thegazette www.westerngazette.ca WESTERN’S DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • EST.1906 • VOLUME 103, ISSUE 13 WEDNESDAY , SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 ... offering transferable skills since 1906 A&E FUCKED UP Punk band wins prestigious prize … p.5 SPORTS MEN’S RUGBY RMC routed … p.8 NEWS CELL PHONE BAN New law coming … p.3 By Cheryl Stone Gazette Staff Graduates get a gown, a ceremony and a degree. How- ever, there is one thing universities do not provide upon graduation: a job. This summer, a former student of New York’s Munroe College attempted to sue her school. Accord- ing to CNN, she felt the college did not give her enough help in her career search, leaving her without a job. “[Universities have] given us an education. I would expect them to show us how to use that in the work- place,” Cameron Paddock, a third-year business man- agement and organizational studies student, said. “Not that I’ve looked for them, but I know [these services] are out there.” Alumni are entitled to online resources including job interview tools through the career centre. They are also entitled to one-on-one sessions with a counsellor for up to one year. “There’s always been a need for resources for alum- ni,” said Susan Graham, career counsellor with the Career Centre @ Western. “There are many online resources but we can also do a lot of face-to-face, which is great.” “At least resumé, cover letter and interview help should be available,” Paddock said. “Internships and help with placements would be a bonus.” Some advice on staying competitive in the workforce would be ben- eficial, Paddock added. During the first couple of months after she graduat- ed, Sarah Sikorski, a 2009 Western alumna, used a career search program offered by the career centre. “It wasn’t very good. It didn’t filter out the search very well. It was bringing back a lot of business [posi- tions] that I didn’t have the requirements for, so I just gave up on using it,” she said. Sikorski also admitted moving away after gradua- tion may have played a part in her ability to access the services. “I haven’t gone to career services and I know that’s still an option [but] I don’t know. It’s not at the forefront of my mind right now because there’s that location difference,” Sikorski, who now lives in Missis- sauga, said. “The career services centre at Western offers limited services to alumni,” Christina Fox, student and young alumni outreach officer, said. Alumni relations also offer social and networking events for graduates across Canada. Fox added networking leads to both personal and career advancement. “Alumni get in contact with each other and ask ‘can you connect me with other alumni?’ and ‘What are other networking opportunities in your city?’” she explained. “There wasn’t any [networking] offered for my pro- gram […] after my second year they didn’t offer it any more,” Sikorski said. In regards to finding jobs for graduates, Graham said the responsibility is not the University’s. “We’re not a placement service. We don’t even sub- scribe to that notion,” Graham said. She added a Western placement program would both devalue Western’s grad- uates and not teach them practical employment skills. “I didn’t expect Western to feed me a job,” Sikorski said. “I thought I would walk out the door and [new] doors would be open for me. But nothing like that hap- PLEASE SEE NETWORKING P3 Grads want more help from career services We’re not a placement agency, says Graham Corey Stanford/Gazette
Graduates get a gown, a ceremony and a degree. How-ever, there is one thing universities do not provideupon graduation: a job.
This summer, a former student of New York’sMunroe College attempted to sue her school. Accord-ing to CNN, she felt the college did not give her enoughhelp in her career search, leaving her without a job.
“[Universities have] given us an education. I wouldexpect them to show us how to use that in the work-place,” Cameron Paddock, a third-year business man-agement and organizational studies student, said. “Notthat I’ve looked for them, but I know [these services]are out there.”
Alumni are entitled to online resources includingjob interview tools through the career centre. They arealso entitled to one-on-one sessions with a counsellorfor up to one year.
“There’s always been a need for resources for alum-ni,” said Susan Graham, career counsellor with theCareer Centre @ Western. “There are many onlineresources but we can also do a lot of face-to-face, whichis great.”
“At least resumé, cover letter and interview helpshould be available,” Paddock said. “Internships andhelp with placements would be a bonus.” Some adviceon staying competitive in the workforce would be ben-eficial, Paddock added.
During the first couple of months after she graduat-ed, Sarah Sikorski, a 2009 Western alumna, used acareer search program offered by the career centre.
“It wasn’t very good. It didn’t filter out the searchvery well. It was bringing back a lot of business [posi-tions] that I didn’t have the requirements for, so I justgave up on using it,” she said.
Sikorski also admitted moving away after gradua-tion may have played a part in her ability to access theservices. “I haven’t gone to career services and I knowthat’s still an option [but] I don’t know. It’s not at theforefront of my mind right now because there’s thatlocation difference,” Sikorski, who now lives in Missis-sauga, said.
“The career services centre at Western offers limitedservices to alumni,” Christina Fox, student and youngalumni outreach officer, said. Alumni relations alsooffer social and networking events for graduates acrossCanada.
Fox added networking leads to both personal andcareer advancement. “Alumni get in contact with eachother and ask ‘can you connect me with other alumni?’and ‘What are other networking opportunities in yourcity?’” she explained.
“There wasn’t any [networking] offered for my pro-gram […] after my second year they didn’t offer it anymore,” Sikorski said.
