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... we always knew he’d win since 1906
Western’s Daily Student Newspaper • Est.1906
www.gazette.uwo.ca
VOLUME 102, ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
A&E
SPORTS
NEWS
JUST FOR LAUGHS
BASKETBALL
WESTERN HEARTS VEGGIES
London crowd rowdy... p.5
Men destroy Fanshawe... p.7
PETA gives props to school... p.2
AWAITING U.S. ELECTION RESULTS
Shaun Ding/Gazette
WATCHING HISTORY UNFOLD. (Left to right) Members of the Western community watched the results of the U.S. presidential election at The Grad Club and The Wave yesterday.
Please see Thursday’s Gazette for reaction of the outcome.
CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES
Pro-life groups experience different fates
By Jared Lindzon
Gazette Staff
Pro-life advocacy rights are proving
a topic of interest this week on campuses across the country, as various
pro-life groups struggle against student unions for their right to exist.
In the past week alone, the status of three campus pro-life advocacy groups were assessed for their
share of campus funding.
It was announced on Monday
that the Students Society at McGill
University approved the status of a
group called Choose Life. At the
University of British Columbia
Okanagon, denial of club status for
the UBCO Students for Life has
escalated to the BC Supreme Court.
The Central Student Association
at the University of Guelph also
recently revoked the club status of
their pro-life student group, Life
Choice.
The battle over free speech
wages on at UBCO, as the student
union’s decision to ban Student for
Life two years ago continues to be
debated.
“It all began in 2006 when the
Students for Life club decided they
wanted to be a club on campus,”
said UBCO Student Union internal
co-ordinator Carolyn Cody.
“They were ratified by council
but were revoked after putting up
pictures of aborted fetuses around
campus and forcing people to
answer uncomfortable questions
on camera.”
According to Nathan Welch,
treasurer of Western’s pro-life group
Western Lifeline, posting images on
any campus from the Genocide
Awareness Project — a pro-life display posted on university campuses across Canada and the United
States — is a controversial issue.
“When you’re talking about
graphic displays, it needs to be
done safely,” Welch said. “All students need to be aware that it’s happening, and if done correctly, I
think there could be some merits of
doing it. If you’re okay with abortion, you should be okay with seeing the result of it.”
Though the UBCO Student
Union felt the group’s actions were
inappropriate, Students for Life
members saw their campaign as an
exercise in free speech.
“I felt like I was relegated to second-class citizenship, like we don’t
have the same rights to express our
views as pro-abortionists or other
groups do,” said former UBCO Students for Life President Marlon
Bartram.
“The freedom to express ourselves is a cornerstone of democracy. Even if our message is offensive,
PLEASE SEE CHOOSE P3
Doctor training standards London debates need for auditor
under discussion
City Council delays decision until 2009
By Hannah Rosen
Gazette Staff
How does an old dog prove it has
learned a new trick? How does an
old doctor prove that he or she has
learned the new knowledge required
to be considered competent?
Comments made by Wendy
Levinson — chair of the University
of Toronto’s medical school — in
this week’s Canadian Medical Association Journal raised similar questions. Specifically, how does
Ontario account for doctors’ continued professional competency
years after completion of their formal medical education?
The CMA code of ethics requires
doctors to “engage in lifelong learning to maintain and improve pro-
fessional knowledge, skills and attitudes.”
Provincial organizations monitor doctors’ participation in lifelong learning.
“The College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario is responsible
for regulating doctors,” explained
Andrew Morrison, spokesperson
with the Ontario ministry of health
and long-term care.
“We rely on [the medical] community to regulate themselves,” he
added.
Currently in Ontario there is no
revalidation system in place. Doctors must take it upon themselves
to acquire necessary new knowledge related to their field.
PLEASE SEE SYSTEM P2
By Jessie Murdock
Gazette Staff
Are London’s tax dollars going to an
accountable municipal government?
This question has repeatedly
surfaced in London City Council
debates. Subsequently, when council decided to defer the hiring of an
independent auditor for another
year on Monday, there were mixed
feelings among council members.
The decision will result in the formation of a committee that will
study the proposal. Originally, several council members were supporting a delay until 2010, but protests
by the rest of council revised the
delay until sometime in 2009.
Many want to be assured with
empirical evidence an auditor general would be feasible in London.
“I’m not sure how taxpayers will
view this delay, but you don’t want
to jump into something that will
cost upwards of half a million dollars,” London controller Bud Polhill
said. “We need to talk to other mayors and treasurers because everything needs to be evaluated.
“We’re obviously doing something right, but that’s not to say we
can’t do better. As council members
we need to move ahead.”
Currently, London’s internal
auditors investigate accounts several times a year, yet none of their
audits are fully disclosed to the citizens of London; only summaries
are made public. This is not typical
of all Ontario cities. The municipal
government of Ottawa, for example, consistently updates its website
with detailed audit reports.
This is one of the reasons not all
elected representatives are supporting the delay. One of the members of the opposing side is London
ward four councillor Stephen Orser.
“The federal and provincial governments have general auditors, as
well as other cities such as Ottawa
and Oshawa and it’s working well
for them,” Orser said.
“First there was a motion to refer
it to a new council in two years.
Now this issue will be with a service
PLEASE SEE NECESSITY P3
P2
➤
news
theGazette • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
NEWSBRIEFS
Roughage lovers
of the world unite
If you enjoy Western’s rabbit food,
you have the chance to prove it as
our school attempts to be crowned
the most vegetarian-friendly university in Canada.
Residence Dining, a division of
Hospitality Services, submitted an
entry to the PETA2 contest in August
that showcased three vegan recipes.
