The Sputnik: Issue 8

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30 ,2016

2016: The year of the loss Review: Fantastic Beasts we were also gripped by a numKurtis Rideout ber of social issues that threaten and Where to Find Them Web Editor I think we should all take a post-game knee as 2016 comes to a close and reflect on what has been one of the most eventful and exhausting years of the 2010s.

On a personal note I would argue that things have never been this messed up, but I’m only 21 and I didn’t see the fall of the kremlin first hand… so heed the bias.

Case in point: let’s talk about those ‘where were you when…’ moments. You often hear old people say stuff to the likes of “I remember exactly what I was doing when Kennedy got shot” and hell, one of my first clear memories is watching the 9/11 attacks unfold from the teachers’ lounge at my grade one teacher’s insistence. “You guys will remember this for the rest of your lives,” she said, adding nothing really to soften the blow.

What I failed to understand at that point was the lasting impact that such shocking and polarizing events can have on all of us, children in particular.

With this in mind, you can probably already imagine what people will say when they reflect on 2016. We lost some of the greatest talents and creative minds; artists, athletes and societal darlings that inspired awe and strength in each of us as individuals.

People broadcast their condolences for the greats: Muhammad Ali, Alan Rickman, comedy heavyweights Gene Wilder and Mickey Rooney. Radio stations fervently played Bowie and Prince classics; I even heard a Prince song on a country music station.

In addition to losing some of our most beloved celebrity icons (and Cincinnati zoo residents),

to tear us apart. The BLM movement gained strength as police continued to abuse their power, we even saw this come to a boiling point when several police officers were killed in Dallas and it was falsely attributed to the movement.

It was a hard fought year for human rights, and the continuing battle for equality acquired a number of casualties.

Did I forget to mention the presidential campaign to end all presidential campaigns? I probably don’t even need to go into detail on that one.

Evidently, no matter who you are, it’s hard to deny the fact that we all left a piece of ourselves behind in 2016, but it does us no good to look at this from a purely negative perspective.

The fact of the matter is (whether or not we choose to acknowledge it) it wasn’t just all the ‘Harambe’ memes or the dope selection of television shows that bonded us this year.

As is usually the case, it was all the tragedy and the loss that brought us together more than anything in 2016, and I think that became truly apparent when the world collectively held its breath waiting for the US election results.

And therein lies the silver lining: whether we like it or not, it is oftentimes the negative things that bond us. Instead of dwelling on them though, we must move forward and learn from our mistakes.

As humans I think we definitely all have a long way to go, but before we move forward into the fresh new year of 2017, we must all take time to accept 2016 for what it really was: the year of the L.

Magical Beasts is no Harry Potter but it sure is magical. Chrstina Manocchio/The Sputnik

Christina Manocchio

Editor-in-Chief Warning: This article contains spoilers.

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter created a classical tale with mystical adventures for children to grow up with. Rowling’s new movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them carries out the fantasy of Harry Potter for the first time since 2011.

In movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Eddie Redmayne plays Newt Scamander who is an expert in magizoologist, in muggle terms he specializes in the magical beasts that occur in Rowling’s tales. For sure he is no Harry, but this isn’t the same film. The new set or characters provide a refreshing take on a magical Rowling story.

Redmayne is no replacement for Daniel Radcliff, but he does a pretty good job keeping the magical elements alive throughout the film.

There are ties between the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter, leaving the sense of nostalgia for the now adult audiences. An American perspective on the wizarding world is a contrast to the British invasion we’re all used to. There is new terminology which points out

the differences of language between the British and the Americans, which is also the case in reality. Getting used to hearing No-Maj instead of muggle creates a new set of terminology for the audience to get used to.

Another interesting element to the movie is the funny laws that The Magical Congress of the United States of America has.

These laws leave the audience pondering, like why can’t muggles marry wizards? If Hermione wasn’t British she wouldn’t exist? Even the punishments for wizards appear a bit extreme.

This could be Rowling’s way on commenting on the American legal system, but who knows.

The film takes place in 1926 which contrasts the slightly more modern Harry Potter. The movie gives historical background to Hogwarts and future stories. Scamander is a future writer for Hogwarts literatue.

For sure, this is no Harry Potter movie, but an seeing this British movie from an American perspective adds another layer of wonder to this magical experience. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them allows the continuation of the Rowling experience by branching the story off into more directions allowing more elements and layers to the exiting Harry Potter series.

Should we welcome Americans?

Avril De Silva Staff Writer The United States election has taken a crazy turn. Most people did not want presidentelect Donald Trump to win.

Ironically, he did. I conducted a dozen interviews with professors and students around campus. I wanted to explore their thoughts and views on a potential wave of immigrants from the U.S. entering Canada, due to the new elected president.

Mr. Trump has openly advocated for sexism, racism, xenophobia and homophobia. He has a reputation for being a womanizer and is openly well known of history as a misogynist. As a leader, one should be compassionate towards all humans and respectful. Trump openly promised to build a “large” wall across the Mexican border and he promised to make the Mexican government pay for it. This was his plan to stop Mexican immigrants from entering the

United States. He also intends on deporting the Muslim population as he claims all Muslims to be terrorists. Mr. Trump is quite famous for being arrogant towards certain groups of individuals and surprisingly, the majority of the U.S. population voted him in to be their next leader.

Trump won most of his votes from small states. The U.S. election has shown us that issues such as racism, homophobia, xenophobia and sexism are current issues and not those that we have overcome. They are ongoing social problems that we should continue to work on.

The United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, and quite frankly, it is sad to see them elect a leader who disrespects the work of past leaders who have worked tirelessly in order to overcome social problems. Racism, homophobia, xenophobia and sexism are social problems that have been overcome, but Trump wants to take a step back. He

has gone back on his words like promising a large wall on the Mexican border, or disagreeing that he has ever supported in nukes been released.

A large number of students and professors I spoke with thought that the immigration website crashing on election night was hilarious. This also poses a concern as to how many people would have been considered the idea of migrating. Bullying and violence in local schools has risen and immigrants have

been physical violence. The verbal, mental and physical abuse endured by immigrants is not okay.

Canada would definitely benefit from attracting skilled workers from the U.S., however citizens moving from the U.S. solely because they do not like their elect president is not a good enough reason. In fact, it is more reason to stay in the US and improve their judicial system.

Americans don’t get to choose what country bears their burden. Sai Gnanaharan/The Sputnik

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

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NEWS My Body, My Rights SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Shreya Shah News Editor On Nov. 15, the Amnesty club at Laurier showcased the My Body, My Rights photo gallery on campus.

The My Body, My Rights is a global campaign was started by Amnesty International and it focuses on fighting the control and criminalization of sexual and reproductive rights.

The photo gallery featured individuals who took off all their clothes and adorned their bodies with quotes and captions.

Each caption spoke to what the My Body, My Rights campaign meant to the model.

Mameera Uthayan, the Social Media and Promotions Coordinator for Amnesty, organized the pictures and the gallery.

“Amnesty International does this every year. I thought, ‘I love photography, I love capturing expressions and thoughts, just not through words.’ My Body, My Rights, is the best way as a feminist, especially a brown woman, to get myself out there.

So I reached out to Amnesty to see if we can do this. I didn’t know if people would be comfortable with doing this, I didn’t even know if we could do it. But it turns out everyone was into it.”

The series was supported by Amnesty International: Laurier Brantford Chapter, Laurier Brantford: Human Rights and Human Diversity Student Association, Laurier Brantford Women’s Centre and the Sexual

Assault Centre of Brant.

The co-president of Amnesty and treasurer of the Human Rights and Human Diversity Student Association (HRHD), Sinthu Vimaladasan, explained, “For the purpose of having the campaign at Laurier, we wanted to focus on our students. We decided to use My Body, My Rights to talk about consent on campus and sex work.”

