Issue 9 - January 8, 2014

sputnik

the

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 - Issue 9 // www.thesputnik.ca

News

2

On Campus

4

Features

6

A&E

8

Sports

10

Opinion

12

Hentai isn’t sexy page 9

Digital library worth the money? page 5

Partnership with Laurier likely page 3

A journey to India, Africa, and back

page 7

Laurier Athletics: Year in review page 11

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

NEWS

Nathanael Lewis // news@thesputnik.ca | @Sputnik_News

Pedophile returns to Brantford EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Layla Bozich eic@thesputnik.ca ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR

Rohith Sothilingam rohith@wlusp.com (519) 756-8228 ext. 5948 PHOTO EDITOR Cody Hoffman photography@thesputnik.ca ART EDITOR Rebecca Duce visual@thesputnik.ca WEB EDITOR Sylvia Hernandez-Rassavong web@thesputnik.ca COPY EDITORS Kyrsten Lowell Jessica Lalonde SECTION EDITORS Nathanael Lewis, News Oren Weiner, On Campus Dillon Giancola, Features Amber Richardson, A&E Kyle Morrison, Sports Cody Groat, Opinion

CONTRIBUTORS Brittany Bennett Kathleen Binder Stevan Bodrozic Jaclyn Brown Hannah Brunsdon Brian Holland Dran Ngo Chris Pimentel Swathy Sooriyakumar

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FRONT PAGE PHOTO CREDITS: Main: Rebecca Duce Left: Oren Weiner Centre: Mariah Bargan Right: Heather Davidson

Nathanael Lewis News Editor James Alfred Cooper, 78, is a former resident of Hamilton. He was once considered Canada’s worst pedophile, due to the fact that he raped and tortured six children, five of them his own. To make matters worse, he has just been released into a Brantford halfway house, a few minutes drive to some of his victims’ former residences.

Arrested in 1987, Cooper had been abusing children over a period of 16 years. Cooper then escaped to England, only to be extradited in 1992.

“You are a low-down, mean, despicable, evil manifestation of a human being that preys on little children,” said Justice Nick Borkovich, when in 1993 he charged Cooper with 30 years in prison. Cooper was released after serving 20 of the 30 years he was assigned. During the trail, over 60 charges were dropped against him.

The halfway house was identified by CH TV to be the Salvation Army federal halfway house at 187 Dalhousie Street.

“This repeat sex offender is being released into my community,” Phil McColeman said

December 9 in the House of Commons. “Our government promised to crack down on those who victimize children. We will also be bringing forward legislation to ensure that life sentences actually mean life sentences, behind bars, for the worst of the worst criminals.”

In a Facebook message, Ashley, a mother in the county of Brant who did not want her last name released, expressed her concern and understanding for Cooper.

“Morally I think the decision is incorrect but if he was put in jail for a certain amount of time and fulfilled his conditions then its [sic] the law to dispense him with a warning to the public. As a mother I don't particularly agree with this decision based on our justice system but again, I'm speaking morally not from a legal stand point [sic].”

“It's sad that this man sexually abused these children but we don't fully know the situations behind bars. He might have participated in courses to better himself or to keep his education current. Another factor could be that this man had a good lawyer who argued the law in his favour.”

The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) granted Cooper statutory release in November, making a point to notify one former victim.

Since the announcement of his release, several petitions have been taken up on Change.org to attempt action by the PBC.

The Salvation Army building. (Photo by Cody Hoffman)

Ontario recovers after ice storm hits province hard Kathleen Binder Staff On Saturday, Dec. 21, most of southwestern Ontario faced an ice storm causing multiple power outages across the province.

More than 1,400 workers from various hydro companies pooled together towards restoring power to more than 160,000 HydroOne customers. By Dec. 27, the final stretch began with 98 per cent of power outages restored.

However, areas such as Bolton, Newmarket, Orangeville and Guelph were still without power. Orangeville and Guelph combined had a total of over 2,000 customers still powerless.

The city of Brantford was lucky, according to locals, as it didn’t have to deal with much fallout of the storm other than icy roads. Nicole Bateson, a Brantford local, said, “We may have lost power in the middle of the night, but other than that, we had [power].”

Bateson then mentioned that she had noticed certain parts of Brantford didn’t have power, saying, “It was more towards Eagle Place.”

While the storm hit a lot of the province, Brant County and some of the surrounding regions for the most part remained with power.

Local, rural areas were hit the hardest, as trees had fallen onto the roads preventing traffic flow. Farms were running off gas generators just to keep their livestock alive and safe throughout the brisk weather.

“Luckily, we didn’t lose power here.” said Courtney Wood, an Ingersoll resident. “But a friend of mine from Atwood ended up cooking her kids’ lunch on four candles.”

Of all the cities hit, Toronto had a peak of 300,000 families without power, leaving 70,000

still powerless by Christmas morning. By Dec. 27, HyrdoOne dispersed some of its crew to the Scarborough area to assist with the remaining outages in the Toronto area.

The Ontario Newsroom reported $500,000 worth of gift cards were given to Toronto residents to help compensate for the food they lost during the storm. The gifts were made possible by Ontario’s corporate sector with contributors such as Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Metro, and Costco. The cards were distributed until Friday, Jan. 3.

On Sunday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m., it was reported that approximately 260 HydroOne customers in the Georgian Bay region were still without electricity.

Students feeling SAD during winter season Swathy Sooriyakumar Staff Many students find themselves buried in stress as exams and the threat of paying off sky-high holiday bills become ever-closer. This could just be stress, or, to some who may not know, this may be the beginning of seasonal depression.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is a type of depression that affects people during the same season each year.

Five students from different universities within Ontario were interviewed about SAD, and 3 out 5 did not know this disorder existed.

Common symptoms include fatigue, lack of interest in normal activities, social withdrawal, craving foods with high carbohydrates and eventual weight gain. Depression is a common, but serious, mental illness amplifying the feeling of being sad or anxious.

