Reading Week 2015

Transcription

Reading Week 2015

griff [grif] n.(19th c. slang) a tip; reliable news
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
www.thegriff.ca
Volume IV, Number 14
Weird-Ass Animations
We react to adultoriented cartoons.
page 6
Page 10
If you’re staying home, here are better ways to spend your time.
Reading Week 2015
Come out and cheer
for the MacEwan
Griffins — or come for
the free stuff.
page 13
ILLUSTRATION BY KAITLYN DIRK/THE GRIFF
MacEwan White Out
Hasty deadline to change
www.thegriff.ca
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Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4S2
MANAGING EDITOR
Angela Johnston
780.497.5412
[email protected]
All Editors: 780.497.4429
NEWS EDITOR
Danika McConnell
[email protected]
OPINIONS EDITOR
Marc W. Kitteringham
[email protected]
ARTS EDITOR
Stephan Boissonneault
[email protected]
SPORTS EDITOR
Kyle Muzyka
[email protected]
PHOTO & GRAPHICS EDITOR
Madison Kerr
[email protected]
ONLINE EDITOR
Daren Zomerman
[email protected]
COPY EDITOR
Emily Jansen
[email protected]
CONTRIBUTORS
Ana Holeman, Parvin Sedighi, Paul
Gazzola, Courtney Bettin, Aqsa Tariq,
Tim Rauf, Jordan Gill, Megan Lovlin, Tamanna Khurana, L.A. Bonté, Caitlynd
Burns, Michael Chau, Amanda Bunning, Amanda Ozga, Kaitlyn Dirk,
Robert Copithorne
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Student fee deadlines extended for the 2015/2016 academic year
Danika McConnell
News Editor
With classes for the winter semester starting on Jan. 5, it seemed a
bit hasty having to pay student
fees and tuition by Jan. 9. Compared to other universities, even
our neighboring U of A, MacEwan’s deadlines are stressful and
leave many students confused and
overwhelmed. This bares the question, why does MacEwan need our
money so quickly?
“
Our payment day
has never been
about getting the
money in.
- Michelle Fraser
Looking back at when MacEwan was a transfer university, the
aim was to get students admitted
as quickly as possible and registered in classes. However, with
some students applying to other
universities and colleges, the early
registration date became a disadvantage for MacEwan if said students became accepted elsewhere.
Often, students would be forgetful
of their registration.
“We set a really early payment
date because we wanted to find our
no-shows,” explained associate
registrar Michelle Fraser. “Our
payment day has never been about
getting the money in. It’s about
finding out who’s not coming and
who’s holding a seat and preventing another student from getting
in.”
Although MacEwan still has
a variety of certificate, diploma
and applied degree programs that
align with being a transfer university, the focus has changed and the
hot
Shots
Students are also advised to cue into myQ system, which holds spots in a virtual lineup.
academic schedule is being updated.
“Effective for the 2015/2016 academic year, we’re changing our
academic schedule,” said Fraser. “MacEwan University is now
moving toward changes with longer payment dates at the end of
September and January, and withdraw until the last day of classes,
but with that there becomes complete accountability for registration.”
Essentially, once enrolled it is
important for students to realize
they are registered and if students
forget to drop, the onus lands on
the student.
As it currently stands, before this change is underway for
the upcoming Fall 2015 semester,
students were able to avoid any
financial responsibility if they neglected to drop classes.
“If you happened to forget and
you went to another university, or
you went back to work, you were
released of your debt ... because
we dropped you for non-payment,”
said Fraser.
By doing this, seats were
opened for other students to enroll
in specific classes. This is vital, as
MacEwan is known for its small
class sizes.
Fraser explained that if there
are absent seats, there is both a
loss in revenue for the university
and a downfall for students — if a
student can’t register in a specific
class because a “no-show” is registered, students who want access to
a class are at a disadvantage.
Compared to other institu-
DANIKA MCCONNELL/THE GRIFF
tions, with larger classes ranging
in the hundreds, these absences
aren’t as harsh.
“There was always that lack of
understanding. ‘Well, across the
river they have this really late payment date, how come MacEwan
doesn’t do that?’ Well, we’re not
the exact same institutions, we are
different.”
With the benefit of small classes comes quick payment deadlines,
and now with MacEwan’s recent
transition into a university, times
are changing.
Fraser noted that e-mail campaigns, a dedicated webpage, and
use of the arts and science newsletter will highlight payment deadlines and clearly explain what
students are to expect in the semesters to come.
Tell us your story with a photo! Every week we select one of your photos to appear in Hot Shots, the griff’s photo of the
week column. Think you have the next Hot Shot, then send in your photos to [email protected].
Travis Riedlhuber
[email protected]
(780) 421 1000 ext. 121
The griff is a weekly newspaper published
by the Students’ Association of MacEwan
University. The griff has complete
editorial autonomy. Opinions expressed
in the griff do not neccessarily reflect
those of the University or the SA. All
material herein copyrighted to the SA,
the griff and/or its contributors.
Advertising content in the griff does not
reflect the opinions of the staff or the
Students’ Association of
MacEwan University.
CAITLYND BURNS/THE GRIFF
2
For the students. • By the students.
NEWS EDITOR
Danika McConnell
[email protected]
news
Deep Freeze warming up 118th
Vikings, deep freezer races and more — embracing the winter cultures found in Edmonton
Photos and story by
Tamanna Khurana
Local business, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of Edmonton
residents gathered on 118 Avenue
on Jan. 9 and 10 to celebrate the
winter culture of the area at the
8th annual Deep Freeze Festival.
The festival has become a January staple for The Arts on the
Ave organization, who also put on
the Kaleido Festival in September
and run The Carrot Community
Arts Coffeehouse year round. This
year’s theme was The Return of the
Vikings, and also called heavily on
the Francophone, Ukrainian and
First Nations heritage societies to
add a few twists compared to other
winter festivals.
While it seems like the aim
of the festival is to brighten up a
neighbourhood that has a harsh
reputation in the city, it’s proven to
become much more than that.
“It’s just great to see people
from all over the city coming here
and celebrating the neighbourhood,” said local resident Jana
O’Connor. “We know there’s lots
of great people living here and it’s
a great place to live, but it’s nice
when your friends from the other
sides of the city come and see it
too.”
O’Connor’s family caught a
break from the cold by making Viking-themed art in one of the many
galleries spread down the street.
This is the second year O’Connor
has brought her daughter Olive to
the festival, where she enjoys the
giant ice slide, snow castle climbing wall and skating.
It’s not all for the kids, though.
The Deep Freeze Festival has become essential for the push to recreate Edmonton as a “winter city”
for the young and the old. Along
with typical winter activities like
hockey and ice skating, organizers add their own innovative traditions like the deep freezer races.
Yes, that’s exactly what it
sounds like. Participants create
teams of five and three members
jump into an old deep freezer attached to skis. The stronger two
push the freezer across the snowy
track. This year’s record was set
at 8.9 seconds and also featured a
team who designed and brought in
their own deep freezer.
Needless to say, the deep freezer races are fun for all ages but definitely not suitable for all ages. For
the faint of heart, the organizers
also added outdoor curling and
an ice carving competition that
put the city’s finest carvers to the
test as they worked throughout the
cold weekend.
Heinz Zadler is an Edmonton
wood carver who has been transferring the same skills to ice for
festivals around the city in the winter for years. With icicles hanging
from his own mustache and beard,
he etched away at the beard of the
Viking he sculpted from ice.
If you don’t enjoy the cold, you
would miss out on a lot of the amazing art made from art all around
the festival site, but not all. With
galleries and live music at two different venues across the avenue
there are options for those who
prefer to stay warm. The community centre featured more Ukrainian culture on the Sunday and
Francophone on the Sunday. The
best acts, however, were hidden at
the far end of festival at The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse.
The small, volunteer-run venue
brings live music to the area yearround, but really ups the ante during the Deep Freeze Festival and
Kaleido Festival. The coffeehouse
brought in young francophone art-
ists from around the city, and even
if you didn’t understand a word
they sang, their voices warmed you
up just as much as the hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and
sprinkles.
Mixing outdoor sports and activities with arts and cultures from
all over, even if you hate the cold,
organizers made it difficult to leave
without loving something. Even if
it’s just a chance to finally check
out the family businesses and restaurants, some of which have been
there for upwards of 65 years, on
118th, it’s worth taking a walk
down for — at least the Vikings
think so.
Members of Odins Ravens, the
Viking reenactment group, drive
in from an hour away for the festival to support the community. Nick
Goetz, Odins Ravens’ blacksmith,
comes for that community atmosphere. “There’s a lot of positive reinforcement out of it, I think,” he
said. “Edmonton has a lot to show
people, too.”
www.thegriff.ca • Facebook: Get_the_griff • Twitter: @get_the_griff
3
news
Protest to keep Cosby out Brief
News
Two of three performances saw disruptions from audience during Canadian shows
in
Danika McConnell
News Editor
SAMU is bringing Paws For a Study
Break back to City Centre Campus
on Jan. 15 from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. in
the Students’ Lounge (7-297).