“We qualified as one of the top 16
universities,” Anne Zok, Hospitality
Services nutritional manager, said.
Zok explained Western is now
going head-to-head with the University of Waterloo in the first round
of voting, which ends on Nov. 6.
Students can vote for Western
online at the PETA2 website.
—Lauren Pelley
Dolly the sheep,
meet Molly the mouse
Extinct species such as woolly
mammoths could be resurrected
following a successful experiment
to clone mice from frozen cells.
According to an article published on Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, Japanese scientists have
cloned mice whose bodies were
frozen for as long as 16 years and
preserved at minus 20°C.
Teruhiko Wakayama and his colleagues at the Riken Center for
Developmental Biology in Kobe,
Japan managed to clone the mice
even though the frozen cells had
burst.
However, Shiva Sing of the
department of biology at Western,
pointed out: “Frozen cells have a
greater chance of yielding abnormalities in their clones.”
Successfully cloning frozen cells
was thought almost impossible
because of damage caused by ice
crystals.
For their cloning process, the
team drew dead brain and blood
cells from the frozen mice. Nuclei
from the dead cells were injected
into unfertilized mice eggs, creating
embryos.
Shaun Ding/Gazette
PREPPING FOR THE BIG RACE. Members of Western’s Formula SAE
team were busy working on their old vehicle at Spencer Engineering
Building yesterday. The team is also working on its new vehicle for the
upcoming year. More information on the group can be found at
www.eng.uwo.ca/sae.
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OXFORD SEMINARS
1-800-269-6719/416-924-3240
www.oxfordseminars.ca
UCC Rm. 263
and volunteer for us.
CORRECTION NOTICE
In Monday’s ‘Curriculum reform under
discussion’ story, averages for first year
media, information and technoculture
courses were stated as being set
between 60 and 66 per cent. In fact,
the average for first year classes is set
between 67 and 72 per cent.
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LUNCH: 11:30–2:30
DINNER: MON–SAT 4:30–10:30
SUN. 4:30 PM–9:30
FALL PREVIEW DAY
Saturday, November 15, 2008
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Are you:
• Available to contribute your time for the day November 15, 2008
• Interested in meeting prospective students and their families
• Involved in campus activities
• Enthusiastic and positive about your Western experience
• Articulate, pleasant and responsible
To apply:
• Pick up an application in Undergraduate Recruitment, Room 96,
Stevenson-Lawson Building OR
• Print off an application form available in the “News” section of
the Office of the Registrar website http://www.registrar.uwo.ca
• Drop your completed application off to Undergraduate
Recruitment, Room 96, Stevenson-Lawson Building OR
• Email your completed application to: [email protected]
DEADLINE: Friday, November 7, 2008
Please note that you must attend one of the following MANDATORY orientation
sessions: November 10th 1:30pm OR November 11th 10:30am OR 2:30pm. If selected as
a volunteer, locations of the sessions will be sent to you via email.
081028
080916
B-715 Wellington Rd. S. (at back)
System to start
within two years
CONTINUED FROM P1
Licensed under LLBO
Japanese Restaurant
— Iris Cao
“It is not mandatory in Ontario,
as yet, to go through a system of
continuing education,” said Jatinder
Takhar, associate dean of continuing medical education at Western.
The current framework, based
on the collection of education credits, allows physicians to attend educational activities and report to
their college what they have completed, she explained. Physicians
report annually.
“The onus is left up to physicians,” she added.
A revalidation system will be
introduced in Ontario in 2009 or
2010, Takhar said. The system will
be similar to the current one. Doctors will report to their college
about educational activities they
have completed, but must also
show how they have applied new
knowledge to their practice.
Takhar explained she preferred a
learning outcome revalidation system as opposed to a revalidation system requiring doctors to write exams
— the system favoured by Levinson.
“Because our systems are so well
organized in Ontario, the revalidation system, when it comes in, gives
accountability without having to
undergo tests,” Takhar said.
3-day forecast
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sunny
High 19C
Low 7C
Sunny
High 17C
Low 6C
Cloudy with showers
High 13C
Low 7C
Weather
news ➤ P3
theGazette • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
Dalhousie student fighting
for homeless, downtrodden
in Victoria election
By Mike Hayes
Gazette Staff
Chris de Hoog/Gazette
A CULTURAL EXPERIENCE. Western Hispanic studies graduate students offered their expertise in Mexican culture to members of the academic community at University College yesterday. The students partook
in the Dia de los Muertos — Mexican Day of the Dead — event.
Necessity of auditor debated
Lynk: pros and cons must be weighed
small government need to have a
chief auditor with a proper staff? Is
that a wise way to spend money to
review committee for a year,” he
save money?”
added. “The taxpayers are looking
Questions like these are ones
for savings and not finding them.”
London hopes to answer.
The provincial legisla“The controllers are
tion to empower an audi“The controllers are politicians and do not have
politicians and do not
tor general was passed in
the same detachment to criticize as an unelected
have the same detach2006 and since then sevand independent person … Would it make city ment to criticize as an
eral Ontario cities have
hired one. This has a
government better? Costs need to be weighed unelected and independent person … Would it
legal impact on audits
against political benefits and fiscal savings.”
make city government
because an independent
— Michael Lynk, better? Costs need to be
auditor general has more
Western law professor
weighed against political
capabilities than a city’s
benefits and fiscal savown auditors.
ings,” Lynk added.
“There are both policy and legal dean Michael Lynk.
“Londoners would have more
Lynk stated some consequences
issues that arise. On the pro side, an
auditor general would be able to of an auditor general might be neg- confidence in their government if
more reports got into the sunindependently advise council on ative.