In regards to finding jobs for graduates, Grahamsaid the responsibility is not the University’s.
“We’re not a placement service. We don’t even sub-scribe to that notion,” Graham said. She added a Westernplacement program would both devalue Western’s grad-uates and not teach them practical employment skills.
“I didn’t expect Western to feed me a job,” Sikorskisaid. “I thought I would walk out the door and [new]doors would be open for me. But nothing like that hap-
PLEASE SEE NETWORKING P3
Grads wantmore help fromcareer servicesWe’re not a placementagency, says Graham
Corey Stanford/Gazette
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P2 ➤ news theGazette • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWSBRIEFSDAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS
Farhang Jalilian/Gazette
“I LOVE THIS CROWD.” Former Blood Sweat and Tears frontman DavidClayton-Thomas worked the mic in the Social Science Centre yesterday,leading a talk on the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music festival.Clayton-Thomas was speaking as part of the Centre for American Stud-ies’ speaker series.
Councillor disgusted with LPMA
London landlords will soon be fac-ing stricter standards for theirrental units.
A new city bylaw was passedyesterday, licensing landlords tocomplete initial inspections ofbuildings with four units or less.
Landlords will be given a check-list to address issues of health andsafety. These checklists must besubmitted to city hall for certifica-tion.
“There are now property stan-dards,” Stephen Orser, London citycouncillor, explained. “Landlordsare accountable at many levels toget a licence.”
The bylaw initiated heateddebate and was opposed by theLondon Property ManagementAssociation.
“The justification [for thebylaw] was originally to controlstudent behaviour,” said Joe Hof-fer, legal advisor for the LPMA.“The LPMA felt this was discrimi-natory on the basis of age andmarital status.”
The bylaw will permit enforce-ment officers to forcibly enterrental units as long as they providenotice. “[This will allow the city] tohave unprecedented search andseizure power […] which the LPMAmay look into challenging,” Hoffersaid.
The bylaw will also charge anannual fee of $25 per building.However, Orser believed the LPMAhad been handing out anonymouspamphlets inaccurately describingthe fee as a “tenant tax”.
“I am absolutely disgusted withthe London Property ManagementAssociation,” Orser said.
The bylaw will be implementedstarting March 2010.
— Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt
Ryerson in talks with LoblawAfter 10 years, hockey may bereturning to Maple Leaf Gardens.
Last week, Ryerson Universityannounced they were in discus-sion with Loblaw CompaniesLimited regarding a partnershipfor the possession of Maple LeafGardens.
Loblaw purchased Maple LeafGardens in 2004 with the intentionof converting the historic Torontobuilding into a flagship store.
However, even with the promiseof Maple Leaf memorabilia andheritage preservation, theannouncement was greeted withcontroversy from fans and historyenthusiasts.
Ryerson, however, may havefound a resolution. According toSheldon Levy, the president of Ryer-son, students voted overwhelming-ly in favour of supporting a newsports and recreation facility oncampus.
While this support would entailan additional athletic fee of $126annually, Maple Leaf Gardenswould be at the heart of campusand closer than the current GeorgeBell arena.
Levy assured students wouldhave input on the new center. “[It]will be for everyone and [will] havelots of space for recreational usersas well as those playing intramuraland varsity sports,” he said.
Conversations between Ryersonand Loblaw are still in progress andwhen Ryerson does decide on alocation, it will be several years ofdevelopment before the centreopens.
— Brittany Siddall
www.westerngazette.ca
pened.” “Ideally I wanted a government
position, but unfortunatelynobody’s hiring,” Sikorski said.“With the economy being so shady,there was no way to get my foot inthe door, so I have to settle in orderto pay my bills.”
Sikorski is currently working incustomer service at a bookstore,after receiving a degree in criminol-ogy.
Graham felt most students whocome into the career resource cen-tre are worried and overwhelmedabout the current economy.
Fox has seen increased interestin networking events. “As [events]relate to the economy I could notdraw any conclusions,” Fox said. “Itcould be that young alumni knowthat networking means more todaythan in a robust economy.”
“Whether or not it’s the econo-my, whether or not I was actuallygiven any skills to use […] I justdon’t feel like I have anything tooffer technically other than the ran-dom facts I learned in university,”Sikorski said.
Graham sees many students inSikorski’s position. “They’re oftenreally scared about [applying theirdegree]; they want to make surethey’re doing it right,” she noted.
Graham also offered advice tothose who take jobs simply to paythe bills. “Think about the transfer-able skills that you’re building inwhat you’re doing. However, think-ing about getting yourself so tied inthat work that you can’t leave, itdoesn’t help either,” she added.
“I think a lot of people are in mysituation. It eases the pain a littlebit,” Sikorski said.
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Habits need to change with Bill 118 loomingCurrent technology eliminates need for hand use, Austen By Meagan KashtyGazette Staff
Cell phone addicts will be at a lossthis October when Bill 118 comesinto effect, banning the use of cellphones, BlackBerry’s and otherhandheld electronic devices whiledriving.
While the law will be inconve-nient for some cell phone users,others believe the proposal hasbeen a long time coming.
