Wednesday, November 20, 2013

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2013 CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 107, ISSUE 41

thegazette

WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA • @UWOGAZETTE

TODAYhigh7low0

TOMORROWhigh7low1

Waiting for you to volunteer since 1906

Wrestlers impress at Harry GerrisMustang women win six gold medals at tournament

>> pg. 7

Universities push back on Gmail switchJeremiah Rodriguez

NEWS EDITOR

Students at some leading Canadian universities are pushing for their schools to use the free e-mail stor-age on Google and Microsoft serv-ers in the United States. But that’s causing worry from professors and some students that the U.S. intelli-gence services could gain access to private data regardless if data origi-nated in Canada.

The University of Toronto is fiercely debating whether or not faculty e-mails and other online resources should be housed on the Microsoft Office 365 cloud-based data storage system.

The main hesitancies stem from concerned U of T faculty who would have their personal information in US-based servers, which, via anti-terrorist legislation, could be mined by American intelligence agencies on the pretense of national security.

So far, Dalhousie University and the University of Alberta have already moved their faculty and student e-mail storage to similar cloud ser-vices; university officials expect to save millions of dollars.

U of T students already store e-mail data through Microsoft.

However, The Canadian

Association of University Teachers is deeply opposed to the push to house faculty e-mail data on foreign servers where American laws would be the measuring stick.

CAUT executive director James Turk says the free pitch from Google, which is offering storage, is mislead-ing. According to Turk, the terms of agreement that universities would sign could have their prices jacked up upon completion of initial three-year contracts.

“There are two main concerns — one would be the privacy concerns. The other would be that the data would essentially become theirs. If the NSA or the CIA chose to ask for specific server data there’s nothing we could do about it,” he said.

Students from McMaster

University and the Unviersity of Ottawa overwhelmingly supported using Gmail because of the access to larger servers. Both faculty e-mails remained on their current servers.

Last year, one of the platform points of Pat Whelan, now the University Students’ Council presi-dent, was switching the current UWO

e-mail system to the massive storage Gmail servers offer. But no develop-ments are planned until early 2014 as their focus currently lies on academic initiatives and student advocacy.

Whelan said that platform prom-ise was made before the summer revelations of former NSA analyst Edward Snowden that the NSA had

been spying on Americans.“I stand by the fact we need to

improve the service to students on our e-mail systems. Whether or not we need to do that by outsourcing or doing it internally is something I’m willing to discuss. It’s really more about service than anything else,” Whelan said.

If the NSA or he CIA chose to ask for specific server data there’s nothing we could do about it.

—James TurkCanadian Association of

University Teachers executive director

Haida Liu GAZETTE

AVOIDING THE GOOGLE CLOUD. Universities are hesitant to transition to online “cloud” storage systems for their e-mail services, with privacy concerns as a big factor. USC president Pat Whelan promised to get UWO mail by Gmail in his election campaign last year — but that was before revelations about the NSA spying, he said.

USC fund redundant, councillors sayRichard Raycraft

NEWS EDITOR

Concerns are being raised by at least two University Students’ Council members about a clause found in the USC Grants Fund Policy.

With some digging, King’s University College councillor Emily Soti found that the USC Grants Fund Policy allows the University Students’ Council to apply for grants for internal uses — which was the stated purpose for the recently-created Executive Innovation Fund.

It states that grant funds shall

be made available for “New initia-tives brought forward internally by the USC throughout the fiscal year that were not provided for in the approved USC Operating Budget.”

The Executive Innovation fund is a temporary $59,000 fund that came from a USC budget surplus this year.

Combined with the Executive Innovation Fund, this theoreti-cally could give the USC executive branch over $150,000 to spend on initiatives to enhance the student experience.

“Somebody asked me about the grant fund, so I was reading through

the policy, and I came across an interesting clause in the policy, that basically says that any new initiatives that were not previously accounted for in the USC budget can be funded internally by the grants fund,” Soti explained.

“I saw that as problematic, because it essentially means that there are two pods of money that the USC executive has access to,” she continued.

Soti also said that while money from the Innovation Fund had to receive approval from council, it appears as though this is not the

case with grant money.Spencer Brown, USC vice-presi-

dent finance and chair of the grants fund committee, said he was not aware of the clause in question until it was brought to his attention by Soti. Furthermore, he said that the clause is not something the execu-tive would ever use.

“[Soti] is correct that [the USC] could apply to the grants fund, but functionally we wouldn’t,” he said. “The Innovation Fund is different because it’s supposed to be a large-scale investment, above $5,000, and very rarely do we ever give a grant

that’s more than $5,000.”“[The grants] are basically for

outside student groups to supple-ment programming and events,” he continued.

Soti stated that she plans to bring forward a proposal to council to strike down the clause until the Innovation Fund runs out at the end of the year, so the USC would not effectively have access to the two funds at the same time.

“It’s worse now because they said they didn’t have anything in

>> see FUNDS pg.2

live in style.

Contact now to book a tour before we fill up!www.londonprop.com www.facebook.com/WesternHousing@LPCRedbricks

✓ UWO's #1 rated off campus housing✓ Best locations around campus✓ Built with energy efficient technology✓ Secure and safe living environment

✓ Massive rooms and closets✓ In suite laundry and dishwashers

in every unit

2 • thegazette • Wednesday, November 20, 2013

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

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

DESIGN YOURFLOOR CLOTHING

westernusc.ca/cs-promosv�itORDER YOURS TODAY

Caught on Camera

Haida Liu GAZETTE

YVAN EHT NIOJ. Ever dreamt of life on the high seas? Lucky for you, Canadian Forces have set up in the University Community Centre atrium to recruit students into joining the Navy.

