SPOKEA L E A R N I N G N E W S R O O M F O R J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S

MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2013 CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER. ONT. WWW.SPOKEONLiNE.COM 44TH YEAR - NO. 10

Making an impressionFingerprints used to create unique jewelry. Page 12

HumanLibrary

Students tell their individual stories.Page 7

International Women’s Day

PHOTO BY WHITNEY SOUTHAngie Kal writes words that she believes represent healthy relationships and friendships during Conestoga’s Clothesline Project. Students, who donated any change they had as part of the activity, could pick up their T-shirts on March 15. Proceeds were given to The Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region.

It’s time for action to end violence against womenBY WENDY CZAKO-MAH

Since 1909, the International Women’s Day movement has promoted women’s rights, giving women around the world a voice while educating them and teaching them the skills to run a business.

On Friday, March 8, numerous events were held around the col­lege. Along with the Respect cam­paign in the Rotunda, the Sanctuary hosted special guest speaker Ariane Ryan, from the Mennonite Economic Development Associates, who spoke about the history of International Women’s Day.

According to their website, MEDA is an international devel­opment association that creates sustainable business solutions to poverty and spurs community eco­nomic growth for millions.

Around the world, in 2011, events took place in over 100 countries including the United States. President Barack Obama proclaimed March to be Women’s History Month and in 2012, the UN’ s theme was Empower Rural Women - End Hunger and Poverty. This year’ s theme is A Promise is

a Promise'. Time for action to end violence against women.

The college’s focus this year was more global in nature. According to Amanda Lyster, Student Life special projects intern, Canadians in general are very fortunate and, as a population, we have come a long way. Therefore, the college felt a more global focus was important. Guest speaker Ariane Ryan talked about her work overseas in coun­tries such as Haiti and Pakistan, where she empowers women to make their own income. Wages, considered very small by our stan­dards, actually earns them a great deal of respect from their husbands and other male family members.

”I’m excited each time I see women we work with globally - particularly women who find themselves in oppressive situa­tions, such as homebound women in Pakistan - overcome some of their challenges through their increased participation in econom­ic activity,” said Ryan. “There is nothing better than hearing that a woman’s husband in a small village in Punjab now has more respect for her because o f the new

work she is able to do.”Human trafficking, not some­

thing Canadians can relate to, was also discussed. Ryan, through her stories, was able to put a face on the wrongdoings still going on around the world.

Lyster said, “Before today I had an awareness, but I had never done any personal research on my own. But after today (referring to March 8), it definitely opens your eyes.”

The event took students out of their everyday bubble and gave them another outlook, letting them know they are part o f a bigger picture.

With a packed room, Lyster was impressed with the crowd as they remained focused from start to finish and were captivated by the stories Ryan shared.

Holly Featherstone, a Respect leader with Student Life, believes that with the theme o f A Promise is a Promise and domestic vio­lence being a terrible reality that does not discriminate, it is impor­tant that we educate and keep the public aware o f the ongoing problems in many communities everywhere, not just locally.

PHOTO BY RYAN BOWMANClothesline Project T-shirts were displayed in the Atrium.

NEW SPage 2 ♦ SPOKE Monday, March 18,2013

Now deep thoughts ... with Conestoga College

Random questions answered by random students

W h o is you r all-tim e favourite television sh o w character and w hy?

“Temperance Brennan from Bones. She is so literal.”

Kate Childs,second-year

journalism broadcast

“Sterling Archer from Archer. The comments that come out of his mouth are mind blowing.”

Steve Spahr,first-year

journalism broadcast

“Blake Anderson from Workaholics. He’s always saying what I’m thinking.”

Stephanie Van Winden,first-year

personal support worker

“George Costanza from Seinfeld. The way he leads his life is hilarious.”

Ryan Broaders,first-year

journalism broadcast

“Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. He makes my day.”

Anneli Sawatzky,first-year

recreation and leisure

“George Bluth from Arrested Development. I really love characters who are tricky.”

Adam Rochon,first-year

journalism broadcast

Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!

Waterloo named most romantic cityBY CALEiGH MCLELLANP

It might not be Paris or Rome, but this year Waterloo has been named Ontario’s most romantic city, and the third most romantic city in all of Canada after North Vancouver and Victoria.

But like the Waterloo Region Record’s Luisa D’Amato, many W aterloo residents were shocked by their city’s new title.

“Waterloo comes up short on all the factors that make for romance,” said D’Amato in her Feb. 7 opinion column, “Waterloo’s romantic charms are hard to spot.”

“Think of those vast, chunky buildings that make up RIM Park, for example. Think of those uninspiring neighbour­hoods, whether they are stu­dent ghettos around the uni­versities or monolithic sub­urbs at the city’s edge,” she added.

The results, however, were not based on Waterloo’s archi­tecture, but on a list com­piled by Amazon.ca, which compared sales data from romance novels, relationship books, romantic comedy DVDs and a collection of romantic music CDs.

Yet despite its cold exte­rior, W aterloo holds some unique locations that are w orthy o f being called “rom antic.”

“I am from Ottawa, and com pared to W aterloo, I find Ottawa more rom an­tic because o f the canal, but there are elements to W aterloo that are nice, too,”

said new W aterloo resident, Joshua Zentner-B arrett, who added that he recent­ly took his girlfriend for a rom antic dinner at King Street Trio.

And going out to dinner is always a popular idea, wheth­er it be for a first date or for a 2 5 th wedding anniversary.

