WEAL
STEALING THE STICK OF TRUTH SINCE 1926
the
WEEKLY NEWSPAPER OF THE SAIT STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
VOLUME 88 ISSUE 25
EVERY MONDAY THEWEAL.COM
April 7, 2014
South Park: Stick of Truth game review
Page 10
SAIT alum on primetime Page 8
Farewell to Brad Drobot Page 9
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com NEWS EDITOR Amanda Siebert
NEWS WRITER Adrian Hopkins
SAIT dropping the ball on childcare on-campus daycare still a ways away for student parents
A&E EDITOR Yasmin Mayne
A&E WRITER Alexandra Bessant
LIFESTYLE EDITOR Sabrina Scarpino
LIFESTYLE WRITER Position available
OPINIONS EDITOR Krista Conrad
SPORTS EDITOR Carys Richards
SPORTS WRITER Position available
PHOTO EDITOR Mikaela MacKenzie
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Position available
ILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR Susan Kim
LAYOUT & GRAPHICS EDITOR Patricia Rye
The long-discussed on-campus daycare is still in the works, meaning SAIT’s student parent population will have to continue to find alternate means of obtaining childcare.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SKISTAR VIA FLICKR.COM
LAYOUT & GRAPHICS EDITOR Alannah Pohran
WEB MASTER Jennifer Poon
BY ADRIAN HOPKINS NEWS WRITER WITH FILES FROM CRYSTAL SCHICK
FACT CHECKER Evan Whitmore
SOCIAL MEDIA GURU Jordyn Thomson
COVER ILLUSTRATION Susan Kim
CONTRIBUTORS
Nick Basra, Connor Morrell, Janelle Slingerland, Evan Buhler, Robert Wilson
CORRECTION
Re: SAIT Basketball Player Named Rookie of the Year, March 31 First-year Trojan Logan Moncks was named the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year. Direct letters, questions and concerns to:
PUBLICATIONS EDITOR Giselle Wedemire ph. 284-8458 / fax 210-4216
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Heather Setka, Publications Manager ph. 284-8077 / fax 210-4216 Advertising deadlines Bookings Monday @ noon Published every Monday during the academic year by SAITSA (SAIT Students’ Association). The Weal V219, 1301-16 Ave. N.W. Calgary, Alberta T2M 0L4 Fax: 403-210-4216 The Weal serves the SAIT community by promoting student activities, presenting news of interest to its members, and by fostering a learning environment in which members may participate; the newspaper is supported by student fees. The Weal is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and the Canadian University Press. Contents do not reflect the views of SAIT or SAITSA. Printed direct-to-plate Adobe Acrobat International Web exPress.
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After SAIT’s student leadership spent months attempting to convince administration of the need for a campus daycare, student parents will still need to wait five years or more for its construction. In an Oct. 15, 2013 Weal article written by Crystal Schick, the need for a campus daycare was discussed in detail. Since then, the case has been presented and argued by SAIT Students’ Association (SAITSA) in every joint execu-
tive meeting of the 2013-14 academic year. They have to be explained to the board of executives that the situation for student parents in Calgary is now direr than ever before. Melanie Simmons, SAIT public relations specialist, said on behalf of SAIT administration, that she does not expect the hopes of SAITSA to be met in the near future. “It has come up in the strategic planning discussions, but there’s no plan at this point to build a daycare,” Simmons said. In order for any progress to be made in the gridlock that currently exists between the two sides, SAITSA VP External
Ken Taylor said he needs SAIT to accept that there is a service gap in providing childcare on campus. “This year, the research was done to get the ball rolling,” Taylor said. “We [SAITSA] don’t have the funds to bankroll a daycare by ourselves.” The unfortunate reality is that ‘the ball’ has started and stopped rolling since 1984, when the idea for a daycare was first proposed. SAITSA and SAIT administration have failed to agree on the need for a daycare for 30 years. The main issues behind this roadblock, according to Taylor in the original Weal article, have been “an overall lack of SAIT community support, liability worries, regulatory bottlenecks, space constraints, and the inability to pair the daycare with an instructional program.” Months later, Taylor is no more optimistic now than he was in the fall. “It doesn’t seem like there is an appetite from the province to fund childcare,” Taylor said. “When building anything on SAIT campus, the cost explodes.” In Early Childhood Learning and Care at SAIT Polytechnic, a report organized by SAITSA and presented to the polytechnic’s executive management on Feb. 6, it became clear how far SAIT has fallen behind while Alberta’s student parent population has boomed. One particular study cited in the SAITSA report, A Profile of Undergraduate Student Parents in Canada, published in
the Canadian Journal of Higher Education in 2011, detailed the rise of that student parent demographic. According to the study, students with children contributed to a 21 per cent increase in full-time enrolment rates at post-secondary institutions in Alberta between 1975 and 2005. Taylor hopes to have an oncampus daycare constructed within the next five years that will fill some, if not all, of the increasing need for affordable childcare on campus. “We don’t think it’s good for a student’s studies if they have to rush off at 4:30 to go pick their child up at some daycare across the city because it’s the only place that has a spot,” he said. While the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University have made an effort to keep pace with the rising student parent population by creating and maintaining childcare facilities on their campuses, SAIT has continuously forced its students to seek childcare services elsewhere. Lisa Pederson, a secondyear new media production and design student who has four children—three of whom are adults and one is a teenager—views the lack of daycare at SAIT as an unfortunate situation for the student parents, particularly those younger than herself. “It can be very difficult to balance both roles,” Pederson said. “You need to have time to do your homework, and your kids need you to spend time with them.”
theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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Train station renovation set to take place this summer, inconveniences to follow BY AMANDA SIEBERT NEWS EDITOR
Students taking the LRT to campus might be inconvenienced by construction for the next six months, thanks to Calgary Transit’s renovation of the SAIT/ACAD/Jubilee station, scheduled to begin this summer. The station will remain open for the most part, but a shuttle bus will be put in place to facilitate those who need to get to SAIT or ACAD when the station is closed temporarily for short periods between April and September. While the details of the closures and the shuttle buses are not finalized Ron Collins, communications coordinator for Calgary Transit, said that more specific announcements regarding temporary station closures will be made prior to the start of construction. As explained in a Calgary Herald article in September 2013, Calgary Transit’s planned purchase of $200 million worth of new LRT trains will require platforms that facilitate four car trains, instead of the current three-car system.
