Wednesday, January 14, 2015

thegazetteWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015 WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 108, ISSUE 56

An uncomfortable ga p since 1906

TODAYhigh-8low-18

TOMORROWhigh-7low-15

I Have a DreamSelma is an American masterpiece.>> Pg. 4

Taylor Lasota • GAZETTE

Premier Kathleen Wynne stops at Western on 10-day tour

Oliva Zollino & Katie LearNEWS EDITORS

@uwogazette

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne visited Western on Tuesday as part of a 10-day tour of post-secondary institutions in the province. The Gazette spoke to Wynne after she toured the University Community Centre.GAZETTE: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. You’re currently on a 10-day tour of Ontario universi-ties and colleges. How has the experience been and why are you doing this?WYNNE: I’m doing this because it’s very important to me that I stay in touch with and connect with young people who are in our post-second-ary institutions because they have a particular perspective on what we’re doing as a government and the poli-cies we’ve got in place, and I want to hear what the impact is on them.

I also want to hear about their

hopes and aspirations and the things that are working for them and where they think they’re going to go. And how it’s been so far has been terrific. The young people have been very forthcoming and I’m working very hard in every meeting that I’m in to hear from the young people and not let the adults take over and — when I say adults I mean the older adults — and so I’ve heard about some of the issues that young people are experiencing in terms of mental health and sup-ports on campus, I’m hearing about the importance of different kind of learning environments — I was just at the Western active learning centre and that’s a very exciting model of new technology and new pedagogy together and I’ve visited the student services offices, both at McMaster and here at London, and I know I will continue to hear about the vast array of services that students pro-vide for each other as well as the university provides for them.

G: The Dalhousie Dentistry School has put sexual harassment on campus in the media spotlight. What can Ontario universities do to be proactive in terms of poli-cies or new initiatives?W: One of the things that I’ve heard from students so far is that they feel strongly that there’s more that can be done. And I believe that having an ongoing review of policies is really important.

We’re not at a point where we can say ‘oh well we’ve dealt with that issue’ and the fact is there are new students who come in every year so there needs to be programs that allow for training. For example I was talking with some of the stu-dents who are involved as sophs and the programs that they have in place for training for themselves and then the students who come in. So I think those kinds of policies on campus, validated and formed by students, are very important.

IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME THAT I STAY IN TOUCH WITH AND

CONNECT WITH YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE IN OUR POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS BECAUSE THEY HAVE A PARTICULAR PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT WE’RE DOING AS A GOVERNMENT AND THE POLICIES WE’VE GOT IN PLACE, AND I WANT TO HEAR WHAT THE IMPACT IS ON THEM.

KATHLEEN WYNNEONTARIO PREMIER

Council composition up for debate

Amy O’KrukNEWS EDITOR@AmyAtGazette

Tonight the University Students’ Council will meet to determine the future structure of their government.

The special meeting, spurred by a report conducted by board of governors’ representative Jonathan English, will propose fundamental changes affecting who will have voting rights at council and how faculty councillors are chosen.

Presently, the USC is one of the largest student governments in Canada. Its ordinary voting mem-bers are composed of the USC president, the vice-presidents internal and external, and 63 coun-cillors made up of faculty, affiliate and residence representatives. In addition, there are six senators, one governor and the speaker of coun-cil. Altogether, the USC stands at a total of 74 voting members.

If English’s recommendations are adopted, the number of voting members would be cut down to 50.

The difference in size stems from the removal of the senators, residence councillors and the board of governors representative as vot-ing members of the USC.

>> see CHANGES pg.3

•••InsideSocial science names new dean P2

Caribbean culture on campus P4

Recipe: Morning glory muffins P4

Review: The River and the Willow P5

LTC needs fixing P6

Women’s hockey squeaks out a win P8

>> see WYNNE pg.3

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2 • thegazette • Wednesday, January 14, 2015

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

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Caught on Camera

Kevin HurrenNEWS EDITOR-AT-LARGE

@KevinAtGazette

Western has named Robert Andersen their new dean of the faculty of social science.

The university announced on Tuesday that Andersen has been appointed to a five-year term, begin-ning on July 1.

Andersen is replacing Brian Timney, the current dean who has worked in his capacity since July of 2002.

“I’m very happy to come home,” Andersen, a London native, said in an interview.

Currently holding three degrees from Western, his research focuses on political science, social stratifica-tion and applied statistics.

Prior to being chosen for the position, Andersen worked at sev-eral other schools. These include the University of Toronto, Brock University, the University of Oxford and McMaster University.

This diversity of experience now influences the way Andersen approaches current work, he explained.

