Building a better Bomber
The inside scoop on Bomber renovations, page 3
Running for health A complete guide to the gear and trails, page 19
UW President David Johnston talks about his job and the importance of good health during his jog around the campus. See page 19
kirill levin
An end to late night summer coffee at Tim Hortons Emma Tarswell imprint staff
An agreement on the summer hours of the Student Life Centre (SLC) Tim Hortons has been reached. On Wednesday, May 31, the Food Services Advisor Board (FAB) voted to reduce operating hours for Tim Hortons during the spring 2006 term. Prior to the meeting, Feds expressed their concerns about the hours proposed by UW Food Services. The hours given at the meeting were 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and 12 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. They also proposed reduced hours during fall frosh week, restricting operating hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Michelle Zakrison, Feds president and member of FAB, said that these changes “set a precedent for the next spring term,” and that “we [Feds] don’t want hours to be cut all the time.” In November 2003, Feds and UW Food Services signed a memorandum of agreement
for the Tim Hortons in the SLC. This memorandum stated that “Tim Hortons SLC will be open on a 24-hour basis from the first day of classes until the last day of exams each term,” and that “Tim Hortons SLC will be closed whenever the university is closed, i.e. Christmas holidays, storm closing, etc.” Because of this memorandum, Feds feel that the SLC Tim Hortons should stay open 24 hours a day. At a previous meeting both Zakrison and Renjie Butalid, vice president administration and finance and member of FAB, opposed the hours that had been proposed as they felt that the majority of students on campus would not be happy with them. After the meeting, they posted a petition and over the span of one weekend received 209 signatures that opposed the new hours. They also observed that when the SLC Tim Hortons closed for the Victoria Day long weekend, over 600 coffees were given out at the Turnkey Desk during the late hours. The coffee was paid for by Food Services in response to complaints of closure over the long weekend.
At the FAB meeting both UW Food Services and the Feds, who all sit on the board, had a chance to discuss the proposed new hours. Many argued that because Bomber is closed for the summer, there is less late night traffic than there has been in past years and that the hour changes are needed. Lee Elkas, director of Food Services, said that the hours that are being run right now are unprofitable and it’s all a matter of making a responsible fiscal decision. Last year, $1.5 million was made in revenue, but the expenses were around $1.6 million; the best way to save money would be to cut hours during the times that are unprofitable. The health representatives on FAB stated that they could not promote longer hours, as every term they see students who study and drink coffee all night and are unable to focus the next day for their exams. The Feds argued that the 24 hour Tim Hortons is in the best interest of students and improves their quality of life on campus. They felt that it was a good service for the underage students on campus as late at night they are un-
able to go to the bars — a good alternative for students in this age group is a coffee shop. They also felt that because the SLC Tim Hortons is on campus, it is a safe place for students to go late at night. Many of the people who opposed a 24 hour Tim Hortons, stated that they believed that the Turnkey Desk would be a suitable substitute. Eventually, the proposed hours were put to a vote. For the Feds proposed hours, only three voted in favour and therefore the motion did not pass. The hours for the rest of the spring term will be 7 a.m. to 12 a.m. from Monday to Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. Starting on September 4, Tim Hortons will go back to operating 24 hours, seven days a week. On the final decision, Zakrison said, “We are disappointed with the outcome, but we recognized the need to compromise. Ideally it needs to be open 24/7 but this is the outcome that we have made with FAB.” etarswell@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
The future of Bomber Ashley Csanady imprint staff
China
claire mousseau
The more functional face of Bomber when it reopens in the fall after being closed for the summer for renovations. Emma Tarswell imprint staff
Since the beginning of spring term the Bombshelter pub has been closed for renovations, leaving many students wondering what their beloved Bomber will be like once completed. The major changes will be found in the kitchen and the main bar. Until now, the kitchen has been fairly inefficient, causing many problems for the Bomber staff. Ingredients were once stored at the other end of Bomber, making for slower service and crankier patrons. After the renovations are completed, the kitchen will be where the main bar used to be. This will make for faster service, as everything will be located in an area closer to where the food is prepared. The main bar will soon be located on the patio wall and will open up onto the patio during the summer months. This will make getting
drinks much easier and waitresses will also have an easier time carrying food outside. Other than these two major changes, Bomber will be getting a major facelift. The floors have been ripped up and both the satellite bar and the DJ booth are being refurbished. Menu-wise, the Bomber is also changing. Feds are accepting student input on the new menu and offering the chance to win dinner for four. You can fill out the survey on campus or online at http://survey.feds.ca/index. php?sid=3. Besides the classic choices like burgers and fries, Bomber chefs are improving the variety of food adding things like a curry dish and a stir fry dish. They are also adding vegetarian and vegan meals as well as some healthier choices. Breakfast appears on the survey alongside coffee and tea. Before the fall term begins, the Feds and the winners of the Feds dinner draw will have a
chance to test out the new Bomber. Butalid wants to make sure that everything is ready prior to the first Bomber Wednesday. He says that not only did the building need to be updated, but the programs used by the waitstaff also needed updating. The trial run will help familiarise Bomber staff with this new digital dining service so that everything runs smoothly during the first few weeks. Bomber will be open to students the first week of classes and on Saturday September 9, Feds will be hosting a first Bomber day. On this date, the first of everything will be noted, from the first person into the new Bomber to the first pour. There will also be lots of prizes for students coming out to experience the brand new bomber. Butalid also stated that on the first Monday of term Bomber will be open for breakfast. The grand opening is to be the first Wednesday of the fall term and is expected to be a huge celebration. etarswell@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
UW to survey academic integrity Narmeen Lakhani special to imprint
In early October, the University of Waterloo, in co-operation with the Centre for Academic Integrity (CAI), plans to administer a webbased survey to both students and faculty to develop more successful preventive measures for academic offences. The CAI is a voluntary organization associated with the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, consisting primarily of institutions in North America that are interested in evaluating and improving their level of academic integrity. Jeff Henry, vice president education for the Federation of Students, provided some insight into the discussion of academic integrity for the upcoming survey. He believes that the issue gained attention when Liam McHugh-Russell, an active member of the Feds and former vice president education, voiced his apprehension about cheating around campus to the 2004/2005 administration. This caused the administra-
tion to re-evaluate the perspective with which academic integrity is assessed to include the opinions and participation of both faculty and students on campus. Henry said, “The goal will be to anonymously survey extensively, using a third party, students and faculty to get a sense of what is actually going on and what the perceptions are so we can formulate concrete recommendations on how to improve the culture of academic integrity on campus.” In the May 2006 issue of the Teaching Resources Office (TRACE) faculty newsletter, Barbara Bulman-Fleming once again presented the need for “some steps that faculty and administrators could take to discourage student academic misconduct.” According to her data from UW Senate, the percentage of undergraduate academic misdemeanours has increased from 1.8 per cent in 2003/2004 to 2.7 per cent in 2004/2005. The percentage for graduate students has increased from 0.13 percent in 2003/2004 to 0.77 per cent in 2004/2005. She also believes that this data
is understated due to results from other selfreport surveys, as well as the underreporting of offences to associate deans of a respective faculty. Bulman-Fleming also outlines some of the goals of a stronger academic policy. Among these is the recognition of plagiarism through computer detection programs such as Measure of Software Similarity and Software Integrity Detection. The use of such detection software, especially TurnItIn, is debatable because some faculty believe that it conveys an immediate mistrust of students. An alternative measure is to better inform students about the importance of academic integrity. Students need to be aware of how to cite their work, so they do not unintentionally plagiarize. The Student Academic Discipline Policy, Policy 71, currently outlines the university’s criteria for academic integrity. The policy was last updated in February 1993, but the results of the survey could bring it up for review soon.
Talk about being left-handed! A two-month old baby boy in China, named Jie-jie, was born with two left arms. Normally, when a child is born with two of the same limb, it’s very clear-cut as to which is the functional limb and which isn’t. That isn’t the case with Jie-jie. His Shanghai surgeons are currently trying to decide which arm must go. Doctors normally wait up to 12 months before deciding which limb to remove, assessing blood flow, nerve activity and muscle strength among other things to make their decision. Any extra extremity may be rare, but additional fingers or hands are much more common than full arms. Extra limbs are often caused by a twin who dies early on in the pregnancy and is then absorbed by the other twin. These limbs aren’t attached to the brain and are easy to remove. This doesn’t seem to be the case with Jie-jie. If both arms are attached to his brain, doesn’t that mean in theory they could both work? I know it may look a little strange, but imagine having three functional arms! Just imagine the possibilities — driving, alone, would be crazy! Malaysia Fidelity can be a hard thing to prove — save a lie detector test — or possibly Veritaserum — but a man in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, found a different way to show his honey he was true only to her — by cutting off his penis. After his wife discovered a text message on his phone from another woman, an argument ensued. The man, whose identity remains unknown, severed his penis in an attempt to prove to his wife that he had remained faithful to her. The New Straits Times reported that the man’s son overheard him yelling that he was going to prove he had not had an affair. According to his son, following this statement there was a lot of screaming and his father emerging from the room bleeding profusely The man’s wife must have forgiven him, as she then rushed him to the hospital where surgeons are attempting to reattach the severed organ. Gentlemen, I guess the best way to a lady’s heart isn’t flowers, it’s your penis. You just have to cut it off first. Florida Nothing says crazy like a man wearing a purple women’s bathing suit and brandishing a flare gun. Jeffrey C. Anderson, 55, was arrested after allegedly telling a bartender he was going to “get rid of all the dirt bags in Key West.” He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon under the skirt he was wearing. The police were notified of Anderson’s intentions after he told a bartender at a popular bar, The Bull and Whistle, that he was going to destroy the city’s “dirt bags” before showing her the weapon. Police quickly located Anderson in possession of an orange 12-gauge flare gun. The bartender also reported she saw Anderson dancing in the street, showing people his goodies and asking for money when they took his picture. He was later transported to the Monroe County detention centre. The “dirt bags” may actually be half the fun of Key West, but this is definitely a case of the pot calling the kettle black. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
New training programs to keep the peace Jessie Quinn imprint staff
Legislation passed December 15 may make going out to local bars safer, but it may also make it more costly and time consuming to get jobs at these same places. The Private Security and Investigative Services Act will increase the training regulations for security personnel. The Ministry of Correctional Services and Community Safety’s website states, “[The law] will make licensing and training mandatory for all security personnel. The legislation will also make in-house security personnel, including those working for retailers, bars, and the Corps of Commissionnaires, subject to the act.” They are currently exempt.
Under this law, walk-safe, ride-safe and bar staff may all require the extra training. Under this law, walk-safe, ride-safe and bar staff may all require the extra training. Details concerning cost and what the training entails are still to be decided. Renjie Butalid, Feds vice president administration and finance, explains that the time commitment for the training that has been put forth is 40 hours.
