TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 107, ISSUE 69 the gazette WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA • @UWOGAZETTE Cutting it close since 1906 TODAY high -13 low -18 TOMORROW high -6 low -14 It’s election day! Vote in the USC elections at voteusc.ca Lesarge disqualified from KUCSC pres race Christine Bonk GAZETTE STAFF In an unprecedented decision, the King’s University College Students’ Council elections committee has disqualified presidential candidate Jonathan Lesarge from running. Lesarge, the current vice-presi- dent student issues for the KUCSC, was in the process of vying for the position of 2014-2015 KUCSC presi- dent when his campaigning efforts came under scrutiny. After failing to meet the deadline to declare presidential candidacy and surpassing the market value limit placed on campaigning material, Lesarge accumulated demerit points exceeding the 20-point limit, requir- ing his removal from the campaign. While an appeal and reevaluation by the committee conceded a low- ering of Lesarge’s 24-point demerit penalty to 21, the original decision of disqualification was upheld. In a statement released by the KUCSC on their Facebook page, the council noted that Lesarge’s initial violation, a failure to declare his candidacy on time, should have been enough to prevent Lesarge from running in this election. “[We] would like to note that without completed candidacy forms, usually a candidate would not even be allowed to run. Jon was given a grace period to hand in such forms and still failed to meet the require- ments for candidacy.” While an exception was made that allowed Lesarge to run, he was disqualified after accepting dona- tions from a friend for his campaign website and video that surpassed the $100 limit. The KUCSC fair market value policy states that donations or dis- counts received by the candidate will count toward their election budget in proportion to their standard value on the market. In a Facebook post, Lesarge stated that he believes this policy does not take into account the inherent nature of student elections. “The reality is that in student elections we rely on the efforts of our friends to help us make our cam- paigns manageable — candidates call upon friends who are skilled at graphic design to make posters and videographers to make YouTube ads,” Lesarge wrote. “Student elections would not be possible without the support from friends with various skills.” Aside from Lesarge’s concerns, there have been complaints from students concerning the vagueness of the policy and its failure to account for the market value of the labour put into the campaign. While current KUCSC presi- dent Jen Carter admits the policy is unclear, she believes the spirit of the policy justified the committee’s decision. “At the end of the day it’s about making sure there is a level playing field for all candidates,” said Carter, who is running for USC vice-presi- dent external on Team Helfand. “In this case it means that if one person has resources at a free or discounted value, they should be expected to pay what the other can- didate would have to pay at market value.” Lesarge’s disqualification follows his recent conflict with the KUCSC’s honorarium committee addressing alleged performance issues in his position as vice-president student >> see LESARGE pg.2 Le Nguyen cleared of conflict of interest Iain Boekhoff NEWS EDITOR The University Students’ Council Governance Office has rejected a complaint about a potential conflict of interest involving Lisa Le Nguyen, current Social Science Students’ Council president, and her affilia- tion with the Bloomberg Institute. Le Nguyen was employed as a campus ambassador for Bloomberg last summer. Her job was to pro- mote the Bloomberg Aptitude Test on campus and get students to take the test, which was free until December 31, 2013. To encourage students to take the test, Bloomberg offered to donate $2 per test taken to go towards the SSSC’s charity of choice, which was the London Children’s Health Foundation. Le Nguyen was also paid by Bloomberg for her efforts in promot- ing its test. She made a combination of commission and a lump sum pay- out triggered at certain levels of test takers from Western. However, Le Nguyen, who is running for re-election, said all the money she would make personally as a result of her employment for Bloomberg was being donated to the SSSC to donate to charity as well. Concerns were raised about Le Nguyen’s use of Western’s mass e-mail system, Accting1, to e-mail all Social Science students about the charity initiative. In the e-mails, Le Nguyen identified herself only as president of the SSSC, and did not mention her affiliation with Bloomberg. There had been some confu- sion about the nature of SSSC and Le Nguyen’s relationship with Bloomberg and what money was being donated, but in archived Facebook posts, Le Nguyen makes clear that she was receiving addi- tional money from Bloomberg which she was donating to the SSSC to do with as they wished. “That paycheque is going straight into my council to donate to charity if they wish, or I gave the option for my council to do what they would like to see with that money,” Le Nguyen said in an interview. “My council raised so much money for charity, I wanted to raise even more so it’s going directly towards my council.” In total, approximately $2,000 will be donated at the end of the year by Bloomberg to the SSSC, accord- ing to Le Nguyen. Kojo Hayward, the USC’s gover- nance officer, said the matter was discussed within the Governance Office yesterday and Le Nguyen was found to not have a conflict of interest. Le Nguyen’s employment with Bloomberg did not impede her abil- ity to do her job as president, nor did it appear to influence her deci- sion making, and therefore did not violate the USC’s Conflict of Interest Policy, according to Hayward. While Hayward was not aware of the Accting1 e-mails during the Governance Office investigation into the matter, he said that the wording made it seem as if it was from the SSSC as a whole and that this would not constitute a conflict of interest if the SSSC executive were aware of her employment with Bloomberg. Part of the reason for the find- ing was the fact that the complaint was made only now, in the middle of election season. “I figured out when [the com- plainant] figured out that she was potentially in a conflict of inter- est, and after I figured out it was November, so then after I won- dered why was this not brought up in November?” Hayward said. “It seemed more than a coincidence that on the day voting initiates then that would be coming out.” Facebook KING’S CRUSADE OVER. Jonathan Lesarge, one of two King’s University College Students’ College presidential candidates, was disqualified from the race this past weekend. He was handed 21 demerit points for inappropriate campaign spending.
Transcript
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014 CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 107, ISSUE 69
thegazette
WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA • @UWOGAZETTE
Cutting it close since 1906
TODAYhigh-13low-18
TOMORROWhigh-6low-14
It’s election day!Vote in the USC elections at voteusc.ca
Lesarge disqualified from KUCSC pres raceChristine BonkGAZETTE STAFF
In an unprecedented decision, the King’s University College Students’ Council elections committee has disqualified presidential candidate Jonathan Lesarge from running.
Lesarge, the current vice-presi-dent student issues for the KUCSC, was in the process of vying for the position of 2014-2015 KUCSC presi-dent when his campaigning efforts came under scrutiny.
After failing to meet the deadline to declare presidential candidacy and surpassing the market value limit placed on campaigning material, Lesarge accumulated demerit points exceeding the 20-point limit, requir-ing his removal from the campaign.
While an appeal and reevaluation by the committee conceded a low-ering of Lesarge’s 24-point demerit penalty to 21, the original decision of disqualification was upheld.
In a statement released by the KUCSC on their Facebook page, the council noted that Lesarge’s initial violation, a failure to declare his candidacy on time, should have been enough to prevent Lesarge from
running in this election.“[We] would like to note that
without completed candidacy forms, usually a candidate would not even be allowed to run. Jon was given a grace period to hand in such forms and still failed to meet the require-ments for candidacy.”