“I think something I bring to the table is that I’ve worked at a num-ber of universities, so I’ve seen how things work at other places and I’ll have fresh eyes.”

Though all universities adhere to some standards of operating, Andersen notes that there are plenty of areas where schools can have individualized methods that can work best for them.

“Things are done differently nearly everywhere I’ve been, in terms of how the universities are structured, how funding models are done and how graduate students are funded.”

A fresh perspective may be exactly what the faculty needs to raise it to the next level. As Western’s largest faculty, social science has 244 faculty members and over 7,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

Already in good standing nation-ally and globally, the quality of edu-cation and research can only go up, said Andersen.

“It’s a very good faculty, with excellent students, now among the best in the country, [but] we could increase our profile in terms of research.”

Andersen points to more inter-national collaboration, larger research grants and cross-disci-plinary studies as potential ways to accomplish this goal.

“It’s a very good place already, and I’m excited to come and try to make it even better,” he concluded.

Winnie Lu • GAZETTE

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN? According to Western’s winter maintenance, the best solution to dispose of snow is to pile it all under the tow away zone.

IT’S A VERY GOOD PLACE ALREADY, AND I’M EXCITED

TO COME AND TRY TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER.

ROBERT ANDERSENNEWLY APPOINTED DEAN

OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

Courtesy of Western University

Social science names new dean

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Fluent in French Speaks some Mandarin

Solution to puzzle on page 7

thegazette • Wednesday, January 14, 2015 • 3

First Coffee and Careers event of the

semester todayWestern alumni will be hosting the first Coffee and Careers event of the semester today from 9:30–11:00 a.m. at the Wave.

Kate Baker, an employer relation-ship developer at Alumni Western, invites students to come out to the event to meet established Western alumni and improve their net-working skills in a casual, low-pres-sure environment.

“It’s really just a chance for stu-dents to come and practice their networking skills with industry pro-fessionals,” Baker said.

Coffee and Careers started in September and is held on the second Wednesday of each month. It has grown in popularity and Baker expects to see about 50–60 students drop-in throughout the morning.

Students are requested to RSVP online to this no-cost event. More information about the

event is available on the Western Connections website.

• Brittany Hambleton

Club hosts socially conscious entrepreneurship

conferenceSmart Solutions Western is hosting a conference on social entrepreneur-ship for international development, with the discussion focusing on the role that businesses and large cor-porations can play in solving soci-oeconomic problems in the third world.

The Western chapter of the stu-dent-focused organization is gath-ering a number of speakers, from researchers to entrepreneurs, to dis-cuss unique and innovative solutions for problems plaguing the develop-ing world.

“We’re trying to encourage stu-dents to hear from these speak-ers and form their own ideas for businesses that work toward social

change,” James Nugent vice-presi-dent events for Smart Solutions Western, said.

By connecting students to the most urgent problems in the third world, Smart Solutions and their speaker series Talk Change hope to provide students with the tools and skills required to solve these prob-lems in the future.

“The club focuses on specific-ally on how students can be a part of solutions for problems occurring in the developing world,” Monique Tuin, president of Smart Solutions Western chapter, said.

The keynote speaker scheduled is a representative from the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a foundation focused on sustainably improving the life of marginalized communities in Asia and Africa.

The event will take place Friday, Jan. 17 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online for $15.

• Albert Van Santvoort

News Briefs

English’s vision also proposes that instead of deciding faculty councillors based on a 600:1 stu-dent to councillor ratio, the coun-cil will set a hard cap at 50. Faculty and affiliate councillors will be determined based on weighing the numbers of students against one another in an annually variable ratio deciding councillor positions.

English said that although he can’t tell whether all of the motions drawn from his report will pass at the council meeting, there’s been a consensus that the USC’s compos-ition could be more effective.

“What I think has been kind of unanimous is that some things are not working or that council isn’t really what it could be, or should be,” English said. “That question is on everyone’s mind.”

Some USC councillors have already spoke out against the changes. Back in November when English first presented his findings, the removal of the resident coun-cillors and senators sparked a con-tentious debate.

English added that although he’s open to feedback and criticism regarding his proposals, he notes when he was conducting his initial consultations he received lacklus-ter engagement from many of the parties affected by his report and

its conclusions.“It has been kind of a disappoint-

ing process because I mentioned in September that this is going on, [I said] I’d like to meet with you in the next month and half,” English said. “I did get a disappointing turn out.”

Other recommendations in the report include making the First Year Student Caucus more involved with the USC, re-evaluating whether fac-ulty presidents are automatically voting members of the council, electing standing committee chairs at large and the creation of a senior operations committee.