MacEwan’s “Get to Work” Career
Fair will be full of wall-to-wall opportunity on Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. - 3
p.m. in the Robbins Health Learning
Centre.
SAMU students’ councillors and
the executive committee will be
in the CCC cafeteria on Jan. 28
from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. for “Food For
Thought” — an opportunity to discuss current topics and issues facing students.
Protesters gather outside Kitchener’s Centre In The Square as Bill Cosby prepares to perform.
Angela Espinoza
The Other Press (CUP) Douglas College
Despite repeated protests and several cancelled shows, Bill Cosby proceeded with three Ontario comedy
performances last week.
The shows took place in Kitchener on Jan. 7, London on Jan. 8,
and Hamilton on Jan. 9. Each show
reportedly did not sell out, and while
the Kitchener show was reported as
having gone smoothly, disruptions
happened at the London and Hamilton shows.
Prior to the London show’s start,
attendees were handed out white
slips as they entered the venue. The
slips read, “Patrons have a right to
enjoy tonight’s performance. Dis-
4
ruptive behaviour will not be tolerated and will result in removal,
possible legal action, and/or banning from the venue.”
Later that evening, Cosby is
quoted as having said, “You have to
be careful about drinking around
me,” in response to a woman in the
audience who had gotten up to get a
drink. Critics have responded negatively to the line and interpreted it
as Cosby attempting to make light
of the almost 30 separate sexual assault accusations towards him, some
of which have claimed he spiked
drinks.
Following the joke, a man reportedly stood up during the middle of the routine, shouting, “You’re
a rapist.” Media outlets have stated
the man was escorted out by securi-
ty, questioned, and then he left the
building.
The Hamilton show saw a bigger
disruption early into the evening as
various men and women stood up
and revealed shirts that read, “We
believe the women.” The people
were eventually removed from the
venue by security and the show continued on.
Since last November, numerous
sexual assault allegations against
Cosby have been made or re-introduced to the public. Several victims
had previously come forward years
earlier, such as Andrea Constand,
whom met Cosby in 2002, lawyer Tamara Green, who claimed Cosby assaulted her in the ‘70s, and Barbara
Bowman.
Constand’s claims made a civil
PIXELHOUSE/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
lawsuit, but the case was reportedly
settled outside of court.
2005 and 2006 saw many of the reports occur in succession, but it was
not until November 2014 that the allegations would see another media
frenzy.
The latest women to come forward with allegations are Linda
Kirkpatrick, Lynn Neal, and a woman going by the name of “Kacey,” all
of who are being represented by Gloria Allred. The allegations were announced Jan. 7, the same evening as
Cosby’s Kitchener show.
While some other performances have since been cancelled in the
U.S., such as in Connecticut, Nevada
and New Jersey, Cosby currently
has another 15 shows lined up on his
2015 comedy tour.
Hosted by The Pride Centre of
Edmonton and SAMU club InQueeries, join Toronto-based Sunny Drake, an Australian queer and
trans writer, performer and producer for his two performances in Paul
Byrne Hall.
His first performance, “Transgender Seeking,” will be on Jan. 14 at
7 p.m. and the following afternoon
on Jan. 15 he will perform “X,” a story of addiction and personal stories
about substance at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for
students.
The last day to apply for supplemental exam or reassessment of
grades for fall term courses is on
Jan. 16. at the Office of the Registrar.
ARTS EDITOR
[email protected]
arts
Exploring possibilites with Owls by Nature
Courtney Bettin
Writer
and
Where
When
What: Owls by Nature
with The Bleeders and the
Boy, The Lunas and Old
Towns
Where: The Pawnshop,
10551 Whyte Ave
When: Jan. 16 at 8:00
p.m.
Price: $10 at yeglive.ca
Owls by Nature is not your average folk rock band. This Edmonton
based five-piece group brings an
edge and a passion to the saturated
genre in a way that will change your
perception of folk rock altogether.
The laid-back attitude and upbeat melodies of their songs captivate the audience while being
unable to overshadow the raw appetite that the members hold for their
craft.
“[It’s] truth, honesty, passion.
We bleed on stage and leave it all up
there,” says vocalist/guitarist Ian
McIntosh.
McIntosh started the band with
an old friend four years ago while
they were both working construction jobs.
“We didn’t have a name. We were
just writing songs, late at night. I
used to have to get up at six in the
morning [for work] but we would
stay up until four, writing … We did
Edmonton’s own Owls by Nature are coming back home.
that for what seemed like an impossible amount of time. And on one of
those nights we were out having a
smoke and I thought ‘We’re kind of
like owls,’ and eventually we arrived
at the name Owls by Nature.”
Little did he know that over
the next four years Owls by Nature
would see a multitude of successes
across North America and Europe.
Alongside McIntosh are banjo/
keyboardist Cory D., guitarist/vocalist Doc de Groot, bassist/vocalist Mike Nash and drummer Freddy
Brenton.
The ensemble did a European
tour earlier in 2014 where they not
only played the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, but also the Rolling Stone Weekender. To top off
their travels, they recorded a new
album in France for which they flew
in producer Jay Sparrow.
“[Sparrow] heard us when we
were just shit, just no good, and he
saw something in us or in the performance. He saw that work ethic and
liked it and offered to produce our
next album,” says McIntosh.
That album turned into three albums as Sparrow has stayed alongside the band throughout their
TRAVIS NESBITT/SUPPLIED
career. He is responsible for mentoring the band and McIntosh gives
him credit for helping the band
achieve their current success.
The fast pace that this band
follows requires nothing short of
a hardworking team. McIntosh is
constantly songwriting to create
new material for the band to grow
with. Innumerable hours are spent
thinking about the messages and
inspiration behind the band’s compositions.
“It’s a constant pursuit. I think
about the lyrics. I want them to be
real and relatable, hopefully, but
honest. And I want the melodies
and the progressions to be interesting. I want it to be great so I approach it that way.”
Between writing and working
his current job as a bartender, McIntosh also volunteers his time cohosting a CJSR radio show called
The Events Calendar.
It comes out on Friday afternoons at four to cover local shows
that will be playing in the city over
the weekend.
“I really love that because I
think Edmonton has a great music
scene. It keeps me involved with it
and knowing about it. It helps me
give back to the scene because I
think it’s important to have a strong
community. It’s really great.”
McIntosh states that among a
few projects in the works he’s not
entirely sure what he sees in the future for Owls by Nature.
“That’s the interesting thing
about goals, though. You become
acclimatized to your success. Whatever happens, I’m just happy to
make music,” says McIntosh.
What he does know is that Owls
by Nature’s upcoming show at the
Pawnshop will be nothing less than
a whirlwind of an experience.
“It is high energy. If you give me
an inch, I’ll give you a mile. There’s
a give and a take. There’s a participation and a community in a show.
It’s not about us: it’s about you. It’s
about hopefully giving something
to the audience … Expect a band
who gives a shit and cares about you
and wants to put on a great show.”
World’s first pair of playable 3D glasses
Arts Editor
While another release from garage rock prodigy Ty Segall is
far from unheard of, the musician is pushing another artistic
boundary with his latest EP, entitled Mr. Face.The EP not only
has four new songs by Segall, but
also comes with four translucent,
7” red and blue vinyl that can be
used as a pair of 3D glasses.
The EP comes with a trippy
gatefold image and when both
a blue and red vinyl are pressed
against one’s eyes, a person sees
the artwork in three dimensions.
As for the music of the EP, Segall
kind of dances around his signature styles. “Mr.Face,” which
starts off as a chill acoustic song,
but then ends with a trippy bandfilled ending. “Circles,” has ghostly lyrics accompanied by heavy
tribal-like drums.
It transitions smoothy into a
trippy musical freakout dubbed
“Drug Mugger.”
While his newest album, Manipulator was full of mostly heavy
and fuzzed-out guitar riffs, it
seems that Segall has decided to
take a very familiar transitional
period with Mr. Face.
Still, regardless of the genre,
the 27-year-old has a gift at creating psychedelic but catchy sounds.
5
arts
Weird-Ass Animations
Aqsa Tariq
Writer
Bojack Horseman
Bojack Horseman comes off as a
raunchy comedy featuring a pathetic, washed-out TV star, whose
heart may (or may not— it’s hard
to tell) be in the right place.
The pilot episode was discouraging, but three episodes in, it becomes apparent that this cynical
satire has much more to offer than
just comedy.
The show gets darker as it goes
on, gradually at first, and then faster and faster. It’s hilarious, horribly
depressing, moving and clever all at
once.
