Thursday, February 28, 2013

w w w .w e sterngazette.c a • @uw ogazette

A sticky situation Brooklyn artists Payton Turner and Brian Kaspr bring their unique design to Western’s McIntosh Gallery. >> pg. 4

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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Volume 106, Issue 76

Western Film gets upgrade Montreal students

return to the streets Megan Devlin Gazette Staff

Ritchie Sham GAZETTE

LIGHTS, CAMERA, UPGRADE. A $70,000 upgrade to Western Film will allow the campus theatre to receive newer releases and improve picture and audio quality.

Jesica Hurst News Editor

Love the idea of watching movies on campus, but hate having to wait for new releases? Luckily, recent improvements to Western Film will solve this problem.

According to the University Students’ Council, the movie theatre, which is located on the second floor of the University Community Centre, received an upgrade on February 19 that included a new projector and sound system, meaning Western Film has now completed the conversion from 35mm film projection to the art of digital projection. As a result, students will be able to watch movies that were only released digitally.

“Western Film has been collecting general feedback on service quality from its student, staff and customer surveys for the past few years,” Tony Ayala, vice-president finance for the USC, said. “The

survey data showed a common trend of a desire to improve picture and sound quality.”

“Also, they wished that new release movies were showcased earlier at our theatre.”

Ayala also explained that last year the USC passed a 10-year capital plan, which outlined the purchases of new equipment, renovations and other expenditures of that nature each year during the plan’s period.

“The upgrade to Western Film is something that was scheduled for purchase this year in the capital plan and came to a cost of about $70,000,” he said. “Based on our conservative projected market trends, we are reasonably expecting to receive a full return on our investment in about seven years through increased sales.”

James Waite, Western Film coordinator, explained just how necessary this update really was.

“If Western Film didn’t make

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the transition, we would’ve had to close, because by the end of the year, they’re going to stop making movies on film,” Waite said.

“By investing the money, the USC was keeping the theatre open, and the technology is now much improved.”

Waite also said the upgrades will allow the theatre to introduce some non-movie events, such as video games through the digital projector—something that can be done off-hours in the afternoons.

Despite these improvements, admission prices will be staying the same, with regular admission at $4.99 and admission on Tuesdays at $3.50.

“We are committed to make sure that all of our USC operations are continuing to find ways to enhance the student services,” Ayala said. “We are excited to be able to increase our service level to students and customers from the community.”

A Montreal protest against tuition hikes turned ugly Tuesday, resulting in 13 arrests after a confrontation with police. The demonstration, organized by the Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante, was in response to the proposed index of tuition fees to inflation by the Marois government at Montreal’s higher education summit on Monday. The increase would amount to three per cent per year, or roughly $70.

According to Raphael Bergeron, constable of the Montreal Police, 11 males and two females were arrested after a confrontation between police and demonstrators. Of the 13 arrested, five were charged with assault with a weapon, one with assault on a police officer, six with illegally assembling in a group and one for possession of an explosive/flammable device after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Montreal police headquarters.

The protest was deemed illegal immediately after it began, because an itinerary for the march was not filed.

According to Bergeron, the confrontation arose after objects were thrown at police officers by protesters. After this, officers, including mounted police, engaged in dispersion maneuvers.

The Montreal Gazette reported the objects thrown were snowballs, ice chunks and rocks. It also reported the protesters arrested for assault with a weapon were wielding these same ice chunks and rocks. Picture and video footage can be seen of police pepper spraying protesters, who brought first-aid kits to defend against the chemical irritants.

Jérémie Bédard-Wien, spokesperson for ASSÉ, felt the police overreacted.

“The police services in Quebec have a lot to answer for. Many

people in this demonstration were not students, many of them were there for the first time, and when the police charged, panic ensued.

There is an attempt to stigmatize ASSÉ protests to make it seem like they always go violent, while this was a very peaceful protest. You can watch the videos,” BédardWien said.

This protest comes on the heels of the Marois government’s defeat of the Quebec Liberals during last year’s provincial election, in which tuition fees were a major platform point.

The police services in Quebec have a lot to answer for. Many people in this demonstration were not students, many of them were there for the first time, and when the police charged, panic ensued.

—Jérémie Bédard-Wien

Spokesperson for Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante

ASSÉ lobbies for free tuition for students and boycotted the summit because the government refused to put the complete rollback of tuition fees on the table.

“It’s the only way we can bring down barriers to financial accessibility to higher education,” BédardWien said.

Bédard-Wien estimated 10,000 people joined the march, making it the largest demonstration since the Marois government was elected.