At the end of the 40 hours, participants will receive a licence, but it will have to be renewed every year. Whether or not the renewal would require recertification classes or simply a registration process is unknown. The concern students have is whether the benefits of employment in these services outweigh the extra commitment to receive the training and the possible extra cost they may have to incur. Because the cost of the training is still not finalized, Butalid is unsure whether the extra costs will be incurred by Feds, which runs these services, or the students interested in the jobs. The regulations to the act have yet to be formulated and passed for enactment. The minister of Correctional Services and Community Safety can, among other things, make regulations covering exemptions to the law, licensing and what training would be required. UW Police Staff Sergeant Wayne Shortt said, “At the present time I would say that it is premature to say how it applies as it would only be speculation.” Currently, UW Police Chief Al MacKenzie sits on the committee of alcohol use and education and is learning about and facilitating any implementation of the legislation at UW. Butalid says that we will not likely see the implementations of the legislation until sometime in 2007. jquinn@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Udai uncovers aid distribution woes
Tables covered with colourful wares draw in students at an Udai event May 31. Wasim Parkar imprint staff
A newly formed volunteer organization on campus called Udai, together with the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG), hosted “Odyssey,” an exhibition and information awareness day on social development initiatives, on Wednesday, May 31, in the SLC Great Hall. There was a series of documentaries shown by Udai from Monday to Wednesday focusing on globalization and aid distribution. Udai is a volunteer organization committed to promoting awareness towards social issues concerning developing nations and providing a platform for synergism of active efforts for their improvement. Udai was started by students at the University of California, San Diego in June 2005 to address development issues in India and South Asia. The Udai chapter at UW began its activities in January 2006, and in addition to assisting developing nations of South Asia, is also working in the local community. Odyssey showcased a broad range of issues including education initiatives, fair trade and its impact, and health awareness. Udai displayed their current and upcoming projects (besides promoting awareness on the aforementioned topics. They also collaborated with a few other organizations for the display. Seven Shores, a Kitchener-based vendor for art merchandise, set up their stall with articles from all over the world, while another local organization, Opportunities Waterloo Region, presented their community development activities in the Waterloo region. Among the projects, KnowledgeBridge is a literacy initiative launched in
collaboration with Pratham BC that seeks to promote literacy in South Asia. One of the members of Udai, Aaditeshwar Seth, provided more information about this group and how the UW community can get actively involved in it. “Udai means awakening at early dawn. The symbolism of this name is due to the fact that students need to awaken to the fact that people in other parts of the world need their help,” said Seth. The inspiration for members of this group is to try and help non-governmental and non-profit organizations in the Third World to implement their plans and programs in an efficient and successful manner. One of the means to do this, according to Seth, is to implement the latest developments in technology and software, such as wireless technology. The aim of the exhibition was to increase awareness of the issues to the general campus. In this aspect, Seth believes that the exhibition was a huge success, because many curious students came and inquired about these social initiatives and about how to participate. He was also very thankful to the contribution of WPIRG who helped in the implementation of many concepts. The prime directive for the group after the successful exhibition is to attract more undergrad students to their cause. For more information on Udai, check out www. udai.org or e-mail contact@udai.org. The next Udai meeting is open to the UW community, will take place Friday, June 9 at 5 p.m. in DC 1350. wparkar@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
The J-1 visa battle rages David Johnston and UW take action Jacqueline McKoy imprint Staff
Waterloo has pled to the United States government to bar visa changes that will virtually prevent UW co-op students from working state-side. Earlier this week, UW President David Johnston sent a letter to the US Department of State in hopes of illustrating how proposed security enhancements to the US J-1 Trainee visa program will “severely limit our ability to meet the needs of US employers by providing them with talented Canadian co-op students.” The US J-1 Trainee visa is the only way for the vast majority of UW students to legally spend a work term in the United States. Currently, students heading to the U.S. purchase the visa from one of three sponsoring agencies with approval from their future American employer. The most significant proposed change will limit the use of the visa to “interns,” which are recent graduates and “trainees,” workers who have at least three years of experience in their field, thus preventing co-ops from using the visa. Johnston suggests extending the definition of “intern” to include currently enrolled students. As well, the Department of State has proposed banning multiple uses of the J-1 visa. Currently, the Department has a “two years between visits” rule, but Canadian visa holders are exempt from this policy, meaning that UW students can spend as many work terms in the US as they wish. Also, qualifying for the visa will now require in-person interviews by sponsors before and during an American work term. Possible interview administration fees, notes Johnston in
Wasim Parkar
his letter, could make the visa even more costly than its current $600 to $1200 (per four-month term) cost. Waterloo sends approximately 200 students to the US each term for co-op jobs primarily in the software development, financial services and architecture fields, according to a Canadian Association For Co-operative Education backgrounder. CECS has been in contact with American employers such as Google and Morgan Stanley, many of which expressed concern. According to international co-op coordinator Tony Munro, the possibility of changes has done anything but hurt American demand for UW students. He says that state-side employers tend to look for UW students in the “info disciplines” and are still aggressively recruiting. As well, placements at American IT firms such as Google and Microsoft are among the most hotly contested co-op jobs. Even if the proposed legislation is passed, students looking to work in America during the summer term will still be eligible for a special “Summer Work/Travel” version of the J-1 visa offered through CDS or SWAP, two of the sponsoring agencies that work with co-op students. In addition to President Johnston’s petition to the Department of State, Feds vice-president education Jeff Henry noted that “It’s really a case about lobbying and talking to the right people.” The Federation has been urging students to talk to their co-op employers and co-ordinators before the Department of State’s June 6 deadline for comment. jmckoy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Reading beyond the front page
Earlier this week the Columbians held an election and eventually re-elected the incumbent president, Alvaro Uribe. CBC Radio reported that for the first time in a long time, there were no election riots. However, some were concerned that high levels of voter apathy could skew the results. We’re a tough crowd to please. Stories, and conversations, are only viable if they have conflict, or at the very least someone who could have failed. To paraphrase the news writer’s cliché, if it bleeds, it leads; if not, who cares? If the fickle audience isn’t interested, it will move on. News stories can be divided into two categories — bad things and good things. Good things are generally found in regional papers, weeklies or special sections. The stories follow some timeless story that will make you feel warm and fuzzy. Think of a little league championship or a local person of note. These stories are typically read by a small group of people, usually friends and relations. Despite their small audience, these stories are nonetheless important to maintaining a well-rounded newspaper. Bad things appeal to everybody. They typically lead most newscasts and are above the fold of most newspapers. Accidents, disasters, murder and mayhem attract more readers than anything else. Bad things have a tendency to skew our view of the world so that we become cynical. News organizations feed this cynicism. If nothing bad has happened, this is news and we are told
Coffler educates about corporate responsibility in zones of conflict
what could have happened or what might still happen. Perhaps cynicism is a built-in survival instinct. If we are always complaining it means that we’re not complacent. The cynics always figure out what’s broken before the Pollyannas do. Maybe we should thank news organizations for always putting us on alert. For my part, I’m doing my bit to support the cynics. For the long weekend, I complained that it was too cold. At the beginning of this week, I complained that it was too hot. Then it was too cold again. Then I wrote my column. So how can we fix this imbalance? First, pay attention to what’s going on around you. For every bad thing that you can think of, there is a myriad of good things that are happening. Case in point, I attended a Kitchener City Council meeting on behalf of the Conestoga Sailing Club and observed over 20 groups receiving awards and in some cases grants for the work that they do with the youth in the city. As the person next to me said, we never hear about these good things. I’ve often joked about the need for an Imprint news-making team. On quiet summer days or in the middle of midterms when it seems that there is really nothing going on it would be nice to dispatch someone to go out and make the news. Maybe the team could break up a Senate meeting, or protest yet another building on our green space or the slow re-branding of Food services to Tim Hortons. But alas, we can only cover the news, not make it. In the meantime, turn the page; it won’t hurt. You might actually find something good if you read beyond the first page — or for that matter, beyond this page with its cynical columnist. nmoogksoulis@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
imprint staff
Dr. Virginia Haufler, Associate Professor, Government and Politics, University of Maryland, gave a lecture called ‘Economies of Peace: Corporate Responsibility in Zones of Conflict’ at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) on Monday, May 29. Dr. Haufler started off giving a brief introduction on how she got involved with this particular theme. She explained how when she began her research, multi national corporations (MNCs) were looked at in a different light — a positive one. However, times have changed since then and we are currently living in an era against trans-national corporations. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has now become extremely globalized and politicized. At the turn of the century, Third World governments felt corporations protected them. Countries welcomed companies and were extremely excited about the possibilities of free market economies. The turning point in the history of MNCs and their impact on foreign economies, according to Haufler, was the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. This was the first time a movement was organized against corporations that supported a government that was viewed as evil by the general populace. Haufler then spoke about the “resource curse,” which is the state in which countries with the highest natural resources actually have the poorest economies. Companies have a big role to play in the resource curse. Haufler said there are four different mechanisms that enable companies to influence the resource curse. The first mechanism is the “honey pot effect” whereby elites compete to gain access of these resources. The second factor is the distribution
impact, in which different stakeholders identify their profit percentages in relation to revenue distribution. The next impact of MNCs is their ability to finance rebellions and successions according to their whims and fancies. This includes signing futures contracts with different groups for development rights, in relation to their geographical possession of resources. The final mechanism is known as “corporate contracting.” Under this theory, corporations can dictate governance issues of Third World countries. To illustrate the point, one can look at De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company, which supported and financed one of the deadliest rebellions in world history in Sierra Leone. There are further examples of such contracting, when MNCs actually were key players in strengthening some of the most repressive and authoritarian regimes of the 20th century. Haufler then shifted focus on to how MNC’s are starting to take CSR seriously and improve conditions in the Third World. This change gained momentum when the UN Global Compact pressurized the private sector. MNCs were forced to conform to the business and conflict agenda set by the new treaty. While Haufler acknowledged that it would be difficult for things to change overnight, there are some positive trends. For example, one should look at the scenario of De Beers, called the Kimberly Process for Diamond Protection. In this case, young directors wanted to restore the image of the company they were working for and started an identification process for diamonds that did not finance war — almost like fair trade coffee. Several other initiatives have since been launched. Haufler concluded by saying that “true regulation is almost impossible” and by stating that governments have to work hand in hand with MNCs to improve the situation. wparkar@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Suzanne Gardner Ashley Csanady imprint staff
UW first to use new security system As of fall 2006, the University of Waterloo will become the first academic institution on the continent to use an innovative inventory and security system from leading technology company 3M. The recent $1 million gift-inkind to UW from 3M involves the company’s One Tag radio frequency identification (RFID) system. This relatively new concept in the management of library collections differs from other systems by fastening a single RFID tag to library resources. The tag contains all of the necessary information to locate and identify missing library materials, maintain security and simplify the checkout
process for both library patrons and staff. “Students, faculty and guests using the Davis and Porter libraries will no longer need to have their backpacks checked for library materials by the attendant stationed near the building’s exit,” explained university librarian Mark Haslett. 3M’s RFID system will be installed in the Davis Centre library this fall, while Dana Porter library will receive this technology by September 2007. Possible improvements to childcare at UW Childcare options at UW may increase significantly in the near future. Troy Glover, chair of the strategic planning committee at Hildegard Marsden Co-operative Day Nursery, and Dan Glover, president of Personal Moves, have made an initiative to significantly increase the child care
options available at UW. A one-hour “Visioning Session on the future of Childcare at UW” was held May 26. Participants included faculty, staff and students. They brainstormed ideas for the future role of childcare at UW. The participants agreed that an ideal childcare system at UW would include: q Improved funding, establishing a capital fund for childcare on campus and improved support from all levels of government. q Promote awareness, having one location for people to contact looking for information regarding childcare on campus, and include orientation sessions for newcomers at UW. q Improved access, providing subsidized and improved day care at UW, increase the number of available spaces, include childcare as a benefit for those at UW and be more flexible including part-time childcare and drop-in support. q Improved organizational structure, make child care an ancillary service, and create a decentralized system of childcare across campus. q Improved Co-ordination, maintaining a good relationship with UW and the community, partner with other services on campus, work with the public school board to transport students from schools to daycare on campus.
Museum to exhibit Animal Games UW’s Elliott Avedon Museum and Archive of Games located in B.C. Matthews Hall has recently opened a new exhibit for animal lovers who also enjoy games. Animal Games features a wide variety of card games, board games and puzzles, all of which are based on animal themes. Visitors to the museum can learn the history of popular games from 100 years ago and also gain hands-on experience with some of these treasures. The free exhibit is open to the public and will run at the museum through December 2006. Cash donations, as well as donations of old games, are always welcome. Spring visiting hours are Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., until June 15. Summer hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To book a group tour, call 519-888-4424. UW non-smoking advocates applaud new provincewide restrictions Geoff Fong and Paul McDonald, two leading UW non-smoking experts, are commending the new Ontario-wide smoking restrictions that came into effect as of June 1, 2006.
McDonald, co-director of the Population Health Research Group at UW, believes that the new regulations will have three key impacts. Firstly, they will protect both smokers and non-smokers alike from second-hand smoke. Second of all, they will assist current smokers in quitting smoking or reducing their intake of tobacco. Finally, the restrictions will decrease the visibility of smoking, which according to recent studies may reduce the number of youth smokers. He continues to explain how he believes that the new restrictions are a positive first step, but insists that “there is still more that can and must be done [by the government].” Fong, a UW psychology professor and the chief principal investigator of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the first international cohort study of tobacco use), called the regulations “a superb advance for public health in Ontario.” The expert also points out that these new restrictions are a fitting way to mark World No Tobacco Day which has been annually celebrated on May 31 since its creation by the World Health Organization in 1998. Additionally, Fong feels that these new regulations are an appropriate way to remember waitress Heather Crowe, a woman who publicly fought against second-hand smoke in the workplace and recently lost her fight against cancer. —With files from the Daily Bulletin sgardner@imprint.uwaterloo.ca acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Classifieds Campus Bulletin HELP WANTED
Weekend counellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Don Mader, KW Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Now hiring student fundraisers! $8.50/hour to start. Work on campus, flexible hours, raises every 20 shifts. If you are a good communicator, enthusiastic and dependable, then we want to talk to you. Please apply in person at the Office of Development in South Campus Hall. Please include a cover letter, resume, class schedule and three references.
FOR SALE
1998 Ford Escort – blue, automatic, air, remote keyless entry, CD, MP3, upgraded speakers, two sets of tires, certified, e-tested, only 115km. Original owner asking $4,930 or best offer. 591-7147.
HOUSING
Available now - two-bedroom apartment at $900 per month and threebedroom house at $950 plus utilities per month. Available September 2006 - three-bedroom apartment at $395 per room, two-bedroom apartment at $900, five-bedroom apartment at $350 inclusive per room, five-bedroom house at $425 plus utilities per room (on Hazel St) and three-bedroom house at $950 plus utilities per month. For more info call 746-6327 or 501-1486. Room for rent in three-bedroom townhouse. $400 inclusive, deck, BBQ, fun-loving roommates. Looking for responsible, nice roommate. Parking available, good neighborhood. Call Tim at 573-6191 for more information.
House for rent September 1, $385/ month/bedroom – seven bedrooms at Columbia and Hazel. Five minutes to WLU, 10 minutes to UW. Newly renovated bath. Two bedrooms available immediately until August 29 at $250/month/bedroom or best offer. Call (519) 574-6886. Premium three-bedroom townhouse unit in a professionally managed student complex. Perfect for students, close to UW campus. Available May and September 2006. Call Perry now a 746-1411 for all the details and to set up a showing. Ask us about your signing bonus and gifts! Three-and four-bedroom apartments available September 2006. A 15-minute walk to UW. Sixplex is located at 282 Erb Street, with a 12-month lease, $375 per room, utilities included. Building is very clean, laundry on main floor and parking lot. Don’t miss out – call Shadde at 747-4711 or e-mail 282erb@gmail.com. Attention Cambridge School of Architecture students! Live conveniently and comfortably right across the street from school in this beautifully renovated apartment. Four, eight and 12-month leases available, with excellent signing bonuses and rental incentives! Call Perry at 7461411 for more details. Five bedroom house – walking distance to both universities, very clean, recently renovated, laundry and five car parking included. Please call 5751973.
UPCOMING
Thursday, June 1, 2006 Rotunda Gallery in Kitchener presents “Long Shadows and Strange Forgetfulness, Lauren Hall”. For more info on the exhibit call Cheryl at 741-3400, ext 3381. Saturday, June 3, 2006 K-W Access-Ability fundraiser – bargains galore on quality clothing for everyone from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot behind building at 105 University Ave., E., Waterloo. 2006 Parkinson’s Regional Conference will be at the Four Points by Sheraton London at 1150 Wellington Road, S., London. For info call 1-888-851-7376. Homer Watson House & Gallery presents “100 years later” from June 3 to August 13. Opening reception June 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. For info call 748-4377. Saturday, June 10, 2006 The Waterloo Chapter of Engineers Without Borders Canada will be hosting a global coffeehouse as part of the Latitudes Storytelling Festival, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Trinity United Church, 74 Frederick Street, Kitchener. For more info call 5841758 or www.latitudesfestival.com or latitudes@canada.com. Monday, June 19, 2006 Row for Heart – learn to row. Register as a crew of five or as an individual. Nine-week lessons start the week of June 19. Call 571-9600 for more information. Saturday, June 24, 2006 Castle Kilbridge National Historical Site presents “Whispers of Wilmot: Heritage Fair” from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 60 Snyders Road,W., Baden, Ontario. Admission by donation. For more info call 634-8444.