“We like to check out new sushi restaurants throughout the city,” said Waterloo couple Tim and Theresa Henhoeffer.

Conestoga College stu­dent and Waterloo resident, Myroslav Yurchyk, suggested Symposium as a restaurant to take someone for a romantic dinner.

Urbanspoon.com is a great website that can help you choose the perfect restaurant.

Making a romantic dinner at home is also an option. Waterloo is home to the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market where you can shop for fresh

food year-round.During the winter months,

skating at Waterloo Town Square’s ice rink or taking a walk through Waterloo Park in December to check out the Wonders of Winter are also romantic activities that cou­ples can do.

Waterloo Park is also a pop­ular location for romantic pic­nics throughout the summer.

A long with W aterloo’s countless restaurants, the city also has great date venues like the Princess Cinemas and the Jazz Room, which Waterloo couple Jay Carnahan and Rebekah Rempel frequent.

In D’Amato’s article, she asked her readers to suggest their favourite romantic plac­es in Waterloo.

Ideas included walking the trails along the Grand River and having a picnic at Laurel Creek Conservation Area.

PHOTO BY CALEIGH MCLELLANDJay Carnahan and Rebekah Rempel enjoy some quality time together skating at Waterloo Town Square on March 3.

NEW S SPOKE ♦ Page 3Monday, March 18,2013

Region’s waste m anagem ent program being updatedBY CALEIGH MCLELLAND

It’s hard to remember a time when there was no region­wide recycling program, curb- side leaf collection or Green Bin program.

But these programs have only been in use since the implementation of the Region of Waterloo’s 1986 Waste Management Master Plan (WMMP), a study that looks at waste collection, diversion and disposal over a 20-year plus period.

And now, as the region grows, a new W aste Management Master Plan is being developed, as it is nec­essary to consider new ways of maintaining and improv­ing the region’s current waste management programs and services.

According to the Region of W aterloo’s website, this new WMMP study will con­sider our growing population, changes to Ontario legisla­tion, and advances in waste management technology.”

“The reason we are doing this is because we have achieved a lot of the goals set out in the original plan,” said Cari Howard, project man­

ager for the region’s waste management division.

“The only outstanding thing is in regards to the Waterloo landfill, which should have been closed by now,” she said.

And since the Waterloo land­fill is predicted to be full in less than 20 years’ time, the region will also “identify opportunities to divert even more waste from our landfill, and recommend options for final waste disposal once the landfill has reached the end of its site life.”

According to Donna Serrati, manager of engineering and programs for the region’s waste management divi­sion, “we are looking at all waste management activi­ties, including at curb, how we pick things up, enhanc­ing and expanding programs, and what we will do with the remaining portion of waste.”

‘W e are looking at all options,” added landfill waste manage­ment supervisor, Paul Rabb.

“Anything we do could potentially affect the environ­ment and the surrounding communities,” he said.

“The region is going through an evaluation process to see which alternatives will pro­vide the most benefits with

the least impact,” Serrati said.The region has, therefore,

been looking for feedback from community members as to how they can better improve the current waste manage­ment program, by suggest­ing ways that other cities go about waste management to see what residents thought.

“Residents, who are mainly commenting on collection ser­vices, seemed enthusiastic about the idea of collecting garbage every two weeks, with green bin and recycling collec­tion every week,” said Howard.

“This idea seemed more pop­ular than garbage fines or limits.”

Other ideas that residents suggested included an organ­ics collection program at apartment buildings and bet­ter awareness about what can be recycled.

Residents can review the project reports and informa­tion online and attend public information events. Surveys have also been completed at past public information events and online.

One more public informa­tion event will take place in the spring, and the WMMP is set to be complete in the fall.

PHOTO BY CALEIGH MCLELLANDWith the Waterloo landfill predicted to be full in about 20 years, the Region of Waterloo’s new Waste Management Master Plan will look at options for final waste disposal.

COIVIIVIENTARYPage 4 ♦ SPOKE Monday, March 18 ,2013

When will we get a cure for cancer?

BY JOANNA DITTMER

There is a question that we have no answer for, but it needs to be asked; why do we not have a cure for any of the hundreds of cancers?

If we can send people to the moon and to live in space for up to six months, why hasn’t even one cure been found?

Doctors can now cure a two-year-old girl of HIV, but not from cancer.

In layman’s terms, cancer is an abnormal, uncontrolled growth of the bodies’ own cells. Our bodies’ cells have a regular cycle they follow, however, cancer cells do not obey the normal cycle; they are always “on” and unregulated. This is unhealthy because instead of your cells living and dying as they should, they are just accumulating rapidly.

Some people believe that scientists have found a single cure for all cancers, but because cancer is a mul- tibillion-dollar industry and a cure would destroy that industry, it remains a secret.

Let’s set one thing straight: chemotherapy is not a cure for cancer, it is a treatment. It can be used to attempt to cure the disease, prolong life or to palliate symptoms but it is not a cure.

There have been many times in history where people thought that they had found a cure. For example, during the 1950s when American biochemist Dr. Ernst T. Krebs Jr. isolated a new vitamin which he numbered B17 and called “Laetrile,” thousands of people were convinced that this completely controlled all cancers. It didn’t. It seems every time scientists have people believing that we’ve taken one step toward a cure, we end up taking three steps back which leaves everyone disappointed.

