game, nor where they are ranked.

“Our main focus will be our side of the net,” said Preston. “Our main focus will be our solution to find every single ball that’s in front of us.”

The Marauders will get their opportunity to showcase what they can do on Oct. 24 and 25 in Burridge Gym against the Ryerson Rams and Toronto Varsity Blues. @Lsinkky

Thursday, October 23, 2014

www.thesil.ca

19

Mac baseball closes book on 1-17 season The Marauders baseball team has had a few down years, but change is on the horizon John Bauer Contributor

Talk to any member of McMaster’s baseball team about the past season and you will probably hear the same two words uttered: “turnover season.” The campaign started off better than anyone on the team could have imagined with an 18-2 demolition of the York Lions. The Lions would win the next game in extra innings in a sort of preview for what lay ahead for the Marauders. The team lost close game after close game, finishing a lowly 1-17.

“Baseball’s a funny game,” said infielder Eric Telford.

“Sometimes the bounces don’t go your way. That first game everything was going right for us and then the second game we lost in extra innings and since then it’s been a tough road.

It’s tough to keep your morale up. We’ve had a couple games where the bounces just haven’t been going our way.”

Normally a 1-17 season would be reason to take a good, hard look at a sports program.

But a glance at the Marauders’ roster shows that a whopping 15 of the team’s 24 players are in their first or second year of eligibility.

Telford agreed. “We’re a young team. Lots of guys don’t have much experience in the OUA. I think it’s just learning every game and trying to get better.”

The biggest steps toward future success may have actually been made this past off-season.

McMaster aligned its baseball program with that of the Hamilton Cardinals.

“We’ve been using the clubhouse and the change rooms and the speakers in the stadium,” said outfielder Mike Campagnolo. “It definitely does feel a lot more like a baseball team this year. We have noticed the difference and it’s a lot better for the program.”

Catcher Brandon da Silva noticed another big difference this year. “There’s definitely more people [in the crowd]. Not just parents,” he said.

The agreement also means that McMaster’s players can play summer ball for the Cardinals, instead of having to return to their hometowns to play. Several of the players have already taken advantage of this opportunity. But the most significant change might have been the installation of former NCAA player, Intercounty all-

star, and Ancaster native Adam Strongman as the new head coach.

“I like the style of coaching that he brings to the table,” said da Silva. “He brings a lot of knowledge and experience.

Being a player himself, it’s been a good change for the team.”

Head coach Strongman likes the squad he has inherited.

“The team that I have assembled this year and that we have had in the past, have had the same amount of talent as all the other schools in our league ... For me, the overall record doesn’t really show the development of the team. We did many things right this year and the team continually did everything that I asked of them,” said Strongman.

“We are a very young team who learned what the OUA is all about and the players will be able to prepare with more intensity knowing what will be expected next year.”

All and all, the team has taken its down year in stride. They feel that this year was a necessary step in their ascension back into the realm of OUA contenders. With the season done, they will start their off-season training regimen, and return to their club teams or play for the Cardinals over the summer. But they are excited for next season to start, to prove that this year was not indicative of what McMaster baseball is.

“It starts with recruits, it starts with bringing the right people in,” said Telford. “If we start to do that, we brought the right coaching staff in. We have people here that can coach us. Now it’s about getting the players and coming together as a team. It’s about building young guys that are going to be here for years to come and guys that are going to compete in the OUA. That’s what it’s all about.”

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Marauders rock Algoma in weekend double-header McMaster poured it on offensively, beating the winless Thunderbirds and securing a playoff spot.

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YUK YUK’S COMEDY NIGHT

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HALLOWEEN BASH

WEEKEND WARRIORS

HALLOWEEN PARTY

Mac Farmstand When: Every Wednesday and Thursday from 11:00AM until 04:00PM

Weekend Warriors: Haunted House When: October 25, 2014 at 09:00PM until October 26, 2014 at 12:00AM

Where: Outside University Hall

Where: CIBC 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.

MSU Campus Events & Rez Life are excited to bring you Weekend Warriors! Come out for a spooky and FREE night of fun with a Haunted House in CIBC Hall!

