Thursday, February 7, 2013

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Alohamora!

Western unlocks and unveils a new English course dedicated to the works of J.K. Rowling. >> pg. 3

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

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Trudeau paints Spoke red

Volume 106, Issue 70

USC presidential elections 2013

18 demerit points handed out to presidential slates Aaron Zaltzman News Editor

Logan Ly GAZETTE

CANADIAN OBAMA. Justin Trudeau, candidate for leadership of the federal Liberal Party, spoke at the Spoke yesterday—no pun intended—delivering his message to a full house.

Cam Smith News Editor The Western Liberals tilted campus to the left yesterday by bringing in Justin Trudeau, Liberal MP and candidate for leadership of the federal Liberal Party.

Trudeau addressed many issues pertaining to the state of the Liberals, and to his campaign. Foremost, he acknowledged the cynicism many Canadians were experiencing toward national politics.

“The reality—and I see it right across the country—is that people are incredibly tired about being cynical about politics,” Trudeau explained. “If we are not getting out to vote, that’s not the fault of young people, that’s the fault of politicians. ” Trudeau went on to emphasize the importance of voting and encouraged students to do so.

“It’s about understanding your power to shape the community you’re a part of, the world you’re a

part of,” he said. “We have to start realizing our power as citizens, and therefore our duty as citizens.”

Regarding the state of the Liberal Party, particularly in light of their enormous defeat in the last election, Trudeau spoke of the required rebuilding, and the importance of doing so.

“We trust Canadians to know that we do need a strong Liberal Party,” he said. “The NDP and the Conservatives would love nothing more than to divide this country along ideological lines, left versus right and squeeze out the middle.”

When his speech was over, Trudeau faced questions from the crowd, ranging from legalizing marijuana and employment opportunities, to what distinguished him from the eight other candidates pursuing the Liberal leadership.

“Beyond decriminalizing [marijuana] is legalizing, and that’s what I support,” Trudeau said, addressing a question regarding the ‘war on

drugs.’ “[But] you’re SOL if you want me to do it for heroin.”

In response to a question about employment for students after school, Trudeau emphasized the importance of encouraging postsecondary education.

“The challenges around student debt are significant. We have to make sure the path to gainful employment is encouraged from the business side,” he said. “Seventy per cent of jobs in the future will require some form of post-secondary education.

I’m putting forward a concrete target—70 per cent participation in post-secondary education.”

Trudeau also spoke to his merit as the potential Liberal Party leader, despite criticisms of his ambiguous platform points.

“I’m not going to be putting forward a comprehensive platform over the course of this leadership,” he explained. “This leadership is the beginning of a platform development process, not the end of it.”

The hammer came down hard yesterday on the University Students’ Council presidential candidates as a total of 18 demerit points were doled out to the three slates.

“I was a little bit frustrated,” Pat Whelan, presidential candidate, said of his single demerit point, which was awarded for “campaign materials in an unauthorized area.” The point brings his total to two.

“What happened here was a poster went up in Delaware Hall, next to a residence door, not on the door, and that’s the difference in the rules. Again, it’s one of those technicalities, which is why it’s a very low demerit point,” Whelan said.

He stressed the importance of communicating the campaign rules to his entire team to avoid future demerits.

“I think the biggest problem right now is our team is split up over many different mediums—some are on the mailing list, some are on the Facebook group,” he explained. “So communication of the rules is the biggest problem.”

McGuire, who received six demerit points for “campaigning in person in an unauthorized area,” said she had been expecting the penalty and wasn’t surprised.

“We’ll have to make sure everyone is aware of the rules and that they know they’re an extension of us.”

However, McGuire is apparently fortunate to not be receiving more, as Pashv Shah, the elections’ chief returning officer, considered handing down 12 for the team’s unauthorized distribution of coffee sleeves near the University Community Centre Tim Hortons.

“Ideally, we would be charging them for both improper distribution, and campaigning in an unauthorized area,” Shah explained. “But

seeing how we didn’t warn them 18 hours in advance of the improper distribution charge, we couldn’t charge them with that.”

Prabhu’s team was hit hardest, receiving three points for an unauthorized campaign poster, as well as eight for releasing his video two hours before the campaign started.

