Volume 142 · Issue 6 · Oct. 8, 2008 thebruns.ca

Election SeasonColumnists discuss the upcoming federal election and SU byelection

Arts, page 15Opinions, page 6

the brunswickancanada’s oldest official student publication.

Metal Q&A’sShai Hulud and Misery Signals chat with the Bruns

the globalization of sport // pragmatic or impractical? >> pg. 11

Passed Over

A TOUGH THANKSGIVING COMMUTE?

Andrew Meade / The BrunswickanStudents planning to go home by bus this weekend may be out of luck. Acadian Coach and Bus Lines, the only public inter-city bus service in New Brunswick, could see its drivers on strike by Thursday – just before the long Thanksgiving weekend. Approximately 70 employees, including drivers and mechanics, are part of the local branch of the Amalgamated Transit Union that are seeking wage increases with Acadian. Bus driver Peter Arsenault, pictured above, is one of the affected drivers. Members of the union met with Acadian on Monday to negotiate this labour dispute that catalyzed the potential strike, but ATU President John Richardson and Acadian Operations Manager Daniel Cote did not return phone calls by the time of print.

MTV, Rogers team up for an epic failureDoug EstEy

thE Brunswickan

sarah ratchforDthE Brunswickan

The proposal to build a pedestrian overpass across the Route 8 behind UNB has been denied for the time being.

An overpass needs to be built to combat safety issues. Many students use the portion of Route 8 behind UNB’s Aitken Centre as a short cut between campus and Skyline Acres.

In December of 2006, UNB education student Leslie Bruce was trying to cross the stretch of highway. She was struck by a tow-truck and killed.

Since then, the idea of an overpass has circulated within the University community and the public as a whole. The City has been approached, but nothing is in the works as of yet.

Councillor Jordan Graham, who lobbied for the building of the overpass last year as the SU VP External, now says that “the City’s money is spent for the net period of time.”

In order for plans of an overpass to come to fruition, he says, a “partnership from all three levels of government” is necessary. “There are a lot of players that have to come to the table.”

“It’s hard to get all of the stakeholders to the table,” says Graham. “I’d really like to see movement on it over my tenure from council.”

The current SU VP External, Jon O’Kane, says that there was a fair bit of research conducted on pedestrians last year. Both members of the community and the Student Union were involved with the research, and data was collected by Jordan Graham to prove that an overpass is necessary over Route 8.

Since Graham started his term with City Council, however, no one has seen the data, says O’Kane.

“Step one in building the proposed overpass was to collect and analyze this data,” says O’Kane.

Graham says that this is the “tightest year in terms of budgeting in a long time. Our largest project right now is east end development.”

Fire department infrastructure is also a major priority for the City at this time.

“We’re spending a lot of money

Proposed overpass on Highway 8 falls through the city of Fredericton’s budget

Contrary to what was expected from the two major event promoters, a joint all-ages production between MTV and Rogers on UNB campus Friday was subject to failure.

The free outdoor show, put on in support of headlining Canadian rock group Mobile’s upcoming album Tales from the City, brought out no more than fifty spectators to the quad in front of the Student Union Building.

Opening act The Midway State

faced the same fate, witnessing just a handful of onlookers.

Stephanie Lord, VP Student Services of the Student Union and head of managing and promotions for the MTV Leak Live show, pointed out the amount of effort that went into promoting the show.

“The publicity that MTV and Rogers spent on this campaign was ridiculous. It was myself managing a team of nine students every day from Monday to Friday.

There was a lot of free stuff being given away and we had high hopes that the word was being spread around about it.”

She cited the weather as the primary reason for the dismal attendance.

“It definitely had a significant impact on the turnout. I think that otherwise our numbers would have been up there,” she said on Monday.

“Between myself and the Toronto team we were pretty disappointed.”

Further proof that students knew about the show lies in the sheer fact that it was held in between the middle of UNB’s vibrant residence community and the Student Union Building.

If that wasn’t an obvious enough

indication of the show that was to follow, sound check between the two bands lasted a large part of the afternoon. Bass kicks emanated throughout the entire campus and piercing guitar riffs filled the office of The Brunswickan in the SUB.

An advertised, completely free barbecue also took place prior to beginning of the show, but didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

Megan Murray, a student living in residence, knew about the event but didn’t make plans to attend.

“Who the hell is Mobile? Seriously?”

Other campus residents cited

Buckets, The Cellar, and residence charity events as alternate plans. It’s evident that event promoters need to seek out support in UNB’s residences in order for on-campus events to be successful.

Despite the circumstances, Mobile and The Midway State still managed to pump out solid sets, barring the former’s mistakenly-named performance of Baba O’Reilly by The Who, which they announced as ‘Teenage Wasteland’, and the fact that the group played four covers during their hour-long set.

UNB’s Jones House, which was built as an all-male residence in 1958, is getting closer to becoming a Student Services building.

Jones has been vacant since fall of 2006.

The reason for moving the various sectors of Student Services into one collective building is to make those services more accessible to students, says Anne Forrestall, Executive Director of Student Affairs and Services.

When asked about the changes to the building and

its appearance at the moment, Forrestall says laughingly, “it’s under demolition right now. You have to have a good imagination to picture final results.”

One of the most pronounced architectural changes being made to the building is the addition of a full-sized elevator. The Student Health Centre will be located on the third floor, and

Details surfacing about revamped Jones Housesarah ratchforD

thE Brunswickan

it is important that the Centre be accessible. Also, “people on stretchers will need the elevator to make it up to the Health Centre,” says Forrestall.

“Accessibility is at the forefront of the renovations,” says Forrestall, “so an elevator was first and foremost.” The issue of accessability makes up what Forrestall terms “Phase One” of

the renovations to Jones House. “When you enter Jones House,

there is a step up before the floor,” says Forrestall. “This was a decorative element put in buildings before people thought about accessibility.” As the step posed problems for those with special needs, the floor was leveled. A ramp will be built at

SEE JONES PAGE 3

SEE MOBILE PAGE 13SEE PASS PAGE 2

Jesse Travis talks shop while Keith Ashfield keeps busy

Know your candidates

News, page 3

brunswickannews2 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6• Volume 142

News Briefs (as opposed to boxers)

Overpass not yet in construction

Hilary Paige SmitHtHe BrunSwickan

Hilary Paige SmitHtHe BrunSwickan

Travis: a family affair Conserving his energy

With the federal election looming, there is a need for students to look at every side of the table and make an informed decision.

New Democratic Party candidate Jesse Travis graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 2006 with a major in history. Always a supporter of the New Democrats, Travis contacted the local riding in the summertime and began working toward candidacy.

“I chose to run for MP because I think a lot of people feel left behind by the policies of the Liberals and the Conservative governments that we’ve had the past couple decades. The biggest problem facing Canadians is that the government has skewed the interest of the nation in favour of big businesses and average Canadians are getting left behind. I felt that someone should stand up and fight for every day Canadians,” Travis says.

In addition to fighting for the

average Canadian, Travis adheres to the New Democratic belief in fighting for Canadian families.

“I think a lot of young Canadians here are having trouble finding middle income jobs. I think these are the jobs that are lacking here most. I think it’s crippling a lot of people and it’s not allowing them to start families. What I want to work on in Fredericton is ensuring that young Canadians are able to start the families that they want to start and that they’re able to have careers that are rewarding and that provide them with the financial stability they need.”

Another component of the NDP platform that relates directly to Fredericton is student issues. 2008 election candidates are aware of steadily rising tuition costs and student debt

Should the New Democratic Party come into office, they would implement their Canada Post-Secondary Education Act. This plan would ensure $1000 at the beginning of every year to undergraduate students who qualify for a student loan. In addition to the grant, there are hopes to lower interest rates on loans and instate a tuition system that is as affordable as possible so that student loans may become a

thing of the past.Travis can relate to the financial

perils of students as a recent graduate who is still shouldering the burden of a student loan.

“I think that this is a community that should have an MP that is willing to fight for students, for tuition rates and lowering education costs. People shouldn’t have to choose between their financial situation and an education. I think that’s a huge problem, people who do have to make that sacrifice because they can’t afford it and I want to make sure that we fight to provide affordable post-secondary education for whoever wants it.”

A major concern in the upcoming election for Travis is voter apathy. He stresses that there are people out there who are inheriting their political opinion, only voting a certain way because their parents did. He also says that there are parties out there relying on few student voters.

“The universities should be encouraging every student to vote and I think we need more programs that encourage voter turnout. There is a lot of voter apathy and I think that as much as universities can encourage voter turn out, they should be.”

SubmittedFredericton’s NDP candidate, Jesse Travis’ campaign focus is on improvement of the the average Canadian’s life, with emphasis placed on young Canadians.

Keith Ashfield is Fredericton’s Conservative candidate for the upcoming election. Ashfield will not be appearing at Thursday evening’s candidate debate at the UNB Student Union Building, and was unavailable for an interview prior to print.

Kyle Albright / Special to the Brunswickan

Leadership Debate Focused on the Economy

Last week’s leadership debate was filled with fiery words and measured attacks. The majority of the debate saw the other leaders gang up on current Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper ws drilled with questions about the disastrous state of the current economy, but he held steady with his opinion that the Canadian economy was fine. It will be interesting to see if the Canadian voters agree with an election just over a week away.

Moosehead Beer to Flow More Slowly

Moosehead Breweries is temporarily laying off 50

employees until November. A weakening economy and poor summer weather are listed as the reasons for the change. The particularly poor US economy played a large part in the decision as nearly 50 percent of the brewery’s output is shipped to the US. Full production is expected to resume between November and Christmas, but employee levels will be re-evaluated in 2009.

Remember to Lock Your Shed, Garage

After a string of robberies from open sheds and garages, the Fredericton Police Force is reminding residence to lock their outbuildings. In some of the cases, the residents were at home when

the thefts occurred. “An open door displaying valuable property can be inviting to a passerby thief,” said Const. Ralph Currie. About $2,300 worth of power tools were stolen from an attached garage on York Street between August 22 and September 1.

No More Plastic Surgery for Pets

NB veterinarians have decided to stop performing cosmetic surgeries on household pets. The most common surgeries include docking tails and cropping ears to make them stand up straight. These surgeries are usually done at the request of owners who wish to have their pets compete in shows. The ban will be in full effect in six

months.

US Approves 700 Million Dollar Bailout

Last Thursday, the US House of representatives approved a 700 million dollar financial bailout. The bailout was implemented in hopes of averting what could be one of the greatest financial crises since the Great Depression.

The bill will allow the US government to spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. The theory behind the bill is that the bailout will allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession.

on a lot of things right now,” says Graham. He says the city needs to reach a certain level of taxation dollars in order to complete its projects.

“If not, we’ll have to raise the tax rate,” he says.

Vice President O’Kane says

that the stance of the Union has always been that an overpass is necessary.

“It’s frustrating that the City spends so much on recreation and ignores safety issues,” O’Kane says.

He says the City is focused on capital projects.

“Yeah, it’s great if you attract

1000 more people to Fredericton - not so great if one of them dies,” he says.

O’Kane says that municipal work has shifted.

“Quality of life and vandalism are the main issues,” he says. “Data was collected, things can be done to move forward. We have to continue pushing

politicians to make it happen.” Graham says that “Efforts

are ongoing, talks are always happening. When the right factors come together it will happen.”

In the meantime, students will have to hope that there are no further deaths while these talks are going on.

On October 9, UNB is hosting a debate for all local candidates in the federal election, exclud-ing one.

Keith Ashfield, the local Conservative candidate has de-clined to participate.

Jon O’Kane, the Student Union’s VP External, extended invitations weeks ago to the potential Fredericton MP’s and awaited their response.

Thursday’s debate will have the largest live audience in this election, says O’Kane, and is likely to be a crucial influence on the student voter popula-tion.

Following Ashfield’s refusal to participate, O’Kane says he called his campaign office sev-eral times to follow up and re-ceived no response.

It wasn’t until a meeting with the candidate, he says, that

Ashfield and his scheduler re-vealed his reasons for refusing the opportunity.

O’Kane learned that Ash-field, as well as his campaign team, felt that his time was better spent canvassing door-to-door, rather than spending an evening informing students on issues that directly affect them.

It was also revealed to O’Kane that three debates in one week would be “very taxing” on the candidate.

“I was not very impressed. If three debates are too much for a candidate running for office, how are they supposed to prop-erly represent us in parliament,” says O’Kane with displeasure.

Keith Ashfield’s sole public involvement on campus thus far was an hour and a half shaking hands at the Young Conserva-tives booth at a recent Clubs and Societies Fair, says the VP External.

O’Kane noted that an hour and a half is coincidentally the amount of time the debate would take.

Those who attend the debate on Thursday will become ac-quainted with Liberal candi-

date, David Innes, Green Party candidate, Mary Lou Babineau, New Democratic Party candi-date, Jesse Travis and Canadian Action Party candidate, Ben Kelly.

“I don’t feel not attending the debate will lose him votes dir-ectly, however it will gain other candidates votes indirectly.

“Giving them the opportun-ity to speak in front of students allows them to tailor their portfolios to interest students and it makes them have some-thing they are accountable for, for students,” says O’Kane.

“Students might be more apt to vote for a candidate who at-tends our debate.” Another trend seen in this elec-tion is Conservative apathy, with more Conservative candi-dates nation-wide refusing to attend student-driven debates on campuses like Bishop’s and the University of Winnipeg.

