text:
The University of Guelph's Independent Student Newspaper
170.7 ◆ thursday, february 28th, 2013 ◆ www.theontarion.com
Tegan and Sara delve into synth-pop
Duo plays Peter Clark
Hall in support of new
Ben Derochie
Being one of their only sold out
shows on their current tour,
Tegan and Sara played to a welcoming
crowd at University of
Guelph's Peter Clark Hall on Feb.
23. In support of their new album
Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara depart
from their established indie
roots and embark into the domain
of synthesizers and drum
machines analogous to the synthpop
era of the 1980s. The result
is an adrenalized live show glittered
with vibrant scintillating
LED lights and pulsing dance
rhythms, which was more than a
perfect excuse for all us students
to let loose and have a bit of fun.
While dedicating a large portion
of their repertoire to new
material, they included an
obliging allocation of previous
fan favourites allowing anyone
to satisfy their desire either to
rock out or dance away. Classics
like "Call It Off" were mixed
seamlessly with new dance hits
like "Goodbye, Goodbye," both
being performed with avidity
from the band. Tegan and Sara
fully engaged with the audience,
throwing various quirky
remarks throughout the concert.
This was perhaps best exemplified
when they diverted from the set
for a full five-minute discussion
with the crowd regarding their
previous adventures in Guelph, including
attending an after-party
in the city after they were invited
by "some dudes in skirts." The
audience was warmly receptive
throughout the evening, cultivating
in the performance of the new
single "Closer" as the entire crowd
promptly transformed the room
into a dance floor.
Incorporating a full backing
band, Tegan and Sara played all
songs expertly with little or no dissonance
evident at all. The songs
did not divert or elaborate from
their recorded counterparts, but
this is not essentially required as
these songs simply sound great
being performed live. Perhaps
the most distinct moment of the
night came in the encore as they
jammed with a single acoustic
Arts & Culture
Sports & Health
Community Listings
Ben Derochie
Tegan and Sara's only Ontario tour stop was at a sold-out Peter Clark Hall on Feb. 23, where they
performed largely from their latest synth-pop album, Heartthrob.
guitar through multiple segments
of several songs all in the timespan
of a single song; a noteworthy and
unique addition. There were a couple
of unashamed and inevitable
sales pitches thrown in for their
new album, but this could be tolerated
as they were poking fun of
themselves for doing so.
If you're seeking good modern
Heist, U of G style
Updates on the UC
Alicja Grzadkowska
On Jan. 27, a break-and-enter
took place in the University Centre,
and several devices that may
have contained students' personal
information were stolen. On
Feb. 7, the University of Guelph's
Chief Information Officer Rebecca
Graham informed students of the
break-in through a widely distributed
email, which caused some
concern for recipients of the news.
Since the incident, the university
administration has taken
several steps in ensuring that
students' concerns are dealt with
accordingly. Another email from
Graham informed students that
the university would be providing
Canadian indie synth-pop, look no
further. These folks are fun.
for web-exclusive
p h o t o R e e l
free credit monitoring for one
year to students affected by the
Lori Bona Hunt, of Communications
and Public Affairs, says that
this is merely a precaution on the
part of the administration.
"There actually has not been any
evidence to date that any of the
information has been used for
fraudulent purposes. We're just
...see break-ins page 5
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
news 3
Are campus washrooms accessible to all
Washroom Challenge
aims to reveal
accessibility concerns
Katie Shum
The month of March is upon us,
and luckily for those who have
long-forgotten New Year's resolutions,
this month can be the
beginning of a new challenge.
The Guelph Resource Center
for Gender Empowerment
and Diversity (GRCGED) and
the Central Student Association
(CSA) are collaborating on
a new project called the Gender
Neutral and Accessible
Washroom (GNAW) Challenge.
The challenge is this: for the
duration of March, stay away
from using any washroom or
change room that is gendered
or inaccessible, on campus or
This initiative is open to all
members of the University of
Guelph who wish to participate,
but organizers are particularly
keen on encouraging participants
who "don't find going to
gendered bathrooms a difficult/
unsafe experience" and those
"who don't have to consider accessibility
when planning to go
to the washroom," as explained
on the event's Facebook page.
Ultimately, the hope is that
through some personal experience,
people will gain a glimpse
of what daily life may be like
for trans and gender-variant
people or people with physical
accessibility needs.
To help participants stay true
to the challenge, all that officially
register online (the link
can be found on the event's
Facebook page and on the CSA
calendar of events on their
website) will also have an opportunity
to sign up for an
additional information session.
For registrants, the additional
session is a chance to open the
dialogue concerning accessibility
and gender neutrality, and
relate these issues to very real
scenarios for many students,
staff, faculty, and visitors on
To put this into perspective,
imagine that as a participant,
it is your first day of the GNAW
challenge. As you walk through
the UC, 30 minutes before your
next class, you bump into your
busy friend that you have not
seen since October. Your friend
then asks you to catch-up over
coffee and a snack, seeing as
you do not have class for a
while. However, after giving
an excited "Yes!" you suddenly
realize that there is not
a gender neutral or accessible
washroom near your next classroom.
Choices: do you forgo
this social activity, or engage
in this social activity at the risk
of not being able to concentrate
in an hour when you feel the
need to go to the washroom
Or worse, do you leave class in
search of a gender neutral and
accessible washroom
CSA Academic and University
Affairs Commissioner, Deaglan
McManus, one of the primary
collaborators of this initiative,
discussed the timing of the
Gender Neutral and Accessible
Washroom Challenge.
"Everyone needs to use the
washroom, and everyone needs
to feel comfortable using the
"There is never
a wrong time
to bring these
issues to light."
– Deaglan
washroom. There is never a
wrong time to bring these issues
to light."
Along with an open dialogue,
a very basic, one-page "Washroom
Audit" will be handed out
to each participant, and the
workshops will include instructions
on how to go about
auditing campus washrooms
and change rooms. Keeping in
mind that this challenge hopes
to address both gendered and
inaccessible facilities, the audit
ranges from designations (e.g.
male figure, female figure, male
and female figure, etc.), to
The Gender Neutral Bathroom Challenge hopes to show the difficulties
of bathroom use for trans and gender-variant individuals, and those
with accessibility needs.
simple questions about doors,
sinks, toilets, and other objects
to be found in both washrooms
and change rooms.
The inspiration for creating
this major project came
from student experiences that
have been reported at the University
of Guelph. Currently,
GRCGED is calling for student
submissions of experiences
with gendered and inaccessible
washrooms for their zine,
which will be available in
Another major source of
inspiration for the GNAW challenge
came from a very similar
bathroom challenge that was
orchestrated in Halifax, Nova
Scotia in 2012. That challenge
also focused on gender-neutral
bathrooms, however, organizers
there also spoke of lobbying
for bathrooms that could be
made accessible for people of
all different abilities and needs.
Guelph organizers hope that for
people experiencing this challenge,
or for people keeping up
with other news about this initiative,
those who are aware
will feel inspired to fight for
more gender neutral and accessible
Currently, the University of
Guelph website provides some
vanessa tignanelli
information, when correctly
searched on the campus map,
about the availability, location,
and accessibility of washrooms
in buildings across campus.
However, those listings may be
out of date or unreliable, explained
For example, what is listed as
a "unisex stall on south end of
[third] floor" on the webpage
for the University Center fails
to include mentioning that this
facility is locked after 4:10 p.m.
– and there are no other listings
for a gender-neutral facility on
other floors in the UC.
Despite this and many other
accessibility issues on campus,
McManus acknowledged
that there have been some
signs of momentum from the
University's governing bodies.
However, the sense that progress
for change has been slow is
suggested by the arrival of this
new student initiative.
McManus imparted that the
GNAW challenge is the first step
to raising awareness on campus,
and that the outcomes
from the audits and support
from participants will help this
campaign to push changes for
more gender neutral and accessible
washroom and change
facilities on campus.
Global to Local:
Students, staff, and
faculty on international
and national news
Research on discriminatory Google
advertisements has recently come
out of Harvard where a professor has
discovered that the popular search
engine allegedly links names associated
with black people with
ads related to criminality. In fact,
Latanya Sweeney found that these
adverts were 25 per cent more likely
to appear alongside a search that
included a black name. Services
offering background checks for arrests
and criminal records were two
types of ads cited as appearing during
these searches. Caucasian names
brought up typical types of advertisements
not related to criminality,
even though some of the Caucasian
names used by Sweeney in her
research trial did have criminal records
associated with them. In an
article in The Daily Mail, a Google
spokesperson responded that the
company was not to blame as, "It is
up to individual advertisers to decide
which keywords they want to
choose to trigger their ads."
The Ontarion: Have you heard about
this and does it interest you
Sebastian Szilagyi, student: I haven't
heard about it. I guess it does interest
me in a sense. We're moving
toward a much more equal world
so to have these sorts of discriminatory
things popping up – it's not
a good thing. So I think that it does
interest me because I'd like to see
those [things] not happening. You
know, granted, there will be people
of many races who just aren't
up to society's level of standards,
but you're going to find that in any
race – I'd read into it more.
The Ontarion: Do you have any experiences
with similar ads that have
stereotyped or reflected your supposed
interests in a particular way
SS: Well, I've seen certain things like
that pop up, mostly on Facebook,
not necessarily Google. Based on
my likes, I've noticed certain things
kind of popping up on the side. I
don't use them… At first, I was kind
of thrown off by them, like this is
stuff I've looked into or interested
in. [I was] scrolling through Facebook
and there was like this Big
Lebowski advertisement on the side,
which sort of catches you off guard.
I've had some experiences based on
that, yeah.
Thanks to the participant for this
week's interview. If you have
something to say about international
or national news, and
would like to be contacted for future
issues, or if you want to see a
particular news story covered here,
contact News Editor Alicja Grzadkowska
at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Gryphons meet a Dragon
U of G welcomes
Dragons' Den
personality and
Wealthy Barber author
David Chilton
Al Ladha
On Feb. 12, David Chilton – author
of the bestselling Wealthy
Barber books and a Dragon on
CBC's hit show Dragons' Den –
shared his recipes for success in
personal finance with a mixture
of humour and common sense
for a packed house at War Memorial
Hall. Chilton donated
all funds generated from ticket
sales to the OVC Pet Trust Fund
in support of the Mona Campbell
Centre for Animal Cancer.
Before I left my office to interview
Chilton, I had a chance to
read a Maclean's article about a
generation the magazine is dubbing
"the new underclass." It
delved into why many smart,
educated, ambitious young people
"have no future." I fielded
Chilton with some of the ideas.
"It's a complicated subject
matter and traditionally I've
been optimistic of all generations
having better lifestyles
than their parents," said
Chilton. "I mean we are all
beneficiaries of the tremendous
innovation that takes place and
of all the accumulation of all the
things that have come before us,
but I will admit the job market
is very challenging."
The entrepreneur says it's
a matter of adapting to technological
advances and other
progressions in our culture.
"We are automating and digitizing
so many processes that
society on a whole may be winning
– we may be net up – but
unfortunately there is a lot of
displacement and people who
don't have the matching skills
are really struggling right now,"
said Chilton. "A lot of the types
of jobs people first entered into
– and not just the traditional factory,
but also clerk jobs or lower
level jobs at all major institutions
– are being automated or
have been replaced by foreign
workers in some cases and computers
in others."
Chilton is finding that many
intelligent 21 to 27-year-old
people who have a lot of potential
to add to society are falling
between the cracks these days
and are unable to find a solid
footing. The economist notes
that some of these people are
turning towards entrepreneurship,
but insists that's not easy.
"As David Chilton I've been
an entrepreneur all my life,
and I love it, but I realize not
everyone is well suited to creating
their own enterprise and
taking care of all the facets that
are necessary to run effectively."
Chilton says he was lucky
enough to follow his passion
at a young age and fell in love
with the world of personal finance
– and to wit, it's served
him generously over the years.
That being said, Chilton maintains
that we must be realistic
and that not everyone can follow
their passion and turn it
into a great career.
"During the early stages of
your life you often times find
yourself doing some things
you're not too keen on and
this generation – admittedly
up against legitimate problems
– is scuffling with that," Chilton
conceded. "They are really
struggling with the fact that
you've got to go in and do menial
tasks on occasion or things
you don't like doing. But that is
the nature of life unfortunately."
"Following your passion
sounds great in theory and
looks great in books, but in the
real world it's not always easy
to execute on, and again, if we
"During the
early stages of
your life you
often times find
yourself doing
some things
you're not too
keen on and
this generation
– admittedly
up against
problems – is
scuffling with
–David Chilton
push everyone towards entrepreneurship
it may be good for
society in the big picture, longterm
situation, but we're going
to have a lot of people fail, and
that's just the nature of startup
Chilton brought up personal
debt levels, noting that they
are very high and real, but also
said he sees them much more
in the U.S. – especially for students
that have gone to grad
school. He tends not to see
those levels in Canada as often,
but didn't underplay the problem;
according to Chilton, "a
degree or second degree doesn't
guarantee you a high income job
anymore and so it is difficult."
Chilton maintains hammering
away at debt is always a good
financial move which reduces
stress and frees up cash flow.
He says "we are looking at a
different rate of return on the
investment equation right now
with post secondary education
and all of a sudden, for the first
time in decades, we have a lot
of people saying, 'I'm not sure
that was a wise move.'"
As Chilton put it, it's a more
complex situation than it's been
in the past and the return on investment
isn't guaranteed. He
feels education – especially with
the digital revolution – is going
to undergo dramatic changes in
the next 10 to 15 years.
Discussing Rich Carlgaard,
a digital revolution writer for
Forbes who has predicted 50
per cent of post secondary education
could be challenged
because of the Internet, Chilton
said this model might not
be so healthy for the institutions
that are entrenched, but that it
could be healthier for society in
the long run.
In respect to Dragons' Den,
Chilton says he and the other
Dragons get along well. He
bumps into Arleen Dickinson
every so often in Toronto, he
has a lot in common with Bruce
Croxon, and loves Jim Treliving's
company although he
lives in Dallas and travels a lot.
Although they both work in the
same industry David runs into
Kevin O'Leary less frequently.
They have had some conflict on
air on The Lang and O'Leary
Exchange, but they get along
pretty well. Chilton says that
when they all see each other
on set it's a lot of fun, and as
the new Dragon they have been
very warm, accepting and good
to him.
