The tie that binds Wilfrid Laurier University since 1926

Volume 50, Issue 24 Wednesday. February 24, 2010 thecord.ca Director resigns from WLUSU board

LAURA CARLSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF I've really disagreed At an emergency in-camera Wilfrid ''with a lot of things and Laurier University Students' Union board of directors meeting that took I've tried to voice my place just prior to Reading Week, director Peter Hanna resigned from opinion, but you're only his role following the decision of the board to allow chair Saad Aslam to one member:' remain in his current position. "I was hired as vice-president university affairs [and] the board -Peter Hanna, resigned WLUSU director had to decide if they wanted to keep me around in my capacity as a di­ rector and they did choose to do so;• saidAslam. "I will fulfill my responsibilities as a director and chair of the board and also work on transitioning to vice­ president of university affairs next year:· "I've really disagreed with a lot Although details of the Feb. 10 of things and I've tried to voice my in -camera meeting cannot be dis­ opinion, but you're only one mem­ cussed, Hanna said that he resigned ber. A couple of directors have now because of the outcome. quit and a lot of it was just tl1e un­ "A lot of board members did not willingness of the board to see eye­ agree with [the outcome] .... It was to-eye and negotiate with each oth­ really close and with that outcome I er;' said Hanna. think we're putting the corporation "I think that's the major flaw of at risk;' said Hanna. the board and the reason why we're Hanna noted that because he is not as productive as we should be. currently on co-op, he hasn't been Instead of trying to work together YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER able to attend any meetings this se­ we just argue and [individuals] try Left: A visibly upset Jean-Michel Rizk after the Hawks were eliminated by the Guelph Gryphons. mester and is not comfortable re­ to ... pass their own agenda:' Right: Kate Psota shows her frustration during the Hawks shocking OT loss to Windsor. maining on the board for the rest of With both Hanna and Justin his term. Glover having resigned this se­ Tough week for Laurier hockey "With me not being there and this mester, the board now only has 13 in place, if anything happens I don't directors. The men's team was eliminated in the first round of the want to really have myself backing Though it is reduced from its playoffs, while the women saw their run at a perfect season it;' he said. standard 15 members, Aslam Though he had no intentions of doesn't feel that this will have a sig­ end in the final game of the year. Sports, pages 22-23 resigning from his director posi­ nificant impact on how the board tion prior to the in-camera meeting, operates. Hanna did note that he had thought "Justin [Glover] was missing a about it previously, as he has had lot of meetings and Peter [Hanna], many frustrations with both the since January, hasn't been here so I chair and the board has a whole over Class sizes up by 13.5 per cent the past year. News, page 6 Student-faculty ratio not representative of actual increase

Student-faculty ratio from 21.4 to 21.8 students to each MIKE LAKUSIAK Just prior to Reading Week, the faculty member over last year. STAFF WRITER school released the student-to-fac­ The ratio for every faculty exclud­ ulty ratio for the 2009-10 academic ing the graduate social work pro­ Since the fall, there has been discus­ year, a value that seemed to indi­ gram and the Brantford campus in­ sion among students, faculty and cate that contrary to perceptions on creased; Brantford's ratio dropped administration on the effects of no- · campus, the situation was improv­ significantly due to new hiring. ticeably fuller lecture halls, fewer ing as the ratio had dropped from course offerings and a general per­ last year. Average class sizes ception on campus that class sizes Looking more closely at the Another change that occurred with have increased. methods used to calculate the ratios the new collective agreement was Larger classes are perceived as from year to year, the current ratio a reduction in the required cour:;e detrimental to classroom experi­ was calculated using an equation load faculty members must teach. ence. As a result, many questions that factors the full-time equivalen­ "Previously a faculty member was have been raised on what factors cy of part-time contract academic required to teach five courses over have contributed to the situation, staff differently. This was due to the course of the full year, but they what the school's perspective on it changes in a new collective agree­ get relief from teaching duties de­ is and what students can expect in ment between faculty and admin­ pending on their research and in­ the future, especially since many istration that came into effect last volvement with committees;' said students cite small classes and indi­ February. Kevin Crowley, director of news and vidual attention as part of Laurier's The Cord acquired an adjusted editorial services at Laurier. YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER reputation and a factor in their ini­ ratio this week that shows a slight ' Peter Hanna following the Feb. 10 in-camera board meeting where tial decision to come here. increase in the student-faculty ratio, News, page 4 he resigned from his position as a director.

Inside

Fashion as expression Creating dialogue Obama hears China roar

Staff Writer Anne T. Donahue Addressing the importance of Sino-American relations heat up discusses trends and the role they creating dialogue on a sensitive as China tries to capitalize on the play in identifying who we are subject to aid those who suffer U.S:s waning global influence

Arts, page 15 In Depth, page 12 International, page 9 2 • EDITOR'S PAGE The Cord • Wednesday. February 24, 2010

Editor's Choice News ...... 3 In Depth ...... 12 Editor's Choice Local ...... 7 Arts ...... 14 Realities ofa global National ...... 8 Opinion ...... 18 In Pictures: K-OS plays water crisis International ...... 9 Sports ...... 21 Starlight Feature, page 11 Feature ...... 11 thecord.ca

What has been Canada's greatest achievement at the 2010 gam es so far?

"Jon Montgomery winning the gold medal in men's skeleton." -Travis Herron Third-year English NICK LACHANCE PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER Waterloo was hit with a mini blizzard Monday after a warm Sunday; a frigid welcome home for students returning from spring break. This Week in quotes Bag 0' Crime Fire Special Constable Services received Location: Outside Peters Building a report of a stolen fire extinguisher Reported: Feb. 20@ 9:26a.m. from the first floor hallway of a resi­ Hey, I can only afford to A special constable responded to dence. The building was checked "Alex Bilodeau winning '' the area outside the main entrance but the extinguisher was not found. go to Cuba once a year:' to the Peters Building after receiving No suspects. Canada's first gold medal a report of the smell of smoke. The on home soil." cause of the smoke was found to be Break and Enter -Shabeen Ha nifa a small fire in a waste bin near the Location: Residence Fourth-year sociology main entrance. The fire was extin­ Reported: Feb. 21@ 3:32 p.m. - Dean ofstudents David McMurray guished with a fire extinguisher and Special Constable Services received paraphrasing a student senator's the cause was believed to be a ciga­ a report that an exterior door lead­ rationale behind not wanting afall rette butt carelessly discarded in the ingto the 24-hour lounge had been reading week instituted in2ooo container. tampered with. Investigation re­ vealed that someone had attempted Liquor Offence to pry the door, causing the damage. Location: Residence It appears that entry was not gained. Reported: Feb. 20@ 11:38 p.m. There were no identifiable marks While conducting a premise check to warrant calling the Regional Po­ Do we have to vote on of a residence, a special constable lice Forensic Identification Unit in. came across a group of residents There are no suspects at this time. "Maelle Ricker winning the ''that? I have no idea playing "beer pong" in the first floor hallway. The matter is being re­ Ifyou have any information regard­ snowboard cross." what's going on:' ferred to residence staff. ing these or any other incidents please -Alyson Coons call519-885-3333 or Crime Stoppers at First-year environmental Theft Under Ssooo 1-800-222-TIPS. The Bag 0' Crime is studies Location: Residence submitted by WLU Special Constable Reported: Feb. 21 @ u:o8 p.m. Service. - WLUSU chair-elect Kyle Hocking soon after being elected for the 2010-11 term From the archives "It's a compilation of anger, disappointment and embarrassment:' 5years -Men's volleyball head coach Shayne White on the the way his team finished the season. Students protest Rae's tuition rise Approximately 50 to 6o students gathered outside the Aird Underpass to "Brantford has been a big passion of mine. I know, irony:' rally against Bob Rae's recommendation to lift the current tuition freeze. The -WLUSU director Greg Evans making reference to an Open Forum question in which he protest was organized by the Graduate Students Association, who made the was accused ofmakingfon ofthe Brantford campus in the boardroom. argument that increasing tuition would put students in greater debt, which "The beat poet who per­ would discourage them from pursuing graduate studies. "You can look forward to getting more information on it in our annual re­ Printed Feb.16, 2005 formed at the opening port, which we will be releasing on an annual basis from now one." ceremonies.· -President ofPRISM David Silva when asked about the cost ofinstalling new computer 25 years -Andrew Fryer printing consoles in Peters and SBE buildings. Work program changes affect summer jobs Third-year English The proposed Challenge '85 program -which the NDP and Liberal parties "We really have nobody but ourselves to blame." were not in favour of- wa& proposed in an attempt to create more jobs for Compiled by David Goldberg -Women's hockey head coach Rick Osborne after the team suffered their first and only students during an economic decline. During the previous summer, it was Photos by Nick Lachance loss ofthe year in their regular season finale versus Windsor. estimated that around 18o,ooo students could not find summer jobs. Stu­ dents were to apply to the program and be placed in jobs related to their pro­ "Mmmm, ballot eating time:' spective careers. thecord.ca - WLUSU chair SaadAslam speaking to his method ofdestroying secret ballots. PrintedFeb.28, 1985 Watch video vocal cord

Editorial Board Volunteers Colophon Preamble to The Cord THE CORD Cord~ Eclitor ...... ••... , ...... Adam Lazzarato 11M Cord it dM ol&dal.-.t ....,...a-oftht WU&W t..a.rit:r constitution Edi..,...lft.au.f. .•...... LAURA CARLSON Copy EditheMaaaFr ...... :...... G ina Macdonald thUwnity commlUlhiY- The Cord will keep (aith with its readers by pmenting nan and !carlson@ thecord .ca c.,., Edlton ..... -...... •. ' ...... Kathryn Doboob expm1ion. of opinions comprebenaivdy. accurately and fairly. 1M l'llototlnl'b7Mamopr ...... NICK LACHANCE Started in 19:16 as the Co1kft CoM, The Cord is an editorially inde· Cord bdinu in a balancecl and imJ».rtia1 presentation of aD relevant 75 University Ave W . • • • • • • . • . . . • • • • • • .. • • • .. • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . .•• Laura Malone ptndent ...... publi.ohed by W.Jmd Lourier Unn..nity Student facta in a news report, and of aD Nbttantial opiniont in • matter o( nlachancec>lhecord ca ····•···· ·· ···•••• •···••·•······•• . . . Nawja l'annecooc:ke Publications, Waterloo. a corporation without lhart c:apjtll. WLUSP la_/...._....,...... Ang

inspection to analyze the finances TARYN ORWEN·PARRISH and policies of campus clubs - Ver­ STAFF WRITER hoeve explained that this document would have been produced regard­ It's ensuring that we Laurier's Campus Clubs policy is less of if the board requested the '' now available on the Wilfrid Laurier information. as an organization University Students' Union website. "This document was probably The 10-page document details fund­ 95 per cent complete prior to the are spending student YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER ing distribution and disciplinary board direct inspection;' said Ver­ procedures, donations and sponsor­ hoeve. "This was something that dollars effectively and ship procedures as well as operating was provoked well before [the board Hocking elected chair policies. meeting]:' in a manner that they're "The Campus Clubs policy is an Verhoeve clarifies that there have with the board almost on a daily operating document for all club been little changes made to the ac­ supposed to be spent:' LINDA GIVETASH basis just with dates and things members to be able to access and tual policy. LOCAL AND NATIONAL EDITOR that I'm working on, meeting with use a reference for their daily activi­ "It's important to say, first off, that - Jason Verhoeve, WLUSU vice­ them one-on-one, making sure that ties, as well as outline what their re­ it's not a new policy by any stretch president ofclubs and activities The incoming board of directors for they're all comfortable and they're sponsibilities are and how they can of the imagination. It's something the Wilfrid Laurier University Stu­ accomplishing their goals as well," access the resources that are avail­ that we've had in place, we just dents' Union has elected Kyle Hock­ said Hocking. able to them;' explained Lawrence haven't had it in a formalized docu­ ing as chair of the board at their first Hocking's plan in training the Maclin, assistant vice-president of ment that was easy for club mem­ meeting on Feb. 10. new board seemed already under­ Campus Clubs and faculty. hers and people within faculty asso­ Also up for election was returning way, prior to him even being elected Jason Verhoeve, vice-president ciations ... to be able to actually find director Chris Oberle. Both candi­ to chair. "I've talked to a few past of clubs and activities, explained online and readily have available to dates were nominated by incoming chairs who are interested in helping that before being made available them:' board members and were subjected me out with that and I know [cur­ online, those seeking information He further explained that the pol­ Verhoeve explained that the rollover to a series of questions from direc­ rent chair] Saad [Aslam] is going about campus club guidelines were icy includes two new mandates. The policy "ensures that clubs are us­ tors and members of the gallery. to help me out with that as well," he required to consult different docu­ first is the transition policy, which ing money in an effective manner When questions were completed, said. ments or visit the campus clubs allows for clubs to apply for rein­ and that fits within the guidelines of the board casted their votes on a se­ Reviewing and implementing a department. statement before Sept. 1. This policy WLU and of the students' union:' cret ballot. new ends policy for the union is an­ "These policies and rules have al­ will particularly benefit clubs that Verhoeveisconfi.dentthatthe In an interview with The Cord other of Hocking's priorities. ways been in place but in different operate during the summer months, Campus Clubs policy will have a following the election, Hocking ex­ He currently sits on the board areas. So they've been written down such as Laurier's Dragon Boat Club. positive impact on Laurier students. pressed his priorities for training the ends policy committee, but he be­ but never put into one formalized The second mandate is the roll­ "I think it's a very effective docu­ new board, which predominantly lieves there are flaws in the current document that you could say 'this over policy, which will become ef­ ment in that it allows the students consists of first-time directors. document which he expressed has a is the overarching guide for clubs to fective in January 2011. The rollover to see that knowledge firsthand "That was something we lacked a stronger focus on means rather than follow:" policy permits clubs to apply to and keeps our end in the check and little bit in the [2009-10] board and ends. Alongside programming and ser­ carry forward fundraised money to balance;' said Verhove. "It's ensur­ so the learning curve was a little bit "The fact that skill development vices manager Bill Kitchen, Verho­ be used in organized future events. ing that we as an organization are steeper;' explained Hocking, reflect­ is a priority for the board and the eve and Maclin have been working While in the past clubs have had spending student dollars effectively ing on his experience as a director union as a whole right now is not on creating an accessible, simplified separate bank accounts off campus, and in a manner that they're sup­ on the current board. the way that I think the union should Campus Clubs policy since early the students' union is also in the posed to be spent:' Ensuring that new board mem­ operate;' he stated. November. process of having the funds under Maclin shares Verhoeve's predic­ hers adapt to their roles quickly is "Our priority has to be lobbying Although discussion regarding one account. tions for the policy. "We're provid­ something Hocking believes will for students, drafting letters of in­ Campus Clubs policy was brought The single bank account will fa­ ing clubs the opportunity to transi­ ensure that the board accomplishes tent and taking stances;• Hocking up at the Jan. 27 board meeting- in cilitate the distinction between stu­ tion and to be able to set themselves their goals. continued, expressing his ideals for which they asked for a board direct dent fees and fundraised money. up for success in future years:• ''I'm going to be communicating the ends policy.