Accessibility 101

Join us on Saturday October 25 @ 9PM for a wicked night including a photobooth!

When: October 23, 2014 from 01:30PM until 04:30PM Where: MUSC room 230 Enhance your understanding of what accessibility means in the McMaster context and develop skills to advance accessibility on campus.

Space is limited, therefore, advance registration is required. For more information or to register please contact hres@mcmaster.ca or call 905-525-9140 x 27581.

White Out Party When: October 23, 2014 at 09:30PM until October 24, 2014 at 02:00AM Where: TwelvEighty Bar & Grill Featuring DJ Staples, $4 rails and domestic beers. Doors open at 9:30PM. $2 Cover before 11PM and $4.50 after 11PM.

The SHEC Show: Tricks and Treats When: October 27, 2014 from 01:00PM until 02:00PM Where: CFMU 93.3

MacSwing Dance When: October 28, 2014 from 07:00PM until 09:00PM Where: Westdale United Church (99 North Oval) First time is free so come give it a try. Student memberships are $10/ semester for our weekly dances. New members are always welcome! See you on the dance floor!

“Get Swabbed” & join the OneMatch registry stem cell donors save lives!

When: October 28, 2014 from 10:30AM until 02:30PM Where: MUSC Marketplace OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network is responsible for finding and matching volunteer donors to patients who require stem cell transplants.

Curious about your blood type?

Blood typing will also be available, as well as the opportunity to sign up to donate at a blood donor clinic on campus.

If you can’t make it to the event but want to register for OneMatch or learn more, visit www.onematch.ca or call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283)

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GAMES

Thursday, October 23, 2014

DOWN 1] Computer accessory 2] Form a conception 3] It may be needed for a change 4] Decorative case 5] Fable finale 6] Common way to take medicine 7] Not yet final, in law 8] Court attention-getter 9] “The Terminator” woman 10] West ___ (Jamaica’s home) 11] North or South state 12] Bloomed 13] “Uh-uh” 21] Coniferous evergreen forest 22] Drink in Boston Harbor?

26] Star of a ball, briefly 28] Blackguard 30] “Come in!”

31] Asian holiday 34] Litigator’s org.

36] Menu phrase 38] Traces 39] Beats to the tape 40] Venerable 41] Missed the mark

42] PC “brain” 43] Barbell abbr.

47] Keyboard user 48] “Didn’t I tell you?”

50] Royal guards 52] Candy company Russell ___ 53] Using a camcorder 54] Gives the right-of-way 56] Nature calls?

58] Angora, merino, etc.

61] Gymnast’s feat 62] Crazed with passion 63] Daughter of Hero and Zeus 64] Chop (off)

Twitter Winner

Finish the crossword? Tweet your photo of the finished grid at @theSilhouette and we’ll publish the first three names each week!

Y SERIOUSL

ACROSS 43] Costello or Gehrig 44] Draft pick 45] Dada founder 46] Hits with one’s head 49] Arid 51] Out of practice 55] More nimble 57] Ram’s ma’am 59] ____ chi (martial art) 60] South African peninsula 64] Hubs

65] Texas shrine (with “the”) 66] Demon’s doings 67] Vending machine inserts 68] The brightest star in Orion 69] ____ over backward 70] “Hey... over here!”

71] Stretches across 72] There are 10 million in a joule

Last Week Solutions

1] Ample, as a doorway 5] Pre-stereo recordings 10] Clickable image 14] Cut and paste, e.g.

15] Some Hindu people 16] Wine valley 17] Boyfriend 18] He brings the house down in Britain 19] Where a squirrel squirrels nuts away 20] It makes letters bigger 23] Donned the feedbag 24] Apiece, in scores 25] Followed closely, dogstyle 27] “_____ beaucoup” 29] “is it soup ____?”

32] Actor’s lines meant for the audience 33] Palindromic Eastern title 35] Class-conscious org.?

37] Pencil stump 38] It’s twisted off

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

www.thesil.ca

LIFESTYLE

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SHEC lets you know how to ‘Get Swabbed!’

