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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014 WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 34

The only newspaper on this planet that exists solely for Western students since 1906

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

YOU FANCY, HUH? University Students’ Council president Matt Helfand suits up for his State of the USC speech which outlined the accomplishments, goals and vision for the organization.

Who you gonna call? Fitbusters!Busting myths about bras, boobs and working out >> Pg. 5

Kevin HurrenNEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE

@KevinAtGazette

“There is no higher priority of a stu-dent government than visibility.”

These words, said by University Students’ Council president Matt Helfand, echoed through the Mustang Lounge during last night’s State of the USC address.

The State of the USC, a speaking event initiated by former USC presi-dent Adam Fearnall, is meant as a kind of progress report – detailing the accomplishments, current pro-ject, and future goals of the council.

Visibility, then, was a natural

focus for Helfand’s speech. Migrating from the intimate Mustang Lounge East to the larger West Lounge, the event has grown both in size and prominence.

“The USC is the only organiza-tion on this planet that exists solely to improve the lives of Western undergraduate students,” continued Helfand.

How are student lives being improved? It’s partly an external process, explained the president.

Community outreach and aware-ness, for instance, is a priority for the council. Referencing the rela-tionship USC executives have built with London’s police officers and

city councillors, Helfand empha-sized the collaborative role students can play.

Homecoming, specifically, was raised as an issue. The annual event is one of the few instances where police, city hall and Western inter-act to heightened degrees. Helfand expressed the need to move celebra-tions onto campus.

“The USC will never let Homecoming be cancelled,” said Helfand, referencing complaints from the community, including a former Ward 6 candidate. “But for the last three years on Broughdale we have seen the street shut down – inaccessible to emergency services.”

“The Broughdale street party has not always been a tradition and it need not always be.”

Addressing concerns around Homecoming was a vital part of the address, at least for attendant and music education student Quinn

Fleming.“I found his approach to

Homecoming next year interest-ing, how he’s going to attract people away from Broughdale without necessarily being punitive,” Fleming said.

Helfand also identified transit as a major area for improvement.

With five city councillors-elect in attendance, including Ward 6’s Phil Squire, Helfand implored city hall to invest more money in the London Transit Commission.

Other topics included develop-ing student health and wellness initiatives, increasing advocacy efforts, establishing appeals and review committees and creating a strategic plan for the council.

Concluding his speech, Helfand answered one question from the crowd and encouraged students to contact him and his executive at any time.

Katie LearNEWS EDITOR@KatieAtGazette

Western University officially com-menced their involvement with the London Abused Women’s Centre’s annual Shine the Light campaign for the month of November by lighting the exterior of Alumni Hall purple.

The movement is designed to bring awareness to the issue of men’s violence against women by encouraging public buildings such as local businesses and schools across Canada to decor-ate with purple for the month of the campaign.

“We are taking part in the campaign this year and we’re showing our support by illumin-ating the outside of Alumni Hall for the entire month of November to bring awareness to women’s abuse awareness and prevention for a month in Ontario,” Western media relations director Keith Marnoch said.

Shine the Light is in the fifth year of their annual campaign and has gained popularity across Ontario in cities such as London, Toronto and Windsor, illuminat-ing notable landmarks such as Niagara Falls and the CN Tower.

>> STATE OF THE USC

•••InsideWestern a top 100 employer • P3

play preview: Doctor Faustus • P4

Essentials: Excuses for an extension • P5

Awareness key to costumes • P6

Mixed weekend for men’s volleyball • P7

Logopalooza: Queen’s • P8

Western participates in Shine the Light

>> see SHINE pg.2

Helfand presents USC goals, vision

ARE YOU: • Available to contribute your time for the day on November 16 • Interested in meeting prospective students and their families • Involved in campus activities • Enthusiastic and positive about your Western experience • Articulate, pleasant and responsible

TO APPLY: • Review the volunteer posting details on the Career Central website

https://www.westerncareercentral.ca/home.htm • Email your completed application information to [email protected]

DEADLINE: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2014

Please note that you must attend one of the following MANDATORY orientation sessions: November 10th at 4:30pm OR November 11th at 11:30am OR 4:30pm. If selected as a volunteer, location of the sessions will be sent to you via email.

141104

FALL PREVIEW DAY FALL PREVIEW DAY Sunday, November 16, 2014

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Solution to puzzle on page 7

2 • thegazette • Wednesday, November 5, 2014

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

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

Caught on Camera

News Briefs

Fanshawe completes Kingsmills purchase

Fanshawe College announced the advancement of their planned cam-pus expansion on November 3 when they waived conditions on the sale of the Kingsmill building and are moving forward with the purchase.

“The Centre for Digital and Performance Arts in the Howard W. Rundle Building has been a resounding success and we know that a London downtown campus is going to have a significant positive impact on the downtown with the energy of 2,000 students,” remarks

Fanshawe president Peter Devlin in his press release.