The SAIT/ACAD/Jubilee station will be undergoing renovations this summer so that its platform may accommodate four C-Train cars. The station will remain open during the renovations for the most part, and will hopefully be open and fully functioning by the beginning of the fall 2014 semester.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE PHOTO
SAIT’s station currently only has space to accommodate three-car train Similar renovations took place throughout 2013. Among them was an upgrade at Chi-
nook station, which took nearly an entire year and required a closure during the second phase of the upgrade. Although the renovation at Chinook required a longer
term closure, renovations at Lions Park station, located directly one stop west of SAIT, were completed while the station remained open and took only six months.
If the renovation of SAIT’s station goes as planned, the upgrade should be completed just in time for students to return in September.
Transit fare hikes might annoy SAIT/ACAD students BY AMANDA SIEBERT NEWS EDITOR
While it hasn’t yet been confirmed, executives at Calgary Transit are talking about increasing transit fares for students and seniors, Calgary’s most economically challenged demographics. According to a Feb. 13 article in Metro Calgary, Calgary Transit will require an extra $17.7 million annually if they want to achieve their goals of expansion through the RouteAhead plan, a long-term plan created by City Council to improve transit in Calgary over the next 30 years. “It’s part of the whole fare strategy. There’s going to be reports coming out with some recommendations in June. “We’re not sure right now what those suggestions will be, but [increasing fares] is just
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one option,” said Ron Collins, communications coordinator for Calgary Transit. Currently, SAIT students pay $117 per semester for Calgary Transit’s UPass, which works out to less than $30 a month. In comparison, the regular adult rate for a monthly transit pass is $94. Calgary Transit has not yet released any information in regards to how much fares will increase for students and seniors. Seniors in Calgary pay the lowest transit fares in the entire country, according to a report by Calgary Transit, which was up for review by the City at the end of February. An annual pass only costs Calgarians 65 and over $95 per year. A reduced rate of $15 a year is available for seniors that meet the necessary financial requirements. The same Calgary Transit
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report stated that Calgarians are offered the same level of transit service on a per capita basis as they were in 1981. Chris López, a secondyear international student working toward his bachelor of applied technology petroleum engineering degree at SAIT, said that although he was aware of plans to renovate the LRT stations, he didn’t think those plans involved an eventual increase in fares. “As an international student who’s already paying an increased tuition fee, I find this a little unfair. I hope they don’t proceed with the extra fee,” he said. Sean Anderson, a Mount Royal journalism graduate and an employee at the Odyssey Coffeehouse, said that for Calgary Transit to charge more for “two groups [of people] who
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
Spring and summer employment options for students: Practicums, internships, and co-ops, oh my
Second-year journalism arts student Clayton Seams will be travelling to Mexico and China in the coming weeks as part of his spring practicum as Driving.ca’s digital content intern. Seams is one of many SAIT students required to complete a practicum, internship or co-op in order to graduate from his program. EVAN BUHLER PHOTO
BY AMANDA SIEBERT NEWS EDITOR
With 46 of SAIT’s programs requiring the completion of a practicum, internship, or coop, many students may be on the hunt for the perfect summer job. While SAIT’s Student Employment Services primarily deals with students seeking long-term employment, student employment advisor Tony Lam said that since September 2013, SAIT’s student job board has already seen employers post over 350 job opportunities geared towards students whose programs require some variety of spring or summer work experience. “There are currently 50 active postings related directly to programs [at SAIT], and even more postings seeking general employment for the summer, like retail and hospitality jobs,” Lam said. Lam explained that each type of temporary employment—practicums, internships, and co-ops—possesses different characteristics. “Generally, the lengths of opportunities vary. Practicums are usually shorter, and can last anywhere from one to eight weeks. They are gener-
ally not paid but offer a taste of the industry,” said Lam. Internships, on the other hand, are slightly longer, and can last anywhere from four weeks to two or three months. Depending on the employer, internships can be paid or unpaid. “[Internships] are usually more hands-on and provide more valuable experience,” he explained. However, he said that sometimes the words ‘internship’ and ‘practicum’ can be used interchangeably. Co-ops, though, are usually the longest forms of work experience and are always paid. They can last anywhere from four months to one year. Lam said that students should act early when applying for work experience opportunities, as some companies begin their summer recruitment process as early as October. “Participate in networking events, because it’s good to get to know people in the industry. Even if you don’t get a job, it’s good to cultivate a relationship because you could get hired later on,” he advised. Lam also suggested that students tweak their resumes to showcase their transferable
skills while highlighting specific training received during their time at SAIT. He said that it’s important not to appear too overqualified. Clayton Seams, a secondyear journalism arts student, is currently completing his practicum at Driving.ca, where he works as their digital content intern. The practicum is a graduation requirement for Seams’ program. Seams began applying early, and sent nearly 150 unique applications in hopes of finding the right practicum. “I went for the mass spam approach. I crafted a resume that covered my skills and then I made a unique cover letter that I slightly modified for each potential employer,” said Seams, who said that Driving. ca didn’t have an internship opportunity posted when he was searching for opportunities. “I just thought Driving.ca looked like an awesome team to be a part of and I sent messages to [different people] within the company.” While Seams’ internship is unpaid, the company is covering his gas, parking, and airfare for not one but two unique trips.
