Imprint_2008-03-07_v30_i30 by Editor Imprint

Impr int The university of Waterloo’s official student newspaper

Friday, March 7, 2008

vol 30, no 30

imprint . uwaterloo . ca

UW Cultural Caravan

Dances from around the world set the Great Hall on fire, page 12

Duped Salon scam strikes UW campus Brittany Baker reporter

adies, gentlemen, I hate to be the one to bring this to your attention, but there seems to be something afoot in Waterloo which can only be called a “Salon Scam.” Stop me if this sounds familiar: You and your friends are walking through the SLC, when suddenly someone standing beside the Bomber stops you. They might be male or female, dressed stylishly, and wearing a bright smile. What do they want? To offer you what might seem like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a 90 per cent off deal at a hair salon. These salons could be one of the following: Moussa Salon, Fancy Salon, or Studio-T Salon, amongst several others. It seems like a fantastic deal. $55 for four visits to a salon — including haircuts, manicures, pedicures, highlights, and massages among other, equally appealing suggestions for your skin, nail, and hair-care wants and needs.

shock when she attempted to use her certificate at Fancy Salon only to discover that, though it still existed, several of the items offered in the brochure simply did not exist. Moreover, the owner had never been paid for the “package deal” that was offered at the SLC. That was November. Then January. Flashforward to today, and the sales representatives are back, going under the name of Studio-T Salon, or perhaps others of which I am not yet aware. Though they have been driven away by the SLC management, I’d advise you all to keep on your toes. The company that advertises these salons seems to be very persistent. In checking the internet we also discovered that we were not alone. Many have been victimized by this scam. For those university students who are living off of student loans and the loonies they find on the street, a wasted $55 can be a rather devastating blow to the monthly budget. Know this, my fellow scam-ees, you are neither the first this has happened to -- nor is

Though they have been driven away by the SLC management, I’d advise you all to keep on your toes. The company that advertises these salons seems to be very persistent. The salesperson will offer helpful brochures and likely even carry a portable debit and Visa machine to make your purchase easier. They will offer the package as a great future gift for friends and family. When all is said and done, it sounds too good to be true. Hate to say it, but that’s the case. I was first approached November 14 at lunch while preparing to get some food from the Bomber with a close friend. The two of us were stopped, and quickly convinced that four days in a salon in a few months would make a great ‘girl’s day.’ Later, with two other friends while in DC, I was again approached by two different saleswomen who presented us with same package. Regrettably, I convinced my friends that it would be fun if we went together for one of the days. So, my friends and I spent $220 on… well, you guessed it, absolutely nothing. When we called to make our appointments in January, as was suggested in our oh-so-helpful brochure from the salon Moussa, we were surprised to discover that it no longer existed. A friend and fellow reporter received a similar

it likely that you will be the last. Imagine my surprise when it was found that it is not the salons themselves, but instead the company that makes the brochure, Ad EFX, is not a first timer in the scam industry. Also, The University of Waterloo is not the first University to come under attack. Though these scams are vehemently denied by “Jon,” the vice president of Ad EFX — as he claims in response to the complaints about his company on www.ripoffreport.com — the problems that both consumers and employees have with the company only seem to rack up in points. According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, “Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the BBB due to unanswered complaints. The company has resolved some complaints presented by the BBB; however, the company did not respond to other complaints.” The advertising company has received 11 complaints in the last 36 months. Five complaints existed before that. Ad EFX has not escaped scrutiny from

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many websites designed to find such scams, such as complaint-shop.com, ripoffreport. com and pissedconsumer.com. Upset consumers seem to appear across the map, (just as Ad EFX claims to be international) from London to Texas, to Florida, to British Columbia, and finally to the University of Toronto. Though the article seems to have disappeared from October 9, 2003 on the University of Toronto’s website, it appears to be a known fact among internet-watchers and complainants about Ad EFX that the University of Toronto issued a ban on the company which prevented them from coming onto their campus. In any case, though the company seems to deny it as often as possible, Ad EFX cannot, and should not, be trusted if seen on campus. Plenty of other concerned buyers have spoken up, and as ‘vulnerable’ and financially disabled university students we need to watch ourselves. The Feds office has also taken an interest in the salon scammers. In an interview, Feds president Kevin Royal said that the solicitors have been brought to the campus’ attention, and the assistant manager of the SLC, Scott Pearson, has banned the Salon Scammers offering the general student body this piece of advice: “The Federation of Students encourages all students to be wary of anyone approaching

them in the Student Life Centre in a suspicious manner. The only vendors that have been approved by the SLC are generally those occupying ‘Vendor Alley’ across from Brubakers, who have paid for use of the space. The SLC has a no-solicitation policy, and any unsolicited sales pitch on the premises is illegal and should be immediately brought to the attention of all of the following: The Federation of Students, the SLC Management (Scott Pearson and Ann Simpson) and Police Services. While the Feds will be doing all it can to ensure these groups are not welcome on campus, our student body can help exponentially by being the eyes and ears of justice on this campus.” It is safe for students to buy wares from those selling their items in “Vendor Alley” since they have been validated by the SLC management, but if someone attempts to sell you something, and they don’t have a table, or cannot present you with the item you are buying on the spot, follow this reporter’s advice, which has been earned (regrettably) first hand: Don’t buy it, and report them to SLC management and campus police.

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Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

CKMS plans for the future Travis Myers news editor

KMS held a question-andanswer event on Wednesday, March 5 in the SLC Great Hall, with members of its staff and committees available to answer students’ questions. Unfortunately for CKMS the event was poorly attended, with fewer participating students in the crowd than there were station representatives behind the microphone. CKMS, however, does have plans for the future of the station — in the interim while the students’ decision to remove the fee for the station goes to the Board of Governors, and for the time beyond whichever decision is made. When asked about some of the station’s plans, CKMS general manager Heather Majury seemed to have her head on her shoulders while looking towards the future. “We plan to find out what students are interested in. We have surveys for students to fill out.” However, she admits that in terms of alternate forms of financial support there are “very few” venues and possibilities available for the station. The student body voted 2280 – 1081 to remove the $5.50 per term fee which provided 90 per cent of CKMS’s funding. The vote could reflect students’ potential issues with the radio station, such as the relatively low broadcast signal strength or the distance to the CKMS office from

the main campus. To combat these issues, Majury has a number of ideas in place to improve the visibility and accesibility of the station for students, including the repositioning of the antenna to higher ground in an attempt to improve signal quality and reception in the tougher to reach spots on campus, and to avoid problems of losing the station’s signal behind large buildings. The internet is an option for the underfunded broadcaster. The station already operates an online streaming feed through its website, but Majury hopes to encourage its volunteers to start releasing podcasts, a wise move for a campus blanketed with iPods and MP3 players instead of old-fashioned radios. In answer to questions about the possibility of excessive cultural diversity being part of the problem for CKMS, Majury explained that, first and foremost, CKMS has to follow Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commision (CRTC) regulations, as well as their own choice to reflect the diverse population of the community through its programming. The station’s ratings, though, aren’t a concern for Majury. “It can be expected that 2 per cent of the population is tuned in at any time, though this number may vary from program to program.” She also explained that the station doesn’t have ratings in the way that a television show or major radio program would, having no system for measuring

listener numbers to go by. Majury said that CKMS remains devoted to the roles that the broadcaster plays around campus and in the larger community. “[CKMS] promotes local musicians, acts as the ambassador of UW, gives excellent experience to those interested in persuing broadcasting, [and] offers tons of variety such as shows in many different languages,” said Majury. However, Majury didn’t expand on the subject of CKMS’ current financial problems. When asked about the possibility of the Board of Governors approving the decision of the students she responded that “defunding is not an option for CKMS.” Moreover, when asked if the $5.50 student fee was the lowest amount they could run on, she responded that “No, CKMS runs on a very tight budget and [we] felt that $5.50 was a very reasonable number.” Voters, however, still voted 2280 to 1081 to remove the fee when they cast their ballots before reading week. The main point Majury got across in the interview was with regard to the changing future for UW’s nowendangered radio station. “CKMS does have guidelines to follow, but after that the decision really lies in the hands of the people who volunteer at the station.” –With files from Dylan Cawker. tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca Joyce Hsu

The taxman gives students a break Marco Baldasaro assistant news editor

Joanna Sevilla

Corrections In Imprint’s February 29 cover story, “Are we aware?” GLOW - The Queer and Questioning Resource Centre was incorrectly referred to as “Gays and Lesbians of Waterloo,” the services’ previous title. Also, in the photo-caption on the February 15 edition of Imprint, Kenneth Yip was incorrectly identified as “David Yip.” Imprint apologizes for these errors.

he Conser vative federal budget for 2008 passed as expected on Tuesday in the House of Commons in Ottawa, 125 to 90. As a consequence, students in Canada should expect some imminent construction to the avenues of financial aid. As predicted prior to the vote, the Liberals declined to vote against the budget, a move that would have triggered an election. Defending his party’s decision after the budget was unveiled, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion told CBC that “[u]nder the circumstances, I don’t see enough in this budget that would justify that we precipitate an election that Canadians do not want for now.” Finance minister Jim Flaherty has called the budget, which is almost void of large spending initiatives “prudent” in light of the potentiality of a slowing economy and a drop in national economic growth. Among the initiatives students can expect from the federal budget is $350 million per year for a new consolidated Canada Student Grant program that, according to the Conservatives, will reach 245,000 college and undergraduate students. The new Canada Student Grant program will come into effect in fall of 2009. Money will continue to increase to $430 million by 2013. The birth of the Canada Student Grant program is to coincide with the wind-down of the Millennium Scholarship Foundation, the program that currently provides a range of bursaries,

awards and scholarships to support students eligible for student financial assistance. As well, $123 million over four years starting in 2009-10 will go towards streamlining and modernizing the Canada Student Loans Program, a government program that enables students with demonstrated financial need to attend post-secondary institutions including university, college, trade school, or vocational school by providing them with loans to cover the costs. Some of the money provided by the new budget will go to expand online services, allowing students to manage their loans online from application to repayment. Flaherty and the Conservative budget also called for more flexibility for Registered Education Savings Plans or RESPs, a special tax-free savings account that is designed to help Canadian citizens save early for the education of students after high school. RESPs will now be allowed to remain open for 35 years instead of 25 years. Finally, $25 million over two years will be provided to establish a new Canada Graduate Scholarship award in order to attract top Canadian and international doctoral students. The program is expected to support up to 500 students and will be worth up to $50,000 per year for three years for top doctoral students. In addition, $3 million over two years will also be provided for Canada Graduate Scholarship recipients to help pay some of the expenses accrued by enrolment at universities outside of Canada.

While some may be looking at this budget as a long overdue injection of support for the financially struggling student, there are certainly those who would beg to differ. “Actually, the budget is more of a redistribution of funds already available. There’s not a lot of new money,” said Feds VP education Jonah Levine on Wednesday. Levine compares the budget to “the spreading of a larger net.” Middle income students who in past years would have received little if any government funding may now be able to collect a small amount of financial aid. Unfortunately, this will come “at the direct cost of low income students,” who, according to Levine, traditionally receive a larger percentage of funding. Fortunately, at least for the time being, any low income UW students relying on government aid that are left in the lurch by the new budget will still have the University of Waterloo Guarantee of Undergraduate Student Financial Support. This means the university guarantees to fund Ontario students with unmet need as defined by OSAP or a student assistance program from another Canadian province. “As long as we don’t run out of money,” Levine mused, “at least [students at] UW should be alright.” So at least at this point in time, it seems there is still some uncertainty as to the long-term effects this federal budget may have for students. But Levine will be keeping a close eye on things for the time being: “It will be my job to see how the chips will fall.” mbaldasaro@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Sikh Gurus feed fans Turnkey Coffee House March 19 @ SLC Great Hall

Career Exploration and Decision Making

The campus’ best artists, musicians, poets and presenters are going to be performing all day onWednesday, March 19 in the SLC Great Hall. Anyone interested in performing can inquire at the Turnkey Desk in the SLC or e-mail turnkeydesk@gmail. com for more information.

This session will increase your understanding of the career decision-making process, and put you in a better position to make appropriate career choices. Please sign up online.

New German Cinema March 11 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. @ RCH 301 Germanic and Slavic Studies is hosting a screening of German films from the 1970s, 1980s and some recent films. All films are in German with English subtitles, or in English. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

SciSoc Stoplight Luau March 8 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. @ Fed Hall This all ages event is hosted by the Science Society.Tickets are available at the Science Society office in PHYS 345 for five dollars. All are welcome. Come with a red glowstick to show you’re taken, an orange/yellow one to say “it’s complicated,” a green one to say you’re available and a blue glowstick to say “whatever I can get.”

GLOW discussion group March 12 at 8:15, weekly at 7:15 p.m. @ PAS 3005 The weekly discussion group,hosted by GLOW – the Queer and Questioning Resource Centre, provides an opportunity for members of the queer community and allies to get together to meet new friends while discussing topics of interest. Confidentiality is assured.

St Jerome’s Centre for Catholic Experience Lecture March 14 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. @ C.L. Siegfried Hall, St. Jerome’s “Jidwa:doh — Let’s Become Again, Indiginous Heath Care and the Healing of a Nation” by Dawn Martin-Hill, PhD. Admission is free and all are welcome to this lecture.

The Web Clinic

March 12 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. @ C2 160 A web clinic for people of all skill levels and experience to work on their websites and get help from each other. Bring your laptop or use the lab’s computers.

March 10 from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. @ TC 1112

Green Week

March 10-14 @ various times and locations The UW Sustainability Project is showcasing several events, including Activism in the Environment: an open lecture, an environmental fair, free concert featuring Knock Knock Ginger and refreshments (including fair-trade coffee), sustainable energy panel discussion and more. See http://uwsp.uwaterloo.ca for more information.

The Children of Eden

March 13 - 14 7:00pm March 15 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. @ Hagey Hall The Conrad Grebel Student Council presents “The Children of Eden.” This musical is an exciting revisitation of the first story ever and will take place at Hagey Hall. Tickets: Hagey Hall box office: $12 general admission, $10 students.

It’s Just the Beginning March 13 at 7:00 p.m. @ South Campus Hall

Here’s your chance to meet and speak with alumni and hear of exciting new developments in the Speech Communication department. Refreshments will be served.

Warrior Weekends

March 8 from 9 p.m. to 11:45 p.m. @ SLC Great Hall Hosted by the Student Life Office, Feds, Housing and Residences, SLC and Campus Rec. Come on out!

Tartuffe

March 12 at 8:00 p.m. @ Theatre of the Arts, Modern Languages Building A modern translation of Moliere’s play Tartuffe, performed and hosted by students in the Drama Dept.

Factions clash over grad house Michael L. Davenport staff reporter

here is one building inside Ring Road which stands out from all the others, an old white farm house surrounded by academic buildings: Grad House. The Graduate Students Association offices are located there, professors sometimes take their grad students for a beer there, and it even hosts the occasional music show. But currently the question lingers - will the grad students still be there in a decade or two? Even though the Graduate Students Association (GSA) holds the lease on the Grad House until 2018, the future of the Grad House is a current issue because the university is in the process of updating their Master Plan for South Campus. Decisions regarding the fate of the Grad House could be made in the next year. Development on campus follows the Master Plan which was implemented in 1992. One of the functions of the Master Plan is to indicate land on campus as possible sites for future development. The update to said plan is being worked on by the company Urban Strategies.

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(The current Campus Master Plan is available online at http://www.uwaterloo.ca/documents/masterplan/) UW VP Administration and Finance Dennis Huber indicated the plans for Grad House and surrounding area are not yet set, saying it could be designated “a development zone or a no development zone.” Huber stressed that nothing will happen without student input, saying that different student groups with a stake in the issue will be contacted for consultation, hopefully within the next few weeks. “We want to respect the academic cycle, so we want to have this contact before exam period begins.” In addition, Huber pointed out that students are represented on the Campus Master Plan Steering Committee, and the administration plans to have open house sessions open to the student body at large. “The more student input we get, the better.” It’s worth noting that in the past, the faculty of engineering has expressed interest in building

in the space currently occupied by Grad House. Robert Shipley, director of the Heritage Resources Centre on campus, wants to see the Grad House kept as a “physical reminder and link” to our university’s past. “This is the one place that reminds us of where we came from, and reminds us of our roots,” said Shipley, speaking of the university’s “working class, agrarian” origins. While an article published in The Record on December 22, 2007 speaks of the possibility of the municipality designating the Grad House as an official heritage site, Shipley points out protecting the Grad House in the Master Plan is not dependant on heritage status. Another dimension to the issue is one of finite space. While in 2005 there were 2,600 graduate students on this campus, the Sixth Decade Plan calls for UW to increase graduate enrolment to 8,000 students by 2017. See GRAD page 6

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Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

GRAD: farmhouse future Continued from page 4

Grad House can get cramped as is, and will likely be insufficient to meet the needs of graduate students in the future. While more informal space may be constructed for grad students in the future (Huber said there was interest on the part of both the administration and grad students), Shipley maintains that it’s a somewhat separate issue. While Shipley said that, for the time being it’s “best used as it is right now,” he said he wouldn’t mind the building be turned into something else (the President’s office, for instance), as long as the farmhouse stays. “It’s not about a place for the Graduate Association. It’s about this place.” Current GSA President Ian MacKinnon said, “I like the idea of green space on campus, but my primary concern is ensuring that grad students will have a place to call their own indefinitely.” MacKinnon and Shipley did not see eye to eye when it came to the impact a heritage designation would have on the use of the Grad House. Shipley said that, while plans for changes would have to be presented to the municipal government, the process is

“just a way of managing change, not preventing change,” and the status would merely ensure historical elements are preserved. He added that it’s “not about ‘pickling’ historical sites, but about keeping them alive.” However, MacKinnon claims that “the magnitude of renovations required to keep operating in the farm house are so great that I can’t imagine a municipal committee interested in preserving the alleged heritage of the site being in favour of them.” It’s somewhat coincidental that while this issue is arising, the GSA is having their first presidential election in years. To a large extent both presidential candidates, Craig Sloss and Kelly Itakura, echoed the statements made by current president MacKinnon with regard to building a second, larger “Grad Mansion” on campus to accommodate grad student growth. Commenting on the heavy use and overcrowding of the space, Sloss said, “If the problems with the farm house are not addressed, then the inadequacies of the facility could compromise our ability to continue operating the Grad House even earlier than 2018.”