Sinthu also posed as a model for the series and she focused on the concept of shadeism, also referred to as colorism.

“As a dark-skinned Tamil woman, I am perplexed by this colonial, classist, caste-based notion that the lighter you are, the more beautiful you are. It’s upsetting that our community, among others, views whiteness as a measure of beauty. It’s very unfortunate that shadeism is so rampant and is now a billion dollar industry on a global scale. Growing up, we are often told to avoid the sun or encouraged to use toxic skin-bleaching product and oh yes, frequently reminded that we’ll eventually get lighter in the winter. I think it’s time we take a second to acknowledge how discriminatory, backwards and plain stupid this is. All my coloured sisters and brothers, it’s time we celebrate all shades of melanin because I’m dark skin, I own it and y’all should too.”

Laura Favacho, who is the communications executive for HRHD and the events coordinator for Amnesty, candidly dis-

Sharyne Williams. Photo courtesy of Amnesty International

cussed the backlash for participating in the series.

“Personally, I didn’t get too much negative feedback, but my boyfriend did. One of his buddies messaged him and asked how he could be okay with me posting photos like that. My dad is not too happy but we don’t really talk about it. But for me, it’s too important to ignore the fact there is still rape culture around.

And the fact that many women still feel so belittled all the time,” said Favacho.

For Dominique Benedetti, who identifies as a Genderqueer individual, deciding to do the photoshoot was a tough decision.

“My picture specifically talks about being trans. I was defi-

nitely concerned about doing the pictures because I haven’t been out for that long. And especially because this is not a conversation that we have a lot of experience facilitating on campus. It’s a specific experience.

I think people might have seen my picture and been confused or they were uncomfortable or it was something they didn’t get,” explained Benedetti who is also the co-president of Amnesty and the co-president of HRHD. “It was an amazing opportunity for people to share their stories and it was a very personable campaign. Students on campus could see that the issues we are talking about are very real, they are not things that happen in the outside world, whether it

be sexual assault or racial discrimination. It was a chance for me to speak about my personal experiences and I thought it was a very positive campaign,” said Sharyne Williams who is the co-president of HRHD and the treasurer of Amnesty, found that the photo series was a great platform to start some discussions oriented around sex and race.

The campaign was well received by the Laurier population, with many students asking to be a part of the next photo series.

If you missed the photo gallery, the entire photo collection is available to view on the Facebook page of Amnesty International Laurier Brantford Chapter.

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THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

NEWS

SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

You can now get a degree in what?

Hyrra Chughtai Staff Writer Two new programs have recently received approval at Laurier’s Brantford Campus: User Experience Design (UX), and Work and Employment, both which will be starting in fall 2017.

The UX program was approved on Nov. 4 2016, and is run by Dr. Abby Goodrum. It is a four-year program collaborating with Conestoga College.

Graduates will receive an Honours Bachelor of Design in User Experience Design, as well as a graduate certificate from Conestoga.

“User Experience Design is a holistic method of designing from a user’s perspective,” explained Goodrum.

The process of getting the program approved was very time-consuming. The approval itself was delayed as well, as we are very late into the recruitment stage for high school students who apply in December.

This would allow less time for high school students to learn about the program.

“It was hard, there were a lot of internal and external checks.

It took about a year to get it through all of the internal processes. When it went to the ministry for approval that was back in maybe May or June, and then we waited until recently when we got the announcement,” said Goodrum.

The paperwork process and approval weren’t the only thing

that took majority of time. To have an actual solid case as to why this program would be beneficial, Goodrum spent most of her time researching companies who already use UX designers for their benefit.

“I went out and talked to UX designers and found out what they do and what they need, if they were going to hire people, who they wish they could hire.

I went and I talked to over 20 companies. I talked to TD Canada, Manulife, Google, OpenText, Desire2Learn, Canadian Tire. I did real user studies with them… all the methodologies we [learn] in class to develop this program.

What you find interesting is that every company is hiring UX designers,” said Goodrum.

As part of the testing process, there was one ‘test’ class to showcase if the program could actually be successful and if students are actually engaged. There will be another this year. The class is steered more directly at game design and technology students more so than others.

“It’s very successful for the students that knew what UX was and chose it … There are other students in the class that took it just because of their schedule.

They had never heard of UX before,” said Goodrum.

By the beginning of fall 2017, Goodrum hopes she will see about 20 first-year students in the program, and an average of 60 students in the future.

Work and employment is dedicated to the Faculty of Lib-

Laurier offering a new degree, User Experience Design and Work and Employment. Laura Gorza/The Sputnik

eral Arts, and is also new to Laurier Brantford. The program also works in partnership with Conestoga College where graduates will receive a BA along with two graduate certificates.

Dr. Robert Kristofferson is the coordinator for work and employment and will be teaching a first-year course for the program next year. “[Work and Employment] centers on understanding the world of work, and the employment landscape in Canada and in the world in general. It’s similar in some aspects to labour studies programs that you might find at other Universities, but it

is different in that it gives you much more practical training in fields that specifically have to do with employment,” said Kristofferson.

Although the course may sound familiar to human resources, it strives to reach a different goal with students.

“People your age are looking for an average of eight to 11 jobs over a course of your working life… youth unemployment is really high as well, so getting into a first job is really hard for young people. Employment and career counsellors help – they get both into and between employment,” said Kristofferson.

The Work and employment program will serve as an alternative to the concurrent education program in collaboration with Nipissing University which pulled out in 2014.

“The concurrent education program at Nipissing fell apart a couple of years ago, [so] we started thinking about what new programs that we could introduce that would be attractive to introduce, that would lead to jobs. This program sort of peculated at the top as one of those programs,” said Kristofferson.

Laurier professor wins international award Rylee Wolfkamp Staff Writer Scott Nicholson, professor and director of Laurier Brantford’s Game Design and Development program, recently won the award for best non-digital game at the Meaningful Play Conference in Lansing, Michigan. His game was one of 50 internationally to compete for the award.

“Ballot Box Bumble,” the subject of the award, is an escape room-style game and is available for civics teachers to teach students about various aspects of the Canadian electoral system.

An escape room-style game has people work together to solve live action puzzles and mysteries to try to leave a room.

“I know one way to get a good understanding of something is to make a game of it.“ said Nicholson. “I built the whole game around this narrative that you are at a polling place that’s just closed, but you’re a volunteer and your polling manager is nowhere to be seen. Elections Canada is calling in 30 minutes, and they want to know what’s in the locked ballot box. So you are going to do what you can to get

the box open.”

“Escape room-style games are among many taught by Nicholson at Laurier Brantford.

Laurier’s Game Design and Development Program is new to the university as of the 2015/16 school year. According to Laurier’s webpage, throughout the four years, students “acquire the skills needed to create a variety of games – digital, tabletop, and live-action – that can be used to change the world, to entertain, or ideally, both.”

According to Nicholson Laurier Brantford’s game design and development program is unique to North America because it focuses on making games to change the world at an undergraduate level.

“The program is different from other game design programs because it doesn’t just focus on the development of digital games and coding,” said Luke Simpson, a game design student. “[Nicholson] takes us through the entire development process, starting with analogue games and how to get a working prototype, to pitching the ideas to a company.” “[Nicholson] makes the classes interesting and engaging,

compared to my other classes where I’m always taking notes.

[In] this class, I can actually pay attention and don’t really have to take notes,” said Aran Emin, a first-year game design student.

“It’s more hands-on and I feel like that works better for this program.”

The Meaningful Play conference was established in 2008 and

runs every two years. According to the conference’s website, it brings students, teachers and members of the gaming industry together to “understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade in meaningful ways.”

“It’s one of the better conferences around serious games — people making games to make

a difference in the world,” said Nicholson.

“Scott’s recent award proves to us and the community that our professor knows what he is talking about and is a person that is still relevant in the industry he is teaching us about,” said Simpson.