Conservative campaign or-ganizers even recently declared the latter campus a “no-fly-zone.”

Ashfield declined to comment on the issue.

The federal election will take place on Oct. 14.

FROM PASS PAGE 1

thebruns.ca

brunswickannews Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 • 3

History on icePushing for a better community

Cameron mitChellthe BrunswiCkan

matthew sChoettlethe Gateway

On the evening of Friday, October 24, a bunch of UNB students will be partying and hitting up the Fredericton bars. But a hundred kilometres away, in Saint John, the men of Neville/Jones House will be preparing to push a bed all the way back to Fredericton. And why do they do this? They do it to raise money for the Women in Transition House Inc. (WITH), and in an effort to spread the word that violence against women will not be tolerated.

For 16 years the Bed Push has been an integral fundraising effort for WITH, and a crucial way to raise awareness about violence against women.

“(WITH) is a shelter in Fredericton for women and children that are forced to leave abusive situations,” elaborated the Don of the House, Nick Ouellette. “It is a place where they can get their life back on track.”

The shelter provides both a place to stay and some education programs. There are programs that teach everything from how to

get a job and approach an interview to a person’s rights in a landlord tenant situation. Because of their oppressive situations, a great deal of the women that check into the shelter don’t have these necessary life skills. “It is things like these that you kind of take for granted … and most of the money we raise goes towards these programs,” Ouellette said.

But what actually is the Bed Push? “You can think of it like a marathon,” Ouellette explained. “For instance, if you’re running a marathon you collect pledges from your friends, family and the community ... We (Neville/Jones) collect pledges for running this marathon from Saint John to Fredericton, but the quirk of the whole thing is that we’re pushing a bed instead of just running.”

On the evening of October 24, the men of Neville/Jones will bus down to Saint John. They will construct a bed on wheels and start pushing it towards Fredericton. Four people push at a time and the rest follow in the bus. It’s about 30 seconds to a minute per push, and the whole ordeal makes for a long night.

They will arrive in Fredericton at 10 a.m. on Saturday October 25 at the Boyce Farmer’s Market in the west parking lot. “Anybody is more than welcome to come out just before ten o’clock to see us as we present our next donation to

WITH,” encouraged Ouellette. Overall, the actual bed push

takes about 10 hours. However, the preparation and fundraising that takes place beforehand is even more of an extraordinary effort.

Since 1993 the Bed Push has generated over 190,000 dollars for WITH. This year Neville/Jones is looking to push that number over the 200,000-dollar mark. Considering that they raised 31,000 dollars last year, that shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.

“Last year our goal was 20,000 and we raised 31,000,” Ouellette continued. “We set our goal again a 20,000 this year, and we’ll see how it goes.”

The majority of money raised comes from door to door fundraising. Out of the 31,000 dollars raised last year, 26,000 of that came from door to door canvassing.

“On October 18, we’ll be holding what we call the drive for five,” Ouellette explained, elaborating that it is usually the biggest day for fundraising. “We will have a booth at the Farmer’s Market that morning, and then we will be canvassing door to door throughout the day in hopes of raising 5000.” And the men from Neville/Jones don’t just focus on families and the permanent residents, they also canvas across College Hill looking for donations from

students. The Neville/Jones Bed Push is

an extraordinary event, put on by 85 young men. And even though it is about raising money for WITH, it is also about so much more. As Ouellette explained, “it’s not enough for us, as men, not to be violent. It’s not enough for us to simply not abuse women. It’s not enough for us to not go out there and say this has to stop.” So Neville/Jones goes out in the community and spreads awareness about violence against women, and they raise funds to help with the problem.

“(Violence against women) is something that is tragic, and something that we wish didn’t happen,” Ouellette continued. “But as long as it does, we’ll be there raising money for WITH. Ultimately, at the route of our cause is the hope that one day we won’t have to raise that money anymore.” This year the men of Neville/Jones will once again embark on their bed-pushing journey from Saint John to Fredericton, in hopes that one day things will be better.

EDMONTON (CUP) – University of Alberta researchers have landed themselves in the centre of the debate on global warming, but instead of melting icecaps, this time their findings have revealed 740,000 year-old permafrost.

The permafrost was discovered south of Dawson City in the central Yukon and is the oldest ice ever found in North America.

Because atmospheric carbon levels and global warming are positively correlated, permafrost is an important component to global-warming models, due to the large amounts of carbon that will be released if the ice melts. The recently discovered ice has caused a stir because its age and location do not directly subscribe to these models.

“The models tend to over-predict the instability of permafrost; they tend to predict the very rapid thawing of permafrost [in the Yukon],” said Duane Froese, author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the U of A.

Permafrost in the Yukon is thought to be unstable because of previous “interglaciations” – abnormally high global temperatures – which occurred 120,000 and 400,000 years ago.

All ice during these periods is said to have melted. Froese’s study argues for more balanced climate models because the recently found permafrost predates these predictions.

“Our research is simply putting limits on these models,” he said.

Froese says this isn’t to say that current global-warming models are incorrect, but that part of the challenge in creating these models was the previously missing data on permafrost age.

“If you’re using a radiocarbon timescale within the last 50,000 years, it’s usually not too difficult

to date. Once you get beyond the timescale, however, the dating aspect becomes quite challenging.”

In the study, Froese and his team were able to date volcanic ash lying directly on top of the permafrost – a fortuity that provides valuable information to global-warming models.

“It means that the ice below the volcanic ash is older than the ash itself; this allowed us to get a relative age of the ice,” he said.

According to Alberto Reyes, co-author of the study and PhD student, the findings act as a key link to the historical implications uncovered by the permafrost.

“Our study is the one missing piece of the puzzle. This is the first study that has really addressed what happened to permafrost during older interglaciations,” said Reyes.

Permafrost can be distinguished both as shallow (less than two metres) and deep (greater than two metres). In the McKenzie Delta or Siberia, permafrost can span as far as one kilometre below ground level. A 2006 study published in Science posits that about half of available carbon is stored within 20 m of the surface.

Carbon to depth ratios and Froese’s study are being used as ammunition by the media and skeptics of global warming.

Skeptics claim the study highlights the post-hoc nature of climate models correlating interglaciations with melting, because the discovered ice proves current models’ predictions about deep and shallow permafrost wrong – a conclusion Reyes advises against.

“Global warming is incontestable. It’s been interesting to be involved in a high-profile assignment like this to see media reaction and how easily things get distorted,” he said.

“For one, our study only addresses the issue of deeper permafrost, not [the more temperature susceptible] shallow permafrost. And we don’t yet know how regionally representative our findings are.”

Members of the Neville-Jones House Committee are in preparation for Oct. 18’s Bed Push, now in its fifteenth year. The Bed Push generates funds in support of ending violence against women.

Andrew Meade / The Brunswickan

the side doors as well, Forrestall adds. The building’s alterations are now entering “Phase Two” - the Student Health Centre.

“The Student Health Centre is a top priority,” says Forrestall. “The space in Tibbets East was too small. The new space will be much larger, more spread out.” The new location of the Health Centre is expected to “create efficiencies,” Forrestall says excitedly. At the Health Centre’s current location, each physician has his of her own office. In the new Centre, Forrestall says, they will each have two offices in order to enhance the service provided for students.

The move will also make it possible to create partnerships with other health care providers, Forrestall says.

“Currently, we have a psychiatrist come in two times per week in the evenings,” she says. The timing is due to lack of space in the current location. With more space, Forrestall says, there will be room for flexibility.

The second floor of Jones House will be home to Counseling

Services, placing Counseling Services in close proximity to the Health Centre.

“Sometimes physical ailments can be attributed to stress,” Forrestall points out. “Rather than pointing students down the hill in this case, they can just be pointed downstairs.”

“This is all about making the University more student centred,” she says.

Currently, Student Services are spread throughout four different buildings. The Alumni Memorial Building is home to the main office, the Health Centre is in Tibbits East, the Student Accessibility Centre is located in Marshall D’Avery, and the Student Employment Centre is in Neville Homestead.

D’Avery and Neville Homestead will retain their divisions of Student Services, Forrestall says. “The benefits to stay outweigh those to leave,” she says.

The first floor of what used to be Jones House will be divided into two wings. The one on the right hand side will include additions to Services which pertain to UNB’s international students. It will “house the offices of the

international students’ advisor as well as the international relations office, which is not part of Student Services, but overlaps in looking after exchange students,” Forrestall says. There will also be a lounge for international students.

The other first floor wing will include Anne Forrestall’s office, Financial Aid office, and the Student Advocate.

When asked when the new home to Student Services will be completed, Forrestall responds, “the latest I’ve heard is May or June 2009. My hope is that we’ll be ready, up and running in September ‘09.”

It is interesting to note that C.C. Jones, after whom Jones House was named and who served as President of UNB from 1906-1940, was known as a hands-on President. He kept in touch with students who went overseas in World War I, attended many student events, and hosted a celebration for each graduating class of students at UNB.

He was known as a President who was very student oriented – letting this new incarnation serve his memory well.

Keeping up with JonesFROM JONES PAGE 1

the brunswickan.story & photo meetings, wednesdays at 12:30 in SUB room 35. show up.

4 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6• Volume 142

UNBSU Byelection CandidatesJacques Landry

(Senate Rep)

Please refer to my VP External Bio.

voteOct. 12 - 17in your e-services

Jacques Landry(VP External)

This September marks the beginning of my fifth year, the final year of my bachelor of arts in military history and political science. Throughout university I have always maintained a part-time job to help with the rising cost of university. Consequently I have developed deep ties with both this city and UNB. The VP External represents you, the student body, at all levels of government, pressing forward on the issues that affect you everyday. At the forefront, is the dramatically increasing cost of university and the subsequent loans that we all incur. I strongly believe that going to university should not mean putting a mortgage on life.

As important as those issues are, I consider them to be long run issues. I am mostly interested in the short term. What can I do for you now? On the municipal level, I would like to see property tax being lowered which will directly affect the price of rent allowing more money in our pockets. I would also like to see the midnight shuttle return. Imagine being able to get dropped off a bottle throw away from your house for less than two dollars. A universal bus pass with an opt-out option is also on my agenda.

Endurance is not a long race; it is one short race right after another. That’s how I will perform as your VP external: I will never stop starting a new race to ensure at the end, we all win. With this mentality at heart, imagine what I will do next.

Jon O’Kane(VP External)

The Vice President External is the public and govern-ment relations officer for your Student Union. With five months experience as the Acting VP External, I’ve gained the fundamental background required to serve you best when working with governmental affairs.

Within Fredericton, I’ve restored the way our Union offers Off-Campus Housing and have worked with the Mayor’s Group on Community/University Relations. I aspire to decrease vandalism and increase the quality of life by implementing programs such as a used-goods pick up and sale, thereby cutting down on waste left on the College Hill.

Provincially, New Brunswick is experiencing a time of educational change. I’ve worked closely with those in Legislature to lobby for a stronger system of student financial aid. Allow me to continue in this position and I will persist in advocating for student debt caps and pragmatic loan repayment programs. Beginning at the student level, we can shape a New Brunswick where the average student is not burdened by $35,000 of debt.

Federally, in collaboration with the Canadian Alli-ance of Student Associations, I have made strides to-wards increased federal funding for post-secondary. As VP External for the remainder of the year, I will main-tain this advocacy and push for better access to afford-able academic materials and address copyright issues resultant from recent federal decisions.

I believe in a nation where every student can attain an accessible, affordable, high quality education. Vote for me as Vice President External and I will continue my efforts of making that system a reality.

I’ve been an appointed student Senator since May, and as VP Academic, I act as the liaison between the Student Union and the University Senate. Considering the experience I have with Senate, It will be beneficial for the University and more im-portantly the students if I were able to continue as student senator. Being a student representative on Senate means being the voice of the student body on academic issues within this University. We’re there to make sure that students are involved in all of the decision making processes at UNB. Over the summer I have become involved in several of the sub-committees of Senate, and have worked an ensuring adequate student representation on all of them. I’m hoping to continue representing students as a Senator, and I can promise you that the experience and knowledge I’ve gained since I began this position will not go to waste, and you will be well represented in every area of concern.

Hello, I’m John O’Neill, running for Senate. With three years at UNB I’ve been privileged to partici-pate in varsity, club, intramural, and social events. I’m interested in our University. I want to see it improve. As senator, I will to act in your best inter-ests and make decisions that will give you the best education possible. In return for your vote, I offer you my hard work and time. My vision: I’d like to see UNB recognized as a fine Canadian university. Students from UNB being better assured of job positions upon graduation. Maintenance of strong research and greater emphasis on teaching.

Most of all, I’d like to see UNB students learn-ing in a stimulating environment. If you think like me, Go Vote John T for Senate my friends, you’d make my day!

Hello UNB! I know that only the Kinesiology Students are only able to vote for me, but I want to get everyone involved. I want to represent the Kin students on the Student Union – a second year in a row. I don’t want students wondering what the Student Union does because they do won-derful things and I want the students to know! I’m very passionate person and I hope that I can inspire others to be more involved in their school by representing my constituents. I hope that you remember to vote for Kristina O’Brien October 12-17.

My name is Elizabeth Stirling and I am a second year student here at UNB, and am running for the position of nursing faculty representative. I have been involved with many organizations on campus, and was elected as the arts faculty repre-sentative on the UNBSJ student union in 2004. I am a dedicated individual and I will work hard to ensure that the beliefs and values of the nursing students are represented at council, and that all stu-dents have equal opportunity to be involved in the decisions made by their student union. My main goal is to work to enhance the quality of the UNB experience for the nursing students by mediating their active participation in their student govern-ment.