The college will oversee the second phase of downtown develop-ment upon the building’s comple-tion, which involves moving the School of Information Technology and the School of Tourism and Hospitality from the London main campus on Oxford Street to the downtown campus. It will merge with the Howard W. Rundle Building across the street, thereby serving to provide the necessary space to accommodate the expansion of the college’s programs and the increas-ing number of students.

The college envisions the enhancement of student presence downtown on a daily basis. They are currently working towards settling the Request For Proposals for the design phase and anticipate being able to issue a plan in the near future.

• Lara Banlaoi


BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME. Sandwiches are tastier and trendier when they are sold from a food truck, but it looks like the inevitable November rain can still wash the business away.

According to Marnoch, Western has been involved with Shine the Light since 2010.

“The issue is top of mind for the university – it’s right up there with safety generally. I think it’s a para-mount issue for us to be dealing with … also just for our community to ensure that everyone knows that this is something that is very important to us. We try to ensure that this issue is recognized and we’re trying to do what we can to certainly end the scourge of violence against women. This is a great opportunity to par-take with the greater community in this effort.”

The month-long campaign fea-tures several events implemented for the purpose of spreading aware-ness of violence against women, starting with with the Campaign Kick-Off and Lighting of the Tree event on November 3 attended by Sonia El Birani’s daughter Houda El Birani and mayor-elect Matt Brown.

Shine the Light also gives a human face to domestic abuse by turning the spotlight on two women who have lost their lives to violence. This month features Sonia El Birani and Terrie Ann Dauphinais who passed away in 2012 and 2002 respectively.

>> SHINE continued from pg.1

Campaign to reduce violence against women

@uwogazette

› Thomas Edison: Relentless Inventiveness

Failure is no biggie. Just ask Edison. If he stopped at failure, he would never have moved on to invent a little thing called the light bulb. So if you’ve failed a class somewhere else, or have a scheduling conflict, come on over. You can catch up with our world-recognized online courses, then move on to bigger successes. Talk about a light bulb moment.

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“ The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

By Levin C. Handy (per http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cw

pbh.04326) [Public domain], via W

ikimedia Com

mons

thegazette • Wednesday, November 5, 2014 • 3

Kelly Samuel • GAZETTE

LET ME OUT. An Aboutown taxi driver was convicted last week of assaulting a Western student in a dispute about an unpaid fare.

Taxi driver convicted of injuring student

Amy O’KrukNEWS EDITOR@AmyAtGazette

A London cab driver has been con-victed of dangerous driving causing bodily harm in an incident involving a Western student last November.

The conflict arose in response to an Aboutown cab driver, Fakhrolsadat Ghorashi, fearing two of her clients were planning on taking off without paying a fare of $7.50. By the end of the dispute one of the cab-riders, a Western MBA student had injured her head, teeth and face when she tried to exit the moving taxi.

The judge presiding over the case, Superior Court Justice Duncan Grace, listened to testimonies from the student, her sister, Ghorashi and several witnesses. Grace stated all of the accounts varied wildly. The judge instead relied on a soundless video recording of the event from the cab’s security camera.

The episode began when 58 year-old Ghorashi picked up the student and her sister from outside the Barking Frog bar on Richmond Row. Grace noted the pair was of “questionable sobriety.”

On the way to the sisters’ nearby downtown residence, the women realized they didn’t have enough money to pay the fare and said they would get the difference from inside their house.

The student stayed in the taxi while the sister went inside in search of cash. When the sister didn’t return quickly, the student in the cab offered to go inside as well. Ghorashi testified she asked for a

form of collateral, specifically her client’s cell phone.

The student refused, stating her phone was worth $400 and she wasn’t confident in its safe return. An argu-ment ensued between the student and cab driver for several minutes.

According to the video, both par-ties exited the cab only to get back in. Ghorashi attempted to keep the student in the taxi by locking the doors and standing outside the car. Ghorashi then proceeded to take the student’s phone after which the student tried to leave the cab again. With the car doors open, Ghorashi started driving while the student appeared to be yelling.

As this happened, the sister appeared on the tape approaching the cab with a jar of loose coins. The angry student in the back refused to give Ghorashi the money and the cab driver began to speed off once more.

The student struggled to obtain her cell phone and the cab stopped. Finally, as the student attempted to leave the car for the last time, Ghorashi accelerated quickly and the student fell out, sustaining her injuries.

After reviewing the tape, Grace said he didn’t buy the fact Ghorashi was trying to quickly drive away in search of help from police.

“I am certain that she saw the rear passenger door was open. In fact, I am certain that she already knew that door was open based on the other events I have described,” Grace said in his decision. “It is inconceivable that she drove for approximately 30 seconds without knowing it.”

The judge concluded that Ghorashi responded to an irritating situation by transforming it into a dangerous one.

The Crown may seek jail time and the conviction will almost cer-tainly end Ghorashi’s seven-year career ferrying Londoners around the city.

Ghorashi will be sentenced on January 16, 2015.

Western University named one of top 100 employers

Mohammad Abrar Abdul HananCONTRIBUTOR

Western University was ranked as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for the second year in a row in a report published in The Globe And Mail.

The competition, run by Mediacorp Canada Inc. was founded in 2000 and is recognized as the lar-gest of its kind in the country.

