DARYL HOFMANNNews Editor

Jared Brown edged out his competition to become the first aboriginal student to lead University of Saskatchewan undergraduates in the school’s 105-year history.

Brown, who identifies as both First Nations and Métis, is studying sociology and has spent the past two years as an Indigenous Students’ Council representative on University Students’ Council.

Brown’s campaign was backed by the ISC and the Aboriginal Students’ Centre but also had wide support across campus.

His election strategy revolved around a handful of small-scale reforms — ideas he dug up while navigating other students’ unions’ websites, he said.

Integrating artwork into Place Riel, installing additional phone-charging stations, implementing a union-wide Ecofont that promises to cut down on ink costs and setting up a bookstore webcam feed were among suggestions that Brown endorsed.

“I think there are some very tangible things that I put forward,” Brown said. “They are not big changes... but absolutely I think I can get them done.”

The week-long race for union president was unpredictable and well-fought from beginning to end. Minutes before the final results were called, as candidates huddled with their supporters late Thursday afternoon at Browsers, there were no indications of a frontrunner.

Ultimately, Brown’s 819 total ballots pushed him past runner-up and third-year political studies major David Konkin by just 29 votes.

Trevor Paschke, a fifth-year engineering student and president of the Engineering Students’ Society, received 622 votes to place third.

Brown credited the win to those who initially encouraged him to put his name forward and kept him focused during election week.

“I had my family, my friends but I think what put me over the edge was Marylou Mintram,” Brown said, referring to her assistance throughout his campaign.

Mintram, a fellow ISC member, served as Brown’s running mate.

Mintram ran for vice-president academic affairs, but fell several hundred votes short of her opponent, longtime U of S Students’ Union Safewalk Co-ordinator Ruvimbo Kanyemba.

Steven Heidel, a third-year computer science major, defeated Edwards School of Business councillor Jenna Moellenbeck for the position of vice-president

operations and finance. Alex Werenka, current USSU

Help Centre Co-ordinator, ran unopposed for the position of vice-president student affairs.

Sixteen per cent of the student body cast an online ballot — double last year’s total.

Brown said that after talks with previous USSU executives, he expects a steep learning curve as an entirely new team takes office May 1.

USSU General Manager Caroline Cottrell said the incoming executives will go through a detailed orientation process over the course of their first month in office.

“It involves them working with a variety of individuals [familiar] with governance... who come in to give them a particular perspective on certain components of their job,” Cottrell said.

To further ease the transition, the outgoing executives will be required to work closely with their successors early in their term, she said.

Cottrell said the election of the first aboriginal USSU president is meaningful, but pointed out that the union is gender, race, culture and religion neutral, and represents all undergraduate students.

Brown recognizes the historical significance of his election, but does not want it defining his presidency.

“In the long run, students aren’t going to care that I’m aboriginal,” Brown said.

“Don’t get me wrong, this is a huge barrier broken. But when it gets down to the nitty-gritty, how I handle myself in everyday

The University of Saskatchewan student newspaper since 1912

volume 103 • issue 30• thesheaf.com

April 5, 2012Sheaf

theMedia Green Metro daily news boxes invade Saskatoon’s streets. page 4

SaSk filM Saskatchewan’s film credit debate rolls on despite cuts. page 3

HuSkieSAthletes of the year announced at annual gala.

page 10

foreign filMIranian Oscar winner A Separation honest and real. page 12

kHadrCanadian citizen’s plea agreement should be upheld.

page 5

HarperCanada’s prime minister should not stop at the penny. page 6

Brown captures historic win

AlexWerenka

Uncontested

16%2011/12 Voter Turnout8%2010/11 Voter Turnout

David Konkin - 790Trevor Paschke - 622

819Jared Brown

Jenna Moellenbeck - 8911284

Steven Heidel

Marylou Mintram - 7241244

Ruvimbo Kanyemba

photos by Raisa PezdericNext year’s USSU president Jared Brown hugs Marylou Mintram seconds after the election results were called at Browsers.

VP Academic Affairs VP Operations & FinanceVP Student Affairs

DARYL HOFMANNNews Editor

After toiling away on a research paper, it can be disheartening to have it simply graded and handed back.

A group of 12 students at the University of Saskatchewan understand that frustration and have laid the groundwork for an undergraduate research journal for the university. The journal will allow students to have their research published and peer-reviewed.

The Research Learning Community, which includes students from a variety of colleges, has met weekly throughout the year to investigate the feasibility of an on-campus undergraduate publication.

They submitted their 10-page proposal to Associate Vice-President of Research Jim Basinger last week.

Sarah Marcoux, a fourth-year rural and urban design major and co-author of the proposal, said undergraduate students are realizing the importance of thorough research and looking for a way to go beyond conventional coursework.

“Research gives you the opportunity to examine everything you’ve learned, pick out what’s relevant, seek out missing knowledge and apply it in meaningful ways based on your own curiosity,” Marcoux said.

The proposal includes plans for the appointment of a full editorial board, consisting of an editor-in-chief, a team of senior editors, a layout manager and a marketing

manager. A website would be launched

to accept and publish articles. And a list of graduate students and professors who are willing to associate themselves with the peer-review process would be compiled.

Submissions would be “completely open” to all undergraduates on campus, Marcoux said.

The RLC is asking administration for monthly office space, two computers, furniture, online server space and one paid staff member.

Basinger, who accepted the RLC’s proposal March 28, said the university is continually looking at ways to enhance students’ research experiences.

Although the university had not previously considered starting an undergraduate journal, he said it “fits in” with the school’s recent research initiatives outlined in the Third Integrated Plan.

Basinger said the RLC must now flesh out the proposal, essentially creating a full business plan detailing how to secure resources and how to put the journal into practice.

He said finding the resources to pay one full-time staff member will be the most important financial commitment.

“You need one person that can provide continuity year after year, and also provide the hands-on work that is required to receive papers, ensure they are processed properly

and then assembled into the journal’s style,” Basinger said.

Basinger said the success of the journal will rely on the contributions made by both the RLC and the university over the summer. He will refine the proposal and consider taking it to senior administration for funding in the coming months.

“It’s really important that this not just sit on the desk somewhere. It’s key that there are people continuing to work and push this forward,” he said. “I’m not making any promises. But I feel this is a good opportunity and I would hope we are able to pull something together. This is a pretty exciting plan.”

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Student group aspires to launch undergraduate research journal

A dozen students are asking for the university’s help in starting an online research publication. Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor

The Diefenbaker Canada Centre reopened to the public March 30 after months of renovations.

The Diefenbaker centre is located at the University of Saskatchewan between the Education Building and the Royal University Hospital. It first opened its doors in 1980

as a place to commemorate John Diefenbaker, the 13th prime minister of Canada.