He’ll be heading to Mexico, where he’ll be covering the opening of a vehicle assembly plant, and also to China for the launch of the Lincoln brand. It will be Seams’ job to create digital content for the company. David Huston, a secondyear business administration student majoring in automotive management, is in the process of completing a co-op at Stadium Nissan, and will graduate in September once his co-op has been completed. “Applying for our [program’s] co-op was much the same as applying for a regular job. Some opportunities were emailed out to us by an instructor, but we were also free to pursue our own leads or existing professional contacts,” said Huston, who also pursued opportunities through platforms like CalgaryJobShop.ca. Huston will be working in the parts department of Stadium Nissan’s shop, and although he didn’t expect to end up in that department, Huston said his employer sold him on the job after explaining their workplace philosophy: if there’s a job to do, make sure it gets done. “It matched the way I approach work and school,” Hus-
ton said. His co-op is paid and offers all the benefits of a regular job, including health and dental coverage. “Apart from that, the major benefit is the ability to build your network of professional contacts. It also allows you to try a job in the industry that you may not have otherwise applied for. You can find out what you like in the industry, and what you don’t.” Jordan Schroeder, a secondyear petroleum engineering technology student, completed an internship with ConocoPhillips last summer. He said that his internship gave him experience that other companies will be looking for in graduating students. “It really helped me get out and understand everything that I had been taught in class, and it gave me a look into the type of work that I will be doing once I graduate from SAIT.” Students interested in seeking help applying for jobs are encouraged to use the resources provided by SAIT’s student employment centre. Visit Sait.ca/studentemployment for more details.
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theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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SPORTS NEWS AND VIEWS FOR THE SAIT COMMUNITY
Hockey player retires after four-year career as Trojan BY NICK BASRA WEAL WRITER
Having laced up his skates for four years as a SAIT Trojan hockey player, Brad Drobot has now retired after a successful 2013–14 season. Brad Drobot, in his fourth and final year of playing eligibility, decided to call it quits at the age of 24. Drobot ended his career on a high note, however, when the Trojans were victorious over the NAIT Ooks in the final round of the playoffs on March 22 and were named the 2013-14 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) champions. Drobot has been skating since he was just seven years old, and has been involved in hockey for a total of 17 years. “My parents put me into [hockey] at a young age and back then it was the thing to do. I seemed to have a knack for hockey,” he said. In 2007, Drobot joined the Alberta Junior Hockey League
(AJHL)’s Calgary Royals, a Junior A-level hockey team now known as the Calgary Mustangs. In three regular seasons with the Royals, Drobot tallied up 23 points and 628 penalty minutes in 149 games. After that, the 6’4”, 220 lb Calgarian brought his intimidating on-ice presence to the ACAC as part of the SAIT Trojans where he played four more years of competitive hockey. Like all athletes, Drobot always had a role model: someone he tried to be like every day and in every game. For him, that role model was Jerome Iginla. “He’s influential for how I am on and off the ice. He has such an impact on the ice and has an amazing effect on the community,” he said. “We can’t ever forget that in the game of hockey there will always be young players looking up to us. We can’t take that for granted. We have to give back.” Drobot admits that he is soft-
spoken and a bit of a “momma’s boy,” and off the ice he does what he can to be a good citizen. On the ice, though, it’s a different story. “I have a knack for fighting in hockey, so maybe boxing might be my next pastime,” Drobot joked. Having been a hockey player for the majority of his life, Drobot is now considering going into a coaching role so he can still be part of the game he loves. Drobot was in academic upgrading during his first year at SAIT. By his third year, he graduated from the business administration program. Currently enrolled in power and process operations, Drobot looks to have a big impact in his new field by helping to “find a way to solve all these emission problems.” “I want to find a fascinating way to fix these issues even though we need some global warming here in Calgary by the looks of it.”
Brad Drobot took a last look around the SAIT Trojans dressing room as he finished his fourth and final season with the men’s hockey team last week, winning his first championship. ZACHARY CORMIER PHOTO
Hockey isn’t only a winter sport BY EVAN WHITMORE FACT CHECKER
Whether there’s snow on the ground or not, many Calgarians will still find a way to get on the ice to play their favourite sport. Summer recreational leagues are starting up soon in Calgary, letting hockey lovers and newcomers play through the offseason. Cameron Hunt, an emergency medical technician student at SAIT, is starting his first year playing in the Non-Combat Hockey League (NCHL) this summer. He discovered the NCHL when a friend invited him to join the Weasels, a team in one
of the NCHL’s south Calgary divisions. In the NCHL, Hunt will be able to play in arenas in his area, and play at times that work with his schedule, so joining the league “made sense.” The NCHL is one of many recreational leagues in Calgary that offers summer league play. Other such local leagues include the Calgary Summer Hockey League (CSHL), the Calgary Adult Hockey League (CAHL), and Hockey North America (HNA), all of which run throughout the summer months. Hockey players with experience who want to play higher-level hockey may prefer the CSHL. It only accepts
players who have competed at the Midget AAA level or higher, so there is heavy competition. However, for students like Hunt who don’t have the level of experience required by the CSHL, the summer leagues offered by the NCHL, HNA and CAHL may be a better fit. Each league has several divisions for varying skill levels, from beginners to veterans. Hunt expects the level of competition in his division of the NCHL will “be a mix of very committed players and very new players, as opposed to more general winter league.” Registration fees for summer hockey can range between $4,300 and $5,500 for a team and varying rates for players
Rec leagues near you NCHL: 15 regular season games plus one guaranteed and five possible playoff games. The season begins May 1. Team fees: not published publicly, and teams need to register by the second week of April. Individual players can register up until the second week of May. Contact info@nchl.com.
CSHL: 19 regular season games plus two best-of-three playoff rounds. The season begins May 1. Team fees: $5,500, and teams need to register by May 1. Contact info@summerhockeyleague.com.
CAHL: 14 regular season games plus one guaranteed and three possible playoff games. The season begins May 26. Team fees: $4,800, and teams and individuals need to register by May 16. Contact info@cahl.com.