Employers are evaluated against others of similar industry, size and region on eight main selection criteria: physical workplace; work atmosphere and social, health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development and community involvement, according to Kristina Leung, senior editor of Canada’s Top 100 Employers List.

Leung added that companies must submit an application form that includes questions pertaining to the selection criteria to be con-sidered for the honour.

“Employers that have partici-pated in the project, regardless of whether they are ultimately selected, find the application process bene-ficial as an introspective exercise, as it highlights both strengths and weaknesses,” she said.

“We are proud of the teaching, research, scholarship and service that takes place at Western, and grateful to all of those who work together in pursuit of our vision to be a destination of choice for

the world’s brightest minds seek-ing the best learning experience,” president and vice-chancellor of Western University, Amit Chakma, commented in an email sent to uni-versity staff.

He continued to mention that Western employs 13,000 people who each play an important role in their mission to benefit society and to graduate global citizens who serve the public good.

Companies ranked on this list are allowed to use Mediacorp’s “Top Employer” logo that increases the visibility and attractiveness of the organization while recruiting employees.

According to Leung, the compe-tition looks beyond simply ranking top employers and aims to initiate constructive conversations about Human Resource Best Practices in the workplace and raise employ-ment standards for Canadians.

“Each year, we contribute to this conversation by publishing our edi-torial Reasons for Selection, which explains why each employer was chosen,” she said. “These reasons help bring transparency to the pro-ject as well as provide a benchmark for others interested in improving their programs and policies.”

Additionally, Chakma thanked Western employees for their con-tributions across campus in varying capacities from Hospitality Services to professors and researchers.

“Western is a great place to work and study and we will endeavour to continue to attract and retain Canada’s finest faculty and staff members,” Chakma concluded.

Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE


arts&life saywhat?Girls have got balls. They’re just a little higher up, that’s all.”

• Joan Jett

Four actors take on Doctor Faustus

Richard JosephGAZETTE STAFF

@uwogazette

For some people, completing their education means a stable and ful-filling career; for others, it means summoning the Devil and practi-cing black magic.

The department of English is pre-senting Christopher Marlowe’s 1604 play Doctor Faustus this week at the Grand Theatre. The plot is an ancient one, dating back to the German legend of Faust. The protagonist, Doctor Faustus, having mastered all earthly sciences, decides to dab-ble in the supernatural. Enter Satan himself, who promises the doctor his messenger, Mephistopheles, who will grant Faustus untold wealth and power. But there is, of course, a catch — after 24 years of this decadent life, Faustus will be damned for all eternity.

Jo Devereux, an English profes-sor at Western, is the director of the play and in charge of many Western drama productions year-round. Her choice of Doctor Faustus was largely generated by student interest.

“Some students in the past asked about putting on Doctor Faustus and it gets studied in a lot of courses,” Devereux explains.

The play is unique in that Faustus is played by four different people as the narrative progresses, two women and two men. This was partly a prac-tical decision by Devereux in order to have an ensemble play — this way, more actors get a chance to play substantial roles, but it also serves a thematic purpose.

“I like to show how Doctor Faustus changes over time. He’s a mortal, and like everyone, he becomes different as life goes by,” says Devereux. “As well, I wanted to make a sharp con-trast with Mephistopheles. There’s only one actor playing him, so he’s this sort of immortal figure who never changes.”

Second-year philosophy student John Hunter plays Mephistopheles. Hunter has to walk a delicate line between the serious and the comic in his portrayal of the Devil’s mes-senger and maintain the odd humanity of the devil’s servant.

“That’s what makes him a tragic figure,” says Hunter. “He’s not really the devil he’s thought to be.”

Hunter, a constant through all five acts, has the unique experi-ence of working with four different versions of Faustus, each with their own distinct personality. Chenelle Robinson, fourth-year Catholic

Studies student, plays the ambitious doctor in acts three and four. Her Faustus is the first one introduced to the audience who is female.

“He is very petty and mischiev-ous, but at the same time he is bat-tling with having all this power … and his concerns that he will be going to hell,” Robinson explains. “He’s a very self-critical Faustus, but also quite a playful one.”

Robinson agrees that the five-Faustus-model adds an interesting dynamic to the play. The use of dif-ferent actors, she says, makes Faustus “become a more universal character who is relatable to the audience.”

At first glance, Doctor Faustus might appear to be a morality play angels and devils, the seven deadly sins and the constant, looming threat of Hell are all indicators of a didactic work. But Devereux stipu-lates that the play rises above petty moralizing.

“It’s a complicated play, because it doesn’t really condemn Faustus or exonerate him,” Devereux says.

“In some ways, Faustus is very admirable, because he wants to achieve a lot — and we admire ambi-tious people. On the other hand, the reasons that he is doing this are selfish; he wants to be powerful and wealthy and have this fabulous life.”

Ultimately, Devereux explains, they are not trying to send a moral message — they are just trying to do the play justice. And yet, beware, professors of Western: Faustus was “graced with a doctor’s name,” excelling all until, “swoll’n with cun-ning…/ His waxen wings did mount above his reach, / And melting, heavens conspired his overthrow.”