“There is plenty of technologyout there today so people don’tneed to use their hands,” ElginAusten, director of campus police,said. “Cells have garnered the mostattention because of publicity andthey’re very distracting, especiallybecause you can only use onehand.”
The law applies to all handhelddevices, placing emphasis on thefact drivers should be subject to theleast amount of distractions possi-ble when getting behind the wheel.
“If you’re distracted, it’s a colli-sion waiting to happen,” SteveClark, centre director for Young Dri-vers of Canada said. “The secondyou take your eyes off the road, itproves to be a distraction.”
While the bill bans the use ofhandheld devices, drivers will still
be able to use hands-free technolo-gy such as Bluetooth headsets.According to Clark, this exemptionmeans drivers will still be subject tomany of the same distractions thelaw aims to eliminate.
“If you’re talking to someone, orlistening to something, you’re notfocused on the road,” he said.
The implication of this billreflects a growing dependence oncommunication technologies.While handheld devices are meantto connect people, an increasedfocus on the person at the end ofthe line can result in a lack ofawareness of the user’s general sur-roundings, driving or not.
Kaitlyn McDonald, a second-year health science student, agreedshe lacked focus when talking onher cell phone.
“The bill is a very good idea,”McDonald said. “I can’t drive andtalk at the same time, so I reallysupport it.”
Registered psychologist Ros-alind Collard speculated upon peo-ple’s attachments to their phones.
“If we’re talking about cellphones as a way to relate to oneanother, of course people becomeattached to them,” Collard said.
She went on to address the diffi-culty some people have distin-
guishing between a phone call anda face-to-face conversation.
“There are those who say there isno difference between having a per-son sitting in a car with you and talk-ing with someone on a cell phone.The difference is that the passengerin the car with you will also be awareof the driving conditions.”
While a tendency to rely on cellphones is prevalent, there are manywho follow a healthy and safemedium of use.
“I use my cell phone all thetime,” Alex Martin, a fourth-yearmedia, information and technocul-ture student, said. “But I think I’mpretty good at using my cell phoneat the right time — when I’m settledsomewhere or seated. I don’t agreethat people should text while dri-ving, even at red lights.”
Nonetheless, the banning ofelectronic devices in cars can hard-ly be expected to induce a reduc-tion everywhere else.
“There was an amazingmoment the other day in my carwhen the person who pulled upbehind me, a cyclist beside me, apedestrian and someone waitingfor the bus were all on their cellphones,” Clark mused. “It’s outthere and people feel very comfort-able with it.”
“There are those who saythere is no differencebetween having a personsitting in a car with you andtalking with someone on acell phone. The difference isthat the passenger in the carwith you will also be awareof the driving conditions.”
— Rosalind Collard,registered psychologist
Networking important forjob hunt in ‘shady’ economyRecent alumni forced to compromiseCONTINUED FROM P1
Quick facts about cell phoneuse while driving• Using a cell phone while driving slowsthe driver’s reaction time by 19%• Cell phone use increases the risk ofrear-end collisions by 100%• Whether hand-held or hands-free, cellphone use while driving increases the riskof traffic collisions by 400%
— Source,The coalition for cell phone free driving
Interestedin journalism?Gazette News has
openings for writers
and interns.
Visit Rm. 263 and talk
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Jaela Bernstien.
According to an article in the Globe and Mail, Montrealcab driver Arieh Perecowicz has been charged $1,400 worthof fines for violating municipal regulations prohibiting thedisplay of personal items in his cab. Although complaintswere never filed and the objects did not interfere with hiswork, Perecowicz was told he had to remove his familyphotos, flags, a Remembrance Day poppy and religiousartifacts of the Jewish faith or face further charges.
It is difficult to know for sure whether this cab driverwas targeted specifically or if the Montreal cab companyis simply cracking down on all of their employees. Eitherway, there is a thin line between restricting worker’s per-sonal freedoms and limiting individual rights.
Canada promotes itself as being a multicultural coun-try that promotes acceptance of all creeds, races and reli-gious denominations. However, businesses rarely adoptsuch policies in the workplace.
Whether out of fear of being associated with a partic-ular religion, or because employers want workers to sep-arate their private life from work, many offices do notallow employees to decorate their workspace with per-sonal items.
However, most people wouldn’t think twice if some-one had their family photo on display at work — person-al touches can add charisma to an otherwise sterile office.But when people embrace a culture’s heritage, religiousbelief or any view that seems different, suddenly they arebeing politically incorrect?
There is always going to be someone who is offendedby anything new, but rather than censor out of fear ofoffence, we should address those incidences as opportu-nities for education and discussion.
Instead of removing all expressions of individuality, thepublic sphere should work towards incorporating alldiverse backgrounds.
Forcing everyone to hide their individuality only leadsto ignorance. The first step to ending intolerance is tohave everyone confront differences head on.
So unless a person is forcing their own views or beliefson another individual, there is no harm in allowing themdisplay objects or photos that comfort them and reflecttheir values.