“On the con side, does a really shine.”
spending patterns and be indepenCONTINUED FROM P1
dent of city hall bureaucracy.
[They’d have] more independence,
more authenticity and therefore
more clout,” explained Western law
professor and associate academic
Washington — Barack Obama
made one of his most controversial statements of America’s presidential race on Monday night,
the eve of the election.
During the half-time broadcast of ESPN’s Monday Night
Football, Obama said if he could
change one thing in sports he
would get rid of the controversial
Bowl Championship Series selection system used to determine
which NCAA football teams will
play in a national championship
game.
The system often comes under
fire for its reliance on both
human and computer-driven
polls to determine the final rankings for teams and thus their
placement in prestigious bowl
games.
Obama expressed a desire to
collect the top eight teams and
form a tournament-style playoff
more in line with college basketball’s championship.
When asked a similar question, Republican candidate John
McCain claimed he would wipe
out the use of anabolic steroids in
college sports.
Victoria — A graduate of Halifax’s
Dalhousie University is running
for the position of mayor in Victoria, B.C.
Although Kristen Woodruff is
without a permanent residence,
she claims she doesn’t feel comfortable in modern living spaces.
Among other things, she aims to
overturn a city bylaw restricting
the homeless from setting up
tents in public parks.
Woodruff has already garnered
publicity for her role in an afternoon police raid at Beacon Hill
Park. Stuck between protesters
and police, Woodruff decided to
perform a handstand — an act
that was captured on film and
found its way to the front page of
the Times Colonist.
Time will tell what Woodruff’s
success will be, but as her campaign motto states: “Stranger
things have happened.”
puzzle solution from
page 6
Choose Life granted interim status
Group has three-month period to become a club
CONTINUED FROM P1
we have to cherish our right to
express ourselves.”
Following their dismissal, Students for Life brought their case to
the BC Human Rights Tribunal and
eventually to the provincial
Supreme Court in 2007.
“When innocent lives are being
taken, no mater how ingrained that
institution is, you have to keep
fighting no matter how many setbacks you get,” Bartram said.
“The following year when they
came to ratify their club nobody in
the council moved the motion,”
Cody said.
“There was a human rights tribunal case that was thrown out,
then a second one on religious
grounds. Last week there was a
Supreme Court case as a result of
that tribunal and our position was
upheld.”
The case cost the UBCO Student
Union $45,000, which was awarded
back to them by the Supreme Court
justice.
“They do have 30 days to appeal
the ruling,” Cody said. “But the
judge’s ruling was incredibly direct.
It would be a very difficult case to
appeal.”
Though they did not win the
case, Welch still commends Students for Life for fighting for what
they believe in.
Guelph has rejected Life
Choice’s accreditation as a club in
accordance with the CSA’s policy
regarding “the fundamental right of
all women to control their bodies.”
“Our board voted that the club
was in violation of that policy,” said
University of Guelph CSA communications commissioner Jeff Rotman.
The policy, which assures students the freedom from one’s stance
in the matter of abortion, also provides its female students with
“access to quality health services
and counselling which respect a
woman’s control of her body.”
The policy has received some
criticism as a representation of the
university’s stance on abortion
issues.
“I don’t think we can define our
entire university as pro-life or prochoice, nor our students’ council,”
Rotman said.
“Some consider that since our
policy says that what happens to
women’s bodies is their choice
makes us a pro-choice university,
but we don’t have a specific stance
on pro-life or pro-choice.”
Choose Life was deemed beneficial for the overall student body at
McGill and granted club status by the
SSMU by a vote of 21 to two. The club
will now be granted interim club status lasting for three months, in which
they must hold three events to be eligible for full club status.
According to their constitution,
Choose Life intends to foster discussion about abortion on campus
and provide post-abortion support
for students considering a pro-life
perspective.
,
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A
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U
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WITH
NO EVOLUTIONISM
Faces of Origins by historian David
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rise of evolutionism was a direct
result of the scientific enterprise. In reality the Age of
Reason, of which we are grandchildren, provided the philosophical and religious backdrop for a paradigm shift from
creationism to evolutionism.
This book will definitely have
an impact how one views evolutionism and its emergence on
the historical landscape of the Western world.
$
[email protected]
www.teamshan.ca
Shanna Larsen 1981-2005
15
Available at the
University Book Store
For more information concerning
Dr. Herbert’s books, see
www.diherbert.ca.
081105
P4
➤
opinions
theGazette • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
thegazette
Volume 102, issue 39
“If society fits you comfortably enough, you call it freedom.”
—ROBERT FROST
Ravi Amarnath
Desiree Gamotin
Dave Ward
Editor-In-Chief
Deputy Editor
Managing Editor
Editor - [email protected]
Deputy - [email protected]
Managing - [email protected]
website at www.gazette.uwo.ca
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The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.
Setting Club
Standards
Over the past week, several pro-life advocacy groups have
experienced different fates at their respective university
campuses.
By a vote of 21 to two, the Students Society of McGill
University voted in favour of granting a pro-life group
club status. At the University of Guelph, however, the
school’s Central Student Association pulled accreditation
from the Life Choice group for conducting activities it
stated were against its policies.
Additionally, a recent ruling by the British Columbia
Supreme Court supported the decision by the students’
union at the University of British Columbia Okanagan to
revoke club status from a pro-life group on campus in
2006 for showing pictures of fetuses around campus.
All of these incidents highlight a major issue facing
university campuses today: to what degree should clubs
or groups be monitored by regulatory bodies?
This is an important issue, as universities face the dual
mission of promoting discussion on campus while at the
same time ensuring students do not feel unsafe. While
seemingly contradictory, it is possible to ensure both of
these objectives are achieved.