Laurier professor was an international award for best non-dignial game. Laura Gorza/The Sputnik

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

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NEWS Ralph Nader visits Laurier Brantford SHREYA SHAH | NEWS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Keyana Smith Staff Writer On Wednesday, Nov. 16 Laurier’s Criminology Student Association (CSA) had the opportunity to host Ralph Nader, a well-known American consumer advocate, lawyer, political activist and author.

The CSA is a student-led association that organizes and hosts a diverse range of social and academic activities for the benefit and enjoyment of criminology students. They spent months planning and organizing this event for Laurier students and the general public. With the focus in mind of providing students the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom by one of North America’s finest activist, Ralph Nader was the academic the CSA was looking for.

Nader gave a strong lecture to students, sharing his past and introduction to political activism.

Starting out in Connecticut, he began his career in activism with corporate manufacturing ownership.

“At the time, the chances of getting into a car accident were five times more likely [than they are today], and the problem would always be drawn back to

the driver.”

Nader took it upon himself to being the problem of corporate ownership to the table, making it so the driver would always be to blame.

He told the audience of his personal background and how his parents brought him up to be the man he is today, focusing not only on himself, but the lives of millions across the nation and the globe. With this mindset, Nader was able to introduce many landmark American consumer protection legislation.

Many of these legislations have affected Americans and Canadians alike.

Reform legislations put in place by Nader have changed the present for the good and continue to change the future. A key focus in Nader’s lecture was the idea of students taking on more leadership roles and getting together to take action.

“To know and not to do is not to know,” Ralph Nader said as he finished up his lecture.

CSA’s President, Ranpreet Randhawa believes that Nadar has “the ability to take action.”

Many students after hearing the Ralph Nader lecture were inspired to make a change, viewing Ralph Nader as an iconic figure.

Ralph Nadar discussed topics surrounding corporations and politics. Emily Marra/The Sputnik

“I loved his presentation … It was about questioning the roots of consumerism and drawing the line when it comes to externalizing cost, because that’s what companies do so they make the most at their bottom line,” said Human rights and diversity student Elaheh Sajadi.

“Ralph Nader is an icon. He

tells it as it is and doesn’t shy away from the truth. [He] just makes you want to get out there and make a difference,” said Daniel Allen, a first-year political science student who came from Toronto to hear the lecture.

The CSA plans on having many more events that will be as admirable, educational and in-

spirational as Ralph Nader. Students interested can locate their Facebook page and look out for posts on upcoming events. One highlight is CSA’s annual conference that will take place around March 2017. Students can participate and get involved just by contacting CSA.

Laurier’s contract negotiation update Avery McIsaac Staff Writer Since Aug. 30, contract staff at Laurier have been in negotiations that affect about 375 of the professors currently teaching.

At this time the main goals of the contract are still the same, including job security, compensation, and benefits for contract employees. Michele Kramer, president of the Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Association (WLUFA) explained that every time contracts end for staff, they almost always end up at the negotiation table. During these negotiations, anything that will cost the administration money is left until the end. Things such as office space, end dates of contracts, and other smaller issues are discussed first so the administration is able to see the big picture before deciding where to spend money.

Negotiations have now begun to discuss these main goals.

There are about six members for each side at every meeting.

However, the presidents from both sides cannot be present, in order to not influence the discussion.

At this point in the negotiations, there has been the request for conciliation. This occurs at the request of both sides when help is needed to move the bargaining along. The request is then filed to the Ministry of

Labour and a conciliator is appointed. Greg Long was recently appointed as conciliator to assist in Laurier’s contract negotiations.

Possible dates have been given for future meetings in December, but there are no confirmed dates at this time. Kramer explained that this strategy can be incredibly helpful because the insight of someone who is not involved on either side of the negotiation is offered. The conciliator makes both sides look at what they have been debating in a new, fresh way. If consolation is unable to move negotiations forward, there is the option of bringing in a mediator.

In the case of conciliation, and mediation if needed, both teams will often be put into an isolated area like a conference room at a local hotel. They remain there for at least two days, focusing solely on negotiating. In these isolated meetings, members are there for up to 15 hours at a time with no outside distractions. Kramer explained that having long meetings led by an unbiased party helps move things along much more quickly.

The WLUFA and the administration will work with a conciliator for two to four days. At the end, if a deal is not reached, the conciliator will ask the ministry of labour for a no board report.

Once this is requested, there is

a 17-day “cooling off” period, at the end of which the administration is in a position to legally lock contract employees out. Contract employees are also allowed to legally strike at the end of this period. If the dates in December are confirmed and the meetings do take place, the earliest these effects could be seen is January.

As of right now, there is no immediate talk of a strike taking place. However, Kramer ex-

plained that every time negotiations take place, their team must always prepare for the worst.

There is some strike preparation taking place at this time In the event of a strike or lockout in the future, any WLU employee not effected is still required by their agreements to cross the picket line and do their jobs. This means that although a large amount of classes will be affected, not all will be post-

poned.

There is no exact deadline for when a contract needs to be finalized. Although the contracts ended on Aug. 30, the collective agreement of the contracts lasts a full year after they end. It is unlike for negotiations to last that long. If all goes well, both sides will have come to an agreement by the new year.

The contract negotiation for staff and faculty of WLU is still a work in progress. Anna Pricipato/The Sputnik

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

FEATURES The Time Capsule: A Tuscarora New Year DELLESIA NOAH | FEATURES@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Dellesia Noah Features Editor 2016 has been one hell of a year, and I can honestly say that I’m ready for it to be wrapped up and over with. I embrace 2017 with open arms, in fact, this may be an unpopular opinion but I find New Year’s a far more enjoyable holiday than Christmas.

New Year’s is a far less materialistic holiday, genuinely enjoyed in the company of friends and family. Everyone has their own tradition of ringing in the new year whether it be religious, cultural or secular. My love of New Year’s made me want to explore the way indigenous people at Six Nations have celebrated and in some cases still celebrate.

My exploration took me to the Woodland Cultural Centre, down on Mohawk Street, where I met Laura Gallant, education coordinator at the centre and author of the children’s book Nu-Yah. Nu-Yah, meaning New Year in the language of the Tuscarora people, has a bit of a historical background. After the devastation of the war that occurred earlier in the 18th century, Tuscarora people migrated to Pennsylvania where they came in

contact with Dutch and German people. “[The Dutch and Germans] have a tradition on New Year’s day where they travel house to house and they give the family they visit the gift of cakes.The tuscarora women, they kind of liked that, they thought it was a nice idea,” Gallant said.

The idea was adopted and integrated into Tuscarora culture.

As Gallant told the story I found it kind of amazing; a positive historical interaction between first nations people and European settlers, a fusion of two cultures.

“When they had family over, [the Tuscarora people] baked cookies and they made them into the shape of their clans, and gave them to their family when they came to visit.”

Some of the Tuscarora nation stayed in Pennsylvania, while some continued to travel north until they settled in Brantford and joined the other nations.

The Mohawk, Oneida. Cayuga, Seneca and Onondaga who had already been established by the Grand River for some time.

These nations lived in longhouses and they followed a different calendar from the European calendar. They already held their

own New Year tradition of the Mid-Winter festival, which occurred in late January, early February.

“It’s a time of celebration, special foods, special dances, songs and games. It’s about giving thanks for all of the things in a year. In the winter time we’re all inside and it’s a time of storytelling, it’s a time of gathering together and being warm and it’s time of eating,” Gallant said.

“The Tuscarora people wanted to participate somehow, but [they] did not have longhouses because they just came as a group of people, so, they wanted to share something. [The nu-ya tradition] was their idea.”

Gallant’s story of Nu-Yah solidified for me why New Year’s will always be my favourite holiday. It’s an example of how cultures come together and learn and take from one another.