In Perecowicz’s situation, it is fair for the city to expecthim to adhere to municipal policies. But if the agency isgoing to enforce strict in-car rules, then it must ensure alldrivers are fined for all violations equally.
However, if Canada is truly going to achieve multicul-turalism, then we must be able to discuss and share ourdifferences instead of hiding them for fear of being politeand politically correct.
For more information on Perecowicz’s charges, read theGlobe and Mail’s coverage on the issue at: www.theglobe-andmail.com/news/national.
CanadiansToo Polite
for Diversity
thegazetteVolume 103, issue 13
One man’s theology is anther man’s belly laugh.— ROBERT A. HEINLEIN
Ryan Hendrick Carly Conway Jaela BernstienEditor-In-Chief Deputy Editor Managing Editor
The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.
September is drawing to a close and so isthe annual police blitz, Project LEARN.The controversial project has received itsfair share of publicity over the years andI can’t help but wonder whether it maybe time to finally put the beast to rest.
For those who don’t know, ProjectLEARN (Liquor Enforcement andReduction of Noise) was an initiativestarted by the London police in 2004.Originally called Project Speak Easy, theprogram was created through consulta-tion with Western and Fanshawe admin-istration, neighbourhood associationsand various other community groups.
It’s easy to see the problem with thissetup. A lack of student input in the con-sultation process fueled the feeling stu-dents were being targeted.
Luckily, this has largely changed overthe years. Thanks to student governmentparticipation at Town and Gown meet-ings, both the University Students’Council at Western and the FanshaweStudents’ Union have helped change theprogram from a battle between policeofficers and students to a proactive com-munity outreach.
Despite these progressive changes,media continue to portray ProjectLEARN as a program meant for students.On at least a weekly basis various mediaoutlets across London can be seen pub-lishing arrest statistics citing the numberof students charged.
Sure, the Gazette can take someblame on the issue. Two years ago, when
incidents on Fleming Drive attractednational media attention, the paper cov-ered Project LEARN on a frequent basis.But as time has progressed, I’d like tothink the program has received less cov-erage in our pages.
Yet we still see the London Free Presseagerly gobbling up every single policepress release about Project LEARN andregurgitating it for the masses. The num-ber of students arrested or charged nor-mally finds its way into the article as well.
When papers publish student arreststatistics they only exacerbate the Lon-don bias against Western students.
I’m not saying students don’t causeproblems in the city. But I’m sure if youlook at arrest statistics in another citywith a high concentration of studentssuch as Kingston, you would note a sim-ilar ratio.
The vast majority of young people inLondon from September to April aregoing to be students at either Western orFanshawe.
But what’s hardly surprising is thezeal with which London’s elected offi-cials support the program. In areas suchas Broughdale or Fleming Drive themain complaint of residents is studentbehaviour. The city councillors for theseareas are only too happy to reinforce therowdy student stereotype, an example ofwhich is Ward 3 Councillor Bernie Mac-Donald pushing for a permanent satel-lite station in the area.
It’s always easy to point to students asthe source of all problems in the commu-nity. However, it’s a rowdy minority whotarnish the image of the vast majoritywho are at university and college to study.
Though it would be naïve to thinkLondon residents might suddenlychange their perceptions, perhaps find-ing a different scapegoat would improve
The Gazette was in the streets and thehallways, asking people if they thinkstudents a bad reputation in the Lon-don community.
“It seems to be a pretty student-focused city where [students] areembraced by the community.”
—Lauren PigozzoActuarial Science II
“I think it’s more Fanshawe studentsgiving [Western students] a bad rep-utation. But I don’t mind if morepolice are around to make sure thingsdon’t get out of hand.”
—Madison GoldhawkEnglish III
“As a general rule, I’d say the studentpopulation is pretty well behaved. It’ssort of the few individuals that per-petuate the image on the rest of us.”
—Matthew ErnstPhysiology and Pharmacology II
P4 ➤ opinions theGazette • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
Editorials appearing under the ‘opinions’ heading are decidedupon by a majority of the editorial board and are written by amember of the editorial board but are not necessarily theexpressed opinion of each editorial board member. All otheropinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarilyreflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.
Letters: Must include the contributor’s name, identification (ie.History II, Dean of Arts) and be submitted to [email protected]. Letters judged by the Editor-In-Chief to be libelousor derogatory will not be published. The Gazette reserves theright to edit letters and submissions and makes no guaranteesthat a letter will be published.
All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and car-toons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and onlineversions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any suchmaterial to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazettea non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license topublish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but notlimited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.
• Please recycle this newspaper •
Section Editors 2009-2010
Ryan Abreu, Tara Athar, Katherine Atkinson, Erin Baker, Mary Ann
Boateng, Jordan Brown, Dylan Clark, Julie-Anne Cleyn, Caitlin Conroy,
Sari Rose Conter, Adam Crozier, Adam Feldman, Mark Filipowich,
Amber Garratt, Jennifer Gautier, Jeremy Gritten, Eliot Hong, Alan
Hudes, Aras Kolya, Aaron Korolnek, Jay LaRochelle, Colin Lim, Julia
Lovgren, Kevin Melhuish, Jessie Murdock, Maciej Pawlak, Jonathan
Pinkus, Jaymin Proulx, Gennelle Smith, Cali Travis, Jennifer Urbanski,
Arts & EntertainmentAdam SzymanskiNicole GibilliniMaddie Leznoff
OpinionsJaclyn Haggarty
PhotographyLaura BarclayBrett HiggsCorey Stanford
WebStuart Thompson
Enough of Project LEARNArrest stats not helping local perception of students
Hayes’d &ConfusedMike HayesSenior Editor
relations between the university and thecity.