Speaking about his spare time
Chilton said he loves immersing
himself in books related to
world politics, economics and
finance. He likes to play a fair
amount of golf but has not been
able to get on the green as much
in the last three years because of
commitments to his new book,
The Wealthy Barber Returns. He
says he's still very close with
his kids and hangs around them
Rafaela é,
Mike Rao
Dave Chilton, of The Wealthy Barber franchise and Dragons' Den, visited the campus in support of the
Pet Trust Fund.
a lot.
Being a dog lover, Chilton says
he "can't live without them."
He has made deals with all three
pitches this year that involve
dogs, and as a result he has
been razzed by some of his fellow
Dragons, mainly Dickinson.
In regards to this event, Chilton
was happy to help out this
great cause and thought it was
nice to be invited, plus he loved
the venue. Given his fondness
for the University of Guelph and
its location just a short drive
from Kitchener, when the U of
G called him it was pretty easy
convincing him to speak. As
Chilton said, "I'm a pet guy so
from every perspective it was
ideal." He did mention however
he has to learn to be a little more
discerning when it comes to pet
deals on Dragons' Den.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
news 5
Guelph talks agricultural sustainability
Speakers and audience
discuss future of global
food supply
Andrew Donovan
On Feb. 25, the College of Management
and Economics (CME),
along with the Canadian Institutes
of Health Research, invited
Dr. Rick Yada of the University of
Guelph to speak at a gathering held
at the Guelph Holiday Inn. The presentation
was titled, "The Future
of Food: Advancing Health & Food
As our planet's population is
projected to reach nine billion by
2050 and demand for agricultural
produce is expected to rise by
60 per cent in that time, it is in
our present day, according to Dr.
Yada, that we must ask ourselves,
experts, and government how we
plan on keeping up with such great
The discussion's moderator, Associate
Dean of the CME at the U
of G, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, began
the very inclusive, audience-oriented
discussion by asking Yada
what food safety means to him. Yada's
answer dealt extensively with
the idea of sustainability, not just
in an international context but also
within the borders of Canada.
"We now have
a population
that is eating
the 'right' foods
as a form of
not curative
– Rick Yada
"We live in a world of extremes.
On one end, we have type-2 diabetes
and obesity and the other we
have starvation," said Yada. "What
we are striving for globally is quality,
quantity and choice."
As the conversation developed,
the ideas of education became a
major speaking point for the audience
and the presenters. Yada
believes that we are in the midst of
a paradigm shift, especially in the
west, when it comes to food and
food marketing, and we are seeing
that the power of the consumer
is driving the evolution of the
products. We are saturated with
The event opened up discussion on a variety of issues related to food security and the growing population.
information about eating healthier
and the industry is adapting. But
there's a catch in these marketing
ploys, explained Yada.
"There's this idea that if you eat a
certain food, you will never get ill."
Though those claims simply cannot
be foolproof and can be misleading,
Yada did admit there is a great
benefit to this paradigm shift, pertaining
especially to healthcare.
"We now have a population that
is eating the 'right' foods as a form
of preventative healthcare, not curative
As with any discussion relating
to the future of agricultural
production, the highly controversial
topic of GMOs came up. Yada
approached the manner in a levelheaded
and practical way.
His biggest complaint was how
GMOs are thrown into populations
with little inquiry into whether the
population wants it or how it will
affect the environment it's in, and
that there is almost an absolute assumption
by the creators of GMO
that their seeds are just "better"
and we ought to accept this claim
without question.
But Yada didn't outright dismiss
the potential of GMOs.
"There is some benefit in being
able to grow foods in a different
manner. It's an option but not necessarily
a solution."
The latter part of the conversation
addressed the ability of getting
food to nations with poor means
of creating their own sustainable
agriculture. Campbell's Canada
has tried canned food initiatives
abroad, but as far as sustaining a
program like that is concerned,
it was impractical as many locals
won't take to a canned food
Up until this point, many companies
have had "a paternalistic
view of philanthropic aid," which
according to Charlebois, hasn't yet
garnered much success.
The conversation was diverse
and intriguing, and everything
from the venue to the dialogue was
exceptionally entertaining. But, as
Ben Derochie
seems to be the case with conversations
on food and sustainability,
you end up leaving the discussion
with more confusion and questions
than you had coming into it.
...break-ins continued
being abundantly cautious," said
The emails have also been sent out
to a large group of people for security
measures since it was not evident
which students' personal information
were on the devices.
"In reality, far fewer people were
probably affected," said Hunt.
The Jan. 27 break-in has been just
one in a series of thefts that have
taken place in the UC in recent
months. A hard drive was stolen
from The Ontarion's office prior to
Winter Break, another break, enter,
and theft on the UC's second floor
reported as having occurred between
Feb. 10 and 11, and on Feb.
19, CFRU's Station Manager Peter
Bradley informed volunteers and
employees that a computer from
the radio station was stolen on the
18th. Through email correspondence,
Bradley told The Ontarion
that this was the first break-in at
CFRU "in several years."
"It's unfortunate, and it's alarming
that this sort of thing has been
happening all over campus," added
Bradley. "We won't allow this incident
to dampen the atmosphere of
trust, goodwill, and creativity that
defines CFRU's volunteer culture,
but we will be putting some new
security measures in place that will
help prevent this from happening
The slew of device thefts may
indicate that obtaining personal
information was not the intention
of the Jan. 27 break-in, but rather
that electronics were the sought
after targets. However, the ongoing
police investigation will hope to find
the intention and perpetrator(s) of
the crime in the upcoming months.
"The university's also been in
contact with the Information and
Privacy Commissioner of Ontario,"
added Hunt.
Now, several weeks after the incident,
the university has turned its
attention to making students, staff,
and faculty aware of on-campus security
and keeping their personal
electronics close. Because the UC
is a public building and it's open for
long periods of time, Hunt says that
the discussion has focused not just
on security in the building, "but also
about reminding people to lock their
offices, lock up their equipment like
computers and things like that just
because frankly, it's an easy target
[…] there is access to a significant
chunk of the building for the public."
What Hunt calls "the educational
component" of the process is particularly
important as people store
much of their information on desktops,
rather than on hard drives,
and often leave personal devices
"[We're to] remind people to make
sure that their personal laptops or
computers or any other personal belongings
are locked up and secure,"
said Hunt, "and not leaving information
in places where it could be
easily retrieved."
Food Not Bombs in the community
The Guelph chapter
proves that food is a
right, not a privilege
Kelsey Coughlin
Providing free, accessible, and
local food to the Guelph community
is the goal of the Guelph
chapter of Food Not Bombs, a
loose-knit group of independent
collectives serving free
vegan food to those who are
hungry, both on campus and
in the community.
The idea behind Food Not
Bombs is to raise awareness
about global issues, specifically
the labelling of hunger as a
form of violence.
According to the group, the
Food Not Bombs ideology is
that government priorities are
skewed to allow hunger to persist
in the midst of abundance.
Food Not Bombs is a global enterprise,
which was founded in
1980 in Massachusetts by anti-nuclear
activists. Since then,
there have been more than 400
chapters nationally representing
the organization. While each
chapter is free to make its own
decisions about what issues
to endorse and fight against,
they also embrace a few basic
Many chapters of Food Not
Bombs are involved in community,
anti-poverty, anti-war,
and pro-immigrant organizing,
as well as other political
causes related to social justice.
The Guelph chapter of the group
aims to educate students and
community members through
various themed events, classes,
and outreach programs.
Already the Guelph chapter
has held a number of events on
campus. These include a visit by
Keith McHenry, co-founder of
Food Not Bombs, a Bring Your
Own Bowl (BYOB) Soup Kitchen,
and most recently, a free
vegan dinner at the Aboriginal
Resource Center.
University of Guelph student
Maria Timpano is a member of
the Guelph organization and explained
that students "make and
deliver all vegan food to people
on campus who are looking for a
healthy meal, but can not afford
it because money is tight [with
the idea of] raising awareness of
global hunger issues." Too many
University of Guelph students
face this reality, says the group,
and for some of them these opportunities
are their only reason
for not going to bed hungry.
A large amount of the food
served by the group of students
is excess food from grocery
stores, restaurants, and bakeries
that would otherwise go
straight to the garbage. They
aspire to reduce waste through
sharing both free food and information
in protest of war,
poverty, hunger, and similar
global issues.
The Guelph group wants students
to realize that in a world
of abundance, food is a right and
hunger should not be tolerated.
Nuclear Winter
The Guelph chapter of Food Not Bombs serves vegan food to the
community through a variety of events.
Students reminded to respect sexual health
Heart Your Parts event
held by the Wellness
Lindsay Pinter
On Feb. 26, University of Guelph's
Wellness Centre, in association
with the Canadian Federation
for Sexual Heath, held an event
called, "Heart Your Parts" at Branion
"Heart Your Parts is an event
which raises awareness [for] sexual
health, and getting tested for
any sexually transmitted infections,"
explained Wellness Centre
member Erin De Jong. "The objective
of this presentation [was]
to put a positive, upbeat light on
sexual health."
Jong also discussed the importance
of the event, stating that
it draws attention to protecting
yourself from risks associated
with sexual behaviour.
"Being sexually active is a basic
human right; people just need to
be aware of the risks and how to
stay healthy and protected."
The event provided information
on various health related issues
such as HPV and cervical cancer,
and featured free hot chocolate for
"[We] make
and deliver all
vegan food
to people on
campus who
are looking for
a healthy meal,
but can not
afford it because
money is tight."
– Maria Timpano
students stopping by. Members of
the Wellness Centre stood by to
answer any questions passers-by
may have had. There were many
pamphlets and resources available
to students at this event as
well, including some dedicated
to the LGBTQ community. They
toted slogans such as "PAPs matter
– no matter who you have sex
with," and "Regular STI testing
and yearly physicals are essential
in maintaining good health;
no matter whom you love."
"This is to explain to people that
it doesn't matter who you have
sex with – everyone needs to be
protected and visit their doctors
to get tested," said another Wellness
Centre member, Kimberly
PAP tests for females are another
very important health
procedure, which many females
overlook. This is a medical test to
check for cervical cancer in females.
If you are over the age of
21 or have had any sexual intercourse
then you are eligible for a
PAP test.
Students with more questions
on health-related issues,
including mental health and
sexual health can visit the Wellness
Centre, which is located on
The Wellness Centre set up a booth in Branion Plaza to educate students on sexual health.
the second floor of the J.T. Powell
building on campus. The centre
is a valuable resource available
to students that can provide
them with one-on-one support,
workshops, information kits and
various events, such as Heart Your
All the members of the Wellness
Centre are trained to provide students
with the best resources and
support available for their varying
questions and concerns, as well
as information on how to contact
a healthcare professional. The
Wellness Center is always hosting
Natasha Reddy
many health related events, and
students can visit the centre for
more information on upcoming
events hosted at the university.
The event made it clear that
students should stay positive and
smart about sexual health, heart
their parts, and get tested.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
news 7
How much do you know about the PPP
Evaluating student
involvement and
awareness of review
Alicja Grzadkowska
The question of how students can have
an impact on changes happening in
the university has arisen yet again this
year. This time, the focus has turned
to the Program Prioritization Process
(PPP). The Central Student Association
(CSA) claims that students are
not being provided with accessible information
about the PPP Task Force's
agenda, which is just one of the CSA's
concerns about the process.
"A lot of the issues we have with
the PPP [are about] how fast it's
moving, and how little communication
happened with the CSA prior to
September," said Deaglan McManus,
the Academic and University Affairs
Commissioner for the CSA. According
to McManus, communication
with students has been scant, and
not completely transparent. An initial
communication was sent out in the
first school week of September, which
may have been overlooked by students
busy settling back into university life.
"I don't think it should [have been]
assumed that students would recognize
that their programs might be at
risk or that their programs are being
evaluated in depth," said McManus.
The PPP was started back in September,
and will serve as an assessment
of academic and non-academic programs
and services. The end goal is to
identify the university's strengths, as
well as where it can cut back on costs
to narrow the gap between revenues
and expenses.
While the language of the information
released about the PPP is
seemingly unthreatening, McManus
says that the process is reminiscent
of cuts that took place in 2009, which
marked the end of the Women's Studies
"People didn't realize towards the
end of the process that it was going to
happen," explained McManus. And,
according to McManus, similar issues
have been present in the PPP's work
so far. The looming deadline to submit
review forms, for one, is a concern.
Units and departments in the
University of Guelph are currently reviewing
their services, and Maureen
Mancuso, Provost and VP Academic,
explains that each unit has been asked
to complete a Program Information
Request (PIR) form, due on March 1.
"For example, every major will have
a PIR form that is completed that provides
information on the ten criterion,
which the programs and services will
be assessed against," Mancuso detailed
through email correspondence. The
criterion can be found on the PPP
website, and include the external
and internal demand for programs,
and revenue and costs weight, among
other criteria.
McManus believes that this process
should involve students, as they are
the primary participants in programs.
Right now, students are not able to get
easily involved, as many units have not
been asking students to participate
in part because of the tight deadlines.
"We really appreciate those that have
[been involving students]," said McManus,
"because at least it helps students
understand what's happening. The
process does not allow for involvement
[…] which is concerning when
students are the majority."
Bruno Mancini, the director of
Counselling Services and the Centre
for Students with Disabilities, is one
facilitator who has involved students in
the review process. According to Mancini,
meetings he held with students
were "well-attended and helpful in
providing new insights and feedback."
Mancuso agrees that student participation
is important since they
have "perspectives/information on
their programs that would be useful."
Mancuso also explained that it is not
the Task Force's responsibility to involve
students, and that this job lies
with departments.
Students are however present on
the Task Force. Noorain Shethwala and
Anne Laarman are the undergraduate
and graduate interns respectively, and
will aid with the review process. Mc-
Manus is uncertain of how they will be
able to get involved and defend student
interests, though the titles of the two
students' positions have been changed
from their original titles as "student
"How much freedom are they going
to have in opposing any decisions that
their supervisors make, given that their
supervisors are also on the taskforce"
said McManus. "To our knowledge,
it hasn't happened before that a student's
been paid [by someone other
than students] to sit on a university
With the deadline approaching
quickly, McManus says that members
of the CSA are working to improve
the accessibility of information on the
vanessa tignanelli
Noorain Shethwala is the
undergraduate intern on the PPP
taskforce, which is one of the two
positions reserved for students.
website by providing the PPP with
feedback. Through the CSA website,
McManus has also included contact
information for the authors of the PIR
forms, and an email template for what
students can send to the authors.