Computer consoles added in SBE building for printing needs

ANDREA MILLET the process:· LEAD REPORTER Printing access through these sta­ tions will be available by OneCard PRISM, an organization provid- swipe to any Laurier student, as Sil­ ing technological resources for stu­ va explains that they have no way to dents at Laurier, has placed two new limit the access to PRISM members printing consoles in both the Peters and that they have no desire to do Building and the Schlegal Centre, so. which will be available for students "It is a PRISM initiative available to use within the next few weeks. to all students ... we've been looking Each of the two consoles hous­ at just giving back and helping stu­ es two computers and connected dents;' said Silva. monitors that will allow students to To connect wirelessly to the either connect wirelessly or to print printing console, students can visit locally, accessing files on the com­ the PRISM website and install a puter provided at the console. driver which will then indentifY the As students are relying more and printing stations on their computer more on laptops and portable tech­ and allow access for printing. nologies, PRISM is working to cre­ The printers will allow for black ate more mobile services to better and white pages and will cost five meet students' needs. cents per page, the same as all other According to president of PRISM PRISM services. David Silva, there are two comput­ These consoles are intended to ers in each console so that one can save time for students who need to be used for students on the Laurier print, enabling them to avoid having wireless network solely for the pur­ to log into lab computers. pose of printing while the other can While PRISM is not releasing the be used by students who need to cost for purchasing and installing take time to search, for example to the kiosks, Silva explained that they download from their email, without were under-budget on the project incurring lineups. and that more information would "It will hopefully minimize wait be available when they release their YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER times for the stations and speed up annual report. Students will soon be able to print wirelessly or bring their electronic documents to the console. . ' -.. J~· -l .L-1 I e.,.J::~ -~• 4 • NEWS The Cord • Wednesday. February 24. 2010 Class sizes Restructuring combines 1ncrease IT groups under new manager cover I remember arguing that '' service delivery and help position one manager to help us through that "It dropped from five [courses] to it might be five per cent ANDREA MILLET us for what will be a major renewal transition:' four [courses] and there's a cost to LEAD REPORTER project involving our network start­ While the restructuring has now doing that;' said Crowley. in a couple of places, ing this summer:' doubled Godsmark's responsibili­ In a meeting two weeks ago be­ Richard Godsmark, previously the Godsmark will remain with the ties, it is not the administrations in­ tween The Cord and representatives but my God I'm sure it's manager of Laurier's OneCard of­ OneCard office and still holds his tention to neglect either area. from university administration, fice, has now been given new re­ responsibilities there, but he has "We recognize the importance vice-president of finance Jim Butler more than that overall:' sponsibility as the interim man­ now been given additional respon­ o£ number one, getting the physi­ explained the impact this reduced ager in the Information Technology sibility, working with the IT de­ cal network behaving the way it courseload may have on average department. partment to oversee this combined needs to and we also recognize the class sizes. An information communication group and work to improve the ser­ need for the OneCard operation to "We were happy to go in [there­ -JudyBates, WLUFApresident technology review from earlier this vices provided at Laurier. continue to function as it is;' said search] direction, realizing of course year recommended ways to look Buckley explained that as the Buckley. that research does put a strain on into improving IT services on cam­ manager of this new group, Gods­ IT restructuring has also come their ability to teach;' said Butler. pus, one of which was to combine mark will be working with his team into effect with Printing Services, "A one-course drop like that is the residence network and central to improve student services, such as who will be expanding their loca­ a 20 per cent reduction, and you ITS network into one large group. wireless accessibility and activity as tion to where the Hub is currently would expect class sizes to go up 20 This of course, takes into consider­ "We had two small units with well as e-mail reliability on campus. situated. They will also be improv­ per cent, but they went up by 13.5 ing that the 13.5 per cent value is an three technical people in each per­ "Our highest priority project is re­ ing equipment to increase what the per cent," he continued. average, so there may be many more forming essentially the same func­ designing and renewing our physi­ department can offer; improving the "Our attempts to mitigate that, I or less students in a given class or tion: keeping the network running," cal network;' said Buckley. accessibility of services available for think, have been partially successful faculty than usual. said assistant vice-president of aca­ "We need to fix the core network students. because you didn't get a full2o per "Ifyou're noticing larger class siz­ demic services Tom Buckley. and so this move brings the people The new printing centre is set to cent impact, you got less than that:' es, that would be true;' said Butler. "We've brought two teams to­ who work at Laurier with those be open for students by September The average class size among "The hike [is] because of the teach­ gether with an eye to improve skills together on one team with of this year. undergraduate faculties went from ing load change and there's also an s6.2 students per class last year to increased enrolment over what we 63.8 students this year, excluding had budgeted for in the previous music courses because of one-on­ year:' one instruction in that faculty. He also mentioned the impor­ The increase of13.5 per cent is tance of government funding and Approximate WLUSU election votes by significantly higher than the five per the problems presented by insuf­ cent increase suggested by adminis­ ficient support from the province, faculty; final numbers available next week tration earlier in the year. problems that become apparent in "I remember arguing that it might the classroom. .Arts be five per cent in a couple of places, Even a 13.5 per cent increase in but my God I'm sure it's more than average class size, Bates concluded, Sunny Chan Osrantford that overall;' noted faculty associa­ "Makes a huge difference to the way tion president Judy Bates. you can teach or at least the way you .Business "I'll bet you could find places like can have assignments and evaluate Lawrence Maclin social work where it wouldn't have students:' Qscience gone up by that much, but arts, sci­ Butler noted that there is some ence and SBE must have gone up hope in the form of increased money .Music enormously:' from the province saying that the Kory Preston For example, in a large first-year funding "would enable us to hire lecture of even 200 students, a 13.5 additional faculty and address some per cent increase in size amounts to of the class-size issues:' Kyle Walker 27 extra people. "You can't do that if the govern­ Even in an upper year course of ment's not going to give you the so or less, there may be seven or money for the growth:' more students than last year. 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 TRINA SCHMIDT GRAPHICS EDITOR :td ' t fiOJt, SINGLES DR GROUPS

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WLUSU hires new VPs

Scott Martins News Editor Lauren Millet speaks with next year's Saad Aslam Brantford management team to discuss their visions and goals University affairs

Background: Current associate vice-president internal operations at Brantford; Foot Patrol Background: Current chair of the board of directors; volunteer with LSFL; internal affairs (general, executive and co-ordinator); GO-Team (Orientation Week). committee; general member of the Eco Hawks; CASA ambassador. Most unique quality: "My passion for the students' union. I'm willing to go above what is ex­ Most unique quality: "I have a really good sense of humour, and that has enabled me to take pected of me to get the job done as long as it benefits the students:• bad news really well. I think sometimes things don't always go right, but it's important to be Main goal: "I would like to further advance the communication between Brantford and Water­ able to put it behind you and you'll come out on top:' loo, especially at the co-ordinator level. This past year was the first year we had a joint sum­ Main goal: "I want to make the students' union a champion of representation and advocacy ... mer conference, and it worked really well .. , to network and share ideas; I want to build off of the position has drifted away from representing students and providing advocacy for their es­ that:' sential needs:'

Background: General volunteer with BACCHUS; Background: Current assistant vice-president of first shine booster for Shinerama; History Students Asso­ year experience; Icebreaker; hiring committee (gen­ ciation (executive and vice-president administration); eral and executive). sign promotions executive; executive on the elections Most unique quality: "An open mind. I think right committee for the 2010 WLUSU elections. now we're at a standstill with a lot of the program­ Most unique quality: "My ability to make any situa­ ming we have on campus, and I'm hoping to work tion as positive as possible. No matter what is going with some new ideas and new people to collaborate on I try to put a positive spin on things, which makes on events and make sure all of the student activities things a lot easier to deal with especially when you're are successful:' put in stressful situations:· Main goal: "Collaborating with everyone on campus, Main goal: "I want to get more students involved in such as residence life, athletics and groups like the of­ volunteer opportunities. I think we can get a lot more fice for student diversity and the Laurier international students involved ifwe promote our department more office, just to ensure that everyone on this campus has effectively this year and ensure that students know the a chance to get involved in all of the events that we run Pam Blomfield opportunities that are available to them:' and we can get involved in all the events they run:' Burton Lee Public affairs Clubs and activities

Background: Current BACCHUS co-ordinator; Background: Current GO-Team executive; bar pro­ member of the business campus club ISAC; Head­ motions for the Turret and Wilf's; Activities team start ambassador. executive. Most unique quality: "I bring a lot of passion to the Most unique quality: "My approachability, because I services department. I care a lot about individuals; I really want everyone to feel as comfortable as possible love listening to people, hearing their thoughts, con­ coming to talk to me ....That's really important because structive criticisms. I'm really passionate about the it will always be a really welcoming atmosphere:• role:' Main goal: "Combining the hiring committee with the Main goal: "I want to focus on membership train­ recruitment committee. Hopefully it will result in be­ ing and member development. It will start with a ing stronger on both ends. The two were slightly over­ successful transition of the co-ordinators and then lapping this year and because they are a new commit­ training for the rest of the general volunteers:· tee, recruitment didn't have as strong of a role:'

Heather Budd Katie Mooney SeNices Administration ALL PHOTOS BY PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER YUSUF KIOWAI

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GOTransit prices to popular student destinations from WLU (adult single-ride ticket) $12.20 $6.05 Square One Terminal1 Brampton York University University of Guelph (Pearson Airport)

News in brief

WLU sells GOTransit tickets been delayed because of the time Starting on Monday, the Centre Spot drivers have had to spend process­ began selling GOTransit tickets for ing the ticket purchases. the daily buses that stop at Laurier outside Clara Conrad Residence on University Avenue. Prices vary depending on where Dean of arts clarifies pro­ one is planning to travel, and buses posed restructuring make various stops before ending up Dean of arts Mary-Louise Byrne has at Square One in Missisauga. released a statement clarifYing pos­ Tickets available from the C-Spot sible changes various departments include single-ride tickets (which within the faculty of arts. must be used within four hours of In an e-mail Byrne sent to all arts purchase), as well as two and 10- students, Bryne clarified that no ride tickets, which never expire. programs would be cut immediately Tickets will still be available for and that the faculty of arts is pro­ purchase from bus drivers; however, posing to merge the administration, according to retail services man­ not the programs, of cultural stud­ ager of the Wilfrid Laurier Univer­ ies, classical studies, women and sity Students' Union Sue Dawson, gender studies, medieval studies purchasing tickets in advance will and North American studies. decrease wait times, as buses have -All compiled by Laura Carlson Second director to resign this term

cover being a director will make the stu­ dent body any better than the cur­ think people have got used to having rent state it's at:' 13 directors. We'll definitely miss Hanna noted that while he en­ their insight and input but I don't courages chair-elect Kyle Hocking think it will affect team dynamics to bring forward much-needed pol­ very much;' said Aslam. icy changes to the incoming board, Though Hanna said that he is he is less optimistic about what the frustrated about resigning, he feels current board will accomplish in that "it was what was needed:' the rest of their term. "I really don't "It's unfortunate because stu­ believe that the board will get too dents in the end did vote me into the much done productively in the near board .... [But] I don'tthinkthatme future;' said Hanna.

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www_rodiolourie r_ com $?without The Cord • Wednesday, February 24, 2010 • 7 LOCAL Local Editor Linda Givetash • lgivetash@thecord .ca

KW in brief

Bus driver attacked community members and local On Feb. 22, a Grand River Transit organizations, bus driver was punched in the head by an exiting male passenger at King Street North and Bridgeport Road. The suspect, described to be in Mugging suspect arrested his early 20s, allegedly stole a book On Feb. 19, a 21-year-old man walk­ of GRT transfer passes during the ing alone on King Street in Kitchen­ altercation. er was approached by another man The bus driver received only mi­ a with knife. He was not injured and nor injuries. called the police himself. The 33-year-old suspect was later arrested and charged with robbery, uttering threats and four counts of Stabbing at nightclub mischief. Early in the morning on Feb. 22, a man was stabbed during a fight in Elements Night Club in Kitchener. The fight began just after 2 a.m. on Aircraft flies low across KW the dance floor between two male On Feb. 18, a Hercules military patrons. aircraft flew low over the cities of YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER After they were separated and the Kitchener and Waterloo. In light of the Ice Dogs Festival, sculptor Cathy Coulter saws a block of ice into what will be a husky. suspect was escorted out of the club, The aircraft had been sent to an it was discovered that the 26-year­ unidentified area in Waterloo by the Festival events included ice a chainsaw, chisels and grinders for old victim was stabbed. Police are Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre LINDA GIVETASH sculpting, an ice slide and dog sled her role in the festival, which in­ looking for the suspect and waiting in Trenton after it received a signal LOCAL AND NATIONAL EDITOR rides for children and displays of the volved cutting and designing blocks on images from the security videos from an emergency locator transmit­ National Service Dogs. of ice. in an attempt to identify him. ter. It was, however, a false alarm. Citizens of Waterloo and their pets This year, the new skating rink in "I am going to be carving a husky embraced the cold weather to par­ Uptown Waterloo brought new ac­ for the dog festival and then a figure ticipate in the seventh annual Ice tivities to the festival. skater a little later;' she said. Dogs Festival in Uptown Waterloo "We've got public skates in be­ "The one thing about having (pre­ Emergency food Merger question passes on Saturday afternoon. tween various demonstrations by vious festivals] in the Regina Street distribution increases Waterloo's city council passed a This was a transition year for the community groups," said Colleen lot is that we had to tear down all the The House of Friendship, located motion to pose a referendum ques­ event, as it moved from its tradi­ Dostie, festival co-ordinator for the ice sculptures to get it back to being in Kitchener, distributed a record tion regarding the city's merge with tiona! venue in the Regina Street City ofWaterloo. a parking lot on Monday;' explained number of emergency food hampers Kitchener at the Feb. 22nd meeting. parking lot to the public square. "We're going to have the skating Dostie. this month. The question posed by mayor "I was confident it would be a suc­ club here to do a demo and the Con­ In the public square however, the On Feb. 16, a total of 278 hampers Brenda Halloran is worded: "Do you cessful event;' said Angela Vieth, cordia Club to do an ["EisStock"] ice sculptures are not an obstruction to were distributed. In 2009, distribu­ support the members ofKitchener city councilor for ward three. Vieth sledding event;' said Vieth, regard­ weekday business. "All the ice fea­ tion was up nearly 17 per cent from and Waterloo councils engaging in expressed how impressed she was ing the specific rink events, tures will stay up until they melt;' the previous year. discussions about the advantages by the high turn -out that was seen Cathy Coulter, a University of Vieth assured, allowing anyone who Food hampers are made by and disadvantages of merging in the early in the day. It was estimated that Waterloo fine arts graduate and an missed the festival to still enjoy the the organization from both food cities ofKitchener and Waterloo?" 2,000 people attended the event. ice sculptor for lceculture Inc., used works of art. and monetary donations from -All compiled by Linda Givetash