No bio submitted. No bio submitted.Hi, my name is Chris and I am a 5th year BBA stu-dent. I love volunteering for the community and enjoy trying to make a difference. I enjoy working for people and with people. I love reading, writ-ing and walking. I enjoy watching horror movies and TV shows like Dexter and The Office. Vote yes for me and I will use my skills in finance to en-sure your voices are heard while making sure that you are up to date with the latest news. I have great ideas for the future and as your S.U. representa-tive I hope to implement them. If you have ques-tions you can find me; I’m at the dances, the pub crawls and library. My favourite Office quotation is: “Once you’ve danced naked at a hash bonfire with the spirits of the dead, the rest of the parties seem pretty much the same.” -Creed (The Office)

Greg Melanson(Senate Rep)

John O’Neill (Senate Rep)

Kristina O’Brien (Kin Rep)

Elizabeth D. Stirling(Nursing Rep)

Anmar Nawaz(International Rep)

Anmol Bansal(International Rep)

Shawn Downey(Comp. Sci. Rep)

Chris Gunter(Business Rep)

No bio submitted.No bio submitted.

Jeremy Hogan(Education Rep)

Hey, I’m John O’Neill and I’m running for Engineering rep on the Student Union.

If you’d like to know a little about me I’m a 3rd year GGE student. As a representative on the student union I will be speaking on behalf of all engineering students.

All I really have to say is, if you like beer then I’m probably going to represent you just as well as anyone else. If you don’t like beer, that’s cool too, I’m still going to represent you.

I like everyone! So to all those who like beer and all those who don’t

Vote John for SU Eng Rep (I’m the only one running!)

John O’Neill(Engineering Rep)

a debate will be heldfor the VP External candidates on thursday, oct. 9, immediately following the 6 p.m. MP candidates’ debate in the SUB cafeteria. be informed.

brunswickanopinionOct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 • 6

editor@thebruns.ca

Public life and a question of dedication

JoshO’Kane

Bring it on home

Editorial BoardEditor-in-Chief • Josh O’KaneManaging • Tony von RichterNews • Sarah RatchfordArts • Doug EsteySports • Mitchell BernardPhoto • Andrew MeadeCopy • Dan HagermanProduction • Christian Hapgood Online • Dave Evans

Staff Advertising Sales Rep • Bill Traer Delivery • Dan Gallagher

ContributorsAshley Bursey, Sandy Chase, Alison Clack, Maggie DeWolfe, Karissa Donkin, Mike Erb, Josh Fleck, Beth Giesbrecht, Colin Hodd, Brandon McNeil, Colin McPhail, Cameron Mitchell, Earl Denver Montañez, Jon O’Kane, Nick Ouellette, Jens Ourom, Brian Savoie, Hilary Paige Smith & Alex Wickwire.

The Brunswickan relies primarily on a volunteer base to produce its issues every week. Volunteers can drop by room 35 of the SUB at any time to find out how they can get involved.

About UsThe Brunswickan, in its 142nd year of publication, is Canada’s Oldest Official Student Publication.

We are an autonomous student newspaper owned and operated by Brunswickan Publishing Inc., a non-profit, independent body.

We are a founding member of the Canadian University Press, and love it so. We are also members of U-Wire, a media exchange of university media throughout North America.

We publish weekly during the academic year with a circulation of 10,000.

LettersMust be submitted by e-mail including your name, letters with pseudonymns will not be printed. Letters must be 400 words maximum. Deadline for letters is Friday at 5 p.m. before each issue.

Editorial PolicyWhile we endeavour to provide an open forum for a variety of viewpoints and ideas, we may refuse any submission considered by the editorial board to be racist, sexist, libellous, or in any way discriminatory.

The opinions and views expressed in this newspaper are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Brunswickan, its Editorial Board, or its Board of Directors.

All editorial content appearing in The Brunswickan is the property of Brunswickan Publishing Inc. Stories, photographs, and artwork contained herein cannot be reproduced without the express, written permission of the Editor-in-Chief.

21 Pacey Drive, SUB Suite 35Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3

main office • (506) 447-3388advertising • (506) 452-6099

fax • (506) 453-5073email • eic@thebruns.ca

www.thebruns.ca

the brunswickan

Andrew Meade / The BrunswickanRepresentatives from five parties are running for the Fredericton riding in the upcoming Federal Election; four candidates have agreed to show up at the UNB debate on Oct. 9. Keep that dedication to students in mind when you cast your vote.

letters to the editor.

Tory blues: One colour short of a set

UNB students are being charged with deciding their future over the next week and a half. On a broad scope, a federal election is taking place on Oct. 14; on a smaller one, the student union is holding a byelection beginning Oct. 12.

Some students find voting to take too much work; registering to vote, finding proof of address, and making one’s way to a polling station can take a lot out of a person who already has three or four midterms to worry about.

But if someone decides to run for a position – if they really want the job – shouldn’t they be willing to do the necessary work to win the vote?

Interestingly enough, student voters will find candidates in both upcoming elections that are choosing not to put in a minimal amount of work for their campaign – or even accept essentially free promotion.

The Brunswickan offered a profile story to each of the five candidates for the Fredericton riding in the federal election. While representatives for the Liberal, New Democratic, Green and Canadian Action Parties all gladly accepted this coverage, Conservative candidate Keith Ashfield was “very busy,” according to his campaign manager, and did not respond for an interview until after the story deadline before print.

While I don’t feel inclined to tell you who to vote for, I can tell you that Mr. Ashfield has lost my vote.

Mr. Ashfield and his campaign staff gave one Brunswickan

reporter the runaround for a week and a half, only to finally respond after the final story deadline – and declined an interview with another reporter for a separate story.

A 15 minute interview with The Brunswickan would have put the Conservative candidate on page two of this issue of Fredericton’s largest independent news source and a direct news source for nearly 9000 UNB students.

A fifteen 15 trip going door to door might reach two or three families.

It is wise for a candidate to spend hours going door to door meeting potential constituents, but it’s certainly not a wise move compared to taking 15 minutes of

one’s time to reach 10,000 readers at UNB and across Fredericton.

I have to commend Mr. Ashfield’s use of mathematics in this situation – and question his dedication to future constituents.

Combining his silence with the fact that he has declined to participate in the UNB Student Union candidates’ debate, Mr. Ashfield has proven only one thing to me in this election – that the student vote does not matter to him.

Some candidates in the SU byelection appear to have similar mindsets to Mr. Ashfield. The Brunswickan offered each senate and faculty/student representative 150 words of space to talk about

themselves and why students should vote for them.

Pay attention to the names of those students who did not submit their writeup before the deadline: if they weren’t willing to write 150 words on why they want the job, how willing are they to work to represent you on the SU?

Four candidates each neglected to submit a writeup to the Brunswickan and three opted not to have a photo taken. One candidate who is running for two positions submitted a writeup for one position and not the other.

Take note of these names, as seen on page 4 of this issue; if these people can’t be bothered to write 150 words or have a picture taken,

how hard will they work for you once elected?

SU councillors are elected to represent their faculty or student group (such as the international representative).

It only takes a few minutes to write 150 words. It takes a lot more effort than that to perform the jobs they’re running for.

Pursuing a position in public life requires dedication. Think twice before you pick candidates in either election – if they can’t dedicate their time now, will they dedicate their time to serve you if you elect them? Josh O’Kane is Editor-in-Chief of The Brunswickan. He can be reached at editor@thebruns.ca.

Dear Editor,

I’m writing in response to Ms. Hillary Paige Smith’s recent article on the proposed SUB levy.

Smith’s interview with Dr. Brown turned up some facts that deserve clarification. For example, Dr. Brown argued students should feel comfortable paying a levy for the building because “there has been levys [sic] in the past to sustain the building.” However, it’s at least equally important to note

previous levies have always been directed towards a very specific end (such as paying for renovations). The proposed levy is to go to the general maintenance and upkeep of the building. Although there’s a list of projects that desperately need attention, “sustaining the building” is not very specific or precise.

Also, all previous levies had expiration dates. Dr. Brown’s proposed levy does not. The proposed levy would be permanent,

potentially subject to an increase in the future.

Dr. Brown points to the fact that others schools charge their students with a levy for the maintenance of Students’ Union buildings. However, many schools do not charge an extra levy for the upkeep of their Students’ Union buildings. Somehow, other buildings have “come into business” without charging an extra, permanent fee. Also, many other SUs retain

control over their Students’ Union buildings. Our SU has relatively little control and runs into major hurdles when it simply proposes to reorganize space (an example being the proposed SU Welcome space).

Dr. Brown’s question “How would you feel contributing [to the upkeep of the SUB]” is deceptively simple. It’s more complicated than that. Students do have a common interest in ensuring the building is well maintained. However students

also have a common interesting in ensuring Tilley Hall doesn’t collapse. That doesn’t mean extra levies should be charged for every building on campus. As well, students already “contribute” to the maintenance of the SUB through tuition and other fees. A levy is extra contribution. The question is: “the Government of New Brunswick hasn’t provided UNB with the funds to property maintain its buildings, how do you feel about footing the bill?”

The simple, band-aid, answer to the SUB maintenance problem is to charge every student an extra $25. That doesn’t mean it’s the right answer. The university, in conjunction with the provincial government, needs to focus on how to resolve this problem without gouging students. Let’s hope we hear of more creative answers.

Sincerely, Jonathan Griffith

Nick Howard

The Opinionator

The Conservatives aren’t coming. In an effort to be candid, I have to say that their absence would normally warm my heart. In this case however, it makes me a little bit nervous. The on-campus federal candidate debate for the upcoming election will take place on Thursday, October 9 thanks to the efforts of our Student Union Executive. The NDP, Green Party, Liberal party, and Canadian Action Party are all sending their candidates for us to adjudicate. This seems like a logical decision on for these parties to have made. UNB represents nearly 9,000 votes in an electoral district of only 80,000 people. So I wonder what logic the Keith Ashfield team used in deciding to forsake Fredericton’s largest youth community. Perhaps this is all a

part of a Tory “secret plan”; just six days to go until Election Day and no sign of a platform from the leading party. In an effort to better understand this logic of secrecy I called the campaign office. Four days later, I still received no response. Correct me if I’m wrong, but is transparency not a foundation of the democratic system?

In the spirit of secrecy I am left to wonder. Perhaps Ashfield refused our offer of a fair debate because, devoid of a platform, the public has built the Conservative image around campaign advertisements and slogans. While clever, they deliver little in the way of substantive information about youth policies in particular. After covering stricter youth sentencing Ashfield might have difficulty talking about youth initiatives with no official platform to fall back on. Or maybe I’m way off; unfortunately it seems there is no one willing to dispel the gossip.

Or maybe it’s the university community itself. With its liberal tendencies it might seem like a haven for the liberal ideals

standing in the way of the Tory push toward neoconservatism. Such “ridiculous” Canadian notions as peacekeeping no longer stand in the Conservatives’ way. Or so it seems from their potentially backhanded, very annoying, and somewhat offensive (though admittedly clever) flyer campaign. I can’t imagine “Jail?” is going to convince any University students to jump in the Republican – er, Conservative Hummer on the way to the polls. If our education has taught us anything, it is that stereotypes are useful only in rhetoric, not reality. Perhaps dealing with certain touchy subjects (how campaign materials have been distributed for instance) would be more trouble than the debate is worth. Using this argument, devoid of moral judgment, it now seems logical for Ashfield to skip the debate.

Engaging in idle gossip and complete guesswork is not something I enjoy, nor something that I seek. However, when it comes to the future of the country in which I live and the people that I love, some kind of plan is

better than silence. How many times have politicians been told that “talk is cheap”? It’s no less true now than it ever was. After the Conservatives are elected on October 14, and we are wondering why the party with no written platform is not as accountable as we might like, remember this handy latin proverb:

Verbum volans, Scriptum manens: The spoken word flies, the written word remains. Nick Howard is a second-year Renaissance College student who hs previously studied in Vienna and at UPEI. He can be reached at nphoward@gmail.com.This is a flyer the Federal Conservatives are sending to woo voters.

Internet

brunswickanopinion Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 •7

Did candidates fail students or did students fail candidates?

Tony von Richter

Mugwump

Hey! Guess what! There’s a byelection going on this week. No really there is. Funny, right? Nobody seems to know anything about it. There are barely even any campaign signs up. There are so few signs up you’d swear that they’re left over from last year’s byelection.

Oh wait. I don’t remember many signs up for that one either.

That’s a problem. In the upcoming Student

Union byelection there are 10 positions up for nomination and only nine of those positions have candidates running for them. For those positions that do have candidates, half are running unopposed.

Ah, elections with only one option, democracy as it was meant to be.

I’m not going to pretend that student politics are the most thrilling thing in the world, but on a campus of over 6,000 eligible students you’d think that more than a few would be interested in running for student government.

The low number of candidates makes me wonder if the majority of students have no desire to get involved with student government as they’re just not interested. Of more concern however, would be if students didn’t get involved because they think that the Union doesn’t do anything of value and is not worth their time and effort.

It’s not just voting students who appear to be apathetic though, as judging by the lack of visible campaigning, most of the candidates running in the byelection don’t appear to be too interested in it either.

Don’t get me wrong, I commend every one of the candidates for stepping up and putting their name forward, but I wish they’d be a little more visible with their campaigning to let us know what they stand for.