"[We're] informing students so
they're not hit with it when the decisions
are made at the end of the
summer," said McManus, adding,
"The communication might get better
towards the end of the process,
but that's when it's going to hurt the
Natasha Reddy
neil turok
Physicist Neil Turok received an
honorary doctorate from the
University of Guelph during the Feb.
20 convocation ceremony held in
War Memorial Hall. One of Turok's
achievements has been establishing
the African Institute for Mathematical
Sciences in Cape Town. Since its
opening in 2003, 400 students from
a variety of African countries have
graduated and moved on to science
and technical-related careers.
Missing the point
Alicja Grzadkowska
Newsology: News coverage of the Oscars
On the day after the Oscars, the news
media had a lot to talk about, from
the typical best and worst dressed
lists, where actresses (and sometimes
actors) get punished or rewarded by
nobodies for their choice of insanely
expensive gowns, to the obvious
discussion on the night's winners
and losers.
Nonetheless, with some media
casting this year's awards as boring
and forgettable, the focus turned to
the successes and failures of host Seth
MacFarlane, and reporters are clearly
confused about which of the two
MacFarlane had more of. Headlines
included "Critics: Some of Seth Mac-
Farlane's Oscar jokes 'inappropriate,'
'sexist'," "Seth MacFarlane bombed
terribly hosting the 85th Academy
Award," and "Seth MacFarlane Best
When He Wasn't Trying to be Funny."
The opening routine titled "We
Saw Your Boobs" was clearly one of
the skits that was perceived as inappropriate,
though the actresses
mentioned were apparently in on
the song and dance number about
their on-screen chest reveals.
While the media generally agreed
that MacFarlane was the wrong
choice to host the Oscars, it is surprising
that more reporters did not
comment on Michelle Obama's presentation
of the Best Picture Award,
who was evidently following in the
footsteps of Bill Clinton at the Golden
Globes. The Washington Post's
Jennifer Rubin delivered an honest
opinion on Obama's presence at the
awards, stating that the First Lady's
lack of comment on the military service
personnel standing behind her,
and her short and vague statement
on the gay community were entitled
and odd points of discussion for the
White House representative.
More importantly, as Rubin points
out, why was Michelle Obama even
at the Oscars Her persona has nothing
to do with Hollywood, unless you
count appearing on Jimmy Kimmel
as celebrity-status worthy, and her
appearance only serves to corrupt
the idea of the president as the capable
leader of the U.S. who is solely
focused on improving his country
rather than attending fluffy galas and
award shows.
The ongoing attempts of world
leaders to appear hip and "with
it" are also insulting to youth. It
seems that being a politician in the
21st century now necessitates the
development of a cool image that
appeals to young people, who apparently
only pay attention to politics
if the leader of the country shakes
hands with Ben Affleck or fights
other politicians in a joke wrestling
Instead of judging which celebrity
got it "right" with their outfit
choices or whether MacFarlane was
a good choice for the hosting gig, the
news should have paid more attention
to what Michelle Obama's
presence means for youth and the
rest of the world's understanding
of U.S. politics, and its increasingly
star-studded nature.
No rest for the writers
Workshops continue
annual tradition of
discussing compelling
Alicja Grzadkowska
Creative minds got little rest during
Reading Week as the third
annual Writers Workshops invited
the community, students, and U
of G faculty and staff to participate
in a wide range of seminars
on everything from blog writing
and grammar, to publishing research
and writing for an internet
The workshops took place all day
Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 in McLaughlin
Library, and were free this year,
which has been the goal of Jodie
Salter, the chief organizer behind
the event, since her take-over of
the event last year.
"That was something I fought
for," said Salter, adding that the
resulting community outreach
from the workshops will hopefully
help to bring people from on
and off campus into the library.
"I think it's important for the
university and the library to make
itself more accessible, but also to
make itself accessible to faculty
and staff who may only think of
this building as a repository for
databases that they access online."
The change in admission pricing
wasn't the only development
from last year's event. Elsevier,
a publisher of science, technical,
and health-related work, sponsored
the event, which according
to Salter, allowed the workshops
to have more promotion behind
them and be "a bit fancier."
Of course, the main focuses
of the event were the seminars
themselves, which were organized
in a way that let attendees
follow the same or different
streams throughout the program
"I've tried to create streams,
so creative writing streams,
academic streams, digital
communication streams, so
hopefully if someone [was] interested
in that, they [could]
follow it through the two days,"
said Salter.
The digital communication
stream was particularly present
in the workshops, with attention
given to writing for the Internet
in multiple seminars, even ones
that were not directly related to
the web. For example, Salter told
The Ontarion that writing for the
net came up in "Plain Language
Writing Strategies" presented by
Kim Garwood and Andrea Karpala
as "accessibility to broader
audiences" was discussed. Social
media use was also explored by
several workshops like "Managing
Your Reputation Using Social
Media" led by Stuart Robertson
and "How to Please Both People
and Robots with Your Digital
Content" by Colleen Tully.
Other presenters included
Calantha Elsby, the local persona
behind the food blog piecurious.
com, Nicholas Murphy, a U of G
grad student working towards
his PhD who moonlights as an
award-winning filmmaker, and
creative writing pros like Sandra
Sabatini and Kilby Smith-Mc-
Gregor, to name a few of the
many talented individuals who
took the time to lead dynamic
and absorbing seminars.
Whether digital content discussions
will continue to be a
significant part of the workshops
depends on the attendees' reception
of the workshops, says
"I'm curious to see how the
numbers are for those [workshops]
in order to think of how
we'll shape it for next year."
Based on some of the feedback
from the event, a variety of the
seminars and streams were wellreceived,
and people enjoyed the
low registration fee.
"I'm really focused on trying to
hone in on research skills and research
writing skills, and it was
free," said Telesphore Marie, a
first-year agriculture student,
on why he attended, adding, "I
think it's a great thing to share
these ideas and this information
with people like myself."
Kasia Zygmunt, a community
member, agreed, commenting on
the wide range of writing "tools
and different views" that were
made available through the event,
and the free entry, which was a
"huge contributor" to her presence
at the workshops. Anjelica
Abarra, a second-year English
student used the workshops
"to gain more knowledge from
For Salter, the event was meant
to show the library off, and break
"unconscious barriers" between
the surrounding community and
the campus, as well as the barriers
between the library and
people who regularly visit the
campus. Networking and promoting
other writing programs
were also key parts of the event.
"We have Creative Writing at
Guelph here this year," said
Salter, "[So we can] get the community
educated on what's being
offered," adding that she sees the
workshops "as a space where you
start to create dialogue and networking
on a multitude of levels."
Salter's vision for the future of
the workshops is clear.
"It would be great if it becomes
a network for different writers
to create community outside of
work place."
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
arts & Culture 9
Jill Barber shares the love at River Run
Canadian songstress
dazzles in special
Valentine's Day
Julia Tignanelli
On Feb. 14, pairs plucked by cupid's
arrow and unattached admirers of
live music alike took in an appropriately
love-struck performance
by Canadian torch singer Jill Barber
at the River Run Centre. With
warm stage presence, palpable
charm, and a perfect combination
of toe-tapping numbers and
breezy ballads, Barber encapsulated
old school romance by inviting
the audience into a dreamy, jazzinfused
Hailing from Port Credit, Ont.,
Barber has since been drawn to
both coasts of Canada, living for
some time in Halifax, Nova Scotia
and eventually making the move
westward to call Vancouver home.
Though this CBC darling has long
been on the Canadian music scene,
beginning with folk-inspired albums
like A Note to Follow So
(2002), Oh Heart (2004, which
earned Barber the Female Recording
of the Year award at the 2005
Music Nova Scotia Awards), and
For All Time (2006), it was Barber's
fearless transition into vocal jazz,
marked by the release of Chances
in 2008, that launched the artist's
career forward. After earning
two Juno nominations for Chances
– including one for New Artist
of the Year – the reinvented Barber
charged forward; the release
of Mischievous Moon in 2011 solidified
the singer's utterly unique
and now unmistakable vocal style.
The River Run performance was
in part a celebration of Barber's
latest musical endeavour, Chansons
– a collection of covers of
classic French love songs. In the
style of one of Barber's noted inspirations,
Parisian ballad singer
Édith Piaf, these melodies of love
and loss seemed a natural addition
to the starry-eyed performer's
musical repertoire.
Barber was accompanied onstage
by a suave, multi-talented
ensemble of musicians – bandmates
Les Cooper (guitar), Steve Zsirai
(bass), Adam Warner (drums, percussion),
Robbie Grunwald (piano,
accordion), and modern-day Renaissance
man Drew Jurecka, who
contributed musical stylings on
violin, sax, mandolin, accordion,
and clarinet, as well as a memorable
whistle solo, which may have garnered
the most applause all evening.
Also scattered throughout the
performance were beloved tracks
from Barber's previous albums,
including "Mischievous Moon,"
"Chances," "Never Quit Loving
You," "Take It Off Your Mind," an
upbeat, a cappella arrangement of
"A Wish Under My Pillow," and the
audience-requested "Starting to
Show," which Barber appropriately
used to announce the news of her
pregnancy. Tender moments like
this one were not rare, and when
vanessa tignanelli
Jazz singer Jill Barber provided an intimate and entertaining Valentine's Day concert, drawing heavily on
the influence of the love songs of Edith Piaf.
shared alongside witty anecdotes
from Barber and bandmates, the
show was consistently entertaining
and intimate. With the expert execution
of a charming and heartfelt
performance, it's safe to say that
Barber seduced even the most pessimistic
of hearts.
for web-exclusive
p h o t o R e e l
The ubiquitous appeal of ukuleles
Ukulele club facilitates
inclusive learning
Michael Bohdanowicz
Gaining an understanding of
how to play the ukulele seemed
to be attainable through being
present at a ukulele club's meeting
held at Long & McQuade's
recently relocated Guelph location
on Feb. 23.
The club held its first meeting
in January in response to calls
for the creation of such a club
by Kim Logue. Logue is currently
the store's lessons coordinator
but advocated the creation of a
ukulele club prior to finding employment
with Long & McQuade.
The room in which the meeting
was held was awash with participants.
The gathering had an
informal and supportive tone to
it, as consensus was reached on
what songs the club should play
and its participants shared information
about ukuleles. With
great patience, the group often
repeated songs so that participants
could better understand
how to play them. This inclusive
nature welcomed the presence of
a cuatro, an instrument similar
to the ukulele, which seemed
to fit seamlessly with the music
Like Logue, most of the meeting's
participants considered
themselves to be beginners
playing the ukulele. The host
of the meeting, local musician
Gayle Ackroyd, also shared this
characteristic and is well-experienced
with playing guitars.
Ukuleles typically include four
cords, tuned to the G, C, E and A
musical notes. Ukuleles can be
divided by their size with soprano,
concert, tenor and baritone
ukuleles forming the smallest to
largest sizes respectively.
The first song the group played
was "You Are My Sunshine."
Without lyrics, the uplifting
sense of the song was nonetheless
conveyed. "Oh! Susanna,"
written by Stephen Foster, was
the second song the group addressed.
Tablet sheets showing
this song were presented to attendees,
though this medium of
written music could present difficulties
in showing the number
of beats.
Ackroyd provided background
information on the next song
performed by the group, "Iko
Iko" by the Dixie Cups. The song
is said to originate from the
band's time at a recording studio
in which the band played it
while their manager took a coffee
break. Upon returning from
the break, the manager insisted
that this song be recorded.
It was, and "Iko Iko" became a
hit song.
Following a performance or
two of "Iko Iko," Ackroyd again
provided background information
on the next song, "Cheer
Up You're Okay." That song was
written by Ackroyd following a
move to Guelph two years ago. A
lack of friends and family members
in Guelph provided the
impetus for creating the song.
Additionally, two rail transport-themed
folk songs were
played during this gathering,
"Freight Train" and "I've
Been Working on the Railroad."
"Tennesse Waltz" provided the
closing act. In keeping with the
club's inclusive nature, participants
were welcome to pursue
solos and introduce new songs
during the gathering.
Overall, ukuleles provided
a soothing touch to the songs
played at the club's gathering,
which will meet again on March
Heart of Cuba on stage
Ballet Creole performs
at River Run Centre
Colleen McDonell
Not all ballets are classical affairs,
with an audience hushed as dancers
in tights and leotards move delicately
to the sounds of a classical orchestra.
On Feb. 17 at the River Run Centre,
Guelph got a taste of a different type
of ballet – the kind that gets your
feet tapping, your hands clapping,
and even got The Ontarion's reporter
and photographer up on stage. The
"Heart of Cuba" performed by the
Ballet Creole company brought a
taste of the island to a snowy Canadian
winter as part of the Guelph
Mercury Family Series.
"I wanted to show the dancing of
Cuba on the main stage," Patrick
Parson, founder of Ballet Creole, told
the audience.
"Ballet" is a particular type of dance
with origins in France's courts dating
back to the 1500s and 1600s, while
"Creole" is a term that means "native
to the locality" and refers to people
born and raised in the Caribbean,
but of mixed European and African
descent. The two terms that make
up the name of the company aptly
Juried Photo Show
explores environment
and material concerns
Kara Lee Blok
The First Annual Juried Photo Show,
which ran from Feb. 11 to 16 was presented
by the University of Guelph's
photography department and organized
by MFA student Dustin Wilson.
Jurors Susan Dobson, Anna Cox and
Paul MacDonald selected works
of seven students, which focused
around the themes of environmental
portraiture and the material concerns
of photographic practice.
The environment in Susannah Van
Der Zaag's mural allows the viewer a
curious glimpse into the artist's family
history. This image of the artist's
brother sitting in a concrete structure,
once a bomb shelter and soon to be a
space station, explores the narrative
of a site and how it can shift over time.
Van Der Zaag's family has maintained
ties to this underground structure for
two generations, throughout which
their use of the site has changed
from a space safe from the threats of
Cold War to one that is open to space
Whitney Arnott and Laurel Barr
explore portraiture with similar
approaches, yet depict entirely opposite
lifestyles. Arnott's untitled
series focuses on the female student
demographic to which the artist
described the River Run performance.