The reopening is marked by three new exhibits highlighting the former prime minister and U of S alumnus’s dedication to human rights: The Diefenbaker Legacy;

The Canadian Bill of Rights; and Unity, Diversity and Justice: Canadian Approaches to Human Rights.

The renovation was funded through a partnership between the Government of Canada and the U of S. The government made

a $1.33-million investment in September 2010 after a visit to the centre by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who was on campus to mark the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Bill of Rights, a precursor to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms adopted in 1982.

Diefenbaker centre reopens after renovations

April 5, 2012 • the Sheaf • thesheaf.com/news News •3

ISHMAEL N. DAROEditor-in-Chief

When Brad Wall’s government cancelled the Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit, it caught many in the film industry flat-footed.

“I was shocked,” said Anand Ramayya, owner of Saskatoon-based production company Karma Film.

“We had been in discussion with the ministry beforehand and had no indication that this was going to happen.”

The cancellation of the film credit was announced in Regina March 21 as a part of the 2012 budget. The elimination of the credit was part of an effort “to ensure provincial finances remain sustainable,” Culture Minister Bill Hutchinson said in a news release.

The tax credit entitles film productions to claim up to 45 per cent of labour costs if the money is spent in-province, and can cover up to 50 per cent of a production’s total budget.

“Those numbers are misleading because they refer to the amount of labour that you can claim,” Ramayya said. “The reality is that the amount of financing that you actually get is about 20 per cent of your budget.”

The government announced it would no longer accept applications for the FETC as of April 1, but that it would continue to honour productions that have already been approved for the tax credit.

The Saskatchewan government announced a week after the budget that it would extend the applications deadline for the FETC to June 30, but that the tax credit would still be phased out by 2014. Minister Hutchinson was unavailable for further comment.

“Eliminating the tax credit will save Saskatchewan taxpayers up to $3 million this year and $8 million once it is fully phased out by December 31, 2014,” the release concluded.

However, the culture ministry’s own documents from 2004 showed that the impact of the FETC on the provincial economy was minimal. It also predicted that as the industry continued to grow over time, there would be less “leakage” to other provinces and more jobs and money would stay in Saskatchewan.

“We want to be a good sound business investment as well,” Ramayya said, whose company produces the award-winning claymation series Wapos Bay. “Nobody wants to be perceived

to be doing something contrary to that. I think when the numbers do get crunched, they always end up on our side. Basically, worst case scenario, we’re revenue-neutral. In the good years, we’re revenue-positive.”

The local film industry has claimed that since the program started in 1998, the government’s $100-million investment has generated $623 million in production.

The fight to save the FETC has drawn in various commentators, from CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi to Saskatchewan actor Kim Coates (of Sons of Anarchy) to comedian Brent Butt, whose Saskatchewan-based Corner Gas was one of the most successful Canadian productions

of the last decade. CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie and Wapos Bay are two more examples of Saskatchewan productions that take advantage of the FETC.

“I don’t think the decade would have unfolded the same way [without the FETC] because our stories come from our communities, and if you don’t have an industry functioning in your community then... a big part of what you lose are those voices,” Ramayya said.

Ramayya’s Wapos Bay recently won Best Foreign Animation Film at the International Family Film Festival in Hollywood.

“Little Mosque, Corner Gas, Wapos Bay are all really good examples of the success stories of those indigenous stories from

our community making it to the international stage and doing well.”

Far from despairing, however, Ramayya sees the government’s extension as a sign for hope. The issue seems to be resonating with the general public as well. An online petition called “Save the Saskatchewan Film Employment Tax Credit” started March 23 with the goal of gaining 5,000 signatures. Currently, it has over 8,300.

“I don’t think anyone expected there to be such a public reaction to it,” he said. “Which I think means people in the province, taxpayers, actually do value film, TV and creative industries.”

Fight over film tax credit continuesSaskatoon producer says film industry not warned about cuts in budget

DARYL HOFMANN News Editor

The University of Saskatchewan will be forced to trim spending over the next four years to make up for a lower-than-requested provincial operating grant.

At an April 3 public meeting, Provost and Vice-President Academic Brett Fairbairn outlined the financial repercussions of the March 21 provincial budget, which left the university shortchanged after receiving just a 2.1 per cent increase to the 2012-13 operating grant. The university had asked for a 5.8 per cent grant increase.

“Prior to knowing what our provincial grant would be, we projected a shortfall of $10 million over the next planning cycle, which is 2012-16,” Fairbairn said at the public meeting. “Now that we know what the grant is, our projected

gap is more likely $12-15 million in 2012-13 and $20-40 million per year until 2016.”

As the university works to tighten the gap between revenue and expenses, administration will consider institutional priorities, but cuts are inevitable, the provost said.

According to Fairbairn, budget pressures stemming from declining provincial funding is not unique to Saskatchewan and governments across the country are slashing grants to post-secondary institutions.

Fairbairn explained that budget decisions will be guided by the priorities outlined in the university’s recently approved Third Integrated Plan.

“We need to think about what we will start doing, and what we will stop doing, but we must ensure that our solutions are sustainable in the long term,” he said.

University of Saskatchewan to reduce expenses in face of budget pressures

Provost and Vice-President Academic Brett Fairbairn. file photo Robby Davis

Wapos Bay director Trevor Cameron on set. supplied

ANNA-LILJA DAWSON

Green boxes have invaded Saskatoon’s sidewalks as a second commuter paper has come to town.

Metro, a free national daily newspaper that targets transit riders, published its first Saskatoon issue on April 2.

“Saskatoon is the leading market in Canada and population growth and the economic growth indicate that the city is ready for a second [daily] newspaper,” said Steve Shrout, vice president and group publisher for Western Canada at the Metro.

Metro came to Canada 12 years ago and reaches over 1.4 million readers in 11 Canadian cities, now including Saskatoon and Regina. The paper publishes Monday to Friday. It boasts the title of being the Canada’s first national paper to be published in both English and French.

According to their website, Metro is the largest and fastest-growing newspaper in the world, with more than 55 editions published in 24 countries.

Owned by Torstar Corporation, Metro is geared towards active, young people who live within the city. Saskatoon’s demographics,

with a growing student population, are the right fit for Metro right now, Shrout said.

Metro prints local articles in first few pages, and features national writers to fill the Canadian, world, sports and entertainment pages.

In addition to the print edition, Metro is available online and through mobile apps for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android.

The distribution method was customized for this particular expansion to complement Saskatoon’s bus transit system, Shrout said.

Green street boxes are spread throughout the city as primary distribution points. Grocery stores, coffee shops and local businesses will also carry copies.

Metro’s income comes primarily from national advertisers. However, the paper will incorporate local clients as well, Shrout said.

Saskatoon is already home to one commuter paper, the Verb, which is distributed predominantly on Saskatoon Transit. Although the two papers differ in terms of content, competition remains in the fight for commuter readership.

