October 1, 2009 Hiding six crackers a week since 1875 Vol. 139 Iss.

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Argosy
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I n d e p e n d e n t S t u d e n t J o u r n a l o f Mo u n t A l l i s o n U n i v e r s i t y
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
Renowned Canadian speaks on international engagement
Con Hall lled for the launch of the Presidents Lecture Series
Stephen Lewis speaks to a full auditorium about the Millennium Development Goals, his own experiences and how students can get internationally engaged here at Mt. Allison.
Calan Field
How can Mount Allison students be-
come internationally engaged global
citizens?
Its easy: by actively participating in
campus groups that work for and raise
awareness of the multitude of complex
issues in the international arena. So
says Stephen Lewis, the rst guest of
this years Presidential Lecture Series.
I love the subject matter, Lewis
told the crowd. e idea of an en-
gaged internationalism throbs through
my soul, and the thought that a univer-
sity is coming together to pursue the
question of engagement [] seems to
me to be one of the great exemplars
of the quest for global citizenship. Its
the most glorious sense of the world to
be engaged, to understand the prole
of an issue, its ramications, to under-
stand its human face and human di-
mension.
Lewis has been a very prominent
Canadian gure both domestically
and abroad for the past fty years. He
led the Ontario NDP Party to become
the Ocial Opposition in the 1970s,
before proceeding to the United Na-
tions. He began as the Canadian Am-
bassador to the UN and then served
as Deputy Executive Director of UNI-
CEF. More recently he spent ve years
as the UN Secretary-Generals Special
Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, an
experience that prompted him to cre-
ate his own Foundation, e Stephen
Lewis Foundation, which assists the
broad range of people aected by the
AIDS pandemic in Africa.
We wanted [...] a headliner in Sep-
tember who was going to really cap-
ture what we wanted with the year,
explained Adam Christie, Manager
of International Aairs. Somebody
[who is] very articulate, very pas-
sionate, someone whom the students
hopefully could identify with.
Connecting with Mt. A students
was obviously very much in Lewis
mind as he spoke to the audience
lling the main oor and balcony of
Convocation Hall.
His chosen context was the eight
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) which were outlined and
unanimously agreed to at the General
Assembly meeting in 2000.
ey conjure up every aspect of the
human condition you would want to
deal with, commented Lewis. Indeed
his subject matter ranged from the
heartbreaking predicament of chil-
dren orphaned by HIV/AIDS, to the
inadequacy of policies safeguarding
womens right to equality, to sustain-
able development and reduction of
carbon emissions.
e MDGs were targets set to be
achieved by 2015, although it is clear
now that most will not be achieved in
most countries, and that some coun-
tries have even regressed in certain
areas. While Lewis showed anger, sad-
ness, frustration and incomprehension
at this global failure, he had only posi-
tive remarks about student engage-
ment.
Its really of importance that []
there is a sucient awareness, a suf-
cient consciousness, he said, and
listed specic clubs and organizations
here at Mt. A that further this spread
of understanding.
Im amazed as I look through your
model clubs how the entire gambit is
covered, [...] what remarkable creativ-
ity exists here at Mount Allison in
providing avenues of student activity;
[] all you have to do is choose the
area.
Rob Bryne, the Vice-President, In-
ternational & Student Aairs agreed,
stating that Lewis ability to recog-
nize the incredible work that so many
of our students are doing already was
really, really special.
Some groups showed their engage-
ment by promoting and assisting Lew-
is visit. In particular, Leadership Mt.
A volunteered to help with some of
the logistics and hosted a reception in
Gracies Cafe after Lewis spoke.
is year we wanted to have a more
collaborative approach to the speakers
series, revealed Leadership Coordi-
nator Gillian Gibson, who was very
pleased with the evenings turnout and
message.
Everything he was saying was so
resonating with what we want to do on
campus, Gibson commented. Hed
obviously done his research.
e men and womens soccer teams
also chose to make this an opportunity
to show their engagement, arriving as a
team and identiable by their jackets.
We want to be leaders both on the
eld and o the eld, said player Rob
Burroughs. It is important for us to be
aware of these kind of situations and
what we can do to help.
Other groups involved included
UNICEF, particularly relevant given
Lewis history with the agency, as well
as the Atlantic International Studies
Organization (ATLIS) which held a
Stephen Lewis Forum on Sunday
night in order to discuss some of the
MDGs and brainstorm for the thirty-
minute question period proceeding
Lewis lecture.
It is easy to be enthusiastic at the
beginning of the year, but the problems
covered in Lewis speech are enough to
overwhelm even the most motivated,
while the next speakers will only cover
more troubling subjects. How can one
avoid feeling futile?
In pragmatic terms, its self-indul-
gent to feel futile, said Lewis, while
admitting he often feels sad or feels
that the world is mad.
You grit your teeth and keep
ghting [] one day the pendulum
swings.
He suggested approaching each is-
sue in small, measurable steps here and
then extending it to the globe. He also
has advice on dealing with people who
show no interest, recommending not
to waste ones time trying to convince
them, and to focus on those who do
care.
Time is too precious, said Lewis.
If even a dozen people come out of a
hall determined to change the world
Im transformed.
Changing the world is a tall order,
but Lewis does not suggest actions be-
yond students reach.
ey need decent human support,
he noted, emphasizing the importance
of supporting groups on campus. e
engagement here in Sackville is as in-
tense as the engagement elsewhere, if
you want to invest in it, and it builds
a solidarity which is invisible. He
later added that the clubs should do
concrete things even just in the local
community.
Lewis further recommended going
abroad to visit a developing coun-
try, be it for a few months or a more
lengthy investment of several years.
When concerns were raised about the
legitimacy of many volunteer-travel
organizations, he recommended the
larger, established organizations, many
of which have groups here at Mt. A.
eyre really rst-rate. He later
added that going abroad is important
because it builds a sense of commu-
nity and relationship, and because
the world needs cultural and humani-
tarian exchanges. It really transforms
[students].
Another question put forth to Lew-
is was about which career paths would
best further humanitarian causes. He
once again left the door wide open:
When I was at UNIECF I hired
many people, and I actually hired
nurses to do farming and nutritionists
to do immunization I learned that
it didnt really matter what your pro-
fessional discipline was so long as you
wanted to be engaged.
He was much more specic when it
came to the top issues, about which he
believes the public should be pressur-
ing the Canadian government:
Giving 0.7 per cent of GDP to
foreign aid, getting out of Afghanistan
as quickly as possible and turning our
troops into peacekeepers, and support-
ing human rights wherever possible as
a government, which they dont always
do now.
Although this was part of the Presi-
dents Lecture Series, Mt. A President
Robert Campbell was unable attend.
Byrne explained that Lewis and the
communitys schedules were put ahead
of the Presidents when a date suiting
all three proved dicult to determine.
Christie credited Leadership Mt. A
for their involvement. He hopes that
other student groups will do likewise
for future speakers, and that all the
student organizations that Stephen
mentioned in his speech will take that
as a call to action.
Lewis passion was certainly in-
fectious, and his message about the
source of motivation for global citi-
zenship and international engagement
was clear:
What kind of an international
community makes sense if the sense
of solidarity is not a part of it? If the
intense human decency is not what
binds people?
under and Lightning
opens in Sackville
p 25
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2 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY NEWS
SAC by-election: take two
Re-vote goes ahead with all three presidential candidates
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
Miscommunication and mistakes
Frustrations with this years SAC elections
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
Julie Cruikshank
Identical ballots begin and end the week.
is autumns elections have created
unprecedented circumstances for students, the
SAC, and the election team. With a presidential
by-election on top of the normal o- and on-
campus councillor elections, and with new
bylaws thrown into the mix, there have been
many underlying tensions.
We didnt expect it to run perfectly; we
expected mistakes to happen, said SAC VP
External Alex MacDonald.
I dont think theres anything that would cause
you to question the integrity of the election, he
defended.
Problems have ensued. On Monday morning
it was discovered that one of the o-campus
councilors had been left o of the ballot. e
councilors photo was also missing from the
page.
It was very quickly taken care of [...] there
was miscommunication between Mike Minard
and Jessie [Boorne] who printed o the ballots.
We very quickly recognized that and reprinted
the ballots. ere were only 18 people who had
voted and didnt have the option of the one
candidate ... they received an email [and were]
told to come back and revote. MacDonald said
he himself witnessed many who returned to the
polls. e candidates photo, however, was not
added until the following day.
It has been a challenging election all around,
including for the Chief Returning Ocer
(CRO) Mike Minard.
For Mike its hard, maybe, because theres
nobody there to tell him exactly how it worked
before. Maybe thats something we need to
look at as an organization, doing a little more
training with the CROs in the fall, suggested
MacDonald.
Others have criticized the CRO. One o-
campus councillor admitted that communication
did seem unclear.
Minimal notice of events and deadlines was
given which made this process far more stressful
and frustrating than it should have been.
Minard himself notes that it has certainly
been a learning curve this year more so than it
had been in the past, but I dont think I had any
trouble.
Katherine Joyce, the Ombudsperson and
voice on the SAC for student concerns agreed
that there have been no greater issues this year
than in previous elections.
e CRO in this by-election has been as
neutral as a human being can be, she said.
Minard also appreciated having access to the
current SAC Executive.
[ey] have been extremely supportive
throughout the process.
Others have expressed concerns about the new
bylaw allowing the SAC exec to openly support
candidates, and about how this aects the CRO
as a neutral body. MacDonald in particular
expressed his views very clearly through his
Facebook status.
[Facebook] gives me a great opportunity
to explain why; [...] its a good way of getting
engagement in there, explained MacDonald.
e new by-law was decided upon in the
Operations Committee last year, before anyone
knew of that a by-election would be necessary.
e reasoning behind it mainly was that in
any other election, the standing president or
political leaders are able to support candidates
who are up-and-coming, reasoned Mike
Currie, Interim SAC President.
As to concerns over the inuence of the exec
on the CRO and the student body in general,
Joyce stated:
If there are conicts and the CRO choses to
consult the Exec, he is perfectly aware of any
biases they may hold, and does not have to take
their advice. In my role as Ombudsperson, I
also preform a neutral role should a candidate
nd a solution proposed by the CRO to be
problematic.
Currie lauded Minard: hes denitely stepped
up to the plate. However, he had recommended
that the Operations committee look into creating
specic stipulations for by-elections that would
limit the execs active participation.
Voting results came out later than expected on
Tuesday night, but left many unsatised. e
new SAC president was not determined, but
even more crucially, the results were too close to
proceed with a second ballot.
Weve decided that were going to be having
a re-vote, said Mike Currie, Interim SAC
President. ere are two candidates that had
such a close margin, within 0.3 per cent [...] we
couldnt conceivably say that one candidate was
higher than the other.
e two candidates with such close results
were the recipients of the second- and third-
highest number of votes; the candidate with the
highest percentage was clear, but did not achieve
the fty-plus-one per cent necessary for outright
victory.
e only ones who know the results are the
candidates scrutineers, the SAC executives
who were present at the time of the counting,
the Ombudsperson and the Chief Returning
Ocer (CRO).
e candidates will not even know what the
results are, revealed Mike Minard, CRO.
e candidates are not very pleased with these
results and have all expressed several concerns.
Certainly this has been a complicated
matter, says candidate Chris Durrant. I wish
the nal decisions on the process had been made
in the presence of the scrutineer. He suggests a
preferential ballot be used for the next round of
voting. is would cut the likelihood of a second
ballot.
Mayme Lefurgey is very concerned about
getting students out to vote once and probably
twice more.
As long as people stay motivated and
interested [...] its all in the hands of the students
now. She was not expecting this kind of result
and had expected to be notied of the results
a few hours after the polling stations closed.
Instead, it was after midnight.
Ryan Robski also conceded that the decisions
are being made hastily, and that potentially
thousands of votes were being discarded. He
wished that the actual results were being
released.
e exec shouldnt be in a position of
knowing more than the electorate.
All of those who know the results have signed
a condentiality form that should ensure the
equity of the election.
We thought [the results] might give an unfair
advantage, explained Minard.
Currie is pleased, however, with the voter
turnout.
It is an accolade to students as well that we
had nearly a sixty per cent voter turnout, [...]
higher than last year and last year was record-
high.
ey are hoping that voters will all turn again
and that voters who didnt pass in their ballot
will now do so.
We have no expectations at this point; [...]
were giving students the chance.
All the speeches have been left online,
although campaign materials have been removed
from around campus and from the web.
Robski suggested extending voting for a
couple of days, as is done when the SAC fails
to meet quorum (the required percentage of
votes for any result to be valid), but instead an
entirely separate vote will be held on ursday
and Friday, with the potential second ballot on
Monday and Tuesday of next week. e re-vote
for the presidential candidates will accompany
the second ballot for o-campus councillors.
But what if the same thing happens all over
again?
We hope that perhaps the margin of error
will be lower, or a higher distance between the
three candidates, said Currie. is votes error
margin was 1.5 per cent, a vast improvement on
the 3.5 per cent of last year.
ose involved involved in the Presidential
ballot have indicated they would like to have the
election of all the positions settled so that the
SAC can proceed with their regular functions.
e SAC will be sending out emails and notices
in following days with further information.
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3 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY NEWS
is week in the world
A weekly miscellany compiled by Kristina Mansveld
Iran tested two short-range nuclear
missiles on Sunday. e tests
follow the Iranian governments
announcement that it plans to build
a new facility to produce enriched
uranium, which could be used
to produce either fuel or nuclear
bombs. General Hossein Salami
stated: For all those who ... might
harbour dreams about undertaking
military invasion against our
nation and country, a message
of these maneuvers is rmness,
destructiveness, real and endless
resistance. e tests took place a
few days before representatives from
the United States, Britain, France,
Russia and China plan to meet
Iranian ocials in Geneva. Iran
could face harsher sanctions from
the United States if it does not allow
inspections of its nuclear enrichment
facilities.