Another thought is that, if all researchers got together and shared their knowledge, they could come up with a cure. However, no one wants to share what they have found because they want all of the credit. If this is the case, do you not think that ridding the world of a deadly disease, by your­self or with partners, would make you extremely famous and wealthy? To top it off you would save millions of lives.

Governments need to conduct reviews of the cancer research industry, to see if donors’ dollars are being spent wisely, and if the progress that has been made is significant enough.

The world can literally move mountains. It should be able to find a cure for cancer.

The views herein represent the position o f the newspa­per, not necessarily the author.

Letters are welcomeSpoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the v name and telephone number of the writer.Writers will be contact- ed for verification.No unsigned letters will be published.Letters should be no longer

than 500 words.Spoke reserves the right to edit

any letter , for publication.

u .J £ Email letters to:www.spokeonline.com with the subject line

“Letter to the Editor," or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.

In North America, St. Patrick's Day is nothing more than a beer test.

Our St. Paddy’s Day a sham

Dylan Dacosta Opinion

What did you do yesterday?As if anyone even needs to

ask - we all celebrated St. Patrick’s Day the only way that we know how; we all got falling-over drunk.

We have a faint recollection of green decorations, green attire and green beer - too much green if you ask me.We drank, we partied and for one day we all pretended that we were Irish.

But is “celebrating” St. Patrick’s Day in this way really Irish? Is this how it’s really supposed to be?

The answer is no.According to www.st-pat-

ricks-day.com, the day was intended to pay homage to Saint Patrick (big surprise) for his feats in Ireland over 1,500 years ago.

He spent 12 years training in France at a monastery where he eventually became a bishop, and then, with the blessing of the Pope, he returned to Ireland and traversed the country estab­lishing monasteries, schools and churches, all the while spreading Christianity to the

Irish people. For 20 years he did this, getting arrested a few times in the process, and by the time of his death he was a legendary figure in Irish culture.

And that’s what St. Patrick’s Day, held on the anniver­sary of the day he died, truly celebrates - the arrival of Christianity in Ireland.

The shamrock plastered across every novelty shirt isn’t just a pointless symbol. It is said that Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity, in reference to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Legend says that Patrick led venomous snakes resid­ing in Ireland out of the country and into the sea where they met their deaths.

Although probably ficti­

tious, since Ireland has never had snakes, the legend adds to the celebration of the day. Here in North America though, we seem to care little for the history.

Instead we’ve turned the day into a commercial cele­bration where we buy tacky decorations, those awful “kiss me I’m Irish” shirts, and drink beer until we fall over.

Leave it to North Americans to turn a day with an interesting history and meaningful celebration into nothing more than a beer fest and another excuse to get drunk with friends.

It’s not even that there’s anything wrong with con­suming alcohol to celebrate a day, because the Irish sure do it too. But that is all the day has become to us.

St. Patrick’s is a day to drink in our culture, no more, no less.

So while you recover from your hangover, just remem­ber that you didn’t really celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, you just found an excuse to drink green beer.

SPOKEIS P U B L I S H E D A N D P R O D U C E D W E E K L Y B Y T H E J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S O F C O N E S T O G A C O L L E G E

Editor: Whitney SouthAssignment Editors: Lindsay Tessier, Caleigh McLellandAdvertising Managers: Allanah Pinhom, Heather KennerySpoke Online Editors: Dylan DaCosta, Ryan

Goodyear, Mark Fitzgerald, Wesley Butler, KeilaMacPherson, Kelsey HeeleyProduction Managers: Sara Hanafi, KristinMilani, Kris Manuel, Rob MendonsaPhoto Editors:, Ashley Currie, Joanna Dittmer,Jessica Rediker, Wendy Czako-Mah, Brad Coughlin,

Ryan Bowman, Michael Vielma, Stephanie Lefebvre Circulation Manager: Jessica Lanthier

Faculty Supervisor and Adviser:Christina JonasSpoke’s address is 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30,

Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4M4.Phone: 519-748-5220, ext. 3691,3692,3693, 3694Fax: 519-748-3534Email: spoke@conestogac.on.caWebsite: www.spokeonline.com

The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be cleariy written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.

FEATURE SPOKE ♦ Page 5Monday, March 18,2013

Limited vision, limitless imaginationBY JESSICA REDIKER

This is the fourth in a five- part series on visual impair­ment and what it is like for the people who live with it.

When Ethan Warren asked me if it was possible for a visually impaired person to go to college, it was my great pleasure to tell him yes.

From the moment he was born, Ethan’s life has been one step at a time. The first step was identifying that something was different about him.

“The next day (after Ethan was born) we found out that something was wrong with his eyes. He didn’t open them. My husband would walk around and he saw premature babies with wide open eyes so he was concerned. The pediatrician saw his eyes and things just went nuts from there,” said Ethan’s mother, Leanne.

A spinal tap, MRI and a CT scan later, Ethan was diag­nosed with both coloboma (a hole in one of the eye’s struc­tures) and micropthalmia (lit­erally meaning small eye) and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Nine years later, Ethan’s family has found their nor­mal.

In the basement of their charming house in Elmira, is a long table with small chairs around it, workbooks sprawled across the surface and a Braille typewriter on one corner. This is the class­room setting from which Leanne home-schools her five children.

Ethan is completely blind in his left eye and has very limited vision in his right, hut he has learned to read and write at a similar pace to those with full vision by using his fingers.

Shortly after Ethan was born, the W arren family

received phone calls from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) who offered them support and told them something they couldn’t believe.

