Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper
Friday, February 29, 2008
vol 30, no 29
imprint . uwaterloo . ca
The problem of perception
Struggling with body image in the modern world, page 16-17
Are we aware? Black History Month was a relatively quiet affair at UW. With International Celebrations Week and International Women’s Week upon us, can we expect more or less of the same? Maggie Clark editor-in-chief
O
ver a hundred students packed into Rod Coutts Hall (RCH) at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, to hear Prof. Larry Smith speak on “How the World Will Try to Stop You and Your Idea.” At 7:30 p.m. that same day, in the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology (CEIT), four members of the Black History Month campaign had to cancel their showing of Speakers for the Dead, because no students showed up. Speakers for the Dead, a film about a rural Ontario town’s “hidden history” of black settlers, was the second of two films presented for Black History Month (In the Key of Oscar, a piece on Canadian pianist Oscar Peterson, was the first). But the film showings proved a pale follow-up to the month’s more prominent initiatives — specifically, a marketing campaign that saw “BE (CHANGE)” posters all around the Student Life Centre, and a February 8 discussion panel on issues such as Afrocentric schools in Toronto, general education on race and discrimination, and an exploration of discrimination within minority groups. Attended by notable spoken word artist Travis Blackman, Toronto deputy police chief Keith Ford, and Marlene Griffith Rubel of UW Organizational Human Development, the event’s placement — right in the SLC Great Hall — provided Black History Month at UW its only high-volume spotlight. “Education was the big thing for us this month,” said Feds VP Internal Darcy Higgins, speaking as well for the One Waterloo diversity campaign that organized Black History Month events. “But the real challenge with these kinds of events is that the people we most want to reach
— the people with problematic perceptions of racism — are obviously going to be the hardest to reach. So we wanted to put events in public spaces, and to put up ads in such a way that people were made to confront these issues on a more regular basis.” According to Higgins, the One Waterloo campaign recently revised its mission statement to place more of an emphasis on building better opportunities for dialogue, and for solving “problems of discrimination and intolerance” on campus. Outside the campaign, Higgins is working as a Feds exec to support the administering of “Ally” training (which teaches people how to be “supportive of the queer community”) through UW itself, as opposed to just through Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo (GLOW). Higgins agreed that other such sensitivity training programs are needed to address issues of cultural and gendered community disconnects, but added that the Feds is presently seeking to strengthen orientation leader training procedures in just those capacities. But will it be enough? Or do the disparate number of students attending cultural aware-
ness events, as opposed to entrepreneurial and technological seminars on campus, suggest a different cultural dynamic at UW? In keeping with the Feds mandate of “supporting clubs in doing things of their own choosing,” Higgins focused less on some of the poor showings (campus media coverage included) for Black History Month events in these past few weeks than on what the future holds in store for similar ventures. “Luckily, next week is very event-oriented,” said Higgins. “We’ve got a lot of different groups behind us on International Celebrations Week — a whole lot of clubs, as well as [UW] Athletics and Warrior Weekends. Athletics is going to offer some free cultural dance classes, like Tai Chi and Flamenco, while Warrior Weekends is putting on a really neat cultural fusion fashion show. Even food services in the residences are taking part by offering some more culturally diverse meals for their students this week.” International Celebrations Week, running from March 4 to 7, will feature contests, interactive activities, and a wide variety of food tastings. Higgins was also pleased to note that the week will start off with one particularly
“I really do want to challenge students, because they’re on a campus that is extremely diverse. I want students to go out and explore what is not known to them. [And] I call on clubs to do more joint events, to educate themselves about the other groups we have, too.” — Darcy Higgins, Feds VP internal
local cultural spotlight: a Canadian Aboriginal event hosted at St. Paul’s United College. As part of a now-annual tradition, the week will also host a “Cultural Caravan” on March 4, presenting a wide variety of cultural performances and traditions in conjunction with one another in the Great Hall. Among the groups in attendance will be representatives of Hindu, South Asian, hip hop, Ismaili, Vietnamese, Bengali, Iranian, Caribbean, Latin, Polish, and African culture. Higgins also encouraged other groups to contact him to take part as well. “I love events that cross boundaries,” said Higgins — and with the overlap of International Women’s Week, from March 3 to 8, a cross-sampling of diversity at UW seems inevitable. “There are some events that clearly have to be a little exclusive,” said Higgins, referring specifically to the “Bust-casting” session in the International Women’s Week itinerary — a women-only event. “But generally I hope we can have more events that address cultural, gendered, and even ableist issues on campus. “I really do want to challenge students, because they’re on a campus that is extremely diverse,” continued Higgins. “I want students to go out and explore what is not known to them. [And] I call on clubs to do more joint events, to educate themselves about the other groups we have, too.” The itinerary for International Women’s Week can be found at www.women.uwaterloo. ca. Information on International Celebrations Week is available at www.icw.uwaterloo.ca. As to whether or not students would take part in better numbers, Higgins had no easy answers: “All we can do is to keep offering opportunities for people to educate themselves,” he said. “And hope that they do.” editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
News
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Senate revamps old policy, now more explicit Michael L. Davenport assistant editor-in-chief
T
he University of Waterloo Senate recently passed three policies which affect each and every student on campus. Approved at a UW Senate meeting last Monday, February 25, the three new policies are a replacement for Policy 70, Student petitions and grievances; a replacement for Policy 71, Student discipline; and a new Policy 72, Student appeals. While you may not find the policy documents as enthralling as Douglas Adams or J.R.R. Tolkien, they contain a fair bit about students’ rights (especially policies 70 and 72) so it would do every student well to at least gain a passing familiarity of them. Geoff McBoyle, current chair of the university committee of student appeals, has been spearheading the policy change. “After 15 years the policies were ‘tired;’ also they were vague on deadlines and excluded non-academic issues.” McBoyle continued, “I decided that only through a concerted effort and much consultation over a short period of time that change would be realized. Throughout 2007 Marie Armstrong of the Secretariat and I spent a considerable amount of time consulting and debating the form of the policies and their contents.” The Senate package listed 23 different groups that had been consulted on the policy, including our Federation of Students. Given the level of consultation that has gone into the proposed changes already, there wasn’t an exhaustive debate at the Senate meeting, but there was a discussion lasting 15 to 20 minutes. One of the issues, raised by GSA Vice President Communications & Organization Craig Sloss, was that of grad students wishing to complain about their working conditions. Policy 70 contains policies and procedures dealing with academic grievances. McBoyle pointed out that though grad students can use his policy to make complaints about courses they are in, students cannot use the policy to complain about courses they are TAing because employment policies fall into a different category. Sloss later explained,
“My concern is less about whether or not they would file a grievance (since that is an individual decision), and more about simply ensuring that they have that option available to them.” Sloss mentioned an August 2007 report assembled by UW’s Survey Research Centre where grad students were asked various questions about their TA work and relationships. While some of the survey results are overwhelmingly positive (92.5 per cent of responding grad TAs agreed or strongly agreed they were “Treated with respect by [their] instructor”) other findings indicate possible areas for improvement. For instance, one of the issues mentioned in the report was grads being assigned to TA a class in which they were not familiar with the material. While only 13.3 per cent of TAs asked the question responded that this scenario had arisen with them (123 grad students), the minority of those TAs (28 grads) had been able to resolve the situation happily — more often grads were unhappy with the resolution (16 grads) were uncomfortable raising the issue at all (23 grads) or simply didn’t bother (36 grads). Said Sloss, “The feeling I get upon reading this survey is that the relationship between the university and its teaching assistants is generally fairly good, but far from perfect. Having a university-level grievance policy for TAs and RAs would be an excellent tool for fixing the imperfections in this relationship.” Another issue raised at Monday’s senate meeting was one of bureaucratic encumbrance. The new policy fleshes out existing provisions in Policy 71 which allow professors to resolve academic offence allegations “informally” with students. At first, the proposed policy required an admission of guilt and proposed informal resolution be signed by both the student and instructor, and then submitted to the associate dean of the pertinent faculty. However, member James Skidmore said that requiring a student signature would keep the issue from being resolved at all, stating, “Bureaucratic finesse will prevent the matters from being reported.”
Policy replacements for grievance, petitions, and discipline, student appeal policy added
sonia lee
see BOARD, page 5
Afghan education a priority, says Alakozai Tom Ellis staff reporter
T
he arts lecture hall played host to a talk entitled “Education in Afghanistan” on Wednesday, February 27. It was delivered by Hamid Alakozai, a policy advisor at the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund — more commonly known as UNICEF. The purpose of the short lecture, watched by a full house, was to bring attention to the “education crisis” which has plagued and is currently facing Afghanistan. This crisis in education can be traced through the recent history of the war torn country, characterised in three stages. First, following the Soviet invasion, lasting a decade between 1979 and 1989, the local Afghani population witnessed the hijacking of their educational system at every level by the Soviets. This saw the promotion of the Russian language, the Cyrillic script, and established knowledge of the Marxist ideology as a requirement in all educational establishments. This situation created quite a divide between the urban population, who accepted the new method, and those in the rural areas (so called “freedom fighters”) were opposing the changes. All this resulted in a “deeply divided nation.” The second phase was characterised by people sending their children to Madrasahs,
or schools, but their education was thwarted when the mujjahiddin began fighting amongst themselves for control of the country, bringing the conflict to the cities. During this time schools were demolished, scholars slaughtered, and people fled to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, while little international assistance was provided. As such, the people “lived far away from education,” with one moving example of
the situation in Afghanistan (provided by Alakozai) detailing how someone who was one year old when the Soviets invaded, held no “education or qualifications except that of a fighter” by the time they were 25. The final phase saw the Taliban assume control of the country. Yet contrary to the meaning of their name, translated as “students,” they set about limiting the curriculum. Science and medicine, alongside other disciplines, were
“Every problem has a solution and every problem has to be solved.” - Hamid Karzai
banned and only Islamic studies were promoted, similar to the Marxism-only policies of the Soviets during their long occupation. The Islamic-focused education continued only shortly before the schools began closing and being physically destroyed and torn down. Unfortunately for the Afghans the warfare did not end there, with the eventual invasion and liberation by Western forces, including the Canadian army. Although much has been said in pre-election lead up, Canada’s presence in Afghanistan and the ultimate and exact removal date is currently unknown. With this in mind, planning for the future of Afghan education is difficult. The conclusion, poignantly reached by Alakozai, was that education was necessary to change attitudes in the country. Furthermore he added that education was the only way people would learn to “understand, respect and cooperate with each other,” in the search for an end to “35 years of misery.” He continued, by saying that “every problem has a solution and every problem has to be solved.” In this case, he argues it is the work of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Tom Ellis & Joyce Hsu International Organisations like UNICEF that is needed to provide such educational facilities, develop curriculums, and train teachers. tellis@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
4
News
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
UW staff vote rejects unionization 72 per cent voted “no” on unionization, a concept UW president David Johnston never supported, and a decision he did
Marco Baldasaro assistant news editor
O
ver a month after the initial vote, the ballots have finally been tallied and a decision is official: the application to unionize staff members through the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has been dismissed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Officials at the University of Waterloo received news on Tuesday that staff members in University Staff Group (USG) grades 1 to 8 voted against unionization 587 votes to 227. The vote counting took place in Toronto at the Ontario Labour Relations Board, with representatives and lawyers present from both the University of Waterloo and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation. The counting took place after two days of deliberations concerning which staff members’ segregated ballots, from the January 24 vote, should be counted in the final tally, and ultimately determined the overall decision. As a consequence of the deliberations, a number of ballots that were originally segregated were included for the final count, UW’s Daily Bulletin stated. The delay in an official tally of the January vote was due to a ruling by the Ontario Labour Relations Board that demanded the ballot box be sealed and the ballots remain uncounted until a meeting of lawyers for the union, and the employer with a labour relations officer on February 19 and 20. The vote to unionize was limited to USG Grades 1 to 8, support staff such as administration assistants and co-op field co-ordinators, as well as housekeepers and janitorial staff, drawing a high turnout of 1,054 voters to the Physical Activities Complex back in January. The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, or OSSTF, primarily represents teachers in public schools, and claims a membership of over 60,000. Still, only 1,400 (2.3 per cent) of their total membership belongs to the university community, with members from the universities of Brock, Ottawa and Algoma. Due to such a small representation from the vast university sector, a substantial amount of concern was raised by some with regards to joining the union in fear that OSSTF’s expertise resides in secondary school union representation. Among those to voice concern regarding the potential move towards unionization was David Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo. In a letter sent by campus mail to all university support staff prior to the vote in January, Johnson stated, “[M]y clear preference is for the University of Waterloo staff group to remain union free. I believe the strength and success of the University
of Waterloo is based on the partnerships we have built with our staff and faculty.” Johnston’s concern centred around his belief that, as a result of unionization, less time would be spent on staff issues and negotiations would dwindle to bi- or triannually. “Less time may be spent on staff issues and most problems are relegated to these infrequent contract renewal [...] In my opinion that is simply not the way that the University of Waterloo should treat its most valuable resource, the people of UW,” Johnston continued.
Similar apprehension was voiced by Catharine Scott, associate provost of human resources and student services. In a memorandum sent to university staff members ranking between USG Grades 1 to 8 (again, prior to the January 24 vote), Scott reminded UW staff that “unions, like any other business, seek to increase their revenues. They do so by adding new members and collecting union dues. UW represents a significant increase to their revenues with a 1.3 per cent levy from each staff member. With a three year contract, the teachers’ federation stands to gain about two
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million by automatic deduction from your pay cheques.” In a letter sent to University of Waterloo staff members on Tuesday, after the outcome of the unionization vote was announced, Johnston endorsed the decision, stating: “The university administration is committed to working with the staff association to ensure that the rights, policies and working conditions of staff are a priority and to continue working together to improve as a university and as an employer.” mbaldasaro@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
2nd place = $2,000 cash and a scholarship worth $5,000 towards the CGA program of professional studies. 3rd place = $1,000 cash and a scholarship worth $5,000 towards the CGA program of professional studies. Tier 2: Intermediate- and Advanced-Level Financial Accounting Questions 1st place = $5,000 cash and a scholarship worth $5,000 towards the CGA program of professional studies. 2nd place = $3,000 cash and a scholarship worth $5,000 towards the CGA program of professional studies. 3rd place = $1,500 cash and a scholarship worth $5,000 towards the CGA program of professional studies.
EVEN MORE INCENTIVE TO WIN. The university or college that boasts first-place in either tier receives a donation of $5,000 from CGA Ontario awarded to its accounting department. Additional information about the format of the contest and the rules and regulations is available at www.cga-ontario.org/contest.
News
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Jennifer Henderson reporter
Virus aboard Holland America Cruiseline A highly contagious virus infected more than 100 passengers on a Holland America cruise ship earlier this week, reported CNN. Passengers on the ship first showed signs of the norovirus six days into the trip, said Erik Elvejord, a spokesman for Holland America Line Inc. The virus caused nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and lasted 24 to 48 hours, infecting 104 passengers and six crew members. This is the fourth suspected norovirus outbreak on the Ryndam ship since early last year. The source of the latest outbreak has not been identified and signs generally point to passengers as the vehicle allowing the virus to enter the ship. Those who were infected were asked to stay in their rooms and compensated $100 a day.
to announce the unveiling of the world’s new $9.4 million seed bank. Built in a mountainside near Longyearbyen, in the remote Svalbard islands, the Norwegian underground seed bank received its first shipment earlier this month. It was put in place as a means of protecting plant species in the face of war, natural disasters, and lack of funding or simply poor agricultural management. Located 130 meters inside a frozen mountain, the vault received the inaugural shipment containing 268,000 distinct samples of seeds.According to the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the shipment amounts to 100 million seeds in total, ranging from African and Asian food staples like maize, rice, and wheat to European and South American varieties of eggplant, lettuce, barley, and potato. Storing millions of seeds from around the world, the seed bank is considered the ultimate safety net for the world’s seed collections.
More U.S. Marines should Bosnian Serbs attempt have survived in Iraq attack on U.S. consulate The United States Marine Corps is asking the Pentagon to investigate why it was that specially armoured vehicles were delayed for delivery to Iraq.CNN reports that casualties could have been reduced by half among Marines in Iraq if the specially armored vehicles had been deployed earlier on. The Marine Corps requested an investigation two weeks ago, after receiving Marine technology expert Franz Gayl’s report saying that, “If the mass procurement and fielding of Mine ResistantAmbush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) had begun in 2005 in response to the known and acknowledged threats at that time, as the USMC is doing today, hundreds of deaths and injuries could have been prevented.” Until MRAPs began arriving in Iraq in large numbers in 2007, troops had limited protection in armoured Humvees.
Police fired tear gas at hundreds of Bosnian Serb rioters in Banja Luka, Bosnia after demonstrators broke away from a peaceful rally on Tuesday, reported CNN.The rioters headed for the U.S. Embassy’s office, clashing with law enforcement along the way, a police spokesman said. The errant demonstrators threw rocks at police as they tried to reach the embassy’s branch office, which was closed. Police arrested some demonstrators, although it was not clear how many. The United States supports Kosovo’s independence and therefore U.S. diplomatic missions in the region have been a target of protests since the Serbian province declared independence on February 17.
The world’s seeds are safe
A 40-year-old Brampton woman has been charged with uttering death threats, which media reports said were directed at a member of
Nicknamed the “DoomsdayVault,” the Norwegian government is proud
Premier Dalton McGuinty’s staff. Neelam Vir, was arrested at her home on November 20 and taken to a Brampton police division where she was charged, police told CBC News on Tuesday. According to the Toronto Star,Vir’s arrest followed an incident on September 30 when she sent a gift to McGuinty via his staff member, Monica Masciantonio. Vir was quoted in the Star, saying she later sent the premier an e-mail to see if he received the package. “I said, ‘If she didn’t give it to you, I’ll kill her.’ It’s just slang,” said Vir, in her defence. Vir told the Star she had contacted McGuinty by e-mail to apologize for the incident. Vir is scheduled to appear in Brampton court on February 29.
Child slavery needs to end The situation looks hopeless in Togo, West Africa. Togo has become quite well known for its abundance of child slavery. International anti-slavery organizations are serious about government attempts to crack down on child slavery. It is a desperate situation in Togo as parents let traffickers take their children. Parents buy into the traffickers’ lies that their whole family will end up better off if the children are allowed leave to take temporary jobs, reports CBC reporter David Gutnick. It is a cruel reality when the children become full-time slaves in Ghana, Nigeria or the Ivory Coast. However there is hope for some, as former child slaves who were trafficked out of Togo have found their way back home, and are spreading the word that slavery must end.