Tropical storm Ketsana has brought
severe ash oods to the Philippines,
leading the government to declare a
state of calamity. While more than
5,100 people have been rescued from
ooded areas, tens of thousands of
others are still marooned without
supplies and at least 140 people have
died. It is estimated that as many as
250,000 others have been displaced
by the oods.
e Obama administration says it
is unlikely it will be able to close the
Guantanamo Bay detention facility in
Cuba by the January 2010 deadline,
set when Obama entered oce.
Ocial reports state that legal issues
are the cause of the delay, while critics
express concern at lack of a safe and
eective alternative to the oshore
detention facility. Obama originally
cast closing Guantanamo as a means
to restore the standards of due process
and the core constitutional values that
have made this country great even in
the midst of war, even in dealing with
terrorism.
e catastrophic eects of global
warming could be felt by 2060,
according to a new study released by
the British Department of Energy
and Climate Change. e study
projects a four degree Celsius rise in
average global temperatures by 2060
as a plausible scenario, while some
areas such as the Arctic and Southern
Africa could experience warming of
up to ten degrees Celsius.
In North Korea, Kim Jong-il has
ousted Communism from the states
constitution and elevated his own
status to Supreme Leader. Jong-
il is now the highest general of
the entire military and commands
the entire country according to the
text of the new constitution. Jong-il
has also begun to boost militarism
in North Korea; the songun policy
of placing the military rst has been
enacted in the place of communism.
is new policy will further justify
Jong-ils rampant military spending,
despite the poverty of the North
Korean people.
Pope Benedict made his rst visit to
the Czech Republic in twelve years to
speak with its people on converting
back to the Catholic Church. More
than 120,000 Catholics turned out
in an aireld to hear the Pope speak.
Benedict cautioned the crowd, saying,
Your country, like other nations,
is experiencing cultural conditions
that often present a radical challenge
to faith and therefore also to hope.
After 40 years of Communist rule
during which religion was violently
repressed, the Czech Republic is
among the most secular countries in
Europe today. e visit was planned
to precede the 20
th
anniversary in
November of the Velvet Revolution,
which ended brutal Communist rule
in the country.
Nigeria and China are both
facing accusations from each other
about immigration oenses and
the mistreatment of each countrys
residents abroad. Nigerian MPs are
requesting that their government
investigate Chinese workers who are
staying on illegally in the country.
is follows a request by Chinese
authorities for permission to cremate
the bodies of thirty Nigerian
prisoners. ere are approximately
20,000 Chinese people living in
Nigeria, with the same number of
people from all over Africa legally in
China, as well as illegal entrants.
Drink discounts dashed
Pub makes cutbacks to member benets
Fraser Harland
Argosy Staff
Jessica Emin
Life will not be as good as it once was
for loyal Mount Allison pub patrons
this year. In order to adapt to its new
location and to avoid bankruptcy, the
pub has made cutbacks in its member
benets.
Many students are disappointed in
the Pubs choice to cut its member
benets. Unlike the last three years,
members will no longer receive drink
discounts on weekdays. e Pub has
also limited the number of drink tick-
ets that are given out on trivia nights.
I know the pub may be undergoing
some hard times right but I dont think
its fair to the students, especially the
upper-year students, said Nick En-
right at the Bioscience trivia night
is has already caused some prob-
lems for the Pub. Without member
discounts, fewer people frequent the
Pub on weeknights, making for fewer
protable nights.
Due to this decreased clientele, the
Pub is considering limiting its hours of
operation to deal with the nights with
fewer customers. Pub manager Johna-
than Clark, more commonly known
as Scooter, said, We are currently
considering trimming our hours of
operation a bit more to eliminate the
unprotable nights, but we certainly
do not plan to eliminate any of our
key theme nights such as trivia night,
live entertainment, or dance oors on
weekends.
Although these cutbacks seem to be
limiting customers, Scooter explained
that the Pubs motivation is strictly
budgetary.
For the short term, we need to fo-
cus on avoiding bankruptcy, and elimi-
nating these discounts will give us the
nancial cushion that we desperately
need right now, he explained.
Many students have expressed skep-
ticism about the Pubs nancial di-
culty, saying that the markup on drinks
must be enough to generate a steady
prot. According to Scooter, though,
the Pub has suered serious losses of
late.
To defend the Pubs actions, Scooter
was not afraid to talk about the num-
bers saying, In September of 2008, we
had almost $100,000 in the bank in
early September. e Pub subsequent-
ly had huge losses for the next several
months, and at one point earlier, about
four weeks ago, we were down to about
$4,000 in our bank account, and very
close to insolvency.
e recession has been put forward
as a possible explanation for the Pubs
losses. Scooter was concerned that
students may have had a harder time
nding employment but buoyed by,
the general caveat that drinking es-
tablishments almost always tend to do
better in dicult economic times.
is idea has so far seemed to hold
true at Duckys, another bar in Sack-
ville popular with students. Indeed, on
several weekend days at the beginning
of the semester, the bar was packed
wall to wall. Joeys is also seeking to
take advantage of this situation with
its new lounge atmosphere.
For the short term, we
need to focus on avoiding
bankruptcy, and elimi-
nating these discounts
will give us the nancial
cushion that we desper-
ately need right now.
e recession did have a big impact
on certain locations downtown, how-
ever. Some businesses, including the
Olive Branch, reported a sales drop
of about thirty per cent in just over a
month.
For the Pub, though, the biggest
issue has been its new location. With
fees to pay for the dance oor, and a
general preference from the student
body for the old pub location, the new
location has had a largely negative ef-
fect for the Pub. Scooter simply said of
the situation that, e new location
has presented both opportunities and
challenges. Were constantly making
changes to take advantage of the op-
portunities, and to nd work-arounds
for the challenges.
One potentially unforeseen advan-
tage of this year is the large incoming
class. While the vast majority of them
cannot legally go out to the Pub now,
the legal-aged student body will begin
to grow substantially.
Ultimately, the Pub is hoping to
give its members back their full ben-
ets in the long term. For right now
though, the bottom line for Scooter is
that the prices for drinks are going to
I know the pub may be un-
dergoing some hard times
right but I dont think its
fair to the students
be slightly higher this year on average,
but most students would rather pay a
tiny bit more for drinks than see the
Pub close.
Some students are willing to accept
these changes.
Second-year student Erin Stew-
art admitted that at rst I was really
ticked o about it, but then when I
actually started talking to the pub sta
and heard about the circumstances of
last year, it kind of made sense. She
points out that members still do not
pay cover and that special events also
provide discounts.
It remains to be seen whether oth-
er students will feel the same way as
Stewart, and whether the loyalty of pub
clients is strong enough to keep them
going with higher prices, or whether
students will be drawn to other bars in
Sackville.
4 THE ARGOSY NEWS OCTOBER 1, 2009
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5 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY NEWS
What are you eating
and where it is from?
Radio show host visits Mount Allison
University
Timothy Bancroft
Argosy Contributor
Knowing where your food comes from and how it has been grown is a rising concern for communities.
Julie Cruikshank
Debates up for debate
SAC presidential candidate debate proposed, canceled
Susan Rogers
Argosy Staff
Candidates would have faced off in a debate - but would more talk have been going overboard?
Julie Cruikshank
Just how far do democratic processes
need to go on campus? How many fo-
rums are necessary for students to get
to know their candidates before its too
much? ese were some of the ques-
tions asked on campus last week when
SAC Presidential Candidate Ryan
Robski attempted to organize a debate
between himself and the other two
SAC presidential candidates, Mayme
Lefurgey and Chris Durrant.
e other two candidates and the
SAC were invited by Robski on Mon-
day the 21

September to participate in
the debate, which was to be that Fri-
day. Later that night they received an
email from Chief Returning Ocer
(CRO) Mike Minard, saying that be-
cause the debate was mainly arranged
by one candidate, the SAC could not
endorse it due to neutrality issues.
ere was a great deal of confusion
on the Monday as to what arrange-
ments had already been made for the
debate. Robski said he was hoping to
be able to hash out the details of the
event with the other two candidates, or
someone from their campaign team; as
of Monday he had simply reserved a
room for the event. e other candi-
dates, however, both felt that the in-
formation they were given about the
event plans was vague.
It raised my eyebrows not to have
all the details, said Durrant.
Whether a debate was actually nec-
essary, was itself subject to criticism.
Lefurgey and Durrant both felt that
after giving ten speeches with question
and answer sessions in the previous few
days, a debate was unnecessary. ey
also felt that inadequate notice was
given of the debate, especially since
putting together an event is dicult
during campaigning.
Robski felt dierently. Speeches
are great, dont get me wrong, said
Robski, but it would be cool to have
something dierent. Its important
too, because whoever is elected SAC
president will have to be a debater for
students issues.
Both of the other candidates were still
unsure at the time, of the reason for a
debate. I didnt like the feel of being
double-dog dared into something, ex-
plained Durrant.
Lefurgey and Durrant both noti-
ed Robski on Wednesday that they
would not be taking part in the debate.
Lefurgey said she would have been on-
board for the debate had it been SAC
sponsored, but as it was not, she chose
to put her energies elsewhere in cam-
paigning.
I feel that people got enough expo-
sure to the candidates, said Lefurgey.
Minard, the CRO, believes that the
debate could have been SAC spon-
sored had it been arranged dierently.
If the debate had been mutually or-
ganized between the three candidates
it could have gone ahead but because
it was presented as Robski challeng-
ing the other two, the SAC could not
endorse it. He added that a debate is
denitely something they will consider
in the future.
Robski presented the idea of the de-
bate to Minard prior to informing the
other candidates of the idea, but asked
Minard for condentiality because
he was unsure whether to go ahead.
Minard counseled him to include the
other two candidates, and to nd a
neutral moderator.
From the SAC standpoint, since the
e major syndicated radio program,
Deconstructing Dinner, arrived at
Mount Allison this week. Its founder,
Jon Steinman, came to campus on
Tuesday night to introduce the pro-
gram, which he described as not just
for those of us who eat. e crowd
included a mix of students, commu-
nity members, and local food produc-
ers, all interested in his insights on the
sources of and solutions to corporate
concentration in food systems.
Food security is an issue attracting a
growing share of public concern. From
worldwide protests launched in regard
to Montsantos patent protection of
genetic material, to the domination
Whether a debate was
actually necessary was
itself subject to criticism.
Lefurgey and Durrant
both felt that after giving
ten speeches with ques-
tion and answer sessions
in the previous few days,
a debate was unnecessary.
ey also felt that inad-
equate notice was given
of the debate, especially
since putting together an
event is dicult during
campaigning.
debate was being seen as a challenge
by Robski to the other two, all the ma-
terials for the debate were to come out
of Robskis campaign budget. Charg-
ing Robski to place his letter in the
Argosy was also considered, but did
not go ahead.
In response to the idea that it was a
challenge to the other two candidates,
Robski admits in eect, I guess thats
kind of what it was, but it wasnt mean
spiritedit was more of a challenge to
ourselves to commit that time and get
up there to speak for students.
Student opinion on the issue was
Food security is an issue at-
tracting a growing share of
public concern.
of food processing and nally to the
more basic problems of food supply in
the event of a transportation glitch, the
implications of the globally industrial
food system that is squeezing out local
production have caught peoples atten-
tion for a variety of reasons.
Steinman focused on solutions to
these problems, primarily using an-
ecdotes of his home town of Nelson,
BC. A large number of local co-opera-
tives in the Nelson area have formed
to promote local production and con-
sumption. One of the co-operatives
has some 8,000 members in a town of
only 10,000 residents. rough Com-
munity-Supported Agriculture orga-
nizations (CSAs), large numbers of
community members support the local
production of a large variety of organic
produce.
Steinmans Deconstucting Din-
ner will air weekly on CHMA every
Wednesday at 2:00 pm.
mixed. Some, like Melissa Woods, be-
lieve it would have been nice to have
a debate, just to keep it as close as pos-
sible to a real election, especially if they
want to be in politics.
Others, like Stephen Smith, nd
that while talk is always benecial, it
was sucient in this case.
Whether debate is considered an
essential part of our election remains
to be seen, as the SAC will have to de-
cide if this is necessary in the election
of next years president.
NATIONAL
Contest has vision in sight
Videos used to spread awareness of the challenges of blindness in developing countries
Ivana Pelisek
Interrobang (Fanshawe College)
NDP MP advocates axing loan interest
Jack Harris asks federal government to make post-secondary a priority
Kerri Breen
The Muse (Memorial University of
Newfoundland)
NSCC teachers vote overwhelmingly for strike
No strike date posed yet, but sta are beginning preparations
Sarah Ratchford
CUP Atlantic Bureau Chief
Internet Photo/Seva
Visual impairment affects all ages when medical access is limited.
Julie Cruiksshank
Students currently pay interest in addition to the loan amount.
LONDON, Ont. (CUP) A national
video contest is raising awareness of
blindness among girls and women and
the barriers they face accessing proper
eye care in developing countries.
e video contest, Her Sight Is Worth
It, is restricted to girls aged thirteen
and older and targets girls in high
school, college, university and lm
schools.
Winning videos will be showcased
across eight cities in Canada during
World Community Film Festival,
and in their name, a girl and a woman
will have their eyesight restored,
said Irma Arkus, a communications
coordinator with Seva Canada, an
international eye care charity based in
Vancouver.