What started out as a Dutch and German holiday integrated itself into Tuscarora culture, which then moved to integrate itself with the rest of the other nations. Celebrations of the new year are where all nations can relate and unify.

The tradition of Nu-Yah is captured in the children’s book. Christina Manocchio/The Sputnik

The Faculty of Liberal Arts is funding half-credit, two-semester Research Apprenticeships in collaboration with Laurier’s undergraduate academic journal, Bridges.

Each student will work closely under the supervision of a faculty member, receive a research budget of up to $1 000 and fill a position on Bridges’ Editorial Board (Managaing Editor, Article Editor, or Book Review Editor).

If interested, please email a cover letter and resume to bridges@wlu.ca by December 14th, 2016

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

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FEATURES

DELLESIA NOAH| FEATURES@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Shit parents say...

Kathleen Binder Photography Editor

“If you keep making that face, it will stay like that. Chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

When you become a parent, you grow eyes on the back of your head.” Do any of these sound familiar? Parents say the darndest things. Growing up, many people are told these phrases, or phrases that are similar to these by their parents.

Growing up woth my mother, like her mother before her, created a figurative creature named the “Bipper.” Now that I am significantly older, I realize that the Bipper was created to ensure that my sister and I were safely indoors when night rolled around. When the sun began to set, my mum would pop her head outside the screen door and call us in. We’d give her the usual “five more minutes” call back. After calling for us a couple more times, she would holler out “if you don’t come in soon, the Bipper will come and get you!”

With that, my sister and I would enter a heated race for the door (often pushing the other to get a head start).

A study, published in the International Journal of Psychology, examined the use of “instrumental lying.” This tactic was very common amongst the majority of parents in North America.

When Katie Cain was young, she was told that the moon was made of green cheese.

“I still remember the teacher asking us what we thought the moon was made of. I put up my hand and proudly answered ‘Green cheese,’ and the whole class laughed at me. This is the only thing from my childhood

that my parents lied about that has caused me grief.”

Natasha Flegel, a Laurier Brantford student, remembers when she was a young child she would cry because of her freckles.

“I didn’t know why I was the only one in my class [who had freckles]. My mom told me I was born in a strawberry patch, and my freckles were the strawberry seeds,” Flegel said. “Little did she know, I would try to scrub them off of my face and actually gave myself cloth burn.”

Jennifer Mansell, a social worker and family therapist, told Today’s Parent that there are no concrete rules about what is acceptable and unacceptable to lie to your children about. She said that it is more important for parents to have a concrete intent behind their fibs.

“Our basement was dark and

dingy—not a place for younger kids,” said Fred Fitz, a Brantford parent. “In order to keep my three [children] from going down there, I told them there were monkeys that would get them. It worked until they were 11 or 12.”

Fitz mentioned that he utilized his oldest son in his little white lie.

“Having an older brother pushing the monkey thing on them caused the two younger to rethink a venture downstairs even when they were older.”

I suppose we’ll never really understand why parents utilize white lies, and fib to their children until we are in their shoes weeks, months or even years from now. What I am certain of is that that the legend of the “Bipper” will live on in my family.

Parents tell their children the darnedest things. Kathleen Binder/The Sputnik

Oh joy, it’s the holidays again Anya Enland Staff Writer Christmas is celebrated by millions of people around the world. Disliking Christmas is not the popular opinion, but there are some who dislike it nonetheless. Everyone has a reason, whether it be because of an upsetting memory or because Christmas has become a materialistic holiday. Here is a little perspective on why some people are not fans of Christmas or the holiday season.

Their Story: “I dislike the annoying music and jingles and the fact that it’s the same music everywhere. It’s just a spending gimmick to me that the media has totally taken advantage of. [It] makes people stress and fight just for materialistic things. People stress out so much for something that’s for only a day. Seeing people literally fight at malls and get hurt and families fighting for gifts is just ridiculous to me, and it makes me angry that everyone is just blinded and brainwashed by this holiday.”-Stephanie Solorzano “I hate Christmas and the holiday season because it brings up a lot of sad memories from the past. My dad left when I was young, so coming from a broken home, I lost the magic of Christmas. My family does nothing but fight when we’re together, so it makes it difficult to enjoy. I find Christmas and the holiday season in general has become extremely materialized. People are more focused on gifts and extravagant decorations rather than spending time with loved ones. I think about the people who have nothing on Christmas,

the ones living in poverty and on the streets. The ones who don’t get stuff themselves with a grotesque amount of food because all they can afford is a can of beans to share.”-Jane Doe* “I realized Christmas was too much of a bother. I saw how prices went up and the craziness of Black Friday. I figured the corporate greed and the desire for material items overshadowed spending time with loved ones …

I have to work harder than usual to appear cheery. It takes a toll on one’s mental wellness. It is difficult to pretend to enjoy the holidays for the benefit of others.” -Meghan Cameron When was the exact moment you started disliking Christmas/holiday season?

“I think maybe up until I was about eight or nine years old I started disliking it. My mom is a single mom raising my brother and I. We ended up moving to Utah when I was eight years old. We were homeless a few times in the span of two years. It was a very hard time for me as a child leaving everything behind and losing everything and being separated from all my friends.

I was definitely depressed. We lived near the mountains in Utah so it was always cold and snowy.

During Christmas we received a couple gifts through the church that helped us but I wasn’t allowed to keep my gifts since we had to move again and we couldn’t carry much with us. So I feel like I just learned not to get attached to the gifts I received because I would have to give them up. I think I just started to not care about Christmas at that point.” -Stephanie Solorzano * Asked to remain anonymous

Why game design takes four years Jelena Vulić Staff Writer It’s hard enough to avoid assumptions around an arts program in university. Many people don’t see the point in pursuing the arts as a lifelong career, especially when there’s the notion that workers in the field simply don’t make a lot of money, or at least not enough to live comfortably - not unless the students get extremely lucky anyways. Throw Laurier Brantford’s Game Design and Development program into the picture, and even more wildly incorrect assumptions pop up.

When asked about the most frustrating assumptions regarding the program, professor Scott Nicholson was quick to say that people assume that the program produces programmers for recreational video games.

“It’s not just programming,” he stated. “You learn all of the other stuff that’s more important. It’s not recreational games;

the games have some sort of educational value. It’s not just video games, but it’s all sorts of games.”

Nicholson has also reiterated on several occasions about how the game lounge located in the Grand River Hall building is not meant to be a recreational space for game design students only.

The space’s purpose is to immerse game design students in various games so that they can pick up on certain mechanics of both video games and board games that could be used in their own games. This is to add more tools to their “game design tool kit.”

The game lounge also has the purpose of allowing students to test out each other’s games, as.

Playtesting is an integral part of developing a game and can be compared to the scientific process. Students, with their newlydeveloped games, have certain hypotheses about how players will understand or interact with their games. It’s hard not to ap-

proach the assumed playtesting results with a bias, as the students understand the mechanics of their own games better than anyone else. The purpose of playtesting is to see where things went right and wrong in a game.

A game designer’s theories and work only get better with practice.

That’s part of the point of having a game design program, but why have it as a four-year university program?

“The goal is to allow people to work with an organization,” Nicholson explained. “To both make a game and to see if that game has a greater impact. That activity alone is a full year. That means that we have three years to get students ready to do that stuff. If we start with the theory and analog approach, that’s one of the years. That leaves us with two years left. Those two years in the middle are there to understand the programming side of games.”

“Also, we come back into the

theoretical side. If you look at it like a map, you start in theory, move into analog, then you move into making digital stuff. We then come back around to theory with things like project management and ethics and think ‘Now that we’ve got those skills, we want to understand how to use those in a larger context.’

Then, you’re ready to go out and work with an organisation. If we didn’t have that partnership with an organisation, then we wouldn’t need that fourth year, but that fourth year is critical to make something that’s yours, so that it would be easier for you to get a job.”