Obamacare not so smooth

Iain BoekhoffNEWS EDITOR

Turns out, Republicans don’t always cry wolf. Their strategy of decrying everything President Obama does or might do for any — often incoher-ent — reason whatsoever has finally borne fruition in possibly the great-est thing they could have hoped for: The utter failure of the implementa-tion of the Affordable Care Act, or as it has been brilliantly labeled by Republicans, Obamacare. Obama’s centerpiece legacy legislation has come out of the gates flat and full of glitches.

Of course, Republicans have opposed Obamacare for entirely different reasons than the ones that eventually landed in their lap. Their ridiculous number of attempted repeals of the law — at last count was at an astonishingly redundant 47 times — shows just how prin-cipled they are. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t now right to criticize the law because some of their concerns have turned out to be legitimate.

A lot of the criticism has centred on perhaps one of the most pub-lic failures of a website in history. Healthcare.gov has crashed more than it’s worked and that frustra-tion might prevent Americans from trying again to get health insurance. This is especially unfortunate for those that live in states which have tried everything they can to stop Obamacare from getting to their residents.

I think a bigger lesson might be that maybe the Internet is just not ready to be a government platform. The amount of security concerns and options a website needs to cover for something so expansive really can’t be done no matter how much planning and precautions are made.

Website development could have been more manageable for a smaller government rollout. This would have allowed for developers to get a handle of the ins and outs of it before having to create a high profile service.

Piling onto the website problems is that already-insured Americans would keep their existing plans something that, as it turns out, is plainly false. Obama has been caught lying, something that is hap-pening with greater frequency the longer he is in office.

Obamacare is also more than

a little suspect in theory as well as in execution. Forcing people to buy insurance is a little backwards. Insurance companies do not have government or people’s interests as their primary focus. They are profit-seeking companies who are forced to maximize profit for their shareholders.

Considering there are so many successful models of national health care out there, it seems more like someone didn’t do their research and incorporate it appropriately into an American sphere.

Access to health care is a conten-tious issue in most countries but has been pushed through by many leaders, even if it led to their defeat in reelection. Why Obama didn’t go full throttle on a radical — and nec-essary — overhaul when he had a majority in both Houses is a mystery to me.

Unfortunately for Obama, what was supposed to be one of the bright spots of his administration has turned into another scandal.

If only Republicans had been more constructive beforehand, their concerns could have been addressed and it would have been a win for both sides. As it stands right now, nobody wins, least of all the American people.

Cool Story Broekoff

Concerns raised over multiple funds

existence to allow them to bring forward new ideas, when I read through the policies for 10 min-utes and found something that they could’ve done,” she explained. “They should not have access to two funds, bottom line.”

According to Brown, the grants system is currently under review.

Soti is not alone in her concerns. Jordan Pearson, president of the Faculty of Information and Media

Studies Students’ Council, has talked with Soti about this issue. While he stated more research needs to be done, he also voiced his concern.

“I am not comfortable with the USC executive having access to two funds to be used on projects not budgeted for, especially since the grant fund was not raised at all in the proposal for, or debate sur-rounding, the implementation of the Innovation Fund,” he said in an e-mail.

>> FUNDS continued from pg.1

Creepy guy at your house?We have plenty of space for you to hide

out and volunteer in Room 263, UCC

Solution to puzzle on page 8

ARTHUR SIMEON from Uganda

to CanadaAFRICA’S FUNNIEST EXPORT

performing LIVE at Hideway Records & Bar

Richmond Row Nov 22 @ 8:00 pm For details visit....

www.drfeelfunny.com 1311

19

thegazette • Wednesday, November 20, 2013 • 3

Police unsure if related to earlier case

Second creeper spotted

Megan DevlinNEWS EDITOR

There was another report of a sus-picious man with a camera in the student neighbourhood near the Richmond gates last Sunday.

The man appeared to be filming people and houses near Broughdale and University Crescent at around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to an anonymous Facebook post on the “Spotted at Western” page.

The man was using a black DSLR camera, and was described as cau-casian, in his late 40s, and wearing a black coat.

Earlier this semester, a suspi-cious individual filmed Sophie Rosen, a second-year psychology student, through the window of her home on Bernard Avenue.

Rosen said she was in her first-floor bathroom when she looked through the window and noticed a hand holding a video camera with

its red light on, indicating she was being recorded.

“[The camera] was black and grey — one of those flip out video cameras — but not an old cam-corder,” Rosen said.

The police are involved in both cases, but there is no indication that the two are linked.

“We can’t conclude that it’s not [related], nor can we conclude that there’s any connection,” constable Ken Steeves, media relations officer with the London Police Service, said.

Steeves suggested that people, females in particular, close their blinds or curtains late at night to ensure that nobody can see in.

He also asked neighbours and residents to phone the police imme-diately if they see any suspicious behavior.

Aashna Sandhu, a first-year social science student in Ontario Hall, noticed an individual setting up a tripod outside her window

and taking pictures of her building in early October.

At the time she assumed Western hired the photographer. However, after hearing the two accounts of filming in student areas, Sandhu became nervous.

In Canada, photographers are allowed to take photographs any-where they are legally allowed to be. This includes the photographer’s own property, public property, and private property with permission from the owner.