Anyone can get this disorder that usually begins during the winter months and lifts when the weather gets warmer. It is most common with women, young adults, people who have close relatives with SAD, people who live in an area where winter days are very short or those who live where there are big changes in the amount of daylight in different seasons.

“We do live in Canada,” explained Maria Shaikh from McMaster University as she further explained how some days from the end of November onward can be “dark and gloomy and gross.”

Although experts are not sure what causes

SAD, it is believed to relate to a biochemical imbalance in the brain resulting from shorter daylight hours.

“I guess stress around exam time when the holidays begin and you want to be home with

Students suffer from SAD. (Art by Rebecca Duce)

your family can be a factor,” suggested Christopher Chiu, a student of Western University.

Lack of sunlight may affect your sleepwake cycle, causing a shift in daily routines and changes with mood. Melatonin, a sleeprelated hormone, has been associated with SAD as this hormone is produced at increased levels in the dark. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “researchers have

proved that bright light makes a different to the brain chemistry.”

Students have many solutions for the feelings associated with SAD. “Being around people you love,” suggested Priya Mehta from University of Waterloo, or in “a room full of puppies,” said Michael Gobind from Ryerson University.

Exposure to light is the leading answer to improving symptoms of SAD. This can include activities outside, working by a window or even light therapy, also known as phototherapy. Light therapy, exposure from a very bright light (usually from a special fluorescent lamp), is required for a time period throughout the winter day, additional therapy for severe SAD can involve psychotherapy sessions and prescription.

“You’re so focused on your schoolwork and everything around you that you don’t really notice the weather has an effect on you. You have those days when you feel dreary; you just don’t want to do anything,” explained Sheree Nicholson from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Student living can be busy and tough to manage; seasonal affective disorder is a serious matter if disregarded, it can be a struggle to correct and can affect a person severely in the long run. “Many people may see these symptoms and not realize it’s a disorder,” Mehta explains, as there could be more awareness of this condition among the student population.

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

ON CAMPUS

Oren Weiner // oncampus@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikoncampus

Laurier’s new digital library officially open; students voice concerns

The new Digital Library and Learning Commons with the front desk (left), desk and study booth space (top), and study lounging space (bottom). (Photo by Nathanael Lewis)

Oren Weiner On Campus Editor Upon completion of the digital library in the Grand River Hall basement in midDecember, students will now have full access to the provisions at the facility.

Although the space was already open for students to use as of December, its services will now be available to students starting in the new semester. A date for the grand opening is expected sometime in midJanuary, but no official date has been announced.

“It is a much needed study space for our students, with easy access to the services that our libraries provide,” said Gohar Ashoughian, the university’s librarian of the new facility. “The DLLC is a state-ofthe-art facility with access to a very robust digital library.”

The new facility will feature several individual study booths, group desks, electrical outlets, computers to access the online academic catalogue and a study room. Students using the space will also be able to work under plenty of natural light during the daytime due to the large

windows surrounding the facility. What Ashoughian emphasized as a key element of the new library are the three librarians that will be easily accessible to students using the library.

Ashoughian pointed out that while this is a library facility that contains the online catalogue of the university’s collection, the hard-copy materials will still remain at the campus’ main library facility in the basement of the Brantford Public Library.

She also expressed a gratitude to the BPL for continuing a partnership with the university in maintaining Laurier’s facility in the basement.

While this is only an interim step to developing a fully independent library for the campus, Ashoughian expressed optimism for the future, “We are looking forward to an opportunity to build a more sophisticated and robust learning space for our students.”

Administration may feel optimistic about the newly completed facilities, but some students don’t necessarily share the

same feeling. Caitlin Speed, a fourth-year student at Laurier Brantford, expressed a strong need for an independent library for the campus, although she did acknowledge its usefulness.

“We need a new library, one that has a better selection of resources and that is our own,” said Speed. She added, “Since most resources are online, having a digital library will be useful, but I still think we need our own building, not just one room.”

Speed went on to explain that with the growing campus, an independent, inschool library could become a very urgent need. For this year, however, she described it as “barely adequate.”

“It will work, but I enjoyed the GRH basement as the space that it was before the renovation.” She continued, suggesting an alternative, “Personally, I think it was a waste of money, where, instead, they could have saved more and put it into acquiring an actual building for a full library. Now they have two basement libraries.”

Ally Bochek, also a fourth-year student

at the campus, felt that the new digital library makes little difference from what the situation was before its creation.

“If it’s a digital library, doesn’t that mean we can access the same information from our laptops anywhere?” said Bochek.

On the library situation, Bochek commented synonymously with Speed, “It’s definitely not ideal. You hear about other university students going to their library day after day and I don’t think we have that here.”

Both Bochek and Speed, however, acknowledged that this is a step in the right direction to what they believe the campus needs for a library facility, and that it looks appealing. Unlike Speed though, Bochek feels that the new designation of the GRH basement space is far better as library and study space.

“I feel that it is a way better use of space,” said Bochek. “I think students will actually go and use it for studying, rather than a lounge for the GRH residence.”

Golden Hawk Limelight: Alicia Appleby Brian Holland Staff

Alicia Appleby, a fourth year student in concurrent education, is a very involved member on campus. She has continuously been involved, and now sits as associate Vice President of campus clubs and activities. What does that mean?

“I like being busy,” says Appleby.

With her position comes the responsibility of overseeing campus events. She oversees O-week, Hawk Team events, Night Hawks events, and other campus club events. To add to volunteering, she is a student advisor for first years in the Dean’s Office.

She further shows her commitment to the school by volunteering for the University’s Integrated Planning and Resource Management. She is a student representative, and works with the group to come up with ways to maintain and improve the school.

“It is really interesting to evaluate Alicia Appleby one of Laurier Brantford’s busy the effectiveness of the university body students. (Photo courtesy of Students’ and understand where we can make

Matt

Union)

efficiencies and make the university better for students,” says Appleby. She adds, “We are just getting into the heart of it, so I am really excited for that.”

Out of all the events of the year, it wasn’t easy for Appleby to have a preferred. Her work with the Hawk Team included the Build-A-Bear and Survivor events. Other events included were Halloween events and a monthly trivia night that runs at William’s. The trivia night runs the first Wednesday of every month and is perhaps her best fulfilled project.

