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Friday, November 30, 2007 impriNt.uwaterloo.cavol 30, No 20

ImprIntThe universiTy of WaTerloo’s official sTudenT neWspaper

INSIDE AND OUT

Dave Klaponskisports editor

With a 9-2 start to the regular season, the War-rior women’s volleyball team is sitting atop of the oua West standings at the christmas break. Whatever happens in the remaining eight matches, this season will be seen as a successful one for the team.

“i’m happy; we have a talented team and the girls have been working hard,” said head coach Gabrielle Jobst.

and Jobst should be happy with her girls. They have won matches against both McMaster and Western, two teams that finished ahead of them last season, though they did split the season series with Western at one apiece. Their only

other loss came this past weekend against the powerful university of Toronto team.

The 3-0 loss to Toronto came as a small hiccup in a season of high quality plays. however, the loss does bring the Waterloo side back to earth after seven straight wins at the start of the season.

“i don’t think that we are quite where we could be yet; we still have things to work on,” stressed Jobst after the women’s second loss of the season. “our consistency of play isn’t there yet, but that stuff just comes with time and repetition.”

After a close first set loss, 29-27 to To-ronto on sunday afternoon, the Warriors fell in the second and third sets 25-19 and 25-20 respectively. The Warriors found it hard to defend against the star middle attacker from u of T, asya danilova, who had 20 kills in

the match. The cis all-star is second in the oua in points per set.

on the Warrior side of the court, Bojana Josipovic and Gaby lesniak had 14 and 10 kills respectively. This is one of the best seasons for the Warrior women in recent history and part of that success definitely can be attributed to Jobst. The second-year coach is only in her first full season. she has a positive approach to the game and respects her players.

Jobst wants to make Waterloo competitive at the cis level. This is really a big deal because, as of November 2007, no OUA team is ranked in the cis top ten. Jobst has a different philosophy than the previous volleyball coach and believes that wins and losses are not the main goal of the team.

“i want to see our skills improve and i want to see that [other universities] know who the university of Waterloo is when they step on the court,” said Jobst.

The Warriors have two games against McMas-ter and ottawa, which will be very tough wins to pull off, but the rest of the matches are against teams that finished below them in the standings last year.

looking ahead, if the girls win the six games against the teams below them in the standings then they are assured a playoff spot and have a real chance to shine this year on the national stage. The Warriors next home game is not until January 11, 2008.

dklapons@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Warrior women serve up a season of success

Chemistry theft, page 27 YOU WANT FIFTY BUCKS?Fill out the Imprint Survey!

As part of Warrior Weekends’ end-of-term line-up, the Residence Council organized a well-attended Battle of the Bands inside the Student Life Centre’s Great Hall on November 23, 2007. The event was coupled with craft booths and food, and culminated in a concert by solo guitarist, Brad Sucks.

That same Friday night, in the SLC courtyard, UW students braved the cold from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. as part of the “Out in the Cold” awareness campaign. The event, periodically monitored by the Campus Response Team, was meant to draw attention to the issue of homelessness. See page 5 for more details.

AShley CSAnAdyCourteSy JASmine Joblik

Fair trade, full house

The Fair Trade Fair, presented by Engineers Without Borders, the Fair Trade Action Group, the Grebel Peace Society and WPIRG, took place Wednesday, November 28 in the lower Atrium of the SLC. The all-day event featured a pancake breakfast and a fair with community vendors. The day ended with a fair trade trivia challenge led by EngSoc at POETs.

UW student sexually assaulted on campusTaylor Schnaeringerimprint intern

A UW student was sexually assaulted on Tuesday, November 20 at ap-proximately 6 p.m. while walking in the area of Tatham Centre, near South Campus Hall. Sergeant Alan M. Binns, in charge of investigations for UW Police Services reported that above and beyond the initial assault, “she was not physically harmed, and assistance for her psychological and emotional needs are being addressed.”

No information on her attacker has been released, as the UW Police Services continues to assist the Wa-terloo Regional Police Services in the investigation. Binns stated, “There is

a very limited amount of information at this time, and it is our hope that the University of Waterloo community may be able to assist us.” If anyone has information regarding this event, witnesses are asked to please contact the University of Waterloo Police Services at Ext. 22222 or Waterloo Regional Police Services — Major Case Unit (Detective G. Stinson) at 519-653-7700 Ext. 8672.

Meanwhile Tom Ruttan, the director of Counselling Services, believes that a crime like this could, “fracture the feeling of safety on campus.” Counseling services, located in Needles Hall, is open for students who need to talk about any personal issues they may have.

Binns said that UW police services has upped their number of foot and mobile patrols in and around the area of the incident. Binns is also requesting that “the UW community to immedi-ately report any suspicious activity to Ext. 22222 or (519) 888-4911.”

UW police services is offering per-sonal safety seminars free of charge to any and all parties interested in participating. They are also giving per-sonal safety tips to UW students. Binns’ suggestions include the following:

“The buddy system — people alone are the easiest targets. Travel in pairs or with a group when you can.

“Be aware of your surroundings and don’t use unfamiliar shortcuts to save time.

“Stay on busy, well-lit streets, walk in the middle of the sidewalk, set boundaries and keep a safe distance from strangers on the street. If you think you are being followed, change direction and head for a populated area and be safe.”

Because students must occasionaly deal with significant personal problems while trying to complete their studies, organizations like counselling services are committed to helping out. Ruttan states that in cases like this one coun-sellors would “go to the bat for that person every way [they] could.”

Faculty can make accommodations when students are dealing with personal distress. According to Ruttan, Counsel-ling Services works with professors at

UW to give students the time they need if they have personal problems that require more immediate attention.

Counselling services will either provide professors with proof in writing of the student’s condition or talk to the professor personally. Ruttan added that the problem itself is not disclosed to the professor unless the student involved gives permission. He further encourages any and all students to come out and talk to counselling services. “If someone is feeling upset or needs to talk they should come and touch base with us because that’s what they are paying us for.” tschnaeringer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Burglars ransack student townhomeZoe McKnightstaff reporter

A student at the University of Wa-terloo was threatened and robbed by two unknown intruders in his Philip Street townhouse on the evening of Saturday, November 24.

The engineering student, who asked to remain anonymous, said that he was studying while wait-ing for his girlfriend to come over. Having left the front door unlocked, the burglars were able to enter his house. When he interrupted the two burglars, one threatened him with a knife: “They ordered me to get on the ground as they ransacked my room,” the student said in an interview with Imprint.

The robbers, who made off with an estimated $2, 000 worth of consumer electronics, remain at large while the UW student tries to get his life back on track. Still scared and in shock, he said he didn’t realize the extent of the robbery until much later.

Though some details remain unavailable as the Waterloo Regional Police continue their investigation, the student did note that the items stolen were of typical use among university students: portable, valuable and out in the open. “As students, we are pretty complacent about security and safety, but complacency only makes it worse,” he said.

“The message I want to drive home is [one of] safety and community. We are only here for four or eight months

at a time, so we don’t really have neigh-bourly relations. [Fewer] people are looking out for you. You have to be a little more careful.”

Although unable to comment on this weekend’s robbery, an off-campus don said that the safety advice that the off-campus don’s office provides to students is simple: keep doors locked at all times, record the serial numbers of electronic equipment, think about personal safety first and don’t resist should a robbery occur.

When questioned whether or not he locks his doors, a student in the SLC, Mohsen Hadianfard commented, “I try to, but my room-mates don’t usually remember […] I generally feel pretty safe.” Michaela Tatu, another student, added on

the subject of campus safety: “I’ve never had a problem […] I’m kind of surprised.”

Ryan Robertson, who works for Walksafe, also noted an increase in students that use the service over the three terms he has worked here. His co-worker Amy Milne added, “I’ve never actually experienced anything myself.”

Campus police could not be reached for comment. If anyone has information regarding this incident, they should contact Detective Kim Gingrich at the Waterloo Regional Police.

— with files from Jacqueline McKoy

zmcknight@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Follow this and other Web Exclusive news stories throughout winter breakvia Imprint Online:

imprint.uwaterloo.ca

JennSerec

Thieves hit Hagey Hall and Tatham Centreon November 27

News Imprint, November 30, 2007news@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

� Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007News

Carousel’s last dance at East Campus HallCarousel Dance Centre will change locations at the end of June, while UW’s academic dance classes will be completely phased out of the curriculum

jenn serec

UW students participate in Ballet 301/401, taking place at Studio B at East Campus Hall. The 2007/2008 academic year will mark the last with dance classes offered as a part of the fine arts interdisciplinary program.

Sarah Heweyimprint intern

The University of Waterloo will no longer house the Carousel Dance Centre, which will instead become a privatized institution as of June 30, 2008. The space located at East Campus Hall will then be allocated to develop the Faculty of Arts programs as well as other UW-funded performing arts programs. In addition to the relocation, the small number of dance programs remaining at UW will be eliminated from the curriculum.

In 1993, The Gazette reported that the department of dance was fully operational at UW until the university senate concluded that the dance program, though steady in terms of academics, was unnecessary when compared with other health science programs involving research and undergraduate studies, such as kinesiology and recreation and leisure studies. Therefore, the department was closed, and a select few dance courses were integrated with other fine arts programs.

The Carousel Dance Centre, which has operated at UW for over 35 years, began as a mode of allowing UW dance students to as-sociate with and assist young children in dance, as well as to further their own skills as dancers. However, due to the closing of the department

of dance, the number of participants dwindled, and a gradual separation between Carousel and UW dance developed.

“It was an evolution,” said Bruce Mitch-ell, associate provost of academic affairs. “In the last few years, there has been such a need for space. So, with huge reluctance, we decided the time had come when it was no longer appropriate to provide space to Carousel Dance.”

UW will continue to offer select dance programs for the remainder of the fall and winter terms. After the programs are elimi-nated, any student who has chosen a fine arts interdisciplinary program will have the op-portunity to substitute other performing arts classes for his or her course load.

“The dance classes continue through the 2007/2008 academic year,” said Ken Coates, dean of arts. “We were providing the students and the instructors with as much notice as we could about the impending change. We know, as well, that the students have a variety of other fine and performing arts options in music, fine arts and drama.”

But how did students respond to the re-location and cancellation of dance classes? Said Megan Etehells, a third-year biomedical sciences student, “I don’t think I’ll continue to dance elsewhere. It won’t be on campus, so

it will be harder.” But she added that dancing is “relaxing, and a good way to way to get to know your body.”

“It’s unfortunate for future dance students,” added Alison Van Ryckeghem, a fourth-year science and business student.

According to Mitchell, students collaborated to present a petition to protest the cancellation of the dance programs.

“We understand the students’ enthusiasm for their courses and their appreciation for the in-struction that they received,” said Coates. “The students’ decision to protest was predictable, acceptable and admirable,” added Mitchell.

In the event of Carousel’s relocation, UW plant operations has offered to provide full support for the move, which will include transporting pianos, musical equipment, dance bars and mirrors. The hope, Mitchell said, is to maintain a respectful relationship with Carousel, and to enable the relocation to run smoothly.

“The university is committed to moving all equipment,” said Mitchell. “We want to continue to treat Carousel Dance with dignity and respect.”

The Carousel Dance Centre will relocate to 550 Parkside Drive, a location that con-veniently utilizes an elevator. Although East Campus Hall is a two-storey establishment,

no elevator is currently installed, and no plans have been made to invest in one. This shift will allow for a greater accumulation of participants, particularly those who are disabled.

“Carousel has responded very professionally to the request for relocation, as we expected from an organization that has worked closely with the university and the community over the years,” said Coates. “We understand that they have found a new location, quite close to campus, and that their programs will be continuing at this site.”

Through the years, Carousel has established itself as a separate institution, one that gener-ates an income and provides services to outside clientele.

“Carousel is a stand-alone organization that is geared towards children and teens,” said Mitchell. “We went from a stage where Carousel was a consciously built-in component for the dance program, to the organization no longer being a core part of the experience for UW dance students.”

This summer, Carousel will offer additional programming for dance students. Classes will recommence at the new location in fall 2008.

shewey@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

�Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 News

It’s only midnight, but I can feel the chill creeping up my spine, the cold inching through me. My hands are aching, and my nose hurts. But the air is crisp and clean in the way that only early winter can bring, and it’s filled with happy chatter and yelps from a game of extreme Frisbee. Amid all this camaraderie and happy chatter, it’s hard to believe we’re participating in an event to raise awareness for homelessness.

And yet the Student Life Centre (SLC) courtyard hosted dozens of students participating in Out in the Cold throughout the night of November 23, 2007. Most just stopped by for a few hours, to drop off some money, say “hi” to friends or just show support. But at least 20 participants spent the night exposed to the elements, with only cardboard, blankets and their own spirits to get them through.

The event was aimed at raising awareness of homelessness and transitioning families in our region, but money and donations of cloth-ing and food were also collected. By the end of the night, a large pile of donations filled part of the courtyard, and donations were pouring in.

During an initial meet-and-greet, attendees learned that everyone was participating for a different reason, from wanting to learn more about homelessness, to having known someone who lived on the streets.

But the most overwhelming reason most people were there was Nick Petten. Attendees regularly touted this co-organizer’s role in bringing them out, as he actually started the event last spring with Leah Morrow, a recent fine arts grad. According to Petten, this sec-ond Out in the Cold drew a much larger crowd.

Petten explained that the idea came to him on the bus when he was trying to think of an event to raise

awareness about homelessness and a friend suggested sleeping outside. He said that the impetus for the event came from a long-standing attraction to social issues. He also wanted to learn more about home-lessness and “genuinely wanted to do something about it.

“Basically students at any uni-versity have a lot of resources [and are] very privileged, lucky people. I feel that people that have these privileges, and these resources have a responsibility to use those resources for the greater good.” Morrow explained that when Petten came to her with the idea last year, she got “on board right away.”

Homelessness is an issue close to Morrow, as she explained that her father was homeless for five years before passing away. She originally channelled her energies into what she called “useful art” — art projects that the homeless could find useful, either as shelter or otherwise. She later branched out into trying to reach people, and said she wanted to “break down the stereotype of a solitary homeless person, when really they have networks of people that care about them who don’t know how to reach them.

“I really hope that come four o’clock in the morning there are people realizing what they take for granted everyday. For me that’s what makes this event successful, to change people’s thinking,” said Morrow, when asked of her hopes for the event.

While the air was full of laughter for a good portion of the evening, by mid-morning it was becoming abundantly clear just how difficult staying outside — without the SLC to pop into to warm up — would really be. And even though the earlier parts of the night were undeniably fun, it would be hard to imagine that anyone who spent the night didn’t walk away with at least a little more appreciation for the hardships that the homeless must face every day.

— Ashley Csanady

NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Understanding what it means to

be Out in the ColdFRIDAYNovember 30Losing the Arctic? The Role of the North in Canada’s Future

Dean of Arts Ken Coates will be the speaker for the St. Jeromes’ Centre for Catholic Experience Lecture.Free.

7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. SJU, C. L. Siegfried Hall

The Golden Dogs Concert

Free concert hosted by Feds and Off-Campus Dons.