BOARD: policy to be approved Continued from page 3
Skidmore later explained, “Up until Christmas I was the associate chair for undergraduate studies in our department. At least once a year I had an instructor come to me with an inquiry about how to proceed on a question of plagiarism/cheating. (The previous policy made it quite clear that instructors should go first to the associate dean to start the resolution process, but they sometimes came to me for advice). But if it was a minor case of cheating (for instance, on a quiz
approval to no longer require a student signature for an informal resolution, though it still requires an admission of guilt. The associate deans of the various faculties are strongly affected by changes in Policy 71, as they are the faculty members responsible for handing accusations of academic dishonesty. Engineering Associate Dean Wayne Loucks weighed in, saying, “On the discipline front, most of the changes are in clarity of message and procedure. There are not likely to be big differences for a given student and given offence before and after the
“The instructors preferred to handle the matter [of plagarism, cheating] themselves by ignoring it or by penalizing the student without reporting the offence.” — James Skidmore or an assignment worth very little), the instructors preferred to handle the matter themselves, [either] by ignoring it or by penalizing the student without reporting the offence. They just didn’t want to have the hassle of reporting [each incident], waiting for the Associate Dean’s okay to proceed, arranging a meeting with the student (and his/her advocate), working out a resolution, having everyone sign the agreed upon resolution, etc. Instructors can get away with this because most students are not familiar with their rights under Policy 71, are too intimidated or ashamed to make a fuss, or realize that they are in the wrong and simply must accept the instructor’s decision.” The policy was changed before
implementation of the new policy. I am cautiously hopeful that the new discipline policy will not significantly alter what is now happening in discipline cases I handle; however it does codify a number of activities currently implemented.” Loucks also praised the policy for clarifying definitions, clarifying procedure and making public common punishments for common offences. The policy approved by Senate last Monday still needs to be approved by the Board of Governors before it takes effect; a meeting and vote will take place on April 1. If you want to see any UW policies at any time, go to http://www.secretariat.uwaterloo. ca/Policies/Policies_index.htm. mdavenport@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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News
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
AGM elects leaders
Campus events
Mark Kimmich staff reporter
February 29
Friday 7:30 p.m. @ C.L. Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome’s University Rethinking the Bottom Line: International Business and Poverty Join Frederick Bird, PhD for a Friday night lecture. More than two billions humans live in poverty. Most live in developing areas.International businesses operate in many of these areas,extracting and harvesting natural resources, sourcing goods and services from local producers,manufacturing,and selling.In what ways have these international businesses acted to reduce and/or aggravate the problems of poverty at the bottom of the global economic pyramid? Free admission. All are welcome.
March 3, 5, 6
Monday, Wednesday, Thusday @ Various Times and Locations Sustainable Technology Education Project film festival STEP is screening the movies End of Suburbia on Monday, March 3 in DWE 3517 at 5:30 p.m., Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home on March 5 in PHY 235 at 7:30 p.m., and Escape From Suburbia on March 6 in PHY 235 at 8:00 p.m.The festival will also feature short films and a speaker from the residential energy efficiency office.
February 29
Friday 7:30 – 10:30 p.m. @ CIGI - 57 Erb Street West, Waterloo Peace and Conflict Studies 30th Anniversary Celebration Celebrate 30 years of peace and conflict studies. Keynote address by Nigerian peacebuilders Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammed Ashafa. Reception follows.
March 4
Tuesday 6:00 p.m. @ SLC Great Hall Cultural Caravan Cultural Caravan is an annual event where UW’s cultural and ethnic clubs get to put on a performance (starting at 7 p.m.)and show off what their culture is all about. The event features food and information displays.
March 5
Wednesday 7: 00 p.m. “What Banged?” Lecture @ Waterloo Collegiate Institute The Perimeter Institute presents Neil Turok from Cambridge University speaking of his new view on
the beginning of the universe. More information at www.perimeterinstitute.ca/outreach/public_lectures/ public_lectures.
March 6
Thursday 1:00 — 9:00 p.m. @ South Campus Hall Symposium on Health Technology @ South Campus Hall CUBE-EMBS presents this annual event to a congregation of Canada’s leaders in biomedical research, featuring passionate and talented students from a wide range of disciplines. This years includes accomplished guest speakers Dr. Stuart Foster and Dr.Yu-Chong Tai, as well as a gadget exhibition by UW professors. This is a great opportunity for information exchange and gaining exposure in this field. Tickets $5.00 (includes dinner).
March 2 – 8
Monday – Friday @ Various times and locations International Women’s Week UW Women’s Centre is holding several events, including a Religion and Sex discussion with Renison’s Rev. Collings-Moore and a showing of the film A Safer Sex Trade. More information at women.uwaterloo.ca
I
mprint’s annual general meeting (AGM) provides a forum for the few key decisions made before each fiscal and calendar year. Imprint held its AGM this past Tuesday, February 26 to little fanfare in the muti-purpose room of the SLC’s Great Hall. The major points on the agenda were the ratification of Imprint’s budget, a lone policy change, and the election of a new board of
Most important among budget issues was concern over planning for the potential loss in student fee revenues, if the Registrar’s Office acts on the recently instated Feds policy, which would allow students to opt out of refundable student fees online. Currently only about five per cent of students opt out of the Imprint student fee of $3.30, but it is likely that that number would greatly increase in direct correlation to the added convenience of an internet option. Other budget issues included
Jacqueline McKoy was elected president; Sherif Soliman was elected vice-president; Lu Jiang was reelected as treasurer; Peter Trinh was elected as staff liaison, and the position of secretary is currently vacant. directors. While last year’s AGM had Imprint members — that is, any UW full-time undergrad student who has paid his or her Imprint fee and not obtained a refund — ratifying major policy changes along with the full slate of other annual duties, this year’s AGM proved to be a relative walk in the park. The first item on the agenda was for Imprint members to scrutinize the past fiscal year’s budget with help from accountancy firm Collins-Barrow, as well as to ratify the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year (Imprint is a non-profit corporation). Though few significant changes are expected for the coming year, a couple of issues arose throughout this process.
the announcement of a potential pilot project of including advertising in the Imprint website in order to cover costs. The project is expected to begin in August. With only one minor policy change made to Imprint this year, the next major issue was the election of the coming year’s board of directors. After much discussion on each candidate the following were elected to board positions: Jacqueline McKoy was elected president; Sherif Soliman was elected vice-president; Lu Jiang was re-elected as treasurer; Peter Trinh was elected as staff liaison, and the position of secretary is currently vacant. mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
A difficult legacy Friday, February 29, 2008 Vol. 30, No. 29 Student Life Centre, Room 1116 University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1 P: 519.888.4048 F: 519.884.7800 http://imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editor-in-chief, Maggie Clark editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Advertising & Production Manager, Laurie Tigert-Dumas ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca General Manager, Catherine Bolger cbolger@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Ad Assistant, vacant Sales Assisstant, Jason Kenney Volunteer Coordinator, Angela Gaetano Systems Admin. Dan Agar Distribution, Peter Blackman, Rob Blom Board of Directors board@imprint.uwaterloo.ca President, Adam Gardiner president@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Vice-president, Jacqueline McKoy vp@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Treasurer, Lu Jiang treasurer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Secretary, Alaa Yassin secretary@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Staff liaison, Rob Blom liaison@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Editorial Staff Assistant Editor, Michael L. Davenport Lead Proofreader, Eric Gassner Cover Editor, Mark Kimmich News Editor, Travis Myers News Assistant, Marco Baldasaro Opinion Editor, Christine Ogley Opinion Assistant, Monica Harvey Features Editor, Dinh Nguyen Features Assistant, Cait Davidson Arts Editor, Andrew Abela Arts Assistant, Duncan Ramsay Science Editor, Adrienne Raw Science Assistant, Sherif Soliman Sports Editor, Yang Liu Sports Assistant, Olinda Pais Photo Editor, Jenn Serec Photo Assistant, Jamie Damaskinos Graphics Editor, Joyce Hsu Graphics Assistant, Yosef Yip Web Editor, Hoon Choi Web Assistant, vacant Systems Administrator, vacant Sys. Admin. Assistant, Peter Sutherland Production Staff Paul Collier, Simon Miller, Emma Tarswell, Matthew Wiebe, Alicia Boers, Chris Miller, Chantelle McGee, Tim Lawless, Rajul Saleh, Lily Lo, Sohni Satyajit, Tim Foster, Jacqueline McKoy 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 staff meeting: Monday, March 3, 2008 12:30 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: Tuesday, March 11
“Black History” vs. “African Heritage” Month
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s a general rule, I don’t subscribe to the Orwellian belief that by subjugating a culture’s vernacular you limit its capacity for effective discourse (I’m of the camp that believes a society will always generate new words to describe necessary talking points), but I’m willing to make an exception where February’s greatest awareness campaign is concerned. Specifically, a banner hanging over King Street East these past few weeks has highlighted for me precisely how even the most well-intentioned, innocuous changes in terminology can readily change an event’s meaning or public perception. The banner in question, a simple white affair endorsed by the African-Canadian Association of Kitchener-Waterloo, reads plainly: “February is African Heritage Month.” Yet from the moment I first observed this banner — oddly enough, while listening to a friend’s mix CD of “hip-hop education” tunes — my dislike of the term it uses has only festered. Sometimes used as a synonym for Black History Month, the phrase “African Heritage Month” has a laudable ring to it: There is, after all, an incredibly strong argument to be made for a month just celebrating the richness of African-Canadian culture, as the term “heritage” pleasantly, inoffensively suggests. But “heritage,” a word drawn from “inheritance” and suggesting a very clear sense of direct, unimpeded succession, in no way intrinsically addresses the underlying African diaspora so integral to our culture’s need for a February awareness month at all. To put it another way, the origins of “Black History” are grounded in a series of events that brutally, irreparably severed the cultural inheritance of hundreds of thousands of people from their native African homes. And if it wasn’t enough that these African prisoners were violently torn from the land of
their ancestors, crammed worse than cattle into the bellies of European ships, and carted off into lives of slavery, torture, rape, and the devastating expectation that their children would never receive any better, these same African prisoners were also separated from their families and had their native languages beaten out of them. In consequence, beyond a few pieced-together stories, traditions, and superstitions, each fragmented group of slaves had precious little of their own to pass on to subsequent generations. Meanwhile, a new identity was being formed for them by their white masters: wherever they went they were recognized and singled out by a single, uncompromising factor: the mere colour of their skin. To this day, descendants of the black slave trade, numbering globally in the hundreds of millions (with 40 million in the U.S. alone), are unable to trace their ancestry back to anything more than “Africa” as a whole. In Canada, some 70 per cent of the African-Canadian population (or “Africadian” population, as UW alumnus and Governor General’s Award winner George Elliott Clarke describes it himself) comes from later Caribbean immigration, but even this world region was originally populated through European force. And of the remaining 30 per cent, a great many of these Canadians are descendants of 300-year-old black communities in Southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes — a tidbit of information regularly overlooked when people insist on asking a visible minority, “No, but where are you really from?” In short, to lump this horrific breach in the cultural inheritance of so many people into the neutral name, “African Heritage Month,” glosses over the tremendous loss that marks this community; and also shifts our focus away from the power of the word “black” itself, as it was reclaimed by the very people it — along with other, far more negatively entrenched terms — was meant to oppress.
And yes, I say “power,” because from this outsider’s perspective the history of black communities in North America is not so much one of adversity, but of surviving it. And still surviving it. Centuries ago white North American settlers unleashed a Pandora’s box of sins against the African people they forced to these same shores. Yet for everything those slave traders did succeed in taking from their prisoners — liberty, language, a homeland, and direct links to their African heritage — it is especially worth remembering (in February, and every other month besides) what could not be stolen from the group as a whole: The knowledge that where there is life, there is always hope. One generation at a time, black communities in North America built new traditions to replace the old — shared more relevant songs, said different prayers, and formed dreams first of freedom, then of equality, to mark their collective presence and entrench their places on soil their ancestors never chose to call their own. So today the North American black community is not one community, but many — the result of the regular, healthy commingling of long-standing black communities with more recent arrivals from other former slave colonies, from Africa itself, and from regions so submerged in the pull of Western, contemporary urban life that factors other than geography or familial history dominate individual perceptions of culture and identity. And in recognition of this rich cultural heritage, I wholeheartedly agree there should be an African Heritage Month, to celebrate that strength — a strength that truly was inherited. But, please, not February. Not when the reason for that strength is so pointedly absent in the campaign’s name. Not when the term “Black History Month,” in its own, quietly powerful way, serves to remind us of so much more. editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
I think for myself, and i don’t hate gays
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have to say, I was pretty impressed with myself when a friend of mine dropped a flyer on my desk Wednesday morning; something left by a stack of Imprints. A quick look at some of the newspaper bins around campus shows that this person did their work, posting their literature near a bunch of Imprint stacks in the SLC and other buildings for everyone to see. You might wonder why propelling someone into vandalism is worth patting myself on the back. Well, eliciting such a strong response, angry or otherwise, is every writer’s wet dream. “TRAVIS MYERS IS AFRAID OF HOMOSEXUALS,” the plain piece of paper stated in all capitals before directing passersby to check out page seven of last week’s paper, where my column had landed. The piece in question (see “Dinosaur rendez-vous,” February 22, 2008) examined the practice of cruising public areas like bathrooms and parks for anonymous, illegal, public, manon-man sex, focusing heavily on the lower level bathroom in the EIT building, which has become a cruising hotspot. What the reader presumably took issue with was my harsh criticism and condemnation of this activity. My problem, though, isn’t with anyone’s sexual orientation, but the way they’ve chosen to act on their sexual urges (i.e. sticking their penis underneath a stall divider to get blown) than anything else. Am I afraid of homosexuals? No. Am I afraid of law-breaking-msm-ho-bags? A little bit, yeah. I might have even agreed if the posters had read “TRAVIS MYERS IS AFRAID OF HOMOSEXUAL QUEANS (“A woman
regarded as being disreputable, especially a prostitute,” from dictionary.com) For any new or infrequent readers, I should clarify that I am gay. You should also know that this fact alone doesn’t exempt someone from being homophobic. There are gays who hold themselves above the rest, there are gays who can’t accept themselves or other homosexuals, and there are gays who express true hatred towards lesbians. Saying I can’t be homophobic because I’m gay is about one step away from saying that it’s okay for you to use the n-word because you have black friends.
widen the gaps between groups of people. I’m being accused of homophobia because of my stance against cruising for sex. Readers, being gay doesn’t mean I have to agree and support everything that is remotely associated with homosexuality, and I choose not to support cruising because it is illegal and shallow. Conversely, disagreeing with cruising doesn’t instantly throw me on the opposite side of all that is gay. The great thing about having a brain is being able to discern what works in accordance with your values and beliefs, and what doesn’t, without having to align yourself 100 per cent with any side,
Saying I can’t be homophobic because I’m gay is about one step away from saying that it’s okay for you to use the n-word because you have black friends. But the extreme reaction from the reader highlights the partisan attitude that has permeated many areas of our society. For some, situations and debate can only be discussed in monochromatic terms of black and white. You are either a liberal or conservative; you are either gay or straight; you are either a coffee drinker or a tea drinker. But things aren’t as simple as that: swing voters are unaffiliated, gay and straight are only two points on a whole spectrum of sexual identities, and some people choose whatever beverage they’re feeling like that day. Partisan stances only function to
group or crowd. So here is my challenge to you readers: don’t blindly follow what you are told or what you see. Even if you agree with some things someone says or does, that doesn’t mean every thing they say is what is right for you. The responsibility is yours to choose for yourself what you think is right. So props to you, Random Vandal, for not blindly agreeing with my column — it seems like we might agree on more than you thought. tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Opinion
Letters Had a reaction to one of our articles, editorials or columns? Write a letter to the editor at letters@imprint. uwaterloo.ca Re: Bringing Stingy Back — It’s the thought that counts, Imprint, Vol. 30, No. 28
As a cash-strapped student, I read Ira Sherr’s Bringing Stingy Back column, and while I don’t always take useful information from it, it’s entertaining nonetheless. But the February 22nd version made more of a “what the f---?” impression on me. Since when is a new long weekend a bad thing, especially when it’s in February? It’s not a difficult concept: working parents get a 3-day weekend, or at least a bonus day to spend time with their kids. Everyone else not working can sleep in and do whatever they want. If a movieand-Chinese-food-day is your thing, it’s not so unfeasible. It’s called a 2-day rental and a fridge. And don’t worry about commercialization...when’s the last time you had to buy a Civic Holiday or Victoria Day gift? Family Day is their winter counterpart, not a new Valentine’s Day. In response to the lack of excitement, there was plenty of build up on radio and TV. The reason it wasn’t pumped on campus is because it was absorbed by reading week so no need to tell students not to come to school. With that said, the point of this letter is to suggest to Sherr not to attack Family Day. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it when he graduates and loses what is for many a luxurious, mandatory week-long February vacation. — M. Samson
1st year Geography
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 Re: If the ring fits, Imprint, Vol. 30, No. 28
The article regarding the engineering faculty’s iron ring celebration failed to mention several aspects of the celebration that should be brought to the attention of the student body — most of which are not engineers. The iron ring represents the mistakes of engineers in Montreal that caused the collapse of a bridge resulting in death. The ring is meant to remind engineers of this mistake. With this in mind the behaviour the engineers on such a solemn occasion is more than a little disturbing. There is a certain amount of respect that should be given to those students making it to their final semester, and perhaps even a little “blind eye” allowances should be made for such a prestigious moment in a student’s academic career. However, the sheer amount of indiscretions that the engineers got away with is unacceptable and ridiculous. No other faculty on campus is given so much allowance for any such partying. As just one of the six faculties on campus I expected better decorum from graduating students than what was shown on campus on Friday, February 15, 2008. Examples of their poor behaviour include screaming and blaring music in RCH during class time, disturbing midterms, interrupting classes, disrespecting professors, and altogether wreaking havoc in a building used by more than just graduating engineers but students of all faculties and years. To top off this behaviour, disorderly students entered the Davis Centre Library and created chaos as other students were busy trying to finish assignments and essays, and to study for midterms before the reading week break. One student dressed as male genitalia is reported to have rammed himself into students trying to use the library as it is intended — for quiet learning!! We also saw an engineering student vomiting in ESC, steps from the washroom. These students need to have respect for the profs working the offices in the buildings, and the undergraduates and graduate students working there, as well
as the plant ops and other staff members of the university who have to deal with the aftermath. The engineers should know better and behave better than this. Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate the iron ring ceremony and bring back the respect for the event that is needed and to adopt tradi-
tions of older, established universities, with practices more befitting a ceremony about not forgetting the serious responsibility that being a professional engineer entails. — Christine Windsor (ChemClub VP Internal), Opal Courtney (ChemClub co-President), Kate Cook
Rape is not a joke community editorial
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here are some words that get thrown around a lot in our society that really should be excluded from our everyday vocabulary. Whether these words are racist, homophobic or derogatory, they are shot from our mouths without a second thought. Even though “Jew”, “homo”, “cracker” and the like can all be used negatively by people on a daily basis, the word I find the most ridiculous to be used as much as it is, is the word “rape”. As in “I raped that test” or “Did you see that hit? He totally raped him!” Do people not see what is wrong with using this word in such a way? Have they forgotten what the real meaning of this word is? When you are someone who has gone through the tragedy to which this word refers, it is one of the most horrific and life altering occurrences that can happen to you. Do you think that being reminded of this event every day, several times a day, is going to help them live their lives, lives that may already by so agonisingly hard to live under normal circumstances? The mere thought of the word is something that brings me, and I am sure others, to tears. People use it to refer to themselves in numerous situations, but if they had actually experienced what that word means, there would be no laughter or joking when it is brought into conversation. Do you think the smile they have on their face would be there when others make the hip movements
as they joke about how hard they are going to “get it” from this midterm? It is not like when people say the word “nigger.” In most cases if you are offended you can tell the person to stop using it, and they will understand. But when people are joking around about rape, it’s not something you can just tell people to stop talking about. It is not something you want everyone in the world to know happened to you, as it is hard to let anyone, even close friends, know. People are so quick to jump to conclusions when you tell them to stop using it so much. You do not want to go through the event over and over again every time you may tell someone new about what happened. All I am saying is to think before such a word comes shooting out of your mouth in casual conversation. The numbers would probably astonish you if you knew how many people this word might upset (one in every four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime). It is not something that should be used on an everyday basis to describe how hard a test is going to be, how hard a hockey hit is, or even joking about the real thing happening while walking down the street. This is not even a situation where I can say put yourself in the other person’s shoes, because no one should ever have to feel what emotions and torment you go through after something like this happens. Just think before you use rape as a joke, because in real life, it is far from funny. — Anonymous
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1) How well is cultural diversity represented in Canadian media? 2) In this technological era, who really owns and creates the media? 3) Where does the bias lie in contemporary media? 4) How much does media shape the way we think and the world we live in?