While an exception was made that allowed Lesarge to run, he was disqualified after accepting dona-tions from a friend for his campaign website and video that surpassed the $100 limit.
The KUCSC fair market value policy states that donations or dis-counts received by the candidate will count toward their election budget in proportion to their standard value on the market.
In a Facebook post, Lesarge stated that he believes this policy does not take into account the inherent nature of student elections.
“The reality is that in student elections we rely on the efforts of our friends to help us make our cam-paigns manageable — candidates call upon friends who are skilled at graphic design to make posters and videographers to make YouTube ads,” Lesarge wrote.
“Student elections would not be possible without the support from friends with various skills.”
Aside from Lesarge’s concerns, there have been complaints from students concerning the vagueness of the policy and its failure to account for the market value of the labour put into the campaign.
While current KUCSC presi-dent Jen Carter admits the policy is unclear, she believes the spirit of the policy justified the committee’s decision.
“At the end of the day it’s about making sure there is a level playing field for all candidates,” said Carter, who is running for USC vice-presi-dent external on Team Helfand.
“In this case it means that if one person has resources at a free or discounted value, they should be expected to pay what the other can-didate would have to pay at market value.”
Lesarge’s disqualification follows his recent conflict with the KUCSC’s honorarium committee addressing alleged performance issues in his position as vice-president student
>> see LESARGE pg.2
Le Nguyen cleared of conflict of interestIain BoekhoffNEWS EDITOR
The University Students’ Council Governance Office has rejected a complaint about a potential conflict of interest involving Lisa Le Nguyen, current Social Science Students’ Council president, and her affilia-tion with the Bloomberg Institute.
Le Nguyen was employed as a campus ambassador for Bloomberg last summer. Her job was to pro-mote the Bloomberg Aptitude Test on campus and get students to take the test, which was free until December 31, 2013. To encourage students to take the test, Bloomberg offered to donate $2 per test taken to go towards the SSSC’s charity of choice, which was the London
Children’s Health Foundation.Le Nguyen was also paid by
Bloomberg for her efforts in promot-ing its test. She made a combination of commission and a lump sum pay-out triggered at certain levels of test takers from Western.
However, Le Nguyen, who is running for re-election, said all the money she would make personally as a result of her employment for Bloomberg was being donated to the SSSC to donate to charity as well.
Concerns were raised about Le Nguyen’s use of Western’s mass e-mail system, Accting1, to e-mail all Social Science students about the charity initiative. In the e-mails, Le Nguyen identified herself only as president of the SSSC, and did not mention her affiliation with
Bloomberg.There had been some confu-
sion about the nature of SSSC and Le Nguyen’s relationship with Bloomberg and what money was being donated, but in archived Facebook posts, Le Nguyen makes clear that she was receiving addi-tional money from Bloomberg which she was donating to the SSSC to do with as they wished.
“That paycheque is going straight into my council to donate to charity if they wish, or I gave the option for my council to do what they would like to see with that money,” Le Nguyen said in an interview. “My council raised so much money for charity, I wanted to raise even more so it’s going directly towards my council.”
In total, approximately $2,000 will be donated at the end of the year by Bloomberg to the SSSC, accord-ing to Le Nguyen.
Kojo Hayward, the USC’s gover-nance officer, said the matter was discussed within the Governance Office yesterday and Le Nguyen was found to not have a conflict of interest.
Le Nguyen’s employment with Bloomberg did not impede her abil-ity to do her job as president, nor did it appear to influence her deci-sion making, and therefore did not violate the USC’s Conflict of Interest Policy, according to Hayward.
While Hayward was not aware of the Accting1 e-mails during the Governance Office investigation into the matter, he said that the
wording made it seem as if it was from the SSSC as a whole and that this would not constitute a conflict of interest if the SSSC executive were aware of her employment with Bloomberg.
Part of the reason for the find-ing was the fact that the complaint was made only now, in the middle of election season.
“I figured out when [the com-plainant] figured out that she was potentially in a conflict of inter-est, and after I figured out it was November, so then after I won-dered why was this not brought up in November?” Hayward said. “It seemed more than a coincidence that on the day voting initiates then that would be coming out.”
Facebook
KING’S CRUSADE OVER. Jonathan Lesarge, one of two King’s University College Students’ College presidential candidates, was disqualified from the race this past weekend. He was handed 21 demerit points for inappropriate campaign spending.
A London politician wants to pass a motion that will allow the city to raise a rainbow flag in support of gay rights advocates in Russia for the duration of the Sochi Olympics.
Councillor Joni Baechler pro-posed the motion at a council meet-ing last night. If passed, the city will be flying the multicolored banner from a community pole in Reginald Cooper Square.
“It seems hypocritical to cham-pion the athletes when they win medals but not champion their personal human rights,” Baechler said. “One is a symbol of skill and the other a symbol of humanity; I think the humanity aspect is more important than the skill aspect.”
Baechler was inspired to propose the idea after municipalities across the country initiated the display in support of LGBT rights.
— Amy O’Kruk
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Lesarge disqualified
issues. While it was decided Lesarge would face a fine and a requirement to submit apologies, Lesarge faced further confrontation after failing to submit the apologies on time.
When asked in an interview whether he thought this previous conflict affected the decision of the elections committee, Lesarge
responded, “I think the fact that the elections committee is composed of council members, in that scenario is problematic, and the fact that the [chief returning officer] defines what fair-market value is, is also problem-atic but I can’t say anything more than that.”
However, in response to this concern, Carter confirmed a special effort was made to keep these two issues divided.
“The elections committee is very separate from the honorarium committee, there is no overlap in the members. The elections issue was kept completely separate from the honorarium committee issue, which were his performance issues as vice-president,” Carter said.
“I am very proud of my commit-tee to be able to separate the two. The key people in the elections commit-tee who I’m told spearheaded the discussion about the demerit points were actually unaware of Jon’s behav-ioural issues.”
With Lesarge’s removal, the remaining presidential candidate, David Castillo, will face a vote of con-fidence today and tomorrow.
>> LESARGE continued from pg.1
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thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014 • 3
Non-Muslim ejected from Islamic preaching courseStudent accuses Huron of discrimination
Richard RaycraftNEWS EDITOR
A student ejected from a course at Huron University College has launched a formal complaint against the affiliate college. The series of events also has Huron reconsider-ing its course auditing policy.
Moray Watson, an accountant and graduate of Western, was on the website of the London Mosque when he saw a notice for a course being offered at Huron, “The Muslim Voice: Islamic Preaching, Public Speaking and Worship.” The course is taught by Ingrid Mattson, the chair of Islamic studies at Huron, and aims to “Improve the skills and knowledge of individuals who engage in one of more of the follow-ing three practices: 1) preaching in Islamic contexts 2) representing Muslims in public worship services and interfaith events 3) engaging in public speaking about Islam on behalf of Muslim communities,” according to the course syllabus.