8:00 p.m. SLC, Great Hall

SUNDAYDecember 2Mozart Requiem

Performance by the UW choir. Tickets are $12 for students and available by calling ext. 24226

3:00 p.m. Humanities Theatre

MONDAYDecember 3Weihnachtsfest

UW German Club and the Waterloo Centre for German Studies will be presenting German chorals and refreshments.

4:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. St. Paul’s College

Fed 201

An end of term 19+ party featuring prize giveaways. No cover, ID required.

10:00 p.m. Fed Hall

WEDNESDAYDecember 5“The Power of IDEAS” conference

Annual conference on inclusiveness in the learning environment. See http://powerofideas.uwaterloo.ca for more information on schedule and conference fees.

8:45 a.m. J. R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall

In the November 23 Imprint article, “Feds referendum on refugee support,” the refer-endum referred to is as of yet only a proposal; a referendum will be held only if the pro-posal passes.

Imprint apologizes for the misinterpretation.

Correction

The little learning paper that could

A girl’s first period is undeniably a life altering experience, but whether it’s an intimidating yet positive transition into adulthood or a terrifying and traumatic experience depends entirely upon her understanding of the event. So, when I was reading a recent article in The Globe and Mail regarding marketing “feminine hygiene” products to tween girls I couldn’t help but question why, instead of promot-ing education and discussion, the campaign aimed to make menstruation more taboo than it already is.

I was 11 when I got my period and, at the time, I was considered young to begin men-struating, but the Globe article reported that girls as young as 8 and 9 are now getting their period and the same people who bring you the “blue liquid” ads on tv are now trying to tap into a younger market — and with relative suc-cess to boot. “The kits, sold on chatty, cheeky websites, are filled with information written in youth-friendly lingo, along with tampons, pads, panty liners — even thong liners — and personal wipes designed to appeal to this young, yet fertile (pardon the pun) crowd,” the afore-mentioned article states.

Now, selling information kits that may ease young girls, especially those who get

Pink pads, blue bloodtheir periods as young as eight, may seem like a good idea; however, the kits only further sterilize the process, enforcing the taboo. At such an impressionable age using one of these kits only affirms that getting your period is something to be ashamed of and kept hidden away. And just think of all the ways we sterilize menstruation. From the aforementioned “blue liquid” advertisements, to the innumerable euphemisms for that “time of the month”, to the fact that we refer to pads and tampons as “feminine hygiene” products — which suggests that menstruation is an unnatural, shameful and dirty occurrence.

In reality, these girls need to be taught the medical implications of their period, what it means, what’s really happening, how to tell if something is wrong and so on. This informa-tion shouldn’t come to them in a bright pink booklet attached to pads that look like candy, but from parents and sex educators. Finding the right words to explain menstruation to an eight-year-old may seem daunting, but it’s better that those lines of communication are opened at an early age and kept that way in case she has any further questions.

An article from Health Care for Women Interna-tional entitled “Young Western Women’s Experi-ence with Menarche and Menstruation” states that the most frequent source of information regarding menstruation that a young, North

American girl receives is from a sex-ed teacher at school. It also states that “problems with menstrual-related education were described as perceptions of unwillingness by teachers to discuss menstruation, time limits for education, unclear instruction leading to misconceptions, and the presence of peers in group learning situations that lead to embarrassment.” While sex-ed is undeniably important, that education needs to start at home — especially if the girl gets her period so young that it precedes those lessons. What really needs to happen is a frank and open discussion between parent and child that continues and develops as the child does. The kits may be quick and easy, but they only provide so much information. They help hide and subvert what is an essential part of growing up for a young girl, and no matter how young she may be every girl needs to understand whats going on when they reach menarche.

Additionally, the Globe article stated that early onset of puberty can attribute to eating disorders and other body image issues as these girls don’t understand why their bodies are changing — all the more reason to give these girls as much information as possible, because they can’t understand why their bodies are changing if nobody explains it to them.

A friend of mine told me that after she got her first period, her mom took her out for dessert as a celebration of her burgeon-

ing womanhood — and isn’t that the way it should be? A milestone to be celebrated and recognized as an important step to growing up, especially since, according to a Health Care for Women International article, “about half the world’s cultures, menarche, or first menstruation, is celebrated with rituals and ceremonies as a religious, community, or economic event. In North American countries, however, the onset of menstruation is shrouded in secrecy and often is concealed or ignored. It is a stigma [and] cultural taboos discourage discussion about menstruation.” Menstruation doesn’t have to be scary, and the fact that girls are getting younger may be troubling — enough to have many health care professionals to worry why this is happening — but just because they are getting it younger doesn’t mean they don’t need the same information as a girl who starts menstruating at 15.

The kits really do more harm than good. In a world where women’s sexual health is still considered taboo, teaching girls that menstrua-tion is shameful is not the way to introduce them to womanhood — even if they are only eight. They may not be a woman, but their bodies seem to think they are, so they should be taught everything they need to know, and not just how to keep themselves “clean.”

acsanady@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Entering the position of editor-in-chief at the end of a school term isn’t easy. No matter how much I might want to engage my volunteers, their thoughts are invariably turning to final essays and exams. For every student toeing the line of academic failure to produce a solid news article, four others are wisely putting their studies before Imprint as a whole.

Meanwhile, over the last two weeks I’ve encountered the usual condemnations from the general student body: “Imprint’s gone downhill in the last year.” “Imprint volunteers just don’t care about journalism.” “Imprint has no integ-rity.” And yet the same shock value articles consistently top the reader hit list and “Latest Comments” thread online.

So to what, if anything, can we attribute blame for the failings of Imprint? Are they insti-tutional or operational? Cyclical or on-going?

How, even, do we measure the extent of those failures? Critics of Imprint almost always couch their condemnations in a sense of “fall-ing from grace” — implying that still they view

Imprint as having once been better than it is now. Recalling with some fondness my last term as a volunteer — and still salivating at the sight of our hard-won February 9, 2007 cover — even I can’t say I’m not tempted by the appeal of “the good old days.”

But what fascinates me more is how quick such critics are to regard Imprint as an unwavering bastion of “group-think” — an all-encompass-ing consciousness that intentionally keels toward or away from Truth and Integrity depending on sheer, overarching whim. With turnover rates that inundate the office in fresh volunteers every term, and a new editor-in-chief and board of directors at least every year, nothing could be further than the truth.

Just down the road, Wilfrid Laurier Univer-sity’s The Cord Weekly has a very different policy with regard to student involvement. Section editors are hired on an annual basis, and even section writers have to submit to an intense hiring and training process that discourages new volunteers from short-term commitments. The benefits of this stringent policy speak for themselves: The Cord website is a gem of New Media, and their articles regularly promote meaningful student debate.

But there are also downsides to such a policy, as was exemplified when The Cord’s EIC Mike Brown called to inform us that one of his writers had plagiarized an opinion-cum-features piece first published in Imprint. He apologized and informed us of the steps he’d taken to correct the matter — namely, publishing a correction online and firing the writer in question.

But it was this latter move that troubled me, trained as I’ve been on a mission statement that stresses the importance of campus journalism as a learning environment. Certainly, cases arise where it’s necessary to remove Imprint volunteers from positions of authority, but always with the understanding that Imprint is meant to help students learn from failures, and hopefully to grow.

The Cord, with its rigorous entrance stan-dards and long-term staff commitments, might well provide a more streamlined path to journalistic excellence — and for this I have no end of admiration. But more often than not, students volunteer at Imprint to augment their formal educations — to di-versify worldviews, hone ethical ideologies and otherwise acquire skill sets they can use

no matter where life (and especially co-op) may take them.

Maybe one in a hundred volunteers will end up committing a lifetime to journalism. But in the right learning environment, all can still gain a better understanding of how journalism intersects with every walk of life. And here at UW, this learning environment is open to all students, no matter how much or how little time they can commit — between classes, homework, exams, other extracur-riculars and of course, friends and family. That’s the Imprint difference.

To this end, I sincerely hope more students participate in the Imprint “experience” next term — some as volunteers; some as workshop at-tendees; but many more just as active, outspoken readers. And a great start to the latter is filling out the Imprint reader survey on page 11. Not only will you help us identify all our present failings; you’ll also help us find new ways to turn those weaknesses into strengths.

And then maybe, just maybe, we can return the favour — with better stories and broader learning opportunities — for all of you.

editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Opinion Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007opinion@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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University of Waterloo170 University Ave W.University Shops Plaza 886.0400

Sometimes change happens slowly, and sometimes it catches you off-guard. Take, for example, the case of Sheila Davidson. Her change of career must have come as the latter type — a slap in the face.

On Tuesday, November 26, an anonymous source leaked to me that Friday, November 30 will be Sheila Davidson’s last day at UW. Her posi-tion as Feds secretary, I was told, had been reduced to part-time after 20 years, and this decision had moved her to quit. I was both sad and shocked to hear this news, since it had only been a few months since I wrote about her celebrating 20 years at UW. She was an excellent woman to interview, and I had a face and a personality to go along with the name.

I spoke with Davidson the fol-lowing day. In response to my ques-tions, she said that Kevin Royal and Del Pereira had been responsible for the decision to change her job to part-time. Why? Feds Xpress will be selling Feds Bus tickets, previously one of Davidson’s tasks. The execs, according to Davidson, asked her to come up with some duties in addition to her current tasks, which include answering the phones, acting as Feds secretary, doing poster runs, reconciling cheques and answering questions from students, parents, outside individuals and the Feds executives themselves. Before students can get a hold of the ever-busy Feds execs, Davidson can often take care of their questions. After 20 years at the university, 18 of them with Feds, Davidson has much to offer in the way of university knowledge and experience.

Davidson generated some ideas for expanding her position, which included working as assistant to Feds clubs director Dave McDougall and offering photocopy services such as those offered by Kinko’s. These weren’t enough, so Feds decided to reduce Davidson’s position from full-

A slap in the faceto part-time. According to Pereira, this decision was jointly made by the Feds board of directors and Feds personnel committee (which is composed primarily of Feds execu-tives.) The hours offered were 11-4 p.m, according to Davidson, making it difficult to get another job during the day to supplement lost income. As a single, widowed mother to a six-year-old child, getting a night job or taking the pay cut just wouldn’t be possible. So Davidson decided to take the severance package offered under University Policy 18.

The task-justification interview described reminded me of Office Space, where the entire staff knows that lay-offs are coming, and manage-ment asks each employee to justify their position. Was that how it hap-pened? Was this decision made on the spot, or has it been a long time coming? Will someone eventually be hired part-time to replace Davidson? If not, who will fill in the gap she leaves? I’ll never know, and neither will you. Feds executive Del Pereira released the following statement to me as press, indicating there would be no questions answered:

“The board of directors and the Federation of Students executives do not comment on matters pertaining to personnel and human resource issues to the public. This is against university practice and I have no further com-ment on this matter.”

Although eloquent and tactful, this answer is also immensely frustrating. Who can be held responsible for this decision? How can anyone truly be held responsible if you cannot even obtain from the decision makers their reasoning, in their own words? We voted these executives in, and yet they aren’t even able to answer to our concerns about their decisions? To whom do we turn?

This decision not only has an executive cost — cutting down the number of highly experienced indi-viduals in the Feds office — it also has a human cost. My professional-ism was sorely tested interviewing

Davidson for this article, as she was nearly in tears by the end of it. I found myself trying to find a line between being a good journalist and a good human being — just as business executives are faced with the choice of balancing resources, ethics and cost. I can only imagine that cutting costs might have been part of the decision to cut Davidson’s position to part-time. I don’t think this would be justified, and it’s only a guess. Perhaps she fared poorly on employment reviews? But why, then, would they have kept her on as staff for 18 years?

Feds also bring up the issue of accountability. It’s a hot topic for all levels of government, from the student to federal level. Stephen Harper ran his election campaign based on the promise of account-ability, after the prickly Gomery in-quiry which so tainted Paul Martin’s Liberal Party.

Although Canadians seemed ea-ger for this accountability, whether or not it’s been delivered is a matter of much debate. Harper is known for compelling his MPs not to speak to the media on many matters, and holding fewer press conferences than his recent predecessors.

So when I was told that Feds executives could not comment on the changes to Davidson’s position,

I was both dismayed, and instantly suspicious.

Tell me then, with no official channels open to us, how will stu-dents find closure with this issue? Students familiar with Davidson may feel a strange absence that can-not be filled; a friendly face will just suddenly be absent, with no answers to be found.

I remind you: Feds executives are voted in by students. By this reason-ing, they should then be accountable for their decisions to those same students. Moreover, if the student body has an opinion about the case Sheila Davidson, Feds should be obliged to listen.

Change happens. Change is the hordes of new frosh every fall, as

well as new buildings, new services and new clubs on campus. It’s the different policies, experience levels, and professional mandates that new executives bring to Feds with every passing school year.

Unfortunately, change is also hold-ing a job for 20 years, only to have it cut to part-time, forcing you to resign and take a severance package. Change is, sadly, finding another job to support your six-year-old daughter after you’ve only just gotten over the death of your husband. Change is not always good.

Over 20 years, Davidson has been one of the few people in Feds who hasn’t changed. Until now.

— Christine Ogley

community editorial

communicate!letters@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

�Imprint, November 30, 2007 Opinion

Friday, November 30, 2007Vol. 30, No. 20

Student Life Centre, Room 1116University of Waterloo

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Re: “Xpressly ours,” published in Imprint, volume 30, issue 19

I read through last week’s article titled “Xpressly ours” and didn’t take a whole lot more from it than the fact that Feds wants to take advantage of the few coins left in students’ wallets. Yes, the move of Aussies and Scoops to the previous location of the Feds office would indeed be a wise business decision. Think of how Aussies and Scoops can compete more viciously with Tim Hortons, a place we all know is rich in customers between classes. Perhaps, now a number of students will have a choice where they can throw their money away on unhealthy food choices. Feds VP of administration and finance was quoted that Feds were in the business of serving students best and talked about students studying for exams and being able to grab and go a quick snack. The last thing students need to be eating during

letters to the editorexam time is the junk shown in the photographs complementing this article. How about an apple? If Feds really wanted to serve students best they would make healthy food choices more readily available (now not later as planned), not all of these corporate sugar and sodium products. How well is all of this sitting with those on campus? Some readers may also have expected to continue by reading about polls on this topic by students of the school. Instead, a current em-ployee of Aussies was interviewed. Biased? Yes. A fair representation on the view of students at UW? No. I won’t be visiting Federation Express, and I hope other students at UW are wise enough to avoid it as well. Imagine a line, such as the one com-ing out of Tim Hortons and up the stairs into SLC throughout the day, on both sides of the stairwell at that entrance. It is going to be congested. I wished they had drawn an exit from this place on their blueprint. If the University of Waterloo needs more money, they should just raise the tuition. If they don’t need more

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Next staff meeting:Friday, November 30, 2007

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First staff meeting for winter 2008:Monday, January 7, 2007

12:30 p.m.

money, then why are they making this move? Students should, and need to be exposed to healthy eating choices, not nutrient-less candy. And students, remember who has the consumer spending power.