VOLUNTEER
FINANCIAL AID
Volunteer Action Centre Recruitment has the following volunteer positions open: Kids on the Block needs puppeteers to perform for the disability awareness program. Training is provided. Call Douglas at 571-6788. Lutherwood needs volunteers for many areas from moms and babies to seniors. Call 884-7755, ext 238 or www.lutherwood.ca. Old Fashion Bazaar volunteers needed for Saturday, June 17 for family event at kidsLINK in St. Agatha. Call Beth at 741-1122, ext 234. The Lung Association is looking for mature and dedicated individuals to sit on the Community Advisory Council. Call Marjorie at 886-8100/822-7739 or email mbrown@on.lung.ca. Canadian Red Cross needs disaster services volunteers. Training is provided. Call Kristen at 742-2785 or e-mail kristen. eva@redcross.ca. The Antique Roadshow is coming to film an episode at Kitchener City Hall. Volunteers are needed for collecting tickets, escorting guests, etc. Call Leslie at 7412564 or e-mail volunteer@city.kitchener.on.ca. City of Waterloo has volunteer opportunities for an “intergenerational project seeking youth and seniors” to work together to produce an oral history of the senior volunteer’s life experiences. Two hours/week, summer and fall. Call Tiffany 579-6930.
June 2006 Stop by the Student Awards Office to see if your Ontario Access Grant cheques are here. OSAP deadlines – June 11: Deadline to submit OSAP appeals for Spring 2006. June 15: Recommended submission dte for 2006-2007 OSAP application for fall 2006 term. Last day to submit undergraduate bursary applications. For further info visit the website http:// safa.uwaterloo.ca/ or second floor Needles hall, ext 3583.
ONGOING MONDAYS The UW Stage Band has need of more players immediately in all sections. Everyone is welcome and participation can be taken for credit or for fun. Call Michael Wood at 2711488 or percwood@orc.ca. Rehearsals are from 7 to 10 p.m., Conrad Grebel, room 1111. WEDNESDAYS May 24 from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Charitable Research Reserve, 1679 Blair Road, Cambridge, presents “Warbler Watching” with Bill Wilson. Binoculars, appropriate dress and footwear for early mornings required. Rain or shine but will be cancelled during a thunderstorm. Register early by calling Rachel 650-9336, ext 122.
SERVICES
IMPRINT IS BI-WEEKLY FROM MAY 5 TO JULY 28, 2006. CAMPUS BULLETIN AND CLASSIFIED DEADLINES ARE MONDAYS AT 5 P.M. , WEEK OF PUBLICATION. bring to slc room 1116.
i-TUTOR is a FREE student resource. We encourage learning and promote education within Ontario. Our website resource helps tutees find qualified tutors. Tutors are University students who are independent of this organization and have their own rate and schedule. http://www. i-tutor.ca.
i m print Government must respond to media university of waterloo student newspaper
Friday, June 2, 2006 — Vol. 29, No. 3 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Tim Alamenciak editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Kirill Levin Cover Editor, Irshad Mulla Photo Editor, Ammar Naseer Graphics Editor, Claire Mousseau Web Editor, vacant Systems Administrator, Nick Ranchev Sys. Admin. Assistant, vacant Lead Proofreader, Shivaun Hoad Proofreader, Leslie Havens Proofreader, Kim Morrison Proofreader, Kinga Jakab Proofreader, vacant
Production Staff Steven R. McEvoy, Narmeen Lakhani, Simon Yarrow, Margie Mansell, Darren Hutz, Jacqueline McKoy, Cheng Seong Khor, Tim Foster Office Staff Distribution, Gillian Flanagan Distribution, Amy Pfaff
Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Jeff Anstett president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, vacant vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Jacqueline McKoy treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Wasim Parkar secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Darren Hutz staffliasion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Imprint is the official student newspaper of the University of Waterloo. It is an editorially independent newspaper published by Imprint Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. Imprint is a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association (OCNA). Editorial submissions may be considered for publication in any edition of Imprint. Imprint may also reproduce the material commercially in any format or medium as part of the newspaper database, Web site or any other product derived from the newspaper. Those submitting editorial content, including articles, letters, photos and graphics, will grant Imprint first publication rights of their submitted material, and as such, agree not to submit the same work to any other publication or group until such time as the material has been distributed in an issue of Imprint, or Imprint declares their intent not to publish the material. The full text of this agreement is available upon request. Imprint does not guarantee to publish articles, photographs, letters or advertising. Material may not be published, at the discretion of Imprint, if that material is deemed to be libelous or in contravention with Imprint’s policies with reference to our code of ethics and journalistic standards. Imprint is published every Friday during fall and winter terms, and every second Friday during the spring term. Imprint reserves the right to screen, edit and refuse advertising. One copy per customer. Imprint ISSN 0706-7380. Imprint CDN Pub Mail Product Sales Agreement no. 40065122. Next board meeting: Thursday, June 15, 2006. 4 p.m.
Dodging questions is one thing, but avoiding the media altogether is unacceptable
I love the government. They give us money, take care of us and make sure I can get freshly imported bottles of Baby Duck at decent prices. But I am a jealous and suspicious lover — as a journalist, one must question every step the government makes. If the government goes to the bathroom, it’s a journalist’s right to ask “Charmin or President’s Choice?” But as I was sitting out on a fine summer day, blowing bubbles in a cut-off two-litre pop bottle cup full of Baby Duck and reading a fine article in the Globe and Mail about the Caledonia dispute. Well, I blew a big bubble when I came to the end of the article: “Meanwhile, Mr. Harper told a London TV station that he’s going to avoid journalists on Parliament Hill because they are biased against his government.” Well I threw down my Baby Duck and stood up triumphantly, venturing off to consult the Internet on this issue.
“Internet?” I said. “Yes, Tim?” “Why is Stephen Harper selecting his own media and approved questions?” Well, unfortunately, the Internet couldn’t really answer the nut of my question: what is going on in Harper’s head, and what doesn’t he want the public to find out? In the Globe and Mail article, Harper said “Unfortunately, the press gallery has taken the view they are going to be the opposition to the government… They don’t ask questions at my press conferences now.” There has always been an implicit level of secrecy in government. Responses are given in politispeak — fine examples of which can be seen coming from much of UW’s own staff and faculty. Questions are dodged, euphemisms are used and buzzwords are made up on the spot. But when a government makes a policy of media filtration explicit — now that’s something that scares me. Unlike Imprint’s Opinion editor, Tom Levesque, I do not trust the government. In fact, no journalist should trust the government. It’s difficult to be a monitor of power when you simply accept whatever that power decides to tell you. While the decision frightens me, the impact excites me. No longer will journalists be able
to fire off questions at the Prime Minister and be fed politispeak back. Now they will have to research, research, research. I expect that Canadian media will enter this whole new realm of reporting where they dig, stake out and maybe hide in the Prime Minister’s linen closet just to get the story. I sit with bated breath awaiting the next media policy decision. Will it be like MP Colin Mayes outlined in a column reprinted by The Toronto Star: “Boy, would the public get accurate and true information if a few reporters were hauled away to jail! Maybe it is time that we hauled off in handcuffs reporters that fabricate stories, or twist information and even falsely accuse citizens.” Mind you, this sort of censorship is something that won’t happen — just like a government won’t explicitly deny the media access to the truth... Next thing you know the government will make OnStar mandatory in all cars. I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials — they can stop your car’s engine, find out where it is, lock the doors, unlock the doors. Right before men with rather large weapons come and drag you off to a secluded prison buried under the permafrost. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Conservatives deserve A+ grade Stephen Harper has filled the leadership vacuum in Ottawa and across Canada
It has taken Stephen Harper just three months to resurrect two words missing from the Canadian political vocabulary for the past 13 years — leadership and integrity. Unlike his two Liberal predecessors, Harper has a vision for Canada — low taxes, small and unobtrusive government, deep respect for federalism and the constitution (the real constitution, not the Charter of Socialism) and a bigger role on the world stage. In contrast to Jean Chrétien, who hid within the corridors of power and pulled strings like a puppet master, or Paul Martin, whose candle-in-the-wind policy was only as
good as the latest focus group, Harper has made his vision clear and understandable. Harper has held his ground through intense criticism of his cabinet choices, his environmental policy and his position on the Kelowna Accord. In other words, Harper is man enough to stand up for what he believes in. For that I respect him, and so do a growing number of Canadians. Canadians can now trust their government. They may not agree with all of Harper’s policies — or any of them for that matter — but they can sleep at night knowing that someone is steering the ship. Imprint’s editor-in-chief this week criticizes Harper’s relationship with the media — or lack thereof. (If you watch Battlestar Galactica, you might identify with Commander Adama’s dislike of reporters.) It is true that the government of a healthy democracy should be open and accessible to the news media. That average Canadians (or at least their representatives in the media)
are now demanding that access makes me proud. But Canadians need not worry — Harper’s standoff with the media is a calculated one designed not to let reporters control the government’s agenda. There is little chance the government will declare martial law, merge with the United States and invade Iran all because Harper restricted a few press conferences. Again, it all comes down to trust. How do I rate the new Conservative government’s performance so far? Taking into account the minority situation, A+. To keep this stellar grade after the Conservatives form a majority, they will need to institute deep, across-the-board tax cuts and create more economic and military ties with the United States. Harper and I are off to a baby-eating party next week. Lawrence Lam — you’re welcome to join us. — Tom Levesque
Harper government inept and directionless Sometimes I can’t help but shake my head. At other times, I’m left speechless. But more often than not, my reaction to Stephen Harper’s inept and directionless stint as Prime Minister feels like nothing more than a swift swipe to the midsection. Through the first four months of the mandate, given strictly on the basis that his last name wasn’t Martin, Harper has done little to instill trust in the minds of Canadians that are so desperate for a reason to still care about politics. His dictatorial style of leadership has allowed him to run rampant through the House of Commons and sidestep the democratic process at every turn (and accept it only when it suits his best interests to do so, naturally). His first order of business via the budget was to ensure that anyone who likely wouldn’t vote for him in a future election would receive a pittance, as almost every tax credit (which made up the meat of the bill) was directed at middle to upper-class families (i.e. those who likely did not need it). In fact, he went so far as to raise the taxes of the poorest of Canadian taxpayers in order to pay for it, and has left himself without any sort of financial flexibility in case of an unforeseen economic downturn. His next priority was to dismantle two separate landmark
agreements championed by the former Liberal government. The Kyoto Accord would have forced Canada to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by a considerable margin, while the Kelowna Accord would have helped bring back dignity and honour to Canada’s Aboriginal communities. Clearly, these must have been the perverse legislative offspring created by a government that had lost its “moral authority” to govern. Finally, and perhaps most insultingly, Harper seems to believe that a democracy allows you to do whatever the hell you feel like — due process be damned.
[Harper’s] dictatorial style of leadership has allowed him to run rampant through the House of Commons. The most recent case of this was his motion asking that Parliament extend the mission in Afghanistan for two extra years. Now one might imagine that such a question would require weeks of investigation to answer key questions including, but certainly not limited to, do we have the resources for this or could we perhaps contribute those resources elsewhere more effectively? Instead, in what is becoming indicative of Mr. Harper’s patience, he forced the issue through with nothing more than a six-hour debate.