“It has been getting larger and larger.

It’s great to see friends coming together for some healthy competition,” she says.

Appleby has always been involved in this way, dating back to high school, where she was part of the student council. Since her first year at Laurier, she has been involved in a number of events. Appleby has participated in LEAP, Brantford Residence Council, Hawk Team and Laurier Students for Literacy, along with her Associate VP position and GV position with IPRM. In second year, she started working more,

volunteering a little less, but still working for the campus. She started working at the bookstore and U-desk while still volunteering for LSFL. In third year she was elected onto the board of directors to represent Brantford’s views, then she became a Student Ambassador.

While continuing to volunteer at Laurier Brantford, Appleby also plays intramural hockey. Needless to say, Alicia has devoted much of her time to this school, and still holds down the typical academic responsibilities of student life.

With all of her involvement, it is impressive to see her keep up with her school work. A student like Alicia has to do work in advance. She takes advantage of what time she has by getting an early start her schoolwork and working on weekends. This helps her leave time aside for her social life. Many of Alicia’s friends are people she also happens to work with.

“I have a lot of favourite people; this year wouldn’t be the same without my coordinators and support staff,” comments Appleby.

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

FEATURES Dillon Giancola // features@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikfeatures

What’s the deal with New Year’s resolutions?

Brittany Bennett Staff Bringing in the New Year is the most common time for people to make the decision to benefit themselves through some sort of change in their lives, otherwise called a New Year’s resolution. But does anybody take it seriously anymore? Laurier students and a professor gave me their take on why they are not, and what steps could be taken to make them work.

“People that try to commit to something but they don’t really follow through – it’s kind of the trend with New Year’s resolutions,” says 4th year student Steven Haines with a shrug. Haines has trouble thinking of any friends of his that have actually followed through on their New Year’s resolution. He believes that change is something that can happen at any time, and should not be put off for a commercialized holiday such as New Years.

New Year’s resolutions are such a popular custom, yet making one has never really crossed Haines’ mind before. He does agree there are good intentions involved, and resolutions could be a beneficial thing if people actually took them seriously. Haines says that if he were to follow the custom of New Year’s resolutions, he would make the goal to spend more time studying and looking for scholarships to apply for.

Dr. John Corr, professor of English and Society, Culture and Environment relates to Haines’ ideas as he says, “New Year’s resolutions are a con! If you’re going to lie to yourself, don’t chose some arbitrary date in the future.” Corr gives his idea that the best way to make a change in your life is to act as if you have already succeeded in beginning that change. He believes that if you convince yourself that you had started the change last week, it will feel as if you have already overcome the difficult first step, and as long as you commit to keep the change going, it will only go up from there.

First year student Abby Darel struggles to have faith in New Year’s resolutions as well. She defines them as a promise that will not be kept. She sadly admits, “It would be nice to say they are successful, but to be honest, the majority of the time they just aren’t.”

As much as Darel would like to think of New Year’s resolutions as a good thing, she also points out the negatives of the idea as

a whole. “On the other hand, telling people that they have faults is more of a rite of passage, not a need,” Darel says. She believes resolutions could be a bad thing; making people feel they have to change something about themselves every year, as if they are not good enough. Although, she does admit resolutions could be a nice incentive, and an opportunity for change if taken seriously.

Darel believes the issue with New Year’s resolutions is that people are making unrealistic resolutions, and setting the standards too high for themselves. Darel gives the example of the popular weight loss resolution. She thinks many people overthink their idea of how much weight they actually need to lose, and could take unhealthy risks in order to get to their possibly unhealthy weight. “Instead, people should make smaller, more achievable goals so that they’re more easily attainable, and then they can be happy that they met their goals,” Darel says. Darel’s resolution is to tell her family that she loves them more often.

First year student Fahad Buchh stresses a different idea. Buchh has a wide grin on his face as he throws his hands up in the air and says, “Think bigger than you’ve ever thought, because if you don’t think big, you’re never going to achieve what you want.”

Buchh relates to the others as he explains his motto, “start today”, but also sees New Year’s as an opportunity. “New Year’s resolutions are just a way to put it out there: ‘hey let’s start here,’” Buchh explains. Buchh believes change is always a good thing because you can always better yourself.

The issue of New Year’s resolutions for Buchh is that people are thinking outsidein, rather than inside-out. “Most people will get a New Year’s resolution, but after a month or so they forget what they’re doing, and part of the reason why is because they’re trying to change something on the outside without changing something on the inside,” Buchh says with his hand resting over his heart. He explains that all changes have to begin with your self-image, you have to believe in yourself and have full confidence in achieving exactly what you want out of life. But Buchh makes it very clear that you need to know where you are and where you come from to be able to know how you can get to where you want

Abby Darel thinks that smaller, more realistic New Years resolutions are best -- like eating a more balanced diet. (Photo by Cody Hoffman)

to go.

Buchh defines his New Year’s resolutions as more like life resolutions. He makes a point to say that he does not hope to achieve them, he knows he will achieve them. Buchh’s resolution is to build a network of young entrepreneurs from all around the world to get together and talk about success principles. His first step is to change his self-image. He plans to do this by thinking like a millionaire in order to become one. Buchh does not plan to retire

by the time he is twenty-five, he knows he is going to retire by the time he is twentyfive.

“What’s your ultimate fulfillment?

That’s what you’ve got to figure out. As soon as you read this, take a pen and paper and start writing what you really want, ten goals of your life, ten short-term, ten longterm. And when you do that, figure out how you’re going to get there, but realize where you are,” Buchh says.

Exploring the similarities between people of all walks of life Stevan Bodrozic Staff

As the New Year begins, Francis Fiction is busy preparing for the second season of his web-series called Human Stories. Human Stories is a documentary web-series inspired by Fiction’s curiosity and love of storytelling, and can be found at www.humanstories.tv.

Episodes focus on the notion that we are all as similar as we are different.