— Matt Davidson

Re: “Time to speak for yourself,” Imprint, volume 30, issue 19

Controlling global warming, pollution, or protecting any other major environmental issues may be challenging individually. But, charity begins at home. By sincerely abiding the religious code-of-conducts given by their respective religions, individu-als can play a major role in protecting the environment.For example, most religions support vegetarianism. Hinduism: “Meat of animals is like the flesh of one’s own son, and that the foolish person who eats meat must be considered the evilest of all human beings,” Mahabarat (Anu 114.11.) Buddhism: “Meat eating in any form, in any manner, and in any place is unconditionally and once

for all prohibited. Meat eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit,” Lord Buddha. Jainism: “Non-violence is the highest righteousness,” Lord Mahavir. Judaism: “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit to be your food. I give them all, green plants as food,” Genesis 1:29-31. Christianity: “Thou Shalt Not Kill,” Sixth Command-ment. “You shall not eat the meat of any ox or sheep or goat,” Leviticus 7:22-27. Sikhism: “It is the order of the True Lord to the entire body of the Khalsa that they shall abstain from bhang, tobacoo, opium, alco-hol, and refrain from eating meat, fish, onion,” Hukum-Namas (Adi Granth Sahib.) If individuals from all the faiths sincerely abide such con-ducts, the unity within religions can bring a major revolution in creating a vegetarian society. This in turn can protect environment through animal welfare. The horrifying conditions which induce fear, pain and terror in poor animals, from the time they are born to when they are slaughtered are beyond any calculations.

— U. Patel

I am outraged with the sports edi-tor because of the most recent issue. As a member of the University of

Waterloo’s varsity badminton team, I am very upset with the amount of representation that we received for competing in the OUA finals a week ago. The fact that the more “socially important” and high profile teams, such as hockey, receive a half page spread in the paper for a regular season game compared to the few sentences that the badminton team received for OUA finals shows a lack of support and interest on the sports editor’s behalf. I feel that this editor is only interested in promoting the “acceptable” teams even though their standings are not as consistent nor as high as ours have been over the years. Now don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not angry at other school teams but I am angry at the way our paper decides to represent and report on them. The fact that this paper neglects to properly recognize all teams and their achievements makes me wonder if this paper is really as interested in all varsity teams or just the “important” ones. So to all those who write for the Sports section: you have failed to cover all teams in an equal manner. You have not only failed the bad-minton team, but this lack of school support shows the student body that popularity is what matters, and that Warrior success does not!

— Amanda Carruthers

� Imprint, November 30, 2007Opinion

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How to say “I’m gay”

So, you’re gay. I figured it out a while ago (it was all that Madonna you were listening to). After years of confusion and figuring things out, you’ve finally come to the conclusion that you are a homo. That’s cool, if worse comes to worse you know that you’ll always have a friend in me. So now that you’re queer it’s time to take that great giant leap forward: coming out.

That’s right, being gay is all about being happy (and Madonna), and how on earth could you be happy by lying to your poor mother and telling her you’ve been dating a girl from your psych class. All right, I get it. You have no idea what to say or how to do this. That’s okay: I’ve compiled this how-to guide specifically to help you come out to your friends and family.

No one ever said coming out would be easy, especially if the people you love wear stained wife-beaters and yell at the TV that the Maple Leafs are a bunch of faggots. There is a classic stand by for this type of situation: the Phone Scream. Being away at school has its advantages. Next time you are on the phone with one of your parents, wait until the tail-end of the conversation and scream “I’M GAY” into the receiver and promptly hang up. The timing on this one can be a little tricky, so it might take a few tries. If the next time you talk to them, papa starts to preach, just tell him you’ve made up your mind and you’re keeping your gayness.

So you’ve told mom and dad you like boys; well, the hardest part might be over, but you aren’t out of the

woods just yet. As a matter of fact, as Madonna would say, you are just get-ting “into the groove.” So your next target to come out to is your friends and classmates. Yikes! This could be time consuming, seeing as you are a natural social butterfly. Well fear not, there is an easy way to get this over with in a matter of seconds.

The first step involves stocking a backpack or shopping bag with your choice of homosexual artifacts (some good choices include clippings of this column, burned copies of the Immaculate Collection, or gay porn — be creative!) and be sure it is filled to the point of nearly bursting. Then, carefully tear a series of small holes along the bottom of the bag. If you did it right, the bag should burst just as you’re running in late to CS 100, showering the front row with old issues of Playgirl.

Now you’ve come out to everyone, right? Wrong! There is still the other 99 per cent of campus, the entire city of Waterloo and roughly six billion people globally who haven’t heard your glorious announcement! Sister doesn’t know? Invite her out to Ren! Haven’t come out to your boss? Get him a butt-plug for Christmas! Be sure to deck out your car with a rainbow bumper sticker and blast “Hung Up” so that even complete strangers know where you take it!

Yes, I can see now; you’re ready. And I promised myself I wouldn’t start to cry, so just remember: as you go forth into this terrifically unfabulous world, remember to spread your gay magic with everyone you encounter.

tmyers@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The end of a term

In the words of Jim Morrison, “This is the end.” It’s been a full term, especially with this column, and a lot has changed. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I left home to come to Waterloo, considering I had only been on one half hour tour with my father in the summer before I started here. That was just enough time to tour the university college residence my dad wanted me to live at and to decide that I’d rather sleep in the back of my Chevy for a year (or under that nice pool vent behind PAC) than live at that boring college. As we were leaving, we decided to duck our head into the Imprint office and check it out. I met the then-editor-in-chief, Adam McGuire, and grabbed a paper for the road. I remember sitting in the car reading “Bics, Blahniks and Bras” and being impressed at the high calibre of Imprint. I was less impressed with my dad’s ability to hit every stupid square speed bump around Ring Road at top speed. It’s eerie to think how much has changed since the first time I walked in here. For example, I had a better tan in the summer.

I was hoping for classroom de-bates and kids sitting around discuss-ing books. Instead my classrooms are silent, punctuated only by the relentless clattering of laptop keys, which is starting to drive me insane. Students are quiet and studious and a typical conversation with many of them centers on how much work they have to do, which is riveting. If you tell someone you have an essay to do that night, they’ll probably say “Oh yeah, well I have two labs, three assignments and an essay due tomor-row!” I get it, you have more work than me. That’s not a good thing. Get a day planner and stop bitching. I’ve met kids who would sell their souls

to the devil for a good co-op place-ment and four extra study hours in the day. I know that not everyone is like this, but having gone to a high school where kids would give up their left kidney for a case of beer and a bus ticket out of Northern Ontario, it was a big change.

I came to Waterloo as a seventeen-17-year-old girl from North Bay. I won’t lie, I planned to go to BC for university but when my plans fell through in May I was just looking for an Ontario university that would take me. Waterloo did and I’m so grateful because the only other option would be living in my sister’s old apartment by Ottawa University, which was on the 26th floor and smelled like cat pee.

I’ve learned a lot since I got here. I learned that being underage at uni-versity just flat out sucks. I won’t be legal until second year and the year looming ahead seems twice as long as usual. I know that people will judge a 17-year-old frosh more harshly than a 20-year-old one, no matter what I do. The only real advice I have for other young frosh is just to never mention their age. I`m sorry, but I can’t really think of any benefits of being an especially young frosh. Un-less you count the fact that you get to start in the work force earlier. And if you think this is an advantage, then you are going to lead a sad, Valium-fuelled life.

Insights from a 17-year-old frosh on university realities

Imprint was the greatest thing to come out of first year. I met a huge group of weird, upper-year students with a wealth of advice about uni-versity. I learned what fraternity is known for sketchy boys. I learned that if I ever want to get out of an exam, I should overdose on caffeine. I hope I’m never that desperate, but time will tell. I learned that lots of people in Southern Ontario smoke cigarettes and drink tequila, acts that are pretty rare in North Bay. As far as being a columnist goes, I learned how to work towards a deadline, and also that university students have really strong opinions about drugs, which I guess isn’t that surprising.

I’m not really sure what the rest of my higher education will hold for me, but I`d like to think that it will be full of fun adventures and a couple of exciting missions for the Secret Service. I suspect my true future will include a flophouse apartment above an off-license poolhouse and probably some intravenous drug use, but hey, I’ve always been an optimist. I think my favourite quote sums it up best. Dorothy Parker once said “Now I know the things I know, / and do the things I do, / and if you do not like me so, / to hell my love with you!”

She was also a columnist.

mcommon@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Haven’t come out to your boss? Get him a butt-plug for Christmas!

�Imprint, Friday, November 30th, 2007 Opinion

10 Imprint, November 30, 2007Opinion

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Taylor Schnaeringerimprint intern

What do you do when the whole world is driving you up the proverbial wall? Or maybe the literal wall, depending on your climbing skills — I don’t know. Either way, everyone knows what kinds of days I’m talking about. The days filled with bad drivers and people with even worse personalities.

It’s when you have an hour to complete a task that would normally take a week. It’s the morning when you wake up from one of those “can’t get out of bed” sleeps until you realize that the project you’ve been meaning to do all term, is due that afternoon.

So what do we do when we need to relax? I know, personally, that nothing cures a bad day like a bubble bath. Oh the bathtub, with its promise of relaxation and privacy.

You turn the water to your preference, put on some slow jams and just lay back. That may work for me but some people may need a little more structure for their unwind time.

Ever think about meditation? Yes I know, meditation — it’s crazy right? Well, not really. Meditation is defined as “a

state of concentrated attention on some subject of thought of awareness. It usually involves turning the attention inward to the mind.”

When most people hear the word meditation they picture a religious ritual with people sitting cross-legged and whispering mantras as incense burns in the background. That, from what I have found out, is only a part of the story. Yes, it’s true that some meditation is used for religious practice, and usually plays a huge part in religious cultures. Most Buddhists practise meditation with the ultimate goal of reaching enlightenment — that is, when they no longer need to return to earth after they die.

Most forms of meditation did originate from the ancient religions and are parts of spiritual traditions, but there are lots of forms of meditation that have become modernized over time.

There are so many different forms and paths of mediation out there, and they can focus on different aspects of your life, body, and mind. Some types may help you relax, some help to centre yourself and even some forms may be beneficial to your health. With so many forms of meditation it is hard to explain and categorize them all, especially because there may be different forms of practice for the same goal.

One of the biggest types of meditation found in today’s world is the meditation of relax-ation. That’s right, people now a days seem to have a really big issue with stress. I wonder why? Not! In this day and age we are lucky if we get a minute to sit down and take a breath.

Between jobs, school, friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, term papers, projects, and trying to have some type of a social life, we have no time to relax. Most people are lucky to sleep more than six hours a night! So why turn to meditation?

When learning to meditate, it is mostly what you picture it to be. It is best to be in a comfortable sitting position, with your legs crossed and your back straight. If you can’t sit on the floor comfortably then you can sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor. You then relax your breathing close your eyes and picture all your bad thoughts and stresses as leaving your body.

To relax you let your breathing go, and don’t count your breath. This sounds easier than it is — trust me, I’ve tried it.

There are other kinds of meditation as well — forms to engage other parts of your body. Insight meditation is the method of becoming one with your spirit. This, like relaxation meditation focuses on using breathing to allow your mind to clear.

Visualization meditation often has a goal in mind. Practitioners also get into a rest-ful position, but instead of focusing on breathing they imagine events in their life as they want them to be. So if you are worried about your finals that are fast approaching then this is the meditation might work for you.

And you know when the movies show you someone sitting on the floor humming “ohm” over and over again? Well, it’s true! Mantra meditation is another popular form

that focuses on saying words in order to clear your mind of everyday thoughts and pains. Mantra comes from a San-skrit language, “man” refers to mind and “tra” means to liberate.

And for those people who find themselves having trouble sleeping, passive meditation might be right for

you. Passive meditation involves keeping perfectly still and do nothing but focusing on emptying their mind. After awhile (that is, if you’re doing it right) you may become drowsy and find your mind is ready for a rest.

But what are the health benefits of meditation? Sure it’s great for relaxing and calm-ing down, but what about other benefits, like curing the common cold? Unfortunately there is no evidence yet that proves meditation cures the flu, but there are other benefits to learning how to meditate.

For instance, in using meditation to control one’s emotions and mental calmness, the practice helps people to cope with any diseases and conditions they may have.

According to The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Mediation (CAM) meditation may also be beneficial to people with anxiety, pain, de-pression, mood and self-esteem problems, as well as stress and insomnia. Some people refer to meditation as “medicine for the mind.”

CAM also released a study in 2004 that showed that nearly eight percent of people in America use meditation specifically for health reasons.

You don’t have to be religious to meditate; you don’t even have to do what I suggested. Meditation is looked at as a practice that is used to relax the body and calm the mind. Things like playing guitar, drawing, reading or even sleeping can produce the same results, so if any of those activities work for you, then you should be good to go.

There are a lot of benefits to meditation: it can calm you, reduce stress, give you greater control over your mind and even make you a happier person. But the only way to reap the benefits of meditating is by trying meditation! It’s not always easy and it takes practice, just like everything else in life. So if you find yourself smashing your head up against the closet wall or ripping your hair out piece by piece, please stop. There’s hope, there are other ways to relax, and the ideas I gave you are just a few of the possibilities out there. So don’t hate, just meditate!

tschnaeringer@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

In using meditation to control one’s emotions and mental calmness, the practice helps people to cope with

any diseases and conditions they may have.

When life’s a bitch, sit downFeatures Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007features@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

13Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Features

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Holiday fun with the spirit of sexShayna Sparlingstaff reporter

December is a stressful time. As students we have a lot on our plates: final projects, exams, parties, gift-buying, not to mention organising trips home to visit the folks. But it doesn’t have to be so stressful — this is supposed to be a magical time! Last year I told you methods that you can use to bring a little sexy back into your holiday season. But this year I’m here to show you how this season is just naturally sexy and how it can be great for your sex life.

For instance, if you are single, holiday parties are a great way to meet new prospective partners —everyone is feeling festive and generous, especially after a little eggnog. Other singletons might already be thinking about finding a date to kiss on New Years’ Eve, and you could be that special someone.

Once you’ve got someone inter-ested, this season lends itself to a veri-table plethora of romantic dates. You can bake naughty gingerbread people together, go for a walk in Victoria Park to see the light displays and sneak a quickie behind the trees; curl up in front of your TV — set to the fireplace channel, of course — and experiment with peppermints and oral sex; or even feel like a kid again, running around outside making anatomically correct snow persons!

And let’s not forget the inher-ently sexy holiday staple: mistletoe — the plant that mysteriously forces people to kiss whilst standing under a sprig. Even when it’s fake, the only real rule is that you have to kiss; no one says you can’t kiss with tongue, and I’ve certainly never heard any stipulations about what you can or cannot do with your hands while under the spell of mistletoe — if you catch my drift.

restaurant review

You don’t have to put on the red light, but you probably should.

Enter Howl at the Moon, your typical family restaurant that emulates something of a cheesy saloon-style motif with inbred, deep-woods coun-try bumpkin decorations including a stuffed scarecrow littering the front entrance. Then you glance to the right, and there it is: Roxxanne’s. All of a sud-den, your interest in the restaurant dis-appears, immersing you instead in those two glowing X’s staring back at you. The level of irony itself is fascinating. How

An image of mediocrity neighbours Roxxanne’scan Howl at the Moon possibly qualify as family fun, when a whole new type of fun is happening just next door? If you’re not the adventurous type then, you’ll be pulled back to reality when a hostess finally tends to you. Oftentimes, you’re instructed to seat yourself. This of course, leads to the belief that as the restaurant is so devoid of activity, your meal will arrive in no time. How naïve you are? Half an hour later, after you have watched countless other plates emerge from the kitchen doors, in the pursuit of filling hungry bellies that are not yours, your meal arrives. Naturally you’re disgruntled and disappointed,

and subconsciously thinking to yourself that this better be the best damn tuna melt you’ve ever had. As you take the first nibble, you realize what an utter waste of time the whole affair was. The only highlight you can fathom is the X-rated wonder sitting next door — and you weren’t even adventurous enough to visit.