While universities should not stifle free speech on
campus, groups that promote blatantly racist or sexist
causes should have no place at a university. These groups
do not contribute to constructive discourse on campus.
However, groups that promote various perspectives on
contentious issues should be allowed to exist. By preventing a group from organizing on campus due to its
potentially controversial nature, universities would then
be stifling free speech.
At Western, various clubs and interest groups exist to
act as a resource for students who want to learn more
about particular issues.
These groups should be and are supported by funding
through the University Students’ Council and administration and are allowed to exist on campus as long as they
encourage discussion and do not promote hate. Students
should have the option of choosing what they want to
learn about without feeling viewpoints are being forced
upon them.
Beyond campus institutions, the onus of responsibility
for promoting responsible dialogue exists with clubs as well.
While clubs that feel passionate about contentious causes have a right to operate on campus, they have an obligation to promote their message in a respectful manner. They
should not go out of their way to make students feel uncomfortable simply to add shock value to their messages.
Overall, the issue of what constitutes appropriate and
inappropriate discussion on a university campus will
always be up for debate. Through common respect, however, more productive discussion can take place on campuses across Canada. University is a place that should
challenge ideas; in such an environment, all respectful
viewpoints are valid.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Don’t cover
the city’s ass
Re: “Contribute to bus pass for good of all”
Oct. 31, 2008
To the editor:
Is the London Transit Commission fare
hike really that complicated to understand? It must be because the last two
responses printed on Friday seem to misrepresent the point entirely.
The issue is such: the City of London
wants to increase the bus fare. Contrary
to what Alex Harper suggests, the
increase is not related to insurance and
gas. As Jory Cohen points out, the
increase is also “not tied to inflation, […]
a direct result of an increase in energy
costs, [and] it’s much higher than the
Ontario Consumer Price Index for transportation.” In fact, the $12 increase is a
result of poor management on behalf of
the city itself. There is no possible way to
justify hiking our cost.
But maybe we should all just “suck it
up” and pay the increase. It’s really only
an extra $12 and the benefits of having a
bus pass are worth the extra fee. Well it’s
not that simple, reminds Jared Green in
last week’s issue. Since the city is hiking
our fare to a possible 7.7-10 per cent we
have to jeopardize our bus pass in a referendum. So if the city doesn’t lower the
proposed hike on our bus fare, the issue
changes: Would students rather pay $12
or save $124?
Sure, maybe in the grand scheme of
things $124 isn’t a lot of money. And I
know I was personally delighted to learn
that saving $124 doesn’t mean anything
to Jason Goncalves, someone to whom
this issue does not even concern. But a
vote against the LTC bus pass increase
isn’t a vote against public transportation
for students. Green intelligently notes
that the affiliates have their own form of
transportation. If Goncalves were better
informed, maybe he wouldn’t be so quick
to dismiss this point. And if he had simply done any research at all then he,
being a former University Students’
Council member, should be well aware
that the USC already has an agreement
with Aboutown to shuttle students with
routes around the city during exam time.
Obviously the exam shuttle isn’t as
great as the LTC, but the point is that having another service provider for student
transportation isn’t impossible. Remember, we as students don’t pay anything
extra for the exam shuttle. Imagine if we
handed over our $2.5 million to
Aboutown instead of the LTC, how much
potential better service we could have —
student-focused routes, requested stops
and extended operation hours. I’m sure
that Aboutown would love even half the
amount of money we give to the LTC.
The important thing is that students
shouldn’t have to give the city more
money than we already do. We are
already getting screwed with Project
LEARN (where any one student can pay
up to $5,000 for being “likely to disturb”
with loud noise), so why should we pay
any more than we have to?
Say we did pay the measly $12; I
believe it will set a dangerous precedent.
If we’re willing to pay an unjustified hike
now, when won’t we be? And what if the
city hikes up our fare next year by 15 per
cent — do we just let them run right over
us? Let the City of London know you
won’t — now or ever — pay for their mismanagement.
— Tabitha Dubbleystne-Navratil
USC Councillor
New federal
cabinet a hit
To the editor:
This week Stephen Harper unveiled his
new Cabinet and I think it is one to make
Canada proud.
It is clear that Stephen Harper has
stayed true to his campaign messages
about a steady hand in a time of uncertainty. We are seeing a lot of familiar
faces in economic portfolios, with some
improvements here and there.
Stephen Harper has also set a record
for the percentage of women in a Canadian federal cabinet at 29 per cent. We
are finally seeing women take a more
commanding role in the corridors of our
nation’s power.
With women like Leona Aglukkaq in
health, Gail Shea in fisheries and Lisa
Raitt in natural resources, women will
have a strong voice in some very powerful portfolios.
I believe the prime minister has set
another record too. He has set the record
for overall competence in a Canadian
federal cabinet. There is an astounding
amount of depth and an impressively
wide array of experience in this ministry.
As a Canadian, I am very proud of
these ministers and extremely confident
that they will do an exceptional job of
looking after the interests of the true
north strong and free.
— Luca Colasanto
UWO Tories VP-events
Stop with
the bus pass
bickering
Re: “Reconsider rejecting the bus pass
hike”
Oct. 31, 2008
To the editor:
Enough with the fucking bus pass. Goddamn, these arguments are boring.
Suck it up and pay up. It’s not like
they’re going to listen to you anyways.
You guys are students; it’s easy money, a
tax grab. Plain and simple.
— Joseph Granton
Philosophy and Health Science Alumnus
Everyone has an opinion but not everyone wants to hear it. We do. Write us at [email protected].
Editorials appearing under the ‘opinions’ heading are decided
upon by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a
member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the
expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other
opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.