There are many other topics
and painful truths delivered in
stinging cynicism and satire, my favourite being Bojack’s statement:
“You know, sometimes I feel
like I was born with a leak, and any
goodness I started with just slowly
spilled out of me, and now it’s all
gone. And I’ll never get it back in
me. It’s too late. Life is a series of
closing doors, isn’t it?”
Who knew that a series about
an anthropomorphic horse could
be so goddamn depressing? Bojack
Horseman may be a cheesy, overused comedic concept, that being a
former star is desperate for a comeback but is an asshole and steps
on all his friends, but by the second half of the season, it shows a
remarkable range of humour and
heart. With oddly relatable characters, long-running jokes and dark
satire, watching Bojack Horseman
6
was a trip and a half.
Tim Rauf
Writer
Rick and Morty
Created by Dan Harmon and Justin
Roiland, Rick and Morty is a television show with humour as black
and splotchy as the eyeballs of the
characters inhabiting its wonderfully wonky and often completely
outlandish world.
Centred upon misanthropic super scientist Rick and his dim-witted yet well-meaning grandson,
Morty, each episode of the show focuses on the cosmic misadventures
in which the pair finds themselves
taking part.
From the pilot episode, the
viewer is dragged, alongside Morty,
into an inter-dimensional journey
across worlds, and within the first
five minutes, they are exposed to
sights ranging from the magnificent to the grotesque.
While the presence of an overarching plot line does seem to be
lacking in the series, there are a few
recurring bits that help to infuse it
with a witty, if not slightly morose,
flavour.
One such example of the mindblowing nature of many of the
show’s jokes comes when, in one episode, a group of aliens engage in a
game of simulation one-upmanship
with Rick, as a way of extracting
from him the secrets of faster space
travel. By the end of the episode
though, Rick and Morty have been
thrown around three or four layers
of simulation, and the viewer is left
wondering how real the reality the
characters end up in truly is.
Not just a series about travelling through infinite dimensions,
the show also features the dysfunctional relationships Rick and
Morty share with the rest of the
immediate family.
Although a rarity, the family
moments, most notably between
Morty’s mother and father with
their marital issues, serve to add a
little poignancy into the mix.
Overall, Rick and Morty is a
surefire bet to any fans looking for
a new series rife with utter absurdity, psychedelic science fiction and
hysterical humour.
Jordan Gill
Writer
Adventure Time
I had never seen an episode of Adventure Time, but I knew that it was
immensely popular. I enjoy other
animated shows that are marketed
to an older audience, so I had high
hopes for Adventure Time.
The show features two main
characters, a boy named Finn and
his friend, a dog named Jake, and
the adventures they end up taking
to get themselves out of of predicaments. As I began to watch, I came
about an interesting observation.
The show isn’t very funny. The
characters are strange. The storyline has almost no flow. On the
surface, the show seems rather mediocre. However, there was a sort of
addictive quality.
Maybe it’s the fact that the
show is so bizarre you want to see
what could come next.
Due to its short episode duration (about 11 minutes each) Adventure Time fits perfectly into the
student schedule. That is, as long as
you can watch just one at a time.
Megan Lovlin
Writer
The Boondocks
Having never heard of this show
before, I went into watching The
Boondocks with absolutely no idea
what it was about or what I was in
for. Right from the first episode, I
was pleasantly surprised.
The first thing that hooked me
was the art style: a sleek, cute anime-style picture that I enjoyed instantly.
The show tells the story of
Huey and Riley, two brothers who
move in with their granddad to a
largely white suburban neighbourhood.
Using these two seemingly innocent little boys, the show illustrates the gap that race and money
create in society.
This show is brilliant, not only
because it is hilarious but because
it is completely unafraid to tackle stereotypes and topics that are
rarely talked about.
What other show would have a
black kid argue with a priest about
the portrayal of Jesus as a white
man during the first episode?
The Boondocks really is one of
those shows that you have to see to
understand why it is so good. As
long as you are not easily offended
and enjoy sharp wit, give this show
a try.
Marc Kitteringham
Opinions Editor
The Grim Adventures of Billy
and Mandy
The first episode of this show,
“Meet the Reaper,” did the usual pilot duty of introducing the characters and basic premise of the story.
The characters, Billy and Mandy, make a deal with the Grim Reaper (who has a hilarious Caribbean
accent) to save their hamster’s soul.
If they win, and they inevitably do,
not only do they get to keep their
aged hamster, but they also become
best friends forever with the Grim
Reaper.
Of all the shows on this list,
The Grim Adventures of Billy and
Mandy is probably the least adultoriented of them all.
I feel like if I was 10 years old
again, I would love this show, but
the basic Saturday morning cartoon tropes that I’ve grown up with
are far too present for it to be fresh
anymore.
There are some mature themes
in the episodes, like the concept
of purgatory, insanity and mortality, but they do not make up for the
rest of the juvenile qualities of the
show.
Maybe someday if I need a
light break from everything and
just need to turn my brain off for
a while, I’ll turn back to Billy and
Mandy, but for now I’ll stick to other animated fare.
Illustrations by Robert Copithorne
arts
Post
Prohibition
Daren Zomerman is the griff’s resident beer columnist, seeking out the
weird and wonderful beers from all
over the world in a variety of styles.
Every week he will talk about a different beer.
DAREN ZOMERMAN/THE GRIFF
Kaapse Brouwers
BEA
Black Rye IPA
“Oh man, you know what’s my favourite thing?”
“No bro, what?”
“Chewing down beers like bitter blocks of charcoal,” said nobody.
Ever.
Except for a small subset of people who enjoy torturing themselves
with blackened malts and extra hops
— for them, Kaapse Brouwers’ BEA
is perfect. It’s black as winter solstice
nights with a cream-coloured head
that would last a lifetime if you let it.
Alcohol, lemon and burnt caramel
dominate the scent, yet the flavours
are far from overpowering once they
hit the tongue.
Adding rye to the malt bill dries
out and spices up the beer and plays
off the lemon beautifully.
The Black IPA was first brewed
back in 1990, according to the Beer
Judge Certification Program, and
quickly gained popularity along the
American Coast during the mid2000s. Black IPA is the usual nomen-
Winter Carnival
Outside Building 7 under the Clock Tower
11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
clature, although many commercial
examples are called Cascadian Dark
Ale. Black IPAs are supposed to be
clear and drinkable for a darker beer,
with malt flavour kept in the background, which is exactly what BEA
doesn’t do.
Kaapse Brouwers melded two
styles — a stout and a rye IPA — into
one freak of a delicious beer.
XXX Hypnotist Tony Lee
Building 6 Multi-Purpose Room
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Reserve your FREE ticket samu.ca/tickets
JAN. 20
TH
2015
/SAmacewan
PRESENTED BY
@SAmacewan
*Adult content
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
7
opinions
OPINIONS EDITOR
Marc W. Kitteringham
[email protected]
A crappy solution for water scarcity
The Omniprocessor, a machine that converts sewage waste into drinking water
could be a game changer
Parvin Sedighi
Writer
“It’s water!” exclaims inventor and
billionaire Bill Gates, upon drinking from a cup an engineer has
handed him. I sit back in horror, the
reality of what he’s just done slowly
sinking in.
The cup contained a liquid
we’ve hesitantly dubbed “poop water,” and Gates has shown no reluc-
AMANDA OZGA / THE GRIFF
tance in consuming the product of
the system he helped bring to life.
With the help of some brilliant
minds, the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation aided in successfully
developing a machine called the
Omniprocessor, which turns sewage waste into clean drinking water,
creating electricity through steampowered engines at the same time.
In one of his blog posts, Gates
wrote that western toilets were not
a viable solution to the water sanitation issues present in developing
countries; the complicated set-up
and the vast amounts of water required to run such systems was simply not a reasonable option.
Gates reached out to the international community, offering a
hefty monetary prize for a feasible
solution to water sanitation, and
the Omniprocessor’s creative approach won out of many other entries providing a solution of their
own.
Responses have varied from
mild disgust to outright repulsion
to hopeful excitement. While the
idea of drinking water that was previously someone’s poop may be unthinkable to some, others see it as
a possible game changer in areas
where water-borne diseases take
lives regularly.
As someone fortunate enough
to have been born and currently living in a developed country, I’ve never had to think about whether or
not I’ll have access to clean, diseasefree water; all my drinking needs
are only a sink tap away.
According to the World Health
Organization, this is not the reality for the 1.1 billion people in
the world who lack clean and safe
drinking water sources. A lack of
centralized plumbing as well as the
regular practice of open defecation
has led to unhygienic water sources
brimming with illnesses and bacteria, WHO reported.
When 15 per cent of the world is
drinking water that has the potential to kill them, there’s not much
we can turn our nose up at in terms
of solutions to this deadly problem.
It’s easy for us and our clean water and 45-minute showers to deem
the Omniprocessor just a little too
gross to actually use, but the same
can’t be said for populations who
are forced to drink the same sludge
that the Omniprocessor would be
taking in.