While a few of the candidates

have put up posters and more have submitted bios and platforms to the Bruns and come in for headshots, some haven’t even done that. Some candidates that are running for two positions didn’t even bother to submit separate platforms for their positions, leaving students to wonder if they even care or know what the position entails.

Although it might not speak well of the candidates’ dedication to their position could there be another reason for this lack of campaigning? Could it be that students care so little about the activities of the Student Union that it doesn’t really matter who represents their interests?

At this point I’m not sure whether it’s the candidates or we students that are more responsible for this invisible campaign, and in the end it doesn’t really matter, as neither party has lived up to their side of the democratic equation. Tony von Richter is the Managing Editor of The Brunswickan. Feel free to contact him at managing@thebruns.ca.

Apathy starts at the top

JonO’Kane

StudentBeat

Students vote. Crazy, isn’t it? Students still vote, though statistically they may not vote in as large proportion as other demographics.

When casting their ballot, the decision of one student is weighed equally to that of the Prime Minister or Wayne Gretzky. Such a critical deci-sion should be educated and with such a powerful oppor-tunity we must take advantage of it.

Four candidates in this rid-ing understand the importance of the student vote.

As students and young people, we will see Canada grow over the next generations and define its path in history yet to unfurl. Four candidates for Fredericton in this federal election have agreed to foster political discussions and en-gage in a student-driven debate on campus to ensure that stu-dents can ask the challenging questions that are important to the Canada they would like to see.

On October 9, four candi-dates will appreciate the stu-dent audience by discussing policy, plans, and aspirations. What can we do to address environmental issues? What is our role in international de-velopment? How can we build a strong, Canadian economy for our families?

Four candidates want to have this conversation with you.

This sounds almost too good to be true.

The chance to educate your-

self can’t be this easy – can it? The careful readers will have detected a problem.

Four candidates want to en-gage students; five candidates want your vote.

The Conservative candidate, Keith Ashfield, has formally declined the opportunity to debate on the UNB campus.

In doing so, he sends a strong message to the voting community that he feels his time can be better allocated to capture more voters.

Either Mr. Ashfield feels his policy is not strong enough to win over student voters or that he feels students are not worth the time to commit two hours to engage in discussion.

As a former MLA for the province of New Brunswick, he is no novice to politics. The math is simple: the debate lo-cation of the SUB cafeteria can hold 1000 participants.

Where else in two hours can a politician find 1000 eager, receptive minds waiting to ask questions?

I was told by the Conserva-tive campaign staff that Mr. Ashfield is already participat-ing in two debates that week and three would be difficult.

If a candidate cannot endure three debates in one week, how can a candidate properly rep-resent constituents in Parlia-ment?

The campaign trail is a pre-view of the issues and priorities that matter to a person. The issues of 1000 students, appar-ently, fall beyond the scope of this fifth candidate.

Voter apathy is not inherent in young people. Historically, students at UNB have filled the SUB cafeteria to listen to debates. In the last federal election, the polling station on campus had wait times of an hour or more – and yet students still pressed on and waited patiently to express

their opinion by casting a bal-lot.

So who fosters this apathy? Why is it a demographic that may not feel that voting affects them?

When a politician ignores a group in the campaign per-iod of making promises, that group has no grounds to chal-lenge the politician once in of-fice.

You cannot lie to someone you’ve never spoken with.

So apathy is not a student crisis, it’s an assumption from the system in which we live in.

As long as politicians like Mr. Ashfield prioritize voters with students last, apathy will flourish and the young vote will not fulfill its potential.

Apathy starts at the top, compliments of strategies that focus on voters and not issues.

I am saddened by Mr. Ash-field’s lack of interest in a stu-dent-driven debate on campus. I have still educated my vote and read into Conservative platforms, but nothing is more useful that speaking directly to a person before I vote.

I thank and appreciate the four candidates who have dedi-cated their time to speak with students and the university community. They are engaging the public with no precon-ceived notions that a particu-lar group may be less likely to vote and thus less worth their time.

Come to the debate on Oc-tober 9. Participate in other debates (such as the televised Rogers debate on October 6) so you can make a wise deci-sion.

I’m voting October 14. I’m challenging apathy and I’m starting at the top. Jon O’Kane is VP External of the UNB Student Union. Student Beat is a weekly column by UNB stu-dent leaders examining issues that are pertinent to students.

the brunswickan.

we want your feedback.send letters to the editor to editor@thebruns.ca by fridays at 5 p.m.

The old man rantsatire from Dave Evans

“Try going hitch hiking.”Alex Harvey

“Sell your body for a drive.”Jaima MacRae

“I would hitch hike to see the girlfriend.”Alex Sprague

“Get my parents to give me a drive.”Ben “I wish I was Nick Guthro” Ellick

“My parents will pick me up.”Colin Manning

“Drive my car. If I didn’t I would hitch.”Not Jordan Condren

Question: How will you get home this weekend if Acadian bus drivers strike?Viewpoint

“I live in town.”John Fitzgerald

“I’d hitch hike.”VIshnu “I want to be Jon Pineau” Sreedharan

“Hitch hike.”Maria Newman

the brunswickan.

Every four years (or sooner, if someone gets uppity), the government annoys me enough to put on pants and head to some church basement to vote. I could choose not to vote, but that might mean some tree-hugger would get elected, and I’d have to spend four years paying for weird social programs like basket-weaving support groups or something. So, I started thinking about

who’s trying to become the next Prime Minister and probably raise my damn taxes. First, we’ve got this newcomer Elizabeth May of the Green Party. I don’t have a clue what her platform is; I just can’t get past the fact she looks like a beaver. It’s those teeth; sure the beaver is a national icon, but she’s taking her patriotism a little too far. Next is Gilles Duceppe of the Bloc. This guy really pisses me off, trying to break up the country. Want to understand his platform? Get a dictionary and look up the word “traitor”; enough said. Thirdly, is Mr. Jack Layton of the NDP. Unfortunately, Jack sure don’t know jack; I think he might have failed a few economics courses in school, because raising taxes by a million percent doesn’t always help the economy, but I guess it does help pay for that basket-weaving group I mentioned earlier. The next “patriot” is Stephane Dion of the Liberals. He’s very much like former Prime Minister Jean Chretien; I can’t understand him when he speaks English either. Last, but not least, is my man, Stephen Harper of the Conservatives. He’s all about beefing up the military, protecting the arctic and hates kids as much as I do; if he manages to make it legal to name youth offenders, the community will finally know the names of the hellions that steal my rhubarb. I think he’s just misunderstood, like that emperor fellow from Star Wars. They both just want to create a peaceful police state but some left wing nut jobs have to complain. Our government might not have a huge Death Star, but we do have the world’s largest axe, and I’d sure be pissed if some angry teenagers tried to blow it up. So, on October 14, vote. If you don’t, I’ll find you and kick your ass.

brunswickansports8 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142

thebruns.ca

Upcoming V-Reds Events

Sunday, October 5th

Hockey UNB - 1BostoN UNiversity - 4

WomeN’s soccer

UNB - 0cBU - 1

meN’s soccer

UNB - 3cBU - 1

V-Reds Results

Wednesday, October 8th

WomeN’s volleyBall

UNB @ moNctoN

7:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 4th

Hockey

UNB - 0Umass - 6

WomeN’s soccer

UNB - 0aca - 0

meN’s soccer

UNB - 2aca - 1

Sunday, Ocotber 12thWomeN’s BasketBall

cBU @ UBc1:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

lakeHead @ UNB3:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

Friday, october 10th

WomeN’s BasketBall

lakeHead @ UBc6:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

cBU @ UNB8:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

Hockey

U of maiNe @ UNB7:00 p.m. @ aitkeN ceNtre

Saturday, october 11th

WomeN’s BasketBall

cBU @ lakeHead

1:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

UBc @ UNB3:00 p.m. @ lB Gym

Hockey

U of maiNe @ UNB7:00 p.m. @ aitkeN ceNtre

brunswickansportsOct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 • 9

sports@thebruns.ca

V-Reds win two and remain undefeated

Sport NB unveils new plan

Sport: HockeyYr: 1

Why did you choose UNB?It has a great men’s hockey program with an excellent academic background. Plus, it is close to home.

What are your pre-game rituals?One sock has to be inside out, each piece of equipment has to on either left first, then right, or vice versa. I just do everything the same.

What’s the one thing you can’t go on the road without? My iPod. I love to listen to music to relax, stay focused, or to just kill time.

What is your pet peeve? When people throw things on the bus.

Sport: Women’s VolleyballYr: 5

What is your desired profession? I want to be an accountant. I plan to get my CA after I’m finished school.

What was your first job? It was picking blueberries when I lived in PEI. My first real job was at Tim Hortons.

What is your most embarrassing sports story? Punching my own teammate in the face while celebrating a block.

What is your personal goal this year?I want to leave nothing in the tank. I want to go out with a bang, help my team win another AUS banner, and finish higher at the CIS championships.

One-on-one with...

Jonathan Harty Melanie Doucette

Christian Hapgood / The BrunswickanUNB, currently sitting atop the AUS standings heading into Thanksgiving weekend, are poised to take a run at the AUS championship for yet another season. The Reds won the title last back in 2006.

BraNdoN macNeiltHe BrUNsWickaN

coliN mcpHailtHe BrUNsWickaN

Athlete of the Week

Ken MorrisonSoccerStriker4th YearKinesiologyFredericton, New Brunswick

Ken Morrison has been chosen as UNB’s athlete of the week for his superb performance this past weekend as UNB defeated Acadia University 2-1 on Saturday, where he was named as the player of the game and he scored the third goal for UNB on Sunday to secure a 3-1 win over Cape Breton. Those two wins left the Varsity Reds undefeated after ten games, leading the AUS men’s soccer league.

In his comment about Ken’s performance over the weekend, Varsity Reds soccer team head coach Miles Pinsent said, “Ken was dominant in his central midfield position for both games this past weekend. When the games were on the line, he really stepped his play up and was a true leader on the field”

UNB Media Services

UNB Media Services UNB Media Services

The Varsity Reds men’s soccer team has remained undefeated after claiming two more victories over the weekend.

On Saturday, the Reds defeated Acadia 2-1 in a tight match. Jason Bessey and Galen Smith tallied for UNB. Veteran Ken Morrison was named player of the game for the V-Reds after displaying his talent throughout the game.

Sunday, Cape Breton University was in town. UNB seemed to be controlling the game early on; however, they found themselves down 1-0 after a Cape Breton striker snuck one past UNB keeper Matt Lally.

As the first half was winding down, the V-Reds took advantage of a Cape Breton mistake. Their keeper was out of position, and rookie Amir Razak was able to bury a goal for the tie. Only seconds later, UNB was back down in Cape Breton territory and Galen Smith fired a rebound into the back of the net. As quickly as that, Cape Breton now trailed 2-1.

UNB came out firing in the second half and were too much for Cape Breton to handle. The Reds easily controlled the remainder of the game. Morrison added some insurance toward the end of the game, sealing another victory.

“They were two wins we really needed to stay on top of the league,” said Morrison after the game. “We’d love to be able to remain in first and get a bye through the first round.”

The V-Reds are now sitting comfortably in first place in the AUS, with a 6-0-4 record.

When asked about the undefeated record, Morrison shook it off. “Of course its great, however an undefeated record means nothing come playoffs.”

UNB head coach Miles Pinsent is pleased with his team’s play over the weekend. He is excited as the team nears the end of the season, but realizes that they must not lose focus on their goals.

“We’re pleased with where we are at in the standings. So far we are accomplishing our preliminary goals throughout the season. We are just trying to keep on track and

keep to the goals we have set,” said Pinsent.

A number of rookies stepped it up for the Reds over the weekend. Although it may have come to a surprise to a few, Pinsent is confident is his entire roster and not just his starting line-up.

“I can’t really say there are any surprises for us. This weekend just speaks to the depth – it’s great that we have no problem substituting. It helps to keep things fresh on the field. We have enough talent on the bench with players like Jason Bessey, who had a great weekend,

and Amir in his first time with significant game play.”

The Reds now have a weekend off before they resume regular season play the following weekend. It’s a great chance for UNB players to rest as they get set to round out the season and enter the playoffs.

“We’ll just be trying to keep the foot down. It’s nice to have a little break. It gives the guys a bit of a physical and mental break. Nothing really changes for us. After next weekend, we’ll be back at it. With less than a month left, everything is in preparation for

the playoffs come November,” said Pinsent.

And with playoffs approaching quickly, the Reds will control their own destiny down the stretch. The club has three games remaining in the regular season schedule. Their next action will be on Oct. 18 when they travel to the island for a game against UPEI on Saturday. On Sunday, they will battle UdeM in Moncton.

Mount Allison will be at Chapman Field the following weekend to wrap up the regular season.

After a dismal eighth place finish in the 2005 summer games, only sending five athletes to Olympics in Beijing, and an alarming increase in obesity, Sport New Brunswick is taking action. Last Wednesday, New Brunswick unveiled its first ever public sport plan - the first few steps the province has taken in order to catch up to the other provinces.

Enhanced participation, enhanced excellence, enhanced capacity, and enhanced interaction are the four main points of a plan that is investing $6 million annually in N.B’s athletes, coaches, volunteers, facilities and organizations over the next three years. However, the large amount of money will not go squandered. Sport N.B. has made the bold statement that for every dollar they spend, they will see a three dollar return.