Letters: Must include the contributor’s name, identification (ie.
History II, Dean of Arts) and be submitted to [email protected]. Letters judged by the Editor-In-Chief to be libelous
or derogatory will not be published. The Gazette reserves the
right to edit letters and submissions and makes no guarantees
that a letter will be published.
All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online
versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such
material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette
a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to
publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not
limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.
• Please recycle this newspaper •
Section Editors 2008-2009
Gazette Staff 2008-2009
News
Jaclyn Haggarty
Mike Hayes
Jared Lindzon
Hannah Rosen
Arts & Entertainment
Carly Conway
Matt Quinn
Dan Rankin
Associate Editors
Jaela Bernstien
Lauren Pelley
Opinions
Mallory Daley
Pulse - [email protected]
Photography
Laura Barclay
Shaun Ding
Casey Yetman
Gazette Composing
Sports
Katie Graves
Ryan Hendrick
Emily Panetta
Graphics
Elena Iosef
Jesse Tahirali
News - [email protected]
Sports - [email protected]
A&E - [email protected]
Tara Athar, Erin Baker, Mary Ann Boateng, Dylan Clark, Sari Rose Conter, Russ
Opinions - [email protected]
Courtney, Kate Davis, Mark Filipowich, Jennifer Gautier, Jack Hansen, James
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Ian Greaves, Manager
Maja Anjoli-Bilic, Cheryl Forster
Gazette Advertising
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P5 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
ArtsEntertainment
London a “challenge” for comics
Just for Laughs takes on rowdy crowd
By Gennelle Smith
Gazette Staff
Danny Bhoy
David O’Doherty
The Just For Laughs Comedy Tour
2008 blew into London on Sunday
night, gleefully hauling much hilarity along with it.
Each comedian on the tour’s
international lineup performed for
15 minutes to the mostly-full crowd
in London’s cavernous Centennial
Hall.
Opening act, beatboxer CharlyPop, blew the audience away with
his impressive renditions of “Every
Step I Take” and “Sandstorm,” amping up the room’s energy in the
process.
With the crowd sufficiently
revved, Saturday Night Live alum
Finesse Mitchell took over hosting
duties for the night. Talking about
everything from the U.S. election to
the perils of meeting Halle Berry,
the Atlanta native kept the show
rolling in between sets.
First up was British comic Hal
Cruttenden who, after noting that
London had copied everything
from its famous English namesake,
including the Thames River and
Covent Garden —“just not the
crime rate”— admitted early on
that he was an effeminate straight
man, or just “very British.” The
comic charmed his way through his
set, even as he plugged his CD — a
fair point because, as he exclaimed,
“I’ve got mouths to feed!”
Taking over for Cruttenden was
Wawa, Ontario resident Pete Zedlacher. The comic had recently
returned from performing for
Canadian troops in Afghanistan
and had the audience roaring with
his uniquely Canadian responses to
everything from Tim Hortons, or
the “King of Canada,” to the uselessness of Canada geese.
The audience remained enthusiastic for Irish comedian David
O’Doherty, whose stand-up ran the
gamut from observational to whimsical. As O’Doherty ambled around
the stage delivering his non-stop,
barely-related jokes, he won the
crowd over with his beliefs about
muesli — “It’s sadness in material
form” — and killer badgers. His culminating
song, “Beefs ’08,” with
the help of his tiny
keyboard, had his listeners chuckling in
recognition at his list
of grievances.
After a long show
that had seen the audience
grow increasingly vocal, the
night’s last and most famous
act, Scottish export Danny Bhoy,
had his work cut out for him.
Though plagued by hecklers
throughout his act, Bhoy bit
back with well-timed retorts
that placed the audience clearly on his side. Although
forced to abandon many of
his jokes mid-way, Bhoy seemed to
bounce easily from idea to idea even
as the set degenerated into a Q&A
session with the crowd.
In doing so, Bhoy demonstrated
the unique process of stand-up
comedy. Watching five of the
world’s quickest comedians think
on their feet and test out new material is, as the London crowd discovered, an exhilarating experience.
As Bhoy wryly commented near
the end of his act, live comedy
thrives on unpredictability.
“Thanks, London. You’ve been
a challenge.”
Hamilton’s Arkells torpedos across Canada with Matt Mays
Lead singer talks new album, tour, the struggle to find a decent meal
By Adam Schwartz
Gazette Writer
Max Kerman, lead singer of Arkells,
is too busy to celebrate the release
of his band’s first full-length album
Jackson Square. The Hamiltonbased quintet is currently on tour
across Canada supporting Matt
Mays & El Torpedo.
Kerman doesn’t let the tedium of
his current task — driving through
Red Deer, Alberta and looking for a
place to eat lunch — reduce his
level of excitement. “The tour has
been awesome and I’m so happy
with the new record. Everything is
great right now.”
He’s been touring for so long
that a good meal is more valuable
than a wild rock and roll party.
“Food isn’t too good on the road,”
he says. “We’ll probably have a nice
lunch soon to celebrate the album
coming out. It’s all we really want
right now.”
Jackson Square has been well
received by critics, but that is not
really a big concern for Kerman.
“We’re just having fun, the band
is happy with the record and people seem to like the music. That’s
all that really maters.”
Kerman admits it is exciting to
read positive reviews but insists he’s
not worried about what people
think. “It’s obviously cool to see that
the album or a song is doing well.
We like to check iTunes because
that way, real people are writing the
review of a song but it really doesn’t
matter if they don’t like it right
away. I’m not that concerned with
critics because people are still getting a feel for us.”