“One wonders if this is how Premier Marois will deal with contestation regarding this new tuition hike,” Bédard-Wien speculated, regarding police treatment of protesters.

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thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Caught on Camera

Crossword By Eugene Sheffer

Ritchie Sham GAZETTE

PUMP UP THE MUSIC. Students got their hearts racing Wednesday night at a cardio rave in the Mustang Lounge. The event was held as part of the University Students’ Council Healthy Lifestyles Awareness Week.

News Briefs

University Students’ Council hires scribe Western’s English department and the University Students’ Council has announced Western’s first student writer-in-residence will be Alex Carrillo-Hayley, a fourth-year arts and humanities student.

According to the USC website, the program was created as a partnership between Western’s English department and the USC to give an opportunity for a student to become the touch point for literary arts on campus.

“I was extremely excited about the uniqueness of the position, and especially about the opportunity of sharing my passion for creative writing with other students,” Carrillo-Hayley said about her interest in the program. “I also thought that it would be an excellent way to combine my leadership, organizational and writing skills in an effort to bolster the creative writing community at Western, giving back to

other students.”

As the writer-in-residence, Carrillo-Hayley hopes to be a role model to for other students.

She wants to give advice regarding writing and getting published, and to increase Western’s writing community.

Along with her regular office hours, Carrillo-Hayley wishes to implement a creative writing hour, and has also created a Twitter account, @WesternSWR, where students can discover writing opportunities around campus.

—Jaclyn Carbone

CHRW goes black, doesn’t go back For 24 hours on Tuesday, CHRW Radio celebrated black history by playing music and programming to celebrate black identity.

“The purpose of All Black Everything is to celebrate Black History Month and culture,” Adulis Mokanan, CHRW program director,

Solution to puzzle on page 5

MARCH BREAK OPEN HOUSE Saturday, March 9, 2013 VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ARE YOU: • Available to contribute your time for the day March 9, 2013 • Interested in meeting prospective students and their families • Involved in campus activities • Enthusiastic and positive about your Western experience • Articulate, pleasant and responsible TO APPLY: • Review the volunteer posting details on the Career Central website www.westerncareercentral.ca • Email your completed application information to liaison@uwo.ca DEADLINE: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013 130213

Please note that you must attend one of the following MANDATORY orientation sessions: March 4th at 4:30pm OR March 5th at 11:30am OR 4:30 pm. If selected as a volunteer, location of the sessions will be sent to you via email.

said. “We create 24 hours of original programming with the help of CHRW volunteers. We have student clubs, like the Black Students Association, do a two-hour show, and also highlight events that happened in London during the month, like the youth leadership symposium that focused on young leaders in our community.”

Throughout the day, a variety of genres were played, such as jazz, blues and African- and Caribbeanstyle music. Black musicians in the London area also volunteered their time to perform.

“The reason why these genres were picked is because there was quite a plethora of influential black artists who were the first to make this music, and influence the past few generations of musicians of all colours,” Mokanan said.

In addition to the different genres that were played, many interviews and discussions were held with black people from many different backgrounds, promoting diversity and allowing many different listeners to connect with one another.

—Herb Richardson

City councillor seeks YouTube fame Dale Henderson, the colourful Ward 9 councillor who has made headlines over his career for unusual commentary, has launched his own television show entitled ‘DaleTV: Truth and Opportunity.’

The videos, which are hosted on YouTube, cover topics such as Henderson’s personal history and espouse his politics regarding London’s governance.

According to Henderson’s press release, “These videos will change the way Londoners think about city governance and vision!”

Henderson has been on London’s city council since his election in 2010. He has been known for his entertaining comments, which most famously have included challenging the link between cigarettes and cancer in October of last year. He also opined an outdoor smoking ban would increase suicides.

DaleTV currently consists of eight episodes, with two more to come in the next few weeks.

—Aaron Zaltzman

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. © 2002 by Kings Features Syndicate, Inc.

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thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Technology troubles in teaching

Caught on Camera

Online courses widening performance gaps

Caroline Wang Gazette

Iain Boekhoff Gazette Staff

A new study titled Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas, has found online learning exacerbates the learning gap found in traditional courses taught at colleges.

The study examined 500,000 courses taken by 40,000 students at community and technical colleges in Washington State and found students in demographic groups whose members typically struggle in traditional classrooms have an even more difficult time learning online.

The study found regardless of demographic, all students in online classes are less likely to obtain a degree. Some groups, including black students, male students, younger students and students with lower grade point

averages, struggled more than others to adapt to the online format.