Some videos include complete strangers opening up about their greatest fears and the things that give them the most joy in life, while other episodes focus on one particular person.

The episode about a man named Jed, who can be seen dancing throughout Hamilton’s downtown and is somewhat famous for his ability to brighten the day of those around him, shows the joy that people get in something as simple as seeing others smile.

Fiction, 23, moved to Hamilton from Congo in 2005, and has been using his camera to tell stories since 2011. He’s now studying photography at Humber College while capturing people in some of their most intimate moments. His curiosity and creative nature have created some of the most interesting insights into the lives of or-

dinary people.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that when I’m walking down the street, every single random person that passes me by has a life just as full as mine with a past, hope for the future, dreams, fears, a family, bills, someone they’re in love with,” says Fiction.

Fiction says that Human Stories is a way of increasing empathy and understanding of our neighbours. Each video shows us how similar we really are; we have the same reasons for smiling and crying and being scared. The video about Jed, for example, reminds us that we aren’t the only ones living a full life, and that those people we encounter on a day to day basis have just as many stories as we do.

Other videos, like ones featuring café owners Ron and Judith; Tom, my old high school English teacher and musician or Joe the barber, are full of lessons and intriguing stories from people of all walks of life. Each of these videos show the similarities we have with one another and, as Fiction puts it, “they serve as something beautiful that people can connect to and serve as reminder of beauty in ordinariness.”

Getting people to open up about themselves isn’t easy, but a large number of the people that Fiction approach-

Francis Fiction and his web-series ‘Human Stories’ shows the similarities that we all share. (Photo courtesy of www.francisfiction.com)

es are willing to share intimate details about themselves with a stranger and a camera. With a smile and some friendly conversation, Fiction usually finds that people are willing to open up.

“There’s this notion that people are only into themselves these days, that it’s hard to initiate a conversation with someone at a bus stop or whatever,” he says, “People want to talk and be listened to.”

Fiction’s team has grown to five people for the upcoming season, and has expanded beyond Hamilton to include stories from Toronto, London and St. Catharine’s. Fiction says that this season promises to be much better than the last.

“We have some amazing characters spanning age and race and religion and everything else telling amazing stories that make up a life. We have stories of passions, dreams, struggles, love and loneliness. It’s beautiful,” he says.

As for Fiction, his goal is to inspire, and to make people see that although we are all different, we are also all the same.

“I hope that the stories will make people laugh and cry and think and start conversations. I want this project to inspire. I hope it inspires.”

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The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

FEATURES Dillon Giancola // features@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikfeatures

Stepping into the unknown:

One woman’s journey to India, Africa and back

Alicia Krawchuk (left) washes dishes in Africa. (Photo courtesy of Mariah Bargan)

Dillon Giancola Features Editor

There comes a time for all of us when life just becomes stagnant. You can be bored of the routine, frustrated with a lack of success or just want for something new. Some of us choose to just put our heads down and push through life, hoping things get better.

Others think real hard about what they can do to get that change, and explore different opportunities. This is the situation in which Alicia Krawchuk found herself in the fall of 2012, and ultimately what led to her travelling to India and South Africa for the next 9 months to work with orphans, prostitutes, the poor and the impoverished.

“There was just massive failure in my personal life, and it made me want to escape and flee the city,” says Krawchuk. Krawchuk, 25, of Edmonton, had just had a very bad end in a relationship, and in school and the rest of her life nothing was working out the way she planned. She says she used to be afraid of making big moves, and found the unknown terrifying. “It’s kind of cool, because at that time, I lost everything I cared about, and had nothing left, so I wasn’t scared anymore. I just wanted to go see the world,” says Krawchuk. When asked what she was looking to find on her trip, Krawchuk says she was just so hungry for meaning and substance. “I was so tired of mundane living, and doing things I don’t give a shit about. I followed this God-given sense of urgency that if I didn’t do something important, I would die,” Krawchuk says. And finally, with nothing left to hold her back, she began to look for places she could make a worthwhile contribution.

“I had always wanted to go to India. I’d read books about it and it always fascinated me. Just the whole idea of India,” says Krawchuk. She was watching TV one afternoon and saw an ad. “There was this Canadian couple on TV, Stewart and Monique Shaw, and they had taken kids that live in the slums and train stations in Kolkata and made a home and school for

them. I emailed them and said I would love to help, and that got things going,” says Krawchuk. Krawchuk went as part of the STM network, which is an organization that helps people go to other countries and do missions-like work.

Krawchuk was in India from October 2012 to mid-February 2013. “There are 21 kids in the school, varying in age, and we teach them to read and write,” says Krawchuk. Krawchuk loved this opportunity to be with these kids and help them, many of whom had never had the chance to go to school before.

She also worked with a jewelry making business that Stewart’s wife ran, which employed prostitutes and sextrade workers from Kalighat, Kolkata’s red light district. “It was so eye-opening, just getting to know these women.

They have been raped and trafficked, yet they have peace, and that really taught me so much, and I was so glad to be able to help them in any way,” says Krawchuk with a smile.

When her time in India came to an end, Krawchuk still had a couple of months before she had to be back in Edmonton. She talked to her agency, and they told her about Hands At Work, a program in South Africa through the STM network. She decided to try that out, and was in Africa from February 2013 until mid-May, when she went back to Edmonton.

Hands At Work is a program that sets up groups to help the poor, but with a unique twist. “Their model is a little different from other models. They focus on the idea that if something starts from within the community, then it will last after the organization pulls out,” Krawchuk explains. They go to communities and churches in South Africa (and six other countries in Africa), and explain that they have a biblical and moral responsibility to help the abundance of poor people there.

“The people sometimes get their backs up, but there are always a few people, mostly women, that respond, and want to help. So we help them start a feeding program, and help it get off the ground.

We help them do it themselves though,

so they know how to deal with problems,” says Krawchuk. This is a refreshing change, as it is not based on control or profit, but sustainability. Krawchuk says that when the organization leaves to create other groups, the work keeps going, and does not lose a step. “It is a very holistic and family/relationship approach, and so, in that way, it is very African,” Krawchuk adds.