Accelerate your studies through on-campus and distance education courses this summer.

for more information visit www.uoguelph.ca/summer 8 • The Cord • Wednesday, February 24, 2010 NATIONAL National Editor Linda Givetash • [email protected] . {e

Funding leaves 11111 • e .~ ?4'52f! 30S1, - ~ - ~ 8 ' :":)()- C.\o..'!»~ MoncJoy - ~ students hungry ll:oo. ~~~ .- ~( . a £'t "'~t);f\MJ" . ('a Students campaign to improve funding c.. ~ oo . C.~ f'ML\\1\~ • l • Plu.o..--:51ie.c. . {a for OSAP's $7.50 per day food allocation a la 4f • ~- C:\a~~ -s~~ 1:£~ -=­ 12 I understand that from the govern­ Friday ro : !l() - ~ • • _G~~~~ LINDA GIVETASH ment's point of view, however, stu­ • • ~ ··'»...: Pi~\) V '-' LOCAL AND NATIONAL EDITOR dents have to focus on academics;' 1'2 ~~~~ • • said Gibson. '2, : ~ -~~ e :ta " :oo. 6.y1A. From Mar. 8 to 26, seven students "For them to have to take time Srn.O\t -rr. "Uj sor~ from across the province will partic­ out of their lives to worry about how - ~ ipate in the Food For Thought Cam­ they're going to get food, let alone 10 - ~ 13 cc.reA\ 14 ·~~t~e"'tl .,... ,.w. paign run by the Ontario Under­ the other little things that come up. w..._ • • graduate Student Alliance (OUSA) That certainly wears on you:' - ~ 1\ ~ 00 - ~'( tt:3o· e.~$0-'f to advocate for better funding. Maintaining a healthy and bal­ The students will be living on anced diet with the. additional com­ ·- ­~ $7.50 to represent the mere $226 per plications of spending hours away • 5t'DN ln ... month food and nutrition allocation from home and on campus is no • prescribed by the Ontario Student easy task on such a tight budget. TRINA SCHMIDT GRAPHICS EDITOR Assistance Program (OSAP). "Sometimes it may come to the With a busy schedule of classes and co-curricular activities, eating on a tight budget isn't healthy. "We're really working to draw at­ point where I have to skip a meal. tention to the fact that currently the That's the sort of thing we're trying "The realistic nature of this cam­ Ontario Student Assistance Pro­ to point out, that no matter how fru­ paign is that we're demonstrating The cost of food at Laurier gram is chronically underfunded gal you try to be at some points it's that of course students can't live off and does far too little to support going to be unhealthy;' said Gibson. so little per day in food and nutrition students;' said Dan Moulton, presi­ Treating food as a social excur­ allocation;' explained Moulton. $9-49 $3-98 dent of OUSA. sion will be near impossible with The food allocation is only one of Gourmet burger and fries Egg bagel The participating students will such little money to spend. the areas that OUSA has noted fail­ Dining hall Concourse cafe share the difficulties of their expe­ "The idea is justto limit going out ures in the method which OSAP cal­ rience over the course of the three as much as possible;' said Gibson. culates the needs of students. weeks through blog entries, video "Any time I go out, even to Wilf's ... "When you calculate from where­ $4.04 $6.39 blogs and other elements of social I've just got to totally basically elim­ ever- academic materials, the cost media posted on OUSA's website. inate and be a really, really shrewd ofliving, the weekly allowance­ Small pasta salad Big meatball sub Wilfrid Laurier University student grocery shopper:' these are figures that are drastically Union Market Mr. Sub Nick Gibson is participating in the Groceries will be the most ef­ lower than they need to be and we campaign to raise awareness about fective way for students to sustain need to see our government step­ the difficulties students have in themselves, since fast food- even ping up and investing in this pro­ $6.59 $0.99 funding their education. on campus- will not ensure enough gram;' said Moulton. "We can't be just giving out mon­ meals in a day with only $7.50 to "Hopefully we'll see some change Chicken Caesar pita One fresh fruit ey with no sort of responsibility and spend. in the right places," said Gibson. Pita Shack Dining hall *Price before tax

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EALL The Cord • Wednesday. February 24. 2010 • 9 INTERNATIONAL International Editor Paula Millar • [email protected] The turbulent U.S.-China relationship As America's global influence continues to wane, the Chinese seek to dominate in the Year of the Tiger

meeting as complete disregard for relationship between Taiwan and jobs. China retaliated by threaten­ will unfold during this new era of NIKICIA PHILLIPS these international norms. China. ing to apply similar harsh tariffs to waning American power and in­ CORD INTERNATIONAL Despite Washington's attempt However, there have been arms American products. creasing Chinese influence. to downplay the controversial en­ sales between the U.S. and Tai­ In addition to the Dalai Lama Undoubtedly, China has become In addition to managing a dismal counter by making it a discreet and wan in the past, and China knew meeting, the Taiwan arms sale and a key player in international poli­ domestic economic situation, two simple matter, the Chinese Foreign about this deal for some time as it the implementation of tariffs, a tics. Zakaria articulates the main foreign wars and a negative country Ministry promptly summoned Jon was negotiated under the Bush Jr. communications battle ensued be­ challenge, saying, "If (the West] can image, U.S. President Barack Obama Huntsman, the American Ambassa­ administration. tween the U.S. and China this year. allow China some space in the in­ must tackle another hurdle: China. dor, to Beijing and chastised the U.S. Consequently, China may sim­ In January, Google threatened to ternational system, that is commea­ This past Thursday, Obama was for demonstrating such disrespect. ply be trying to flex its muscles and pull out of China because of ex­ sured with its increasing profile, or subject to considerable disapproval The spokesperson for the Chinese assert its position in international treme censorship and reports of the are we going to draw the line so low from China when he met with the Foreign Ministry, Ma Zhaoxu, is­ politics. government hacking into e-mail that anything they do is a challenge internationally-revered cultural sued an official statement, saying, Due in part to its success dur- accounts. to us?" and religious leader the Dalai Lama "The U.S. action seriously interfered ing the financial crisis, China has All of these issues beg the ques­ in a low-key meeting at the White in Chinese internal affairs, seriously fast-tracked down the path to world tion ofhowthe U.S.-China House. hurt the feelings of China's people superpoyver status. The Economist relationship Beijing views the exiled spiritual and seriously harmed China-U.S. reports that "China is rather prone leader as an antagonistic separat­ relations:' to having fits, or at least seeming to ist leading the Tibetan secessionist The backlash from this meet­ have them" and that it can afford to movement from China. ing is just one of the many thorns now with the global balance of pow­ China strongly emphasizes issues in the American-Chinese relation­ er shifting. of national sovereignty and terri­ ship. Some key aspects of Obama's CNN chief foreign affairs analyst torial integrity, and denounced the foreign policy conflict with that of Farheed Zakaria explains, "[China] China, particularly regarding is­ doesn't need the U.S. as it did ... this sues of restricting Iranian nuclear is producing a China that is more development and rebalancing for­ parochial, more inward-looking and eign currencies. potentially more adversarial in its Moreover, China recently con" relationships with the West:' demned the current U.S. adminis­ Some experts believe that China's tration's announcement that they anger towards the U.S. is not simply would proceed with a $6.4 billion a facade and a trade war may ulti­ arms sale to Taiwan. The U.S. is mately erupt, characterized by eco­ bound by the Taiwan Relations nomic sanctions and protectionist Act of 1979 to provide the Asian policies. island with weapons deemed nec­ Hints of a troubled bilateral trad­ essary to defend it. Nonetheless, ing relationship appeared this past the arms sale is seen as Ameri­ September when Obama permit­ can interference in Chinese inter­ ted a 35 per cent tax on Chinese tire nal affairs, as there exists a highly imports to prevent the loss of thou­ contentious and complex political sands of American factory workers'

LSPIRG is looking for Laurier undergraduate students to apply for the following 2010- 2011 positions*:

• Marketing & Communications Coordinator • Volunteer Coordinator • Tra ining & Research Coordinator

The positions run from August 30th, 2010 - April 22nd, 2011 at 14 hours per week. Note: successful applicants will work an increased number of hours (35 per week) in the first two weeks.

Wage: $13.50 I hour Application Deadline: Noon on Monday, March 8, 20 10 Interviews for selected candidates: March 12th, 23th, and 14th *Complet e j ob descriptions are available at wwyv.lspirg.ca

Come out to our Hiring Info Session to meet current staff, ask questions, and better understand the positions and LSPIRG. Wed. March 3rd, 2010. 6- 7 pm@ the Centre for Community Service Learning (187 Albert st., behind the WLU library)

Laurier Students' Publk: Interest Research Group •)f 10 • INTERNATIONAL The Cord • Wednesday, February 24. 2010

CRIMEA, UKRAINE DORSET, BRITAIN MOSCOW, RUSSIA LOWER MERION, U.S. World in brief Feb. 19 marked the anniversary of Bad drivers of Britain beware: a "No The Moscow Times reported that Josef The BBC reported that a school in the USSR's most generous gift - Excuses" campaign to counter driver Stalin billboards are going up in Pennsylvania is facing legal action -Compiled by Paula Millar Crimea. Soviet leader Khrushchev inattention is in effect. The New York downtown Moscow for the May 9 for spying on students via remotely officially handed over the republic Times reported that, considering Victory Day celebrations. Moscow activated webcams on laptops. It is in 1954. Ever since, pro-Russia human error is behind nearly 90 per City Hall defended the decision alleged that embarrassing images, activists have begged the question, cent of car crashes, "There's no such saying that the display will archive containing "various stages of dress "Nikita, what have you done?" thing as a dangerous road:' the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany. or undress;' were captured on film. Vacationing in the developing world

the United Nations Development In order to achieve competitive Index reported that as of 2009, pricing, the staff at resorts in va­ the GDP per capita of Canada is cation destinations is poorly paid. $38,400. According to worldsalaries.org, a While these nations are far from Mexican chambermaid can expect the poorest of the world, they re­ an average monthly income of $261 main less than prosperous by Cana­ USD for a 50-hour work week. The MARIEANDIC dian standards. receptionist who greets you upon CORD INTERNATIONAL As a result of these countries' your arrival makes a slightly larger relative poverty, vacations to these monthly salary of $355 USD based Fresh off the heels of reading week, destinations remain inexpensive. on a 51-hour work week. many Laurier students are return­ A seven-day all-inclusive stay at a You might argue that visiting ing to campus tanned and happy four-star Mexican resort was adver­ such destinations fosters economic after vacations in sunny des tina­ tised this week for only $712 before growth through support of the tour­ tions. While enjoying a sushi dinner taxes. A Cuban vacation of the same ist industry. This may be true, but recently, I overheard the conversa­ quality and length was advertised at the majority of the price ofyour va­ tion of one such student reminiscing $788 before taxes. A seven-day stay cation goes directly into the pockets about her holiday in Mexico. at a five-star hotel in Puerto Plata, of wealthy resort owners or the mul­ She made a comment along the Dominican Republic was only $497 tinational organizations who own YUSUF KIDWAI FILE PHOTO lines of "I never tipped in Mexico. before taxes. While we may cele­ resort chains. A chambermaid in To achieve competitive pricing, the wages of resort staff suffer. They should be happy; it's awesome brate the availability of such afford­ Mexico earns a yearly salary of just they get to spend all day at a resort:' able vacations, it is important that over $3,000, which is $10,000 short While I understand the draw of Republic. I only encourage travelers While I understand the desire to va­ we consider how such affordability of the Mexican GDP per capita. This affordable vacations, particularly to make informed decisions on their cation in such a destination, I think is achieved. accounts for the price of maybe among university students with choices of destination. In Cuba, for it is important that we understand These low prices include a ho- three vacations in a resort that hosts limited finances, it is important that example, a vacationer has the op­ the economic realities of the nations tel stay, flights, food and often open thousands of tourists yearly. we understand where our money tion of staying in a small, privately­ we choose to visit. bars and entertainment. A large These nations suffer from ex­ is going and who exactly benefits owned Havana hotel rather than a Popular vacation destinations, portion of the vacation price is al­ treme inequality. The poorest half of from this system. Workers at these resort complex. particularly for university students, lotted to your flight. I was unable the Dominican population accounts tropical resorts are not "lucky" to If this is not your choice, please at include Mexico, Cuba and the Do­ to find a return flight to Mexico for for just one-fifth of the GDP, while earn low wages waiting on foreign­ least remember that these workers minican Republic. These are not under $500 this March. This leaves the richest 10 per cent enjoy almost ers hand and foot. They are the vic­ are not lucky to have us giving them prosperous nations. The gross do­ your hotel stay at a few hundred dol­ 40 per cent of the GDP. Of the entire tims of a world system of inequality patronage. We are lucky to be able mestic product (GDP) per capita lars at most. Your stay requires the population, 42 per cent live below which forces them to seek low pay­ to visit such destinations and owe in Mexico is $13,200. Cuba is even hard work of many staff members, the poverty line. Very little of the ing, unskilled positions. them, at least, our appreciation for lower at $9,700. The Dominican Re­ including chambermaids, waiters, money you spend on your vacation I understand that Canadians will the hard work that they do for low public has a GDP per capita of only cooks, bartenders, custodial staff, will end up in the hands of the blue­ always vacation in destinations such wages. $8,200. To put this in perspective, receptionists and managerial staff. collar workers who made it possible. as Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican

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thecord.ca The Cord • Wednesday, February 24. 2010 • 11 FEATURE Feature Editor Shannon Busta • [email protected] Realities of a global water crisis

A few weeks ago, this features editor had the bright idea to write a story on water. "How unlike anything we've published this year;' I thought. I envisioned a unique and informative piece addressing the ways in which water functions in our body and our environment. Not only was it going to be fresh and original, it was going to be fairly straightforward. Right. To put it nicely, my research presented me with far more worry inducing information than I was at first ready to hear. So here I am, writing my adapted feature on water, having learned more than I wanted to and yet not as much as we all need to. More than anything, I learned this: The world is running out ofcleanftesh water.