The biggest split between Sloss and Itakura was over whether to vacate the farmhouse. Sloss, while believing constructing a new facility is more likely to be viable, would be willing to make improvements to the farmhouse. Conversely, Itakura said, “I don’t think the grad students should maintain the control over the farm house, the issue of what to do after the [GSA] vacates the farm house should be best left in the hands of a group dedicated to its preservation.” Personal ideas aside, both Itakura and Sloss stressed the role of the president is one of “negotiation” and as such, they must act on the will of the grad students. According to MacKinnon, “The GSA has no particular desire to see the house torn down, but we lose control of that in 2018 regardless of what happens.” The lease could be renewed in theory, but what happens in 2018 depends on deans not yet appointed and presidents not yet elected. However, the first indication of the possible outcome will arrive, when the university releases its next master plan. mdavenport@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Jennifer Henderson reporter

U.S targets al-Qaeda in U.S concerned by China’s military spending boost Somalia Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that the United States military had struck “a target against a known al Qaeda terrorist” in southern Somalia. The strike was reported as having used precision missiles and was targeted near the town of Dhoobley, Somalia. It was aimed at a “facility where there were known terrorists” affiliated with East African al-Qaeda operations, according to CNN. It is unclear whether the target was hit in the strike. The U.S. military official said the United States is still collecting poststrike information and is not yet able to confirm any casualties. However, speculative reports believe that there may have been a number of civilian casualties. Villagers in and around the surrounding strike zone have fled in fear of a future attack.

President Bush honours soldier after 26 years After 26 years, Army Master Sgt. Woodrow “Woody” Keeble was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour Monday for his efforts during the Korean War. President Bush presented the award early last week. Keeble is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the honour, and the 10th person to receive the medal from President Bush, reports CNN. The ceremony was a sad one, and long overdue. A series of paperwork errors and missed deadlines caused a roadblock in the nomination process. Bush said Monday’s ceremony was an effort to set things right — a promising effort, but unfortunately Keeble passed away in 1982.

Tensions are high in Ecuador and Columbia CNN reported on Monday that Ecuador’s president had set a deal to release political prisoners earlier last week, including former Colombian Senator Ingrid Betancourt. The release was nearly complete before a Colombian raid into Ecuador on Saturday. Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa told CNN reporters, “I can tell you we were involved in very close conversations with the guerrillas, and we were very close to gaining the release of 12 captives, one of them was Ingrid Betancourt.” Colombia’s raid killed a member of the rebel group Luis Edgar Silva who was holding the hostages. Ecuador’s President called Saturday’s raid an unjustified “massacre” that left civilians dead. CNN reported President Correa saying, “We will not permit this outrage The situation is extremely grave and the Ecuadorean government is disposed to go to the ultimate consequences.” The mounting tensions between these countries have created quite a stir.

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Locals are concerned they could be on the brink of war.

CBC reported Tuesday that China announced they will be increasing military spending by almost 18 per cent this year. This announcement closely followed a U.S. report that voiced concern that the latest in a series of double-digit annual boosts would destabilize the region. The report was released just hours after the release of a Pentagon report expressing concern over how China would apply its expanding military muscle, explained CBC News. Chinese spokesperson, Jiang Enzhu, along with other officials said the money would mostly be used to meet payrolls and rising fuel costs, and insisted that China’s intentions were not aggressive. “We do not seek expansion. The purpose is to safeguard our sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a separate press conference Tuesday. As talks and reports continue, the U.S. is still expressing concern over China’s expanding military power.

Radical environmentalists are “playing with fire” Radical environmentalists are thought to be responsible for setting fire to “the street of dreams.” Located in upscale Seattle, Washington, the street of dreams was home to several million dollar-plus homes, all built demonstrating the use of green building techniques. Investigators believe that “Eco-Warriors” may have started the fires that completely destroyed three homes and damaged two. Earth Liberation Front is thought to be responsible. They were once thought to be America’s top domestic terror threat, aimed at harming the bottom line of companies it thinks harm the environment. Investigations are currently underway. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the blaze; however, damages are now being reported at over $7 million.

UN helicopter crashes killing 10 A United Nations helicopter crashed Monday while flying in bad weather in Nepal’s mountainous east. The crash killed at least 10 people, officials said. Home Ministry spokesman Modraj Dotel said the helicopter was carrying UN personnel, reported the Sun-Sentinel. The Russian Transport Ministry said the craft was a Russian-made MI-8 carrying eight passengers and three crewmembers. The helicopter belonged to Russian aviation company Vertikal-T. Officials at the company, based in Tver, could not be reached for comment.

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Opinion

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Watchdog, drudge isn’t Friday, March 7, 2008 Vol. 30, No. 30 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, Emma Tarswell, Alicia Boers, Tim Lawless, Rajul Saleh, Lily Lo, Sohni Satyajit, Tim Foster, Jacqueline McKoy, Keegan Tremblay, Susie Roma 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 10, 2008 12:30 p.m. Next board of directors meeting: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 11:30 a.m.

Breaking the British media blackout over Prince Harry was not a positive use of citizen journalism

fter sustaining a complete media blackout on Prince Harry’s deployment to Afghanistan for ten whole weeks, mainstream British media was surprisingly dignified about the American blog leak that sent their young monarch home. Instead of criticizing Matt Drudge, journalist-blogger of the Drudge Report, for placing Harry in greater immediate danger with his February 27, front page web story, the BBC’s world news editor, Jon Williams, immediately set about explaining the media blackout agreement to readers, while Canadian media like the CBC and CTV followed the British lead in reporting more on the quality of Harry’s homecoming — his disappointment, Prince Charles’ pride, and hopes for the future — than any ill will toward the alternative press. And if the comments page in response to Jon Williams’ address is any indication, the majority of readers agree with the BBC’s decision to participate in a wide-spread media blackout (at the British government’s behest) in exchange for media access to Harry before, during, and after his Afghanistan deployment. To me the argument for such an agreement seems especially sound: Prince Harry is a British icon, so for him to serve without the benefit of such a blackout would make both him and his companions more prominent targets to opposing Taliban forces. Reporting on Harry’s military involvement therefore compromises his safety, as well as the safety of those around him, and denies him the ability to pursue a personal dream — namely, to become a professional soldier — on account of a birthright over which he had no control.

One commenter on the Williams address even remarks that military spouses are not always told where their partners are being deployed; why should Prince Harry and his companions be any different? Is the human risk and reduced quality of life truly worth the killer headline? Mainstream British media said no. But the more troubling answer for me is that of Matt Drudge himself, whom noted media critic Keith Olbermann once called an “idiot with a modem.” Drudge has yet to justify just why he decided to publish what he did, leaving many to speculate that greed and sensationalism were his primary motivations. Considering that he first rose to fame with his notorious leak of the Clinton-Lewinski scandal, such allegations aren’t unreasonable. Yet sadly, the Washington Telegraph recently titled Drudge the “world’s most powerful journalist.” If this is true, not even mainstream media’s dignified response to the information leak — which was committed by Drudge with full knowledge of the British media blackout — can prevent the stain his actions leave on citizen journalism as a whole. Ah yes, citizen journalism again. Well, why not? You know we live in an age of pronounced technological allegiances — where our eager purchase of iPods, Wii-motes, and Blackberries, in conjunction with our avid use of YouTube, Facebook, online RPGs, and similar internet constructs, reflects a social conviction that speed, entertainment, and accessibility are “right” and “good” paths for personal development. Yet while all this technology has been incredibly empowering, the liberated forms of citizen journalism it also enables — from individual blogs

to collective internet forums, to our more active roles as newspaper commentators — come with responsibilities too. Specifically, if anyone has the ability to play watchdog to the mainstream media — a collective itself meant to serve as a watchdog for political and social development — it’s the citizenry. It’s you. And while this is especially true for many other parts of the world — China, Taiwan, and Russia, for instance, where the government has a great deal of control over mainstream media — it is also true right here in Canada, where extreme examples of corporate media monopolization make the need for healthy, home-grown alternatives all the more pressing. And the ethics are there, absolutely. So many citizen journalists pride themselves on adhering to Canadian journalistic standards — especially when calling mainstream organizations to task for their own failings in this regard. And even without appealing to such journalistic standards the kinds of information disseminated on video websites — like cellphone footage of police brutality with tasers, or clips of Iraqi soldiers throwing a puppy off a cliff — often promote the very social awareness and community discourse to which institutional journalism always aspires. But when bloggers like Drudge can so readily gain the most prominence for issues like this reckless editorial choice — issues, that is, which reflect no convincing journalistic ethic — how can citizens as a whole maintain the ethical high ground? And without you fulfilling those much-needed media watchdog roles, just who will be left to watch the watchers? editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

NAFTA needs a Makeover

February 2008 poll conducted by Environics Research for the Simons Foundation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) found that one in six respondents would give up their vote in the next Canadian federal election in exchange for a vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. There are frequent front page items about the election in our national papers and everyone seems to have their own opinion on who the next president should be. This all came to mind when Canada managed to squeeze its way into the US election agenda. It started when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the two contenders for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, both pledged to re-open the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) within the first six months of their term. Various American manufacturing unions have blamed NAFTA for a loss of jobs; in states like Ohio and Michigan, which have suffered heavily from the economic shift away from domestic manufacturing, anti-NAFTA rhetoric plays well. As the United States is Canada’s largest trade partner, our government found the topic hard to resist. During Question Period on February 29, Harper said “[if] any American government ever chose to make the mistake of opening [NAFTA], we would have some things we would want to talk about as well.” This is more than just an empty threat; although the United States is clearly the dominant economic force in the partnership, Canada is America’s largest exporter of crude oil, pumping even more than even Saudi Arabia. In turn, America receives nearly 100 per cent of Canada’s crude oil exports, all without taxes and duties. Considering that David Emerson, the Minister of International Trade, had suggested on February 28 that reopening NAFTA would throw into jeopardy this privileged relationship,

the U.S. has its ever important strategic interests at risk here. The political intrigue is further thickened by a recently leaked federal government memo that says that a senior member of Obama’s campaign met with a Canadian government representative and assured them that despite his anti-NAFTA

One in six people would give up their vote in the next Canadian federal election in exchange for a vote in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. campaigning, the agreement would not be reopened. Clinton’s camp has jumped on the issue, dubbing it “NAFTAgate” in an attempt to portray Obama as a cynical politician. For his part, Obama at first denied that a meeting even took place before later admitting it was a possibility, although he wasn’t aware of it. Both the Liberals and the NDP have accused the Conservatives of intentionally trying to discredit the Democrats in order to help the Republican Party. Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae recently posted on his blog that “[the Conservatives] will do what is necessary to help Republicans. They’re a nasty, unprincipled bunch, who are incompetent to boot.” John McCain, for his part, has said he will not change NAFTA. However, renegotiating certain aspects could actually be very beneficial for Canada. Based on neoclassical economic indicators like GDP and employment, NAFTA has been a good thing for all countries involved. As for the

oft-repeated claims of manufacturing contraction resulting from the agreement, that trend was already happening by the time it was signed in 1994. Although NAFTA accelerated it to some degree, the larger movement towards a globalized economy also plays a large part. That said, there are some very real reasons that Canadians should want NAFTA renegotiated. The Chapter 11 clause allows private companies to sue governments if their regulations, subsidies or financial aid disadvantages the company. For instance, an American company introduced a gasoline additive called MMT to Canada. When Canada deemed the chemical unsafe, the American company sued the government for $201 million. Although the government eventually settled for $13 million, it’s a very dangerous situation when our sovereignty can be so easily trumped by corporate interests. Another dangerous flaw with NAFTA is the manner in which it commoditizes things: if something is sold once, it is then bound by the rules of free trade. This is worrisome in regards to our vast supplies of fresh water, which have so far stayed off the market. On a macroeconomic basis, free trade with the United States and Mexico has been advantageous for Canada. However, as disputes such as the ongoing softwood lumber debate make clear, it is not always a smooth road. Ironically enough, renegotiating parts of NAFTA to allow greater government autonomy would actually be a good thing, despite the worried talk from our capital. It’s time to reconsider whether it’s really in our best interests to sacrifice government regulatory power for economic gain. With files from the Globe and Mail, the CBC, Salon Magazine, Huffingtonpost.com, and the National Post. ghalpern@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Opinion

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Glass House of Commons

ne of the best things life has afforded us is the gift of democracy. George Bush, “leader of the free world,” extols it constantly, having said at the UN that “no other system of government has done more to protect minorities, to secure the rights of labour, to raise the status of women, or to channel human energy to the pursuits of peace.” Certainly that sounds like a great list of accomplishments, but one that prompts the question: of what has our system of government been up to lately? John Baird could be considered a star of the Conservative Party, holding the posts of President of the Treasury Board and Minister of the Environment since his election

in the Ottawa West-Nepean riding in January of 2006. Currently, he finds himself making headlines such as this one from the CBC: “Baird to appear at committee probing his role in city election.” He is alleged to have meddled in Ottawa’s mayoral election by withholding $200 million in federal funding for a transit plan supported by then outgoing mayor Bob Chiarelli, and opposed by Larry O’Brien. That allowed O’Brien to campaign on his promise of ending the project, which he did upon being elected. Our governing Conservative Party also finds itself embroiled in further allegations. A February 29 headline in the Ottawa Citizen reads “PM incriminated himself on tape over alleged Cadman bribe, Opposition

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A minority government should not be afraid to make groundbreaking progress on national issues. had offered independent MP Chuck Cadman “financial considerations” to help convince him to rejoin the

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Conservative Party. His independent vote with the Liberals allowed their minority government to survive. He died of cancer weeks later, and while the Conservatives claim that the financial considerations were only to help him gain the Conservative nomination in his riding, Tom Zytaruk’s new book alleges that it also included a $1 million insurance policy. In Parliament, few groundbreaking bills have passed. The latest to go through, the budget, even reverses previous positive efforts, eliminating a consumer credit valued at up to $2,000 for cars meeting certain fuel efficiency standards. Only 11 high-ranking Liberals voted against it, with the rest not in the House of Commons, allowing it to pass 125-90.