English stated regardless of the results of this evening’s council meeting, the report offers a start-ing point from which the USC can explore improving its composition and function in the future.

“This is a big stepping stone in the right direction,” English said.

The meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m. in the University Community Centre Council Chambers.

Changes would see a smaller council>> CHANGES continued from pg.1

G: Over the past few years, provincial funding for universi-ties have been declining, forcing schools like Western to look for other ways to make ends meet, such as increasing corporatiza-tion on campus to increase rev-enue. How does the provincial government plan on funding uni-versities in the future and how does the provincial government expect universities to be finan-cially viable in the future?W: We have actually increased fund-ing substantially in terms of the uni-versity and college sector, and as part of that we have been involved in many, many projects — building projects that are going on right here on the campus that the province has been involved in.

Our focus has been on increasing support for students to make sure they have access to post-secondary. So in terms of the grant system that we put in place when we first came into office — the 30 per cent off tuition grant that is in place, I’ve had students already on this tour come

up to me and say ‘you know, because of that 30 per cent off tuition, I’m able to go to university or college and that is exactly what we’ve been trying to do.

I think 230,000 students are going to benefit from the 30 per cent off tuition grant this year alone. So it’s not that we have decreased funding, it’s that we are allocating the funding in such a way that the increases will support accessibility for students.G: On a funding-per-student basis, Ontario universities are lagging behind other provinces in Canada. How are Ontario univer-sities going to stay competitive in the country?W: I just need to say that on those numbers that the answer that I just gave to the last question, if you take into account the student assistance and supports for student, that number changes somewhat. We recognize that the 44 institutions in Ontario are a critical part of our eco-nomic plan.

Investing in the talent and skills of students and increasing the num-ber of students who go to post-sec-ondary is fundamental to us doing

well as a province.So we’re going to continue to

work with universities — we have made a lot of changes in terms of support for building — there had been a real neglect of capital investment in colleges and univer-sities when we came into office and so a large part of what we’ve been doing is that kind of investment so the learning environment can be upgraded.G: Does the provincial govern-ment have any plans to talk to contract staff who are increas-ingly being relied upon to teach classes and who are unable to make a living with their current wage and are forced to teach at multiple universities or take on other jobs to make ends meet?W: I’m going to be meeting with some sessional workers and some TAs today and I had an opportunity to meet with the faculty association last night, and so it’s very much a concern of mine that we look at the model and find ways to make sure that people who are doing this vital work are able to sustain themselves.

Premier trumpets funding for students

Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE

>> WYNNE continued from pg.1

THIS IS A BIG STEPPING STONE IN THE RIGHT

DIRECTION.JONATHAN ENGLISH

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSIONER


arts&lifeCaribbean culture on campus

Jennafer FreemanARTS AND LIFE EDITOR

@JennaAtGazette

Last week the Caribbean Students Organization were in the University Community Centre atrium in order to raise awareness about the organ-ization as they prepare for their main event of the year — their annual Culture Show, which will be taking place this Friday and Saturday.

“Friday will start off with a guest speaker, which we have every year,” Stephanie Rajkumar, sponsorship officer for the CSO, explained. “This year we have Stephanie Marley, who is Bob Marley’s daughter, and a Western alumna.”

Marley is going to be giving a talk called “Unchain the Humanitarian in You,” which will begin at 4 p.m. in the McKellar Theatre, located in the UCC. Following the talk will be a pre-party at Taboo to kick off the rest of the weekend.

On Saturday, the Culture Show will be taking place in the Mustang Lounge, beginning at 5 p.m. The event will be showcasing Caribbean culture through music and dance and also includes a dinner. Once the Culture Show has ended, the after party will take place at Ciroc lounge and Sports Bar on Richmond Row.

“It’s a collaboration of singing, music, dance, modeling – anything

to showcase our culture really,” Rajkumar said. “It’s about show-casing the Caribbean and what we bring to the London community and Western as a whole.”

Rajkumar said that she is most looking forward to is the unique dis-play of talent that will be presented.

“Every year, the talent varies from different musical instru-ments, to diverse genres of dance, to spoken word poetry,” she said. “I cannot wait to see all aspects of the Caribbean come to life in our very own Mustang Lounge.”

Rajkumar described the CSO as a home away from home for students of the Caribbean. She explains that the CSO has a lot of international students that are in club and as well as the executive team. In addition, there are several Canadian students in the club who have a Caribbean background.

“We also open our club to any-one and everyone,” Rajkumar said. “You don’t need to really know anything about the Caribbean to join the club, its basically just to become open to our culture, the food we have, the music we have, the clothing – that kind of stuff.”