Watson enrolled in the course with the intention to audit, and was not taking the course for credit. He attended a single class on January 6, and said he was ejected on reli-gious grounds. Huron has denied that claim.
“There were two reasons I applied for the course,” he said. “One was because Dr. Mattson was teaching this course, and I had very
much an interest in understanding what her position was in how pro-testation should be carried out in London, Ontario, especially since she was inviting the public, espe-cially the Muslim public, to attend,” Watson said.
“I applied for the course because I wanted to take the course, and I met all the qualifications for it aside from not being a Muslim,” he continued.
Watson claims that originally the course syllabus had said the course was open to Muslim men and women, though the criteria has since changed to people engaged in Islamic preaching and public speak-ing for Muslim communities.
Watson claims that he has stud-ied Islam with interest for three or four years prior to taking the course.
Stephen McClatchie, Huron’s principle, explained the rationale for the course.
“This is actually a very parallel course to the courses in Christian homiletics that we teach,” he explained. “Originally there was some discussion as to whether we could accommodate Muslim stu-dents in the Christian homiletics class, and it was decided because of the practical element that it really made more sense for it to be a sepa-rate course.”
Watson says he received an e-mail from Mattson on Wednesday, two days after the first class,
informing him that the course was full with students taking it for credit. Watson claims that about three or four other students were taking the course with plans to audit, and is unsure of what they were told.
“At 10:52 on Wednesday [morn-ing] I was told there was no room for me, and I wasn’t given the option of taking the course for credit,” Watson said.
“What the Dean decided was that for pedagogical reasons there were not going to be any auditors in the class, and no one is taking the course for audit,” McClatchie explained. “He has spoken with someone on our staff expressing that he felt he was discriminated on the basis of his religion — we don’t think that that’s the case, we deny that.”
While Watson denies being offered the option to take the course for credit, McCaltchie says he would be welcome to do so.
“We don’t want anyone to take a course that they do not have the possibility of successfully complet-ing,” McClatchie said, while also mentioning that the experience has caused Huron to look at its auditing policy.
Watson said he’s in the process of a formal complaint, following a talk with the dean of Theology’s assistant.
“They doubled down on discrim-ination — they think it’s okay, that’s the message I took,” he said.
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4 • thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Talking with the girl behind @BresciaGirlJesica Hurst
ONLINE EDITOR
If you’re a Western student who’s on Twitter, you’ve probably heard of @BresciaGirl. With over 1,000 sassy tweets and more than 400 followers she regularly engages with, this par-ody account not only pokes fun at obvious stereotypes, but also tweets things she thinks students should care about, like the University Students’ Council election debates.
We had the opportunity to speak with @BresciaGirl over e-mail — anonymously, of course — and this is what she had to say.
GAZETTE: Let’s start out with the question everyone’s dying to know the answer to. Who are you?@BresciaGirl: I get this on the regu-lar. I am a female Brescia student, hence “Brescia Girl.” No one has actually successfully guessed who I am which is a ton of fun.
G: When did you create the account/how long have you been regularly tweeting for?B: My friend created this account back in 2012 during the USC cam-paign. She didn’t tweet too often so I asked to take it over I think early last year. She hasn’t tweeted from the account since then.
G: Why did you create an alias instead of tweeting from a personal account?B: People at Western seem to love parody accounts. The @wstrngirl Twitter account was pretty big ear-lier but it seemed to be more rel-evant to the Premier Life Jim Bob’s crowd. I’m hoping Brescia Girl is more relevant to a different side of
Western — the side that loves bake sales and Netflix.
G: Is this account meant to be a car-icature of girls who go to Brescia or is it just something funny to tweet behind?B: A little bit of both I guess. A lot of Western students have a weird perception of Brescia, and Brescia has a weird perception of itself. I like to think of myself as a carica-ture for not just Brescia Girls but for everyone at Western trapped in Club Weldon when they would rather be home talking to their cat.
G: Let’s be real — most students don’t care about student govern-ment. Why is it important for you to live-tweet the elections like you have been doing?B: I like tweeting the debates because it helps reach the discus-sion out to people who are not there. Boring subjects like USC structure often start these debates, which is a great way to get the students who have not fallen asleep to get up and leave the event. Humour is a great way to get people talking as well as get the slates to do things. We com-plained loudly at the HBK debate/cheese eating event and we finally got the slates to come and campaign at Brescia.
G: Most of your tweets are jokes, but some of them have serious under-tones. Do you find it difficult to try and stay humourous all the time?B: As a parody account I try to keep the account as funny as possible. I do think that sometimes being serious is important depending on what’s going on. Candidates not campaigning at Brescia? That’s
something I can tweet about to try and get something done. There are also some issues that I think we have heard enough in the past several elections that I like to sass because many of us are bored with them. I think people like to hear about how much Matt Helfand loves Spoke bagels and how good Brian Belman is at Flappy Bird more than them have another argument about fee freezes.
G: What sets you apart from the other parody accounts? Why should students follow you?B: A lot of the parody accounts are only around for elections and disap-pear right after. Many of them are just mean or uninformed. I like to think that I’m sometimes neither of those things. I’m also not just an election account. I had 300 fol-lowers before this election even started because I tweet with people and I’m trying not to just be mean. @WesternWeights, @msuscprez and @JulianAtGazette are my favourite parody accounts by far.
G: Can students expect you to continue tweeting once the year is over?B: I’ll definitely be tweeting once this election is over but I’m actu-ally graduating this year. Once I’m far enough away from the hill and people bribe me with cupcakes, I’ll reveal my true identity and retire the @BresciaGirl name (or who knows, maybe I’ll keep the legacy alive and find some equally charming and sassy girl to take over).
PS. Hi Pat Whelan! Xoxoxoxo
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
USC looking for board of directors applications
Hamza TariqGAZETTE STAFF
Undergraduate students are being given the opportunity to apply to be on the University’s Students’ Council’s board of directors.
According to Pat Whelan, presi-dent of the USC, the board of direc-tors deals with corporate risk and responsible resource allocation. Their job description includes dealing with serious human resources issues of top manage-ment, quarterly statements and financial and corporate policy.
“The board has a fiduciary responsibility, which is a legal responsibility to protect the orga-nization and uphold its policies. It’s for students who are not inter-ested in [the] student politics side of things, but are in not-for-profit governance,” he said.
According to Jas Irwin, vice-president communications of the USC, candidates applying should have a passion for student organi-zation and critical thinking skills.
The board is responsible for fiscal oversight and strategic plan-ning for the organization. The inclusion of students in the board of directors began last year with a structural change that separated the board from the USC executive, who used to occupy both roles. The president still sits on the board, however.
According to Irwin, this year the
structure is being changed further, so that board members will be stu-dents. The vice-president finance might be there in an advisory position to offer their expertise and experience but will not be a voting member.
“This helps remove the politics from the board table. You want your board table to be removed from the politics and are objec-tive,” Whelan said.