WANT TO SELLYOUR TEXTS?WANT TO SELLYOUR TEXTS?BOOKS

UNLIMITED1402 College Drive • 652-0244

Buy your texts at reduced prices!Large select ion of used paperbacks!

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thesheaf.com/news • the Sheaf • April 5, 20124• News

“During high school, I played junior hockey and still hold two league records: most time spent in the penalty box; and I was the only guy to ever take off his skate and try to stab somebody.”

- H. Gilmore

Metro hits streets of Saskatoon

Bryn Becker/Web Editor

Metro boxes can be found blocking sidewalks everywhere.

Multi-Faith Chaplains AssociationPop in and see a chaplain!

The Multi-Faith Chaplains Association has an office on campus, and we are here for you! If you’d like tosee a chaplain, stop by our office at MUB 118 (on the main floor of the Browsers/Louis’ building) between

10 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.We’d be glad to see you!

ABORIGINAL ELDERSWALTER And MARIA LINKLATER966-5790; 382-0630pat.olesiuk@usask.caAboriginal Students’ Centre

ECUMENICAL(Anglican, Presbyterian, United)NANCY YEE966-8500ecum.chap@usask.cawww.facebook/chaplain.usask.nancywww.twitter.com@chaplainnancyMemorial Union Building 118

HINDU COMMUNITYDR. G. LAKSHMAN955-0872lakshmang@innovationplace.com

JEWISHCANTOR NEIL SCHWARTZ222-6061cantorneils7@aol.comMemorial Union Building 118

LUTHERAN(and Multi-Faith Coordinator)REV. PAUL SARTISON653-2509luth.chap@usask.caLutheran Campus Centre

MUSLIMDR. SYED IBN IQBAL880-1715syed.ibniqbal@gmail.comLower Sask Hall 21

ROMAN CATHOLICMICHAEL MACLEAN966-8931mmaclean@stmcollege.caSTM, rm 224MADELINE OLIVER966-8940moliver@stmcollege.caSTM, rm 242

UKRAINIAN CATHOLICLAURIE FRIESEN244-7720ucyouthministry@gmail.comSheptytsky InstituteFR. ANDRÉ LALACH966-8930alalach@stmcollege.caSTM, rm 245

•5April 5, 2012 • the Sheaf • thesheaf.com/opinions OpiNiONs

TANNARA YELLANDOpinions Editor

Canadian citizen Omar Khadr has been in jail since he was 15. He is now 25.

But Khadr is not in a typical jail, and he is not a typical criminal — if such a thing exists. Khadr is in the controversial American Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. He has been there since 2002, when he was accused of throwing a grenade at an American soldier during a firefight in Afghanistan, though evidence discovered since his capture suggests that he may not have been the one to throw it.

Khadr’s name is once again in the news, this time because he is potentially about to be released into Canadian custody to serve the remainder of his sentence. As in any case that goes on as long as his has, the more complicated and damning aspects have largely been forgotten.

As much as possible, we must not forget what has happened. We must bring Omar Khadr back to Canada.

The grounds on which Khadr was imprisoned are dubious at best. Just 15 at the time of the battle that led to his apprehension, Khadr qualified as a child soldier. Both international law and decades of precedent make it clear that child soldiers should not be prosecuted.

In 2010, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy said this about Khadr’s case: “Child soldiers must be treated primarily as victims and alternative procedures should be in place aimed at rehabilitation or restorative justice.”

Khadr, who has been incarcerated in Guantanamo for the last 10 years, has not been afforded the relative luxury of rehabilitative justice. He has instead, according to his lawyers, been subject to torture and coercion during his imprisonment, and this torture led to confessions American officials used in extracting a plea agreement from him. Neither has he been exempted from war crimes proceedings. This makes Khadr the first child soldier prosecuted since World War II.

There have been so many abuses of human rights and justice in Khadr’s case that any judge hearing this as a normal criminal proceeding would have no choice but to throw it out. Many national security proponents, however, argue that this is not a normal case, that it involves a terrorist and that Khadr should be tried regardless of his age.

This is obviously what the Bush and Obama administrations felt, since they pursued charges and proceedings against Khadr. Little is known about what took place during the military commission that heard Khadr’s case and sentenced him. Aside from an edited transcript of Khadr’s courtroom statements that was published by the Toronto Star in 2010, most of the case happened outside the public eye. What is

known is that Khadr pled guilty to five war crimes in exchange for an eight-year sentence.

Now that those proceedings have come to a close, the absolute least that could be accorded Khadr would be to respect the terms of his plea agreement.

The plea agreement, signed last year, called for Khadr to be returned to Canada for the last seven of his eight-year sentence.

Now even U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is ready to release him. The last remaining obstacle between Khadr and some semblance of justice is the Canadian government, which a recent Canadian Press article alleges is in no rush to treat him any better than the American government has.

“Ottawa has been scrutinizing the application far more closely than required, looking at issues such as his parole eligibility, which would essentially be almost immediate,” the article says.

For someone as young as he is, Khadr has endured a lifetime of abuse already. It is time to do the bare minimum to ease his suffering: allow him to see his family, to serve out his sentence in Canada in a jail subject to oversight and regulation.

A 10-year humanrights travesty

Omar Khadr’s release from Guantanamo is the least that can be done

“The plea agreement, signed last year, called for Khadr to be returned to Canada for the last seven of his eight-year sen-tence.

Samantha Braun

DARCY ROPCHANThe Gateway (University of Alberta)

EDMONTON (CUP) — People say you should respect and listen to your elders, as though all old people are Yoda, brimming with wisdom they dispense every chance they get. That’s bullshit.

Old people are some of the least sophisticated and knowledgeable people on this planet. If you want proof, you need only look to Facebook.

For the sake of this argument, I’m going to consider anyone over the age of 50 elderly. We all have old people on our friends list. They are often family members or someone otherwise close to us. Sure, we may love them in real life, but on Facebook they are a plague that must be deleted.

Old people have no idea how to use the Internet. How many times have you logged onto your Facebook only to see your newsfeed clogged with stupid status updates and crappy Facebook game notifications from your elderly friends? It’s bad enough when I have to put up with shit from people in my cohort. But when I see old people doing it, I start to seriously doubt the supposed wisdom of our elders.

Did you know that 99 per cent of people won’t have the guts to repost

a status about some stupid bullshit faux activist cause? Yes, I know that they won’t have the “guts” to do it. I know that because old people post that stuff all the time, but 100 per cent of me doesn’t give a shit. Posting a status about breast cancer awareness or human rights crises accomplishes nothing. Keep that crap off my newsfeed.