“I was a bit surprised with it, because we’re obviously a campaign that always works to the highest standard,” Prabhu said. “I believe that we did not release [the video] at a time before campaigning.” He also said he does not believe the poster was put up by a member of his team.

“I will definitely look into them and attempt to challenge them because I believe that we did not have any [malicious intent],” he said. “If we feel confident that we are not guilty as we are being charged, then we will appeal.”

Prabhu said he did not feel his team deserved this penalty, but also emphasized a need for a better team-wide knowledge of the rules.

“I think we need to have open lines of communication, and we need to make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to things,” he said. “I think this was more of an honest mistake if anything.”

>> Demerit point tally

Team McGuire

6 Team Prabhu

11 Team Whelan

2

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thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Caught on Camera

Crossword By Eugene Sheffer

Caroline Wang GAZETTE

IF ONLY SOUNDS COULD BE PRINTED. Musician Grace Lou played her ehru at Huron’s China Day celebration yesterday, combining the harmony of East and West.

News Brief Solution to puzzle on page 7

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HSSC proposes new student fee Western’s Health Studies Students’ Council is pushing for students within the school to vote in a favour of a new levy, tentatively titled the ‘Student Donation Fund,’ that would see a variety of changes implemented for students.

According to Anushree Davé, vice-president communications for HSSC, the fee would go toward funding big-name speakers, shuttle buses for Fanshawe and Western students in the dual school nursing program and after-hours access to the Health Sciences Building. It would also go toward providing more scholarship opportunities and a study lounge.

Davé noted similar fees were present in nearly all other faculties, including science and social science.

“We don’t have the fee because we are a new faculty that was made in 1997, and since 1997 we haven’t had anything like that—that’s why we haven’t had such opportunities for our students so far,” she said.

Normally, faculty fees total between $50 and $100, and if passed, the fee would likely fall within this range.

“It’s an optional fee so there would be an opt-out option regardless of if [students] vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for it to pass,” Davé said.

“They would be able to opt out in September with their tuition.”

The option to pass or refuse the fee will appear on ballots of those enrolled in the school from Tuesday, February 12 to Wednesday, February 13, and will be voted upon in concurrence with the University Students’ Council elections.

—Gloria Dickie

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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 7, 2013

Bringing magic to Western muggles Wood softens on credit cards

USC presidential elections 2013

Aaron Zaltzman News Editor

Ritchie Sham Gazette

Alex Carmona News Wizard Western students are one step closer to studying Hogwarts, but don’t expect an owl any time soon.

While course offerings will remain devoid of Transfiguration, Divination and Defence Against the Dark Arts, students can now fill the Harry Potter-shaped hole in their curriculum with English 2093 F/G, tentatively titled ‘The Many Faces of Harry Potter.’

The course will focus on all seven books in the series, alongside other short stories and novels which represent the genres J.K. Rowling draws from, including detective fiction, the gothic, dystopian fiction and Christian allegory.

Gabrielle Ceraldi, the professor slated to teach the new course, explained her idea for a course based around the world of Harry Potter stemmed from her desire to focus academically on the series as a whole, rather than on individual books.

“I have been teaching Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for years in the Children’s Literature course, and a few years ago I tried substituting Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” she said. “[It allowed] for a deeper examination of Rowling’s underlying concerns with issues of racism and tolerance. While those issues are introduced in simplified form in Philosopher’s Stone, Prisoner of Azkaban introduces new ambiguities—for instance, how do the rules of tolerance apply to werewolves, who are genuinely dangerous to

the other students at Hogwarts?”

“After teaching Prisoner of Azkaban, I tried re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to see if that could work as a text for Children’s Literature and I decided that it could not—the novel makes sense only in relation to the series as a whole, not only in terms of plot, but also in terms of its incredibly dense fabric of allusions to the other six novels. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows can really only be taught to a class that has read the whole series.”

Ceraldi also feels Harry Potter’s immense popularity and the extraordinary impact it has had on a generation of young readers makes the series a worthwhile subject of in-depth study.