In my opinion, the restaurant is sim-ply mediocre. The food (typical burgers and fries), the service, the cheap saloon decorations — all mediocre. So unless you’re going for the view… skip it.

— Sarah Hewey

Sex has even been linked with better performance on tests...

This season also brings us uniquely sexy outfits: the Mrs. Claus negligee, the Santa hat (with little or nothing else), the reindeer antlers and the bows that barely conceal your hot spots. These costumes are perfect for a little holiday themed role-playing. You could re-enact the first time Mrs Claus sat on Santa’s lap, take turns unwrapping each other, or try doing it “reindeer style.”

This time of year is a great op-portunity to try something new in your relationship — or many new things — heck, make a list and check it twice! You could do something like 12 days of new sex positions: “on the

fifth day of Christmas/Chanukah/ Kwanza/Festivus my current love gave to me: five golden orgasms!”

Why is this such a perfect time to get some action? Because, as I said above, we’re students and it’s nearly exam time! What does special holiday sex have to do with exams, you ask (unless you’re particularly close with your TAs)? Well, sex can be an excellent stress reducer: it can help you fall asleep; it can enhance your self-esteem; it can be a perfect break from studying to refresh your mind and body. Sex has even been linked with better performance on tests — assuming you didn’t spend the whole night boinking instead of studying. (The knowledge has to get in there in first, kids.)

And speaking of studying, don’t you think it’s about time that you got back to it? Just don’t forget to have a little fun and enjoy the sexiness of the season in between your exams — and when you see your friends and classmates — heck, even strangers — walking around campus in these next few weeks, their heads ducked into their coats against the wind, be sure to shout “Merry Sexmass” to remind them.

ssparling@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Sukhpreet Sanghastaff reporter

The first day of school is arguably the most important day in the fashion calendar. At least, for those who consider themselves fashionable or would like to be thought of as such. On my first day of school this year, I wore a scarf. (And a T-shirt, jeans, vest, belt, hat and Birkenstocks, for those of you lingering in the gutter.)

I remember this not because I chronicle my style choices obses-sively (though I do), but because while standing in line at the Used Bookstore, I overheard someone behind me, who was decidedly un-fashionably attired, ask attitudinally, “Why are so many people wearing scarves today? It’s not even cold.” I smirked with contempt when I heard this, wondering if she realized a current scarf-wearer was listening, and thought how simple-minded her opinion was. You see, fashion is not about functionality. Anyone with an inclination for it knows this. My com-patriots and I that day were scarved for a reason: to show others that we were fashionable — and the sweat and filth our scarves accrued due to the heat of that early September day were well worth it.

Now, as winter’s bitter cold ap-proaches, scarves are not only one

of a limited group of cold weather accessories, but arguably the most fashionable and easily wearable of them. Scarves can be worn in many different ways; most commonly, they are either simply wrapped around the neck a few times or made into a loop which the ends are passed through. The great thing about them, though, is that it doesn’t really matter how you tie them because they can look great liter-ally just thrown on. And although there are many different types of scarves, which I will soon detail, they all provide some semblance of useful warmth in winter, as they are covering what would otherwise be exposed skin.

The best of these items may be the Sheer Jersey Scarf by American Apparel, which can be worn in 15 different ways — including as a shirt, headband or skirt (if you’re a daring woman of a “certain reputation”) and of course, as a scarf. There are even video clips on the American Apparel website of employee-mod-els wrapping the garment in all the different ways for the uninitiated, who want to appear creative enough to think of these different ways by themselves when they’re really not. And, like all American Apparel products, the Sheer Jersey is made in an entirely sweatshop-free environ-ment in L.A.

“Emo scarves” have also been particularly popular during the past year or so — with the emo crowd of course, but also with the scenester, indie and fashion sets. And if you don’t know what those are, you’re clearly not cool enough to deserve my telling you.

Scarves aren’t always for warmth or style though: the cravat, a thicker ancestor to the necktie, originated from the wearing of thin scarves to keep dust out of citizens’ hair in Croatia. Various types of heads-carves, like the Islamic hijab and the Indian dupatta, are also worn for religious reasons or to display modesty.

A scarf that became very popular in the 1990s, and is now commonly worn and knocked-off, is the pash-mina. In Kashmir and Nepal, where they have been traditionally manu-factured, they are typically called Kashmiri wool scarves rather than the western-popularized term of pashmina. Although the word “pa-shmina” actually signifies a specific type of cashmere wool originating in Persia, it is now commonly used to refer to soft, vividly coloured scarves, wraps and stoles which feature true pashmina’s originally distinctive knit and fringing at the ends. These fake pashminas, which I like to buy from H&M for $12.90 and which are often sold at booths

in the SLC, resemble legitimate pa-shminas but are much less expensive and made with far less luxurious fabrics like viscose and polyester. But hey, we’re students and tuition ain’t cheap.

Any true Harry Potter fans will also be familiar with the use of scarves to signify association with a particular group: this originated in the United Kingdom, where university students still typically wear scarves that are horizontally striped with their school colours. I think I saw one guy wearing a UW striped scarf once...

Football fans in the United Kingdom and Europe also often wear scarves with their teams’ colours, mascot, or name on them to show their support. Really hardcore fans, who often be-long to groups like Ultras and Hooligans, make a practice of holding up their scarves across their section of the stadium to create a ‘scarf wall’ of support for their team. And yes, by football I mean soccer.

Of course, scarves can still be worn for purely fashionable purposes. The most popular types are probably thick, knit ones for winter and skinny, patterned, or striped ones for more year-round wear. Silk scarves can always be called on to up the class of a look; the French fashion house Hermès is particularly known for theirs. In the novel The Devil Wears Prada, the character of Miranda Priestly wears a new white Hermès scarf in a different way every day.

Even though most of us can’t even afford just one of those, when wearing our cheaper scarves this season we can try to heed the words of Ezra Pound and at least “make it new.”

ssangha@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

A sense of scarf’n fashion

Jen stanfel

14 Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007Features

2007 housing studies achievement award

CMHC would like to congratulate the 2007 Award winners of $10,000 each!

To learn more about their work, visit CMHC’s website at www.cmhc.ca; search keyword HSAA.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Housing Studies Achievement Award,offered every second year, rewards academic work, theses or major research papers/projects thatrepresent significant contributions to the understanding and advancement of housing in Canada.

The next cycle of the Housing Studies Achievement Award will be in 2009.

Next time it could be you!

Miljana Horvat (Doctor of Philosophy in Building Studies, Concordia University); Oyetope Abe (Master of Science,University of Saskatchewan); Joshua Engel-Yan (Master of Applied Science, University of Toronto); and Stephanie Vermeulen (Master in Architecture, University of Waterloo).

Sutama Ghosh(Doctor of Philosophy in Geography,York University)

15Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Features

A colourful fish, a vibrant tasteIf you have relatives all over the world, you can identify with the orange roughy. Although a native of New Zealand, it is a fish that covers a lot of geographical ground. They can be found from waters of the Eastern and Western Atlantic, Indo — Pacific to the Eastern Pacific. They flourish in many parts of the world because the temperature of the water is ideal (3 to 9 degrees Celsius). The fish is quite unique because it can live for many years, some speculating as old as 149 years.

Like leaves on a tree, in its lifetime the fish makes several colour trans-formations. It starts off as a tarnished red to a lighter yellowish-orange by maturity.

Orange roughy is also referred to as slimehead, roughies, or redfish. It is is delicate in taste, low fat and has a firm white flesh. For these reasons it is quickly becoming a popular fish choice.

In terms of nutritional benefits, this vibrantly coloured fish is an excellent source of selenium, vitamin b12, and a good source of niacin. It is also a source of omega-3 fatty acids.

When cooking with orange roughly, thaw fish safely in the refrigerator, overnight in its unopened package. If pressed for time, place packaged fish under cold running water for one to two minutes to hasten thawing.

Do not thaw fish in warm water or at room temperature; you create a breeding ground for bacteria. Ad-ditionally, do not refreeze fish for the same reasons.

Use fresh fish within several hours of purchase. If that is not possible, wrap fresh fish loosely in plastic wrap and store in the coldest part of the fridge (the back), and use within two days.

tli@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Orange roughy with lemon

sauce

If you can’t find orange roughy, you can substitute with the following fish of your choice: cod, flounder, haddock, ocean perch, sea bass, sole.

Ingredients

1 lb fresh or frozen orange roughy or sub red snapper fillets, 1/2 inch thick1 lb asparagus spears1 14oz can chicken broth (reduced sodium)2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel1/8 tsp black pepper1 medium-sweet orange or yellow pepper, cut into strips4 tsp cornstarch or all-pur-pose flour2 tbsp snipped fresh chives2 cups hot cooked rice or couscous

MethodRinse fish and pat dry, or if from frozen, thaw. Cut fish into four serving-sized pieces if they haven’t been done already for you. Set aside.

Snap off woody bases from asparagus. Cut asparagus into halves on a diagonal.

In a large skillet, combine one cup of broth, lemon peel and black pepper. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat. Carefully add fish and asparagus. Cook, covered, over medium-low heat for four minutes. Add sweet pepper strips. Cook, covered for two more min-utes, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Using a slotted spatula, transfer fish and vegetables to a serving platter, reserving liquid in skillet. Tent fish and vegetables in aluminum foil or cover with a large platter to keep warm while you prepare the sauce.

For sauce, stir together remaining broth and corn-starch. Stir this liquid into skillet, cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Con-tinue to cook for another two minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in chives. Arrange fish and vegetables beside rice. Spoon sauce over top.

Serves four.

If you purchased frozen fish, keep in the freezer, tightly wrapped for up to three months.

Tiffany li

Fall 2007 Imprint Photo Contest WinnersHere at Imprint, judges Mohammad Jangda, Jenn Serec, Christine Ogley, Peter Trinh and Maggie Clark were delighted to see such an overwhelming response to our Fall 2007 Photo Contest challenge. Entries ranged from the very local to the extremely exotic, and above and beyond the consensus we reached (in the form of our three contest winners), we all agree there was simply more fantastic photography submitted than could fit in the pages allowed.

In the end, we made our selections on the basis of works that best challenged us to see the beautiful in the ordinary. We hope you enjoy them, too! And many thanks to everyone who submitted work this season. Happy holidays!

Ryan FelixEnvironment & planning

Laura MikelsonsArts & business

“Ice Cream Shop”Belize, Mexico

Xiao Sophia ZhangPsychology

South Campus Hall, in an unusually striking light.

The Davis Centre:for once a thing of sheer beauty

# 1

# 2

# 3

Honourable Mentions

Corey BlenkarnArts & business

Madrid, Spain

Annie Wei Zhen TaoAccounting & financial management

(Check Imprint Online for a more detailed representation of this ambitious project, which Tao completed over the course of a co-op term in Beijing, China.)

Krishna SivaranjanComputer science

Paper cranes from the UW Yume project, 2007

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19Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Features

Hugs brighten up the day

Arts Student Union president Allan Babor leads the Free Hugs & Study/Stress Kits project last Wednesday. As a way to comfort students before the upcoming exam period, the organization went all over campus with “Free Hugs” signs and gift kits as a gesture of goodwill.

peter trinh

Inaugural event attracts UW poets

Christine Ogleystaff reporter

The Feds Arts Commission held WatSpeak, its inaugural event on Thursday, November 22. This spoken word event, announced through Facebook and word of mouth, gathered roughly 20 people. It was organized by Andrew Falcao, Darcy Higgins, Justin Williams and Sumaiya Tasneem.

From the outset, this event was meant to integrally involve students. The Facebook in-vitation called for “elegant poetry, hectic prose or anything in between.”

Williams kicked off the event by reading some of his own work. Later on, Falcao did a possibly unintentional performance piece, with the help of a book he had recently found on “communicating” with one’s dog. He got up on the stage to read it, got a few pages in and decided that the book ought to be torn to pieces. After enthusiastically ripping some pages out, shocking and delighting the audience, he passed the book around so that others could rip

pages out, too. This, however, proved a good method of producing poetry.

After my late arrival, Higgins took the stage to read a torn page from Falcao’s book. Having missed the book tearing, it sounded to me like a very bizarre poem, losing sense as the torn page thinned at the bottom. The reading was peppered with Higgins’ and audience laughter, and words such as “Fluffy” and “furry compatriot.”

Falcao served as MC on a slightly elevated platform outfitted with a comfy chair, table and microphone.

Many audience members took the stage to read personal and published works, and some-times both, as this was the bulk of WatSpeak.

Some attendees read five or ten poems, while others read merely one or none at all. One audience member took the stage to play a song he wrote on the guitar during his teens. Published works performed included Saul Williamson, read by Nathan Chow, and Allen Ginsberg, read by Falcao and Evan Coole. One individual was encouraged by the audience to read a poem even though it was

in Spanish. Listening to a poem you don’t understand is an equally artistic experience — you can listen to the particular rhyme, rhythm and meter of a language you don’t necessarily understand.

Perhaps some other audience members, like me, understood a spattering of Spanish words, which, well… is a strange way to listen to a poem. I wasn’t sure if the speaker was reading about love or politics and anarchy. She later told me that the topic was, in fact, feminism.

The attendance of 20 or so people is actually quite numerous, considering the nature of the event. You may not know, but there are a few spoken word events held in Toronto weekly and monthly. Victory Café and Clinton’s bar fill up weekly with poetic-types, but that’s in a city of over 2.5 million. Waterloo has been host to some spoken word events in the past, none of which were sponsored by Feds. This can make them difficult to get wind of.

I solicited opinions about the event from fellow attendees, who echoed my enjoyment, although they pointed out that the student

poems were of varying quality. Attendee Jen Stanfel pointed out that WatSpeak was a good place to start for the many students who write hordes of poetry and creative writing, but have nowhere to share it.

In a casual interview, Higgins explained to me a bit about the Feds Arts Commission, and pontificated on its love for Render. “Arts commission was inspired by Render,” he said. To elaborate a bit more, he was referring to the interactive nature of the former UW Art Gal-lery under its current director. Feds Arts Com-mission hopes to mirror this interactivity with students and campus, by creating arts events and projects that are relevant to students on campus. The Commission hopes to have another Wat-Speak next term, and in the meantime, is open to submissions and proposals from students for art on campus. Interested students are asked to contact Andrew Falcao at andrewfalcao@gmail.com. They are also looking for a better name for the commission.

cogley@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

So you’ve been spending all your time this se-mester trying to get your readings, assignments and labs done, not to mention making sure you stay on top of everything enough to pass mid-terms. Needless to say, that kind of overdrive can push you to lock out the world outside and make you live under a rock. So, let me drop a little list — in no particular order — for you to peruse and maybe think about asking mom and pop for this holiday. Whether you’re out of touch or just plain undecided about what you want to add to your increasingly out of date gaming library, here’s the list:

The top games to ask for this holidayBioshockNow, I’m sure that most of us probably have either played or heard about this game, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for it if you don’t already have it. Bioshock is quite easily on the lsit of game-of-the-year contenders for this past year, and with good reason. With gorgeous graphics, a very well written and immersive storyline and a well-designed gaming experience overall, it’s hard not to love the little plasmid box. Granted, this is most definitely not a game for everyone, and has earned its “M” Rating from the ESRB. It is the perfect steam punk-action-horror game that you can find easily on the shelves this year. It may help to ask for a nightlight with this one as well.