Even worse is when they post supposedly funny pictures from the ’90s and all their other old-people friends comment, explaining how the images are so amusing and relevant to their lives. Give it a rest. It’s nice that you finally found your way onto the Internet, but the rest of us saw all this years ago.

The elderly can also wreak havoc on Facebook statuses. Nothing diminishes your cool status like having an older relative comment on it. I mean, come on, Grandma: I’m stealing quotes about atheism from Richard Dawkins and George Carlin and claiming them as my own so I can show my friends how witty and edgy I am. I don’t need you liking or writing “lol” or “That’s nice, dear -Love Grandma” on my status.

And old people love Facebook games like they love going to bed early, complaining about new music and eating mashed vegetables. I don’t really have a problem with that. Sure, Facebook games are stupid and pointless, but to each his or her own.

What pisses me off is the flood of invites I get telling me to join these games.

I don’t need to know how many points you’ve accumulated in Farmville or Mob Wars. Save my fingers the effort of clicking to ignore your invites by not sending them to

me in the first place. If you really need to brag about it that badly, you can tell me about it in real life, and even then I’ll probably ignore you.

Facebook is an amazing modern invention that’s being ruined by a bunch of old dinosaurs. I’m not suggesting old people should be

kicked off Facebook, because that would be mean. Instead, they should have limited Facebook options. Log on, wish me a happy birthday and then log off. No statuses, no game invites, no comments.

Get off my Facebook, you damn olds.

Get off my Facebook, Grandma thesheaf.com/opinions • the Sheaf • April 5, 20126• opinions

Samantha Braun

Good riddance to the pennyIf only Stephen Harper would kill these other things as well

Forget Timeline — Facebook needs features to protect us from the elderly

lokidude99/flickr

ISHMAEL N. DAROEditor-in-Chief

Starting this fall, the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer distribute new pennies. This decision was unveiled in the federal government’s 2012 budget and will likely go down as one of those once-in-a-generation moments of national unity — like winning gold in hockey at the Vancouver Olympics or the adoption of the maple leaf flag.

No one disputes that pennies are useless. For starters, it costs 1.6 cents to produce each coin. The only time people are glad to have pennies is when they see a leave-a-penny dish at a cash register. Even one-cent candies now cost more than a cent. Getting rid of the penny may just prove to be the most popular thing the Conservatives do in government.

The abolition of the penny proves what most people have long suspected: Stephen Harper is the greatest prime minister since Sir John A. Macdonald. At the very least, it confirms that he’s really good at abolishing things — the long-gun registry, the long-form census and the Katimavik program.

Here’s a short list of other things the prime minister should consider abolishing.

NickelsThe nickel is the awkward middle

child of the small coin family. Not

worth enough to buy much but too big to be ignored, the nickel is just asking for it. Even parking meters refuse nickels, so why should we meekly accept a fistful of them in our change? Hell, nickels aren’t even made of nickel anymore; they’re almost entirely steel, with nickel plating.

Mr. Harper, tear down this coin!

PayPhoNesIt seems pretty obvious that any

remaining payphones are merely there because no one has gotten around to disconnecting them. They are relics of the past that are only useful for vandalizing. The only good thing about payphones was the phone booth, but those haven’t been standard for decades.

While Harper is at it, he should abolish all landlines. Phones are just glorified text messagers now and actually speaking to another human being using your voice is rather archaic. Oh, and all Bluetooth earpieces. Maybe BlackBerrys too.

Drum solosSolos in general are pretty

annoying, but at the bottom of the solo totem pole is the drum solo. Even the most amazing drummer in the world can’t sustain a crowd’s interest for long without some other instruments in the mix. This is why a singer-songwriter can get by with just a guitar, but why you never see

musical acts that just use drums. Drum solos also go on for far too

long. If you really want to give the singer a break, how about telling a knock-knock joke? It will be about as entertaining as the drum solo but won’t cause any headaches in the crowd.

Abolishing drum solos will of course leave drumming itself intact, but anyone who goes more than 10 seconds without other instruments should get an automatic 10 to 20 years.

WeDNesDaysThe middle of the

workweek, difficult to spell and possessing an overall shitty attitude, Wednesday is ripe for abolition. The week could still have seven days (I have a multi-year Dilbert-a-day calendar that would become completely meaningless otherwise) but we can all agree that Wednesday doesn’t deserve its place in the middle. We could add an extra weekend day, or we could just rename Wednesday to “Double Tuesday.” In

addition to abolishing Wednesday, I’d also like to see the prime minister strictly enforce Hump Day in some way.

DogsWe all know that Stephen Harper

is a cat-lover — and why shouldn’t he be?

They’re soft, cute and pee in a box. The cat’s mortal enemy, of course,

is the dog, and unlike their cuddly counterparts, dogs generally don’t pee in convenient places. Also, sometimes they can be big and scary and mean.

April 5, 2012 • the Sheaf • thesheaf.com/opinions Opinions •7

ERIC MACFARLANE

As if the world doesn’t have enough problems, Iran is intent on building a nuclear bomb.

The world’s favourite problem child has decided to expand beyond supporting terrorist groups like Hezbollah, propping up a ruthless dictator in Syria, oppressing democracy internally and thwarting Western interests wherever possible.

If this were strictly a numbers game, it might not seem like that big of deal. The United States and Russia have thousands of nuclear warheads and the rest of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council hold hundreds. Israel won’t admit to it, but the international community knows about its arsenal. India and Pakistan are well-armed with nukes. Hell, even North Korea has one (or more). Aside from its impending violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, should we really be that concerned if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon?

The answer is yes.Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali

Khamenei, undoubtedly sees nuclear weapons as a tool for survival — not only as a means to deter an attack but also to shore up domestic support. Enough national pride has been invested in the weapons program that he cannot back down in the face of

international efforts to stymie Iran’s nuclear program without losing a great deal of legitimacy.

But where are the lines drawn between realism and theocracy? Should we believe that Iran will behave like other nuclear-armed states given that the regime has called for the destruction of Israel and supports terrorist entities? If Iran is already willing to provide conventional arms to Hezbollah and Hamas, might it provide a nuke or a “dirty bomb” in the distant future?

North Korea’s nukes may be bad, but Iran’s would be worse.

Another concern is the possibility of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Of all places, the Middle East has had enough instability and intra-regional threats. An Iranian nuke will not help.

If Iran obtains nuclear weaponry

there is a good chance that at least one of either Saudi Arabia, Turkey or Egypt will follow suit. Israel might even pursue a missile defence system or decide that a pre-emptive strike on Iranian facilities is the only course of action. We should rejoice that no nuclear attacks have occurred since the end of the Second World War. Further proliferation might push our luck.

Nuclear disarmament is probably centuries off, if it is at all possible. After all, I can’t think of a single weapon the human race has successfully stopped using and destroyed, especially one as effective at destruction as a nuclear bomb.