Rajkumar also explained that the CSO gives back to the Backpack Project at the end of the year with the proceeds gathered from the show and parties provided through-out the year. The Backpack Project

is an organization sends hygienic supplies and school supplies to students in the Caribbean.

“We take over the London clubs downtown and play Caribbean music and encourage everyone to come out,” said Rajkumar. “So those proceeds as well as the pro-ceeds from the show go to the Backpack Project.”

Although the CSO holds other events, the Culture Show is what the organization has been leading up to throughout the year.

“We’ve had socials where our members gather and have food, music and get to know one another, but at the end of the day our biggest event is the Culture Show week-end,” Rajkumar stated.

Students from other schools will also be attending the event. This will specifically include students from Caribbean organizations at schools such as the University of Toronto, Guelph and Waterloo.

Rajkumar emphasized that the events are open to everyone, although discounts will be given to members of the club.

Member tickets for the pre-party and the after party are each $8 in advance and $10 for non-mem-bers in advance or at the door. Additionally, the show is $10 in advance for members, $15 in advance for all others and $20 at the door.

Selma, the must-seeBradley MetlinSPORTS EDITOR@BraDAtGazette

GGGGGSelmaDirector: Ava DuVernayStarring: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Carmen Ejogo, Wendell Pierce, Common, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey

There was a palpable sense of emo-tion pulsing throughout the theatre when Selma concluded. Fifty years after the pivotal historical events that are depicted in the film, no movie has managed to portray the civil rights movement with human-ity. Indeed, Selma is an American masterpiece.

The 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches are the basis for the film. After the passing of the Civil Rights Act, Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) still sees problems with voting rights and begins lobbying President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) for action. LBJ tells King that he wants to focus on poverty reduction, so the civil rights leader practices civil disobedi-ence by organizing the marches.

Despite the magnitude of the subject matter and grandness of the film’s scope, Selma succeeds because director Ava DuVernay brings an intimacy to the civil rights movement. One of the first scenes features Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey) attempting to register to vote. DuVernay does not rush the scene but rather lets the shame Cooper feels resonate with the audience.

Each additional scene featur-ing the intense violence of the civil rights movement, slow motion is used effectively; the intricacies of

the pain are evident.Intricacies enhanced by phe-

nomenal performances through-out the entire cast. David Oyelowo portrays King not as a perfect hero but as an unvarnished, nuanced leader. Oyelowo is not just a generic impersonator but a nuanced King that definitely has vulnerabilities.

Carmen Ejogo’s Coretta Scott King is also very strong, pulsing with emotions but refusing to reveal too many of them. Ejogo releases bits of them in incredibly compelling ways.

The rest of the cast is strong with many having individual moments that allow them to shine. In particu-lar, Lorraine Toussaint has a wonder-ful scene in which her character cites the bravery that their slave ancestors had as a source of inspiration for her currently.

It’s difficult to describe the spec-tacular nature of Selma. The “Bloody Sunday” scene features beautiful crane shots over the bridge where the march begins in Selma. That segment of Selma truly feels cine-matic and will be a scene that is remembered.

Given current race relations in United States, Selma feels all the more significant. Watching black Americans fight for their freedom through protest while facing police brutality is perhaps more relevant now than is has been since the days of the Selma marches.

DuVernay has crafted what will likely go down in American cine-matic history as an incredible tri-umph. Humanizing the civil rights movement and moving away from large, seeping portrayals, this intim-ate story cements a segment in American history with incredible fervor.

Selma is playing at Rainbow Cinemas all this week.

saywhat?“I am the hopeful black woman who was denied her right to vote. I am the caring white supporter killed on the front lines of freedom. I am the unarmed black kid who maybe needed a hand but was instead given a bullet. I am the two fallen police officers slain in the line of duty. Selma has awakened my humanity. Selma is now.”

• Common’s Golden Globe acceptance speech after winning Best Original Song for the song Glory featured in the film Selma.

>> IN THEATRES > SELMA

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Ingredients:• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour• ½ cup brown sugar (packed into measuring cup)• 1 tsp cinnamon• 1 tsp cloves• 1 tsp baking powder• ½ tsp baking soda• ½ tsp salt• 1 large egg• ⅓ cup plain yogurt or sour cream• 1 cup grated carrots• ½ grated apples or hard peaches• ¼ cup of your favourite dried fruit (Banana chips and cranberries are my favs)• ⅛ cup shredded coconut

Directions:1) Line a large cup muffin tin with 6 paper liner.2) In a large bowl whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl whisk together egg, yogurt, sugar and oil until thoroughly combined.3) Add dry mixture to wet mixture ½ a cup at a time till just combined for a thick bat-ter. Quickly stir in shredded and dried fruit to batter.4) Spoon batter in muffin cups, bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until tops are firm to the touch, and toothpick comes out of muffin bat-ter free. This takes about 25 minutes.5) Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

✁

Morning Glory MuffinsWhile many students aren’t morning people, morning glory muffins are beloved the world over. Tuck into these babies and get the day started on form!