ONLINE

Halloween Costumes

People don’t need to know that you’re cheap and uncreative.

Couple Costume: Grease Couples, raid your closet for anything black and tight, and you can easily be Sandy and Danny from Grease. Black tights, a black off-the-shoulder shirt, curled hair and red lipstick are all you need to be Sandy. For Danny, a black leather jacket, black jeans, a white t-shirt, a comb, and lots of gel will do the trick.

Kaitlynn Jong Contributor

Female Costume: Cha-Cha Emoji Ladies, by now, a sexy red dress should be an essential in your closet. You can use this as an easy Halloween costume and turn into an iPhone emoji for a night. Just throw the dress on, curl your hair, grab some red heels and perfect your tango pose – because you’ll be standing like that all night for people to understand your costume. If you don’t have a dress, you can easily pair up a red tank top and fulllength skirt.

Male Costume: Lumberjack

Group Costume: Fries Group costumes are always a go-to for housemates and close friends who are too lazy to think of anything individual to be for Halloween. It may take a group effort to make a French fry holder, but as a group, just put on a yellow t-shirt and keep your arms up in the air for as long as possible!

Although you may not find a toy axe in your closet, you will be able to find the other essentials to this costume in there. Grab a flannel, a pair of jeans, a beanie and try your hardest to grow a beard in time for Halloween. Voila, we have a lumberjack!

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

JONATHAN- 4TH YEAR SOCIAL SCIENCE

Coat: Dad’s old coat Jacket: ransom Pants: zanerobe Sneakers: adidas x raf simons Bracelet: dollar store

Favourite designer?

Rick Owens Favourite Fashion Season?

Fallwear for the layers Go-to item in your closet? adidas climacool pants Typical Friday night?

Ordering basiliques and listening to new music with friends

PHOTO REPORTER/ ELIZA POPE

Spook up your dorm room Five cheap, easy, and scary decorations Mitali Chaudhary Contributor

Window watchers: Similar to the garlands, shapes can be printed off, traced onto and cut from coloured paper, then stuck on windows. In the daytime, you’ll be able to see bats fluttering across the glass and at night, when they’re backlit, others outside can appreciate your Halloween cheer too.

Spooky garlands: Although they take some scissor work, garlands are versatile and can instantly liven up a room.

Virtually any shape (for example skulls, pumpkins, or black cats) can be printed off, traced onto coloured paper, then cut and hung on a piece of yarn.

A simple paper garland can be made even more interesting by adding beads, felt cut-outs, or pressed leaves.

Cheesecloth cobwebs: A step above the usual dollar store cottony mess, cheesecloth webs are much more substantial and can be reused for several years. They can be hung in doorways, windows, or simply against bare walls, and give a creepy feel when they’re cut up, ripped, and frayed to perfection.

Textiled ghouls: These cute little guys decorate windowsills especially well. All that’s needed is a handy square of cheesecloth draped over a styrofoam ball. A bent paperclip can be used to hang them up.

Wide eyes drawn by a Sharpie complete the look, and beg for more cheesecloth ghost friends to hang around with.

Provocative pumpkins: Plain old pumpkins, though they essentially represent Halloween, are so last year.

To make them more fun (and to bring out their colour even more) bats and ghosts can be stencilled on using spray paint, or they can even be completely covered with glitter. The possibilities with this plain orange canvas are endless.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

www.thesil.ca

25

SEXandtheSTEELCITY

The art of keeping in touch How to maintain a long-distance friendship Grace Bocking Contributor

Although you may hear the cynics of the world that claim long-distance relationships don’t work, don’t let them discourage you - at least, not if it’s a friendship. While keeping the spark alive in a romance may not be easy when there’s endless miles separating a couple, friendships can often endure a lot more stress. That is, if you know what you’re doing.

Here’s a word to the wise: even though your first instinct is going to be to start strategising ways to stay in touch, don’t count on being able to keep all your promises. The game plan you and your buddy come up with may work at first, but you won’t be able to maintain daily Skype sessions. No matter how much you

love them, the world around you is going to be one big distraction. Learn to lower your expectations, be flexible, and don’t put so much pressure on yourselves. This will be an adjustment if you’re used to seeing each other every day, but it will teach you to have faith in the strength of your friendship.