Yet there is hope in the form of a number of arms control measures, which the international community should do its best to promote and uphold.

Shame on those who condemn diplomacy. Iran may not be an ideal international partner, but it has interests beyond stockpiling weapons, and a halfway point should not be ruled out between pre-emptive war and Iran achieving its nuclear goal.

But if threats, arms control agreements and diplomacy fail, can we cope with an Iranian nuke? As is often the case in a complex world, all options are poor. High-five to the human race for another senseless dilemma.

Iran reaches for the bombThe international community must use diplomacy to stop Iran’s nuclear program

Samantha Braun

“North Korea’s nukes may be bad, but Iran’s would be worse.”

Ben Coakwell was plagued with injury this season, missing three of the Huskies football team’s nine games. On Sept. 30, 2011 against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds, however, the fifth-year running back was in top shape.

Coakwell rushed for 205 yards on 20 carries and recorded two touchdowns in a spectacular return

to the field — it was only his second game of the season and first since an early-season injury put him on the sidelines for two straight weeks.

The Huskies won 36-33. Coakwell’s rushing yards in that

single game made up almost half of his six-game, 420-yard total on the season.

coakWell coNquers uBc

8•spOrts thesheaf.com/sports • the Sheaf • April 5, 2012

tOp Huskies perfOrmaNces Of 2011-12To celebrate the centennial year of

Huskie Athletics, the Sheaf has compiled a list of our favourite Huskies performances from the 2011-12 sports seasons. Everything from wrestling to basketball and even coaching made our list.

Possibly the most intense moment of the Huskies’ year came in the 106th minute of the Canada West men’s hockey final at Rutherford Rink on March 11.

While several players on the Huskies deserve recognition for their strong performances — especially goaltender Ryan Holfeld, who stopped 38 of 39 Calgary Dino shots in the game — defenceman Brett Ward takes the Sheaf’s top mention for his triple-overtime goal.

In the sixth period of what is now the longest game in Canada West history, Ward’s point shot squeaked through the Calgary netminder’s pads and pushed the Huskies to a 2-1 win and their first conference title since 2007.

It also earned them a berth in the national tournament for the first time since 2008.

“I definitely haven’t scored the winner in a game like this before,” said Ward after the game. “Thank God it went in.”

WarD’s triPle-overtime WiNNer

Julia Flinton, a rookie defenceman for the Huskies women’s hockey team, made a lasting impression on fans and coaches on Oct. 29, 2011.

In the second game of a two-game series against the University of Alberta Pandas, Flinton pushed the Huskies to a weekend sweep by netting the first goal of her university career on a slapshot in overtime.

It was the first time ever the

Huskies had swept the Pandas on home ice at Rutherford Rink.

“I’ve never scored an overtime goal like that,” Flinton said after the game. “It’s an amazing feeling and I’m just on top of the world right now.”

Flinton was nominated for the Huskies female rookie of the year after finishing second in the Canada West rookie scoring race.

FliNtoN goes Big oN First goal““I definitely haven’t scored the winner in a game like this before. Thank God it went in.”

Brett wardHuskies Defenceman

April 5, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com/sports SPORTS •9

tOp Huskies perfOrmaNces Of 2011-12

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FLOCK & GATHER CRAFT COLLECTIVE PRESENTS

Duncan Jones went out in style in his last basketball game in a Huskies uniform.

He led the team to a Canada West bronze medal March 3 at home against the University of Victoria Vikes. Jones put up an

astounding 40 points in the game and made nine of his 10 three-point attempts.

The career-best single-game stats tied him with two others for the most three-point baskets by a Huskies player in one game.

JoNes DraiNs NiNe threes

The 36-33 victory following Coakwell’s dominating performance Sept. 30 also launched Huskies head coach Brian Towriss into the record books. Towriss earned his 170th career win, the most all-time by a head coach in Canadian Interuniversity Sport football.

Towriss has been the head coach of the Huskies for longer than most of his players have been alive. He took over the position from Val Schneider in 1984 and has been racking up wins ever since.

He will continue to improve his record next season as he returns for another year.

toWriss iN a league oF his oWN

Ryan Myrfield, the Huskies men’s wrestling captain, has consistently dominated the university wrestling circuit throughout his three competing seasons with the University of Saskatchewan. This year, Myrfield won his third national

gold medal Feb. 25 at Lakehead University after successfully defending his 72-kilogram weight class title.

In 2008-09, Myrfield took gold in the 68-kilogram weight class as a rookie.

myrFielD uNstoPPaBle

Huskies forward Michael Lieffers joined an exclusive tier of Huskies athletes this season by eclipsing the 1000-point mark in his university basketball career Jan. 20. As if that wasn’t enough,

the next week he surpassed another milestone by reaching 1000 rebounds.

While Lieffers completed his athletic eligibility this season, he will be remembered as one of the

greatest basketball players to ever wear the green and white jersey.

He is only one of 37 Huskies to reach the millennial mark in both categories.

lieFFers reaches 1000 PoiNts aND reBouNDs

Elizabeth Hudon helped establish the Huskies women’s soccer team as a competitive force throughout her five-year stay with the Huskies.

She was especially motivated, however, in her final game with the squad.

Hudon scored twice against the Manitoba Bisons on Oct. 30, 2011

in what was an emotional final match.

“It was a good way to go out, [but] I might cry talking about it,” she said after the game.

The four-time all-star captained the team last year and holds the Canada West record for points (53), goals (44) and shots (241).

huDoN scores tWice iN FiNal gameoF career

Photos by Raisa Pezderic

Pete Yee

COLE GUENTER

Jerson Barandica-Hamilton came dressed in his best off-field outfit March 31 at TCU Place to accept the E. Kent Phillips Trophy for male athlete of the year at the annual Huskie Salute.

Barandica-Hamilton led the Canada West conference in scoring last season with eight goals and six assists in 14 games, breaking the previous conference records for goals, assists and points. The engineering student was also crowned Canada West MVP and named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport first team all-Canadian.

“It was very unexpected, but it feels great. Just to be considered with the rest of the nominees is a huge honour,” Barandica-Hamilton said.

On the women’s side, athlete of the year honours went to Sharai Siemens, a sprinter on the track and field squad.

Siemens captured three gold medals and one silver at the Canada West meet. She carried that momentum over to nationals where she won another two silver medals — one in the 300-metre and the other as a member of the 4x400-metre relay team.

The Howard Nixon Trophy for male rookie of the year was awarded to Jordan Arkko of the

football team. The first-year offensive lineman started all nine games for the club, becoming only the fourth Huskie football player to do so in their rookie year.

The rookie of the year for women’s sport was awarded to basketball forward Dalyce Emmerson.

She played a pivotal role in her team’s run to nationals and was one of only two players in the nation to average a double-double during the regular season.