“With the new investment in the 2008-09 budget, we continue to move in the right direction,” said Minister of Wellness, Culture & Sport Hedard Albert. “Our new initiatives such as the Excellence Fund, which supports New Brunswick’s Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, and our enhanced financial support to provincial organizations, designed to address the identified capacity issues, support the direction proposed in the sport plan.”

Colin Higgs, the designer of the Nova Scotia and

Newfoundland sport plans, was one of the main consultants in making a plan composed of 44 recommendations that will be met by 2011. Higgs’ greatest concerns were increased sports participation costs, declining volunteerism, increased obesity in the youth, and the relocation of N.B. athletes to places were their needs can be met. “The current picture is not good,” said Higgs. “And yet there is hope, and expectation that things can be turned around; that New Brunswick can regain its rightful place in Canadian sport . . . However, this will not happen without substantial new investment, and the concerted

efforts of everyone involved in sport working together in harmony to achieve common goals.”

The plan is primarily based on two documents – the Canadian Sport Policy, and Long-term Athlete Development and Canadian Sport for Life. Through strenuous consulting and long meetings, Sport NB was able to create a landscape that can support a new sport infrastructure the province is in dire need of. The plan is based on four goals they wish to achieve:

“ E n h a n c e d 1. Participation”: increase the number of New Brunswick citizens participating in sport for health and social benefits.

Their strategy is to increase participation funding and increase the opportunities to participate in quality programs. Also, increasing the awareness of benefits of and opportunities for participation.

“Enhanced Excellence”: 2. improve New Brunswick’s high level sport performance. Their approach is to increase funding for athletes, coaches and programs. By creating regional centres of excellence and aligning the system in comparison to other provincial sport systems, they wish to increase the profile of high performance.

“Enhanced Capacity”: 3. improving human resources and infrastructure. Through investment in capacity and human resource and policy development, Sport N.B. can generate a base for which the programs are not hindered by a lack of funding, communication or government support.

“Enhanced Interaction”: 4. working collaboratively to improve sport. The necessary elements to be able to run this plan are collaboration and co-operation. It is crucial that these partnerships between the government, provincial sport organizations and the New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association hold firm or it could all fall through.

“I look forward to our continued work with the sport community in moving the sport plan forward,” said Albert. “The plan provides us with solid areas upon which we can build and also identifies where we should collectively invest for future growth.”

If one looks past all of the intricacies of this plan, without support from the government, communities and volunteers, it’s just a few words on paper. The plan is set, the strategies have been contrived, but each New Brunswick citizen must put it into action. The province has been slowly been falling behind and they realize it’s time to catch up.

After poor showings at major events and alarming health risks, Sport N.B. takes action

“AND YET THERE IS HOPE, AND ExPECTATION THAT THINGS

CAN BE TURNED AROUND; THAT

NEW BRUNSWICK CAN REGAIN ITS

RIGHTFUL PLACE IN CANADIAN

SPORT”- COLIN HIGGS

UNB focuses in on AUS playoffs with less than a month to play in the regular season

brunswickansports10 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142

Wind wreaks havoc on V-Reds weekend Why do we bother to watch sports?

Tony von Richter

View from the Sidelines

Josh FleckThe Brunswickan

I love sports, and always have. For as long as I can remember, sports have been a big part of my life. First watching and playing, to now writing about and studying them, there has never been a time when sports haven’t been important to me.

Up until last week though, I never stopped to think why I consider sports to be so important.

On the surface, it seems absurd. Rather than focusing on things that have a direct effect on our lives, sports fans spend an inordinate amount of time watching people put a puck into a net or hit a ball with a stick.

In fact, many of us will spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for this privilege to watch other people exercise.

Why do we do this though? It can’t be solely for the entertainment value, as there are hundreds of other forms of entertainment that are cheaper and easier to access then sports.

Is it because we look up to the athletes and individuals involved in the games? Somehow I doubt that it’s more often than not these days were confronted with stories of athletes acting out and not behaving as one would like their public figures to behave.

Often times when watching or reading current sports coverage, I wonder if we’re really covering sports at all, and I’m reminded of a quote said from one sports anchor to another on Aaron Sorkin’s Sports Night:

“Look, I got into this ‘cause I liked getting people to like sports. And I’ve turned into a P.R. man for punks and thugs. Any atrocity, no matter how ridiculous or hideous or childish, it doesn’t matter. I make it sports.“

That quote from actor Peter Krause’s character was first broadcasted ten years ago this month - and if anything, the state of the sports world has only worsened.

Instead of stories about thrilling come-from-behind victories and tales of late round draft picks overcoming the odds and becoming all-stars, we’re presented with stories about DUIs and

athletes being convicted of assault or even worse crimes.

Why do we support these teams and athletes then? If one of the prevailing opinions about sports is that it is filled with nothing but “punks and thugs” as Krause’s character says, then by spending time and money on sports aren’t we just encouraging this kind of behaviour?

I don’t think that we are, and that’s because the vast majority of people that are involved with sports are good people that just happen to have their careers play out in the public eye. We usually only hear about the poor behaving athletes because they are the exception to the rule and the nature of the media is to report on the extraordinary, not the everyday routine.

If it’s not purely for entertainment value, and it’s not because we look up to the athletes, then why do we invest so much time into sports?

I think that it’s human nature. That may seem like an

outrageous statement, but as long as there have been people there has been some form of sport or athletic competition. Whether it’s in organized events or simple play between children, there are elements of sports that are ingrained into us and sports are how we exercise these elements of our personalities.

Since sports have always played a somewhat important part in human history, especially the development of different societies, it really bothers me when people marginalize sports.

In the grand scheme of things, of course sports aren’t as important as things like national defence and healthcare issues. But I think that we are far too quick to dismiss the importance of sports in our society.

This attitude is surprisingly prevalent in the sports media, and I think it comes from a desire to be seen as not taking ourselves too seriously; that we realize there are more important issues than sports in the world.

Like I said above, there are certainly more important things than sports in this world. However I think that sports is a much larger part of our culture that we sometimes believe it to be.

It’s time to stop pretending that sports don’t matter. They do. As long as we keep them in perspective we should celebrate the good parts of sport, and give them the proper respect and attention they deserve. Tony von Richter is the former Sports Editor of The Brunswickan. He is the current Sports Bureau Chief for Canadian University Press. You can e-mail him at managing@thebruns.ca.

UNB faced tough competition this past weekend when they hosted the number two ranked CBU Capers, and the Acadia Axewomen, who were previously in the CIS Top 10.

On Saturday, with a very strong wind in their face, UNB had a hard time controlling the play against Acadia. If it weren’t for the play of UNB’s back line and Keeper Jackie Fitt-Ryan, UNB would have fallen behind very early. But with the help of the wind, Acadia was turning free kicks from just inside the half into quality shots.

As the game grew on, UNB settled down and played with more control and poise. After several minutes of back and forth action, UNB controlled outright until the end of the first half. Despite their efforts, UNB was held scoreless, and went into the half 0-0.

At the half, UNB coach Andy Cameron was pleased with his team’s play. “Considering the strong wind in our face, 0-0 is a good result,” said Cameron.

UNB took the momentum they had at the end of the first half into the second and ran with it. They controlled the play and for their effort, they were rewarded with several opportunities to open the scoring. If it weren’t for that ever pesky post and crossbar combination UNB would have held a 2-0 lead.

UNB maintained all the pressure until the final few minutes when

Acadia came so close to taking the lead - but again Fitt-Ryan was there to thwart all efforts. For all her hard work, Fitt-Ryan was named player of the match.

The game ended in a 0-0 draw. On a beautiful Sunday

afternoon, things weren’t about to get any easier for UNB, as they played the defending CIS champions the CBU Capers. As was the case in Saturday’s match, UNB started out a little flat-footed against the Capers, but were bailed out by their solid defensive play.

CBU controlled the play and applied a lot of pressure whenever UNB would touch the ball, which resulted in a turnover and a CBU goal in the 33rd minute. That goal seemed to take the life out UNB as CBU continued to apply pressure and looked as though they wanted it that much more than UNB. Thanks to the solid play of Fitt-Ryan, the game remained 1-0 into the second half.

The story in the second half was no different than the first. CBU looked every bit the champions they were last year. If it wasn’t for the

stellar play of the defence, the score could have ballooned. The defence did a good job of limiting CBU to outside shots which were easily handled by Fitt-Ryan. Whenever a CBU player did break loose, it didn’t seem to phase the UNB keeper as she turned away every chance on her way to another player of the match. UNB eventually lost the match 1-0 to CBU.

The Reds will now have a few weekends to rest, as their next action will be on Oct. 18 when they travel to PEI to take on the Panthers.

Sandy Chase / The Brunswickan

UNB fights for ball possession during weekend play at Chapman Field. The Reds now have a week to rest as they prepare for the final stretch of the season.

UNB draws tie against Acadia, but lose to CBU at home.

brunswickansports Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 •11

Baseball sweeps

Mitchell Bernard

Balls to the wall

Pragmatic or impractical?Globalization of sport: Changing the game to meet new demands in expansion markets

This weekend at UNB

Alex WickWireThe BrunsWickAn

Hockey V-Reds to host University of Maine

UNB will be hosting NCAA hockey powerhouse University of Main Black Bears in a series of exhibition games this weekend.

This will be the first time that Maine has traveled north of the border to take on a Canadian university.

In the past two seasons, the two teams have split the results with UNB winning by a score of 2-1 last season, while Maine had the 3-2 overtime win in 2006.

The puck is set to drop at the Aitken Centre this Friday evening, with a re-match to follow on Saturday. Both game times are slated for 7 p.m.

The games will provide a great final tune-up for the Reds as they get set to kick off their regular season next Friday at UPEI. UNB’s home opener is scheduled for Oct. 29 when they

Fans file into the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden to catch a glimpse of the next “Great One” demonstrating his talent against the Ottawa Senators. The Red Sox kicked off the 2008 campaign against the A’s in Tokyo, Japan. The Miami Dolphins met the New York Giants at Wembley stadium to put American-style football on display to the European market. In reality, the concept of globalized sport is nothing new.

For years, teams have been making the trek to foreign markets in attempt to spread word about their product. At first, it was for pride; the top hockey players in Canada challenge the Soviet Union to see which country has the superior hockey skills.

But within the past few decades, more and more professional sport leagues perceive a need to expand into new markets. The reasons for the expansions are mostly political and economical; if there is money to be had, then let there be sport.

But realistically speaking, will these ventures prove to be profitable in the long term?

A driving force behind most business is promotion - without promotion, business cannot function. Thus, if you intertwine sports and business, promotion is the common factor. Major sponsorship packages motivate leagues to expand for the sake of money.

This past weekend, the Pittsburgh Penguins travelled across the Atlantic Ocean along with the Ottawa Senators, to meet in the first game of the 2008-2009 NHL season. As well, the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning met in Prague, Czech Republic to kick off their respective seasons.

Both games were widely attended and they probably created great promotion for the NHL’s sponsors. In fact, New York Rangers forward Petr Prucha said on the team’s web site that he figures 10,000 fans

were at a recent practice in Prague. But shouldn’t the NHL be trying to focus more on creating a better product here in North America?

The NHL is continually trying to reinvent their product in the United States as attendance dwindles in areas where hockey isn’t as dominant (think California). But yet, Gary Bettman insists on sending teams overseas to create awareness of their league in Europe. Huh?

The only factor that is keeping a NHL division from being created in Europe, or an MLB league in Japan, is the cost of travel. Thus, ironically, what feeds the league (promotion in expanding markets) also destroys it (travel costs).

Is there really a need for the global expansion of sports? Do we really need to send NHL teams over to Europe to open the season,

only to keep the team jet-lagged for the remainder of the week?

There doesn’t really seem to be a need for it. Professional sports should use their finances to increase their current market, as well as advance into other, nearby lucrative markets.

Really though, can you actually for see the Berlin Bears joining the NHL’s European conference? And can the NFL actually convince young England soccer prodigies to throw a ball and not bend it like Beckham?

For the money thrown into the hole sending these teams overseas, there really isn’t anything in the long run for expanding their markets. If the sport is played in North America, the best a European fan could do is watch the highlights online - or maybe catch that exciting game that nobody

cares about, but is still broadcasted at 2 a.m. for the three fans in their area.

It just doesn’t make economical sense for these leagues to be doing so. In turn, the athletes are most likely disgusted to train all season long in preparation for the beginning of the season - only to be thrown off by the fact that they have to eat food they are not accustomed to and play a match in times in which their bodies think they should be fast asleep.

The concept of globalized sports as a profitable venture is debatable, but the world is just not ready for inter-continent play.

Condolences to all the 10,000 New York fans in Prague – looks like you might have to wait awhile to see your beloved Rangers again. Mitchell Bernard is the Sports Editor of The Brunswickan.

At the beginning of last year’s NFL season, the Miami Dolphins met the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium in England. The event gained revenue for event promoters, such as Bridgestone, as seen above.

Internet

After a weekend full of games at Royals Field, the UNB baseball squad now stands at 10-4 with the Atlantic finals looming ahead. A sweep of doubleheaders against SMU and DAL has the team heading into the regional finals with lots of momentum.

After a delay due to the absence of umpires, the games started later than anticipated. When play finally began, UNB started out strong, loading the bases in the first inning and scoring three runs. The game went on with SMU taking the lead off a few sacrifice fly balls.