Courtesy of the CSO

• Jonathan Pollard


WEALTH

Rap

Getting rich is an art form — it’s called rap music. Just listening to rap won’t make you rich but it will provide the fuel for the Versace fire. What do Jay Z, Gucci Mane and Mac Miller have in common? They’re all filthy rich. An economics degree is all well and good but it won’t teach you how to encrust a Hublot timepiece with diamonds. Once rap is coursing through your veins, you’ll need to upgrade to a Maison Margiela iPod.

• Conrad Floryan

LIFE & WELLNESS

Public Skating

If your New Years Resolution is to be more active, why not embrace they cold weather and go skating? Victoria Park is a great place for students to spend their Saturday afternoons with friends. Whether you need a new way to introduce cardio into your day, or you’re just looking for something fun to do on the weekend, skating is a great option at this time of the year.

• Jennafer Freeman

WHAT’S HOT

Blanket Scarves

A blanket scarf is a square swatch of fabric with a slit cut from one side to the centre, used to luxuriously drape the garment over the shoulders. Although it can be worn like a regular scarf, the preferred method by Western students is to cuddle in it during class. One of the most popular models at Western is the blanket scarf from Aritzia, but fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21 sell cheaper versions.

• Megan Devlin

MEDIA

The Golden Globes

This week, everyone will be talking about the Golden Globes. To sound insightful on topics we all disproportionately care about, here’s what to do: say hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were hilarious. Use the phrases “snapshot of life” and “humble work of art” when talking about Boyhood. Make sure to tear up when discussing Michael Keaton’s son. Why? I don’t know, but that’s what he did.

• Kevin Hurren

LOVE

Michael Keaton’s Acceptance Speech

These days you can’t escape people being lovey-dovey and annoying. Michael Keaton’s emotional acceptance speech at the Golden Globes was disgustingly heartfelt. “My best friend is kind, intelligent, funny, talented, considerate, thoughtful — did I say kind? — he also happens to be my son, Sean. I love you with all my heart buddy,” Keaton said while inexplicably tearing up. Keep it together, man, it’s not like you won an Oscar.

• Brent Holmes

>> ON DISC

GGHFFDinner BellesThe River and the WillowSonic Unyon

The River and the Willow, the second album from country-folk rockers Dinner Belles, succeeds in delivering good vibes and good times, but don’t expect anything more than that.

Throughout the album ,the wide assortment of instruments and vocal harmonies swirls together to cre-ate a highly unified, robust sound. Feelings of warmth, largely due to the upbeat meanderings of guitar and piano, drift from every song like hot coffee on a winter morning. The lyrics, while never unfamiliar, fre-quently consist of nostalgic yearning for a “forgotten home,” relatable feel-ings that mesh well with the easy-going melodies.

Continuity is also the greatest flaw. The songs bleed together with only sparse areas of anything par-ticularly distinguishable or memor-able. As a result, The River and the Willow – especially the middle sec-tion – begins to feel mundane and unsurprising.

The album’s best tracks are the first and the last. Back Home (In the Valley) is an uplifting country jam featuring smooth Allman Brothers-esque piano and guitar – strongly reminiscent of Jessica – that play off one another wonderfully. No Good is a triumphant finish, a perpetually modulating creation that puts Brad Germain’s soaring vocals front and centre. If the rest of The River and the Willow were even close to as good as the emotional second half of No Good, the album would be a spec-tacular achievement.

Aside from a few rare moments, The River and the Willow amounts to a pleasant one-time listen that’ll leave you wishing for something more substantial.

• Tom Ruess


opinions

thegazetteVolume 108, Issue 56www.westerngazette.ca

Contact:www.westerngazette.caUniversity Community Centre Rm. 263The University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, CANADAN6A 3K7Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

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What this country needs is more unemployed politicians.

• Angela Davis

The University Students’ Council is debating a motion from presidential commissioner Jonathan English on the compos-ition of council tonight at a special meeting. The three major recommendations regarding the composition of council are: removing senators and board of governors representatives as voting members; removing first-year residence and off-cam-pus councillors as voting members; and instituting a hard cap on the size of council.

Removal of senators and the board of governors representative

When first hearing of this proposal, it seems kind of absurd. Senators are some of the most active and engaged members of council, a welcome breath of knowledge and activism that other councillors could learn from.