“It’s a great night to come and see everyone dressed up and to win the award is the cherry on top of the cake,” Emmerson said.

All-round athlete awards are presented to Huskie athletes who not only perform at a high level in their respective sport but also exhibit qualities of sportsmanship, leadership and academic achievement.

The female all-round award winner was Jodi Souter.

As captain of the women’s track and field team this past season, Souter led the charge for the squad’s third Canada West title in the last four years. She won a gold medal at the Canada West championships in the 3,000-metre race as well as a silver in the 1,500-metre.

Kyle Ross got the nod as the male winner in the all-round

category. He captained the men’s hockey team to a Canada West championship and recorded career-best numbers last season with 16 goals and 17 assists in 28 games.

Ross’s coach Dave Adolph won the Colb McEwon award for coach of the year.

In his 19th season as head coach of the men’s hockey team he led the team back to the University Cup

tournament for the first time since 2007-08.

The Salute catered to more than 900 athletes, fans and supporters of Huskie Athletics. It also acted as the official Huskie Athletics centennial reunion with plenty of alumni in attendance.

The U of S athletic director Basil Hughton commented on merging the awards banquet with the

centennial gala. “It’s outstanding to celebrate 100

years of Huskie Athletics and to combine that with this event was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up,” said Hughton.

“The opportunity to have our [current] athletes and our former athletes under the same roof and interacting is beyond words.”

thesheaf.com/sports • the Sheaf • April 5, 201210•Sports

Award winners (from left) Dalyce Emmerson, Kyle Ross, Sharai Siemens, Jodi Souter, Jordan Arkko, Jerson Barandica-Hamilton.

Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor

Soccer star named athlete of the yearBarandica-Hamilton wins top honours alongside sprinter Sharai Siemens

Members of the GAA include the president as chair, members of faculty, elected students, deans, directors, vice-presidents, the university secretary and the registrar.

The president’s state of the university address

General Academic Assembly (GAA)

President Peter MacKinnon, chair of the GAA, invites you to attend the annual meeting of the GAA, where he will give his final report as president on the state of the university. This event is open to all faculty, staff and students.

Monday, April 9 at noon Convocation Hall

usask.ca/university_secretary/gaa

JENNA MANN

As the school year draws to a close and students worry about exams, essays and final projects, graduating Bachelor of Fine Arts students are wrapping up their final art shows. Last week, the Sheaf featured many of this year’s graduating BFA shows that appeared in the Snelgrove Gallery throughout March. This week, the Sheaf features the final two BFA shows of the term: Adam Slusar’s Smoke and Mirrors and Gabriella Sieminska’s Katatonia.

Smoke and MirrorsSlusar’s exhibition features acrylic

paintings, etchings and wall drawings in which Slusar ties the psychological aspects of geometry into his noir-inspired work.

“My themes are mystery, deception and also bridging my interests in architecture with my interest in cinema,” said Slusar. “I tried to hold on to that while also branching into abstract territories.”

In his use of open space, Slusar activates the background so that it is as important as the subject is in setting the mood. His use of line draws the viewer’s eyes across the painting and around the picture to hint at a story only partly developed in paint while his narrative, in subdued colors, takes precedent in the viewer’s imagination.

“They all have their own colour properties and they kind of radiate a certain colour more than others do,” he said.

It’s easy to see the noir influences in Slusar’s work as the image of a lone, dark figure appears frequently in his paintings. They could easily be used as film posters from the 1960s.

“If you look at how I am adapting the photos of my work into paintings, some of them really push into the illustrative aspect and others maintain a little more abstract” aspect.

KatatoniaSieminska’s main focus in

Katatonia is her photography, but

her show also features paintings, drawings and installation pieces. She uses the cyanotype process of developing prints in chemicals for some of her photographs as well as digital mediums.

It’s important to Sieminska that she doesn’t pinhole her art into a specific category.

“A lot of people say that my drawings or paintings are abstract but I would never say that about my work myself. There’s not a lot of depth or perspective within my work and it’s all about textures, lines and colours,” said Sieminska.

Her photographs are more surreal than abstract, which may be attributed to her love of surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.

“A good piece of work might not necessarily need a perspective or depth within it,” she said. “I was always taught that perspective was something that you had to have within your piece in order to make the viewer respond to it but I’ll try to prove that’s not necessarily the case.”

Sieminska created Katatonia to reflect the mood of the space she forms in and around her paintings.

“A catatonic state is basically a state of melancholy —sitting somewhere for a very long time and looking at one spot or looking somewhere in the distance and being not really here, being hidden in your thoughts,” she said. “It is described as a state of coma or schizophrenic behavior that really fascinates me.

“It’s a kind of island. A space that you walk into and you leave with your own experience. It’s a place on earth that doesn’t really exist.”

Both Slusar’s and Sieminska’s BFA shows focus heavily on narrative elements. Viewers are expected to fill in the blanks and decide for themselves what’s missing on the canvas. The shows emphasize how empty space can be just as important and thought provoking as occupied territory.

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EDWARDWILLETTLaunching

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run April 5, 12.indd 1 03/26/12 3:09:32 PM

•11April 5, 2012 • the Sheaf • thesheaf.com/arts arts

Final two BFA shows explore empty space

Gabriella Sieminska’s photo of a lone figure explores the catatonic state of isolation. Gabriella Sieminska

Adam Slusar’s acrylic painting combines architecture and figure. Adam Slusar

Smoke and Mirrors and Katatonia show from April 16 to 20 at the Snelgrove

Gallery, with a reception on April 19 at 7 p.m.

AREN BERGSTROMArts Editor

If only all dramas were as compelling as A Separation.

The latest film by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Oscars, but it should have been nominated for Best Picture.

It is honest and realistic in a way only a select few dramas ever manage to be. Yet its realism does not rely on any meandering or purposeless filler in an attempt to replicate everyday life. There is nothing that feels contrived about this film and it completely avoids being boring, something American mumblecore films cannot achieve.

The film begins with Nader and Simin talking to a judge in a small court office. Simin wants a divorce so she can leave the country with their daughter Termeh. Nader refuses to leave since he cares for his father who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Both love each other and want to remain married, but they are at cross-purposes regarding what’s best for

their family. The judge doesn’t find enough warrant in Simin’s complaints to justify a divorce. The couple leaves the office frustrated and Simin goes to live with her mother.

The rules of the entire film are established in this opening scene and the dynamic between the husband and wife takes centre stage. We never see the judge they are addressing. The scene is a long take with the camera taking the place of the judge. It is as if the characters are addressing us and entreating us to take their side. Both characters have justifiable reasons for their positions on the issue at hand and throughout the film the viewer will likely waver in sympathy between the characters.