The study also found students struggled specifically in the subject areas of social science—which include anthropology, philosophy and psychology—and the applied professions, which include business, law and nursing, due in part to “negative peer effects in these courses.”

The research was conducted by Di Xu and Shanna Smith Jaggars of the Community College Research Center at Columbia University and was funded, in part, by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The study suggested several ways to mitigate the negative effects of online courses, including screening students first, incorporating teaching how to learn online into the course, installing early warning systems to identify problems students are having and

only allowing students with high grade point averages to enroll in online courses.

Barring students “may disadvantage some students, particularly older students, who legitimately require the flexibility of online coursework; what is worse, it could cause drops in enrollments if students interested in online learning are enticed to schools that do not have such screening requirements,” the study noted.

However, the study did not take into account the quality of courses, so it is difficult to generalize to all online learning.

“Additional research in other states, and particularly in the fouryear college setting, is needed to gain further insight into the impact of individual characteristics and course subject areas on students’ ability to adapt to online courses,” the authors concluded.

Logan Ly GAZETTE

GETTIN’ SLUSHED. After receiving a hearty helping of wet snow on Wednesday, London is expected to receive another four to five centimetres of snow by this afternoon.

34 complaints over Fontana 8 Alex Carmona News Editor London Mayor Joe Fontana’s propensity for making headlines continued this weekend after he was spotted at Billy T’s Tap and Grill with seven of his allies on city council having what some are calling a “secret meeting”.

Secret meetings among subsets of councillors are strictly forbidden by a provision known as the “Sunshine Law” in the Municipal Act. However, Fontana has insisted the luncheon with city councillors Stephen Orser, Joe Swan, Bud Polhill, Paul Van Meerbergen, Dale Henderson and Sandy White occurred by coincidence.

“The optics might not look at all very, very, good, but I can assure you that it was not a planned meeting,” Fontana said during his latest virtual town hall meeting.

This has been Fontana’s position throughout, despite all seven of the councillors having shown up at the same restaurant at the same time. Fontana explained he had invited three councillors to Billy T’s to discuss development matters, and not the then-upcoming budget meeting, which under the Sunshine Law would have been forbidden. Fontana said the other councillors having been there was

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Andrei Calinescu Gazette

purely coincidence.

This comes on the heels of another gathering between Fontana and his allies that occurred last year an hour before the budget finalization that caused a formal investigation by Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin. Fontana was acquitted, though Marin called the gathering “ill-conceived” and “unsavoury.”

It looks like the Ombudsman may end up getting involved this year too—he has already received 34 formal complaints about the luncheon. The Office of the Ombudsperson is currently in the process of reviewing the complaints and evidence, and deliberating as to whether to launch yet another

formal investigation.

“After the review or investigation has been completed, the Ombudsman will determine if the council was in contravention of the Municipal Act,” Ashley Bursey, communications officer for the Ontario Office of the Ombudsman, said.

“He may also make recommendations to address any concerns found during the investigation, which are provided to council in a letter or report—however, he has no power to enforce these recommendations or penalize councils found to have met illegally. Council is required to make these findings public, usually at their next council meeting.”

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thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Arts&Life

thespianthursday It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.

—Lillian Hellman, American playwright.

New gallery sticking with unique art Claire Moss Contributor Look closely at artist Payton Turner’s walls and you will notice that what looks like painted patterns are actually a variety of quirky stickers.

Turner and her husband, Brian Kaspr, developed Flat Vernacular, a design company that specializes in hand-printed and hand-drawn wallpapers. Now, they’re at Western’s McIntosh Gallery to install an exhibit compiled of more than 70,000 regular stickers placed on white wallpaper.

Each sticker is individually positioned to create a cohesive pattern formed from thousands of smaller images.

The growth of their company has allowed Turner to put more of her focus toward the artistic aspect of her job.

“I feel like Flat Vernacular has reached the level where I can step back a little,” she explains. “Since Brian works for the company as well, I feel like now is the time where I can focus again on what I am interested in putting out artistically.”

Turner and her husband are based out of Brooklyn, but Turner explains it’s difficult to pinpoint where her inspiration comes from.

Elements of New York City, nature, fine art and intuition are all balanced in her designs. One of the opportunities of being so close to Manhattan is the Upper East Side-style commission. These opportunities led

her to more closely evaluate a future with sticker wallpaper panels, with which she has decorated HBO Girls’ Lena Dunham’s living room and created custom designs for various restaurants.

Turner does the same for the McIntosh Gallery, and she enlists the help of Western students. Stephanie Radu is one of the graduate visual art students who volunteered to help Turner and Kaspr complete the installation.