Individuals are only protected from being photographed when they are on their own property with a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Although a photographer could potentially see someone through their window while standing on the street, it is still illegal to film or photograph them since that indi-vidual expects privacy within their own home.

CFS wants $14/hr min wage

Megan DevlinNEWS EDITOR

The Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario is pushing to raise minimum wage to $14 per hour in recommendations submitted to the Ontario Minimum Wage Advisory Panel. The current minimum wage is $10.25 per hour.

“The campaign was launched by a group of community labour and student groups who felt it had been three years since the last rise in the minimum wage, meanwhile the cost of living and transportation and education was continuously going up,” Alastair Woods, chairperson of CFS-O, said.

Minimum wage workers, even if they work full time, are living ten per cent below the poverty line, accord-ing to Woods.

Woods said this issue was impor-tant to students because they are the ones working minimum wage jobs.

The organization is pushing the Ontario government to commit to ensuring that workers earning minimum wage can live above the poverty line and have meaningful, stable lives.

According to Woods, increasing the minimum hourly wage to $14 would provide a $5-million boost to the economy.

Fair Wages Now is a new web-site that has been launched by the group. It contains action items, like emailing your MPP, and also a list of community based events.

“On the 14th of every month there are actions that happen across the province on campuses and com-munities in recognition of the fact that we’re calling for a $14 minimum

wage,” Woods said.On November 14, they had a joint

day of action that included many campus events.

“We produced a student-based post-card and petition to tally up the various costs of being a student, and asked students how they’re going to make ends meet on $10.25 an hour,” Woods said.

They asked students to sign a pledge to pressure the premier to immediately increase minimum wage.

Woods said the pressure would continue throughout the winter and into the spring before the Ontario Minimum Wage Advisory Panel releases their own recommenda-tions to the premier.

—With files from Richard Raycraft

Naira Ahmed GAZETTE

Logan Ly GAZETTE

Naira Ahmed GAZETTE

To see your advertisement in next

Wednesday’s

Health & Wellness Feature

contact Diana Watson [email protected]

or 519-661-2111 x89013

Look here each Wednesday for special offers to Western students on health and wellness products and services from local businesses

EVERY WEDNESDAY ADVERTISING FEATURE EVERY WEDNESDAY ADVERTISING FEATURE

FREE TEETH WHITENINGWITH COMPLETE EXAM

AND CLEANING

London NW • Closest Curves to campus Offer valid at this location only.

Suite 101, 101 CHERRYHILL BLVD . • Across from Cherryhill Mall 519.438.7447 www.curveslondonnw.com

30 Minute Total Body Workout.

Fits students schedules and wallets.

First Timers Only

519.204. 3630 519.204. 3630 FOREST CITY PLAZA FOREST CITY PLAZA 100 B elmont D r 100 B elmont D r @ W harncliffe R d @ W harncliffe R d

for 2 weeks of unlimited yoga

$ 30

20% Off OnRamp A 4 week introduction to CrossFit

Promo Code: gazette

Contact us at www.lifebydesignsc.com with the promo code to reserve your spot!

Special Introductory Rates for all Students!5 matwork class pass $70 • 5 reformer class pass $99

email [email protected]

519.471.66882020 Hyde Park [email protected]

Create Balance

PILATESSpecial Introductory Rates for all Students!5 matwork class pass $70 • 5 reformer class pass $99



Special Introductory Rates for all Students!5 matwork class pass $70 • 5 reformer class pass $99



Create Balance

PILATESSpecial Introductory Rates for all Students!Special Introductory Rates for all Students!Special Introductoryyry RRRR tRatRatRatRatees for all Students!Special Introductoryyry RRRR tRatRatRatRatees for all Students!5 matwork class pass5 matwork class pass5 matwork class pass5 matwork class pass $70$70$70$70 • 5 reformer class pass • 5 reformer class pass• 5 reformer class pass• 5 reformer class pass $99$99$99$99

email [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Create Balance

SSPPPILATESPILATESCreate Balance

PILATES

��

��

��

��


Arts&Life wednesdaywordVitiate Verb. Spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of something.

Meditation goes high tech with new app

Peruvian filmmaker talks film festival

Extracting the heart

Avery LoiCONTRIBUTOR

A new, free app called GPS for the Soul has the ability to change people’s lives. It is based off of HeartMath biofeedback technology and essentially measures your emo-tions and stress levels. This app has great potential to help students, as many are unaware of, or underesti-mate the short-term and long-term effects of stress.

Cynthia Gibney, the director of Student Health Services at Western, explains the extent to which stress wears on students.

“Western did the National College Health Assessment survey this year and of the students who responded, stress was considered by 33 per cent as the top factor that is affecting their academic perfor-mance,” Gibney says. “Being in post-secondary school is stressful — it is not surprising when most students report they have stress. It’s how they handle the stress that is important.”

What GPS for the Soul can do is very easily notify students when their stress levels are high and show how they can relieve some of this stress. The app guides users through a variety of techniques which have been designed in combination to

relax and calm you. What the app calls “course-correcting” involves multiple steps towards reducing stress levels: From music and poetry, to breathing exercises, to pictures of loved ones or happy moments.