In the absence of Simin, Nader seeks to hire a maid to care for his father while he is at work. He hires a poor and deeply religious pregnant woman, Razieh. Razieh comes during the day with her little daughter to clean and make sure Nader’s father doesn’t wander off or hurt himself. She is there without the approval of her husband Hodjat but compromises her strict religious beliefs because she needs the money.

Razieh proves an inattentive

caretaker, however, and one day Nader returns home to find his father tied to his bed and Razieh nowhere to be seen. When she does appear, Nader fires her and forcibly ejects her from the house. She falls down the stairs and has a miscarriage. When Hodjat finds out, he charges Nader with murder, and the characters become embroiled in a legal battle over who the guilty party is.

Much of what makes A Separation fascinating is the look behind the veil of Iranian society. It is strange to see people constantly swearing on the Qur’an and to have a woman call a religious hotline to ask whether it is a sin to change the soiled pants of a senile old man. Yet there is an abundance of universal truth here. These characters are good, intelligent people trying to make the best choices they can, but their feelings keep getting in the way of making the right decisions. No language or cultural barrier can stop these characters from being relevant and fascinatingly honest portraits of humanity.

The film is superbly written and it is a testament to Asghar Farhadi’s skill as a writer and director that

all the characters come across as sympathetic and real. The actors are all wonderful, although Peyman Moadi as Nader and Sareh Bayat as Razieh are the most dynamic. Though their performances are often understated, their work never falls flat.

The filmmaking is personal and keeps the film’s focus tightly on the characters. The entire movie was shot with a handheld camera, which gives the film an intimate feel. However, despite the camera being handheld, the shots are composed with clarity and the cinematography still makes the ordinary beautiful.

The film clocks in at slightly over two hours but feels very fast-paced. It is gripping cinema. A Separation is personal, profound and insightful in how it understands the incapacity of the law to take into account personal feelings and experiences.

www.alamardancetheatre.com

Spring Bellydance Classes begin Wednesday, April 18that the Refinery

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BLAIR WOYNARSKI

People who know me well understand two things about me: I hate coffee and I love words. Words are my trade and I take care of them. We have a very strange language with a long history, but most people do not stop to think about how it came together. So here is a brief tour of some of the more peculiar points of English.

queer origiNsWith many words, it can be hard to

keep track of where they came from. The answers may surprise you.

Camera. A camera is a device used for taking pictures. When a meeting goes “in camera,” it is closed off. Both uses come from the phrase “camera obscura” (“dark chamber”), which described a darkened room that allowed a tiny point of light to project an enlarged image. This concept formed the basis of the modern photographic camera.

Carnival. This word is actually related to the word “carnivore.” Its literal meaning is “putting away of meat.” It was used to describe the celebration before the beginning of the Lenten fast, when people would abstain from meat for 40 days.

Idiot. This stems from the Greek root “idio,” which indicates something personal (as in “idiosyncrasy”). An idiot was simply a private person, as opposed to one involved in public office. The word took its pejorative meaning as someone too stupid to understand public affairs when it was adopted by the Romans.

Talent. A talent was an ancient unit of currency. Its modern meaning comes from a Biblical parable in which three servants were each allotted talents. Two invested their money to make a profit but one hid his talent in the ground. The word gained a metaphorical meaning in the Middle Ages to refer to natural ability, since just like in the parable, your talents are useless if you keep them hidden.

Days oF the WeekSunday and Monday have the most

obvious origins, coming from Old English terms for Sun-day and Moon-day. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are all taken from the names of Norse gods — Tyr, Woden, Thor and Frejya. And Saturday is named after the Roman god Saturn.

WorD mythsMuch like with ShamWows, where

word origins are concerned, beware of imitators. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the phrase “It’s raining cats and dogs” does not originate from cats and dogs living on people’s roofs in the Middle Ages and falling off during the rain. “The Rule of Thumb” actually has nothing to do with wife beating. Golf comes from the Scottish word “gowf,” not from an acronym for “Gentlemen only, ladies forbidden.” I refuse to believe anyone out there actually believes this, but “fuck” most definitely does not come from an acronym for “fornication under consent of king.”

And that’s all the space I have. Just remember, verbosity is sometimes a virtue.

Thanks to The Essential Shakespeare Handbook, Thereby Hangs a Tale by Charles Funk, and the OED Online.

Fun with Words

thesheaf.com/arts • the Sheaf • April 5, 201212•Arts

Iranian Oscar winner sheds light on other worldA Separation is an astoundingly good drama

Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Moadi) plead their case regarding divorce to the judge in the opening scene of the film.supplied

A Separation is currently playing at the Roxy

Theatre.

COLIN GIBBINGS

I lost the Sheaf’s Oscar poll to arts editor Aren Bergstrom. As punishment, I agreed to compare Adam Sandler’s recent Razzie champ Jack and Jill with the eternal gong show Bio-Dome, starring Pauly Shore and one of the unfunny Baldwins.

Jack and Jill is very recent and therefore representative of the times we’re living in and Bio-Dome is the only other crappy comedy I’ve watched recently. I’m going to pit them against each other in three categories — story, performance and comedy — in order to determine which movie is less cringe-inducing.

In Jack and Jill, a successful advertising executive, Jack, played by Sandler, is faced with a curious dilemma. His biggest client, Dunkin’ Donuts, wants Al Pacino to star in a new commercial to promote their drink “The Dunkerino.”

The real plot revolves around a visit from Jack’s sister Jill, also played by Sandler. Jack doesn’t enjoy her company. She’s obnoxious, racist, homophobic and horrible in every conceivable way. When Jack discovers that Pacino likes Jill, Jack conspires to use his sister to convince Pacino to appear in the commercial.

In the end Jack and Jill make up and everyone lives happily ever after.

In Bio-Dome, two dudes from the ’90s with hot girlfriends and a decent house but no jobs, enthusiasm or ambition get trapped inside a bio-dome. The bio-dome is inhabited by ingenious scientists trying to study life in an enclosed area.

Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin come across the bio-dome when they mistake it for a giant mall. After sneaking in they are sealed off for a year with the scientists. The dudes screw around until the head scientist banishes them to the desert where they discover a key that allows them to escape.

They return to throw a party, wreaking havoc inside the dome. Seeing the error of their ways, the dudes agree to help fix the dome. But the head scientist has gone mad and wants to blow the structure up. The

scientist is thwarted and everyone lives happily ever after.

Winner: I have to go with Bio-Dome. Granted, the story isn’t handled well but Jack and Jill is handled just as poorly and reminds me of a bad sitcom idea.

Bio-Dome — 1Jack and Jill — 0

The big hook in Jack and Jill is that one twin is Adam Sandler and the

other is Adam Sandler wearing a wig. Adam Sandler is convinced that the trick to playing a woman is to speak with a lisp and wear a dress.