Many people are beginning to
notice Arkells. Their song “John
Lennon” has over 9,000 plays on
MySpace. “[The song is] about
growing up in Hamilton. The Beatles are obviously one of my favourite
groups and this song is more about
feeling lost like the way John
Lennon did in 1967 than about the
man in general,” Kerman says.
Arkells’ soul-influenced rock
sound has been difficult for many
critics to classify but most people
compare the group to The Killers,
The Foo Fighters and Kings of Leon.
Kerman enthusiastically brings up
comparisons to Canadian artists
such as The Weakerthans, Joel Plaskett and Wintersleep.
“Comparisons to other groups
we like are really cool but we’re just
being ourselves. Our sound and
our band is always evolving.”
Arkells has built its reputation
the old-fashioned way — by tour-
Gazette File Photo
ONE OF US REALLY NEEDS TO GET A CELL PHONE. The men of Arkells will be playing at Cowboys Nov. 13
with Matt Mays & El Torpedo.
ing. The band has played big festivals like V-Fest, Edge Fest and
countless indoor venues. Though
playing outside festivals can be
glamorous, Kerman says he prefers
small clubs.
“Playing outdoors at a festival is
still a treat for us. We feel at home
in small clubs where you can see
everybody’s face in the audience.”
Despite the band’s growing success, Kerman remains realistic.
“We’re a super new band,” he says,
noting he understands that not
everybody at their shows will be
familiar with Arkells’ music. But
Kerman and his bandmates work
hard to build their fan base.
“We sell our own merch, it gives
us a chance to meet people that like
our music.”
Arkells will be playing at Cowboys with Matt Mays & El Torpedo
on Nov. 13.
P6
➤
arts&entertainment
theGazette • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
IN THEATRES
Zack and Miri makes a profit
Gazette File Photo
GOOGLE VS WIKIPEDIA: AN EPIC BATTLE. Google attempts to outshine
Wikipedia with its latest endeavor, knol.google.com, a collaborative online
knowledge resource.
MY MOM THINKS I’M AT HOCKEY PRACTICE. Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks star as best friends Zack and
Miri in Kevin Smith’s latest film.
By Eliot Hong
Gazette Staff
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth
Banks
Kevin Smith, screenwriter and
director of Clerks and Jay and Silent
Bob Strike Back, dishes out his second non-View Askewniverse film,
Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
The hilariously raunchy yet subtly sweet film is about two platonic
friends and roommates who find
themselves deep in a mountain of
debt. With no power, heat or water
Welcome to
The Gazette
and the looming threat of getting
kicked out of their place, they turn
to their last option — making and
selling a porno.
Starring Rogen as Zack Brown,
the likeable Banks as Miriam “Miri”
Linky and real-life porn stars Traci
Lords and Katie Morgan, the film
shows how amateur porn-making
should (and should not) be done.
From model tryouts to script
readings and the screening to
securing sets, both Zack and Miri
seriously get into the production
without realizing that their true
feelings for each other are slowly
coming to the surface.
Ranging from cute to downright
dirty and vulgar, the film throws its
pokes, punches and jabs in all
shapes and sizes, with Rogen creating most of the naughty jokes.
The antics in the film range from
the mildest of eroticism to kinky,
with even the cameraman (Clerks’
Jeff Anderson) experiencing the
receiving end of a porn shoot gone
wrong.
The only downside to the film is
its pace. At times, it moves slowly,
especially the romance between
Zack and Miri. However, the film
has enough interesting scenes to
keep you immersed until the end.
Whether you have a lot of reservations about pornography or
you’re its biggest fan, the film is
guaranteed to get you laughing.
PLACE
30 WORDS FOR $8 OR 4 ISSUES FOR $30
519-661-3274 OR [email protected]
Employment
FULL TIME and part time experienced Japanese
chef and servers & hostesses. Apply to Howard Johnson Hotel, 1170 Wellington Road south or email to:
[email protected]
GYMNASTIC COACHES REQUIRED. North London
location. $9 - $12.50 per hour. Call Vicki or Ildi at 519474-4960.
Wanted
WANTED ATHLETIC WOMEN and men 18-28yrs for
national team development program. Contact Dina
at: [email protected]
Upcoming Events
CHECK OUT the popular art show and sale Art Mart
at Museum London between November 5 and November 9. An array of unique, original art on display.
For more information, contact 519-661-0333.
Services
HOW TO PLAY
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1
through 9. Solving time is typically from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and
experience. The Gazette publishes Sudoku puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty.
Frosh, Soph, Senior, Grad Student
Today’s difficulty level:
SOPH
For solution, turn to page 3
DANCE CLASSES at Dancesteps. London’s closest
dance studio to UWO. 743 Richmond St. at Oxford.
Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hip. 519-645-8515. www.dancestepslondon.ca
PROFESSIONAL PROOFREADING, Editing and
writing coaching; 40 years’ experience in news and
marketing media. Reasonable rates. Call Pat at 519455-9248; email: [email protected]
PROOFREADING /EDITING RESEARCH Papers.
Do you need help proofreading, editing or writing your
research paper, essay, or thesis? Experience: T.A.
at UWO: Sociology, Psychology, Linguistics. For prices: [email protected] (519)432-0466 Karen.
SEEK HELP NOW. Don’t let little problems grow into
big problems. If you aren’t sure how, ask the Ombudsperson in UCC-251, or call 519-661-3573. This
service is free and confidential.
Google Knol a
cheap knock-off
By Caitlin Conroy
Gazette Staff
It was only a matter of time before
Internet giant Google tried to scam
off of Wikipedia’s wild success.
Sadly, Google’s recently released
beta version of its attempt at a wiki
is a true let down to users.