Work hard and do not give up on something you are interested in— no matter how silly.

After all, stickers can seem pretty silly.

—Payton Turner Brooklyn artist.

According to Radu, it takes one person about 40 hours to complete one 27 by 13 foot panel. Radu shares she was nostalgic working on this project, remembering all of different places she would see stickers.

“I used to get a big sticker at the dentist or as a coach. I would give them out as rewards,” Radu says.

She also mentioned she had a lot of freedom working in the gallery.

“We get to choose which stickers to

use and create the pattern based on the guidelines.”

While Western artists were helping Turner, the Brooklyn artist encouraged the young students.

“Work hard and do not give up on something you are interested in—no matter how silly,” Turner says. “After all, stickers can seem pretty silly.”

Kirsty Robertson, curator of the McIntosh Gallery’s Secret Stash: Accumulation, Hoarding and the Love of Stuff, has organized four shows based on the fraught relationship people have to stuff.

“People love things they own, but on the other hand, there’s too much stuff circulating in our world today,” says Robertson.

Flat Vernacular and Turner are looking to continue to impress in the coming years. Turner hints that the team plans to expand their product line and mentions that they are looking forward a few upcoming collaborations. One can also look forward to seeing more drawings from Turner as she looks to create a balance between her personal work and Flat Vernacular.

Before that happens, Turner and others involved in the project are determined to brighten the walls of Western.

Secret Stash: Accumulation, Hoarding and the Love of Stuff, runs at the McIntosh Gallery from February 28 to April 6. The opening reception will take place tonight at 8 p.m.

Andrei Calinescu Gazette

Hilarious Canadian comedian heats up London Brent Holmes Arts & Life Editor

really do anything about it. What’s a Canadian going to do? He’s not going to attack someone—he’s going to write a letter. We [complain] about things.

Famous for his distinctive mannerisms on stage, improvisational comedic style and his commentary on Canadian-American relations, Canadian funnyman Jeremy Hotz is coming to London as a part of his most recent tour. Jeremy sat down with The Gazette to talk about his upcoming show.

GAZETTE: What is it like to perform in London?

JH: I’ve been to London, Ontario

GAZETTE: How’d you get started with

the stand-up routine?

JEREMY HOTZ: I started at Yuk Yuk’s years ago, and Ottawa was where I started. Then I moved to Toronto.

I got the Just for Laughs thing and then from the Just for Laughs thing I got some development deals in the United States. They were giving away deals to comics at the time. So I got a Disney deal, then a CBS deal and then I moved. Even though they had no intention of ever using me for anything, they gave me a chunk of cash and I said, “Okay, I’m going to go try this in the biggest market in the world.”

GAZETTE: In previous interviews,

you’ve mentioned that your method for performing is to make it up as you go onstage. How do you do that?

JH: I’ve been doing it for so long. I feel more comfortable onstage than I do in real life. I don’t know what it

file photo

is, [it’s like] I’m in my living room or something, and I’m just really comfortable.

GAZETTE: You also have quite distinc-

tive mannerisms when you are performing—how did those develop?

JH: It’s an extension of my personal-

ity and it’s what I do. When I’m anxious, that’s where my hand goes in real life. I didn’t consciously go ‘I’m going to stick my hand in front of my face.’ Some people nervously shake their leg, I just put my hand in front of my face.

JH: What I’m trying to get at there is that so many [bad] things happen to me all the time and my act is all about misery, so then I can tell people about it. So you’d better not really piss me off in real life or you’re probably going to end up in my act onstage.

work on shows like Just for Laughs has focused on the relationship between Canada and the United States. Having lived on both sides of the border, could you go into a bit more about what that means to you?

JH: Down there [in the United States],

it’s a lot sunnier. But the people, even though they look like us and talk

GAZETTE: You’ve had a lot of different

projects that you’ve done. What are you working on now?

JH: I’m a regular on Call Me Fitz right

JH: I think that there is [a link

now. It’s shot in Halifax. It’s Jason Priestley’s show on HBO. I went to do that this year as a regular—that was a lot of fun. [Priestley’s] a great guy and [the cast] was kind to me. I get to play a really miserable social worker who is really shitty at his job, and is a closet homosexual. It’s really fun.

The new season starts in September.

between the two]. Americans seem to think that they have so much to do all the time, whereas Canada is more like things happen, and then we just [complain] about it. We don’t

Jeremy Hotz will be performing at Centennial Hall tomorrow. Tickets start at $39.50. Show starts at 7:30 p.m.