Opinion
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
9
The republic of Texas
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lthough I normally concentrate on the Canadian political scene, I’m in Texas for the next week, so my focus is going to be correspondingly skewed; hopefully I’ll be able to take advantage of my time here in the Lone Star State to make some interesting observations about the American political process. Travelling somewhere for the first time tends to involve a process of recalibration: the expectations and preconceptions that exist are forced into line by the reality of the place. With somewhere like Texas, that’s particularly true: my prejudgments of America are bad enough as it is, let alone the home state of George W. Bush. To be as brief as possible, everything is big. Giant, really. Giant landmass, giant portions, giant people, and giant hair. However, since the country is in the throes of a presidential nomination race, I expected another big thing: giant signs advocating one presidential candidate or another. The truth of the matter was rather different than I anticipated. We arrived in the city of San Antonio on the day before the Texan primary. The primary system determines who will be the presidential candidate for the two major political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. The Democratic race is particularly interesting this year, because delegates have been presented with a choice between having a woman or a black man run for president; either choice would be a first, and a huge first at that. With that in mind, and with the incredible media attention turned to the race on a national and international level, I expected to find the state blanketed in signs and advertising; at the very least, I thought there would be posters about rallies or some kind of political gathering. Yet this has turned out to be one of those situations that I mentioned earlier, where the reality of the place forces you to recalibrate. I have yet to see a single sign for either Democratic candidate. Through small towns, rural areas, urbane Austin and stately San Antonio — nothing. Even local newspapers have been low-key about the affair, giving at most small blocks
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of front-page coverage. Based purely on an unreliable memory comparison, the National Post gives the issue more ink than they do down here. Texas is a predominantly conservative, Republican state, but I assumed at the very least to find some sort of visible campaigning in the big cities: both Austin and San Antonio are home to large numbers of students and Austin especially is a fairly liberal, cosmopolitan place. To date, the very few campaign posters, signs or bumper stickers that I’ve seen have been ones stumping for Ron Paul, the libertarian candidate running a distant third in the Republican primaries. Nonetheless, I have seen entire neighbourhoods covered in local political signs. I’ve seen remote entrances to ranches sprinkled with bright poster board and rundown street corners laced with election campaigning. It’s all part and parcel of the bizarre American custom of electing judges, sheriffs, constables and commissioners, amongst other things. These theoretically unbiased cogs in the judicial machine run on campaigns that claim they’ll be tough on crime, or particularly vigilant about a specific aspect of illicity. Putting aside the fact that the election of sheriffs and judges risks gross violations of fairness and impartiality, the attention given to these local contests is impres-
yosef yip
sive. Neither municipal, provincial nor federal elections in Ontario attract anywhere near this much attention and visibility. The focus on local politics speaks volumes about Texas’ context within the United States. The Capitol building in Austin has an inlaid mosaic
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in the floor that reads “Republic of Texas,” and throughout the state the distinctive lone star flag of Texas is at least as visible as the American one. In tourist attraction after tourist attraction what’s emphasized is Texas’ history as a proud, independent entity. The former governor of Texas, Sam
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Kosovo: promising or not?
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wo weeks ago Kosovo held an historic parliamentary session. It was on that day that a unanimous vote declared Kosovo to be an independent nation, no longer a part of Serbia. After a tumultuous couple of decades of intense violence between Serbia and the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo, and centuries of battling over the area, BBC News reported international celebrations by ethnic Albanians over the news. Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said that independence would bring a respect for the rights of all ethnic groups to their democracy. The New York Times reported that U.S. President Bush pledged to help prevent violence, to work with Serbia, and that “the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America,” while also recognizing Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Both Serbia’s ethnic Slavic and Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian peoples have existed within the borders of Kosovo for centuries. For centuries, Kosovo was lost to Serbia as the Muslim Ottoman Empire ruled the territory, until Serbia regained control in the early 20th century, according to a BBC profile of the country. Tensions over Kosovo came to a head in 1989 when newly elected Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic revoked Kosovo’s autonomy, fuelling separatist support. That support led to the creation of the Kosovo Libaration Army (KLA), a guerilla group which fought Serb forces in the late ’90s. Its political leader during that fighting, Hashim Thaci, is now Kosovo’s prime minister, just as Agim Ceku, the previous PM, was also once a part of the KLA.
It was purportedly because of the increased fighting after Kosovo lost its autonomy (mostly from the majority ethnic Albanian population towards the minority) that Slobodan Milosevic sent in his troops to “remove” the dissenting voices, killing thousands. This led to Milosevic being in prison when he died, awaiting trial at the Hague on accusations of genocide. Despite the U.S.’s support, along with the support of other nations, including the UK, France, Germany and Italy, the declaration of Kosovo’s independence is not legal. All of them were signatories to the Helsinki
to make peaceful settlement of the dispute more difficult, and refrain from any act to subordinate a State’s exercise of the rights inherent in its sovereignty. I had the chance to speak with UW Serbian Students’ Association President, Jelena Maric and fellow SSA members Igor Proelic and Bojana Savic about the issue, and to my regret was not able to find a similar Kosovo or Albanian group to speak with at UW or WLU. They told me that even though they could see it coming, it still hurt to see it happen.
Each day they fear they might be losing that part of their heritage, perhaps forever, and that they might never feel safe enough to venture into Kosovo to behold the cradle of their culture. Final Act of 1975, including Yugoslavia, whose dissolved States include Serbia. In signing the Act, they declared to uphold many principles, including the now relevant parts of the particular “Declaration on Principles Guiding Relations between Participating States.” In doing so, they recognized that frontiers of States can be changed, in accordance with international law, by peaceful means and by agreement. They also agreed to refrain from any demand for or act of seizure and usurpation of part or all of the territory of a State, refrain from any action against the unity of a State, refrain from any action which might aggravate the situation as
They share the view of many Serbian people, that Kosovo is the birthplace of their culture, and of their religion. Contained within its borders are several old important monasteries, and countless churches, many of which have suffered damage and even destruction at the hands of ethnic Albanian protest against Serbia. Each day they fear they might be losing that part of their heritage, perhaps forever, and that they might never feel safe enough to venture into Kosovo to behold the cradle of their culture. I had to agree with them when they told me how marginalized they felt, and how they saw the media as being very one-sided. In the ’90s when a new student was introduced to my class as a refugee from the violence in Kosovo, I remember only hearing about the atrocities against the ethnic Albanian people, and that the Americans were justified in their bombing campaigns against Serb forces. The reality is that this is a very complex situation. Both ethnic groups have had their
rights violated and have used violence against one another. The SSA members told me that there is little trust or respect between the two groups; only a great deal of fear and suspicion because of their shared history. A simple outright declaration of independence on Kosovo’s behalf is not the solution. It does not diffuse any of the tension between the two groups, it does nothing to protect the minorities in Kosovo and Serbia, and it is not a model path that any nation should follow in seeking to solve its disputes. The SSA members felt that with more international attention, and neutral aid and discussions, compromise could perhaps be reached, and both sides could begin to respect each other. I feel that this, approached calmly and openly, could not only help solve this dispute in Kosovo, but further work to promote diversity and understanding throughout the world. There is a lot of hate and violence to quell, but that is the responsibility of the global community: to seek compromise, understanding, respect and peaceful dispute resolution. All the SSA members wished someday to visit the sites of their heritage, but currently the danger and fear looms too large. Hopefully, the pause in the rush of support for the independence of Kosovo signals a desire for discussion on, and progress in, this dispute. For all the distrust and hate over issues of racism and slavery in America, we have come a long way in bridging the gap, creating understanding and respect, and getting to milestones such as Barack Obama’s presidential candidacy, with many other similar examples to be found throughout the world and throughout history. I have faith and hope that small acts of good faith and respect can begin in this matter all around the world, and that we can prevent further losses of culture — or descentsinto further violence and international standoffs. But it is still a matter of hope. adodds@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Opinion
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
11
Can you hate a religion without hating its followers? community editorial
“I
don’t hate Muslims. I hate Islam.” Of course, these are not my words and certainly not my sentiments. They are the words of a Dutch politician. I will not reveal his name, nor talk about the film he is allegedly making, because I do not wish to pander to his need for media attention, and I certainly do not wish to give his film free publicity. Besides, how can I have a meaningful view about a film that no one has seen? But his words exist; they are in the public sphere. In a newspaper interview this week, he calls Islam “the ideology of a retarded culture” and goes on to say that “Islam is something we can’t afford any more in the Netherlands. That means no more mosques, no more Islamic schools, no more imams...Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims.” I suspect this is hitting many readers like a red rag to a bull, but I am keeping my calm for the moment, aware that the man’s intention is to provoke me. Are his words offensive? Yes. Are they insulting? Yes. Are they lies? Yes. His words anger me, but what strikes me most about
them is how familiar they seem. They are words we don’t normally hear from politicians or people in the public sphere, but they are words you hear if you listen carefully on European streets, and elsewhere too, I imagine. So the first question I ask myself is this: If these views — as offensive as they are — exist, should they be aired in public so that Muslims can at least have a chance to counter them, or should they be outlawed? A second question is, could a politician have uttered the same words about another religion, say Christianity or Judaism? And finally, could anyone seriously make a distinction between hating a religion and hating the people who profess its faith? There is a fine line between expressing a view in order to open up a debate, and giving credibility to a view by making it part of public discourse. The sentence “I hate Islam” is one that will shock regardless of whether or not you are a Muslim. I suspect most Dutch people, even those who feel threatened by immigration or who hold negative views about Islam, will respond negatively to the strong emotive nature of the words used. It is not acceptable to hate a religion. Yet far more worrying in terms of
impact is the rest of his discourse, in particular the sentence: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but almost all terrorists are Muslims.” It is of concern because it is fast becoming a mainstream view. So is it true? I say no without hesitating because in my mind those who commit murder in the name of Islam are not Muslims, but I concede that this is a facile
Frankly, I sometimes find it hard to understand the knee-jerk reaction I often see at any hint of disagreement. Islam is far too great a religion to be damaged by a little debate. argument. The academic answer, I am assured, is also no. If you do a head count of terrorists on the planet past and present, you will find that Muslims do not make up the majority. I have not done a head count and nor do I wish to. It is sadly a reality that we regularly see terrorist acts committed by people born Muslims and it is also sadly a reality that in the eyes of many, violence is becoming a significant part of what defines Islam. I may see Islam as a religion of peace but that is no
Political promises about Afghanistan community editorial
I
t would appear that the Liberals have, once again, shown themselves to be unprincipled and spineless, choosing to take the cowards way out rather than do what is right for Canadians. In a “compromise” motion introduced on Friday, February 22, the Conservatives introduced a bill that would see a hard pull-out date for the mission in Afghanistan for December 2011. It wasn’t that long ago that the Liberals had stood against an extension to the mission in Afghanistan, instead calling for the Conservative government to be completely out by the original “hard” pull-out date of February 2009. It also wasn’t that long ago that the Conservative government insisted that there were no plans to extend the mission in Afghanistan beyond 2009. However, when documents were leaked in January 2007 that showed that the Canadian military actually had plans to stay longer than 2009, the former defence minister would only say that Canada was committed until February 2009, refusing to repudiate the alleged plans for an extension of the mission — until that point he and the Prime Minister had insisted that Canada would remain only until 2009. An extension of the mission in Afghanistan is not only bad for Canadians, but it is especially bad for Afghans. What the Afghan people need is not more guns, but rather running water, working electricity, a free and fairly elected government, universal rights for women, and a general return of human rights to the country. While it is obvious that rights vindication must also include costs allocated for security measures, a responsible Canadian strategy in Af-
ghanistan would include a significantly higher emphasis upon rehabilitation, reconstruction and rights vindication. It does not, however, include a Conservative government intent on keeping Canada’s troops in Afghanistan longer than necessary, without achieving or contributing significantly to the vindication of the human rights of the Afghan people. It also does not include a Liberal party that looks out for its own interests over and above the interests of Afghans and Canadians. For all the posturing that Stephane Dion has done over the past few years, attempting to set himself up as a leader of the opposition, attempting to tell Canadians that the Conservatives do not have the best interests of Canadians in mind, Dion has spent an awful lot of time either voting in favour of distinctly Conservative motions, or trying to find innovative ways to loudly disagree, while quietly doing nothing to prevent Conservative policies from becoming law. I don’t know if Dion is scared of the electorate or what, but Harper continually calls his bluff, and Dion is continually forced to reveal that he has shit for cards. I think what has become painfully obvious is that neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives are worth trusting when it comes to matters of importance to Canadians. The Conservatives have placed us on the wrong side of the climate change debate, much to the chagrin and embarrassment of Canadians. The Liberals have talked tough, but when push comes to shove, Dion seems to do very little about it – if his dog is named Kyoto, I’m pretty sure that’s the only commitment to the Accord that he has. The Conservatives have lied to Canadians about Afghanistan, insisting at first that the hard date was set for February 2009. When confronted with the fact that they
longer a majority view in the West. So, to return to the question in hand, I prefer to see a sentence like this one out in the public domain, as it refers to an issue that needs to be debated and refuted. Do I think an intelligent debate is forthcoming? Possibly not, certainly not if we focus on being offended instead of focusing on explaining why such comments are offensive.
lied, the Liberals, sent to opposition for a so-called “time-out,” have failed to hold the Conservatives accountable for their actions, opting rather to go to bed with them and create yet another “hard” end-date for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan. Given this kind of track record, do any Canadians seriously believe that our boys will be homeward bound by December 2011? If there are any who do, come with me, I’ve got a pet rock or two to sell you. At the risk of being called a partisan hack, the only political leader in this country that has consistently stuck to his story is Jack Layton. In 2006, at the NDP Convention, he was calling for an immediate pullout of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, and a refocusing of Canadian efforts on reconstruction efforts and the return of human rights to Afghanistan. He has not changed his tune, even amid smears from the mainstream media, claiming he has made friends with the Taliban, giving him the unfortunate moniker “Taliban Jack.” Jack Layton does not love the Taliban, and agrees with the Canadian government that a Talibanruled Afghanistan is a bad thing — however he does recognize that what Canadians are currently doing isn’t helping the everyday, ordinary citizens of Afghanistan. He knows that what Afghans need is running water, basic subsistence, the ability to obtain an education, and the return of basic rights to the women of Afghanistan. Jack Layton’s tune is the same in February 2008 as it was in September 2006. Can we say the same about Stephen Harper or Stephane Dion? If not, why isn’t anyone listening?
— Peter Thurley MA candidate, philosophy
Could a European politician have made these comments about another religion? As a rule of thumb, laws are tough against racism and relatively more lenient toward attacking religious beliefs. Hence the politician would not only have committed political suicide if he had said he hated Jews, but would also have opened himself up to being prosecuted. Since Islam — and Christianity too for that matter — are religions but not races, offending Muslims or Christians does not carry the same weight as offending Sikhs or Jews. Add the current political equation to the mix and it seems evident that it would be unthinkable to see this kind of language used about any religion other than Islam in today’s political climate. Criticizing Islam is
not the same as attacking Muslims. The first may be offensive to most Muslims but is acceptable to most Westerners. It may be unacceptable to many Muslims reading this piece but in countries where freedom of speech is a fundamental value, criticizing a religion is considered healthy. Frankly, I sometimes find it hard to understand the knee-jerk reaction I often see at any hint of disagreement. Islam is far too great a religion to be damaged by a little debate. Reading points of view I disagree with does not cause even a hairline fracture in my religious beliefs. Quite the contrary. The more I challenge my beliefs, the more convincing they become and surely that is how faith should be. But the Dutch politician was careful with his words. He did not say he hated Muslims; he said he hated Islam. In his view, he is merely criticizing an ideology, not attacking a people. But when I read his words I felt personally attacked. He is not criticizing my religion; he is expressing hate in the set of beliefs that makes me a Muslim. He is very clearly expressing hatred for Muslims and his affirming the contrary only makes it all the more offensive to Muslims. His words not only offend me but more importantly threaten me. I accept being offended. I do not accept being hated for what I believe in. — Iman Kurdi graduate, political science
Campus Bulletin UPCOMING Friday, February 29, 2008 Feminist-Vegetarian Workshop – a workshop exploring the relationship between the oppression of women and animals put on by the UW Vegetarians and Women’s Centre at 1 p.m., SLC Multi-Purpose Room. Ladies WOW Fun Seminars series will be hosted at Stratford Northwestern District Secondary School from 6:30 to 10 p.m. For info/tickets call 519-342-4029 or wsmith@wisemoove.com. Saturday, March 1, 2008 Rotunda Gallery presents “Everyday People” by Linda Brubacher, a UW graduate, at 200 King Street, W., Kitchener. For info call 519-741-3400, ext 3381. Friday, March 14, 2008 Considering transferring to the Accounting and Financial Management program? Submit a Plan Modification form by today to Carol Treitz, School of Accounting and Finance, HH290B, ext 36537. Forms available at the Registrar’s Office. Tuesday, March 18, 2008 Contemporary dance meets the 17th century as renowned dancer-choreographer Julia Sasso joins the exciting new baroque ensemble Folia, 8 p.m. at the Registry Theatre, 122 Frederick Street, Kitchener. For info/tickets call 519-5781570 or foliapresents@gmail.com.