"I ventured to pioneer a company
that would take people like me
– black dancers – on the main stage
doing our traditional dance and
modern and contemporary dance,"
said Parson in an interview. Starting
Ballet Creole in 1990, the founder decided
to focus the company's latest
subset on Cuba after returning from
the island to Toronto.
"I noticed that there are Cubans
here with the music, but not dance
itself as a whole production."
In its second year of touring, the
ballet infused the auditorium with
the rhythms of Cuba through acrobatic
dance and drumming. The
four-member band used various
drums to create different beats to accompany
their chanting and singing.
At first, the music seemed not very
relatable to a majority of the audience,
especially those of the younger
generation. However, the dancers
in colourful costumes inspired the
viewer to get lost in the movements
and try to discover the story behind
the energetic dance.
"I keep delving deeper into the
music and every year discover something
new that allows me to refine
or develop the choreography," Parson
said in the production pamphlet.
From A to Zavitz
The founder made special mention
of his colleague Yuhala Garcia, a Cuban-born
performer, who was very
instrumental in the creation of the
The four dancers moved through
the aisles of the audience during the
second song, showing both the fluidity
and complexities of the dances up
close and personal. Their hip-moving,
shoulder-shaking, and skirt-flapping
techniques brought vibrancy to
the stage.
"We try to show the heartfelt expressions
of Cuban people," said
Parson. "We have Cuban dancers
and musicians to keep the traditions
Parson, on stage as part of the
band, greatly encouraged audience
arts & Culture
Caribbean dance company Ballet Creole brought the sights and sounds of Cuba to the River Run Centre
on Feb. 17 in a performance that included much audience interaction.
Nadine Maher
The First Annual Juried Photo Show in Zavitz Gallery the week of Feb. 16 featured seven students,
selected by jurors to capture the themes of environmental portraiture and material concerns.
belongs, presenting each subject in
a straightforward depiction of how
they inhabit their personal space.
The resulting deadpan images reveal
the awkward nature of living in
a liminal zone throughout university.
Barr's sensitive portraits allow
the mostly student viewership a new
perspective on the often-marginalized
elderly. Barr hopes to provide
insight into the personalities of each
model, thus establishing them as an
individual standing apart from what
most viewers might see as simply an
age group.
The remaining four artists showed
work situated within the contemporary
discourse of digital photography
that challenges what is defined as a
photograph. In "Portraits of Sound,"
Ashley Freake confronts this question
head-on by scanning an iPad's moving
visualization of sound, thus capturing
an image of sound as opposed to light.
Using a similar technique, Lisa
Muzzin created photographic images
through the process of scanning small
paintings of marks characteristic of
analog photography, such as the
light leaks and various chemical inconsistencies
that can occur in film
processing. Her interest lies in exploring
the transformation of these
indexical marks from photography to
painting and then back again, creating
a hybrid image that simultaneously
signifies both painting and photography
thus forcing the viewer to question
their own perceptual process.
participation. Nearing the end, kids
and parents alike joined the performers
on stage, and through moves
inspired by Spanish flamenco and
African dance, they were transported
to the sunny island nation, if only
for a moment.
for web-exclusive
p h o t o R e e l
Wendy Shepherd
Samuel de Lange's "Simulacra/
Mise-en-Abyme" series similarly
instills a perceptual awareness in the
viewer. Presented on one side of the
diptych is a photograph of a slide of an
original copy of an original sculpture
significant in the canon of art history.
On the other side there is a QR
code, which – through a smartphone
– allows access to the same opposing
image. This interactive component
brings the viewer to question their
relationship to the image and further
emphasizes the existence of the
artwork as an index of an index of an
Although a complete departure
from the photographic medium, Zoe
Downie-Ross's video piece still speaks
in a photographic language. Using
slow camera movements to capture
overlooked ceilings in three dreamy
loops, Downie-Ross draws the beautiful
out of the mundane and engages
the viewer to become aware of their
surroundings. Downie-Ross sets this
relentlessly looping environment in
contrast to the lulls in interpersonal
communication created and amplified
by technology.
The show successfully presented
photographs with a high level of
conceptual depth and visual appeal,
many of which challenged the viewer
to consider the location of the artwork
and expand their notions of
what photography can encompass.
Next year's shows will certainly be
a must-see.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
arts & Culture 11
Album Review: My Bloody Valentine – m b v
Shoegaze veterans
return after two
Robyn Nicholson
How do you follow a landmark sophomore-album-turned-cult-classic
which defined a genre and essentially
a generation If you're Irish alt-rockers
My Bloody Valentine, you wait
twenty-odd years, speculate casually
about a possible release date, and surprise
the entire music community by
dropping the new album – seemingly
on a whim – one Saturday night, effectively
propelling yourself back into
the limelight after years of obscurity.
My Bloody Valentine's history is
something of an urban myth: after a
whirlwind debut (1988's Isn't Anything),
1991's Loveless proceeded not
only to immortalize the band in music
history through its groundbreaking
innovations in guitar sounds and production,
but it also nearly bankrupted
their unsuspecting independent label.
Like all future cult-classic albums,
Loveless was a commercial disappointment
despite its unanimous
critical praise and undeniable influence
on an entire generation of
alternative rock. While it allowed
the band to sign to a major label, the
pressure to live up to the sterling standard
set by Loveless meant the band
ultimately abandoned any hope of a
third effort by 1999.
Fast-forward to 2012: a reunion tour
and thousands of wild rumours later,
founding member Kevin Shields quietly
hinted in an interview with NME
that new material might be in the
works, and set for release by the end
of the year. Amid swirling speculation,
m b v was dropped on Feb. 2, 2013 at
precisely 11:58 p.m., effectively crashing
the band's website server within
mere moments of release.
Considering all this history, this
generation's twenty-somethings are
as old as Loveless itself and may not
entirely be subject to its influence.
This being said, any fans of early U2,
Radiohead and essentially the entire
Brit-Pop movement have My Bloody
Valentine to thank for that trademark
vacuum-infused, swirling, distorted
guitar sound that has come to define
alternative and indie rock as a genre.
While m b v may not be much of a
departure from Loveless, it reasserts
My Bloody Valentines as dignified veterans
of shoegaze, and yet it manages
to sound as fresh and new as Loveless
did all those years ago. The album is
almost gesturing to an entire era of
indie rock about where it came from,
and also proving once and for all that,
twenty years aside, My Bloody Valentine
defined a genre once, and they
can just as easily do it again.
Album opener "She Found Now"
softly growls into the consciousness
with a pulsing base and subtle bending
of pitch that you can feel in your
temples. Soft mesmerizing vocals
croon nearly indecipherable sweetnothings
and provide an inviting and
mystifying lead into the rest of the
Skip to track three, "Who Sees
You," and the percussion gets picked
up more, skipping haphazardly with
shakers and highly controlled use
of snare, while guitars continue to
grind out that signature half-vacuum
cleaner, half-jet engine sound,
while Shields and Bilinda Butcher's
combined vocal forces blend in and
out of focus.
"Is This and Yes" introduces a more
keyboard-synth driven sound which
proves to be one of the more innovative
departures from My Bloody
Valentine's already well-establish
sonic signature, creating an effervescent
and sparkling dream-like
atmosphere for higher-pitched vocals,
thoroughly processed as always.
The magic of m b v is its timelessness
– it is the logical counterpart to
follow Loveless, even though it is
decades late. When you listen to the
two albums back to back, it's as if no
time has passed between them. My
Bloody Valentine has always managed
to remain fresh and present and
yet simultaneously enigmatic and
inexplicable. They are a band who
managed to change the face of alternative
rock in just three years and two
albums before slipping off the face of
the earth. For them to return after so
long and effortlessly reclaim their spot
atop the hierarchy of indie rock royalty
is both astounding and refreshing.
While many of us may not have
been born early enough to take part
in the original nostalgia for early nineties
shoegaze and the second wave
of British invasion, m b v allows us
the opportunity not only to become
aware of this landmark band and their
history, but also work backwards and
experience for the first time a signature
sound which broke serious
ground and had a heavy hand in shaping
what alternative rock has sounded
like for the last two decades – a monumental
return for a monumental band.
What the Tech
Art explained by
Nick Revington
John Onians has a radical way of approaching
art history. Onians, an art
historian and Professor Emeritus of
the School of World Art Studies at
the University of East Anglia in the
United Kingdom, presented a talk
Feb. 26 entitled Art and the Brain:
How Neuroscience Can Help the Art
Historian. Onians suggests that advances
in neuroscience can go a long
way in explaining questions such as
what goes on in an artist's mind, and
why art is a universal activity but is
practiced differently at different times
and places – questions typically the
domain of art historians.
Based on MRI scans of the brain,
Onians maintains that when an artist
paints a portrait for example, they are
not drawing on what they see directly
to produce an image, but rather on
memories relating to previous experience
drawing certain types of features
(such as lips) or how to capture certain
The notion that artists draw on past
experiences seems, in a way, blatantly
obvious. But Onians's "neuroarthistory"
– the framing of this simple
notion in neuroscientific terms – appears
to hold a key to understanding
art in a new way.
"All of us in this room, basically all
the things we're good at, we're good
at because we've done them many
times before, and that lays down neural
networks which are private to us,
personal to us, and there's no shortcutting
that. That's the only way you
learn a language, an instrument, or a
discipline," said Onians.
For example, Onians hypothesizes
that the incredibly realistic perspective
of cave paintings in Chauvet,
France – some of the oldest known
paintings, at about 30,000 years old
– as compared to other cave paintings
is a result of the inhabitants' unique
opportunity to observe animals often.
Since the cave is situated near a natural
stone bridge over a major river,
it was particularly well travelled by
migrating animals. Similarly, Michelangelo
created what were by far
the most realistic sculptures of nude
form up to the 14th century through
intense studying and dissection of
human corpses.
But Onians also postulates that
this approach can explain why large
groups of artists produce similar
works in similar times. American artists
such as Jasper Johns, Mark Rothko
and others created large paintings of
relatively monotonous colours during
the 1950s, which Onians suggests
may be a result of the prevalence of
imagery and concern in the collective
conscience over the relatively
monotonous and bare fields of the
dustbowl years of the Great Depression
a few decades earlier. That these
paintings had such powerful appeal to
patrons of art, too, might be explained
in this way: neural pathways in both
the artists and viewers that developed
according to scenes common in that
era contributed to preferences for artwork
with that familiar aesthetic. It's
an approach art historians have never
taken before, Onians said.
While this way of understanding art
history may seem somewhat mechanistic,
Onians was quick to emphasize
that it is anything but, as neural pathways
are unique to individuals and
arranged among hundreds of billions
of neurons with hundreds of thousands
of links between each of them.
Pop Machine: "Junk" won't cut it
Video response
fails to balance
MacFarlane's sexist
anthem "We Saw Your
Tom Beedham
Trigger warning: contains discussion
of images of sexual violence.
A face-palm prompting pop culture
moment as infamous as Seth MacFarlane's
Oscars song "We Saw Your Boobs"
is bound to spark parodies, and on Feb.
25, Kevin Gisi made that a reality with
"We Saw Your Junk."
Beginning with a disclaimer reading,
"To those who were offended by
Seth MacFarlane's 'We Saw Your Boobs'
number at the Oscars I hope this helps!"
viewers are asked to expect that what's
to come will somehow balance MacFarlane's
male gaze championing anthem
that listed onscreen appearances of several
actresses' exposed breasts to 40.3
million viewers. The one thing Gisi's
song has going for it is that it goes after
a subject in a position of more privilege
than that tackled by MacFarlane,
but what's ultimately put forth is more
of an apologist statement that is more
of a trivialization of legitimate backlash
MacFarlane received in the wake
of hosting the Academy Awards.
Gisi's song lists films in which actors'
naked penises are featured onscreen,
but it ultimately fails to address the most
offensive subtexts of "Boobs."
What's not overt to all that watched
MacFarlane's number was that many
of the moments referenced involved
sexual violence, predation, and sexploitation.
As Katie McDonough
pointed out in an article for Salon,
the breasts viewers glimpse in The
Accused, Boys Don't Cry, Monster,
Monster's Ball are shown in a
rape scene, a medical examination
following rape, a bathroom scene following
a rape (in which the breasts are
bruised), and a sex scene in which the
line between consent and resistance
isn't clear and the character can be
read as an object of white male sexual
exotification of the black female (respectively).
MacFarlane also referenced
the real life privacy violation of Scarlett
Johansson, in which nude photos from
her phone were leaked to the Internet.
MacFarlane cemented the song
as one big slut shame by glorifying
actresses that have yet to bare their
breasts on screen by including a clip of
Jennifer Lawrence snapping her fingers
from the crowd after it's noted that we
haven't seen her naked bosoms onscreen.
Gisi actually participates in
the same activity when he notes several
movies Ron Jeremy's penis was
not shown in on-screen, then goes
on to sing "But that doesn't make up
for the porn."
Critics of MacFarlane's detractors
have pointed to the fact that many of
the actresses featured in MacFarlane's
performance were in on the so-called
"gag," but that didn't make it any less
sexist; all this signals is a Hollywood
widely insular to the systemic oppression
of women.
To wit, satire, sarcasm, and grossout
postmodern pastiche has been
MacFarlane's comedic vehicle of
choice across all of the creations he's
steered directly (Family Guy, The
Cleveland Show, etc.), and it's possible
to concede he was aiming to start
a discussion. But I'm not about to become
a MacFarlane apologist. We're
at an embarrassing stage in our pop
cultural history if we're willing to accept
misogynist, homophobic, racist,
and otherwise oppressive statements
or actions as "clever humour" when
the source material is simply receiving
an application of literal or metaphorical
quotation marks. We need to stop
being a party to that.
Videogame Review: Aliens: Colonial Marines
Just another bug hunt
Devon Harding
There is no film more influential
to the videogame industry
than Alien. Halo takes its Sargent
Johnston directly from
Aliens's Sargent Apone. Metroid
borrows just about everything
else. Even Doom, the father of
first person shooters, was originally
envisioned as an Aliens
game. That's why everyone in
the gaming community seemed
so excited when Aliens: Colonial
Marines was announced five
years ago. The title was stuck in
development hell and was delayed
multiple times. Finally, it
arrived, and people were still excited.