“Your son will be able to do everything.”

One of the most important skills Ethan learned was Braille. Though it was a chal­lenge to learn at first, he has since been taught other varia­tions of the tactile writing system such as math Braille and music Braille which are both based around the same six-dot cells.

After a quick look at his spelling book it is clear that he has an aptitude for writing. Rows of bumps dot a white page and a yellow sticker deco­rates the top right corner.

“I got 100 per cent,” he said of the spelling test he took that morning, beaming with pride. But writing isn’t this nine-year-old’s passion.

“I like dreaming of what to write but I don’t like the writ­ing itself,” he said. “I want to major in biology.”

He also wants to travel the world and try things he didn’t think were possible - some­thing that he’s already been doing with the help of some local services.

One o f the experiences Ethan has had recently is learning to ski at Chicopee Ski Club as part of Waterloo Region’s Track 3 Ski School that offers lessons and equip­ment rental to young people with various disabilities.

While learning to ski, stu­

dents are harnessed to an instructor for safety, but even­tually learn to hit the slopes without physical assistance.

“I can go down Tenderfoot by myself,” said Ethan, who in my entire interview never once said “I can’t.”

Anything is possible in his limitless imagination and with all of the technology and services that are accessible to him, his mother agrees that the sky is the limit.

“It’s so easy to have a child in this situation in this day and age because there’s so much available,” she said, adding these services have created a great social oppor­tunity for her son.

For the last five years, Ethan has gone to CNIB’s summer day camp for visually impaired and blind children where he has had a lot of hands-on and interpersonal experiences. This is some­thing that he and his mother

agree is important.“At camp I feel more like I

fit in. One time we even had a soccer game. I think I’m bet­ter at soccer when I have an equal match,” he said. Even though he knows he is differ­ent in some ways from other children, including his fully- sighted siblings, it doesn’t bother him much.

“I don’t have a fascination with sports. I prefer games like Uno.”

Whether it’s because of his condition or it’s simply in his nature, Ethan is more inter­ested in learning things and spends a lot of time reading books using his Intel Reader.

“This is my office,” he said as he walked me over to see his reader, a speech-to-text device that captures an image of printed text and reads it aloud.

His office also features a Braille printer to print docu­ments from the computer and a MacBook Pro that he is cur­

PHOTO BY JESSICA REDIKEREthan Warren uses a Braille typewriter set up for him in his basement where he is home-schooled by his mother Leanne.

rently learning to use.As Ethan gets older he will

learn to use more devices that make everyday living easier and learn new ways to describe how his mind-vision connection works.

For now he explains that he visualizes things based on what information he has gathered about them.

“When I was younger, before I ever flew, I used to think airplanes were something very different from what they are. They were these boxes that would just fly around. The first time I stepped on a plane I realized I was very wrong.”

Although the images Ethan sees in his mind may not be accurate, his mother says it doesn’t bother him.

“For the most part he accepts it. Just the other day he said,"I can’t imagine seeing things. If I could see things it would ruin it."

PHOTOS BY JESSICA REDIKEREthan has become very comfortable using Braille. He has been preparing his fingers with the help of various touch and feel exercises since he was very young.

FEATUREPage 6 ♦SPOKE Monday, March 18,2013

Is there something b ugging you?Woman goes from fearing bugs to being inspired by them

" I can’t really tell you why I did it, it just doesn’t

make any sense." - Amy Swartz

STORY AND PHOTOS BY WESLEY BUTLER

There was a time in her life when Amy Swartz was scared of insects. She didn’t like see­ing them, let alone touching them. But she didn’t know why. Maybe it was their size, their shape or the way they moved. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

Despite her fears, Swartz wanted to overcome her terror. But no matter what she did, her fright always got the better of her.

All that changed around 13 years ago, when Swartz was standing in her kitchen dry­ing dishes. She noticed a dead dragonfly on her windowsill, and froze at first glance. She wanted to flick it off, but for some reason, she just couldn’t muster up enough strength to do it. Instead, she stood and stared at it. She was captivated by its multifaceted eyes. Transparent wings. Its elongated body. Even though it was dead, its eyes were directed right at her, almost like it still pleaded to be spared.

It was at that moment that Swartz felt her fears drain. To this day, she can’t explain why this happened. She believes it was a message from the other side telling her to start some­thing beautiful, because she was grieving over the loss of her mother when she saw the insect.

She decided to keep the dragonfly in a margarine con­tainer, and to this day has collected over 2,500 insects, recreating them into structur­al displays using the heads off toy figurines. These displays are meant to present humour­ous scenarios where insects carry out historical human interactions. They have been showcased in conservatories in Cambridge, Kitchener and Toronto.

The idea to create these displays arose when Swartz found a bag of toy army men that belonged to her husband. Some of the heads fell off, so she thought it would be inter­esting if she took one of them and placed it on a dragonfly.

Taking the head off the drag­onfly was revolting at first. There were moments she couldn’t even bear to look at what she was doing, because she thought it was cruel. But nonetheless, Swartz continued on with her experiment, and

created her very first display, which she called “moth man.”

It consists of a toy head and arms on the dragonfly’s body, with a toy gun in its hands. The idea is to express Swartz’s deepest feelings about humankind, about how we sometimes feel the need to control everything around us.

She never knew how to express these feelings through words, so she feels lucky to have finally found a platform to bring her thoughts to life.