Seva stresses the importance of eye-
care for girls and women in the eld,
working with leading international
organizations to not only eliminate
gender inequity in eye care, but also
eliminate preventable blindness
worldwide.
I think the thing to stress is that
Seva trains local eye care professionals
that will serve their communities for
generations to come, said Heather
Wardle, a development director
for Seva Canada. In many regions
where Seva works we are successfully
treating the backlog of those who are
blind from cataracts and, using Seva-
trained eye doctors, we are creating a
situation where, like in Canada, no
one will go blind from cataracts but
will receive treatment long before the
cataracts harm their vision.
All our programs reach out to the
most vulnerable, children, women,
the very poor and those who live in
remote areas to ensure that children
and women get treatment and the
follow-up care that the children
need.
World Sight Day is 8 October,
and the theme for this years national
video contest is the issue of gender
equity and eye health.
Seva has been working for over
twenty-seven years to restore sight
for girls and women in developing
countries. Currently, Seva Canada is
providing funding and expertise to
over seven regions, including Nepal,
Tibet, India, Tanzania and eastern
Africa, Guatemala, Cambodia and
Egypt.
Sight restoration and blindness
prevention programs emphasize local
management, establish high volume
of treatments at the lowest cost,
are directed to those most in need
through fundraising programs in
Canada, and are especially geared to
provide services to women and girls,
Arkus stressed.
It is estimated that 45 million people
are blind worldwide, of whom 90 per
cent live in developing countries where
access to proper eye care, especially
for women, is miniscule. According
to Seva, these girls and women receive
approximately half the care as men do
in developing countries.
e kind of stories that we get
from the eld are remarkable and
touching. To restore ones sight is to
change that persons life. A girl or a
woman literally has a second chance.
at also applies to her caretaker.
Often these simple surgeries allow
two people to go back to school, earn
a trade, make a living, Arkus said.
e World Health Organization has
stated that in order to reduce poverty
rates, we must help restore sight in
developing countries for girls and
women.
Seva receives support from the
Canadian International Development
Agency and are a participating
member of Vision 2020.
ST. JOHNS, N.L. (CUP) A
Newfoundland politician is calling
on the federal government to follow
his provinces lead and remove the
interest on student loans nationally.
Jack Harris, the NDP MP for St.
Johns East, announced that he will
be putting forth a private members
resolution proposing that the federal
government follow the precedent set
by Newfoundland and Labradors
Department of Education.
e interest rate on Newfoundland
& Labrador student loans, both past
and present, has been eliminated as of
August 1.
ey cant say it cant be done
because its been done, Harris said.
Its been done here in Newfoundland
and Labrador.
In a presentation to students and
the media last week, Harris said
he estimates the move would cost
government about $130 million a year
per percentage of interest.
In the grand scheme of things,
with the budget of the government of
Canada, this is not a huge amount of
money.
Harris says the legislation, if passed,
would be a step in the right direction,
but not a solution to Canadas post-
secondary funding problems.
I would call it one small step,
Harris said. Its something concrete
the federal government can do very
easily.
Canada also needs to develop a
national post-secondary education
strategy and dedicate transfer
payments for post-secondary, he
said.
e Canadian Federation of
Students estimates the national
student debt to be $13 billion, with
$500 million belonging to students
from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Harris hears of working graduates
whose loans are preventing them
from making major life decisions
like having children, getting
married, or buying a home.
Loan debts, said Harris, are
very real barriers to people setting
themselves up in life. A lot of public
policy makers dont really realize
that.
Harris is looking across the country
for support. He wants to stimulate a
national debate about who should bear
the costs of post-secondary education.
FREDERICTON (CUP) Faculty
and sta at Nova Scotia Community
College (NSCC) have voted to go on
strike to obtain the same 2.9 per cent
annual pay increase over two years
that their public school colleagues
received.
e provinces 10,000 public
school teachers signed a contract for
the increase in April. Both groups
are represented by the Nova Scotia
Teachers Union (NSTU).
Unlike public school teachers,
employees of NSCCs thirteen
campuses have been without a
contract for over a year, leading them
to a September 22 strike vote.
Ballots were cast electronically, and
approximately 91 per cent of faculty
members voted. Ninety-three per cent
of those who voted were in favour of
a strike.
Professional support employees,
represented by the same union, voted
in favour of a strike as well. Ninety-
six per cent of these employees voted,
with 90 per cent in favour of the
strike.
e Nova Scotia provincial budget
was released on September 24, and
we were hoping it would include
money for the community college,
says Alexis Allen, president of the
NTSU. ere was no money set
aside for NSCC, though.
Were hoping in the next few days
to hear that well be called in. e
minister [of education, labour and
workforce development, Marilyn
More] wants us to go back to the
table, but there is no table to go back
to because there is no money, Allen
says.
Despite the results of the vote, Gina
Brown, director of Marketing and
Communications for NSCC, says a
strike can still be diverted.
Were ready to sit down and talk.
Were trying to keep working to come
to a mutually acceptable agreement for
all parties. We want to keep working
to avoid [the strike] altogether, says
Brown.
For us its just business as usual.
We understand that people will be
concerned, but I think people are
doing an amazing job at just staying
calm.
Programs and services on NSCC
campuses have not been aected as
of yet.
Allen says NSCC employees could
technically have gone on strike as of
Friday, September 25.
Weve led notice of a strike, she
says. Forty-eight hours after that we
can go.
Allen says that September 28 through
September 30 will be spent teaching
members of NSCCs campuses about
strike protocol, and once that is
done, a date will be set for the strike
if a resolution is not reached by that
point.
Sonja Jensen is president of the
Student Association at NSCCs
Institute of Technology campus in
Halifax. She is in her second and
nal year of the schools electronic
engineering technology program, and
expresses concern that she might not
be able to graduate on time.
I understand why theyre striking,
but itll hurt the students if they go on
strike, she says.
Jensen explains that many NSCC
programs require a certain number
of hours practicing a trade before
students can graduate.
I know for programs like machining
and carpentry, you have to have a
specic amount of hours that you
were in class. If we miss those hours,
how are we going to make them up?
she worries.
eres nothing we can do about it.
Its frustrating that all we can do is
sit back and wait to hear whats going
on.
Allen also expresses concern for the
students at NSCC who are about to
graduate. She says that a strike would
be unfair to them, as it would delay
them from obtaining jobs as quickly
as possible.
Were hoping that he government
will step in. eres no reason to do
this, she says.
It is a travesty to go this far.
He said the federal government has a
much larger role to play.
Post-secondary education should
and must be a greater national
priority than it is. It cannot be left to
the provinces.
OPINIONS
e SACs democratic decit
New SAC policies stie free speech among students and threatens impartiality
e Students Administrative
Council (SAC) elections are always a
complicated aair for me. On the one
hand, the election of our peers from
a student body of roughly only 2200
students is an amazingly personal and
engaging opportunity; on the other
hand, given typical election turnout,
between half and three quarters of
university students disagree with me.
Personally, I believe the SAC to be
a very important part of the student
experience here. I know from rst-
hand experience that a lot of hard
work goes on behind the scenes to
make this organization work for
students. e SACs housing directory
helped me nd the house Im currently
living in, their academic enrichment
programme has helped fund many
of the conferences my friends and I
wouldnt have otherwise attended, and
theyve taken a stand on issues such as
equitable tuition rates. All of this to
say, I have tremendous respect for the
SAC and the role they play.
With this in mind, Im concerned
for the SAC. Given lacklustre voter
turnout and general student apathy,
the SAC is perennially faced with the
task of justifying its relevance to the
student body. For many, the SAC is
at best irrelevant, at worst, an annual
waste of seventy-ve dollars. No issue
better foments this problem than a
Stephen Middleton
Argosy Staff
presidential election.
Take the current bevy of candidates
for example. In as many words, each
of them has stated that if theyre
elected theyll make the SAC work for
students and increase accountability.
ese are lofty ideals; its too bad
theyve been played out in one of
the most acrimonious and personal
electoral campaigns Ive seen in my
four years here as a student.
Over the course of this electoral
campaign Ive had the chance to see
candidates attacked on personal issues,
there have been members of campaign
teams posing questions deliberately
to embarrass opponents, and not least
of all, the current SAC executive have
made no secret of their presidential
favourites.
To be fair, none of these concerns
are against the SAC rules. In a policy
they very recently enacted April of
For many, the SAC is at
best irrelevant, at worst, an
annual waste of seventy-
ve dollars.
last year the SAC has profoundly
changed the way elections are handled
here. One of the most striking changes
is the introduction of campaign
teams. A campaign team is to be
a group of people whose names are
given to the Chief Returning Ocer;
membership on said list entitles one to
actively campaign for their particular
candidate. Barring having your name
on the list, any campaigning for a
candidate is considered a contravention
of the SAC Election Act (SAC
Election Act, Schedule 6.2).
In addition to being a violation of
my fundamental freedom of speech as
guaranteed by the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms, this puzzling piece
of legislation in my eyes takes
something away from the accessibility
of the election. e requirement to
belong to a candidates campaign team
in order to have an electoral opinion
ultimately ensures that people and
popularity, not ideas, will win the day
in this electoral debate.
Further muddying the waters is
the SACs decision to remove the
requirement that SAC executives
cannot actively campaign. Discovering
their electoral hands untied, this years
executive have wasted no time in both
actively promoting and denouncing
their candidates of choice. While
the endorsement of candidates by
elected ocials has a long and storied
tradition in the real world, Im not
convinced its a good idea here. For
better or for worse, this is a small
school that can very quickly become
very personal. Depending on who wins
this presidential election, the SAC
executives will soon nd themselves
in a position where they are required
to form a team that will work to
represent We the Student Body. If the
process of electioneering for their pet
candidate splinters that team, they will
have failed their mandate and failed
the greater student body. Last, but
certainly not least, I hope any of them
who expressed an electoral opinion
remembered to register themselves to
a campaign team.
In the end, a SAC election is
about giving students the chance to
determine for themselves who they
would like to be their voice. For the
SAC, there is no more important
opportunity than this.
In changing the rules of the election,
the SAC council has silenced the voice
of the individual student and given a
megaphone to those who should best
remain neutral.
Most of us have been in that terrible
situation where youre in a room
full of people you dont know. Not
one familiar face to be found. If you
havent experienced such an awkward
predicament, youre either a liar or
incredibly lucky. Either way, most rst-
years experience the terror of meeting
new people, desperately, and fervently
trying to attain new friendships that
will supposedly last a lifetime.
Moving across the country to
a school not one of my friends
had heard of, let alone considered
attending, I was placed in such an
environment. Of course, I had met
various people via Facebook (which
just increases the awkward factor. Its
rather embarrassing to glance around
the room and spot the people youve
been Facebook stalking for a few
weeks prior). For the most part, I was
completely on my own, forced into the
very social situation that irks me to the
nth degree: meeting new people.
During our rst few weeks here at
Mount A, I devised a sort of rule-
book for meeting new people and
potential friends. It consisted of
various questions and techniques
planned out in my head, all of which I
would follow upon meeting a similarly
awkward person, who appeared to be
desperate for the same kind of social
interaction.
Step 1: Begin with Hi Im ___
*insert name here*____ whats your
name?
Crucial aspect: Said person must
be accessible. If he or she is in a large
group and is seemingly ignoring you,
look away. Utilize your cell phone
by pretending to check something
or send a random text message to
eliminate awkward lingering. Pretend
to look around for another person.
Better yet, pretend you are waiting for
a friend. Twist your hair nervously, bite
your lip, and/or just pretend to be o
in your own little world. Chances are,
most people around you will be doing
the same.
Best-case scenario: talk to another
lonesome individual like yourself.
Step 2: Once they reply appropriately
(hopefully stating their name),
memorize it. Its terribly embarrassing
to forget the persons name a few mere
seconds after having met them.
Step 3: en add, Nice to meet you
with a lovely smile.
Step 4: Ask the basic questions,
retaliating appropriately with the
inevitable question, what about
you?:
1) What year are they in?
2) Where are they living?
3) Where are they from?
4) What are they studying?
5) What classes are they taking?
Step 5: Last but not least, expand.
Do they like their residence? Why did
they choose Mount A? Which class
do they least enjoy? Have they found
their meal hall crush?
I have had at least 100 of these exact
conversations already. It is getting to
be quite tedious, yet very successful.
Freshmans survival guide to meet-
ing new people
Kate Paterson
Argosy Contributor
Got something to say?
Write Op-Ed argosy@mta.ca
Internet Photo/About
8 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY OPINIONS
What is one of the best kept secrets in Sackville?
Catherine Lapointe
e broken bridge. I
think there are a few
people who know about
it. For the people who
dont it is worth seeing
especially at night.
(Located at the very
end of Bridge st., cul-
de-sac)
Lauren Ledwell
I would say the extension
of the Waterfowl Park,
on the other side of
the highway, and Mels
cheeseburgers.
Danielle Leroux
is summer my
friends and I walked
down to Silver Lake.
Along the way there
are many abandoned
buildings including
an old school house.
When we went a local
came and taught us
some history about the
building.
Domenic Watson-Wall
Everybody should check
out a concert at the
Sackville Music Hall on
Bridge st. (e Yellow
door and a few feet down
from the Bridge Street
Caf)
Tom Cushnie:
All the rooftops
in Sackville are
easily accessible and
enjoyed!
Valeska Mengert
I would have to say
Sushi on Tuesdays at
the Cackling Goose
and Alipers Hearth.
e shitake mushroom
sushi is very good.