The Omniprocessor also creates more electricity than it takes
in, making it a profitable and appealing investment for any future
investors who may want to put the
machine to use in any part of the
world.
A machine that produces clean
water and electricity while also
cleaning up waste is simply too
good to pass up.
Of course, this isn’t to say that
developing countries should settle
for using water that’s been obtained
from sludge, but until another realistic resolution to the water scarcity issue presents itself, we’re going
to have to put on our big kid pants
and accept the solutions we have.
On the front lines of journalism
Marc Kitteringham
Opinions Editor
Over the past 12 months, journalists
have been the targets of violence in
conflicts across the globe. These unfounded attacks on journalists’ right
to free speech and free press flies in
the face of everything that we stand
for. Journalism is a pillar of our society, and its purpose is to protect the
weak and stand up to the strong. It is
we who stand up against oppression
and indecency by informing the public and creating discourse around
the many issues in our world. When
journalists come under attack and
we become afraid to do our jobs, the
world suffers for it.
In December 2013, Al Jazeera
journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed
Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were
arrested in Cairo as terrorists and
collaborators with the outlawed
Muslim Brotherhood. Two of them
are now serving sentences of seven
years and one of 10 years, according
to Al Jazeera. The arrests triggered
outrage around the world and many
groups called the verdicts unjust.
These were only the first of the attacks against journalists in the past
year.
In August 2014, journalist James
Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria
in 2012, was killed by members of
ISIS in a video called “a message
to America.” This attack on a journalist was in direct response to the
United States pledging to send military aircraft to Iraq to combat ISIS.
8
The Jan. 7 attacks on French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo was the latest in a series of attacks on journalism.
A few weeks later, on Sept. 2, another journalist, Steven Sotloff, was
killed in a similar manner. Again
these videos sparked international outrage against ISIS, fueling the
West’s passions against the militant
group.
Finally, on Jan. 7, 2015, masked
gunmen entered and attacked the
offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo in apparent retaliation
for their cartoon depictions of the
Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad’s
image is forbidden to be shown, ac-
cording to the Muslim faith. These
images, first published in 2005 by
Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten,
were republished by Charlie Hebdo.
The magazine also published cartoons of Muhammad in both 2011
and 2012, according to the National
Post. Charlie Hebdo faced a hearing
for inciting hate after the 2005 publications, a firebomb attack after the
2011 publications and now the attacks of Jan. 7.
Our world is not a perfect place
by any means. We, as humans, have
been at war of some type for most of
recorded history. There is fear, suffering, sickness, famine, disaster and
terror all over the world. In each of
us, there is only so much that we can
do to alleviate some of this suffering. Some choose to work in refugee
camps, some to do aid work, some to
donate money to charitable organizations, and some decide to write
about and photograph it.
Journalists are the ones who
seek out the stories of people suffering and expose those stories to
ABAC077 / FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
a wider audience in the hopes that
someone out there will be able to do
something more about it. We are the
ones who speak out, who try to make
change in the little ways we can by
simply publishing a story. When that
comes under attack, the world can
do little to improve itself. Attacking
journalists does little to elevate humanity, and sends it plunging back
into the Dark Ages. We are all trying
to make the world a better place, and
an attack on that is an attack on everything that we hold dear.
opinions
You can’t buy empathy when you’re rich
According to the richest people in America, the poor and less fortunate have it easy.
Ana Holleman
Writer
According to a Jan. 8 article in The
Washington Post, a Pew Research
Center survey has found the most
wealthy people in the United States
believe that poor people “have it
easy,” citing an alleged ease-of-access to government and social assistance without having to put in
anything in return. When people in
poverty were polled on the same issues of wealth and inequality, their
responses were diametrically opposite to those of the rich. These findings are saddening, upsetting and
all-around disappointing. However, they are not in the least bit surprising.
It would be a waste of everyone’s time to explain why wealthy
citizens’ train of thought is faulty.
People do, in fact, need to work for
MADISON KERR / THE GRIFF
social and financial help, and those
who require such aid are — even
with what basic aid they might get
— usually suffering in a myriad
ways because of the poverty they
experience. That the wealthy person’s perception of financial assistance is skewed and ignorant is (or
at least should be) a forgone conclusion.
Instead, this provides as good
an opportunity as any to examine
the oppressive and truly malignant
nature of the upper classes.
Apart from ignorance, the driving force behind classist attitudes
such as the ones demonstrated by
the rich participants in the survey
is a lack of empathy. Now, many
people would equate this lack of
empathy with psychopathy and
would simply move on, believing
that this is a situation that cannot
be helped. However, the belief that
all wealthy people are psychopaths
is dismissive: psychopaths can be
rich, poor or somewhere in the vast
“middle,” so it is not the case.
It is the case that the rich simply
do not care.
They have no regard for their
fellow human beings. It is not that
the upper classes cannot theoretically feel empathy for the lower
classes, it is that the former choose
to disregard the latter. To those
with wealth, the impoverished are
not equal human beings, but are
rather objects to be used to accrue
material gain.
It is these attitudes that lead to
the wholesale exploitation of human beings. Whether it is the process of human trafficking or the
denial of workers’ rights, these human rights violations can be traced
to the malice of the rich. Of course,
there are other intersecting forms
of oppression that lead to these as
well, such as misogyny and racism;
however, classism plays a vital role
in ensuring the persecution of human beings.
The trend of rich people choosing to not understand the experiences of the poor is not only a
display of ignorance, but it is also
one of malice. If the rich truly
wanted to alleviate the oh-so-terrible burden of affluence, they would
do best to empathize with the poorest members of society. Maybe then
progress could be made toward a
truly just society, one where all
members “have it easy.”
We need to start fixing things
Marc Kitteringham
Opinions Editor
Planned obsolescence happens
when a company deliberately gives
its products a limited lifespan. It is
most common in the telecommunications industry. For example, a
certain cellphone company can release a phone in 2011, and by 2014 it
is impossible to update this phone,
making it effectively obsolete. The
phone can physically take the upgrade, but the software is written
explicitly to make it impossible after a certain number of years. Once
a person’s phone is no longer able to
take updates, they decide to go buy
a new one, often from the same company, making them more money.
In 2005, Dale Dougherty of
O’Reilly Media coined the term
“maker culture.” It has since grown
to encompass any and all inventors
in the digital age. These inventors
use tools like 3D printing to streamline their manufacturing process,
websites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to fund their projects and
Amazon to export and deliver the
products to the world. The digital
age has created a whole new culture
dedicated to creating new and exciting products. But what about those
who repair them?
Making new things, while great
for local makers and businesses,
only adds more stuff to our rapidly
growing stuff pile. It makes more
stuff for us to consume and then discard when we are finished with it.
Yes, we can recycle our stuff, but in
the end, we are still creating more
than we can feasibly use, and ultimately most of it ends up in the garbage.
“Reduce, reuse, recycle” has become so overused that it borders
on being a cliché. What was once
a groundbreaking mantra for ecofriendly activists has been slapped
on every corporation’s slogan in
green writing so that we, the consumers, think that investing in
these companies (buying, and effectively voting for, their products)
makes the world a better place. Sugru, a company that sells a multi-use
putty for making repairs, published
a document entitled the fixer’s manifesto. It explains how every time
we purchase a product, we vote for
it to succeed and to continue being
made. If we purchase things that are
easily broken, more of these things
get made and more waste is generated from shoddy manufacturing.
The mantra “reduce reuse recycle,” while perceived as equal options, should really be a hierarchy.
Reduce is first. When we reduce the
things that we buy, the stuff that we
fill our homes with, we have less to
throw away and become more dependent on the things we have. Reuse is next. Many of the things we
buy can have multiple uses. Almost
everything can be made into something else that improves the life of
the object and the user. Also, by reusing those few things that we do
buy we can reduce the amount of
Most of our products, smartphones included, are engineered to have a limited lifespan.
stuff that we throw away. Finally, at
the end of the chain is recycle. Recycling should be the last resort.
When you’ve reduced as much as
you can, and reused as much as you
can, only then should the rest be recycled. That doesn’t only include
cans and bottles—almost everything can be recycled to make something new or improve something
else.
This is why we need a fixing culture. Maker culture is great, but
what it really does is add to the large
stockpile of what we already have.
We don’t need more, we need to keep
what we’ve already got and remake
it into new things.
Making home repairs would
lessen the effects of passive consumerism and planned obsolescence.
According to a June 2013 article in
Wired, many products are easily repaired with a basic knowledge of
how to do it. The issue here is that
the companies that make the prod-
MARC KITTERINGHAM / THE GRIFF
ucts do not offer their repair manuals to consumers. The manual is
copyright protected and locked in
some secret digital vault in the company’s servers and is never made
public to its consumers.