GAZETTE: In one of your previous GAZETTE: A lot of your previous

GAZETTE: You previously called com-

edy a kind of therapeutic experience.

Could you go into a bit more about what you mean by that?

like us and sound like us, they are the most unCanadian people you will ever meet in your whole life.

Canadians are closer to me—I’m their guy, you know? They’re close to me. [With] Canadians, onstage, you don’t really have to finish the joke—they get it.

before. I like it. It’s always a good crowd. Because of the TV exposure that I’ve had, I’ve noticed, especially on this tour, my audience has gotten incredibly young—it’s really weird.

I was on the Just for Laughs shows all the time and I guess they played them and played them, and kids [that were] 11 or 12 years old now have grown up and now are coming to see me. It’s great.

interviews, you mentioned a link between Canadian [attitudes] and comedy. Could you explain what you mean by that?

•5

thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Tech Rise and shine Mr. Freeman, rise and shine.

It was recently announced both J.J. Abrams, the director of the newest Star Trek film and upcoming Star Wars movie, and Gabe Newell of Valve Corporation, will be working on a video game. The two also hope to make a film adaptation of some of Valve’s most famous video games like Half-Life and Portal.

This is going to prove to be a stronger venture for both the movie and video game industries.

Abrams has also recently been in the news for his film Star Trek: Into the Darkness, and for teaming up with the Disney corporation to direct the newest Star Wars movies.

Among fellow geeks and nerds, this has been a controversial and exciting topic. However, the announcement has simply left many in shock.

All in all, if this film actually comes to fruition, it’s going to prove to be a movie of epic proportions.

—Christopher Miszczak

Glass appears half full for tech future New gadget from Google next step in personal computing Cam Parkes Managing Editor A long, long time ago, people played with sticks and rocks to entertain themselves. Skip ahead a few years, and we saw the first computer, albeit a room-sized one. Continue forward and we get laptops, tablets and eventually the smart phones of today.

Now, the next step in computing evolution is here—the Google Glass.

Glass basically takes the actions you can do with your smart phone or tablet—such as taking pictures and video, sending messages, making calls, et cetera.—and allows you to do them hands-free through the use of voice commands. Glass

file photo

Directions for where you’re trying to go, weather forecasts, the allimportant Google and much more.

But will it catch on?

Currently, Google is offering a developer’s model of Glass for a fairly steep—to students, at least—price of $1,500. The plan is to release a consumer model by the end of 2013 for a more reasonable price.

While, like any new product, there are those who criticize Glass, many people seem to agree that it’s the way of the future. Despite the possibility of looking like you’re from the future while walking around, and the inflated price tag, people are going to buy this product. If you think about it, many

people shell out more than $1,500 for a computer that lamely sits on a desk—how can they resist purchasing this computer that is a part of you?

Glass is the future—and the future is now.

Google

To place your classifed ad, please contact us at 519-661-3579 or adoffice@uwo.ca

Blackberry comeback With many people doubting the future of Research In Motion over the last couple years, the company has made somewhat of a comeback.

RIM released its latest edition, BlackBerry Z10, in Canada earlier this month. The phone is now outselling other smart phones, such as iPhone 5 and Galaxy, according to a report released by Glentel Inc. Monday.

Alison Greaves, a fourth-year math and business student at both the University of Waterloo and Laurier upgraded to the new BlackBerry, and is happy with the phone so far. She decided to get the Z10 in order to have a phone that uses the latest technology and had features she would actually use.

“I absolutely love the Z10. It has every feature I need and although it may not have as many apps as other smartphones at the moment, they will arrive soon as the platform is Android compatible,” she explains.

Greaves has been a BlackBerry user for the last three years.

“They have always been reliable, durable and a great phone for me,” she notes.

However, it’s not only loyal BlackBerry customers who made the switch the Z10. According to BlackBerry, over 50 per cent of sales in Canada have been to new BlackBerry users.

“I would recommend it to anyone, but especially people my age as they would be more likely to take advantage of the technological features that the phone can offer,” Greaves advises.

Time Shift, BlackBerry Hub and the navigation andkeyboard are some of the phone’s most appealing new features.

“The Z10 is a huge shift from any BlackBerry in the past and is easily a rival to any other smartphone in the market,” Greaves concludes.

—Nicole Gibillini

clips on to glasses and sunglasses and features a head-mounted display just above the wearer’s right eye. The device comes equipped with built-in WiFi, and can tether through Android and iPhone.