VOLUNTEER Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their self-esteem and confidence. One to three hours a week commitment. Call Canadian Mental Health 519-744-7645, ext 229. City of Waterloo, 519-888-6488 or volunteer@city.waterloo.on.ca has many volunteer opportunities. Bus-
kers Carnival has three positions available on their Board of Directors. Check out the website today! Volunteer Action Centre, 519-7428610 or www.volunteerkw.ca, has many opportunities available – visit the website or call today! The Kitchener Youth Action Council is currently seeking volunteers aged 14-24 who are concerned about issues facing youth and young adults across Kitchener. For more info e-mail youth@kitchener.ca. Distress Line Volunteers Wanted - Canadian Mental Health Association is seeking caring volunteers to provide supportive listening and crisis de-escalation to callers living in Waterloo Region. Please call 519744-7645, ext 300. The tri-Pride Community Association is looking for people to get involved with various projects leading up to Pride Week 2008 which will take place during the month of June. For more info e-mail info@triPride.ca or www.tri-Pride.ca. Career Services volunteers needed for 2008-2009 – Student Career Assistant and Student Marketing Assistant. Depending on the position you will gain valuable job search, marketing and career-related skills by either promoting events and services or by helping other students in their career planning and job search. Open to regular and co-op students who are creative and possess strong interpersonal and communication skills. Applications available in Career Services, TC 1214 or from our webpage at careerservices.uwaterloo.ca. Deadline March 14, 2008.
COUNSELLING SERVICES
English Language Proficiency Program (ELPP) – All workshops are scheduled between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 3 or Tuesday, March 4 – “Application of Grammar” (new). Monday, March 17 or Tuesday, March 18 – “ELPE Strategy Session” (new). For more info/registration call 519-8884567, ext 32655 or kmaclean@uwaterloo.ca or ext 33245.
CO-OP/CAREER SERVICES “Exploring Your Personality” – Part II: Wednesday, March 5 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., TC 1112. “Career Exploration and Decision Making” – Wednesday, March 10 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1112. “Career Interest Assessment” – Wednesday, March 12 from 2:30 to 4 p.m., TC 1112. “Exploring Your Personality Type” – Part I: Thursday, March 13 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Part II: Thursday, March 20 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Both at TC 1112. “Work Search Strategies” – Wednesday, March 19 from 3:30 to 5 p.m., TC 1208. “Working Effectively in Another Culture” – Wednesday, March 5 from 4:30 to 6 p.m., TC 1208. “Business Etiquette and Professionalism” – Tuesday, March 4 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Interview Skills: Preparing for Questions” – Wednesday, March 5 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday, March 17 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Both at TC 2218. “Interview Skills: Selling Your Skills” – Thursday, March 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Both at TC 2218. “Success on the Job” – Wednesday, March 19 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1208.
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
STUDENT AWARDS FINANCIAL AID 2nd floor, Needles Hall, ext 33583. Please refer to safa.uwaterloo.ca to view a full listing of scholarships and awards. PLEASE NOTE: effective May 1, 2008 we can no longer accept the UW Watcard as a form of ID. Acceptable government photo ID includes valid drivers license, passport, immigration card or citizenship card. March 15: last day to submit Undergraduate Bursary Appeals for winter term. March 25: last day to sign Confirmation of Enrollment for winter only and fall and winter terms to ensure full OSAP funding.
ANNOUNCEMENTS “Morning Drive Radio Show” – 6:30 to 9 a.m., www.ckmsfm.ca >click on webcast, for the latest news, traffic, school closures, interviews and a great mix of music! To get your important events on the air, e-mail morningdrivel@yahoo.ca. If you have an interesting person that CKMS should interview call 519-884-2567 between 6:30 to 9 a.m....qualify for a prize! Win $1000, $500 or $200 award. UW, UWO, WLU, or U of G students. Submit transcript, cover letter, and two technical communication samples. Deadline February 29, 2008. Go to http://www.stc-soc.org/awards/ thiessenaward.php. Exchanges for undergraduates and graduates – 2008/09 academic years: Ontario/Rhone-Alpes, France, Ontario/Baden-Wurtemberg, Germany and Ontario/Maharastra-Goa, India. Scholarships available, for applications/deadlines please contact Maria Lango, ext 33999. MICEFA, Paris,
France and the Chinese University of Hong Kong – internal deadline: March 17, 2008. For information and application forms contact Maria Lango, International Programs, Waterloo International, Needles Hall 1101, room 1113, ext 33999 or by e-mail mlango@uwaterloo.ca. Considering transferring to the Accounting and Financial Management program? Submit a Plan Modification form by Friday, March 14 to Carol Treitz, School of Accounting and Finance, HH290B, ext 36537. Forms available at the Registrar’s Office. Need help with your tax return? KW Access-Ability is hosting free income tax clinics for persons with low incomes. For info/appointment call 519-885-6770. The Grand House Student Co-operative is a non-profit housing co-op comprised of architecture students from UW, community members and professionals. Workshops are being organized on environmental techniques, solar power, non-toxic materials and more. For info/registration visit the website at www.grandhouse. wacsa.org.
CHURCH SERVICE St. Bede’s chapel at Renison College offers worship on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. or take a break midweek with a brief silence followed by Celtic noon prayers on Wednesdays. Come and walk the labyrinth the second Thursday of each month, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more info contact Megan at 519-884-4404, ext 28604 or www.renison.uwaterloo.ca/ministry-centre.
Classifieds HELP WANTED Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commitment. Paid positions. Send resume to Don Mader, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Sydney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2. Bartending school is looking for promotion staff on campus. Bartending courses included. Please visit us at www.happyhoursbartending.com or call 1-866-494-0979 to schedule an appointment on March 1 or March 2. Employment opportunity – Success is Mine Textiles is looking for sales reps, bookkeeping, clerks, accunt manager, computer specialists and employees with business skills. E-mail resume to oguns4mine@yahoo.com.
HOUSING
Attention Cambridge School of Architecture students! Live conveniently and comfortably right across the street from school in this beautifully renovated
apartment. 4, 8 and 12-month leases available with excellent signing bonuses and rental incentives! Call Darlene or Joanne at 519-746-1411 for more details. Summer sublet, May to August 2008, at 31 High Street, Waterloo. $300 plus utilities (negotiable) Call Jason at 519208-5017 or kenkaniff02@hotmail. com. Five bedroom house available September 1/08. Rcently renovated, very clean, central air and heat, parking and laundry included. Walking distance to UW. Please call 519-575-1973.
COURSE INFO
SP-100 Forest Firefighting course to be held in London, Ontario March 1216, 2008 and Waterloo, Ontario March 19-23, 2008. Course will be held during evening hours during the week. To register, please call Wildfire Specialists Inc., 2233 Radar Road, Suite 5, Hanmer, Ontario, P3P 1R2, toll free 1-877381-5849. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources accredited. No guarantee of employment.
EMMANUEL UNITED CHURCH
is an inclusive, multi-generational congregation located in uptown Waterloo, a short walk from U of W and just seconds from the #7 bus route. Looking for a church home in Waterloo? Want to recharge your spiritual batteries? Come worship with us! Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m., on Bridgeport between King and Albert. www.emmanueluc.ca
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Come on down! UW students travel to California to appear on The Price is Right Kate Gardiner special to imprint
During reading week, my fellow dons, a couple of my residents, and respective friends and family made our way down to sunny Hollywood, California for an unforgettable vacation. Why risk our lives amongst the hookers, Crips and Bloods, and crazies on Hollywood Boulevard you ask? One reason: our group of 19 had tickets to The Price is Right! When I received The Price is Right confirmation for a set of 19 tickets from my angel at CBS, Kim Funtaro, I quickly forwarded it to all my friends and co-workers, recruiting people as crazy as me for a chance to spin the big wheel and fulfill a dream that had been brewing since I was three years old, when I was old enough to shout “Higher! Lower!” at the TV with my grandpa. I had no firm plan at the time but estimated I could do the trip for about $400. I couldn’t believe how quickly the trip gained steam. When I told people I would be going to The Price is Right, the most common response I got was an envious “Fuck off — you’re joking” whereas others experienced “Oh my God! Oh my God!” Apparently the 36-year-old show still had appeal despite the recent host change from the iconic Bob Barker to the everyday man Drew Carey. Subsequently, I frequently had Price is Right fantasies during class of holding the skinny mic, hearing my name being called to contestant’s row and playing Plinko. Needless to say, my recent midterm marks reflect my wandering mind. In the forthcoming weeks, it somehow all came together — classically made T-shirts and all. From February 17 to 18, we all left in groups at varying times. In a group of five, our trip began after a 4-hour delay at Pearson, which included an hour and a half of just sitting in the plane in queue, followed by de-icing of the plane and then runway de-icing, plus a delay in Chicago. We got to sunny Los Angeles 14 hours after arriving at Pearson at 5:30 a.m. Thank god my friend Paula Dubois unloaded her 9mm at customs because our shuttle bus at the airport had a distinctive sign that cautioned “No weapons on bus”. In the trip that almost never was, we stayed at the Hollywood Hostel, right off of the Walk of Fame, which consisted of a hodgepodge of hippies, aspiring singer-song writers, and crazy international backpackers.
They screwed up our reservations but it was expected, considering our stay was $23 per night and their $1 to $3 drinks in their upstairs lounge were offered to everyone, including on-site staff. Their “no drinking under 21” sign was more of a friendly reminder to us international travellers, met by laughs from our new Australian and European friends whose drinking age is more of an “at bar level” height restriction. Next to our hostel was hotspot “Opera,” where Rolls Royces, Lambos, and other $600,000 cars arrived to drop off highrollers and celebs late into Sunday night. Arriving just days before the Oscars, we were able to see the whole set-up, with a few of us lucky enough to run into celebrities (Mary J Blige and the dude from Black Eyed Peas, who’s not Will.I.Am, to name a few). After adventures to Santa Monica Pier our day had come. On February 19, we got to CBS studios a half hour late, at 9:30 a.m. after a mix-up with the cabs (called in by the hostel hippies — go figure) for our 1 p.m. taping. In our yellow shirts reading “The University of Waterloo brought our ‘eh’ game to The Price is Right,” adorned with maple leafs and the UW logo, we waited outside of the studio while stage hands and associate producers took our signatures, made our name tags, and took our pictures. We even forced our three non-UW friends to wear our UW Tshirts — take that Queen’s and UofT. No promotion for you! Playing up our Canadian-ness was a necessity in getting up on stage, and even had a cheer chanting “eh! eh! eh! eh eh eh!!.” A super tanned Tom Cruise look-a-like, with his smile ever so white bright gave instructions to us over the mic. We were then interviewed in groups of 10 to be chosen as a contestant. I stuck out my hand to our interviewer Stan, barely able to contain my excitement and blurted something out about how this was my dream and I wanted to hold the skinny mic to give a shout out to my grandpa. We made friends with fellow Canucks in line before we were escorted into the smaller than expected studio. To get us revved up before the show, the announcer Rich Fields started The Price is Right dance party extraordinaire, where our very own Monica Andrews was chosen to be a The Price is Right dancer. If you see Monica on campus and wave a dolla-dolla-bill at her, I’m sure she’ll re-demonstrate how she got freaky up on stage.
Right when we felt we could scream no longer, bam it started, and in less than two minutes, we heard “Kate Gardines — come on down! You’re the next contestant on The price is right” By Zeus’s beard — that’s me! Well, my name is Kate Gardiner, but I’m going down anyway! I high five my UW posse, run down, group hug everyone in contestants row and think, “Ok Drew, what do you got for me?” First prize to bid on: An exciting new treadmill! I thought “Holy shit! I jog! I use treadmills! This is mine!” My bid, $1,550. Actual retail price, $1,595. And in lightning speed, I’m the first contestant up. I hug Drew Carey — whose glasses are fake the by the way — but no kiss, that would only be for Bob. Although throughout the show, he gave off a somewhat arrogant impression, he is really nice and encouraging to me (and squishy!). I give a shout out to my fellow UW students and then Rich announces that he has a really fun prize for me. Before my eyes, the door opens up with Rich shouting — “a brand new carrrrrr.” Our yellow UW shirts are on their feet and I am jumping a mile high in the air. Did I win? Was I on the showcase showdown? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out! I can tell you that I spun the wheel, which was heavier than I thought, and I was deathly afraid of falling and exposing the hole in my pants (yes I had a hole in my pants on TV, in a very awkward spot as well). Best of all though, I got to hold the skinny mic while giving my shoutouts — Dream…Come…True. What you won’t see is that during commercial breaks or set changes, Drew was cracking jokes, signing stuff (like my T-shirt!), repeatedly singing “I Want to be Sedated” by the Ramones in an unusual fashion, and poking fun at people, such as when he mocked our Canadian currency. Oddly, he did ask if I watch Toronto FC at home and encouraged me to go see a game. Instead, I replied with a plug for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Overall the experience was phenomenal; all of us were so excited to be there, and when I think about it I can’t stop giggling. So I highly recommend forming a reading week tradition for all those Price is Right dedicated fans chasing small fortune and five minutes of fame. 16 University of Waterloo students, 3 of their friends and one hell of a reading week. Retail value: well I can’t tell you that. But in true University of Waterloo nerd-fashion, our show airs on pi day (March 14) so watch at 11a.m. to find out!
Joyce Hsu
14
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
quick cash without liquidating your dignity
A
t some point in your life, you will run out of money. There. I said it. Now step up to a mirror, look yourself bravely in the eye, and repeat that phrase to yourself as many times as necessary to allow the truth to set in. While you’re there, feel free to throw in any other burning truths that you’ve been sweeping under the rug — you have a substance abuse problem, you’ve reached an epiphany concerning your sexual orientation, you quietly love Britney’s self-destructive benders because they give her music more “credibility.” These moments of self-realization are tough, but it’s best to start early to avoid hurting yourself later. So, why am I espousing such mirror-induced mantra-slinging? The fact is, as much as you can be the most tight-
STOP
fisted, budget-savvy, fiscally responsible individual you know, nothing is really consistent in this world: especially the economy, inflation rates, your job, your spending habits, or your needs and wants at any given time. As both advice and a nod to The Roots: things fall apart. For us students, this will most likely happen at least once in our academic careers, if it hasn’t happened already. As students, we’re more intimate with the reality of dwindling finances than most. In addition to job training and book learning, student life throws us into hands-on working-class poverty. Even when we do work a job or two and go to school at the same time, it never seems like we have enough cash. No matter how much we scrimp and save and restrain ourselves, isn’t it frustrating that we seem to be dangerously close
IN AT H&R BLOCK
to hitting the bottom of the barrel all the time? How many times do you opt out of getting a transaction receipt at the ATM because you don’t want to read your account balance? It’s OK, I do it all the time. I’ve even constructed a fantastically and academically relevant lie for a rationale: I’m being environmentally-friendly by saving paper. Shame, shame, shame. Most of us live off of a unique pay schedule that lies somewhere inbetween paycheque-to-paycheque and paycheque-to-OSAP-to-begging-your-parents-to-random-to-who-knows-what. But, when that compilation of options fails, there’s always the perennial, timehonoured solution to look towards: liquidating your assets. “What assets?” is probably what you’re thinking. Part of me still has a hard
FAST TAX PREP
time believing that the a-word applies to me — someone without anything usually considered “valuable”. I don’t have a car, I don’t own jewelery (a MedicAlert, sadly, is hardly considered valuable), I don’t own antiques or nice furniture (yet), and I don’t have any sort of inheritance or small fortune. In a perfect world, every student would come to school equipped with some form of nest egg they could extract in dire circumstances, but you’re probably thinking you’re SOL if all you can see yourself giving up is the dingy furniture you found on the curb way back in September. When you hit hard times, you’ll start thinking of ways to make money — both legal and (possibly) illegal — so I’m sure the prospect of turning possessions into money shouldn’t come as such a shock. It beats selling drugs, your
START SPENDING
body, or your organs, right? Selling your stuff is an unfortunate reality, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Here’s some thoughts to get you a little more comfortable with an act you thought you would only have to commit when you were well into your ’30s, recently-divorced, and the coke was starting to run out. Out of sight, out of mind. Our gut instincts, when faced with the probability that we’d need to sell off some of our belongings that we couldn’t possibly part with, cry out: “Never!” The best strategy to overcome this is to sever ties to your possessions as quickly as possible. This is where being Buddhist would be a fantastic solution, but if you’ve overcome your attachment to worldly possession and still need to sell stuff to free up cash, then you’re kind of screwed. One way to overcome the knee-jerk emotional attachment is to get your stuff out of sight — you’ll be one step closer to forgetting it’s there, and by extension, using it less and getting used to the fact that it’s gone. Trust me, it works. I never thought I could live without select crates of my favourite records until my mom presented me with a fantastic one-way, non-ultimatum: “Ira, just so you know, when you go back to school in the fall we’re throwing out everything you leave behind.” Great! I won’t bore you with the details of the week-long argument or secret fantasies of arson that followed — the point is that we all need some fire under our asses to get us moving. To be honest, now that most of my records are in storage, I realize that I could live without one or a few of them and the world wouldn’t end. Which, admittedly, was a pretty shocking truth to arrive at. Just don’t tell my mom. I’m afraid of what swollen pride and ego would do to her health. Now that you’ve managed to convince yourself that you can sacrifice some worldly possessions for a few dollars, the next step is to speed to the world online and sell them.The internet has created a market for everything — if a Bay-area hustler can rake in the bucks through online sales of his sweaty underwear (I’m not kidding), then I’m sure you can find someone to buy yours. The two best and fastest ways to do this are probably with online ads (craigslist) or auctions (eBay). Until next time, keep those fists tight! isherr@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Features
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
15
The shrimp’wich W
Tiffany Li
Coconut Shrimp’Wich 1 cup beer 1 cup all purpose flour 2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 12 jumbo shrimp, shelled, de-veined, tails on
Vegetable oil for frying Paprika 3 French rolls, split, toasted Tartar sauce Shredded lettuce Sliced tomato Hot pepper sauce
For the batter: Combine beer, flour, 1/2 cup coconut flakes, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours. Heat 3 inches of oil, enough to cover the shrimp completely, in a large deep skillet or pot. Whatever you use, preheat oil to 350°F. It is a good idea to invest in a deep fry thermometer (also useful for making caramels and candies). I purchased mine at Zehrs for less than $10. Pour the remainder of the coconut into a shallow bowl (a pie plate works well). Be sure the shrimp are dry before battering. Sprinkle each shrimp lightly with paprika before the next step. Dip one shrimp at a time into the batter, coating generously. Remove any excess drips. Place shrimp in coconut, coat well. Fry four shrimp at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the shrimp become golden brown. Remember to flip the shrimp halfway through. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp balls to paper towels and drain. Making the shrimp’wiches: Spread tartar sauce on each roll, then a bed of lettuce and a few slices of tomato. Place 4 shrimps on each roll. Serve immediately, sprinkling with hot sauce or drizzling lemon on top.