(Buisness across from
Convocation Hall)
Photos by Jessica Emin
It is incredible the support that Mount
Allison rugby receives every fall. As
a club team, to be recognized and
promoted within the Mount Allison
community is hugely rewarding.
Unfortunately, sometimes in the eort
to assist our cause, our relationship with
the school, athletic funding and other
athletes becomes misunderstood. I
cannot speak on behalf of the other 70
members of the Mount Allison RFC, I
can only reect and comment on what
I know for certain. We receive a great
amount of funding from the athletic
department each year, paying for much
of our transportation, referees and a
multiple of other things, and we are far
from neglected nancially. Honestly,
we could not compete without the
time, money and eort put forth by
the athletic department each year, and
for that we are grateful.
In regards to the cartoon put
forth into this years rst Argosy,
one depicting a comparison between
the rugby and football teams, I must
admit I laughed. It is always nice to
be recognized as a winning team, and
have appreciation within the student
body. However, as with any witty
comment, it often doesnt depict the
complete story. e football team has
been some of our biggest supporters
as long as I have been here. Attending
our games, donating to our fundraisers
and at times supplying some of our
Dear Editor,
Tall Angry Blonde
Youre always wearing your
headphones and a pissed o face.
Im not sure if youre always angry
or if thats just the way your face
looks. Maybe I can give you a hug
sometime.
Eco Hottie
You love turning the lights out and
conserving heat. Maybe we can
snuggle up together over a mug of
fair trade organic shade-grown coee
and talk about David Suzuki.
Stephen Lewis Questioner
You asked the question that I wish I
was brave enough to ask. anks for
having the courage to get up there.
Funky Rain Boots
I loved watching you walk down the
street puddle jumping during the
rain. You looked like you were having
so much fun and it totally made my
day. anks for reminding me that
its OK to act like a kid sometimes.
Lab Partner
anks for helping me out the other
day. I was in such a tizzy and you
really calmed me down. I couldnt
ask for a better lab partner.
Pub Savior
I was way too drunk at the Pub the
other night and you saved me with
the glass of water. I would have had
a terrible morning without that.
Maybe next time I can buy you a
drink to say thanks.
Boy on Crutches
I honestly thought you were someone
else. Im sorry you broke your leg and
I hope youre feeling better soon!
best players, we hold nothing against
them and hope they feel the same.
Both teams understand how dicult
it is to build a team up from a small
undergraduate school that cycles
students through on a four (or in some
cases ve) year program. Although the
cartoon was intended to advocate the
recent success of club rugby, the two
programs are incomparable, and it is
thoughtless to mock the hard work of
a team that has supported us so much
in previous years. So thank you to the
anonymous artist, but your illustration
does not reect the collective opinion
of the Mount Allison RFC.
Sincerely,
Samantha Wolfe
Ian Crowford
Missed@MTA
Send us your stories,
Connect with your Meal Hall crush,
shout out to your favorite stranger,
rant about the guy who never turns
o his cell!
If you think one of the stories might
be about you, send us an email at
missed@mta.ca and well put you in
touch!
9 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY OPINIONS
When American President Barack
Obama nished his inspiring and
rousing speech to the UN General
Assembly, I thought to myself, who
could possibly follow this act? Well,
I wasnt disappointed. e leader
of Libya, Colonel Gadda, spoke
to the General Assembly for about
100 minutes. But while CNN has
sanctimoniously called Libyas leader
Gadda Duck, and the National Post
refers to his speech as a long rant,
what can we take from it, if anything
at all?
Gadda was skeptical that the
UN Charter ensured the equality
of member states. He said that the
states that we thought would repel
aggression to protect peoples turned
out to the ones that used aggressive
force while enjoying the veto. Is this
statement ludicrous or irresponsible?
I dont think so he cited cases like
Grenada, Vietnam, and Iraq. As we
saw with Iraq, the US used the UN as
a vessel of invasion and abandoned it
when the UN resisted.
Gadda was also critical of the
UN Security Council. He viewed
the nuclear criteria for the Security
Council as irresponsible. is is when
Gadda made his controversial remark
that equated the Security Council to a
terrorist council. So what is Gaddas
solution? Re-evaluate the composition
of the entire Security Council so that
it reects the entire world rather than
the worlds nuclear club. He suggested
permanent seats for the EU, ASEAN,
African Union, Latin American
Union, and a Forum for Small States.
Interestingly enough, Gadda also
recommended that the US and Russia
maintain their seats on the council.
Gadda called for inquiries into
some of the sixty-ve wars which
have broken out since the UN was
established more than sixty years ago.
He went on to say it proved that its
founding principles had been betrayed.
To strengthen his point, he slightly
ripped the UN Charter and later threw
it on the oor. He went on, Firstly
the invasion of Iraq itself is a violation
of the charter. It is unjustied. Iraq is
an independent state and member of
the general assembly. Why should it
be invaded? Where was the charter?
I think that if countries are a part of
the UN, then they accept the charter
unconditionally. And yet, there were
no repercussions for the US and UK
who sit on the Security Council and
went to war illegally.
One should always remember that
the media will pick up on the juicier
stories surrounding Gaddas speech.
And while Im not ignorant to the
fact Gadda talked about jet lag, the
JFK assassination, and compensation
for Africa totaling $77.7 trillion, he
made some valid points and reasonable
suggestions. I believe that his ideas
about reforming the Security Council
and the veto powers of these states
should be taken very seriously.
Gaddas speech caused some
rebuke, some applause, and some
to leave the general assembly. But
at least this is a reaction! Its time
that the UN change its institutions
to reect the changing groups and
societies in the world. Inaction has
been a characteristic of the UN far too
long and it risks total irrelevance at a
time when it could be most relevant.
Gadda gets the last word: Terrorism
is not only the terrorism of Al-Qaeda,
the status quo is terrorism.
Gadda made a point or two
John Brannen
Argosy Contributor
Do of the Week...
Fashion at Mt. A
Name: Gregory Pike
Program: Major in English, Minor in Math
Tell us about what youre wearing: Im wearing boat shoes
which I bought this summer specically for the purpose of
not wearing so many socks. e hat is a Cleveland Indians
hat. I am also a fan of the Washington Redskins and the
Blackhawks. All else was picked up o the oor of my
room. I have two mountains of clothing and sometimes I
forget which one is clean and which on is dirty.
Who or what inuences your style?: I have no inuences
that I can think of but I admire the look of crusty punks
and bikers from the 70s. e two [styles] I dont like on
campus are how people adopt a slumber party aesthetic of
wearing sweatpants, that and the hippies.
On the evening of September 7, I was
sitting in Convocation Hall, innocently
listening to an amazing inspirational
speaker, Drew Dudley. When the
man nished his moving speech, I felt
uplifted as I walked out into the lobby.
is feeling soon evaporated as I saw
a Bigelow exec, standing in the lobby
screaming for all Bigelownians to meet
another exec directly outside the hall.
As some of us attempt to ee, we are all
caught outside in a herd of rst years,
awaiting an interesting, unforgettable
night. Once we are all gathered
outside, two execs lead us frosh back
to residence, with megaphones blaring,
ordering us to cheer our loudest the
whole walk back.
As soon as we turn the corner onto
Bigelow turf, we are ambushed with
execs and upper class men armed with
water guns. Someone in the chaos is
screaming that we have ve minutes
to change into clothes we will never
wear again. We all run frantically to
our rooms to change. inking of
clothes I could sacrice, I put on a pair
of shorts and a t-shirt, not thinking
about the wind-chill in Sackville at 9
pm in September. About two minutes
later, people are running through
my hallway rushing us outside. I am
warned not to wear shoes so, foolishly,
I go barefoot. Walking through the
doors I am met with a rush of ice cold
wind, but thats nothing compared to
the cold I am about to feel.
I look in front of me at the ock of
freshman doing jumping jacks on the
hill in front of our residence. I join
them. At rst I hide somewhere in the
back as the front row is getting soaked
with water among other liquids, being
shot from water-guns, hoses, and just
dumped on from buckets. I soon realize
that this night could go one of two
ways, I could sit in the back and mope
as these ridiculous people who are
for the most part only one year older
than myself - scream orders at me, or
I could get even. I decide to jump in
front and scream Is that all youve
got?! is quickly grabs the attention
of an upperclassman with a hose, so I
become the object of humiliation and
entertainment.
Directly following the jumping
jacks, we are forced to scream Bigelow
cheers at the top of our lungs, while
our president explains the rules of an
obstacle course. We pair up, and get in
line for an adventure. e rst stop is a
bucket, which we are told is lled with
rocks and shells, where we have to nd
a die. I found it peculiar that we never
found the die, and was later told by an
upperclassman that there was no die,
only green dye meant to dye our hands
green. Luckily that plan failed. Next
stop was a trivia station. Whichever
partner answered the question correctly
got to pour a cup of apple juice on the
others head. Unfortunately, I was a
little late screaming the colours of our
house, green and black, so I can now
say I know what it feels like to have
hair soaked in la jus de pomme. Next
is my personal favourite, a kiddie pool
lled with no less than water, pasta,
dog food, and coee grinds. Each
partner is told to locate three small
plastic dinosaurs. I only ever found
one but fortunately my partner pulled
us through again.
e last event was the slip-n-slide,
although this was no regular slip-n-
slide. We slid across a plastic canvas
covered in honey, syrup, and fruit
punch; the second we stood up we
had feathers thrown on us. After the
obstacle course was completed, we
were made to stand on a hill waiting
for the rest of frosh to complete their
tasks, all the while chanting Bigelow
cheers of course. is is when the
upperclassmen take joy in spraying us
with apple juice, fruit punch, honey,
and other wonderful liquids. One of
them came up to the frosh and asked,
How long have you been here frosh?!
and my initial reaction in revenge was,
Not long enough! I quickly realized
this wasnt the best response as I was
immediately put on some sort of frosh
hit-list, but I hid myself well among
the other feather-covered freshman.
After taking the Bigelow oath, we
were all accepted as true Bigelownians,
and it was well worth the ght.
I know that the process of initiation
is controversial, because it can be a bit
intense. But I think that initiation is
an activity that really brings the house
together! I know that when I came
back into Bigelow covered in honey
and who knows what else and I saw
girls hiding in the bathroom, I felt so
terrible for them. Not because they
wouldnt have to take an hour long
shower to rid themselves of the remains
of initiation, but because it really
helped the house bond. It really made
me feel like I was a part of something,
and that I had earned the privilege to
be there. So for anyone who missed
out on their initiation, jump in on next
years because I guarantee it will be an
experience you will never forget!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Boyce
Some thoughts on initiation...
Internet Photo/Henry Jackson Society
10 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY OPINIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CLASSIFIEDS
ursday, September 31
7:00 PM e Study of Humour
Wu Centre
What makes humour funny?
Dr. Taylor will discuss what
representations oanguage can teach
us about the structure of humour, and
how computationalstudies can give us
insight into something quintessentially
human. e talkwill introduce humour
as an interdisciplinary research eld,
mature in somedisciplines, and wide
open in others. e talk will then
address humour fromthe articial
intelligence perspective, discussing the
meaning-based approachto humour
in text, diculties of computational
detection of humour, and describing
some approaches to humour
recognition. Contact: Andrew
Hamilton-Wright, (506) 364 2539,
ahamiltonwright@mta.ca
7:00 PM Mysterious China: Opening
Exhibit
Avard Dixon G12
Hosted by Ron Byrne, Dr. Owen
Griths, and the Chinese Student
Association. Followed by a showing
of Wild China from 8:00 10:00 PM.
Contact: Yazhe Jing(Vera), yjing@
mta.ca
Friday, October 1
7:00 PM Relay for Life
Mt. A Academic Quad
e Canadian Cancer Societys 7th
annual Relay for Life in Sackville,
NB. Be part of the 12 hour Relay that
is helping to make cancer history! For
more information visit: www.cancer.ca
Contact: Deanne Tucker:
dntucker@mta.ca
7:00 PM Mountie Head Shave
Mt. A Academic Quad
Football players will shave their
heads to raise money for the Canadian
CancerSociety and Relay for Life.
You can give pledges in Gracies Cafe
or JenningsHall at meal times from
September 14-18, or on the night of.
Sponsor a certainplayer and come out
to the event to see the results! Contact:
Lindsey Cox, ljcox@mta.ca
7:00 PM Vespers
University Chapel
A non-denominational service of
worship in music and spoken and the
spoken word open to the campus and
community.
Monday, October 4
7:30 PM Cinema Politica
Avard Dixon G12
Film Screening of King Corn, a
feature documentary about two friends,
one acre of corn and the subsidized
crop that drives their fast-food nation.
When they try to follow their pile
of corn into the food system, what
they nd raises troubling questions
about how we eat and how we farm.
Contact: Sarah, 364-3200, skardash@
mta.ca
Tuesday, October 5
4:00 PM Canada Council Author
Reading Tamas Dobozy
Owens Gallery
Award-winning short story
writer Tamas Dobozy reads from
his collection and from new work.
Everyone welcome. Contact: Christl
Verduyn cverduyn@mta.ca
7:00 PM - e Hero in the Garden
Crake Lectures 2009-2010
Owens Gallery Second Floor
Professor Kampen will examine an
unusual portrait of a young boy that
was discovered in the garden of the
grand villa at Oplontis, not far from
Pompeii. She is interested to know
whether we can better understand
his appearance and placement in the
garden through the classical concept
of the hero and will argue that the
relationship between Greek and
Roman artistic and cultural ideas
underlies what could be seen as a case
study in creative reinterpretation.
Wednesday, October 6
7:30 PM Artists Talk, Terrance Houle
Owens Art Gallery
Calgary-based First Nations artist
Terrance Houle will give a talk at
the Owens about his art practice.