The movie has one saving grace in Pacino. Ever a professional, he gives his all in this performance. It’s not a good one—you pity him — but there are a few moments when you can see that Pacino is still a great actor.

Bio-Dome has no redeeming

performances. Pauly Shore is Pauly Shore, which is about as bad as it gets. The other lead is unmemorable Baldwin brother #644. The movie consists of those two going nuts with no character growth whatsoever. They just run around being their annoying selves the entire movie.

The other performances are just as bad. The villain is so cliché that you’ll want to draw a moustache on the TV. The girlfriends are completely underwritten and not respectfully treated. They are shown as uninteresting killjoys who want to change their men but seem to have no interest in lives beyond them. Abysmal.

Winner: By a Pacino (which in this case is still not much), Jack and Jill.

Bio-Dome — 1Jack and Jill — 1

That leaves one last category to examine: comedy. Which movie made me laugh… at all?

Jack and Jill scrapes the bottom of the barrel for its attempts at humor. When it’s not busy with confusing slapstick or reducing a family of Latinos to a border-crossing joke, Sandler brings in every celebrity

cameo imaginable in the hopes that they might capture your interest long enough to get a chuckle. This happens endlessly, with the appearance of everyone from Norm MacDonald to Johnny Depp.

Bio-Dome’s comedy is dependent on the two leads. They do not deliver. They run around smacking their heads into things, making noises and annoying the scientists. Handled properly, their antics might have been endearing. However, their inanity makes the viewer want to side with the bomb-crazy villain.

In one scene, the two leads are driving to meet their girlfriends when they see the bio-dome.

“What does bio-dome mean?” one asks.

“I dunno. Think it goes both ways?” the other responds.

“I dunno but we do!” the first one replies. They then pretend to make out, and afterwards sit blankly starring. So do we.

Winner? You’re really going to

make me decide? Pacino has one funny joke in Jack

and Jill, which he delivers when Jill destroys his Oscar.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sure you have others,” she says.

“Well, you’d think so,” he replies. “But oddly enough I don’t.”

So there you have it. That kind of got a chuckle out of me.

Bio-Dome — 1Jack and Jill — 2

Winner: Jack and Jill.

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Excellent.

JesusI Trust in

You!“Love is mercy that lessens

the misery of others.”

eadmcanada.com

April 5, 2012 • the Sheaf • thesheaf.com/arts Arts •13

The consequence of losing an Oscar bet

Supplied

Weighing the virtues of two lousy films

Story

Performance

Comedy

EDWARD ROBERTSON

Roya Pourjamshidi, a self-identified member of the Baha’i faith and a current engineering student at the University of Saskatchewan, applied to continue her education at Iranian universities. Her applications were denied.

For several decades, prospective Baha’i students have been excluded from Iranian universities on the basis of their religion, rather than their academic merits.

The systematic denial of education to minorities is just one of many human rights violations taking place in Iran that the United Nations has voiced concern over. Other concerns include women’s rights, freedom

of expression in media, equality of religion, political freedom and children’s rights.

With a focus on education, Single Arrow Productions and co-sponsor Amnesty International produced Education Under Fire, a 30-minute documentary that profiles the growth, struggle and spirit of the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education.

Founded in 1987, the BIHE is a semi-underground university in Iran that offers education in the sciences, social sciences and arts to those who are excluded from other Iranian universities.

The school has a volunteer faculty of nearly 500, including accredited professors who assist in both teaching and research.

Since the BIHE’s inception, the Iranian government has made several attempts to close it.

On May 22, 2011, in the government’s most recent raid, officials entered homes of many of the BIHE educators by force. Books, computers and other materials were seized. Educators were arrested and placed in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, where American journalist Roxana Saberi was incarcerated in 2009.

Education Under Fire, which will show on the U of S campus April 12, was filmed in nine Iranian cities and documents the experiences of students and teachers whose lives have been affected by the BIHE. Along with footage and photos

spanning over two decades of classes, the documentary features video from within Evin Prison and personal stories that capture the essence of the university.

The goal of the film is to inspire the educational institutions of Iran to open up to Baha’i students and also aims to have more international institutions recognize degrees earned at BIHE, which are currently accepted by 60 universities internationally.

thesheaf.com/arts • the Sheaf • April 5, 201214•Arts

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ASHLEY HYSHKA “I wouldn’t say that [music] has

influenced my life. I’d say that it is my life.”

That’s how the English singer-songwriter Frank Turner began his interview with the Sheaf last week.

Originally one of four members of the hardcore punk band Million Dead, tensions arose within the group and they “ceased to be friends.” He recalls the process as “grindingly miserable.” He split with the band in 2005 and has been riding solo since.

It was at that point in 2005 that Turner realized he wanted to do “something radically different from a musical point of view.” He pared most everything away, leaving only his voice, his guitar and the stage.

Turner has put out five albums in the past seven years, seeing critical success with moderate sales.

While many of Turner’s friends have settled down with kids and bought houses, he has no interest in settling down.

Having spent three “long and often lonely years on the road” performing in bars and pubs and traveling from country to country by train, Turner has felt the wear that comes from pursuing a career in music.

“There was an awfully long time where it really didn’t feel like it was going anywhere,” he said.

But he pursued his dreams because he knew he could do something great and meaningful.

While Turner’s music has been labelled folk punk by other musicians, Turner says “that’s a label that kind of gets stuck on me a fair amount.” He would call himself “more of a country singer” than anything else.

“It’s about the music — it’s about what people think about the actual sound,” he said.

While Turner’s songs explore different themes and have implicit messages, he has no interest in “trying to tell anybody what to do with their lives, or how to live.”

Instead he focuses on “working hard and being ambitious” and “dreaming large,” which is something very near and dear to him.

Frank Turner will be playing for his first time in Saskatoon at Louis’ on April 20, opening for the Joel Plaskett Emergency.

He described Plaskett as “fab, if I have to choose a word,” and said he looks forward to opening for him.

“He’s a lovely dude. He’s a great songwriter,” said Turner.

Although the kind of success that Plaskett has seen continues to elude Turner, he is not at all discouraged from pursuing his musical career.

“The music that I’m making is valid and is worth making and I have a drive to sing and to perform and to make art.”

It is evident that music is the reason Frank Turner wakes up every morning. He travels the world to do what he loves. He calls his work a “fantastic privilege” and says that he is a “lucky son of a gun” for being allowed to live his dreams.

“It’s my passion. It’s my hobby. It’s my love.”

Frank Turner set to open for Joel Plaskett Emergency

Education Under Fire film to show on campusDocumentary explores Baha’i education in Iran

Education Under Fire will be screened in Arts 146 at 12:30

p.m. on April 12. educationunderfire.com.

Frank Turner plays Louis’ on April 20.

April 5, 2012 • the sheaf • thesheaf.com Misc•15CAMPUS CHAT

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