“Today’s Western students are the Harry Potter generation—they grew up reading the books, lining up at bookstores to obtain their copies the day they came out. They read the books alongside their peers and eagerly awaited the release of the movies. I’ve had numerous students tell me that ‘Harry Potter raised me!’ or ‘If you didn’t read the Harry Potter series, you didn’t have a childhood!’ Personally, I’m envious of this generation of students—I read and loved the novels as an adult, but these students got to grow up alongside Harry, Ron and Hermione, and the series has a depth of meaning for them that I find really exciting and inspiring as a professor of Children’s Literature.”

Discussions on adding a Potions elective to the chemistry program are currently ongoing.

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While potshots flew at Wednesday’s debate for the University Students’ Council presidential election, a few took aim at Western Momentum, the presidential slate headed by Vivek Prabhu. The team has raised eyebrows with a campaign promise to lobby Western to allow students to pay tuition by credit card—a promise that has been met with concerns it will cause students to incur large debt and late fees.

Students paying tuition via credit card was also brought up at November’s meeting of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance.

“In 2009, 24 per cent of graduating university students reported carrying an average balance of $3,440 on their credit cards,” read the OUSA policy paper from the meeting, which was passed unanimously. “This is more alarming when one comes to understand how poorly educated students are on the dangers of credit card debt.”

Alysha Li, vice-president university affairs for the USC and president of OUSA, said the organization was dedicated to the idea that supplying students with financial aid was exclusively the responsibility of the provincial government.

“We would prefer that students be able to get their financial aid from the government, rather than

Cameron Wilson Gazette

taking private loans because we realize that a lot of students may not have all the financial information they need to make a good decision,” Li said.

One of the voting members present at the November meeting was Amy Wood, the vice-president external candidate for the Western Momentum slate, a fact that was not lost on some members of the audience at Wednesday’s debate.

Wood, however, defended the promise as a last-ditch option in a specific situation.

“We’re talking about the students who are waiting for their OSAP payments to come in,” Wood said. “We are not advocating for students to

put their tuition on their credit card where they don’t have methods to pay it off. This is just a short-term solution to them just to get to the next month to make sure they don’t get deferral fees.”

Wood said this was only a shortterm solution until she can successfully lobby the university to push back tuition deadline dates.

“It would be absolutely ludicrous for us to advocate for students to pay their tuition on their credit card,” Wood said. “In the long run, we’ll always be advocating for the administration to push back tuition deadlines, but […] this is something we can do to make sure students have a solution.”

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thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Arts&Life

thespianthursday We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

—Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and playwright.

Breaking through the bars of ignorance

On Disc

London groups and artists come together for film festival Kevin Hurren Arts & Life Editor

When people are bad, they go to prison. Therefore, prison is full of bad people. This mentality is prevalent and invasive, but this weekend a series of films will challenge such perceptions.

“I think we all grow up in a society where we learn that people go to prison because they did something wrong,” explains Ayden Scheim, a graduate student at Western and one of the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival organizers. “Many haven’t given much thought to this idea and I think it’s important to contemplate and understand.”

The Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival is a series of events that screen films dealing with issues of wrongful or unjust imprisonments. Though Prisoners’ Justice Festivals have been occurring in larger cities like Toronto for some time now, this is the first event of its kind in London.

“A few of us used to organize Prisoners’ Justice Film Festivals in Toronto, and when it was a huge success, we were inspired to do that here,” says Scheim, who, in addition to being part of the larger organizing committee, is responsible for the festival night that deals with screenings specifically concerning 2 Spirit, queer and trans perspectives.

“My goal is to show films that were made by people from communities that are particularly affected by the prison industrial complex which Canada faces,” Scheim says.

The prison industrial complex refers to the rapid expansion of inmate populations, a process that disproportionately incarcerates marginalized groups.

Along with prisoners’ rights in the queer community, other nights of the festival revolve around themes of immigration, women and mental health and race relations. Kyisha Williams, creator of one of the submitted films, incorporates several of these issues in her work.

“A lot of people don’t know about what’s going on in prison, or what criminalization actually looks like,” says Williams, whose first cinematic project is in the film festival. “The media and government do a really good job of [creating] misinformation and stigma around prison issues, and I think a film festival is an excellent way to start talking. Historically and currently, resistance is in art and art helps us express our actual situations.”