Gearbox, the developer,
had just released the excellent
Borderlands 2, and faith in the
company was strong. I personally
had pre-ordered it online, and
was ready to start playing when
the news hit me. It had received
a two point five out of ten from a
reviewer at Destructoid. A three
out of ten from Eurogamer. This
is roughly comparable to getting
30 per cent on an exam: awful.
So is it really that bad Or is it
a case of five years of absurdly
high expectations that no game
could live up to
The first thing you'll notice
is that the presentation is
downright sexy. The menus perfectly
suggest the aesthetic of the
original film, with the music following
suit. It looks and sounds
consistently like an official Alien
sequel, the only good idea that is
consistently pulled off without
You begin playing by trying out
your movie-accurate pulse rifle
and the terrifying motion tracker
in levels that are lifted straight
from the film. Soon, after slinking
through the USCMC Suloco's
halls, you find a marine stuck in
an alien "cocoon." While cutting
him down, a titular xenomorph
slinks from the walls, and you
freak out. It's effective, it works,
mainly because you are alone and
you have no idea where an alien
may come from. During the following
game of cat and mouse
between me and that single alien,
the game felt right. And then the
game goes careening downhill.
Creatures pop from the walls
and run at you with open arms,
you cease to be alone, and can let
your allies blast away with infinite
ammo. The game becomes a
shoot-em-up where you will tear
through thousands of enemies
without any tension. It is still fun,
when it works, but it betrays the
feeling of the source material.
Beyond the fundamental problem
of making an action game
with horror moments instead of
the reverse, the game has many
ideas that are brilliant, but are
pulled off with too much haste
and not enough thought. If you
shoot an alien close up, its acidic
blood can splash on your protective
gear rendering it useless. A
great idea, but that shock is rendered
moot when you can strap
on six helmets left lying around
whatever derelict research
station you are currently exterminating.
At one point, the game
strips you of your weaponry and
arts & Culture
courtesy sega
The single-player campaign of Aliens: Colonial Marines leaves much to be desired, especially for fans of
the film, but the multiplayer mode is a great success.
tasks you with escaping a ruthless
(and apparently bulletproof)
creature. After a mix of slinking
through the shadows and sprinting
from certain death, you get
your gear and fight back with the
power loader from the climax of
Aliens. It would be incredibly
cathartic, if operating the loader
required more than button
mashing. Reaching to the film,
the game includes some great
lines and references, a guilty
pleasure among them being the
quit prompt asking "Game over
man" but then turns around and
outright ignores at least three
major plot points of Aliens and
its sequel. This includes ignoring
character deaths and nuclear
blasts. To add insult to injury,
when characters ask about these
discrepancies, others respond by
claiming "that's another story."
Despite all this, the multiplayer
mode is awesome. Developed
by a different studio than the
single player mode, this mode
would make the whole game
worth it, if the price were reduced.
As a marine, you are
tasked with escaping infested
territory, carrying out a last
stand until help arrives, or other
tasks highly reminiscent of the
films. Whereas the campaign
just has creatures spring at you
in the open, xenomorphs are
controlled here by people, players
who are smart, resourceful,
and who have a sense of selfpreservation.
A great moment
occurred as I was playing as an
alien: marines were gathered in
a room restocking on ammo, and
three aliens had joined me on
top of the structure. The marines
ran out, and we jumped on them,
shocking one to throw a grenade
at his ally as we attacked them.
That's what the core of this
game should have been: stealthy,
smart aliens vs. overpowered,
underprepared marines, joining
the film in its Vietnam allegory.
Instead, the campaign might be
better compared to Rambo.
Film Review: A Good Day to Die Hard
Quality action makes
up for lack of character
Kevin Ricci
To call A Good Day to Die Hard
a good action movie is a comment
that would likely fit within
the views of the general public.
However, to say the latest Bruce
Willis action film is a good Die
Hard feature would certainly be
an overstatement. With a runtime
of 97 minutes, A Good Day
to Die Hard is the shortest film
in the franchise by around 25
minutes. As a result, viewers get
a frenetically paced slam-bang
action picture that pulls a lot of
punches, but leaves its brain at
the door.
The movie begins with the
hero John McClane working as
a police officer in New York City.
When he receives information
that his estranged son is being
held under arrest in Russia, he
flies out there to help him out.
Upon his arrival, a bombing occurs
at the courthouse where
John's son Jack is being held.
The bombing allows for Jack's
escape and from there begins a
15-minute car chase where the
bad guys are chasing Jack and
John is following in tow to save
his son. Father and son unite,
and put behind all of their clichéd
issues in order to save the
The Die Hard films tend to
have fairly basic plot lines; the
fifth installment adds nothing
new in this department. However,
the Die Hard franchise also
has well developed villains, a
polished script and superb direction,
which sets them on a very
high pedestal in the action genre.
These characteristics, sad to say,
are what this latest entry lacks.
The greatest guess for this film's
issues would have to be the running
time; adding an extra half
hour could have meant more
clarity, character development,
better editing, and an intelligent
screenplay. Additionally, it appears
that the characterization
of John McClane was forgotten
not only in this installment, but
the franchise's fourth film Live
Free or Die Hard as well. The
wise cracking, vulgar, nicotineaddicted
alcoholic of the original
trilogy has been replaced by the
same Bruce Willis one would find
in any of his other films.
All complaints aside, A Good
Day to Die Hard is a good time.
Following a similarly structured
approach as recent action
features like Taken and The
Expendables, the "shoot now,
shoot later" attitude works in
this instance. The quantity of
totaled vehicles and pounds of
broken glass surely outweigh the
number of words found in the
screenplay. It's not necessarily
a bad thing, as the film does
exhibit some impressive action
scenes. In fact, if director John
Moore did not go for the Bourneesque
approach of quick cuts and
a shaky camera for every scene
of action, it would be plausible
for the newest Die Hard to boast
some classic action sequences for
decades to come. The car chase
is certainly one of the best in
recent memory, and the shootouts,
even if implausible for Die
Hard standards, will definitely
keep viewers on the edge of
their seats.
A Good Day to Die Hard would
be an easier film to recommend if
it did not have "Die Hard" in the
title. The plot structure, main
character, script, and direction
are not at the quality level
of a Die Hard movie. However
A Good Day to Die Hard is
a better-than-average action
feature and that is why it gets a
recommendation. It's not recommended
for all audiences, but
for those that are fans of Bruce
Willis, popcorn flicks, and fast
paced action, will certainly have
a satisfying time at the movies.
Rating: 3 / 5
sports & Health
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
Windsor too much for Gryphons
Playoff run cut short
in 2-0 Lancer series
sweep of the Gryphons
Chris Müller
The men's hockey team's season has
come to an abrupt end following a 1-0
loss to the Windsor Lancers on Feb. 23.
The loss comes after an impressive and
hard-fought series between Guelph
and Laurier in the quarterfinal series.
Guelph got off to a rough start in
the 2013 playoffs at home, dropping
the first game of the Laurier series in
overtime in a 4-3 loss. Guelph was
able to change their fortunes quickly
though, posting a 3-2 victory in the
Feb. 16 matchup in Laurier. The win
forced a series-decided game three,
and the teams entered a final overtime
period tied at 2-2. Gryphon forward
Justin Gvora was the hero in front of
the hometown crowd, as he netted the
game winner 5:50 into overtime. Andrew
Bathgate and Matt Lyall chipped
in with assists on the goal.
The OUA West semifinal series with
Windsor would prove to be a drastically
different affair.
Game one of the series took place
in Windsor on Feb. 21, where a disciplined
Lancer team scored twice on
the powerplay and allowed only one
goal on 30 shots. Scoring was finished
by midway through the second, and
neither team would alter the 2-1 final
score by the end of regulation.
Game two returned the series to
Guelph on Feb. 23, where the Gryphons
looked to equalize the series at
one game apiece.
The Gryphons came out firing on
all cylinders, outshooting the Lancers
16-9 in the first period. The tables
turned in the second period, as the
Lancers returned the favour by outshooting
the Gryphons 15-6. At 16:01
of the second period, Windsor netted a
powerplay goal on Gryphon goaltender
Andrew Loverock, who had an otherwise
phenomenal night, stopping 30
of 31 shots. The goal would prove too
much for the Gryphons to overcome,
as Windsor goaltender Parker Van Buskirk
posted a shutout when his team
needed it the most, stopping all 30 of
Guelph's shots.
The loss was the last game for Gryphon
Ed Gale, the graduating captain
of the Guelph squad.
It simply wasn't meant to be for
the Gryphons offense this postseason,
as they struggled to match the
strong defensive performance by Loverock.
In five games, Loverock posted
a 2.06 goals against average and a .921
save percentage. In those same five
games Guelph only mustered 10 offensive
goals as they struggled to find
the rhythm that made the Gryphons
a potent offensive attack during the
regular season.
The Gryphon season concludes as
one of the best in the last six years. The
tasha falconer
Matt Lyall (8) of the Gryphons moves the puck into the offensive zone during the Gryphon's playoff run.
team's 17-9-2 record in the regular
season was the highest win total for
the Gryphons in the last six seasons,
and with young offensive firepower
waiting in the wings for next season,
the Gryphons have only scraped the
surface of their potential.
Gryphons fall to Gaels in OUA Semifinal
After defeating UOIT in
the first round, Guelph
ousted by Queen's
Chris Müller
You couldn't script a better beginning
to the playoffs than what the
Gryphons experienced on Feb. 13
when they hosted the UOIT Ridgebacks
at the Gryphon Centre.
Jessica Pinkerton gave Guelph
the lead at 5:26 into the first period
and the Gryphons never looked
back. Amanda Parkins netted one
in the second, and Averi Nooren and
Kaitlyn Mora each scored in the third
period. Goaltender Stephanie Nehring
made 13 saves for the shutout.
The Gryphons travelled to Oshawa
on Feb. 15 for the second and final
game of the series.
After going up 1-0 on the Gryphons,
the ridgebacks capitalized on
a powerplay opportunity, as Jaclyn
Gibson fired a shot past Nehring at
17:29 in the first period to give UOIT
an early 2-0 lead.
Amanda Parkins was determined
to change the course of the game,
and netted an early goal just 3:27
into the second period. Momentum
shifted late in the second when a
malicious kneeing penalty was committed
by Victoria MacKenzie of the
Ridgebacks. The hit led to Leigh Shilton
of the Gryphons leaving with a
knee injury shortly after. MacKenzie
was given a five-minute major penalty
and a game misconduct for her
role in the incident.
Guelph's Kaitlyn Mora notched
the game-tying goal at 1:47 in the
third period, forcing overtime.
One overtime period wasn't
enough, and in the second overtime
period Pinkerton netted the gamewinner
with assists awarded to
Amanda Parkins and Christine Grant.
The win advanced the Gryphons into
the OUA Semifinal.
Without the assistance of Leigh
Shilton, the Gryphons hosted the
first game of the semifinal series
against Queen's on Feb. 20, a team
that finished just two points behind
the Gryphons in regular season play.
Queen's jumped out to an early
2-0 lead which Guelph would even
up with just over six minutes remaining
in the third period. The
Gaels scored with six minutes and
three minutes remaining in the contest
to capture the first game of the
playoff series.
The series travelled to Kingston
on Feb. 22, and Queen's took full
advantage of the home ice advantage.
Queen's outshot the Gryphons
20-5 in the first period and the Gryphons
escaped down only a goal at
the period's end. The second period
witnessed Christine Grant corral a
rebound, tying the game at one
An early third period goal by the
Gaels put Guelph in the difficult position
of trying to keep their season
alive. A late powerplay goal by the
Gaels put the game out of reach for
the Gryphons, and the final score
was 3-1. The Gryphons were outshot
by the Gaels 39-22 in the final game
of their incredible season.
Tough finish for Gryphon basketball
Gryphons struggled
to find rhythm in final
weeks of season
Chris Müller
Both the men's and women's seasons
have come to an end for the
Gryphon basketball program, as
the women were ousted in their
first-round playoff game and the
men dropped a heartbreaker that
prevented them from getting into
the playoffs.
The women's team beat Waterloo
71-55 in the final game of the
regular season on Feb. 16, and was
then given an early exit from the
playoffs on Feb. 20 at the hands
of McMaster. Only dressing 11,
and missing the talents of Kayla
Goodhoofd and Alyssa Shortt, the
Gryphons struggled to find any offensive
rhythm, eventually losing
It was the last game as a Gryphon
for Jasmine Douglas, who
played well, posting nine points
and nine rebounds in her final
game in the red, black, and yellow.
It was also the last game for
head coach Tom O'Brien, who announced
his retirement after three
years at the helm of the Guelph
program. O'Brien concludes his
career after a 26-29 record in his
time at Guelph, choosing to leave
the coaching post after 44 years of
coaching experience.
The team was led offensively by
Kayla Goodhoofd's average of 13
points per game throughout the
season, and Douglas' 174 rebounds
in the regular season landed her
fourth in the OUA in that statistical
The men's side dropped an incredibly
close, down-to-the-wire
game with Waterloo in their final
game of the year on Feb. 16. After
four quarters of back and forth
basketball, with multiple lead
changes in the closing minutes,
Guelph failed to convert on a basket
in the last 15 seconds, handing
the last open playoff spot to Waterloo.
Guelph finished the year
with a 5-16 record. Veterans Zach
Angus and Dan McCarthy led the
team in scoring throughout the
season, both averaging just over
13 points in each contest. Adam
Kemp led the defensive unit with
90 rebounds over the course of the
The men will search for their first
winning season since 2007-08 as
they prepare for next year, while
the women will have to wait and
see who will coach them as they
look for their first winning season
since 2006-07.
for web-exclusive
p h o t o R e e l
Daniel McCarthy (4) works past a Waterloo defender on Feb. 16 at
the W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre. The Gryphons lost 63-62 in their
final game of the season.
Gryphons golden at OUA Chamionships
Both men and women
captured overall gold
Chris Müller
For the first time since the 1998-99
season, the familiar navy and blue of
the Windsor Lancers was not to be
found atop the men's track and field
championship podium. Rather, the
red, black, and yellow of the Gryphons
stood tallest amongst the OUA.