If you do feel the need for daily updates, try using Snapchat.

You won’t want this to be your only form of communication, but it’s great for quick updates.

It’s also important to note that even though you’ll miss your friend like crazy, every email doesn’t need to be an expression of your undying devotion. This

gets stale really fast, and it can be difficult to reciprocate. Don’t say it unless you really mean it, because if you say it too much it won’t mean anything at all.

If you’re worried that they’re going to forget about you, try to remind yourself that they probably feel the same way.

Their world is going to keep on spinning without you, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t wish you were there.

The truth is that if your friendship was built on convenience, its structural walls probably won’t be able to withstand the stress. Maintaining a long-distance friendship takes equal effort from both parties, and at the end of the day, it will only work if you both want it to. Still, if you truly value each other, not even distance will be able to tear you apart.

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Recipe: Witch Fingers Julia Busatto Contributor

Ingredients: • • • • • •

1 pound butter 1 1/3 cup icing sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 cups flour Almonds Red decorating gel

Step three: Once cooled, pipe red decorating gel onto the fingertip and add the blanched almond as a fingernail.

Step one: Cream together the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl. Add vanilla and mix in completely.

Add flour and mix until dough forms. Now you should have shortbread.

Step two: Form the dough into a finger shape and use a butter knife to press in knuckle lines. Press down on the end with your finger to create the nail bed. Bake at 350°F degrees for approximately 8-10 minutes.

You’re all done. You now have the perfect creepy treats for a party, decorations, a creepy Halloween date night, or just because.

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Reviews

From The 6 Take a walk through the McMaster Museum of Art’s The Art of the Book Andy explores murder and revenge in Horns

PAGE 30

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Keeping up with Coming up in Hamilton

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Exhibit: Art of the Book

This week’s quick picks

MUSIC

THE CASBAH > Folk Sinners > Riddim Riders > Gob > The Monster Mashup

Selected works from the McMastere Museum of Arts’ The Art of The Book exhibit

OCT 24 OCT 25 OCT 28 OCT 31

HOMEGROWN HAMILTON > Wax Mannequin

OCT 25

Iceage

“The Lord’s Favorite” THIS AIN’T HOLLYWOOD > Varga > Sheezer > Metal Mondays > Open Stage

OCT 25 OCT 26 OCT 27 OCT 28

MOVIES

Westdale Theatre > Grand Budapest Hotel

OCT 21-24

MUSEUMS

MCMASTER MUSEUM > The Art of the Book

by Rabbi Bernard Baskin

Despite their youth, Iceage has already released three great albums. The Danish punk-rockers most recently put out Plowing Into The Field of Love through Matador, signaling a huge departure from their gritty roots. It’s a country-rock record, but one that doesn’t beat you over the head with pretentiousness like those of Sun Kil Moon’s. “The Lord’s Favorite” is the lead single, and it boasts a stunning video in which Elias Bender Rønnenfelt asserts his status as an iconic frontman.

THE ANDY CHARTS

#

ALBUM TITLE

1

Ultimate Bitch

2

Alone For The First Time

3

Tough Love

4

The Best Day

5

I Forget Where We Were

6

Picture You Staring

7

The Midnight Life

8

World Wide Hustlers

9

Percs and Lean

10

“Welcome To New York”

Trent and Atticus do it again Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have worked well with David Fincher in the past, and continue this trend on the director’s latest effort, Gone Girl. Head over to The Silhouette’s website to read a review of the pair’s compelling score.

Alex Florescu Contributor

If you were an art museum director and you were deciding on an exhibit theme, what would you pick to be your display? Of all the options under consideration, would books be one of them? Probably not.

The McMaster Museum of Art strays from the norm, having an entire exhibit dubbed The Art of the Book. All of the books come entirely from one source – Rabbi Baskin, a generous benefactor who donated over 1,000 volumes to the university museum. It is entirely because of his contributions that visitors to the museum can view the 16th-century Spanish imprints that cover the exhibit walls, or be close enough to touch an 1876 edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Adding to the collection are prints by private press editor Leonard Baskin, the Rabbi’s brother.