According to him, the board does not deal with politics, pro-gramming and advocacy, and falls under the council, which can ultimately choose to overturn anything the board does as well as
remove board members.Applications for the board of
directors are due February 14 and are available on the USC’s website.
“Any student should feel empowered to apply — we are looking for both one- and two-year terms,” Irwin said.
“Even if they might not have a business background but some-one who is able to learn quickly and think critically and has confi-dence that they can acquire basic fiscal literacy quite quickly, I think would be qualified for the job,” she added.
“There is a written application and there will be an interview pro-cess, and really what you’re look-ing for is a diverse skill set so that the board can function as a team,” Whelan said.
The board has a nominating committee, which is made up of members of the council, and they will assess the applications. They will then put forward a slate of nominees and the council will vote to endorse them or not.
The board meets between eight and 12 times during the regular academic year, and it is an inter-esting and unique opportunity to gain real corporate governance experience, according to Whelan.
“It’s a phenomenal opportunity. It’s something that not a lot of peo-ple will get to try in their lifetime and I hope students feel confident enough to apply,” Irwin said.
It’s a phenomenal opportunity. It’s something that not a lot of people will get to try in their lifetime and I hope students feel confident enough to apply.
— Jas IrwinUSC vice-president communications
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thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014 • 5
Arts&Life tuesdaytweetElaine accidentally tweets an embarassing Google search. After seeing how awesome Michael Sam is, George’s father wishes he was gay.
@SeinfeldToday
A long walk through the African landscapeKevin HeslopGAZETTE STAFF
GGGHFMandela: Long Walk to FreedomDirector: Justin ChadwickStarring: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa
An uncompromising adjunct to the moral magnitude of one individual, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom tells the story of a country becom-ing a nation through the eyes of its greatest visionary.
Based on Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, this film braids the life story of South Africa’s first black president (Idris Elba) with the rise of the militant anti-apartheid Umkhonto we Sizwe (or MK). As the white-minority gov-erned country rocks violently in civil unrest, Mandela, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, spends in excess of 27 years in prison before his release to a scarred country. With his chastise-ment and assurance, the MK, for-merly led by Mandela’s potent wife Winnie (Naomie Harris), sheaths its claws until election time, the conse-quence of which unites the country.
By juxtaposing dawn-bathed African landscapes with intense brutality, director Justin Chadwick entangles the prospect of peace and the barbarism of an oppressive
regime with what amounts at times to an aversion to subtlety. The effect is something like using an RPG to take care of a termite problem, but nonetheless highlights the critical import of Mandela’s vision.
Apart from the golden story, the most affecting element of this film is the acting performances, particu-larly that of the lead. Elba centres the orbit of the characters, plot and political tumult with a weight and dignity reminiscent of the late pres-ident, giving the film an unshake-able place on which to stand and an authenticity with which to soar.
As Winnie, Harris inhabits the bombast and ferocity of a blem-ished ideal with electric success. A rich and well-drawn counterpoint to Mandela, her performance humanizes the film, reminding us of how quickly passion can become hatred in the eye of war.
Tony Kgoroge and Riaad Moosa as Mandela’s incarcerated com-rades Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada, respectively, do well to create a balanced base with which the audience may identify, illuminating both the magnitude of Mandela and the decadence of Winnie.
Cinematographer Low Crawley excels in capturing the languid beauty of Africa without unnec-essary adornment and switching gears to the jarring turmoil of the
streets, demonstrating consider-able aptitude across a broad range.
The combination of events in Mandela’s life, however, was less seamless, as screenplay writer William Nicholson decelerates the plot to cram in as many of Mandela’s achievements as pos-sible, oscillating the impression of the final product between monu-ment and film and tapering the
movement of the story.The percussion-heavy and col-
orful music of Alex Heffes appropri-ately matches the tone of the film flawlessly, adding another sword to the knife fight.
The original track “Ordinary Love” by U2 and Danger Mouse is a poignant vignette of the conflict-ing emotion and moral journey of the film, and has rightfully begun
to receive the hardware to prove it.An indelicate examination of
the depths to which humanity can plummet and the heights to which it can rise, a bold look at a torn and sewn world, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom punctuates the manu-script of a remarkable man whose story shall, indeed should, be told and re-told.
Courtesy of Pathé
The Olympics
The Olympics come once every two years but for Canadians, it really happens every four years. While the summer Olympics are interesting and some would argue more compelling, Canada just doesn’t do as well in the summer. It’s exciting to watch the country triumph and constantly gab about Canada’s place atop the podium.
This year, the Olympics are taking place in Sochi, Russia. In a rather interesting turn of events, they have become a pretty gay Olympics. Why? Well, Russia has ridiculously discriminatory laws against homosexuals. Everyone is focusing on it and cities across Canada have begun waving the
rainbow flag in solidarity. Also hilarious are the numerous acci-dental “gay things”— the acci-dental rainbow uniforms from Germany, the outpouring of sup-port for gay athletes, the sport of doubles luge itself (think about it).
Yesterday, Alex Bilodeau became the first person to defend their gold medal in moguls; he also became the second Canadian to defend a gold medal. It was excit-ing to watch and was surely amaz-ing for many Canadians.
While sports might not be everyone’s thing, it is seemingly impossible not to get amped up when watching an Olympic sport. Knowing that these athletes have trained for four years about some-thing they feel passionate about is
admirable. So to see them go up, in front of millions on television, and put themselves out there — it’s incredibly exhilarating to watch.
Another great thing about the Olympics is the element of choice. If you don’t like one sport, don’t worry, wait a few hours (or change the channel) and you’ll find some-thing different. There is an indis-putable freedom to indulging in Sochi 2014 which is awesome.
Come February 23, the Olympics will conclude and the fervor will be over for two more years. Given the crowd-pleasing nature and overwhelming sense of national pride, it only makes sense to watch a bit.
— Bradley Metlin
Courtesy of the International Olympic Committee
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6 • thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014
How to better your beer
Everyone can beer a little better. If you’re looking for a place to start, use the above list as a reference point. While there are undoubtedly even better beers than the ones I’ve listed, few are as affordable, accessible and easy to find. So replace your go-to with something new, and enjoy sipping a better beer slow.
— Cam “Smoth” Smith
Some people get stuck in a beer rut: They find a brand that makes an inoffensive style of beer, and they stick to it no matter what. Frankly, it can be a bit daunting to look at a large beer menu, or browse through cases at the beer store. To simplify it, I’ve made a list of six popular beers and a better alternative if you’re partial to its style. Best of all, my recommendations are all accessible at the liquor store, and on tap most places with a half decent selection.
With macro-domestics like Molson desperately trying to diversify their brands in order to appeal to a more picky consumer base, you can now purchase monstrosities like Molson Canadian Wheat. It’s the cough syrup of beers, with a sickly sweet-ness that becomes entirely unbear-able if the beer isn’t chilled to near
frozen. If you like white beers, try Unibroue Blanche de Chambly. It’s made in the Belgian wheat beer style, and as such has notes of nut-meg, orange peel and flowers all with a nice sweet wheat base. It’s a damn good drink, and has a much richer history than Molson’s latest Franken-beer.