Video demos of Glass attempt to showcase life through the eyes of someone wearing it. Imagine not only being able to experience something as thrilling as skydiving, riding in a hot air balloon or participating in a fencing match, but getting to share it with someone from your point of view. Simple voice commands allow users to make use of the 720p camera, and then caption and text the photo to a friend, in one example.

It has other features, too.

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thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Opinions

I pace myself by taking a week-long vacation every four months.

—Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! CEO

No place like home office

Summer job market cold to inexperienced

Employees at Yahoo! were shouting anything but when reading the internal memo sent from their new CEO, Marissa Mayer, which banned working from home.

While the memo has people debating the merits of working in an office as opposed to home, students already regularly face issues of maximizing productivity.

While every student is different, most can agree working at home provides a challenge. Surrounded by distractions of food and television, in-house workstations can prove to be less than ideal, especially with fun-loving roommates in close proximity. Most students will elect to instead work at their closest library, coffee house or restaurant.

Also, most students prefer to find an environment where there are others working. This is not only a motivating factor, but one is also less likely to slack off when the prying—and judging—eyes of the Weldon wardens are on you. The same applies for a work environment. Having the boss or supervisor nearby keeps productivity up while simultaneously allowing for easy communication.

That said, Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban working at home within Yahoo! may have been an unnecessary move. While any new CEO needs to make their mark in the company and highlight their initiative, banning employees from corresponding at home overlooks a number a situations. For instance, some parents need to watch and assist their children or elderly resident.

Also, the commute to the nearest Yahoo! office can be too much for a group of outlying employees, meaning that Mayer’s new policy decision will certainly be met with a series of layoffs. Instead, Mayer should have considered taking steps to change the atmosphere of the Yahoo! offices by offering incentives to come in while still providing the discouraged option of working at home.

As for Mayer’s decision influencing the workplace, not much will change. After all, depending on the field of work, most people looking for a job will assume that some kind of collective working space will be utilized.

Working at home is a luxury afforded to those in advanced positions of a company or, in the case of Yahoo! prior to Mayer, employees who work in a field that is already focused heavily online. So while Yahoo! workers begrudgingly return to their cubicles, the rest of us are pretty prepared for what to expect in our postgraduation job search.

their time off-campus. I really don’t understand why this is, as it’s hard to believe one would impress a potential employer without any such experience.

I’ll be blunt—working as an editor at The Gazette eats up a lot of time. There’s a ton of stress, and any feedback you receive is generally negative. Yet, I still believe that walking through the office door for the first time to volunteer is the best choice I’ve made so far in university.

The experience I’ve gained here has been invaluable, and I’m confident I wouldn’t have secured my summer position with the federal government without it.

What I’m getting at is that if you aren’t involved in some form of activity or extra-curricular, you really should be.

No matter how awesome you think you are, employers aren’t under any obligation to seriously review your application, let alone hire you, so it’s on you to impress them. Get involved in student government, a volunteer organization or start your own cause or club. Or write for The Gazette. Participation necessitates stepping out of your comfort zone. In fact, almost everything meaningful in life does.

When you really think about it, everyone benefits from this arrangement.

Organizations are always looking for more help, the University and the City want to foster a greater sense of community, and you—presumably—want relevant experience. Next time you get turned down for a job you want, I challenge you to look for something at Western that would assist you in boosting your experience in that area. Chances are, there’s something out there.

If you want an employer to commit to you, it would be wise to commit your time and efforts to a worthy cause.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

thegazette

Volume 106, Issue 76 www.westerngazette.ca

Gloria Dickie Editor-In-Chief Nicole Gibillini Deputy Editor Cam Parkes Managing Editor

Contact: www.westerngazette.ca University Community Centre Rm. 263 The University of Western Ontario London, ON, CANADA N6A 3K7 Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580 Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

World of Raycraft

Richard Raycraft Sports Editor I have to admit, I find the summer job search very odd.

Around this time of year you come across people who are really starting to panic about their employment prospects come May. While it’s unfortunate students have this stress in addition to academic pressures, I can’t help but feel that at least some people got what was coming to them.

Don’t get me wrong, I know a lot of people still searching for summer employment who have some impressive work and volunteer experience. I consider such people unlucky in the sense that a bounce simply hasn’t gone their way yet. Furthermore, I’m not worried about these people in the long run. At least they have a sense of direction and know what they need to do to get where they want to be.

Then there are the others. This group never ceases to amaze me—in a bad way.

They somehow seriously think the simple fact that they are enrolled in university gives them a right to summer employment that doesn’t involve working as a grocery store cashier or in retail. Such work, apparently, is “below” them.