While their performance in practice on the USC is above average, how and why they are on the USC in principle is actually problematic.

Senators are elected to the university’s senate, not to the USC. They are the only members of council, along with the board of governors representative, who are not directly elected to the USC but appointed.

Both the senators’ and board of governors representative’s main focus should be on their elected duties to the university and representing students on a university and academic level, not on a student government level. Currently, their focus is split between the two.

So while these representatives have historically been very active on council, their presence and legitimacy as a voting member should be questioned and we came to the conclu-sion that they should not be voting members.

Removal of first-year residence and off-campus councillors

Right now, on paper, first-year representatives provide double representation and disproportionate representation to both first-years and faculties. In practice, first-year repre-sentatives are rarely, if ever, active at a USC meeting.

Stripping them of their voting rights is an easy fix for these problems. But that would be unfair to first-year students look-ing for leadership opportunities.

English recommends using the first-year caucus as a more effective and representative body for first-year involvement in the USC. This would see first-years still be on council, but in a non-voting role.

This is a good start but does not go far enough. Proportional representation for the number of students in residence and off-campus can be achieved with a separate body of the USC. This body could then elect a few student representatives amongst themselves to the USC so that they still have an important voting voice on council. It could possibly act as a standing committee of council, which would mean it would present regular reports to council, giving a consistent voice to first-years that is currently lacking in the USC.

This solution is ironic given that senators are being removed for being appointed to council and not directly elected. However, given the fact that first-years are not here when regular USC elections take place and they do have unique issues compared to upper-years, this seems like a solution that both guarantees effective and proportional representation on a USC body and giving a greater voice to first-year students on council.

Hard cap of 49 voting members plus the speakerOne of the most obvious problems with the USC is its

sheer size. The solution proposed by English is fair and smart given the expanding university population and the need for proportional representation. Instituting a hard cap on the number of councillors is needed to not only prevent the size from spiralling out of control, but also ensure there is a greater voice and impact for any one councillor.

This might also have the side benefit of making USC elec-tions more competitive and that might lead to better candi-dates elected and councillors who feel more responsibility to represent their constituents.

• Gazette Editorial Board

Complex council composition conundrum

Hamza TariqNEWS EDITOR

@HamzaAtGazette

Winter is here. There is snow on the ground, the cars are driving slowly, the scary Arctic winds are taking the wind chill to 25 below, and Western students are at the bus stops, staring as full buses pass them by. They shiver, swear under their breath and try to not get frostbite.

Monday morning, I was at the bus stop outside my house. The London Transit Commission’s special univer-sity bus runs at the hour mark every morning. By “the hour mark,” it means “give or take 15 minutes and maybe it’ll come.” I was there 10 minutes early to avoid missing it — but the bus did not arrive that day.

Eventually, I took a later regular bus and got to campus. On the way there, the bus was completely packed two stops from mine. The driver tried to squeeze in as many students as he could and then drove off. From there on I counted at least five stops with a significant number of students that the bus went past without stopping.

Last year, the LTC’s former general manager Larry Ducharme admitted that the system was broken. The LTC faces various challenges, the most significant being that it’s seriously underfunded for a city of London’s size. Ducharme apologized to Londoners for the ‘poor quality of service’ and said that there was just not enough — not enough funding and not enough buses. The LTC has been “broken” for a long time now. London’s new mayor Matt Brown has pledged his support for a new Rapid Transit System and on his campaign platform he promised to deliver in four years.

But the question for Western stu-dents remains: is the university and the USC doing enough for them in this regard? The USC currently pro-vides shuttle services in the form of the Mustang Express. This bus provides students transportation from down-town London to campus after the LTC buses have stopped, every weekend. All undergraduate students pay for this service via their student fees. In addi-tion, the USC also runs shuttle services after hours during exam season.

There is also a shuttle service than runs between the affiliate colleges every day free of cost. So I believe it’s fair to say that the University Students’ Council and the university do try to accommodate students’ transportation needs. But I don’t think it is enough.

The USC’s exam shuttles and Mustang Express are run with the idea of student safety. The Mustang Express has previously been debated within the USC because people question it’s effect-iveness and ridership numbers. Despite the criticism, the USC has supported the shuttle service because it provides students safe and cheap transport home. That is a noble intention — but I don’t think the USC’s concern for stu-dent transport safety should end there.

The university and the USC should lobby the city government harder to provide the students with better servi-ces to get to campus. A recently com-menced light rail and rapid bus project in the Waterloo Region can be used as an example. The federal, provincial and municipal governments are funding the project collectively. The university administration and Western’s political student advocacy groups can work to not only appeal to the local government but start a larger campaign to lobby dif-ferent levels of government and other stakeholders to take an active interest in improving London’s transit system. There is no question that prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures and wind chill is a student safety issue. It’s high time that London’s buses stopped leaving students at the bus stops, freez-ing, bitter and probably late to class.