Super Mario GalaxyThis is by far one of the most highly rated games of all time, beating out even Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Galaxy provides all the fun and exploring of Mario 64 in an entirely new and interactive

way. Bringing Mario into an almost-surreal third dimension, Nintendo has no trouble stream-lining controls and making the fun come first. Galaxy even offers a multiplayer feature; while it isn’t necessary for you to complete your mis-sions, it certainly can be helpful and has really no way of doing any harm. What’s a better reason to get your significant other to sit down and play with you, flailing a Wii controller to catch “star bits?”

Guitar Hero III/Rock BandNot picking sides, I do have to say that either game (or both!) is a must-have for your col-lection. Now the premise of these games is pretty straightforward by this point, but let me try to help you narrow down which side to go on, if you haven’t picked already. Obviously one of the main reasons to pick either title is for the song list. You’ll have no fun rocking out to the songs on Guitar Hero if you don’t like your selection. Another thing to think

about is the multiplayer gameplay. As much fun as Rock Band can be with someone on every instrument, it can be lackluster when soloing. Keeping this in mind, if you’re more for the solo jamming sessions then the latest Guitar Hero is more up your alley. Finally, it comes down to which guitar you like better, so see if you can get a taste of both before picking which one to jot down on your list this winter.

Orange BoxThe Orange Box is one of those game pack-ages that just seems to have been made to be a stocking stuffer. With five games for the price of one, you get to experience all of Half-Life 2 as well as Team Fortress 2 and the now-famed Portal, for the low price of just under 60 bucks.

See GAMES, page 22

WATspeak venue showcases poetry, prose and other tastes of things to come

Arts Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007arts@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

21Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Arts

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PaprikaSatoshi KonSony Pictures Classics

As a casual anime fan, I tend to be very picky on which ones I choose to watch. Of the few anime directors that I happen to enjoy, one that surprises me with every film he’s done, would have to be the inspiring Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers).

I rarely buy an anime because the majority I’ve seen, lack a certain depth that I try to look for. Saying that Paprika has depth is a gross understatement, and fortunately the extra features on the DVD help bring out the animation geek I’ve been for the past decade.

The film itself is extremely imagi-native and detailed, describing the existence of dreams and reality. Star-ring a brilliant psychotherapist and a detective with a recurring nightmare, they both actively search for a major threat: a terrorist that destroys through dreams. After a miraculous device is created for therapists to actually enter the minds of dreamers by this threat, the main scientists of the project and the detective become involved in such a deep storyline, I actually can’t tell you any more.

I can explain this, in terms of being an animation connoisseur: the artwork is brilliant. The art direction by Nobu-take Ike is nothing short of stunning, contrasting the real world with subtle

blends and shades to the dream world with vivid hues and contrasts. Parts of the film are detailed immensely but never too busy. CGI and 2D animation go hand-in-hand with each other, show-ing an amazing balance of technique and style. This is one of the most tech-nologically modern forms of animation I’ve seen in the past few years.

The special features go pretty in-depth, although the DVD does lack a bit in terms of content. Although there are multiple audio tracks within the movie — for those who despise subtitles — including a very well-done English dub, nothing is mentioned about the cast and crew involved in these alternate recordings. Also, as an interesting move, the filmmaker commentary is between Kon and the music director Susumu Hirasawa and instead of a focus on the creation of the scenes, they instead talk about what the music portrays in the film.

Don’t be too discouraged however, because there are a handful of great making-of features that follow the director, the writer of the novel that the film is inspired by (Yasutaka Tsutsui).

If you are a fan of animation, surrealism, narrative and overall great beauty, I’d definitely give this film a shot. To those unfamiliar with anime, you may be surprised how much of a dream the film can be.

— Peter Trinh

IMPRINT’s waTchINg

Lars and the Real GirlCraig GillespieMGM

When you hear that Ryan Gosling stars in a love story about a blow up doll, the first reaction is inevitably confusion and disgust. Lars Lind-strom, a quiet, anti-social man who believes that the sex doll he ordered online is his girlfriend, seems like just another twisted character in a long string of depraved roles.

However, Lars and the Real Girl is surprisingly heartwarming. Gosling plays a man who shares his deceased father’s house with his brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and Gus’ pregnant wife Karin (Emily Mortimer). Lars lives in the garage and does his best to avoid Karin’s enthusiastic attempts to include him in the family. Lars also avoids the pretty new girl at work named Margo (Kelli Garner) who is infatuated with him. In fact, Lars does his best to avoid all human contact. His life seems quiet, but lonely. He goes to work, he goes to church and he keeps to himself. All this changes when he orders a sex blow-up doll off the internet and becomes con-vinced that she’s his girlfriend.

Bianca, the sex doll, deserves an Oscar nomination for her multi-fac-eted acting role. She is a Scandinavian missionary who speaks little English and is confined to a wheelchair. As Lars explains to his shocked and confused family, Bianca’s purpose in life is to help people, even if she suffers from a de-bilitating illness that makes her unable to walk. She is also very religious and feels uncomfortable sharing the garage with Lars, so Lars moves Bianca into the guest bedroom in the main house. Karin and Gus are worried and upset when they find themselves cooking food, lending clothes and living with a rubber sex doll.

Lars begins meeting with a kind

psychiatrist posing as Bianca’s doctor (Patricia Clarkson) who tells the family that Lars is suffering from delusions. The only thing that the family and the rest of the townspeople can do is pretend that Bianca is a real girl. She is taken on trips, starts volunteering at the hospital and is even elected to the PTA (where being inanimate is often an advantage). One of the funniest scenes in the movie is when Lars gets into a fight with Bianca because they were supposed to spend an evening play-ing Scrabble, and instead she is being taken to a hospital party. It’s comforting knowing that some problems exist in every relationship.

This movie is charming and endear-ing. It’s impossible not to fall in love with the kind-hearted townspeople who accept Lars’ quirky relationship and try to make Bianca feel welcome. Mortimer sparkles as the sister- in-law who tries so hard to connect to Lars, and Schnieder plays a gruff but surpris-ingly likeable Gus. Predictably, Gosling pulls off a tricky character with finesse and gives Lars a depth that is altogether unexpected. This movie is a must-see for anyone who likes a good love story, albeit a far more unusual one than The Notebook. However, Bianca is a far better actress than Rachel McAdams, wheelchair and all.

— Mackenzie Common

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Halo 3This was by far one of the most antici-pated releases of the year. Now that it has been released, if you don’t have it, it’s about time to ask for it. While suffering from an underdeveloped single-player campaign, Halo 3 offers a wide variety of multiplayer options and is often claimed to be one of the best online multiplayer experiences available. Not only can you put in long hours into bashing people’s faces on LIVE, but you can also indulge in a little set design with Forge, allowing you to tweak the multiplayer maps for a more unique experience. On top of that, it never hurts to have a new shooter to add to the pile. It may be a good idea to not bother with the headset though...people on LIVE can get a little to into things sometimes.

Mass EffectMass Effect is definitely looking for that game-of-the-year label. As a sci-fi RPG in space, Mass Effect is like the choose-your-own-adventure style of the genre. Every little move you take affects the course of the game. Depending on how you speak to those around you or how you interact in battle, your story will unfold dif-ferently. Now this may seem like an old trick in previous games, but Mass Effect rehashes it pretty well. In the very least, if you don’t think that Mass Effect is worth your parent’s money, I’d say go and rent it, you’d probably be pleasantly surprised.

WarhawkWarhawk is one of those games you just can’t help but enjoy. While the controls take time to work through the kinks, it will soon become an im-mersive and addictive title that’ll have you asking for more. In this online-only game, you get to battle on any level, be it on foot, land vehicle, or fighter jet. Some battle options have you fighting on just one or two of these modes, but the best have you taking on all three at once, leaving you to never really know which angle you could get taken down from next. The best part about Warhawk is how the controls themselves work. Nothing says flying a plane like the joys of the six-axis function. For all those times you moved your controller playing Need for Speed to get that extra close

turn in, Warhawk lets the flailing ac-tually affect your vehicle. In case the controller tilt’s all too much for you though, there is the option to play it a little more ‘old school’, so don’t worry about that when this necessity goes on your list.

Eye of JudgmentHere’s something for you Magic: the Gathering players. Eye of Judgment takes the card-based strategy game and puts it to the tune of the latest technology, and pretty well I must say. As usual, you get to go out and buy your deck of cards and get to build your deck up the way you want to play. Once you have all your hard-copy cards, the real fun begins. The “Eye” (the PS3’s camera) acts as your window into the game, as you set out your cards in front of it to engage in battle. What’s best about this game is that instead of having to do all the calculations or know the full rules on your own, Judgment helps to streamline the process for you, helping you to focus more on strategy than numbers, not to mention you get to see your cards in action on screen.

Beautiful KatamariNothing says addictiveness like con-trolling a rolling ball and suctioning things onto it like a typhoon, right? Katamari is by far one of the most loved series by random gamers. If you’re not too much into gaming, or are looking for a way to get more involved, Katamari is one of your best choices. It’s easy to spend hours on end absorbing the world around you into a massive ball to quirky J-pop music. What this latest edition of the series adds is even more of a great thing, with new levels, a continuation of a great control scheme and even improved catchy graphics, one can’t go wrong with Katamari. Besides, I’m sure your parents won’t have any trouble buying something that they too can enjoy.

I hope that helped you narrow down some choices for your list this year. If you’re really desperate for more options or want some info about anything not listed here, please drop me an e-mail or check out 1up.com’s great list of Christmas game choices. Don’t let gaming get too much in the way of exam studying and happy holidays!

jrickert@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Games: a plethora of action

The winter holiday is just around the bend and while you yourself may not celebrate Christmas, you may either be celebrating another form of winter holiday — or more likely, you’re being forced to buy a gift for someone that does celebrate Christmas. Being both an university student and an illustrator, holiday gifts are easy to make for some of my buddies. I just draw something and they happen to like it. But for those with comic-loving friends and the artistic integrity of Marcel Duchamp, here are a couple of comics that you can hunt down for that good friend of yours. Note that I’ve already mentioned these comics in my previous column, but I find it important to bring up these works this time of year.

And okay, I apologize; Duchamp did have some integrity, at least.

I have seriously mentioned this one graphic novel artist way too much, but for the biggest of indie folks waiting to break into the comic scene, I have to recommend any comics from Harvey Award winner Craig Thompson. A master in visual inking, his works help inspire creative ideas. If your friend wants a great story between the con-nection of two friends apart, Good-bye, Chunky Rice is a good choice for him or her. It’s a very “Disney for young adults” storyline, complete with odd

A guide to alt-comic gifting

characters and brilliant designs. And of course, there’s his 500-page semi-autobiographic epic, Blankets. For those who want to feel nostalgia of the ’90s, this is definitely a great read. Like I’ve mentioned many times, Blankets is my favourite book ever.

Perhaps the comic fan’s more into the anime twist, and you (as a fan of quirky art) want to suggest something a bit different to your friend. Then I’d highly suggest the Scott Pilgrim series by Bryan Lee O’Malley. A complete homage to the Golden Ages of Nintendo and Sega, it stars an indie rocker in Toronto saving a girl from her group of evil ex-boyfriends. To top it all off, the fights are played out like video-game boss battles! So much happens in this comic, that it’s always fun to read and view.

If your anime fanatic’s more into the webcomic scene, I’d recommend buying your friend some of the print volumes of Fred Gallagher’s webcomic, Megatokyo. Previously printed by Dark Horse Com-ics, and currently printed CMX Manga (a subline of DC Comics), they contain high-quality prints of the comic, as well as commentary written by Gallagher and even extra stories that link with the MT universe.

If you need something for the kids, I’d recom-mend Salamander Dream by Hope Larson. A comic about a girl and her imaginary friend, they both grow together and learn their own stories. It’s one of the most surreal stories I’ve ever read, and it’s accessible to every person of every age.

I love the holidays and I love comics. To fuse the two… it’s pure bliss.

ptrinh@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

XKylie MinogueEMI

“How do you describe a feeling?” asks Australian techno-pop queen Kylie Minogue on her song “In My Arms.” Well, there is only one way to describe the feeling of this album: alive.

Kylie is back, and her music is better than ever. After announcing her retirement with the release of her greatest hits collection Ultimate Kylie, it comes as a surprise that she would be releasing an album. With her 10th studio album, simply titled X, she shows us that a middle-aged woman can still be way cooler than most women half her age.

Bouncing back from breast cancer has renewed her lease on life, and it shows on this album, with sexy pop songs like “2 Hearts,” “Like a Drug” and “Sensitized.” She also shows her expertise in the genre that brought her to the consciousness of North America, the elec-tronic slow jam, with songs like “In My Arms,” “Speakerphone” and “Cosmic.”

The songs on this album don’t sound as cool, collected or produced to death as most of her more recent material, and have a real living quality that makes the songs jump out of your speakers when you press repeat over and over.

— Travis Myers

IMPRINT’s PlaylIsT

Joe Shithead Keithley and his Band of RebelsJoe Shithead KeithleySudden Death Records

Joe Shithead Keithley and his Band of Rebels is the kind of album that you will absolutely regret pur-chasing the moment you play it. It begins pretty catastrophically with “Rebel Kind” and “Bust me loose” — during the latter, he actually attempts a Jamaican impression — and unless you have an invincible sense of patriotism, “When power came to Canada” won’t make you feel any better about your apparently wasted money.

The album has a general sense of lost identity. It is not loud enough to be rock and it definitely is not punk. You can almost feel a hint of blues, but it’s immediately lost — not to mention the lyrics, which are pretty much a corny disaster, and are quite redundant and unbalanced just for the sake of rhyming.

While topics discussed in the lyrics range from smoking pot to “fucking with corpora-tions,” its attempt at anarchy — with the symbol displayed on the CD cover — is quite weak.

Three days later, however, you start to see the whole point. It seems to get a little better as you progress through the tracks, and you can almost shake off that initial depression you fell into. “Troublemaker” seems to actually have consis-tency, and even harmony among the instruments used — which throughout the album includes the sax, keyboards, violin, trumpet, percussion, bass, etc. “Born to be wild” is arguably the best track on the album. Too bad it’s a cover.

— Sherif Soliman

As I AmAlicia KeysSony BMG

Alicia Keys has done it again. Her last album came out in October 2005, but it’s been since December 2003 that she’s put out any new music. And like any true musician, she’s used that time wisely, crafting songs just as excellent as we last heard in 2003.