After she created this dis­play, Swartz decided to collect insects from anywhere she could, cut off the heads, and replace them with toy army heads and weapons.

An other one of her displays consists of several butterflies with army heads and weapons.

“I can’t really tell you why I did it, it just doesn’t make any sense,” said Swartz. “I just couldn’t help noticing the fine detail of the toys’ heads, and the fine detail of the insects, so putting them together made sense to me in a nonsensical way.”

This has been one of the biggest challenges for Swartz, having to find insects to cre­ate displays with. She first tried to search in her back­yard, but she didn’t find any.

“Besides the obsessive- compulsive part of my work, sometimes it’s hard to find these many insects without having to buy them,” she said. “I have to collect them from many different sources. Sometimes I have to ask peo­ple for them.”

Swartz is a visual artist and educator living in Toronto. Her creations portray the con­cept of obsession, in human­ity’s perception regarding our control over life, death and nature.

Through her work, she tries to bring forth the natural and imaginary world she thinks isn’t seen as much anymore. She describes it as her reflec­tion on the “restrained chaos of life,” of humankind’s “pest-like” behaviour, its attempt to con­trol the world and mortality.

She intends for her work to be a metaphor to overpopula­tion and extinction, but at the same time retain the beauty and eccentricity of life.

As for Swartz’s children,

ages nine and 11, they love the end result of her creations, although she’s not sure if they enjoy the process as much.

“I don’t think they like see­ing bugs stored in the freezer,” she said. “But their friends are amazed by what I do. They love my creations.”

Sometimes her children become slightly agitated with their friends, because they spend most of their visits staring at an open freezer in awe of her work.

Swartz has realized her one goal, which is to have her work exhibited in librar­ies and conservatories. Most

recently, she had her “pest exhibition” displayed at the Preston library in Cambridge in February.

She doesn’t plan on stop­ping. In the future, Swartz plans on continuing her work, and creating more displays expressing more of human­kind’s constant hunger for power. She has at least 1,000 more insects at her home, and is still looking to collect more.

Her work was first exhib­ited at the Angell Gallery in Toronto in July 2011, and can now be seen at the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory until June 16.

Amy Swartz expresses humankind’s struggle for power through her displays. Her work was recently shown at the Preston library in Cambridge in January, and can now be seen at the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory until June 16.

AMY SWARTZ THE BUG LADY

■ Amy used to be terrified of insects, but now uses them in her artwork.

■ She has collected over 2,500 insects, and still seeks more.

■ Her work has been shown in conservatories around Ontario, including Angell Gallery in Toronto.

■ It is currently on display at the Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory.

FEATURE SPOKE ♦Page 7Monday, March 18,2013

Take a look, it’s in a booka look, it’s in aHuman Library breaks barriers

and challenges perceptions

STORY AND PHOTOS BY WHITNEY SOUTH

Have you ever wanted to sit down and have a conversation with a drag queen?

Or wondered what it’s like to live with a learning disor­der?

And just what is Asperger’s syndrome?

For those who attended Conestoga College’s second annu­al Human Library on March 7, no page was left unturned.

Throughout the event, students, staff and faculty were given the opportunity to speak informally with a collection o f “people on loan,” representing over a dozen different demographics.

Some o f this year’s titles includ­ed an HIV-positive student, a drag queen, a mature student, a student recovering from sub­stance use, individuals with mental health issues as well as a student with Asperger’s syn­drome.

Ryan Connell, Student Life pro­grammer at Conestoga College, said a student originally recom­mended the event after she had read about it on the Internet. After a little research, the Human Library was added to Respect Week.

“We looked into the concept and thought it perfectly aligned with the messages o f our Respect cam­paign,” he said. “It gave students a chance to interact, ask questions and learn more about some o f the challenges that some o f our peers on campus face.”

Originally created as a project by Stop The Violence, a youth orga­

nization in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Human Library made its debut at the Roskilde Culture and Music Festival in 2000,

Encouraged by festival direc­tor, Leif Skov, Stop the Violence introduced the crowds o f Northern Europe’s biggest summer festival to an experience meant to focus on anti-violence while encourag­ing dialogue relationship building among the festival’s visitors.

Despite its humble beginnings, the Human Library has since grown into an international non­profit organization whose mission is to introduce their concept to communities all over the world. Conestoga College is one o f the first post-secondary institutions in Canada to host the event..

Connell said he was really impressed by how personable and how vulnerable the human books were allowing themselves to be for the whole college community.

“There’ s things we think we know about people and I think this was a chance for us to ask questions in an open, accepting and non-judgmental way and expand our own learning,” he said. “We never get a chance when we’re talking about differ­ent aspects o f diversity to just ask those honest questions and get honest answers.”

Though the majority of books represented were Conestoga students, a few were solicited from outside the college including Marc Hall of Oshawa, a gay high school student who took the Catholic school board to court after being denied the chance to take his boyfriend to prom in 2002.

“I loved being a human book,” said Hall, who regu­larly speaks at high schools and universities. “I think this

event was really awesome. I’ve never done anything quite like it. It’s amazing that so many people want to be educated about areas they don’t know about and it was very cool.”

W ith this year’s Human Library attracting over 100 students and faculty, Connell said Student Life is looking into creating more of these events throughout the school year.

“For us this has become one of our Student Life depart­ment’s flagship events,” he said. “It’s one of the biggest activities that students look forward to each year and there’s a lot o f discussion about it. We just want to keep it going.”