Krawchuk’s time in Africa was especially rewarding as it hit close to home. “White people live in beautiful towns, with malls and stuff, but just 20 minutes out are slums where the black people live, and it’s very poor. It was built off the Canadian reserve system.

It’s really weird, and basically the exact same,” Krawchuk says. Krawchuk sees the same mistreatment happening there, and feels sickened that the situation exists.

When her trip came to an end and she was headed back to Edmonton, Krawchuk admits she was emotionally drained. Having poured all she had to give to these poor victims of life, she could now reflect on all that had happened in the last whirlwind of a year.

“I went in being super North American in my mentality. I had all these skills, and was really going to put a dent in poverty. But I ended up being the one that learned the most. These people have so little but they taught me so much about life,” Krawchuk recalls.

Krawchuk admits that she is a changed person, and that she could not go back to being who she was even if she wanted to. “Working with these prostitutes, and getting to know all these kids born in slums, I realized that victimizing myself and feeling bad for myself is the worst thing to do. Bad and horrible things happen to great people all the time,” says Krawchuk. Seeing that these people are still good and happy despite their circumstances was monumentally life-changing for Krawchuk.

She went in broken and wanting to help people, to do something worthwhile. She left healed, not sure if she made as much of an impact on them as they did on her, and she left fulfilled.

Krawchuk has been back in Edmon-

ton since May 2013, and just started a new job working with autistic children.

But the transition to life back home has not been easy. “I feel like for me, the reverse-culture shock was worse than the initial culture shock. Going to India was crazy to me, but I like learning new things, so it was fun and exciting,” says Krawchuk. Krawchuk loved how social it was in Africa and India, and constantly being around people and learning and sharing with one another.

“Coming back is more difficult. My friend group is going through a transition as they get married or take other steps with their lives, and they want me to change back to their friend, old Alicia, but I can’t,” Krawchuk says.

Over time, she has accepted that she is back in Edmonton and gotten used to that. She was originally going to go on another trip, but now feels that is a more selfish idea, and wants to do something more permanent to help the people she cares about. “My main goal right now is to somehow link the two worlds, to bring the compassion and love I found on my trip back to the marginalized people here,” declares Krawchuk.

Life is not always fair, and sometimes things happen that leave us feeling broken and defeated. But Krawchuk’s story is one of hope and triumph in face of these circumstances, and she hopes to share that with people who find themselves in similar situations.

“Before I was like an empty shell. In so many ways I was lost, doing things I didn’t care about, and afraid of risk,” says Krawchuk. She valued comfort and being cool, but this trip changed everything. Krawchuk sums it up this way: “I’ve had a taste of what it feels like to be in the centre of God’s will.

I’ve been able to see what it’s like to have nothing else to cling to, and still be so fulfilled with my day-to-day life.”

Alicia posted video diaries of her trip, to check them out, go to the following link: http://vimeo.com/ user4319297/videos

8

The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

A&E Amber Richardson // arts@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikarts

Celebrity fad diets Jaclyn Brown Staff

New Year, new you … right? You’ve probably been mulling over potential resolutions since mid-Christmas dinner, when that darling food baby swelled in your stomach (feel free to blame Grandma). Your New Year’s resolutions probably revolve around putting down the fork and picking up the kettle ball. You’ve been bombarded with “I’m going to stop

She’s got those curves, that tight stomach and she is most likely the hall pass for most long-term relationships, so obviously her diet has something to do with it. Her secret to dropping 20lbs for her role in Dreamgirls was the asylum-worthy Master Cleanse. This 10-day cleanse consists of consuming only hot water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Sounds

camera adds 10 pounds!

The Cabbage Soup Diet Nothing satisfies a craving for a burger and fries quite like 7 days of cabbage soup.According to ex-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar, this is her secret to curbing her appetite to stimulate weight loss. The astonishing lack of flavor and nutrients will surely

The Placenta Diet If you still have any degree of sanity remaining after consuming maplelemon juice and baby food for 10 days… don’t worry, we still have one more certifiably insane regiment that will rid you of any remaining trace of cognitive function. Celebrity January Jones consumed her own placenta, which was dried and capsuled, adhering to

I’m supposed to eat what? (Art by Rebecca Duce)

eating McDonalds and go to the gym” Facebook statuses since the premiere of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show and its only starting to get worse since the clock struck twelve on January first.

Hopping on the quick-fix bandwagon is ritualistic this time of year and celebrities are notorious for twoweek crazy crash diets. As an ode to food babies and all those self-loathing Facebook statuses, here is a collection of the craziest celebrity fad diets to hit Hollywood. If you are looking for a quick fix at the cost of your happiness, liver function and sanity, then give one of these certifiably insane diets a try.

The Beyoncé Detox Diet

delicious! (Said no one ever).

The Victoria’s Secret Diet A vision of those long-legged lingerie models may dance in your head but this weight-loss regime has been deemed one of the most dangerous. Consisting of only protein shakes mixed with powdered egg, a gallon of water and vigorous exercise means calorie intake is practically negative. Additionally, post-runway means consumption of liquids stops altogether, leaving you with a large serving of air to compensate for the lack of sustenance.

This diet has been said to be followed

by Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima and is rumored to be ritual for these models. Not to mention the

leave your stomach rumbling and your taste buds depressed.

The Baby Food Diet If you couldn’t get enough of mushed peas as an infant, leave it to Hollywood to debut your second chance. Started by celebrity trainer, Tracy Anderson, this diet has breached the famous beach bodies of Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Anniston. The diet calls for an average consumption of 14 cans of baby food a day, with no exercise required. As appetizing as it sounds, just remember that baby food gave you some serious love handles as a 6-month-old… talk about some serious baby fat.

the placenta diet in an attempt to shed her baby weight. When asked about the ritual she explained we are the only mammals who don’t consume our own placenta. By that same logic, we are also the only mammals who wear clothes… just think about that for a second.

Let’s point out the obvious, none of these diets are physician approved and have some serious health implications.