Sadly, each year more children are killed as a result of con­ SHANNON BUSTA suming dirty water than by war, malaria, HIVI AIDS and traffic FEATURES EDITOR accidents combined. This is what Barlow refers to as a "twin water crisis;' one of Research is an essential part of the process involved in prepar­ both scarcity and inequity. We are rapidly depleting our global ing a feature for print. As part of my research for this feature I supply of clean water through the contamination of our fresh decided that I would wake up Monday morning and keep track water resources, in addition to overusing in the global north. of the amount of water I used in one day. Within the first hour I had flushed a toilet, washed my hands, had a 20 minute shower, Canada's water woes used countless water-based products like shampoo, body lo­ As residents of an affluent Canadian city that boasts an excel­ tion and toothpaste, washed dishes, made a cup a tea, bought a lent water and sanitation infrastructure, it can be difficult to coffee and consumed a salad. Within this first hour, I complete­ imagine the lives of those for whom water is more valuable ly gave up trying to keep track of my water consumption. than gold. A brief overview Laurier's sustainability officer Sarah English recognizes that Our usage of water Canadians live in somewhat of a bubble when it comes to ap­ of what you Maude Barlow, arguably one of the most knowledgeable indi­ predating the severity of the global water crisis. "Because we viduals on the planet when it comes to the global water crisis, are in Canada and have access to what we think are abundant need to know tells us in her book Blue Covenant that "the average human needs sources of water, it doesn't really hit home that there is a water 50 liters of water per day for drinking, cooking and sanitation:' crisis going on:' - The WorldWatch Institute has Sadly, I likely used close to 10 times that in the first hour of Canada possesses between 16 and 20 per cent of the world's declared, ·water scarcity may my day. The average shower uses roughly 15litres of water a fresh water supply, but according to Jim Greer, a biology pro­ be the most under appreciated minute, meaning I used somewhere close to 300 litres during fessor and the chair of the Laurier Institute for Water Sciences, global environmental challenge my 20-minute shower. "Only about six to seven per cent of Canada's fresh water is re­ of our time: Unfortunately my water usage does not qualifY as abnormal. newable and most of that flows north. In the south, renewable The average North American uses almost 6oo litres a day; 12 and accessible freshwater is only at approximately 2.5 per cent." - The average human needs 50 times Barlow's quoted amount. Latta also emphasized how misleading Canada's high water litres of water per day for drink­ Our gross over-usage of water is made all the more disturb­ statistics are. "We are using and abusing our water supplies in ing, cooking and sanitation. The ing when compared to the usage of those in other parts of the ways that are going to get us in trouble;' he cautioned. average North American uses al­ world. The average inhabitant of Africa uses only six liters per English was particularly concerned with the water here in most 600 litres a day. The aver­ day. Kitchener-Waterloo. "Most of our water comes from ground age inhabitant of Africa uses six water sources;' she said. "And we don't even think twice about litres per day. The realities of the global water crisis that and how our daily activities affect ground water:' One billion people around the world do not have access to safe Despite the fact that we pay little attention to the health of - More children are killed by dirty drinking water and close to two billion people now live in wa­ our ground water, currently the water in Kitchener-Waterloo water than war, malaria. HIV/AIDS ter-stressed regions of the planet. The reasons for this include is incredibly safe. English goes out of her way to be an example and traffic accidents combined. climate change, pollution and rapid population growth. for others by walking past the water cooler next to her desk at "The issue of access to water is linked to the broader problem the sustainability office and filling up from the tap. -Half of the world's hospital beds of global inequality;• Wilfrid Laurier University global studies Increasingly individuals are relying on bottled, commercial­ are occupied by people with an professor Alex Latta highlighted. ized water instead of municipal supplies. According to Barlow, easily preventable water-borne The lack of consistent sustainable economic development in 30 years ago only a small portion of the population drank bot­ disease. and the World Health Or­ the global south means that water and sanitation infrastruc­ tledwater. ganization reports that contami­ ture has not kept up with population growth and the increasing nated water is implicated in eight population shifts from rural to urban locations. Addressing the issue at home per cent of all sickness and dis­ "A lot of people do have access to water, but it is not really fit "Within the Canadian context, we can do a lot to address the ease worldwide. for consumption," Latta continued. "Ifyou do not have sanita­ water issue in our own lives by moving away from the commer­ tion infrastructure you can be surrounded by water but it won't cialization of water," Latta explained. - Receding glaciers at sea are an­ be fit to drink:' Many people are unaware of the fact that municipal water other loss of freshwater. as they systems are held to higher standards of inspection than com­ melt into saltwater and add to the mercial bottled water is. Translation: you are wasting your rising oceans. money. The commercialization of water costs the consumer un­ - Desalination technology might necessarily and contributes greatly to the amount of plastic in seem like a potential solution to r\vate our landfills. More than this, when individuals buy into com­ our global water crisis, however. mercialized water, they divert support away from public water desalination plans are highly pol­ services. luting. For every litre of water that VJater "Once you become a consumer of public water supplies, you is desalted. another litre of pollu­ need to invest yourself in the protection of those water sourc­ tion is pumped back into the sea. es;' Latta urged. oo not--=--,__.. So how do we begin investing in our most precious resource? - By 2050, after we add another A good place to start would be to attend World Water Day in­ three billion people to the popu­ formation sessions taking place on March 22, at Laurier. lation, humans will need an 80 Organizers of the event hope to highlight the research that per cent increase in water sup­ is being done at Laurier and to raise awareness about water is­ plies just to feed ourselves. No sues in the Waterloo community. one knows where this water is going to come from.

Information sourced from Maude Barlow's Blue Covenant

TRINA SCHMIDT GRAPHICS EDITOR 12 • In Depth Editor Alanna Wallace • awallace@thecord ca INDEP

Supporting survival

According to the World Health Orga­ influence copycats; others suggest Police Service (WRPS) Olaf Heinzel Association (CPA) published a state­ nization (WHO), one person world­ that to avoid sensationalism and out confirmed to The Cord that the cause ment on reporting on suicides, in­ wide dies by suicide every 40 seconds, of respect to the family, these deaths of the fire had been determined to eluding mentioning that the publish­ and despite having a high incidence, should not be labeled as suicides. be "incidental to the actions of the ing of suicides contributes to copycat particularly among those of a uni­ In recent years, some university victim:· suicides for those under the age of 24. versity age, the issue is treaded ten­ suicides have been widely publicized, The events that transpired last year The struggle that prevails is what tatively by the media and remains such as that of Nadia Kajouji, a Car­ were never publicized as a suicide, means of advocacy for positive men­ widely taboo. leton student who died last March, though speculation spread through­ tal health and addressing self-de­ "If we don't talk about [suicide J while other deaths have been shroud­ out campus regarding how the fire structive behaviour will be best for then we continue to sweep this under ed in mystery, such as that of Dave started, and students searched for an­ preventing further suicides. the carpet;' said Rory Butler, founder Laforest in last year's fire in Laurier's swers that were stifled by a criminal "[Suicide] is the second-leading and CEO of Your Life Counts, an on­ Waterloo College Hall residence. investigation into the events. cause of death among our youth next line resource for individuals suffering The fire, which broke out in Lafor­ Often, it is the result of a family's to traffic accidents and yet very few from self-destructive behaviour. est's room on April14, 2009, caused wishes that suicides remain unpub­ people in the country actually know However, creating dialogue about over one million dollars in damages licized, and it is widely assumed that about it;' said Butler. suicide has become a difficult task. and left approximately 320 Laurier media will not report such events if Here at Laurier, when suicide is re­ especially for the media, which rare­ students in hotel rooms during final they are not approved by the family of ported or even speculated on, dean of ly explores the issue. Some believe exams. On Jan.lJ, public affairs co­ the victim. students David McMurray said, "It's that publication of details of suicide coordinator for the Waterloo Regional The Canadian Psychiatric the absolute worst thing that could ever happen - to lose a student:' However, with the tight-knit at­ mosphere of the Laurier community, there are many avenues for individu­ als experiencing self-destructive thoughts or behaviour, some of which remain underutilized by the student population. There are also prevailing sentiments that suicide remain ta­ boo in an effort to respect those deal­ ing with such issues, whether past or present. High incidence at umvers·t•es The pressure put on universi­ ty students has been one of the reasons for speculation around the creation of Read­ ing Week. Rumours have swirled for years that Trent University has two read­ ing weeks as a result of an alleged high suicide rate among students. This is a misconception, as Trent's extra reading week in their schedule is meant to mirror that of Oxford University. When two Laurier students died by suicide within a month of each other in 2000, McMurray said there was prolonged discussion among The Cord • Wednesday, February 24. 2010 • 13

In Depth Editor Alanna Wallace explores the sensitivity of suicide on university campuses, highlighting Laurier's history of tragedy and resilient community

======student senators regarding institut­ when it comes to their neighbours. to students who may need help. graduation. ing a fall semester reading week at "If there is a student that isn't cop­ "It's really important to know that "The student was about to commit Laurier. ing and you're aware that that indi­ there are people out there that can suicide that evening;' said Walker. It's the absolute worst "Ultimately it was students just vidual isn't coping well, then it just help and that suicide prevention is a The letter said that as a direct result didn't feel they wanted to lose sum­ may be that that person can't reach very serious thing;' said Newton. to the time and concern paid by a don thing that could ever mer work time by starting earlier;' out for help themselves;' said Butler. "If people are aware of it they can who took the student out to lunch that explained McMurray, "And they "I think we've got to look out for help others, and it makes people's same day, their life was saved. happen - to lose a definitely did not want to shorten one another. lives that little bit easier if they know Along with dons being an integral 0-Week:' "There can be so many demands they're not alone:' component in the support of strug­ student:' The debunking of what is suppos­ upon our time;' said Butler, speaking gling students, Walker advocates for edly a Reading Week myth doesn't specifically about university students' The role of residence life Counselling Services as an important stop speculation, especially since the busy schedules. When peers aren't able to look out for component in fostering positive men­ trend of university suicides is nothing "We can be concerned about our one another, for first-year students tal health of students. new to many universities, including fellow but we may be too busy to look it's often dons who must take up the "I would argue that Counselling - Dean ofstudents David McMurray Laurier. in on them. I think it's a matter of responsibility. Services might be one of the best re­ Over the past 10 years, there have making the time:' The Cord reported in October of sources on our campus;' said Walker. been four student suicides report- The Laurier campus has numerous 2002 that the suicide of first-year stu­ "A lot of students don't know that ed as such by The Cord and an even outlets of support for students, many dent Julie Robbins had led to the ar­ that's an incredible resource where if greater number of deaths that have of which are paid for through student rangement of a training session for suicide happens around you and you lacked concrete explanation. Butler fees and are underutilized by many residence life staff that would deal don't know how to cope with it, you explained that often the circumstanc­ students. with mental health to "help the resi­ could still go to them:' last 10 years regarding the "array of es that are inherent in university life McMurray explained that Coun­ dence dons recognize the signs of mental health issues that students are can lead to a feeling ofbeing over­ selling Services is visited by approxi­ stress, depression and other mental The mpact on campus struggling with. whelmed on the part of students. mately 28 per cent of first-years and disorders:' Along with the changes to support "[The coverage in The Cord] cre­ "For a student who is just feeling over 30 per cent of second-years, Kyle Walker, who has been a Lau­ services including don training on ated an incredible level of campus that they just can't take it any more, demonstrating that some Laurier stu­ rier don for the past three years ex­ campus, McMurray, who has been at awareness several years ago;' said there can be this kind of knee-jerk re­ dents are utilizing the services avail­ plained that don training, taken over Laurier since 1999, explained that the McMurray. action that can lead them to take their able for them to ensure better mental 10 long days, provides dons with the mood on campus alters drastically He recalled when he stocked his life;· said Butler. health. knowledge to help their incoming when students lose a peer to suicide. car's trunk full of Cords to be given Statistics Canada reported in 2005 After the suicide of a student in first-year students. "When a tragedy does hit, you feel out at the funeral for Larsen in 2000, that suicides among those aged 15 to the middle of the night, McMurray "(Residence life] anticipates stu­ it," said McMurray. "There's a definite as the front cover displayed a con­ 24 has increased by 29 deaths since said there was a belief in the need for dent issues, they anticipate the times hush and you could feel the grief, you tribution by Larsen's floormates ex­ the previous year, with suicide be­ round-the-clock awareness. He add­ of year these issues are going to could feel the tension, you could feel plaining his death and remembering ing responsible for 24 per cent of all ed that some of the extended services come up;' said Walker. "Laurier is re­ the uncertainty ... there were a lot of him in life. deaths among those aged 15 to 24. offered have been created in response ally committed and proactively cre­ students who were absolutely fright­ "It was topic of conversation McMurray echoes these senti­ to past tragedies, including the on­ ates solutions as opposed to ... being ened by this:' amongst students, so it brought out ments, explaining "the Net Gen de­ line services offered by Counselling reactive:' Two suicides were reported as front some of those mental health issues mographic puts so much pressure on Services. Walker said that in his three years page news in the year 2000, and both that are not always front and centre;' itself. For some, this 24-hour aware­ of training he has never felt underpre­ stories were contributed pieces writ­ said McMurray. The millennial students character­ ness must start with each individual pared for his role as a support system ten by close friends of the deceased. istically are high achievers, goal set­ looking out for their peers, particu­ for his students. The Cord received heavy criticism ters, very connected all the time, pos­ larly in a university setting like Lau­ Newton also expressed her positive for breaking many of the guidelines sess strong communication skills, but rier, which is often characterized by a feelings towards the support of her set out for the media when reporting Resources on also put very high expectations and strong sense of community. don, who she said "is so helpful:' on suicides, including not reporting pressure [on themselves] :• First-year English student and "She's always willing to talk to any­ suicides on the front page. campus Cambridge resident Ashley Newton body about anything:' However, The Cord felt that the Chaplain's Office ,, has struggled with issues of suicide In preparation for the difficult coverage of Chris Larsen and Scott Counselling Services Butler said that despite their busy herself, and joined a suicide preven­ task of overcoming issues like sui­ Whitehead's deaths were in the best Office for Student Diversity schedule everyone, including univer­ tion group in her grade 11 year of high cide, Walker explained that residence interest for advocacy and promoting PEER Help Line sity students, needs to be more atten­ school. With experience on the issue, life has previously told incomming discussion. Rainbow Centre tive to each other's mood and person­ she applauds Laurier's efforts to make dons of a past don who received a let­ McMurray recalled how awareness Secu ri ty Services Department ality changes, and more perceptive services like PEER Help Line visible ter from a student years after their has increased exponentially over the Women's Centre