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ithin its 70 year lifespan, the coconut palm is a parent to thousands of coconuts. While its home country is Malaysia, ideal climates allowed coconut trees to flourish in South America, India, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. Like an onion with many layers, the coconut has a smooth outer layer, a hairy husk with three bowling ball eyes at one end, followed by snow white flesh, and at the centre, opaque coconut milk. By the time it arrives at your local grocer, you’ll usually find it without the smooth outer layer. Grocery stores bring the world’s food to you under one roof. These companies also reinforce perceptions about what we consider to be healthy food. Along with salmon, tofu, and spinach, for instance, coconuts should be on the roster, too. Coconut is considered a “functional food” because it supplies many health benefits that go beyond supplying conventional nutritional value. Its healing properties have been used to treat a wide range of symptoms in Asian and Pacific cultures for centuries. These traditional medicines have been prescribed for an endless list of ailments — everything from bruises and wounds to internal problems such
as asthma, gonorrhoea, typhoid, and kidney stones. Modern medicine is now confirming many of this food’s amazing properties in aiding our bodies inside and out. Among the 50-plus health benefits listed, this would include a coconuts ability to kill off fungi and yeasts that cause infections, protecting against osteoporosis, improvements to digestion, absorption of minerals and vitamins, and preventing liver diseases. This super food is so beloved by Pacific Islanders that they have deemed it “The Tree of Life.” For some of you, it may come as a surprise to discover how beneficial coconut is in maintaining a healthy body. There has been some confusion about coconuts and its high level of saturated fats as being bad for your health. This notion spawned from our recognition of other saturated fats from commercially baked goods that are bad for you. While saturated fats in baked goods are derived from harmful manmade trans fats, coconut oil is not. In fact, the oil in coconut has boldly been described as “the healthiest oil on earth.” How is this possible you ask? Well, we turn to a mini-science lesson to shed some light
on this matter. To break it down, there are three types of fatty acids: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats. It is like a train pulling a line of compartments with varying lengths — in our case: short chain, medium chain and long chain fatty acids. The longer the chain, the more engine power you will need in order to break down foods for absorption. For long chains, not all absorption will happen, so whatever is leftover is reserved as fat deposits and will sit there unless burned off. A dangerous accumulation of these bad fats poses a threat to your health. Fortunately, coconut oil is primarily made of medium chain fatty acids. Unlike long chain fatty acids, the medium variety is metabolized more efficiently and does not pose a threat to our cholesterol levels, and in addition help to lower the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. With this coconut shrimp’wich, your taste buds will thank you for feasting on these plump crustaceans. Most of all, your mind will be at ease and you will feel good knowing that you are doing your body a favour by supplying it with sweet and healthy coconut. tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
16
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Features
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
The problem of perception
17
Struggling with body image in the modern world; fighting to see through a clear looking glass Ashley Csanady staff reporter
I
t’s been almost three years, but I still get nauseous at the sight of an underwear model. I still have to fight the urge to purge every time I overindulge, and a mirror is still a friend or a foe depending on my mood. The smallest comment about my athleticism — or perpetual lack thereof — can send me into an obsessive downward spiral for days. And in the immortal words of Garbage, the kick is still divine when I see bones beneath my skin. My love-hate relationship with food has been a lifelong and painful battle — one that I still wage on a daily basis but culminated in double root canals the spring I graduated from high school. What started as a seemingly brilliant way to “control” instances of binging with girlfriends at a sleepover or after a visit to the now long-gone Tien Hoa Chinese Buffet, quickly spiralled into an unbreakable cycle of eating and purging that led to extraordinarily painful dentistry. Almost eight hours of excruciating surgery — freezing doesn’t work well on me, so I felt every scrape removing the nerve exposed teeth by erosion from my stomach acid — wasn’t enough to stop me. It took a low point that involved a boy (who was never worth it in the first place), way too much bad emo music, a tube of cookie dough, and a moment of clarity to finally put an end to that self-destructive disorder. The initial momentum that led to a full-fledged obsession was starting a strict and medically supervised diet and exercise regime when I was 14. Over the next two years, I quickly went from trying to take a more health-conscious approach to food to seeing it as both a reward and an enemy that needed to be expelled as quickly and efficiently as possible. It took me two years to call my “problem” what it was: bulimia. And has taken over another six months to finally write about it. So why write about it at all? I think catharsis was definitely at play, but more importantly I wanted to share my story in hopes it could help someone realize what she is doing to herself is not worth it. Our societal obsession with weight and appearance is getting worse, and the depictions of eating disorders in popular culture are less than helpful. People with eating disorders, be it bulimia, anorexia or over-eating, are not the vain self-indulgent people so often depicted in movies and on TV. The blonde bimbo cheerleader who pukes up everything she eats or the control freak who chooses to rule her eating on top of everything else aren’t the
only people who develop eating disorders. It can be anyone, and while it may be sparked by low selfesteem, the behaviour is not tied solely to aesthetics and superficial qualities. I have always considered myself an informed, media-savvy person. Even though I knew the stupidity of my actions, I couldn’t stop myself from doing it. I knew better, that no matter what, I was never going to be 5’ 4” and 115 lbs — I’m 5’11” and even if I starved myself I would never be 115 lbs before I was near-death — but that didn’t stop the voices in my head from telling me I shouldn’t eat, or the cover of Cosmo from taunting me from its rack. It’s an irrational set of behaviours built upon even more irrational set of societal norms. I could be told to “love myself no matter what” countless times, but that, even today, doesn’t stop my thoughts of inadequacy. I know I’m not alone, and I know there are countless girls out there who feel the exact same way. Regardless of whether or not they are, as of yet, engaged in extremely self-destructive behaviours, the thought processes alone can be harmful. The numbers seem to be growing as well. “27 per cent of Ontario girls 12-18 years old were reported to be engaged in severely problematic food and weight behaviour,” according to a recent study done by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), a notfor-profit organization mandated by the Ontario Ministry for Health to provide information regarding eating disorders and their treatment That is more than one in four girls engaged in severely problematic food and weight behaviour. On top of that, NEDIC also reports that eating disorders are now the third most common chronic illness among adolescent girls. It doesn’t seem shocking when you consider that, according to NEDIC, 55 per cent of 15 year-old girls would change the way they look if they could, and 81 per cent of 10 year olds are dieting. These stats may be a few decades old, from 1992 and 1986 respectively, but they paint a picture of a society where no matter what Raffi says, no one feels free to be who they are. We can bitch until the cows come home about the necessity of portraying more positive body images through the media, but, realistically, that’s not going to change anytime soon. Christine Tauer Martin from Counselling Services explains that, while eating disorders may be a manifestation of low self-esteem that could be influenced by the media, there are usually more
factors such as depression, anxiety, and stress at play. The best thing is to realize when “dieting” goes too far and how to help someone who you think may have an eating disorder. Although Tauer Martin stresses that there is no such thing as a “good diet,” she explained that there’s a gradient scale between dieting behaviours and those of an eating disorder. What she refers to as the “Continum of Weight PreOccupation” is a sliding scale from feeling fat, to dieting and exercising, to starving oneself and/or purging and/or abusing laxatives and/or overexercising. There’s no absolute, and the middle area is full of grey. Some behaviours are always troublesome, but the more one becomes engaged in them, the more likely they will continue to spiral until the “problem” behaviours become a full-fledged eating disorder. While I have been focusing on eating disorder in women, and will continue to refer to a sufferer using female pronouns, it is important to note that men too can be victims of eating disorders. “With men it is a growing concern,” said Tauer Martin. In fact, “females are more likely to seek treatment [and] males don’t recognize it as often as females,” said Sandy Chuchman, the registered dietician for Health Services. “There are actually lots of students on this campus you may not notice who have an eating disorder,” added Chuchman, who had half of her appointments last year taken up by students recovering from eating disorders. She went on to explain that a student who goes to the gym excessively, overeats, binges or purges may not look like the ‘typical’ boney Kate Moss-style poster child for anorexia, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t doing just as much harm to her body. “There’s a fine line between going grocery shopping and looking at nutrition labels and having them take over your life,” said Chuchman. So how do you tell when someone is hitting the gym too hard, or that perpetually skipped meal is becoming too much of a routine? According to Tauer Martin, it’s about intuition and knowing the person involved. If the behaviours start to “twig” you or you are starting to get concerned, and you know there’s a lot going on in the individual’s personal life, it might be time to talk about their eating habits. “You don’t have to diagnose […] and you
are not responsible for fixing them,” she said. The best thing you can do is support her and be “someone to talk to that’s not going to judge or look down on them.” Taking that step to approach someone who you think has an eating disorder is undoubtedly difficult. Tauer Martin emphasized that you need to make sure she understands that you are trying to help, and make sure you don’t accuse and keep the conversation non-confrontational. Remember, even with the best of intentions, you may not get the desired response, she later added. The person may even be resistant to the suggestion that she has a problem. I remember when six of my girlfriends sat me down in Grade 11 to tell me that they knew what I was doing, and they were scared for me and wanted me to stop. They might have had the best of intentions, but their “intervention,” was not the right way to go about it. Not only did the encounter piss me off, but the behaviour didn’t stop for another year — until I was ready to address it. If you think that you, or someone you care about, may have an eating disorder, contact someone at Counselling or Health Services, or a family doctor and get more information. Whatever you do, “Do not think [the behaviours are] going to go away on their own, because they don’t,” said Chuchman. Chuchman explained that there is a four-pronged approach to recovering from an eating disorder. First of all, the victim needs to be ready to recover. Then, she normally will need medical supervision, counselling, and, finally, a nutritionist. She said her job, as a nutritionist, is about helping rebuild a healthy relationship with food, and see it as fuel not a foe. But, in all honesty, I don’t know whether that will ever be a possibility for me, and both Chuchman and Martin agreed that for many people eating disorders are a lifelong disease. “The longer they have been struggling with an eating disorder, the more longstanding the behaviour may become,” said Martin. I may have broken the habit, but the urge still lingers. The voices keep whispering inadequacy. The magazine covers keep taunting. The sight of my thighs still turns my stomach, and I still constantly compare myself to other women. But maybe someday that’ll stop, and then I’ll be able to look in the mirror without having to fight to like what I see. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
The main eating disorders as defined by NEDIC Anorexia Athletica (Compulsive Exercising)
Anorexia athletica is a condition where people over-exercise because they believe this will control their bodies and give them a sense of power, control and self-respect. It isn’t a clinically recognized diagnosis in the same way that anorexia nervosa or bulimia are, but compulsive exercising can have serious health consequences.
Binge Eating Disorder (BED)
Individuals with binge eating disorders eat excessive amounts of food at one time. They do this for two reasons: They are very hungry because they have been dieting or restricting their eating in some way. The binge is a response to that hunger. They over-eat to comfort themselves, to avoid uncomfortable situations, or to numb their feelings. The binge is an attempt to soothe themselves emotionally. People who binge-eat are often ashamed and embarrassed. They also tend to be genetically heavier and larger than the “average” person. They do not, however, generally try to compensate for their over-eating by vomiting, fasting, over-exercising or abusing laxatives, as people with anorexia or bulimia may do. One in five obese people engage in binge eating.
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by cycles of bingeing and purging. As with anorexia, this behaviour is driven by a desire to regulate feelings, and with worries about body weight and shape. The cycle begins with the person rapidly eating large amounts of food in a single sitting. The eating feels automatic and helpless. This may, initially, numb uncomfortable feelings, like anger or sadness. But it also creates physical discomfort and anxiety about weight gain. As a consequence, the person tries to rid the body of the food that was consumed. This is attempted by vomiting, using laxatives, enemas or diuretics, by exercising excessively, by skipping meals or by dieting. These purging behaviours don’t achieve the desired goals - to feel more physically comfortable and not gain weight. Instead, they are very harmful to health.People with bulimia may well have a weight that is regarded as “normal”.
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa commonly begins during puberty and can be recognized by the following symptoms: • Losing a lot of weight. • An obsessive desire to be thinner. • Being very afraid of gaining weight or becoming “fat”. • Being unable to see our body as it really is: it always seems larger than it actually is. • Allowing our weight and shape to overly influence how we feel about ourselves. • A powerful desire to take control of our lives and feel competent. We believe we can achieve this by controlling our eating and weight. Anorexia and bulimia have similar symptoms. However, anorexia can be recognized by the following: • Significant weight loss without any logical reason, like illness. • Significant reduction in eating accompanied by repeated denials of hunger. • Dieting when not over our healthy weight range. • Signs of starvation. This can include the thinning or actual loss of hair, the appearance of a fine, white hair on the body, frequent bloated feelings, yellowing palms or soles of feet and/or a dry, pasty skin. • Abnormal menstrual periods in women.
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ED-NOS)
Individuals who experience a mix of anorexia and/or bulimia and/or binge-eating symptoms, but who don’t fall neatly into one of the medical categories, are said to have an Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (ED-NOS). These individuals should also receive the help and resources provided to individuals who have a “neat” clinical diagnosis.
Where
to go for help/ more information Counselling Services Needles Hall, room 2080 519 888 4567 x32655 Health Services 519-888-4096 www.healthservices.uwaterloo.ca Eating Disorders Awareness Coalition of Waterloo Region (EDAC) 519-745-4875 Overeaters Anonymous 519-585-7805
National Eating Disorder Information Centre www.nedic.ca 1-866-633-4220
Bulimia Anorexia Nervosa Association www.bana.ca
joyce hsu
Features
18
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Beauties in Business
with a degree in political science and international relations. At 24, while studying broadcast journalism, oth scholarship competition Afshin-Jam competed and won the and beauty pageant, the Miss 2003 Miss World Canada contest. World Canada competition Native to Iran, she became involved for 2008 includes as a finalist, for two in the case of Nazanin Fatehi. Fatehi was on death row in Iran, years in a row, a female UW student. Last year, math and business student at the age of 17 — accused of Yasmine Rasseem became a finalist murder when she stabbed a man, in Miss World Canada pagent. Her who was trying to rape her and her success helped encourage this year’s 15 year-old cousin. Afshin-Jam’s contestant, Nicole Mery, a fourth efforts saved Fatehi’s life, and after student who is also in in math and this success she began a campaign business student with a finance to stop child executions, and to concentration. Presently Mery is draw attention to Iranian minors looking forward to the week of on death row. These minors are competition, which starts in Toronto there despite the fact that Iran is signatory to international covenants on March 15. Mery was inspired by the efforts of forbidding the practice. Afshin-Jam a previous Miss World Canada, Na- drew enough attention to be asked zanin Afshin-Jam, who saved the life to present her petition, containing of an Iranian woman named Nazanin over 150,000 signatures, to Canadian Fatehi. Afshin-Jam started a campaign Parliament and the United Nations. to save the lives of other minors on Invited onto a number of television death row in Iran and drew attention programs, she was interviewed on both CNN and BBC. to the plight of women in Iran. While this story is powerful and Afshin-Jam graduated from the motivating, MeryPage has 1taken it to University of British Columbia 1/4RENT_imprint:Layout 1 2/19/08 12:11 PM Cait Davidson
assistant features editor
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heart, going as far as contacting Nazanin Afshin-Jam. Mery told Imprint that if she wins, she would like to use her platform to build schools in Africa, just as AfshinJam used her beauty and platform to save Fatehi. “Everybody has gifts, and so as long as you use those gifts […] you’re giving back to the community,” she said. Mery would like to use her platform to carry out the Miss World Canada campaign: “Beauty with a Purpose,” something that has been promoted by the pagent for twentyfive years. According to her website, Mery was born in Slovakia. Mery then moved with her family to Canada at the age of three. Visiting Slovakian orphanages in 2007 was described as “one of the best experiences” of her life, though she also travelled to France, Italy, Spain, and Greece. Mery believes that her calling is to be a life coach. She plans on doing a master of business, entrepreneurship and technology once she finishes her current degree. Mery mentioned that her success would reflect well on the alumni of UW. It would show that there are many faces to the departments, other than the typical stereotypes that we’ve all come to know. In the future Mery would like to put together a non-profit organization that allows students to find the right university program for them. On her website she mentions that she would like to bring in top professionals into her life coaching project. Her aim is
Courtesy Nicole Mery
UW Math and Business student, Nicole Mery to appear as a contestant in this year’s Miss World Canada beauty pagent. to coach people to “find their passions,” and to assist them in building their lives into ones where they can live out those passions every day. Mery’s website also mentions that she enjoys salsa and swing dancing, as well as running. She competed in UW Apprentice, and in the future plans on joining Big Sisters of KW and the UW Choir. Her goal is to climb the seven summits, which are the seven highest peaks on each continent. Miss World Canada has a People’s
Choice Award in which anyone can vote online at www.missworldcanada.com. The competitor with the most votes automatically goes through to the top 15 semifinals. The voting is taking place until March 13, people can vote up to three times a day. Mery would be interested to hear any comments from students and can be contacted at nmery@ uwaterloo.ca or on her website: www.nicolemery.com cdavidson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Comics & Distractions
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Crossword
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Tim Foster
Across 1. Animal excrement 5. Kitchen appliance 9. Toast beginning 14. Received injection in Freud’s central interpreted dream 15. Cover with asphalt or concrete 16. Playing field 17. Legume 18. Requires plugging in 20. Violent Mexican empire 22. Womanizers 23. Cubic metre 24. Wound memento 26. Princess insomnia enducer 27. Human welfare activist 31. Before now 32. Primary Cheerios ingredient 33. Variables for torque 36. Abetment 41. Lowest phaser setting 42. Sadness 43. Performed 45. With intent 50. Definite article 53. Arriv. time guesses 54. “Okie From Muskogee” singer Haggard 55. Interjection, precursor to hello 58. Lay eggs on a large scale 59. Below 62. Leak slowly 64. Biggest North American deer species 65. Position of something else 66. Move gently 67. Beer units 68. Worry 69. Saving fund with contrib. deadline March 1 Down 1. Bro or sis 2. Living things 3. Awe 4. Eastern sexual enlightenment doctrine 5. Oil cartel
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6. Actor Kilmer 7. Night before 8. Flower treat 9. Injure 10. Hockey player or fat South Park resident 11. Summary 12. Mother’s-side relative 13. Corn chip condiment 19. Multiple doughnut shapes 21. To a greater extent, poetic 23. Subjective of her 24. Giant thermonuclear furnace 25. Carolinian Sioux tribe 28. Promissory note 29. Cash dispensing dev. 30. Not (Scottish dialect) 34. Small clothing 35. Tranquility 37. Partially digested food to be rechewed
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38. The loneliest number 39. Departs 40. Always, poetic 44. Pigment 46. Low-fat 47. Neuter reflexive 48. Elec. current unit 49. Part of a show before the opening credits 50. Dull banging noise 51. Vietnam capital 52. Iowa town, setting of Wood’s American Gothic 56. For fear that 57. Metal-bearing minerals 58. Close 60. Ventilate 61. Golf ball stand 63. Verve
“My picture appeared in Imprint.” Liz Boettger
“My friend was born on it.” Larry Song
3B actuarial science
2B recreation and leisure
Feb. 22 solutions
tfoster@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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J.B. - I see you all the time. Are you stalking me? Because that would be super. We’ve shared many a dance/drink at Bomber. We also share a LOOOOVE of NYC. Bet you didn’t think I’d do it. xox - M.P.