Houle works in many media and deals
primarily with issues of stereotyping
and cultural identity. All are welcome
to attend.
Contact: Sara Williamson, 364-2574,
sewilliamson@mta.ca
8:00 PM Juan Martin, Flamenco
Guitar
Brunton Auditorium
Celebrated amenco guitar virtuoso
Juan Martn will perform with a
singer and dancer for an unforgettable
evening of Spanish music at its best.
Contact: Margaret Ann Craig, 364-
2662 (voice mail only), performarts@
mta.ca
I am a hesitant donor. When it comes
to donating blood, I often hesitate as
I consider whether I am willing to
hold o on another piercing or tattoo.
During clothing drives, I am never
quite sure if I want to let go of that
sweater that hasnt seen daylight in
a year, but is endearing nonetheless.
I tend not to put much weight in
televised charity promotions, as I am
never quite sure where my money
would be going.
It is not that I do not like donating
these things. In fact, I nd myself a
great deal happier after these acts.
However, my hesitation remains. Call
it societal-borne cynicism or personal
paranoia, but I am hesitant to give
when our world has made a game out
of taking.
Ill unapologetically admit that
when I do manage to nd a cause I am
comfortable with, I enjoy the thought
that I am helping out humanity in
my own small way. is week, I was
confronted with the suggestion that I
am not in fact helping, or at least not
enough.
e morning after Stephen Lewis
delivered his speech to a lled
Convocation Hall, one of my professors
spent the majority of our class time
speaking about our responsibility as
students to donate. While my personal
opinion on whether my professor
was right in expressing her views
during our class time (admittedly she
linked Lewis speech intelligently and
thoughtfully to our study material), I
nd myself questioning the intention
of donating to a better cause.
Do we have a responsibility to
donate? Are we choosing to donate
based on reasons we discern to be
right? Or do we simply follow the
guidelines of a right life as set out by
those around us?
is dilemma also presents itself
when I consider the amount of
humanitarian organizations on campus.
Are students joining because they truly
believe in the cause represented by the
group, or are they simply looking for
another line on their rsum? I would
optimistically like to believe that all
students at Mount Allison join these
groups for the right reasons. In any
case I am not sure the reason because
its the right thing to do suces any
longer.
I think the other dilemma raised
can be best posed as the question:
how much is too much? I know some
will be outraged outright and demand
that there is never such a thing as too
much. In some ways I agree. I believe
there can never be enough open-
minded and compassionate people
in the world who are willing to act
on the behalf of and for the better of
others. I do, however, question the act
of pushing too much.
e number of student chapters of
humanitarian organizations on campus
can be startling at times. e eorts of
the students and community members
of Mt. A and Sackville are phenomenal
and at the same time frustrating.
Going back for a moment to the
suggestions my professor gave my
classmates and I earlier this week,
I nd myself struggling. After that
class, I felt shamed and inadequate.
I recognize this was more than likely
not the intent of my professor, but I
think that it is a hazard of such talks.
My professor even admitted to feeling
similarly after Lewis nished his talk.
is is a sad development that I
Globally aware, charitably responsible?
think has sprung up in response to
the general past unresponsive nature
of humanity. Despite having known
about global warming for years, we
are now running around heralding
the end of the world. Poverty and
unacceptable living conditions have
been a permanent xture of humanity,
and yet now it is a state of emergency.
Extremism exists in every facet of
human society. Is the way to a better
society really to shame each other for
not doing enough? Should we be
shamed however publicly or privately
for not giving enough? After all,
what is enough? Because I choose to
primarily donate to local causes on a
very irregular basis, does that mean
I am in some way inadequate in the
global community?
Primarily I believe that the decision
to donate, whether it is in the form of
time, money, or materials, should be
Julie Stephenson
Argosy Staff
made because a person feels it is both
necessary and important.
I abhor any tactics that shove
causes in peoples faces, emphasize the
extremes, and demand action from all.
I do not believe in the phrase simple
donation. Have we now come to a
point in humanitarian action where we
will take anything we can get?
I hope not. I also hope that is not
a feeling people walked away from
Lewis speech with. In fact, I hope
people will think more critically about
their decisions and places in the global
community before they act. It would be
devastating to watch a world just throw
their cash in the global bucket without
thinking rst. As Lewis said, it is all
about sucient awareness, a sucient
consciousness. Just remember that
the thought applies to each side, every
extreme, and all people.
Internet Photo/Flying Hall School
The Students Administrative
Council
Vote at www.tdpumpitup.
com.
e school in our region
(East: QC, NB, NS, PE,
NL) with the highest
percentage of votes will be
the winning school!
Want Mount Allison to win a
free concert with K-OS, Girl
Talk, and the Stills?
Upcoming Events & Reminders
S.A.C. Fact
Contact Us
Email: sac@mta.ca
Phone: (506)-364-2231
Location: 1st Floor of the Wallace
McCain Student Centre
2IFHKRXUV: 8:30am - 4:30pm week-
days.
e S.A.C. is getting a new, completely
redesigned website! !! A lot of hard
work has been put into evaluating our
old website and creating a new one that
will serve students in the best possible
way. We focused on such aspects as: ease
of use, organization, presentation, and
environmental considerations many
of our forms will now be able to be
submitted online to avoid paper waste.
Stay tuned for a brand new, revamped
S.A.C. Website!
Positions on S.A.C.
We are looking for a Judicial Ombudsperson
and students are still needed for the following
committees and task forces: Accessibility
Aairs, Appointment and Recruitment,
Athletic Aairs, Entertainment, External
Aairs, O-Campus Aairs, P.A.R.T.Y.
(Promoting Alcohol Responsibility rough
You), University Judicial Committee, Budget
Advisory, Gil Latter Memorial Award, Gold
A Awards, Je Skip Frasier Memorial
Scholarship
Please pick up your money and unsold books
from the Used Book Sale in the SAC oce.
Clubs & Societies Constitution
Forms
Due TODAY, ursday September 30th in the
SAC Oce. Every year, every club or society
must submit an updated constitution.
Mounties Rugby
Mt.A. vs. NSAC, Friday October 2nd,Women
at 7:00pm and Men at 8:30pm, Park Street
Field.
Relay for Life
is Friday October 2nd from 7pm to 7am. To
form a team or get more information contact
Deanne Tucker at dntucker@mta.a. If you are
not already involved in some way, please come
out Friday to support the Fight Against Cancer
there will be opportunity to make donations
to the Canadian Cancer Society, activities, and
live entertainment!!
SAC Entertainment Presents
Hawksley Workman with Jenn Grant, Friday
October 2th Brunton Auditorium, Doors
7:30pm, ALL AGES WELCOME!! Tickets
$25, available at: SAC ocem, Duckys and
under & Lightning Ltd.
First things first, not all
landlords are the scum of
the Earth (arguably) but they
also should not be treated as
your friend, your relation-
ship with your landlord is a
business relationship. The
unfortunate state of rent-
ing in Sackville sees large
numbers of students living
in sub-standard housing.
This includes students liv-
ing in bedrooms with no
windows, students living in
dwellings that have mold or
dont have proper heating to
name a few issues encoun-
tered by Mount A students
renting off-campus. Educat-
ing yourself is the best tool
in protecting yourself from
being taken advantage of.
Sackville landlords: scum of the earth?
A good place to start is the
Rentalsmans website at
http://snb.ca/irent/
Next you can stop by the
SAC office and pick up a
housing checklist. These are
very similar to the check-
lists you fill out with an RA
when you move into resi-
dence. This is a good exer-
cise to go over your house
or apartment and ensure
everything is in working
order.
A final piece of advice
is, DONT RUSH INTO
A LEASE. Dont let your
landlord pressure you into
signing a lease before youre
comfortable, dont sign a
lease with people you are
unsure of whether you want
to live with or not. There
are plenty of places to live
in Sackville, and it is more
important to be comfortable
with the landlord, room-
mates, and dwelling you
will spend at least 8 months
in than to have decided
where to live a year in ad-
vance.
As the VP of External
Affairs for the SAC it is my
duty to help students with
navigating some of the com-
plexities of renting in Sack-
ville. Feel free to stop by the
office any time to discuss
off-campus housing issues,
the Rentalsman, leases,
dealing with landlords, and
all that fun stuff.
In addition, of the students
who voted for the winning
school, 3 names will be
drawn to win the VIP
Experience for themselves
and 3 friends (12 students
in total).
Contest closes ursday
October 8th, 2009.
See full contest details at
www.tdpumpitup.com.
e SAC wants to say thank you
to Mike Currie for his extended
service to the students of Mount
Allison during his 4 years at this
institution.
HEYOOOO!!!
One Final
HUMOUR
Campus
Balderdash!
We nd the obscure word, and you
supply the meaning. One of these is the
correct denition, and the rest are made
up by your fellow classmates. Can you
tell which ones right and which ones
balderdash??
Top Ten Ways To
Meet New People
Lindsay Laltoo
10. Pull the re alarm in rez so
everyone is forced to mingle outdoors
on the lawn. Even if you dont make
any new friends, youll at least get to
check out the local reghting crew.
9. Raid the laundry room and drape
stolen undergarments on trees outside.
When people come looking for their
intimates, strike up a conversation!
(OMG I have the same thong as you
LOL!)
8. Deposit yourself in the lost and
found and wait.
7. Bring delicious home baked cookies
to lab laced with addictive substances
to build attachments.
6. Advertise a get-together with cheese
and crackers at your place. Substitute
get-together with intimate Kanye
West and Taylor Swift duet and
cheese and crackers with free beer
for maximum response.
5. Go to the library and pretend you
dont know how to use a computer
to garner quick and speedy aid. Try
jabbing the mouse at the screen
aggressively and whimpering
incoherently.
4. Spread your hand with Super Glue
and start high-ving people.
3. Pose as an international student with
shaky English skills so you can get
paired up with a tutor for the rest of
the year (we and you be good friends
ya?).
2. Contract H1N1 and spread it to
the rest of your dorm so you can be
in quarantine together (like a giant
sleepover with face masks!).
1. Write for Humour and Ill bake you
brownies (substance free!).
Stressed to Impress by Lindsay Laltoo
Erik Fraser
Argosy InAction by Lindsay Laltoo
e Word: Zugzwang
i. the term used to describe a
bumblebees haphazard ight patterns
ii. a dialect spoken in Ghana
iii. a really shitty chess move
iv. the highest scoring word
possible in Scrabble
Answer: iii. Describing a situation in a
chess game where a player is forced to
make an undesirable move, as in With
no other options, my opponent had
cornered me in a zugzwang, that bitch.
Argosys Weekly Essay
Writing Tip
The purpose of writ-
ing is to inflate weak
ideas, obscure pure
reasoning, and inhibit
clarity. With a little
pratice, writing can be
an intimidating and
impenetrable fog!
- Calvin and Hobbes
13 THE ARGOSY HUMOUR OCTOBER 1, 2009
Moncton
6:45am Wake up. Realize youre
already running late.
7:01am Skip the shower, opting
instead for liberal use of the deodorant
and a hat to hide greasy hair.
7:02am Note to self: buy stronger
deodorant.
7:05am No time for a complete
breakfast, so you fashion a quick
breakfast wrap using last nights pizza
and a few spoonfuls of beef casserole.
7:10am Get into your car and start
the engine. ree warning lights ash
on the dash and an incessant ping
sounds. Search the car frantically for
the source.
7:12am Close the gas door. Get back
into the car and turn it on. e gas light
ickers.
7:13am Drive across town to pick up
your carpool buddy. Text them to let
them know youll be there in 5.
7:20am Idle your car outside your
carpool buddys house. Rev the engine
to passively alert them of your presence
before beeping the horn.
7:24am Receive the text OMG
rnnin l8. br out! ttys. Fume silently.
7:36am Carpool buddy emerges,
immaculately dressed and smelling
like a fermented rosebush. Begins
chattering nonstop about how shes
late because her boyfriend slept over
and then commences describing all the
various positions he slept over in.
7:37am Grope frantically for noise-
canceling radio on dash. Nothing is on
but the Jonas Brothers, French hip hop,
and someone on the CBC discussing
tea. Weigh your options and crank up
the tea talk.
7:42am Sit in trac that has
come to a standstill as a road crew
does construction. Eight men in
hardhats mill about sipping coee and
chatting as one guy steers a backhoe
absentmindedly along a lane closed to
trac. Another bored looking women
holds a stop sign and talks on her cell
phone. Carpool buddy bemoans how
lucky she is to work with so many cute
guys.
7:58am Finally get on the highway.
Carpool buddy asks to stop for a latte.
Remind her you have a class in 30
minutes and you wouldve had time
to stop for coee if somebody wasnt
running so late.
8:01am Carpool buddy gets on her
cell phone with her boyfriend and
describes what a bitch her carpool
driver is being.
Sackville
8:25am Drop carpool buddy o in
front of the McCain Building. Remind
her she owes you gas money. She oh
wow, completely and totally forgot
about that, ha ha ha, how silly of her,
but you know she doesnt have her
wallet on her and its like ok if she gets
the money to you tomorrow right?
8:26am Carpool buddy disappears
into a sea of students.
8:27am Park car by the football eld
and bolt to class in Flemington. All
the good seats are taken, and youre left
in the back row beside the kid with
asthma who wheezes with every breath.
8:28am Wheeeeze. Wheeeeze.
Wheeeeze.
9:21am Class ends; realize you forgot
the assignment thats due in your next
at home. Panic descends.
9:25am Call your roommate at home,
who after 48 rings answers in a less
than chipper tone. Oer to do their
laundry for the next month if they can
scan and email your assignment to you
in the next 5 minutes.