Fixing gives these products
a longer life, far longer than the
planned life of the product. It gives
freedom and independence from the
cycle of consumption and waste and
allows users to resist the trends and
needless upgrades enforced on us.
9
feature
Edmonton’s best
Reading Week Fare
ILLUSTRATION BY KAITLYN DIRK/THE GRIFF
Megan Lovelin gives you the lowdown on the best ways
to spend your reading week in the city.
10
feature
AMANDA VENNER/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
Megan Lovelin
Writer
Reading week is, for many, the highlight of
the month of February. It is a chance to relax with friends and family, and for many, a
chance to escape from the cold winter weather to somewhere tropical (or at least, a little
warmer than Edmonton). For those students
staying in the city, it can be difficult to escape
the boredom that the cold weather brings, so
here is a list of the top 10 things Edmonton
has to offer during reading week 2015. Why
not try something new?
Catch a strange indie film or beloved classic at the Garneau Theatre.
This historic Edmonton theatre is known
for its shadow-casted, participation showings
of The Rocky Horror Picture Show around
Halloween each year (great Scott!), but the
cinema also shows many other classics and indie flicks all year round. The tickets to movies
at the Garneau are cheap and very worth it,
if not for the cool, old-fashioned atmosphere
alone. During reading week, the theatre is
showing Wall-E for free, The Theory of Everything (with 2 for 1 admission on V-Day), The
Lego Movie, The Great Human Odyssey (from
Edmontonian Niobe Thompson, Clearwater
Documentary Inc.) and many more.
Check out Edmonton’s music venues for
local and international talent.
The big concert in February is Linkin
Park and Rise Against with Of Mice & Men
on Valentine’s Day at Rexall Place. August
Burns Red will be playing at the Starlite
Room on Feb. 12, and The Elwins take the
The AGA will always make for a fascinating day out, with its beautiful artwork and interactive displays.
stage at Mercury Lounge on Feb. 20. Places
like Wünderbar, the Pawnshop and The Artery often showcase local and Canadian performers, so go grab a drink with some friends
and discover a new favourite artist.
Shop local at one of the city’s markets.
There are many ways to shop local in Edmonton; the city has a wide range of pop-up
markets that showcase the skills of its artisans. The Old Strathcona Farmer’s market, a
personal favourite, runs every Saturday year
round from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Take a loved one
with you to pick up some fresh ingredients
and treats, and cook dinner together later.
The City Market Downtown is open from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. in City Hall during the winter.
Edmonton is also host to On The Spot PopUps, a craft fair collective where locally made
jewellery, accessories, and crafts of all kinds
are sold. Make sure to follow their Facebook
page or website for news, as the date and location change frequently.
Go out dancing.
Sure, you could go to Knoxville’s or The
Ranch to dance, but reading week is the
perfect time to try something new! On The
Rocks offers free Salsa lessons at 8 p.m. on
Thursday nights, and Sugar Swing hosts beginner drop-in classes (around $10 for students) at 8 p.m. on weekends before their
dance events. Go along with some friends or
your significant other. Trying out partner
dancing and stepping all over each other’s
toes makes for a memorable date night.
Take someone on a breakfast date.
Edmonton has many hidden gems that
serve up some seriously delicious breakfast
foods. The eggs benedict and eggs florentine at The Highlevel Diner is some of the
best I’ve had in the city, and their homemade
ketchup is unbelievable. The ever-popular
Sugar Bowl is a great spot as well, but make
sure you arrive early to get a seat and hopefully snag one of their famous cinnamon
buns. Barb and Ernie’s serves up a wonderfully hearty breakfast, from their traditional potato pancakes to their schnitzel and
eggs bennie.
Visit the Art Gallery of Alberta.
The AGA will always make for a fascinating day out, with its beautiful artwork and
interactive displays. During Reading Week,
the art gallery will feature Colin Smith: Obscure Inversions, showing reconstructed
camera obscuras (an optical device which
led to photography and the camera) which
looks incredibly cool. Future Station: 2015
Alberta Biennial of Contemporary Art, inspired by what it means to be an Albertan
artist, and a handful of other exhibits are
also worth checking out.
Grab a coffee and relax at Block 1912.
Block 1912 is cozy and chic at once, from
its big comfy couches to its sweet little European treats and delicious hot drinks. The
gelato is delectable and the treats are as
beautiful as they are tasty, but the highlight
at Block 1912 is the Lavender Fog, a London
Fog infused with lavender. This is the perfect spot to catch up with friends over coffee.
Catch an Edmonton improv show.
Grab a few laughs with friends and check
SANGUDO/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
IQREMIX/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
out some improv! Edmonton-based improv
troupe Die-Nasty, whose shows are every
Monday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Varscona
Theatre perform live, improvised soap-operas that are brilliantly funny. Rapidfire
Theatre also puts on a number of shows
throughout the year, including CHiMProv,
a long-form improv show, every Saturday at
10 p.m. at the Citadel. Tickets are cheap and
you’ll laugh through the entire show.
Try a new dinner-and-drinks place.
The closing of Tavern 1903 has left many
Edmontonians without a favourite dinner/
tapas and cocktail spot. A few spots that
have similar charm, as well as a menu that
boasts adventurous flavours are: Rge Rd, a
farm-to-table restaurant with a changing
menu; The Next Act, specializing in burgers, pub fare and cocktails; and Viphalay,
the best Thai and Laos food in Edmonton.
Go to the Silver Skate Festival.
The Silver Skate Festival will be held
Feb. 13-22 this year at Hawrelak Park. It is
a winter festival with many different winter-themed events each day. There will be
a snow sculpture showcase, snowshoe racing, a winter apocalypse zombie run(!!!), enchanted walks, skate races, live performers,
fire sculpture and more. The Silver Skate
Festival is a great day out for friends, families and couples alike, as there is something
for everyone. You’ll definitely see me there
for the winter zombie run and the fire sculptures. Admission is free, but the festival
always appreciates donations to keep it running each year.
MACK MALE/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
11
opinions
Bill 10 leaves students behind
What’s
Left
Marc W. Kitteringham is the
griff’s political columnist.
Each week he takes apart a
current political issue, and
gives his opinion from an
alternative point of view.
How does the idea of a club that promotes equality amongst high school
students, no matter who they are,
sound to you? I think that sounds
pretty good. Who wouldn’t want
their kids to have a safe place to be
who they are and not have to worry about bullies and a lack of acceptance from both their peers and
their teachers? Unfortunately, in
the Legislature right now there is a
bill under debate that, if passed, will
allow the school boards to remove
such groups from their schools, depending on the school board’s belief
system.
Gay-straight alliance groups are
safe places for students to go if they
are feeling bullied about their sexuality. In many cases they have saved
the lives of students who needed a
place to just be themselves and the
pressures faced at school were too
much. According to a document released by Alberta Education, these
alliances promote equality for LGBTQ students and an attempt to
stop bullying, as well as safe spaces
for the students. They were initially
begun by students in hopes of promoting these ideals and they have
grown across the country.
In 2009, Alberta put in place
a Human Rights Act. Part of this
act is that schools have to inform
parents when and if discussions
of sexuality, religion and sexual
orientation are discussed in class.
This act was influenced by American right-wing Christian groups
and was described by Premier Jim
Prentice in a Dec. 4 Globe and Mail
article as “one of the most discriminatory pieces of legislation in our
country.”
This discriminatory legislation
has prompted Bill 10, a bill that
gives the school boards final say as
to which clubs are allowed in their
Bill 10 would give school boards the right to refuse the creation of gay-straight alliances in Alberta schools.
schools. The process leading to Bill
10 has been divisive and controversial, with some sides wanting
to force school boards to support
the groups, and another to require
school boards to support groups
only when students request them.
Bill 10 was written to allow school
boards to make their own decisions when it comes to these kinds
of clubs. Since the board members
are democratically elected, Prentice says that allowing them to make
their own decisions is also democratic.
Unfortunately, since these
groups are student-run, the school
boards have had the final say in
whether or not they can take place
in schools as a sanctioned club. Before Bill 10 came out, this has been
the case.
Many school boards have found
that the clubs were beneficial to students and have allowed them to continue unhindered in the schools, but
it has always been at the discretion
of the school board.
The Gay-Straight alliances have
been successful in cities and in public schools, but in rural areas and
in the Catholic school system they
have struggled to take hold.
The bill has been so controversial in the house that it has been put
on hold until an undetermined time
in 2015. While the hope is for bipartisanship and a fair vote on this bill,
the issue remains divisive.
The problem with Bill 10 is that
there is no real change to the law.
Bill 10 simply states that the existence of these clubs is up to the
school board, as it always has been.
By making this statement, however, Premier Jim Prentice and the
PC government are fundamentally
saying that the future of LGBTQ
AMANDA BUNNING / THE GRIFF
students in Alberta is not their concern and that they do not have the
support of the government. By tabling Bill 10, the Tories are saying
that they note that there is a need for
a law to exist, but the only law they
are making is one that maintains
the status quo.