The media and suicide Guidelines have been proposed by numerous agen­ ing on a subject normally ignored by the media. Aside cies. including the Canadian Press. which outline that from publishing what is important for public knowl­ news sources should respect the wishes of the family edge. the media has an important role in creating of the victim when reporting on causes of death like awareness for suicide prevention. suicide or diseases such as AIDS. "Apart from wanting to respectfully and properly However. the guidebook proposes that if the case set the story straight. our next biggest concern was includes someone in public life. "The right to privacy in definitely shedding light on some of those issues [of such matters can be outweighed by the public's right awareness)." explained Godmere. to know." The reporting of deaths remains at the discretion The CPA guidelines include not reporting on the of the media outlet. and often one incident is covered details of the method used for suicide and frown upon in a number of manners by various publications. the use of the word ·suicide" in a headline. They de­ The Fulcrum referred to the death of Gariepy nounce the admiration of the deceased and front­ as ·an incident." though it was heavily implied that he page coverage. among other guidelines. Butler. how­ died by suicide; other media outlets such as CBC ex­ ever. Sf)eaking about how media reports on suicide. plained the student "jumped to his death." believes that "there needs to be some sort of sensitiv­ The Cord's history of reporting on suicides has ity as to how this is all handled." often been heavily criticized. For current editor-in-chief of the student news­ In 2000. after two front-page contributions re­ paper the Fulcrum Emma Godmere. it is the Sept. 12 garding two Laurier students who had d1ed by suicide. death of Michel Gariepy. a University of Ottawa stu­ The Cord received numerous complaints about the dent who jumped out of his res1dence window. that coverage. prompting the editor-in-chief at the time. resonates with her as an important lesson in reporting Asad Kiyani. to write a signed letter to the Lau rier com­ on suicide on a university campus. munity. "What it ultimately came down to was informing Kiyani expressed the difficulty in balancing cover­ the students." explained Godmere. about how they age on student suicides and justified why discussion covered Gariepy's death. "It was clear that there were regarding suicide at La urier is vital to the health of the a lot of students on campus at that time who did wit­ tight-knit campus. Such a private act in such a public ness it and had questions themselves." forum often results in Laurier students expecting clo­ Private acts of suicide are not generally reported sure and answers. on. unless the popularity of the individual makes the "Every person at Laurier is vital. in some funda­ story an important one for a certain demographic. mental way, to how this school functions as a whole." However. with more public incidences of suicide. he wrote. "The loss of any individual. no matter if we Godmere explained that there is an interest in report- knew them personally or not. adversely affects us: ~------·------~------~-~------~~~--~------~~ ~------

14 • The Co rd • Wednesday. February 24. 2010 ARTS Arts Editor Rebecca Vasluianu • [email protected] K-OS hypnotizes Starlight The songwriter and rapper put on performances for an eager crowd last Tuesday and Wednesday

K- OS cut the set quite short, ending SAM RICHES the show just after midnight. CORD ARTS The transient nature of the show did not seem to disappoint however, I've been drinking y'all:' hen K-OS took Star­ as the crowd remained engaged and '' light's stage on Feb. 17 continued to dance the night away - K-OS, apologizing fora for the second night in long after the set ended. mistake during his show Wa row, the rather timid While it was obvious K-OS was crowd was quickly transformed as well beyond the point of sobriety, he he filled the club with the energy of was able to maintain his focus and his performance. keep the show entertaining. On Wednesday day night, K-OS Throughout his career K- OS has It is well documented in the K- OS was able to hold a balance and dis­ displayed an affinity towards fol­ fan community that at times his play his abilities. lowing his own path. shows are an incredible experience He made only a few mistakes and His individualism, combined with and at others his talent can be lost in at one point quietly admitted, "I've an eclectic musical focus, has re­ the bottom of the bottle. been drinking ya'll". sulted in an artist capable of putting on a musically ambiguous and cap­ tivating performance. K-OS carries an intimate rela­ tionship with his songs, staying closely involved from the point of creation into the final details of pro­ duction and distribution. He strays from the contempo­ rary and popular trends in hip-hop, focusing on his own musical val­ ues and often incorporating sounds from a wide variety of musical genres. His performance on Wednes­ day highlighted several examples of this, one notable occurrence being "Stairway to Heaven Only Knows" -a refined blend ofK-OS' "Heaven Only Knows" and Led Zeppelin's classic, "Stairway to Heaven:' He kept the crowd involved while performing fan favourites such as "Crabbuckit" and "Sunday Morn­ ing", often interjecting the set with rock interludes. NICK LACHANCE PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER Perhaps the cost of expelling so Toronto-based artist K-OS put on a eclectic, passionate show. much energy into his performance, NICK LACHANCE PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER

... ,·_ In rev;~ew: _ February romances . Arts bites • ' - ( • • ~:. ~: • ~ ~ <" ~. " ~ • ~~: ~·_'!:: ~

DearJohn after an incident with her bag. Despite the lure of a huge all-star The latest in entertainment news Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom Throughout the movie, Savan­ cast, the involvement of produc­ Starring: Channing Tatum and nah's devotion to those with autism ers from He's Just Not That Into You Lil WaYD:e avoids prison L![FAOrapperfighb Amanda Seyfried becomes apparent, especially when and the director ofPretty Women, (for now) with poor dental politician on plane Release date: Feb. s. 2010 an impulsive decision on her part Valentine's Day is medley of bad sto­ hygiene Skyler "Sky Blu" Gordy, one half has John extending his tour for sev­ rylines. There are three principle Lil Wayne had his one-year prison of"electro-hop" group LMFAO, ***an ut tur lJl,f e fli d eralyears. reasons why. sentence postponed as a result of claimed to have punched potential After many struggles and the Firstly, the writer Katherine Fu­ emergency dental surgery. 2012 U.S. republican presidential loss of people close to both John gate (who also directed 2004's The rapper, who was supposed to candidate Mitt Romney during an and Savannah, the two lovers find Prince 8-Me) has resorted to all the serve his sentence starting Feb. 9, altercation on a flight from Vancou­ their paths crossing once again. predictable romantic narratives received eight root canals and had ver to Los Angeles last week. Dear John has many surprising of movies past. Whatever attempt his $150, ooo diamond-encrusted According to Gordy, he was "con­ moments and it is a decent story. there is at originality and making "grills" fixed up during an eight hour dor gripped" by Romney after re­ However, the ending leaves the film and its characters cute be­ procedure last week. clining his seat into the former much to desire, as comments from comes unrealistic and annoying. Wayne was sentenced to jail on governor of Massachusetts. Here­ the audience strongly suggested. Bad acting is the second reason, weapons charges last year stemming sponded with a punch to the face. -DeannaSim which seems to be a result of Fu­ from being caught with a loaded pis­ Romney didn't not retaliate but gate's disappointing script. The tolin 2007. did not laugh his ass off either. Valentine's Day Hollywood cast is incredible and all Felons everywhere have stopped -Mike Lakusiak Directed by: Garry Marshall the actors do know how to act, but brushing their teeth in hopes of Starring: Ashton Kutcher and all of there are simply too many cringe­ avoiding payment of their debt to Hollywood inducing moments. society. Candy consumption among Release date: Feb. 12, 2010 While Jessica Biel, Jamie Fox:x gun-toting rappers has also in­ Sean Penn charged with bat­ and Jessica Alba are especially un­ creased substantially. tery for kicking paparazzi appealing, Anne Hathaway, To­ -Mike Lakusiak Two-time Academy Award- winner *..... ~~.t~ol ~-- Dear John is able to captivate the _ .. c~o, ...... ,.. pher Grace and Jennifer Garner are Sean Penn was charged on Friday attention of all age groups. After Valentine's Day somewhat charming. with misdemeanour battery and sitting in a theatre with everyone The last reason is also the sell­ vandalism resulting from an in­ from giddy middle school girls to ing point of the film: multiple plot­ cident in October when he kicked seniors, I realized that this movie is lines. With so many stories and so a photographer several times and more than just a spectacle for those many actors to cater to, the actual broke his camera. Channing Tatum obsessed fans to narratives are cut too short. Penn faces up to 18 months in my right. There is not enough time to de­ prison if convicted. He spent 6o From the woman who direct­ velop the characters' personalities days in jail for punching a photogra­ ed Chocolat, the movie itself was 2.12.10 and to allow the audience to care pher in 1987 while already on pro­ about two youngsters who fall in about them and their troubles. bation for beating up a musician love over the span of two weeks. While Love Actually had charm who attempted to make out with his The main character, John Tyree, is and He's Just Not That Into You had then-wife Madonna. a soldier on leave from the United substance, this film just has a sub­ Penn is set to go before a court in States army. standard script and the hope that a March, which will determine ifhe Savannah, a student on spring big cast will make up for it. will be going up the Mystic River for a break, encounters John at the beach - Elise Cotter year and a hal£ - Mike Lakusiak The Cord • Wednesday, February 24, 2010 ARTS • 15

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."- Designer Coco Chanel Finding your fashion Exploring the diverse styles found on campus and why students adopt them

Axe you thinking when reaching for ', your vintage vest or 1NA hoodie first thing in the morning? ' Now, this isn't to say that brand names are necessarily bad, or that vintage is necessarily better - currently, hipster­ .... inspired fashion is in full force as attrib­ ANNE T. DONAHUE• uted by the deluge offashionkids infil­ POP WITHOUT THE CULTURE trating Queen West - but when choosing the $100 sweatshirt over the $20 alterna­ tive, is there a reason? And if so, what is ooking around the sea of jogging it? pants, athletic wear and other It's hard to believe we're all die­ "student-uniform" ensembles, hard yoga aficionados or truly be­ Lyou're bound to see something lieve in American Apparel's "Free L.A:' that's come to define our demographic: campaign. labels. It seems more likely that some of us This is not meant in the capacity of have bought into the mottos middle­ "jock", "hipster", "skater" or any other aged men in suits have orchestrated in subculture (though I'm sure you see their Madison Avenue high rises. Re­ much of those as well), but in the way of gardless, the seeds of self-reflection need name brands, logos and trademarks. to be planted: what are we really trying to We support them, we "love" them, we say? shell out hundreds of dollars - but do we And it's important to stress that our know why? We have all been attracted to vintage-wearing, non-label commit­ something based on what it represents or ting personalities are not to remain who we've seen wearing it. unscathed. Even the most independent and free­ As thrift finds and indie brands be­ spirited thinkers have found themselves come more prevalent, they've undoubt­ dabbling in label-speak, gravitating to­ edly aligned themselves with a specific ward various companies as a result of "scene", leaving the question: is it the their spokespeople, or even a person in clothes we're drawn to or the status they passing to whom you've given mental bring? kudos. Or does vintage continue to be an ex­ But to be inspired is one thing, and to tension of art, with various pieces work­ be a sheep is another. Aie we wearing ing to build a tapestry of originality? what we wear because it's "cool"? Or are It looks like there are more questions we wearing what we wear because it's an to ponder when waking up for that early extension of our being? class. Regardless of how we justifY it, Aie we yoga pants and headbands be­ fashion is an extension of ourselves, and cause that's who we relate to, or are we it speaks volumes about who we are. skinny jeans and high tops because that's Don't deny it- even those who opt what's in? for comfort over style are still saying It's easy for us to roll our eyes at such something. sentiments and declare, "Whatever - But the important thing is that instead I wear what I want," but is that still a of simply embracing a logo, a brand or phrase that's entirely relevant? Axe we a lack thereof, we question why we're actually wearing what we want or are embracing it and why it's so impor- we wearing what companies tell us we tant to align ourselves with a specific want? subculture. Sure, we can claim to be free think­ And ifyou can get dressed, go out and ers (and most of us are), hutto be inde­ truly defend your choices - whether it's pendent is to question, and ifyou can't your UGG boots, your DC sweater or Val­ defend your decision to wear Lululemon ue Village granny blouse - flaunt them over Guess, perhaps our decisions and with pride, nod in agreement with this FILE PHOTOS investments need to be re-evaluated. article and continue keeping it real. SYD NEY HELLAND FROM FILE [un]conference

Mon. Feb. 22: International Day-- Learn and celebrate the diversity "Laurier's Learning Experience" and multiculturalism on campus, including language skills and cuisine! Tues. Feb. 23: Carnival Day-- Face painting, hackey sack, you name it! A week to promote skill/resource sharing, collarboration and Wed. Feb. 24: Sports Day-- Mixed martial arts to dance to yoga the diversity of learning through scheduled and impromptu and topics on nutrition and health too! workshops based on a variety of themes. Thurs. Feb. "25: LEARNing for you day-- anything and everything you want to LEARN or share-- guitar, team-building activities, and more! F~t.. ZZJtd·ZSth from 10am-3pm @ the CONCOURSE F~t.. ZGth from 4pm-7pm @ PAUL MARTIN CENTRE Fri. Feb. 26: Community LEARNing for you day-- a networking oppourtunity to interact with the greater Waterloo community. 16 • ARTS The Cord • Wednesday February 24. 2010

Upcoming events Musician Harry Manx Oscar short films Hive by Janet Morton Opera: A Little Night Music Musician Jay Malinowski Princess Cinema Princess Cinema Robert Langen Art Gallery Launer Theatre Auditorium The Starlight Feb.24 Feb. 24- 25 Feb. 24 - April 3 Feb. 26-28 Mar. 9 The battle is over Funk in the Oven was chosen as the Last Band Standing