In the middle innings, it seemed as though the UNB defense was jinxed. Anytime a SMU player made an attempt to steal a base, UNB catcher Mark McNevin would throw him out by at least one step, only to have the middle infielder mishandle the ball.

Peter Shaw was not scheduled to pitch until Sunday’s playoff games, so he coached first base and helped the UNB base runners get great jumps on steal attempts and none were thrown out.

Both teams traded run for run, and changed pitchers. Shane Guptil came in to relieve Bruce Scott and performed very well. It would have been a blemish-free outing for Guptil, but a controversial call after a collision at home plate saw one run awarded to the Huskies.

With the plate blocked, a tag was applied to the SMU runner, who slid headfirst. The SMU player didn’t touch home plate at all, but the umpire ruled that catcher McNevin had illegally blocked the plate and awarded SMU the run. This, however, was the last run they would score.

It came to the bottom of the seventh inning, and with two runners on base and two outs, outfielder Mark Stromme stepped up to the plate. Stromme was having a good day at the plate already, reaching base in all but one at bat including an instinctive bunt single. He hit a bases-clearing single into left center field, and tied the game.

When asked afterwards what he was thinking while standing in

the batters box Stromme replied, “I just told myself to stay calm. I don’t know - I’m old. This is my fifth year. I’m the veteran of this team. I had a chance to be a hero, and I made sure not to miss.”

It took nine innings, but with the bases loaded, Phil Brown singled to bring home the winning run. The game ended with an 8-7 UNB victory.

Jake Waugh took the ball in the second game. He stood tall on the mound and held the Huskies to two runs. Unfortunately for him, UNB only scored two runs, until the bottom of the 13th inning when Kyle Keeping hit a walk off home run. UNB swept SMU with a 3-2 win in game two of the day.

Because UNB won both their Saturday games, and Dalhousie split their own double header, the DAL team had to travel to Fredericton to play UNB to begin the playoffs.

Team Ace Joel Violette took to the mound and proceeded to ring up 12 strikeouts in the seven innings of play.

“He makes hitters look like they’ve never played baseball before,” said UNB player Norris Philpotts who played his first games this weekend since injuring his ankle in early September. “Guys were literally swinging and falling down. I’m so glad Vio is on our side,” added the former All-Canadian shortstop.

UNB took the game by a score of 7-3 and almost immediately took the field for Sunday’s second game.

M.V.P. Pitcher Peter Shaw started game two and looked very good early on. The team provided three runs in support, and Shaw surrendered two in another UNB victory. The positive from this game was the defense stepping up and making some extraordinary plays.

But with every positive, there always seems to be a negative.

On an attempted steal, Mark McNevin severely injured his hamstring. This is a terrible blow to the positional players and the pitching staff; McNevin is not only one of the most talented catchers in the east coast, he’s also an emotional leader in the dugout.

Next Saturday, UNB plays DAL in the Atlantic finals. UNB is two wins away from a trip to Montreal and a chance to repeat as national champions.

take on rivals St. Thomas at the Aitken Centre.

Helen Campbell Tournament set for this weekend Varsity Reds basketball action will begin this weekend at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. The Varsity women’s basketball team will host three other teams in the annual Helen Campbell Tournament.

Cape Breton University, Lakehead, and UBC will all be in town for the weekend showdown. The Reds begin the weekend with an evening matchup against Cape Breton, on Friday.

Saturday afternoon they will face UBC, before rounding out the weekend against Lakehead, on Sunday.

Helen Campbell was a member of the Varsity Reds basketball club from 1931 to 1934.

Since passing away in 1999, the Reds have been hosting an annual tournament in her memory.

In last year’s tournament, the Reds fell short, finishing second in the tourney. They finished with 2-1 record, including a 91-37 thumping at the hands of the Royal Military College.

Rugby Tournament Next Weekend

The UNB Ironmen Rugby Club will be hosting its fifth annual rugby reunion tournament this coming Saturday, Oct. 11.

The action begins at 11:30 a.m. at College field with the Ironmen facing Bishops University.

Following is an Ironmen Alumni selects team playing against the Fredericton Loyalists, and then a re-match of the Ironmen and Bishop’s at 3:30 p.m.

sports section meetings fridays at 11:00 a.m. talk shop with other sports fans.

the brunswickan.sports@thebruns.ca

brunswickanclassifiedsOct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 • 12

bruns-ad@unb.ca

Classifieds are a FREE service for members of the university community. Please try to limit submissions to 35 words or less. Your name, student number, and phone number are required at sub-mission, but will not be published. We can accept them at Room 35, SUB, 453-5073 (Fax), or e-mail: bruns-ad@unb.ca. Please do not submit by phone. We reserve the right to edit or refuse publication. All classifieds are subject to available space. For display advertising contact Bill at 447-3388. Classified deadline is Monday at noon.

09/31/08

TANNING SPECIALS

TWOFREETANS

20%OFF3 LOCATIONS

530 Queen St.458-9771

1113 Regent St. 454-8267

154 Main St.472-5048

WANTED

We are looking for a babysitter for our fun and funny children ages 4 and 7. Times would vary, some day, afternoons and evenings. They enjoy playing outside, reading and painting. Bedtime is 7:00 p.m. so there is lots of time to study. If you are interested

please contact Debbie at 471-2295 to arrange an interview.

The Blue Door restaurant (Downtown; 100 Regent St, corner of King) is looking for a dependable, hardworking, efficient person to join our team as a dishwasher. Day/ night and part-time /full time positions

available. Contact Chef Peter in person. Child care job. Flexible part-time work. We can work around your availability. Earn $8-10 per hour caring for two beautiful little sisters. Prefer a BEd student, specializing in early education. We live next to NB and we can offer you the option of a private residence. Call 452-7293.

FOR SALE

Corner cherry wood computer desk $99, caned seat rocker $50, four ft pine bench $35, toddler’s dresser $99, drop leaf table (Duncan Phyffe) $150, two Lyre back chairs $50 each, end table with drawer $99, bedside table $99, comlet set World Books $100 obo, brand new Blackberry (still in box) $00 obo, treadmill (like new) $450 obo, Weider weight bench $150. Call 454-6096.

Used fridges, blowout sale, plenty in stock. From $40-100. Call 447-2867.

Two dressers; 3 and 4 drawers (wood) $40. ea, three seater sofa with wooden frame $75. French Provincial sofa and matching chair (beautiful set) $250. 455-6450.

1998 Chrysler Intrepid for Sale: $2999, excellent condition, 290,000 km, rust proofed every year, well maintained, 2.7 L engine (34 MPG), fully loaded, spare set of tires and rims. Call 458-4401 (Joe) or e-mail: jmcculley@nbpower.com.

Simmons Futon, wooden frame, removable taupe mattress cover, machine wash, excellent condition. $350. E-mail: b3wic@unb.ca.

ACCOMMODATIONS

2/3 bedroom apartment in a four plex on Scully Street (close to Sobey’s on Regent) fridge, stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer included. Parking, storage, patio doors to a private deck, bright and newly renovated. Rent is $850 if rented as a two bedroom and $900 if rented as a three bedroom. Utilities not included. Call 292-1778. Apartment for female. Private room, electric heat, complete accommodations, internet, cable, T.V., washer, dryer. Ten minutes from UNB/STU. $300 monthly. Seeing is believing. Call 455-5298.

Room to rent: serious male student— furnished bedroom, separate kitchen, bath, laundry and entrance. Utilities included. Cable and Internet available. Five minute walk to UNB. One room available immediately on Kitchen Street. Phone 455-1979 or 451-2979.

Well-furnished room in a wonderful house to share. The house is quiet and clean with a great backyard and parking. $300 includes heat, lights, telephone, high-speed wireless internet, and cable TV. Available now. Call Patricia 454 6019 and leave a message after 6 rings or e-mail: himmys@nbnet.nb.ca. Located on Church Street.

Furnished bedroom. Sharing large kitchen, bath, and laundry with two others. Near universities. Mature, non-smoking student wanted. 459-0002.

Apartment. Living room, kitchen with fridge, new stove and dryer. Equipped for three students. Fully renovated bathroom. Furnished, freshly painted. Three computer desks. Equipped kitchen. Bedding if needed. Utilities,

cable and internet, storage space. Five minutes to UNB by car, on bus route. E-mail: marianneduke@hotmail.com or phone 457-0178 and leave a message. Reasonable rent, no lease.

Female room mate wanted for female apartment in downtown Fredericton. Close to University. New security building with W/D. $375 per month plus utilities. Call 506-847-2821.

Rooms to rent: January 1/2009. Serious male students—two students will graduate in December/08. Two furnished bedrooms, separate kitchen, bath, laundry and entrance. Utilities included. Cable and internet available. Five minute walk to UNB. Two rooms available on Kitchen Street. Phone 455-1979 or 451-2979.

PSAs

It’s that time of year again! Have you made arrangements for your flu shot? Phone VON Fredericton at 458-8365 for dates and locations of public clinics. UNB/STU Rover Crew. Looking for fun in the great outdoors? Interested in getting involved in your community and being a positive influence? If so, why not check out the UNB/STU Rover Crew, aka 1st Rivorton Rovers. Rovers is a coed division of Scouts Canada, open to anyone between the ages of 18 to 26. Rovers develop and manage their own program under the mentorship of a respected advisor. If you have background in Scouts, Guides, Cadets, or no experience at all, we would love to meet you. If interested, please contact Don Bark at v5z1b@unb.ca or 472-6785.

The Eastern Canada Avian Association will be meeting at Bailey Hall, Rm 102, on Sunday Oct. 19th from 1 until 4. Dr. Tony Diamond will be the guest skeaker and his presentation of The Life of Wild Parrots will begin at 2:00. Members and students free, nonmembers $3.00. Everyone welcome.

Yard Sale Store: You can outfit your entire apartment for the best prices in town on second hand furniture, from couches and chairs, to tables and desks, from antiques to funky retro style. We also have every kind of knick knack imaginable, seasonal decorations

for Halloween, Christmas, Easter, fall, summer and winter, paintings, decorations, candles, books, bedding, lamps, everything - including the kitchen sink! All are Welcome! Help us help our constituency in the capital region by shopping at our year round Yard Sale Store at 242 Gibson Street, at our Yard Sale Warehouse at 140 Canada Street or our Furniture Center at 207 Canada Street. How to get there: From the South side, by bus, take 16 N to Gibson Street, get out at Jackie’s Store and take a right to 242 Gibson. Taxi from the south side approximately $7, or walk the Trans Canada Trail Train Bridge to the North Side. Open Monday to Saturday. Call 458-9102. Part of the Fredericton community since 1983.

Julien Le Blanc in Solo Piano Recital October 8. From the warm fiery sounds of the Mediterranean to the languid sorrows of Poland, pianist Julien Le Blanc invites you to take a musical tour of Southern Europe. The UNB Resident Musician performs Scarlatti, Granados, Poulenc, and Chopin on Wednesday, October 8, at 8:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall, UNB Fredericton. This concert is part of Music on the Hill’s 2008-09 concert series. Tickets, $23 for adults, $21 for seniors, and $7 for students, are available at Westminster Books, The Paper Trail and at the door. Or save money by purchasing a series subscription. For more information visit our website at musichill.unb.ca or call 457-2233.

TWIG (Tuff writing-interesting group) is a friendly writing circle created to encourage the art of writing. We will meet on the third Thursday of every month, and both new and mature writers are welcome. Participation in this writing circle includes submitting our own texts, and evaluating other participants’ work. There will be no ‘mother’ to make tea or coffee for us at our monthly meeting, though the kitchen will be available for individual forays in that direction. Every once in a while, TWIG will invite established writers to read us their work, and to share with us their thoughts on the process of writing. Every year, the poetry-reading series, odd sundays at molly’s, will invite TWIG members, as a group, to read their work to the public. TWIG is open to all who are interested in writing, in whatever form they practice their art. Bring pencils, paper, ears attuned to listening, and your love of writing. Info: acalvern@nbnet.nb.

Are you a ballin’? come join the UNB baller’s society tuesdays at 2 a.m. by the cellar loading bay. There will be a man named Hank. He will escort you to the secret club where you will ball out with the rest of the crew. No previous husslin’ or ballin’ experience required. Tentative Schedule:Monday: Hustlin’Tuesday: Hustlin’Wednesday: Hustlin’Thursday Hustlin’Friday: Hustlin’ Picante!

brunswickanarts Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 • 13

arts@thebruns.ca

Cash ‘leaks’ from promoter’s pockets An open letter to Mr. Harper

Alison ClACkThe BrunswiCkAn

Palin Power in the USA Ashley

Bursey

Pop Tart

In September 2008, the current ruling government of Canada, your government, the Conservatives, made the decision to cut spending in arts and culture programs by $45 million dollars.

These cutbacks include the phasing out and reduction of dozens of programs including Audio-Visual Trust - Canadian Music Preservation and Access, Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, National Training Program for the Film and Video Sector, and many other important trust funds for Canadian arts creation and reservation.

These programs help to fund the creation of Canadian art, films, fine arts and music that all Canadians should be proud of and should be shown to the world.

In the past this funding has helped many independent films to go far. Films like The Barbarian Invasions (2003), would never have been able to make it to the Academy Awards, let alone win a Best Foreign Language Film Award, without proper funding and the backing of the Canadian government.

Telefilm Canada is a crown corporation which provides funding to Canadian television shows and films. Telefilm has funded dozens of projects including The Barbarian Invasions. Without the funding this the government of Canada gives through this corporation many Canadian films and television films would be unable to be produced.