For many students across Alberta, this is fine. There are many gaystraight alliances in the province
that are quite successful. For those
students in smaller, more rural areas, who attend Catholic schools
and need a place to reach out, Bill 10
leaves them in the dark.
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12
SPORTS EDITOR
Kyle Muzyka
[email protected]
sports
White Out envisioned as tradition
Griffins look to lay groundwork for an event similar to Duke, other NCAA schools
Denzel James and Megan Wood will be heavily relied upon to make this White Out an even bigger success than it’s already projected to be.
Paul Gazzola
Writer
At Duke University, they paint
themselves in blue, wear wigs,
bring props and call themselves the
“Cameron Crazies.” They pack the
Cameron Indoor Stadium, cheer
loud for the Blue Devils, and embrace their rowdy nature at each
and every game.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish
have their fans dressed in shades of
green, with top hats nestled on their
heads as they chant “here come the
Irish,” at the Purcell Pavilion.
And now, MacEwan will look
to pack the City Centre gymnasium next week with boisterous fans
wearing only white. It’s MacEwan’s
annual White Out event, and will be
taking place at the men’s and women’s basketball games against the
Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday,
Jan. 16, beginning at 6 p.m.
The athletic department’s mar-
keting consultant Shawn Eckford
hopes the gymnasium becomes pandemonium on Friday, similar to the
aforementioned collegiate gymnasiums in America.
However, there is a long-term
plan involved with the event.
The White Out’s essential purpose is to begin forming a notorious fan base at each Griffins’ home
game.
“The more people we have, the
more fun it is for our athletes, the
coaches and the fans,” said Eckford. “They want a loud and rowdy
crowd, and looking forward, that’s
going to be one of our projects.”
MacEwan Athletics looked at
what the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Athletics have
done, with the Heat making it difficult for visiting teams to win at the
UBC Okanagan gymnasium. Add
the team’s strong play with a raucous fan base, and you now have
what has become known as “the
furnace.”
“That’s the goal, for sure, to get
that rowdy, wild student crowd that
lives and dies by Griffins games,”
said Eckford.
Last year’s White Out at MacEwan was a boom, due in part because of the Canada West visit. A
spike in attendance at home games
became prevalent, also because
MacEwan’s athletic programs were
flourishing in the Alberta Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Following that White Out, Rob
Poole, head coach of women’s basketball, felt the awareness rise because of its success.
“A lot of people might come up
to me after seeing the attendance
[of last year’s White Out] — if
that’s the only game they came to
— saying, ‘Gee, I didn’t know the
basketball was that good and the
quality that high,’ and they have a
good time,” said Poole.
Now, with MacEwan’s basket-
ball, soccer, volleyball and crosscountry programs on probationary
period within the Canada West,
people are beginning to believe
MacEwan’s fandom can continue
to rise, with the White Out being
the spectacle to continue the trend.
MacEwan Athletics is preparing to give away a ton of free Griffins merchandise, such as toques,
shirts and towels, to fans that night.
There will also be many fan involvement activities available, as prizes
will be awarded to those taking part
in contests at the game and via social media. There will even be a Fan
of the Game prize awarded.
Poole is clearly excited for
White Out, given the fact that his
team will be showcased. Poole added that the atmosphere of the White
Out is motivation for his team.
“It’s a positive; it’s always nice
when you have a good atmosphere,”
said Poole. “You have more than
just your family and friends and
GRIFFINS ATHLETICS/SUPPLIED
more of the community coming
out.”
MacEwan students can grab
free tickets to every game, including both upcoming White Out
games, by stopping by the access
desk or SAMU office from Monday
to Thursday. If students are unable
to grab their free tickets, fear not, as
the price of admission at the door is
a mere $2.
The MacEwan women’s basketball team will take the court at 6
p.m., while the men will follow that
game at 8 p.m.
As MacEwan University continues to expand as a scholarly institution, so does its athletic program.
The White Out will undoubtedly
be a night to remember, so be sure
to get your free tickets and head to
the City Centre gym Friday night to
become part of what could just become MacEwan University’s athletic identity.
13
sports
Women victorious in “off weekend”
MacEwan Griffins win two in return to play after the Christmas break
Megan Wood puts up a contested shot. She was relatively quiet by her standards, but that
didn’t stop MacEwan from winning both this weekend.
Kyle Muzyka
Sports Editor
“If we’re going to have an off weekend, I guess this is a good time,” Rob
Poole, head coach of the women’s
basketball team, said after the second win against the University of
Northern British Columbia Timberwolves on Jan. 10.
The Griffins took both games by
a combined score of 150-101, which
doesn’t sound like anyone’s definition of an “off weekend.”
But there were times this weekend when the team looked less than
stellar against a team with just one
win in 10 games. Whether it was Friday night’s slow start, Saturday’s
slow finish, or the entire weekend’s
struggles to make shots, this would
have been an off weekend by the
Griffins’ standards.
However, playing the worst
team in the Explorers Division allowed MacEwan to have these issues and still come out on top. It
wasn’t ever a matter of putting up
bad shots; the Griffins did, for the
most part, take open looks rather
than contested shots.
They weren’t falling, however.
The regularly consistent Kelly Fagan struggled throughout the
weekend, shooting 17 per cent over
the two games. She regularly shoots
around 30 per cent.
However, when the starting
five couldn’t put the ball away, the
bench stepped up, something Poole
was very impressed with. The Griffins had a combined 52 points off
the bench during the weekend,
crushing their previous seasonhigh of 24.
Playing one of the weaker teams
in the conference allowed Poole to
use his bench more, which could
have been why his bench responded.
It instills confidence that any player can jump in and fill a role for the
starting five.
Poole was also satisfied with the
defensive play. The Griffins forced
UNBC to turn over the ball 59 times,
including guard Kelly O’Hallahan
stealing the ball 10 times over the
weekend.
It was the offensive side that
Poole was concerned about.
“We’re just not executing well
enough to be a significant factor at
the end of the season,” Poole said.
At the end of the day, though,
Poole and his team won both games
this weekend, which was the desired
result. Heading into the White Out
weekend, where MacEwan will face
the University of Fraser Valley Cascades, the team is happy to have had
two games to shake off that postwinter break rust before facing off
against the third-place team.
In typical head coach fashion,
however, Poole was looking to work
on some things heading into the
next two games.
“The issue we’re struggling with
is consistency,” Poole said.
Hopefully the shots start falling
for the Griffins next weekend. Game
times are slated for 6 p.m. on Jan. 16
and 5 p.m. on Jan. 17.
From the
weekend
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
JANUARY 9
1 2
GMU 15 19
UNBC 18 13
3 4 F
16 31 81
6 11 48
O’HALLAHAN (GMU) - 14 PTS,
9 REB, 7 AST LOUKA (UNBC) - 14 PTS
JANUARY 10
1
GMU 9
UNBC 8
2
27
15
3 4 F
20 13 69
7 23 53
KUBINEC (GMU) - 13 PTS
LOUKA (UNBC) - 12 PTS, 10 REB
MACLENNAN (GMU) - 11 PTS
STANDINGS
EXPLORERS DIVISION
TRU
GMU
UFV
MRU
UBCO
UNBC
GP
W
L
P
10
10
10
10
10
10
9
8
6
3
3
1
1
2
4
7
7
9
18 16 12 6
6
2
Men
begin
New
Year
with
split
Griffins win first game and narrowly lose the second against a team with a similar record
Keith Gerdes of the Griffins looks to contest an
otherwise easy lay-up.
Jordan Gill
Writer
Heading into this past weekend’s action, the MacEwan University Griffins men’s basketball team found
themselves a game back of a playoff
position in their debut Canada West
season. The team was focused to re-
14
verse a season-long trend of losing
the opening game of the weekend
before rebounding with a much better performance in the rematch.
On Friday night the Griffins did
just that when they came out of the
gates full of energy, knocking off the
University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves 85-77.
“Our focus was to come into this
game as hard as possible,” said Griffins forward Ryan May. “That’s our
weak spot, that first game. We just
really carried over that intensity
from a good week of practice.”
May finished with 22 points and
12 rebounds, both game highs. A
phenomenal display on both ends
of the court earned him Player of
the Game honours.
“Ryan just keeps adding more
dimensions to his game every week,”
said Head Coach Eric Magdanz.
“He’s sort of the anchor for us
on both ends. Offensively, he’s a guy
we can give it to and he can calm
down the possession. Defensively,
he really anchors us and gives us a
firm presence rebounding the ball.”
Unfortunately for the Griffins,
they were unable to keep the momentum going as they dropped Saturday’s game to the Timberwolves
89-87.
After the teams went into the
half tied at 37, the Timberwolves
caught fire from three-point range,
which spurred a 30-point third quarter.