Personally, it’s been since her first album, Songs in A Minor, released in 2001, that I’ve listened to her. I instantly fell in love with her lyrical piano playing and incredibly melodic voice, littering my walls with Keys from every angle. (And man, those braids took some time to cut out with my art-school exacto!) Conse-quently, I can’t compare As I Am, to The Diary of Alicia Keys, but I can tell you this: it’s just as good as the first album. The lyrics are tight and meaningful, and the melodies are alternately provoking and comforting. Keys doesn’t work to pander to a three-minute radio spot, and it shows. Listening to her album is like hearing the wisdom of your grandmother and hanging out with a friend your own age, simultaneously. You don’t get the pop-tarty platitudes, but rather, real stories of heartbreak and courage. There’s one song where Keys even starts out condemning love, and finishes singing that love is very difficult, but you have to work at it and hang in there. I feel as though I’ve grown just listening to Keys’ tales, and as before, she seems wise beyond her years.

My only qualm with the disc is that Keys has really cut down on the piano element of her music. It’s there, alright, but far in the background, only occasionally coming to the fore. Her singing is fantastic, but it’s not the only thing that attracted me to her music at first. I’m tempted to pick up The Diary of Alicia Keys now to get my piano-fix, in the case that it might possibly help.

However, even without a heavy focus on the piano, As I Am is a strong and varied album. If you’re love-laden or lovelorn, pick it up and be comforted and informed by what Keys is singing.

— Christine Ogley

23Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Arts

Campus Question

How do you escape from the stress of exams?by Guy Halpern

CrosswordTim Foster

“Doctor’s note, THEN sleep through exams.”Mustafa Khan4A economics

“Start watching a season of a TV show.”Amy Sittler4A environment and resource studies

“I don’t!”Keri Shannon3B recreation and leisure

“Neil Young... and have sex! If he was younger, maybe both!”Lauren Wilson and Adrienne Berchtold3A speech & communication and 2A environment and resource studies

“Party it up.”Geetika Sharma and Hamid Aljuhani3A honours science andGraduate electrical and computer engineering

“Sleep; sleep through exams.”Khan Taimur Mazhar3B math and business

Sudoku Tim FosterNov. 23 solutionstfoster@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Missed ConnectionsI’ve known you for a little while and we recently worked on a CS 454 assignment together. I never realized how much I enjoyed your company. I miss your humour and your lovely smile and I would love to go out for hot coffee sometime. You know who I am.

I see you playing d&d in the MC lounge... and nerdy isn’t my usual style, but there’s something about you that makes me wish you would save me from my tow-er... I’ll throw my long dark hair off the 4th floor balcony in hopes you’ll climb up and save your calculus princess... or you could take the elevator. But next time 2 a.m. rolls around and you see me

“studying” in MC, know it’s not Fourier I’m thinking about... fb poke me. d&d (2+2)evr.

You’re the tall brown SAG that used to come to GLOW at the beginning of the semester. I finally worked up the nerve to attempt conversation but you stoppedshowing. I see you around cam-pus a lot and I think I you’re hot stuff!! You seeing anyone?

To the turd that was wearing a T-shirt that said “Soldiers are Murderers” on it in the SLC last Monday. It took some big balls to wear that BS! Too bad you weren’t tough enough to wear

it on the 11th dickhead. You’re lucky I had to go to class & didn’t have time to yell at you for an hour based on the stupidity of your T-shirt, let alone your choice to wear it. You’re a douche.

Last Monday, I think at around 2:40 p.m. on University Avenue, I walked past you and turned around to look at you, and i think you looked at me. I’m sure I’ve seen you before, if you want to contact me vadym.geyts@gmail.com, maybe we could go for cof-fee sometime.

Missed a connection? Wanna-break the ice? Email editor@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Across 1. Not narrow5. Encourage9. Burrowing marine bivalve13. King of Norse gods14. Hot chocolate16. Fine tune17. For fear that18. Persian father of human rights19. Consumes20. One of two words with all vowels in order22. Defined tracks23. Excessively ornamented24. Long jump25. Double Oscar-winner Tracy for short28. American painting family32. School of philosophy35. Neither36. Depressing37. Defining qualities41. Playwright, O’Neill42. Insult (slang)43. Observe44. Long-billed wader45. 52 down with no back wall48. Island49. Not aunts53. Isolated monastery56. Aide59. Ukraine capital60. Threesomes61. Not out of62. French idea63. Measure of rotation64. Mediterranean bean65. A social geek66. Not that67. Votes against

Down 1. German enlightenment philosopher

2. Perfect3. ‘70s dance phenomenon4. Comes in to5. Inflection grammar6. Irish fella7. Tan8. Ruffle9. Least expensive10. OSAP specialty11. Poker buy-in12. Military cafeteria15. Like21. Server’s bonus22. Latin stone26. Negative27. System of beliefs29. French, friends30. Decorative fine weave31. Otherwise32. Frosts a cake

33. Close34. Wise men36. Identity concealers38. Freed from burden39. On edge40. Cheat in advance45. British, learned46. Immigration auth. in U.S.47. Something done50. Sri ___51. Submission52. Greek covered promenades53. Similar in nature54. Wait55. Fermented grain drink57. Audible exhalation58. Pieces of music for one60. Gimme, to a child

“Read, hang out with friends!”Sarah Robb3A fine arts

“I just usually take naps, watch sports, go down the hall.”Sameer Shah1A environment and resource studies

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B R A T M O N A H A L V AR E D O E P O S A L I E NI N D I C A T E S N O M A DT E S L A S S U D D E N L Y

E M U S R O BI N T E R P R E T A T I O N

B R O L E I A G E N R EL I R E S T I R S A M I SO S I E R S O H O A N TC H A R A C T E R I Z I N G

B O O T R O TA B S C I S S A K N A V E SW O U L D S C H E E L I T EE N R O L E M I R I N C AS E E P Y D E E S C O H N

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4 1 2 7 9 5 6 3 87 6 8 4 3 1 5 2 93 9 5 2 6 8 7 4 19 4 6 8 5 3 2 1 78 2 1 9 7 6 3 5 45 3 7 1 2 4 9 8 62 5 4 6 1 7 8 9 36 8 3 5 4 9 1 7 21 7 9 3 8 2 4 6 5

24 Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007Distractions

A story about a man and a plan

Sherif Solimanassistant science editor

The Waterloo Space Society (WSS) has been hosting pre-release screenings of the docu-mentary The Mars Underground in the Physics and J.R. Coutts Engineering Lecture Hall buildings, mainly organized by UW student William Durocher. The documentary discuss-es renowned aerospace scientist and visionary Dr. Robert Zubrin, his views on the current standing of NASA and his revolutionary plans for sending manned missions to Mars in the time frame of 15 to 20 years.

Throughout the documentary, Zubrin highlights the fact that ever since the Apollo landing in 1969, NASA has fallen into a state of stagnation with no specific goal or purpose. He states that the reason NASA was a successful agency that had people standing on their toes in anticipation back in the ’60s was the fact that the US government had made the Apollo lunar landing a goal not open to negotiation. Ever since, NASA has fallen victim to redundant research and internal divisions. It has become susceptible to political rivalry and quests for personal gains. Zubrin describes how many sections of NASA were upset about his initial Mars landing plan because it didn’t necessarily need the services of their programs. He goes on to say, “It’s time we set goals for NASA.”

The film describes how NASA finally proposed a plan for Mars exploration, called the Space Exploration Initiative. The plan included constructing Space Station Freedom, traveling to and colonizing the moon and then heading to Mars from there. Zubrin describes

how that plan was economically unsound and how fuel-inefficient it was to land on the moon as opposed to landing on Mars. Due to the lack of gravity on the moon, landing on the surface would require more energy than landing on Mars, which has a gravity field to slow down landing space craft. It was so complex and ridiculously costly — budget for the initiative was estimated at around $450 billion spread over 20 to 30 years — that its failure was a certainty. Sure enough, not long after it was proposed the plan was completely rejected by Congress.

As president of the Mars Society, formed in 1998, Zubrin explains why it was so im-portant that Mars be our next step in space exploration. Around two billion years ago, conditions on Mars were very similar to those on Earth right now. The impression is that at some point in the past, there was life on Mars. Evidence supporting that hypothesis includes oceans of water frozen deep in the soil and the existence of metal ores and basic elements used to manufacture plastic and glass. According to Zubrin, “Mars is where the future is.”

Zubrin and his team of dedicated astro-physicists came up with a plan that is consid-ered to be the most significant breakthrough in the Mars exploration. The genius of the plan lies in the fact that it can accomplish a manned landing on Mars with current technologies. It also negates the need to expand the cur-rent budget of NASA; the plan’s estimated budget was around $55 billion. It was dubbed “Mars Direct” in reference to the concept of traveling to Mars directly without the need of the moon as an intermediate stage.

The vehicle would use a methane and oxygen propellant. This however, constituted a major problem for the project. The amount of fuel needed for the trip to Mars and back made the vehicle too heavy. Zubrin’s solution for that was quite simple: a non-manned spacecraft called Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) would be launched around 26 months before the Mars Habitat Unit (MHU) — carrying a crew of four — is sent off. The purpose of the ERV is to land on Mars and deploy a small nuclear reactor that will provide the spacecraft with necessary energy. The ERV would then combine its stock of hydrogen with carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere to create up to 112 tonnes of methane and oxygen propellant. The propellant would then be used to fuel the MHU’s trip back to Earth. The ERV would also be able to extract oxygen from atmospheric carbon dioxide to be used by astronauts on their arrival.

Despite the practicality of Zubrin’s plan, it was not well received by NASA once pro-posed. Many sections of NASA were not flattered by the fact that the scenario did not really require their programs or exper-tise. Since NASA was becoming a political conglomerate, that was enough grounds for rejecting the plan.

Zubrin, however, did not give up. He per-severed in giving lectures and spreading the word about the plan amongst America’s aero-space engineers. Mars Direct was embraced by most of those who attended his lectures and at many times Zubrin and his colleague David Baker, who accompanied him on his trips, received standing ovations indicating how successful their initiative was.

When a new administration took over NASA, Zubrin proposed his plan for the second time. This time, NASA directors actually listened. Ne-gotiations about issues such as risks concerning radiation and possible contamination by microor-ganisms on Mars prompted plans that astronauts returning from Mars would undergo quarantine procedures. Eventually, a plan was finalized which Zubrin called “Mars semi-Direct.”

Mars Society has constructed research centres in the Utah desert where scientists and students can go to perform experiments on how to make the virtual environment created by astronauts on Mars most productive. Durocher is actually scheduled to join one of these centres at the end of 2007 or early 2008.

Zubrin’s ultimate dream is to make the full colonization of Mars a reality. He hopes that as astronaut deployments on Mars increase and an actual permanent presence of humans on Mars occurs, the atmosphere will start to warm up. Ironically, he is depending on the effect of global warming, the very effect that is killing our planet. Gradually, the frozen water will start to melt, causing the atmosphere to become closer to that of the Earth.

After the screening of the documentary, a debate started concerning the practicality of ex-ploring Mars, and the actual benefits we can gain from Mars — benefits we cannot find on the safer and more familiar exploration of the moon.

Durocher has expressed his interest in showing The Mars Underground in the SLC, so as to involve more students in the space and astrophysics fields to which UW has made many significant contributions.

ssoliman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The Waterloo Space Society presents The Mars Underground, a documentary about a revolutionary plan to send a manned mission to Mars within 20 years

Science Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007science@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Classifieds

UPCOMING

CHURCH SERVICE

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HELP WANTED

HOUSING

VOLUNTEER

Volunteer with a child at their school and help improve their self-esteem and confidence. One to three hours a week commitment. Call Cana-dian Mental Health 519-744-7645, ext 229.Participants required for anterior cruciate-ligament (ACL) deficiency study – the Biome-chanics Laboratory is seeking volunteers who have had a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Remuneration will be given for your participation. For info please contact Chris by e-mail at cjstecro@uwaterloo.ca.City of Waterloo, 519-888-6488 or volunteer@city.waterloo.on.ca has the following volun-teer opportunities: “Tree of Angels helpers” – needed at Conestoga Mall for two days per week/3 hour shifts from November 30 to De-cember 21. “Bertie’s Place” needs a volunteer assistant Thursday mornings, AMCC, from 9 to 11 a.m., now to April.Volunteer Action Centre, 519-742-8610 or www.volunteerkw.ca, has the following vol-unteer opportunities available: “Put a smile on someone’s face!” Volunteer for the AIDS Committee of Cambridge, Kitchener, Wa-terloo & Area. For info contact Lynn at 519-570-3687 or volunteer@acckwa.com. “Donate your time this Christmas!” by volunteering with the Salvation Army Kettle (Bubble). Call 519-745-4215 or aed@kwsacfs.org. “Food Bank of Waterloo Region” is looking for you. Contact Rose, 519-743-5576 ext. 226, email roset@thefoodbank.ca, or visit thefoodbank.ca. “Christmas Gift Wrapping!”- Volunteer for The Kidney Foundation. Contact us at 519-742-2023 or email kidneykw@kidney.ca. “Women’s Crisis of Waterloo Region” is looking for volunteers to wrap gifts. Call 519-653-2289 x224 or email heidi.wheeler@wcswr.org. “Help YWCA Mary’s Angels” and make this holiday great for everyone at the shelter. Call 519-744-6507 ext. 211or email maria.wal-lenius@ywcakw.on.ca for more info.The Kitchener Youth Action Council is cur-rently seeking volunteers aged 14-24 who are concerned about issues facing youth and young adults across Kitchener. For more info e-mail youth@kitchener.ca.Distress Line Volenteers Wanted - Canadian Mental Health Association is seeking caring volunteers to provide supportive listening and crisis deescalation to callers living in Waterloo Region. Please call 519-744-7645, ext 300.

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Contrast Photography offers affordable, creative photography services for weddings, modeling, events, advertising and editorial assignments. Please contact: Simona Cherler at 519-722-9206 or browse www.contrastphotography.net.Hello Kitty Christmas gifts sounds right for your special someone? Visit the store that oozes uber cuteness! http://stores.ebay.com/Hello-Kitty-Fanaticism?refid=store. Contact xanael@hot-mail.com for more info.

Campus Bulletin

SERVICES

Weekend counsellors and relief staff to work in homes for individuals with developmental challenges. Minimum eight-month commit-ment. Paid positions. Send resume to Don Mader, K-W Habilitation Services, 108 Syd-ney Street, Kitchener, ON, N2G 3V2.Waterloo Inn and Conference Centre now hiring! Our Catering Department is looking for hardworking banquet servers willing to work evenings and weekends on a part-time basis. Day shifts also available. Must be 18 years of age to serve alcohol. Please contact: The Waterloo Inn and Conference Centre, 475 King Street., N., Waterloo, ON, N2J 2Z5. Fax 519-884-0321 ; phone: 519-884-0221, ext 518 or e-mail ddoogan@waterlooinn.com.Excellent student work opportunity! The Survey Research Centre (SRC) here at UW is currently seeking part-time door-to-door interviewers for the Winter term 2008. Inter-viewers are responsible for conducting qual-ity-oriented interviews. Must have a clear,

ANNOUNCEMENTS

St. Bede’s chapel at Renison College offers wor-ship on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. or take a break mid-week with a brief silence followed by Celtic noon prayers on Wednesdays. Come and walk the labyrinth the second Thursday of each month, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more info contact Megan at 519-884-4404, ext 28604 or www.reni-son.uwaterloo.ca/ministry-centre.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007Rotunda Gallery presents “Simplicity in Nature - Mary Wong.” Artist’s reception December 11 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Rotunda Gallery, 200 King Street, W., Kitchener. For info 519-741-3400, ext. 3381.