Doctor Faustus will be playing from Wednesday, Nov. 5 to Saturday, Nov. 8 this week at the Grand Theatre. Tickets, $10 for students, can be bought at the theater or online at http://tickets.grandtheatre.com

Wishing for Western wellnessPeer Support Network raises awareness

Jennafer FreemanARTS AND LIFE EDITOR

@JennaAtGazette

During midterms, the Recreation Centre tends to be empty as cup-boards begin to fill with half-priced Halloween candy. Stressful times like midterms often result in stu-dents paying less attention to their health. Luckily, this week Western students will have the opportunity to get back on track during Health and Wellness Week.

Health and Wellness Week has been designed to raise awareness about the importance of main-taining a well-rounded sense of health. Tuesday was dedicated to physical health, today, the focus will be on mental health and Thursday will address nutrition, specifically alcohol and drug consumption.

Nicole Goodbrand is a fourth-year political science and sociol-ogy student, and the Health and Wellness Support Service coordin-ator this year.

“Everyone’s health and wellness has a variety of different aspects,” Goodbrand explains. “So we tried to pull out some areas which are not necessarily covered by other servi-ces on campus.”

Although the health and well-ness committee is a small group consisting of less than 10 members, they have worked hard to make this event possible. By working together with the Health Studies Student Association, as well as a few differ-ent community groups, they have been able to provide many different activities and resources this week.

Some events taking place today include a free yoga class from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the UCC, as well as a free movie screening of Hook starting at 7 p.m. in the USC Council Chambers, on the third floor of the University Community Centre.

Tomorrow at noon there will be a free shuttle to Covent Garden Market, which will give students the opportunity to purchase some fresh, local produce to include in their

diet. Anyone interested should meet at Talbot College at the Roundabout, as it will be first-come-first-serve for seating.

“I think the largest obstacle for students is still maintaining positive mental health,” says Goodbrand.

She explains that it is an area that is especially stigmatized, often mak-ing students less likely to reach out for help. Goodbrand also believes that students may have trouble seeing how many other aspects of their health are connected to their mental health.

“Our physical activity, nutrition, alcohol consumption and even areas such as financial health or spiritual health weigh heavily on our ability to cope every day mentally,” she says.

During stressful times, students often put a variety of aspects of their health on the back burner, which is why Goodbrand hopes that the events will both provide a break for students, as well as a reminder that their health is very important.

Courtesy of Christian Ridley


NOT JUST FOR KICKS. As part of the Peer Support Network’s Health and Wellness Week Tuesday, students got to participate in kickboxing in the community room of the UCC. The PSN will be putting on events today and tomorrow including a screening of Hook and a trip to the Covent Garden Market.

I LIKE TO SHOW HOW DOCTOR FAUSTUS CHANGES OVER

TIME. HE’S A MORTAL, AND LIKE EVERYONE, HE BECOMES DIFFERENT AS LIFE GOES BY.

JO DEVEREUXDIRECTOR AND WESTERN

ENGLISH PROFESSOR

Graphic by Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 10 ALUMNI HALL

TICKETS $10

KEYNOTE AND PERFORMANCEOPENING EVENT

SHAD

• Online www.internationalweek.uwo.ca• Western Connections, UCC• Western International Office

MORE INFO: 519-661-2111 EXT. 89309

The Essentials > Best Excuses for Extensions

COSMETIC SURGERY

There comes a time in your student career when you have to lie to stay on track, whether it’s telling your group you’re finished your part of the project or having to lie to your professor to get a necessary extension/make-up exam.

The best way to do the latter is to book a cosmetic surgery with the nearest and least expensive surgeon in the area.

That way you have the proper medical documentation required when working with the Western authorities.

And best of all, you can cancel this ‘surgery,’ pay the cancelation fee and spend the time studying or working. Or you know, take the surgery!

• Suhaib Al-Azem

INCOMPETENT PEERS

If you want a guaranteed way to secure that sought after extension, just do your essay. Finish it a week in advance and you’ll have an easy extension.

Conveniently, Western admits basically anyone — meaning that your class is probably full of morons who will start their essays at the last minute. Your professors, overburdened with thousands of emails from said idiots, will always give an extension but only if you don’t need one.

Murphy’s Law argues that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But if you are prepared, you can use that same logic to guarantee you get what you want — you just probably won’t need it when you do get it.

• Brent Holmes

ASSIGNMENT WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH

It’s tough being a prof — they should be granted some slack for assigning the boring essay or two. Teachers struggle to balance a crammed workload with family. Students should be kind enough to allow their professors an extension to spruce up their defective assignments. Kids these days need entertainment and profs should strive more to cater their assignments to the modern ADD brain.

Maybe that eight-page business case study could have a centerfold with some Palasad vouchers? Show-and-tell worked in kindergarten, so why not make that the midterm? If students are going to get an F, at least that F should stand for fun.

• Conrad Floryan

STUDENT HOUSING ISSUES

Does your landlord hate you? If so, you are not alone. Generations of Western students have signed leases unknowingly agreeing to deal with useless, moronic people.