Meet a person with an eating disorder

Holly FeatherstoneAge: 26Hometown: Flesherton, Ont. Second-year bachelor of public relations student

“I like to think of myself as recovered and an example of somebody who can take back control. The most important thing is I want to be a resource for people to come to realize this is an important topic to talk about. I feel that this issue doesn’t get talked about a lot and that’s unfortunate because I know there are a lot of people who are suffering in silence and it doesn’t have to be that way. They can reach out to resources on campus, they don’t have to be alone."

Meeta gay male

Marc HallAge: 28Hometown: Oshawa, Ont.

He was the subject of a made-for-TV movie and doc­umentary after taking the Catholic school board to court after being denied the right to take his boyfriend to prom in 2002.

“Iget to speak at high schools, universities and colleges just to motivate people to be them­selves. There’s nothing wrong with being gay. You should be confident in who you are and there are resources if you need help. It’s so rewarding, I love doing these events.”

Meeta mature student

Beverly GallAge: 56Hometown: Kitchener, Ont. Second-year recreation and leisure student

“I had done bookkeeping for over 25 years and it was time for a change. It was an honour to be asked and I just want people to know mature people can come back to school. I am the oldest in my class and I know my life lessons have added to the classroom.

It’s hectic but it’s a good thing and I know at the end it will land me a job I really want to do. ”

Meet a student with a learning disability

Kim RicherAge: 33Hometown: Guelph, Ont. First-year community and criminal . justice student

“I ’m happy to be able to help people challenge their beliefs and be able to ask questions about something they don’t know about and maybe even something they’re struggling with themselves not know­ing if they have a learning disability and the stigma behind it.”

Meet an individualliving with HIV

First-year technology foundations student '

“I was diagnosed Dec. 2, 2008. It was AIDS aware­ness week that encouraged me to get tested. The reason I ’m here is because I want to educate people about the stig­ma that comes with living with HIV. By speaking out at events like this I ’m able to ,

help get zero new transmis­sions and help make it easier in the future for people to make themselves aware that HIV infection is still an issue ,

today. ”

Ryan Nagy Age: 32Hometown: Kitchener, Ont.

Page 8 ♦ SPOKE Monday, March 18,2013

NEWS SPOKE ♦Page 9Monday, March 18,2013

Conestoga students give the gift of life

" Definitely, the event exceeded our expecta­

tions for the remarkable turnout today." - Ryan Connell

BY ROB MENPONSA

Conestoga students exceeded all expectations and helped save some lives in the community, as they rolled up their sleeves and gave blood at the first blood clinic held in several years at the rec centre on March 11.

Hosted in partnership with the Student Life department and Canadian Blood Services, organizers of Conestoga’s six- bed blood donor clinic had hoped to collect 54 units of blood, but instead approxi­mately 70 people donated. Each unit of blood can help three patients. With approxi­mately 70 units collected, Conestoga students potential­ly helped 210 people within Waterloo Region.

According to Heather Fowler, a Canadian Blood Services community development co­ordinator for southern Ontario, the need for new donors is always high, especially given the aging population. O Rh Negative is a blood type in great need, since it is univer­sally used for all blood types, but is only found in seven per cent of the population.

“Our strategy is to connect with young students so that they get into the habit of giving blood every 56 days (which is the minimum time between donations). We also hold lectures at the college and on March 7, we held a

“What’s your type” event, which allowed students to find out their blood type in just a few minutes and with a small prick of the finger,” Fowler said.

This also marks the first time Conestoga College has signed on to be a Partner for Life. This program signs organiza­tions up and helps them set a goal. For Conestoga the goal is 100 donations per year.

The screening process is quite rigorous as can be expected, said Lisa Ruck, also a Canadian Blood Services com m unity developm ent co-ordinator for southern Ontario, who was on hand at the clinic to answer any ques­tions students might have before donating.

“Every time we collect blood we have to do several tests, including testing your blood for iron and HIV. We do these screening processes to make sure your blood is not only safe for our use but also that it is safe for you to donate. If

for instance your iron levels were too low than we would not be able to take blood from you,” Ruck said.

The whole process is designed to take only 45 min­utes from start to finish and the actual blood donation only takes 5-12 minutes.

One of those on hand to donate was Nicholas Lariviere, a first-year police foundations student, who is not only O Rh Negative, but donates on a regular basis.

“I like doing things that help other people, but you hear so much about charitable orga­nizations that aren’t that reliable and you don’t know where your money is going. With this, I know my dona­tion is going to actually help someone,” Lariviere said.

Organizers of the event, including Ryan Connell, Student Life programmer, who helped bring the clinic to Conestoga, were thrilled by how many students came out to help Blood Services.

“The event, which had a remarkable turnout, defi­nitely exceeded our expecta­tions. We were so blown away that we had so many mem­bers of our Conestoga com­munity who were willing to step forward and help save lives. We anticipated hav­ing to really do recruitment, but right from the start of the event, we had lineups

for participants, which was great to see,” Connell said. “I look forward to hopefully bringing the clinic back to Conestoga each year, if not

every semester. The support from the Conestoga communi­ty surpassed my expectations. It shows we are a community that cares.”

PHOTO BY ROB MENDONSANicholas Lariviere, a first-year police foundations student, relaxes as he donates blood at a Conestoga College blood clinic on March 11.