2nd floor, Needles Hall, ext 33583.December 13: recommended last day to pick up loans for this term. Recommended last submis-sion date for Continuation of Interest Free Status Forms for this term.December 20: last day to submit Continuation of Interest Free Status Form for Fall term. Forms will not be accepted after 4:30 p.m. (please do not put forms in the drop box on this day) Absolute last day to pick up loans for Fall term.Please check our website, safa.uwaterloo.ca for a full listing of scholarships and awards.

“Morning Drive Radio Show” – 6:30 to 9 a.m., www.ckmsfm.ca >at the top webcast, for the latest news, traffic, school closures, interviews and a great mix of music! To get your impor-tant events on the air, e-mail morningdrivel@yahoo.ca. If you have an interesting person that CKMS should interview call 519-884-2567 be-tween 6:30 to 9 a.m....qualify for a prize!Win $1000, $500 or $200 award. UW, UWO, WLU, or U of G students. Submit transcript, cover letter, and two technical communication samples. Deadline February 29, 2008. Go to http://www.stc-soc.org/awards/thiessenaward.php.

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Adrienne Rawscience editor

Moons like Earth’s are extremely rare

Earth’s moon is a cosmic rarity, according to scientists, because it was formed by a cata-strophic collision. The moon was created when an object roughly the size of Mars collided with Earth. Debris, hurled into space by the colli-sion, eventually formed the moon. Scientists have used NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope to search for evidence of similar circumstances around 400 stars that are roughly the same age as our star was. They have calculated that moons like ours, that formed the way ours was formed, would only form in five to 10 per cent of planetary systems.

Antidepressant lengthens worms’ lives

A U.S. study on nematode worms exposed to 88,000 different chemicals revealed that mianserin, an antidepressant, lengthened their lifespan by almost a third. The drug mimics the effects of starvation — the only known method of enhanc-ing longevity — on the brain. Nematode worms are ideal for this type of study because they share several key characteristics with humans — a central nervous system and sexual reproduction — and they live for only a matter of weeks. Scientists hope the study’s findings may lead them to genes in humans that could let us live longer, too.

Finger of blame points to toxic deep-ocean water

A new study shows that the cause of the greatest mass extinction in Earth history was an increase of toxic water released from the ocean depths by rising global temperatures. This conclusion is based on research that reveals a slow decline in bryozoans — a common colonial marine creature that is excellent for measuring environ-mental changes — that began many millions of years before the Permian mass-extinction 251 million years ago. Global warming, caused by a volcanic eruption, decreased the oceans’ ability to absorb oxygen, causing an upwelling of toxic hydrogen sulfide that wiped out 90 per cent of marine species. The toxic fumes diffused out of the oceans, wiping out 70 per cent of land species. The study raises the issue of the effect of modern-day global warming on the oceans, leading scientists to wonder if we should expect a repeat performance of the Permian extinction.

Scientists engineer drought-resistant tobacco plants

Researchers, led by a biologist from the Univer-sity of California, have created drought-resis-tant tobacco plants. The plants can withstand prolonged dry periods and survive on 70 per cent less water than ordinary tobacco plants.

The results were accomplished by engineering plants that produce a protein that makes cyto-kinin — a plant hormone that promotes cell division — in stressed plant tissue. Instead of shedding their leaves when faced with drought, these engineered plants retain their leaves and can revive when watering resumes. Researchers focused on the tobacco plant because it was easy to manipulate on the genetic level and

are now trying a similar approach in tomatoes, rice and wheat. The finding could be important for creating other drought-resistant crops and relieving crop losses worldwide.

— with files from BBC News, National Geographic News and NatureNews

araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

HELP WANTEDSelf motivated student to place posters up on poles near campus. Good pay, flexible hours. For details 416-280-6113.

26 Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007Science

27Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Science

Find out more!Contact Dr. Kristy Tiampo ktiampo@uwo.cauwo.ca/earth/grad/prospective.html

Geophysics Graduate DegreesDepartment of Earth SciencesHelp Find solutions to tHe eartH’s most cHallenging problems and unanswered questions

We are committed to attracting and rewarding outstanding graduate students through generous financial support and interesting travel opportunities.

have a proud tradition of outstanding scholarship that continues to grow with innovative research programs.

There is no more controversial topic in the field of genetics than embryonic stem cell research — except maybe cloning, which is based on stem cell research. This research is based on stem cells extracted from embryos in the blastocyst stage.

The main argument against stem cell research, proposed by extreme-right groups such as Stand to Reason, is that an embryo is destroyed in the process of extracting stem cells. Such groups regard that as taking a human life — they regard it as murder. Extreme Christian groups do criticize stem cell research based on cost or legality, but rather the will of God.

However, what such extreme views overlook is the fact that em-bryos used in stem cell research are mostly embryos that were doomed to begin with. A big fraction of stem cell researchers use embryos that were going to be aborted or embryos created but never used for in vitro fertility treatments.

On the other hand, the potential benefits of stem cells are beyond imagination. The fact that stem cells can be differentiated into almost any type of specialized cell means they can be used to cure diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury or any sorts of nerve damage, strokes, heart diseases, Type 1 diabetes, muscular dystro-phies, liver diseases and types of cancer such as leukemia.

Additionally, stem cell research provides possible cures for vision damage or blindness through re-generation of the retina using stem cells isolated from eyes.

A statistic has shown that a person dies of leukemia every 10 minutes — which means six people per hour, and 143 people each day. Over two and a quarter million Canadians are estimated to have diabetes. These and many other statistics can provide a realistic measurement of how many lives could be spared if stem cell research is encouraged and supported.

Many Protestant sects, and most Islamic and Jewish theologians do approve of stem cell research on

the basis that embryos at that very early stage are not considered hu-man beings.

Some groups opposing stem cell research do sometimes border on hypocrisy; these are the same groups that express extreme grief and regret over humanistic tragedies, such as the millions of AIDS-related deaths in Africa, and their wishes for a cure. And once a possible cure is presented, it is seen as found unethical.

The illogical views and opinions of extremists cannot be allowed to hinder the advancement of what could possibly prevent the suffering and death of human beings. Not only would it prevent death, it would greatly improve the quality of life.

Think about it.

— Sherif Soliman,Assistant Science Editor

ssoliman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Sherif Solimanassistant science editor

Last Thursday an analytical balance was stolen from a first year chemis-try laboratory in the Earth Sciences building. The discovery was made around 5 p.m. in the afternoon. The police were notified immediately and while they have nobody in custody, an investigation is underway.

When contacted, Prof. Suzanne Stathopulos, instructor for first-year labs, said that eyewitnesses have seen the individual involved in the theft but have not been able to make any positive identification and there are no leads as to who he is. Stathopu-los believes that he was not acting alone and that this was not his first offence.

Analytical balances measure mass to a very high level of precision — up to 0.1 mg. They are so delicate that they are positioned in a special weighing room, with tables designed specially to prevent vibrations. The actual weighing is done surrounded by glass doors, to prevent dust par-ticles or gusts of wind from affecting measurement. While the theft of an analytical balance might not be substantial to the UW campus in general, it has great consequence for the chemistry department.

Analytical balances are very expen-sive; when asked about their average cost, Stathopulos said that because the university buys them in bulk, one balance costs just under $4,000. She went on to add that the department will not be replacing the balance this academic year, which means that the loss will significantly affect students in the winter term. Moreover, the balance stolen was one of four new ones just purchased by the depart-ment—and its loss leaves 11 other balances, many of which are 12 to 15 years old and are slowly deteriorating in condition.

The chances of any breakthroughs concerning this theft before the end of term are minimal. If you have any information, however, please call UW police: extension 22222, or Crimestoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS.

ssoliman@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Analytical balance

stolen from chem lab

Stem cells are touted as promising candidates in medical therapies. Medical researchers aim to use them to repair or replace damaged body tissues because stem cells are not, they claim, as readily rejected by the immune system. For some, stem cell research is the key to the Holy Grail of medical therapies. Others, however, recognize that the field is rife with conflict and controversy.

The biggest controversy in the field concerns embryos, particu-larly the destruction of embryos during the process of acquiring stem cells.

Embryos are alive. Once an egg is fertilized, it will, unless interfered with, develop into a fully-developed adult. By sacrificing embryos for em-bryonic stem cell research, scientists are sacrificing one certain life for the potential benefit of another. That one life they are sacrificing could be the next Beethoven or the next Einstein. Human life is inherently

Science podium: stem cell research

valuable and dismissing the ethical implications of embryo destruction devalues human life.

Groups who believe an individual is alive and human from the mo-ment of conception often see the harvesting of embryonic stem cells as a form of murder. The question is whether embryos have moral sta-tus — whether they are human or simply a collection of cells. Moral and ethical issues are not the only controversy within the field of stem cell research.

The use of embryonic stem cells in therapies may in itself be funda-mentally flawed. The idea behind the therapy in question (therapeutic cloning) is to produce an embryo that is genetically identical to the patient. Stem cells can be harvested from this cloned embryo for use in medical treatments. Theoretically, the patient’s body wouldn’t reject the cells from the cloned embryo because they would be genetically identical to the patient.

However, the first published study using this method resulted in three failures to repair a genetic defect using cloned embryonic stem cells; in each case, the original patient rejected the cloned cells. The only successful method was allowing the cloned embryos to be born and then harvesting bone marrow and blood for transplant back into the original patient.

If this is the only viable method for therapeutic cloning, what does that mean for therapeutic cloning in humans? It means that to correct genetic defects, scientists will grow clones and use them as little more than vending machines for the parts their patients need.

Each individual has potential; each individual has rights from the moment of their conception — rights which stem cell research overrides. Is that what we want? Have we — as a society, as a civilization, as a species — come to the point where the sanctity of human life means nothing?

Think about it.

— Adrienne Raw,Science Editor

araw@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

in Support of Stem cell reSearch in oppoSition to Stem cell reSearch

Ryan Rusnakreporter

Most of the OUA men’s hockey teams have beaten the UOIT Ridgebacks this year, and the Waterloo Warriors are no exception. Com-ing into the game against the Warriors, the Ridgebacks had the worst record in Canada at 1-8.

However, the Warriors knew if they took the Ridgebacks for granted they might not come away with the victory. David Philpott opened the scoring just 25 seconds into the game, with the assists going to Sean Moir and Joel Olszowka.

UOIT answered back with 8:28 left to play in the first to even the score a one. Warriors forward Kevin Hurley restored the Warriors lead with just under eight minutes to play to give the Warriors the 2-1 after the first 20 minutes.

The Warriors out shot the Ridgebacks 13-6 in the opening frame. “I thought we finished well on our opportunities and we made good defensive decisions to limit their offensive chances,” said head coach, Brian Bourque.

The Warriors took complete control of the game in the second period scoring three un-answered goals from Sean Moir, Kyle Pellerin and Kevin Hurley. Hurley has been a big part of the Warriors offence this year, he had three points against the Ridgebacks. Hurley now has 16 points in the season. The Warriors would net another three goals in the third period, to give them a convincing 8-1 win.

This game was indicative of the Warriors of-fence this season; they were able to get a lot of shots on net (48), and the scoring was very spread out as seven different Warriors scored.

see HOCKEY, page 32

Yang Liuassistant sports editor

After a long and arduous six-game road-trip to open the season, the women’s basketball team headed home for a weekend set against RMC and Queen’s. The Warriors’ confidence was soaring after three consecutive wins, including a sweep of Carleton and Ottawa in the nation’s capital the previous weekend, which featured a gut wrenching 58-57 double overtime victory against Carleton. Coming back home, the Warriors were fired up about playing in their own backyard. “We always talk about the pride of playing in front of family, friends and students,” said head coach, Christin Mackenzie-Dickenson.

Squaring off on Friday against the winless RMC Paladins, who sported an 0-5 record heading into the contest, the Warriors looked to make a statement against a team they were

heavily favoured to beat. The Warriors were able to dominate the paint against RMC in the first quarter and quickly jumped out to a 15-8 lead, finishing the quarter up 21-13. The second quarter saw the Warriors able to continue to penetrate down low, as point guard Melanie Belore was able to slash the rim for easy buckets on several occasions. Allowing the the Warriors to carry a 42-29 lead into the half. The Warriors dominated the offensive boards, out rebounding RMC 8-2 in the first half, and scored 28 of their 42 points from down low. The beginning of the third quarter saw the Warriors on a 14-4 run to widen their lead to 56-33, from then on the Warriors never looked back as they continued to rule the boards and down low in the paint en route to a 72-45 victory over the Paladins.

see BASKETBALL, page 32

Five wins in a row

A word of advice for athletics at UW UW badminton team wins third straight silverDavid Klaponskisports editor

With badminton taking off on campus lately, the Warrior badminton team is not only a qual-ity varsity athletics team, but now represents the pinnacle of excellence at Waterloo.

With two OUA rookie of the year awards, and three OUA all-stars, the Warrior badmin-ton team was dominant this season once again. Over the past five years, the Warriors have made it to all five OUA championships, only to lose to Western four out of five times. But this year’s second place showing was excep-tional because the team was so young; more than half the team were rookies.

Head coach and player, Chris Erven, who lost his finals singles match against Western commented on the successful season. He said that although they “expected at least second,” it was a difficult task to achieve with all the rookies on the team. Especially since the Toronto team was so strong this year as well.

The semi-final match came down to one mixed doubles game between Charles Pyne and Lisa Erven. They came through with the win even after some questionable line-up decisions from Toronto.

In the finals, after another line-up dispute, which pushed the start time back 30 minutes, the Warriors battled hard against the returning champions from UWO. Singles wins from both rookies of the year, Dorothy Lui and Andrew Tai-Pow, helped the Warrior cause, but came up short, losing 8-5 to the undefeated Western

David Klaponskisports editor

This is the last article I will ever write for the Imprint. Yes, after four plus years, I am finally graduating in December. In my final issue as sports editor, I would like to offer some advice to the University of Waterloo community on the topic of sports here at Waterloo. I have not only interviewed many different sports figures around campus, but have also personally taken part in both intramural and varsity level athletics. I have a fairly deep under-standing of how things work within the athletics and recreation department and have researched the institution thoroughly.

For the “Fixing Sports” feature this term, I interviewed several people involved with Warrior athletics and recreation, both inside and out of the department.

In the first installment of “Fixing Sports” I interviewed Jess Voll, a wellness co-ordinator ,who has been deeply involved with campus rec for a few years. While I originally intended the interview to be mainly focused on campus recreation, the interview gave me the idea to do this feature. The biggest thing that struck me from Voll was her idea that “there is definitely a work-play discrepancy in terms of balance.” This conclusion seems to be a common one around campus with the students with which I spoke about this issue, but it would seem that one could also chalk that conclusion up to an unorganized student lifestyle.