6 >> Like Molson Canadian Wheat? > Try Unibroue Blanche de Chambly
If you actually enjoy the taste of Budweiser, it might be too late to save you. However, if for whatever reason you’re bored of the taste of garbage drippings, there are lager alternatives, my favourite of which is Creemore Springs Premium Lager. It’s an amber lager, meaning it has much more character than Bud.
The colour is darker, the flavour is denser and the finish is cleaner. Instead of just a whiff of fermented corn you get from Bud, Creemore has a sweet maltiness, and even a slight hoppiness which adds a nice complexity. Definitely worth trying if you want to see the true range a lager can have.
5 >> Like Budweiser (God help you)? > Try Creemore Springs Premium Lager
Listen. I know you’re an upper-middle class dad, but that doesn’t mean you HAVE to drink Rickard’s Red. It’s hard to find an amber beer with less personality. Instead, try Lake of Bays Spark House Red Ale. It’s a little less “red” than Rickard’s,
but it brings the sweet caramel malt taste you expect from a real amber ale. Further, it’s got a great texture, making it feel like you’re drinking something a little more substantial than Rickard’s beer-flavoured water.
4 >> Like Rickard’s Red? > Try Lake of Bays Spark House Red Ale
Guinness is good, and I have noth-ing to say against it. It’s just not great, which is exactly why you should opt for the St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout if you can. It’s better than Guinness in just about every way, including richness of flavour, heavier body and better texture. If Guinness is the ‘98 Honda Civic you learned to drive on, St. Ambroise is a Bentley.
Where Guinness has a kiss of mocha, and a bit of bittersweet chocolate, St. Ambroise kicks it up a notch and gives you a rich, dense mocha expe-rience. While upping the complex-ity a bit, it remains very accessible for those getting into stouts, and I highly recommend it next time you’re doing dark beer.
1 >> Like Guinness? > Try St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
I’m not a light beer drinker, and I don’t exactly care to become one. That said, many people in the world are and I can’t ignore them completely. Please, for the love of humanity, put down the damn Coors. If you must go light, there are some craft offering popping up,
and few are as refreshing as Flying Monkeys’ Anti Gravity Ale. It’s one of the lightest beers I’ve ever tasted, and has a simple corn flavour with very little aftertaste. It’s a much cleaner offering than Coors, and will go down as easily on the first as it will on the 12th.
2 >> Like Coors Light? > Try Flying Monkeys Anti Gravity Ale
The reason you like Alexander Keith’s is because it has slightly more taste than other beers served at the pub down the street. Either that, or your uncle drinks it. But it’s high time to strike out on your own and do a little better. While Keith’s calls itself an IPA, promising a hoppy bitterness, it blatantly lies to you, instead serv-ing up a flat boring lager. While Mill
St. Tankhouse is an American Pale Ale, it brings the real bitterness. But don’t worry, it’s friendly enough to be approached by even the softest Keith’s-soaked palate. It’s got nice floral notes, and a pleasant citrus finish with solid malt throughout. A fine offering from a consistent brewery.
3 >> Like Keith’s IPA? > Try Mill St. Tankhouse Ale
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thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014 • 7
It’s not you, it’s FacebookRobert Nanni CONTRIBUTOR
The Instagram picture of him kiss-ing her cheek on their third date, his entire mom’s side of the family who added his new boyfriend on Facebook, her tweet wishing him a happy monthaversary with an end-less series of Emoji hearts — what happens to all these memories after a breakup?
A recently published YouGov study has purported that after a breakup, often the online evidence of a relationship — like the rela-tionship itself — is destroyed. The British research company found that 42 per cent of individuals aged 18 to 34 unfriended their exes on Facebook within the month, 31 per cent cut off ties with mutual friends and 34 per cent removed all photographs commemorating what used to be.
“In many cases it is a good thing to delete an ex from Facebook,” says Anabel Quan-Haase, a media, information and technoculture professor at Western who studies social networks. “Otherwise, one is constantly reminded of the ex […] this can hurt a lot and can also lead toward obsession.”
And isn’t that the truth? Creeping through countless photos and over-analyzing every tweet in search of an indirect mention, all the while one attempts to ensure their friends that they’re totally loving the single life.
“While we may be happy to share personal stories and mem-ories with close friends, we may not want someone we just met or only know through a friend of a friend questioning us about
past relationships, experiences or events,” Quan-Haase says. “These may be fairly private — well, I guess as private as it gets on Facebook.”
It feels pretty great to delete, block or unfollow one’s ex: It can be immeasurably satisfying, an incomparable freedom. Yet there are still some who choose to remain connected, who accept the possible emotional hindrances to oppose being puppeteered for public gratification.
“Our research shows that those who kept their ex on Facebook managed to move on easier,” Quan-Haase says.
Simply put, there is no right or
wrong answer to this dilemma. Each case can vary significantly, as there are other factors to be considered, such as length of the relationship, prior friendship sta-tus and how everything went up in flames.
With that being said, no one can properly advise anyone else con-cerning the protocol for his or her individual situation. Perhaps just consider the situation in this way: When one’s dog dies, crying ensues, a burial follows, and eventually the dog is replaced; one doesn’t stare at the dog waiting to see what’ll hap-pen next.
Taylor Lasota GAZETTE
A noble nominationSarah BotelhoCONTRIBUTOR
What was originally built on the slang term “necking,” or chug-ging copious concoctions of alco-hol, has spiraled into something much more meaningful. Take first-year political science stu-dent. Cooper Brock, a Delaware resident all the way from Orlando, Florida, who made an enormous donation in place of the standard “Neknomination” drinking video.
After watching a few of these videos, Brock decided he wanted to take a different path for his nomination.
“Like everyone else, I thought it was funny at first. And then my two friends decided to jump into the Thames River after shot-gunning a beer,” Brock says. “And that’s when I realized that was the level of stuff I was not willing to do.”
Brock’s Neknomination video instead came from a very per-sonal inspiration — his father. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2008, Brock’s father fought the illness up until he passed away in 2011. He was treated at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and so Brock decided donating to this establishment was the ulti-mate way to give back.
Brock’s family was quick to back him up in this great act of char-ity, starting with his supportive mother.
“At first, I thought my mom would be really pissed when she saw this video because I thought she would be like, ‘You’re giving away all your money that you have to live off of!’” Brock said.
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t
expecting it to blow up as much as it did,” Brock says about his video. “But I’m very happy it did. I was expecting to pay, at most, $100. I was prepared to donate more, but I just didn’t think people would look at it for that long.”
Brock promised to give one quarter for every “like” his video received. Twenty-four hours later, his video earned a whopping 2,902 likes, totaling $725.
That, however, wasn’t the case. After hearing Brock’s proposal, his mother promised to match every dollar that he put in. Additionally, his sister offered to pitch in with the donation, letting her brother know how proud she was of him.