It is these prints by Baskin that seem to be a dominant and reoccurring presence in the exhibit. Two of his prints stood out to me, with the first one being a simplistic ink drawing of a flower with detailing around

it. What I loved about the piece is that the details were left unscathed. Instead, the background is inked in black, while the flower and other parts of the “drawing” are starch white, unchanged from the original piece of paper.

The second of these pieces is a large mural of a man, created solely by overlapping black lines.

It seems as if the pen was never lifted from the paper, appearing as if the entire piece was created in one continuous motion.

While it is essentially just an outline, the man portrayed has impressive form and three-dimensionality. The varying thickness and repetition of black inked lines make the man’s calf muscles look as if they are bulging and his face appear to be hiding half in the shadows.

The books themselves were interesting, mostly because they are incredibly antique. The careful detail that went into the calligraphy and penmanship of these volumes is evident, and the illustrations are simplistic but beautifully done. While they are encased behind glass and cannot be reached, you get the sense that they are so old that they could crumble the second

you touched them.

While there were prints and books that I found fascinating, there were also other pieces of the exhibit that did not impress me as much. Many of the prints featured grotesque half-animal, half-human composites that were slightly too morbid for my taste. Some of them had deformed faces, with misplaced eyes and mouths. Others were entire bird bodies that also happened to feature human anatomical parts. While they weren’t necessarily pieces of art I would put up in my own home, I could definitely recognize that to others, the pieces would have meant a lot more.

While The Art of the Book isn’t exactly my favourite exhibit, it features many interesting pieces – especially for a literary nerd fascinated by old copies of classic novels. On the other hand, the prints that hang on the wall definitely offer something for those into modern art; and if none of the above interests you, then it wouldn’t make for a bad place to curl up and do your readings for the day.

the

big tickle Which actor/ actress would you want on your side in a bar fight?

Ehima

“Denzel Washington”

Kaitlynn

“Ryan Gosling”

Luke

“Jason Staham”

Sam

“Meryl Streep”

James

“Hugh Laurie”

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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29

Book Review: Horns Joe Hill’s supernatural pageturner is coming to theatres this Halloween. Will it do the book justice?

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The Verdict

Daniel Radcliffe stars in the film adaption of Joe Hill’s novel, Horns.

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CHANGING LIVES IMPROVING LIFE

Nimra Khan Contributor

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to dive into a creepy murder-and-revenge story like Horns by Joe Hill. Horns tells the story of Ig, a man who wakes up the night after the one year anniversary of the rape and murder of his girlfriend to find horns poking out of his skull.

These horns also have a strange effect on people: whenever he talks to someone, they are forced to spill their deepest, darkest secrets and sins to him.

Needless to say, Ig is scared, but soon finds information about who might be the real killer of his girlfriend.

It’s hard to describe how this book made me feel. I loved it, but it was a painful read that

made me feel a bit drained. I was thoroughly squeamish with some of the grotesque things that happened in this story, but I was still in a rush to know what happened next. Horns is a book that makes the read uncomfortable, and I loved it.

Much like The Lovely Bones, Horns explores the idea of a psychopathic killer that no one would expect; someone among us that you would overlook because of their kindness. Too often the character in this story made me want to run away and hide, and I often had to reassure myself that he wasn’t real. I silently send up a prayer that no one has to ever meet a person like that, proving just how compelling a read Horns was.

With plenty of exploration into the bible, God, and the Devil (surprise, surprise), Horns

explores the idea of a “devil” in all of us. It challenges what it means to be good or evil, and makes the reader wonder if we really have a choice in the matter. To quote Ig: “maybe all the schemes of the devil were nothing compared to what man could think up.”

I found out about this book after seeing the trailer for the movie adaptation of Horns, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Ig. The movie had its premiere during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, but will be released in theatres for the public on Oct. 31.

I’m always one for reading the book before seeing the movie, and after reading Horns I am definitely looking forward to it.