What students are expected to learn can be narrowed down by Jesse Schell’s Map of the Game Design Process, which was published in his book The Art of Game Design. It touches up on five key parts of game design: the designer themselves, the process of developing the game, the game itself, the players, and the player’s’ experience. As anyone

can see, there’s a lot that needs to be considered within these five parts, including documentation, the game’s theme, the players’ mindset and so much more.

Game design is not just a bunch of lazy kids sitting around and playing games all day. They are learning as they’re experiencing the games; they’re picking up on mechanics, narrative, player interaction, and so much more. The games they make have a purpose, such as teaching people about the responsibilities of owning a pet or urging people to do something about gender violence. The program itself is no walk in the park either. Like any program, it may include late nights working away on a paper or taking off recreational time to do more research. However, it’s the students’ passion about what they’re doing and their willingness to put in those hours of work when learning about their future professional field that makes it all worthwhile.

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THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY | ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

The best rap albums of 2016 Fingers fly at Downtown Showdown Matthew Burley A&C Editor Being as subjective as it is, music is difficult to objectively critique. Everyone has their own preference of genre, style and tempo, among every other aspect of music. However, good music is good music, and deserves to be shared; regardless of if it’s the newest single, album or mixtape.

2016 has yet to end, and it has already seen it’s fair share of rap releases. In this ocean of rap music, it’s become evident that the quality rises to the top, while the remainder sinks to the bottom. That being said, there are a handful of diamonds in the rough of 2016.

Anderson .Paak started January off with his serenading sophomore studio album, Malibu. .Paak’s personal lyrics and sing songy delivery paired with organic sounding production leave the listener wanting to loop the album on repeat.

February was a heavy month for the rap scene. After switching the name from So Help Me God, to SWISH to WAVES ,Kanye West released his eighth album, The Life of Pablo. TLOP featured heavy hitters such as Kendrick Lamar and Future over a collection of beats that West helped produce himself. Although it is obviously a Kanye album, TLOP feels like a collective album due to all of the featured artists and producers featured on the album. Earlier in February, Toronto’s Jazz Cartier released his sophomore mixtape, Hotel Paranoia. The release was overshadowed by the pre hype of TLOP, however, Cartier’s sharp lyrics shine over Lantz’s executive production. Indonesian rapper Rich Chigga gets the honorable mention for his single, “Dat $tick”, which caught the attention of well known rappers such as Ghost Face Killa.

March gave us the return of the New York trio, Flatbush Zombies, with their debut album, 3001: A Laced Odyssey. The Zombies had released a number of mixtapes in the past, however, 3001: A Laced Odyssey, brings fresh production and ideas to the table.

April was a big month for Toronto, after October’s Very Own Drake released his fourth album, Views. The forever meme worthy Drake was unable to persuade all critics, however, he was able to score 12 non-consecutive weeks

at number one on the Billboard 200.

Things started to pick back up in May, with the release of Chance the Rapper’s debut album Coloring Book. Coloring Book is filled with influences of religion and peace, leaving the reader with positive vibes. U.K. grime rapper, Skepta, released his unexpected fourth studio album, Konnichiwa. Skepta’s fast paced flow and British slang go hand in hand with the dark, electronic production.

Despite the fact that he was imprisoned for it’s release, Kodak Black dropped one of the best mixtapes of the year, Lil B.I.G. Pac, in June. With a slow, nasally flow, Kodak added some variety to the rap game this year.

July’s offering is the introspective debut mixtape, Telefone by Noname. The ten track mixtape is sprinkled with jazz, soul and gospel influences, and featured a number of underground Chicago artists. A perfect soundtrack to start off a Sunday morning.

A little over four years after the release of the mixtape Channel Orange, Frank Ocean released his first studio album, Blonde, this past August. Blonde showcases Ocean’s skills as a songwriter and separates him from a majority of the other artists currently out.

As the weather began to cool down, so did the rap releases.

Mac Miller released his fourth studio album, The Divine Feminine in September. The album featured themes of loss and love, while giving Miller the perfect platform to showcase his consistently improving vocal skills.

October has been the slowest month of 2016 thus far. However, D.R.A.M. released his debut album, Big Baby D.R.A.M.. The album’s quality was inconsistent, however, it became the home for the summer banger, “Broccoli”.

The temperature begins to rise in November, with the release of A Tribe Called Quest’s final album we’ve got it from here…

Thank You 4 Your service and Belly’s tenth mixtape, Inzombia, which were both released Nov. 11. we’ve got it from here… Thank You 4 Your service celebrated the life of late-tribe member, Phife Dawg. The album also hinted at aspects of politics and equality. Ottawa-based rapper, Belly, shows his range on Inzombia, switching flows on almost every track. One can only wonder what 2017 will bring...

Album art courtesy of Steel Wool, GOOD, Boy Better Know, Warner Bros., Glorious Dead Recordings, Dollaz N Dealz Ent, Roc Nation

Matthew Burley A&C Editor As you enter Market Square, the clinking of plastic wheels echoes throughout the mall.

Having joined a group of confused-looking spectators, you peer down the balcony to find over 60* (this number will change) fingerboarders clustered in and around the fountain.

They are huddled around miniature skate features, ranging from butter benches to poles jams, with everything in between.

As you walk down the stairs, the scent of pizza is heavy in the air, despite the pile of empty pizza boxes behind the refreshment table. Fingerboards fling, flick and fall as their owners attempt to string along lines of tricks.

The flashes and beeps of video cameras gets stronger as you wade through the sea of contestants. After slinking through groups of tie dyed teens, you spot the prize table, filled with various products such as fingerboards and apparel. A particular marble ledge catches your eye as you begin to walk away.

Suddenly, the shrill shrieks of a megaphone siren pierces your ears from above. As you look up, a shower of stickers waft from the balcony towards a crowd of outstretched hands. A handful of attendees wrestle on the ground for the remaining, uncollected stickers. You’ve just been thrown into the middle of the second Downtown Showdown.

The Downtown Showdown, hosted by Joycult Wheels, was a fingerboarding contest made to bring people together and support the subculture. Joycult Wheels owner, Matt Watkinson, was ecstatic about the turnout of

Some of the miniature skate featured were based off of skate spots in Brantford.

Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

the event. “It’s always awesome.

Ten people could have showed up and it still would have been cool,” said Watkinson.

Watkinson noted he especially pleased with the number of contestants from outside of Brantford. A handful of attendees travelled from as far as Pittsburgh and Saskatchewan to participate in the event.

“Someone was supposed to come from Germany,” stated Watkinson, “but he got caught up in the U.S. and couldn’t make it.”

Watkinson decided to opt out of the traditional contest format for the second Downtown Showdown, and stated that he feels,“contests are lame.” This led Watkinson hold a race and a raffle instead, as he stated he finds they give contestants a, “fair chance” at taking home a prize. The winners of the race consisted of Cooper Sasso, Dylan MacFarlane and Zach Almeida, in respective order.

Some of the miniature skate features were inspired by skate spots in downtown Brantford; one of the more recognizable being Town Hall. Watkinson made the features himself, along with the help of Derek Doolittle and

Andrew Merriam, who helped with the creation of the rails and wood cutting.

Watkinson stated that he enjoys holding the Downtown Showdown contests at Market Square, adding in that he, “wants to have it [at Market Square] every year.” Watkinson went on to mention that he feels, “the contest brings life to the mall,” which is usually inhabited solely by Williams’ employees and customers. Watkinson stated that he feels he was able to use Market Square thanks to his Wilfrid Laurier “connection”.

Watkinson formed this relationship with the university through LaunchPad, a Laurier based program which students and community members reach entrepreneurial goals.

Watkinson stated that he plans to continue to diversify Joycult in the future, by selling not only fingerboard wheels, but by also getting into apparel such as t-shirts and sweaters.