Your government has said that “ordinary” Canadians don’t appreciate the arts. However, the “arts” doesn’t only include fine arts, the majority of Canadians enjoy the arts everyday simply by watching television, seeing a movie and listening to music.

It is important for these Canadians to be able to see and hear movies, television shows, and music created by Canadian artists. Seeing Canadian content is a way for Canadians to develop more

pride for their country. Many Canadians have felt a

great deal of pride in recent years following the success of several Canadian artists and bands who have found international fame. Bands from across Canada like Arcade Fire, Feist, and Stars have all received funding from the federal government to help them produce their albums and music videos.

Canadian television shows have also been able to find success with youth from both sides of the border in recent years. Television shows like Degrassi: The Next Generation found a great deal of success with the American audience. The cross-over success of Canadian shows should be applauded and supported by the Canadian government, not hampered by funding cuts.

Mr. Harper, I have to argue that it is not only the upper-class of Canada that appreciate the arts. Everyday Canadians who want to sit back with a beer at the end of the day and watch Canadian television appreciate the arts. Canadian youth who go out to shows for local bands and listen to Canadian artists support Canadian art.

Students, at least here in Fredericton, frequently attend local arts events. Culture crawls, where local galleries open to residents for free during certain hours, have happened the past few summers. Students regularly attend concerts by artists from across Canada and musicians just starting up in Fredericton.

Many of these bands have a large loyal following from the youth in this city and government funding is one of the main ways for Canadian musicians to get exposure and to be able to make a living.

It is not only artists and the upper class of Canada who wish to see the funding restored and Canadian artists supported. All the Canadians who wish to see Canadian content, whether it be music, television shows, or films, wish to see that funding reinstated.

A federal election is to be held on October 14. I believe that if you fail to reinstate the funding you will alienate a great number of those “ordinary” Canadians who you believe “do not actually want” the arts.

Dion’s a mess, Harper’s overstayed his welcome, and we’re all bored with Elizabeth May. The Canadian election is coming up in less than a week and instead of clicking over to the Canadian debates, we’ve all got CNN on the brain, and for one reason: Sarah Palin.

Let’s talk about Ms. Palin. McCain chose her as his running mate in an unprecedented move; a daring choice to win back Obama and Clinton’s fans by shoving a woman into the vice-presidential spotlight. It was pure genius. Suddenly, it’s not all about the “firsts” anymore. It’s not about the first black president in the States, or about Bill-or-Hilary being thrust into the public eye.

It’s about Sarah Palin’s pregnant 17-year-old daughter. It’s about Sarah Palin’s illicit relations with her husband’s former colleague. It’s about glamour shots of Sarah Palin triumphantly gunning down a moose. About Sarah Palin’s trendy glasses and bold red business suits.

Suddenly, we don’t care about John McCain’s hundreds of former lovers. We don’t really care about McCain at all. We’re not worried about policy or political promise. We really haven’t even been listening to the Clinton duo lately.

We care about Palin. And I can appreciate that. A

society that devours scandal and lives for controversy, we were more than willing to hop on the Palin

bandwagon – or try to knock her off her pedestal.

Look at her pregnant 17-year-old daughter. When Jamie-Lynn Spears confessed she was pregnant, she was ostracized. There were rumours of kicking her out of the Nickelodeon circle, of relinquishing her role-model crown. The poor kid was damn near crucified for making a mistake, and we were more than happy to ambush her with paparazzi and fire bricks at her from our glass houses.

Now, Palin’s daughter, Bristol, is following the same route. Instead of getting community backlash, she is being paraded out at presidential campaign events (playing that whole “family values” card) and showing up in sweet family portraits. Originally, there were some questions – is Palin a fit mother? – but they faded pretty quickly and Bristol’s little misadventure has become something almost heart-warming. “Look at Sarah Palin, how accepting and supportive she

is,” they say. And then there’s that whole issue

with Palin’s sexual exploits. Allegedly, she cheated on her husband with his business partner. Critics say this could “derail the campaign.” Realistically, voters have never been more interested in a candidate, tuning in in full force and offering rave reviews about Palin’s lacklustre performance against Joe Biden in the vice-presidential debate last week.

We’ve never been more fascinated. We can’t get enough of the Palin-trainwreck-to-be.

Back to that particular debate. Everyone was expecting Palin to crash and burn, which is almost a farce in itself: she’s a state governor, for crying out loud. She’s not going to stand at the podium and “um” and “ah” her way through the barrage of questions. Granted, she was perhaps too “on-message”, relying on her speechwriters instead of saying anything original, but that said, she fared surprisingly well.

Oh, and don’t forget – she looked

fantastic. That tailored black suit? Those glasses? Even the hair was on-point. And that’s what everyone was talking about the next day. You won’t hear anyone mentioning Biden’s superb choice of suits or his stellar tie – and that’s all part of the game.

It’s about star power. It’s about the skeletons in the closet that we’re all clawing to get a look at. Palin and McCain know this, and they’re steering voters right into the lion’s jaws. They know we’re itching to hear the bad stuff, the juicy stuff. They know they need to make headlines.

So kudos to you, Sarah Palin. You’ve even got Saturday Night Live wrapped around your little finger. It’s all you have to do; just crook it once, and we’re salivating at your feet.

Politics? Yeah, right. Obama should have picked Paris Hilton as running mate. Then maybe we’d have a real race on our hands. Ashley Bursey is a former Arts Editor of The Brunswickan and a graduate of St. Thomas University’s journalism program.

Sarah Palin on a visit to Kuwait during her campaign in 2008.Flickr Creative Commons

Doug Estey / The BrunswickanMobile took the stage with The Midway State in front of a small crowd in the SUB quad on Friday.

The two bands represent the first poorly-received musical production at UNB since Night Flight last week.

The MTV Leak Live tour is an annual occurrence in Canada.

MTV selects six universities across the country and ships out a band looking for advance promotion of their upcoming album.

Unfortunately, the risk that the album - or the band - might not be so great is always a possibility.

And, as with all outdoor shows, bad weather doesn’t provide much assistance. Perhaps MTV or Rogers should have gone a bit more high-budget with something like a tent.

Mobile and The Midway State followed up their unexpectedly small-

scale performance in Fredericton with a show on Monday night at Champlain College in St. Lambert, Quebec.

You can check out the bands on MySpace at www.myspace.com/mobile and www.myspace.com/themidwaystate.com.

FROM MOBILE PAGE 1

the brunswickan.more fun than your body has room for.

brunswickanarts14 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142

Kickin’ it old school

“Where did Susie go?”Michele Boudreauandrew Meade’s MoM

Hagerman’s illin’ horoscopes

Aries (March21st - April 19th)A bizarre plague will sweep across you and your friends this week, dear Aries. You will grow extra hands, legs, and ears. They will be totally useless for you, but you will have them nonetheless. This plague will eventually be dubbed “Awesome Disease.” Your lucky movie about outbreaks is Outbreak.

Taurus (April 20th - May 20th)Read the ingredients carefully before taking any cold medication this week, dear Taurus. If it claims that it gives you 75% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin TLC, assume that the manufacturer is sketchy or has a bad sense of humour. Either way, they’re not worth your patronage. Your lucky Flintstones chewable vitamins flavour is orange.

Gemini (May 21st - June 21st)Vegans and quite possibly vegetarians will be unhappy with your choice of chicken noodle soup as a cold remedy this week, dear Gemini. While it’s sure to clear your sinuses and fill your stomach, it’ll make everybody else want it and that’ll just make everybody sad. Try to persuade them that taking Buckley’s is by far the lesser of the two evils, and that noodles don’t have feelings anyway. Your lucky zombie movie is 28

Days Later.

Cancer (June 22nd- July 22nd)Carnivores and quite possibly omnivores will be unhappy with your choice of an onion bag as a cold remedy this week, dear Cancer. While it’s sure to clear your sinuses and make you cry, it will likely do so to everybody around you as well. Try to persuade them that taking Buckley’s is by far the lesser of the two evils, and that onions don’t have feelings anyway. Your lucky unnecessarily catchy song is I Kissed a Girl.

Leo (July 23rd - August 22nd)Carrying around a bottle of Vitamin C tablets will seem much less silly this week, dear Leo, when you are attacked by pirates with more than their fair share of scurvy. In exchange for your life and not-rape, the pirates will gladly take your pills from you. Unfortunately, due to you sup-plying them with a way to fight scurvy, pirates will rise once again to prominence on the high seas. Bummer. Your lucky illness is the flu.

Virgo (August 23rd - September 22nd)You will become known as the inventor of the century, dear Virgo, when you discover that Kleenex tissues can be sewn together to make a durable but absorbent kite. You will be able to fly from campus all the way around the world and back and still be home in time to catch Dr. Phil. If you’re into that sort of thing, anyway. Your lucky TLC song is Lovesick.

Libra (September 23rd - October 23rd)Upon ingesting a 12-pack of Halls this week, dear Libra, your voice will droop to James Earl Jones levels. However, after amazing people with your sweet basso vocal cords, your voice will return to normal. You will develop a dependency to Halls, and go bankrupt. Your lucky documentary is Sicko.

Scorpio (October 24th - November 22nd)Be especially careful to wash your hands this week, dear Scorpio. Not only this a wise idea in general, but this week you will be subject to an impromptu cleanliness exam in the middle of the street. Just be as clean as you can be and you will pass with flying colours. Your lucky Flyleaf song is I’m So Sick.

Sagittarius (November 23rd - December 21st)It would be in your best interest to carry an umbrella to class this week, dear Sagittarius. With so many people sniffling and sneezing all at once, a tropical storm will likely develop inside the classroom. It would be only fitting to name it after the professor lecturing the class. Your lucky Halls flavour would be “assault,” if it actually existed.

Capricorn (December 22nd - January 20th)Keep a close eye on your friends this week, dear Capricorn. If too many of your friends start getting sick at once, you should probably keep a cricket bat handy at all times. After all, they could possibly turn into zombies at a moment’s notice. Your lucky virus is airborne.

Aquarius (January 21st - Febuary 18th)Even the most staunch of critics will be rolled up into a ball this week, dear Aquarius. This will either be because they too are sick, or because they have seen Beverly Hills Chihuahua and not left the theatre early. They will need professional help either way. Your lucky Mötley Crüe song is Dr. Feelgood.

Pisces (Febuary 19th - March 20th)You will find yourself searching for a variety of cures this week, dear Pisces. Your goal will be difficult to achieve because there are bands, albums, films, and television episodes called “The Cure.” Your best bet is to try each one and see if it works for you. Your lucky Gorillaz music video is Feel Good Inc.

Kyle stoddardthe BrunswicKan

I was recently invited to participate in the closed beta for an upcoming gaming service called Good Old Games.com (GoG for short) and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. I had signed up almost four months ago when the service was announced to be going into public beta. It sounded great, if a little far-fetched, at the time. On its promo site (which is still live at the time of writing) it promised the greatest PC games of the past 15 years available for download, DRM (Digital Rights Management) free and fully compatible with Windows XP and Vista, for a measly $5.99 or $9.99 per download. Those downloads would include full PDF manuals, other goodies and the ability to install the game on as many computers as you like. Each game would also include a lifetime

guarantee of support through their website as well as a permanent place to download the installers for your games, should you decide to delete them. It sounded like a grand idea at the time so I eagerly signed up, and waited for an announcement of when the beta would begin. On September 9 the service opened to the beta subscribers.

Now, many gamers are familiar with the different online purchasing services available to them. There is Gametap, Stardock, Xbox Live Arcade, the PSN as well as various online merchants such as Amazon and EBgames.

GoG.com shares most in common with Gametap but it is still a wildly different concept. Where Gametap offers a subscription-based service, GoG.com offers you the full game with no strings attached.

However, where GoG.com struggles in relation to Gametap is its game selection, which is okay by me considering GoG.com is still in beta.

There are roughly 30 games available for purchase as of writing but more are on their way including the aforementioned $9.99 titles.

The games cover a variety of genres including action, RPG, shooter, strategy, simulation and racing. The service also includes a number of community features including forums and rated profiles. So far the community at GoG.com is a positive and relativity safe space for gamers to go and talk about their experiences playing these games for the first or fourteenth time.

The general age of subscribers is also interesting, as it was revealed through thread chatter that most posters were in their early 20s, with only a few being older, which provides for a much more mature environment for discussion among PC gaming enthusiasts.

For the most part, GoG.com has delivered on all of its promises. This includes compatibility as the two titles I purchased, Fallout and MDK 2, both ran well on my new Vista machine. The service is remarkably stable for a beta.

Moving on, there is more here than just a space for older PC cronies to obsess on the “golden years” of gaming before consoles became the platform of choice for most gamers. The games for sale

are actually quite excellent, some even timeless classics. For fans of the Halo series, there are the MDK games. For individuals who enjoyed Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and are eagerly awaiting Fallout 3, the first two games in the Fallout series are available for 5.99 each, which is a considerable value considering each game can take anywhere from forty to a hundred hours and beyond to complete.

For the Battlefield and Call of Duty fans there is Operation Flashpoint, a military shooter set during the Cold War era, which includes three overarching campaigns. Operation Flashpoint will likely be available just after the open beta begins for the price of 9.99. Older PC gamers who remember these titles do not need to be sold on the benefits of a service like GoG.com but just know that there is something great to be found here for everyone and for the value-minded gamer the price of entry certainly does not hurt either.