There are some general trends within this group, but I’m only going to focus on one. In my experience, I find they don’t see the value in getting involved in extracurriculars on campus, or volunteering

thisdayinhistory In an odd turn of events back in 1985, an animal cruelty case at Western was dropped from court because the prosecutors did not identify the abused creature as an animal.

“We hoped that B-43 was known as an animal,” Russ Francis, a spokesperson for an animal rights group from Vancouver said, referencing the baboon at the heart of the case.

Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.

To submit a letter, go to westerngazette.ca and click on “Contact.”

All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising Ian Greaves, Manager Robert Armstrong

Karen Savino Diana Watson

Gazette Staff 2012-2013

Iain Boekhoff, Danielle Bozinoff, Jaclyn Carbone, Mary Ann Ciosk, David Czosniak, Megan Devlin, Jonathan Dunn, Chelsey Gauthier, Ross Hamilton, Danny Huang, Amanda Law, Logan Ly, Jared MacAdam, Sarah Mai Chitty, Sarah Manning, Bradley Metlin, Kaitlyn Oh, John Petrella, Sarah Prince, Chen Rao, Herb Richardson, Nathan Robbins-Kanter, Lily Robinson, Jeremiah Rodriguez, Katie Roseman, Jasleen Sembhi, Nathan TeBokkel, Jacqueline Ting, Kate Wilkinson, Zoe Woods, Kartikeya Vishal, Usman Zahid, Mason Zimmer

News Alex Carmona Jesica Hurst Cam Smith Aaron Zaltzman Arts & Life Sumedha Arya Brent Holmes Kevin Hurren Sports Richard Raycraft Jason Sinukoff Ryan Stern Opinions Ryan Hurlbut Associate Kaitlyn McGrath

Letter to the Editor

Onion getting fried over tweet To the Editor: Re: Onion’s Oscars tweet shouldn’t leave bad taste, February 27, 2013 Yes, The Onion is an outlet for humour and satire, and yes, satire exists for the purposes of pushing social boundaries and challenging taboos. But just because satire holds a valuable place in society and should be tolerated does not mean that satirists get a blank cheque to say whatever they like without consequence.

In order to work, satire must skirt the line between challenging and offensive.

This means that, on occasion, even a good satirist is going to go too far. In any circumstance, calling a nine-year-old girl a ‘cunt’ goes too far and is unacceptable.

Just because she is a minor celebrity does not mean that basic rules of decency and judgement no longer apply. This is a girl who now has to attend school while her peers have been told by adults that it is acceptable to belittle her and use offensive and derogatory terms at her expense.

Sure, she will likely be attending a school full of other ‘famous’ children, but do we honestly believe social status will prevent these children from participating in bullying—particularly when adults have already identified the target?

As Ryan Hurlbut pointed out, it is an important part of free speech to analyze satire. It is also important to remember that the analysis may lead to the conclusion that the satire went too far and that apologies should be made. Frankly, The Onion is better than this.

—Spencer A. Sandor Public Administration, MA

Dear Life

Your anonymous letters to life.

Dear Life, There hasn’t been an advancement in bowling technology since we stopped recording our scores by hand.

Dear Life, The thesis is basically the tl;dr of an essay.

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Submit your letters to life at www.westerngazette.ca /dearlife.

Photography Andrei Calinescu Ritchie Sham Cameron Wilson Graphics Naira Ahmed Mike Laine Illustrations Christopher Miszczak Liwei Zhou Online Julian Uzielli Web Cameron Wilson Video Chris Kay

• Please recycle this newspaper •

thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

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thegazette • Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sports

saywhat?

“We’re trying to do big things so we have to learn from this mistake, but we have to dust it off real fast.”

>> Hoosiers star Victor Olapido said after Indiana’s loss to Minnesota Tuesday night

Rundown >> Seven teams represented Western this week in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top 10 > These teams are the men’s hockey team, both the men’s and women’s wrestling teams, the men’s and women’s swimming teams, and the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

Softball spectacle garners national attention Coach pleads for student support in search of grand prize Ryan Stern Sports Editor Some people dream of making the game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning of the World Series, while others dream of hitting it big in the lottery, but has it ever occurred to you that you could have both?

Mustangs softball right fielder Michelle Reynolds has a real shot at completing this unlikely double victory. Reynolds—as of press time—sits in second place in the TSN Advil Play of the Year, and though the prize is not the multimillion dollar award the lottery promises, the $25,000 lot is certainly nothing to dismiss.

“We have a lot of publicity, but we are currently sitting in second place. What we need now is a lot of Western students to go on the website and vote for Michelle. The voting ends on Sunday and the $25,000 would certainly be a nice boost,” Mustangs softball coach Pete Lemon said.