Aside from Joycult, the Downtown Showdown was sponsored

by Blackriver, Dynamic, Five Luck, Bonk Benches, Vaudeville Fingerboard Obstacles, Flint, South Soft Supply Co. and The Norwood Project.

Celeberity deaths 2016 Kurtis Rideout Web Editor It seems like we go through the same cycle of celebrity mourning every year; aging icons pass away and we all act dumbfounded, like death isn’t some essential of being alive or anything…

But man, this year was different… right? David Bowie, Prince, Muhammed Ali, Professor Snape, Lemmy Kilmister…

Kimbo Slice…Harambe?!?

Like come on, talk about ‘bad things come in threes’… More like bad things come in armies and never-ending waves.

It’s as if someone stuck a knife in your heart the moment Bowie died, and hasn’t forgotten to twist it every other week since.

Well, if you have been feeling this way, you are definitely not alone, there are lots of people here on campus just like you.

Zach Friend – First year Health Studies Which passing celeb had the biggest impact on you in 2016?

Well, Lemmy Kilmister, for

sure. [The] guy was a legend; here we have a 69 year old man, still touring the world, still making music, who finds out he has cancer, on his birthday and still goes out there, still finishes the last show he can.

It’s amazing, so many artists drop off a tour for whatever reason, and here we have cancer riddled Lemmy, nearly 70 years old, still playing bass and singing in a heavy metal band.

Do you remember what you were doing when you heard about it?

When I heard he had passed I wasn’t working, it was the weekend, I went and grabbed a bottle, and watched the funeral live on Youtube and got quite plastered What kind of influence have they had on you in your life?

The influence Lemmy had on me was to [just] go for it. Lemmy never let people tell him, how, or who to be. Lemmy did what he did best, he was himself; a Nazi memorabilia collecting, whiskey swigging, lover of all things fast and heavy.

I’ve never heard of a more distinctive, stand out, rebellious, in your face, get out if you don’t like it enigma of culture. A legendarily ugly man, being overly popular with the ladies, simply because he was cool, and he knew himself.

Katrina McAleer – Fourth year Youth and Children’s Studies Which passing celeb had the biggest impact on you in 2016?

I would have to say Gene Wilder.

Do you remember what you were doing when you heard about it?

I was at work and we had the radio on and it was announced that he passed away.

What kind of influence have they had on you in your life?

His movies were always special to me. My dad showed me “Young Frankenstein” and we would always joke about how funny the movie is.

It’s sad to think that future generations probably won’t know of his talent.

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

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ARTS & CULTURE MATTHEW BURLEY| ARTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

All photos by Alex Vialette/The Sputnik

Brantford’s downtown is home to a wide variety of shops and small businesses. These businesses define Brantford, but what defines the businesses? This is the inspiration behind “Clerks”; getting to know those who know us so well. From our shoe size to our favourite item on the menu, these business owners make us feel more like family than customers. With that being said, let us shine the spotlight on Clerks: The best of Brantford.

To say the least, Brantford is its own weird and quirky town. Spread throughout the downtown there are tons of small and unique restaurants and shops that help define the area and Laurier campus. With 2016 nearly wrapped up, here is a few fan favourite establishments you can find around downtown.

Alex Vialette Staff Writer

Starving Artist Christina Hajiioannou, Owner How do you take your coffee?

“One milk, two sugar!”

Does the art you guys have sell well?

“Yes! I have sold 338 paintings to date in just over one year… This is a very special show, it’s from the Canadian Mental Health Association and its called Race to Wellness.”

Crazy Bills Ashley Boake, Crazy Bill’s daughter If you had to pick one reason, why do you think students like your store so much?

“Because of the variety. Not only do we just sell food for last minute shopping, we also have the extra stuff that they need like papers, et cetera.”

Out of your inventory, do you have a favourite piece of glass?

“I do yes, it would be in the high end glass. It’s a rather expensive piece, it would be the woodgrain Blitzkrieg. It is our most expensive piece.”

How much does it go for? “$3,800. That’s a collaboration piece, two glassblowers made that. It’s my favourite.”

Lonnies Lawrence Xurieb, Owner’s son You guys have a reputation among students for being the spot downtown for drunk food, how’d you get that?

“It didn’t take very long, we used to be open 24/7 so mostly by being open all night. It was mostly the main spot for bars or people that go to bars come here after and eat mostly poutine. It’s mostly deep fried food so that’s bar related food for the most part.”

How do you guys come up with the amount of poutines you have on the menu?

“We’re at 33, with 20 more coming within the next couple of months. Pretty much if you have an idea, if we have the ingredients in house and we can a poutine then we’ll bring anything to the table. So if anybody has any ideas they can make their own poutine. It’s mostly my father who is the creator of most of those poutines.”

Burrito Brothers Van Quach, Owner What sets you apart from other burrito places?

“The owners are here every day pretty much, we’re very hands on. We make sure everything that leaves the door is what we want, where a lot of other places, they all have workers that might not care as much as the owners.”

How do you take your burrito?

“I usually have it with fish and sweet potato. The sweet potato gives it a nice sweetness to it and it has a lot of nutrients so it’s good for you.”

The Kitchen Brett Pottruff, Co-owner Since you guys make everything from scratch, is it healthier than regular fast food?

“Definitely, everything is made from completely natural ingredients. Less salt, less sugar, less everything. There’s not a single thing in here that’s not an actual ingredient, so it’s definitely healthier. Though it’s not health food it is still is healthy food.”

Which soup of the day is your favourite?

“I’m hard with favourites, depends on the day and changes all the time. Probably the Cajun chicken corn chowder I like a lot and sweet potato honey soup.”

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THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE | SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier Brantford falls just short on home court Devon Momy-Gamache

Sports Editor A pair of wins and a pair of losses left Laurier Brantford’s women’s basketball team in third place and just out of the championship game in their first ever tournament on home court.

The Golden Hawks started with a tough game against the U of T Mississauga. It was a strong defensive game for Laurier as they limited UTM to 24 points.

Fourth-year Torian Adamson lead Laurier with 11 points, with the rest of the team scoring six total as Laurier lost 24-17.

Laurier looked to improve in their second game against Lakeshore-Orillia. With 13 more points Adamson continued to dominate in the paint on offence.

With more support on offence Laurier closed out a close game with some free throws from Natasha Brown to win 32-28.

With a 1-1 record Laurier could not afford another loss when they played a strong Humber North team. A strong start from captain Rachel Wallace and Ad-

amson helped keep it close with Wallace scoring five and Adamson adding three. With the Golden Hawks down 12-8 after one, the second quarter was full of strong defensive play as Humber North extended their lead to 14-11.

A few bad passes from Laurier gave Humber a chance to attack in transition in the third quarter as they quickly built a 20-11 lead.

With fewer turnovers Humber was only able to score two points in the fourth, but a lack of offence from Laurier gave Humber a 26-16 win.

Outscored 8-1 in the third and only managing eight total points over the final three quarters revealed where the team needs to improve on for later in the season. Playing a zone defence results in Laurier needing to limit turnovers so that their defence can have a chance to get in position to execute.

In their final game, Laurier went out with a strong offensive game as they scored 37 against Fleming. The score was tied at

10 at halftime before Laurier started hitting their shots and built a 24-14 lead. Laurier didn’t let off the gas in the fourth where they scored another 13 points and only allowed two. Adamson and Rylee Hill scored a team high 12 each, as six different Golden Hawks scored in the game.

Adamson scored in double digits in three out of four games, dominating the glass all tournament and was the star for Laurier. Adamson gave the rookies on the team credit for improving since their last tournament, “I think we did fantastic, a lot better than before. A lot of our rookies have been stepping up and doing a lot better since the first tournament.”

“I was really proud of everyone, everybody was talking so no disappointments here,” said Wallace. “Working on offensive plays and other than that we’re fine.”