“I think we played a little soft to
come out and they got momentum
on us,” said Griffins forward Denzel James. “It’s as simple as that. We
gave them life and they took advantage.”
With the Griffins trailing by
eight with just three minutes to
play, James led a furious comeback
attempt that fell just short in the
game’s dying seconds.
“We need to be aggressive the
whole game,” said James. “It got to
the point where I just had enough
and I started getting aggressive and
everyone just needs to have that
mentality from the beginning.”
Lee Danderfer matched the Timberwolves with his own three-point
shooting prowess, finishing with a
game-high 29 points. Danderfer now
sits second in the entire league in
three-pointers made, even though
he’s started two less games than the
leader.
“It’s been something we’ve been
working on all year,” said Magdanz
of the high percentage from beyond
the arc.
“We were struggling to shoot the
ball in the first semester so we made
it a point over the break of guys
getting confident in their ability to
shoot.”
Hopefully, the Griffins can maintain their shooting percentages next
weekend when they host the undefeated University of Fraser Valley Cascades as part of MacEwan’s
annual White Out event. Tipoff is
slated for 8 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m.
Saturday at City Centre Campus.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
JANUARY 9
1 2
GMU 23 21
UNBC 16 21
3 4 F 13 28 85
18 22 77
MAY (GMU) - 22 PTS, 12 REB
CHENG (UNBC) - 15 PTS
JAMES (GMU) - 20 PTS, 6 AST
JANUARY 10
1 2
GMU 16 21
UNBC 15 22
3 4 F 22 28 87
30 22 89
ELLIOTT (UNBC) - 25 PTS
DANDERFER (GMU) - 29 PTS
STANDINGS
EXPLORERS DIVISION
UFV
TRU
GMU
MRU
UNBC
UBCO
GP
W
L
P
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
6
4
4
4
2
0
4
6
6
6
8
20 12 8
8
8
4
sports
MacEwan men “building something”
Griffins drop both to Wolfpack, Sides, amongst others, showing promise
From the
weekend
Paul Gazzola
Writer
MacEwan University Griffins
men’s volleyball club hosted two
games over the weekend at City
Centre gymnasium, losing both
matches to Thompson Rivers University (3-0, 3-1).
The team continues to acclimatize to Canada West volleyball, as
Head Coach Brad Poplawski focuses on building his club for the longterm, despite their infancy within
the league.
The Griffins have still been unable to win a game in Canada West,
but Poplawski believes his team is
showing signs of improvement in
the conference.
“They’re building something,”
said a confident Poplawski.
The current roster features five
players with fewer than two years
of eligibility remaining. The rest of
the roster profiles a group of first,
second, and third-year eligible players, with recent play glimpsing that
the group is beginning to click.
“We just have to focus on the
process, but the fact is that we are
getting better, we are improving
and guys are getting the necessary
experience they need moving forward,” said Poplawski The progress is still taking time, though, as
the Griffins were swept 3-0 in Saturday’s match, with set scores of 25-16,
25-15 and 25-18.
In the loss, outside hitter Christian Sides had a strong weekend.
Sides was a force for MacEwan,
striking six times to tie for the
team’s game-high lead in kills while
also providing energy for the team
on Saturday.
Sunday saw the Griffins take
the Wolfpack to four sets, with the
fourth set specifically showcasing
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
JANUARY 10
1
16
25
GMU
TRU
2
15
25
3
F 18 0
25 3
KNIGHT (TRU) - 13 K SIDES (GMU) - 6 K
JANUARY 11
1
GMU 15
TRU 25
2
14
25
3 4
25 18
22 25
F
1
3
GUNTER (TRU) - 12 K, 7 DIGS
HOLMEN (GMU) - 11 K, 7 DIGS
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
JANUARY 10
Christian Sides has had some injury trouble over the past two years, but when he’s
healthy, he can be force for the Griffins.
Sides was named Player of the
Game for the second time in two
nights, and Poplawski drew a positive out of that from the weekend.
“Christian Sides is amazing
for us. He was player of the game
both nights, today his stat line as
a middle was unbelievable with 8
kills and no errors on 12 balls,” said
Poplawski.
Sides was recently activated after suffering an injury that has kept
him sidelined for an extended period of time.
“It’s been fun seeing his progression. He is a guy that committed to us two years ago, and then
unfortunately tore his ACL,” said
Poplawski.
The men will look to get their
first victory of the season next week
on the road in Langley, British Columbia in two matches against
Trinity Western University. Trinity
Western is 12-4 on the season, with
a firm grasp on third in the conference. Games are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
team improvement to Poplawski.
MacEwan and Thompson Rivers
exchanged long rallies, spurring
loud cheers from the crowd with the
team nearly taking it into a fifth and
final set.
Both teams exchanged points
until the score was tied 15-15. At
this time, the Wolfpack’s percolating offense caused a late 5-0 run,
setting the score at 20-15. MacEwan
would put up three more points, but
that’s as far as they would get with
the final set finishing 25-18.
1 2
GMU 25 25
TRU 12 22
3 4
18 25
25 15
F
3
1
KINSELLA (GMU) - 14 K, 7 DIGS
KOLASA (TRU) - 8 K, 8 DIGS
JANUARY 11
1 2 3 4 5 F
GMU 11 25 25 22 15 3
TRU 25 23 19 25 12 2
PORISKY (GMU) - 11 K, 12 DIGS
WOLF (TRU) - 19 K, 15 DIGS
MacEwan team effort key in sweep
Griffins win both against TRU Wolfpack, despite somewhat sluggish performance
Paul Gazzola
Writer
It was a successful batch of games
for MacEwan University women’s
volleyball as the Griffins defeated
the Thompson Rivers University
Wolfpack in back-to-back matinee
matches at City Centre Campus
over the weekend.
Saturday’s game saw the Griffins fly past the Wolfpack 3-1 (25-12,
25-22, 18-25, 25-15). Cassidy Kinsella had productive outing, leading
the way for MacEwan with 14 kills,
while setter Rebecca Martin collected 32 assists.
On Sunday, MacEwan would
see their match go to five sets for the
tenth time in the season. The Griffins came out slow in the first set,
dropping it to Thompson Rivers by
a lopsided score of 11-25. MacEwan
would rally for the rest of the match,
however, with subsequent set scores
of 25-23, 25-19, 22-25 and 15-12.
Sunday’s match could be headlined by strong individual efforts
from players Cassidy Kinsella (12
kills), outside hitter Porsha Diggs
(31 assists and Player of the Game)
and Madison Porisky (11 kills, 12
digs), but the truth is that the team’s
communal effort was the reason for
their success.
Coach Briggs did grant honourable mention to Diggs on Sunday, who transitioned from outside
hitter to setter for the game, something she has not done in nearly
three years.
“Porsha, for a girl that hasn’t set
in three years — to have her come
in and help us out like that and just
do a really good job was awesome,”
praised Briggs.
Even though the team won both
games, Briggs wasn’t overly pleased
with the play of his club, believing
that the team looked sluggish at
times, most likely due to coming off
the Christmas break.
“We were very sporadic; we
were very first-weekend-back-afterChristmas,” said Briggs lightheartedly.
However, he was satisfied
with the way MacEwan managed
Thompson Rivers’ biggest threat in
the heavy hitter from the Ukraine,
Iuliia Pokhomenko. Pokhomenko did not play on Saturday, but
dressed in Sunday’s rematch.
“Tonight she [Iuliia] gives you
some issues, she’s still just coming
off an injury, so we didn’t see her at
100 per cent, but she’s so high and
gets so many balls that, to be honest, I thought we handed her very
well, even though they had some
other players get in,” said Briggs.
With the two victories, MacEwan surpasses the team they just
swept in Thompson Rivers to take
shared possession of eighth place
in Canada West. The Griffins sit
tied with the University of Manitoba in wins and losses on the season, at 7-9.
MacEwan will look to win their
second and third road wins of the
season next week in Langley, British Columbia as they set out to play
Trinity Western University Tro-
Porsha Diggs played a position she hadn’t played
in three years, and she played it well.
jans. Trinity is currently in third
place in the conference, with a record of 12-4. Both games are sched-
uled for Friday and Saturday night
at 6 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.
15
sports
There can only be one football league
The griff briefly revisits the failed football leagues that attempted to rival the NFL
Jordan Gill
Writer
Today, we celebrate the birth of the
World Football League. Don’t blink
— you may miss it.
On Jan. 14, 1973, Gary Davidson announced the creation of the
World Football League (WFL). Davidson is quoted by the WFL’s website as claiming that the NFL had
“become arrogant and fat.”
While Davidson had confidence
that the WFL could compete alongside the NFL, his league never
gained enough support and eventually would fold after less than two
seasons.