9:28am Rush to the library and
distract a frosh with a candy bar so
you can steal the computer theyre on.
Download and print your assignment.
Run to class.
9:32am All the good seats are taken,
but at least you have your assignment.
Pass it in to the prof. Prof glances at it,
and asks why you submitting a picture
of someones face contorted and pressed
against the page.
9:33am Note to self: Burn
roommates clothes.
In Class
4:19pm Your last lab of the day ends.
Stomach growls. Your lab partner
complains about having to walk all
the way home for supper. Try to
sympathize with their plight, as the
apartments by the pharmacy are at least
a 4 minute walk away.
4:20pm Stomach groans in agony.
Ignore it and head to the library to redo
todays assignment so you wont lose as
many marks.
7:47pm Finish assignment. Eyes
are starting to twitch. Stomach has
resorted to eating your intestine. Dont
bother texting carpool buddy, just head
to your car.
7:53pm Your car windshield is
sporting a new horizontal crack. On
the eld, a couple football players
glance over innocently, and then resume
throwing passes to one another.
7:55pm- Get into your car and start
the engine. Gas needle rests on E. Coax
your car into the nearest gas station and
ll it with the entire contents of your
wallet $11.53.
8:01pm Debate sleeping in your
car in the parking lot to save gas.
However the lack of edible products in
your backseat and your penniless self
convinces you to drive home to supper.
8:02pm Get on the highway. Its
completely dark. Your headlights
appear to be weakening. Try to forget
how many drivers are killed or injured
by moose wandering onto the highway
at night annually.
8:05pm Its 700.
Moncton
8:56pm Arrive at home. You
head immediately for the kitchen.
Roommate has conveniently cleared
out the fridge and disappeared for the
night. You crack open a can of tuna and
pair it with a healthy dose of ketchup.
9:22pm Fall asleep at the kitchen
counter.
12:01am Roommate comes home
and nds you asleep in the kitchen.
oughtfully drapes a blanket over
your slouched form, and then draws a
mustache on your face in permanent
ink.
6:43am You wake up, bleary-eyed. As
things come into focus you look at your
watch. Youre late. Again.
Stressed to
Impress
(continued)
by Lindsay
Laltoo
Tales of a Commuting
Student
Jane MacBeath
FEATURES
Yanggang (Guy): Since the year
of 2008, the Chinese government
scheduled three more traditional
festivals, the Qingming, the Duanwu
(Dragon Boat Festival), and the
Mid-autumn, as national holidays.
Before that, Spring Festival (equally
important as Christmas in Canada)
was the only Chinese traditional
festival that is also an ocial holiday.
It is believed that this will allowed the
public to use the holiday for a variety
of festival activities, and draw more
attention to the traditional festivals,
which is a key symbol of our culture.
Sounds like a good idea, right?
Jin (Michael): Actually, it doesnt
go quite as we have expected. For
example: talking about these festivals,
what comes up in your mind rst?
Lets say, Mid-autumn Festival.
Guy: Mooncakes.
Michael: How about the Duanwu
Festival?
Guy: I would say Tzung Tzu (a
dumpling made of sticky rice with
stung in it, wrapped with Bamboo
leaves.).
Michael: Well, this condition
is actually very common in our
generation now. We Chinese youth
are slowly forgetting the true
meaning behind the festivals. With
most traditional festivals, the rst
thing that comes up to mind is the
traditional food that comes with it.
Guy: It is true that most traditional
festivals have sometimes now evolved
into an excuse of having a big meal.
I think this is because of our lack
of experiences in tradition, since
the older people tend to have more
attention to tradition in this case. I
still remember when my grandma told
me the story of the Duanwu festival,
which commemorates the famous
historical poet and patriot, Qu Yuan,
who gave up his life as his country was
falling.
Michael: I can still tell the stories
and legends for the origin of all these
festivals; however, the tradition does
not play such an important role in
the celebrations now. Although there
are some people trying to organize
traditional ways of celebration,
most people still celebrate either
the Duanwu or the Mid-autumn by
using the holiday to travel, to have
a big meal (aka the Chinese way to
party), or even just catch up on their
sleep. ere must be a reason that
food could still be so popular, as a
traditional part.
Guy: I guess just because it is
easily accessible. You can buy a Tzung
Tzu easily when you are in China, if
you have the time and brought the
materials, you can even make it on your
own; but its harder to go a the nearby
river and do a traditional dragon boat
competition. It takes much more time
than the Tzung Tzu. Now we are back
to the original question about the
holidays. ough the holidays are not
spent on traditional celebrations for
some people, they bring possibilities.
Since people are worrying about
losing our traditions in the faster
pace of modern days, we can still pick
them back if we can get spare time
for them. Holidays may be a good
attempt in this aspect.
Yanggang Chen and Jin
Zhen
Argosy Contributors
International
Insights
Frames of reference
Iran and the real crisis facing the West
Taking sides when one is talking about
nuclear weapons is inevitable. When
discussing something that has often
optimized the political and military
zero-sum game, its dicult to not
develop an opinion. But its equally
dicult, unsurprisingly, to remain
neutral enough, long enough, to
develop an informed opinion.
When it comes down to a question
of whose missiles will ultimately
be coming at me, having perfect
information sometimes becomes a
moot point.
is seems to be the circumstance
were arriving at now with the
announcement of a second, secret
Iranian enrichment plant.
e leaders of the U.S., U.K., and
France took time away from their
congratulatory speeches at the UN
General Assembly to announce this
shocking realization. In an awkwardly
-- yet purposefully -- inexpressive
address, the three leaders took their
turns expressing the severity of the
situation.
Ever since, talk has surrounded how
Iran will respond, and just how painted
into a corner President Ahmadinejad
has become. e test launch of a long-
range missile by Iran was seen by many
to be the case-closing example of just
how dangerous and malicious the
intentions of Iran are.
Already CNN, as well as many
analysts, have dubbed this the Cuban
Missile Crisis for Obama.
Disregarding the irresponsible
attempt to parallel the closest we got
to a nuclear shooting war to the current
situation of political sanction talk,
this emphasizes the speed at which
sides can be taken, and intellectual or
military fronts can be drawn.
e line in the sand, as Gordon
Brown put it, has been drawn around
Iran opening up all its nuclear facilities
to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) now, or face heavier
sanctions. Whether China and Russia
will go along with this is what people
are talking about; asking who is on
whose side?
But why did Iran have a second
facility in the rst place, and why,
after being put on notice by Barack
Obama, did Iran still go ahead with its
missile test display?
For those on the side saying that Iran
is the new Cuba threat, the answer is
simple. ey say Iran intends to make
good on their anti-Israel statements
and become the second country in the
world to launch a nuclear weapon on a
civilian population.
ere are those that disagree with
not only the analysis of the current
situation, but with the Western
publics notion of Iranian intentions
and policy.
Sasha Van Katwyk
Argosy Staff
For the West to loose ... in
Iraq, Afghanistan, or any
other Western venture in
the Middle East will be
described as a win for Iran
and its allies. From this
perspective, Iran has better
odds of success, without
ever having to re a live
missile or endeavour on
a path towards uranium
enrichment
Mohsen M. Milani, Chair of the
Department of Government and
International Aairs at the University
of South Florida, has a compelling
perspective on Iranian policy that
may shed light on some of the reasons
why Tehran has taken such aggressive
steps.
Milani argues that much of Iranian
policy is based on a defensive strategy,
with the United States being the
primary threat in mind. Much of
the anti-Americanism -- or, really,
opposition to American policy -
- coming from Tehran, he says, is
in response to Western attempts to
contain and isolate it. Furthermore,
Milani contends that ventures to
undermine U.S. and NATO interests
in the region are Tehrans attempt to
display themselves as a substantial
force; the loss of the West is a victory
of Iran.
By this account, it can be argued
that President Ahmadinejads rants of
the Wests demise are not so ridiculous.
For the West to loose -- or be denied
victory -- in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any
other Western venture in the Middle
East will be described as a win for Iran
and its allies. From this perspective,
Iran has better odds of success, without
ever having to re a live missile or
endeavour on a path towards uranium
enrichment.
is is an imperfect perspective,
but one that still has enough merit
to deserve some debate. More
importantly, it gives an indication of
the Iranian position -- one thats more
dicult to see upon taking sides.
Its also a standpoint that forecasts
the potential success of further
sanctions. Sanctions, by denition,
isolate a state and its people. If
Milanis argument is correct and the
last years of Iranian belligerence on
the international stage are out of fear
of isolation and -- as Ahmadinejad
has said -- oppression, then further
sanctions will only worsen relations.
e rm rhetoric of Obama, Brown,
and Sarkozy was reassuring to those
fearing an Iranian nuclear programme,
but it was too easy for the leaders of
Iran to use as their own case-closing
example of how the West wishes to
oppress their nation.
Taking sides always requires the
embrace of one perspective over another.
While holding the mediation ground
may seem like an unappreciation of the
severity of the situation, the crisis that
might be unleashed for taking a stand
too quickly has far graver implications.
e real crises have shown us that
when it becomes a stand-o between
major forces with zero-sum means at
their disposal, taking a denitive side
too early may be the last choice you get
to make without producing casualties.
Internet Source/ AOLcdn
President of Iran, Mahamoud Ahmadinejad
Internet Source/ Iranquest
A light water reactor in the not-secret facility within Iran
15 THE ARGOSY FEATURES OCTOBER 1, 2009
Ingredients:
-1/3 cup of white vinegar
-2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar
-4 cloves of garlic nely diced
-the juice of 1 lime
- tsp paprika
- tsp ground black pepper
- tsp table salt
-5 tbsp of fresh cilantro, diced
-2 tbsp of fresh parsley, diced
-1 tbsp of fresh basil, diced
- cup of pickled banana peppers
- cup of pickled sweet red pepper
- cup of diced onion
-1 medium size yellow pepper, copped
-5 large tomatoes cut into small cubes
or pieces
ree Pepper & Herb Salsa
Cooking with Jess
Jessica Emin
Argosy Staff
rough Stained Glass
Rev. John C. Perkin
University Chaplain
is week, a guest writer, Dodie
Perkin, oers some reections on
sound and spirituality, both as a
description of her own experiences
and also as an encouragement to
explore the ways in which we hear
the world around us, and through
hearing dierently, to nurture a sense
of the sacred wherever we might be.
As a highly visual people, we often
reference perspectives on life as being
visually oriented (seeing the world
through rose-coloured glasses), and I
generally write about my perspective
of the world as one seen through
stained glass; this week, the challenge
is not about seeing, but about hearing
dierently, and listening not only to
the world around, but to the presence
of the sacred in the world.
_______________________
Recently, a friend was complaining
that young people seem to be unable
to go anywhere without being plugged
into their iPods. In order to start even
a basic conversation, you have to wait
for whoever you were addressing rst
to notice you and then to take out
their ear buds. is trend eectively
eliminates the casual hello unless
people are looking directly at you.
e other morning, I went for a
walk on the marsh. I made a conscious
eort to listen as I walked along the
path. ese are the sounds I would
have missed if I had been listening
to an iPod. Tractors. Trac from
the highway. Cattle bawling as the
tractor brought their morning bale
of hay. e squishing of their feet
as they walked through the muddy
farm yard. Birds calling. Leaves
falling from the trees. My own feet
alternately shuing through autumn
leaves and scuing in the gravel. e
breeze in the leaves and the grass. e
water from the stream gently passing
under the bridge. My own breaths.
If I were walking in an urban
downtown, I imagine I would have
heard slightly dierent sounds.
Perhaps I would hear car brakes, the
sound of many feet pounding the
pavement, car horns and engines, the
squeaking of a trac light waving in
the wind, a cell phone (or nine or ten)
ringing, doors opening and closing,
the voices of people in conversation
with companions (or with themselves),
or coins rattling in a tin can held out
by a panhandler.
Being able to hear helps us to
connect with our surroundings. So
does the sense of smell. In Sackville,
we sometimes smell the salt air, which
reminds us of our proximity to the Bay
of Fundy, and ultimately the Atlantic
Ocean. Out where I live, we frequently
smell farm smells. Sometimes it is
bearable, and sometimes, like the
other day when my daughter and I
passed a tractor pulling a very full tank
of liquid manure, its enough to make
our eyes water and our lungs gasp
for fresh air. ose scents remind us
of our connection to our agricultural
roots. In a city, the smells would be
dierent, and provide us with dierent
connections.
We are all guilty of being plugged
into things that prevent us from
connecting with our surroundings.
If it isnt the seemingly everpresent
iPod, it is a mobile phone ear piece,
or perhaps a social networking site on
our laptops, or in the case of parents,
maybe we are plugged into our
children, or our careers, or the stress
of trying to accomplish all the tasks
in our busy lives. We are so connected
with our technology and our own lives
that we become disconnected from our
surroundings, and more importantly,
from the people surrounding us.
On the Mount Allison campus, we
are lucky to have places where we can
go that help us reconnect with our
surroundings and those around us.
e chapel, for me, is one of those
places. On any given day in the chapel,
there are a myriad of sounds that can
help us connect with other people,
with ourselves and with that which is
bigger than any of it. I always think
of the chapel as a quiet place, until
I go in during an organ students
practice time. ere is something
about the largeness of the chapel that
seems to inspire organists to open
up the stops as much as possible,
and the result is so much loudness
that it is sometimes scary. Other
times, it is so quiet you can hear the
occasional voices of people outside. I
have listened to the wind against the
stone walls, and the rain against the
stained glass. You can always hear the
heavy doors squeaking closed when
someone is late for chapel, no matter
how carefully they enter.