A lot of people also do not real-ize that things they love and enjoy can also be things that cause large amounts of stress. GPS for the soul uses the flash and camera lenses on your phone as a sensor to measure heart rate variability through the pulse from your index finger. By placing your finger on the sensor for 80 seconds, the app can tell you how stressed you are. While this may seem far-fetched, online reviewers have reported the readings being

very consistent with how they feel.The app places an emphasis

on mini relaxation breaks which can simply be done by stopping to take several deep breaths or through actual meditation breaks. In addition to what the app offers, other simple steps can be taken to reduce stress and some of the

complications associated with it.“Eat properly, sleep until you feel

rested on a regular basis, and exer-cise based on the exercise guide-lines, at least 150 minutes per week,” Gibney says. “Connect with others and have meaningful face-to-face conversations, not online through social media sites such as Facebook

or Instagram, to prevent social isola-tion and loneliness.”

With stress on the rise and the world’s growing reliance on smart-phones, GPS for the Soul seems like an elegant solution to both reduce stress immediately as well as provid-ing ways to lead healthier lifestyles relatively free of stress.

Logan Ly GAZETTE

APPLE APP HELPS HEART HEALTH. A new app called “GPS for the Soul” measures stress levels by monitoring the user’s heart rate. It also makes suggestions about how to reduce stress levels to encourage users’ health.

Being in post-secondary school is stressful, it is not surprising when most students report they have stress. It’s how they handle the stress that is important.

— Cynthia Gibney

Brent HolmesARTS & LIFE EDITOR

Featured at the Extracting the Earth film festival in London last Friday, Isabel Guarniz’s In the Heart of Conga tells the story of a struggle between a rural Peruvian commu-nity and a gold extracting company.

“It’s a mining project that is a multi-million dollar investment so the national government is interested, but the people in the region, specifically in two prov-inces of Cajamarca in northern Peru, Celendin and Bambamarca, are concerned about the effects of mining on the local environment — especially their water supply,” Guarniz says.

In the Heart of Conga was released last year in Peru during a documentary film festival. However, it has gained international attention only recently. The film was picked up in Germany and France, as well as screening at independent film festivals such as the Extracting the Earth festival last week.

The film is Guarniz’s third docu-mentary film focusing on the region in northern Peru. While her previ-ous work focused on the life of the people in the region, In the Heart of Conga is a more political film.

“The first two films were more about the culture history of the region and the rural people of the region, and were also how I got my training as a documentary film-maker,” Guarniz says.

Guarniz had a difficult time

making the film — being from the urbanized regions of Peru, many in the rural communities were sus-picious of her intentions. Guarniz had to visit more than 100 different communities affected by the mine, doing thorough research on each before going.

“It was very difficult. Some of the communities were not sure or were doubtful about whether to let us in as journalists from the capital. There’s a lot of conflict in the region because of the mine,” Guarniz says.

“One day in a town square there was a bus [...] full of university stu-dents going to protest the water, [which I joined],” Guarniz recalls. “When they realized that I wasn’t connected with the university, they became suspicious of me and asked me to leave the bus, which was inconvenient because I was in the

middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, but because of that I was able to meet Michael Ortiz, who was one of the leaders of the protest against the mines and a student at Cajamarca National University.”

This struggle worked in Guarniz’s favour as Ortiz became a significant contributor to her film.

In the Heart of Conga has been a very important film for Peru, being screened heavily in the region of Cajamarca.

“It’s been seen by over 200,000 people in that region because it’s the first film about that region made from the point of view of the country people,” she comments. “The film is seen as part of the mobilization of the general social movement for the protection of water.”

Guarniz encourages students worldwide to get engaged with the discussion about preserving water supplies.

“Students who are concerned about this [issue] can join the inter-national movement for the defence of water and for local people’s rights to their traditional water supplies, put pressure on our governments on the mining companies, and even perhaps make the pressure reach to the government of Peru, who is still considering this mine in my region depending on the upcoming regional election,” she says.

Guarniz’s comments were trans-lated by David Heap of Western’s French Studies department. In The Heart of Conga can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube.

It was very difficult. Some of the communities were not sure or were doubtful about whether to let us in as journalists from the capital. There’s a lot of conflict in the region because of the mine.

— Isabel Guarniz

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Grated Cauliflower

• 1 Tsp Oregano

• 2 Tsp Parsley

• ¼ Tsp Garlic Powder

• 3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

• 1–2 Tbsp Hot Sauce

• 1 Flax Egg (1 Tbsp Ground Flax and 3 Tbsp Warm Water)

• ½ Cup Firm Tofu

• ½ Cup Cooked Chickpeas

• ½ Cup Daiya Cheddar Cheese

Directions:1. Pre-heat oven to 450 F.

2. Coat inside of muffin tray with small amount of olive oil using a paper towel

3. Make the flax egg – set aside a bowl of 1 tbsp

ground flax and 3 tbsp of water until it thickens

4. Grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater and stir-fry the “cauliflower rice” in a pan until it is slightly translucent (about 6-8 minutes). Place in a bowl and let cool.

5. Place all other ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

6. Combine the “cauliflower rice” and blended ingredients in a bowl and mix completely.

7. Evenly spoon the mixture into the muffin tray. Press mixture down firmly to ensure pizza bites hold together.

8. Put Daiya on top of individual pizza bites.

9. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.

10. Remove the pizza bites from the oven and let cool.

✁

Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Bites

Gazette Tested > Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Bites

This meal is great for vegans and those seeking gluten-free options, or if you just want a delicious and healthy dinner. Dip the Bites in low-sodium marinara sauce to get the full pizza flavour experience.