I wish I were kidding. The opinions of 32 million people, as represented by their MP’s, had less than a standard working day to contribute comments, and more likely criticisms, to the government’s plan. Doing the math tells me that you and I each had about 0.000675 seconds worth of input. If democracy was a summer barbecue, the burning odour you smell is the crispy edges of U.S. neo-conservatism forming over the surface of your otherwise delicious piece of Canadian beef. Of course, when he was to be questioned by the media regarding many of these issues, Harper has simply refused to answer them (they always ask the hardest ones!). Add to this a civil servant threatened by the government if he went through with his critical presentation on climate change, or Harper’s defending one of his appointees who was ultimately rejected because of his controversial remarks about immigrants, and you have a Prime Minister that shouldn’t have to look far to find examples of why accountability was such a hot topic in the most recent election. So really, in the end there are but two simple options for Harper and his government. Either he must reverse his fiscally irresponsible, environmentally unsustainable and socially regressive means of governing, or face the wrath of the Canadian public. Canadians will only shake their heads, be lost for words or take so many low blows before they will strike back where it hurts Conservatives the most — right in the ballot box. kruch@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Conservatives on the wrong path
The past four months of the new Conservative government have been more disconcerting than any honeymoon I would want to have. True, the government has shown that they can keep Canada on an even keel. But Stephen Harper has been less than stellar as Prime Minister. He took several questionable actions that I hope will come back to haunt him when the next election is held. The naming of David Emerson and Michael Fortier as cabinet ministers, first of all, was not a good start for a party that hammered Belinda Stronach for defecting a party that is against the appointment of unelected officials to cabinet. It’s a tad hypocritical, in fact. As for the “five planks” of the Conservative platform — although I may not agree with most of them — if the government can make them happen, I will be impressed. What doesn’t impress me, though, is that this government hasn’t applied
the same focus to environmental issues; it seems they prefer to take the American-style approach of more apathy and less action. The Kyoto Accord, in particular, is an important international effort on climate change — and a plan most Canadians favour. The government needs to rethink its value. What I find truly disconcerting about Stephen Harper is his obsession with controlling the media. The culture of entitlement, which was once the scandal of Ottawa, is being replaced with a culture of silence. It was seen in the strange lack of press conferences or photo ops, save the PM’s visit to Afghanistan, in the weeks following the election. It is seen now in the way Harper controls what his ministers say and in the way he secretly schedules cabinet meetings to avoid interacting with reporters. It has spread into the parliamentary press gallery via the rules that control what reporters may ask — and who does the asking. And it has spread to overseas affairs, through the ban on allowing Canadians to witness the return of fallen soldiers to the homeland. Harper’s paranoia towards the press was already well known. But perhaps he should consider that the positive media attention directed on his party in the last election helped
give the Conservatives the momentum they needed to win a minority. The Liberal leadership race is just around the corner and if Stephen Harper’s people shy away from the attention of the press, those eleven candidates will be all too happy to soak up that valuable attention instead. There is more to the issue than simply getting on the media’s good side, however. A willingness to engage in dialogue and open speech is just as much a part of transparency and accountability as any legislative measures. If the new government is all they say they are, what does the Prime Minister have to fear by letting his members talk and by letting the uncomfortable questions be asked? The Conservatives have the opportunity to give Canadians a taste of what could be if they won a majority. So far, it’s barely been a taste at all — and it’s been pretty darn bland at that. Yes, they can run the country. But the current Conservative government just doesn’t feel like it’s destined for bigger and better things. Personally, I’ll be watching the Liberal convention to get a sense of what lies ahead for Canada’s future. — Adam Gardiner
Canada an environmental failure The Conservative choice to withdraw from the Kyoto Accord has made Canada an international laughingstock
While Conservative administrations over the past years may have wreaked havoc in most, if not all, government ministries, all of those issues, while nationally important, pale in comparison to the callous attitude the Conservative Party of Canada is taking to our environment. Canada has gone from being a leader in environmental protection to a laughingstock due to the embarrassing decision by the Harper government to renege on our commitments under the Kyoto Accord, which would have drastically reduced our greenhouse gas emissions. Thankfully, politicians in Québec
and Manitoba have affirmed their provinces’ commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gases despite the decision of the federal government. Québec’s National Assembly even went so far as to pass a unanimous resolution demanding that Harper respect the Kyoto Accord. Take a look outside, Mr. Harper! Global warming is real and present. While reversing its effects completely may be an unattainable target, Canada can nonetheless make a significant contribution to saving our planet. Sure, greenhouse gas emissions in Canada are presently more than 24 per cent above 1990 levels, making the Accord tough to meet, but throwing our hands up and saying, “Well, we can’t meet the targets anyway, so why bother trying?” is not the attitude that will preserve the environment for our descendants. Opposition parties are fuming over this lackadaisical stance. “From gutting federal climate-change programs, to
repeating defeatist and absurd rhetoric fashioned by American pollsters, to misrepresenting the protocol itself, this government is applying Bush’s wellworn anti-Kyoto tactics,” said Liberal environment critic Scott Brison in a report by the Canadian Press. Harper, along with a couple other Kyoto skeptics across the globe, have decided to pursue a “Kyoto alternative” to reduce greenhouse gases. Why not stick with the original framework as promised? It’s well known that Kyoto would have required corporations and oil rigs to reduce their emissions — would the Conservatives prefer the burden to instead be placed solely on hardworking taxpayers? Their “plan” doesn’t even set mandatory enforcement of targets. What we’re talking about is simply voluntary targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases, a method which has failed time and time again in the past. Perhaps that’s what’s wrong with
Conservatives: they fail to learn from their own mistakes. Reaganomics failed miserably, yet it’s still hailed as the way to go. Conservative policy under Mike Harris saw death and destruction, yet Conservatives remain proud of his legacy. Now they are intent on destroying our environment and tell themselves that they’re helping business — does this let them sleep at night? The recent Conservative budget slashed funds to the EnerGuide program, through which Canadians who have their homes renovated to save energy can qualify for a federal grant of several thousand dollars. A home retrofitted under the program cuts its energy consumption by 30 per cent, and about 300,000 people have used the program since it began in 1998. Furthermore, our shortsighted federal government has cut the much-publicized One Tonne Challenge, as well as 40 public informa-
tion offices and several scientific and research programs on climate change. They’ve also eliminated a program that encouraged clean urban transit and one to develop new kinds of renewable energy. The Conservatives just don’t see any value in research and development — talk about lack of vision! A group of 90 of Canada’s most senior climate scientists sent an open letter to the Prime Minister, warning that global warming is happening now and the federal government needs to do more about the problem. With drought becoming an annual crisis on the prairies, an increasing abundance of hurricanes and extreme weather is putting lives in danger and smog is becoming commonplace across the country, the time to act on global warming is now. Wake up, Prime Minister! mjohnson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Johnson wrong on drunk driving and MADD MADD focuses on drunk driving but does not condone other unsafe habits like driving tired or while talking
I would like to respond to Mark Johnson’s article, “Drunk drivers are not the only danger.” A friend of mine was hit by a drunk driver not that long ago and I am personally outraged by Johnson’s preposterous notion that drunk driving is not as dangerous as driving with a cell phone. I have therefore decided to disseminate Mark’s article and counter each point individually. 1. Elderly drivers are part of a “dangerous demographic” that cause more accidents than drunk drivers. Really? Then why do the insurance companies charge me (22 years old, male) more for insurance than older drivers? Is it because they act arbitrarily? Are the policy makers at these companies simply incompetent? No, of course not. I am charged more for insurance because people in my demographic drive more, drive faster and get in more accidents than elderly drivers. As you age, your ability to drive is surely impaired — that does not mean that drunk driving is relatively better.
2. MADD commercials are “headache-inducing” segments that “demonize” alcohol. They give you headaches, Mark? Good! Because that is a hell of a lot better than what the drunk driver gave my friend. She was knocked unconscious, her father’s arm was dislocated and her mother was killed. Maybe it’s a good thing that you get headaches. Drinking and driving should be demonized because doing so saves lives. 3. “...suppose I had driven drunk, stoned, so exhausted that I had dozed off repeatedly behind the wheel or, worst of all, while using a cell phone. Of the four driving impediments I would have experienced while driving, operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol would be by far the least risky.” I hope you have not actually driven while impaired in these manners, Mark. Because if you have, then you deserve to spend a long term in jail. If you have not driven as such, your argument is fallacious — you shouldn’t be offering an opinion. And by the way, inebriation and exhaustion impair your ability to make decisions. You most certainly are not in a position to comment on “what is and is not dangerous driving.” All of these conditions are dangerous; to wave off drunk driving as unimportant is to promote
attitudes that will claim thousands of lives this year. If you were driving drunk, you would not be so terrified to speed that you would be a more careful driver (as you claimed). Your ability to make decisions would be impaired, and your reaction time would be reduced. You would become a real-life headache-inducing MADD commercial. 4. “The twits of MADD would have you believe that there’s no greater sin in this world than to drive drunk, but that’s foolish and misguided.” MADD makes no such claim. Those commercials denounce drunk driving because it is a horrible thing to do. They do not claim that drunk driving is the worst thing to do. But it is important to denounce all things that are bad for society, not just the things that scare us the most.
5. “Crazy old people who get behind the wheel and kill somebody, from what I’ve read, almost always get off with a slap on the wrist.” My grandparents are tested every year — if they fail once, their licences are revoked permanently. If they got caught driving recklessly or impaired in any way, the law offers them no special protection. Crimes, not people, are punished. 6. “What would happen if I were to run over a senior citizen at a crosswalk. Forget losing my licence; I’d probably be charged with manslaughter!” You seem shocked and outraged, Mark. I wonder why. That is manslaughter and you should be charged. I find it disturbing that you consider manslaughter charges more burdensome than the victim’s death, and all of the repercussions that death might have.
7. “There is something wrong when we demonize drunk driving (as we should) but dismiss the horrific dangers presented by elderly drivers, by cell phone drivers, and by exhausted drivers.” Who is dismissing these dangers, Mark? MADD is an organization designed exclusively for the promotion of sober driving. They don’t warn against driving with a head injury, either, but that does not mean that MADD volunteers would support it. And it sounds like you are demonizing the elderly. You, Mark Johnson, are by far a greater danger to society than the elderly. As a friend, as a former Off Campus Don, and as a concerned citizen I implore everyone who read Mark Johnson’s article to drive safely and sober. — Josh Lovell
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A “cure” for homosexuality — would you take it?
The X-Men series has been seen by many as a quiet allegory of the gay rights struggle — both across the original comics, as well as the more recent films. In other words, one can watch these films as action sci-fi thrillers, or look past the flashy effects and note that the stories can also be applied to sexuality. The first X-Men movie dealt with right-wing politicians trying to legislate the mutants (gays) away from their children. The second movie was a little darker, dealing with the extreme nutcases trying to outright exterminate the mutants (gays). And so we come to three, where science has discovered the cause... and, as they tend to do, extended that into a “cure” which would effectively and permanently turn mutants (gays) into “normal” human beings. This is all well and good for the X-Men’s universe, where all hell breaks loose — but what if science fiction became science fact? What if, tomorrow, scientists made the announcement that they had managed to find a way to permanently change any gay, lesbian, or bisexual person into a “happy, healthy, and normal” straight person? Considering everything you would stand to gain or lose — would you turn yourself straight if you had the option opened to you? I posted the question openly on my personal blog about two weeks ago for responses from my friends and their social circles. Three pages worth of semi-anonymous comments later, I had enough material to write a masters thesis. I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised at the outcome. Not a single one of the people who responded said they would go straight, if given the option. In fact, many were firm and decisive on the issue — all were sure of the decision to give this “cure” a pass, but for very different reasons: R: “The only thing different from my relationship and a hetero relationship is the ability to have genetic kids […]. I don’t want kids, so there’d be no good reason to give up the great thing I’ve already got.” K: “The only way the human race is to remain diverse, both in physicality and flow of ideas, is to have diverse experiences. I’m not saying that if everyone is heterosexual they grow up experiencing the same things, what I’m saying is that by being homosexual or bi or [transgendered], they grow up with different obstacles and different ways of looking at life, as any minor-
ity does. We’re not going to wipe out a class of people just because it’s not considered to be equal, [so] why would we try and wipe out something that occurs across race, country, [socioeconomic] status and culture?” D: “Absolutely not. I’m very happy being bisexual, and I wouldn’t want to be changed to be straight if given the option. I’ve been equally attracted to both genders since earliest childhood, and this is ‘normal’ for me.” J: “I quite enjoy women and don’t have any desire to have anything done to me that would make me think differently. My sexuality is not something to be fixed. All this said, I admit my view is biased by my life experience. […] I’ve never faced the systematic prejudice that can be experienced by having a same-sex life partner and settling a home with her. It is easy to claim that I’d never want my sexuality ‘fixed’ if I’ve never experienced any harm due to it.” F: “Wanting to be normal […] isn’t about wanting a different lifestyle. It’s like a child crying to mommy and daddy to make it not have happened, to make whatever it is stop hurting. And what hurts, of course, isn’t being different. What hurts is being hit for it […] The pain doesn’t come from the state of queerness in which I exist, for whatever value of queer I happen to be. The pain comes from outside, from stares and glares and boys/girls who think I’m dirty because I like ‘em both, or worse, both at the same time. It comes from all the little tiny cuts and bleeds every day around us; from the automatic assumption that theirs is the proper base-state from which the rest of us freaks deviate. The only reason I would want to change is because sometimes it all hurts — and really, what I need isn’t to change, but for the hurt to stop.” These are, of course, only the briefest of samples of the many varied reasons that were given. But despite the unanimous response of my friends, would there be some who would take it? Yes, definitely. Each of those people who responded to my question had one thing in common: they were all of university age or older, and have lived significant portions of their lives as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered people. We’ve come past much of the uncertainty and pain that comes with the realization of our difference from the “sexual norm.” For those who were struggling with their sexual identity, however, the answer may be different. To take the easy way out of a difficult thing is an easy trap to fall in to — after all, we are only human. It may only be a “what if ” now, but science has a funny way of catching up to science fiction. When faced with that choice, I know what I’ll do. Do you? gbarclay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Non-smokers have a right to clean air
To the editor, I am not writing to reply to a specific article in Imprint, but rather to make a general statement to the population of UW. Smoking, as we all know, is an addictive and expensive habit. Those of us who choose not to indulge in this habit have the right to be free from second-hand smoke. Despite constant bylaw changes and university policy (neither of which are well enforced) it appears that students are ignoring the nonsmoker’s right to clean air. Particularly
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when it’s raining outside, clusters of students can be seen huddling outside supposedly “smoke free” university entrances. This makes it close to impossible for students to enter the building without breathing in the smoke, and also lets smoke into the building each time the door is opened. Please, smokers: respect the smoke-free entrances and stand back from building doors. We’re not forcing you to quit, so we shouldn’t be forced to breathe the smoke in. — Sarah Bunte 2B Arts and Business
Don’t close the book on Bookends Cafe
To the editor, Let me tell you about the best sandwich I’ve ever had on campus.