Laurier’s next and final tournament is Jan. 28 at Conestoga College.

Laurier improved on offence but fell just short in their first tournament on home court.

Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

2016 is the year of the blown lead Cyril Tapas Contributer Imagine being at the top of your professional career, moments away from winning it all.

Now imagine blowing that moment in the most horrendous way possible, and there you have the biggest theme presented in the sports world in 2016: blown leads. Now I don’t mean those

who lose by the mere last few plays, I’m talking about teams who basically had it in the bag but couldn’t carry it through the last couple of steps. Your big winners, or should I say losers, of 2016 are the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Indians.

Now, who amongst them is the biggest loser of 2016? Let’s recap

the results: Your first contestant had the best record in NBA history, surpassing the previous record held by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-96. This team had the back to back league MVP and were breaking numerous records day in and day out. I’m of course talking about the Golden State Warriors, who lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers after leading the

series 3-1.

A crucial moment in the series was losing Draymond Green for game five, which ultimately lead to Lebron James dropping 41 points with 16 rebounds and seven assists. Golden State missed Green more than James misses his hairline, but that’s beside the point.

Love him or hate him, you have to respect what he did in the finals averaging 29/11/8 and having one of the best blocks I have ever seen in game seven to cap his third championship. Kyrie Irving also did his thing in the series, averaging 27 points and being responsible for the game winning three in game seven of the NBA finals. This duo certainly outdueled the “splash bros” in the finals, and deserved to win its first ever NBA championship.

It only took them 47 years so I mean, the Raptors still have a chance, right?

Second up to bat, Francisco Lindor, will he clutch it for his squad; no scratch that, for this city? Nope, the Cleveland Indians choked after being up 3-1 in the MLB finals. Another Cleveland team or as they like to call it “Believeland”, had a chance to make it a magical year for the city, winning two major sports championships would make it big for the city. If this won’t increase their tourist rates, I don’t know what will.

Unfortunately, the Indians didn’t have LeBron James playing for them, and choked their 3-1 lead. To be fair, the Indians played a magnificent game seven, forcing extra innings. Rajai Davis hit a three run home run, in the bottom of the eighth to make things interesting but the

Cubs had the momentum on their side winning to end their 108 year World Series drought.

Shout out to Michael Lee for predicting them to win this year, when did he make his prediction? 1996. Now all I need is next year’s lottery ticket numbers and I’m set.

Now the final team: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the underdogs, yet not so much underdogs; since they have two phenomenal players. Well, they had two phenomenal players (cue the sad walking away music). Yes the Oklahoma City Thunder blew another 3-1 lead, this time to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals.

Oklahoma had their way in the first couple of games. Even though Durant and Westbrook had good stats, dropping 30 and 27 points respectively, they couldn’t find shots in the fourth quarter losing in game seven.

You know the saying, if you can’t beat em, join em. Apparently, Kevin Durant had this tattooed on his lower back or something and decided to join the Golden State Warriors, leaving OKC after nine years. Savagery, I don’t know who feels worse, Russell Westbrook or Klay Thompson, for getting fewer touches during games now. All I know is that Durant made himself the newest villain in the NBA, only to make Westbrook the newest superhero. Westbrook as Ben Affleck’s batman? That would be scary on the court.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

THE SPUTNIK

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SPORTS

DEVON MOMY-GAMACHE| SPORTS@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

Laurier offence struggled in loss to Laval Devon Momy-Gamache

Sports Editor Laurier scoring their first points with 27 seconds left in the game, on their 16th drive, is all you need to know about how rough of a day it was for the Laurier offence.

Playing the top team in the country, Laval was always going to be tough especially in Quebec City; Laval is now on a 80-3 run on their home turf. Heading into the game Laurier was already missing their starting running back Eric Guiltinan, who suffered a knee injury against McMaster in the OUA semifinal’s.

New starting running back Levondre Gordon was injured early in the second quarter with an apparent concussion. Down to their third string running back, Laurier also lost their leading receiver when Kurleigh Gittens Jr. was injured on their next drive.

The offence only managed 75 total yards in the first half putting pressure on the defence to keep the score close. With stars across the defence it was surprising to see Laval move the ball efficiently through the air and on the ground. Laval jumped out to a 29-0 lead by halftime, and scored on five of their first seven possessions.

Laval quarterback Hugo Richard spread the ball around, he started the game completing nine of 10 passes. Richard finished the first half 15-21 with 151 yards and two touchdowns, Richard also added 52 yards on the ground, on four carries.

Head Coach Michael Faulds appeared to inspire the team during halftime as the defence forced two quick punts and only allowed 10 yards on four plays.

Carson Ouellette returned a punt 36 yards to the Laval 54 giv-

ing the offence a chance to get on the board.

Osayi Iginuan ran the ball 11 yards on the first play of the drive. A quick pass from Michael Knevel to Brentyn Hall for 25 yards set up the offence inside the Laval 20. On the third play of the drive Iginuan broke off a big run but fumbled at the Laval 6 ending the drive and killing Laurier’s momentum.

After the fumble, Laval effectively ran out the clock for the rest of the game. Richard added another scoring run to his total with under two minutes left in the third which extended the Laval lead to 36-0. The Laurier run defence struggled all game and allowed Laval to rush for 267 yards on 36 attempts.

Hall was on the receiving end of a Knevel pass that went 26 yards for a touchdown but a failed two-point conversion left Laurier down 36-6 with 1:57 remaining. Knevel finished what could be the final game of his career completing 21 of 45 attempts for 174 yards with a touchdown and interception.

The result only tells half the story for this Laurier team that is rebounding from a 1-7 record in 2013. Since Faulds took over as coach in 2013 he has helped rebuild the program and was named USports coach of the year this year for his efforts.

The strongest part of this Laurier team under Faulds was the defence, especially the defensive backs. Malcolm Thompson, who was injured against Guelph before the playoffs, and Godfrey Onyeka lead the group and should both be back next year after being named first team All-Canadians.

The star on defence though was linebacker Nakas Onyeka who was named OUA defensive

Laurier struggled to break free on offence as Laval kept them off the scoreboard until the final minutes as Laurier lost 36-6

Paige Bush/The Cord

player of the year and was a first team All-Canadian. Onyeka is a top 20 prospect in the CFL draft but could potentially return for one final season.

The defensive line will be losing one of Laurier’s top players in school history Kwaku Boateng.

Boateng is the second ranked prospect heading into the CFL draft after being named OUA defensive player of the year in 2015.

He was also named as a second team All-Canadian for the second consecutive season.

Jalen Price, defensive linemen, and Ron Kinga, defensive back, may also be gone after

this season creating more playing time for young players. On offence, the team will be losing Guiltinan, along with Knevel and Julien John, both starting quarterbacks from this season.

The team will most likely turn to either Tristan Arndt or Jacob Spinella at quarterback, both are sophomores and were top recruits coming out of high school.

Running the ball could also be a problem next year with Laurier projected to lose four of their five starting offensive linemen. The offensive line played a role in the strong running game Laurier had this season averag-

ing 281.4 yards per game on the ground, tops in the OUA. The returning Gordon and Iginuan will be relied upon more to get yards using their skills instead of relying on large holes from the line. The passing game will also benefit from a receiving group that will be returning their top two options, Gittens Jr. and Hall.

Next season Laurier will be hoping for another top five ranking and a chance to host the Yates Cup. Also, next year Laurier will be looking to make their first Vanier Cup since 2005 which will be held close to home in Hamilton.

Top sports stories of 2016 Scott Maxwell Staff Writer 2016 is almost over, and it’s impossible to say that it didn’t have its fair share of exciting stories.

From the Olympics, to some team’s ending extremely long championship droughts, we saw just about everything in sports, so let’s look at the top 10 stories from this year.