—Mary Ann Ciosk


Editor’s Picks > The essentials for your week

ON TV

Doctor Who

Jelly babies, sonic screwdrivers and Daleks, oh my! Ever since Doctor Who’s season seven cliffhanger ending, fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Doctor in the 50th Anniversary Special, titled “The Day of the Doctor.” Bringing in legendary English actor John Hurt as a forgotten regeneration of the Time Lord, as well as the return of David Tennant’s 10th Doctor and the promise to reveal more of the Time War then ever seen before , has Whovians stoked for what will likely be a fantastic highlight of the show’s 50 year history.

ON DISC

Not Guilty — Paul Langlois

Not Guilty is a solo album from Paul Langlois, guitarist for the iconic Canadian band the Tragically Hip. Following from his first solo album, Fix This Head, Langlois provides a fresh sound that recalls his work with the Tragically Hip but draws on Neil Young’s distinctive twang. Not Guilty is a very different approach from Langlois’ previous solo work, where he recorded all of the instruments himself. This time, Langlois brings in the support of a band. Like Gord Downie’s solo work on The Grand Bounce, Langlois’ music moves away from the hard rock of the Hip, providing a more atmospheric experience.

ON DVD

The World’s End

The third entry in Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s “Three Flavours Cornetto” trilogy, The World’s End is a hilarious British comedy parodying science fiction films such as The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. When Gary King (Simon Pegg) decides to reunite his old gang for the “Golden Mile” pub-crawl, the crew returns to discover that their hometown has been taken over by robot aliens. Resolving to finish the pub-crawl to avoid being discovered, the group’s misadventures get crazier as they get drunker.

IN THEATRES

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Based on the second novel in the Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire continues the story of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) as they try to return to District 12 after surviving the 74th Hunger Games. Drawn back into the games when President Snow (Donald Sutherland) calls a Quarter Quell, reaping the winners of all surviving tributes, Katniss and Peeta must try to survive a harder, more dangerous game, as well as acknowledge the revolution against the tyrannical Capital that they have started.

ON THE CHARTS

“Royals” — Lorde

Recently parodied on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, “Royals” takes the fifth spot on the iTunes charts. From New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, “Royals” is a catchy song that draws listeners in with her deep and powerful voice and steady drum beat. Casting a cynical look at pop star antics and living a life of luxury, Lorde proclaims we “crave a different kind of buzz” and brings it through with a minimalist approach that builds an addictive song. While Lorde may proclaim that “we will never be royals,” she is the rightful Queen of the Charts.

Going for a long term impact

Conrad FloryanGAZETTE STAFF

Short Term 12GGGGFDirected by: Daniel CrettonStarring: Brie Larson, Kaitlyn Denver, John Gallagher Jr.

Sometimes a movie comes down to one sequence. Short Term 12 is one of those movies. It’s a gripping emotional roller coaster ride with enough corkscrews to fill any barf bag and satisfy a filmgoer’s movie night.

Brie Larson stars as Grace, a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teens. She is devoted and skilled at her job, which she balances with her rela-tionship with her quirky fiancé and co-worker Mason (John Gallagher Jr.). When a new charge arrives — Jaden (Kaitlyn Denver) — Grace is compelled to reevaluate her life.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest famously tackled this ques-tion — “Who’s really crazy, the institutionalized or the caretak-ers?” Countless times we have seen movies delve into the hypocrisy of having damaged human beings in need of psychological guidance treating emotionally disturbed people. Short Term 12 taps into

that cinematic trope, and manages to keep it fresh by focusing more so on Grace while still keeping her patients in the foreground.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton has crafted a tough movie to expe-rience — experience, not watch. Marcus (Keith Stanfield) is about to turn 18 and so he will be forced to leave the care home and confront the cold real world. In the midst of a tough day, he performs one of his rap songs to Mason. Presented in a single take, it is a transcen-dent emotional moment. Without spoiling the plot, there are several instances where the audience is truly worried if inpatients have been harmed. The story is replete with authentic, engaging human beings who take you on a tense and ultimately rewarding journey.

This is an “indie” movie, and it shows. The shaky camera work, quirky touches such as Mason’s cow-like chef hat, the minimalist soundtrack tinted with acoustic guitar. The movie doesn’t offer much stylistically, but that’s not what it’s trying to do. This is not a cinematic film, rather, it’s meant to be an honest examination — warts and all — of how hard it is being a teenager when the world doesn’t give a damn.

Now, about that one scene.

The film ends with Grace, Mason and some caretakers relating a heartwarming story. Suddenly, the facility alarm erupts as Sammy (a young shy patient played admirably by Alex Calloway) runs away while clad in an American flag as a cape. The scene is shot in slow motion as the caretakers try to catch Sammy and the camera gradually drifts away from the facility to an uplift-ing tune. The American flag has been in vogue in recent years as an aesthetic texture. There are tons of t-shirts adorned with various inter-pretations of the flag and it’s been used in movies as a stylistic accent too many times to remember. But somehow here it feels original, especially when contextualized in a basically austere film.

Maybe you’re not supposed to talk about your personal movie-going experience in order to keep your review objective, but screw that. When the end credits rolled, a man sitting in front of me stood up and clapped. Damn right. Maybe he can relate with how it feels to be one of those kids. No matter who you are, whether you’ve been diagnosed with mental illness or not, we’ve all been through crap, and this movie brings the crap, wrapped in a beau-tiful packaging. Christmas comes early at the movies.