Williams’ film, titled Red Lips, is an experimental documentary that deals not only with her own accounts of wearing red lipstick as a black woman, but also ties in stories of sex work and sexual violence. Red Lips, though dealing with issues very close to Williams, is a project she couldn’t have taken on herself.

“I was supported to do the film by the Legacy Film Project, which is basically a supportive project by Inside Out where they pick about seven queer youth and seniors, and help them make films about whatever

they want,” Williams explains. “I wanted to talk about prisoners’ social issues in relation to sex work and queerness.”

A lot of people don’t know about what’s going on in prison, or what criminalization actually looks like.

The media and government do a really good job of [creating] misinformation and stigma around prison issues, and I think a film festival is an excellent way to start talking.

—Kyisha Williams

Creator of Red Lips, a film in the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival

Williams isn’t the only one who recognizes the value of collaboration on these issues.

On Friday night, after the first round of screenings for the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival, an after party will be held by London organization General Population at the newly located APK. General Population, or Gen Pop, is a group in London that hopes to foster a better queer community in the city by hosting events that diverge from the current recreational options for queer Londoners.

According to Matthew Toth, one of the Gen Pop creators and Western graduate student, the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival was one such event. “[ We saw] this as a way of meeting other people who are interested in getting involved and expanding our community,” Toth says. “Our main goal was to start getting people together, and I think we have accomplished that. For instance, our past four events have been collaborations with other groups.”

Scheim echoes Toth’s sentiments about the upcoming festival.

“We approached Gen Pop about working together and supporting each other’s events, and I think it’s going to be great,” Scheim says. “It brings funds to the festival, but it also brings our politics to Gen Pop, which can end up creating a more alternative Canadian minded and politically active queer group in London.”

Whether it’s creating safer spaces with Gen Pop, showcasing provocative films through the Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival or sharing your story frame by frame like Williams, collaboration is essential in developing a better London and a better Canada.

The Prisoners’ Justice Film Festival begins Friday, February 8 at 7 pm at London Central Library. More information on the rest of the festival can be found at http://prisonjusticefilm.wordpress.com

GGGGF Sora Scorpion Moon Corvid Media

Scorpion Moon, Canadian songstress Sora’s fourth studio album, explores instruments, stories and musical traditions from different countries and cultures.

Her genre is self-defined as new world, as her sound compiles elements from Celtic, neo-classical, world and folk music. Many of her songs are interpretations of classic stories—the highlight of Scorpion Moon being the haunting “Mermaid Song,” which is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of The Little Mermaid. Other tracks explore themes of love, passion, misery and death. Ultimately, the album investigates what it means to be human.

Sora’s clear, soaring vocals make her music a refreshing break from the computer-generated pop that dominates the radio.

The album as a whole maintains a dreamy feeling, even though the individual tracks vary in speed and intensity.

Overall, Scorpion Moon is a musical journey through primal, human emotions that leave the listener hypnotized.

—Robyn Obermeyer

Editor’s Picks > The essentials for your week

ON TV

ON DISC

ON THE CHARTS

ON DVD

IN THEATRES

Community Season Four

All That Echoes—Josh Groban

“Lose To Win”— Fantasia

Flight

Identity Thief

Today is officially October 19— at least for Community fans.

After the original airdate was pushed back, its fourth season is premiering tonight at 7 p.m.

Although the show has lost its creator Dan Harmon, and will lose resident-bigot Pierce (Chevy Chase) midway through the season, expect more of the humour from previous seasons.

The gang is back to school at Greendale Community College, where new teachers, classes and challenges await. Get excited for more ‘Troy and Abed in the Morning’ and sexual tension between Jeff and Britta.

If you’re not into listening to “Noël” during the holiday season, then you’re in luck. No longer will you have to listen to Josh Groban belting out “Silent Night”—you can switch to traditional fare. Yes, there’s not a very drastic difference here, but if you’re just not into Christmas carols but love Josh Groban, then this album is for you. Hopefully this CD will find a home in someone’s house.

Someone known to invoke an emotional response from people, Fantasia is burning up the R & B charts with her new single, “Lose to Win.” Since her throat surgery, it’s been rare for Fantasia to really have that power to her voice everyone fell in love with, but her lyrics are classic Fantasia—a woman who has experienced the bad side of love. Fantasia truly exemplifies “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Denzel Washington plays a pilot who successfully saves the lives of virtually everyone on board a plane headed for disaster.