This Guelph website helps you shop local

BY ASHLEY CURRIE

Many people love online shopping for the ease of use and convenience; however, there are also those people who love shopping at down­town boutiques and local businesses so they can do their part to help their local community. Now, thanks to w w w .g iv eb a ck v illa ge .com , which launched their online shopping platform on March 3, shoppers can have the best of both worlds.

At givebackvillage.com shop­pers can purchase gift cards and vouchers at discounted prices. The thing that makes this site different than oth­ers such as groupon.com is the local aspect. The people at givebackvillage.com pur­chase their gift certificates and vouchers from small local businesses at a discounted price so they can sell them to you at a discount as well. When shopping at giveback- village customers are benefit-

ting small business owners in Guelph.

On the website you pay a dis­counted price such as $20 for a full value gift card of $25. This means that even though you are spending less money you can still redeem the full value of the gift card at participating store locations.

In addition, givebackvillage helps support local charities and non-profit organizations. According to the website, “all of the net surplus funds raised from this social enter­prise are donated back to our local charities and non-profit organizations.”

There are currently over 35 charities and organizations working with givebackvillage including Guelph Wellington Women in Crisis, The Guelph Youth Music Centre and Habitat for Humanity of Wellington Dufferin Guelph.

Also, if you own or operate a non-profit group and you become a member of the web­site you can have your name

listed on a menu that allows customers to donate three per cent of their purchase total directly to your charity.

Grace Simon, a Guelph resi­dent, said she thinks the web­site is a great idea.

“I hear all the time about how downtown businesses are losing customers to big stores like Wal-Mart. This website seems like a great idea to help get shoppers back in the doors of Guelph shops.”

Jordan Brown, another Guelph resident, said he loves that this website supports local charities and non-profit organizations.

“It’s great that I can pur­chase local items for a dis­count but knowing that my money is going to help not just charities, but local char­ities, makes me really feel good about purchasing at givebackvillage.”

For more information, or to see what products and ser­vices are available, visit www. givebackvillage.com.

NEWSPage 10 ♦ SPOKE Monday, March 18,2013

Students swarm job fair

" Conestoga grads have a lot of skills that line up with what we’re looking

for." - Richard Mino

BY RYAN BOWMAN

Conestoga College’s recre­ation centre was filled to the rafters March 6, but it wasn’t for a pep rally.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the college hosted its annual job fair, drawing hundreds of resume-toting students eager for employment.

Craig Black, marketing and events co-ordinator for the col­lege’s Co-operative Education and Career Services, said the purpose of the job fair was to help students connect with prospective employers in per­son as opposed to applying for jobs online.

“The primary goal of the college is to get students jobs upon graduation, so we’re hoping this can help that hap­pen,” Black said, adding that the college offered job search workshops and resume clinics leading up to the fair.

“All o f these companies make a big effort to come out and we’re bringing all of them right to the students’ doorstep, so we hope they take advantage of it and find jobs.”

A total of 85 companies participated in the four- hour event, each o f which set up an inform ation booth in the recreation centre. W hile some o f the com ­panies were specific to a particular industry, Black said the majority o f them

appealed to students from various disciplines.

“We try to cater to as many students as possible and get a breadth of employers here to cover as many programs as we can,” he said.

“There may be an insur­ance company here, but that doesn’t mean they’re only hir­ing insurance agents. They may be hiring for human resources or they may be hir­ing for other areas within their company.”

Richard Mino manages the Cambridge branch of Turkstra Lumber. He said his company was at the job fair in search of truck drivers, esti­mators and sales staff.

“Conestoga grads have a lot of skills that line up with what we’re looking for,” said Mino, adding that his branch currently employs a co-op stu­dent from the college.

Mino said job fairs are also a way for businesses to build company awareness.

“One of the reasons we came here is because even though we’re well known in other parts of the province, we’re kind of a lame duck around the Cambridge area. It’s a nice way to get our name out there for future employees, but also for future custom­ers.”

Adam Rosenquist is in his third and final year of Conestoga’s computer pro- grammer/analyst program. He said he dropped in on the job fair between classes in •search of a co-op placement from May through August.

“I wouldn’t bank on it lead­ing to anything,” he said, “but I’m remaining hopeful.”

While he has the option of graduating without his final co-op placement, Rosenquist said he would like some addi­

tional work experience before jum ping into a full-time career and saw the fair as an opportunity to research some companies.

“You can’t tell a lot from job postings,” he said. “Sometimes companies will keep you in the dark about what you’ll actu­ally be doing, so this is a way to actually meet them and see what they’re all about.”

Stacey Bartlett, a part-time instructor at Conestoga who is looking to supplement her income, said it was this per­sonal interaction which drew her to the job fair.

“Face-to-face connections are really important,” she said. ‘You get the opportunity to make a great impression and you might get informa­tion you wouldn’t get online. It also lets you connect with

specific people rather than just sending your resume out into the abyss.”

Bartlett, 33, said she is thinking about going back to school for a personal sup­port worker (PSW) program but wanted to explore the job market before making the leap.

“I wanted to talk to a num­ber of different health care- related organizations, find out about job prospects and get some advice about what kind of employees they’re looking for.”

Jess Dunn is a staffing and recruitment consultant with Premium HR Solutions, a staffing solutions company based in Guelph. She said her company was recruit­ing students for a number of jobs, ranging from gen­

eral labour to executive posi­tions.

“W e’re primarily looking for staff for the companies we represent,” she said. “What we do is facilitate the prelimi­nary interviews for our cli­ents and use that information to help them find suitable employees.”