The following week I spoke with athletics and recreation director Judy McCrae and had a great in-depth interview with her. McCrae gave me her whole analysis of what she believes about sports at Waterloo while at the same time defending the previous week’s question, “What’s wrong with

sports at Waterloo?” While she agreed that one can always find problems in an institution if you dig deep enough, she argued that the department of athletics and recreation at Waterloo does a very good job at providing students with quality programs.

The third week, I dug deeper and interviewed the athletics directors from Queen’s and McMaster to compare and contrast the Waterloo program with a couple of universities that have well estab-lished athletic roots in Ontario. Although there were some differences between the universities, overall Waterloo had the same structure and goals. I couldn’t find too much of a difference, except for a greater emphasis on campus intramural sports as opposed to varsity athletics.

Then the fourth issue of “Fixing Sports” had an interview with the We Are Warriors. group. This on-campus grassroots group is attempting to increase the fan support for varsity sports and the overall student interest in Warrior varsity athletics. Their dorm storms, poster runs and various other campaigns to garner greater student attendance at varsity games really has made a difference.

For the fifth issue I spoke with Kate Shippey, who has helped run to the Campus Recreation programs for the past two year at UW. Her hard work was quite clear to me at that time. So obvi-ously the problems that I originally saw in the athletics programs at UW were not due to lack of effort by the departmental staff.

But after all the interviews and discussions with coaches of various varsity teams each week, I do have conclusions, which come from both experience and research.

One of the biggest issues with Warrior ath-letics is that the school is so young. This in turn causes many problems such as a weak alumni support structure, and a lack of facilities due to a lag in construction time and rapid growth. This is a conclusion which is partially supported

by director McCrae. “Our alumni are so young, literally 50 years, and only so many of them are now capable in their lives of being able to pro-vide some money,” commented McCrae earlier in the term.

The second major issue is culture. The athlet-ics culture at Waterloo does not include going to support the varsity teams at UW home games. While home court is usually a huge advantage in most sports, at Waterloo, often this is not the case. Groups such as We Are Warriors. are crucial to improve the level of athletics culture at Waterloo. If we want to make going to a Warrior football game or soccer game a big event that all students can enjoy, we have to start somewhere.

A new central stadium in the middle of campus or next to one of the colleges could do wonders — and not just for culture at UW. The proximity of the Laurier stadium is not the best location for UW home games, but this issue is one that has many hanging points.

While all these observations may seem a bit obvious, they are well researched and not uncom-mon to most campuses around Canada.

In conclusion, with all the interviews that I have done, I feel that almost all the problems with Warrior athletics are long term ones. Meanwhile the short-term issues seem to get addressed quickly. For now, I suggest that people just start taking pride in their university. “

We are a highly academic school, which is a plus,” said director McCrae. Students will invariably end up comparing our high academic standing around the world with our athletics pro-grams. This is not a bad thing, but a good thing, but words are not enough. Students unite! Rise up and demand better facilities, demand more funding and support the athletes that represent your university.

dklapons@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Fixing SportS

The Warrior men’s hockey team blew UOIT away at Columbia Ice Fields, 8-1.The Warrior women beat the RMC Paladins 72-45 on Friday, November 23rd.

Explosive offence

See BADMINTON, page 32

RichaRd Lu RichaRd Lu

Sports Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007sports@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

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Men’s basketball team wins home opener Yang Liuassistant sports editor

The Warriors were fired up to open the 2007-2008 season in front of their supporters. “It’s great news for us to be at home; this is our house,” said head coach Tom Kieswetter, who was also a member of the powerhouse Warriors teams in the early ’70s.

However, a rocky start to the season on the road has left the Warriors in a precarious position at 0-4. Then again, their losses included defeats by CIS number one ranked Carleton, number nine ranked Toronto and undefeated 6-0 Ottawa. Even with injuries to key players, such as forward Ben Frisby, the team was determined not to let the UW crowd down in their home opener against the RMC Paladins. “We need to work harder, and be more aggressive,” said Kieswetter before the game. “[We] can’t turn the ball over, [we] have to push the tempo.”

The game against RMC did not start off on a good note for the Warriors as they were scoreless for the first three and a half minutes and allowed RMC to jump out to a 9-2 lead. However, the Warriors would recover and went on a tear, as they were able to penetrate the lane and get down to the bucket with ease. They finished the first quarter on 15-2 run, to lead 17-11 at the end of the quarter. With the crowd now into the game, the Warriors crashed the boards in the second quarter, dominating the down-low game and the offensive boards. The Warriors went on a 30-6 run on the back of Matt Hayes, who gobbled up all the rebounds, getting five offensive boards in the second quarter alone. Waterloo took a com-manding 48-24 lead into half time, out-rebounding RMC by a margin of 2-1.

The third quarter saw much of the same from the Warriors as they continued to take advantage of their rebounding dominance. Despite ordinary shooting from the field, the Warriors were able

to keep up the scoring thanks to ample second opportunities from the offensive boards. They widened their lead after three periods to 34 points and never looked back, as they cruised through the fourth period to a 89-58 victory over RMC.

Matt Hayes had a mammoth game on the boards, with 18 rebounds including nine offen-sive rebounds. The Warriors out-rebounded the Paladins 63-26, including a 32-4 margin on the offensive boards. Jeff Hannah led all players with 19 points, and David Burnett had 10 assists.

“The defensive pressure was great, we really wore them down,” said Kieswetter after the game. “We still need to improve our shot selection at times though.”

With eight points, 18 rebounds and two blocked shots, Matt Hayes of Midland, Ontario was the player of the game. “Everyone really worked hard, busted their asses,” said Hayes. When asked of his own superb night, Hayes responded modestly. “I’m just a role player on this team, I try to focus on helping out the team by getting rebounds. I’m not the kind of guy that’s going to score 20 points a night.”

Coming off the high of a home opener win, the Warriors faced a much tougher task the fol-lowing night against the 3-2 Queen’s Golden Gaels. The Warriors would jump out to an 5-3 lead early on which would be the only time they lead throughout game. Queen’s quickly responded with an 11-0 run between 8:00 and 3:25 of the first period. Meanwhile the Warriors were ice-cold from the field, including just making one of seven three-point attempts. Waterloo scored just eight points in the first period. The second half saw much of the same from both times, with neither teams having success in either shooting or driving the lane. Sloppiness in the offensive zone from both teams lead to lackluster scores as Queen’s went into halftime with an 25-19 lead. The two teams each shot under 30 per cent from the field in the first half, with the difference in the scores

due to the 5-2 advantage Queen’s held in three-pointers made.

Early on in the second half, the Warriors showed some fight to close the gap to within one point at 30-29, however Queen’s would respond by going on an 8-0 run late in the third period. The anemic Waterloo offence would rear its ugly head again late in the third, as the Warriors shot just one for nine from the field in the final four mintues. The fourth quarter opened with a 9-2 run by the Warriors to close the gap to within three points. However, the Queen’s three-pointer shooters went to work in the fourth period with a blistering five for eight from the three-point line. Warriors shooters could not answer back from the

three-point line, as they remained ice-cold from beyond the arc. A microcosm of their inability to drain shots or finish plays all night long. Waterloo showed some life on the offence towards the end of the fourth quarter and actually outscored Queen’s 22-20, but it was for naught as Queen’s cruised to a 61-53 win.

The Warriors dropped to 1-5 win with the loss and still sit at the bottom of the OUA West division. Next week they square off against Laurentian and York, two teams that also sit at 1-5 and are in the division cellar. Tip off is at the PAC main gym on Friday and Saturday night 8:00 p.m.

yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

The Warriors won their first home game last season on the weekend.

Yang Liu

30 Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007Sports

Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007 Sports 31

IMPRINT | NOVEMBER 30

Presents

THIS WEEK INATHLETICS

gowarriorsgo.ca

0708

gowarriorsgo.cagowarriorsgo.ca

Shane Hart - HockeyShane, a 3rd year Arts student from Guelph, Ontario led the Warriors to two vic-tories over York and UOIT this past week.

On Thursday night at York, Shane notched 2 goals (including the winner) in a 4-1 win over the Lions. On Friday night, he added one goal in an 8-1 rout overthe Ridgebacks. He currently leads Waterloo in scoring with 17 points. Shanealso played physical in all key situations including a perfect 100% on penaltykills (11 for 11) in the two games.

Kate Poulin - BasketballKate, a 5th year Kinesiology student from Petersberg, Ontario led the Warriors totwo wins over RMC and Queen's this past weekend. On Friday night's 72-45 winover RMC, Kate had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. On Saturdayagainst the Golden Gaels, she continued her strong play adding 14 points, 7rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals and 3 blocked shots. With Kate's leadership, she hasthe Warriors sitting in third position in the OUA West with a 6-2 record.

Athletes of the Week

Registered trademarks of Boston Pizza Royalties Limited Partnership, usedunder license. © Boston Pizza International Inc. 2005

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Yang Liuassistant sports editor

On a typical Wednesday night at CIF, gyms one and two are filled with the squeak of gym shoes and the rumble of intense competition. How-ever, it’s not basketball or ball hockey, or even dodgeball they’re playing this night. Tonight a student run badminton tournament is going on and the two gyms are overflowing with the sounds of racket swooshes. They’re all playing hard for the bragging rights of being called doubles champion in this tournament.

One of the remarkable changes to student athletics at Waterloo in recent years; is the trepid rise in popularity of badminton. “Years ago, you wouldn’t have seen anybody playing [pick-up] badminton. Now we can fill the entire [PAC] gym with it,” said one gym official.

Most of us are already familiar with the game of badminton, an indoor court game played with rackets that bears similarities to tennis. If you’ve stopped by the PAC or CIF at night, there’s no doubt you will have seen the badminton nets up at some point. The UW badminton club, which boasts over 300 members and is the largest sports club on campus plays host to many of the badminton events you see at the gyms. “Our club has been around for 10 years and our drop-in times are always packed these days,” said Ralston Kwan an exec at the UW badminton club. CIF gym’s manager Pete Speek also concurs “badminton is definitely one of the more popular sports here.”

What is the driving force behind the growing popularity of badminton at UW.

“It’s easy to learn, easy to book courts and get equipement, a great stress reliever, and challenging to master,” said Kwan. Similar to cricket, which is also experiencing a phenom-enal increase in popularity at UW, changing student demographics likely play a large role behind the rise. Increasing diversity in the student population has brought new sports to forefront. The traditional banner sports of Waterloo such as basketball, football, hockey and volleyball still grab the headlines, but sports like badminton and cricket are quietly becoming the ones that the student body are predominantly interested in.

The increasing popularity of the sport at this school has been reflected in the success of the varsity team. The Waterloo badminton team has finished first, second, and second in the last three years of OUA competition. The Warrior badminton program is considered to be among the elite in the OUA. In terms of coverage though, the badminton team has barely made a blip compared to the big four sports. “I’d much rather read about badmin-ton than hockey or whatever they cover right now,” said one student who asked not to be identified. That particular student’s attitude may signal a changing of the guard in what should be considered the “major sports” at Waterloo.

In the meantime, badminton will continue to thrive in the background. “I think it’ll remain one of the most popular sports in the future,” said Kwan. “It’s a great social sport, where you can get out and meet other students.”

yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Even though the UW team lost 8-5, it was an improvement on the 10-3 defeat earlier in the regular season on home court.

Coach Erven, who is most likely returning next year to coach, says that he has “high hopes” for next season. With so many rookies this year, it was tough to get everyone out to practice every week but Erven hopes that next year, the rookies will become a little more mature and able to handle a full course load while on the team.

Erven also said that this year’s team worked really well together. “In past years, there have been different groups on the team, and not everybody interacted,” commented Erven. Starting last year, coaches tried to foster a greater team atmosphere. “We made sure they meshed well together and it made it a lot of fun,” added Erven, which in-cluded a few socials and team gathering. Erven cannot take all the teaching credit as he had lots of help coaching from team captains, Amanda Carruthers and Pyne. Both Pyne and Carruthers were named OUA all-stars this season for their regular season success.

Erven, in his eighth season, hopes that the team can now maintain this great team atmosphere next season; if they can, they are sure to challenge once again for the OUA championship and perhaps even be the favourites, as some key players from Western are graduating this year.

dklapons@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

“That has been a characteristic of this team for the last five years, we have always tried to create a four line team, a balanced attack, when you look at our statistics, no one player carries our team offensively” said Bourque. Warrior’s goalie, Jimmy Bernier made good when called upon, making 18 saves. When asked if he was surprised by Bernier play this year Bourque said, “We’re not surprised at all, Jimmy got seven starts last year and did not lose, he was an OUA rookie all-star, the only difference this year is that he has got more opportunities to play.”

The Warriors now find themselves third in the Far-West division and tenth overall in Canada, with a 10-4 record. Given the physical nature of this game the next time these two face eachother could be eventful.

“I hope that both teams are beyond that and the game doesn’t start out that way” (refer-ring to the aggressive nature of the game), said Bourque. The Warrior’s next game is Saturday night, December 1st, in Oshawa against the Ridgebacks once again.

Employing a balanced offensive attack, the Warriors had five different players with double digits in points, including OUA athlete of the week Gillian Maxwell who had a double-double night with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Maxwell also became the all-time OUA west rebounding leader that night with her 10 rebounds.

“We kept the focus on working on the little details, never stopped working hard” said Mack-enzie-Dickenson. “[We] relied on our size to keep the ball down low and to grab the rebounds”.

The following night, the Warriors were in for a tougher match-up against the Queen’s Golden Gaels. “Queen’s is an extremely well coached team, they will fight us for the full 40 minutes,” said Mackenzie-Dickenson before tip-off.

The game started off with an offensive tear, as fast paced end-to-end action from both teams produced a combined 40 points in the first frame. However the Warriors came out on top 26-14 after the first quarter due to shooting 60 per cent from the field. The second quarter was a night and day contrast from the first one, as both teams came out anemic on offense. The fast pace of the first quarter seemed to tire the players out as both teams got fairly sloppy in the offensive end. However, the Warriors were able to bear down on defence and made stop after stop when Queen’s was on offence. The Golden Gaels were held to just five points in the second quarter and shot just 25 per cent from the field in the first half as Waterloo took a 35-19 lead into halftime.

The third quarter saw a slight uptick in the tempo as the players returned from their halftime rest, the Warriors also returned to their dominance of the paint, scoring most of their buckets from down low as the Warriors widened their lead to 21 points. However, in the final quarter, the lethargic Warriors team returned again, as they failed to finish their plays and could not get the shots to drop, scoring just seven points in the quarter. Nevertheless, they withstood a final charge by Queen’s late in the fourth quarter to hold on to a 58-45 win. “We came off very focused and played disciplined basketball showing a lot of compo-sure,” said Mackenzie-Dickenson regarding the Warriors’ fifth consecutive win. “It was our best defensive effort of the season. Anytime you can hold a team to five points in a quarter, you will win a lot of games.”

The Warriors did not make a single three-pointer in either of the weekend games. They were 0-9 from the three-point line, and had just one three-point attempt against Queen’s.

yliu@imprint.uwaterloo.ca

Basketball: winning streak continues

Badminton: 2nd place

Hockey: 10th in CISBadminton’s popularity soaring at UW

Badminton is quickly becoming a dominant sport among UW students.Yang Liu

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Continued from page 28

Continued from page 28

32 Imprint, Friday, November 30, 2007Sports