HNA 15 regular season games plus one guaranteed and three possible playoff games. The season begins May 5. Team fees: $4,800, and teams need to register by April 15. Individual players may register up until May 5.
who register individually, but the NCHL does not publish its team registration fees publicly. Hunt knew playing hockey through the summer would be expensive, but was still shocked by the cost at first. “The $600 hit was a little shocking at first, then I started looking at ice time prices and it started to make sense,” said Hunt. “In the end, I was really enjoying playing, so I wasn’t overly upset about it.” All four of these leagues
require a helmet and full hockey gear, but intentional checking will be penalized. The hockey in these leagues is all done indoors, in a variety of community arenas around the city. Despite this being Hunt’s first year as a member of a summer hockey league, he knows quite a few players on his new team, which creates a sense of community. “A fair number are from my hometown, and one designed our jerseys,” said Hunt.
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
Trojans stay fit, prepare for next season RILEY PATERSON
BY ROBERT WILSON WEAL WRITER
HOCKEY
With the school year coming to a close, another season is complete for the SAIT Trojan athletes. At the end of the year comes the next part of any athlete’s career: the off-season training. Most organizations that compete on a college level will set up times during the week to keep players active, with regular trips to the gym, or individual workouts. Regardless of the sport or locations, the off-season is an important time for athletes to hone their skills, and prepare for the upcoming season. At SAIT, the athletics program is taken very seriously, and as such Trojan athletes have an off-season program that is created to give each athlete the ability to grow in their sport.
Each sport has different physical needs. For Canada’s national pastime, hockey players need to have both strength and endurance. Most of the SAIT Trojans athletes train with Peak Power, a fitness program offered specifically for SAIT athletes in the Campus Centre. Riley Paterson, who has been playing with the SAIT men’s hockey team for two
years, said that he keeps up playing in the off-season in recreational leagues, as well as personal training outside of the SAIT program. For most athletes, continuing to play their sport away from regular season play helps them to stay conditioned. One way is to play in a recreational league, like Paterson does. Because the Trojan team members have varying sched-
ules, Paterson said that he and his fellow athletes form workout groups together. These groups workout both at and away from SAIT during the summer. “It’s a lot of everything. One day will be weights, the next might be condition, such as running hills—it changes. We work on every aspect that needs to be worked on: strength, agility, cardio.”
KELSEY CROSSAN
SOCCER Kelsey Crossan played her first year with the SAIT soccer team last fall. As the soccer season is only two months long, training has different phases. “We did an introduction with Peak Performance downstairs, but because everyone has different schedules, you end up finding a partner to get your workout in [with]. In the
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tion during the off-season to keep her on her game and to stay fit. Like any athlete, goals outside of the sport help a player immensely. Right now, Crossan’s goal is to focus on her running, and is preparing for the upcoming season by participating in a race this summer.
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off-season it’s strength training, heavier weights, a little less dynamic,” said Crossan. In addition to this prep work, leading up to the season, Crossan and her teammates do more endurance work, running, and quick feet drills. As well as playing with SAIT, Crossan also plays in the Calgary Women’s Soccer Associa-
VOLLEYBALL This year, Ryan Kerr played his second year with the SAIT Trojans volleyball team. With the off-season beginning, Kerr has started his workout routine just like many members of the SAIT Trojans sport teams. “We are in a strength phase right now where we are lifting weights, and I have been
trying to do cardio on the offdays,” he said. “We have also been practicing as a team two or three times a week.” In addition to all this hard physical work, Kerr said that it is important for athletes to spend some time with their teams, either in the weight room or on the court.
Outside of SAIT, Kerr has interests in playing squash, rec volleyball, and beach volleyball. Kerr said he doesn’t have a scheduled time for these activities, but plays squash a couple of times a month, and he plays in a men’s beach volleyball league.
theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
CULTURE FOR THE SAIT COMMUNITY
Eighties SAIT alum makes it to primetime television Co-creator of the award winning TV series Orphan Black shares his journey to success
SAIT alum John Fawcett on-set while directing season two of the TV show Orphan Black. The show will return to Space Network on April 19 at 6 p.m. PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN FAWCETT
BY YASMIN MAYNE A&E EDITOR
Hard work, persistence, and a little bit of luck has launched the career of John Fawcett, cocreator, executive producer, and director of the award-winning television series Orphan Black. A film student at SAIT in the late 1980s, Fawcett has been passionate about film since before he was 10 years old. “I started writing scripts when I was about nine, and made short films in high school using Super 8 film,” Fawcett said. Since those early years he has been consistently writing and directing films, and that continued practice and persistence has led to his success with Orphan Black, the hit sci-fi series about clones that now airs on the Space Network and BBC America. “The more times you do things the better you get. You have to make stuff to get it seen,” he said. While being in the right place and time and meeting the right people contributed to the success of Orphan Black, Fawcett maintains that a large part of his success is due to “continually working, writing and shooting.” Fawcett’s career in film began in the late ‘80s when he enrolled at SAIT. However, Fawcett did not completely enjoy his studies here, because he felt that, at the time, SAIT was only training film industry technicians, whereas he wanted to be a director. “I was frustrated that they did not have a director program,” he said. He was eventually kicked out of SAIT during his first year because he had “a bit of a bad at-
titude” and was failing some of his classes. Fawcett did return to SAIT for a second year, after which he became a member of the Canadian Film Centre, though many of his films never made it to the big screen. Yet, despite his frustrations, Fawcett’s short horror film Chilldren’s Day, produced during his second year, won several Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) awards. “My film got the notice of the Canadian Film Centre, and they were instrumental in connecting me with the film community,” he said. It was through the Centre that Fawcett began to flex his directing skills in popular television series’ like Xena: Warrior Princess and Heartland, thereby giving him the necessary experience to create the hit-series Orphan Black. Yet Fawcett’s journey to success has not always been easy, and he has experienced failure and self-doubt many times throughout his career in film. “There was a period of time where I’d given up on the dream, when [another of] my feature films fell through the cracks yet again. “I felt that maybe this is it. But then I’d wake up the next day and try to do better than before. You have to be relentless.” His tenacity paid off with Orphan Black, which won 10 Canadian Screen Awards in March. The show’s success took Fawcett completely by surprise, as he and co-creator Graeme Manson “did not expect the success. [We] just wanted to make a cool show.” Season two of Orphan Black premiers April 19 on the Space Network at 6 p.m. MDT.
theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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Shakespeare in the Park June 26 – August 6
Bessant By AlAe&xE Writer For students sticking around in Calgary this summer, there are many events lined up this year to keep yourselves entertained. But before diving into any of these events, what will you wear? Of course, you’ll want to look the part by taking note of a little bit of event-specific fashion advice from us here at The Weal.
Cavalia . Odysseo April 23–May 18
Sled Island
Odysseo by Cavalia will be hosted at the White Big Top at Canada Olympic Park. The theatrical performance features incredible acrobatics along with impressive high-tech effect that go hand-in-hand with humans and horses whom immerse the audience into their mystic and wondrous journey. Tickets are available through Cavalia's website, or by their toll free number 1-866-999-8111. Prices for tickets depend solely on seating, which ranges from $39.50–$239.50.
What to wear? According to the Cavalia website, it is recommended that audience members wear clothing that is comfortable since the performance is rather long. Also, women are advised not to wear heels because it may become straining if you need to trek up and down stairs for your seat. Though it is a fairly elaborate event, so you would be safe in wearing something semi-formal.
Sled Island Music and Arts Festival June 18 - 22 The annual Sled Island Music and Arts Festival this year be featuring over 250 bands, film, art, comedy and special events that will be held in over thirty venues in downtown. The following lineup has been announced: Spiritualized, Neko Case, Rocket From The Crypt, St. Vincent, Touché Amoré, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Rhye, Killer Mike, Earthless, The Julie Ruin, Bob Mould, and Chelsea Wolfe. More will be announced April 2. As for tickets, they are already available online through Sled Island's website. Prices vary depending if you want the Festival Discovery Pass ($199), the Festival Discovery Plus Pass ($349), or the All Ages Pass ($50).
What to wear? Honestly, you can wear a wide variety of clothes to this festival. You can wear casual to full on neon party clothes. However, if you're going to see a band play then maybe wear clothes that are comfortable and easy to move around in when you're dancing and rocking out among the crowd.
In the midst of summer, both Theatre Calgary and Mount Royal University come together with a talented troupe of actors and actresses to host Shakespeare in the Park at Prince’s Island Park. This year will be its 26th season, and will be featuring The Comedy of Errors to be presented to everyone in attendance. The story of The Comedy of Errors follows the hijinks and mishaps of two sets of twins who were separated at birth, but bump into each other once they both end up in the same city. Tickets are unnecessary since attendance is free.
What to wear? Considering Shakespeare in the Park is literally held in a park during the summer, the best idea would be to wear for the weather, such as wearing shorts or material that won’t leave you sweating by the end of the next act. Though you’re free to dress up like the rest of the performers if you so wish!
Calgary Stampede July 4 - July 13 Besides thrilling rides and fun games, the Calgary Stampede will be presenting performances from Shania Twain and Keith Urban at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Tickets are available in the Calgary Stampede's website, and also through calling the Stampede Ticket Office at 403-269-9822 or 1-800-661-1767. Admission prices are as following: General ($16), Seniors ($8), Child ($8), while children six and under are free.
What to wear?
Naturally, you can wear full on cowboy/cowgirl clothing if that's your style! If you're not exactly into the whole country look, then just wear what you deem as comfortable and maybe even sneak in some denim like jeans into your look as a subtle support for the spirit of the Calgary Stampede.
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
New South Park game worth wasting time over Caution: this game review contains spoilers BY NICK BASRA WEAL WRITER
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a brilliant and witty satire of role-playing games (RPGs) in which you are in control of every action your character makes. Released on March 4, The Stick of Truth is an adult humoured video game that can provide hours of entertainment for vacationing students and instructors alike this summer. Available on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, Stick of Truth is an exciting and fun break from most recent video game titles. The game begins with you creating your own resident of South Park. However, no matter what name you give your character, everyone in the game will dub you as ‘Douchebag,’ the silent protagonist that has recently moved to the town of South Park. From there you will choose one of the four classes of character -- fighter, mage, thief, or Jew -- to play as throughout the game. Each class has their own special ability, such as the fighter character’s ‘assault and battery’ special ability. However, there are no class-specific items, meaning that a mage can use the same weapons that a thief uses when in combat. Initially sent out by your parents to make friends, you (as Douchebag) eventually befriend the show’s beloved character Butters who brings you to Princess Kenny and the leader, Eric Cartman. During an epic battle between Cartman’s humans and Kyle Broflovski’s elves, an item of unlimited power known as the stick of truth is stolen by the elves. Cartman then tasks you
It doesn't look llike much, but this is the Stick of Truth, an item of unlimited power that features prominently in the satirical RPG game South Park: The Stick of Truth. SUSAN KIM ILLUSTRATION
with recruiting a team to scale an all-out assault on Kyle Broflovski and the elves. Though The Stick of Truth’s overall story and side missions are fun and exciting, the reason this game is a hit is because of how much it revolves around the character you create. The game’s plot line keeps the South Park franchise fresh, while remaining true to the TV
series. Aesthetically, the game is beautiful – so much so that at times I found it difficult to distinguish between the video game and the TV show. This game also adds the show’s trademark adult cartoon humour to the mix, differentiating itself from other RPG games that are flooding the shelves of video game stores. Such humour includes
throwing poop—poop you’ve created by yourself when in the bathroom—at your enemy. However, no game is perfect. Where this game fails is in the gameplay mechanics. I found the analog control stick or, joystick, on the Xbox 360 controller to be too sensitive when in battle. It didn’t interfere with the actual fighting, but I had to be careful with the
movement of my analog stick. Not only that, but when I played through the game once, there was nothing that enticed me to play through it again. That being said, The Stick of Truth is a great game to add to your collection, and to your bucket list of video games to play this summer.