With several other wiki projects
such as Wikispecies (a science student’s bible), Wikitravel and Wikitionary becoming increasingly
popular, it’s a wonder why Google
even released its beta version in the
first place.
The site, knol.google.com, has
several problems, mainly that it is
disorganized and confusing.
Western information and media
studies professor Mark Rayner
agreed.
“Knol doesn’t provide an encyclopedia-like experience … On
Knol, a search takes me to a page of
search results [where] none of the
titles in the results match the
search,” he says.
A simple search for “Stephen
Harper” yields 35 results, the first
being a book review on Waiting for
God by Viki (a random contributor)
and the second an article on
George W. Bush written by Edouard
Lorenceau (also an unknown contributor).
While Google tries to legitimize
the site by allowing you to search
other articles by the author, the site
is still ineffective because the infor-
mation is no better than that of
Wikipedia, it is difficult to navigate
around the site and the articles are
inherently biased.
Unlike Wikipedia, which uses a
system to mark contributions that
are deemed biased, Knol is based
on personal opinion and for any
changes to be made to the article,
they have to be approved by the
original author. Any Tom, Dick or
Harry can submit to the Knol
website, just like Wikipedia; however, due to Wikipedia’s sheer
website traffic, any incorrect
information written is not going
to last long.
The fact that the search results
are not clearly organized is a major
downfall of the site, according to
Rayner.
“When
I
search
[with
Wikipedia], I’m taken to a page of
that name, which is clearly identified … Under the abstract I get a
menu of sub-topics, which helps
me navigate to the specific information I might want or to get a
broader overview.”
It is Wikipedia’s clear organization that makes it such an essential
site for students.
Rayner critiques Knol by saying
it doesn’t serve its users very well.
“If I want to know something
about the history of philosophy, I’d
be better off using Wikipedia, or
even the Google search engine. And
in the end it doesn’t matter which
source you look at on the Internet,
you’re still going to have to verify
the credibility and authority of the
information yourself.”
Stick to what you know and love:
Wikipedia. Even though your professors say it is non-academic
garbage, everyone knows — even
they use it too.
Dispensing
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TIPS ON — HOW TO WRITE A CLASSIFIED AD THAT SELLS 1.
Use a KEYWORD. This immediately tells the reader
exactly what it is you have to sell. 2. Make your description CLEAR and FACTUAL. State the year, make,
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Successful Classified advertisers have learned that the
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for your western
medical plan
279 Wharncliffe Rd. N.
Phone: 519-434-4774
For Solution, tips and
computer program at: www.sudoku.com
Pharmacist: George Jaikaran
Conveniently located at the
corner of Oxford and
Wharncliffe Rd., in the back
of the medical building
beside Starbucks.
located close to home for when you are not on campus
P7 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
Sports
ON DECK:
Women’s and men’s hockey... Thursday
OUA MEN’S BASKETBALL
Men dominate Fanshawe in final exhibition game
Smith led team with 34 points, three rebounds, three assists
Shaun Ding/Gazette
CHECK THIS OUT … I CAN SING AND JUMP AT THE SAME TIME. The Western men’s basketball team dominated the Fanshawe Falcons, 102-61, in last Thursday night’s exhibition
game. Their season officially opens this Friday against the University of Ottawa.
“Well, I think we’re just at
the point in the season
where in the games we have
played up until tonight,
we’ve been struggling with
some things, offensively
and defensively. We’ve been
working hard at it.”
— Brad Campbell,
“We could have played a little bit better defence; trying
to hold them under sixty
was the goal. So, I mean,
other than that, we played
well, we played hard, [and]
we ran the floor well.”
— Brad Smith,
“We had a lot of problems
with their size; we don’t
usually play teams with four
or five big men like that.
They’re simply a very good
team.”
“Defensively it’s just focus
things, being able to contain penetration a little bit
better and just trying to play
aggressive but within ourselves.”
—Glen Johnston,
— Brad Campbell,
Fanshawe head coach
Mustang head coach
“[Our goal is] just to have a
good record, to give us a
chance to get a spot in the
playoffs and get to the
nationals.”
— Brad Smith,
Mustang forward
Mustang forward
Mustang head coach
By Christian Campbell
Gazette Writer
On a night when it seemed like they
could do no wrong, the Western
Mustangs men’s basketball team
wrapped up a stellar preseason
with a convincing 102-61 home victory over the cross town Fanshawe
College Falcons.
Motored by an impressive 34point performance from sixth man
Brad Smith and smothering
defence, the Mustangs sent a message to the rest of Ontario University Athletics that they are a force to
be reckoned with in the upcoming
season.
Coming into the game, the Falcons owned an undefeated regular
season record after two impressive
victories over their Ontario Colleges
Athletics Association opponents
and looked to test one of the top
university teams in the nation.
However, they struggled early
and the Mustangs quickly took
advantage. They began the game
with great ball movement and shot
selection, which lead to easy buckets for the offence.
This forced the Falcons to send
a parade of Western shooters to the
charity stripe, allowing the Mustangs to build a commanding 14-3
lead. Backing up the offence was a
shut down defence, anchored by
the terrific pick and roll defence of
Mustangs starting point guard
Matt Curtis.
The Falcons were unable to get
anything going and by the end of
the quarter, the Mustangs were
winning 29-10.
When describing his team’s play,
Western head coach Brad Campbell
said his team put in a great effort.
“I think we played hard out there
today; we’re talented but at times
we have lapses mentally and today
we went out there and ran the floor
hard and played aggressive
defence,” he said.
This assessment of his team’s play
was on full display in the second
quarter. The Mustangs continued to
push their first quarter advantage to
put away the visiting team.