It was first year, and I had long grown tired of the packaged sandwiches offered by the majority of food services. Then, one day, I discovered a new and wonderful place. That place had not only everything you would have expected from a sandwich shop, but niceties like Havarti cheese and Dijon mustard. And they toasted the sandwich right in front of me! I had not seen such care put into a sandwich I had bought on campus since that day at the Bookends Cafe. It would sadden me to learn that the Bookends had closed. It angers me to learn it’s going to be turned into another fucking Tim Hortons. They try and screw us over by threatening to cut their hours, and we reward them with another store? Whuh? Sure, Tim Hortons sells decent sandwiches, but they’re far overpriced for what you get. — Michael L. Davenport 3B Physics
Ian Blechschmidt
Graham Moogk-Soulis
Margie Mansell and Darren Hutz
11 crossword Neal Moogk-Soulis
How are you going to cool off this summer? By Irshad Mulla
“Nudity.” Ruben Domingos
1B computer engineering
“Run through the sprinkler system.” Sarah Brown 2B recreation and leisure
“Meet a hot fireman and get inroduced to his hose.” Danielle Gilby 2B geography
“Become a bubble boy with AC.” Mark Arslan and Christopher Flora
Across 1. Rejected for duty 6. Polishing motions 10. Practice boxing 14. Absence of war 15. Sandwich cookie 16. Besides 17. Mounted on Fed Hall 19. Fishing traps 20. Navigation instrument 21. Wide street 23. Alcoholic beverege 25. Shock to death 28. Teensy little bit 30. Greek consonant 31. Crippled 32. Nineties revolution 35. Seed cover 37. Looseness with facts 42. Pop phenom 43. Moves when you blink 45. Taking without permission 49. Gentle blow 51. Well-loved 52. Poetic wind instrument 56. British beverage 57. Racial prejudice 58. From Wales 60. Part of a list 61. Unappealing 66. Low-lying wetlands 67. Japanese rice beer 68. Portage boat 69. Author pulled a fast one on Oprah 70. Looked at 71. Acute anxiety Down 1. Couriers in brown 2. Matrix hero 3. Tiny Tim’s vocal range
Sudoku
1B computer engineering
“Move to the SLC.” Alex Roman
1B computer engineering
“Sit in the freezer.” Shrinath Reddy UW grad
last WEEK’S solutions
“Take three times as many showers.” Nabeel Ahmed UW grad
“Aluminum foil.” Eric Wu
1B computer engineering
4. UN aviation body 5. Lead and tin alloy 6. Vocal lion 7. Where a dead relative is kept 8. Social insect 9. Alternative power 10. Roman statesman 11. Pressurized enclosure 12. Shrewd 13. Plant again 18. Buddy 22. Tennis shot 23. Help 24. Closed circuit 26. Jewish egg bread 27. Victoria short form 29. Whiz 33. Ear infection 34. Middle period
Neal Moogk-Soulis
36. Nice to have these days 38. Summer staple 39. Not old 40. Decent people wear it 41. Great Lake 44. Building block of life 45. Government tax 46. You don’t need it today 47. Geologic mammal period 48. Poorly put together 50. Sold for cash 53. Entertain 54. Boost and engine 55. Folded skin 59. Spiderman creator Lee 62. Vote against 63. General Eisenhower 64. “Our” in French 65. Take possession
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The vas deferens of men and women Ejaculation can be a sticky topic (pun intended). Everyone knows that men ejaculate, but many don’t realise that women do as well! Grab a box of tissues, because this week we will be exploring the mysteries of male and female ejaculation. Most people know that in men the testicles are involved in ejaculation and many people know that the prostate also has a hand in the goings on. But are you really aware of how male ejaculation happens? As you know, in men the purpose of ejaculation (besides for money shots in porn) is to squirt out sperm — which is made in the testicles. Inside your scrotum (that handy little sack), each testicle contains coils called seminiferous tubules. Assuming you are healthy, the cells in these tubes make sperm constantly, from the point that you hit puberty onwards. Newly created sperm travel into the epididymis where they mature and are stored
— it’s like sperm school, where they gain the ability to swim and fertilize an egg. Once they are mature, the sperm hang out in the back of the epididymis until the body is ready to ejaculate. You might think that in a busy guy, things could get pretty backed up in there as more and more sperm are made every day. Thankfully, men don’t have to worry about having sperm backed up in their epididymis — if the sperm is not used, after a few weeks it will be reabsorbed by the body or it will be expelled by night-time emissions (read: wet dreams). When it’s time to ejaculate, the sperm are packed together tightly at the back of the epididymis. They don’t have to swim their way out either — the sperm move out of the epididymis and along the vas deferens towards the urethra via peristaltic muscle contractions (that’s the same rhythmic, forward moving muscle contractions that happen when you swallow — it’s like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube by squeezing one finger at a time from the back to the front). In the vas deferens (a tube which connects to the urethra), other fluids are added to the mix from the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland. Sperm makes up only 3.5 per cent of the stuff that is in your semen, the seminal vesicles contribute a sweet 60 per cent, and the prostate a citrus-y 11.5 per cent.
Feeling a little bit fruity
The prostate also contains smooth muscles which contract rhythmically to shoot that semen out of your penis and onto/into whatever you have “handy.” For many years it was thought that only men were capable of ejaculation. Female ejaculation was dismissed as a myth and many of the women who could do it ended up having surgery and/or therapy in an attempt to “fix” it because people thought that it was urine. But, in 1980, the medical community was finally made aware of this phenomenon when John Perry and Beverly Whipple showed a film to the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex. The professionals at this showing saw a female being stimulated by her partner until her urethra began to swell (on a woman it’s located between the vaginal opening and the clitoris). And after a few moments, milky fluid shot out! When the fluid was examined, it turned out that it wasn’t urine at all but actually was pretty similar to prostate fluid which is in men’s ejaculate. It’s actually impossible to pee while you orgasm. The pubococcygeus muscle contracts to stop the flow of urine when you are peeing, and this is the same muscle that contracts when you orgasm. This muscle contracts to keep you from emptying your bladder when you orgasm and prevents retrograde ejaculation (ejaculating back into the bladder).
Ingredients
The mangoes stared at me as if presenting a challenge: “Make me into something good!” they cried. Yes, packages now speak to me — but that wasn’t my main concern; my problem was actually two-fold: the first being a desire to make “summertime-esque” bread and the second being to use up my leftover mangoes. Mangoes + bread = my salivatingly good Mango Coconut-Essence Bread! Bread and my oven don’t like one another; they haven’t learned to get along. Consequently, the following results have occurred in the past: gooey and raw… overdone and dry… none of the aforementioned descriptions are desirable for bread’s texture and taste. Good bread should have a light brown crust on the outside, be firm when sliced, and contain a moist crumb for its interior. Luckily for me, the oven and I get along, so a word of advice: the oven temperature I provide in this recipe may not be hot enough (or may be too hot) for making this bread. Simply put, take heed and watch the time as well as the bread for doneness (I had to take mine out several times to check on whether the interior was fully baked or not). I used Europe’s Best Sunburst Mangoes (at Sobey’s for under $5, but I’m pretty sure you can find them at any other grocer). If you have fresh mangoes, just make sure there’s enough to amount to 600g or 21oz. To begin Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x5cm loaf pan.
Method 1. Puree the mangoes in a food processor (if tiny chunks remain, that’s okay), and put them in a measuring cup. Keep the juices which should amount to a little more than 2 cups. Set aside. 2. In a large bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs, oil, and sugar into a thick, pale yellow mix. Add the coconut essence. 3. Sift the flour, soda powder, and salt together. If you don’t have a fine mesh sieve, a good substitute and time saver I perform is to dump all the dry ingredients together and give a thorough mix with a wire whisk. 4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until moistened. Try not to over mix. 5. Put mixed ingredients into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days. After that, store in the fridge. tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
ssparling@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Five easy ways to lose a friend
Mango Coconut Essence Bread
1 600g/ 21oz package of mangoes, thawed 2 eggs, lightly beaten 3 tbsp oil (I used sunflower) 1 cup granulated sugar 2 1/2 tsp coconut essence (if you don’t have the essence or extract, substitute by mixing in 1 cup of shredded coconut with the dry ingredients) 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour, sifted 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt
The female ejaculatory fluid is usually clear or milky and doesn’t have the look, smell or taste of urine. It’s as thin as water and in terms of taste, which varies with multiple factors like diet; it can taste sweet, sour, bitter or any combination of these. Some researchers believe that the fluid is produced by the Skene’s gland (located in the G-spot) which is thought to be the female equivalent of the male prostate gland. But thus far, much of the research on female ejaculation does not give any serious data about the origin or composition of the fluid expelled. It has been estimated that 10 per cent of women do ejaculate during sex, but all women may be capable of ejaculation. It is possible that not all women have experienced ejaculation because, for female ejaculation to occur, certain psychological, emotional, and physical conditions must be met, and this can represent a significant inhibiting factor if one or more area is neglected. It has been found that female Tantra practitioners experience ejaculation most frequently because the prolonged and uninhibited nature of tantric sex helps these women to attain the conditions required. Ejaculation is wonderful; thank goodness men and women can both do it.
Nothing is quite as rewarding as a friendship. Friendships are governed by their own set of rules. Usually, these rules are far more forgiving than the rules we put on romantic relationships or casual acquaintances. For instance, it’s quite possible for friends not to see one another for quite some time and pick up exactly where they left off. Even though absence can make the heart grow fonder, I find when couples are separated, it tends to be more a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” So even though it’s much harder to lose a friend than a lover, I’m sure everyone has at least one friend in their life who they’d rather not run into. Here, for your bemusement, rebuttal and peace of mind, is a list of five warnings of things never to do to someone you like to call a friend. Number One: It is a definite no-no, no matter how forgiving you consider your friend, to date their sibling or ex without their express permission. I’d even go so far as to recommend getting said permission in writing. And even then, you’d better be damn careful. Number Two: Never get between the above mentioned people. Getting in the middle of a fight with family or with a boyfriend/girlfriend will almost always lead to resentment that is difficult to overcome without a lot of work and patience. Number Three: a) If you know that your friend is applying for a job, no matter how qualified you think you are for the position, don’t apply for it as well. This goes double for coveted
co-op jobs. This only really applies if the person is hoping for that job, thinks they’re perfect for the job or they are in dire straits and really need the work. Odds are they won’t be able to see past the long term and will probably hold any future occupational grudges against you. This also applies for promotions. b) For many the same reasons, but with more emotional collateral, avoid at all costs liking the same person as your friend. An instant friend killer is when two guys or two girls like the same people. The one who ends up dating the person will always feel threatened by the friend’s presence and the one who doesn’t date them will always resent the other. Or, you’ll both end up making complete fools of yourselves and neither of you will get to date the person. You’ll both hold a grudge and probably never date again. Number Four: Respect their privacy. Just because you are their best friend, this does not mean that you have the right to know everything and anything you want about them. Realize that as close as you may be, they have a life outside of you and that needs to be kept separate. This also goes for things like disclosure of marks and, especially, financial information. Number Five: Respect the cooling off period. Everyone fights. No two people get along one hundred per cent of the time. If and when you do fight, don’t push things. Give the other person a day or two to cool down so that you don’t throw gasoline on the fire. Sometimes, all that’s needed is a little perspective. It probably won’t hurt you to get perspective either. While it’s true that any good friendship should be able to overcome any and all of the above, these warnings are for your benefit. Don’t try to test your friendship by delving into these infested waters. I warn you now, it’s never worth it. janstett@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Arts Imprint
Friday, june 2, 2006
arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Arts Editor: Margaret Clark
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Miniatures making it in the big world CD release concert at Starlight celebrates the band’s old, local roots while rocking into new, international ones Margaret Clark imprint staff
In the thick of King Street, nestled up inside Starlight Lounge, even existing stars are sometimes reborn. Consider the case of Saturday May 27, when four unassuming musicians took up their instruments in celebration of their newest CD release, Dead Flowers. A good look at the guy on keyboard and backup guitar reveals Kevin Hundt, looking as if born into his rock stance. And the laid-back drummer who’s seen the band through all its incarnations? Say hello to Nick Skalkos. Then of course there’s Ryan Allen, the bassist integral in the band’s Brit-savvy bass-drum groove. Oh, and let’s not forget Ian Smith — lead singer, songwriter and guitarist. But then, who could? After all, they’re The Miniatures. “I think we started seeing ourselves as a real band when Ryan joined us, some five — no, six years back,” said Smith. “That’s about when we realised we definitely wanted to take it to the next level.” And they did, with their 2004 album, Coma Kid, taking them beyond the local following that erupted after their self-titled release in 2000. Coma Kid caused the whole country to pay attention to this Canadian band with a fresh take on Brit pop-rock, with hits like “Dragonfly,” “Detached Screenwriter” and of course “Coma Kid” itself. “We’ve really focused in recent years,” Smith added. “We’ve grown up. We’ve grown up with our instruments and our music, really honing in on our craft and especially the bass/drum sound. We don’t see a lot of that explored in Canada.” And indeed, in search of the perfect sound, The Miniatures have in recent years turned extensively to England — its culture, its rock history and its present musical scene — for inspiration more in keeping with the band’s goals of producing work that documents “a time and
Courtesy of Key Music Group
The Miniatures come of age with their newest CD release, Dead Flowers. an era — a whole vibe, really” and great records they can enjoy years down the road. “England’s outside of the comfort zone, which really gives you a new perspective on things. And playing in clubs where everyone from the Rolling Stones to Paul McCartney to The Verve have played — it’s an incredible experience.” But The Miniatures also remember their roots, back when they used to sneak into The Volcano, Kitchener’s choicest rock club in the early ’90s, and learn from regional bands like 13 Engines and King Cob Stealey.
No matter how high they soar — and with their most recent CD greatly anticipated in England and Japan later this year, that’s pretty high — their moxy is still modesty, as their name itself, fashioned by a friend in high school, is meant to represent. With modesty, however, still comes a great deal of hard work. Smith said of his songwriting, “It’s got to be an emotional thing, and I find it pretty easy to translate the way I feel,” but even his comfort level with the language doesn’t make for instant tracks. “We had 50 songs going into this record, and with the last one we went in with 80. The
“This record is the dark side of something beautiful.”
— Nick Skalkos Drummer, The Miniatures
hard part is figuring out which songs work best together, so there’s a lot of stuff we’re really proud of that just didn’t make it into Dead Flowers. It’s all about finding the perfect fit, and the songs we chose should reflect that.” Dead Flowers, in stores as of May 18, is an especially exciting accomplishment for the band, which sees the album as a real coming-of-age piece. “What sets us apart from a lot of bands is that we write sincerely and from the soul. It’s all about singles these days, especially with online music stores, but we’re big on making the pieces all fit together, with songs that say something more as a whole than they do apart,” drummer Skalkos explained. “This record is the dark side of something beautiful.” When asked if there are any songs he’s especially proud of, Smith pointed to “A Life I Had In Mind” on the most recent album, and “Stung by the Motherbee,” which is available on the band’s website, www.theminiatures.com. “‘A Life I Had In Mind’ really captured a moment for me in England,” he explained. “It just really summed up the whole feeling of travelling and being exposed to this great other culture.” Smith added that direct exposure to Brit bands like The Kinks, Razorlight and Arctic Monkeys especially made the experience successful and inspiring. So inspiring, in fact, that after a few more stops in southwestern Ontario, The Miniatures will be heading West and then, with their European release, off the continent again, picking up new sounds and fresh perspectives while offering up a few of their own. So if you missed The Miniatures at Starlight, you might want to stop by Hamilton for their June 8 show at The Underground or drop into Toronto on June 9 to see them at The Horseshoe. Because after that — for a while, at least — The Miniatures are going to need more room to grow. mclark@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
June 2 Ctrl A Anime Showing — AL 116 $8 for entire term — 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
June 5 Engineers Without Borders presents Deepa Mehta’s “Water” P.O.E.T.S — 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
June 2 Downtown Urban Design Event — The Walper Terrace Hotel Free Admission — 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
June 8 Theatre On The Edge — Waterloo Community Arts Centre $ 5 Admission
June 3 Ctrl A Anime Showing — AL 116 $8 for entire term — 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.
June 10 South Asian Cooking Show — Kitchener Farmers’ Market 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 10 Summerfest 1 Wild West — Fed Hall $8 includes Ticket for Summerfest 2 — Doors open at 8 p.m.