While you might expect a nice Lifetime movie that makes you feel good, that’s not the case. No, Washington is a drug addict and alcoholic, spending a majority of the movie higher than the commercial airliners he flies. What can’t be denied is the fervour he brings to the performance, which deservingly earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

First and foremost, can Melissa McCarthy’s hairstyle just be taken in? It’s an 80s, curly, afro-esque monstrosity that can be described in one word—amazing. In plot news, the movie focuses on Jason Bateman’s character trying to recover his stolen identity from McCarthy—but the problem is, girl puts up a fight. The trailer shows numerous blows to the chest, groin and a rental vehicle.

The sheer amount of physical comedy will surely elicit laughs from audiences everywhere.

Identity Thief hits theatres tomorrow.

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thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Running away from the circus: Creative spectacle works better as live show Samantha Chin Contributor GGFFF Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away Director: Andrew Adamson Starring: Erica Linz, Igor Zaripov Bright lights, big tops and breathtaking sets and characters—what are you waiting for? It turns out, you’re waiting quite a bit as this film leaves a few things to be desired.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away is a magical adventure showcasing the various talents of Cirque du Soleil aerialists, trapeze artists, stunt men and clowns, who all perform daring feats against the backdrop of beautifully constructed stages. The diverse score of the movie brings music from all around the world together. From Elvis and The Beatles to opera and oriental, the music keeps the performances upbeat and light.

As always, the show is a colourful spectacle and a visionary delight.

That being said, it is best seen as a live performance.

Mia (Erica Linz) is visiting a travelling circus, when she is given a flyer to see a performer called The Aerialist (Igor Zaripov). When his act seemingly goes awry, the two are plunged into the fantastical world of Cirque and find themselves among colourful tents on a barren landscape. Each contains a different world, Cirque show and adventure. In the meantime, Mia, with the flyer still in hand, searches for The Aerialist.

file photo

It’s your basic Alice in Wonderland story. Alice (Mia), follows the white rabbit (The Aerialist) into a rabbit hole, ends up in Wonderland, and has a whirlwind adventure full of danger, excitement and impossible things—while still trying to find that rabbit.

The performances are thrilling, and the Cirque performers are fantastic—however, the film suffers from a narrative that lacks depth. The performers’ gestures and occasional dialogue try to compensate for this, but trying to figure out what’s happening will leave the audience’s heads spinning. Camera close-ups and slow

motion segments of the performances are great in providing new perspective, but they break up the illusion of wonder with the obvious presence of wires and pulleys.

From a stage seat, a spectator can capture everything at once. On film, the audience can only see what the director chooses to show them— exciting parts of the performances could have been missed, and that takes some of the mystique out of the show.

Another reason why Cirque du Soleil is better off screen is the fact the main characters are missing for most of the show. Mia and The Aerialist watch from the sidelines,

while the rest of the Cirque world performs without them. You hardly notice they are there.

Linz and Zaripov are lovely performers and they should have more screen time to show off their talents, not just pull facial expressions of fright or surprise. Their apparent love story is also lost amid the thrilling performances and in the end—not very believable.

Director, Andrew Adamson has documented Cirque du Soleil. They put one of the greatest shows in the world on screen and that is an achievement to be proud of.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away is currently playing at Hyland Cinema.

Naira Ahmed Gazette

Fitting cardio and weights into your workout routine Chelsey Gauthier Gazette Staff In the great world of fitness, people are constantly searching for the best, most effective workout. With reading week right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to find out just how effective your workout can be.

When going to the gym, there are always various choices for workouts, but they can easily fall into two categories—cardio and weight training.

But is cardio more effective before weight training, or after?

According to Bianca Maselli, a fitness instructor at Campus Recreation, it’s more effective to do a cardio workout first.

“Cardio helps increase your heart

rate, which creates a good warm-up before you lift weights and it allows your body to become more prepared for the weight training part of your workout,” Maselli says.

Doing cardio first doesn’t just help with the warm up either.

“When doing cardio first, it increases your cardiovascular endurance for weight training.

You end up having to work harder because you’re already tired from the cardio,” adds Marcin Szczyglowski, a personal trainer at Campus Recreation.