So here’s a proposal: let’s stop with thewhole releasing of arrest statistics on adaily or weekly basis. Project LEARN stillhas a welcome place in the community,but the underserved publicity surround-ing it needs to disappear.
WHAT A SHARP LOOKING BUNCH. Montreal group Silver Starling (Left to right: Gab Lambert, Peter X, Liam O’Neill, Marcus Paquin, Marika Anthony-Shaw) celebrate their self-titled debutalbum release in London tonight.
Silver Starling Sites loss asinspiration for new albumBy Pat MartiniGazette Writer
Montreal’s Silver Starling are look-ing on the bright side. With theirdebut album released yesterdayand tour underway, the group hasmuch to celebrate.
Headed by Marcus Paquin ofStars, Silver Starling brings togethersome of Montreal’s most respectedmusicians for this intimate musicalventure. The diversity of the group’smembers ranges from back-grounds in classical, jazz and theavant-garde, but their overall soundis an honest pop-rock blend givingway to a greater appeal.
“About three years ago I wasdoing mostly solo shows — cafésand open-mics in Montreal,”Paquin says. “Not long after that Iwent to a jazz show where thedrummer Liam O’Neill [from YoungGalaxy] really amazed me. I walkedover unsolicited and asked him ifhe’d be interested in jamming.After that we began doing duoshows.”
Paquin’s wife, Marika Anthony-Shaw — another Montreal musi-cian best known for her violin workwith the Arcade Fire — joined anddivided her time between SilverStarling and Arcade Fire’s NeonBible tour.
The three musicians recordedtheir EP in Montreal’s West Islandbefore being joined by bassist PeterX. Finally, the addition of Gab Lam-bert brought a unique guitar and
banjo sound to complete the line-up.Their success has been recog-
nized nation-wide. Silver Starlingsigned with Last Gang Records,which champions many popularCanadian acts including NewPornographers and Metric.
The group also worked withPeter Katis, who has previouslyworked with groups such as TheNational and Interpol. Paquin, arecording engineer prior to theband forming, worked alongsideKatis in developing a sound appro-priate for the group.
“We all loved Boxer [by TheNational], so when it came time toget a mixer he was our first choice,”Paquin says. “Liam and I went toConnecticut for a week and workedwith him. It was wonderful becausehe was open to so many things wecame up with.”
The album itself offers simplemelodies and well-crafted lyrics.The music is intimately moving in
its delivery due to the songs’ sub-ject matter.
In 2008, a close friend of Paquindied of pancreatic cancer. The trau-ma of this event created an ethosfor Paquin’s song-writing and gavehim perspective as to what is mostimportant in life.
“I was reeling for a while — in away I still am,” he explains. “But ittaught me to look at the positiveside of everything. We need toreflect on the good things in life. It’sbeautiful in a way. There is the ini-tial sadness, but he was so strongin his sickness and I wanted toreflect that.”
The tour brings Silver Starling toLondon tonight. Paquin spokeabout the nature of the tour thus farand what they plan to deliver at CallThe Office this evening.
“No audience is different,” hesays. “We go out to put on a goodshow every time. We want people tofeel how we feel when we buy a newrecord. There’s something specialabout it.”
From coast-to-coast, Silver Star-ling continue the beginnings oftheir hopefully long journey. With acatalogue of rock tunes and thepower of positive thinking behindthem, looking on the bright side hasnever been easier.
Silver Starling plays Call theOffice tonight in celebration of theirnew album. Tickets are $5 and thedoors open at 7 p.m.
Call the Office is located down-town at 216 York St.
By Adam SzymanskiGazette Staff
The Polaris Music Prize for bestCanadian album of the year wasawarded to Fucked Up for theiralbum The Chemistry of CommonLife last night.
Their victory ensures greaterpublic exposure and a $20,000cash prize.
While the band may be calledFucked Up, their intentions arenot. The band announced plansto put their cash prize towards abenefit album in order to raiseawareness about missing aborig-inal women.
In the four year history of theaward, Fucked Up is the firsthardcore punk band to win.
Nine other artists were short-listed for the award includingMetric, K’naan, Joel Plaskett and
Elliot Brood.According to Chartattack.ca,
Fucked Up was a 5:8 favourite towin, citing vote splittingamongst other more similarsounding albums. Due to explic-it lyrics paired with growledpunk-rock vocals, The Chemistryof Common Life is unlike anyother album to be shortlisted forthe prize.