Most fad diets end up making you feel worse and sabotage your organs and your sanity. This year try some self-love and acceptance instead of self-loathing, and leave the crazy crash diets to those in the limelight.

9

The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

A&E

Amber Richardson // arts@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikarts

with Amber Richardson

: Armand Armand is a Toronto-based singer/ songwriter who has been pouring his heart and soul into his music since he was just a high school sophomore. He has an unrequited love for all performance arts, which is refreshing in this overcompetitive, jealous world that artists often find themselves struggling in. Armand has been on multiple tours, including a crossCanada stint, which has left him recognized across our great country. His shows are full of energy and he aims to bond and interact with the audience at every show, creating a unique and emotional atmosphere at every venue he brings his guitar to. His new album The Basement Demos dropped in October and we sincerely hope that another cross-country tour is in his future.

with Amber Richardson

How old were you when you first picked up a guitar?

I first started playing guitar when I was 15. All my friends in high school were playing at the time or in bands and being in a band sounded like a blast, so I asked for a guitar that Christmas. I spent a few months teaching myself before I started writing my own songs.

What was your very first musical influence?

I grew up listening to a lot of punk pop bands like Blink-182, New Found Glory, Green Day and others of the sort, so I’d say they were part of my influences when I first started playing guitar and writing for my first band. As for writing and performing solo, Dashboard Confessional was my biggest inspiration. There was simply something about his writing, his performing and connection with fans that I wanted to be a part of.

You went on a bit of a hiatus, how was it getting back into the music scene?

The first thought that came to mind once I started writing again this year was, “What have I been doing all this time!?” I had been going through quite a lot over the course of the year - it was a really, really tough year to say the least. Starting back up with writing and recording became the best therapy I could’ve asked for. I wasn’t working with a producer or anyone behind me, so I was able to take my time and work at my own pace, which was a huge relief, unlike the first time I recorded, when I had people expecting things by certain deadlines.

I thought it was going to be quite hard getting back into the swing of things, but it felt completely natural after a few days.

What have been some of the most influential moments in your life that have helped define your music?

Armand. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Rombough)

I write from anything that I can think of, be it a personal experience, relationship - there have been quite a few songs about those. I don’t know if I can really define my music as anything other than amazing outlet to let emotion, personal experience and anything that goes on in my life out. As for influence, watching people connect with my songs has been one of the biggest things that are defined writing and performing music. For me, having even one person connect with one of my songs in one way or another is the best part of being a musician. You write a lot from the heart and for yourself, but knowing there are others that can understand, relate, and feel the music, lyrics, and emotion you put into your songs is the greatest reward. If there’s even one person out there that listens to one of my songs and says “I get it... this makes sense to me” or anything along those lines, I get such an amazing feeling of satisfaction.

Playing a show and having 100 people sing your own songs back to you - there’s simply no better feeling than that.

If you could jam with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

There are some writers I admire quite a bit and would simply love to sit down with and learn from - just to wrap my head around their writing process. Chris Carraba (Dashboard Confessional), Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) and even Taylor Swift.

What has been your greatest musical opportunity thus far?

Touring across Canada promoting my first album was one of the best things that’s happened to me. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Meeting so many great new people and connecting with them on a musical and personal level every night was something I loved and can’t wait to do again. It’s such a thrilling and rewarding experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

How many concerts and musicals would you say you attend each year?

Oh dear, you’re making me count ticket stubs? I lose count... I’m at some sort of show, be it a concert, musical, theatre or any form of live event at least once a week.

Watching artists of any sort perform their craft and create something on a stage is something magical that I appreciate and love experiencing.

How have you changed since the beginning of your musical career?

I’ve matured, that’s for sure. I look back to when I first started writing for fun and just to play live - some of that hasn’t changed. I don’t write and play with hopes of making it huge (although I’d never complain if I did). It’s all about enjoying what you do and sharing that experience with others.

My writing has evolved over time and I definitely feel that I’m writing songs with a lot more life experience in them. Vocally I’ve grown quite a bit as well, I seem to know what I’m doing now, compared to when I just tried to sing and hoped for the best.

Are you/when will you be completely satisfied with where you are in the musical world?

You want to play your music to as many people as possible that want to listen, so any opportunity to share that is satisfaction.

I’ve played shows all over and having someone across the country reach out and say how much one of your own songs has touched them and resonated with their own lives is satisfaction enough. The fact that’s happened more than once is what keeps me going and makes me want to reach out to as many people as possible.

As I mentioned before, having people sing your own songs back to you, knowing the lyrics, knowing the songs and being a part of that experience and sharing it with you I’d say that’s satisfaction enough for me.

Are there any artists that you have absolutely no respect for?

Any person that puts their emotion, their effort and themselves into any form of art, be it music, performance, theatre, etc. is someone that has courage that can’t be bought. I admire and respect everyone that can put themselves out there for the sake of their work.

What’s your favourite type of candy?

Big Feet. Bulk Barn usually needs to restock after I’ve gone through that bin.

10

The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

SPORTS

Kyle Morrison // sports@thesputnik.ca | @sputniksports

Laurier’s women’s hockey team dominated in the first half of their season with a record of 19-4-1, good enough for second place in the OUA. (Photo courtesy of Will Huang)

Laurier’s women’s hockey team ends the first half in great shape Chris Pimentel Staff The Laurier women’s hockey team continued their great season with wins over the Waterloo Warriors and Brock Badgers in the annual Waterloo Christmas Tournament. The Golden Hawks currently have 19 wins, four losses and one overtime loss during the 2013-2014 women’s hockey season. That record was good enough for second in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) conference, trailing only Queens University who have played more games and is leading in overall points.

The Golden Hawks started off the year slow in non-conference play, losing to the University of McGill, 5-3 and Western 3-2.

The team was going into Gaels’ Invitational tournament with a two and two record.

The Golden Hawks were able to shake off their mediocre play by playing very well at the Gales Invitational, beating Queens University, the University of Montreal and St. Francis Xavier University. The Golden Hawks had a great performance during the tournament and they were able to carry that momentum into the OUA regular season.

