Crackdown on Noise in Downtown Guelph

the The University of Guelph’s Independent Student Newspaper 170.8 ◆ thursday, march 7th, 2013 ◆ www.theontarion.com FEATURES Crackdown on noise in Downtown Guelph City amends noise SHELL bylaws, aims for DRILLING stricter fines 6 nick hegedus CABARET Stricter noise bylaws and steeper fines IN GUELPH for noise violations are probably the 9 last thing students in Guelph want CIS to hear about. However, this bylaw change be- RESULTS came a reality last week, with an 16 increase in fines likely to follow. On Feb. 25, Guelph’s city council voted to make amendments to its noise bylaws, CONTENTS which have been in place since 2000. Some of these amendments were 9 Arts & Culture aimed at reducing noise from air con- 16 Sports & Health ditioners and motorcycles, problems which downtown residents consid- 19 Life ered significant enough to warrant 22 Opinion immediate attention. But students will likely consider KAI JACOBSON 25 Editorial the most important change to be the No more “unnecessary yelling” will be tolerated in Downtown Guelph, at any hour of the day. 26 Crossword introduction of a 24-hour ban on unnecessary noise downtown. unnecessary noise in the area. As a be a particularly raucous homecom- this is the case. 27 Community Listings Under the noise bylaw introduced mixed-use area, these types of noise ing celebration. Godfrey said that the “St. Patrick’s Day last year was 27 Classifieds in 2000, Guelph’s downtown was are now prohibited 24 hours per day, council felt that the old noise bylaw amazing,” said Godfrey. “We thought classified as an area in the “other” except in the case of city events and lacked the strength required to deal it was a very successful event.” category. This meant that unneces- other activities. with noise during the day. Regardless, it remains to be seen if sary noise such as yelling or shouting So why has the city chosen this par- The city council is also currently the recent changes will result in seri- was prohibited from the hours of 11 ticular time to make these changes? seeking to increase the fines attached ous crackdowns on noise during the p.m. until 7 a.m. (9 a.m. on weekends “A lot of it has to do with the change to the noise bylaw. Currently, the fine upcoming celebrations. Fortunate- and holidays). in dynamics downtown,” stated Doug for unnecessary noise in Guelph sits at ly, students can usually avoid being Last week, council voted to amend Godfrey, manager of By-Law Compli- $130, approximately half that of sur- slapped with immediate fines in the the city’s noise bylaw to designate ance and Security in Guelph. “We’re rounding municipalities. event of unnecessary noise. God- downtown as a “mixed-use” area, in seeing downtown become a lot more Students will surely be wonder- frey said that bylaw staff and police order to better reflect the increasing residential.” ing if the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day would continue to issue warnings be- number of residents living in the area. These changes have been a work celebrations motivated the council to fore actually handing out fines, and The mixed-use designation has sev- in progress since at least 2011, a year amend the noise bylaws at this par- that “Nine times out of 10, everyone eral implications for the rules against which saw what was considered to ticular time. It doesn’t seem as though complies.” Brought to you by SFOAC and THE BRASS TAPS Campus Pub Tickets $24.00 Tuesday, March 12, 2013 @ The Brass Taps 9:00 pm & SFOAC office ticketbreak.com Licensed/all ages NEWS 170.8 ◆ march 7th, 2013 3 Are you affecting lives downstream? Global to Local: Toxicology symposium way down our drains, through was another lecturer at the sym- and animal tissue as they are Students, staff, and explores human wastewater treatment plants, and posium, and presented on how resistant to environmental faculty on international even when they end up in the fish adjust to changes in their degradation. These include impacts on aquatic aquatic ecosystem. The products environment. His most recent flame-retardants, siloxanes (a and national news ecosystems include synthetic hormones, an- exploration looked at how the natural bonding chemical that tibiotics, psychotherapy drugs, metabolic and reproductive is also used to repel water), and On March 5, students in Montré- emma wilson chemotherapy drugs, and performances of fish are affect- phthalates (chemicals found in al convened at what seems to be anti-inflammatories. ed by human pharmaceuticals. plastics). Alaee’s exploration their favourite hangout location: Did you know that wastewater Of interest to Guelph residents, Moon explored questions such of the sources and fate of these the streets. Thousands turned out tests are used to determine illicit Metcalfe has found these drugs in as, “Are the intended effects