June 3 Downton Urban Design Event — The Walper Terrace Hotel Free Admission — 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 3 “Knight to Remember Tournament” — CIF Main Gym $6 UW Badminton Club members, $12 non-members 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. — Email uwbadminton@gmail.com June 4 Olena Kluycharova on Piano — KWCMS Music Room $8 for Students, $15 others — Doors open 7:15 p.m. Tickets at UW Box Office or at Door
Ammar Naseer imprint staff Graphic by John Toal
June 11 Waddlefest Community Concert — Knollwood Park, Kitchener 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 15 Songwriter’s Circle — Centre in the Square — $ 29 — 8 p.m. June 15 Theatre On The Edge — Waterloo Community Arts Centre
arts
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FRIDAY, june 2, 2006
Hunting down old and rare books On the trail of that elusive, must-have text Steven R. McEvoy imprint staff
Hunting for used and out-of-print books can be frustrating and discouraging. This is especially true if you need it for that all-important essay. Here is a guide to some of the better resources to help you achieve your end. Your professor has mentioned a book in an offhand way three or four times, and you want to score some bonus points in your next essay by quoting from his “pet” book. You go to the library, but their copy is listed as missing. You try to interlibrary loan it only to find out no one else has a copy. So you decide to search online for it. Well here’s the short list of sites to check and the order in which you might want to check them. First, if money is not an issue to you, you can check both Chapters (www.chapters. indigo.ca) and Amazon (www.amazon.com) to see if they have them new. (They also have some used resellers; you might luck out!) This is the obvious recourse for most students, but not always the best. Now if you don’t have luck there, you can move on. Abebooks (http://dogbert.abebooks.com) is a website run out of Vancouver. It is a search engine that checks thousands and thousands of online bookstores. This is the premier used retailer online. They have
been around for 10 years and give excellent service. If that still fails, there are a few more options. You can try eBay’s book and media section (books.half.ebay.com), where there are a variety of ways to search: author, title, ISBN. If that doesn’t work, don’t give up you may still yet find it. Two academic used and out-of-print search engines are Loome (www.loomebooks.com) and Alibris (www. alibris.com). Both specialize in textbooks and arts books. If, after all that, you still cannot find the book, you can check to see if an electronic version of it available at Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org). There are literally thousands of free e-books available on this site. Above all, the best advice I can give you is to recommend that you be persistent. Recently I found an out-of-print book that has been out of print since the late ’50s. I had been looking for it for years but it was always too expensive. Then it showed up on Abebooks for only $4 from a used bookstore in Edmonton. I received it in KW for under $10 with shipping. So don’t give up! Hopefully these tips will help you find those elusive books, and get the bonus marks on that paper. smcevoy@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Philip K. Dick A Scanner Darkly
Andre Norton Three Hands for Scorpio
Vintage Books
Tor Books
The world is full of pesky questions: What is reality? What is consciousness? How well do we know ourselves? Are there really aphids in your hair? And can you really extract cocaine from sunburn spray? A Scanner Darkly will have you asking all of them. (My mom says no about the cocaine.) Set in the near future, the novel follows Fred, an undercover narcotics agent, as he reports to his superiors about Bob Arctor, a suspected dealer of an addictive drug called Substance D. There’s only one problem: Fred is Bob Arctor. As the drugs Bob takes begin to divide his brain into two separate halves, Fred starts forgetting that he’s reporting and spying on himself. His two sides are soon in direct opposition, and both are getting weirder and weirder. The mental effects of Substance D are used to discuss reality and identity, as Bob/Fred learns that he is seeing himself and the world backwards, each half reflected back on the other. The narration switches between Bob and Fred, giving an understanding of his/their addiction and increasing mental confusion. His thoughts become interrupted with German poetry, and both halves of his brain become increasingly paranoid about the other. And the characters around Bob/Fred aren’t much better in the sanity deparment. Friend Jerry, for instance, has a paralysing fear of death by aphids, and the unwavering conviction he’s covered by them. Then there’s Barris, drug-induced inventor extraordinaire, who has discovered a way to construct a home-made silencer for under a dollar, and Donna, who slips easily from scheme to hare-brained, Coca Cola-stealing scheme. Dick’s intimate familiarity with sixties drug culture makes the novel and characters believable and avoids any harsh moral judgments. Many of the characters in this book are inspired by real life drug-friends, most of whom either died or are still coping with the after-effects of their more extreme drug-related exploits. Bob and his friends are just regular guys, stumbling along through their lives and slowly driving themselves and each other crazy. It’s a train wreck of human psychology, but such a horribly fascinating one that you can’t look away. All in all, A Scanner Darkly is smart science fiction, with an emphasis on the human condition in the not-so-distant future that ultimately also makes some telling remarks about the world of today.
Andre Norton is one of those fantasy authors who has been around forever. With over 150 books under her belt, it’s no wonder why the cover of her new book, Three Hands for Scorpio, touts her as “The Grand Dame of Fantasy.” That’s one of the reasons I found this book a disappointment. The premise is simple: three sisters, triplets, born with hereditary magical abilities, are kidnapped from their castle home and abandoned in an underground realm known only as “the dismals.” With the help of a mysterious companion, they must find their way out, while at the same time discovering dire secrets and plots that threaten the kingdom above-ground. Sounds like a pretty good plot, right? There’s just one problem: Norton chose to write the novel in a diary style. This creates two difficulties — a scattered viewpoint that is difficult for the reader and a style of dialogue and narrative that, because the author chose to make it so bizarrely archaic, is not easy for a modern reader to penetrate. The style of writing comes across as superfluous and odd, assuming it was meant to bring a sense of realism and immediacy to the reader. Immediacy it does achieve — curiosity over how events would play out is the only reason I finished the book — but realism is a somewhat ridiculous proposition when characters are being attacked by giant bugs and fighting them off with blue fire that blossoms from their fingers. The sisters themselves are another problem. Norton attempts to distinguish one from another by giving them different abilities: one is good at fighting, the other healing, and the other sister… well, I can’t remember, which just goes to show you how effective the characterisation was. The groundwork is there, but it doesn’t quite work. The sisters’ voices are just too similar and I found it difficult to remember who the narrator of a particular passage was supposed to be… or why it even mattered. The plot, though intriguing, was sometimes difficult to follow, but not tricky enough to keep me from reading the whole thing. Having read other books of Norton’s, however, I will venture to say that this one does not rank among the best she’s ever done. And considering she’s written hundreds, I’m not sure it even makes the top 50.
— Shivaun Hoad
— Claire Mousseau
arts
FRIDAY, june 2, 2006
Road a compelling tale of difficult returns from WWI
Joseph Boyden Three Day Road Penguin CA
You may have heard of Three Day Road through either the CBC’s Canada Reads program or through the Region of Waterloo’s One Book One Community program. Sadly, the book got the short shrift from the panelist on the CBC but it was thankfully exonerated by the listening audience who overwhelmingly chose it as their pick. After reading the book myself, I’m inclined to agree with the audience over the panelists: this book is excellent. As time passes, the stories of the past fade from our collective consciousness. Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road revisits the First World War and the unique perspective of two Cree snipers from Moose Factory. The two boys exuberantly head for the battlefields, hoping that the war will
not end before they get there. The story begins with the return of one of them, Xavier Bird, troubled by his experiences and having left his leg and his best friend Elijah Whiskeyjack on the battlefield in the final days of the war. Xavier is met by his one remaining relative, Niska, an Ojibwa-Cree medicine woman for the journey back into the wilderness. The title of the book comes from the three day road that a native warrior’s spirit is believed to take after death, and guided by a spirit along the way. Coincidentally, Niska and Xavier must take three day canoe trip from Moose Factory to return to Niska’s encampment. Boyden has combined multiple narratives so deftly that the reader slips seamlessly from one to the other and back again as the story progresses. The reader is alternately with Xavier and Niska, either in the past or in the present. The effect is a compelling story that the reader cannot put down. Three Day Road reawakens two lost storylines for the reader: First, with less than a handful of First World War veterans alive, few can imagine the horrors that they went through. I feel that Boyden has done an excellent job of recreating the horrors of the battlefield. Second, the Ojibwa-Cree mysticism is an integral part of the narrative, both on the battlefield and in the wilds of Ontario. Though I am no expert, Boyden’s vivid descriptions lets the reader see what has otherwise fallen to the wayside. Expect to see more of Three Day Road, as it was also picked to be a part of Waterloo Region’s One Book, One Community program. — Neal Moogk-Soulis
Steven Page shows up on campus
Darcy Higgins
While the campus lay quiet, Barenaked Ladies played an exclusive concert at Fed Hall for Sandvine employees May 31.
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Galactica takes sci-fi to new extremes
Battlestar Galactica Season 2.0 Michael Rymer Universal DVD
I think this is the best show on TV right now — maybe the best sci-fi show ever. If you are a sci-fi fan, this is a must-see show; if not, you should still consider checking this out. Yes, it is set in space and, yes, it has killer robots. Yet even with
these stereotypical elements, the depth of human drama in Battlestar Galactica is comparable to anything on TV today. Last season, the 12 colonies of Kobol were nearly blown away by the Cylons, which are machines that either resemble humans or the old warrior models. The humans almost ran out of water and fuel, yet somehow managed to survive. This ragtag group of human refugees is in search of a 13th lost tribe of humans on a planet called Earth. Things this season started out badly, for the survivors, and they only get worse. Both of the leaders of the human fleet are incapacitated at the beginning of the second season. President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell) is in Galactica’s brig for inciting Lt. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Katee Sackhoff) to a mutiny that caused the loss of a captured Cylon Raider, which was a valuable military asset. Commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) was shot by “Boomer” (Grace Park), a Cylon. The second season picks up right where the first season left off;
however, unlike most TV shows, the problems presented in the season one finale are not resolved in the first episode. Some problems will take the whole first part of the second season to be resolved. As we learned in season one, there are twelve models of Cylons. The question then becomes: was Raider’s Warrior one of those twelve, or are there twelve models that resemble humans? We do have the introduction of a couple new human-form Cylon models (bringing the total to six the cast knows and eight we do, and leaving six and four left to be uncovered). Political activist/terrorist Tom Zarek (Richard Hatch, of the original Battlestar Galactica) also makes a reappearance. A unique feature this season — and one that is a most interesting addition — is a textual representation of how many people are still alive. Each week in the credits, there is a sentence that lists the exact number of human survivors, and this number changes every week depending on how many people died (or, in the rare case, were born
or rescued) during the previous episode. In comparison to season one, it is hard to say which season is better. The thirteen episodes of season one were all great. In the first half of season two there are also no bad episodes. Battlestar Galactica season two has powerful episodes as “Pegasus” and “Scattered.” Yet the best episode of the 2.0 DVD (half the season) is “Valley of Darkness,” which in my opinion is sheer brilliance and possibly the best episode of the series. This is one of the best shows on TV right now, according to many media outlets. “A Breakaway Hit!” (TV Guide) and “The Best Show on Television” (Newsday) are but two examples of the rave reviews it has received. Anyway, for those who haven’t seen this show but like a good character drama, be sure to check out this show on DVD. I believe it’s even better on DVD. Much like Babylon 5, there is a single story line with multiple story arcs all tying into that one line. So there is continuity between each episode
... and unlike Star Trek, they don’t hit the reset button between each episode or movie. What’s damaged on a ship in one episode stays damaged in following episodes, as the first season takes place over a mere three-month period. I recognize that this is a compelling drama that just happens to take place in outer space. It deals with many weighty subjects such as genocide, human flaws, paranoia, depression and religion. The creators of the original 1970s Battlestar Galactica included many Mormons. On the Internet there are hundreds of articles looking at the religious imagery, the Mormon end-time theology. The religious themes are just as powerful in this new series and this series has practising religious characters (clergy — faithful believers), visions, a drug to induce religious visions and a president who believes she is to fulfill a prophecy and save humanity. This is possibly the best sci-fi series ever! So say we all. — Steven R. McEvoy
This mixtape will totally rock you Simon Yarrow imprint staff
First off, thanks for the positive response to the rather unusual style of my last “mixtape” article. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime. This week, however, myself and the powers that be have decided to go back to a more traditional mixtape format. So, this week we’re going back to the essentials — the classic freakin’ rock essentials! Hellz yeah! April Wine — “You Could Have Been a Lady” This song is a perfect way to kick off a good classic rock mix because it’s upbeat, fun and catchy, and also because the beginning of the song fades in. I find the fade-in gives the whole mixtape a nice “already in
progress” feel, seamlessly introducing uplifting old-school rock to liven up your day. This is also Can-con (Canadian content) music, if that matters to you. Chicago Transit Authority — “25 or 6 to 4” Before Chicago were known as Chicago, they were known as Chicago Transit Authority (for all of one album). Before you ask me who Chicago are, look them up. Before you make a rash generalization like “any rock song with horns in it is lame,” listen to this awesome, fun, what-the-hell-does-the-chorusmean track. Five Man Electrical Band — “Signs” Huzzah! More Can-con! The sense of liberality and fun in this song is contagious, as it combines a dirty groove with
a pseudo-political message and choral accompaniment on the chorus. Weird? Not really — it’s just darn catchy and a whole lot of awesome. The Yardbirds — “Heart Full of Soul” Sorry, no Eric Clapton here, but Jeff Beck turns in a virtuoso guitar performance in one of the most enduring hits by this seminal ‘60s band. I can’t help but sing along when I hear this tune — and of course it’s even better with a friend on hand to sing the fantastic accompaniment on the chorus. Them — “Gloria” Speaking of legends in the making, a fellow by the name of Van Morrison first made it big with this short-lived ‘60s British band. The band’s biggest hit, of course, was this short and quirky number about a girlfriend named Gloria. G-L-O-R-I-A! The Byrds — “Mr. Tambourine Man” Let’s stick with short, quirky songs by legendary ’60s British bands for a moment, shall we? I’ve heard that psychedelic drugs might help make the lyrics of this song comprehensible, but you certainly don’t need any of that to enjoy the sweet, easy music. The Kinks — “All Day and All of the Night” Kicking it up a notch, this unforgettable track from the masters of garage rock is as fun, as dirty, and as rockin’ as ever. Buy speakers that go up to 11 for this one. The Beatles — “Day Tripper” Since our mixtape already owes so much to the British invasion, we might as well go all-out and include a light and addictive Beatles hit. Love that tambourine! The Rolling Stones — “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” As above, just replace the word “Beatles” with “Rolling Stones.” It’s all right now, these all-star tracks are jumpin’ our mixtape from the excellent to the downright sublime. Kinda makes you wish you had a ‘60s convertible and a tie-dye shirt