Led by Gryphon athlete of the
week Anthony Romaniw, the Gryphons
jumped out to an early overall
lead and never let up, beating Windsor
by an impressive 57 points in the
provincial championships. Romaniw
captured four medals on the day, including
the three gold medal finishes
in the 600 and 1000-metre races, and
anchored the 4 x 800 metre relay
team. Romaniw added a silver in the
4 x 400 metre. Tim Hendry took gold
in the shot put while breaking his own
meet record, and grabbed silver in the
weight throw event. Yves Sikubwabo
earned silver in the 1000 and 1500-
metre events, and also pitched in to
capture gold in the 4 x 800.
The men's 1500-metre witnessed
the Gryphon 2-3-4-5 finish of Sikubwabo,
Steve Holmes, Ross Proudfoot,
and Andrew Nixon. All four Gryphons
finished within two and a half seconds
of each other.
The men scored points in every
event they competed in, and of the
28 male competitors sent to represent
the Gryphons, all finished in the
top eight of at least one event in the
championship. It was truly a full-team
performance by the men's side, only to
be rivaled by the efforts of the women.
The women's side also performed
exquisitely, grabbing the title from the
defending Lancers for the first time
since 2008-09. Fellow Gryphon of the
week Andrea Seccafien earned gold in
the 3000-metre, 4 x 800-metre, and
1500-metre races, effectively spearheading
the women's team to a close
victory over the rest of the field.
The women's team was 12 points off
the lead entering the final three events.
A 1-2 finish in the 1500-metre by Seccafien
and Carise Thompson helped
secure victory. However, efforts by
Julia Wallace (3 medals), Rachel Aubry
(2 medals), Erika Fiedler (1 medal)
sports & Health
Ben Derochie
Andrea Connell
Members of Guelph's track and field team pose for the camera after another successful OUA Track and
Field Championship.
and Karry-Ann Cornwall (1 medal)
contributed to a team effort by the
Gryphons that earned points in 16 of
17 events.
In the last ten years of both men
and women's competitions, the OUA
champion has won the overall CIS
Championship 40 per cent of the time.
The team is making all the lastminute
preparations for what should
be a very exciting CIS Championship
at the University of Calgary on Mar.
Three gold-medal
performances highlight
Gryphon success
Chris Müller
The Gryphons travelled to St. Catherines
to partake in the 2012-13 OUA
Championships at Brock University
on Feb. 16.
The men finished fourth in a tightly
contested day, ending with 59 points.
Western earned 73, McMaster 67, and
the host Brock notched 63 to round
out the top three. Western's victory
gives them the title of back-to-back
champions, winning last year's
championship as well. The imposing
John Fitzgerald earned gold for Guelph
in the 130-kilogram category, effectively
defending the event he won at
last year's OUA Championship. Mathieu
Deschatelets also took gold for
his efforts in the 82-kilogram weight
class, and Navrit Wirach earned silver
in the 57-kilogram event. Deschatelets
was named the male athlete of
the week by the athletic department.
The women's side witnessed
Brock win the championship at
home with 69 points, while Western
(59) and Lakehead (49) rounded
out the top three. Guelph's 39 points
were enough to earn fourth in the
Kelsey Gsell earned gold in the
82-kilogram weight class, improving
on the form that earned her silver
in last year's competition. Gsell's efforts
allowed her to share the athlete
of the week spotlight with teammate
Deschatelets, both were named OUA
all stars. Jade Papke earned silver in
the 52-kilogram category, totaling
the gryphon medal accruement at five.
Head coach Doug Cox was pleased
with the young team's performance
in an excerpt from the gryphons.ca
"We took a very young men's and
women's team with half of our team
made up of first year wrestlers," said
Cox. "I'm very excited about our future
with the work ethic of our rookie
athletes and the great group of returning
athletes coming back next
Guelph's wrestlers will travel to
London, Ont. for the CIS Championships
where the hosting Western
Mustangs will look to keep the momentum
gained from their first and
second place finishes in the provincial
Concordia University will look
to make it three national championships
in a row on the men's side,
while Brock enters the women's final
looking to duplicate the success they
had last year en route to a national
championship. The championship
will occur on March 1 and 2.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
sports & Health 17
Provincial and national success in the pool
The Gryphon swim
team posted
impressive results over
the reading week
Chris Müller
Led by the efforts of potential Olympian
Alisha Harricharan and rookie
Evan Van Moerkerke, the Gryphons
have dazzled in the pool on the provincial
and national levels.
Dating back to the OUA Championships
from Feb. 7-9 in Toronto,
the Gryphons have combined to
tally 17 total medals at the provincial
and national level. In the last
few weeks, Guelph has proven that
they can hang with the traditional
swimming contenders like Western,
Toronto, and McMaster.
Guelph finished fourth overall in
both the men's and women's divisions
at the OUA finals. Gold medals
from the OUA rookie of the year Van
Moerkerke in the 100-metre and 50-
metre freestyle events as well as a
silver in the 100-metre backstroke
encapsulated an impressive performance
by the young standout. A gold
in the 200-metre and silver in the
100-metre were won by Matthew
Stephenson, and Derek Quick earned
a bronze in the 1500-metre freestyle.
Harricharan earned gold in the
50, 100, and 200-metre butterfly
events, setting an OUA record in
the 100-metre. With the assistance
of Tess Wey, Sasha Boulton, and
Erica Pate, Harricharan also earned
bronze in the 400-metre freestyle
relay. For her efforts, Harricharan
was named the OUA female swimmer
of the year.
Harricharan and Van Moerkerke
led their respective squads into the
CIS Championships held in Calgary
from Feb. 21-23. Both would earn
two medals over the course of the
Harricharan earned gold in the
100-metre with a time of 59.72,
shaving nearly half a second off
the OUA record-breaking time. A
bronze in the 50-metre butterfly
rounded out her performance on
the national stage.
Evan Van Moerkerke concluded
an impressive few weeks by capturing
bronze in both the 50 and
100-metre freestyle events. His
times were 22.99 in the 50-metre,
and 46.65 in the 100-metre.
The strong performances by these
two led to a 14th-place finish on
both the men's and women's side
of the competition.
The men's side was won by the
University of Toronto for the first
time in 18 years, ending a frustrating
national drought for the perennial
contender. The University of British
Columbia and the University of
Calgary rounded out the top three.
A mere 25 points separated Toronto
from Calgary in the final standings.
The women's side was dominated
by the University of British Columbia,
as the Thunderbirds scorched
the competition to win with 150
points more than second-place finishing
Calgary. The Toronto women
finished third in the championship.
No Gryphons were selected for
individual awards, and both swimmers
of the year came from the
Thunderbirds. The sprinter's cup,
awarded to the athlete that wins
both the 50 and 100-metre freestyle
events, was only awarded on
the women's side, going to Caroline
Lapierre-Lemire of the Université
du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
With both Harricharan and Van
Moerkerke returning next year,
there remains an excellent opportunity
for both the men and women of
the Gryphon swim team to maintain
and improve their standing within
the university swimming landscape,
an excitement that is sure to be experienced
as the team continues the
year-round process of training for
next season.
From the Bleachers
The power of sport
Chris Müller
It's been a weird couple of weeks in
the world of sports. Oscar Pistorius,
the double leg amputee sprinter, was
accused of murdering his girlfriend
Reena Steenkamp. Rebecca Marino's
bout with depression caused her to
leave professional tennis; Ronda Rousey
defeated Liz Carmouche in the main
event of UFC 157; spring training has
fans of baseball restless with anticipation;
and the NHL is keeping the
masses entertained (as it should). In
the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment
of the month, the Raptors are coming
dangerously close to being relevant
in the NBA.
There's a lot to get caught up on, and
that list is only scratching the surface
of major sports media's coverage of
the last few weeks. But the best story
to emerge from this wonderful month
of February centers on a 101-year-old
man from India.
Fauja Singh's career as a marathon
runner ended on Feb. 24, when he
completed the 10-kilometre marathon
in a time of 1:32.28. However,
it's the story of how he got his start in
marathon running that's much more
Singh's wife and son passed away
in quick succession in 1994. To make
matters worse, Singh witnessed the
death of his son as a stray piece of corrugated
metal flew through the air and
decapitated him. With all of Singh's
other children emigrated, the then
83-year-old Singh battled with depression
and moved to London to live
with his youngest son.
In London, Singh gained an interest
in athletic events put on by the Sikh
community. Singh even competed in
sprints. Singh soon connected with a
group of marathon runners that encouraged
him to run as a way to clear
his mind and work through the horrors
of his past. In 2000, Singh ran the
London marathon. The great-grandfather
has been running ever since,
appearing in Toronto events on several
Singh soon gained international recognition,
and the former farmer was
soon staying at expensive hotels and
appearing at functions with dignitaries.
The illiterate Singh spoke through
his Punjabi-English coach and translator,
Harmander Singh, after the
10-kilometre run on Feb. 24.
"From a tragedy has come a lot of
success and happiness," explained
Singh. Singh's optimism shone
through as he described what the
feeling would be when he watched
marathons in the future.
"There will be times in the future
where I will be thinking, 'Well, I used
Ken Dryden talks concussions
Former NHLer leads
discussion on head
trauma in sport
Laura Castellani
It is a debilitating head injury whose
effects extend well beyond the world
of sport. The complexity of a concussion
is undeniable and has left
sport communities grappling to find
the best approach to cope with this
widespread yet often misclassified
and ill-understood injury. On Feb. 19,
the University of Guelph and Guelph
sport communities offered the Guelph
Concussion Panel to facilitate a community-wide
discussion based on the
experiences of a series of panellists, led
by former NHLer and politician Ken
The evening featured three panels
composed of concussed youth athletes,
medical professionals and members
of elite and recreational athletic programs
who shared their experiences.
In response to the increasing prevalence
of concussions and the many
approaches to reconcile player safety
with competitive sport, the answer
came in the simple thought of appreciating
the injury for what it is. Often,
advice and assessment are catered to
the elements of play beyond the athlete.
Young, recreational players may
be more readily recommended to rest
while professional and elite athletes
will have advice confounded with their
obligation to perform.
"We must remember to treat the
patient not the player. It is too easy
to place distinctions on an individual,
when we should be seeing a patient as
a patient," urged Dryden.
Unlike many other sports injuries,
concussions are unique for their somewhat
subjective air. While recovery
from most injuries can be assessed
and monitored based on the progression
of physical changes and the
advice of sport scientists, the assessment
of concussions is not so clear. A
single succinct and step-wise recovery
pathway is less likely due in large
to the reliance on intuition and the
qualitative (not quantitative) nature
of diagnoses.
In this way, as highlighted in the
youth panel, concussion management
is much more susceptible to influence
by pressure and stigma from the community.
Unlike other sports injuries,
there are no physical signs to prevent
the athlete from returning to play. A
cast does not need to be removed nor
are you clutching crutches that indicate
that return to play is not an option.
While these traditional signs of
to do that.'" Singh expressed a hope
that his efforts would be remembered,
even if the Guinness World Records
won't recognize his status as the oldest
man to ever run a marathon. The issue
lies in Guinness not receiving a birth
certificate to confirm his age. India did
not issue birth certificates in 1911, and
a British passport confirming Singh's
date of birth on Apr. 9, 1911 is still insufficient
to establish his authentic age
without any doubt.
Singh accomplished the feat by running
a full marathon in Toronto in 2011,
effectively cementing him as the oldest
man to run a marathon, record books
be damned.
It's not Singh's times that matter, or
that his name might never be written
down in the record books that makes
this particular news item noteworthy.
Rather, it's the passion he felt for running,
and the demons it allowed him
to work through that will write the
injury remain discrete, medical
professionals advocate instead
for the reliance on the familiarizing
themselves with their patient. It is a
warranted approach given that all six
athletes of the youth panel discussed
an intangible woe and feeling "like
they were just not themselves." Many
discussed feelings of depression, feeling
isolated from the sport they had
been so immersed in, as well as the
difficulties they faced in school and
work environments. As the treating
trainer, physician or physiotherapist,
the ability to recognize these differences
provides the ability to detect
the lingering effects of a concussion
that preliminary routine tests may not
Of course, while identifying strategies
to treat and minimize the impact
of a concussion, prevention at the level
of the playing field could alleviate the
Find out why Fauja Singh (centre
of photo) is the most fascinating
sports story of the past few weeks.
story of Singh's life. This was a wonderful
accomplishment by someone
that has lived through an experience
few could ever fathom, and despite
legitimate government-issued identification
papers, his record may never
be set in official text.
Here's to Fauja Singh — here's to
the power of sport.
complications of concussions and
the strain they place upon the athletic
The consensus was clear that education
is key. Teaching players the
fundamental skills to maintain a competitive
edge without compromising
safety is essential as is community
awareness and the ability of involved
individuals to recognize the signs of a
Amidst the confusion and concern
shown towards the issue of concussions,
the symposium captured the spirit of
sport in its ability to draw individuals
together to achieve a common goal.
Dryden was optimistic for the future
and believes the work on concussion
awareness, treatment and prevention
is only beginning to take shape.
"The game is always changing. What
we're seeing is only the end of the
Is sitting the new smoking
Are you sitting idly as
your health passes you
Andrea Connell
It's time to join the 15 per cent.
A 2011 Statistics Canada report
found that is the percentage
of adults who are getting the
150 minutes of weekly exercise
needed to maintain health. Two
years later that number hasn't
Even though it's a few months
late I have resolved to get those
minutes of weekly aerobic activity
recommended by the
Canadian Society for Exercise
Physiology (CSEP). The CSEP
recommends that adults between
the ages of 18 – 64 aim for
two and a half hours of moderate
to vigorous exercise weekly.
Sounds completely reasonable,
doesn't it There are 168 hours
in a week after all and this will
only use two and a half of them.
It is actually 16 minutes less
time than I spent watching Peter
Jackson's recently released epic
The Hobbit.
Maybe you are wondering why
you should care. You are young
and healthy after all. Consider
this: an Oct. 2012 article by public
health reporter Andre Picard
in The Globe and Mail states
that "Sitting is the new smoking."
Picard's article entitled,
"Why the Sedentary Life is Killing
Us" presented some pretty
startling statistics. Those who
are inactive face a 147 per cent
increased risk of heart attack or
stroke, a 112 per cent increase in
the risk of developing diabetes,
and a 90 per cent greater risk of
dying from cardiac arrest. The
article continues on with the
stats that the average Canadian
adult spends 50 to 70 per cent
of their daily lives sitting. Ouch.