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As a matter of confidence, the budget could have triggered an election if it did not pass. Had the Liberals shown up and opposed it, we would be seeing the beginning of a federal election right now. When he led the last Liberal minority government, Paul Martin earned the nickname “Mr. Dithers” due to how little his government actually accomplished. Stephane Dion, the current Liberal leader of the Opposition, has criticized Stephen Harper’s government continually, but has never toppled it. In fact, Stephen Harper has made several bills in the House into matters of confidence. He even went as far as to put forth a motion in the House to force the Senate to pass a crime bill by March 1, or else an election would be triggered. That motion itself was also a matter of confidence —double protection in the form of a potential election. Despite their constant opposition to Conservative plans, the Liberals have not shown up to topple the Conservatives on any of the confidence votes, apparently not seeing enough wrong to stage an election. To ensure the passage of bills, Harper has tacked on to them the confidence label, preying on the hesitance of the Liberals. Considering that it was a minority government that gave us universal health care, a minority government should not be afraid to make groundbreaking progress on national issues. Despite this, our government continues to achieve little in the headlines aside from constant finger pointing. The message needs to get out that it’s columnists who get paid to complain and point fingers without doing anything else, and not the politicians. adodds@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Opinion

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Letters Had a reaction to one of our articles, editorials or columns? Write a letter to the editor at letters@ imprint.uwaterloo.ca

was disappointed to read that CKMS had lost its funding due to the referendum held not long ago. While I confess to not listening to the radio station, I did follow the situation closely in the run up to the vote. The CKMS crew pointed out some benefits to the radio station’s existence, such as the fact that it allows the people who work there to develop themselves and to do something they love, while providing a service for all Waterloo students. For five dollars a semester (and this is addressed to those who voted yes), what was the harm? The entire process revealed grave problems with the entire system. What disappointed me most was that some idiot put this idea to the table in the first place. Yes, whoever you are, I’m calling you out. Did they realize how much power over funds is held by the small number of students who vote in these referendums? Only12.8 per cent of 26,608 students voted over removing $150,000 dollars in funds per term for the radio station. At the same time, a majority of voters in the other referendum voted to subsidize the educations of refugees. Sure, it’s 20 per cent less than the CKMS fee. Nevertheless, the point remains, that 88 per cent of the eligible voters at this university apparently did not care enough about forty dollars to miss it. Think about that. I’ll restate the ramifications of this referendum once more: the first, that the small number of student voters indicates that most students didn’t care about getting their CKMS fee back, thus proving the stupidity of holding a referendum in the first place. The first point leads to the second: that 2280 people cost CKMS its funding because they were too lazy to get a refund every four months from the SLC office. [Editor’s note: CKMS refunds are only handed out at the CKMS station.] This would almost appear malicious, if everyone didn’t know that these people only voted so that they wouldn’t have to be proactive and go get the refund each semester. Shame on you, yes-voters. Shame on you. — David Santos

Re: The problem of perception Vol. 30, Issue 29: February 29, 2008 This article has touched my heart in several different ways, unexplainable in words but I would like to say that it is one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in my life. I no longer starve myself but the stresses of everything in my life puts me in a position where I often think about not eating. I would like to think that I am cured but it’s an ongoing battle that can only be won by my supportive family and friends. I admit it is hard not to think about the amount of calories I’m ingesting or whether or not I should even eat during that day, but fighting such a terrible disease can be done with strong will and faith in yourself that one is stronger than this. This may sound rather odd but even though I have so many supporters in my life, it wasn’t until I was ready to give this disorder up myself, did I accomplish this goal. I don’t think thoughts of not eating will ever leave my mind but at least I don’t starve

myself anymore. I hope that those of you who are suffering through these eating disorders will give my opinion a second thought. — Karen Wong

To the editor, I was both surprised and impressed when I opened last week’s Imprint. Not only was Ashley Csanandy’s “Problem of Perception” well-written and informative, but incredibly courageous. As a female in this society, I see how easy it is to slip into unhealthy habits, only to have them bloom into full-fledged disorders. Props to her for both battling and surviving bulimia and writing so eloquently about it. — Martha 4A Psych

Re: Sports Section: February 29, 2008 I would like to raise some concern and disappointment in the sports section of last week’s Imprint. As a varsity team member I am disappointed with Imprint’s two headline sports stories focusing on the lack of spirit in the school and the failure of our women’s teams. Varsity athletes feel that Imprint is an important resource in reaching the student population with our results and encouraging them to come out and support the teams. Our women’s basketball team did a fabulous job making it not only into the playoffs, but also onto second round! I am proud to have them represent our school as a top team in the OUA. UW women’s volleyball team is an outstanding group that ran into bad luck in the post season. However if you have ever watched the women play, you can tell that they are a powerful, elite team, and one of the most entertaining UW sports to watch! They should be commended for their hard work and effort. The women’s volleyball team are diligent and hardworking. Did you know that some of their team members prasticed twice a day throughout their season? That’s an incredible amount of time and effort to put into a sport. It’s too bad Imprint showed such a lack of support and even be shot them down when times got tough. I believe that the more optimism and support Imprint gives, the greater our crowds will be. Did you know that last week Waterloo’s Oleg Chernukhin earned a bronze medal in the 50m back stroke at the CIS championships? This is an incredible result. He also represented UW in the 100m back and 50m free events. This athlete has worked to be the best he can be and came out with a third place result in the country! The only write up this incredible athlete received was “athlete of the week” in size 6 font. Maybe Imprint should do an article on Oleg’s success and his work ethic. Maybe interviews and promotions of our successes, instead of putting down our best efforts, would help us draw in the crowds! — Jenna Bell Year 5 kinesiology

With two months left until my graduation, I have been reflecting on my 4.5 years of engineering undergrad. While rewarding in areas such as job prospects, one thing that was definitely a disappointment for me, and others in my class, has been how little our courses have taught us in useful or interesting material. Several factors are likely behind this disappointment, but two that go hand in hand are worth discussing: the evaluation system and the overwhelming work load. In an ideal world, I would like to

be able to come out of every course with a deep understanding of the material that allows me to apply it in some form and to possibly explore it beyond the lecture powerpoints. However, I have found that in many cases, the evaluation system doesn’t ultimately reward such deep insight and understanding. More often than not, I found that the grading system rewards familiarity with every solution to past midterms or assignments under the sun or rewards knowing almost every word that was presented in lectures. So what’s the problem with that? Doesn’t one need to develop a good understanding to satisfy this grading system anyways? Not really! Yes, one path to high grades may be a deep understanding of the material. Unfortunately, this ideal path is often not a realistic one for most of us. Why? This is where the second factor comes into play: Overwhelming workload. For perhaps most of the courses that I have had over the past few years, I have found that there was not enough time in a 3- or 4-month period for one to actually learn and understand all or much of a course’s material very deeply. The vast majority of grade-oriented students who lack supernatural powers know very well that to attain high grades, they cannot afford to understand their courses or even a reasonable portion of them. They instead must invest whatever little time they have on memorizing material and reading as many past assignments or solutions as possible. This is very unfortunate and leads many students to kill so much of their

energy doing little more than try to flatter an arguably arbitrary system that puts too much of too many people’s lives to waste. This letter may or may not apply to different disciplines. For example, one solution to the overwhelming workload is to take fewer courses: an option that is not available to engineering students to start with. Neverthless, this letter raises several fundamental questions of interest to a wide spectrum of studies that I would love to dive into if I had the space or the time, but which I encourage you to investigate yourself. Too bad, you probably don’t have time to do so either. These issues include the value of pursuing marks, the value of using marks to evaluate students in the first place, and the importance of having free time. — Anonymous Year 5 engineering

Re: On Virginity, Part 2 of 3 I noticed that Anya Lomako quoted “tiresome government papers and policies on age of consent in Canada” when composing her February 22nd column “On Virginity, Part 2 of 3” checklist. I agree that “the question of legality is certainly an important one,” and I feel an important aspect of the law in Canada was overlooked. If the age of consent were simply 14, so much lower than the age of her readers, it would be easy to consider it a free item on Ms. Lomako’s checklist. However, as the Department of Justice’s website explains on it’s Age

of Consent FAQ page, “the age of consent is 18 years where the sexual activity involves exploitative activity, such as prostitution, pornography or where there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependency. For other sexual activity, the age of consent is 14 years (http://www.justice.gc.ca/ en/dept/clp/faq.html). While this first condition may not affect high school sweethearts, it could easily be a factor in an on-campus relationship, where first year students may be 16 or 17 years old and come into contact with older students in TA or other authoritative positions, or even young professors. I can’t interpret whether being in control of grades falls under the Department of Justice’s definition of authority, but to completely omit this important part of the law seemed irresponsible while presenting the facts. Also affecting relationships on campus is the age of consent for anal sex between any two persons, which is 18. (CBC FAQ: http://www.cbc. ca/news/background/crime/ageofconsent-faq.html) As an important aside, since the article was printed and I first composed my letter, Bill C-2 has changed the law: now, the age of consent is 16, unless one partner is 14 or 15 and the other is less than 5 years older. For “exploitative” relationships, or for anal sex, the age remains 18. (Justice website news release: http://www. justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2008/ doc_32227.html.) — Kaitlyn Holman 4B Math

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Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Comic hero lessons

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Opinion

espite the awful, awful reviews it got, I finally sat myself down to watch XMen 3: the Last Stand the other night. I had put off watching this one for quite a while because I loved the first two movies so much, I couldn’t bear to see their legacy tarnished by this sure to be piece of crap movie. I’m sorry to say that my predictions for the movie were pretty much spot on. The acting was shit, half the main characters died for no reason, and Juno stole Anna Paquin’s boyfriend. But there was one part of the movie that really captured my imagination. The diamond idea in the pile of crap was when the scientists of the X-Men universe created a drug to “cure” mutants of their “disease,” and the impending confusion felt by the majority of characters as to whether or not they were indeed sick and needed to be cured. X-Men has been used as an allegory for homosexuals for a while now, from its early comic book days, to the Saturday morning cartoon, right up to the blockbuster movies. What is the connection? The random assignment of mutation to anyone, regardless of heritage or parenting; the publicly supported persecution in many parts of the world; often the ability to pass unnoticed — although any Chris Crocker or Mystique fans can attest that camouflage isn’t the strongest weapon for either group. So, readers, let’s take our very own superhero science fiction journey into the not too distant future. The movie opens with me, your brazen and fearless hero, fighting the forces of evil while still managing to look good in a spandex costume. But all isn’t well: with heavy funding from Ted Haggard, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies introduces a drug that purports to cure its takers of any traces of homosexuality. Amazingly, this drug works! Test trials show that Gayaway (patent pending) vaporizes every single gay particle in the taker’s body. So being faced with this decision, what do I choose? Looking over my life I can easily see how much easier things could have

been for me growing up in a small town if I had been straight. I probably wouldn’t have had many issues with my parents or the local bumpkins, I probably would’ve coupled off with some high school valley girl and worked at the foundry for the rest of my life, happily. But I know that being gay has greatly improved my life at the same time. Being on the outskirts of “normal” has let me rub shoulders with some interesting people who also fall into the dreaded category of “different” — from artists to rockers to all out funky people. I also know that being different for being who I am has taught me a great deal about human nature. I think it was Christina Aguliera who taught her followers that the measure of a man shouldn’t be judged by how he treats his equals, but rather, how he treats those he considers to be beneath him. If I had gone through life on the straight side of things, this lesson would probably have been lost on me. Being treated badly — like many gay people in the world have been, are and will be — for something beyond my control has also made me into a stronger person than I might have been otherwise. Learning to deal with hateful people and accepting that they exist everywhere are both important things that I might have missed out on if I was a “breeder.” I believe it was Jesus who once said, while being brutally beaten by Roman soldiers, “after all you put me through, you’d think I would despise you. But instead, I want to thank you because you made me that much stronger.” Smart guy, that Jesus. So at the climax of my super-hero-comicbook movie, which future do I chose? To retire to a simpler life like everyone else, or to stay the way I am? Well, you can rest assured that I haven’t come this far for nothing, and I wouldn’t dream of changing. (Besides, I’m already in talks to do a sequel and it would be pretty boring without a little man-candy, don’t you think?) tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Features

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Women’s rights, Rebick’s words Christine Ogley staff reporter

nternational Women’s Week kicked off on Monday, March 3, with a talk by keynote speaker Judy Rebick. After finding out just what a big name Rebick was — a journalist also involved heavily in the women’s movement — I expected AL 116 to be packed full. It wasn’t. There were about 50 people there. Nevertheless, Rebick gave a comprehensive look into the past, present, and future of feminism. Rebick is best known for being the president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) when the Charlottetown Accord was put to referendum. The NAC, with Rebick as their visible figurehead, campaigned against the adoption of the Charlottetown Accord on the basis it would weaken equality rights and threaten social programs. Rebick is also an accomplished journalist who started www.rabble.ca in 2001, an independent news site. During the talk, she spoke of some of the problems associated with mainstream media, which ostensibly pushed her to launch Rabble. Rebick voiced concern about media coverage of foreign affairs, but also spoke of some positive effects of media attention on pro-choice activism. For instance, during the abortion debate’s high point, Henry Morgentaler was running an illegal abortion clinic, receiving hordes of “anti-choice” protesters daily. Said Rebick, “…anti-choice. I can’t call them pro-life because they’re not pro-life.” Women wishing to get an abortion had to walk through crowds of pro-life demonstrators praying and telling the women that they were killing their babies. These anti-choicers/prolifers were covered by the media, but in the interest of balance, the news made sure to add that the pro-choicers would be having their own demonstration, giving the date and place of the event. Rebick seemed utterly triumphant at the final result: the public was informed about the pro-choice debate, and so, over 15,000 people showed up to it. According to Rebick, whereas the pro-lifers had been bussing protesters daily by the thousands, the pro-choicers bussed no one — supporters came on their own. Such can be the power of mass media. The media also helped in the case where a woman was hand-picked by police forces to testify about a “forced abortion.” It turned out that the abortion was not, in fact, forced; the woman merely panicked in the middle of the procedure — at a point of no return — and then was

thankful to be calmed down and have gone through with it. At the time, police would follow women home from the clinic, harassing and questioning them. A reporter found that the woman who testifed was an illegal immigrant and was threatened deportation if she did not testify falsely against Morgentaler. Such support, Rebick maintained, was a sign that the Canadian public was in support of abortion, and the religious population against abortion was in the minority. It was awing to hear about the magnitude of the abortion debate during its night. Rebick talked about how much effort, time and energy was put into the affair, which lasted seven years before abortion was decriminalized. Talks and debates were held at political party conventions, in community centres, schools, and even churches. She spoke of the incredible support that the larger community gave: such as buying her meals wherever she went with Morgentaler and receiving personal donations on the subway, toward Morgentaler’s defense. It’s hard to imagine so many people so on board with the same cause today. When Rebick spoke about the de-politicization of society, there was a discernable nodding of agreement in the theatre. Where Rebick begins to part ways with the media is in regards to international affairs. She spoke of the growing necessity to include international issues, environmental issues, and racial equality issues in with the women’s movement. In this respect, we as a society need to be aware of the impact of free trade agreements, wars waged and fought on our behalf, and the economic problems of the global south. Rebick was critical of our participation in the war in Afghanistan – stating that liberal feminists were deluded in thinking that the war would help Afghan women, and that it hasn’t. When we’re looking at international news, she argued, we aren’t seeing the whole picture if we read only mainstream media. Rebick was excited about Al-Jazeera appearing on the net in English, and hopes that youth today will tune in and hear the other half of the story, the Middle Eastern people’s half. Rebick also spoke of the difficulties that the women’s movement faced when dealing with Canadian government.

Doris Sanderson, once the head of the Advisory Council of Women, resigned amid difficulties with trying to advise the government on how to include women’s rights more clearly in the then soonto-be-repatriated Constitution, with its addition of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to Rebick, at the time women trying to advise the government were more or less told to go home and take care of their men, and to stop worrying about matters beyond their comprehension. Thankfully, the women weren’t cowed so easily, but it took a lot of work to get to where we are today — facing sexism still, but unable to imagine such comments being uttered in Parliament. Although Rebick talked about the staggering changes she’s seen in Canadian society since the ’70s and ’80s, she pointed to the work still left for feminists today. Apathy is widespread, instilled by the notion that we, as a generation, cannot change the problems we see about us. Rebick was reluctant to define these problems, however, as she said that the current generation must be at the forefront of both defining the problems, and tackling them. Nevertheless, she did give a few pointers as to what may be important: body image, day care, and violence against women. Rebick repeatedly emphasized that feminists no longer have the luxury of dealing with only a narrow scope of issues, and that any movement needs to have a large focus and big goals. She informed the audience about social action forums, which have become more popular in recent years. These forums usually happen in the global south, where most of the world’s population lives, and deal with many different social issues. The trend has caught on in the U.S, spurring the U.S. Social Forum recently in Atlanta, Georgia, with 12, 000 people in attendance. Rebick anticipates some de-polarizing of American society and politics in the near future, with Obama’s popularity as a sign of changing public sentiment. In Canada, however, Rebick

sees less sign of initiative for change. Not without hope and a positive note to add, she said that we are making progress in our own way — behind the U.S, perhaps, but less divided socially and politically. Some of our apathy, she said, comes out from the hollowing out of the middle class, and a subsequent societal shift to the political right. Overall, Rebick gave an informative and inspiring talk. She covered more ground than can be captured in a single article, but if I could sum it up with one quote, it would be this one: “Nobody’s gonna pay you to change the world.” In other words, Rebick has done her work, and now it’s our turn to spark some social activism — according to our own terms, with our own time, effort , and money. The awesome battles that Rebick recounted were hard fought for many years before they were won. If pro-choicers waited for government sponsorship, abortion would still be illegal today. cogley@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Features

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Dreaming of ricotta kisses Exploring the versatility of cheese; making decadent doughnuts

n my fridge I usually have staple ingredients on hand — the usual suspects being eggs, milk, and butter. However, there is a new guest in the residence, and it wouldn’t be the most obvious item: ricotta cheese. Ricotta cheese is unbelievably versatile and can be used it in countless ways. For instance I like to use it as a filling for my calzones and lasagna, as a topping for salads, blended it to make muffins, cheesecake, and pancakes with — I have even made doughnuts with them, and you can too. Unlike other cheeses that can be quite costly, you can purchase creamy ricotta cheese in tubs for a good value. Two 500g tubs will only set you back $5 and they keep well in the fridge for a least a month. And if you want to keep them longer, make use of your freezer. Ricotta cheese has a fresh, clean taste. It is much smoother than cottage cheese, moist, white in colour and slightly sweet in nature. It’s interesting to mention that Italian ricotta is made from the whey drained from making other cheeses such as mozzarella and provolone. Ricotta means “recooked” and is a fitting name because it is derived from this exact process of heating whey from another cheese. However, some would debate the legitimacy of this “cheese.” In all political correctness, if you asked whether Italian ricotta was a cheese or not, the answer would be no. It would be considered a cheese by-product. Meanwhile, in Canada and the United States, the process of making ricotta would be combining whey and whole milk (or sometimes skim), making it fit under the category of cheese butter. Ricotta is a good source of calcium, phosphorus and selenium, and a very good source of protein.