to really get the most out of this retro trip, doesn’t it? Or maybe a Volkswagen van? Norman Greenbaum — “Spirit in the Sky” With a legendary dirty, fuzzy guitar riff that anyone can recognize in an instant (whether or not they can name that tune), this one-hit wonder is a must. This is a great cruisin’ track. Creedence Clearwater Revival — “Travelin’ Band” When you’re done cruisin’, head out onto the highway to match the pace of this short, sweet, all-out rocker from the boys in CCR. It sounds like their touring schedule is hectic, but oh man, it also sounds like a blast. ZZ Top — “Tush” Now we’re keeping it short, sweet and upbeat, but adding
downright raunchy to the mix. Like so many excellent blues artists, ZZ Top doesn’t skip out on the innuendo in this one (or the downright explicit, as in “Lord take me downtown — I’m just lookin’ for some tush!”). The Doors — “Light My Fire” Basking in the afterglow of the last song, consider this Doors classic your post-sex cigarette. Actually, it sounds like Morrison and the band had more than just nicotine in the cigarette, but that’s their business. Time to mellow out, man, and just be. Jefferson Airplane — “Somebody to Love” Yes, some parts of this mixtape actu-
ally make chronological sense. After the British Invasion, groups like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane took rock somewhere new, strange and beautiful. This is psychedelia at its finest, and baby it’s one hell of a trip. Foghat — “Slow Ride” OK, it’s time to snap out of your music-induced stupor, or whatever you want to call it. Anyone who knows this song knows that there’s gotta be some irony in the opening lyrics: “slow ride — take it easy” never really describes the song, because right from the get-go its licks and drums are just too hard, too driving. Rather, like ZZ Top, Foghat takes us back in the sack, pumping on with a catchy groove, through a quiet-ish period, until the extended climax begins around the six-minute mark. This is hard, sexy, classic rock at its best. Whatever that means. The Who — “Won’t Get Fooled Again” The great and glorious last track from Pete Townshend’s piece de resistance, the Who album Who’s Next, this track is one of my all-time faves. It’s instrumentally innovative, lyrically meaningful and downright scrumptrilescent. Jefferson Airplane — “White Rabbit” I threw this in because it’s fun to be mildly sadistic while making a mixtape. The last track was, of course, a great way to end the mix, but it was just a tease. You’re reeled back into the mixtape by this nicely creepy bit of psychedelic gold. Grace Slick owns you. Feed your head! Feed your head! Traffic — “Dear Mr. Fantasy” Now this is how you end a mixtape. Somehow this song just has “the movie is over” written all over it; once you hear it you’ll know exactly what I mean. This is the part where you ride off into the sunset to the dulcet tones of Steve Winwood’s guitar. Yes, the tape is over, but peace and love, dudes and dudettes, because classic rock lives on! syarrow@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
S cience Celebrating the science of small Friday, june 2, 2006
Imprint
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science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Science Editor: Azadeh Samadi
Cheng Seong Khor special to imprint
The campus community filled the Arts Lecture Hall room 116 on the leisurely Friday afternoon of May 19 as arts and cutting-edge science came together to host Prof. Dr. John C. Polanyi, revered winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, during the one-day event of 2006 Ontario Nano Symposium. Dr. Polanyi told the audience about his lifetime’s work on chemical reaction dynamics that is poised to relive Johann Guttenberg’s 16th century revolutionary feat of the printing press at a molecular level. Coining the term “nanoscale printing press,” Dr. Polanyi’s research strives to potentially print electronic circuits molecule by molecule, a milestone heralded to spearhead the next drive towards miniaturization. Earlier on, five equally stimulating presentations kicked off the event. Prof. John S. Preston of McMaster University, host of the symposium’s previous edition, was given the honour to do so again, while promoting his institution’s research into functional nanomaterials concerning new properties acquired by bulk materials when reduced to nanoscale dimensions which possesses remarkable potential for applications. This was followed by Dr. Jim Webb of the Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (SIMS) at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) who advocated the drive for advancing nanotechnology in interdisciplinary research, focusing on the development of novel molecular materials, processes and technologies that are bound to positively impact health, environment and energy management. The third speaker, Prof. Gehan Amaratunga, specially flown in from the University of Cambridge, UK, elucidated research on nanoelectronics that has witnessed the emergence of carbon nanotubes and nanowire transistors and switching devices, coupled with recent works on
Azadeh Samadi
Dr. John C. Polanyi, the winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in chemistry, presents at the 2006 Ontario Nano Symposium. electromechanical devices that could potentially form the basis of future memory cells in many of today’s ubiquitous electronic devices. Next, Dr. Jason Pitters of the National Institute of Nanotechnology of NRC kept up the momentum by sharing his optimism about simulating the behaviour of individual molecules. This he hoped to accomplish through leveraging on the powerful and versatile properties of silicon by fabricating primarily hybrid structures of molecular devices on silicon’s surface. A series of three short talks preceded the event-ending panel discussion with Prof. Peter Grutter, scientific director of the NSERC
The science behind running shoes Lea Chambers special to imprint
Cushioning has long been thought to be the answer to avoiding injuries related to running. It has been recently suggested by Benno Nigg — one of the world’s leading experts in the field of bio-mechanics and a kinesiologist at the University of Calgary — that impact and injury are not as heavily related as we think. Instead, it could be that vibrations in the muscles cause injury. Benno Nigg serves on the editorial boards of many professional publications, including the Journal of Biomechanics, and is well-known for designing soccer star David Beckham’s shoes. “The impact of running creates vibration in the soft tissue that resonates close to the body’s own frequencies,” said Nigg in the Journal of Biomechanics. Muscles then try to dampen the vibrations by tensing. This action uses energy which may increase the likelihood of fatigue-related injuries. A running shoe itself can be looked at piece by piece. The “outsole” is the treaded layer on the under-surface of the shoe, usually made from carbon rubber. It resists wear and provides traction and may also have a studded or waffle design to enhance traction on softer surfaces. The “upper” wraps around and over the top of the foot. It may be made of leather or a synthetic material that is light and breathable. The tongue is padded to cushion the top of the foot against the pressure from the laces. The “mid sole” is the cushioning and stability layer between the upper and the outsole. The
mid sole is made of materials such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyurethane (PU) or a combination of the two. Proprietary technologies have been developed by different manufacturers for the mid soles of running shoes like air, gel and high-tech plastics materials. To minimize vibrations in the body, the mid sole is a likely target for change in the near future. Design of the mid sole and the materials it is made of could potentially be manipulated to lower the degree to which the body’s muscles must dampen vibrations. With such a diverse group of feet out there, manufacturers of running shoes have their work cut out for them. The foot is the first part of your body to absorb the impacts of running. Manufacturers and researchers are still studying the impacts of running, trying to figure out how to offer the best shoe for each foot. A running shoe must do many things. It must provide flexibility, durability, cushioning, support — things that seem to almost contradict each other. To simplify the task of designing a running shoe, manufacturers have categorized feet into three main types the normal foot, the flat foot , and the high-arched foot. Each type of foot has different needs from a shoe. Running shoe manufacturers have many online resources these days to help guide their consumers to find shoes with the right technologies for their feet. Complementary to this, a foot specialist will be able to give you an educated assessment of your foot type and recommend running shoes specific to your needs. So in the future, keep an eye out for vibration-minimizing shoes. And until that day, we can stick with the old adage; “If the shoe fits, wear it.”
Nano Innovation Platform expounding the state of nanotechnology and the overall field of nanoscience in Canada. Certainly not one to be left behind, Neil Gordon of the Canadian NanoBusiness Alliance represented the voice of the industry in advocating as well as envisioning the multitude of business opportunities afforded by a nationwide nanotechnology initiative. The optimism was somewhat curtailed with apprehensive thoughts by Dr. Fabio Salamanca-Buentello of the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health who revealed the intricacies of ethics in the relentless drive of exploiting nanotechnology.
A lively panel discussion punctuated with occasional banter between the UW’s own champions of nanotechnology, Prof. Vassili Karanassios, Prof. Tong Leung and Professor Arokia Nathan, drew a curtain over the symposium with the participation of all the earlier presenters. The session unanimously acknowledged the far-reaching significance of pursuing nanoscience within legal and ethical bounds. Finally, the organizing committee of the event, particularly the co-chairs, Flora M. Li and Mohammad Reza Esmaeili Rad were greatly deserving of praise for the successful organization of the event.
Your shoes talk to your iPod Nano
Claire mousseau
Azadeh Samadi imprint staff
Apple and Nike have teamed up to offer a sensor for Nike’s Air Zoom Moire shoes that enable wireless connectivity with an iPod nano. According to to www.nikeplus.com, the products will be available July 13. The move comes as the world’s largest athletic shoe company looks to sharpen its focus on core categories, such as running, and broaden the appeal of its footwear and apparel products to music-loving consumers. Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France bicycling champion who is training for his first New York City Marathon, announced Nike’s plans to revolutionize the way people run.“If you can incorporate time, distance and calories burned together and make it function for both the fitness runner and the high-level athlete, it
will take working out to a whole other level,” Armstrong said in a statement. The Air Zoom Moire lists for $100 and the Nike plus iPod Sport Kit lists for $29. Nike’s website has an area that appears to let kit owners upload their run data, track their progress, and compare it with up to 50 people in a challenge section. “Information on time, distance, calories burned and pace is stored on the iPod and displayed on the screen,” according to a statement released by Apple. This information is also reported via iPod users’ headphones as they run. Mark Parker, Nike’s chief executive, said the battery would last between 800 and 1,000 hours — well beyond the life of a shoe — and the companies would look to extend that. Nike CEO Mark Parker declares that “Nike+iPod creates a better running experience.” asamadi@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Plagued by acne? Not anymore Azadeh Samadi imprint staff
The gel extracted from the inside of aloe vera leaves is a cost effective, natural way to treat a variety of summer ailments. It can be used topically for the treatment of sunburn, first and second degree burns, skin irritations or inflammation, mosquito bites and rashes from poisonous plants. Aloe vera also has some important medici-
nal qualities that are very effective in the treatment of acne. Aloe vera is a stemless perennial evergreen plant belonging to the lily family. It is thought to have originated from northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Today it is widely cultivated in southern Texas, Mexico and coastal Venezuela. The plant has about 15 to 20 succulent leaves growing in an upright dense rosette. The lanceolate
shaped, gray greenish leaves contain irregular white marks. The leaves are thick and fleshy and measure about 15 to 20 inches in length. The leaf margins contain a row of pale teeth that are about one tenth of an inch long. It’s a good idea to keep a potted aloe in your kitchen. Slice open a leaf and apply the gel to the affected area. While fresh aloe gel is known to be effective for the treatment of
Azadeh Samadi imprint staff
Apple Computer’s iPod Nano Apple Computer’s latest marketing campaign for the pencil-thin iPod Nano may be the event that amuses people nowadays. But does this device represent nanotechnology? The answer is “yes.” Inside the iPod Nano are memory chips from Samsung and Toshiba. Samsung, the biggest producer of NAND and DRAM flash memory chips in the world, uses semiconductor manufacturing methods with precision below 100 nanometers. This precision, in part, is what allows the iPod Nano’s NAND flash memory. NanoOil A healthier version of canola oil has been created by NutraLease, an Israeli startup, using 30 nanometer capsules. Because of their small size, the capsules can go through tissues for better bio-delivery of nutrients. Another Israeli company, Shemen Industries, is using the process to create Canola Active, a brand of cooking oil infused with plant phytosterols that slows down the absorption of cholesterol in the blood and decreases the risk of heart disease. NutraLease’s nanoscale structures form a liquid carrier that improves absorption of phytochemicals and lowers LDL cholesterol are estimated to be 14 per cent. Nano gum Cocoa butter has never been compatible with the polymers that give gum its elasticity. In fact, the fats found in chocolate will cause chewing gum to fall apart. Chicago-based O’Lala’s solution is to use nanoscale crystals, modifying surface morphology and giving its gum a creamier texture and chocolate flavor. Choco’la gum is commercially available in suburban supermarkets north of Chicago at specialty chocolate stores and also they can be purchased on the website. A pack of 12 pieces will cost you about $1.25. A nanotech facial cream Zelen Fullerene C-60 Day Cream, as the name implies, incorporates nanoscale Fullerene C-60, a derivative of the late Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley’s buckminsterfullerene carbon. It turns out that the material has remarkable antioxidant properties. Zelens claims its newly released day cream is the first to harness the power of Fullerene C-60 carbon for cosmetics applications. That helps to explain why the product is $250.
FRIDAY, june 2, 2006
minor skin ailments, there is doubt regarding the effectiveness of some aloe vera creams and ointments. The different commercially processed aloe products are known to have various ingredients. Much of the aloe gel on the market has been reconstituted from a powder or occurs as a stabilized extract. There is concern regarding the activity of some of these commercial products. Little is known about the stability of
the active ingredients of aloe gel. In addition, some products that claim to contain aloe actually have so little aloe that they have no therapeutic value at all. Be aware that topical use can trigger rare allergic reactions and may delay surgical wound healing. Always contact trained medical personnel for burns with significant blistering.
Nano-textile
NanoBreeze air purifier
Nano-Tex in Emeryville sells more than comfortable mattress covers. The company returns this year with a long list of nano-enhanced clothing with fibers that have tiny whiskers aligned by proprietary spines to repel liquids, reduce static and resist stains — without affecting feel. Nano-Tex plans to launch an extension of its Coolest Comfort family of patented moisture wicking enhancements for resin-treated knits and other cotton garments. The enhancement keeps consumers dry and comfortable by pulling moisture away from the body at least ten times faster than most resin-treated cotton fabrics available today.