Get moving people.
Why is it so hard to get exercise
Perhaps our lifestyles aren't
helping. Many people commute
long distances to work, students
spend a lot of time sitting in
classes and in front of the computer,
and part-time jobs and
other commitments fill up a day.
However, there is good news.
Physical activity does not have
to be a complicated regime of
racing to the gym, sprinting to
spin-class and then pedaling so
hard you are sweating from places
you didn't even know existed
and your face turns red as a beetroot.
CSEP says that undertaking
exercise in sessions of 10 minutes
or more at a time is just as effective
as an hour all at once, as
long as it is moderate to vigorous
movement and gets your heart
rate up. Yes, doing that counts.
The long walk across campus to
your class at MAC and then back
to the UC counts. A walk to the
mall, through the Arboretum,
or around the block with your
roommate's dog – it all counts.
There are many resources
available to help inspire you
with ideas of how to fit more activity
into your daily life. The
Public Health Agency of Canada,
who founded CSEP's study
of Canadians exercise habits,
has posted physical activity tip
sheets on their website at www.
publichealth.gc.ca. For adults,
these include: getting 2.5 hours
of weekly exercise (there's that
number again), finding an activity
you enjoy, limiting TV time,
and joining a team for support.
As for me, I've never been
part of a sports team and I
won't be giving up watching
Girls or Arrow anytime soon.
I enjoy cycling and hiking but
participate in those activities
sports & Health
Nicola Villa
Is the sedentary life killing us Andrea Connell investigates the issue
in this week's issue of the Ontarion.
mostly in the summer. So in the
meantime walking is the easiest
thing for me to do. I think I
will take the dog for a 20-minute
walk. Only 130 left to do
this week.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
life 19
"You can't do anything with a BA."
Underestimating BA
Danielle Subject
Philosophy, History, English,
Drama, Music, Fine Arts; these
are just some of the many programs
of study that a Bachelor
of Arts Degree offers. Unfortunately,
BA students seem to fall
victim to many misconceptions
and assumptions that are projected
towards them by those who believe
studying arts is no more than
a waste of time.
Being an English major myself,
I have been on the receiving end
of ignorant comments from those
who believe that taking English in
University is a waste of an education,
a waste of a degree, and a
waste of time. Personally, I am a
strong believer that as long as you
are studying what you love, time
is not wasted.
I decided to approach this problem
by interviewing a few English
professors, as well as students
from other BA programs, to gather
their views on this issue.
"Over the years," commented
Dr. Melissa Walker, a professor for
the School of English and Theatre
Studies (SETS) at the University of
Guelph, "I have indeed encountered
various ignorant comments
pertaining to the perceived simplicity
and futility of obtaining an
English studies education."
One comment that she remembers
to this day was, "It's just
English, right Everyone knows
"I know people have that assumption,"
stated Dr. Marianne
Micros, an English Professor for
SETS at the U of G, "'There's
nothing you can do with an English
degree,' when in fact there are
many places (businesses, stores,
etc.) that want someone who has
learned to think, read, and write
well. We have graduates go on into
law, business, etc., and not just
When asked for his opinion on
this issue, Nick Hegedus, a Philosophy
major at the University of
The Brew Review
Weisse, Weisse, baby
Chris Müller
Beer is as much about the experience
one encounters when
drinking it as the taste of the brew
itself. My first Hacker-Pschorr
Weisse Bier came out of a ceramic
draught tower that sat atop the
bar at a local Bavarian restaurant
back home. For this reason I might
be inclined to associate the beer
with a good bratwurst or schnitzel,
but I will attempt to retain
some sense of objectivity.
Weisse, or wheat beers used
to be all the rage in America a
century ago, as wheat became
an abundant agricultural product,
with some brews requiring
three parts wheat to one part traditional
brewing malt. Wheat was
cheap, and produced a beer that
was similar in style to the weisse
beers produced in Berlin at the
time. The style was refreshing and
sweet, and an excellent cure for
the hard labours of agriculture.
In effect, the American brewers
implemented brewing techniques
mastered by the German brewers
at the time, a product of mass
immigration into a booming agricultural
sector in developing
America. To connect with that
tradition, it's best to choose
Hacker-Pschorr as an example
of a traditional Bavarian weisse.
The brewery has been in the business
since 1417, after all.
From the tap, a cloudy amber-coloured
beer pours into a
traditional glass stein revealing a
white, thick head. It's an excellent
introduction to the weisse
due to its 60 /40 wheat to barley
malt content, and the results are
nothing short of sublime.
A mild bitterness is masked by
an aroma of lemon, banana, and
a slight orange character, masked
"Weisse, or
wheat beers
used to be
all the rage
in America a
century ago, as
wheat became
an abundant
for subtlety by the wheat content
of the beer. The cloudiness
of the beer is caused by wheat
proteins and the strand of yeast
that is used in the brewing process.
While other brews strive
for clarity, the cloudiness is very
much part of the experience of
this beer, imparting a mildly
dry mouth-feel. The beer boasts
Guelph, said, "The most common
response I get when I tell people
my program is the assumption that
I have no plan when it comes to a
career, while in reality I've had a
plan since I first applied."
The truth is, there are many
career paths out there for those
with Bachelor of Arts Degrees in
anything from English to Philosophy
to History. These career
opportunities include marketing,
journalism, teaching, law, human
resources, speech-language pathology,
travel and tourism, and
communications. These are just
some of the options that are out
there for those who were educated
to think objectively and analytically,
as well as develop the required
skills to produce well-written
These skills are difficult to acquire.
Those who tell me my
program is a joke are the same
people who ask me to edit their
papers, or ask for advice on how to
get through an extensive reading
in a short amount of time.
"On more than one occasion I
magnificent texture and variety
that is hard to experience in a bottled
serving, as is the case with
most beers (including next week's
have been approached by friends
who are part of the science and
math realm of university life with
hopes that I can look over and edit
their papers before they are submitted
to professors," explained
Lindsey Legge, a History major at
the University of Guelph.
"I think that the development of
skills such as writing and analysis
of texts are the most valuable
element of my studies", added
There you have it Guelph.
Whether you are studying the
functions of the human body,
solving a math equation, or
writing a critical essay, each
program of study requires hard
work and dedication. Furthermore,
graduating with a BA
is not useless nor a waste of
money. The bottom line: study
what you love, and respect other
peoples' education and career
choices. Ignorance helps no
one, and only places a dividing
line between students, preventing
us from learning from one
Mike Warner
Find out what's nice about the Hacker-Pschorr Weisse as The Brew
Review tackles this Bavarian delight.
Brew Review). So dig into your
schnitzel, eat your vegetables, and
drink your weisse. It's not a brew
to be missed.
This Week
in History
Birmingham Six on verge of freedom
Seventeen years after being charged for
an IRA attack on two pubs in Birmingham,
the six men known collectively
as the Birmingham Six were released
from prison after years of maintaining
their innocence. A few weeks before
their release, the Director of Public
Prosecution stated that the charges
against the Six were "no longer
considered safe and satisfactory," according
to the article appearing below
the headline. The case was considered
a "national disgrace," and several of
the individuals later became alcoholics
and/or divorcees as their private lives
were impacted by the many unnecessary
years they spent in jail. According
to The BBC, the real bombers have not
been prosecuted to this day. (The BBC
– Feb. 25, 1991)
The Kaiser's New Yacht is Successfully
While Kate Middleton and Harry are
often the centre of attention as royal
media darlings, North Americans were
no less excited about the monarchy of
any European country 111 years ago.
On the German Prince Harry's third
day visiting America, his new schooner
yacht, the Meteor, was launched in
New York to the thrill of a large crowd,
which included the Roosevelts. The reporter
wrote that the yacht entered the
water "gracefully" with the American
flag "breaking out at the taffrail," the
railing around the stern of the ship. The
statement painted a pleasant picture
of the friendly international relations
between the two nations, which only
lasted for a few more years before the
outbreak of WWI. Even Miss Roosevelt's
outfit was not left out from the
description of the day's celebrations,
with the article stating that she wore
"a dress of sapphire blue velvet, a large
black hat, trimmed with ostrich feathers,
and a fur muff." (The Globe – Feb.
26, 1902)
Lindbergh Baby Kidnapped From
Home of Parents
On this day, celebrity pilot Charles A.
Lindbergh and his aviatress wife Anne
Morrow experienced a shocking crime
that involved the kidnapping, and later
murder, of their infant son, Charles,
who was snatched from his crib while
the couple was out to dinner. The intruder
came in through the nursery
window and left an obvious trail of
muddy footprints that led the police
to the edge of the forest by the Lindberghs'
home, though little came out
of the discovery. The baby's body was
discovered more than a year later six
miles from the house. The event was
called the crime of the century, and
has inspired cultural adaptations in
films and T.V. shows like American
Horror Story. (The New York Times
– March 1, 1932)
Compiled by Alicja Grzadkowska
In defence of OPIRG
Greg Shupak
I teach Media Studies at the University
of Guelph and I have
worked with the Ontario Public
Interest Research Group (OPIRG)
on several projects so I would like
to speak to some of the arguments
being put forth by the campaign to
de-fund OPIRG.
The de-funders resent the idea
that their money goes to an organization
that supports initiatives
with which the de-funders do
not agree. In a way, I understand
this sentiment in that I object to
many things the Canadian government
does with public money
such as spending millions of dollars
to fight legal battles against
Aboriginal land claims so that the
government and corporations
can continue to take indigenous
peoples' lands. (At least a person
who dislikes OPIRG can opt-out of
funding it; one cannot opt-out of,
say, that portion of tax dollars that
underwrite Canadian mining companies
linked to violent repression
in Latin America, a practice which
has been chronicled by Professor
Todd Gordon.) However, those
who want to de-fund OPIRG have a
very skewed sense of priorities. In
the Jan. 24 issue of The Ontarion,
they complain that OPIRG participates
in opposition to the Keystone
XL pipeline without even saying
why OPIRG is wrong to do this,
as if doing so is inherently objectionable
– no further rationale is
provided in the "facts" section of
their Facebook page or in the Jan.
18 article in the Guelph Mercury
on the de-fund campaign.
There is something woefully
misguided about springing to action
because a portion of the $6.31
one contributes to OPIRG each semester
(if they choose not to get
it back) is being used to oppose
a pipeline, which has been flagged
as a serious ecological threat
by mainstream environmental organizations
like the Sierra Club and
the World Wildlife Fund, instead
of fighting to stop the University
of Guelph's plan to raise tuition
fees by hundreds of dollars in April.
The absence of substantiated
claims on the Keystone XL protests
is part of a larger pattern
in which the de-funders either
refer to insufficient proof to justify
the arguments they make,
misrepresent the material they
cite, or simply make claims that
they seem to think are self-evident
without offering any evidence
what-so-ever. They assert that the
Idle No More movement has been
"largely discredited" and on their
Facebook page they support this
argument solely by providing a link
Inordinate Ordnance
What makes horses so
Chris Carr
Horse, cow, donkey, marmot,
seagull, Chihuahua – what's the
difference It all tastes the same,
slathered in Sweet Baby Rays, between
two buns, stuffed into the
maw of your ravenous face hole.
Recently, some of the meat
coming out of the UK has been
found to have traces of horse meat,
causing would-be carnivores to
stand up in disgust. Even more
recently, traces of horse meat
have been found in IKEA's famous
Swedish meatballs. They've
since been pulled from their restaurants,
but marzipan princess
cakes are still available – thank
god for small miracles.
But, really, why are people
upset about this How is eating
a horse any different than eating
a cow or a pig Personally, I've
always felt that horses are the d-
bags of the animal kingdom – with
their muscles and air of entitlement.
If animals had credit cards,
horses would shop at Hollister. If
any animal deserves to have a bite
taken out of it, it's a horse.
Anyway, the shocking thing
is that everyone is disgusted
because of the animal they've
mistakenly ingested. Give us not
the pretty animals, feed us the
dull, dopey cow, they say, spitting
flecks of buffalo wing at their
TVs. Although cows can recognize
over 100 different companion
cows and develop long-lasting
relationships with humans and
cows alike. What about pigs It's
been shown that they have the
same developmental intelligence
as three-year-old humans. If intelligence
is a factor in what meat
we eat, then serve up Honey Boo
Boo. Pigs could teach her entire
family a thing or two.
What is the statute of limitations
on the devour-ability of
certain animals Cows, pigs and
chickens add nothing besides sustenance
to society, where a horse
is a working animal, maybe. Then
serve up a nice sloth steak. They
literally do nothing. How about
your cat When's the last time
he earned a solid wage Seagulls,
all they do is defecate; I'm sure
they'd be great with a nice candied
orange sauce and side of
If it's not usefulness that keeps
certain animals from keeping
my mashed potatoes company,
then what is the stipulation It's
to an opinion piece in the National
Post that in no way proves that the
campaign has been discredited. It's
unsurprising that the de-funders
provide no evidence for this claim
since none exists.
The anti-OPIRG Facebook page
says that, "After a democratic election,
the OPIRG executive changed
the election rules during the election
to re-elect themselves. No
political dissent is tolerated." The
article cited in support of this says
no such thing. It quotes a disgruntled
OPIRG employee in the last
month of their contract as claiming
that "one board member was
elected after filing nominations
paperwork for the process beyond
the deadline," but it also quotes
Brenda Whiteside, associate vicepresident
of student affairs at the
University of Guelph, as saying that
a university review of the employee's
accusations found no evidence
of "board impropriety." Nothing
in the article even comes close to
proving that "no political dissent is
tolerated" and I have found OPIRG
to be a space for vigorous debate
wherein people frequently offer
dissenting views on a huge range
of topics and doing so is not only
"tolerated," but encouraged.
The de-funders say that OPIRG
has "a history of financial mismanagement"
and the article they
obviously not intelligence, or I'd
be having a cheese and Kardashian
sandwich for lunch. Is it beauty
"Horses and beautiful creatures,
they are majestic, strong, they
should not be eaten." Bull. I've
seen some cows that are downright
stupid-cute and who among
us hasn't cooed at the adorability
of Babe and his hilarious adventures
Certainly, that'll do.
Again, what makes horse meat
any worse than regular meat that
human beings eat on a catastrophic
scale Is it health It can't be
because red meat is one of the
leading factors causing heart
disease. The amount of steroids
pumped into chickens to fatten
them up affects our own intake
of antibiotics and medicines. This
is somehow a healthier option
What's our best option here
Well, stop it. Just knock it off.