Vukovich's charismatic personality in general that he thinks it's "in a LAURA SEDGWICK captivated the crowd and promoted transitionary period:' STAFF WRITER audience interaction. "I haven't really liked the stuff Though the band's eccentric yet that's been going on for the past 10 fter a year-long battle of professional demeanor set them years but more recently I've been the bands, beginning on apart in more ways than one, judge hearing some good stuff happen­ Oct. 30, musicians Funk in Payne was particularly impressed ing;' he said. "Hopefully that will the Oven were announced with their genuine musicality and transition into something even Aas the victors. composition. better:' A-Team's annual Last Band "Any band can throw down a solid Though obviously happy that Standing (LBS) came to a close on groove;' commented Payne. their band came out on top, Funk Thursday, Feb. 4· "But these guys could really put it in the Oven's members were The competition's champions together. They were tight as hell, and also impressed with the other were announced after beating out 11 funk musicisn't easy to play. There performances. other bands, including two prelimi­ are a lot of intricacies and different "We genuinely enjoyed them all;' nary winners, The Dirty Nil and In­ chord structures that go into it:' said Vukovich. "And Third District signia, and wildcard Third District. Payne lauded Funk in the Oven's [the final band of the night who also Along with the title of being the saxophonist, David Vukovich - the had performed with Funk during the "Last Band Standing", Funk in the lead vocalist's brother- explain­ preliminaries] has really improved Oven received $1,000 and an op­ ing that he was a large part of their since the last time we saw them;• portunity to perform alongside charm. added Kim Manning, Funk's key­ last year's LBS champion, Sound "He doubled on instruments; he boardist and vocalist. Foundation. played baritone and tenor and knew The second band to perform "There was tight competition;' how to do both. He's only been play­ was Insignia. Their melodic ap­ said judge and Sound Foundation ing for two years and is already at proach was a nice contrast to Funk's saxophonist, Nate Payne, after the the stage he is at which is pretty buoyancy. show. "It wasn't like Funk in the impressive:' Their style, which was borderline Oven was just miles above the rest, Sharing a taste of their unique hardcore-grunge, provoked a brief but it was pretty clear who the win­ flare, vocalist Mike Vukovich meta­ mini mosh-pit. ner should be:' phorically interpreted Funk in the Next to hit the stage was The Funk in the Oven was the first Oven's music as being like "a baby Dirty Nil. Payne noted after the band to hit the stage that night, fill­ otter vibrating from leaning against show that he was impressed with ing Wilf' s with their feel-good, high­ a subwoofer" and their physical their "early punk feel:' energy tunes. style "like looking through a kalei­ The night's victors Funk in the YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER Their creativity and originality doscope with beer goggles:' Oven will perform with Sound Lead vocalist Mike Vukovich and his band Funk in the Oven stole was dazzling and their set flowed When speaking with The Cord af­ Foundation at Wilf's on Monday, t he show on Thursday, Feb. 4 at Wilt's with their unique style. flawlessly. Lead vocalist Mike ter the show, Vukovich said of music March8.

IAlE NIGHT IJ~ Thursday, Friday or Saturday night!

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Follow @cordarts on twitter for updates on music, film, art, fashion and beyond. OXFORD SEMINARS 1-800-269-6719/ 416-924-3240 www .oxfordseminars.ca The Cord • Wednesday February 24, 2010 • 17 CLASSIFIEDS Advertising Manager Angela Foster • [email protected]

Housing solution, tips and computer suldolku 3 BEDROOM apartment for rent­ programs at www.sudoku.com 0 Puzzles by Pappocom OlympiCSUPDATES close to university - Available Sep­ A collection ofsome ofthe most hilarious colinlefevre tember 2010 - Call 905 509-3282 3 4 9 5 Facebook and Twitter updates seen since RT @D_Hock: RT @mat1:4J.6 Be­ or e-mail [email protected] 1- -- the Olympics have started. To submit your ing a Leafs fan prepares you for this favourites, [email protected]. kind of disappointment. #goCanada 4 5 2 the cord.ca will be updated with reader Hoffaco Property Management 1- __, submissions daily and the best will be saadaslam RT @katieeperry: i'm presents a new release of student printed in next week's paper. starting to think the#olympics is rental properties located close to 8 7 really about america beating other WLU. CLEAN, new or upgraded I I Matt Peters Pierre McGuire says countries at sports we don't even DETACHED houses. townhouses. and I quote "I have never seen the like that much. apartments and true loft spaces 1 9 4 ! Germans this aggressive"...... rentals avai lable on many nearby ·- +-- honestly!?!? David Hufnagel going for a RUN. streets including Ezra, Marshall, I wish watching the Olympics was Hazel. and Lester. Rentals to suit 2 7 Ledger_Yankees I mean, what more enough to get in shape : ( all group sizes from 1 to 13. Many 1- -- can happen to Canada at this point? start dates available. Please e­ Alex Trebek gets hit by a truck? laurenleto We have to let Canada m ai l [email protected] 5 3 6 Maple trees go extinct? Celine Dion win, guys. If we don't, they'll have puts out an album? nothing left to be proud o£ SUMMER SUBLET: May - August 2 I 6 Kevin Campbell has never hated reggie_bush Not gonnna lie there 2010. 4 bedroom sublet at 33 -· 1-- Corey Perry more than he does right aren't a whole lot of black people in Ezra. New, furn ished apartment ·------now. And he was a London Knight. Vancouver! I think I saw a total of 6 w ith w asher/ dryer, dishwasher 6 3 4 Babcock, sit Brodeur and Perry and me and my boy were 2 of them! and air conditioning. Available next time and save Canada some Lol!! May 1 -August 31. 2010. Price ne­ 7 anyeurisms. gotiable. Call Sa rah at (519) 616- 3 4 I Ia DarrenDreger When asked about 3268 if interested. Kory Preston Dear Korea, thank Brodeur's play tonight, Babcock said you for heeding my warning and "we would have liked to be better in Photo contest promptly allowing Canada to pass that area" DOUG IS you (be it actually a tie but Canada We want to see pictures o f your is listed first alphabetically) in the tomflem Do you think we can get adventures from Reading Week. TURNING medal standings. Your coopera­ #Harper to #proroguethe #Olym­ The deadline for su bmissions is tion has not gone unnoticed. On pics now to avoid embarrassment? February 26 at 4 p.m. Send your 50! the otherhand, Norway stop being He's done it before ... #cdnpoli submissions to photo graphy@ clowns. Put on real pants and stop #vancouver2 010 thecord.ca winning medals. I have had enough Happy 50th ofyour garbage. Patricia Eyolfson Dear life: Please Correction birthday Doug go on hold while I watch the olym­ ArdenAtGazette I don't want to live pies. Thank you, kindly. Patricia The dates for collection of the from everyone in a country where the ice dancers 2010 Keystone yearbook in the are better than the hockey players. audiotaco they should hire some­ WLU 'er dayplanner are incorrect. at Distribution one to write a musical score fo r the The books will be available in Services gastonreport olympics- using the pirates theme the Concourse on March 23. 24 SCCCCCCCOOOOORRRRRREEEE song is not ok. is john williams and 25 between 10 am-4pm. We EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! available apologise for any inconvenience.

DearLIFE t:H__ ON-CAMPUS Dear Life is your opportunity to write a feelings too. Sometimes your "thank Dear Life, letter to your life, allowing you to vent yo us" kinda sound like go#*!@ Why is it that people insist on wear­ (j\.Jl CHIROPRACTOR your anger with life's little.frustrations in yourself; we do our best to wrap ing sweatpants out of the house? I a completely publicforum. properly and sometimes can't help understand that some may think I ' ,...- ~~~ Covered by WLU Health Plan All submissions to Dear Life are anon­ if the pitas fall apart. Oh, sorry for am strange for being a little stylish, ymous, should be no longer than 100 filling up the pita so you don't get but is that really so bad? Jeans and a words and must be addressed to your lifo. ripped off; mommy's OneCard sweater aren't uncomfortable. HEALTH SERVICES Submissions can be sent to dearlife@ money is sure going a long way. And Sincerely, 884-0710 Ext. 3146 thecord.ca no later than Monday at noon ifyou ask for a whole wheat pita I Actually Take Pride in the Way I each week. with a chicken/steak stir fry.... Good Dress luck. Dear, Life, Sincerely, Dear Life, To the "Guy Who Does Not Like Big­ Buy a Salad I find that, lately, most of the Dear ots", how do you "do some research" Lifes are pretentious, holier-than­ on whether someone is a homo­ Dear Life, thou jerks who need to get off their phobe? I'm just curious ... .! googled Why is it that some students believe high horses and realize they're in it and came up with nothing? that the computer lab in the Con­ the real world. And yes, I realize I'm Sincerely, course is a space for a grpup meet­ using Dear Life to say this, but I'm How Do You Research a ing? Moreover, do they honestly assuming the people who write to Homophobe? feel that everyone enjoys being dis­ Dear Life read it, and so will hope­ tracted by their debate to do a pow­ fully hear my message. Dear Life, erpoint presentation or not? Sincerely, Why does everyone at this school Sincerely, No, You're the Pompous Jackass hate the Pita Shack? We have Book a Room in the Library 18 • The Cord • Wednesday February 24. 2010 EDITORIAL Editor-i n-Chief Laura Carlson • lcarlson@thecord ca

VANOC not tarnished

Media across the world have coined the 2010 Vancouver Olympics as one of the worst Olympics in history. The Times ofLondon went so far as to print a headline that read "The Wreckage of a Tarnished Games:· As Canadians, we have a right to defend ourselves and, in particular, the fact that our Olympics are ex­ tremely successful when you look at them in context of other Games. It's true that Vancouver has been experiencing abnor­ mally high temperatures, which the media have blamed on a lack of organization; weather has also been a hin­ drance to certain outdoor events. However, given the circumstances, event organizers have done an excellent job dealing with what they have been handed. Officials are ensuring that the athletes compete in the best conditions possible by shipping in truckloads of snow from northern Vancouver or delay­ ing events for a few days. The media seem to have forgotten previous Olympics that have had much more severe problems than any­ thing seen in Vancouver. There was the organizational disaster and commer­ cial greed, as well as the pipe bomb which killed two people and injured 111 others during the 1996 Atlanta games, the 1976 games in Montreal that bankrupted the entire city, not to mention the fact that Hitler used the 1936 Olympics as Nazi propaganda. Furthermore, the 1972 summer Olympics in Munich saw members of the Israeli team captured by terrorists, resulting in Black September where 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed. The media needs to take a step back and look at the bigger picture when reporting on the Vancouver Olympics. Organizers of the Vancouver games have worked tire­ lessly to ensure that they run smoothly; when trying to put on an event of this stature, there are always going to be glitches. The fact remains that overall, the 2010 games have proven to be a success for both the athletes as well as the fans, and the world has not seen a more passionate group of supporters cheering the athletes to victory. -The Cord Editorial Board