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Every day I see you patrolling the halls of SJ. Your red hair makes you stand out in the crowd. You may be smaller than the other dons, but I think your heart is bigger.You weren’t on my list for eFlurtz, but I know we would hit it off. I hope you come out of the closet... permanently.
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Tim Foster
I’ve noticed you staring at me on our trip together. I can’t seem to hold it back any longer, I wanted to build that puzzle with you all night long, and share that mystical Wednesday night. I’m starting to believe we were meant to be together so do not hold back. We could be the richest couple in the world, if you know what I mean. When you see me next Friday night, remember to smile and wink so I know its for real.
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Shenanigans - I have been eyeing your muscular form from all angles for a while now: your breathless biceps, your glistening body in the sauna, your weighted disco dancing and your sensational squats. Be mine. - Googa So, I saw you eating two chicken pies.That pony-tail looked cute, no lies. Eating the pies like a panda bear. Passing the time like you didn’t care. How adorable you looked as you smiled. All I ask is one small favour. Next time, have a piece of mine, any flavour. If you would give me a chance, I will yell. Enjoy and bon appétit mademoiselle. We’re sure you’ve noticed us giggling when you walk by, or catch the daring looks we send your way. Remember the day you went to sit next to me but shifted over a seat when I surprised you with my delighted gasp? When you sit in front of us our hearts flutter and our excited whispers speed up. Please turn around and say hello our lanky, spectacled idol.
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T A O N E N O B A R R A S A S I A N S
“Got Jacked!”
“Your mom!”
4A legal studies/history & 3B psychology
3B psychology
Brendan Anderson & Joshua Svec
Karly Smith
B E A N S
3 7 1 2 9 5 6 8 4
“I temporarily had god-like powers.” Leah Feddema
“Febuary 29th exists?!” Swati Natta 3B bioinformatics
3B science
Hey gorgeous! We get together with a mutual friend for food every Friday and read Imprint together. So I hope you’re reading this now. I know we’re supposed to be just friends, but I’m ready to take this to a new level. When we’re in class together, I can’t hear a word our prof says. You are so hot and so sexy and I want to do unmentionable things to you! Your deep eyes and dark hair... and especially that beard...YUMMY!!! You are such a studMUFFIN! I don’t usually like shorter men, but you’re so sweet and somehow so sexy too! Let’s get together and do a little bit of reading between the lines! - O.B.
Adam — “Febuary 29th is...” Corrie — “Uh, a leap year!”
Missed a connection? Wanna break the ice? Email mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Adam McInroy & Corrie Leffering 4B kinesiology
“I got calamine lotion stuck in my eye.” Emily Lamantia & Gabriel Geurts 1B pharmacy
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Comics & Distractions
The Imprint caption contest
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
In need of a caption...
Each week, we will accept submissions that create a caption (humorous, political, or otherwise) for a particular photo. The winner and finalists will be chosen by editors and will be shown in the following issue. E-mail submissions along with your name, your year (e.g. 2B) and your program, under the title “caption contest,� to: mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca.
And the winner is... Fresh crop of shiny new shovels in full bloom at recently unveiled shovel garden. - Grant Lightfoot
Once again, Nik Stewart has been delayed in the production of his comic. We hope to present his comic again next week.
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Death metal rhapsody
Andrew Abela arts editor
E
xtreme forms of youth rebellion, symbolic violence and death metal culture: these are the main themes of UW art gallery Render’s latest showing Deaderer. Featuring the work of Toronto-based artists David Poolman and Roman Tkaczyk, Deaderer is a collaborative multimedia exhibit that evokes emotions of fierce anger, hatred and sadness — all set to rough, metal guitar drawl playing in the background. On their own these feelings would seem depressing, but in an exhibit centred on death metal culture they are entirely expected and are not as harsh as a result. A large portion of the exhibit features large black, white and red sketched paintings branded with large strings of text. A cup of tea filled with red liquid labelled “All words are empty” contrasts strikingly alongside a smashed, upturned bumper derby car with a red substance (presumably blood) pouring out of the windshield captioned “Total depravity.” Beside these, an empty trenchcoat is spewing red streams from every opening alongside the words “Unforgiven” and “FTW.” The largest painting featured a run-of-the-mill “Pate’s Pantry Variety” that might seem as if it was pulled from everyday life, until one’s eyes are drawn to the roof and notice the mass of red gushing from the roof which to me could be either blood or fire. Both are equally plausible and morose considering the big black heading “See you in hell.” All these references to death, destruction, and violence perfectly fits the overarching theme of the death metal genre of music. Death metal usually has morbid, growled lyrics, often touching on themes of violence or Satanism. In the exhibit, the shocking black mural paintings are accompanied by a big grid of
square pictures, alternating between images of pit bulls (according to the exhibit description, the genre’s pet of choice) and of long-haired death metal types. The images of death metal fans playing guitar in their bedrooms are juxtaposed with alternating pictures of pit bulls being pulled around with rope. This could either be seen as torturing pit bulls with rope around their necks or just playing rough with the mongrels — with pit bulls, it’s pretty hard to tell. All of the images were taken as screenshots from amateur death metal band
David Poolman and Roman Tkaczyk‘s Deaderer... evokes emotions of fierce anger, hatred and sadness — all set to rough, metal guitar drawl playing in the background. websites, including the shots of the pit bull antics. Apart from what might be pit bull torturing, the collection of pictures adds a somewhat lighter touch to the deathly images filling the other Render walls. Just below the middle of the picture array is a jumble of words such as “killstar,” “sadist,” “darkness,” “antichrist,” “destroyer” and “blitzkrieg,” all of which seem to relate to death metal. In case the viewer doesn’t pick up on the long hair and black Pantera and Metallica band T-shirts in the pictures, the long string of words about death metal serve to put the piece into the proper music genre context.
Sitting at the front of the exhibit are two TVs playing videos. One video is a continuous animation of Nauvoo temple on fire — a reference to the 1848 burning of the Mormon temple, which was allegedly attributed to mob arson. This acts as a direct representation of symbolic violence, as the mob arsonists who burned the Nauvoo temple were supposedly persecutors of the new religious sect. As before, the deconstructive animation sits beside a more light-hearted video entitled “13 instances,” which features short anecdotes about small instances of violence such as someone splitting their head open on the corner of an air conditioner. The exhibit opened on February 26 and will be open until March 20. The closing ceremony of Deaderer will feature a performance of FightWithBears, a hardcore band from Georgetown, Ontario. The performance will also be recorded as a live EP to be included in the Deaderer publication by Poolman, Tkaczyk and Render. Overall, the exhibit is an interesting display of the death metal culture and the violent themes often explored by the music itself. Even if you’re not a fan of death metal, Deaderer is definitely worth the quick trip to Render. Before seeing the exhibit, though, it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with death metal. Otherwise, the frightful images of death and violence might be altogether lost on you, or will seem much more gruesome than intended. aabela@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Photo by Jenn Serec, graphic by joyce hsu
Engineering shows its talent Cait Davidson staff reporter
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David Yip
Mechanical engineering student Ann-Marie Winkler serernades Bomber patrons with a soulful rendition of “Sex and Candy.”
alEng — an event that occurs every semester, forces students to wonder: Do engineers really have non-engineering talents? If you attended this semester’s TalEng, the Engsoc talent show, you might still be wondering when the show ends. The night began with a well-done vocal performance of Marcy’s Playground’s “Sex and Candy” by mechanical engineering student AnnMarie Winkler. The following act was much less melodic and much less tasteful, taking the form of an a cappella performance of an original song about sexually transmitted infections. This in turn was followed up by a duo-with-guitar performing several “folk rap” numbers in the tradition of the comedy band Flight of the Conchords. As the acts sung lyrics about STIs and folk-rap stylings about the smelling of dicks, one engineer remarked: “We’re not all class,” which I might consider for the motto of next term’s show. Still, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The laughs were followed by slow, melancholy solo guitar performances, by electrical engineering student Ryan Rockwood, of the songs “Lightning Crashes” by Live and “The World I Know” by Collective Soul. Rockwood then picked up the tempo with a rousing and impressive rendition of “Home for a Rest” by Spirit of the West, which
even had some members of the small audience on the floor and dancing. Unfortunately, half of the audience itself was made up of performers, and even then attendance was low. Organizer and computer engineering student Jay Shirtliff attributed the poor attendance to the timing of the show — right after reading week and during the time when many students had midterm exams. Additionally, the majority of the planning of the event occurred in the two days since reading week. Limited advertising on campus was also cited as a reason for the poor turnout. On another note, this term marked the first time that TalEng has been held at Bomber in three years, as Bomber management had previously told EngSoc that they could not have under-age students at their event. In response, EngSoc switched to other venues such as POETS, the engineering pub in Carl Pollock Hall, South Campus Hall, and even once at local bar Philthy McNasty’s. However last spring, electrical engineering student Mark Truchanowicz, Feds Vice-President Administration and Finance Del Pereira, and others began to work out a system in which EngSoc would be able to use Bomber and have under-age students attend. Shirtliff mentioned that he hoped this arrangement allowing under-age students would continue into the future, as it made the Tuesday nights that Bomber allots to club events accessible to a greater number of students. cdavidson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Building blocks: lego style
W
e’ve all either experienced or heard about the greatness of the Lego Star Wars series. Whether it’s the nostalgia of Lego, the two trilogies’ gameplay or the pure fun put in by its production team, almost everyone who sits down to play
Sonia Lee
this game loves it. So it makes sense that we should become privy to more of this addictive blocky world. Our desires have been answered as this year at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC), information was released about not only one new brick building benediction, but two! While the project was first announced last summer, the GDC has given us a load more information over the past month about what’s to come of Lego’s latest gaming venture into the popular Idiana Jones world. When asked by GameSpot a b o u t w hy they chose to adapt Indy, Lucas Arts producer Shawn Storc had this to say: “Indy is a natural fit for a game like this, that encourages exploration, adventure, and cooperative gameplay, as well as a healthy dose of [humour].” Just as one would expect, Lego Indiana Jones (LIJ) takes what we loved about Lego Star Wars and builds on it to create a new type of lovable interaction. As Storc puts it, “The
characters in the game are much more in tune with their surroundings and are much more physically active as they encounter puzzles, traps, and enemies… the core technology is based on the same engine, but with significant upgrades to allow for the new gameplay elements previously described.” As you relive the memorable action sequences from the original Indy films, you can be sure to be set out to trot and interact with other Legos at your home base (Barnett College), collect objects to unlock secrets and of course build all kinds of things. While, unfortunately, LIJ will not contain anything from the upcoming film, Storc tells us to keep our eyes peeled for a “…variety of subtle and not-so-subtle references to [Lego Star Wars].” It cannot be denied that after the joys of Lego Star Wars, Indy’s adventures in Lego Land will be on most people’s wish lists this year until its release this summer. Coupled with the buzz surrounding the discussion of Lego Indiana Jones, the GDC also informed us about Lego Batman. Although we don’t have quite as much information about this title, you can be sure that hopes are high. While Indy has set out to follow the ideas of the original Lego Star Wars rather closely, Lego Batman is going to add some tweaks. Rather than following one of the countless stories or movies about Batman, TT Games has created its own storyline for Batman to follow. In addition to the dynamic duo, within this new storyline you’ll get to see (and sometimes play as) villains such as, Catwoman, Penguin, Scarecrow, Killer Croc as well as Joker and Harley.
To make accurate use of Batman’s weapons and gadgetry, the TT Games team had to make sure that the style of combat was more attuned to him than to Luke Skywalker. In an interview with GameSpot Loz Doyle, a TT Games producer says that one way they incorporated Batman’s range of gadgets was to add new suits that you can switch between for different skills (think MegaMan). He also goes on to say that Lego Batman will contain upward of 36 levels (possibly more unlockable), 18 of which you play as Batman and Robin; in the other 18 the tables turn and allow you to play as one of the super-villains. To couple with the tweaking of everything else, Lego Batman also integrates a darker and grittier visual experience. Gotham City in this game will always be set at night and the visual effects that flow from that are definitely a sight to see. Even though Batman’s world is darker than those of Star Wars or Indiana Jones, we can rest assured that the telltale humour, encouraged exploration, co-op gameplay and puzzles of these Lego games will be found here along with a little innovation thrown in for good measure. As GameSpot’s Brian Ekberg puts it “[T]he folks at TT Games must be having a ball twisting up expectations for the Batman formula with this game, and it shows. With a light hearted tone and plenty of iconic characters in the mix, this looks to be another fun-filled adventure for the Caped Crusader.” In addition to Indy, don’t forget to add Batman to that wish list; Lego Batman is set for release this coming fall. jrickert@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
23
Movie Reviews Persepolis Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud Sony Pictures Classics
P courtesy screenrush
Vantage Point Pete Travis Columbia Pictures
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think I had that strange feeling of dÊjà vu in my head. Seven times! Oh wait, that’s just the somewhat interesting but rather annoying plot device used by director Pete Travis in his first major motion picture, Vantage Point. When the President of the United States, attending a new anti-terrorist summit (gasp), becomes the target of an assassination attempt (more gasps), it will take the collective viewpoints of eight individuals for audiences to string together the truth. (Well, all we really need is the main conspirator’s perspective. But we can’t make a 90-minute Hollywood movie out of that, can we?) The movie itself is rather enjoyable, as far as action-thrillers go. Snipers, explosions, gun fights, car chases; this movie’s got it all! And while the constant rewinding and replaying of the events through each character’s eyes can get a little distracting, it still manages to keep tensions high until the very end. But then the viewer’s analytical mind kicks into gear, and starts asking questions. Other than numerous inconsistencies in the story itself — the most apparent of which are two Secret Service agents who simply disappear from the streets — there are plenty of other issues that keep
this movie from living up to its potential. The plot, for one, is highly simplistic. We have terrorists who are after the president, and yet we have no definitive motive behind their actions. Are they looking for revenge, political influence, or a big payoff ? Or are American presidents so hated around the rest of the world that nobody needs a reason to go after them anymore? Everything in the movie seems dumbed down, almost assuming that the audience needs to be spoon-fed the pieces of this not-so-very complex puzzle. For a film that goes so far out of its way to show many individual perspectives, you’d think there would be some character development. Alas, all we get are flat, generic roles assigned to big stars in hope of better ticket sales. The only character with some actual growth is Forest Whitaker’s, who seems to have some sort of revelation regarding family life. All other characters remain as stuck-up, loyal, stupid, conniving, or ignorant as when we first meet them. My advice: go see Vantage Point if you simply want to view a nice action-thriller. As long as you can exercise your suspension of disbelief, (and this will be quite the workout,) the movie can be really enjoyable. Go in there looking for anything complex and thought-provoking, and you will most likely come out disappointed.