Muskoka Brewery’s Winder Beard

Sure, the weather is getting colder. The sweaters are out, the roads are getting slicker, and the appeal of an ice cold lager is waning. Thankfully, there is a beverage cus-tom tailored for this season, and that’s Muskoka Brewery’s Winter Beard double chocolate cranberry stout.

This is a beer that embraces its eccentricities. Not for the faint of heart, it’s brewed with real cocoa, 70 per cent dark chocolate, and locally picked cranberries, and packs a real flavour wallop. Lesser stouts wilt in the bristling, hairy face of this enormous beer.

The smell is fairly fruity, with decent notes of cranberry waft-ing from the thick dark fluid. It takes the edge off a bit; anyone who is a little apprehensive about approaching this beverage is for-given. It froths with a brown head, and the viscosity of the liquid is immediately apparent with rings of it clinging to the glass.

It may be cold outside, but I rec-ommend taking your Winter Beard

a tad warmer than you’re used to. Try leaving it in the fridge for 20 minutes or so just to give it a bit of a chill. You don’t have to wait until the mountains are blue; the extra warmth will really bring out the flavours.

Oh the flavours. Powerful notes of dark chocolate, a hint of mocha, and the beautiful toasty malts are almost overwhelming, but a faint hint of soft cranberry cuts into the thickness, making it utterly enjoy-able. The body is quite heavy, and the alcohol content is relatively high at eight per cent, so Winter Beard’s far from a thirst quencher. But as a winter warmer, it’s hard to beat this superb stout.

Don’t let winter get you down. It’s time to bust out those bev-erages in which only the cold weather can bring out their bril-liance. Muskoka has absolutely nailed it with this seasonal brew, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. So pick up a 750ml bottle and share it with a friend, making sure you sip it slow. There’s plenty to go around.

—Cam “Smoth” Smith

Courtesy of Cinedigm


Opinions

thegazetteVolume 107, Issue 41www.westerngazette.ca

Contact:www.westerngazette.caUniversity Community Centre Rm. 263The University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, CANADAN6A 3K7Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

Julian UzielliEditor-In-Chief

Cameron M. SmithDeputy Editor

Jason SinukoffManaging Editor

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

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

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

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

News Richard Raycraft Megan Devlin Iain Boekhoff Jeremiah Rodriguez

Arts & Life Brent Holmes Mary Ann Ciosk Bradley Metlin

Sports Daniel Weryha Nusaiba Al-Azem Caitlin Martin Newnham

Opinions Kevin Hurren

Associate Kaitlyn McGrath Aaron Zaltzman

Photography Logan Ly Bill Wang Kelly Samuel

Graphics Naira Ahmed

Illustrations Christopher Miszczak John Prata

Online Jesica Hurst

Graphics/Video Mike Laine

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising

Gazette Staff 2013-2014Christine Bonk, Hamza Tariq, Stephanie Grella, Kevin Heslop, Lily Robinson, Sara Mai Chitty, Taylor Lasota, Anne Wozney, Nathan Kanter, Emory Liu, Jenny Jay, Jonathan Dunn, Sam Frankel, Cheryl Madliger, Josh Teixera

• Please recycle this newspaper •

Dear Life

While every working student would agree a higher minimum wage would be awesome, the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario’s proposition to jack up Ontario’s minimum wage to $14 an hour may be problematic.

Ontario’s minimum wage has been frozen at $10.25 for the past three years. Meanwhile, everything from the cost of living to the cost of tuition has been going up.

No doubt it is a problem when working a 40-hour week can’t lift you above the poverty line.

It’s definitely time for an increase — at least to index for inflation.

However, a $3.75 increase at once would create more of a problem than a solution.

Such a drastic increase may encourage employers to higher less people or to reduce the hours of their current employees in order to retain current profits.

While the people with jobs will be making a bit more if minimum raise reaches $14, this increase may exacerbate the existing problem of youth unemployment.

In fact, we should probably put more effort into reducing unemployment than to increasing wages for those already working, allowing those who want jobs to get jobs. First we should bring more people into the workforce, and then focus on raising wages.

The financial woes of students and recent grads require a broader cultural shift — more than just increasing minimum wage.

An increase in minimum wage still wouldn’t affect entry-level salaried positions recent graduates may take that could still ring in below the current minimum wage.

Also, an increase in minimum wage would mean an increase in disposable income, which retailers would factor in when calculating their price-points. Any new comfort gained by an increased minimum wage could be quickly lost to inflation, leaving the unemployed even further behind.

Maybe CFS-O is highballing their demand for bargaining purposes. It seems more likely the government would agree to a smaller increase.

There have been other, creative solutions elsewhere. For example, Manitoba and Switzerland have tried guaranteed wages. Manitoba tried it in the 70s, and Switzerland may vote to give all adults a guaranteed $2,800 monthly income.

While minimum wage definitely needs to be increased from what it has been frozen at for the past three years, smaller incremental raises would make more sense than immediately raising it to $14.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

$14/hr too big an increase

Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life,There would be less assholes in this world if everyone worked in retail or customer service at least once in their life.

Dear Life,Wow, Ayn Rand is quoted in the Graduate Student Planner.

Dear Life,You can call me queen bee.

Dear Life,Thanks for the subtle reminder that it’s winter.

Dear Life,In four years I’ve learned more from Rick McGhie than I have from most of my classes. I’m not even mad.

Dear Life,You’re welcome.