In the month of October the Golden hawks jumped out to a 5-2 record, with wins coming against Windsor University, University of Waterloo, York University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Brock University. Their losses came against Western University in their second game of the season and Guelph University late in October. Amanda Smith, a first year out of Burlington, Ontario, was between the pipes for a majority of the games during the month. Smith is able to

give the Golden Hawks confidence in net with some stellar goaltending between the pipes.

The month of November was perfection for the Golden Hawks. They beat Queens University, Laurentian, Ryerson University and the University of Toronto. To follow those wins up, the Golden Hawks were able to beat York, Queens and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology again in the month of November. The eight straight wins were good enough to give the Golden Hawks some momentum going into the winter break.

The leading goal scorer for the team is Jessie Hurrell, a third year forward from Palgrave, Ontario. She leads the team with ten goals going into the Waterloo Christmas Tournament. Laura Brooker, a third year left winger from Fergus, Ontario leads the

team in points and assists this year, 10 and 17, respectively, for each category.

Laurier during the year was great on the power play converting 17 per cent of their chances while killing 95 per cent of the penalties they took. Their goaltending also played very well throughout the year.

Amanda Smith played a majority of the games and was able to post a great save percentage at .934 with a goals against average at 1.68. The save percentage is good enough for ninth in the entire country, with her goals against being good enough to be 11th in the country.

The Golden Hawks are an offensive powerhouse in the CIS, leading the country in goals with 57 this year. Combine that with the number one penalty kill in the country, the Golden Hawks are set up for success for the rest of the year.

11

The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

SPORTS

Kyle Morrison // sports@thesputnik.ca | @sputniksports

Laurier Athletics: Year in review

The men’s hockey team brought home the Challenge Cup in 2013, crowning Laurier Brantford as the best college hockey team in Ontario. (Photo courtesy of Durham Athletics)

Thanks to some fantastic pitching, the Laurier men’s baseball team came out of nowhere to win the 2013 OUA baseball title. (Photo courtesy of OUA)

The Laurier girls’ soccer team were OUA champions in 2013, beating Western to capture their eighth OUA It was a dreadful season for the men’s football team, who finished 2013 with a 1-7 record. (Photo courtesy title. (Photo courtesy of Heather Davidson) of Rosalie Eid)

It was an incredible year for Laurier Athletics in 2013, most notably on the Brantford campus. From hosting an OUA hockey game for the school’s second homecoming to the massive feat of bringing home the Challenge Cup in the OCCA’s biggest hockey tournament, the campus has been given the opportunity to make a larger mark in postsecondary athletics than ever before, in what is a campus less than 15 years old with less than 3,000 students.

Over in Waterloo, they had a first championship of their own in men’s baseball and a less than surprising OUA championship in women’s soccer. But not everything in 2013 was trophy-filled, with Laurier fans having to endure another year of disappointing football. With all these events considered, here’s a full breakdown of the top five Laurier Athletics moments of 2013.

Kyle Morrison, Sports Editor

FIVE FOUR THREE TWO

Another Loss-Filled Season for Men’s Football Team

Laurier Brantford Hosts Men’s Hockey Team for Homecoming

Women’s Soccer Continues Their OUA Dominance

For the fourth straight season, Laurier failed to have a winning season, but things came to a head in 2013 with the Golden Hawks limping across the finish line with a dismal 1-7 record.

The team seemed to not be able to get anything going under rookie coach, Michael Faulds, plagued by a very young team with a poor passing game and a defence which gave up 74 more points than they scored. There were shimmers of light at the end of the tunnel near the final games of the season, forcing both Windsor and Queen’s into OT before losing, but it will otherwise be a slow process for this young team and coach to make great strides and bring the Hawks back to the playoffs.

Even through the rain and an unfortunate 4-2 loss to Windsor, nothing could quiet the Laurier Brantford fans at October’s Homecoming. For the second straight year, the men’s hockey team stepped onto the Brantford Civic Centre ice in front of many purple and gold screaming students and alumni. Parties, festivities and free barbeques make for a real exciting event, which hopefully in the near future will be for Brantford’s own teams.

For the eighth time in Laurier women’s soccer history, the team was crowned OUA champions as the best university soccer team in Ontario. The victory could actually be seen as an upset, as the tenth-ranked Golden Hawks, who finished the season with a 9-3-4 record, beat the first-ranked Western Mustangs 3-1 in penalty kicks. And like clockwork, Laurier’s superstar striker, Emily Brown, was the division’s season leader in goals.

ONE

Laurier Men’s Baseball Team with Miracle OUA Championship Victory

After a 2012 season mired in drama and scandal, stemming from the claims of hazing, and the subsequent four game suspension of the team, men’s baseball couldn’t have bounced back any better.

The team played solid baseball throughout the regular season, going 14-8, propelling them into the OUA championship against Brock and Guelph. After beating both teams to get to the final, it took one more victory against Brock to seal the team’s first OUA championship.

Throughout the season, it was the senior pitching staff that led the way, with an overall ERA of 4.00.

Laurier Brantford Men’s Extramural Hockey Team Captures the Cup Late in March, on the rinks in Oshawa, the men’s extramural hockey team would play their best hockey of the season en route to winning the Challenge Cup, an invitational end of the year tournament featuring the best collegiate hockey teams in Ontario. Laurier Brantford went 7-4 during the season, narrowly snagging the 10th and final Challenge Cup spot.

After squeaking in, simply winning the tournament is a huge feat, but the Golden Hawks did it in dominating fashion. The Golden Hawks won every game they played and on the back of goaltender Ben Brenner, didn’t allow a goal in the semifinal or championship game, winning with a combined score of 7-0. With the victory, the men’s extramural hockey team became the first Laurier Brantford extramural team to win a championship trophy.