Sackvilles own poet laureate,
Douglas Lochhead, wrote:
life
is listening
is nding
sounds
is feeling
rhythms
in all
things
life
is waiting
is standing
here and there
is saying
words
is praying
everywhere
is is the perfect time of year to
make salsa! Your tomatoes from the
end of summer are of perfect ripeness
and fresh herbs are readily available.
All you need to create this easy, low
calorie snack are the ingredients and a
large blender.
To begin, place the vinegar, balsamic
vinegar, garlic, basil, parsley, cilantro,
salt, pepper, paprika, lime juice, pickled
pepper and banana pepper into the
blender. e lowest speed on your
blender should suce to give the mix
the right consistency without turning
it to juice. Separate the remaining
ingredients, onion, yellow pepper and
tomato, into equal parts of each. Take
half of your solid vegetables and place
them in the blender. Blend on low
speed for 15-20 seconds. Pour the
salsa from the blender into a bowl;
add the remaining vegetables and mix
them in with a spoon.
Serve this salsa with corn chips,
toasted pita points with guacamole
or on your favorite nachos. Keep
refrigerated!
Serves approximately 5 to 6 cups
of salsa
Turning cities into
playgrounds
How fun would it be to play a massive
capture the ag game across the entire
banking district of Toronto? What
about a giant pillow ght under
the Eiel Tower? e organization
Newmindspace is making these and
many similar events possible.
Newmindspace describes itself as an
organization committed to reclaiming
public space, inventing new ways of
having fun, and creating community.
In order to meet this objective, they
organize events like subway parties,
huge bubble battles, mass pillow ghts,
city-wide capture the ag games, and
public art installations.
All of the events organized by
Newmindspace are free and designed
for all ages.
But these events are about far more
than just having fun on a mass scale.
e hope is that these giant social
events will become a large part of
popular culture and replace passive,
non-social, branded consumption
experiences like watching television.
By turning cities into urban
playgrounds, the organization has
found a unique way to protest against
the commercially driven lives of most
urban dwellers.
e next planned event is the
Toronto capture the ag game this
Friday, October 2. Two giant teams
will hide ags in their territory and
attempt to capture the enemy ag
using subways, streetcars, bicycles,
longboards, or their own two feet.
Participants are encouraged to bring
cellphones for planning strategy with
other teammates and ashlights to
stay safe.
So on October 2, the streets of
the banking district will be crawling
with hundreds of players all wearing
glowing necklaces trying to steal
ags from their opponents.
Rules for the game are detailed
and are listed on the Newmindspace
website.
e organization uses only the help
of volunteers and donations from
participants to plan and organize
its events. Events are publicized
using some of todays most popular
technological devices including text
messages, Facebook, and Twitter.
Events have been held in Canadas
three major cities, Toronto, Montreal,
and Vancouver, as well as New York,
Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris,
and London.
So, for anyone that has experienced
the cold individualism that
often pervades most large cities,
Newmindspace may hold a solution.
Giant community-based
events will bring people together and
break down the barriers of anonymity
found in so many cities.
If you are going to be in a major city
and want to be part of the movement,
check out newmindspace.com.
Fraser Harland
Argosy Staff
Internet Source/ Google
A glow stick party in Toronto. One of many ways to avoid TV all night.
Internet Source/ Google
A city-wide pillow ght may stave off the redundant boredom of day-
to-day life, argues newmindspace
16 THE ARGOSY FEATURES OCTOBER 1, 2009
ose concerned with development issues worldwide have lately been abuzz
with the trends of micro-nance. Mohammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist,
observed that people with the greatest need and incentive to develop businesses
of their own were often denied loans at traditional nancial institutions, due to
a lack of assets. eir only options were predatory lenders, charging very high
interest rates. Yunus made an initial loan of twenty-seven USD to a group of
forty-two women, and their resulting success led him to found the Grameen
bank, focusing on making very small loans to those with the greatest need. In
2006, Yunus and his bank were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work.
Once the idea gained notoriety, new micro-nance organizations quickly
appeared in developing and developed countries worldwide, with varying
degrees of delity to Yunus principles. Naturally, the success of some of these
organizations has gained attention from some big names, and kiva.org has been
at the top of most lists, with both Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton endorsing
the organization. ere is even now some movement to create a student group at
Mount Allison to combine funds and make donations to entrepreneurs through
kiva.org.
Humanitarianism here at home
Stephen Lewis made a point of it; SACtivities aunts it; a large portion of the
student body is part of it. Mount Allison is full of altruistic and humanitarian-
based clubs on campus. What are the students involved talking about it for this
Year of International Engagement?
Mi c r o - f i n a n c e ,
networked
Kiva.org provides an opportunity for
individuals to be the loaning bank
Kiva aggregates the stories of
entrepreneurs worldwide, and oers
opportunities for those wishing
to teach a man to sh to do so
remotely. 102 partner organizations
worldwide have vetted entrepreneurs
to be posted online, and the organizations donors have made nearly ninety-ve
million (US) dollars in loans to date, with over eighty per cent going to female
entrepreneurs. eir online statistics are very impressive: more than ninety-eight
per cent of all loans are repaid (compared to eighty-two per cent for Canada
Student Loans, for example). e stats infer, at least, that the vast majority of
those Kiva lends to are able to produce sucient income to both repay the loan
and improve the circumstances of their own lives.
If there are any devils itting about Kivas halo, they would seem to be in
the details. While no interest is paid to the users of the site, Kivas partner
organizations do charge interest on the loans. While some are non-prot
organizations, Kiva only requires their partners to be established micro-nance
organizations. e interest rates are advertised as reasonable in comparison to
other lenders in the area, though some appear to be very high nonetheless. In
Peru, the non-prot Movimiento Manuela Ramos charges an interest rate of
forty-six per cent (ination is only 3.5 per cent) on their Kiva-funded loans,
indicating rather expansive overhead costs for administration. Yet Kiva rates this
organization as a ve-star partner, judging by its delinquency and default rates.
Certainly, reaching remote rural areas and careful investigation of recipients place
a higher cost burden on these organizations than traditional institutions would
face, but such rates risk corrupting the anti-usurious benets of Yunus idea.
Kivas aims and goals for development are certainly laudable, and the strategy
of micro-nancing local entrepreneurs has a very impressive record in bringing
about meaningful change for people in poverty. ose wishing to donate or
invest through the organization would be well advised to take advantage of the
transparency of information available about each Kiva partner before choosing
where to invest.
Timothy Bancroft
Argosy Contributor
17 THE ARGOSY FEATURES OCTOBER 1, 2009
Humanitarianism here at home
Stephen Lewis made a point of it; SACtivities aunts it; a large portion of the
student body is part of it. Mount Allison is full of altruistic and humanitarian-
based clubs on campus. What are the students involved talking about it for this
Year of International Engagement?
Engaging clubs, and the
students?
Sasha Van Katwyk
Argosy Staff
It seems these days that our ideas of humanitarian organizations always have cynical
aliations attached to them. Charityequals hand-outs.Aid organizationsequal hand-
outs with more money. Foundation sounds incorporated; relief organization sounds
wrapped in bureaucratic red tape; anything addressing children sounds naive; anything
naming a country sounds over-extended.
Of course, most organizations dont deserve this stigma. However, this cynicism is telling
of legitimate concerns and debates that have arisen from an international community, a
community which is critically engaging with humanitarian assistance regimes.
Here at Mount Allison, the number of humanitarian organizations active on campus
is impressive by any measure. But how much does the student body critically engage with
our clubs?
Beyond whats stated on the SAC constitutions and what club execs can spill out at the
preliminary meeting, what do we know of our student clubs?
We know that Team (Michael J.) Fox raises money for Parkinsons and is famous for their
pancake breakfasts. Habitat, Global Medical Brigades, and Youth Jamaica send Allisonians
around the world to engage in their causes.
War Child raises funds and awareness on women and childrens rights in war zones
and has already planted mines across campus to make their point. Atlantic International
Studies Organization (ATLIS) presents and publishes student works and raises awareness
on international issues through things like the Stephen Lewis forum that occurred one day
before his lecture.
Shinerama and Relay for Life have their start-of-year events to raise important funds
for their causes. And WUSC hosts student refugees at Mt. A and raise awareness for the 8
Millennium Development Goals.
ats not even all the clubs on campus; locally-focused social justice groups would
expand the list twice over.
Its all well and good to have well-mandated organization chapters, but to what degree
does individual engagement and club accountability enter into the minds of the common
Allisonian?
One of the issues that has been discussed increasingly as it becomes more prevalent is
volun-tourism. is is the phenomenon wherein Western-based students pay an exorbitant
amount of money to go to the global south, where they can have expedited shock-and-awe
experiences that make for a great story, but have ultimately little substance.
Criticism of volunt-tourism can touch on the clubs that have some of their members
travel as part of their mandate. e debate becomes whether or not the experiences are
worth it, and to what degree the student must decide to truly immerse themselves in the
new realities around them.
Others criticize the large organizations with campus chapters such as UNICEF, Oxfam,
and War Child, arguing that these organizations use their recognized names and the all
of their resources to draw attention to huge issues, issues that a students donation wont
be able to aect. Meanwhile more locally-focused groups, which could invest their funds
towards more tangible goals, go unseen and under-funded.
e reverse argument could be that these big organizations create chapters to raise
awareness of major global issues that ultimately aect all of us. Local groups will be
supported by people concerned with local issues, meanwhile others have visions of more
globally-scaled questions. University is, after all, about expanding ones horizons.
If international trends towards the use and inuence of humanitarian organizations and
other NGOs are any indication, engagement is not simply to join and campaign, its also
to question and re-analyse various assumptions of causes as well as ones own involvement
within these institutions. Engagement is also an individuals capacity to become absorbed
in a cause; an open-access and all-inclusive community requires active participation.
e degree to which Mount Allison meets these important indications of engagement
has yet to be seen.
Julie Cruikshank
18 THE ARGOSY FEATURES OCTOBER 1, 2009
by Your Friendly Airport Condom Provider
Circling for a cure
Students and town collaborate on
national cancer campaign
is weekend will be a restless one for
many in Sackville, but a productive
one nonetheless. A large contingent
of both university students and town
members will spend a sleepless night
walking around the Academic Quad
for Canadian Cancer Societys Relay
for Life.
e national campaign serves to raise
money for victims of cancer, celebrates
cancer survivors and remembers loved
ones who have passed away. ere will
be a victory lap of the quad reserved
for cancer survivors and the track itself
will be lined with luminaries in honour
of family and friends who have passed
away.
Sackvilles Relay for Life is held
at an unusual time, as most Relay for
Life events in New Brunswick are
held in June. Sackville, however, waits
for the fall when the town and the
university can both participate fully.
e committee has two chairs, one
university student and one community
member, thus serving as a way for the
town and university to join forces.
Says this years Relay Student Chair,
Deanne Tucker, [t]he Relay for Life
committee has been a big part of my
extra-curricular life at Mount Allison.
Not only has it allowed me to interact
with other Mount Allison
students, but it has also helped me
become closer to residents of the Town
of Sackville. Town and Gown, we work
together in the ght against Cancer!
e event begins at 7pm on 2 October
and all are welcome to participate for
as much time as desired.
Susan Rogers
Argosy Staff
Tomorrows Professionals
Apply Today!
OMSAS www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/
Ontario Medical School Application Service
September 15, 2009: Last day to register for
online applications
October 1, 2009: Application deadline
170 Research Lane
Guelph ON N1G 5E2
www.ouac.on.ca
www.ouac.on.ca/olsas/ OLSAS
Ontario Law School Application Service
November 2, 2009: Application deadline for first-year English programs
May 3, 2010: Application deadline for upper-year programs
TEAS www.ouac.on.ca/teas/
Teacher Education Application Service
December 1, 2009: Application deadline for English programs
March 1, 2010: Application deadline for French programs
www.ouac.on.ca/orpas/ ORPAS
Ontario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs
Application Service
(Audiology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy/Physiotherapy,
Speech-Language Pathology)
January 8, 2010: Application deadline
Apply Online!
Internet Source/ Google
Rememberence candles for Relay for Life
e Cosmopolitan is a dangerous
magazine and women should avoid
it except in moments of absolute
desperation.
Im a male who, for better or for
worse, treats sex like Christmas; its
better to give than to receive, but its
still nice to get something on occasion.
Unfortunately, there have been many
times that Ive been unwrapping my
gift or more accurately, had my gift
unwrapped for me and suddenly
she does something absolutely
horrifying.
Be it some strange twist-nger
motion or some awkward back-of-
throat maneuver that makes me
think she was a chanting monk in a
former life, its strange, terrifying, and
unnecessary.
For a long time I wondered where
they got these peculiar ideas. After all,
its one thing to know how to turn my
tie into handcus; its another thing
to turn it into a sex toy that makes me
fear wearing it in front of my mother
ever again.
en I found discovered the source
of these ridiculous porn tactics. I had
a seven hour layover in JFK airport
and saw a bright ashy Cosmo at the
bookstore. I gured that it might be
a good way to learn what to give my
girl for those special occasions; itd
be great to know what she and her
kind wanted. And what do I see? Very
little on what women like or even
think, and instead 80 pages of how to
make a guy go crazy for you!
I was shocked and partially sickened.
As much as we love you girls and want
to know how to make you happy, our
magazines have a slightly broader
focus. Cosmo described all these
fantastic ways to make a man moan
and burn for you. And the writers
get so-called experts who share their
advice to legitimize the whole thing.
Lesson 1, girls. If it has something
to do with you applying your nails
in any way other than sinking them
into our backs, youve made a horrible
mistake.