At the time of the WFL’s debut
season, the NFL was already wellestablished. As a result, Davidson
knew his league needed something
to set them apart. They decided
to be the most colourful league
around. The league proposed that
different position groups should
wear different coloured pants. The
players, thankfully, refused to go
along with the proposal. Then the
league attempted to paint the footballs gold and blue. Once again
their colourful thoughts were for
nothing, as the gold paint wouldn’t
dry properly.
With everything that went
wrong in their inaugural 1974 season, it is shocking that the WFL
even came back in 1975. In that debut season, two franchises, the
Jacksonville Sharks and Detroit
Wheels, ended up going bankrupt
and folded midseason. Think that’s
bad? The New York Stars and Houston Texans ended up relocating in
the middle of the season due to poor
attendance.
The XFL, created by WWE owner Vince McMahon, was doomed from the start, even though they tried to be innovative with masculinity.
When the 1975 season saw more
financial losses, the owners decided to hold a vote to determine the
fate of the league. According to the
WFL website, with a vote of 6-4, the
owners agreed to fold the league
halfway through their second campaign.
The WFL isn’t the only start-up
league that failed to live in the shadows of the NFL. World Wrestling
Entertainment owner Vince McMahon founded the XFL (the ‘X’
literally stood for nothing) in 2000.
While the WFL folded after one and
a half seasons, the XFL lasted for
just one season.
Like the WFL, the XFL tried
to separate itself from the NFL
through innovative rules. While the
WFL looked to be more colourful
than the NFL, the apparent goal of
the XFL was to be even more masculine.
The NFL uses a coin flip to determine which team starts the game
with the ball. However, according to their website, the XFL players would run at the middle of the
field to try and jump on the ball first
(imagine playing a game of dodgeball but with bulky football players all going for the same ball). The
NFL kicks an extra point after a
touchdown is scored? Forget that.
In the XFL, teams are forced to try
and run the ball in from the twoyard line to get that point after the
touchdown.
WIKI CREATIVE COMMONS
Much like with the WFL, there’s
no debating that folding was the
right call for the XFL. In just one
season the league lost $70 million,
according to ABC News. While
the NFL certainly has its warts, it
seems to gain popularity year after
year. This fact, along with the shortlived attempts by the WFL and XFL,
make it highly unlikely we will ever
see another pro football league.
There’s simply no way to challenge
the mighty NFL.
MacEwan takes two over last-place team
Poitras, Arneson emerge as producers, lead Griffins’ men’s hockey team to two wins
Kyle Muzyka
Sports Editor
The MacEwan men’s hockey team
is keeping pace with the rest of the
league, taking both games over the
last-place Portage College Voyageurs this past weekend.
The Griffins, who are currently tied with NAIT for second place,
scored 11 goals in two games this
weekend, which included a sixpoint weekend for forward Sean
Poitras, who notched five in Saturday’s match.
Bram Stephen, head coach
of the team, was particularly impressed with Poitras’s third period
on Saturday, when he scored four of
his five points to seal the victory for
the Griffins.
There weren’t nearly as many
goals on Friday night, but there
were more shots, something Stephen highlighted.
“We had a lot of high-quality chances,” Stephen said, though
Voyageurs goalie Adam Iwan answered the bell. He made 51 saves in
a losing effort.
Rookie Bryan Arneson led the
16
way on Friday night, putting up
two goals and an assist in front of
MacEwan Griffins hockey alumni.
The alumni getting together
and watching the game is something relatively new for the program, and Stephen is hoping to
cement the tradition yearly.
Hopefully, MacEwan will continue its winning ways in front of
the alumni.
With his 10 points in 11 games,
Arneson is an obvious scoring
threat, but what seems to set him
apart from most players is his 2.36
penalty minutes per game, which
ranks him first among the Griffins.
“He’s got an elite skill level,”
Stephen said of Arneson. Add that
to his agitating play, and you have a
player that will translate to success.
Nobody likes the Brad Marchandtype player, except for the teams
that these players play on.
“He definitely brings an element to our game that we need,” Stephen continued.
On Saturday, the Griffins battled with the Voyageurs hard into
the second intermission, tied at
three.
Sean Poitras took the game
over, being involved in all four goals
that MacEwan scored in the third.
It was a change from what
MacEwan is used to seeing, with
such a balanced offence.
With 13 regulars averaging 0.5
points per game, having a single
player like Poitras notch four in a
period must have been quite surprising.
His efforts singlehandedly
pushed the Griffins past their opponents, which was timely, considering the first-place SAIT Trojans
won both of their games as well.
Both the Griffins and the Trojans have similar schedules, with
SAIT sweeping Augustana this
past weekend, and MacEwan facing them this coming weekend.
This coming weekend versus
the Vikings is key for the Griffins,
as the team from Augustana is just
four points behind MacEwan for
third place.
A sweep either way could mean
a tie for third or an eight-point gap
between the two teams. The games
are scheduled 8:15 p.m. on Jan. 16,
and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 17.
VS.
JANUARY 9
1
0
1
GMU
PCV
2
3
1
JANUARY 10
3
1
1
F
4
3
ARNESON (GMU) - 2G (5). A LOWE-WYLDE (PCV) - 2G (3)
IWAN (PCV) - 51 SV
SAIT 20
NAIT 20
GMU 18
UAA 20
KEY 20
RDC 18
CUCA 20
BCC 20
PCV 18
16
14
13
13
11
8
3
3
1
L OTL T P
3
3
2
6
6
9
15
16
16
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
2
3
2
3
4
1
F
7
4
POITRAS (GMU) - 3G (5). 2A PALMER (GMU) - 1G (1), 1A KOSKIMAKI (PCV) - 2G (6)
STANDINGS
GP W
GMU
PCV
33
29
29
25
25
17
8
7
3
NEXT GAMES
VS.
advertisement
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
PRESENTS AN EVENING WITH
WILL & MARIKA
OF
SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH HAITI
PART OF GLOBAL AWARENESS WEEK
THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 5 , 2015
TH
DOORS AT 5 p.m.
PRESENTATION WITH Q&A AT 6 P.M.
ROBBINS HEALTH LEARNING CENTRE
MACEWAN UNIVERSITY
10900 104 AVENUE
SPEAKING EVENT CONCLUDES WITH A
MEET AND GREET AT 7:30 P.M.
$5 STUDENT EARLY BIRD | $10 MACEWAN STUDENT/STAFF/FACULTY | $15 GENERAL PUBLIC
TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT SAMU.CA/SPEAKER-SERIES
17
diversions
Camera Slide by Michael Chau
Filbert Comics by L.A. Bonté
Horoscopes
Madamn Lasagne
Substitute Horoscopist
Capricorn (Dec. 22 to Jan 19)
You will decide that naming a cat after yourself is a good idea.
This is how Cat Kirk was born.
Aquarius (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)
Your neighbour might toss your Belle and Sebastian shirt in
the trash if you don’t get your clothes out of the laundry machine on time. That’ll learn ya.
Pisces (Feb. 19 to March 20)
Someone will find the embarrassing Barry Manilow CD that
you keep under your car seat — the shame!
Aries (March 21 to April 19)
This week is going to be warm and sunny. Let this reflect on
your disposition before someone tells you to take a chill pill.
Taurus (April 20 to May 20)
Let it be known that you have the best astrological sign and
take pride in that. Is my bias showing?
Virgo (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22)
Your reluctance to buy pencils with better erasers will
make you fail your first multiple choice exam.
Gemini (May 21 to June 20)
After you watch When Harry Met Sally for the first time,
many cultural references will suddenly make sense. This iwillalso cause you to spiral into an intense Nora Ephron binge.
This cannot be avoided. Just ride the wave.
Libra (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22)
Your mom/dad/parental unit is really worried about you.
You should probably give them a call and let them know
your Facebook statuses are comprised of The Smiths lyrics.
Cancer (June 21 to July 22)
This week you will have a dream that you have been reincarnated as a small dog. What choices will you make? Will you
sniff a butt just to see what all the fuss is about? Is this really
a dream?
Scorpio (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)
The “selfie stick” you got for Christmas may also be used for
self-defense. Just make sure you remove your phone first.
Leo (July 23 to Aug. 22)
You will have better luck pushing the parking time limits.
Cute photo time!
18
Sagittarius (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21)
The person that sits behind you in anthro class thinks you
smell really nice. Don’t ask them about it. They are very
shy.
Nathan Rupert/Flickr Creative Commons
diversions
“What have been the biggest challenges
coming with organizing a conference as a
student?”
“As a student, planning a conference
can be a lot of work. It’s especially hard
because I have my own insecurities about
what’s going to happen after graduation,
but everyone is worried about something
different. What it came down to was,
‘what are some common things we’ll all be
worried about?’ Jobs.”
Inspired by Brandon Stanton’s blog Humans of New
York, every week we take intimate portraits and uncover
personal stories of the inhabitants within MacEwan’s halls.
19
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20

Reading Week 2015

Transcription

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