Baci Di Ricotta • 1 3/4 cup tbsp ricotta • 2 large eggs • 2 1/2 cup tbsp all-purpose flour • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon • 1 tbsp granulated sugar

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract. In a large bowl, put ricotta and eggs in a bowl, beat until smooth. Add dry mix and stir until you have a smooth batter. Heat a shallow pan with an inch of oil. Oil is ready with the surface shimmers. Test by adding a small blob of batter into pan, if it is ready, it will sizzle. Take out a large dish and place paper towel on it. Drop rounded teaspoons of the batter into the pan (use two small spoons to help shape and ease into the oil). Fry 5 at a time, too many and it will crowd the pan, lower the temperature of the oil, and you’ll end up with soggy oily baci rather than crisp and fluffy. Do not make them into large balls, the teaspooned ones will inflate upon cooking. When they turn golden brown (2 to 3 minutes), flip them and cook for another minute. Put cooked baci on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Tiffany Li

Making these Baci Di Rictota or “Ricotta Kisses” will be a cinch. Unlike most doughnut recipes, which use yeast — living microscopic organisms that produce carbon dioxide which allow doughs to rise — this doughnut does not require it. Baking powder will be used in this recipe instead. It is a common leavening agent made from a combination of baking soda, an acid (usually cream of tartar), and moisture

absorber (cornstarch), and when it is mixed with a liquid, it will release carbon dioxide and allow the baked good to rise. And if you lack it, adding more baking soda will do. Don’t pass by ricotta when you see it in the dairy case line up, it is in the best sense the culprit for making your mealtimes guilty of great taste. tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sprinkle baci with powdered sugar, roll in granulated sugar, or dip into chocolate ganache (recipe follows). 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, 1/3 cup+ 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream, 1 tbsp unsalted butter. Chop chocolate and place in a bowl. Heat cream and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Immediately pour boiling cream over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir with whisk until smooth.

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• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract • Vegetable oil for frying • Powdered sugar, granulated sugar, or cocoa powder, chocolate ganache (for powdering)

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Unfortunately, Tiffany Li may be leaving Imprint come the spring term. If are interested in writing a food column for us, please contact the features editor at: features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Features

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Following the rainbow brick reel Cait Davidson assistant features editor

efore Brokeback Mountain, and Imagine Me and You, there was WPIRG’s “Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival.” Now in its eighth year running, the film festival opened this year on March 5, and continues until March 9. Founded in 2001 and inspired by Kingston’s “Reelout Film Festival,” Rainbow Reels has grown from its home at UW and its parent organization, WPIRG, into the Kitchener-Waterloo community. Its mandate is to educate, and to break down barriers and perceptions in the KitchenerWaterloo area. The film festival began as a result of the lack of stories being told about the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-, Trans-) community that were not presented in the typical stereotypes. In 2001 there weren’t that many Hollywood movies about gays that did not include AIDS or weren’t comedies. The need for fuller stories to be told created a need for this film festival. The festival provided a place for people to share their stories — fiction or non-fiction — about coming out or telling stories which include bisexual or transgendered people. In the Rainbow Reels press release, founder Raj Gill said, “The festival came out of the idea that stories that affected the queer community were not being told by mainstream media.” Volunteer Michael Schmidt also commented that the festival gave filmmakers a place to showcase stories that were not being picked up by major motion picture makers. Schmidt mentioned that in the first year, the stories consisted largely of “coming out” tales. As time went on the festival grew and the films increased in diversity and quality. This year, the festival has filmselections coming out of Asia, including Indonesia and Japan. Schmidt commented that there were more than the typical

white, twenty-something male portrayed in the movies over the years, as the festival became more diverse as time went on. Some of the greatest successes this year have been the lack of homophobic reactions. In previous years the office has gotten derogatory phone calls and posters ripped down. So far this year, nothing negative has happened. As well, more places are willing to post advertisements, and sponsorship has increased. Media attention has also increased over the years, and this year The Record and other organizations are covering the festival and calling the WPIRG office looking for interviews. Previously the festival had been held at Waterloo, but for the first year, Rainbow Reels has moved into KW, at King Street Theatre. The festival, having moved into the community this year has already had a bit of an effect. This past summer OK2BME (ok2bme.ca) put on a youth film festival, with WPIRG offering its support with help and volunteers.. In the future, Rainbow Reels is hoping to have a night for 12 to 18 year olds, collaborating with OK2BME to organize. For next year, Rainbow Reels has made it its goal to be the second largest queer film festival in Ontario. Queer film festivals are also run in Kingston, Toronto, and Ottawa. Schmidt said that with half a million people in the area, there should be enough people to draw enough attention for that to become a possibility. The festival is hoping to get more queer-positive heterosexuals coming out, drawing more people from more diverse backgrounds. King Street Theatre has been working with

Rainbow Reels and is hoping that the future will have more than just film. Drama presentations and drag shows are just a few ideas that Rainbow Reels is toying with for next year. This year’s events kicked off on Wednesday, March 5, with a free showing of “Breakfast with Scott.” In the spirit of breaking down barriers the NHL allowed their locker rooms, jerseys and logos to be used in making the film. March 6 was the Gala, with Erica Huang singing opera songs. The film for that night was Puccini for Beginners. Friday and Sunday both have two movies: Friday Eternal Summer and Itty Bitty Titty Committee are playing: Sunday will have Curiosity of Chance and Boy I Am. Saturday:there are four movies playing, She’s a Boy I Knew, Shelter Me, Nina’s Heavenly Delights, and Boy Culture. Singer Natalie Zuckerman is also performing that evening. Performing her music for free at her own request, she’s known for recently having her music on “The L Word” and “NPR.” For more information on attending or volunteering with Rainbow Reels, drop by the WPIRG office on the second floor of the SLC. cdavidson@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Features

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Lighting the cultural fire Yang Liu staff reporter

ith a student body of more than 25,000, Waterloo has a bevy of international and exchange students from over 100 different countries, as well as a multitude of Canadian students who are first or second generation immigrants. And on Tuesday, March 5 over 20 ethnic student groups gathered in the SLC for an annual showcase known as Cultural Caravan, to celebrate this diversity. Since the late 1980s, student groups at Waterloo have been coming together to put on Cultural Caravan every year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to breed understanding between different cultural groups, and give everyone a chance to entertain to the audience,â&#x20AC;? said Feds clubs assistant and Cultural Caravan director Chris Tuckwood. This previous yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show had several dozen performers and over 600 audience members, but organizing such an event wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t easy: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We started organizing right at the beginning of January ... the main thing was recruiting all the different performers, so many different clubs all have varying degrees of organization,â&#x20AC;? said Tuckwood. Even with such a small organizing team, the Cultural Caravan committee recruited a large cast of performers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We put together an audition process and made sure the performances were a good level of quality and that they were appropiate. We stressed during recruiting that we wanted traditional performances to give some sense of culture. However, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give any restrictions on what was cultural and what was not, mostly

we left it to the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discretion,â&#x20AC;? said Tuckwood. Each club had between five to fifteen minutes for a stage performance and some groups went all out for their performance. The Polish Students Association brought in a Polish song and dance team from the Kitchener folk dance group. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing a really lively and energetic five minute dance,â&#x20AC;? said Kasia Adams, a member of the dance troupe. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We wanted to convey a sense of traditional Polish mountaineers and the dance is really aimed at that. Long braids, bright red ribbons, traditional costumes and leather shoes symbolize the mountain regions of Poland.â&#x20AC;? Margaret Sowa, another member of the troupe, conveys the cultural richness of the performance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything is authentic from the choreograph to the costumes, but we also looked at whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best way to present this culture to people.â&#x20AC;? In the spring the troupe is going to Poland to compete in an international Polish dance festival called Rzeszow, with participants coming from over 25 countries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of students have been born in Canada, having events like this gives them a renewed and energized view about their own culture and maybe others,â&#x20AC;? said Adams. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From past experience with this dance, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never not had a standing ovation.â&#x20AC;? As the night of Cultural Caravan rolled around a blizzard was brewing outside the SLC. Nevertheless, that did not deter all clubs and students from coming out. As the stage was being set-up in the SLC great hall, the student clubs began setting up their booths,

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which contained various ethnic delicacies and cultural information about their club. The ethnic diversity of Waterloo was in full force, chatter in dozens of different of languages filled the air, and performers in traditional garb were banding about in preparation for the main event. Each club would offer various tidbits and insight into their culture if you decided to engage them in a bit of small talk. A quick scan around the club booths revealed an interesting set of cuisines being offered. The Polish students association, were serving traditional polish meats, paczdki, and poppy seed flake. The Serbian Students association served traditional desserts, such as crepes flambĂŠd with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and covered in cherry sauce. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you go to someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house [in Serbia] they always offer a pastry or desert,â&#x20AC;? said Jelena Maric who was manning the booth. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very much a part of Serbian tradition and pride.â&#x20AC;? The UW Indian Connection offered samosas and various Indian sweets. While the Aboriginal Students Association served fried bread (also know as bannock), which had historical connotations for the group. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the reserves, they were often given only a small ration of ingredients such as flour, sugar, etc. The oil for the bread often came from animals captured in hunts. The bread is high in fats and carbs and is really filling, which was good in times when food was lean,â&#x20AC;? explained Kristy Garlow and Krysta Williams, who manned the booth for the Aboriginal Students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a really traditional dish and has played a huge role in Aboriginal culture.â&#x20AC;? The SLC great hall began to overflow with patrons who had braved the

brutal weather to come watch the show. Performers in colourful cultural garbs packed the peripheries of the great hall, many of them filled with nervous energy in anticipation of performing in front their peers. One such group of performers was the Tamil Students Association which featured a bevy of girls dressed in bright colorful garbs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We picked two songs [for our performance] from Tamil cinema, we wanted to give a very entertaining performance,â&#x20AC;? said Thulasi Nandalaumaran, a performer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not traditional culture, but it shows a touch of modern Tamil culture.â&#x20AC;? Another club, the Iranian students group featured two Persian musicians Ali Emanian and Payam Ghafari. The two were performing with very traditional Persian instruments, the santur (best described as a string instrument) and tombak (a type of percussion drum) respectively. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These instruments go back more than 1000 years,â&#x20AC;? said Ghafari. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to show off Persian tonalities.â&#x20AC;? The Vietnamese Students Association featured girls dressed in flowery long white dresses in a performance piece complete with ribbon twirling, set against Vietnamese love ballad. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The white dresses are a national symbol, something that is distinctively Vietnamese,â&#x20AC;? said Steven Nguyen who sang in the performance. In between performance pieces, Feds VP Admin & Finance Del Savio Pereira warmed up the crowd serving as MC for the event. At one point Pereira offered five bucks to anyone in the audience that was willing to come on stage and tell a joke. As the Caravan continued through the night we saw a sultry belly dance

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from the East Indian students group, a band piece from the Bengali Students association, and a circle dance from the Serbian Students Association. In a performance that contrasted against others on the night, the Mandarin Students Union offered a risquĂŠ dance piece set to a hip-hop song that left many students in the vicinity wondering aloud what cultural relevance it had. â&#x20AC;&#x153;That totally had nothing to do with Chinese culture,â&#x20AC;? exclaimed one student, who asked not to be identified. However, that performance was overshadowed by the Latin America Students Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s act. The group featured four male and female dancers in loose flowing white outfits dancing to an up-tempo salsa beat. The high energy performance had frantic dancing, and incredible dance pair twists and turns. When the piece came to a close, they received the loudest standing ovation of the night. Ending the night, we had the African and Caribbean students association performing high-octane crunk dancing, traditional African beats and extravagant Caribbana-style head dresses. The crowd was thoroughly entertained, as evidenced by the loud hollering throughout the night, while the audience in the great hall only seemed to grow larger later in the performance. Even though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost impossible to convey the essence of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture through a five to ten minute performance piece, the real spectacle of the night was Waterloo students of all backgrounds coming out with the singular goal of cheering on and revelling in both their own cultures and the cultures of their peers.

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Features

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Business on the bay

A quick studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guide to effective buying and selling online

en years ago, if you told someone that you bought something online, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably get a predictable reaction: a look of surprise, followed by interrogation of legitimacy and, quite possibly, the legality of the whole transaction. Buying something online â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and by that extension, selling â&#x20AC;&#x201D; was a relatively new avenue, and many people were still distrustful of it. If your product is damaged, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no physical store to return it to. What about customer service when you buy online? What if you have a problem? And, of course, there was always the valid security concern involving credit cards. Ten years ago, if I told my Mom that I bought a new CD player (yes, CD player) online, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d probably assume it fell off the back of a truck, while some bandits took my now-stolen credit card number to fund whatever evil operations that had going on in their abandoned, unidentified warehouse on the wrong side of the tracks. I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s safe to assert that one company has pretty much revolutionized the way that people buy, and sell, online. You know who Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m talking about, the company with the most ridiculous name in the world: eBay. These days, everyone and their mothers (well, except mine) use eBay to buy or sell their stuff. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really amazing how this operation has grown to serve hundreds of thousands â&#x20AC;&#x201D; if not more â&#x20AC;&#x201D; users around the world. You can find anything on eBay.Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tr uly something for everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which is fantastic, because when times

are hard and you need to sell some of your belongings, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll probably find your niche market here. What started out as a website to help specialized collectors and dealers sell their wares without having to schlep their collections across town to a show, has expanded to include everyday people who are just looking to get rid of their stuff â&#x20AC;&#x201D; valuable, and maybe not so valuable. eBay has expanded from peddling hardcore collectibles, to everyday crap from peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closets, to a way to buy your favourite brands without the retail middleman, and everything in between. Now Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be the first to admit that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest eBayer. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more of a buyer than a seller, with only my record addiction to blame, but I know enough eBay sellers and have seen enough ridiculous auctions (to say nothing of absolutely horrendous eBay page designs) to know what makes a good sale from a bad one. So, here are some tips:

Start auctions on Sunday You get a week to sell on eBay (or longer, if you want to pay for it), so think backwards. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want the auction to end on a Sunday, roughly when most people are home to bid on it and not at work. If the auction ends between 9-5 on a weekday, you may be losing out on valuable bidders who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to surf eBay at work. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that word again? Oh rightâ&#x20AC;Śdiscipline.

Honesty The internet and fraud go together like the internet and sex.

Which, actually, make a really interesting package deal. eBay is no exception to the former, although they do have mechanisms to prevent fraud in place (ie. their feedback system). If possible, try to build up some positive feedback that a buyer first, before you try your hand as a seller. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far more difficult to sell with no feedback as it is to buy. Chances are, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve probably bought something off eBay before and will likely have some positive feedback kicking around. If your product is damaged or has some sort of defect, albeit minor, explain it in the auction. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t assume that no one will buy it if it has a scratch or two. People actually appreciate honesty, and it will only kick your ass in the long run if a buyer discovers some superficial defects you didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mention and starts hounding you like some bad spam that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go away.

Take lots of pictures You pay to upload pictures, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll determine if your item sells or not. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to upload an entire albumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worth, but just make sure youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve taken some good shots that expose your product for what it is. You want to show as much information as you can in every picture. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just transparent and honest. And speaking of which.

Make informative titles Nothing says obnoxious like an unsuitable auction title. Be descriptive, but not overbearing. Let people know what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re selling, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

write an essay. Additionally, please refrain from completely tasteless text like â&#x20AC;&#x153;L@@Kâ&#x20AC;? and writing in all caps. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just annoying.

Shipping Before you sell, get an estimate with Canada Post and one other courier service for both domestic and international shipping, just in case. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to have to run back and forth to the post office when some random user asks how much shipping to Turkey is, especially since the post office keeps more ridiculous hours than banks. Shipping also falls under the honesty category. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how many times Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve bid on auction that seems completely reasonable, or maybe even a little like a bargain, only to realize that shipping charges are astronomical and illogical: Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that, I can get The Adventures of Batman and Robin by The Sensational Guitars of Dan & Dale (aka Sun Ra and his band) for 10 bucks. Awesome! Oh wait... shipping is 23 dollars? From New Jersey? Through U.S. Postal Service? For one vinyl record that canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t weighmore than half a pound...that, my friends, is fuckery. Be honest about shipping, and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use it as an avenue to make a quick buck off of a buyer, or Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll kick your ass myself.

Set up a PayPal account This is not just because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re owned by eBay! But because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the fastest way to get your money from a buyer. No one really deals with cheques or money orders anymore, and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re selling your stuff out

of desperation, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be watching the mailbox everyday. Having a PayPal account helps prevent further fraud by a number of mechanisms. No more waiting for cheques or money orders to clear (or bounce)! Also, as a seller you have the option to only sell to bidders who have a verified PayPal account as well. This means that, though the registration process, PayPal can verify that this person actually has a bank account or linked credit card to pay you with. Hooray!