of pollutants informs people of the to protest the Parti Québécois’s de- drug use? Or that human phar- the Grand River area, especially these pharmaceuticals apparent harms of not properly dispos- cision to raise tuition by $70 per year maceuticals remain biologically when water treatment technol- in fish? Are there any unintend- ing of domestic and industrial as many had hoped that, after an ed- active after excretion, and can ogies have not been up to date. ed effects?” POP waste. ucation summit held last month, a harm humans, fish, and other This leads to concerns about In humans, Moon notes that Several pairings of fourth-year tuition freeze would be implement- animals? drinking water contamination. serotonin-based pharmaceu- toxicology students presented ed. The peaceful protests soon turned These were some of the fas- In most cases these drugs are not ticals regulate mood, emotion, on areas related to the theme of violent, and at least 50 people were cinating topics discussed at the acutely toxic, but Metcalfe sug- sleep, depression, and eating the symposium. These includ- reportedly arrested. The Ontari- 27th Annual Toxicology Sympo- gested at the conference, “If we disorders. He has found that ed explorations of the effects of on spoke to several members of the sium on “Life Downstream of can do something to reduce our the pheromones that drive re- golf course pesticides on aquatic Games Club/Flash Club to get their Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals exposure, then let’s do it.” production in fish are negatively ecosystems, toxic red mud from opinion on the often-discussed issue in Aquatic Ecosystems.” Metcalfe’s most recent research affected even by relatively small aluminum mining and its nega- of tuition fees, and what this news Dr. Chris Metcalfe, Director used wastewater to determine il- amounts of these pharmaceuti- tive effect on sea urchin fertility, story means for Ontario students. at the Institute for Freshwater licit drug use in Peterborough, cals. For instance, impacted fish the affect of ocean acidification Science at Trent University, ex- Hamilton, and Montreal. Sub- will also stop eating. on plankton, and many other The Ontarion:First of all, have you amined the topic, “What are we stances such as cocaine, MDMA, “Serotonin stimulates anorexi- captivating topics. heard about this news story? flushing down the drain?” He ex- methamphetamines, and other genic factors – this meant that it Hosted by the Toxicology Stu- Rebecca Howe: I’ve heard about the plored the ultimate fate of our drugs were found. The data from suppresses feeding. This causes dents Association, the event stuff from before, but I haven’t heard pharmaceutical, cleaning, and this study indicated that about major problems,” said Moon. drew a full crowd and fostered about what happened yesterday. personal care products once we five per cent of people in Montre- Dr. Mehran Alaee examined many lively discussions among Sam Engstrom: I’m not surprised, are done using them. al and Peterborough use cocaine. persistent organic pollutants the attendees. Sponsors included I mean they seem pretty quick Metcalfe noted that many Dr. Thomas Moon, a distin- (POPs). POPs are organic com- Aquatox, Wellington Laborato- to take to the streets if something pharmaceutical products are guished professor of biology pounds that persist in the ries, Cantox, and the College hacks them off. I just find it [funny] biologically active even after and Vice-Dean Research Facul- environment, and bioaccumu- of Biological Science Student that they have the lowest tuition, excretion as they make their ty from the University of Ottawa, late or biomagnify in human Council. but they’re so ready to protect it. In Ontario, it’s a well-known fact that we’ve got the highest tuition and the lowest government subsidization, and no one here does that. POPEYES LOUSIANA The Ontarion: Do you guys think that Ontario students should care about the news topic? KITCHEN RH: I think if anyone should be protesting, it should be us. Sam Titizian: We had a rally recently though. (in NoFrills plaza) SE: It’s nothing on the scale of what they do. ST: Obviously not […] Maybe we should be protesting harder. As I (519) 265-8313 said, we had the rally recently. That being said, I don’t know if rallying is the answer. I don’t necessarily want to riot. James Kelly: Probably not the best way to go about it. SE: I just feel like Ontario students are a lot more complacent. ST: That’s true, you’re definitely right. SE: I don’t think riots are the answer, but less complacency is. ST: Because you’re not actually help- ing your case if you take to the streets and be violent. RH: You’re just going to make people resent you, and that’s not going to help move your issue forward or get your issue respected.

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