The winner was decided by ajury comprised of members fromthe Canadian media includingGrant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3,Carl Wilson from the Globe andMail and Del Cowie fromExclaim! magazine.
Past award winners includeFinal Fantasy and Patrick Watson.Last year, London’s Basia Bulatand Shad were both shortlistedfor the prize that went to Cari-bou’s album Andorra.
Polaris gets Fucked Up
“We need to reflect onthe good things in life.It’s beautiful in a way.”
Sorority Row, a remake of the 1983slasher flick House on Sorority Row,is at best an entertaining way towaste an hour and forty minutes. Ifyou’ve seen the previews, that’s allyou can really expect.
Sorority Row has the obligatorygore and gruesome deaths, but incomparison to other recent slasherfilms like Saw, it’s tame. The horroraspect is overshadowed by suspense,humour and hot sorority sisters.
The film opens with a sororityhouse party complete with toplesswomen and beer-guzzling men.The sisters of Theta Pi prank acheating ex-boyfriend into think-ing his girlfriend Megan (Patridge)is dead. While she’s just faking, theso-called tragedy is she actuallydoes die.
What makes this death not sotragic is the fact Megan is played byreality star Patridge — an error injudgment by the casting director nodoubt. Thankfully for the audience,this means Patridge does not uttermore than a few lines, as her deliv-ery of them manages to sound justas unnatural as her performanceson The Hills.
Soon thereafter, the sistersfreak out and get rid of the body,
agreeing to never speak of it again— but let’s be serious here, thismovie takes place in a sororityand these girls can’t keep theirmouths shut. Eight months later,a serial killer attempts to system-atically murder all the sisters ofTheta Pi, plus or minus a fewother casualties along the way.For the rest of the film, viewers aretreated to a game of hide-and-seek between scantily clad soror-ity sisters and a serial killer with atricked-out tire iron.
For true fans of the slasher filmgenre, the majority of the murdersin Sorority Row are far from cre-ative despite a fair amount ofblood and gore. In fact, for a soror-ity house that claims to hold valuesof “trust, respect, honour, secrecyand solidarity,” the amount ofblood and gore in Sorority Row isappalling.
Some surprises include thecomic relief — there are funniermoments than one would expect,but it works. For women portrayedas having more cleavage thanbrainpower, some of the lines areactually pretty funny. In fact, thecattiness is what gives this movie anextra star. Also, in what would nor-mally be considered a disadvan-tage, the one-dimensional nature ofthe characters actually works in thisfilm. One of the sorority sisters isactually so catty you’re not too sorrywhen she drops dead.
Sorority Row is a film that man-ages to entertain just as long as youdon’t take it too seriously. If youdecide to pass on this film, don’tfeel too bad because the ending isset up for the possibility of a sequel.
P6 ➤ arts&entertainment theGazette • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
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Sorority Row more thanjust scantily clad sistersHumour, gore and cattiness saveremake of 1980s slasher flick
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WHO DOESN’T WEAR THIS TO BED? Audrina Patridge from The Hills thankfully only plays a small role in thehorror flick Sorority Row.
Jay-ZThe Blueprint 3Roc Nation/Atlantic Records
There is no questioning Jay-Z’s tal-ent, but some wonder how hungryhe can still be on the microphoneafter over 15 years in the game.Having just released The Blueprint
3, his 11th studio album and thefinal chapter in the Blueprint trilo-gy, Jay-Z tries to inject creativity intoa dying genre, but fails to do so.
Stand-out tracks include “A StarIs Born” and “Already Home.”“D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune),” thefirst single, has a gritty guitar riffand has Jay-Z putting a nail throughthe coffin of what was autotunewhile flexing his lyrical strength.“Thank You” features strong pro-duction from Kanye West and NoI.D. with an equally strong perfor-mance by Jay-Z thanking his fansand detractors.
The best track by far is “EmpireState of Mind” featuring AliciaKeys in the chorus, heavy drums,piano loops and lyrics like “Imade the Yankee hat morefamous than a Yankee can,” allwhile proclaiming his dominanceover New York City.
His shining lyricism and abilityto carry a beat goes well with famedproducers West, No I.D., Swizz Beatzand The Neptunes. However sometracks fizzle, mostly the ones pro-duced by Timbaland. “Reminder” isa frightening reminder of how poorproduction and hooks can ruineven the best rhyme, while “Hate”sounds like a leftover track fromWest’s last album. “Run This Town,”“Forever Young” and “Real As ItGets” sound like recycled materialfrom Jay-Z’s massive collection ofpast work.
The lack of direction and depthin The Blueprint 3 cannot carrythe weight of Jay-Z’s past albums.Even though The Blueprint 3 is agood album, it is nowhere near asinfluential or likeable as the origi-nal Blueprint he released eightyears ago.
— Eliot Hong
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field tackles to stop the Westernadvance and were consistentlypushed back to their own end.
Additionally, RMC were unableto field and return kicks with theirwings and fullback, who wereresponsible for several knock-onsin the second half.
“We were definitely disappoint-ed in our defensive play overall,particularly our back three,”McDonaugh said. “They are youngbut they didn’t bring their bestgame to the pitch.”