Have fun And by have fun, I mean have fun designing your eBay page â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which is another way of sayin: â&#x20AC;&#x153;please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make it ugly.â&#x20AC;? There are plenty of online resources that you can use to help you make a site thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy on the eyes and can turn in a profit. For help, check these two websites: The W3Schools code tutorials (www.w3schools.com/default.asp) are hard to mess with, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be an html pro in no time! Also, Visiboneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colour lab (www.visibone.com/colourlab/) is one of my favourite colour selectors. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s extremely useful for determining what colours work in combination with each other, and it will give you hex, RGB, and CMYK values! A better colour scheme is just a few, mildly-addictive clicks away! Follow these rules and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be turning a profit in no time. Until next time, keep those fists tight! isherr@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Your professors wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pay you for your essays... but we might! In honour of 30 years of Imprint campus journalism, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re celebrating the best of student writing at the University of Waterloo. By midnight, March 14, 2008, send a 750 to 1000 word essay to editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca, answering one of the following four questions. If your entry is selected, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll win $250, publication in Imprint, and a swanky-looking plaque. (Now thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an offer your professors will be hard-put to match!)

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?

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Photo Feature

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Campus Clicks The University of Waterloo, through photographers’ eyes

Jamie Damaskinos

Sign uniting the four University College campuses.

Jamie Damaskinos

Eric Best and Chelsen Lau, math students, are enjoying their sunny day with a stroll around Grabel College.

(Left to right) Peter Cebo, Muhammad Hyder, Kelly Leung, and the camera shy Carl Moraes, all math and business students, study together in St. Jerome’s campus cafeteria.

Jennifer Serec

David Yip

(Left to Right) Vipul Agrawal, electrical engineer, and Sharan Sharma, operations research, prepare for Cultural Caravan.

(Left to right) Yang Liu, biochemistry, Jacqueline To, arts/bus, Valerie Luk, biochemistry, and Steven Quach, planning, are gesturing “NPAH” for their Nutritional Health Club, HAPN.

Students in Psychology 101 relax on their mid-class break.

Jamie Damaskinos

(Left to right) Adam Wilson, computer science, Sean Galvin, arts, Karen Nguyen, science, and Adam Wilson, arts, spotted here at the SLC bus stop.

David Yip

Jennifer Serec

A spectacular ending to another autumnal academic day, last term as seen oustide Dana Porter.

Nature meets learning environment in this sunny winter snapshot of the SLC from across the pond. David Yip

When you’re down, look up — at the RCH dome window.

Jennifer Serec

Gerald Cheng, biology, is having a blast and hooking up with Walk Safe.

Do you have a campus-related photo that you would like to share with the student body? Introducing Imprint’s first “Campus Clicks,” which will be featuring pictures submitted by the student body, about the student body, every week! Whether you have pictures of an event, landscape, or maybe you’re just a little bored in class, send them in to photos@imprint.uwaterloo.ca! Please include any names and/or descriptions related to your photos, and ensure that any recognizable individuals in the submissions have consented to publication. Graphics by Joyce Hsu

Comics & Distractions

Crossword

Tim Foster

5 6 4 7 3

36 44

by Dylan Cawker

6 8 1

40. Agenda list 41. Free standing tall plant 44. Cain and Abel’s brother 49. Subjective of her 51. Florida reef 53. Chivalric title 55. Surgery locale (abbrev.) 57. Defeated party 58. Paint on 59. ____ of time 61. Feathery scarf 64. Disney’s Atlantis character, Thatch 65. French, enthusiasm 66. Sort 69. Long, unique time period 70. Gear tooth 71. Fowl product 72. Litigate 73. ABBA, Aguilera, and Anti-Flag’s record label

“Disco Stu — attitude, hair, and lifestyle.” Keegan Caradonna 1B kiniesiology

“Dr. Hibbert — He inspired me to want to be a doctor.” Amr Mahmoud

3B biomedical sciences

Feb. 29 solutions

Tim Foster

What Simpsons character do you most identify with and why?

1 4

4. Consumed 5. Inelegant vanity 6. French friend 7. Leonard nickname 8. Singer DiFranco 9. Basis of our number system 10. Boundaries 11. Once in a while 12. Violent protests 13. Struck-out legend 18. Groove 23. Sass 24. Winter transport 25. Say it to drugs 26. Most profane letter 27. Hindu dress 29. Shock insensible 30. Promise 31. Aquatic Michener novel setting 35. Neckwear 37. Labeled for delivery 38. Consume

32 35

Sudoku 7

Across 1. Nihilistic 5. Between mouth and nose (inside) 11. Tolkien’s twisted elf 14. Share a boundary 15. Foretold 16. American MI6 counterpart 17. Figuring out 19. (sin) ÷ (tan) 20. Cunning and dodgy 21. Not down 22. Make very happy 24. You don’t want to pass these 28. Wimp 29. Foot insulator 32. Couch 33. Half period of 19 across 34. Pacific getaway island 36. German wife 39. Early NY Giants slugger Mel 42. Utah native tribe 43. Neither his nor hers 45. Drivers licenses and health cards 46. Neither 47. World’s third largest employer 48. Windows to the soul 50. Logarithmic rank 52. Like 54. Norse thunder god 56. Burn treatment plant 57. Latin stone 60. By means of this 62. Wagner’s specialty 63. Childish rebuttal 64. Became acquainted with 67. Health resort 68. In an inescapable manner 74. Northern deer 75. Parachute-brake 76. Show approval 77. Whisky ingredient 78. Drooped 79. First-rate (2 wds) Down 1. Fathers 2. Biblical murder victim 3. Obligation

6 9

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

tfoster@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

4 2

I see you every Mon,Wed, Fri on the chairs at RCH during your break between classes.You look so dreamy doing that crossword every week, I heard someone call you Mr. November, why wait till November. Will you be my Mr.Tonight?;)

JL – Hate to tell you but this fly girl already has a wingman, sorry Maverick. If you actually said hi to me in Calculus instead of keeping quiet, maybe we could hang out. Also, I would like to say that Steven Karp is sex! -- A

To the most beautiful girl at SJ, No, this isn’t just another poem for Don Jay, It’s been two years, and I simply have to say, Your perfect smile brightens my day. “You’re such a peach!” “Don’t you feel alive?” One day together we will teach, As the perfect couple we will thrive. With me you went to the Masjid, Inside my heart the feelings I hid, We talked to Mirsad, got some dates, The Imam saw we’d be perfect soul mates. And so every day I rise, and look to God in the skies. I see the future in your eyes, But all you see is Kevin. I hate you Kevin.

I look at you and it kills me that you don’t see yourself the way I see you. You have an awkwardness about you that makes me want you more. I would be more than happy to hide in the corner with you again anytime you’d like. Our lives are crazy right now, but someday maybe? – mlle I see you working in the SJ caf all the time. With you, I would love to drink some tequila and lime. I know you’re going overseas, but I’m sure we could work something out. I love your quirky hairstyles, and your sensual pout. Your impression of a boho hobo and Eve was fascinating. In my books you will always get an A+ rating. Make my Wonderland, and come tempt me with your fruit. Otherwise, I might serenade you with my flute. – From a Concerned Citizen

S C A T I R M A B E A N A Z T S T E R H U M A E R E E N C S T U D T H E H A L L U N D E M O O S P I N T

6 2 7 4 8 1 3 5 9

8 3 1 5 2 9 7 4 6

O V E N P A V E E L E C T E C T O S C A R E N I T A R I O A T O U R A G E N W O E E L I B E R E T A S S O A S R N E A T H L I E U E F R E T S

5 9 4 3 6 7 2 8 1

1 4 3 2 7 6 8 9 5

9 5 2 8 3 4 6 1 7

7 8 6 9 1 5 4 3 2

H A R M

E R I C

R E C A P

E N A T E

A N T A U S M E N T D I A T E L M E R L P A W N S E E E A S R R S

2 6 9 1 4 3 5 7 8

3 1 8 7 5 2 9 6 4

S A L S A

“Ralph Wiggum — my cat’s breath smells like cat food.”

“Mr Burns — He is just as evil as him!”

3A engineering

4B architecture and 4B mecatronics

Kirby Nankivell

Lucie Richards & Alex Thomson

D Y E P E P

4 7 5 6 9 8 1 2 3

A.T. -- I’ve felt a connection to you since we first met and you might feel the same way. I’ve denied it for a long time. I didn’t want things to get complicated, but it’s amazing being around you. NewYork was indescribable, and even when you snow-jobbed me I wasn’t really angry. I still get goosebumps when you wear tight pants, and I can’t concentrate in class. I won’t stand quietly in the corner anymore. -- I.B.B.I M.A – I see you all the time.You’ve noticed me with my long brown hair. I’ve noticed you in your hot red Celica. I’ve followed you into the SLC and watched you. I was wondering if you could meet me in the SLC on the 12th at 11:45. Bring your hot asian friend :P To the most beautiful blond of all the colleges. Why must we be apart? Winter has separated us and my heart has turned as cold as these dark winter nights. Co-op has taken me away from you. Can you take me away on your moneyboat again? We can fall asleep at your dusk

“I don’t watch The Simpsons.” Majd Al-Shihabi 1B system design

“Troy McClure — You may remember me from such publications as Imprint.” Nikki Best 3B legal studies

bed time as the waves rock us back in forth. It will be as if you were watching your favourite movie. Who am I? You know who I am and my fiery red passion will never die. Email me. -- PS. You can take the labels off of my can any day ; )

to know each other better? Drop me a line at redhotuwpapa@gmail.com. I’m gainfully employed, a steadfast student, and all my teeth are my own. I’ll be waiting.

We met in Biol 201Lab this year. We talked about the lab for merely 5 mins. Then, SLC 3rd floor, where I asked you to take care of my stuff while I stepped away. I came back, you weren’t there. But you left me a nice note and pointed out that you were in my class.That was so sweet of you. Yes, I am that curly haired guy who comes to your lab desk and tries, but for some reason can’t, talk a lot. I want to know you better and be friends with you. Care for a cup of coffee with me? Please reply, either in Imprint or my facebook inbox.

To my Jewel. You walk into AL every M,W, F at 8:30 am. During class I look back at the clock, trying to sneak a peak at your gorgeous brown hair and dazzling hazel eyes. When you showed up after reading week, with those braids in your hair and that tanned skin it drove me wild! Thoughts of you are pure happiness! I dream of the day when you stop looking through me and look at this great guy standing in front of you. The way you handle the ball on the rugby field is how I’d want you to handle me in the bedroom. You are the lost sock I have finally found – together we could make a great pair. Love always, Hopeless Romantic.

I never thought I’d do this. I see you sitting in the SLC, and your golden locks drive me to insanity.You don’t know me, but I know you... more than you would like to know.Want to get

Missed a connection? Wanna break the ice? Email mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Comics & Distractions

The Imprint caption contest

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 printed 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...

Oil company executive maintains there is insufficient evidence to support global warming while enjoying a March Break ski trip — Sarah and Sandy McLachlan

In need of a caption...

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Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

UW Grad Shines in Film Festival Duncan Ramsay assistant arts editor

ake a survey of the software engineering grad students at UW and you’re bound to find a spectrum of reasons for entering the program — good jobs, good salaries, a love for the subject, a sheer inability to do anything else. But even at UW, you’re probably not going to find many who entered the program in search of funding for film projects. Yet as strange as it sounds, this is exactly what Krzysztof Pietroszek did, and his latest work Eve, screening in this year’s multicultural film festival, stands as a testament to his success. KW will take a decidedly international turn this weekend, as the third Multicultural film festival comes to Kitchener City Hall March 10 to 14. The festival, which brings together a wide variety of local filmmakers originating from all over the globe, will feature a dozen short and feature films. The film festival aims to bring together a wide variety of disparate viewpoints, and promote dialogue between cultures. The festival makes a point of encouraging discussion of the films after the screenings for just this reason, and Pietroszek’s work is sure to be a topic of much conversation, due both to its origin and content.

For Pietroszek, the arts have always been his passion: “I’ve been in theatre a really long time, since I was 12, I’ve been a model, actor, theatre director.” As Pietroszek became more involved in film, it became apparent that film funding was very difficult to acquire in his home country, and that if he wanted to pursue his dream, he would need to move elsewhere. Having decided to come to Canada, Pietroszek entered the PhD program at UW, co-authoring several papers during his time here, and eventually applied for permanent residency two years later. He currently works as a co-ordinator at the Laurier language centre, and has been diligently bringing several film projects he directed to fruition, the first of which is Eve. The story of Eve’s inspiration is a slightly eclectic one. The idea came about as a result of Pietroszek watching three productions, including a Chinese opera about a woman turning into a painting, a Parisian film about a woman covered in warts and a German film about a woman whose life changes based on the events that happen as she runs. These images of beauty ideas, objectification and fate intertwined to form Eve, a “crazy, arty” re-telling of the biblical story of original sin. The film has already been

screened to large audiences in Poland and Cuba, receiving generally positive feedback, although “In Poland, it’s considered controversial, even though it’s more popular than here…because it’s kind of critical of traditional Catholicism.” Eve itself is a film built of frank, powerful images, telling the symbolic story of a woman whose individuality, symbolized by a red dress, is stripped away by the various emotional forces in her life, leaving her trapped in the image of Eve, the original sinner, by the end of the film. A lot of the film’s visual impact can be attributed to actress Jane Wong’s presence on screen, whose grace and features honestly feel like they could belong to the first woman to walk the world. Wong is also aided by Zbignew Preissner’s powerful orchestral score, which gives the short film a sense of dramatic scale and breadth. It’s the visual equivalent of an excellent poem — a single image, idea, crystallized and formed into a punch to the senses. Pietroszek’s film Eve will screen as part of the Tuesday 11 showing. dramsay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Multicultural Film Festival Schedule Tues March 11 , 2008: Crutch:Michael Mercy, 4 Min Distance: Aaron Hughes, 4 Min Eve: Krzysztof Pietroszek, 5 Min Pocketful of Change: Philip Bast, Gary Kirkham, 7 Min Memorial: Megan Crosland, Eliza Crrosland, 15 Min The Red Bottom: Angus R. McLellan, 19 Min The Passenger:Michael Mercy, 13 Min

Wed March 12 , 2008: Never Lose Sight: Michael Mercy, 3 Min Lucrece: Angus R. McLellan, 21 Min Legacy of the Heart: Azam Fouk Aladeh, Documentary, 50 Min

Thursday March 13 , 2008: Midnight Radar: Michael Mercy, 4 Min Mousey Spinster: Jamie Usas, 6:30 Min Suffering and the Glory: Gary Kirkham, 10 Min Lethal Blow: The Scent of Judith Visontay: Martin Buzora, Chad Archibald, 8 Min Change Now, Now What?: Andrea K. Bennett and Kaitlin Schwan, Documentary, 51 Min,

Joanna Sevilla

Friday March 14,2008: Solarwind: Roger Albrecht, feature, 88 min Saturday March 15, 2008: Sleeping Dogs : Terrance Odette, feature, 81 Min

The beat goes on for round two Julie Lavelle reporter

he weekend of March 7-8 marks the return of the second annual GO! Music Festival, presented by the Beat Goes On used CD outlet. The GO! Music Festival consists of over 40 talented independent bands performing at seven venues in the KW area. The festival was voted the “Best Local Music Festival” by Echo Magazine’s 2007 Readers Poll. Last year’s festival boasted sold out venues each night and the same

turnout, if not more, is expected for this year. One of the most important aspects of the festival is obviously the music. The Beat Goes On gave local independent bands the chance to submit a biography and demo in order to possibly have a chance to play. 300 entries were received and a committee of five people had the difficult task of sorting through each one and choosing what they believed to be the best possible talent to showcase this event. According to John Rocchetta, president of The Beat Goes On chain of stores, the festival “tries

to keep things fresh and new for the audience.” This has been done by only having 9 out of 40 of the artists repeat from the previous year. This year’s festival has increased the number of headlining bands from one to three, namely, The Trews, Econoline Crush and Grady. Two more locations have been added to this year’s festival; the venue list now includes The Circus Room and The Boathouse as well as Starlight, Jane Bond, The Huether Hotel, The Duke of Wellington and Club Elements. All the positive feedback the

festival is receiving is allowing the organizers to continue growing and building upon the already successful foundation. The only downside is all the shows and venues are going to be 19 plus. John Rocchetta has indicated that they are doing everything in their power to find opportunities for some of next year’s events to be all ages. The issue is that the Kitchener-Waterloo area does not have many concert halls or places for shows to be held, and therefore many of the events must take place at the local bars, which result in the need for more insurance

and security. For a festival that only began last year, it is doing tremendously well and this weekend promises audiences many new, and talented, bands. Check out www.gomusicfestival.ca for all the information about venue locations, artists and the schedule of the festival. You can either buy a $15 wristband for access to all the venues on both nights (excluding Starlight and Club Elements) or pay a $6 cover at each venue. Wristbands can be purchased at The Beat Goes On locations and all shows are 19 plus; ID is required.