Luckily, you can use your horrifying living situation to your advantage. Maybe you have phenomena due to a leaky roof and broken heat, or you can’t sleep as your house is infested with mice, or maybe your house was broken into and your laptop was stolen — all this can be attributed to your incompetent property manager who refuses to adequately deal with any situation and instead provide the best excuse for the extension.

• Jennafer Freeman

PETS

I am in dire need of this extension because my pet rat tried to kill me. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.

See, besides my rat doing regular annoying rat habits, like gnawing all night and keeping me awake for all 24 hours in a day, he’s been acting quite nervously whenever my friends’ dog comes over.

Yesterday, when the dog was here, my rat was resting on my shoulder as he usually does, but then he bit down hard on my jugular and ran away as my neck began to squirt out blood — so, I’m now in the hospital, turning into a ratpire, so I really need that extension. Did I mention that my rat’s name is Peter Pettigrew?

• Jenny Jay


Jenny JayARTS AND LIFE EDITOR

@JennyAtGazette

To sag or not to sag is never a ques-tion. When it comes to breasts and how saggy or firm they are, we all know that we’re curious to finding out what causes breast deflation and how we can help stop this aging epi-demic. The female population tends to pick running as one of their top choices in exercises when it comes to working out — but true to the popular belief, running will in fact cause boobs to hang low.

Mirela Craciun, the owner of the Elite personal training studio, in London, confirms that running is a factor in causing saggy breasts.

“Anything that is bouncing for too long might over-stretch the skin and cause sagginess,” Craciun says, “I think it is just the bounci-ness of the running [that causes the sagginess].”

David-Lee Tracey, head coach of the Western cheerleading team, states that a major solution to solv-ing this issue comes with wearing proper supportive bras.

“The invention of the sports bra was a wonderful thing. Honestly, I’ve been in cheerleading since before there were sports bras — that’s how

long I’ve been here — so I’ll tell you, it makes a difference,” Tracey says.

With cheerleading involving heavy amounts of running along with jumping, this is a concern for females due to both the short-term and long-term effects that these exercises have — including tenderness and inflammation of the breasts if the right support isn’t there.

“The girls that are a lot more heavier built, typically wear at least two sports bras — we strap them down real good, they’re just so damn tight — not in any way sexualized or seductive, it’s just belted down,” Tracey says.

While really good bras are best recommended for helping the potential of the sagginess that running and bouncing can cause, according to Craciun, chest exer-cises can also help with overcoming this breast fear.

“Weight train — so lifting weights, for the full body but also the upper body, like using the chest press or barbells just to build up the muscle tone under, so it counter balances the damage that would happen with the running,” Craciun says.

According to Craciun, while running allows for the muscle tone in the legs to develop, it actually

lessens it in the chest, so females doing cardio should at least balance out the effects by doing chest exer-cises — even if it means pushups in the comfort of home once they leave the gym.

However, what needs to be noted is that this problem generally is greater for girls that are slightly heavier chested, and as Tracey points out, at least among cheer-leaders, that isn’t so much of an issue these days.

“Over the years, we have a giant shortage of larger chested women. We just typically don’t have a lot of chestier girls. They typically come as ex gymnasts, and their body frames aren’t like that,” Tracey says. “I might be grossly underestimating the size of some of our girls, but the reality of it is, there just isn’t a lot there.”

While the effects of gravity and age will mean that females won’t always have the same perky teen-aged chests, the use of good support and conscientious effort when exer-cising can help the best of the breast war against gravity, and at least as Tracey says, “in the short term, down in the trenches, [sports bras] make a difference. Strap them down, hold them down, it’ll be comfortable and easier to run, and you probably will incur less damage in the long run.”

Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE


opinions

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News Amy O’Kruk Hamza Tariq Katie Lear Olivia Zollino

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Arts & Life Conrad Floryan Jennafer Freeman Jenny Jay

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Diana Watson

• Please recycle this newspaper •

Dear LifeHelfand delivers good speech, despite missteps

University Students’ Council president Matt Helfand’s State of the USC was advertised with two giant blackboards in the middle of the University Community Centre. The biggest text? “Helfand’s speech.”

Indeed, this speech was classic, straight up Helfand. Equipped with his noteworthy levels of passion, Helfand’s State of the USC sent a clear message that this would be an organization here for students. He went to substantial lengths to ensure that everyone had a clear understanding of what the USC does, going as far to say, “If I have to explain what the USC is everyday, I’m okay with that.”

Striking a populist note usually is successful in election campaigns for the USC but it hasn’t generally gained much traction outside of that period. Last year, when Pat Whelan delivered his speech, absent were most of his proactive stu-dent policies. Instead, Whelan focused on the changing face of education and how students had to take action. He was light on specifics and solid action.

In contrast, Helfand clearly articulated what students can expect the USC to prioritize, not just in his term, but in the next few years as he sets up a strategic plan moving forward.