But family members weren’t the only ones to back this project. Fellow Western student Danielle Saldahna messaged Brock on Facebook and told him she also wanted to match whatever he paid.
Accepting Saldahna’s request, Brock offered to meet with her for lunch where he learned that can-cer hit close to home for her as well; about a year ago, her mother had passed away from stomach cancer.
“She said she had been look-ing for a way to give back and this was the way she wanted to do it, “ Brock says. “I feel like what she did is actually bigger than what I did — I just filmed a video and got the ball rolling and she’s the one who could just look and see something and not even know the person and go for it. She’s the kind of person we should all strive to be”.
The video can be viewed on Brock’s Facebook page, under the heading “Neknomination.”
Learning to love your bodyTabitha ChanGAZETTE STAFF
“I wish I was _____” has come out of everyone’s mouth at some point in their lives, whether a person fills in the blank with “skinnier,” “pret-tier,” “taller,” or anything they feel insecure about. Everyone has felt dissatisfied with their bodies before and it is easy to look at someone else and envy them for a feature that one feels they lack.
The Love Your Body campaign at Western aims to make students feel more confident with their body, as well as to take better care of it. Amy Wesson, a fourth-year kinesiology student in charge of coordinating the campaign this year, says the main purpose of the campaign is to make students put less stress on their physical appearance.
“The purpose of the campaign is to encourage a Western campus that celebrates all people — regard-less of shape, age, ethnicity, gen-der, identity and culture. Love Your Body aims to increase confidence, self-esteem, acceptance, self-love and personal health and wellness at Western,” Wesson says.
This year, the campaign will be held from February 24 to March 2 and instead of only being in the Western Student Recreation Centre, the campaign wants to focus on reaching out to the entire campus. There will be new activi-ties that are more accessible for students since they will take place all across campus.
“We are running free fitness classes at the residences. It is a
great way to try out a new class or go to one of your favourites. We are also running a movie afternoon at Western Film,” Wesson says.
The Love Your Body campaign hopes to only grow bigger each year and impact more people. They also want to branch out into the London community to find spon-sors for the campaign in the future.
“The more people we can reach, the bigger the impact. We tried to include some community sponsors this year to go beyond the Western bubble. David’s Tea was very gener-ous and supportive with our cause. We are hoping to see them during Love Your Body Week,” Wesson says.
In order to continue with the initiative after the campaign is over, Wesson reminds students that they only have one body and that in order to be better equipped to take care of others, they must take care of themselves first.
“Loving your body and yourself gives you the confidence to go fur-ther in other aspects of your life, aspects that are more fulfilling than just appearance. With less focus on looks, there is more time for fam-ily, friends, school, work, hobbies and a healthier lifestyle,” Wesson says. “When we appreciate our own uniqueness and love our bodies, we are better able to take on life’s chal-lenges day by day.”
Contact:www.westerngazette.caUniversity Community Centre Rm. 263The University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, CANADAN6A 3K7Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579
Julian UzielliEditor-In-Chief
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The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.
Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.
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Diana Watson
• Please recycle this newspaper •
Dear Life
Today and tomorrow, Western students will go to the digital polls to vote for their faculty representatives and presidents, senators, and of course, the University Students’ Council presidential slate. (For the uninitiated, you can cast your vote at voteusc.ca any time from 8 a.m. today to 8 p.m. tomorrow).
Both Team Belman and Team Helfand certainly have their strengths, and neither would be a bad choice for the USC executive. No matter what happens today and tomorrow, the USC will still be here a year from now. Students will still have their bus passes and health plans and the Spoke will still serve beer.
Team Belman’s platform focuses on high-minded ideas like advocacy and mental health support, but in terms of realistic, grounded goals that can be accomplished in a one-year term, his platform is lacking. When faced with this criticism in debate, Belman’s go-to defence has been his “Western Wiki” idea, which has been tried before — not very successfully — in the form of Adam Fearnall’s Western 311 website. Belman’s buzzword-laden pledges are admirable, but on a USC presidential platform advocacy and mental health support are expected, even assumed. Any president can and should push for more crisis counsellors.
Team Helfand, on the other hand, has put forth a platform that could result in a few significant changes within the one-year term. Specifically, Helfand wants to freeze the USC’s $77.46 base student fee, a feat he narrowly failed to achieve as Social Science Students’ Council president last year. Both slates have acknowledged that students’ fees are too high, but so far Helfand seems to be the only one putting our money where his mouth is. Accompanied by wide-ranging service reviews, a Helfand presidency would create the potential — if not the certainty — of a more efficient, cost-effective USC. Helfand’s goal to give the USC’s full-time managers more direct control over programming budgets will also significantly mitigate the possibility of another One Love fiasco.
The clearest way in which the candidates have established their difference is through personality. Where Matt Helfand comes off as charismatic and bold, Brian Belman seems passive by comparison. In a bureaucracy, having a big personality can go a long way to moving projects along, particularly in a time-sensitive situation such as the USC presidency. On the other hand, Helfand can sometimes appear arrogant and hot-headed. But balanced out by his more pragmatic running mates, Helfand’s personality might actually breathe some life into the organization.
The candidates’ running mates set them apart as well: Both Team Helfand’s vice-presidential candidates have experience, as affiliate council presidents, and are more well-spoken than Belman’s less experienced slate — an important consideration for someone whose main job is convincing others to pay attention to students’ concerns.
Brian Belman would bring careful caution to the job as president, and if elected, he would likely do a fine job. But the USC desperately needs to increase engagement, and Matt Helfand is the clear choice in that department. To some, his personality might make him appear to be a risky choice, and we agree. But without risk, there’s no reward.
The Gazette endorses Team Helfand for USC executive.
— The Gazette Editorial Board
Gazette endorses Team Helfand
“I have no ambition to govern men; it is a painful and thankless office.”
—Thomas Jefferson
Aaron ZaltzmanASSOCIATE EDITOR
There’s nothing more stressful than a job that you’re good at. That’s quite a head-scratcher, no?
Imagine you’re the manager of an office — it doesn’t matter specifically what for, but the main thing is that you have several employees under you and they are all expected to get an equal amount of work done.
Now in this office you have workers who constantly seem to be working. They often seem to be busy or in a hurry, and every time you pass by their desks they’re frantically typing or reading or doing whatever it is that gets their work done.
However, you also notice that one of the workers in your office appears to be much more relaxed. He or she spends a few more minutes drinking coffee than proper, or taking care of personal items — maybe even reading a book at his or her desk.
Which one of these types of workers do you think you’ll like more? Obviously, most people would say the first type, because they’re harder workers and that’s what you want in employees.
The problem is that most people still think this even if both workers get the same amount of work done. Even though these two kinds of employees have the exact same output, we assume that the first is a better employee because they seem more stressed.
It’s strange, because in principle we expect to be judged solely on our output.
After all, if we hand in a paper to our pro-fessor in school we aren’t graded on when we started working on it or how much effort we put in — the professor gives us a grade based on the quality of our work.