Graduate Preview Day CHANGING LIVES IMPROVING L IFE

GRADUATE STUDIES PREVIEW DAY Saturday, November 1 | 10am-1pm University Centre, University of Guelph Choose from over 90 graduate programs Meet with faculty to discuss potential research opportunities Speak with current graduate students to learn more about the graduate experience at Guelph Discuss admission with graduate studies admission specialists

uoguelph.ca/graduatestudies

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Thursday, October 23, 2014

ALBUM REVIEWS Ben Howard

I Forgot Where We Were Rachel Harper Contributor

Ben Howard continues to rock the indie-folk scene with his second album I Forget Where We Were, released on Oct. 21.

For fans of Every Kingdom, the familiar sound of the previous album is still an underlying presence, while at the same time propelling itself into a new direction.

Howard, a 27-year-old English singer-songwriter, is quite popular in the U.K., is quickly becoming a rising star in North America. He has a considerable fan base in the Greater Toronto Area, having played at Echo Beach in August 2013.

Howard has been a favourite of mine for a few years, and his new album has only enhanced

my love for his music. Part of this is because of his very distinct, pleasant voice – soft, airy, and transforming into a rasping growl when he reaches low notes. Many of his new tracks incorporate goosebump-inducing harmonies, similarly to his previous album. The song is either overlapped with Howard’s voice, or with India Bourne, the bassist and cellist of the group.

There’s a healthy mix of acoustic and electric guitar in I Forget Where We Were, which pairs perfectly with the array of fingerpicking techniques Howard uses. “End of the Affair” is one such song, with Howard plucking a soothing rhythm at the intro, and ripping through harmonics with a savage passion near the end.

“In Dreams” displays this

talent as well, as notes seem to fly by while the drums plod steadily along in the background. This technique is a staple of Howard’s, and while it produces a calming arrangement, it also helps the song build itself up to greater heights.

Howard’s talents are not limited to his technical skills, as he is also a fantastic lyricist.

His songs and their meanings give you something to chew on as you’re thrust into feelings of nostalgia and wistfulness.

This makes I Forgot Where We Were offer a certain grounding effect that results in wonderful de-stressing music. If you’re in need of some serious relaxation, this is the album for you.

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Rachel Katz Contributor

When The Silhouette interviewed Scott Helman about a month ago, he had officially released three songs. On Oct. 14, he released his first full EP, Augusta.

The seven-track record is impressive. From beginning to end it is 26 minutes, and every second is compelling. From the opening beats of “Bungalow” to the final lines of “Somewhere Sweet,” Helman has established himself as a musical force. From the quiet, intense “Machine” to the wild, meandering “Tikka,” he has proven himself an artist constrained by neither genre nor subject matter.

In many ways, the album is nearly perfect. It has the right mix of catchy beats and mellow sounds, and Helman can

definitely write. His lyrics are hilarious, honest, and heartfelt all at once, and they make listening to Augusta an intimate experience. My one problem with the music is the use of an electric drum kit in some songs.

No synthesized drums can match the power of a real drum kit, and in some cases, it takes away from the music.

I fell in love with Augusta for two reasons. My working knowledge of music is slim, but when an artist is so captivating and shows so much promise that even I can tell how much potential he or she has, I take note, and in the time I’ve been listening to him, Helman has always proven himself to be skilled and charismatic. Once I recovered from the initial “wow” factor of Augusta, I asked myself why I couldn’t stop listening to it. I realized that Helman’s music sounds familiar, not because we are both from Toronto, but because you can actually hear the vibrancy of the city in his music.

Happiness, sadness, heartbreak, and anger are artfully arranged together, and maybe it’s just my way of being homesick, but when I listen to Augusta I feel like I’m home.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

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Review:

My Struggle A look at Karl Ove Knausgaard’s autobiographical series in anticipation of his appearance at IFOA Toronto

“

I had three opportunities to see Karl Ove Knausgaard speak and missed them all through some cruel twist of fate.