laying at the original Princess cinema March 9 to 11 is Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature Film Persepolis. The film has had a run at the theatre already, and if you missed it the first time — or even if you caught it already — be sure to make the second run. The film, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, is an animated, coming of age biopic looking at Satrapi’s life during her childhood and adolescence, which happened to take place during the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As a young outspoken Iranian girl, Marjane’s character can been seen sporting trainers and a denim jacket emblazoned with “punk is not ded[sic]â€? and listening to pop music including the Beegees. She believes that she is going to be the next prophet and seems to converse with God on several occasions. She also looks up to her uncle who was a political prisoner. The animation in the movie is based on the style of Satrapi’s graphic novel, which is carried faithfully to the screen. The animation style is minimalism at its best, comprable to the styles of Don Hertzfeld and perhaps early Matt Groening (without the constant stretching and shrinking). The voices, which were French, were well done and even featured Catherine Deneuve as Marjane’s mother. And don’t worry, there are subtitles. The story carries many of the same themes of a “right of passageâ€? film. During the movie, Marjane goes to lycĂŠe in Vienna, and before going, her grandmother gives her the “Don’t
courtesy cinemaisdope.com
forget your roots� speech. Also, the theme of rebellion is prominent as a young Marjane tries to buy an Iron Maiden tape from a guy on the street, the music of course is seen as rebellious. You also see Marjane’s fall from grace on the streets of Vienna. My favourite part of the film involved Marjane’s rehabilitation to the tune of Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger� and had everybody cracking up as the voice actor sang along. That scene was worth the price of admission alone. Also, Persepolis comments on the Islamic revolution. This should not be seen as an anti-Iranian movie,
in fact Satrapi, who resides in Paris now, has fond memories of her time in Tehran. The movie simply shows through an unfiltered lens the events and the aftermath of the Islamic revolution. Persepolis is the type of movie that captivates you while you watch it, and will have you talking for weeks after you’ve seen it. With its stunning visual style, and great story, Persoplis is definitely a movie you will not want to miss. — Scott Houston
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Arts & Entertainment
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Bring some deodorant
Gettin’ down down under
Your guide to comic conventions
A
Yosef Yip
comic convention can be a pretty intimidating thing to go to for a couple of reasons. For one, there’s the fear of feeling like a complete geek (in a negative connotation). While many have no problem with accepting the world of geekdom, others have a completely different, sometimes uncomfortable view on the lifestyle. As well, there’s usually a large amount of people at a convention. Even at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival (TCAF), which was a more indie scene in Toronto, there was a ton of people there and unfortunately not enough Speed Stick. From my experience, I’d like to share some tips and advice for going to an upcoming comic convention since the season for big conventions is fast approaching. Now, I’ve been to only a few conventions; I’ve been to the Canadian Fan Expo twice, the Paradise Toronto Comicon once, and I’ve been to Anime North for only a day. But I think I’ve got enough to warn you give you some details about what to expect for your first venture to this world of fans and fandom. 1. Think and plan ahead. Learn about any con you’re planning to go to way before attending, like any other excursion. Find out dates, times of events, fees, and guests attending, as well as how you’re going to spend your time there. And be extremely careful with your money. You’ll get a lot of deals at the shops at the event, but the food in
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the area is usually expensive. Packing a lunch or dinner is a smart idea. Think financially, socially, and realistically. 2. Take a shower and use deodorant. I’m not trying to be a jerk here, but you don’t know how important this is. Even a well-ventilated area won’t save you from nasty body odour if there are a heavily concentrated number of people on-site. Not only will proper hygiene make you feel more comfortable with yourself, but also it’ll make people around you feel more comfortable. Tons of webcomic artists, especially Tim Buckley of Ctrl-Alt-Del (www.cad-comic.com), will honour you heavily for not smelling like rotten elementary school wrestling mats. 3. Go for more than just one reason — make sure you want to go. Let’s say that you want to go to a con because on the guest list you happen to find acclaimed comic writer Alan Moore. It would really suck if he had to cancel, so it’s best to go excited to see multiple guests and events. Learn about some of the kiosks that are going to be there, as well as some of the neat events they may be having like cosplay competitions, artist collective panels and workshops, and various guest tables. 4. Don’t wear a stupid costume. Something that really peeves me are people who wear a normal 8.5”x11” sheet of paper featuring the words “I’M A PAPER NINJA” and use them as a costume. I’m sorry, but a piece of paper with a description is as legit as a jacked car with O.J. Simpson and Martha Stewart in it. A paper-bag mask isn’t that impressive either. A lot of con attendees put quite a bit of work into their costumes, so please respect them and wear something cool. 5. Try your best not to be a fanboy/girl, but don’t sweat it if you become one. Even if it’s your first time at a con, there’s a good chance you might accidentally squeak if you see your favourite comicist. Don’t worry so much about it, ‘cos it happens. But try not to overdo it and make a complete ass of yourself. That’s why it’s a good idea to go to a con with friends. That’s all I can really say about going to a comic con. Just remember that if you’re going to one, it’s not such a bad thing. Everyone who reads comics has some form of geek in them, no matter how small. ptrinh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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Christina Ricci RATED PG
In 2007 Hilltop Hoods released this masterpiece featuring Debris and the gang remixing their 2006 album with help from the 31 piece Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. The product of their efforts is a rich sounding re-release to step-up the original platinum album. However, hip-hop accompanied by an orchestra is not something new to North Americans. Kanye West and his orchestra accompaniment have recently entertained world audiences with live performances and Compact Disc compilations. However, on his 2006 CD, Late Orchestration: Live at Abbey Road Studios , Kanye is accompanied by a mere 17 piece orchestra, 14 members less than Hilltop Hoods would use a year later. So now the question stands: will the larger orchestra accompaniment of Hilltop Hoods create orchestra envy? While rap has long been accustomed to MC freestyle battles, this situation tells us that we may be witnessing the start of a new musical conflict: orchestra battles, where one artist or group
If you need anymore reason to check this group out, remember that name “Hilltop Hoods” sounds like “Hip-hop goods.” Smith), Suffa MC (Matt Lambert) and DJ Debris (Barry Francis). All three members of the group grew up in Austrailia with Pressure and Suffa growing up together in Adelaide in the state of South Australia. Wikipedia knowingly tells us that the group’s name comes from the suburb in south-eastern Adelaide where Pressure and Suffa grew up. This suburb is referred to by the local youth as “The Hilltop.” If you are eager to figure out where the second half of the groups name came from, I’d wager a guess that it was derived from band members’ clothing. Or perhaps the trio were hoodlums growing up — we may never know. Regardless, the trio’s Australian origin influences their work, creating a sound that may be new to your music library. The vocals of both Pressure and Suffa MC are unique to the North American ear, as they rap with heavy accents. This accent combined with the already unique voice of Pressure MC establishes a sound that is distinct to Hilltop Hoods. To compliment this vocal distinction, DJ Debris works with a variety of media ranging from classical instruments to traditional hip-hop scratching. In addition to this, Debris invariably arranges his beats so that they flow smoothly, avoiding the jumbled sound of a DJ trying to accomplish too much. This is perhaps most evident on Hilltop’s latest release, Hard Road: Restrung.
will better the other’s orchestral accompaniment. While this may pose a spacial problem for aspiring hip-hop groups battling on street corners, I for one would welcome such a new wave music battle. Regardless of this impending new wave battle, if you dig a good hip-hop track and are craving a new sound, tracks such as “The Hard Road” will surely please you. It’s a tune with a catchy chorus and good beat that tells an inspirational story. If you need anymore reason to check this group out, remember that name “Hilltop Hoods” sounds like “hiphop goods.” If you really dig Hilltop’s sound, check them out in Toronto on Friday March 7, 2008 as part of the Canadian Music Week festival. Tickets for the show are under ten bucks a piece and can be purchased through www. ticketbreak.com. For a glance at the official music video for “The Hard Road” and videos for a few other tracks, check out www.hilltophoods.info. The groups official website can be located at www. hilltophoods.com. Other Hilltop tunes to check out include “The Nosebleed Section” from the 2003 album The Calling, and “Monsters Ball Restrung” from the 2007 album The Hard Road Restrung. ktremblay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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he Hilltop Hoods’ single, “The Hard Road” from the 2006 Album The Hard Road — it’s your introduction to some good Australian hip-hop. If you haven’t heard this song, you’re probably not alone. Currently this hip-hop trio hasn’t had much North American exposure, however, this group is on the move. “The Hard Road” reached the number three position on the Triple J Hottest 100 chart in 2006 — this was one spot ahead of The Killers single “When You Were Young,” three spots ahead of Gnarles Barkley’s “Crazy” and four spots ahead of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars.” In turn, this group has potential. Lyrically, “The Hard Road” tells the listener about a familiar urban struggle to success. The struggle includes crime, alcohol abuse and ultimately produces apologies to friends and family. While the story may seem old — especially in the hip-hop scene — the sound is fresh to the ear. Hilltop Hoods is composed of three members, Pressure MC (Dan
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Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Technology for the world
Gates opens door to a future in which philanthropy meets software innovation
mackenzie common
Microsoft’s Bill Gates spoke to a jam-packed Humanities Theatre on February 21 about global poverty awareness, the potential for software to revolutionize the second digital age, and the development of natural user interfaces. Ashley Csanady staff reporter
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jam-packed Humanities Theatre with UW students and admin, local bigwigs, and regional high school students welcomed Bill Gates back to campus on Thursday, February 21. Microsoft magnate, billionaire, and soon-tobe full-time philanthropist, Gates encouraged students to be more aware of global poverty, pumped the potential for software to revolutionize “the second digital decade,” and catalogued the possibilities of “natural user interfaces.” Once again the only Canadian stop in a series of lectures across the continent, Gates started his UW talk by praising the strength of this campus’s math and engineering programs. He later added that UW “is always in the top three or so universities that Microsoft hires from.” His talk quickly turned to the “amazing things that can be done” in the next few years through technology. While Gates seems keen on the ability of technology to assist with everything from solving world hunger to eliminating textbooks, he focused on software and the “natural user interface” as the keys to innovation over the next ten years. “The transistors we are being given are not going to get bigger” in the near future, said Gates. As such, multi-core processors will be the key to speed and advancement, but he added that we need to “unite our software so we can run across all these, [which presents] a really tough problem.” Designing software to fit this bill may be the challenge for Microsoft developers, but for Gates, “one of the most profound changes will be the way we interact with these devices.” He spoke of cell phones as a “platform for doing great innovation,” but later added that, in the future, “the platform won’t be just one device.” He envisions a future where software can
run across multiple devices, further uniting cell phones, computers and other technologies. Uniting these technologies will result in a “natural user interface” where a “software platform will include touch, speech and vision,” said Gates. He sees computer interaction evolving to the level that it recognizes touch and speech more accurately, efficiently, and, most importantly, in a more userfriendly manner than currently possible. For Gates, the future of innovation lies “not [with] the computer on the desk, but the computer in the desk.” He went on to describe a work environment where your schedule, rolodex, e-mail, web browser, and even your television will be available through touch or speech and won’t be limited to the boundaries of a screen
Gates admitted that his vision of a “natural user interface” has been taking longer than he anticipated, but said, “I’m stubborn; we’re not giving up.” Although Gates provided the “sexy tech” side of computer-based research, his 2008 visit was markedly unlike his last to UW campus, in 2005. Far from the flashy toys he built his presentation around then, on Thursday Gates spoke at length on how technology can improve humanity. Gates further encouraged students to think about the world in terms of three tiers: the top two billion, for whom this more glamorous technology is a reality, the middle, and the bottom two billion, and how we can work to improve their lives. He admitted his own ignorance of the condi-
Just one example of the power of technology, even in its simplest forms, to help in development is demonstrative for Gates of how “making innovations for those people [the bottom two billion] is more important than for the top two billion.” — imagine a desk where you wave a hand and your calendar pops up, you say “call my two o’clock appointment” and the phone starts ringing, all while jotting notes on pages that will be converted into digital form to be e-mailed later. Work being done at UW is actually something of interest to Gates and Microsoft in helping to design a “natural user interface.” According to Thomas F. Coleman, the dean of math, in a roundtable with university professors preceding the event, Gates learned of work being done here, including the ability to do math on a computer tablet. Coleman said “he took notes” and was definitely interested in seeing how the technology could be of value to Microsoft.
tions of developing nations when he left school to found Microsoft and encouraged students to educate themselves about the plight of the poorest two billion on the planet. “I’d encourage you to have a much better awareness during your university years of their situation,” said Gates. He discussed the power of technology to assist in developing nations, using an initiative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to illustrate his point. The foundation, which has a focus on improving global health, development and education, used portable DVD players and videos made by the top farmers in the world to help educate farmers in Africa and improve the yield of their crops.
Just one example of the power of technology, even in its simplest forms, to help in development is demonstrative for Gates of how “making innovations for those people [the bottom two billion] is more important than for the top two billion.” When asked by Imprint why he has shifted his focus towards philanthropy in his speech since the last time he was here, Gates said he spent 30 per cent of his speech talking about 30 per cent of the population. He added that if he were to weigh it by need, maybe he should have devoted 80 per cent of his speech to “those people [who] need the most help,” and if he could, he would go back and add that 20 minutes onto all the university lectures he’s ever given. “I was really quite inspired by his presentation,” said President David Johnston following the talk. For Johnston, it was Gates’ focus on philanthropy that really stood out. These sentiments were echoed by 2A math student Rachel Lewis, who said that “it was interesting,” but added she was surprised that Gates “talked a lot about global improvement” rather than Microsoft’s business interests and development. A focus on philanthropy is certainly understandable, as Gates will retire as Chief Software Architect for Microsoft July 1, 2008 and shift his primary focus to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the onset of his Thursday speech, Gates played a self-deprecating video dramatizing his last day in office; the piece featured a wide variety of celebrities, from Jon Stewart to Jay-Z to Hillary Clinton, and showed much of Gates’ wit and humour that permeated his speech. An iconic figure, who certainly elicited much excitement with his visit, Gates showed just how “Hollywood” the tech-world can get by jetting off to Pittsburgh to speak again that very afternoon. acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Science & Technology
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
27
On Virginity Part 3 of 3: Discovering your body — no orgasm spoilers involved
H
aving addressed the risks in the previous two articles, it is now time to focus on sex itself, from a biological perspective. But before we get there, let’s bust some stigmas concerning sex aesthetics. In the aesthetics category, mimicking Hollywood sex at home is often on the agenda. Although attempting to experience gratification portrayed in movies is understandable, it forces you to assume that every body reacts to and strives on the same arousal cues as the actor/actress. This is problematic because arousal is not generic; it’s up to you to find out if fluffy handcuffs are the stuff of fetish or nightmare. Secondly, this just in: sex — from foreplay to intercourse to the morning after — is not as effortless as shown in the movies. In fact, it includes all the reels they cut out before moving on to the the next shot, containing the fumbling for the bra clip, the head bump as both of you lunge for the light switch at once and even the bother of having to clean up bodily fluids afterwards. Quit cringing though, as these moments combine into memorable sex exactly because they are unrehearsed and unique to everyone.
There are, of course, things you can do to make the environment as comfortable as possible for you and your partner. I’ve compiled a list of four things that can ease the flow of events and decrease possible awkwardness. I cannot stess contraceptives enough; that is why they are first on the list. If all you can think about is whether a sexual interaction is going to turn into parenthood, you will spoil the moment for yourself and your partner. It also probably means you have not protected yourself properly, so always make sure you are using a sufficient amount contraceptives. Having a sanitary sex environment is probably also the most overlooked factor in having sex, and thefore it comes in second. Scenarios such as losing your virginity while camping can be more challenging than romantic — it’s hard to focus on the moment when you’re worried about a trail of ants crawling up your bum. Bath tub sex can have its downfalls, too - mould, mildew and bacteria may contribute to yeast and urinary tract infections, as well as pelvic inflammatory disease. Choose your locations wisely!
Correction The February 22, 2008 Sexually, Illuminated column incorrectly suggested that answering “YES” to all five checklist items was best for ensuring one’s readiness for sex. The article should have suggested that answering “YES” to four questions, but “NO” to “Am I impaired?” was the more appropriate measure of readiness. Imprint apologizes for the error.
Adrienne Raw science editor
Gigantism in Antarctica
Mysterious sea creatures have been found in the murky depths of Antarctica’s icy waters. The finds were the result of an international program to take a census of the marine life at the southernmost continent and to study the effects of forces such as climate change on the undersea environment. The study collected specimens, many of which may have never been seen before, from as deep as 6,500 feet below the surface. Many of the speci-
mens display a phenomenon called gigantism in which some animals far under the sea grow to unusually large sizes. Some of these undersea giants included huge worms, giant crustaceans, and sea spiders the size of dinner plates. The specimens are en route to universities and museums worldwide for identification, tissue sampling, and DNA studies, and scientists believe that some of these creatures will be identified as new species. A follow-up expedition is planned for 10 to 15 years from now at which time scientists plan to examine the impact of climate change on the region’s environment.
The third item, personal lubricant, is really a matter of preference. If you’re nervous, the female body may cease to produce necessary lubrication. Some people never need the extra lubrication, while others can’t live without it. I do strongly recommend it for first timers, as it does make things a lot less stressful. (By the way, there is now a natural option available to those who choose to stay away from commercial, harsherchemical sex products — health food stores now offer natural alternatives to personal lubricants, featuring additives such as grape seed extract.) Lastly, a cleanup plan of action (or at least the possibility) can make the aftermath of sex a lot easier to deal with, as things can and will leak places. Because of this, a box of tissues is essential; a shower is optional. Many have said that sex and orgasm sensations cannot be concretely described, as this subjective experience surpasses vocabulary; therefore, knowing exactly what your body will go through before you lose your virginity can help an individual feel more comfortable about having sex without actually spoiling the grand finale. William Masters, a gynaecologist, and Eshelman Johnson, a psychologist, combined their efforts to study consistent physiological changes during sexual interactions. In their conclusions, they separated the human response cycle into four phases: excitement, plateau, orgasm and resolution. The initial stage of arousal, called
the excitement phase, causes a set of physiological responses that are easily recognizable due to vasocongestion — the engorgement of blood vessels that causes penile erection and swelling of the testes in males. In females, vasocongestion is reflected in the swelling of the clitoris and increased vaginal lubrication. This phase occurs prior to sexual intercourse and it can be caused by foreplay. This leads to the plateau stage, which is a continuation of physiological arousal and vasocongestion, and happens at a much slower pace than initial arousal. At this stage males may secrete a drop of clear fluid from the tip of the penis, which is released for easier sperm travel. This liquid, also called pre-cum, may contain sperm or sexually transmitted diseases, since it passes through the urethra. In males, the fluctuations between increases and decreases in erection are possible while, in women, it is the level and consistency of vaginal lubrication that fluctuates. Sexual excitement reaches a climax at the orgasm phase, at which point sexual arousal reaches a peak and is released in a series of pelvic muscular contractions. This phase is recognized by sharp increases of heart rate, respiration rate and blood pressure during the period of 10 to 15 contractions in both sexes, accompanied by a pleasant sensation. In males, orgasm is usually accompanied by ejaculation. Females also have the capacity to ejaculate, as produced by the female prostate. Both male and female
Support for African origins
that broke away took only a small portion of the original population’s genetic variation. The most striking result, researchers say is how similar humans are; 90 per cent of genetic variation occurs within populations, not between them. The study has opened a window into human evolution, but scientists still say there is a lot more this genetic survey could tell them, including the effects of natural selection on population diversity.