MAYA UEMURA CORD GRAPHICS Laurier must uphold its small-scale status Ifyou want to be successful, you get some form of post­ Young Canadians ignore real issues secondary education - we live in a society where this really isn't a question. We're brought up to believe that that's just the way things work, and it's different today While students dedicate time to entertainment, the same than it was 25 or 50 years ago. commitment is absent when it comes to the news With the increasing necessity of post-secondary education in the workforce, Laurier has seen a rapid ex­ pansion in enrolment in the past few years. The most recent has resulted in to stop changing their design layout Laurier- which is now a medium-sized school- is anti-proroguing movements on­ through the group "CHANGE FACE­ stuck with the reputation of being a small campus, and line and rallies across the country, BOOK BACK TO NORMAL!!" students who enrol here expect that Laurier will provide receiving ample amounts of me­ A quick skim over the members the sort of individual attention and closeness that other dia attention. Despite all the public list reveals a multitude of young universities lack. discussion, there are still students people in their teens and early 20s At large schools, such as the University of Toronto, who can't even vaguely explain working together towards a com­ it's not unusual to have first-year classes made up of LINDA GIVETASH prorogation. pletely trivial goal. 500 students, which is why students from other schools LOCAL AN D NATIONAL The lack of political engagement That voice advocating for changes may laugh at you when you complain about your "big" among our age cohort was clear at online also participates in the realm lecture of 100 people at Laurier. Despite all the information young the anti -prorogation rally in late of reality, taking part in what is aired Although Laurier is experiencing constraints, it is not people are exposed to today through January held in Waterloo, where on television. the only school experiencing financial distress. Despite television, the Internet and Smart­ barely a third of the crowd of over Over 33 million votes were cast this, the bottom line is that Laurier has their small­ phones, we still seem to hold a level 500 people were students. during the course of the sixth season school status to uphold - there is no substitute for a of disengagement and overall igno­ Members of the Young Liberals of Canadian Idol, giving Alberta's small class size and a professor who knows your name rance of current events. and Campus Greens were involved; Theo Tams the top spot. and marks your essay themselves. That's not to say we're completely however, in a city with two universi­ Recognizing that these are the real Laurier, and the entire post-secondary system, needs disengaged from important issues. ties and a college, the crowd should concerns of our generation, it is no to re-evaluate what they are providing students. Uni­ Looking close to home, each year have been predominantly made up surprise that students can be over­ versity should be a place to learn, to get a quality edu­ we manage to somehow surpass of young faces. heard saying, "What's the election cation, to work hard and to get a valuable degree upon quorum for the Wilfrid Laurier Uni­ Furthermore, the winter Olym­ for?" On the day of the WLUSU An­ graduation. versity Students' Union elections. pics this month has managed to nual General Meeting, or the a quiz­ But at the rate universities are growing, it seems that -This year an astounding 20 per captivate millions ofyoung Ca­ zicallook on their faces when con­ an undergraduate degree is simply a bunch of mass­ cent of our student body were not nadians, making it nearly impos­ fronted with the term prorogue. scale, impersonal lecture halls where you only need to only aware that the election was oc­ sible for people to be unaware of Our world is more transparent · pay attention to the right things in order to check the curring, but also chose to take part death of the Georgian luger No dar than ever, with technology and mass right boxes on that Scantron card. in the voting. Kumaritashvili. media spreading information on -The Cord Editorial Board But that's only 2,6oo students Yet beyond being the homeland of current events instantly. - down from the previous year's the deceased athlete, the former So­ Young people, especially those turnout of 2 ,Boo students - who viet nation remains undiscussed by of us fortunate enough to receive recognized the importance of the Canadian youth. Few seem knowl­ a post-secondary education and This unsigned editorial is based offinformal discussions and democratic practices of our union edgeable about Georgia's continu­ therefore learn to look at the world then agreed upon by the majority ofThe Cord's editorial board, and care to have a voice in who gov­ ous conflict with Russia, including critically, have the opportunity not which consists of14 senior Cord staff including the Editor-in­ erns it. the 2008 war that erupted in the only to be informed but to make Chief and Opinion Editor. The arguments made may reference Given our disregard for our own state of South Ossetia which dis­ change. any facts that ha:ve been made available through interviews, campus politics, which we all direct­ placed tens of thousands of people. There are countless mediums to documents or other sources. The views presented do not neces­ ly pay for in up to $55.60 in union Although the vast majority of stu­ have your voice heard and to influ­ sarily reflect those ofThe Cord's volunteers, staffor WLUSP. dues each semester, it is no surprise dents appear to be disengaged with ence the course of history. that students remain ignorant to our politics and international affairs, However, for too many of us, it nation's politics as well. perhaps it is because our interests seems that our influence is cen­ The Cord is published by Our federal government has pro­ are attached to other issues. tred on who will be the next Cana­ Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications. Contact Bryn Ossington, WLUSP President and CEO rogued parliament twice since the To date there are over two mil­ dian Idol rather than the next prime 75 University Ave.W, Waterloo ON N2L 3C5 last election. lion people advocating for Face book minister. The Cord • Wednesday February 24. 2010 • 19 THE FORUM Opmion Editor Kimberly Elworthy • [email protected] Letters to the Editor Laurier Chaplain has Office is an affront to separation of by-product of malcontents who Harper p~lls out of HIV Pu~ose of qoard chair become obsolete church and state. have an axe to grind with the capi- partnershtp un er quest1on Re: Have a subversive Sabbath, Feb. 10 You need only read his article to talist system, it is deeply rooted in Re: Hocking elected board chair, posted on see that he represents one and only the blatant human rights violations The "Friday strategy" of evading thecord.ca Feb.11 As we progress into the 2010s I still one religion, that of Christianity. and environmental damage created fallout by burying bad news ahead of wonder why we have a chaplain here His high appraisals of the Judeo- by this event. the weekend is perhaps the longest- The position of chair needs to be at Laurier. Christian tradition and claims that Such issues should not be ignored standing PR strategy in Ottawa. one that can go to the president's of- Brian Bork speaks of his child- the Sabbath was written into ere- but revealed to the world as the true Accordingly, as Canadians left fice, to go to a VP's office and smash hood Sundays as being quiet and ation and the cosmos serve only cost of the Olympic phenomena. work Friday to watch Montgomery's their door down. peaceful. to alienate those of different reli- Hypocritically, despite the claims thrilling gold-medal skeleton per- -LukeDotto But he is painfully unaware of gious backgrounds or no religious to the contrary, the Editorial Board formance, it was quietly announced the fact that back in those times the background. does exactly that- brushes over the that Canada was pulling out of a Really Luke? I completely disagree. Lord's Day Act prohibited business- In a time when budgets are tight- multi-billion dollar debt, the theft $139-million partnership with the The board and especially the posi- es from operating on the Sabbath. ening, I have a proposition to kill of Native land, the criminalization Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation tion of chair are not in place to im- It was an offence against freedom two birds with one stone: get rid of of the poor, blatant plagiarism of to develop HIV vaccines for clini- pede management. of religion and was discriminatory the Chaplain's Office. native culture and enormous envi- cal trials. -Peter towards non-Christians. -Andrew Chai ronmental damage, among many With some 33·4 million people in Thankfully, with the application other things, as if these were wor- the world afflicted with HIV/AIDS, I think a good chair is able to keep of the Charter of Rights and Free- thy sacrifices for a two-week party the weight of Mr. Harper's decision management in line with the board's doms section on religious freedom, to showcase an idealized version of could hardly be greater. prerogatives without impeding the it was finally overturned. Perhaps Ol~mpics should not be Vancouver. It's not. Yet, somewhat ironically, Cana- agenda that they would like to ac- Bork wants to return to those times, ce ebrated The repercussions of these Olym- da's own HIVVaccine Plan (intro- complish as well. but for me and many others who Re: Celebrate Canada's Olympic athletes, pies will be felt for decades by ordi- duced by Mr. Harper in 2006) best -Joe want to progress towards a more Feb.10 nary citizens who have to carry the captures the regrettable nature of secular and free world, the Sabbath costs. this announcement: Chntinue the debate online at represents repression. I am highly disappointed at The While men and women, Canadian "We have an ethical responsibility t ecord.ca As for his position as chaplain, I Cord's Editorial Board for their dra- or not, should be admired, respected to contribute our fair share of skills feel that it is terribly redundant and matic show of apathy toward the and honoured for their hard work and resources to domestic and glob- out of date. enormous economic, social, envi- and diligence to become some of al efforts to develop and distribute Letterpolicy If I am not mistaken, we do have ronmental and cultural costs of the the best athletes in the world, these HIV vaccines ... Because developing Letters must not exceed 250 words. In- Counselling Services and many Winter Olympics as presented in the Olympics are nothing to be proud HIV vaccines is a global effort, Can- elude your foil name and telephone num- other places such as the Women's last issue of The Cord. of as they are antithetical to what ada must be involved. We can make her. Letters must be received by u:oo Centre, Rainbow Centre and a The global convergence to protest Canada should be about - tolerance, a difference:' p.m noon Monday via e-mail to letters@ Peer Help-Line from which to seek the Olympic games and the ground- equality, environmental sustainabil- -Kyle Gerow thecord.ca. The Cord reserves the right to guidance. swell of dissatisfaction among or- ity and justice under the law. President, Dignitas Youth - WLU edit for length and clarity or to reject any Besides that, the Chaplain's dinary Canadians is not merely a -Anatolijs Venovcevs letter.

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20 • The Cord • Wednesday February 24. 2010 OPINION Opinion Editor Kimberly Elworthy • [email protected]

WLUSU needs electoral reform Rank any number of Using a ranked ballot system would be representational options in your order of preference recommended that the union switch *In the first round ofcounting, nobody recieved 50+ 1 per cent ofvotes to a single transferable vote {S1V) ranked ballot system. Sunny Chan At the time it was passed, this To declare a majority, Chan is my number one choice. Ifhe was the lowest ranked was dependant on switching to on­ in the first count, my second choice (Maclin) would be line voting; since neither of these one must have more used. Chan is eliminatedfiom anyforthercounts. has yet to come into effect, WLUSU lAIN MCCAULEY has thus far failed to bring about the than 50 per cent of letters@ thecord .ca necessary changes to ensure a rep­ Kyle Walker ------resentative voting system. the vote and Walker's Following the yearly student herd­ Although Canadian politicians ing that is the Wilfrid Laurier Uni­ often experience similar percentag­ success was dictated by versity Students' Union election in es to Walker's -local MP Peter Braid early February, a new president was only received 36 per cent of the receiving 4 3 per cent. r::i'l Lawrence Maclin selected to lead the students' union vote in the last election - this is not L.-=.J Ifnobody recieves 50 + 1 per cent ofvotes in the second for the upcoming year. something that we should strive for. count and Maclin has the lowest number ofvotes, a third While Kyle Walker will claim le­ To either use Canada's model count would decide between Walker and Preston. My vote gitimacy in this election because because it is there, or to defend would go to Preston. he had the most votes, winning WLUSU's archaic electoral struc­ Kory Preston the most votes in his case does not ture based upon its similarities with f2l necessarily equate a majority of this model shows an acceptance of ~ In the final count, my vote went to Preston, but since Walker support. the status quo, not an acknowledge­ recieved more than 50 per cent ofthe vote he was declared To declare a majority, one must ment that progress is essential in the president. have more than 50 per cent of the governance. winning candidate has the majority vote and Walker's success was dic­ What we need ofWLUSU is evo­ of student support. tated by receiving 43 per cent. lution, not stagnation. A ranked balloting model is a TRINA SCHMIDT GRAPHICS EDITOR Unfortunately, given the current A necessary step in electoral re­ means of graduation from our ele­ electoral system it is extremely dif­ form is a progressive ballot system mentary selection process and con­ ficult to declare a majority when which ensures that a president has a structs an election process where The ideal ranked ballot system there are more than two candidates majority of the votes to be elected. students maintain control, as op­ running. Possibilities could include a posed to an inadequate voting pro­ - Voters select candidates in a numerical order; they rank the candi­ WLUSU needs electoral reform ranked balloting system where vot­ cess controlling us. dates from their most to least favourite. where the president would be re­ ers select candidates in a numeri­ - In the case that no candidate has gained a majority in the first vote quired to gain a majority of support cal order in which they rank the count. candidates with the least number of votes are removed from (over 50 per cent) in an election, candidates from their most to least the race and those who have voted for them transfer their ballot to which can best be achieved through favourite. Where ranked balloting is the candidate they have ranked second. If students chose to have no a ranked balloting system. Candidates are removed and used: secondary candidate. their ballot is thrown out following the elimina­ To be fair, last year the WLUSU votes recounted until one candidate - Conservative Party of Canada tion of their candidate. board of directors made note of has a majority of the votes. -Ireland - Candidates are removed and votes are recounted until one candi­ the need for electoral reform and This process ensures that the - Australia's Senatorial Elections date has a majority of the votes.

RADIO I.. All I-ll RING THE CORD I\4ANAG The tie that binds Wilfrid Laurier University since 1926 The positions are: Spoken word Volunteer Ma is hiring editorial Online Ma--·,...---

staff for 20 1o- ·11 Music Man... _..

"I thought we controlled the en­ JUSTIN FAUTEUX tire game," said fourth-year Laura SPORTS EDITOR ______Hickey, the team's second. "I still think we're a stronger team than Last weekend, the Wilfrid Lau­ [Waterloo] and in the end it came rier Golden Hawks women's curl­ down to a couple missed shots. ing team fell just short of the On­ But now we're just really excited tario University Athletics (OUA) about getting to go back to nation­ gold medal, losing in the provin­ als. We've had a lot success there in cial championship to the Waterloo the past couple years, and we know Warriors. what it takes to win:' This was the second year in a The Hawks do indeed know what row that the Hawks only managed it takes to win at the CIS champion­ to come away with the OUA silver ship, as this year they will be going medal; however, making the OUA for their third consecutive national finals meant that the team auto­ title. According to Hickey, one of matically qualified for the Cana­ the keys will be gaining positive en­ dian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) ergy early, as well as "controlling the championship. controllables." "Obviously it was disappointing, "It's all about getting momen­ coming so close, but overall, we're tum," said Hickey of succeeding at happy with the way we performed," the national championship. "Obvi­ said head coach Gary Crossely, who ously we all know we have to come is in his first season at Laurier. out and play well, but getting that "The championship was are­ first win under your belt really helps ally tight game that could've gone to propel you forward and get every­ either way and in the end we came thing going:' up short, but we're excited to get a The Hawks will head to Edmon­ chance to play at nationals:' ton March 10 to take on the nation's The gold medal match came best curlers, and Crossely is confi­ down to an extra end as the teams dent in his team's chances. battled to a 5-5 tie at the end of "Overall, I think we've had a really regulation. On the final shot of the good season, and I know we have match, Laurier skip Danielle Ing­ what it takes to compete [at nation­ lis left the rock just a bit too short, als];' he said. "I'm really looking for­ leaving the Warriors closer to the ward to what should be a great ex­ YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER button and giving them the win. perience in Edmonton:' After coming away with the QUA silver medal, the Hawks will compete at nationals next month.

Hawks I Sports in brief • Laurier figure skaters take west division's rookie of the year sixth at provincials award and was also named to the miSS Last week, Waterloo's RIM Park all-rookie team, while achieving Arena played host to the Ontario second-team all-star honours. University Athletics (OUA) figure Gordon led the Hawks in kills playoffs skating championship. The Hawks (143) and blocks (67) this season, as finished sixth while the Guelph Gry­ well as service aces (32), which was phons took home first place. also good enough for third in the JUSTIN FAUTEUX Laurier received strong indi­ nation. SPO RTS EDITOR vidual performances from Michelle -Compiled by Justin Fauteux LaMarche and Andrea Green, who "It's a compilation of anger, disap­ came in first in the intermediate pointment and embarrassment:' similar pairs, Adam Arscott, who That was how Shayne White, took second in the men's open free Men's basketball playoff head coach of the Wilfrid Laurier skate, and Alitsha Burden and Brit­ bound Golden Hawks men's volleyball tany Maksymyk, who finished third Last Wednesday, Laurier's men's team, felt following his team's dis­ in the senior similar pairs. basketball team took on the Brock appointing end to the season. - Compiled by Justin Fauteux Badgers in a game where the win­ Coming into their final three ner would head to the post-season matches of the regular season, the and the loser would be eliminated. Hawks were battling the Univer­ The Hawks came out on top 75-68, sity of Toronto Varsity Blues for the Swimmers find success at clinching the final playoff spot in the final spot in the post-season. Rid­ nationals OUAwest. ing a two-match winning streak, The Laurier women's swim team The purple and gold then finished the purple and gold needed at least took home their best finish in 10 their season with a victory on Satur­ two wins combined with at least years at the Canadian Interuniver­ day afternoon, downing the Water­ two losses by the Blues, to claim the sity Sport (CIS) championships, loo Warriors 67-63. playoff berth. finishing tenth overall. The Calgary The Hawks head on the road to­ While the Blues left the door wide YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER Dinos took home the top spot at the night to open their post-season ver­ open for the Hawks, going 1-2 in The men's volleyball team had a frustrating end to their season last meet which was held at the Univer­ sus the Western Mustangs. their final three matches, the inex­ week, going 1-2 in their final three games and missing the playoffs. sity ofToronto. -Compiled by Justin Fauteux perienced Laurier squad stumbled Individually, the Hawks were once through their crucial three matches, match:' irnprovementtechnically[or]tacti­ again led by fourth -year Whitney losing to both the Windsor Lancers Considering the fact that this cally; even our team cohesiveness Rich, who swam personal best times and Queen's Gaels, only managing team features no players older than wasn't that good;' he said. in the 200-metre individual med­ Women's basketball finishes to defeat the Royal Military College third-year, some growing pains can 'T m not sure [what happened], ley and the so-metre breast stroke, season on winning streak Paladins, who ended up going o-20 be expected. this year was just a bad year:' while finishing fifth and sixth After defeating the Brock Badgers on the season. However, last year the team only Looking to the future, White ac­ respectively. and the Waterloo Warriors last "We are very disappointed with boasted one fourth -year player and knowledges that the Hawks have a -Compiled by Justin Fauteux week, the Golden Hawks' women's the way we finished the season;' was largely made of second-years; long road ahead of them in order to basketball team now heads into said White. and that Hawks' squad made the get back to the playoffs. the post-season riding a two-game "Against Windsor, we just didn't playoffs, breaking a 10-year post­ "It'll be a difficult transition [into winning streak. come out well either mentally or season drought for Laurier men's next season];' he said. Gordon wins three OUA The team finished in the sixth physically, and then mathemati­ volleyball. "We'll see how things develop, awards and final playoff spot in the Ontario cally, we were eliminated from the According to White, 2009-10 was but a number of things need to hap­ Julie Gordon, a first-year on the University Athletics (OUA) west di­ playoffs before the Queen's match, simply an off-year for the purple pen over the off-season. We'll need Golden Hawks' women's volleyball vision and will take on the Lakehead so we played a really mixed line-up, and gold. some guys to improve and we'll def­ team, took home three provincial Thunderwolves in Thunder Bay to­ and gave our first-years the majority "We saw some really good de­ initely need some recruits to come awards over the weekend. The na­ night in a single-game elimination of the playing time. We really didn't velopment last year, but this year in and fill some holes that we have tive of Barrie, Ontario won the On­ playoff match-up. care about the outcome of that I don't think we showed much right now:· tario University Athletics (OUA) - Compiled by Justin Fauteux 22 • SPORTS The Cord • Wednesday. February 24. 2010