Tomi Milos ANDY Editor

Bookended by weeks of coma-inducing monotony in Hamilton, my trip to New York City in June was the clear highlight of my summer. It was my first time in the bustling metropolis and after a week of excitement I was glad that I was able to take in the splendours the city had to offer on my own terms.

Perusing the titles available at The Strand, wandering Columbia’s campus, seeking shelter from a storm in the New York Public Library, lusting after the #menswear that SoHo had to offer, and enjoying the amazing pizza at Grimaldi’s were terrific experiences. So was attending a gallery opening, and sitting down with Noah Callahan-Bever, editor-in-chief of Complex magazine, in his midtown office to shoot the shit about rap and his relationship with Kanye. In talking to my writer friends there, I had never felt so stimulated and excited about what life had to offer after school.

But what makes me laugh fondly the most in retrospect is that I had three opportunities to see Karl Ove Knausgaard speak and missed them all through some cruel twist of fate. The renowned Norwegian writer had been in the city to promote the release of the newly translated third iteration of his six-volume autobiographical novel, entitled My Struggle.

Despite bearing a title reminiscent of Hitler’s own book of the same name, the autobiographical novel boasts much more appeal than one would think when moving past its immediate shock value.

What began as a free-flowing exercise of unchecked writing about his own life that Knausgaard hoped would help him out of a creative block in turn leveraged him to a level of superstardom that has forced him to abandon his life in Stockholm and move his family to the countryside. Knausgaard

undertook the project unaware that it would displace him from his comfortable role as a well-respected figure in the Scandinavian literary scene, to a writer who would fiercely divide the press and public on the topic of how much of one’s private life is appropriate to expose.

Growing up in Norway in the 1970’s, Knausgaard recently told the Evening Standard that the order of the day was, “you don’t cry, and you don’t complain.” Knausgaard’s own father was adamant in enforcing this rigidness in his son, and it would psychologically scar the

young Knausgaard to the point where he became afraid of his father. The struggle in the title is a reference to the weight that Knausgaard’s father would have on his shoulders even after his death, while he simultaneously tried to juggle his own ambitions and raise his children.

I had picked up the first volume of My Struggle in a Manhattan Barnes and Noble early on in my stay, and I became utterly engrossed in the dry prose, which somehow crackled with energy despite its barebones nature. It was only when browsing the New Yorker on my phone in JFK while waiting for my flight home that I noticed that the writer had made not just one, but three appearances in the city (notably, one with Zadie Smith moderating, which would have been a dream to witness) while I was blissfully unaware.

Refusing to remain dismayed, I ploughed through the other two volumes upon arriving home. Perhaps ploughed is not the right word, for it suggests physical exertion when I was really spellbound by the events of his life that Knausgaard so artfully composed

into a palatable — and at times gut-wrenching — narrative.

The first volume concerns itself largely with Knausgaard’s adolescence and his relationship with his father as well as the rest of his immediate family and friends. As much as the book is made emotionally heavy by Knausgaard’s father’s iron-fisted presence, it is also made buoyant by the awkward accounts of attending parties he wasn’t invited to with alcohol that was obtained and hidden from parents at great expense.

Knausgaard has an astounding memory and unlike James Frey, proves himself to be a patron of accuracy rather than fabrication.

The works are Proustian in their self-reflexive subject matter, but are much easier to digest than the French writer’s notoriously dense In Search of Lost Time. Knausgaard is unflinching in writing about his own life which has given rise to the detriment of his family members, some of whom who have publicly railed against his inclusion of their private matters in his work.

Even after finishing the third volume this July, not a week has gone by that I haven’t thought of Knausgaard’s intensely personal exposé. In writing a work that confronted the banality and suffering in his own life, Knausgaard opened the floodgates in his own and other generations’ consciousness to reveal similar painful memories.

Despite his frankly expressed distaste for doing press, I’m massively excited to see my luck come full circle and bestow me with the opportunity to see Knausgaard speak at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre on Oct. 25 as part of the annual International Festival of Authors. I’m even more pleased that one of my favourite Torontonian writers, Sheila Heti, will be the one to interview Knausgaard.

The event is free for students, so you have no excuse not to humour your curiosity.