Stating confidently that “the USC will never let Homecoming be canceled,” Helfand took a very pro-stu-dent stance. That said, he also targeted the Broughdale cul-ture and argued that festivities need to continue on campus more vigorously. This misguided message doesn’t detract from his over-arching point — students are vital to London and need to be respected.

Continuing that the London Transit Commission needs to respect students more as “students represent the largest contingent of LTC riders.” Hopefully the five city council-lors-elect present heard his message loud and clear — the LTC needs more funding. As an advocate for what students need, Helfand is strikingly effective.

He was less effective at outlining what the USC would do for their second priority, student wellness. I left the speech unaware of what Helfand — or anyone within the USC — was doing for students on campus. Arguably, what students care about most — sans some municipal changes — was reduced to a simple argument.

“When student assistance is not being directly offered, the USC will clearly articulate student concerns to admin-istration,” Helfand noted. This is not a priority, however, this is a job expectation. As a student, I expect that the USC will constantly be fighting for students especially regarding our wellbeing. While he prioritizes imparting knowledge of the USC on others, this basic piece of information seemed painstakingly obvious.

The state of the USC ended pretty outlandishly as Helfand highlighted some things that the organization would experi-ence in five years. He labeled them “bold” but most of them probably fit better with “fantasy.”

Stating that the USC will be regarded as the best not-for-profit organization in London — one of the visions — is also slightly offensive. An advocacy group for a bunch of students — most of whom only stay in this city for four years — cannot be equal to the large amount of charities and healthcare research facilities in this city.

Overall, however, Helfand’s speech was strong. It was a notice to students that the USC was prioritizing their needs above all and ensuring that they would be addressed. While there can be some things deconstructed, the State of the USC was a good roadmap for an organization that could use some direction.

• Bradley Metlin

If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween.

• Douglas Coupland

Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life,UWOFA is all talk about the strike. Same gambit as 2011.

Dear Life, Seriously, more logos?

Dear Life,Matt Brown’s election may be good for students but don’t forget us Londoners who are going to pay the price when you’re gone.

Dear Life,Halloween: last time you’ll see sophs until Frost Week.

Dear Life,The whole marketing textbook is total BS.

Dear Life,When you enter the real world, you’ll understand the hierarchy of degrees. It’s amazing the number of arts majors who end up as financial planners or insurance agents because their higher education is worthless.

Dear Life,I know I keep saying this, but this time we’re going to get back on track. This time we will not get desperate. This time we will not respond to his text. -Next time

Dear Life,After subtly or blatantly insulting almost every group on campus for the past two months, I’ve decided to retire from this. I’m a MOS grad underemployed at a ‘grunt’ job and wants students to understand that campus life is one of those rose-coloured glasses. It is quickly shattered upon graduation and life’s rat race makes you clamour for more time inside an incubator like good ol’ Western U.

wgaz.ca/dearlife

Kevin HurrenNEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE

@KevinAtGazette

As the calendar flips to November, it seems as though all eyes shift to Christmas.

Hanging bats are replaced with mistle-toe, carved pumpkins with festive stock-ings and Mariah Carey’s career receives a temporary bump with renewed airplay of her iconic track, All I Want For Christmas Is You.

However, I implore you to spend another brief moment thinking about Halloween, specifically the costumes. With social media feeds flooded with the best — and worst — costumes Western students had to offer, it’s not uncommon to read arguments breaking out in the comment sections.

Now, my goal isn’t to add to that dia-logue. There are plenty of movements, including the University Students’ Council’s own Question Your Costume campaign, which can point out the prob-lematic nature of costumes like “terror-ist,” “Ebola victim” and “Ray Rice’s wife.”

Rather, I want to address how these costumes are defended — the most prevalent defense based on an apparent “hypersensitivity.”

“Don’t be so sensitive,” a trick-or-treater said to me when I raised concerns about her Native American accessories this past weekend. “It’s just a costume — everyone needs to stop being so sensitive.”

The North American public has been struggling with these views for some time. Many argue that we are becoming too sensitive, jumping to attack every remotely offensive joke, comment, and — of course — costume.

But I challenge the idea that we, as a col-lective, are becoming more sensitive. The

way I see it, we’re becoming more aware.Yes, there have been cultural shifts

towards inclusivity — but that’s not what has propelled us to contemporary ideas of political correctness and sensitivity. Instead, I argue that technology has mobilized us.

Think about it — when you hear about something that offends you, how often is that news in the form of a tweet, Facebook status or some other online post? Gone are the days of secluded injustices, facing little consequence because no one was around to witness them.

The Internet and online communities facilitate two important developments for social causes. First, networks can gain momentum and expose isolated events. Second, different perspectives are shared at greater frequencies.

Take the aforementioned example of Halloween costumes. Before, an insensi-tive costume wouldn’t get more than a few glances at some generic, basement party. Now, pictures from that party — including the costume — are shared online to be viewed, and critiqued, by all.

But the Internet doesn’t just act as a spotlight, exposing the mistakes of others. It also works as an educational tool.

Many of those who dress in offen-sive costumes have never met the figure they’re parodying. People who dress as Ray Rice’s wife haven’t heard the plight of a domestic violence victim. People who dress as a racial stereotype haven’t listened to the hardships of ethnic minorities.