Although it was Western’s offen-sive speed and ball movement thatseemed to be the story of the game,Mustang’s winger Stahlbrand felthis team’s solid defence was the realkey to the victory.
“You saw hard defence with bighits that made them step back andgive us room.” Stahlbrand said.“Our offence clicked for the firsttime today. You could see creativerunning, hard running and we werehitting gaps with really good lines.”
Jacks impressed his coaches,playing a solid game out of posi-tion. Jacks, who normally playsflanker, was moved to prop for thegame in order to give the Mustangsmore speed in their forwards.
“He took on that role like a truecaptain and did a great job upthere,” Roes said of the fourth-yearplayer. “He’s been around rugby fora long time so he has the ability toadapt quickly and pick things up.”
Rugby props are traditionally theheaviest players on the field withthe expectation of withstanding thepressure of being at the front of thescrum. However, utilizing the versa-tile Jacks as prop allowed the West-ern pack to employ a more expan-sive, sideline-to-sideline attack.
“We’re pushing to get a dynamic,fast team on the pitch and when
you’re able to play some back rows inthe front row, it adds a another greatelement to our attack,” Roes said.
Although it was a run-away victo-ry for Western, last week’s purplepipe recipient, Mike Meschino, seesit as an important victory for theteam in their preparation for toughermatches in the upcoming season.
“They’re not the most skilledteam we’ve played, but they’re hardand they beat us up a bit; they real-ly showed us that we need to com-mit to our tackles to be successful,”he said.
The Mustangs now travel toWaterloo to take on the winlessWarriors on Sunday.
sports ➤ P7theGazette • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
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We’re going to buildtowards our biggames against ourmain rivals Queen’sand McMaster. It’snot hard to keep thisbunch motivated.
—Tony RoesMen’s rugby head coach
Gazette Sports was at the JohnLabatt Centre last Thursday night,covering the Toronto Maples Leafsvs. Philadelphia Flyers pre-season.Here’s what some of the Leafs andFlyers told our correspondents afterthe game.
“Jesses Blacker is going to be a greathockey player. He’s very fast andvery confident. He was tellingKaberle where he wanted him onthe 5 on 3 — that was funny.”
—Ron WilsonMaple Leafs coach
“I couldn’t picture it any better. Itwas great to get a goal in my homebarn. I was almost speechless. I did-n’t know what to think. I was debat-ing whether to celebrate or not.”
—Nazem KadriOn scoring in London
“It’s great for him. In my first exhi-bition game I was really excited andnervous because I played withDoug Weight. I don’t think he’s asexcited to play with Lee Stempni-ak.”
—Lee StempniakOn Nazem Kadri playing in
his first NHL game
“It’s my first year over here, so I wassurprised by how many fights therewere. I guess that’s the North Amer-ican game. Maybe guys just want toprove themselves.”
—Johan BacklundFlyers goalie
“It was nice to have a good crowdhere tonight. Especially against theLeafs, who have a lot of supportaround here. It was a great atmos-phere for a pre-season game.”
—Braydon CobournFlyers defenceman
“He survived those hits. Last year hewould’ve been out after that firsthit. He’s got to keep his head up.”
—Ron WilsonOn Mikael Grabovski
who was hit hard twice in the first period
“We just want to get ready for theseason. Whatever happens, hap-pens. I’m really happy to be hereright now, and looking forward tothe season.”
—Tomas KaberleOn almost being traded this summer
“You have to be able to adjust to theplay of the older guys at the NHLlevel. No matter what people say,you just have to believe you belonghere. You just have to worry aboutyourself.”
—Nazem KadriOn playing in the NHL
First place Mustangsdominate overmatchedPaladins defence with 12try, 68-point outburstCONTINUED FROM P8
www.westerngazette.ca
Laura Barclay/Gazette
SportsP8 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
ON DECK:Baseball... Thursday
WESTERN 68, RMC 8
MUSTANGS TENNIS
Paladins pummeled11 different Mustangs scorein overwhelming victoryBy Evan LewisGazette Writer
Times are good for the WesternMustangs rugby team.
Coming off two consecutiveroad wins against Brock and Lauri-er, the squad returned home Satur-day afternoon, looking to make astatement in their first game infriendly confines this season.
The team did just that with adominating 68-8 victory over theRoyal Military College Paladins,which saw the Mustangs run in 12tries.
“I was very happy with our per-formance. I think it was our bestgame of the season,” Mustangshead coach Tony Roes said. “Wehad our offence really rolling andwe won the way that we know wecan. It was huge.”
Right from the start, Westernapplied pressure to the RMCdefence and found early successwith two quick tries in the first 10minutes.
Those two tries were all the Mus-tangs would need as the Paladinswere only able to muster eightpoints of their own.
“Our ball movement was reallygood. We were able to string passestogether when we were attackingand really spread their defenceout,” Roes said after the game. “Weopened a lot of holes and our guystook advantage of them.”