Just don’t pick up any of the My Struggle books during this busy time in the school year or you will be forced to shove all other obligations to the side.

THE SHANE VEIN We begin our six-par t series in determining the origin of mad dill dreams. B7

THURSDAY

THE

HAMILTON SPECULATOR SENDING OFF PARTIES SINCE 1934

NOTSPEC.COM

OC TOBER 23, 2014

HAMILTON CANDIDATES STILL AT LARGE Hamilton’s mayor hopefuls continue to evade law enforcement officials as election day nears

BLAND MacNABBY

JIMMY EARTH-BORN

T.C.

CLARA CLEMEN

The clear frontrunner is making strides in staying ten steps ahead of the fuzz.

Wants to abolish life below the poverty line, by any means necessary.

J.E.B. has been caught twice before this race, but managed to escape custody both times. Wants to de-gentrify Hamilton’s financial sector.

Officers are finding it hard to prosecute T.C. given the elusive identity of the man behind the mask. Wants to bring a real football team to Hamilton.

Somehow managed to hold a rally and not get arrested. Wants to become mayor solely so that the city can have the new motto: “It’s Clemen-time!”

TIBERIUS SLICK What’s it to you?

With the election’s climax on the horizon, the city waits with bated breath as a new mayor is selected for the next four, dark years.

It would be a lot easier, of course, if the candidates weren’t in hiding from the populace for crimes against themselves and others.

“Cycle after cycle, somehow

Hamilton always ends up having to choose from four of five complete degenerates,” said Police Chief Fake Namey.

The four candidates, MacNabby, Earth-born, T.C., and Clemen (listed in the order of least-to-mostincarceration) will have a final few days to garner support from Hamiltonians before the polls close.

“This job would be a lot less attractive to criminals if it didn’t come

with a personal pardon for the winner for all previous crimes; small, large or even heinous,” said Namey.

And heinous they were. Two of the candidates are actually being sought out for crimes against the crown itself, a class of offence that has not been witnessed since that thing happened with that guy.

“We have a lead on the location of Clemen, but many of our officers are hesitant to go that far east of the

‘Crime Meridian,’ so it is likely that we will have to bide our time until she heads back into civilization.”

Hamiltonians are reminded that they have until the end of the month to fill out their ballots. They are also reminded that regardless of who they vote for, nothing will ever change and your livelihood will always be in the hands of a criminal, one way or another.

Student paper unable to choose bias SHIT HASTINGS Not the one you’re thinking of

A local university newspaper is facing a philosophical crisis.

The Journal-Mirror’s editor-in-chief Ralph Bobert said the paper is trying to figure just how it wants to show off its political leanings.

“It’s hard to choose what bullshit stance you want to take on every single issue,” said Bobert. “We have a lot of thoughts, but we think we really should stick to one side of

the argument. It’s hard when there are so many good political pundits out there though. Some people say we’re too feminist, others say we’re like Fox News. The reality is, we need to choose one side of the argument.”

“We don’t want people thinking we are open-minded and want to host a discussion.”

Bobert said that the paper looks to emulate the stance from other popular media outlets. Prominent personalities like Margaret Wente and Bill Maher have inspired the Journal-Mirror to take a long, hard

look at themselves and make strong opinions known.

“What Maher said about Islam was really inspirational. It was so insane and created so much buzz, our editorial staff said ‘Wow, how can we be more like him?’” said Bobert.

“Readers know what they are getting with today’s talking heads. We owe the student body stronger takes.”

The ability to throw logic to the wind and spout crap is increasingly profitable. If the campus paper wants to survive, they need to adopt a side.

“Hamilton always ends up having to choose between degenerates.”

Fake Namey The Police Chief

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ONLINE POLL RESULTS What is your favourite bias?

CONFIRMATION PERSONAL RACE! THE ONE WHERE YOU ADOPT A CONTRARIAN OPINION FOR THE SOLE REASON OF BEING DIFFERENT. WHAT WAS IT CALLED.... OH RIGHT, BEING A TOTAL DICKSHIT.

47% 19% 18% 16%

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.

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