The play occurred in the final inning of the Mustangs semifinal game against the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The play was the last out of the game, and though it is not shown in the clip—due to TSN’s contest restrictions—the importance of the play was apparent in the Mustangs’ celebration.

“We were on the first base side so we were quite close to the play, and the bench just erupted, along with the players on the field,” Lemon said. “Unfortunately in the video you don’t get to see that because it is a fairly short video, but right after the video stops everybody just mobbed her when she got up.”

The play sent the Mustangs to the national finals and their second straight title victory.

Lemon had seen the contest and had trouble narrowing his field of videos down to just one. He felt

the video of Reynolds had a strong combination of both importance and skills, along with the necessary wow factor to be competitive in the contest.

“We have a number of players who made great catches— Michelle also made a few other ones throughout the year—but we heard about the contest and we thought that we had several plays that would be competitive in that.

I talked to Michelle about sending it in and she thought it was a good idea, so we did,” Lemon said.

We were on the first base side so we were quite close to the play and the bench just erupted, along with the players on the field.

—Pete Lemon

Mustangs softball coach

Though the video is vying for the year-long $25,000 prize, it had to advance past the first stage of competition by winning the weekly version of the award. The honour garnered the video a $1,000 stipend, and with only one person separating them from the grand prize, the division of the $25,000 has already been decided.

“When I talked with her about [the prize money], I suggested we split it half to her and half to the team, and she said that would be great, so that is what we are going to do,” Lemon said. “She is a nursing student, so that will pay a couple years tuition for her which is a huge thing as well, because we don’t have the scholarship money that the American schools have.”

Sitting behind only one other video, Lemon hopes to gather the

file photo

support of the Western community in an effort to raise awareness for the sport, as well as secure the cash prize.

“This has become a Western thing right now. The guy who is in first place is an instructor at a university out in British Columbia.

I suspect he has gotten his students to mobilize for him, so I think we need to do the same thing and make this a Western win,” Lemon said.

Lemon believes this exposure will help both women’s softball as a whole, and the Mustangs program in the future.

“The publicity is really huge. I am hoping that some young girls will see it and make a decision that they would like to play that game, and maybe they will be Mustangs players in the future,” Lemon said.

Votes can be cast at www.advil. tsn.ca until the end of the voting period on Sunday, March 3, 2013.

Naira Ahmed Gazette

Realignment giving teams short end of the stick The Sin Bin

Jason Sinukoff Sports Editor

The NHL has just proposed a new realignment plan that has been three years in the making. The new alignment will change the current conference and division groupings, as well as change the format of the playoffs. The NHL Players’ Association must approve this new format before it can be implemented. In my opinion—being

a fan of an eastern conference team—the NHLPA would be making a big mistake by approving this overhaul. For those who don’t know how the NHL teams are currently aligned, let me explain.

There are currently two conferences—the east and the west—and each conference has three divisions. The current playoff format has eight teams from each conference making the playoffs. The top team in each division claims the top three seeds in each conference.

The remaining five spots go to the other teams in a conference with the most points. Then the top seed plays the eighth, the second plays the seventh and so on.

However, this new format will

change all this. Instead of there being six divisions in total, there will only be four—two in each conference. Each division in the western conference will have seven teams, while the ones in the east will have eight. Additionally, the old playoffs system outlined above will give way to a new divisional playoffs system, in which three teams from each division along with one wildcard team will earn a playoff berth.

Now, I’m sure there are a bunch of reasons for this change, but I can only think of one that matters— namely that teams like Detroit, Columbus and Winnipeg will finally be in their rightful conferences, so they could reduce overall

travel time.

However, as I’m sure you have noticed, this new proposal is giving teams in the eastern conference the short end of the stick—pun intended. Each team in an eastern conference division will have to compete against seven other teams in the race to the playoffs, while the western teams only have to compete against six others. This makes it much easier for western conference teams to make the playoffs.

Then there is what is perhaps my biggest criticism of this whole plan—namely that when playoffs roll around, the top teams in each division may be getting jilted.

Picture this—you play on the top

team in the league in the toughest division. Therefore, with this new divisional system, you will be challenging the worst team in your division that has also made the playoffs in the first round.

However, since you are in the hardest division, your President’s Trophy for most points in the regular season has earned you a match with a tougher team than the weakest playoff team in your conference’s other division.

These criticisms show that although there may be benefits to this new system, more harm actually comes from it. If I were on the NHLPA, I would be voting no so this idea can stay just that—an idea.