An office space is, unfortunately, not like that. Half of our value as an employee is based on performance and half on how we’re perceived by our superiors. Our bosses are humans with normal biases in perception and evaluation, and that means there will be flawed evaluations.
These flaws come from a misjudg-ment about what makes a good worker. We naturally assume that people who look like they’re working hard must be doing more. Conversely, there’s a ten-dency to view people who don’t look busy as doing less.
Which brings me back to my first point — being good at a job can hurt your success because of this flawed percep-tion. This is unfortunate, because in my experience many people who seem the most relaxed have that luxury because they’re diligent, organized workers who get things done quickly and efficiently, not because they’re slackers. The slack-ers, I find, are more likely to seem con-stantly rushed because they’re trying to catch up.
It doesn’t even have to relate to effi-ciency. Even the workers who just look more stressed are perceived as doing more, while the ones who stay relaxed are judged to be slacking.
It’s this kind of wrong perception that leads workers to putting all their effort into maintaining the appearance of work — there are articles upon articles written about how to look busy at work without doing anything. If you’re the kind of per-son of likes to get their work done so they can relax later, be prepared to take flak from a boss who thinks the ideal worker should be constantly stressed out.
Productivity paradoxYour anonymous letters to life
Dear Life,All politics are filthy, regardless of the level.
Dear Life,I used expired shampoo last night. What’s going to happen? Is my hair going to fall out?
Dear Life,Why isn’t there perforated wrapping paper?
Dear Life,Why do I chase girls that I’m not even interested in?
Dear Life,I’m kind of scared to buy those budget condoms from the bathroom...
Dear Life,Why are apples to delicious?
Dear Life,Power outage in the UCC. Nine months later – babies!
Dear Life,I’ll be glad when elections are over and we get the UCC atrium back!
Dear Life,Mean Girls’ 10-year anniversary is April 30 this year and it’s a Wednesday and I literally won’t speak to anyone who isn’t wearing pink.
Dear Life,I’ll be spending another Valentine’s Day alone and I don’t care. Really, it doesn’t even bother me. I’m fine, okay! I said I’m FINE!
wgaz.ca/dearlife
Verbal Azalt
Letters to the Editor
RE: “Who cares about the USC?” Friday, February 7, 2014.To The Editor:Like many, I was looking forward to reading Friday’s Gazette and learning more about the candidates for the USC executive. The article “Who cares about the USC” made a few points I wanted to address.
I too didn’t know anything about the election except the signs I had seen around campus, that is until Brian Belman came into my sociology class and gave a quick, “If you want to find out more” speech. Taking that effort went a long way when it came to putting a face to the name. Of my five classes, that was the only one where a candidate showed up. This seems to me like an excellent untapped way for the candidates to get
more face time with the students. I hope all professors would grant candidates five minutes at the beginning of class to say their piece as mine did.
Knowing now whom (and what) these signs were referring to, I took the time to copy each Twitter and Facebook down and started asking my questions to each. Both slates have been awesome at get-ting back to me instantly and with good information.
Having a booth in UCC is all well and good, but it can be intimidating to walk up to a stranger and start asking them their plans (even if we have a right to do so). We need to be courted, and I think it’s important for the candidates to make the first move.
Lastly, I wanted to thank The Gazette for posting the demerit points earned in Friday’s issue. I didn’t know these existed and it was interested to read about how many each candidate has and for what.
— Chantelle IvanskiArts & Humanities I
Face-time key election aspect
thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014 • 9
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Sports factattackCanadian sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe kept the Sochi Olympic medals in the family when they competed in Women’s Mogul Freestyle Skiing. Justine won gold and Chloe won silver in the event with scores of 22.44 and 21.66, respectively.
Rundown >> Three Western Mustangs teams closed out the final game of the regular season with wins. The women’s hockey team shut out the Waterloo Warriors, the men’s hockey team defeated the York Lions to clinch the top spot in the OUA West division and the men’s volleyball team downed the Guelph Gyrphons for their ninth straight win.
Olympian teaches personal excellenceCatriona Le May Doan educates young athletes
Nusaiba Al-AzemSPORTS EDITOR
With the 2014 Winter Games kick-ing off in Sochi, Western brought a little taste of the Olympics to cam-pus last Tuesday.
As part of a speaker series event, the Health Studies Students’ Council organized a night of lec-tures starting with MTV personality Aliya Jasmine, which led up to the keynote speaker, double Olympic champion speed skater Catriona Le May Doan. The “fastest woman on ice” spoke regarding the moti-vational methods of achieving per-sonal excellence, along with how great it was to be in London.
“It’s great [being at Western]. I’ve driven around campus only because friends of mine are Western Alumni [...] I mean, you bring up the name Western and they just about start bawling, they’re so proud,” Le May Doan told The Gazette in an interview after the lecture. “I’ve always heard about it; it’s such a beautiful campus.”
Le May Doan explored the topic of pressure on athletes to perform in her lecture.
“Well you’re an athlete, it’s hard, because ultimately you do it because you want to do it, but you do want people to be proud,” she said about the conflicting desires of athletes.
Le May Doan also reflected on the process by which her involve-ment in speed skating has allowed Canadian female athletes to
re-evaluate their perspective on sport.
“I think the biggest thing is that [female athletes like myself have] sort of shown that you can be muscular and strong and you can still be feminine if you want, and I love that,” she said. “I love wearing dresses and skirts, turning around and wearing sweats and doing squats and having big legs and hav-ing a hard time getting pants to fit. You know, I think that’s okay.”
Her advice for varsity athletes of any gender was to create and main-tain a solid foundation in life that goes beyond the scope of sports. She relied on personal anecdotes to convey the importance of figuring out an athlete’s identity outside of his or her respective sport. Le May Doan stressed the significance of events like these for student athletes.
“I was just really happy that [Health Studies Students’ Council] could do an event like this and I would encourage more universities to do these sorts of things,” she said.
In addition to motivational speaking, Le May Doan gave The Gazette her opinion on Canada’s odds in Russia.
“I think we will do very well in a lot of the new things. There are new sports, but there are also new events. And for that reason, Canada will do well. I would say in the tradi-tional sports, like long track speed skating, which usually guarantees a few medals, we’re struggling,” she admitted. “I’ll never guarantee — I’ll never predict medals because it’s sport, and like I always say,
sport is unpredictable, but we’re really struggling in long track speed skating.”
Indeed, Canadian Olympians Brittany Schussler and Ivanie Blondin competed in the women’s 3,000-metre long track speed skat-ing event this weekend and, as per
Le May Doan’s predictions, did not medal. The skaters placed 19th and 24th, respectively.
These mark the first Olympics since the 1988 games in Calgary, Alberta that Le May Doan will not attend as either a competitor or a broadcaster.
I think the biggest thing is that [female athletes like myself have] sort of shown that you can be muscular and strong and you can still be feminine if you want, and I love that.