Don't eat animals and you won't
have to convince yourself of these
arbitrary distinctions. What's
okay to eat and what's not okay
to eat is a very simple distinction:
don't eat anything that would suffer
so you can get fatter. If I stuck
you with a fork, you'd tell me to
stop it wouldn't you So why do
we do it three times a day to those
who can't tell us they'd prefer we
had a salad instead. The sickening
cite on Facebook to justify this assertion
notes that a University of
Guelph review "found no evidence
of financial mismanagement at
OPIRG." The de-funders argue that
there is "No public disclosure of
how student money is spent" and
support that by linking to the same
article, which says nothing either
way on the question of public disclosure.
However, I have been in
the OPIRG office and can attest that
binders disclosing all spending are
available to anyone who wishes to
look at them.
The de-funders point out that an
OPIRG staffer pled guilty to charges
related to the 2010 Toronto G20.
The charges do not pertain to the
actions the person did while acting
on behalf of OPIRG. People with
a criminal record have a right to
earn a living. And it's worth remembering
that the list of brave,
principled people who have broken
the law in the context of political
activities and eventually been respected
for doing so is a long one.
When the de-funders complain
about OPIRG's involvement
in the "hateful anti-Israel week"
I assume they are referring to Israeli
Apartheid Week (IAW), a
worldwide, non-violent movement
to compel Israel to follow
international law. They attempt
to prove the "hateful" character
part about this scandal is not that
it's horse meat mistakenly being
eaten, it's that the human species
still eats meat at all. How many
times do we have to go through E.
coli threats and salmonella outbreaks
before everyone realizes
this system of eating animals is a
flawed one Stop eating animals,
it's very simple.
of IAW by pointing to an opinion
piece by a person who wanted to
de-fund OPIRG at the University
of Toronto, which contains no evidence
or arguments for why IAW is
"hateful" and to an article which
explains that the Ontario legislature
condemned IAW in a vote in
which only 30 of 107 MPPs participated.
The legislators provided
no facts or sustained arguments to
justify their position, only rhetoric,
so the vote means little unless
one believes that Ontario MPPs are
irreproachable moral authorities.
Far more meaningful is that Israeli
policy has been described as a form
of apartheid by Nobel Laureates
Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu,
by United Nations representative
John Dugard, by the editor of the
Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and by
Israeli establishment figures like
Shulamit Aloni and Michael Ben-
Yair. IAW 2013 will be coming to
this campus in March and anyone
who's interested should attend
the relevant events, learn about
the issues involved, and make up
their own mind as opposed to accepting
the view of Ontario MPPs
and OPIRG de-funders.
In short, it is clear that the campaign
to discredit OPIRG is one
of distortions, fabrications, and
wrong-headed analysis, and ought
to be dismissed as such.
People complaining about horse meat should recognize their
hypocrisy and stop eating meat all together, Chris Carr opines.
Chris Carr is Editor-in-Chief of
The Cannon. "Inordinate Ordnance"
publishes every Thursday
in The Cannon and in The Ontarion.
The opinions posted on thecannon.ca
reflect those of their author
and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of the Central Student
Association and the Guelph Campus
Co-op, or The Ontarion.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
Denim deities draw copyright controversy
Recently, an Italian denim company
has caused somewhat of
a stir in the realm of copyright
law. The company is called Jesus
Jeans, and holds a trademark on
the name Jesus for use on apparel
in the United States and European
Union. To defend its brand, as any
sensible business would do, it has
taken legal action against a number
of American clothing companies
attempting to sell clothing under
that name (Sweet Jesus, Jesus First,
offends does not
mean anyone
should be
prohibited from
saying it."
and Jesus Couture among them).
And of course, under copyright
law, it has every right to do so.
What it comes down to is the question
of whether or not companies
should be allowed to copyright
names from religious sources at all
in the first place.
While Britain turned down an
application to copyright Jesus
Jeans in that country in 2003, calling
it "morally offensive to the
public," it's not clear that this in
Canadian government's lesson in hypocrisy
Karalena McLean
Many people remember the international
outcry that followed
the introduction of Uganda's
"kill the gays bill." The proposed
bill would make the crime of homosexuality
punishable by life
imprisonment, or in some cases,
death. The controversial bill also
included Holocaust-like specifications,
which stated that a
person could be imprisoned for
three years if they did not report
someone they know to be LGBT
within 24 hours of the bill passing.
The bill received much international
attention with some
countries threatening to stop the
flow of aid to Uganda should the
bill be implemented. The pressure
from the international community
ended up stalling the bill in parliament
and it was never passed.
itself is a good reason to deny the
Western society, since the
Enlightenment, has carried a
strong tradition of free speech.
Under this principle, simply
because something offends does
not mean anyone should be prohibited
from saying it. In Canada,
of course, the exception to this rule
is when someone's right to free
speech is encroaching on someone
else's rights – say, to choose
a pertinent example – the right
to freedom of religious assembly.
But that's not even what's happening
here. That someone sells
jeans under the brand name Jesus
Jeans in no way prevents anyone
from pursuing their faith, as the
copyright extends only to clothing
products. Additionally, Jesus
Jeans has said it will permit church
groups to use His name on t-shirts
and the like, as long as they are for
non-commercial uses.
Besides, we've also seemed to
raise little objection to the use of
other deities as brand names. As
an attorney for Jesus Jeans' parent
company, BasicNet, pointed out to
the Wall Street Journal, sportswear
giant Nike gets its name from the
Greek goddess of victory. Venus is
the brand name of a popular razor
and the Roman goddess of love.
The list goes on. The problem
with exempting religious imagery
and names from copyright is
that there is no definitive basis on
which to determine what is "too
religious" to use as a copyright. For
example, if Jesus is exempt, should
the apostles be, too How do we
compare religious figures across
different faiths in a multicultural
society to determine what should
However, in 2012, the bill was introduced
again with members of
the Ugandan parliament claiming
that it would be passed quickly as
a "Christmas gift" to the nation.
Although the bill has still yet to
pass, the battle is far from over. In
reaction to the bill, the Canadian
Minister of Foreign Affairs, John
Baird said, "We will speak out on
the issues that matter to Canadians
— whether it is the role and
treatment of women around the
world, or the persecution of gays."
Arguably, Canada was one of the
most vocal countries in its opposition
to the bill, even going so far
as to threaten economic sanction
if Uganda passed the bill.
The symbolic nature of Canada's
hardline stance was
well-received; however, these
decisions seem largely hypocritical
in the wake of new
be exempt The legal ambiguity
over what qualifies as religious
makes it simply impractical to
uphold such a limit on copyrights.
If we, as a society, are truly
opposed to the notion of using
religious figures as brand names,
information that the Government
of Canada is funding an anti-gay
religious group from Ontario to
work in Africa. The organization,
Crossroads Christian Communications
is receiving more than
$500,000 for humanitarian work
in Uganda. According to the
Winnipeg Press, "Until Tuesday,
the organization's website carried
a list of 'sexual sins' deemed
to be 'perversion.'" It described
these acts as "Turning from the
true and/or proper purpose of
sexual intercourse; misusing or
abusing it, such as in pedophilia,
homosexuality and lesbianism,
sadism, masochism, transvestism,
and bestiality." Oddly
enough, listing homosexuality
and lesbianism were listed as two
different things, but that's a discussion
for another time!
It seems wildly inappropriate
While some might consider the use of religious figures in brand
names offensive, exempting them from copyright protection is even
more problematic.
the brand is likely to be unsuccessful
anyway, when it fails to connect
with consumers. Should the brand
turn out successful, it just goes to
show that maybe we don't take
as much offense to the idea as we
that the Government of Canada,
who took the time to criticize
Uganda for trying to pass extremely
homophobic legislation,
is now funding an anti-gay Christian
group to go into Uganda for
"humanitarian" purposes. What
sort of message does this send
to the members of Ugandan parliament
about the seriousness of
Canada when it comes to economic
sanction It shows the
ever-prevalent Western issue of
saying one thing and doing another
when it comes to our own
affairs. The government funded
propagation of hate is disparaging
and must be stopped as it only
provides empirical evidence of
arguments that we in the West
are a bunch of hypocrites who
try to force our values and beliefs
on other nations without really
enforcing them at home.
The Ontarion Inc.
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Room 264
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Al Ladha
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Bronek Szulc
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Heather Luz
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Chris Carr
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Danielle Subject
Julia Tignanelli
The Ontarion is a non-profit organization governed by
a Board of Directors. Since the Ontarion undertakes the
publishing of student work, the opinions expressed
in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of
the Ontarion Board of Directors. The Ontarion reserves
the right to edit or refuse all material deemed sexist,
racist, homophobic, or otherwise unfit for publication as
determined by the Editor-in-Chief. Material of any form
appearing in this newspaper is copyrighted 2011 and
cannot be reprinted without the approval of the Editorin-Chief.
The Ontarion retains the right of first publication
on all material. In the event that an advertiser is not
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must notify the Ontarion within four working days of
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The Ontarion is printed by the Guelph Mercury.
1- Screws up
5- In addition
9- Works, as a field
14- Highlander
15 -Tirade
16- Kidney-related
17- Global Awareness Society
18- Prefix with -syncratic
19- Noblemen
crossword by kate and sean
20- Pinocchio's conscience (2)
23- Decent, in modern slang
24- "___ rang"
25- Sault ___ Marie
27- Bambi's species
30- The Little Mermaid antagonist
35- McKellen and Fleming
37- LOL alternative
39- Trig functions
40- Spears' and Gosling's career
beginning (3)
43- Blind, in Volapük
44- Christmas season
45- YMCA day camp, ___ Yapi
46- Assistant Community Manager,
for short
48- Bread unit
50 Beer barrel
51- Possesses
53- Gratis
55- The Song of the South
61- Moses' brother
62- Exchange rate
63- Sarcastic response (2)
65- Emerald City paintings (2)
66- Safety org.
67- Applaud
68- Breathing organs
69- Commotions
70- Tattle
1- Bird-to-be
2- 2011 Telugu film
3- South and Mills eg.
4- Snail trail
5- Like Eric or Charming
6- The Tramp's mate
7- French car manufacturer
8- Tale
9- Precede
10- Tap trouble
11- Honour (Ita.)
12- Mr. Disney
13- Mercedes model, ___ AMG
21- Roadside bomb, for short
22- Promise to pay
25- Mufasa's son
26- Sonic's sidekick
28- TV's Oscar equivalent
29- Cars 2 racer
31- Under the weather
32- Repulsive
33- Daughter of Oceanus
34- ___ as, similar in size (2)
36- Comedy sketch
38- City in Guinea
41- Casts a spell
42- Shrimp and calamari
47- Angry
49- To and ___
52- Mother of the ocean (2)
54- Proclamation
55- The Lion King bird
56- Iraq's neighbour
57- Star Wars bounty hunter
58- "Heavens to Betsy!"
59- "Thank You" and "White Flag"
60- Get better
61- "You've got mail" co.
64- Thromboplastin, for short
Last Week's Solution
Congratulations to
this week's crossword
winner: Vimanda Chow.
Stop by the Ontarion
office to pick up your
SUBMIT your completed crossword
by no later than Monday, March 4th
at 4pm for a chance to win
community listings
Thursday February 28
Thursday At Noon Concert
Series. Concerts start at
12:00p.m. Thursdays in Mackinnon
room 107 (Goldschmidt
room). Admission free – donations
gratefully appreciated.
Everyone welcome!
Announcing a New Artistic
Partnership between MSAC and
SOFAM: The inaugural Boarding
House Gallery exhibition
'1' marks the opening of a new
public art gallery located at the
Boarding House for the Arts at 6
Dublin St. South. Opening Reception
7pm. Exhibit runs until
March 24.
Saturday March 2
The University of Guelph is
hosting Relay for Life in support
of the Canadian Cancer
THE GUELPH RECORD and CD
SHOW - Sunday, March 10th.
10:30am - 4pm at the Royal
Canadian Legion. 57 Watson
Prkwy S. 25000+ Records. Over
30 vendors. Admission $4. For
further information contact:
Society, March 2-3. Register
online, purchase a luminary
or pledge a participant at
email firstname.lastname@example.com or
like our page on Facebook: University
of Guelph Relay for Life.
The Guelph NDP will host a
Noodle Supper, a fundraising
dinner geared towards
supporters, families and
community members. 4pm
at Dublin St. United Church
(68 Suffolk St W). Wheelchair
accessible. Dietary options
available. For ticket information:
noodles, email firstname.lastname@example.com,
or call 519-341-3641.
Sunday March 3
Guelph Hiking Trail Club: Hike
NEED ESSAY HELP! All subjects,
research, writing and editing
specialists, toll free 1 888 345 8295
email@example.com. Join
our advertising team and make
great commissions by placing
posters around campus. Details:
Kolapore Uplands Ski Trails.
5 hrs. Level 3. Challenging,
semi-wilderness trails on the
Escarpment, 90 minutes north
of Guelph. For adventuresome
and reasonably fit skiers. XC
ski only. Meet at 8am. Leader:
Call Bill Mungall at 836-5567
for transportation info.
Monday March 4
STOP WORRYING workshop,
7:00 - 9:00 pm. by the Stress
Management Clinic. Identify
the pitfalls that perpetuate
worrying, and stratgies to address
them. Student fee $5.
Details at www.uoguelph.
Career Aviators Business Career
Club: Students and professionals
welcome. Mondays 7pm
-9pm, Innovation Guelph
Recruiting student volunteers for
the Student Support Network -
your confidential drop-in centre
on campus.
Applications due March 1st, 2013.
They can be picked up in Raithby
House or found online.
170.7 ◆ february 28th, 2013
(111 Farquhar Street). Strategic
advice and support; guest
presentations; motivation to
stay on track; worldwide Information
exchange. PWYC.
Info:1 866 873 7633 www.careeraviators.com
Thursday March 7
Stratford Shakespeare Lecture
Series @ Your Guelph
Public Library. The GPL and the
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
present four thought-provoking
lectures based on this
season's plays. Each evening
lecture features local Shakespearean
experts. 7pm, Main
Library (100 Norfolk St.).
March 7, 14, 21and 28. Admission
free. www.library.guelph.
Liaison Officers