Popularity comes with restraints Calgary Expo takes extra precautions BY CONNOR MORRELL WEAL WRITER
With the growing popularity and larger attendance in recent years, Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo event organizers have taken extra precautions to make sure the expo runs smoothly for another year. Such precautions include the addition of one more day to the Expo’s packed schedule and an increase of venue space. In 2012, the popularity of the
event was not anticipated, which caused the BMO Centre —the largest venue in the city —to exceed capacity limits and fire marshals to temporarily close down the building’s entrance. “Since then, we’ve hired an expanded team of operations experts and established a stronger relationship with the Calgary Fire Department,” said Lindsay Thomas, the assistant director of, and spokesperson for, the Calgary Expo. Moreover, last year the Big
Four Building was added to house the event’s burgeoning crowd. Founded in 2006, the Calgary Expo has become Canada’s second largest pop culture convention. It is second only to the Fan Expo Canada in Toronto, and is western Canada’s largest convention, with 60,000 attendees in 2013. The event’s popularity can be
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theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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Continued from page 10 noticed with the quick sale of tickets. Currently, four-day tickets are sold out online, as well as Saturday tickets. This year’s event now spans over 418,000 square feet and takes place over four days, from Thursday, April 24 to Sunday, April 27. Calgary Expo may not be different from any other comic convention in North America,
but Thomas said that they view other conventions and other local festivals from a “community perspective” rather than a “competitive one.” “We’re really proud of the way we work with other organizations to create a global community around pop culture,” she said. “A lot of people view Calgary as ‘cowtown’ or ‘oil city,’ but I think a lot of people overlook
the massive audience of people here hungry for art and creativity.” Although Calgary Expo is no stranger to comic books, the event’s yearly growth in popularity comes down to highprofile personalities that attend the event each year. In past years, cast members from Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Star Trek: the Next Generation have all been
in attendance, and this year the cast of James Cameron’s Aliens is expected to attend. “Everyone has that geeky side to them, including me, and the fact that it’s growing and becoming known is all the more reason to go,” said Adam Doyle, a second-year business administration student who will be attending the convention for the first time this year. Doyle is attending every day
of the Expo and will be seen in Anime-related costumes, as well as a “casual” Batman costume on one of the days. He likes how Calgary Expo “took initiative” by adding an extra evening to accommodate everyone, and sees the convention as an “awesome” place to hang out with friends and meet some of the creators of the superheroes that he idolizes.
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
YOUR LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Following the Sun to Adventure I of the Sun Book Review BY JANELLE SLINGERLAND WEAL WRITER
Richard Arthur’s book I of the Sun offers readers a glimpse into a once-in-a-lifetime journey from the UK to Southeast Asia. Arthur used his diaries, firsthand experience, and his own philosophical ideas to write about the one year in which he travelled to the countries of Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. He embarked on this journey over 10 years ago when he was a
22-year-old recent graduate ofthe University of Leeds. His story is filled with plenty of exploits one would expect for his age and for his first time travelling solo. It also provides readers with descriptive details, narration and traditional travel writing. I found that the book focused too much on his experiences drinking, partying, doing drugs and having sex. Personally, I would have preferred to read more about the cultural experience and historical side of his travel. However, his philosophy throughout the novel makes one think about what’s really important in life and what one’s focus should be. Arthur suggests at the end of the novel that you can’t let your life pass you by, and that the world is yours to explore. The Weal caught up with
Arthur to suss out behind-thescenes information that didn’t make it into the book. The Weal: Did you ever think you’d become an author? Richard Arthur: I’ve always enjoyed writing and as a teenager used to dream of travelling the world and writing about my experiences. I kept a diary of my adventures which helped me write ‘I of the Sun’, which is mostly based on my first year travelling the region. TW: Why did you decide to travel to Southeast Asia and not someplace else? Arthur: I think the region initially appealed simply because it was hot and exotic and so far removed from the UK where I grew up. I knew it was fairly cheap to travel there, which would give me more time to explore the region in depth.
I went on a one-way ticket, so I definitely went to spend a long time there without having a firm plan. TW: What was the weirdest thing you encountered on your trip? Arthur: My own state of mind after countless nights drinking Sangsom, the infamous Thai rum! And some of my fellow travellers perhaps. They can often give the weirdest quirks of foreign cultures a run for their money. TW: Why did you decide to live in Thailand for 10 years? Arthur: I guess I fell in love with the country as a whole— the friendly people, Buddhist culture, great food, beautiful scenery and the weather certainly helps too. As a Westerner, I also find Thailand to be an easier place to live than some of the other countries in the region.
TW: What is the hardest thing about writing? Arthur: My book took three and a half years to complete. It required countless hours alone in front of my computer working my way through the narrative, so that alone took over a year. It can be rather tiresome rereading your own work so many times. But the reward of finishing the book was worth everything. TW: What was the scariest thing you encountered on your trip? Arthur: There are quite a few near-death experiences in my book between mine and my friends’ ill-advised antics. My solo caving trip in Laos definitely wasn’t a good idea, or sea kayaking in Ko Phi Phi at night, catching dengue fever … and the worst hangovers of my life, day after day for months on end.