— Catriona Le May DoanDouble Olympic champion speed skater
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Mustangs unite through #ONETEAMRowers show support through annual ergathon
Nusaiba Al-AzemSPORTS EDITOR
The Western Mustangs rowing team broke out of their usual rou-tine on Saturday concerning their annual fundraising ergathon — a feat involving non-stop rowing on ergometers, the stationary rowing machines — by supporting one of their own, who was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphona.
While the team has always paired up with The Heart and Stroke Foundation and split the profits of the fundraiser, their support for their fellow rower shows a different approach.
“In the past, we’ve donated to The Heart and Stroke Foundation, but this year one of our teammates was diagnosed with cancer so we’ve been running a campaign to raise aware-ness and funds for the Canadian Cancer Society,” Mustangs Rowing president Natasha Caminsky said. “So we thought it was appropriate to also partner with them for this fundraising event.”
The teammate in question, Natalie Connell, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma over the winter holidays. The engineering student is currently undergoing chemotherapy.
The team’s response was to cre-ate white tank tops with a purple W and the Canadian Cancer Society logo on the back. Above the logo is
the slogan “#ONETEAM.” The pur-pose was to create a sense of unity amongst Western varsity athletics.
“It’s the motto that we’ve been going with and sticking to — being one team together. It’s become quite a movement,” Caminsky said. “There are a few people within our team who started it and who have been spreading it and it’s just caught on like crazy, across the entire country.”
Thus far, the team has sold over 600 shirts for $20 each, and interest has spread to multiple Canadian and American universities. The hype has even made its way to the Olympics, with Canadian figure skater Dylan Moscovitch placing an order.
“I think the response has just been overwhelming,” Mustangs’ rower Chaundra Manorome said. “We weren’t expecting this many people to want to get involved.”
The Mustangs’ outgoing light-weight captain, Derek Stedman, plays a large part in the organi-zation of the clothing orders. He emphasized the special impor-tance of competitors, such as Brock
University or Queen’s University, showing solidarity.
“The big part about how it’s spread for us is that everyone was able to set aside competition and set aside ‘Oh, we beat you by an inch, you beat us by an inch,’ and go to ‘We’re all working together,’” Stedman said. “It’s a common goal.”
The team has raised over $2,500 in proceeds towards cancer research. On Friday, many varsity athletes gathered at the hockey game hosted by Western, sporting their #ONETEAM tanks, to create a video about the rowing team’s campaign. The video is still in
production. In addition, the ath-letes, who came from a variety of sports including rugby, wrestling, soccer and more, signed a pink basketball that was presented to Connell during the ergathon.
“Honestly, I was just hoping to raise Natalie’s spirits a little, and I think we have,” Manorome said.
The last round of tank top orders will be made on Valentine’s Day. For more information, or to get involved in the campaign, connect with the rowing team via the Facebook page, facebook.com/pages/One-Team/589818367770734.It’s the motto that we’ve
been going with and sticking to – being one team together. It’s become quite a movement. There are a few people within our team who started it and who have been spreading it and it’s just caught on like crazy, across the entire country.
— Natasha Caminsky Mustangs Rowing president
Mustangs capture eight golds at OUAsWestern men win 31st straight OUA squash title
Daniel WeryhaSPORTS EDITOR
The Western Mustangs men’s squash team kept their streak alive as they captured their 31st consec-utive Ontario University Athletics Championship at the Thompson Recreation Centre’s Jack Fairs squash courts on Sunday.
The men dominated their com-petition as they captured gold in five out of the six flights. James Van Straven, Adrian Ostbye, Adam Engel, Kale Wilson and Cory Shannon fin-ished in first for the Mustangs, while Albert Shoihet finished in second.
Western’s Van Straven swept his opponent — Pranav Sharma of McMaster — 11–7, 11–9, and 11–7 to take one of five gold medals cap-tured by the men.
The Mustangs defeated the McMaster Marauders in all but one of the gold medal rounds. In flight one, Western’s Shoihet fell to Waterloo’s Cameron Seth three sets to one to take the only silver medal captured by a Western player over the weekend.
“Squash is one those sports that on the day, somebody can eas-ily come out firing because [the Marauders] were pumped to try and dethrone us. I think once the games got going and we started winning matches, we started to build more and more confidence,” Kale Wilson said.
Tied at one after the first two sets, Wilson responded with two consecutive 11–5 wins to take home the gold in his flight. For Wilson, the
advantage was his conditioning.“I could notice he was getting
tired in the rallies,” he said. “I could tell that in between rallies he started to waste time a little bit — tied his shoes a lot of times.”
Wilson defeated J.C. Jeffries of McMaster in flight five for Western’s second gold medal of the weekend.
In flight six, though only defeat-ing his opponent 3–1, Western’s Cory Shannon had one of the most domi-nating gold medal performances of the tournament. Excluding his 11–13 extra point loss in set number three, Shannon defeated McMaster’s Nick Pavcic 11–3 in the first set, blanked him in the second, and finished him off with an 11–5 win in the fourth.
“He came out a little bit stronger in the third. It stings to get blanked — like you always want to try and make a point after so I think he came out swinging in the third and I was a little bit slow adjusting to the pace that he was hitting to,” Shannon said.
Shannon also swept Andrew
Squash is one of those sports that on the day, somebody can easily come out firing because [the Marauders] were pumped to try and dethrone us. I think once the games got going and we started winning matches, we started to build more, and more confidence.
— Kale Wilson Mustangs squash team
>> see OUA pg.12
Courtesy of Mustangs Athletics
#ONETEAM. Mustangs athletes from many varsity teams congregated in Thompson Arena for their #ONETEAM fundraiser during Friday’s men’s hockey game against Lakehead. The #ONETEAM slogan stands as a message of support for Natalie Connell, a member of the Mustangs rowing team, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphona over the winter holidays.
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12 • thegazette • Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Western dominates OUA championships
Jonathan Dunn GAZETTE
Kane in his semifinal matchup against Waterloo.
“I knew that if I just played my game, and stayed relaxed out there, I was pretty confident in my abilities,” Shannon said.
With 23 points, Western finished six points ahead of the second-placed McMaster Marauders, and 14 ahead of both Waterloo and Queen’s, who tied for third.
The women’s team fell short of the OUA championship but battled hard with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who walked away with the title. Western defeated the Varsity Blues in two out of their four gold medal matchups but failed to make the finals in the other two flights.
The University of Toronto fin-ished with three gold medals, and three silvers for a total of 19 points, and the first-placed finish. With only two gold medals and two silvers, Western finished with 14 points and captured second place.
In flight six, Western’s Arden Mollenhauer swept Toronto’s Jessica Omand to capture the first of the two gold medals. Mollenhauer dominated her opponent in all but the final set that she won 12–10 in a tiebreak.
The first and second-place fin-ishes marked another success-ful year for the Western Mustangs squash team. The men’s OUA championship was their 41st, and extended a consecutive win streak that started in 1983.