Penny Oleksiak and Andre de Grasse dominate the Olympics for Canada: Oleksiak became the first Canadian to win four medals in the same Summer Olympics, while de Grasse brought home three of his own competing against Bolt.

Denver wins the Super Bowl in Peyton Manning’s final season: After many seasons in which Manning’s defense let him down, the defense stepped up on route to a win over the nearly unbeatable Carolina Panthers.

Usain Bolt and Michael

Phelps retire on top: Bolt swept all three running events with gold for the third consecutive Olympics, while Phelps came out of retirement to win six medals in swimming, five of them gold.

Phil Kessel is a Stanley Cup champion: After lots of criticism from the Toronto media as a Maple Leaf, Kessel was traded to the Penguins, proceeded to win the Stanley Cup in his first season there, putting up 22 points along the way.

John Scott and the All-Star Game: After the fans elected Scott into the NHL All-Star game, the league tried to outcast him, and he was traded out of the division, and sent to the minors. Scott responded with two goals, winning the game’s MVP award.

Kevin Durant signs with the Warriors: One of the biggest stories of the 2015-16 NBA season was the looming free agent

status of Durant, and where he may go. While there was speculation that he’d return to the Thunder, or go to the Raptors or the Celtics, Durant elected to go to the Warriors, who were fresh off a Finals appearance and a 73-9 record, causing controversy similar too Lebron James move to Miami.

The 23 minutes that changed hockey: On June 29, with free agency looming, hockey saw a few changes that shook the entire league. First, Taylor Hall was traded to the Devils in exchange for Adam Larsson straight up.

Then, Montreal traded defenseman PK Subban to the Predators for captain Shea Weber. Following closely behind, Steven Stamkos, a pending free agent, resigned with Tampa Bay for eight more years.

Lebron James gives Cleveland their first championship in 52 years: After getting drafted by his local team, the Cavaliers,

Lebron left the team to go to Miami to win a championship, a move that saw fans in outrage.

After winning a couple of titles, he returned to Cleveland, promising a championship there. In his second season in Cleveland, he delivered on that promise, giving the Cavs their first ever championship, beating the 73-9 Warriors after being down 3-1 (the first time a team has ever done that in the NBA Finals).

Leicester CIty wins Premier League in the ultimate underdog story: In the team’s second season back in the Premier League, Leicester city was considered a long shot to win the title, with the odds at 5,000-1 for some bookmakers. However, they proved just about everybody wrong, winning their first championship in a fairy tale story. Leister completed the fastest rise to the title, except for Ipswich Town in 1962, advancing from the third tier of the English

Football Association (League One) to Premier League Champions in seven years.

Cubs end their 108-year World Series drought: The butt end of jokes for literally centuries, the Cubs could never find success, no matter how close they got. Whether you believe in the Billy goat curse, or have a dire hatred for Steve Bartman, the Cubs always found a way to screw up. After going 103-58 during the season, and making it to the World Series, it seemed like the curses would continue when the Cubs were down 3-1 to Cleveland. But, in storybook fashion, they made a miraculous comeback, and won their first World Series in 108 years.

2016 was a year of underdog stories, amazing comebacks, and star athletes ending their careers on a high note. As we change the calendar to another year, we have a whole new year of exciting stories to look forward to.

12

THE SPUTNIK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30, 2016

OPINION

JOSH ADESINA | OPINION@THESPUTNIK.CA | @SPUTNIK_NEWS

The importance of personal style

Josh Adesina Opinion Editor

When it comes to style and fashion, it’s useless trying to fit in. There are so many ways of expressing yourself through clothing. I feel like people are scared of being judged which is why they avoid developing their own style. I see so many people wearing the same clothing items, and it’s quite depressing!

Developing your own style is one of the easiest ways to build your confidence. It’s your opportunity to show the world who you are. Here are two students at Laurier Brantford with unique styles. We can all learn something from them.

Raquel Teichroeb. Mike Rykov/The Sputnik Rawan Shannak. Mike Rykov/The Sputnik

Rawan Shannak Describe your style.

I tell people I don’t have a style.

Sometimes I like to look classy and sometimes I like to look gangster. I grew up in a predominately gangster dressing area.

There were lots of sweatpants, Adidas outfits and Jordan’s were a big thing. Sometimes I rock Jays and other times I rock Steve Madden looking shoes.

What/who are the influences of your style?

I admire Rihanna because she doesn’t have a style. Rihanna encompasses everything. I’m

inspired by things that draw my attention. I basically get dressed blind. I put things together and I don’t think about it too much.

Sometimes when you try too hard to look good you look basic.

How important is fashion and personal style to you and why?

Fashion is extremely important to me. It’s something I was having a very hard time with. In Brantford I get looks because of what I wear sometimes. People would look at me funny, and thought that because I dress a certain way that I thought highly of myself. I look at it as a form

of expression. Some days I look homeless and other days I look like I could walk a runway.

Tips for people who struggle with personal style?

Try not to fit into a certain category. Take what you like from people and apply it in different ways. Whatever makes you comfortable. There is literally no other way. I’d advise people that struggle with personal style to work on themselves and to understand who they are. If they take care of themselves everything will fall into place.

Raquel Teichroeb Describe your style.

I’m influenced by international styles. I try to keep track of fashion around the world. I mix it with my signature items. I have this pair of Doc Martens red leather boots which I wear all the time in the winter.

What/who are the influences of your style?

I was really influenced by Sailor Moon. I really loved the way she dressed in that show.

How important is fashion to you and why?

Fashion is very important to me.

I wanted to go into fashion and

be a fashion designer. People are always surprised when I’m like ‘I’m actually a Public Health student!’ It’s something that’s a part of my life. I need to wear stuff that is close to my personal style or else I feel out of place and really uncomfortable.

Tips for people that struggle with personal style?

It’s something that’s natural to me. It’s not really a conscious thing. Everybody has something familiar that they’ve kept with them for years. You have to mix that into the things that inspire you and incorporate it into things that you wear.

Trump’s win affects us all Ricky Pacheo Staff Writer The banter between left and right has been endless. Since the announcement of Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary, the media has been a nonstop barrage of political outcry.

I’ve seen a lot of people lay it all out on the line over Facebook.

I see people stick to their guns to the bitter end. I see other people who should never own guns.

With every good intention in the world, Canadians continue to be some of the nicest people on earth.

However, in light of recent events, it would be foolish not to consider where we stand in the wake of American democracy.

If you can even call it that. With that said, I present to you a guide of why it might not be a bad idea to give a shit about all of this.

All politics aside, let’s begin by acknowledging that Canada isn’t exactly the foremost superpower in military strength. Let’s

not fool ourselves into thinking we’d be fine outside of the veil of American protection, especially considering the poor state our own armed forces. I don’t mean to monger fear, It’s just important to understand our personal capabilities as a sovereign nation. Without the force of NATO behind us, how do we find out the extent of our own power? I won’t argue that NATO is either this or that. It’s more important to objectively understand how we feel about Trump poised against it. Wanting to pull out of the organization, Trump’s criticisms of NATO recognize a toll of financial burden. As well it’s inability to serve with a justifiable purpose.

We should just see how this can be a point of leverage against us if there was ever an instant our natural resources were in danger. With growing pipeline infrastructure. An increasing market for our resources, extending as far as east Asia, puts us in a vulnerable position to have our

land exploited. The Standing Rock pipeline debate shows us the controversies of American corporatism. We can see to the extent of which corporate greed can be weighed against the constitutional rights of those marginalized by the deal. How then should we rest easy knowing our highly sought after plethora of land and resource is not in the hands of some globalized corporate giant?

Finally, let’s not forget what it means to maintain Canadian identity among the changing political landscape. After all, we define ourselves by the differences we have from the United States.

Whether you agree with Trump’s policies or not we are still accountable for the due diligence of being Canadian.

Trump usesesd social media throughout his campaign. Anna Principato/The Sputnik