A recent, massive study of human genetic diversity has given scientists new insights into human evolution, including support for the theory that the first modern humans originated in Africa. Co-authored by researchers from Stanford University, the study, involved an unprecedented level of detail, comparing 650,000 genetic markers in nearly a thousand individuals from 51 populations around the world. Results show that variation decreases further from Africa, fitting the theory that the first modern humans settled the globe from Africa outwards. Each small group
DR. DOUG JONES
— with files from National Geographic and Examiner.com araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
DR. TIM SELLNER
ejaculate contains common substances such as PAP, but females don’t carry the fertilization functions of male ejaculate. While orgasm is a subjective experience, the sensations appear to be similar in both women and men. In the resolution phase, physiological changes caused by arousal retract and the body returns to a state of homeostasis. If orgasm has not occurred, the retractory period may be prolonged and followed with unpleasant sensation called “blue balls,” which is applicable to both sexes. It refers to the build-up of blood in the genitals as arteries carrying blood to the genitals enlarge while veins carrying it away become constricted, and are supposed to return to normal after orgasm. The unpleasant sensations are usually feelings of heaviness and minor pain, but these conditions are temporary and unthreatening to health. As I stated in the first article, the key to preventing uninformed sex decisions is empowerment through knowledge about the human body and its capabilities. An unbiased, factual approach to sex education — neither supporting nor condemning sexual activity — will allow students to judge for themselves, encouraging both critical thinking and a sense of responsibility for their bodies. alomako@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
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28
Science & Technology
Sherif Soliman assistant science editor
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Apple pimps its MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks
People, it is official: Steve Jobs is planning to take over the world. While the tech community is still smarting from Apple unleashing the thinnest laptop in the world, the MacBook Air, Apple has Microsoft pays big bucks decided to implement a major upgrade on the MacBook and The European Union (EU) has just issued Microsoft with a record- MacBook Pro lines. Both notebooks will now feature the new breaking bill of $1.35 billion U.S. or 899 million Euros. The EU has Intel Core Duo 2 processor, codenamed Penryn. The MacBook declared that MS has failed to comply with sanctions applied by the Pro will be given the multitouch track pads currently used in the EU in 2004. Microsoft’s pricing policies for their patents and policies iPhone, iPod Touch, and MacBook Air products, which will alwas the main infringement justifying the staggering figure of the low users to use finger gestures such as pinch, rotate, and swipe. fine. The epic $613 million (497 million Euros) EU antitrust ruling Processor speeds will reach 2.6 GHz for the 17-inch model, and against MS in 2004, proved that the EU meant business. The 2004 maximum available hard disk space will ruling came after several infringements of be upgraded to 300 GB. As a cherry the EU antitrust laws, and complaints on top, Apple will add the that Microsoft’s bundling policy, Nvidia GeForce 8600M manifested in Windows Media GT graphics card with Player, was unjustly affecting video memory up to 512 competitor products such as MB. While the MacBooks Real Networks’ Real Player and will be missing on the multiApple’s QuickTime Player. touch track pads and buffedThe EU, therefore, forced up video processors, CPU MS to release a media playerpower and memory storage free copy of Windows in will be upgraded without Europe. The 2004 fine increase in price. The slowest and others, bring the total processors offered will be at amount of fines imposed by 2.1 GHz, with the fastest being at the EU on MS to $2.5 billion. Neelie 2.4 GHz. Minimum storage has been courtesy microsoft and apple Kroes, the EU Competition Commissioner, upgraded from 80 to 120 GB, and the graphic by Yosef Yip hopes that the latest fine will end Microsoft’s breach of EU maximum will be at 250 GB. This move sanctions. The timing of the latest fine could not be worse for MS, comes after Apple had upgraded its Mac Pro line to include a as it has just released its Windows Server 2008, among other server whopping eight-core processing power, with speeds that reach software, and could really do without the bad publicity and financial 3.2 GHz. News of the upgrades is accompanied with an equally strain. Speaking of financial strain, MS has surprisingly renewed its exciting announcement: Apple will be announcing its plans for offer to purchase Yahoo with a revised sum of $44.6 billion. Yahoo an iPhone software development kit (SDK) next Thursday. A had, earlier this month, rejected Microsoft’s primary offer. It seems deadline for the SDK was set for sometime in February, and that this one is not favouring any better with either Yahoo or its us- while Apple will be missing that, it doesn’t seem to be upsetting ers. Yahoo claims that the offer is “a distraction to management and the hundreds of programmers who can’t wait to get busy with employees…” Flickr fans have started a group against the takeover. third party applications. The major concern is not unreasonable MS-hate, just the dread of seeing “Internet monopolist” on the market. ssoliman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Other Headlines iTunes vs. Wal-Mart: clash of the music retail titans
NDP Group states that iTunes is currently the #2 music retailer in the U.S. and predicts that it will surpass Wal-Mart to become the #1 retailer later this year. Google: we want in on everything!
Google’s social network, OpenSocial, which promises to be compatible with other networks such as Hi5, MySpace, and Friendster, also promises to be the next Facebook. Inevitable scrutiny by the online community followed said assurance. Craigslist costs a prostitute-seeking man his car
A 23-year-old North Californian got carjacked while waiting for what he thought was a prostitute he met on Craigslist. Surprisingly, the man went on to contact the police concerning the incident. Wikileaks.org strikes back
Wikileaks.org, a wiki site that hosted leaked corporate and government secrets and documents, and which was closed down by a federal judge earlier this month, is receiving legal help from free speech groups that include Public Citizen, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others. Asus Eee PC for Kids scares grown-up Sony
Sony Corporation fears that the $299 Eee PC by Asus, despite being intended for kids, could prove to be valuable for mainstream users. Its low price and high portability are attracting many users seeking small, inexpensive laptops.
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Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Laurier ousts Waterloo again
For the third year in a row, the men’s hockey team has its season ended by the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Warriors won game one of the three game series, but Laurier staged a comeback.
nikoo Shahabi
The Warriors score in game one of their playoff battle against Laurier which they won 5-0. However, their offence went anemic in game two, as they lost 3-1 at Laurier. The Golden Hawks completed the comeback in game three, scoring in the last minute of play to win the game 1-0 and the series 2-1. Suraj Sukumar reporter
T
he Waterloo Warriors finished their season with a three game series against Laurier last weekend. The three games took place on February 13, 15 and 17 and were nothing short of a great display of hockey. After finishing the regular season strong with a 6-0 win over Windsor, the Warriors were looking to take the three game series against Laurier to move on in the OUA playoffs. The Warriors had a great deal of momentum leading up to this game as they took a decisive win from the Windsor Lancers. Furthermore, the win over the Lancers gave the Warriors home-ice advantage for the first round of playoffs against the Golden Hawks. The first game and third game, if necessary, were to take place at Columbia Ice Fields. Wednesday, February 13 marked the beginning of the series between the Waterloo Warriors and the Laurier Gold Hawks. The atmosphere of the arena with an attendance of 450 people was exciting to the very last second. Fans supporting the black and gold were seen all over the stands and
they represented this fine institution proudly. The Warriors were able to put up two goals in the first 20 minutes of the game. The first goal came only 2:15 into the first period on a power play by David Edgeworth. The second goal came off an amazing individual effort by Shane Hart short-handed with 5:48 left in the first. The second and third periods were no different for the Warriors. They continued to capitalize on their chances and made it very hard for the Golden Hawks to make a sudden comeback. Despite their penalty trouble, they were still able to score three more goals in the next two periods. With regards to the penalty trouble, the Warriors had three gamemisconduct penalties called on them, two on David Edgeworth and one in the first period on Jordan Brenner. To make up for his game-misconduct in the first, Brenner scored a power play goal just 3:45 into the second period. Joel Olszowka scored the first goal of the second period just 1:05 before Brenner’s tally. The Warriors shot down the Golden Hawks with a score of 5-0. Two outstanding players for the Waterloo Warriors were Shane Hart
and Jimmy Bernier. Shane Hart played an outstanding game, scoring a shorthanded goal and assisting three others. Jimmy Bernier had another impressive game facing 34 shots and saving them all for a shutout. The Warriors were hoping to carry this momentum into the following game where they took on the Golden Hawks on their home ice.
“It was the end of our season. We had high aspirations this year going into the playoffs.” The Golden Hawks had different ideas going into the second game of the three game series. After losing 5-0 to the Warriors in the first game, the Hawks were looking to bounce back. What better place to turn things around than in front of 700 people on your home ice? The Hawks opened the scoring 9:04 into the first period. However, the Warriors bounced back with a late short-handed goal scored by Jordan
Brenner with only 15 seconds left in the first period. With the score tied, both teams came out looking for a go-ahead goal from the beginning. The second period saw the most shots by both teams with 28, 17 by the Golden Hawks. Laurier capitalized on one of those 17 shots by Nick Vergeer on a power play 13:53 into the second. That would be the only goal of the second period. The Warriors began the third period down 2-1, and let in another goal with only 2:56 left in the final period. I asked Coach Bourque to comment on the sudden shift of momentum after the first game. “I think the score of the first game misrepresented how close the game really was. Laurier definitely improved their play after the first game.” The Golden Hawks came away with a win to force a third and final game of the series to move on into the next round of the OUA playoffs. The third and final game of the series was played back on Warrior ice at Columbia Ice Fields. This game would be the final straw for both teams; one team goes home and the other moves on to the next round of
playoffs. The game could not have been more intense and exciting as it lived up to the hype of the final game of the series. The game was extremely close. Both teams had 8:00 of penalties on them and the Warriors out-shot Laurier by only 23-21. Sadly, the Waterloo Warriors’ season came to a sudden halt due to a heart-breaking goal by Riley Moher of Laurier with only 39 seconds left in the third period. That was the first and only goal of the game to give Laurier two out of three wins to move on to the next round of the playoffs. I asked Coach Bourque what was going through his mind the moment he saw the late goal: “I wanted to get the best players on the ice to score the tying goal.” He went on to say, “It was the end of our season. We had high aspirations this year going into the playoffs.” Even though the Warriors took the all-important first game with a decisive 5-0 win, the Laurier Golden Hawks bounced back from a rough loss and took the next two games of the series to move on to the next round and ended the Warriors’ season in the process.
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Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
31
Varsity blues need to end Why UW varsity sports should be important to campus life
8
0,000 boisterous fans are packed into Notre Dame stadium on a breezy Saturday afternoon for a football game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Fighting Irish cheerleaders and brass band are out in force and pumping up the crowd, which is filled with students, faculty, and alumni alike. Even though Notre Dame goes down in defeat to Michigan state this afternoon, nearly 10, 000 students, 1, 000 faculty and some 30, 000
11,000 strong student body participating in intramural or varsity sports. The rich sporting culture at Notre Dame fosters a robust sense of school pride and strong alumni support. 51 per cent of its alumni donated money and nearly 24 per cent of the student body are the children of alumni. A young university such as Waterloo, known more for its academics, can take some cues from Notre Dame. While it may be naïve to believe that Waterloo can reach parity with major
The school pride on display throughout frosh week, when chants of “water water water, loo loo loo” resonate across campus, become just a distant echo by second year. alumni came to witness the football spectacle. The game makes front page headlines of the student newspaper and is the talk of campus for the next week, as everyone bemoans the horrendous start of the legendary Fighting Irish football team. Notre Dame was named by Sports Illustrated as having the best intramural sports program in the US, and along with its high profile varsity sports teams brings in tens of millions of dollars in revenues from its sports program each year. Notre Dame is a school with the ideal sports culture, with nearly 60 per cent of its
American universities in sports anytime soon, establishing a stronger sporting culture here will not only go a long way in improving school morale among those already here on campus, but will help bring back those alumni who have been out touch with school affairs. Like the way alumnus of many American schools come back to support their school teams. Varsity sports teams can be the common link that binds all the students and faculty here together. Sporting experiences raise school pride and leaves students with the impression that Waterloo is not just a place to study, get
February 22 - 24
Windsor, OUA Championships Track and Field Tournament—Notable Results Men’s Pentathlon: Ryan Wight - 6th place, five personal bests Women’s Pentathlon: Jenna Bell - bronze medal with a score of 3296. Women’s 1500m: Julia Malleck, Kelly-Lynne Spettigue, and Laura Sardone finished their races with three personal bests.
March 7 Friday
3-on-3 HAPN & CASA Basketball Tournament Friday - 6:30 Start @ PAC main gym Register at CASA&HAPN booth March 3- 6 in SLC Format is 16 teams - 5 players/team Cost (per team) $10, cash prize for wining team
March 14 -15
Friday and Saturday 3-on-3 March Madness Basketball Tournament Friday - 4 pm to 11 pm & Saturday - 9 am to 5 pm @ CIF Deadline to sign-up is Wednesday, March 12. Captain’s Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 13 @4:45 pm in MC 1085
a diploma and then get out; but a place that can leave great memories and experiences. There is no event here at Waterloo that brings the school out in force the way Notre Dame football games do for their college. The school pride on display throughout frosh week, when chants of “water water water, loo loo loo”
resonate across campus, become just a distant echo by second year. I was recently surprised by how a significant portion of my UW friends did not even know that the “Warriors” was the name of our school’s teams. We can discuss the various reasons for the poor support of the school varsity program, ranging from lack of funding and facilities to team performances, but what it comes down to is that students are unaware of the events that go on, and there is little effort made after frosh week to get students out to games. This leads to a vicious cycle where sparse support for the teams leads to sports getting brushed to the side and consequently creates apathy in students for campus events and school pride. It’s not going to happen overnight, but a grassroots campaign from those involved with Waterloo varsity sports along with enthusiastic students raising community awareness of UW athletics to increase attendence could perhaps convince the school administration to devote more resources to sports. That would be the first step to creating a school that is proud of its sports teams. Sonia Lee
yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
32
Sports & Living
Imprint, Friday, February 29, 2008
Women’s volleyball comes up short Yang Liu sports editor
T
his season saw the Warriors get off to the best start in their history as they opened the 2007-2008 year on an 8-0 run. The team was on an incredible high, being among the elite teams of the OUA as well as among the best in the nation. The second half of the season, however, was a sobering lesson in humility as the team struggled at times against the better teams in the league. The Warriors’ early season
winning streak included impressive wins against playoff teams such as Western, Laurier and OUA champion McMaster. The second half of the season was a completely different tale, as the Warriors went just 2-5 against playoff-bound teams. The Warriors lost their lead in the OUA west division to the surging McMaster Marauders who won 13 straight games to end the season on route to winning the OUA championship. In the end, the Warriors still finished 14-5, their best finish in recent memory, and earned a home playoff
date with cross-town rival Laurier. In the meaningless final regular season game, Laurier swept Waterloo three sets to none. Attempting to avoid the fate of many other Warrior teams, who saw their season ended at the hands of the Golden Hawks, the Warriors brought their A-game out against Laurier in the OUA quarterfinals. The first was won decisively by Waterloo 25-15, and the Warriors put a chokehold on the match after wining the second set 25-21. Laurier, however, would not go away so easily and outplayed Waterloo in the third set to win 25-18. The final set was hard fought and went back and forth, but the Warriors ultimately prevailed 25-22, earning a berth in the final four. The Warriors surpassed their previous year’s outcome with this win, having lost to McMaster in the 2007 quarter-finals. The Warriors had a tough task in the semi-finals, facing the University
of Toronto’s Varsity Blues, who held the best record in OUA at 17-2, and were on an 11 game winning streak coming into the game. In their only previous meeting this season, the Blues dominated Waterloo in a 3-0 sweep. The difficulty of the match was compounded for the Warriors by having to play the game in the Blues backyard. It didn’t start off on a good note for the Warriors, who dropped the first set 25-19. The next set would be a completely different story; the two teams traded point for point as the Warriors pushed the Blues beyond the 25 point mark. However, the Blues, with their trio of all-stars Anastasia Danilova, Heather Bansley, and Mila Miguel, edged out Waterloo 28-26. The Warriors would not roll over in the third set, as they once again matched Toronto point for point, even getting to set point once. In the end, the Warriors came up short, losing the set 29-27, and the
match 3-0 to the Blues who advanced to the championship match. The following night the Warriors squared off against Ottawa in the OUA third place match, but their heart did not seem to be in the game after the previous night’s intense heartbreaking loss. They would lose the match in another sweep-25-16, 25-19, 25-23—to finish in fourth place. While the Warriors experienced a disappointing end to the season, they can take solace in the fact that this season was one of the most successful seasons in recent memory for the women’s volleyball program. The team can attribute much of their success to the performance of the dynamic duo of Gaby Lesniak and Bojana Josipovic, who were both named to the OUA west first-team all-star roster. yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca
Scott Houston reporter
Jen Stanfel
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Imprint sports lets you in on the essentials needed to understand that cryptic “hoop speak.” Key
Brick
What it means: When a player shoots the ball and misses, usually when it hits the rim and bounces back. “Lebron just put up a total brick.”
What it means: The coloured
part inside the three point line. Usually heard in the phrase top of the key. “The team needs to improve their play in the key.”
Lay up
What it means: When a player
runs up to the side of the net and makes the basket by rolling the ball off their fingers. “He went in for the lay up.”
What it means: Another phrase for in the key. “He just took the shot in the paint.”
Drive
Alley-oop
What it means: When a player
approaches the net for a lay up through the defense. “Reggie drives to the net for the lay up.”
Beyond the arc
What it means: Beyond the three point line. “Nash has been hot from beyond the arc tonight.”
In the paint
What it means: When one
player shoots the ball toward the net and another completes the point by laying it up or dunking it in. “Calderon to Bosh for the alley-oop.”
And 1
Rejection
What it means: Not just a cloth-
ing company. This is when a player is fouled and gets and extra shot from the free throw line. “He got the basket and 1.”
What it means: A shot that has been blocked. “Bosh went for the lay up and got rejected.”
joyce Hsu
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07 THIS WEEK IN 08 ATHLETICS
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Athletes of the Week Oleg Chernukhin - Swimming Oleg, a 3rd year Engineering student from Fredericton, N.B., claimed the bronze medal in the in 50m back event this past weekend at the CIS Championships in Vancouver. Swimming against the best swimmers in the nation, Oleg swam an aggressive race to collect his first ever CIS medal. Oleg also participated in the 100 back and 50 free events. This is the second time in three weeks Oleg has been named Waterloo Athlete of the week.
IMPRINT | FEB 29 2008
Jenna Bell - Track and Field Jenna, a 5th year Kinesiology student from Toronto, Ontario, claimed the bronze medal in the Pentathlon at the OUA Championships this past weekend in Windsor for the first women's medal in track in field for Waterloo since 2003. In doing so, she set a new varsity record in the Shot Put event (12.5m ) eclipsing the old mark by over a metre. She currently ranks 8th in the CIS in shot put. She also cracked the CIS top ten in the 60M hurdles with a time of 9.14s.