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Capitalist culture and intimate connections Mark Kimmich

adds to its appeal. The story that is loosely about the female narrator’s connection to her grandpon entering, parents is “comprised Alayna Munce of many voices, forms, appeared to be lists, journals, excerpts slightly shy as she refused from medical reports to make eye contact with and things.” the inhabitants of the This interesting form small classroom, which has a consistent impact was filled to the brim on the way that one with her eager audience. reads her work as well. The instant after taking “I must confess,” she over the podium and said, “I thought for some flashing her bright smile reason that St. Jerome’s however, she was comwas the Mennonite colpletely in her glory. The lege here at Waterloo, so slender young woman I prepared a reading that with thick, twisted locks highlights Mennonite commanded the room aspects, but then I realJennifer Serec and spoke easily about ized, I think that it’s the Catholic her work. With doubts over the posMunce’s latest work When I Was sibility that she may not have been Young and In My Prime has received high college!” Since her work is composed able to make it to St. Jerome’s, due critical praise but defies easy descrip- of different forms, Munce says that “it to the inclement weather, the fifth tion. She pointedly remarked when can be fun to imagine what the story installment of the SJU Reading Series asked about how she would define would turn out like if I had placed continued without further hurdles her work that “it’s a book!” Certainly the different parts of it differently to 1/4RENT_imprint:Layout 1 2/19/08 12:11 PM Page 1 this past Wednesday. the disjointed nature of her work create different juxtapositions — the pleasures of recreation. So when I read, I prepare a different line of readings that fit where I’m reading.” Munce’s reading at St. Jerome’s included parts one to four of a series of tiny stories about birds (the domestic goose, the hummingbird, the red-breasted wren, and the Canada goose respectively) that appear sporadically throughout the “book,” as an example of how her readings change with her location. This created a very personal reading that went over well with the riveted audience as Munce read in her luxurious voice that changed with the different voices of her story. At one moment funny, the next introspective, the next sad, Munce’s literary ability was showcased well in her choice of readings. “If anything,” she said, “this book was a meditation on our technological and capitalist culture and what it does to the intimate connections between people.” Munce, with her presence at St. Jerome’s, achieved a certain connection between the people in her room that will certainly stay with them for some time.

Concerted canadiana

staff reporter

mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Jason Collett singing about Canadian life at the Starlight, eh. Mark Kimmich staff reporter

omething about Jason Collett’s onstage presence and quiet charisma calls out to the innerCanuck. Maybe it’s the atypical courage to sing of the Canadian landscape and life or hell, maybe it’s just the fact that he’ll wear a plaid shirt. Either way, he oozes North Country, and it shows in his performances as it did on Thursday, February 28 at Starlight. The first time I saw Jason Collett live in concert was last year at Lee’s Palace in Toronto, where he paraded on to the stage with a procession of the who’swho of the Canadian music scene. Members of Broken Social Scene, Bloc Party, and even Collett’s own son aided him in wrapping up the tour for his critically acclaimed Idols of Exile.

About a year later, in a fashion befitting the stripped-down production of his new record Here’s to Being Here, Collett kept the performance to his own band and the little known but greatly appreciated (as far as this writer is concerned) Peter Elkas, a Toronto-based musician who looks like he could easily be one of the members of Stillwater from Almost Famous. Elkas opened the show with a fantastic rendition of “Party of One,” the title track from his 2004 debut release. Elkas truly is a ’70s style throwback who prompted various “oohs” and assorted “aahs” from the female members of the crowd. A perfect opening act, Elkas immediately relieved any pre-show crowd tension and kicked off what turned out to be an evening chock full of fantastic musicianship. By opening his set with some tracks from Idols of Exile, Jason Collett connected immediately with the packed room. The openers, including fan favourite “Parry Sound,” an ode to Canadiana by proxy of the northern Ontario town’s bending pines and dark water, played extremely well, creating in the room the nostalgic atmosphere that the songs evoke on the record to the power of 10. His new songs were equally satisfying. By removing some of the pomp provided by instrumental elements like horns in his newest album, Collett is able to not only satisfyingly reproduce the sound of his record live, but also to truly transcend the limitations of the created product the way only a true musician performing live can. While listening to his album is a treat, listening to him play in person is infinitely more so. As far as being Canadian goes, I had the chance to ask him about his connection to the land. “Well, it’s elusive, you know?” was all he replied. It may be difficult to define, it’s true, but if there is a better musical representation of what the land means to me, I have yet to hear it. mkimmich@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Vanguard rocks Mazda Muzik Night Jamie Damaskinos Staff Reporter

Cars and Indie Rock? That’s right folks. Mazda is putting on a national tour in search of the next big Canadian Indie Rock Band. Bands were invited by the good people at Mazda to upload their songs and photos on the Mazda Muzik Tour web-site. After the bands have uploaded their tunes, the fans are were given the opportunity to vote for their favourites. The five bands with the most votes, within each region, were given the opportunity to display their talents in a “Battle of the Bands” concert. The tour hit Fed Hall on Wednesday March 5 boasting a bill consisting of Black City Ruin, You Yourselves, Hue, BreachingVista and University of Waterloo’s very own Vanguard. All in all the show was a hit with the audience, as many of the bands proved to be excellent musicians as well as experienced performers. The only poor performance came from the first band of the night, Black City Ruin. This 4-man group sounded more like a typical re-hashing of Nickelback, mixed with some Alice In Chains. In fact, the lead guitarist looked like a Layne Staley look-a-like; sporting a leather vest, torn up jeans, long shaggy hair and a dirty goatee. Fortunately Black City Ruin did not set a precedent for the remainder of the night. You Yourselves, Hue and BreachingVista hit the stage with electric life, rocking their sound and the audience. You Yourselves was in a genre all its own, mixing punk-rock with modern indie music. Hue was a minimalistic 3-man indie band that played upbeat, energetic tunes. BreachingVista rocked the stage with a sound that sounded like the blender child of Hoobastank and Brand New. The highlight of the night was Vanguard, a band straight from the University of Waterloo. This band is an excellent medley of strong stage performance, diverse musical talent and provocative lyrics. The band’s members are as variegated

Jamie Damaskinos

Vanguard easily carried the day with their unique style of pop-rock, as performed at Fed Hall on Wednesday, March 5. as they are talented drawing from influences like Hendrix, Clapton and Elton John. The band played a powerful set that displayed their range and diversity. Singer/rhythm guitarist Graham Campbell and lead guitarist Tyler Plante took centre-stage with their intense physical performance as well as their musical talent. Keyboardist Kent Randall provided a smooth melodic background for Tyler to work with as well as providing back-up vocals Graham. The rhythm section, comprised of Aaron Huliak on bass guitar and Andreas Houlios on drums, provided steady rhythm and complex grooves to keep the rest of the band sharp and on point. Overall, Vanguard proved to be a formidable musical machine. Indie music these days is characterized by abrasive singers and disjointed melodies. Vanguard prefers to keep their music mainly pop

driven, focusing on strong melodies, unique harmonies and funky bass-driven grooves. This ideal was echoed by keyboardist Kent Randall: “We incorporate a lot of pop music into our music. . . we’re a lot more accessible than a lot of these indie bands. There’s a lot of these indie bands that you gotta sorta feel your way into them and if you’re a casual music fan you can’t really get into them, but I think we have good hooks and good melodies…” The band has only recorded a few songs and their work is available to the public on the Mazda Musik Tour website (www.mazdamusiktour.ca) or their MySpace page (www.myspace.com/vanguardrockmusic). They are currently working on their debut EP “The Garden City”. The EP’s title comes from the town of Peterborough. If Vanguard wins the Battle of the Bands

then they get the opportunity to open for Sam Roberts. On top of that they’ll be bringing the show to University of Waterloo and the show will be free for all University of Waterloo students. So go on the Mazda Muzik Tour website, check out Vanguard’s tunes and give them a vote. It could mean that you’ll get the opportunity to see them live in concert with Sam Roberts. So what do they end up sounding like? Well, according to their MySpace page like: “nothing you’ve ever heard before, unless you dream about a rock and roll machine powered by sex and awesomeness.” This is an apt self-description for an animated and talented group. Though they were only formed 8 months ago, we can already expect great things from this eclectic and moving band. jdamaskinos@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Arts & Entertainment

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Slash life

Oh, the memories

hen we university students think about the greatest cartoons, in most of our minds the answer is usually the same: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cartoons were better when I was a kid!â&#x20AC;? Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the general consensus from what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen, because a lot of the cartoons that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m seeing today arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a big fan of. Sure, there are some greats, like South Park and Robot Chicken, but some of the cartoons directed towards the preteen demographic today just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do it for me. But does that make those new cartoons inferior to the past cartoons that we remember? This week, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to throw a few things

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at you for you to consider about the tion corporations, especially the guys quality difference in between cartoons and girls at Disney Studios, are only animating in CGI technology. then and now. However, this was all back when I I think the best place to start off is the cartoons I remember when I was a was younger. Now I dare not to look kid. Of course, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the general collec- at them, and for good reason. Nostion of Disney classics and Looney Tunes talgia can be fairly dangerous if acted shorts. If it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for those cartoons, upon. We think we know all there is I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a fundamental base of to know about great cartoons of yore, knowledge for animation. I loved grow- but then we look back and some of ing up watching the animations of Bruce us end up losing the love we had for Timm (Batman: The Animated Series) and these treasured shows. My brother, Don Bluth (An American Tale), as well for instance, used to almost worship as Warner Bros. productions by Steven G.I. Joe when he was a kid. But after re-watching G.I. Joe: the Movie several Spielberg (Freakazoid, Animaniacs). years back, he can I was also a barely look at it, big YTV fiend, growing up with We thought we knew now unless itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s from stuff like The Zone all there was to know those parodied G.I. Joe PSAs from Fens(before the whole â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sugar and Carlosâ&#x20AC;? about great cartoons, lerfilm (www.fenslerfilm.com), which phenomenon) and but then we look are genius in my hoping to see if they would get any back and some of us opinion. Not to mention of the cartoons being broadcasted in lose the love we had that in reality, not all new cartoons the U.S. See, when for these shows. are horrible. I have I was younger, we great respect for never got satellite or extended cable, so I had to learn some of the new animators out there, the virtue of patience to watch good like Butch Hartman of Fairly OddParents and Genndy Tartakovsky of shows. But one of the greatest things that Samurai Jack. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just directed towards ever happened to YTV was a little a completely different generation of computer-animation company called kids too, so to us some of the newer Mainframe Entertainment. At last, a cartoons donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem great. So there are a few things I can bunch of CanCon cartoons that were actually good! Seeing cartoons like throw at you readers to think about. ReBoot and Beast Wars (or Beasties as Again, for those of you who grew it was called in Canada) was a fresh up with North American cartoons, look at animation, and it made me I ask for your opinion on the new realize what could be the future of and the old. Send me an e-mail, and animation. I had even more respect Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be glad to give you a response as for the Starship Troopers franchise when soon as I can! they created the Roughnecks cartoon series. Nowadays, many major animaptrinh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

CFUSBZBM

ince I began writing this column Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tried my best to not let too much of my personal World of Warcraft â&#x20AC;&#x153;addictionâ&#x20AC;? leak through into the writing. Needless to say, this has prevented me from writing about a lot about some interesting issues from the MMO universe. With the upcoming premiere of the independent documentary Second Skin on March 8, 2008 Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve decided to shed off these writing phobias to discuss this intriguing documentary about virtual life. The casual player of any type of MMO will generally see it as any other type of game they may participate in, albeit a little more expressive than something like Halo 3 can offer online. A vast, almost unimaginable amount of people logging onto the â&#x20AC;&#x153;meta verseâ&#x20AC;? to experience a life outside of their own, even if for only an hour or two. They have fun with their avatarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; adventures and can log off without much of a second thought. On the other extreme, you have the overly addictive individual who will spend more of their time with their toon in an imaginary universe than in real life. This detrimental behaviour can ruin not only the life of the player, but also of those around him/her. In Second Skin, we are exposed to all levels of player activity: from the casual, relational and even extreme addiction. An IMDB plot summary describes it as such: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Second Skin takes an intimate, disturbing look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of computer gamesâ&#x20AC;Ś couples who have fallen in love without ever meeting, disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose, those struggling with addiction, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy entrepreneurs and legendary guild leaders â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all living within a world that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite exist.â&#x20AC;? Each of these different types of MMO gamers allows us to see not only their individual lives but also use their experiences as a mirror for their own gaming lives. More than what is expressed in

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the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direct material are the questions that are raised within it. There are a number of different research projects devoted to understanding the effect that this metaverse has on not only human culture as a whole but also on individual lives and oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of self. Some argue that the types of people we act out in these avatars are closer to our actual selves than the ones we portray to the world in reality. Without the inhibitions to tie us to social conformities, in the virtual world we are free to do and act as we please, with very little consequences. Granted, there are extreme conclusions that can be drawn from this in regard to sadistic and violent natures, but these types of inferences do not represent the meaning of the whole and are more based on personal bias than actual facts. Sites like â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Daedalus Projectâ&#x20AC;? (http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/) or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Terra Novaâ&#x20AC;? (http://terranova.blogs.com) are devoted to actually questioning the MMO players themselves then collecting and analyzing the data in order to come to a more representative opinion of what is actually going on in the meta. Some of the more recent issues discussed about MMO gamers and their avatars have been on virtual representation of self (short people making tall avatars, fat making thin, etc), MMOs as selftherapy, role reversals and ultimately an analysis of what makes these games so intriguing for not only the average gamer, but also the average person. The Second Skin website itself (http://www.secondskinfilm.com) also offers a wide variety of topics in its forums, put forth by gamers themselves â&#x20AC;&#x201D; stories of international love and friendships, hardcore addiction and also those looking at the society that has been produced by these virtual worlds. Even more interesting than the broad research going on in regards to this subject around the world, is looking at it from a more personal level. When asked about virtual communities and social expressions through solely online methods, generally the generation before us cannot quite comprehend why our generation finds such exchanges so appealing. See MMOS, page 25

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Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Comedy guitar duo down under

rom the land down under to Middle Earth, this week’s song comes from the New Zealand folk/rock/comedy duo known as Flight of The Conchords. “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” is the third track on their 2007 EP entitled The Distant Future. It is a song about a man picking up a woman at a friend’s party. Perhaps you could use this as a “how-to” guide for the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. I’m not saying you don’t have skills — but you are still reading this. The band is made up of New Zealanders Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. “Formerly New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digibongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo,” the two compose songs about robots taking over the earth, David Bowie (in space), and of course, the Lord of the Rings. As of February 10, 2008 the band can add the phrase “Grammy Award-winning” to their lengthy title, as they picked up the award for Best Comedy Album with their EP The Distant Future. For a look at “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” search the song title on YouTube. The video you want is approximately three minutes and 30 seconds in length (it should be the first and second video to appear under the search results). The video is actually

taken from the band’s TV series Flight of the Conchords which aired on HBO in 2007 and is set to return in the fall of 2008. “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” video features Jemaine Clement singing lead vocals with Bret McKenzie singing back up vocals. The character receiving Jemaine’s praise is “Sally,” played by Toronto native Rachel Blanchard who you may recognize as Cher Horowitz from the 1996 TV series Clueless. If you’re waiting for the pick-up tips, check out the lyrics to this track. If lines such as “You’re so beautiful / You could be a part time model / But you’d probably still have to keep your normal job” can pick up Rachel Blanchard, they may work for you. But this isn’t a love column — you got your tips in the “Happy ReValentines Day” article. The moral of this story is that Flight of the Conchords is a hilarious group that you should add to your music library. Formed in 1998, the band started out as a comedy act performing at various festivals and comedy clubs. In 2005 the pairing broadcasted their first radio series entitled Flight of the Conchords on BBC Radio. It won a Bronze Sony Radio Academy Award for comedy in 2006. In 2007 the band made appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night

with Conan O’Brien. Recently, the Flight of the Conchords TV series was ranked second on Time Magazine’s list of the top 10 new TV series of 2007. “The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room” is the first song that appears on the show, so consider it your introduction to the series. For three more songs that will split your side, check out “Robots,” “Bowie,” and “Bret, You’ve Got It Going On.” “Bowie” will appear on Flight of the Conchords set to release April 22 2008, while “Robots,” also appearing on that album, is available now on The Distant Future. “Bret, You’ve Got It Going On” only appears on the TV series. However, all three tunes are available on YouTube as taped from live performance or as excerpts from the HBO show. If you’re one of many who can’t wait until the fall to get a glimpse of these guys on screen, you can find them elsewhere. Check out Jemaine Clement in the 2007 release Eagle vs. Shark where he plays a social outcast named Jarrod who seeks love and revenge. For a glimpse at Bret McKenzie, you can rediscover the 2003 release The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where he plays the role of an elf escort. ktremblay@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

MMOs: more than just a game Continued from page 24

They cannot understand how we can get the same satisfaction from chatting with friends online as we can through talking with them in person, or how spending time with a bunch of friends running Karazhan is as fun as tossing around a ball in the park. Their opinion of what makes proper social interaction no longer fits with the way the world really tends to be. The world before the information age saw much more direct human interaction. In our society today with its “high efficiency” and “go go go” mentality, it’s not surprising that so many people are escaping back into

these virtual hubs in order to experience some form of the social interaction that was once more prevalent in the streets. With millions of people flocking to their computers every day to reach out and have full discussions about politics, social issues, entertainment, and philosophy without the constraints of reality, it’s easy to see why these games are becoming so increasingly popular. With more and more MMOs being announced every day (such as Lego Universe, more recently) this industry trend has clear sights set on the up and up. As some failed attempts like Star Wars Galaxy or Auto-Assault have shown, it isn’t easy to replicate the success of