Szczyglowski also acknowledges both methods are completely different, and provide different results.

“If you lift weights first, you’d be increasing your muscular strength

for cardio training,” Szczyglowski says.

Based on various gyms and personal trainers, the answer to this question will most likely differ from one source to another. BuiltLean, an online blog, suggests doing cardio after lifting weights is actually a more effective method of training as it helps increase energy for weight training. There are less risks of injury due to fatigue.

Even if there are varying opinions regarding this subject, one thing can’t be denied—if cardio and weight lifting are combined during training, workouts will become much more effective.

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business.humber.ca/postgrad file photo

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thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Opinions

Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts.

—Dobby, house-elf

Harry Potter and Canadians must speak the bird course? for themselves, eh?

Accio literatuie!

That’s right, starting next year, Harry Potter will be a semester-long essay course offered through the English department. But will this kind of course have academic merit at Western?

This is undoubtedly a tough question to answer.

After all, Harry Potter was initially written for children, so how can a mature, university crowd be challenged to find hidden meaning in J.K. Rowling’s seven-book wizarding saga?

This isn’t the first course in the English department that strays away from the classics. There are halfcourses on fantasy literature, sport in literature and children’s literature. So is creating a Harry Potter course problematic?

Now, on the one hand, bringing in this course can be looked at as a joke that can potentially be a mockery of university and academics. If you are studying English, you’re there to study the classics. Some may note authors such as Shakespeare, Hemingway and Joyce provide the reader with a much deeper, denser text that actually involves and requires the aid of a professor to find the deeper meaning, while Harry Potter’s journey through Hogwarts is just too simplistic. This is a slippery slope and if this can be a course for academic credit, then where do we draw the line?

But who’s to say there is not deeper meaning in Harry Potter as well? Although it was originally written for children, the later books were written when many of us were in our late teens, and the themes certainly reflect this. With adult themes such as challenging authority, self-sacrifice, tolerance and genocide, these books following the boy who lived should not be pushed aside as “just for children.” After all, the whole point of the English program is to develop your critical thinking skills and find the meaning in certain texts, so if the Harry Potter series accomplishes this, then clearly it has academic merit.

Additionally, English literature is always evolving, and what students study in English classes should evolve as well.

Regardless of its merit and its credit count, this course is sure to attract Potter fanatics, English majors and all of those hoping for a bird course alike.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

Wrath of McGrath

Kaitlyn McGrath Associate Editor I am Canadian.

If reading that immediately made the now iconic Molson Canadian beer ad come to mind then clearly the marketing team knocked it out of the park. But at the same time, that assertive confirmation of our identity, funnily enough, feels almost unCanadian.

And by that I mean, by nature—or at the very least stereotypically—Canadians are seen as polite, timid individuals in comparison to our neighbours to the south, or even our old chaps across the Atlantic. There is obviously pride in being Canadian, especially when our hockey team wins the gold medal against Team U.S.A. But in contrast to other more, shall we say, loud nations, Canadians are less prone to proudly proclaim their Canadianess wherever they go. Instead we rely on the perception of other nations to confirm we must be Canadians because we’re so kind-natured and pleasant.

It’s almost become a founding myth that if Canadians choose to travel abroad, affixing the Canadian flag on pieces of luggage is somewhat of a goodwill offering. Canadians, apparently, are fun to travel with, which is the idea that has been picked up on in Molson’s recent advertisement, which has yet to air, but it gathering attention online.

In stark contrast to the “Joe Canada” ad, which famously listed common tropes associated with the Canadian identity, the Molson Canadian ad doesn’t even feature a Canadian speaker. Instead,

and without giving too many spoilers, this ad shows individuals from around the globe—including Germany, South Africa and Ireland—telling a story about how awesome and wild a Canadian travelling through their respective countries was.

Which is just the most Canadian thing ever.

Think about it—if we’re following this particular entrenched Canadian identity that we’re somehow much more bashful than other nations, unwilling to outright say we think we’re the best, then of course the most accurate ad would not depict a Canadian saying how awesome he or she was.

No, the most Canadian ad ever would rely on other people to do that for us. See what I’m getting at? Molson completely hit the nail on the head with this one. But that doesn’t mean I like the ad.