Dear Life,I miss “your mom” jokes.

Dear Life,Why hasn’t OWL come out with a phone app yet?

Dear Life,Do people actually use Facebook pages like “UMentioned Western” and “Spotted at Western” for something other than creepy compliments? I don’t care if you saw a “hottie” at the Rec Centre.

Dear Life,Using a handheld pencil sharpener always makes me feel like I’m back in grade 8.

Dear Life,Rob Ford just needs to stop.

wgaz.ca/dearlife

“A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.”

— Truman Capote

To the Editor: The Peer Support Centre has been the subject of much discussion and the USC has received a lot of feedback around the changes that have happened this year.

The centre has had a few functional changes this year. We have implemented official office hours for the centre and coordinators, we require a resource volunteer to be present whenever the space is open, and the conference room within the PSC must be “booked” for usage. The main space continues to be open and available for students to drop in, seek resources, and engage in dialogue.

There has been continued feedback that the culture of the space has shifted and become more alienating for those who once felt at home there. This is not our intent, but is understandable, given the changes.

Over the past two years at town halls for the PSC, frequent users of the space articulated that their community, which had grown in the PSC, was having adverse and unforeseen effects in that other students felt uncomfortable entering the space. Instead of entering they felt they were intruding. This feedback prompted a closer look at the PSC and the drafting of a policy.

We want the PSC to be more accessible and welcoming to a broader spectrum of marginalized persons: people who are seeking out friends, yes, but also those who are looking for a stabilizing force. Someone looking to access resources for a friend who is depressed, or someone who feels their cultural

identity is slipping away, or someone struggling with their sexuality who doesn’t fit into the pre-existing LGBT community in the centre.

For some people the PSC has become their home, but we are wary of making people walk through someone else’s living room to get the help and support they need.

I would like to believe that the two paradigms — the warm safe haven for community as well as a resources hub — can both still exist. There is value in having a place to hang out, to debate with friends, to eat lunch — but there are other places on campus where it is possible to do that as well. I have heard that some people don’t feel safe in these other spaces, which is why the USC has been working with administration to advocate on a safer campus instead of stewarding only one “protected” space.

Right now, there is nowhere else to access the wealth of resources and assistance that can be found at the PSC and it is therefore a priority to maintain this.

We are having another PSC Town Hall today at 7 p.m. in UCC 315, and a policy regarding the space will go before council the following week. I have been engaging with students since September to determine the best use of and next steps for the space and look forward to continuing the dialogue tonight.

Hope to see you tonight, but if you can’t make it email me at [email protected] with your thoughts.

—Sam KrishnapillaiUSC vice-president internal

USC talks PSC

Ian Greaves, ManagerMaja Anjoli-Bilic

Diana WatsonRobert Armstrong

Letter to the Editor

Naira Ahmed GAZETTE


Sportssaywhat?“I find Bryz to be an very intelligent man, maybe with different interest than myself, maybe different interest than some of his teammates. But this is an intelligent guy and I have no concerns with how he was framed in a TV show.”

>> Edmonton Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins on new Oilers’ goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov

Rundown >> The Western Mustangs swim team won first place at the Stratten division championships on Saturday > Both the men and the women won gold as they swept both the freestyle and medley relay races.

Two teams impress at memorial tournamentWestern wrestlers dominate Harry Geris

Nusaiba Al-AzemSPORTS EDITOR

Western’s wrestling team continued to produce positive results at the Harry Geris Memorial Tournament this past Saturday. Besides a number of individual medals won, both the women’s and men’s teams achieved a collective gold.

The team was split into a pur-ple squad and a white squad for the event. Mustangs’ assistant coaches Scott Proctor and Saeed Azarbayjani, who coached the majority of the event, composed the squads with an attempt to bal-ance the team’s strength as well as member experience. The purple team ranked first in both the men’s and women’s competition, and the white team finished second in the women’s tournament.

The Purple men’s team defeated Lakehead University 31–14 in the qualifying round. Having earned the top ranking in their pool, they went on to narrowly beat the Guelph Gryphons 24–21.

In individual medals, the men’s team earned four gold, four silver and three bronze medals. The men’s Purple team was led by veteran Steven Takahashi — who picked up an individual gold in the 57 kg weight class.

“This tournament was differ-ent in the sense that I wasn’t con-cerned with my individual result,” Takahashi said. “Instead it was win-ning it as a team that mattered, so competing to win as a team lead me to win my respective weight class.”

In the women’s competition, both Purple and White Western squads won in their respective qualifying rounds to advance to the gold medal match against each

other. In this round, Purple defeated their teammates 37–1.

The Mustangs women’s wrestling team won six gold medals, five sil-ver medals and two bronze medals — earning a medal in every weight category.

“This tournament is really impor-tant to our program,” Takahashi said. “We host it in Harry Geris’ name. He was an extremely influ-ential coach to our program and to win the dual means a lot to us.”

Mustangs head coach Ray

Takahashi stressed that he expects the squad to regard this victory humbly.

“Our success indicates that we are competitive among the teams that attended — Lakehead, Guelph, McMaster and York,” he explained. “Several other teams within the OUA were not present so we cannot let the success breed overconfidence.”

Last week, Takahashi was named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport Top 8 Academic All-Canadian for his commitment and results in both

athletics as well as academics.“Winning the CIS Top 8 Academic

All-Canadian is a great honour,” Takahashi said of the award. “Wrestling and my academics are the two most important things to me. To be recognized in an award for a combination of both feels amazing.”