World of Warcraft — suggesting that there’s more to the game than what rests on the surface. Second Skin has set out to give the world a glimpse of what’s really going on at the base of it all and maybe give those lost in the dark a chance to understand what makes this alternate reality so appealing — even why such appeal can be dangerous. Until it actually releases, however, all we can do is look to its trailer and website in the hope that they’ll get it right and let the world be a little more enlightened on the topic of modern gaming, internet culture, and the next stage of societal evolution. jrickert@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Arts & Entertainment Book Review

Acoustic Ladyland: Kathy Shaidle Unplugged Kathy Shaidle Lulu Press

first discovered Kathy Shaidle through her original blog www. relapsedcatholic.com; now she blogs at www.fivefeetoffury.com. Kathy is one of the original bloggers writing about politics, religion, and Canadian pop culture. After encountering her blog, I tracked down all of her books and devoured them, and have read each many times. So this new offering was much anticipated and eagerly expected. Yet Shaidle is on the forefront yet again. This book is only available through digital delivery. That way, the author (not the publisher) makes the money. Smart girl, that Shaidle. To be honest, at first I was disappointed with this book. I have been waiting for a new book from Kathy Shaidle for a few years now. I have even e-mailed and asked her when one would be forthcoming. Then when one finally comes along, and I pay for it and download it, it turns out to be only 61 pages long. I was so disappointed about it being so small that I put off reading it. However my curiosity got the better

of me and I finally caved and began to read. After all, having read nearly 30 of her columns from the Toronto Star and some posts from her award-winning blog, it had to be worth a look. Shaidle often amazes me with her wordcraft, and her ability to pack so much punch into small columns, articles or blog posts, and she considers this some of her best. The first offering, “How I learned to stop worrying and left the Left,” is Shaidle at her best. She exposes her past and is vulnerable and transparent in a terribly funny and charming way. This is also shown in her entry “Being an American trapped in a Canadian’s body.” Then we have a piece called “The Canonization of Pat Lowther” which takes to task the Canadian literary industry, and who they honour and ignore. In a great piece called “Don’t trust anyone over 50,” she tackles the issue of truth in higher education. It makes one wonder what she would say about comparisons made between J.K. Rowling and Tolkien or Lewis. My favourite piece is called “Things to do when you’re dead.” Shaidle writes often about death but the humour, wit, and wisdom in this piece remind me of my own sensibilities. This piece will either make you want to laugh or to cry, but it will evoke a response. An intriguing article entitled “At the Self-Pity Spa I Sat Down and Wept” takes us to the core of Shaidle’s self. Then with a mix of articles about porno websites, religious websites, Failed Priests, Jackie Kennedy Onasis, and many more; there is something to grab every reader’s attention. Shaidle is famous or rather infamous for drawing and tying pop culture and religious references together, and these pieces highlight some of the best of each. The final piece, “What I Learned in Catholic School” will resonate with Catholic women and those who know them. — Steven R. McEvoy

Campus Bulletin 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! 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. Napkin Books is currently accepting manuscripts for its next publication cycle. Publishing Canadian writers of sci-fi, horror and fantasy genres. To apply see the application process on the website www.napkinbooks.com. The Greater K-W Chamber of Commerce is presenting a curling event with great prizes. For info call Laura at 519-749-6035 or www.greaterkwchamber.com or lrichards@greaterkwchamber.com.

CO-OP/CAREER SERVICES

“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. “Interview Skills: Preparing for Questions” – Monday, March 17 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., TC 2218. “Interview Skills: Selling Your Skills” – Tuesday, March 18 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 2218. “Success on the Job” – Wednesday, March 19 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., TC 1208. “Successfully Negotiating Job Offers” – Thursday, March 13 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Writing CVs and Cover Letters” – Tuesday, March 11 from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m., TC 2218. “Law School Bound” – Thursday, March 20 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Preparing for the LSAT” – Thursday, March 20 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Teaching English Abroad” – Thursday, March 20 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., TC 1208. “Are You Thinking of an MBA?” – Wednesday, March 19 from 5 to 7 p.m., TC 1208.

UPCOMING

Monday, March 10, 2008 Candle Light Vigil – members of the UW Genocide Action Group are holding a 45 minute candle light vigil in memory of the 450,000 people killed in the Genocide in Darfur. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the SLC courtyard. 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. Wednesday, March 19, 2008 Conference on Genocide Prevention: Human Rights Advocacy and the Freedom of Expression in DC 1350 at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 21, 2008 UW Accounting Conference: May 2-4 weekend at Delta Hotel, Kitchener. Case competition with accounting/business students from across Canada, with keynote speaker Phil King! Sign-up booth in SLC on Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. Registration ends March 21, 2008. April 2008 Used books wanted for CFUW Book

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Sale, April 18-19 at First United Chruch, King and William Street. Drop off donations at church (back door) April 16 and 17. For info call 519-740-5249. No textbooks please.

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. 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 Volenteers Wanted - Canadian Mental Health Association is seeking caring volunteers to provide supportive listening and crisis deescalation 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. Local Red Cross Youth Group – want to volunteer in the community? Raise local awareness about International issues?? Between 16 and 25 years of age? E-mail Lisa.Allen@red.cross.ca.

COUNSELLING SERVICES

English Language Proficiency Program (ELPP) – all workshops are scheduled between 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.. 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.

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STUDENT AWARDS FINANCIAL AID

CHURCH SERVICE

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. March 30: recommended submission date for OSAP Rollover Form to add spring term to winter only term or falland winter term.

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.

3 weeks left in the winter term!

Classified HELP WANTED

SERVICES

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. Angies Kitchen, Waterloo, needs part-time line cooks and waitstaff. Flexible hours. Bring resume to 45 Erb Street, Waterloo, attention: Teresa. 519-886-2540. 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, account manager, computer specialists and employees with business skills. Email resume to oguns4mine@yahoo.com. Best part-time job: watch video for $10/hour as one of our Video QA Representatives. We’ve got a young team, room for advancement and a start-up culture. Working here sure beats flipping burgers, working retail, or any other part-time job your’re considering - and it is definitely looks better on a resume. No experience required and training is provided. Send your resume to resumes@miovision.com to apply. Weekends – permanent, part-time for varied shifts. Must be energetic, work independently and have good communication skills. Drop resume off at Club Willowells, 40 Blue Springs Drive, Waterloo (beside East Side Mario’s on King). Accountant representative, sales representative, store keeper, clerk and secretary needed. Must be computer literate, along with CV. For more info e-mail gina.limited@ gmail.com.

TechTown Dentistry – “Smile With Confidence” – welcoming new patients. Complete dental care including whitening and Invisilign-the invisible way to straighten your teeth. Located at 340 Hagey Boulevard, R&T Park, UW. Contact us at info@techtowndentistry.com or 519-746-7333.

LOST & FOUND

Found: a bracelet in REN 2102. E-mail description and contact information to wordchick@gmail.com (put “bracelet” in the subject line) and I’ll get it back to you.

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.

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. Free 32” TV or BBQ for the first 10 groups! Spacious three and four bedroom townhouses available for May or September. Newly renovated, private backyards, patio, free laundry and parking. Call 519-572-0278 or visit www.domushousing.com. Summer sublet, May to August 2008, at 31 High Street, Waterloo. $300 plus utilities (negotiable) Call Jason at 519208-5017 or kenkaniff02@hotmail. com.

DEADLINE IS MONDAY AT 5 P.M. FOR CLASSIFIEDS AND CAMPUS BULLETIN, SLC room 1116 or ads@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Wireless research welcomes new funding Adrienne Raw science editor

W professor of electrical and computer engineering Dr. Amir Khandani is the lead researcher on a study of the future needs of wireless communication which recently received a multi-million dollar award from the Ontario Research Fund (ORF). The project’s purpose, Khandani was quoted as saying in a recent news release, is to “[explore] the creation of new multiple antenna systems that can deliver great improvements in the power and bandwidth efficiency of wireless systems at an affordable cost.” The research team, composed of 30 faculty and students from UW, McMaster University, and the University of Toronto, aims to develop a wireless communication system of multiple networked antennas. Wireless devices could share the same spectrum, reducing costs and allowing cell towers to consume less electrical power. The result: environmentally friendly wireless networks. The ORF, a special fund established by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, will contribute $4.3 million to Khandani’s $13.3 million project, entitled Intelligent Multiple Antenna Structures for Adaptive Wireless Systems. The other funds will come from various sources including UW and the project’s industrial partners Research In Motion, Bell Mobility, Nortel, and Atria Networks, all of which are wireless companies with complementary markets. Khandani’s project is a response to the continued growth of wireless telephone and data communications in Ontario and around the world. Wireless technology has a surprisingly long history, dating back over 200 years. The credit for the first radio transmission goes to self-taught inventor Guglielmo Marconi who, in 1895, sent a radio telegraph transmission across the English Channel. Six years later he sent a transmission across the Atlantic. Public use of the radio began in 1907 and wireless communication was soon established in the field of wireless telegraphy. Since then wireless technology has continued to evolve at an amazing rate through technological developments like Edwin Armstrong’s FM radio right up to today’s cell phones and BlackBerries. Wireless communication and its associated technologies have evolved from an expensive, sparsely used communication system to an inexpensive, widelyused necessity. According to a Reuters article published in November of 2007, the worldwide number of cell phone subscriptions had reached 3.3 billion — roughly half the world’s total population. Since then that number has only increased.

The explosive growth rate of wireless technology is, however, limited by spectrum and battery life. According to Khandani, airwaves are becoming saturated with signals, cell phone batteries can’t handle the traffic, and cell towers consume too much electrical power. With cell phones handling more video and TV signals, it becomes essential to find new ways of delivering the data without boosting cost. Intelligent antenna structures, the focus of Khandani’s research, are viewed as the solution to overcoming these limitations. These “intelligent antennas” would allow wireless devices to share the same spectrum and consume less electricity, providing a more cost effective — and environmentally friendly — technique for enabling wireless communication. UW students, with their reliance on and love of wireless technology, will be among those that benefit most from any advancement Khandani’s research makes. “Youth, and students in particular, tend to be on the forefront of cutting-edge technology, and thus Dr. Khandani’s recent funding success should be of particular interest,” said current Feds President Kevin Royal. Khandani’s research team also includes fellow UW researchers Sujeet Chaudhuri, Catherine Rosenberg, Ali Safavi-Naeini, and academic colleagues Jamal Deen from McMaster University and George Eleftheriades from the University of Toronto. Researchers from the Communications Research Centre Canada and Defence Research and Development Canada are also involved. Khandani, a professor at UW since 1993, is considered a world-class expert in wireless communication and has collaborated with industry before. He has Nortel Industrial Research Chair in Advanced Telecommunications Technology with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Wireless Systems. Khandani is also the director of the Nortel Networks Institute. The professor has a long history of work in the wireless communication field, including over 200 articles and several patents. His current research interests in the physical layer of wireless systems include an emphasis on source/channel coding, multiple-access, multiple antenna systems, co-operative networking, and information theory. “Having such a world-class researcher on our campus is a coup — it helps UW move towards its sixth decade plan of being an internationally recognized university,” said Royal. Though Khandani’s project has a five-year timeline, he has said that participants expect to start seeing results within the next year. araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Wireless media in our community VeloCity

VeloCity, a new residence located in the Minota Hagey Residence, is part of the Media and Mobility Network Project. It’s a place where talented, entrepreneurial and technologically-savvy students will live and develop new ideas in mobile communications, web or new media. Broadband Initiatives in Residence

The Media and Mobility Network Project is currently conducting pilot efforts for an initiative to replace old-fashioned technology (like landline phones) in residence, giving students cellphone service and massive broadband access, including television over the internet. Project directors say that if all goes well, the initiative could extend to all students on campus. Intelligent community

Waterloo was named the world’s top “intelligent community” in 2007 by the Intelligent Community Forum, a special interest group from the World Teleport Association. The group focuses on the uses of broadband technology for economic development; Waterloo’s own broadband technology development was critical in placing it at the top of the intelligent community list.

joyce hsu

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Time for a rhetorical condom fitting, comrade

id you know male condoms were made of bulky animal intestine in the 17th century? That fact alone ought to provide a new appreciation for the comforts of contemporary contraceptives. Nevertheless, male complaints about condom discomfort never seem to cease. In most cases, the problem with male condom dissatisfaction isn’t an excess of size but a lack of tolerance. Yes, condoms undoubtedly do reduce sensation in comparison with skin-to-skin contact. The advantage a condom provides is minimizing the chance of sperm ever entering the vagina outside the limits of the condom. Seeing how a male releases anywhere between 200 and 600 spermatozoa per ejaculate shot, a reduced sensitivity is the trade-off for a slashed risk of pregnancy. In fact, if used properly, condoms can cut the risk of pregnancy 85 to 90 per cent, according to UW Health Services. Using a condom the right way is as simple as following the instructions in the box; however, there are ways to maximize condom durability before retiring to the bedroom. Most people, for instance, do not consider that condoms are sensitive to prolonged heat exposure. This is why condoms kept in a wallet, pocket, or car compartment are unlikely to be effective. Similarly, a refrigerator is not a good place for a condom, as room-temperature conditions are considered by manufacturers when making the product. Quality is also important to take into consideration. If you come across an overly avant-garde

condom, such as a glow-in-the-dark giraffe-print one, it is likely to be more of a novelty shop gag than a contraceptive. Also, novelty shop condoms are sometimes less effective than brand name condoms due to differences in condom testing procedures, so the safest bet is a condom producer with a long history. This allows the company to standardize and improve testing techniques and produce the most effective condoms possible. Lastly, the expiration date is of equal, if not greater, importance compared to the other factors when using a condom. This is because condoms degrade over time and have an average lifespan of three to five years. Now it is time to save condoms some face. Meet a condom’s best friend, personal lubricant! Not only does it reduces the risk of condom tear by proving a more slippery environment; it also compensates for condom-decreased sensitivity.

At the same time, condom compatibility with lube is of great importance. Condoms are most commonly made from two materials — latex, which is a natural rubber product, and polyurethane, a plastic alternative to latex condoms. Although latex condoms are thicker and thus thought to be more durable, they are also less comfortable than polyurethane products, which are thinner and more flexible. However, latex condoms jen stanfel are only compatible with water-based lubricants, while polyrethane can handle both oil and water-based ones. Choosing the right lube to suit a condom is extremely important because latex condoms are easily

damaged by non-water-based lubricants. As a side note on lubricants, be sure to pick one to suit your needs. Some flavoured lubricants contain glycerin, also known as sugar alcohol, which can facilitate a yeast infection and should not be used for vaginal sex. Artificial colourants and harsh chemicals can also contribute to vaginal irritation, so a simple, all-purpose water-based personal lubricant is a good place to start. Female condoms are less widely available then male condoms, but share the same purpose and general structure. The only difference is that female condoms are made of polyurethane and resemble an elongated pouch. The important thing to know is that they are not compatible with male condoms. The friction between the two condoms is likely to cause damage to the material, not to mention the gallon of lubricant that would be necessary to make it possible in the first place. Keep the ratio 2:1 — two sets of genetalia, one condom. Knowing how to accommodate your comrade into the right condom, with compatible lubricant will only make sex easier. Now than you have been enlightened, it’s time to cover up and pitch a tent.