A patented NanoTube is the active component behind the NanoBreeze Air Purifier from Salem, N.H.-based, NanoTwin Technologies. The tube itself is large enough to handle, but it is wrapped in a fiberglass mesh coated by a layer of titanium dioxide crystals that measure 40 nanometers in size. Switched on, the NanoTube radiates UV light that charges the crystals to create powerful oxidizing agents that destroy airborne germs and pollutants circulating over the tube’s surface.
Stinkless nano sucks Another nano-improved apparel application made it easy to make stinkless socks. Military PX stores stateside and abroad are now selling ArcticShield polyester socks from ARC Outdoors in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. They incorporate 19-nanometer silver particles within their fibers. Long known for its antimicrobial properties, silver has been used previously to provide protection against odour and fungus in socks. The material never bonded well with polymers, however, it needed to be applied as a spray, or woven directly into the fabric as an uncomfortable metal thread. NanoHorizons developed a proprietary process that solved this silver-to-polymer bonding problem. Now sold as E47 Polyester Master Compound, it helps to make comfortable synthetic fiber sock with permanent resistance to odour and fungus. Nano paints and glasses Now available at Home Depot and other retailers, Bath paint incorporates NanoGuard technology developed by Behr Process in Santa Ana, California. Nano-sized additives lend greater density to the water-based acrylic latex carrier. As the carrier dries, the NanoGuard additives help create a harder, more durable film resistant to water, mildew, stains and grease. Coated with a few dozen nanometers of a photoactive film, Pilkington’s new active glass effectively cleans itself, as natural radiation from sunlight chemically reacts with organic dirt deposits on the surface. When it rains, or when you turn a hose on it, the hydrophilic film causes water droplets and dirt to spread evenly over the surface.
asamadi@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Nano wireless sensors The company developing the sensor, Owlstone Nanotech in New York, announced its first production model sensor on May 15, which at roughly larger than the size of a VCR cassette is already significantly smaller and less expensive than existing technology. The company plans to have dime-size devices toward the end of 2007. “Their sensing technology really does represent a major step forward when it comes to chemical and biological sensors, which currently mostly detect only one thing at a time, for example mustard gas, and also often can’t detect in real time and cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars. “Owlstone’s sensors can cost effectively detect in real time and detect mixes of compounds,” said MEMS analyst Marlene Bourne, founder of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based industry analyst firm Bourne Research. “The device uses deposits of metal nanoparticles to help in the performance and lifetime of the system, to protect the devices from the chemicals it is supposed to detect, which can be somewhat aggressive,” Owlstone co-founder and president of operations Billy Boyle explained. Devices the size of a dime armed with reprogrammable sensors, laden with nanoparticles and wirelessly networked with each other could help sniff the air for bombs and toxins on battlefields. Since the sensors are manufactured using conventional semiconductor and microelectromechanical technology, Owlstone expects to cheaply manufacture each dimesized device for less than five dollars. Owlstone is a subsidiary of Advance Nanotech in New York, which has secured $3 million in funding to help Owlstone develop. Owlstone plans to focus on partnerships within defense, law enforcement, homeland security and industrial applications for 2006. asamadi@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
S ports Imprint bites David Imprint
Friday, june 2, 2006
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sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Sports Editor: Mohammad Jangda
Imprint how-to guide: From nothing to running
Johnston’s dust Wasim Parkar imprint staff
“Healthy mind — healthy body” is a maxim that the president of UW, David Johnston, firmly believes in. I learnt this the hard way last Friday, when my extremely unhealthy junk-filled body went along on a run with the extremely fit president. The run started from the Physical Activities Complex (PAC) along Ring Road, before taking a detour from the Columbia Street exit, and completing through the new Technology Park. Yes, you read right, David Johnston is an avid runner and extremely good at it, too. After a few amicable introductory exchanges, he delved into a bit of personal history, starting from his undergrad days in Canada, through his post grad studies in the UK and the U.S., and onto his career culminating in becoming president here at UW. One can see that despite the academic and professional nature of his work at UW, he is clearly a motivated man who loves his job. “I love my job. I can’t believe I get paid to do what I do”, said the president who has never been away from a university setting his whole life. “I would work for free, but my wife warned me to stay away if I didn’t come home with the paycheque,” joked Johnston. His passion for the university was evident during the run, when he talked about the history of all the new buildings in the Technology
Mohammad Jangda imprint staff
Park, and explained the efforts that went into the fundraising and administrative processes involved in setting it up. He managed to take five minutes out of the run and give me a tour of the really savvy Accelerator Centre, which is one of the hubs for UW academia to implement their amazing new technological ideas. The centre also consists of federal and provincial research companies and think tanks. According to Johnston, the main beneficiaries of this centre are the different students, both grad and undergrad, who will gain opportunities to do research as well as apply some of their academic knowledge. Despite his hard work in implementing new research programs, Johnston also appreciates the fact that extra-curricular student life is a crucial part of university education. That includes sports and fitness activities. He advised students at UW to integrate exercising into their everyday life, in addition to maintaining a healthy eating regime. The president himself dedicates at least two and a half hours a week to fitness training. In the summer, he runs a lot more. However, in cooler confines, he likes to diversify his fitness regime: mixing up cycling, using the treadmill and other activities. Johnston is certainly doing the right things to stay fit. There is simply no other reason for kicking a 23-year-old’s butt at running. wparkar@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
With the summer months moving in and global warming treating us to constant sunshine and toasty 30 degrees Celsius temperatures, there’s no better place to be than outside. But what to do when you’re outside? You could hit a bar patio and pack on the pounds with a few pints of beer and chicken wings. Or you could take up running and drop the pounds, all while experiencing the same levels of euphoria — without the nausea. Running is a hugely popular fitness activity with high levels of participation in the Kitchener-Waterloo region. It’s relatively easy and fun to get started, and your friendly neighbourhood Imprint is here to show you the way. We assembled a panel of experts and have put together an extreme how-to guide, giving you all the tips and tricks needed to get out and get running. The panel included Jason Henrikson, Ontario West Area Manager of the Running Room/Walking Room chain of stores, who has been running for 15 years both competitively and for fun and has also taught a slew of courses at the Running Room. Another panel expert is Natasha Lane, a technical running expert at Runner’s Choice Waterloo and first-year Biomedical Sciences student with seven years of running experience under her belt. Also lending valuable input on the nutritional considerations of running was Sandy Chuchmach, a registered dietician at UW Health Services. Getting off the couch Why run? We could list a million reasons but find that Henrickson sums it up perfectly in one sentence: “You get a lot of bang for the buck.” In fact, running is free and can be done anywhere and at anytime, he adds, which is perfect given the often-crowded schedules of university students. Running is, in general, a great way to get fit. It has a whole slew of health benefits, helping you build your stamina and strength. This is really beneficial if you’re active in other sports, and you can often find an improvement in your performance, explained Lane. You also get all the extra benefits that come from being healthy, such as reduced stress and lowered risk on heart conditions, she added. It can also act as a mental refresher, said Henrickson. “You can be sitting around and having a horrible day and after your run just come back in with a totally different perspective, unstressed and refocused,” he explained. And it’s a great way to lose weight! Physically active people tend to have higher metabolic rates, which means more calories burned even when you stop exercising. Simply put, running is your all-in-one solution to looking and feeling great. It’s a surprise you haven’t stopped reading and gone for a run already. Well, if you’re still with me, let’s get off the couch and look at how to get started. Setting your plan of attack
kirill levin
David Johnston, president of UW, shows off his gameface. The avid runner participates in several organized runs a year. Notables include the 2005 AHS Fun run in October 2005 during which Johnston ran two full laps around Ring Road in under 30 minutes.
Before you get up and running, set out your reasons for starting and create realistic goals for yourself, said Henrickson. Most people set distance goals with a specific timeframe. For example, I may want to run five kilometers within two months time, or run in an upcoming charity run or race. Others may want to focus on weight loss, a healthier lifestyle or even want to quit smoking. Regardless of what the goal though, it’s best to start off easy. Too often, beginners make the mistake of pushing themselves too hard which can lead to serious injuries. Beginners should work at a slow pace when
starting out, getting used to their body movements. Experienced runners may be able to help you plan a course based on your goals. But for most beginners, a general walk and run combination 10-week plan usually works. It involves exercising for 20 minutes, 3 times a week, with a day of resting between running days. On the first week, runners should alternate one minute of walking with one minute of running. The next week they should add one minute to their running time, alternating between 2-minute runs and 1-minute walks until they hit the 20-minute mark. Continue adding one minute to your running times every week until the 10-week mark, by which time you should comfortably be able to run 10 minutes. This plan can be adjusted for time or length, but it’s important to remember not to increase total run or length time by more than 10 per cent in any given week, said Lane. It’s also important to “surround yourself with like-minded people so that they can support you and help you achieve [your] goals,” said Henrickson. “Running is enjoyable but some days are tough.” And in those cases, running with others can be very beneficial. “Group support can be a great motivator,” as Lane explained. Both the Running Room and Runner’s Choice offer free beginner running groups that can act as a good starting point. Campus Rec has the UW Running club and also offers “How to run” clinics every term. Lacing up your running shoes “Your shoe can make or break your running,” said Lane. It’s important to choose shoes that fit your biomechanics. Both Lane and Henrickson recommend buying from a specialty running store. “There is no such thing as a bad shoe, but there is such a thing as a bad fit,” explained Henrickson, so its important to talk to running experts that can help you pick the right fit. You should have a gait analysis done to assess your feet movement, which can narrow down shoe choices. In the end, choose the shoe that you feel most comfortable in. You can expect to spend around $130 to $140 on running shoes. Clothing is entirely a comfort choice. Most beginners choose to run in cotton T-shirts, which keep perspiration against the runners skin and can weigh them down. Specialized running tops and shorts help wick away the moisture and can make the run more comfortable. The power of good running socks should not be underestimated though, as they can immensely improve the comfort of your run and according to Lane, you really only need one pair, assuming that you wash them regularly. Ideally though, one should dress for the weather, wearing loose fitting clothing on warm days and adequate layering on rainy and cold days. Mapping out your trails “Waterloo is spoiled with many great parks and paths to run on,” said Henrickson. “Seek one out near you.” It’s best to plan out the route you are going to run, mainly so you don’t get lost, but also to give you a good sense of distance covered for tracking purposes. “Try to run on softer surfaces,” said Lane. Concrete surfaces like sidewalks tend to be rough on your feet and increase the chance of injuries. Henrickson suggests sticking to asphalt and gravel pathways and Lane adds that trails can be a great running location, too. For an extensive list of running routes and trails in the Waterloo region, please see the map on Page 20. See RUNNING, page 20
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Running: Great trails around the area
John Toal, trail information courtesy of the CITY of waterloo
It’s easy to find a place to run in Waterloo. The region is blessed with numerous running trails to suit your fitness and scenic needs. Another running ground to consider, not routed on the map, is good ol’ Ring Road which is roughly 2.5 kilometres all the way around. Continued from page 19
Fuelling up Nutrition and hydration are important aspects of running that are often discounted. Runners must be careful not to eat anything two to three hours before their run or they may suffer from stomach discomfort. Chuchmach explains that proper nutrition is required for all runners. Having a light snack that is heavy in carbohydrates, like a bagel, pasta or dried fruits a few hours before the run is the best option. Runners should avoid foods with protein and fat, as they increase digestion time, hence the stomach discomfort. Immediately after the run, runners should again snack on carbohydrate-heavy foods with some proteins. During this time, your body is better able to absorb nutrients. Chocolate milk was shown in a recent study to be the perfect sports drink due to its ratio of carbohydrates to proteins and therefore ideal for after the run. If running for long durations, runners should carry high-energy foods like dried fruits, salty crackers or gummy bears. Staying well hydrated is essential, especially on hot summer days. Chuchmach explained that performance can greatly decrease if the runner is dehydrated by even a slight amount.
Dehydration can result in headaches, fatigue, nausea and loss of co-ordination. Runners are therefore recommended to drink regularly and carry a bottle with them. You should be drinking roughly 500 millilitres (two cups) of water for every pound of weight lost. Sports drinks like Gatorade are also a good option, as they also replace nutrients lost through perspiration, but because of their heavy sugar content, it’s best to water them down before drinking. And then you run Once you begin running, keep running. Your body adjusts to the pressures subjected to it. So once you start running, your body accustoms itself to your running schedule. But if you go off schedule for a week or so, your body can return to its “couch” state. You should also keep track of your running. Monitor your heart rate during runs to ensure that you don’t push yourself too hard. It’s also important to consider running form as it is a key determinant of performance. Stretch before runs and run at a pace at which you can comfortably have a conversation without gasping. “The basic advice to start running is to think of running tall,” explained Henrickson. “Keep
your head up, hips high and chest forward.” Lane added that arms should be kept at 90degree angles and pushed straight ahead and not diagonally or kept stationary — common mistakes many beginners tend to make. It’s also important to concentrate on breathing, taking in slow breaths. Feet movement should follow a heel-to-toe pattern. Slamming feet onto the ground, another common mistake, can often cause injuries like shin splints. Good form increases the amount of oxygen in your lungs and can drastically improve performance. Weight training is also another thing that can help beginning runners, explains Lane. Working out builds muscle dexterity and durability and pushes the limits of what your body can do. Runners should also understand that once they begin running, pain will follow. That is simply an indication of your body strengthening itself. But, as Lane explains, it’s important to know the difference between good and bad pain. If the pain is sharp or persists for more than a week, a doctor should be consulted. Running safely Running poses many dangers if runners are not careful. Injuries are common so it’s
important not to overdo your running. Watch what you eat, hydrate yourself, and use sunscreen on sunny, smoggy days. Be aware of your surroundings. If listening to music while running, keep the volume at a level so you can hear others around you. If running on a street, it’s better to run alongside oncoming traffic rather than running with the flow of traffic. And if running at night, wear adequate reflective materials so you can be seen. Oh, and once again, hydrate! And then you keep on running Once you manage to reach your goals, it’s good to keep pushing yourself. Set more challenging goals, such as longer distances or attempting duathlons or triathlons. For more information, you can consult the experts at Runner’s Choice (corner of King and University; www.runnerschoicewat.on.ca) or the Running Room (15 King Street South; www.runningroom.com). For nutrition information, the dieticians at UW Health Services are always willing to help. To find out about charity runs and races in the Waterloo region, visit www.runwaterloo. com. mjangda@imprint.uwaterloo.ca