GOLDEN HAWK Hawks can't finish perfect season U PDAT E

JUSTIN FAUTEUX Week of SPORTS EDITOR February U~28, 2010 The team playing spoiler may have changed, but the result remained the same as the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's hockey team saw their drive for perfection end in the 02.21.10 final game of the regular season for M Hockey 3 -Guelph 5 the second year in a row. The Windsor Lancers took over 01.20.10 the role the York Lions played last M Basketball 67- Wat~loo 63 year and shocked the unbeaten W Basketball 53- Waterloo 51 Hawks, handing them their first and M Volleyball I - Queen's 3 only defeat of the season, taking the game 2 -1 in overtime, leaving the M Hock~'Y 3- Guelph 2 Hawks with a 26-0-1 record. "Initially, it was pretty shock­ 112.1&.:W ing;' said Hawks' head coach Rick M Hockev 0 - Guelph 3 Osborne after the loss. "But when you really look at it, I thought the 02.1ll0 game was a typical Laurier-Windsor M Basketball - Brock 68 game. They were playing to get one W Basketball 63 - Brock 55 good break, and they finally got one with less than two minutes left and that momentum carried them right into the overtime:' The Hawks took the lead just 02.2.5.10 over eight minutes into the game W Hockey \'!' Windsor on second-year Abby Rainsberry's Swzliji.• Fina11cial ~ -,.~ fourth goal of the year, but they were unable to extend their advantage YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER 02.28.1Q thanks to a stellar performance from The Hawks found themselves in an unfamiliar position last Monday, losing for the first time all season. W Hoclr.ey Vli WindliOr (if nee.) Lancer's goalie Jamie Tessier, who Sunlifo FinaNCUll All JUJ 7:3{) p.m. stopped 52 of Laurier's 53 shots. overtime period, giving the Lanc­ Windsor pulled off another upset The best-of-three series starts to­ "We've had issues with Tes­ ers a playoff berth and sending the in the Ontario University Athletics morrow night at the Waterloo Rec­ sier stoning us in the past;' said Hawks home one point short of a (OUA) quarter-finals. Riding more reation Complex, with game two go­ Osborne. "We held a pretty large perfect season. incredible goaltending from Tessier, ing Saturday in Windsor. If neces­ advantage in shots, but we just "We really haven't been all that the Lancers defeated the number sary, game three will be in Waterloo. couldn't finish." sharp the entire second half [of the nine nationally-ranked York Lions, As the team turns their attention With Tessier holding her team season] and I think you can attribute qualifying them for a date with the to the playoffs, four Hawks were JesseM~ in the game, the Lancers tied it up that to the fact that we would keep Hawks in the provincial semi-finals. recognized by the OUA for their out­ Men's II late in the third period and sent the winning, even when we didn't play ''I'm not worried at all about the standing regular seasons. game to overtime. That tying goal that well;' said Osborne. "This was way we'll bounce back;' said Os­ Knox was named player of the also ended Hawks' goalie Liz Knox's actually a good wake-up call to get borne of the Hawks' coming re­ year, while Candice Styles won the attempt at breaking the Canadian heading into the playoffs:' match with the Lancers. "We have rookie of the year award. Knox was Interuniversity Sport (CIS) record The Hawks won't have to as much depth as any team in the also named a first-team all-star for career shut-outs. wait long to get a chance at exact­ country, we definitely have the goal­ along with captain Andrea Ironside, Come Support the Hawks! Full of energy after their late­ ing some revenge on the Lanc­ tending, and on top of that we have while Styles and fellow first-year game comeback, Windsor's Ashley ers, because while the purple and the conditioning level to raise ex­ Maureen Mommersteeg made the Kirby scored midway through the gold were enjoying their bye week, pectations once again this year." all-rookie team. www.laurierathletics.com The Cord • Wednesday. February 24, 2009 SPORTS • 23 Men's hockey eliminated in first round

YUSUF KIDWAI PHOTOGRAPHY MANAGER The Gryphons celebrate during their series-clinching win over the Hawks on Sunday. This year was the first time in five seasons that Laurier was eliminated in the first round.

the evening ofFeb.21, the youthful throughout the first and third games offensive storm. He kept the team in have been the best four and a half JAMIE NEUGEBAUER Gryphons took the series in three, - was season scoring leader Paul the games, stopping 102 of no shots years of my life." STAFF WRITER winning the final match by a score Bradley, who notched a goal and two for a save percentage of .927. This season was one of the worst of 5-3. Timely goaltending and a assists. Nevertheless, MacDougald, who in recent memory as the Hawks If at the beginning of the year you strong offensive game plan that fo­ Veteran net-minder Scott Van in his second year was named a only beat top-three Western Con­ had said that the Wilfrid Laurier cused on capitalizing on forced Lau­ Bommel was superb in the Gryph­ Tournament All-Star at the National ference competition twice all year, Golden Hawks men's hockey team rier turnovers gave Guelph the edge, ons' net. He stopped 85 out of 91 Championships in Moncton, New compared to eight defeats. There would be booted out of the first as Laurier was unable in games one shots over the three games, good Brunswick, allowed some soft goals are, however, many positives to take round of the playoffs by the Guelph and three to win at home. enough for a ·934 save percentage in the third game - including an un­ from the year as the recruits who Gryphons, you would have been "We're obviously disappointed;' and a goals against average of 2.00. screened point-shot from just inside made their debut were given key ex­ branded insane. commented a resigned Laurier cap­ "It is to Guelph's credit;' Rizk the blue line by Guelph rookie Matt perience, and were in many ways at Although the Gryphons' coaching tain Jean-Michel Rizk. "We should continued. "Their goalie played Lyall that turned out to be the game­ the heart of the team. staff reloaded the program by add­ have showed up, we should have great. He stood on his head; we fired winner in game three. "A lot of rookies played real well ing seven Canadian Hockey League been better:· everything we could at him and he "It's emotional obviously," Mac­ this year," said Rizk. "You think veterans, nobody expected them to Guelph forwards Edward Gale was ready:' Dougald began. "It's been a great about Jason Bergeron and Mitchell come together this fast. and Kris Belan shared the series lead Fifth -year goaltender Jeff Mac­ four and a halfyears at Laurier. I'm Good and our young defensive corps Nevertheless, with a third con­ in scoring with four points apiece. Dougald played every minute in the frustrated that itended 11 bit shorter as well as [Ryan1 Daniels in net, secutive Guelph victory at the Wat­ Leading the way for the Hawks - series for the Hawks and was solid [this year1 than we expected, but there are a lot of positives that can erloo Recreational Complex on who failed to find timely scoring in the face of a tremendous Gryphon looking back, these years at Laurier betaken:'

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FCA~--· ACFC Canada 24 • SPORTS The Cord • Wednesday February 24. 2010 ======Vancouver2010 Canadian athletes: Medals: Success or failure? Top 10 (as ofWednesday, Feb. 24) first gold medal on home soil with his breathtaking run in the free­ style moguls on the second day of TOTAL competition. No doubt they would also men­ tion Christine Nesbitt, who won a U.S A 7 9 10 26 gold medal in the 1000 metre worn­ JAMES CHOLERAS en's speed skating event, which co­ Germany 7 9 7 23 STAFF WRITER incidently was on her 20th birthday. And who couldn't love Jon Mont­ Norway 6 5 6 17 gomery's celebration after winning After 11 days of competition, would his gold medal in skeleton, pumping Russia 3 4 6 13 the results achieved by the Canadian his fist, and then high -fiving fans as Olympic team be considered a suc­ he made his way through Whistler. 6 4 1 11 cess or a failure? It all comes down to perspective. It all depends on who you ask. Yes, there have been athletes 5 4 1 10 A member of the media would who have fallen short of expecta­ tell you that Canada's performance tions, but that is no reason to call 4 3 3 10 so far has been a colossal failure, the Olympics a failure for Team as countless medal favourites have Canada. Lots of athletes have turned France 2 3 5 10 "choked" and come away empty­ out amazing performances and have handed, having let the pressure get broken personal records. Switzerland 6 0 2 8 to them. They would probably read These accomplishments should you a list of athletes who were sup­ not be dismissed simply because Sweden 3 2 2 7 posed to win and didn't. they did not result in a medal. They would probably talk be­ Many of Canada's most likely po­ grudgingly about the Own the Po­ dium threats, such as curling and dium program which cost hundreds women's hockey, have yet to award of millions of dollars and isn't pro­ medals. ducing results. Needless to say, The media criticism of Team Laurier they would probably focus on the Canada is unwarranted and unpa­ negative. triotic. I'm sure Melissa Holling­ connections However, an average Canadian sworth, who didn't earn a medal for spectator would likely tell you that skeleton despite coming into her the games have been a great suc­ final run in second place, feels bad John Morris cess (except of course for men's enough already without having to hockey, where anything less than an hear herself be called a choke artist Men's curling undefeated run to the gold medal by every broadcaster and journalist was always going to be considered in the country. a failure). While it hasn't been a perfect They would glow with pride when ride for Canada so far in Vancou­ talking about Alexandre Bilodeau, ver, Canadians should still be proud CONTRIBUTED PHOTO who captured the hearts of every of our athletes and all they have While some athletes have disappointed fans, Canadians should Canadian when he won the nation's accomplished. keep performances like Jon Montgomery's gold medal in mind. Low-profile athletes picking up the slack

Morris was a Laurier student from 1998-2001. The native of Glouces­ ter, ON majored in kinesiology and physical education, while playing for the Golden Hawks men's hockey team. He is currently part of the Can a­ dian men's curling team, who went g-o in the round robin portion of the tournament. The team is currently awaiting the result of a tie-breaker between Great Britain and Sweden to find out who they will play in the semi-finals tomorrow night. -Compiled by Justin Fauteux

Becky Kellar

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Women's hockey While athletes like Emily Brydon (left) have failed to live up to their lofty pre-Olympic expectations, others such as snowboard cross gold medalist Maelle Ricker (right). who came into the games as a relative unknown, have taken over the spotlight.

in the men's 1000 metre short-track being an nth place finish. Alexandre Bilodeau headlines speed skating. The list goes on. a contingent of unexpected suc­ Dominique Maltais, Canada's top Numerous reasons have been cesses and surprise heavy-hitters, hope for a women's snowboard- given as to why these big fish have upsetting mystery-man and media­ ing medal, didn't even qualifY for seemed to flounder so far; the pres­ avoiding Canadian -turned-Austra­ the finals thanks to a tumble on the sure of winning at home and the !ian Dale Begg-Smith in the men's course. distracting, rambunctious crowds moguls. KEVIN CAMPBELL Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison, are frequent responses, as is just Maelle Ricker succeeded where STAFF WRITER Canada's darlings of figure-skating, a simple "I don't know what went her teammate Maltais failed, taking hoped to seize the moment after a wrong:' home Canada's first women's gold In hockey, they would call it second­ horrific accident on the ice saw Da­ But it wasn't supposed to go like medal on home soil with her spec­ CONTRIBUTED PHOTO ary scoring; when the unlikeliest of vison's skate slash Dube's face open this. Canada's Own the Podium pro­ tacular performance in the snow­ heroes steps up and delivers when in 2008, but finished no better than gram was designed to fund athletes board cross. Kellar came to Laurier to work on the big guns just aren't firing. sixth. so these things wouldn't happen. Marianne St-Gelais, Charles her masters degree shortly after So seems to be the case as the Jeremy Wotherspoon, speed skat­ Finishing first in the medal count Hamelin's sweetheart, picked up the playing for Canada at the Nagano 2010 Olympic Winter Games in ing in his career swan-song at the now seems like wishful thinking slack for her boyfriend, winning the Olympics in 1998. Going to school Vancouver rolls on. games and Canada's best chance for with the United States running away silver in ladies' speed skating at the part-time while playing for the To­ The expected medal hopefuls go­ the men's soo metre skate, ended up with the competition at well over 20 tender age of2o. ronto Aeros, as well as Team Canada ing into the games have largely fal­ in ninth, while his teammate, Denny medals. Canada's medal count may not be once again in 2002, she graduated tered and sputtered to that dreaded Morrison, expected to challenge for But all is not lost, as there may be as high as some had predicted, but with a masters of business admin­ fourth place finish or worse. gold, placed 13th in the event. a hint of a silver lining for Canadi­ it's very respectable thanks to the stration in 2004. To name a few, Canada's speed­ Alpine skier Emily Brydon, a B.C. ans at these games. "secondary scorers". Kellar and her teammates will go skating Hamelin brothers, heavily native, came into the games expect­ Many lower-profile athletes have I think it's time the faltering faces for their third straight gold medal favoured to finish on the podium, ed to win gold in her home province, taken the reins for a nation hungry of Canada owed the new faces some tomorrow night versus the U.S. ended up in fourth and fifth place and ended up with her best result for glory. drinks. - Compiled by Justin Fauteux