Sherif Soliman

a hands-free experience with their iPod, and all you have to do is wink. According to Reuters, the device has infrared sensors and a microcomputer than can accurately detect slight changes in skin movement when the user winks. The remote control device, called KomeKami Switch, or Temple Switch, can be attached to eyeglasses or headphones, and gives a full-featured experience, that includes playing and pausing, fastforwarding, track skipping, that can be performed using different combinations of eye-winks. Kazuhiro Taniguchi, the researcher from the university’s Graduate School of Engineering says that the device is so accurate that it can differentiate between blinks and deliberate winks. We at Imprint, however, wonder what would happen should a sand grain find its way to a user’s eye. That should put a kink in your tunes.

assistant science editor

iPods might get you iMugged

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Yes, your iPod might become a risk to your safety. Research titled “Is there an iCrime Wave?” conducted by the Urban Institute shows that increasing rates of “snatch and run” thefts of electronic gadgets are correlated with the explosion in iPod sales. According to Elinor Mills from CNET News.com, iPods make an excellent target due to their high price tags and widespread use. The white iPod ear buds make the device very easy to spot, and the fact that iPod users are always tending to their players make them an easy target. However, not everybody accepted that hypothesis. The San Francisco Chronicle was quite skeptical about the iPod being the main reason for the crime rate surge. While they admit that iPods do contribute in a way, they also point out that homicide rates for the same time period (2005 – 2006) have increased as well. All in all, it you probably should keep an eye out for iPod snatchers. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to change those default ear buds, it’s not like they’re that good anyway, right? Internet Explorer 8 makes its debut

Microsoft has made a public debut of Internet Explorer 8 in Las Vegas last Wednesday. General manager Dean Hachamovitch was at the event, and expressed his excitement over elaborating on IE’s eight major new features, which include: CSS certificate support, HTML 5 support, new developer tools and activities, and a feature that received a lot of focus: WebSlices. WebSlices allows users to choose pieces of web pages to receive feed updates on said parts. A similar feature, Web Clip, exists in Mac OS X’s browser, Safari. The difference lies in the fact that web site authors will be the ones who will decide which parts will be updatable by WebSlices, while Web Clip updates any portion of a page into a Dashboard Widget. Microsoft will have a beta version available for download and testing by developers. Wink your way through your iPod playlist

Apparently, there is no such thing as being too lazy. A researcher from the Osaka University in Japan has developed a device that gives the user

alomako@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Windows-based ATMs at highest risk of attack

A savvy group of security experts have been experimenting with ATM machines to test their vulnerability against attacks over the internet. Results were not encouraging, as they were able to hack into the systems, simulate monetary theft, and steal bank account details from modern machines, all with relative ease. The team emphasized the fact that 90 per cent of ATMs in the UK, and other ATMs around the world would suffer from the highest risk due to the fact that they are based on desktop PC infrastructure. Machines that run on Intel hardware and Windows operating systems were singled out as being at risk. Network Box, the security vendor responsible for the testing, states that only the personal identification numbers (PINs) were encrypted over the connection. All other information was sent in pure text format that was fully readable by anybody who was capable of intercepting transmission. Such information includes card numbers, expiration dates, transaction amounts, and account balances. There is a history of security attacks on ATMs in the past. The Nachi internet worm and SQL Slammer worm were responsible for attacks on ATMs from two different financial institutions and crashing 13,000 machines from Bank of America, respectively. ssoliman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Science & Technology

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Science in the supernatural book review Adrienne Raw The Physics of the Buffyverse Jennifer Ouellette

science editor

Giant sea reptile discovered in the Arctic

Penguin

hen you think about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin-off show Angel, two cult-classic TV series created by Joss Whedon, you think about the monsters, the mythology, and the symbolism that Whedon weaves into much of his work. What you don’t think about is the science. Yet behind much of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel there is, surprisingly, science. Biology, chemistry, and physics actually play an incredibly important role in these two TV shows about the supernatural. It is this role that author Jennifer Ouellette explores in her new text The Physics of the Buffyverse. The text is an easy-to-read analysis of the science in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel complete with informative, entertaining illustracourtesy amazon.com tions. Ouellette expertly weaves a considerable amount of information of the Buffy the Vampire vampire eyes have fewer cone cells and thus Slayer and Angel, universe into her explanations. wouldn’t perceive colour as well as humans. Ouellette’s science helps explain certain plot Her comprehensive knowledge of the Buffyverse is itself evident through references to specific points in Buffy the Vampire Slayer that might have previously been deemed random decisions. For events and episodes. Despite the book’s somewhat misleading title, example, her explanation of vampire biology exphysics is not the only science Ouellette explores. plains the comment in the season three episode She explains how everything from the biological “The Wish” that vampires are attracted to bright origins of vampires (the core concept behind the two colours. If Ouellette’s scientific explanation of series) to the physics behind some more spectacular vampire eyesight is correct, vampires would be episode premises (portholes to other dimensions, attracted to bright colours because they are easier to see than more muted tones, which vampires for example) can be illustrated through science. “[The] melding of magic and science is a defin- would have difficulty seeing because of their ing feature of the Buffyverse,” wrote Ouellette in reduced number of cone cells. What makes The Physics of the Buffyverse such the introduction of the The Physics of the Buffyverse. The character-building behind Buffyverse vam- a great read is its accessibility. Ouellette’s explapires is a perfect example of this melding. While nations are succinct but complete, explaining many of their vampire characteristics — sensitivity sometimes complicated scientific concepts in to crosses and holy water, spontaneous combus- terms a reader without an extensive scientific W’s background can comprehend. Readers don’t have tion when exposed to direct sunlight — have no KW’s GAY to be physicists, or even have considerable physics EMIER basis in modern science, there are some charac- PREMIER education, to understand the physics discussed teristics that do. Vampires’ superior night-time & LESBIAN Y & hunting abilities, such as better night vision, can NITECLUB in the book. However, for readers who do have SBIAN be attributed to an evolutionary advantage. As a extensive backgrounds in science, some of the separate species — though they can transfer their explanations may seem overly simplistic. TECLUB traits through blood — vampires have evolved Ouellette covers a very large number of scito be better nocturnal hunters. Their better night entific concepts in her review, so she doesn’t go vision, Ouellette speculates, can be attributed to into the greater detail that could be accomplished an increased number of rod cells (cells that help with a more narrowed focus — discussing just the humans see in low light) in the eyes. Consequently, biology of Buffyverse monsters, for example. She also glosses over and simplifies some concepts to facilitate her brief descriptions. For example, her chapter on the apocalypses in the Buffyverse men24 Charles St W ~ Downtown KITCHENER tions the controversy over the validity of string 24 Charles St W ~ Downtown KITCHENER Info: 519-570-2406 ~ delve Toll Free: theory, but doesn’t into1-877-635-2357 the topic. nfo: 519-570-2406 ~ Toll Free: 1-877-635-2357 WEDNESDAY TO Physics SUNDAY:of9 the p.m.Buffyverse to 3 a.m. is clearly Though The WEDNESDAY TO SUNDAY: 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. aimed at www.clubrenaissance.com an audience without a significant sciwww.clubrenaissance.com entific background, it is still an engaging and interesting read that touches on a topic not often considered by fans of a supernatural TV show: the science behind the supernatural.

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Two years on the Arctic island of Spitspergen in the island chain of Svalbard, researchers unearthed a 150 million-year-old specimen, nicknamed “The Monster,” of a Jurassicera marine reptile. The 50-foot (15-metre) specimen represents the largest marine reptile known to scientists and is just one of the 40 sea reptiles found on Spitspergen. “The Monster” belongs to a reptile group called pliosaurs, a short-necked form of plesiosaur, with a tear drop-shaped body and two sets of powerful flippers. Discovered in 2006 and excavated in August of 2007, the giant sea monster has recently been reassembled in the basement of the University of Oslo Natural History Museum. This specimen is the first discovery of a significant portion of the skeleton of such a large creature. Previous discoveries were largely limited to a few isolated bones. Researchers plan to return to Svalbard later this year to excavate a second giant pliosaur skeleton that has the same bone structure as “The Monster” and may belong to the same species. Climate change may have been downfall of Maya

A new theory, based on research conducted by a satellite program known as SERVIR, suggests that the climate change may have been an important factor in the downfall of the Maya. SERVIR, launched in early 2005 from the Marshall Space Flight Centre to monitor Central America’s environment, has found evidence of the Maya’s previously-hidden and possibly #2 disastrous agricultural past. New satel-

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— with files from BBC News and National Geographic araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

CSU’s Ontario Campus in Burlington is currently in its third successful year of offering this professional one-year program, which prepares university graduates to teach in primary-junior classrooms in Ontario. This degree is accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers and approved by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. For more information about this program and how to apply for the August 2008 intake visit www.charlessturt.ca This program is offered under the written consent of the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities for the period from 24 December 2004 to 24 December 2009. Prospective students are responsible for satisfying themselves that the program and the degree will be appropriate to their needs (e.g. acceptable to potential employers, professional licensing bodies or other educational institutions).

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REMEDY

A new fossil species, small enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand, discovered by palaeontologist Christopher Beard is North America’s oldest known primate. The 55-million-year-old fossil specimen, named Teilhardina magnoliana, was discovered on the Gulf Coastal Plain of Missippi. Though it is related to similarly aged fossils from China, Europe and Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin, the rock layer in which this specimen was found raises the controversial possibility that primates appeared in North America before their close relatives showed up in Europe. The theory suggests that Teilhardina magnoliana migrated to North America across the Bering land bridge, then to Europe across an Atlantic land bridge that emerged thousands of years later. Analysis of fossil discoveries like Teilhardina magnoliana help researchers understand the migration of ancient species and climates they lived in.

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lite images showing long-overgrown fields and ancient drainage canals suggest that the Maya exploited local seasonal wetlands. Combined with the Maya’s traditional slash-and-burn agriculture techniques, this exploitation induced local drought and made the environment hotter. The resulting climate change likely contributed to other factors in the Maya downfall like war and disease. Researchers hope the SERVIR program can use the lessons learned from the Maya to help ensure modern civilization fares better than our Maya ancestors in the face of climate change.

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008 sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

This year in Varsity Sports The Waterloo Warrior sports teams competed in 22 different CIS varsity sports this year, ranging from basketball to Nordic skiing. With the seasons for most teams winding down, Imprint Sports takes a look back at the season that was.

Women’s Rugby

Football

Football Continued

The Women’s rugby team were among the elites of the OUA. Their only loss in the regular season came against the undefated Western Mustangs. The Warriors made the OUA finals only to lose to Western again.

The football team got off to a fantastic 3-0 start, but was derailed by Laurier in the battle of Waterloo. The game drew more than 6000 fans, but the Warriors fell 35-3, losing for the fifth year in row to Laurier.

The team never recovered from that game dropping their final four games to finish the season at 3-5. However, the Warriors are getting a new field at CIF next season.

Men’s Rugby

Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer

The men’s rugby team finished with a 4-2 record, which was good for third in the OUA west division. However, they fell to division champion Western in the quarter-final playoffs.

The past year was a rebuilding one for Men’s soccer team. The finished with a 2-10-2 record. At one point the team did not score a goal for five games, and managed just two goals in an eight game stretch.

In an up and down year, the Women’s soccer team managed to sneak into the playoffs with a 4-7-2 record. However they were promptly dispatched in the first round of the playoffs by McMaster.

Women’s Basketball

Squash

Track and Field

With OUA west all-star Gillian Maxwell leading the team, the Women’s Basketball team finished 12-10 and defeated Brock in the first round of the playoffs. However they went down to powerhouse McMaster in the second round.

Despite a disappointing season for the team, Waterloo squash boasted OUA Player of the year Eric Dingle and OUA Coach of the year Clive Porter.

Despite not having their have a track of their own. The UW track team still managed to set a bevy of personal bests and qualified two individuals, Julia Malleck and Jenna Bell, as well as three relay teams for the CIS Championships.

We are Warriors

See page 32 for more

A group of students decided that spirit was lacking at Varsity games and they were going to do something about it. Look forward to a vocal cheering section at Warrior games in the future.

Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Ah, gym Moving to a fitter beat class Dancing as an alternative physical workout at UW

us something to talk about. I left the class feeling energized and more alive than I felt coming in. This, I’m sure, is because of the enticing rhythm that hat’s the first thing you you’re forced to move to as well as think of when you hear the fact that dancing increases you’re the phrase “powerful workbreathing and heart rate and helps out”? Sweating buckets at the gym burn a great deal of fat. Dancing in for a couple hours? Lifting weights heels for an hour every week (if not with your buddies? Taking one of the longer) is definitely responsible for strength building classes offered by my lower abdomen, thighs, calfs and Campus Rec? How about, say, danchips being more toned. It also proved ing? You heard me, D-A-N-C-I-N-G. to be a great way to relax and take my Before you dismiss the idea, think mind off the tensions I faced from about it. What else offers non-stop the monotony and stresses of school. movement, a work out for all your So if you’re looking to mingle while major muscle groups, aerobic training getting a high-energy workout, dancas well a high-energy environment? ing is for you. For those of you who do not know If you’re thinking, “Well, isn’t it too much about aerobic exercise, a bit too late to consider that option allow me to educate you. Aerobic given the dance lessons are coming to means “with oxygen” and this kind an end?” Heck of exercise stems no! Why not just from the repeatWhat else offers non-stop movement, a go to any social ed movement of venue such as large muscles in work out for all your major muscle groups, The Bomber your arms, legs or Revolution and hips that effecaerobic training as well a high-energy on nights when tively makes you environment? you like the mubreath deeper and sic being played faster, maximizing the amount of oxygen traveling for a term would somehow enable and just let loose if not dare to go through your body. This is important me to be comfortable actually walk- crazy. Ladies, why not make it a night out with your girls and shake the stress in terms of keeping in shape as oxygen ing, if not dancing, in them. But as it turns out, there are actu- away? And if the gentlemen out there is responsible for the break down and conversion of glycogen (starch ally more benefits to dancing than I are wondering how in the world this stored in your tissues) to glucose, had previously anticipated, for guys applies to them... Might I just add to generate energy. Aerobic exercise and girls alike. Because salsa is a two- that a lot of women out there will takes less effort than conventional person dance and more than 20 people agree with me when I say that there is work out regimes, allows you to ex- were put in my class, I found myself nothing sexier than a man that knows ercise harder, and what’s better than alternating partners every couple min- how to move? knowing your main source of fuel is utes. This allowed me to meet people I would never have otherwise and gave stored body fat? opais@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Olinda Pais

ow that university has come, gone are the days of gym class lore. The classes are all about the academics from here on out. But, part of me still yearns for the afternoons of leisure provided by high school gym class. If you were like me, you probably took gym because it was all but a guaranteed A and a nice break in between the tediousness of math and English. While recently strolling through the gymnasium of my high school alma mater, I started reminiscing about some of the things that made gym class oh-so-great. 1. No homework! No exams! Well this is the real reason we all took gym after all. 2. The embittered gym teacher Ah, what gym class would be complete if it weren’t headed by a man whose shattered dreams of pro-sports superstardom has now left him with the charge of controlling obnoxious teenagers. 3. Impressing the girls in the fitness class The girls doing yoga upstairs in the fitness room had a large glass window upon which to observe the guys down in the main gym. This meant every pick-up basketball game was serious business, because girls were watching. You’re hoping once the girls see the manliness that exudes from your sweat, they’ll all swoon and mob you afterwards yelling “take me now.” 4. Laps around the track The sleeker and fitter among us would point and chuckle at the chubby kids still wheezing around

the track long after we had finished. Yes, it made us horrible people, but expecting maturity from 15-year-olds is like expecting sanitation from Amy Winehouse. 5. Sex ed. class Usually this should elicit horrible groans, but the sight of a late middleaged man trying to explain how gay and lesbian sex works in response to the questions of giggling 15-yearolds is one of the most awkward if not amusing scenes I have ever witnessed. 6. Trash talking Thanks to all the ballers we had, gym class was a non-stop trash talk fest the moment the teacher turned his back. Playin’ the who-can-getthe-better-diss-in game was at times more important than the game being played. You can get creamed on the court, but the right burn or comeback lets you walk away the winner regardless. 7. Built-in excuse for lateness Our gym teacher was a crusty old guy and would seemingly bite the heads off of anyone who approached with a question. Now this could be used in your favor sometimes, as even the other teachers were a bit frightened of this man. English teacher: “Why are you late for class again?!”, Me: “Uh, I had to stay behind and help the gym teacher put the equipment away after class, you can go ask him yourself.” After a nervous pause from the English teacher: “Okay, just take your seat.”

assistant sports editor

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, aerobic exercise is “any activity that uses large muscle groups, can be maintained continuously, and is rhythmic in nature.” How much more rhythmic can you get than dancing? I joined Campus Rec’s salsa dance class this term because I wanted to learn how to dance and figured it would be an exciting and impressive dance to learn. I mean, have you ever watched a couple on Dancing With The Stars and think to yourself, man, I wish I could do that! If you have, you’ll understand what it is that prompted me to finally act on the urge I’ve had since childhood. More importantly, though, I’ll admit there was an underlying hope that attempting to move to music in heels

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Sports & Living

Imprint, Friday, March 7, 2008

Baseball The young baseball team battled up and downs throughout the season finishing with a 7-9 record. A disappointing loss to Laurier in the final weekend double-header prevented Waterloo from earning a playoff berth.

Women’s Volleyball

Men’s Volleyball

Men’s Basketball

They started off the season on a scorching 7-0 run, catapulting themselves to recognition among the nations elite. They finished the season at 14-5 and dominated Laurier in the OUA quarter-finals. However, in the final four, they came up against a tough UofT Varsity Blues team and lost a hard fought close match.

At times during the season, the men’s volleyball team showed flashes of brilliance, where it seemed as if they were ready to move into the elite tier. The team finished 12-8 and met Western in the first round, of the playoffs. They had beaten them twice earlier in the season. However, Western would prevail in a hard fought three set match this time around.

The year was a frustrating one for the Warriors, as they started off 0-4. They fought back to 4-6 and looked like they were on the path to respectability until they dropped nine games in a row. The storied men’s basketball team finished a very disappointing 6-16 team on the year.

Women’s Hockey

Men’s Hockey

The year was one of inconsistency for the Women’s Hockey team. The team finished second last with with a record of 7-16-4. However, they remained in the playoff hunt until the very end of the season. A crushing loss to Toronto in the final game of the season put any playoff hopes to rest.

Playing in the toughest division in the OUA, the Warriors finished 18-10 and had a playoff date with Laurier. After pummeling Laurier in game one 5-0, the Warriors dropped the final two games of their playoff series 3-1 and 1-0. It was the third year in a row that Laurier had eliminated them.

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