Even though this advertisement paints Canadians in a positive light, as a Canadian viewing it, I still find it a bit problematic. The fact we can’t, as a nation, be proud of our identity and speak about it is perplexing. Instead, we rely on other nations to confirm we are, in fact, awesome because we don’t have the confidence to say so ourselves.

Isn’t getting other nations to explain how awesome we are, in itself, a little bit pathetic?

The ad, though it’s trying to showcase Canadian coolness, can actually be completely turned around. Getting other nations to explain just how cool Canadians are is the equivalent of getting your mom to explain to a group of people why you’d be a great person to hang out with. Sure, your mom may make a convincing case, but that’s likely not going to have a drastic influence of the individuals listening to the pitch.

On the surface, the advertisement is clever and makes Canadians seem fun, but perhaps it’s about time we start saying that ourselves.

thisdayinhistory On February 7, 1984, Talbot Theatre hosted the inaugural performance of the play Heaven Can Wait. Sadly, the performance fell apart—literally. The entire night was marred by problems with the set and props, as fake bullet wounds fell off of performers, and the whole debacle was capped off by the final set becoming entangled—and eventually damaged—in the wings.

thegazette

Volume 106, Issue 70 www.westerngazette.ca

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

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Dear Life

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Dear Life, You know you have too many tabs open when you hear the ‘bling’ from Facebook messenger, but can’t find any Facebook tabs.

Dear Life, I’m not sure that it will change my voting, but now whenever I pick up my sunglasses, I’m going to think of Ashley McGuire. Is this what being brainwashed feels like?

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Letter to the Editor

Phony profiles To the Editor: Re: Putting private profiles in the past, February 5, 2013 I was probably not the only one left dissatisfied by Nicole Gibillini’s advice that we should all embrace public profiles on social networking sites.

While I do not doubt the claims HR staff might prefer profiles that “showcase your pizzazz,” I think university students should consider the implications.

When photos are made public, the user effectively loses control over the way in which they will be used.

There is no reason to believe partying pictures will be seen in a positive light— the fact is that photos can be interpreted in any way the viewer desires. There is absolutely no way for someone to “gain an objective perspective of how [they] come across online.”

There is something wrong with the “online strategy” of showcasing the self.

The article mistakenly confuses a brand —an artificial image— designed to “show you off in a positive light” with a person’s “true colours.” People who do not have public profiles are not necessarily “trying to hide something,” but those that use their profile to promote themselves are definitely hiding something—the less “tasteful pictures of…[their] life!”

Having said this, I agree with Nicole that everyone should have an online strategy and that they should craft a personal brand. That is the only way to communicate through corporate language. Lastly, no one should feel guilty for having to stuff a profile with glorified pictures—this shows that an applicant is ready for business.

—Driton Nushaj Comparative Literature MA I

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• Please recycle this newspaper •

•7

thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Canada-wide competition brings out best in engineers >> continued from pg.8

proper concrete mixes and how to weld two pieces of metal together,” Volcko pointed out.

“We took big initiative this year on the project management side of things,” he continued.

After considering two possible design concepts, the team

decided to go with a toboggan that distributed weight more evenly. As opposed to a slender, five-by-one design, the team constructed a toboggan featuring a driver in the front, two people in the middle and two people in the back. This helps prevent skids and ensure that the team could finish the race.

“Race day, for us, went very well. We made it down the hill for the first time in four or five years,” Volcko said of the contest. “Going into race day, with all of the technical side of things done, we felt like a second-place finish, or at least a top three finish, was in store for our team.”

“Then, in our final night

there, luck was in our favour and we were able to take home the first-place trophy.”

Western now has the unique opportunity of defending their championship while also hosting the competition in January 2014. This will allow them to save on travel and transportation costs—funds which can be

reinvested into the team.

“I really think this team has a really bright future and it’s definitely a possibility that we could defend [the title] on our home turf,” Volcko said.

“We’re very excited to have all these engineering students come to Western and do some good old-fashioned tobogganing.”

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thegazette • Thursday, February 7, 2013

Sports

tweet of the week 10 bucks says @GVR64 has been getting really chubby this offseason

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) poking fun at his linemen in the offseason

Rundown >> The Mustangs have a season-high eight teams in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport top 10 > The Mustangs men’s and women’s hockey, track and field, wrestling and swimming teams represented the Mustangs on the national stage with strong weeks for each team.