They did this by getting out on
the run and creating a fast-paced
game that kept the Falcons offbalance.
The Falcons attempted to
counter with a run and gun offence
of their own, but Western played terrific interior defence, forcing the Falcons to settle for jumpers. By the end
of the first half, the Mustangs had
pushed their advantage to 50-23.
Fanshawe head coach Glenn
Johnston described his team’s poor
first half performance.
“I think that we have to work
harder. We worked hard in the second half, but in the first half we did
not. I don’t know if it was shell
shock or what,” he said.
The team attempted to correct
their first half mistakes by playing
terrific transition defence and slowing the Mustangs’ fast break but the
improved effort did not transfer
into third quarter success.
The Mustangs quickly adjusted
and continued their strong play
behind the low post play and
smooth outside shooting of Smith.
The Falcons continued to draw
fouls on offence and began
rebounding much more efficiently
on defence.
The Mustangs proved to be too
much for the Falcons and by the
end of the third, the score stood 7938.
Smith commented on his individual performance.
“I could have played a little better defence and tried to get a little
more aggressive on the defensive
boards,” he said.
While he did play superbly on
offence, the highlight play of the
game came at Smith’s expense in
the fourth quarter.
Fanshawe forward Mike King
grabbed an offensive rebound and
swooped in from the left wing. He
elevated, drew the contact from
Smith and jammed it in over top of
him, bringing the crowd to their
feet and providing a spark for the
Falcons.
Led by the impressive smooth
play of Fanshawe guard Jordan
Dixon, the Falcons’ subs played the
Western subs to a 23-23 draw in the
sloppily played, foul-plagued
fourth quarter.
After the big win in the final
game of the preseason, Campbell
looked to the start of the regular
season.
“This was the last tune up that
we’re going to have before a very
tough two games to start off league
play against Ottawa and Carleton,
and we need to work on some
things. It’s just going to be a slow
and steady progression,” he said.
The men play their first regular
season home game this Friday
against Ottawa and this Saturday
against Carleton at Alumni Hall.
Both games tip off at 8 p.m.
P8
➤
advertisement
theGazette • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2008
A weekly advertising feature listing events at UWO, London and environs
Tonight
Tonight
Saturday, November 8
Friday, November 14
Monday, December 15
Jim McGinley
Fitzrays 110 Dundas
Stick to Your Guns
Call the Office 216 York St.
Lotus CD Release Party
Call The Office 216 York St.
Sweet Leaf Garrett
Norma Jean’s 1332 Huron St.
Sam Roberts Band with
special guests The Stills
Centennial Hall.
550 Wellington Street
Yuri Pool
London Music Club 470
Colborne St.
London Knights Hockey
vs Barrie
John Labatt Centre
99 Dundas Street
Stuart McLean A Vinyl
Cafe Christmas
Centennial Hall
550 Wellington Street
Orlando Valencia
Up On Carling 153 Carling St.
Road to Vancouver
All proceeds towards Mark
Demontis journey to the 2010
Vancouver Winter Games.
London Tap House 545
Richmond Street
Tanya Tagaq
London Music Club
470 Colborne St.
Hoo Doo Bash
Scot’s Corner268 Dundas St.
Thursday, November 6
Daniel Lanois
Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas St.
$25 OFF
Electric Blues,
London Music Club 470
Colborne St.
U W O r TATTOO
O f f e $10 OFF
Rick McGhie
The Grad Club, Middlesex
College
Piercing
Apostle of Hustle
Music Club 470 Colborne St.
HoneyMoon Suite CD
release Party
Music Hall 85 Queens Ave.
Sunday, November 16
Serena Ryder
The Music Club
470 Colborne St.
Sunday, November 9
Retro Rewind Dance
7 NightClub 347 Clarence St.
Dave Webber & Anne
Fentiman
Chaucers Pub
122 Carling St.
Shake Appeal
Call the Office 216 York St.
Wednesday, November 26
7
Night
Club
Tuesday, November 11
Bob Dylan
John Labatt Centre
99 Dundas St.
Friday, November 7
227 Wharncliffe Rd South
519-936-1855
We take
VISA, MC & Interact
Abondoned Souls
Norma Jean’s
1332 Huron St.
Bill Clinton
John Labatt Centre, 99 Dundas
Street
Jennifer Thorpe
Maggie’s Jazz Lounge
478 Richmond St.
Friday, December 5
Ian Tamblyn
London Music Club 470
Colborne St.
Bionic
Call The Office 216 York St.
London Knights Hockey
vs Owen Sound Attack,
John Labatt Centre, 99 Dundas
Street
Saturday, November 8
Volleyball UWO men vs.
Waterloo
Alumni Hall, UWO
Thursday, November 13
Matt Mays
Cowboys Ranch, 60
Wharncliffe Rd.
Bowser & Blue
Centennial Hall. 550
Wellington Street
Don Ross & Brooke Miller
Aeolian Hall
795 Dundas Street
Saturday, December 12
is
E ve r yo n e
&
We l c o m e
E ve r yo n e
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347 Clarence St.
beside Call The Office
Patio, Open 6pm to 2am
www.sevennightclub.ca
081105
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Dance to the
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Mexican
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10 am - 2 pm
Holly Cole Christmas
Concert with Orchestra
London, Centennial Hall
550 Wellington St
UNDER THE VOLCANO
Fresh Mexican Grill & Tapas Lounge
Mustang Football, 101st
Yates Cup vs. The Ottawa
Gee Gees
TD Waterhouse Stadium 1 PM
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Wednesday’J I TA
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215 Piccadilly
@ Richmond
519-435-1197
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Post time 3:05pm
Friday & Saturday nights
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