Moving forward, the team will take to the mat once more this Sunday when they compete in the Ontario Senior Open in Sudbury. The event will be challenging

because it is open to varsity and non-varsity athletes alike, with no age limit. This tournament is extremely important, as it affects members’ statuses in their attempts to achieve a gold card in the Ontario Amateur Wresting Association. The gold card program provides finan-cial assistance to top wrestlers in Ontario.

Be sure to follow the wrestling team’s results following the open this Sunday.

Mike Laine GAZETTE

Jonathan Last name? GAZETTE

WIN-WIN. Mustangs women’s wrestling team won gold for gold in the Harry Geris Memorial Tournament on Saturday. Western took home both gold and silver in the 51 kg, 63 kg and 72 kg weight classes.

Jonathan Dunn GAZETTE

WAIT FOR ME! Mustangs men’s wrestling did extremely well this past Saturday at the Harry Geris Memorial Tournament, earning a total of 11 individual medals, as well as a collective gold.


Western batters Rams at Ryerson for fifth straight victoryMustangs continue winning streak vs Rams

Caitlin Martin NewnhamSPORTS EDITOR

The Mustangs women’s basketball team is welcoming success early in the season with a five-game win-ning streak and a 5–1 record to go along with it. Their most recent game was against the Ryerson Rams, who they defeated 84–52. Their strong offence and team cohesion have proven to be helpful in demolishing five of their oppo-nents so far.

Jenny Vaughan, guard for the Mustangs, believed that their win-ning streak was due to the competi-tiveness of the team and because there are a number of fifth-years that are pushing hard to do their best in their last season.

“Our team has a lot of Western pride and our chemistry has allowed for us to be successful. I like that we are seen as underdogs, I think it continues to motivate us to prove how good of a team we are every game,” Vaughan explained.

Mustangs head coach Brian Cheng has prepared the team for success mentally by promoting a new kind of mindset.

“The wins are nice and we need to bank as many as we can for seed-ing, but in the end we’re getting our kids to focus [on] the moment to [get] ourselves to compete in the moment. Our view is that we do not have a five-game winning streak, we just have one win — our last game,” Cheng said.

Vaughan produced a whopping 30 points in the Mustangs’ latest

game against Ryerson.“I’m able to generate points like

that solely due to the help I get from my teammates. My teammates were the ones that made terrific plays that led to me getting open shots,” Vaughan said.

Mustangs’ sharpshooter Kelcey Wright commented on Vaughan’s talent, explaining that her strong offence is hard for opposing teams

to defend against. Wright herself scored an impressive 18 points for Western.

“Kelcey did what she does every game — compete. She is a tre-mendous three-point shooter and she was knocking down shots on Saturday as per usual […] She has made a huge, positive impact on our team and we are so happy she chose to be a Mustang,” Vaughan

said.A recurring theme in the success

of the Mustangs this season is team cohesion. The team has worked hard to work together as a group and do their best in each game.

“A five-game win streak began with our first win against Carleton that really motivated us to continue to work hard. We have really grown together as a team and we all know

our own roles on the team and I think that has aided in us becom-ing a team that will be really hard to beat this year,” Wright noted.

Coach Cheng could not predict the outcome of the season for the Mustangs, but he said he has a plan to defeat upcoming competitors. If past games are any proof, the team has many more victories to come.

Courtesy of Eunhae Chung

PRETTY POWERFUL IN PINK. Jenny Vaughan (right) of the Mustangs puts up a strong offensive effort against the Ryerson Rams. Vaughan scored 30 points in the game to help the Mustangs win their fifth straight tilt of the season.

VOLUNTEERS WANTEDRESEARCH PARTICIPANTS WANTED As a doc-toral candidate I am conducting a study about tran-sition from secondary school to Western university.We are recruiting full time undergraduate studentsages 17 to 24 to participate in focus groups wherethey will share their transition experiences and theiropinions on transition services and information pro-vided by Western University. If you are interested inparticipating, please contact Lisa at [email protected].

HOUSINGRESIDENCE ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE Va-cancies now available for first-year and upper-yearstudents in main campus residences. Visit our web-site at www.residenceatwestern.ca and login tomyResidence to complete the application and pro-vide contact information.

START LOOKING FOR next year early and beat thewait lists! Visit www.varsityhousing.ca for luxuryapartments and houses. $500-$600. Downtown andnear campus: 519-858-2525, [email protected]

SERVICESFEELING STRESSED OUT? Registered MassageTherapy and Registered Acupuncture minutes awayfrom Western. Coverage under SOGS and USCHealth Plans. Call 519-601-5436 email:[email protected]

ENGLISH (ESL) TUTORING: Are you having diffi-culty learning English as a Second Language in ad-dition to your academic studies? Lots of experiencewith graduate students from many different coun-tries. TESL Certified Instructor. Phone or text Tom at:(226) 791-2213. Email: [email protected]

TIPS ON HOW TO AVOID BEING PHISHED1. Never respond to emails that request personal fi-nancial information. Reputable companies don't askfor passwords or account details in an email.

PUT YOUR SUDOKU SAVVY TO THE TEST! To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes.

For solution, turn to page 2

To place your classifed ad, please contact us at [email protected]

classifiedsthegazette

CLASSIFIED ADSSTARTING AT

$835PERISSSUEFOR 30WORDS

[email protected]

Documents

Wednesday, November 20, 2013