For more information and to sign-up for the open-beta go to www.GoG.com.

Susie Vinnick. Her name makes one think of bar blues and foot-tapping music that makes you want to get up and dance.

I was nevertheless excited to receive her latest release, Happy Here, thinking that this was what I was going to be hearing. I could

not have been more wrong.While the first four songs were

beautifully written and sung, I think I slept through most them, only to wake up to Back on my Feet and then back to sleep again with Prison of Shame.

The real shame lies in the question, “where did Susie go?”

While I am all for artists exploring their taste, I feel like a warning label on the disc is necessary. Something like “contents of this package

may cause drowsiness.” There is nothing to get up and kick your heels to unless you want to slow dance and weep on your partner’s shoulder.

This album is a cry back to coffee house, soft-seater folk style music. Likewise, if this is the direction she is headed in, she hit the mark.

Susie Vinnick has a melodic voice with perfect phrasing. She accompanies herself with harmonies well. The musicianship is without

fault; the lyrics impeccable. But there is no smile in this album. There is nothing to get excited about, no goosebump moments. The music did begin to pick up a bit later on in the album, but that is a long time to wait for some upbeat songs to play. A few of the songs seem to have a bit of a country hint to them, which suits her voice well. In my opinion she might be Happy Here but I am not sure I was. It really was a forgettable album.

Good Old Games is bringing back the old classics that you’ll probably be better at than your nine year-old cousin.Screenshot

brunswickanarts Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142 •15

Submitted Submitted

Misery Signals is lined up to play with Comeback Kid, Shai Hulud, Outbreak, Bane, and Gravemaker at the Musi-plex on October 21. Tickets are available at Read’s Newsstand.

American-born Shai Hulud has been busting down walls in the metal and hardcore scene since its inception in 1995.

Doug EstEythE Brunswickan

Doug EstEythE Brunswickan

The Brunswickan: Stu Ross... Good Dude; Great Dude. You must be so stoked to start this tour.

Stu Ross: Absolutely, I actually can’t wait. I’m very eager to get out of here and on the road. We took like two months off in the summer, went out for six weeks, and now we’ve been home since the 7th of September.

B: I understand that Misery Signals is a band that came together under different circumstances from most.

SR: What had happened was that our friends’ band Compromise got in a really bad car wreck and two band members passed away. They’d been on tour with 7 Angels 7 Plagues, which consisted of our bassist and our guitarist. When they got home, the guy who was singing for 7 Angels was like you know, after the hard reality of the situation, he had a fiance and a job and whatnot and he didn’t want to be on the road any more, he considered it too much of a risk. He just wanted to get on with his life. Jesse went down and started singing for 7 Angels, but then their drummer quit and whatnot. So then we just started Misery Signals.

B: Your current singer started with you guys just prior to Mirrors. How did Karl’s incorporation into the band go?

SR: On his own, he’s still a guitar player and does a lot of independent stuff on the side. I think he originally recorded the demo as a joke, but it was actually really good, so we got back to him and he came down and practiced with us for a week. It seemed like a great fit and it’s been a great thing, because he was a fan of the band before he got involved with it. So when we’re sitting down writing or something, he can actually be like “you know, it’d be cooler if it sounded like this” or “it’d be more Misery Signals to do it this way.”

B: Like having an outsider’s view on everything.

SR: Exactly.B: What kind of direction were

you guys looking to take with Controller?

SR: I think with this record, we were just really focused on trying to write something that represented all of us and that we really wanted to play at the end of the day, get up, be excited, and play something that

really belongs to us.B: How is it different from

Mirrors?SR: It varies quite a bit from

how Mirrors was recorded. We spent so much time in writing and recording that album, over six months on that, and I feel like we really over-wrote it. We analyzed and changed the songs too much.

I think with Mirrors we were trying to step out of the box that we had kind of created for ourselves with Malice. But I think with Controller we missed some of those elements and tried to bring them back and tie it all together.

B: What’s with the sound quality of Mirrors vs. Malice and Controller?

SR: That has a lot to do with Devin Townsend. He did Malice and Controller. Devin definitely helped us shape what we wanted to sound like. When we went to do Mirrors, with scheduling and whatnot, Devin wasn’t really available. If we could go back and do that record with Devin, we definitely would have. But in that circumstance, we had to do what we had to do. We were told that if we didn’t get into the studio within a certain time then the album wouldn’t be out in 2006. We’d already been off for six months, and we just wanted to get the record out and get on the road. We hadn’t put out a record in over two years.

B: It seems that Karl’s vocal performance has matured at a rapid rate, noted especially by the sung vocals on Controller.

SR: All the vocals on the record are all Karl. Karl’s a big dude and has a really powerful voice, and working with Devin, who really knows how to harness that and make it better, put it in the right direction. Karl came out sounding really good. There’s a few parts on the record though, where Karl wanted to do something a bit different. It’s kind of interesting that the clean vocals came out last. He never really told us about it or did it in practice or anything, but he just laid it down in the studio, as just as much of a surprise to us, he has a great singing voice. Now we’ve kind of pushed him to do it live, and anyone can sing in a studio, but he can actually pull it off live. It’s impressive.

B: It’s impressive to be able to listen to that combination of metalcore and screaming/sung vocals. A lot of times you end up with something of a disaster like Bullet for My Valentine, but that wasn’t the case with Controller. Instead it came out

as a tasteful composition and you guys seemed to really pull it off.

SR: That’s what we were hoping. We’re not a band that’s out there trying to sell a shitload of records, or get on TV or the radio or something. We do this because we love the music that we write. It’s interesting because we’ve done a lot of interviews recently where people pigeonhole us as a metalcore band. I don’t even know where to put that. Sure, we play heavy music, it’s melodic, sure, and there’s a hardcore element to it, but I don’t know if it comes out sounding like what people expect now when they say metalcore.

B: I understand you guys have some sort of YouTube documentary going on?

SR: We did three webisodes, videotaping a bunch of stuff during recording and writing, they’re all up on YouTube for people to check out.

B: You guys have been on the bill for some massive shows. What’s your favourite aspect of touring; your favourite show environment?

SR: It differs. If you’re playing a very small room, and it’s packed and people are into it, those I think are the best shows. At the same time though, there’s really something to be said about playing in front of a few thousand people. Obviously, that’s the sort of cliche rockstar moment when you’re playing in front of a crowd that big. That being said, I think the main reason we’re into hardcore and underground music is that it’s still kind of small, and really exciting on a smaller scale.

B: Off on a bit of a tangent. What exactly is The Departed?

SR: That thing kind of started because I really write a lot. And a lot of the stuff I write just can’t be used by Misery Signals. I’m a huge fan of punk rock stuff like NOFX; stuff I grew up on and a lot of modern hardcore bands like Comeback Kid and Bane. It’s kind of an outlet to do some stuff like that.

I had like ten songs written just by myself, and my roommates and I were sitting around the house one day and one of my roommates was like “yo, let me play guitar for that” or whatever. Him and I were jamming with it, and then the other three dudes I live with were just like “yeah, let’s all do it” just for fun.

B: Thanks so much, Stu.

Q&A with big, tough metal bands

The Brunswickan: Hello there, Matt Fox.

Matt Fox: I am one of many Matts. There are four Matts in the band right now. It’s ridiculous.

B: You guys are riding on the tails of a new album. For someone that doesn’t typically listen to Shai Hulud, describe its sound.

MF: I would probably tell them that it’s very aggressive with a lot of yelling and screaming vocals, but if you can get past that I think you’ll find that there’s a lot of interesting things happening with the structure and the transitions of the music. There’s also a lot of cool melodies and ideas that may appeal to you. The songs do have some musical depth, or at least we try to give them some. It’s not something exclusive to a fan of hardcore and metal.

B: It’s been five years since the band has released anything. What happened in between?

MF: I think it’s always the same with us. There always seems to be a number of member changes, and in those five years we also had a side project we were working on that took up a fair amount of time. We also did a lot of touring, an Australian and Japanese tour as well as a full tour of Europe. Shai Hulud was definitely

very active over that period of time, especially for a band that may have seemed inactive. I would say that the writing of Misanthropy Pure only took about a year. The rest of the time was spent, as usual, overcoming adversities and side projects.

B: Understandable. So where did you guys come up with such a wicked name?

MF: Shai Hulud actually comes from the novel Dune, by Frank Herbert. There was a movie made of it that I was much more familiar with than the book.

B: How did you guys come together?

MF: That’s actually a really interesting story. I was in college attempting to become a theatre teacher. I was playing in a small rock band at bars every once in a while. I had a few friends that I’d hang out with and we all listened to hardcore, and we all thought it was great. We’d hang out at a record store, and we were really getting into a lot of Earth Crisis, Sick of it All and stuff like that.

B: What got you in to hardcore?MF: I’ve always been drawn to the

heaviest and angriest thing I could find. When I was in kindergarten, I was listening to Kiss. Kiss isn’t angry or aggressive at all, but when you’re five, compared to the fact that most kids haven’t even identified with a band at that point, I guess it just fits.

B: So how did your involvement with hardcore influence the direction

of the band?MF: I went from Kiss into Quiet

Riot, Twisted Sister, Motley Crue, and then that all changed when I heard Metallica for the first time. Metallica is the reason I’m talking to you right now. No questions asked.

As for why Shai Hulud sounds the way we do, well... Metallica changed my life, but Bad Brains taught me how to play guitar.

Metal’s always been my favourite music, but hardcore is important to me because I always knew that when I’m in a band, I want it to be a band that speaks for themself, that says something, that has a thought or a feeling or an idea. Not getting on stage to sell t-shirts, but because they want to make kids think and feel. I really think that out of all of the music I listen to, across every genre, hardcore does that for me more than anything. It makes me think and feel for myself.

B: Do you embrace ‘metalcore’?MF: I think there are a lot of silly

connotations that go with the term metalcore. A lot of bands that stand by that genre tag in 2008 do not appeal to me whatsoever. There’s always a few exceptions. I think Misery Signals are incredible.

As for whether or not I embrace metalcore? I don’t know, I guess I don’t really think about it. I have too many other things to worry about really. I have to file taxes, I have to floss my teeth, so there’s too many other things to worry about.

brunswickanarts16 • Oct. 8, 2008 • Issue 6 • Volume 142

An earthly exhibit at Gallery 78 Monday Night Film Series: Where love trumps money

Alison ClACkThe BrunswiCkAn

Darren Emenau’s From the Earth exhibit took place on Friday, October 3rd, and was accompanied by exhibits from Alexandrya Eaton and Gordon Murphy.

Sandy Chase / The Brunswickan

Love or money? It’s the age old question, and key theme, in Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day, the film shown on September 29, for the Monday Night Film Series.

Monday Night Film Series is put on by the NB Film Co-op and partners Film Circuit (a division of the Toronto International Film Festival) and the UNB Faculty of Arts.

The movies are a collection of recent foreign and Canadian independent releases.

Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day is a British release from earlier this year. The film, which was directed by Bharat Nalluri and stars Frances McDormand as an out-of-work governess, Guinevere Pettigrew, in pre-war London.

After unsuccessfully soliciting help from an employment agency Mrs. Pettigrew intercepts an employment opportunity by stealing a client’s calling card as she leaves. This opportunity brought her to the apartment of Delysia Lafosse, played by Amy Adams.

Delysia is an up-an-coming cabaret singer with lofty goals for her future. In order to achieve the goals she’s set out for herself Delysia uses men.

One man in her life is Nick, the owner of the night club where she sings. The second is Phil, a spoiled rich-boy who is looking to start a new musical and is potentially casting Delysia as the lead. And finally, the third man is Michael, the pianist in her show at the nightclub who appreciates Delysia for more than her looks.

Delysia isn’t the only one with a man in her life, however, when Delysia takes Mrs. Pettigrew to a fashion show as her new “social secretary” Mrs. Pettigrew is admired by a fashion designer, Joe. While Mrs. Pettigrew is intrigued by him she remains aloof in order to keep the secret of how she came to work for Delysia.

In the end love prevails over money for Delysia and she chooses Michael over her more prosperous suitors. Joe also reveals to Mrs. Pettigrew that he realizes she isn’t who she says she is and that it doesn’t make a difference to him.

While things didn’t start out so well for Mrs Pettigrew in the beginning of the movie things were looking up for her by the ending credits. The same couldn’t be said, however, for the showing of the movie.

There seemed to be quite a few difficulties with the screening of the movie. The first couple minutes or so of the movie had no sounds – missing the entire section of Mrs. Pettigrew being dismissed from her job making it somewhat difficult to understand the premise of why she was suddenly on the street and destitute.

While it didn’t take long for the movie’s sound to be fixed the problems didn’t stop there.

Twice during the movie there was an issue with the movie stopping completely. First the screen would be come very blurry for a minute or so and then the movie shut off completely, with nothing on the screen for a minute or two until the problem was fixed.

Despite these problems the movie itself was good. It’s a charming kind of movie that you would watch on a rainy night when there’s not much else to do. It’s a classic sort of story where love wins out over money.

Monday Night Film Series is screened most Mondays in room 102 of Tilley Hall at 8 p.m.

No film will be shown next Monday, October 13, because of Thanksgiving. The next showing is October 20, with the movie to be announced. October 27 will be a screening of When Did You Last See Your Father?.

The movies are open to everyone. Regular admission is $7. If you purchase a membership ($18 for students), then discounts are given based on individual screenings of the movies.

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