Transit system is bus-tedConrad Floryan • GAZETTE

Green eggs and Hamza

“Mamihlapinatapai” comes from the language of Tierra del Fuego. Cur-rently holding the Guinness Book of World Records title for the “most succinct word,” mamihlapinatapai refers to “a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves.”

wackywordwednesdaywackywordwednesday


Multiple Mustangs take bronze from BrockDevin Golets

SPORTS EDITOR@uwogazette

The Western wrestling team went to St. Catherine’s on Saturday for the Brock Open Wrestling tournament, and brought home some hardware.

Madi Parks had a great tourna-ment, winning four matches before losing to the eventual winner of the women’s 55 kg division, Carlene Sluberski from Brock. The fourth-year Brescia student won bronze.

Joining her with another bronze was Kyle Bonk, as the third-year science student finished the tour-nament 2–2 in the men’s 100 kg division.

Parks and Bonk led a team that has battled all season long with injuries to multiple key players.

Head coach Ray Takahashi liked what he saw from his group con-sidering the adversity his team has faced.

“Everyone has a few bumps and bruises,” explained Takahashi. “It’s kind of the nature of the sport — it’s physical, it’s hard.”

The long Christmas break allowed multiple players to continue their recovery, including Rebecca Matheson. Despite suffering an injury while playing for Western’s women’s rugby team, Matheson was able to return to the lineup in Brock and finish with a 2–2 record, garnering praise from Takahashi.

“It’s pretty impressive to be a two-sport athlete,” he said. “She’s just coming back, but she had a really good tournament.”

Alongside Matheson, Richard Balfour also returned from injury to compete. Balfour missed the last two seasons with multiple ailments, and a summer injury set him back to start this year, but his 2–1 showing in Brock proved to be a step in the right direction.

“He’s a strong boy and has a lot of experience coming up through our feeder program. He was a former U-17 National Team member and had a great tournament,” Takahashi said.

Balfour’s efforts reflect the suc-cess of Western’s affiliate program, London-Western, where numerous players have spent time honing their wrestling skills by competing against varsity athletes while still in high school.

Ligrit Sadiku is one such mem-ber of London-Western, and came to London to train in Western’s development program from PEI. The high school student won gold in Brock, promising similar returns in future.

“Ligrit came with some good credentials, he was second in the U-17 National trials,” Takahashi said. “He was good to begin with, but since he’s been training with us, he’s been doing really well. He comes to Western next year and will make a big contribution to our program.”

Caleb Rutner and Alyssa Medeiros rounded out the team’s strong show-ings, both finishing fourth.

January and February represent perhaps the busiest time of year for the team, as they prepare for a tournament in Guelph this weekend, before hosting the Western Open on January 24.

“It’s going to be very competitive because all the other universities are quite strong as well, but we have a solid lineup,” Takahashi said. “If everything goes well, we’re certain that we can win. I am confident in that.”

Students can watch the Western Open Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9 a.m. in Alumni Hall.

Courtesy of Ray Takahashi and Western Wrestling

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sports saywhat?I want to become one of the greatest players of all time. Of course, this requires a lot of effort and I hope to get there.

• Christiano Ronaldo after winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or Award, his third time being named the best FIFA player of the year.

Rundown >> The Mustangs swimming team lost to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues in a dual meet on Saturday > Both the men’s and women’s teams lost, 89–55 and 84.5–60.5 respectively.

‘Stangs squeak by Lakers 3–2 in shootoutRichard Raycraft

MANAGING EDITOR@RichAtGazette

It took everything they had, but the Western women’s hockey team remained undefeated in regulation when they took on the Nipissing Lakers Sunday afternoon at Thompson arena, winning in a shootout 3–2.

The penalty-filled affair saw every goal on both sides scored on the power play. The contest was rarely at even strength and 5-on-3 play was common, particularly in a frantic second period.

“I thought we battled, it was a tough game, I give [Nipissing] a lot of credit,” Mustangs head coach Chris Higgins said. “It was a special teams game, there was just tons and tons of penalties.”

The Mustangs improve to 14–0–2 and remain at the top of Ontario University Athletics while the Lakers drop to 8–5–2 and remain in eighth.

The referee’s quick whistle was the defining feature of the game. Almost every infraction was called and then some, resulting in upset coaches on both sides. The pressure was put on the goaltenders to make big saves with so many players in the box.

Higgins explained that he was happy with his team’s defence play, including goalie Kelly Campbell, especially considering all the time spent on the penalty kill.