That’s where the Internet comes in. We have a unique opportunity to read, watch and listen to ideas we otherwise would have never been exposed to and this can be eye-opening. After all, knowledge is the best weapon against ignorance.

So, in sum, we’re not becoming hyper-sensitive, we’re becoming more aware. More aware of the people we’re hurting, of the pain we’ve been ignoring and of perspectives that have been around for decades.

Awareness key to Halloween costumes

Seven Minutes in Kevin

@stefanzekopitar@uwogazette I planned my schedule to have as few classes on Thurs/Fri as possible, and Halloween made it unlikely I’d stay in. #StudyBust

@a_rivest@uwogazette Caught up on sleep and my social life during it for my mental health. Now I’m stressed over the work I didn’t do. #StudyBust

@Tegxx@uwogazette #studybust should not be on Halloween and if it is should be a week long.

@a_rivest@uwogazette If it was a week long, I could’ve done school work as well. #StudyBust

@zainaroo@uwogazette #StudyBust since it’s only 2 days, would be a #studybreak if it was longer.

@avaiay@uwogazette It’s a #StudyBust because professional school don’t get the days off.

Tweet your thoughts to @uwogazette

Head to Head > #studybreak or #studybust

BreakingBrad

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sports saywhat?“There’s going to be a day and age when the Raptors are going to be as big as the Leafs … I’ve made a few stupid comments. That’s not one of them.”

• Outgoing chief executive officer of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Tim Leiweke, evidently losing his mind.

Rundown >> Mustangs kicker Zach Medeiros has been named the OUA special teams player of the week • The award comes largely as a result of his performance in the Mustangs 25–10 win over Laurier, in which he kicked four field goals, including one from 49 yards.

Split weekend for men’s volleyball squad

Bradley MetlinSPORTS EDITOR@BradAtGazette

The men’s volleyball team extended their winning streak at Alumni Hall this weekend — only to have it ended the next day. Western ended up on top against Waterloo on Friday winning three sets to two. The next day, however, Guelph finished the Mustangs off in only four sets.

Head coach Jim Sage explained the expectations for the weekend.

“Expectations were to get a good start in our home opener and defeat a huge rival in Waterloo then focus on Guelph,” he said.

Perhaps most compelling of the entire weekend was the fourth set of the Waterloo game.

Beginning with both teams trad-ing points back and forth, Waterloo then began taking a lead with expert blocks. The Mustangs then answered back by utilizing precise serving by Zeid Hamedeh and Brad Hockin. The charge was then solidified by Chris Newcombe, whose attacking prowess continues to receive praise.

“Chris Newcombe continues to impress in the middle,” Sage stated.

Waterloo didn’t let Western run-away with the win, fighting back and bringing the set to a 19–19 tie. Western attempted to break way but Waterloo again forced them to a tie at 24–24.

The two teams then began trad-ing point after point for several serves. After an unforced error from Waterloo, Western used the oppor-tunity and Newcombe unleashed consecutive attacks to finally finish the set 38–36.

Western ended up capturing the final set 17–15.

On Saturday, the Mustangs looked to continue a four game win-ning streak. Unfortunately, Guelph didn’t comply with Western’s expect-ations. Reflecting on the weekend, Sage summated that the weekend was a wake up call.

“All teams hate Western and want to beat us as badly as anyone,” he pointed out matter-of-factly. “No

one’s going to feel sorry for us, and because we are off to a great start, we better be ready to play everyone in our league tough. Kudos to Guelph on an impressive win.”

Western played a solid enough game on Saturday but failed to pick up balls that got passed their block.

The first set began with Guelph exploiting holes in Western’s defence, allowing the Gryphons to take an early lead. Eventually, the Mustangs recovered but it wasn’t enough as Guelph squeaked pass them to win the set 25–23.

The Gryphons managed to win the third and fourth sets by exploit-ing minor errors from the Mustangs.

Despite the loss, both games at Alumni Hall this weekend were riv-eting volleyball matches. Mustangs veteran Justin Scapinello, who is on the team for a third year, led both games in points. Indeed, despite losing against Guelph, Scapinello still managed an impressive 30 kills.

Losing against the Gryphons doesn’t deter coach Sage in the slightest. When asked how the team would recover, his response was clear.

“Recover? It’s one match in an incredibly long season, we are 4–1 and tied for first place, we’ll have lots more just like it,” he said.

NO ONE’S GOING TO FEEL SORRY FOR US, AND

BECAUSE WE ARE OFF TO A GREAT START, WE BETTER BE READY TO PLAY EVERYONE IN OUR LEAGUE THOUGH. KUDOS TO GUELPH ON AN IMPRESSIVE WIN.

JIM SAGEMEN’S VOLLEYBALL COACH

Amy O’Shea • GAZETTE

Mustang Justin Scapinello (8) hits the ball past Guelph Gryphon blockers Luke Waud (13) and Patrick Strzalkowski (16)

Proud of your residence?Tweet us your best tagline!