Dunn, who said her company has worked with Conestoga graduates in the past, advised students to be open to any and all possibilities.

“The market is a little bit slow these days, so even if you have something particu­lar in mind or want to be in a certain industry, you should be open to other possibilities,” she said.

“And above all else, be dedi­cated to your job search and don’t give up.”

PHOTO BY RYAN BOWMANHundreds of students visited Conestoga College’s annual job fair on March 6. A total of 85 local com­panies participated in the fair, which was held in the recreation centre.

Explore the Score educates concert-goersBY WESLEY BUTLER

Jill Summerhayes, am bas­sador o f the Cam bridge Symphony Orchestra, wants to teach people about music. Because the orchestra’s con­certs are pay-as-you-can, she hopes people will bring their children along, so they can learn that some of their favourite rock songs origi­nated from classical music.

“When children hear this, it piques their interest,” Summerhayes said. “One of the long-term goals of the orchestra is not only to engage audiences, but also to educate them.”

In order to meet this goal,

the orchestra introduced a new series called Explore the Score, run by music director Sabatino Vacca. These ses­sions are designed to provide concert-goers with a deeper understanding of the music played by the orchestra.

The most recent Explore the Score session was held on Feb. 24 at the Clemens Mill Library in Cambridge. Vacca provided background on a concert that was being held on March 2, which included the Schumann Piano Concerto and the Organ Symphony by Saint-Saens.

“The sessions make for a more gratifying concert-going

experience when people know the meaning of the music,” Vacca said. “Our audience was interested in the idea and we’re hoping to start bringing live performers to the sessions.”

The orchestra has already made an impact on the com­munity, particularly on music students. One student who played for the orchestra when she was in university now plays for the Vienna State Opera in Austria, and anoth­er student who played his first solo at age 11 has been offered scholarships in the U.S. and Canada.

“W hen students study music in university, we want

to provide a platform where they can come to play,” Summerhayes said. “After they finish their program, there’s no telling how far they’ll go.”

One challenge the orches­tra faces is fundraising. Since there’s no adm inis­trative office, it relies on its website to receive dona­tions. Summerhayes is plan­ning on adding PayPal to the website, so people can donate directly from their credit cards.

“I want to make it as easy as possible to receive funding for the orchestra,” she said. “Raising funds can be a very

difficult task, especially for a project as large as this.”

The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra maintains a strong following, with a large num­ber of people attending the concerts.

“Some people who have never seen us tend to think of us as a ‘Mickey Mouse’ orchestra because we’re in Cambridge,” Summerhayes said. “But once they see us perform, they’re so inspired by what they saw that they want to come back.”

To learn more about the C am bridge Sym phony Orchestra, visit www.cam- bridgeorchestra.ca.

Monday, March 18,2013 SPOKE ♦ Page 11

FEATUREPage 12 ♦ SPOKE Monday, March 18,2013

Capturing memories in metalBYALLANAH PINHORN

Handcrafted? Not specific enough.

Local silversmith and art­ist Heather Horsey takes designing precious and sen­timental pendants, charms and bracelets to the next level with her one-of-a-kind fingerprint impression jew ­elry.

C rafted with care in Horsey’s elegant home stu­dio, these custom-made piec­es bear the special swirls and curves of a loved one’s finger, carefully captured in sterling silver forever.

“I ’ve been m aking jew ­elry for a long time, but it became something that I knew would catch on,” she said.

Horsey began making fin ­gerprint impression jewelry almost three years ago, when a friend told her about a phenomenon that had taken off in the United Kingdom. She was already making cus­tom jewelry, so the leap to her current top-selling fin ­gerprint products wasn’t a far one: she already had the tools, the training and the desire to encapsulate such a precious memory in metal.

Horsey, who has a spe­cialized honours BA in fine arts from the University of Guelph, took her first bead- work class at the age of 19, which sparked an interest in jewelry.

After working as a visu­al presentation specialist, dressing windows for the Bay, then as a designer for a textile company for the Catholic Church, Horsey was looking for a career change.

She found business came sw iftly, through social

media, word-of-m outh and scheduled product parties; H orsey currently ships throughout Canada and into the United States.

She’s been featured at the Renann Isaac Fine Art Gallery in Guelph and had a studio in Kitchener before moving the creative process into her home.

“I am able to be flexible with my family time, which has been a real blessing,” she said; Horsey has two small boys and a husband who are all very supportive o f her trade.

By beginning with a sili­con mould of a fingerprint, Horsey can make a reverse cast that is pressed into a fine silver clay, which is then kiln-fired and oxidized.

“It’s sort of a rustic, matte finish. It looks worn and weathered,” she said of her work, and the influence is clear: on her website Horsey cred its nature. “ F inely dressed beautiful and well cared for by the Creator which makes me worry less about the trivial and value more the life that I have to live.”

U sing traditional silver- smithing techniques such as fabrication, sawing, solder­ing and polishing, she con­structs each piece, whether it be for everyday, M other’s Day or Christm as, with equal parts skill and care, but there are special cases that tug on the heartstrings. Often Horsey is sought-out by fam ilies o f the term i­nally ill, seeking a memorial piece.

“Every piece is special, but I’m a bit of softie so there are pieces that I put a lot of heart into.”

PHOTO BY ALLANAH PINHORNHeather Horsey, of Cambridge, is the brains and talent behind Sway Silver custom jewelry. A lifelong artist, Horsey works from her home studio.