“We gave them two goals late in the second period but we shut them down in the third — Kelly [Campbell] made some big saves on the breakaway and of course the three in the shootout, so it was a team win,” he said.

Western opened the scoring in

the middle of the second period on the powerplay as Kendra Broad, the team’s top scorer, slung the puck from the side of the net, hitting Lakers goalie Jacqueline Rochefort and trickling in.

The goal was scored on a 5-on-3 as Nipissing took three penalties in under two minutes.

“It was tough for a bit but they really did maintain their compo-sure,” Darren Turcotte, Lakers head coach, said on the second period.

“Honestly, I was trying to make a pass to Syd[ney Kidd] and just kind of let go and caught the goalie off guard there,” Broad said of the goal.

Broad would find Kidd on the next Mustangs goal, when they

set up in the Lakers zone ending with Kidd roofing the puck past Rochefort.

The Lakers would battle back,

however, as top scorer Kaley Tienhaara came flying into the Western zone and wired it past Campbell to reduce the deficit to one midway through the second.

Nipissing would follow it up with another goal by Sam Strassburger again on the power play to tie it up heading into the third period.

Despite fewer penalties, the third period moved at a hectic pace. A blocked Western shot midway through the period led to a breakaway for Tienhaara, who was brought down and awarded a penalty shot. Campbell managed to stop it and keep the game tied up. Western created the majority of the chances for the rest of the final

stanza, but could not find the back of the net as the game headed into overtime.

Campbell managed to stop another breakaway in the extra five minutes, so the contest came down to a shootout.

Defence Katelyn Gosling shot first for the ‘Stangs, scoring a beauty of a goal that befuddled Rochefort.

“I really only have one move so I just went for the shot,” Gosling said.

Campbell stopped all three shootout attempts from the Lakers, sealing the win for the ‘Stangs.

“I thought our team played very, very well today,” Higgins said.

The Mustangs move on to face Windsor on the road this Saturday.

I THOUGHT WE BATTLED, IT WAS A TOUGH GAME, I GIVE

[NIPISSING] A LOT OF CREDIT.

CHRIS HIGGINSMUSTANGS HEAD COACH

Eunhae Chung • WESTERN MUSTANGS

Neuer is a god, was robbed

Mike LaineGRAPHICS EDITOR

@MikeAtGazette

On Monday, FIFA awarded its annual most valuable player award, the Ballon d’Or, to Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo beat out star striker Lionel Messi and German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. All three of these players are super-stars in their own right and some of the most talented athletes on the planet. The award, however, should have really gone to goal-keeper Neuer. The award is pre-sented to the male player who has performed best in the last calen-dar year. There is no doubt in my mind Neuer was the best player for both his club and national team in 2014.

The Ballon d’Or has been awarded since 1956 and only once

has a goalkeeper won the award — Lev Yashin in 1963. Goalkeepers have been completely disregarded over the last half-century by FIFA, as there have been very few times that keepers are even nominated for the trophy. While goalkeeping in other sports is often considered the highest and most skilled pos-ition — see hockey — in soccer goalkeeping has become a dis-regarded art. Since his transfer from Schalke to Bayern Munich in 2011, Neuer has been exceptional. He was a vital part of Germany’s victory in the 2014 World Cup, as well as Bayern Munich’s victory in the 2013 Champions League.

When you think about it, how many times do you see saves in soccer highlights? Rarely, because their saves are a rare specimen in the world of footballers. The high-lights that we are exposed to are Messi dangling through a hapless defence or Ronaldo scoring an improbable bicycle kick goal. Yet if you have ever seen Neuer play, you’ve seen some incredible saves by the lanky German.

To further iterate Neuer’s excel-lence, let’s look at some stats. In

2014, Neuer allowed a total of 14 goals in 62 league matches. On top of that, he only allowed 40 goals total through every game he played in 2014, which includes international games. Those are unprecedented stats for any goal-keeper in the modern era. Neuer’s unwavering commitment to excel-lence in the crease is unmatched by any keeper in the game today and by few who came before him. Unfortunately, Neuer is rarely recognized for his achievements other than in his home country.

Neuer is strength and com-mand in his crease has led him to be compared to some of the great-est keepers ever. Have you seen his throw? I’m almost certain he can throw the ball farther than many professional players can kick it.

The decision to go with Ronaldo was one of poor judg-ment by FIFA. In the last five years, Ronaldo and Messi have swept the award. Picking Neuer would have really made a difference in the footballing world and changed the perspective that we often have for goalkeepers as the misfits of the team.

Get out of my Laine

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Wednesday, January 14, 2015