12

The Sputnik // Wednesday, January 8, 2014

OPINION Cody Groat // opinion@thesputnik.ca | @sputnikopinion

Hentai is not sexy Dran Ngo Staff

We live in a world where people are so creative. The thoughts and depictions of the endless imagination of humans have been shown on television, pictures, and books and even in this article that I am writing. Without my imagination, I would have not been able to come to an opinion of feeling disgusted and utterly repulsed by what humans can produce. Our society has been so open to the thought of sex; it has been shown by many of our celebrities who perform to sell their products. Humans have created a market where sex can be shown on an adult rated video. But now, let’s add a little spin to it: humans also produced something called hentai. It’s a whole new world; it’s a whole new selection of sex. It’s anime (cartoon) characters having sex and it is selling off the shelves.

I guess I can see why it’s such a popular item for those who are interested in purchasing hentai products.

With the use of the imagination, the illustrator can depict any sexual situation with any gesture or face. Any idea can be drawn on a cartoon and it can attract the buyer to satisfy their fantasy that they do not have the courage (or legal right) to do in a real life scenario.

It’s a way for people to release this tension of sex and desires that have been suppressed.

Every time I think of this genre, it crushes my childhood a little. Why would I like to imagine Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask hooking up? It’s gross. I would never dream of my favourite cartoon characters having a sexually romantic life off screen.

You know what else is revolting?

Many of these anime characters are plotted in a story where they are under the age of 18. Funny, in real life, if you were to watch porn with people under the age of 18 in the video, you would be thrown in jail if the police found out. Just to stir things up a little bit, I forgot to mention that hentai also produces homosexual depictions as well, yaoi is constructed for gay depictions and yuri for lesbians. I never thought this market could expand even further, but it can, and I know it will. As long as society produces erotic fantasies, it’s going to be produced in hentai.

Take it away. Burn the existence of this nasty thing that people call art.

Give me a break, nothing creeps me out more than the thought of people going into a studio and having to record the audio for the hentai porn that they are

then going to sell on the shelves and actually make money from. It’s going to ruin a child. Better yet, it’s going to scar them into believing that their favourite characters from Pokémon are having secret sexual relations with each other while Pikachu is on the side watching. Rip it off the shelves and let me enjoy what the little childhood that I thought I had left. Don’t let it destroy yours.

What do you think about hentai? Send us an email at eic@thesputnik. ca and we will post it anonymously in our Mouthpiece section!

Hentai. (Art by Rebecca Duce)

From abortion to apocalypse: Curbing global overpopulation Hannah Brunsdon Staff

Let’s look at the numbers for a second. I understand we are an arts campus, but give me a chance here: one planet, 510 million square meters, 7 billion people, and growing at a steady pace of approximately 370,000 people per day. Eventually there are going to be too many people to fit on this planet, not to mention a lack of resources to feed, clothe, bathe and water them.

Some countries have taken it upon themselves to attempt to curb population growth, the most well known being China’s One-child Policy (formally called the Family Planning Policy). The rule was revoked a few weeks ago and it has remained quite the controversial topic. The One-child Policy was just what it sounds like: every couple was allowed to have one, and only one, child (with a rare few families being granted exceptions). If pregnant with a second child, they either had to pay a hefty fine or have an abortion. This presented m a n y

problems, such as sex-selective abortions, a diminishment of rights and, one of the main reasons the law was revoked, the “Four-two-one Problem”.

In many aspects of the Chinese culture, men are valued over women, in part because many families’ livelihood depends on the son’s ability to help cultivate the agriculture. Due to this, sexselective abortions are rampant in rural areas and is the cause of hundreds of thousands of unborn girls each year. If not aborted, some baby girls are sent to orphanages to be adopted, or they are at risk for infanticide (the intentional killing of an infant). The rule gives the reproductive rights of women to the government and gives them no control over how many children they wish to have. The “Four-two-one Problem”, m e n t i o n e d earlier, relates to the large elderly Chi-

Overpopulation. (Art by Rebecca Duce)

nese population, now without any form of care from family resources. In most families, there are four grandparents, two parents, and only one child to take care of the ageing family members. Their solution seems to be allowing people to have more children, which luckily will give the Chinese people more control over their reproductive rights, but unfortunately will not help the overpopulation problem.

Other countries, such as the United States, have tried more subtle tactics, such as teaching abstinence-only in sex education classes. This has not been very successful, seeing that three of every ten young women in the United States are pregnant before the age of 20 and that abstinence-only education rarely works at preventing pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). I personally believe if the sex education in Canada and the United States was more sex-positive and evidence based, we would have less unwanted pregnancies and, therefore, fewer births on our hands. I understand this wouldn’t make much of a difference, seeing that Canada and U.S. population growth rate is 0.77 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively, showing that North American populations are declining. However, if most countries followed suit, women would be more empowered to be in control of their own reproductive health. Recent studies have shown that most women would prefer to have fewer children. Therefore, by educating women about their choices and making them readily available, women would have less children and the population would slowly decline in numbers after a few generations.

That is one of the few perks of having positive, evidence based and feminist sex education.

On a darker note, Renaissance philosopher (among many other titles) Niccolo Machiavelli believed that floods, plagues, and famine were natural ways of population control.

While this does make some sense since they do often have staggering mortality rates, this theory was constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries, and I don’t think it is a great way to control the population. This theory lies on the belief that whenever the population would get out of control, plagues, famines and floods would break out to get the population back down to a manageable size. This is quite the barbaric idea and although I enjoy Dave the Barbarian as much as the next person, I’m not really into the whole “let’s hope people will die so we can live” idea. Then again, this was shortly after everyone thought the word was flat, so it makes that killing each other was the only way they could think of controlling the population. Why they didn’t think of taking people to the edge of the earth and just kicking them off doesn’t make sense to me, but then again, I’m not living in the Dark Ages.

It has been suggested that to keep the population stable, each couple needs to have 2.1 children, but there is something about this I don’t understand. What I don’t understand is how anyone can have 2.1 children - where does the extra point one come from? Is it an extra arm? Another leg? I’m just kidding, it actually takes into account those who have more than one kid and those who choose to have none. Either way, if you are interested in curbing our growing population, just remember to wear a condom except when you want to have those 2.1 children.