New Rec ad to come from Heather
theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
Top three summer escapes
Croatia is one of The Weal's top three summer getaway picks. It offers a historic capital as well as gorgeous beaches, making it a great travel option for students. PHOTO COURTESY OF STOCK.XCHNGI
BY SABRINA SCARPINO LIFESTYLES EDITOR
It’s not too late to make plans for a summer vacation to escape the mundane and tiring routine of studying for tests and doing homework. Andrea Lamoureux, a secondyear travel and tourism student, offered her top three places for students itching to skip town to visit once the semester is over. Lamoureux works at Destinations, the student-run travel office located in the Senator Burns Building. Students in the travel and tourism program provide flight, hotel, car and insurance bookings for SAIT students, staff, and alumni. The students work in the office for up to 15 hours a week researching travel requests, providing quotes and making reservations. Each destination was chosen based on student popularity, and features cost-friendly things to see and do.
Disneyland Estimated cost: $883/person ($618 for flight and hotel for a five-night stay, $265 for five-day one-park-per-day ticket with Magic Morning package) Method of travel: Connecting flight from Calgary to Vancouver (an hour and a half flight) and then Vancouver to Anaheim (three hours) What to do: With the fiveday one-park-per-day ticket package, visitors will be able to visit either the Disneyland
Park or the Disney California Adventure Park on each day. The ticket won’t allow you to enter both parks on the same day. However, with the tickets comes one Magic Morning at the Disneyland Park, which means you’ll get early admission into the park before the general public. According to the Los Angeles Times, travelers shouldn’t miss out on the Indiana Jones Adventure ride at Disneyland park, and in California Adventure Park, be sure to check out the broadway-style Aladdin show.
Las Vegas Estimated cost: $700-1,000/ person, flights and hotel included for five-night stay Method of Travel: Direct flight from Calgary to Las Vegas (total of two hours and 44 minutes) What to do: Las Vegas is home to many shopping retailers and spas, though it’s probably most well-known for its casinos and night clubs, but keep in mind that these are only open to people 21 years and older. Popular attractions include the Bellagio Fountain Show, which you can view for free right outside the hotel every 15–30 minutes. Instead of paying an arm and a leg to see Cirque du Soleil, check out the world’s largest permanent circus show for free at the Circus Circus Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The show
takes place every half-hour and features jugglers, unicyclists, trapeze artists, and acrobat performances.
Croatia Estimated cost: $2700/person, flight and hotel included for a weeklong stay. Method of travel: Connecting flight from Calgary to Toronto, then from Toronto to Munich, and lastly from Munich to Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city (total of 16 hours and 30 minutes). What to do: Croatia has many interesting historical sights that are popular with tourists. The Gornji Grad, located in the country’s capital Zagreb, is the medieval core of the town. Dolac is the main Zagreb street market, located in the heart of the city, and features many traditional produce sold by friendly market sellers, called ‘kumica.’ Walk around the Ban Jelacic Square and see the Manduševac Fountain—it’s centrally located in the city, and is said to be the location of where the legend of the naming of the city took place. These three sites can all be seen just by walking around the city, making site seeing a budget-friendly entertainment option. There’s also the Pula Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater that’s one of the best-preserved monuments in the country. Tickets are only $4 to get in.
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
Tanning bed legislation may miss the mark
Tanning beds are harmful for human skin and eyes. Should the government ban their use outright, just for minors, or not at all?
BY KRISTA CONRAD OPINIONS EDITOR
The Government of Alberta will implement new legislation by
the end of 2014 to deter young people from using tanning beds in the hopes of protecting youths from contracting skin cancer. According to the Canadian
Cancer Society, skin cancers account for one in three cancer diagnoses each year, and between 80 to 90 per cent of those skin cancers are caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
Artificial tanning has become increasingly popular, particularly in winter-stricken provinces where natural sunlight and tans are more difficult to come by. Many people also use the technology to create their “base tan� before travelling to sunny destinations, to prevent burns. While Alberta has not determined whether it will require parental consent or initiate an outright ban against children under 18 using indoor tanning facilities, there is a push from many parents and members of the Canadian Cancer Society to institute a full ban. In this matter of public health, the government should step up and take a stronger stance against artificial UV tanning. If the concern is truly to prevent the numbers of people diagnosed with skin cancer, and save people from the dangerous carcinogens found in the UV rays to which they expose themselves, an age limit is not enough. Maybe our government should implement a full ban on tanning salons in general. An age limit seems to only skim the issue and postpone its effects rather than prevent them. If someone decides he or she would like to begin indoor tanning around age 15 or 16 but cannot legally do so until age 18, and then regularly tans as soon as that age limit is reached, the matter has not really been addressed. People interested in attaining the fake bronzed look will use the tanning beds regardless, and so the only difference made will be the age at which they are diagnosed with a skin carcinoma. If other cancer-related activities like smoking is taken into account, the age limit imposed by the government has not entirely prevented young people from beginning to smoke. They may be deterred from legally purchasing cigarettes until they are 18, but many do still smoke
and their risks for developing lung cancer are just as high, if delayed. Perhaps, then, the real regulations should be against the frequency of indoor tanning bed use and the length of time one is permitted to tan per visit, rather than focusing only on the age that one may begin to tan in the first place. People could register to tan, and their time may be monitored to ensure that nobody spends too much time under the lamps (no more than 30 minutes per week, for example). Registration could also warrant against potential salon-jumpers, and keep people from moving from one tanning bed to another to skirt around the law. Tanning beds should not, under any circumstances, be sold privately. How could these beds possibly be controlled? A person under 18 would certainly not be deterred from using a bed that was in their home, or in the home of one of their friends. According to the U.S.-based Skin Cancer Foundation, women are at highest risk from age 40 and under, and men are at their peak risk over the age of 40. Furthermore, adults over 40 in general are labelled as more atrisk due to increased levels of UV exposure. With these numbers in mind, it does not seem as though those few years before someone turns 18 would have any great impact on whether he or she is in jeopardy of contracting skin melanoma. What is more likely is that the exposure to UV over the course of a lifetime, or prolonged and regular skin contact with the harmful rays, lead more directly to contracting skin cancer. Imposing this legislation may seem like a step in the right direction, but I doubt it will have a positive effect upon the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer. All this regulation will do is effectively delay the inevitable.