Rory Tomlinson led the way withtwo tries, while Conor Trainor, Carl
Stahlbrand, Michael Meschino,Chris Lombardo, captain DavidJacks, Andrew Crow, Conor Wade,Marcus Mitchell, Matthew McLeodand Gareth Dyer each added one try.
“Looking at the score sheet andseeing the tries spread around likethat is a great indication that theguys are playing as a unit and com-ing together,” Roes said. “We haveplenty of skill and talent on theteam, but being able to put ittogether and get over any selfish-ness is big.”
The Paladins defended valiantlybut were overmatched by Western’sdynamic attack all afternoon.
“Western plays the game veryquickly. They move the ball quickly,make decisions quickly and supporteach other well,” Paladins coachSean McDonaugh said. “We need toget to that level of play to compete.”
Even when they managed toalign themselves successfullyagainst the Western offence, RMCseemed unable to keep up with thespeed and ball movement of theMustang backs. By the end of thefirst half, Western had established aconsiderable 32-5 lead.
“We stressed at half-time that weneeded our forwards to step up andhelp out the backs on the defensiveline,” McDonaugh said.
RMC botched a kick-off to startthe second half, which set the tonefor the rest of the game. The Pal-adins were unable to make open-
Laura Barclay/Gazette
TACKLE ME ANYWHERE BUT THE HAIR. The Mustangs men’s rugby team put a spanking on the RMC Pal-adins this past Saturday, coming away with a 68-8 victory. The 3-0 Mustangs next see action this Sunday inWaterloo.
Toronto no match for Mustangs tennisWomen continue undefeated season, men finally winBy Kevin MilneGazette Writer
Both the Western Mustangs men’sand women’s tennis teams domi-nated on Saturday, easily defeatingthe University of Toronto VarsityBlues.
The women, who started theseason with two impressive 7-0wins, extended their winning streakto three games with a hard-earned5-2 victory. The women’s recordnow stands at a perfect 3-0.
“We had some easier matcheslast week. The University of Toron-to is usually a strong team, so thiswas our first real test and we per-formed very well,” women’s coachMike Richards said.
The women continued theirstrong play on Saturday as they bul-lied the smaller Toronto team intosubmission in a rematch of lastyear’s Ontario University Athleticsbronze final. Fourth-year all-star
Chantal Forristal displayed tremen-dous conditioning in her three setnail-biter against Toronto’s RoxanaSoica.
“We have a good group of girlstogether this year. When we comeout to practice we treat it like it’s amatch and hopefully we’ll be ableto keep doing well throughout theseason,” said Mustang Alex Geor-gakopoulos, who dominated heropponent despite several nagginginjuries.
With 11 solid players available,they have no need to depend on asingle player.
“It’s nice to have that balance ofpower. Our top six girls are all abouteven in strength, so you’re not rely-ing on one or two players to get thewin,” Richards said.
The men were fired up to playand looking to respond well afterfalling in a close match againstMcMaster 4-3 in week one, fol-lowed by a disheartening 6-1 loss to
the impressive Waterloo Warriors.The men came out strong, winning5-2 and recording their first victoryof the season.
“This is a big win for us,” Mus-tang Matt Jackel said. “If we were tolose today, it would have been diffi-cult to make the playoffs.”
The win is a significant improve-ment over last year’s 6-1 loss to theBlues.
“We lost our top three playersfrom last year so that makes a bigdifference,” Toronto coach NabilTadros said. “We thought we couldbeat Western but it’s unpredictable.Sometimes guys don’t come readyto play.”
Third-year Toronto playerCameron Starratt echoed that sen-timent.
“Every year is different for everyteam,” he said. “You just have tobring your ‘A’ game every time, andunfortunately we fell short today.”
The men got off to a quick start,
winning the doubles point beforeJackel, Kurtis Pliniussen and MaxBosworth sealed the win with threesingles victories. Robert Vincentadded a late single victory to roundout the points for the Mustangs.
“I think we kind of gave up afterWestern went up 4-1,” Tadros said.“The Western guys played reallywell. They’ve got a couple of reallygood players over there.”
The men came through withprecise shots and displayed a con-trolled aggression that gave themthe edge over Toronto’s all-outattack. It was a heated match assome trash talking became preva-lent during the singles matches.
Both the men and women are inhigh spirits as they look forward tothe strong teams they’ll face inweeks to come.
“We’re back in it now,” men’scoach Anthony Glavanic said. “Nowit’s time to go further.”
The men are off to Montreal to
face the Carabins in what will proveto be a crucial match. The men willbe practicing on clay courts toadjust themselves for the gameagainst Montreal and the matchagainst the University of OntarioInstitute of Technology the follow-ing week.
“Lots of the guys are really excit-ed,” Jackel said. “We’re going to tryto bring the same atmosphere withus to Montreal.”
The women are up against thepowerful York University Lions nextFriday.
“We [need to] continue to work,continue to get better, [and] pre-pare mentally, and then we’ll takethose guys on and see how it goes,”Richards said. “We still have a fewweaknesses and we’re looking for-ward to working on them in a hardweek of practice.”
The women’s next home gamewill be against Montreal on Sept.26, at the Western Tennis Centre.