@westernuRezLife #staywithme

Upper year Rezthat even hosts wine & cheese events.

LondonHall#StayClassyLondon


Mustangs capture silver, advance to finals Robert Nanni

SPORTS EDITOR@SportsAtGazette

The Mustangs women’s soccer team qualified for the Ontario University Athletics final this past weekend, grabbing silver on the way. They are now making their way to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships.

The Saturday morning game against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks saw 120 minutes of scoreless back-and-forth action, finally settled in penalty kicks in Western’s favour.

Western goalkeeper Tori Edgar had a lot of pressure placed upon her as the Ridgebacks made various attempts to end the game in the shootouts. Using her skill and some guess-work to deduce the oppon-ent’s plan, she blocked UOIT’s third attempt on net.

Seeing shootout goals from Stefanie DiTella and Grace Grafham, the Mustangs were sent all the way to the win. Even when UOIT attempted to use their OUA All-Star and top scorer Cassandra Sribny, she was no match for Edgar’s impressive stopping.

“The individual performance that stands out the most is from our goalkeeper, Tori Edgar,” Mustangs head coach, Martin Painter, said. “She saved three consecutive pen-alty shots in the semifinal win over UOIT.”

The Mustangs attacked offen-sively but poorly so, producing 14 shots but only four of which were on target. The Ridgebacks only

made two shots on goal, making the game a rather flat affair. Despite two shots on goal coming from Mustang Nicole Zajac, the pace of the game was generally slow.

Strong defensive play was also seen from Western midfielder Angelika Mihalopulos, who was named Player of the Game.

Following the Mustang’s tight win, they continued on to Guelph to play the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sunday afternoon — a game they lost 1–0.

This loss for Western marks the second time in three seasons the Gee-Gees claim the title of prov-incial champions. Seeing as the Mustangs were fifth in the CIS and they faced the number one team, this loss was a tough one.

“We expected two very close hard fought games, as all four teams at the OUA Championships were very strong,” said Painter.

Ottawa player Pilar Khoury scored in the 57th minute, seeing the only goal of the game. Despite two shots on goal by Mustangs Lauren Vandebygaart and Jenna White, their attempts were no match for Gee-Gee goalie Cynthia Leblanc.

The relentless Gee-Gees made seven shots on goal against the ‘Stangs Tori Edgar, but she con-tinuously blocked nearly every sin-gle one. After defending her team in the previous day’s shootout, her efforts during the Ottawa game were very notable.

“We played well, but we also know we need to improve in cer-tain areas,” Painter said. “We were good, but lacked the extra edge

and quality that we will need when playing against the best teams in the country.”

Even without the Gee-Gee’s star midfielder Julia Francki due to her red card in the team’s semifinal match against the Laurier Golden Hawks, Ottawa still overcame the

Western Mustangs. In fact, Ottawa’s game against Laurier was so close that they nearly fought for bronze instead of gold.

The Mustangs and Gee-Gees both continue onto the CIS national championships, hosted by Laval in Quebec City. The Mustangs will

open the three-day championship against Laval.

“I know we will give everything we can to create an upset and to perform at our very best,” Painter stated, concerning the team’s pro-jected performance for the upcom-ing championship weekend.

FILE PHOTO

Ladies and Gentlemen, I think it’s time. After weeks of shitting on logos (and heaping the occasional praise), our next logo trip takes us to Kingston, Ontario. That’s right, it’s time that we explore Western’s biggest rival — the Queen’s Gaels. This will be fun.

First thing while looking at this logo, it’s a giant Q. For the people in the public relations department at Queen’s, I want to send them a giant fruit basket. Jian Ghomeshi, who has been gripping the nation with tales of his “mutually agreed upon” sex-ual escapades, had a show by the name of Q. In an ideal world, every-thing with the letter “Q” in Canada would be purged but I won’t dwell too much on that. Rather, I think it’s more prudent to whip away from this comparison.

Moving forward, why are there four different colours featured in the “Q?” This is the classic hallmark

of an indecisive logo designer. When experimenting with differ-ent colours and designs, most end up picking one, not leaving every freaking thing on the canvas.

What I find neat about this logo’s use of many colours though is that it so prominently repre-

sents the Queen’s campus. The bright yellow, intense red, and white all rep-resent Queen’s well — afterall, these are the colours that make up a flame. During Western’s

Homecoming, the streets are filled with people flooded in purple. At Queen’s during Homecoming, city streets are filled with cars ablaze, students rioting, mass chaos and widespread dysentery.

Extraordinary for its many unique quirks, this logo doesn’t represent the mania of Queen’s very well. For all purposes, it’s a pretty typical logo. The typeface is so aggressive and plain looking. It’s the font that one would put on a warning sign to ensure safety.

This logo designer probably went down to the lake on campus to think about ideas. Instead of using the serene location to allow the mind to wander, this designer likely saw a sign warning of dangerous water flow and decided to just rip off the font.

So of course — like everything at Queen’s — the Gaels have crafted a truly mediocre logo.

• Bradley Metlin

wednesday, november 5, 2014

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