theWeal.com | April 7, 2014
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Adieu from SAITSA VP Academic
BY THOMAS CRUICKSHANK SAITSA VP ACADEMIC
I am writing to you for the last time. So to you, the student body, I leave you with a song… that I wrote terribly. This is the last time I’ll lend
you my writing prime. So I’m guilty of this crime as we’ll part our ways in rhyme. This started as a past time and as I hit the half time I realized in the down time that this has been sublime and I will remember you for a life time When I first began with my fading tan pulling up in my van, I became a man and found my clan. Thus starting my fixation (or should I say damnation) to create a foundation for a SAITSA nation. So as you sit in formation awaiting your graduation, don’t worry about navigation, worry about the stagnation. As the serration of our migration from our probation starts a paining sensation. As you sit and squirm, writh-
ing like a tiny worm. You should reaffirm that in the long term that you’ve made the right choice You should rejoice cause this unbreakable joist will hold you and your voice. So please don’t worry though the road is blurry though you feel the need to hurry. There is no big jury. There is no aftermath. So don’t go on a warpath; go take a bubble bath. This is your life path. So this is where I will stop with the rhyming as I want to touch on a few things that don’t fit into the majesty of song. Yes I am leaving you all as my term comes to a close. Please don’t be sad or upset; this is life. Nothing ever ends. We continue
along the path taking pit stops along the way until we reach the point of nonexistence that we started from. Some days the road will be twisting and filled with ruts. Those will be the day where we will be tested like an absent minded third grader stuck in a quiz when all you want to do is to go outside and fight imaginary dragons. But you must fight. Because you are better than the noun that stops you. You’ve made it this far haven’t you? You are my favorite underdog. You didn’t come here because your life was great; you came here because you saw that you could be better. And better you will be as the darkness is shattered by the light of your perseverance. This has been one of the
greatest experiences of my life, one of the most challenging and the most rewarding years of my life. I will miss everyone. But I leave you to pursue greater things. So I must thank you students of SAIT; for allowing me the honor of serving you this past year. It has been my pleasure.
The Executive Corner is a weekly column series written and submitted by members of the SAITSA Students’ Executive Council. This content is unedited by The Weal’s staff.
Insensitive cheerleaders or hypersensitive society? BY KRISTA CONRAD OPINIONS EDITOR
When the University of Regina (U of R) cheerleaders posed for a picture at a social event on March 14, they didn’t see the online backlash coming. The girls had dressed as cowboys and Indians, with 13 members of the squad dressed in plaid shirts, cut-off denim shorts, and cowboy boots, and five members in short dresses resembling buckskin, and headbands each with a single decorative feather. A number of people responded with outrage over the photo, condemning the team for its insensitive actions and demanding that they be penalized for dressing in the costumes and posting the photo online. The university took action im-
mediately, requiring the coach to issue a public apology for the incident on behalf of the cheerleaders and forcing the entire coaching staff and all team members to take cultural sensitivity training. Some claim that these measures are not enough, and want to see the girls punished more severely for their actions. I understand that the U of R is home to the First Nations University of Canada, and perhaps this makes the issue a little more controversial due to the campus’ population. However, I can’t help but think that these girls and their coaches have probably paid their dues for what is a rather innocent mistake. Cultural insensitivity has become a major public concern in the past couple of decades, and with it there has been a surge in
the demand for political correctness at every turn. While it is understandable that the First Nations people being represented in a stereotypical fashion may be offended by a photo like this one, there must be a line where the perceived insult crosses a line from reasonable to contentious. It seems like a lot of the online criticism against the photo is overly judgmental (ironically, given the nature of the complaints) and perhaps unwarranted. Some have complained that the girls wearing the buckskin dresses were “treating First Nations and Metis women as a costume,” which they claim is both objectifying these women and dehumanizing them. I think that’s taking a simple photo op a little too far.
Consider other photos that we see posted to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media outlets. There may be people dressed in kimonos, karate gis, saris, sombreros, or lederhosen. The costumes are worn in fun just as the cheerleaders’ outfits were, and yet the photo subjects do not receive the same level of recoil from the public. What could the difference be between a group posing as cowboys and Indians, and a group posing in any other cultural garb? If they had been dressed as Indian women in saris, it is doubtful there would have been a similar backlash. It could be that Canadians still feel guilt when it comes to the First Nations people of our country, and therefore see the outfits as representing more
than they were actually intended to do. There seems to be an unspoken ‘Thou shalt not’ type of commandment when it comes to the First Nation people being represented by the Canadian Caucasian. I don’t believe that these girls intended to be the racists that many have made them out to be. It was supposed to be good, innocent fun. Ultimately, there seems to be a fine line between cultural insensitivity and freedom of expression. Perhaps our society needs to loosen up a little and realize that sometimes something done in fun is meant to be just that - fun. There doesn’t have to be a negative connotation to, or interpretation of, essentially innocent actions.
Photo editor Mikaela MacKenzie asks the SAIT campus:
“How do you tan?”
“When I’m doing yardwork: But I
“I don’t tan—I don’t really see the
“You have to be really care-
go to tanning beds in the winter
need to.”
ful of melanoma. I use tons of
when there is no sun.”
“Just go outside.”
“I don’t need to put any extra
“I went to a tanning bed once
effort in—I just go outside.”
before I went to Mexico, and it
sunscreen, and tanning beds are a
worked.”
definite no.”
Shelby Gaudet, first-year travel
Jose Singson, first-year broadcast-
Samantha Nielsen, second-year
Brock Kaupp, second-year
Mehak Dadwal, first-year business
Ryan Schroeder, third-year
and tourism
ing systems technology
health information management
electrician
administration
electrician
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April 7, 2014 | theWeal.com
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