Streak alive and kicking with OUA domination Third straight double gold while men capture 30th straight Ryan Stern Sports Editor

The sun rose, the birds chirped and the Mustangs men’s and women’s squash teams swept the Ontario University Athletics for the third straight year.

The Mustangs squash teams have built up a reputation of dominance, with this being the 30th straight title for the men’s side and 40th overall, while the women’s squad won their third straight and 13th overall. With the tournament hosted at McMaster University in Hamilton, the Mustangs took care of business as usual, as the OUA’s most dominant program took charge.

“We went into the championship expecting and hoping to win,” Laura Savage, women’s head coach, said.

Though both sides finished in first, the Mustangs women had to battle until the very last day to pull through the victory. The women finished with 23 points— just one point ahead of secondplace Waterloo—while the men wrapped up the top spot early, only losing one match en route to 29 points.

Though the championship is the only OUA play the Mustangs play all season, they foster a competitive atmosphere amongst the team themselves.

“We play challenge matches every week against our own

team, so it is a level of competition within the team to keep our own roster spot,” Savage said.

Along with the top spots on their respective podiums, two Mustangs were honoured on an individual basis as well.

Mustangs Holly Delavigne and Brian Hong were named to the OUA all-star teams and Hong also received OUA MVP honours.

We play challenge matches every week against our own team, so it is a level of competition within the team to keep our own roster spot —Laura Savage

Mustangs women’s head coach

A strong opposition from the Waterloo Warriors was the Mustangs’ greatest challenge on both sides. Finishing second and third on the women’s and men’s side respectively, the Warriors also had four players—two females and two males—represented on the all-star teams. “[Waterloo’s] top three players are incredibly strong, and we knew those would be tough matches. They put a lot of effort into their training. Their top girls

put a lot of individual effort in as well,” Savage said. “Their number one, [Micaala Seth], won all of her matches and she has improved enough to the point where she represents Ontario and Canada.”

Though the Mustangs travelled to Hamilton for the tournament, the travel did not seem to bother them.

“It doesn’t matter that much,” Savage said. “It is nice to play at home and have people support us, but we are such a close team that it doesn’t matter.”

Though the OUA championship is the most noteworthy event on the Ontario schedule, the Mustangs still have some events on the horizon. The Mustangs men will be travelling to Hobart and William Smith College and Princeton University this weekend in showcase events.

Following this, the Mustangs men’s and women’s team will be participating in the Jesters Team Championship on March 16 and 17.

“I am super happy with how they played this weekend and they definitely deserved the result they got,” Coach Savage said of her team. “We still have the Jester Team Championship in March, and we are still training toward that. We also have the Canadian University Individual Championships in the beginning of March, so we are hoping someone will play in that.”

Naira Ahmed Gazette

Engineers slide to top spot in toboggan race Western students dominate competition in Vancouver Richard Raycraft Sports Editor

For the first time in its history, the Western Engineering Toboggan Team emerged victorious, winning the 2013 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race in Vancouver.

“Representing your school at one of the biggest competitions in Canada is a pretty remarkable feeling,” Rob Volcko, a fourthyear civil engineering student and captain of the WETT, said.

The race, which was hosted by the University of British Columbia, is the largest engineering competition in Canada.

It featured 23 teams and over 450 competitors.

Along with the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers winning the trophy, the team also took home the $2,000 Holcim award for Sustainable Construction.

The team is composed of seven executives that are

selected at the end of the school year. During the ensuing summer months, the executives spend a considerable amount of time designing the toboggan.

The team then recruits the bulk of its members in September at the start of the school year.

Volcko commented recruiting this year was a big part of the team’s success.

“We had our biggest team ever this year,” he said. “We had 110 members sign up for our team.”

The team is then split into two, with one group focusing on the concrete, and the other focusing on the structure. Each of those teams is assigned a leader, and the teams are then further broken down into sub-groups.

“The idea is to construct the toboggan as efficiently as we can, but also to teach the younger members of our club the fundamentals, such as >> see Competition pg.7

Courtesy of brad coutu