Lesson 2: If youre having to apply
enough pressure and/or concentration
from your ngers or tongue to me
that usually Swedish masseurs would
charge for, you simply need to stop out
of mercy.
And Lesson 3: If Cosmo tells you
that its going to send him coming
back for more, should be illegal, or
no girl would have ever done it to him
before,its either something we totally
expect, or is actually illegal under the
Geneva convention.
Men are simple, ladies. We love
originality and playfulness; Ive got
a soft spot for the naughty moments
even. But unlike you, we dont need
an atmosphere or build-up to feel the
Christmas joy. Men can do it in the
rain, next to a junk yard, while being
chased by rabid dogs.
Also, unlike you, for us its always the
exact same feelings, in the same order,
with the same outcome. e only thing
that makes it dierent for us is 1: how
long the build-up can reach a non-
conclusive climax, and 2: how much
YOURE enjoying yourself.
ats right. I dont think Im alone
saying that your enjoyment, girls, is
what makes me enjoy myself. Its half
the gift of giving, its half ego that
were good gift-givers.
Cosmo, therefore, should stop
thinking of new creepy ways for you
to twist our genitals in a way thats
supposedly stimulating, or licking
parts of us that are just awkward for
any guy that isnt harnessing a porn-
star fantasy. Instead it should focus
on how best you can enjoy yourself.
Dont get me wrong, wild sex
is excellent. Impromptu moments
under the desk, sudden and short
jerk-os in the elevator, and enticing
creativity is all excellent and more
than welcome, but why spend money
on crap that will tell you how to nd
the third G-spot of a man. Men know
it doesnt exist, nor is there a second.
Cosmo will get your guy calling
you a scary sex freak to all his friends.
If thats what youre going for, youll
surely get some action, but it will be
from guys who have a suspiciously
deep-seated love of anal sex and
spend an exorbitant portion of their
budget on anime porn.
Take my advice girls. And for any
disagreeing guys, to each is own.
Freaks.
Sun Tzu says...
Write for Features
ENTERTAINMENT
Pandas and tigers and whistles, oh my!
When Hot Panda, e Wind Whistles and Paper Tiger get together for a show, everybody wins.
Planning a concert bill requires a
special kind of intuition. If the bands
you pick sound too similar, then the
acts will start to run together and no
one band ends up standing out. Of
course, if theyre too dierent from
one another, the jarring shift between
sets makes the whole endeavor seem
rather haphazard. So credit the
organizers of last Wednesdays show
at Struts Gallery for absolutely nailing
the balance. Paper Tiger, the Wind
Whistles, and Hot Panda all trac in
indie pop, but each band approaches
the genre in dierent and ultimately
complimentary ways.
Paper Tiger hails all the way from
Utrecht, Netherlands, bringing with
them a pair of electric-acoustic guitars
and a slate of songs from their album
Everyone Here. e duo of Chris
Regtop and Tmy Phem sound similar
to the quirky acoustic pop of French
band Herman Dune, albeit with a
faster pace, crunchy power-pop sheen
and winning harmonizing with their
voices and their guitars. Of the three
bands that night, Paper Tiger had the
most laid-back sound and demeanor
they would make the ideal soundtrack
to lying back in a hammock suspended
between two palm trees, tropical drink
in hand. e chiming, minimally
amplied guitars gave the vocals
space to reverberate. Good thing, as
the lyrics were consistently amusing:
45 Minutes Can Last Pretty Long
told the true story of being forced to
wait around at a brothel at four in the
morning, while the candy bracelet at
the center of Sandy is revealed to be
made of something more chemically
stimulating. Notably, Paper Tiger was
touring without their drummer, which
turned out to be quite a blessing.
When the drummer for the Wind
Whistles backed them on their last
few songs, the percussion drowned out
the simple charm that made their set
so engaging.
He fared much better with his own
band, however. e Wind Whistles
are from Vancouver, which for those
geography bus out there, is further
away from Sackville than Utrecht.
Being a more traditional guitar-
bass-drums setup, they were more
propulsive than Paper Tiger. eir
guitars remained at the same level,
however, allowing the harmonies of
Tom Prilesky and Liza Moser to soar
above the musical accompaniment.
e Wind Whistles songs are more
urgent, with earnest lyrics about
turtles, jailbreak weddings, and rivers,
but the trio never took themselves too
seriously. e set moved along nicely,
peaking when half of Paper Tiger
Neil Bonner
Argosy Staff
added some mandolin to the bands
performance.
e gear setup for Hot Panda took
much longer than those of the previous
bands, due mainly to the presence of
some rather hefty ampliers. I was
concerned that the Edmonton band
would disrupt the mood, but Hot
Panda surprised me: they reined in
the noise so that it lled, rather than
overwhelmed, the small art space.
ey were the logical main act for
the night, turning the strengths of
the previous bands up to eleven:
they played quirky, yet emotionally
forthright indie pop with humor that
arose from their unhinged energy and
unusual instrumentation. Drummer
Maghan Campbell wailed on the
wood-block for Its Worth Eight
Dollars and later treated the crowd
to her rst instrument, the kazoo.
Multi-instrumentalist Heath Parsons
played guitar, and appealingly grungey
keyboard and, why not, the accordion.
Vocalist/guitarist Chris Connelly
and bassist Keith Olson didnt get
to be as ashy, but managed to stay
exciting while keeping the lineup from
spiraling o into chaos.
Overall, the show was a success,
blending together three distinct, fun
takes on indie pop. e crowd was
engaged throughout, and everyone just
seemed delighted afterwards.
Not bad for a school night.
Hot Panda, relaxing with some animal friends. None of which, oddly enough, are pandas.
Internet Photo/Briana Hughes
e Tom Fun Orchestra brings the energy
Highlights include shirtless drummers, Christmas music and an opening set by Corey Isenor
Oh Georges. Georges Fabulous
Roadhouse. eres not much I can say
about it that hasnt been said before.
Somehow this tiny bar, a sometimes
eerie walk from downtown, manages
to attract the best bands and large
crowds considering the size. Carmen
Townsend was set to open for the Tom
Fun Orchestra, but a few hours before
the show started she bailed and Corey
Isenor stepped up to the plate. e ten
oclock show started early (by Georges
standards) at twenty to eleven, with a
seemingly much more relaxed Corey
Isenor. After some initial feedback
issues Corey sauntered through a
pretty familiar setlist with ease. His
performance was much improved
from the Music Hall performance at
the beginning of the month, and I was
able to enjoy the catchy lyrics more
and more... especially River Woman.
With every song well rehearsed, it
was easier to appreciate the wonderful
lyrics. He delivered the line, When
she cries she brings the soil back to life
so well there was no hint of corniness.
It was a really impressive performance,
especially on such short notice.
After a pretty long intermission,
the Tom Fun Orchestra got on stage
just before midnight and transcended
the, at that time, relatively laid back
atmosphere of the Roadhouse, and
people got out of their seats accordingly.
ere was a bit of a sound level issue
initially, but it was resolved quickly.
I had heard Tom Fun Orchestra was
good, and at midnight I was awake.
I knew this cluster-rock ensemble
oered more than the standard rock-
and-roll instrumentation, but I was
impressed they could even t six
musicians on that small stage. ey
made it work, with a unique sound
that further energized the crowd.
e bands repeated references to
Sackville/Georges were, in particular,
very well received. e band began to
drink, drummer omas Allan took
his shirt o, and before long the disco
ball on the ceiling began to swing like
a pendulum to the beat.
ere was a constant energy
throughout the show and at points
the crowd movement was shaking the
oor. e show ended around half past
one with a roaring nale followed by
an invitation to an audience afterparty
and a softer traditional guitar-heavy
song. ey even gave us an early
holiday gift with a Christmas song
featuring Georges Roadhouse. e
band was not sober by the end, but
nobody seemed to mind. Im looking
forward to their eventual return and so
should you.
Geoffrey Campbell
Argosy Staff
For those who havent experienced
the late night small town charm of
Georges, its not something to be
missed. Georges is the epitome of
small town bar. A pricey, limited
selection bar, along with pool tables
and cheap seats. e bathroom grati
is too funny and homely to be painted
over. Sackville wouldnt be the same
without Georges, and if you havent
been there yet, you need to go at least
once.
Elizabeth von Rosenbach
The Tom Fun Orchestra at a previous concert: melting hearts, one accordion solo at a time.
Internet Photo/Beep! Beep! Back Up the Truck
Paper Tiger (complete with drummer) performing live.
20 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY ENTERTAINMENT
When fables meet hard rock
Fair to Midland creates a unique brand of storybook-prog
Internet Photo/last.fm
Fables from a Mayy: What I Tell You
ree Times is True (2007)
Fair to Midland
Serjical Strike Records
Take a little dive under the shallows
and spy, what do you see?/I see the
tortoise and the hare in a rat-race/And
it ts like a glove under my sleeve.
So begins the whimsical, spiraling
opening track Dance of the Manatee
on Texas band Fair to Midlands third
album, their rst since being signed to a
record label. Wherever one might read
about them, a lot of terms get thrown
around to classify this genre-bending
quintet, usually involving the words
progressive or alternative, which is
really just another way of saying that
no one knows what exactly to call
them. By all means alternative insofar
as the term means unusual, Fair to
Midland plays heavy-hitting hard rock
with a storybook mentality, bringing a
shifting, unpredictable quality to their
music that makes it feel like Alice in
Wonderland with electric guitar.
A great deal of this complexity
comes from the distinct vocals of
singer Darroh Sudderth. Able to
shift seamlessly from a subdued, soft-
spoken murmur to a soaring wail then
all the way down to a throaty growl,
he brings the music along with him
through swells and softness alike, often
completely transforming the feel of a
song from one moment to the next.
Often, his vocals sound like a call and
response duet between two entirely
dierent singers, when both voices
are actually his own. A healthy dose
of keyboards adds to the fantastical
nature of the music, and coupled with
production by David Bottrill, the
album as a whole achieves a highly epic
sound, one that takes the listener on a
journey rather than simply providing a
beat to bounce to. Not that it doesnt
rock as well. Signed to former System
of a Down singer Serj Tankians label,
its easy to see what might have caught
his attention. Both bands share a
penchant for adding unusual twists
and turns to their thrash and rock,
be it sudden stops and starts, abrupt
shifts in tone, or just the many the
many dierent sounds each respective
vocalist can achieve. In fact, Sudderth
and Tankian have shown in the past
that they can blend vocals quite well
together, live on stage.
e greatest asset of Fair to Midland
is not just their ability to shift and bend
their musical style without a moments
notice, but to play well no matter
what particular blend of heaviness
and experimentation theyre currently
residing in. Witness the rising thunder
that escalates track Vice/Versa from
slow, melodious croon into its intense
chorus, featuring Sudderth yelling
his Texan lungs out, only to take the
music back down with him to where
it started, all within the span of a few
lines. On album highlight A Seafarers
Knot, the band just keeps escalating
until it sounds like its going to rock
itself right o the record, all set to
haunting, brooding vocals along with
some more piercing wails. With lyrics
that read like a particularly dark o-
shoot of Mother Goose (If you could
spare me forty winks/While you cry
wolf and I count sheep/What good are
ghosts in Kevlar vests/With backbones
like a jellysh?), theres really no one
quite like Fair to Midland.
ere are a lot of things to like about
this weeks Sackville Film Society
movie, OHorten. It is super charming
and laugh-out-loud funny, without
self-consciously trying to be. It also
has trains in it (always a plus in my
books). Its a movie that starts at an
ending and ends at a beginning and in-
between these two points the sequence
of events are blurry and strange.
Directed by acclaimed Norwegian
lm maker Bent Hamer, OHorten
tells the story of Odd Horten, a
recently retired train driver. e lm
follows Odd as he departs from his
structured life of the railroad track
into a world thats messy and bizarre.
You get the impression that Odds
life before his retirement had been in
a kind of stasis, and he interacts with
the world as a passive observer and a
sheepish participant. For the majority
of the lm Odd continues to wear his
uniform which gives the impression
that even though his life has changed
he has yet to. He acts like hes a train
driver, watching the world move by
outside the windows.
Regardless of Odds attitude, life
seems to happen to him, albeit in
bizarre and out of sync ways. eres
a kind of quietness to the movie, but
dont take that to mean that its boring
or even subtle. Quite on the contrary,
the things that happen to Odd are
often quite extraordinary.
An optical trick exists in which
an audience is asked to focus on a
specic object while, in the meantime,
something crazy happens in the
background, such as a man in a bear
suit moonwalking by (if youve never
seen this, go to YouTube and search for
Test Your Awareness). Oftentimes,
nobody will notice this happening no
matter how obvious it is. e audience
will only see what theyre focusing on.
To me OHorten is a movie about
these bear suit moments which should
be strikingly obvious but for whatever
reason are easy to miss. e things that
happen to Odd are not beyond any
realm of the imaginable and theyre
often not really even unusual or, but
theyre magic, crazy, and quiet.
By the end of the movie, Odd has
nally taken o his uniform. He seems
like a new man, though its hard to
say quite how he arrived at that point.
OHorten leaves you feeling happy.
When it comes down to it its a pretty
warm movie and its a nice way to look
at the world. I wish I could always see
in Horten-vision.
Dylan Cunningham
Argosy Contributor
Becky Martin
Argosy Contributor
Fair to Midland
plays heavy-hitting
hard rock with a
storybook mentality,
bringing a shifting,
unpredictable quality
to their music that
makes it feel like
Alice in Wonderland
with electric guitar.
TORONTO (CUP) Damian
Abraham is facing a chicken and the
egg scenario.
Abraham fronts the Toronto
hardcore band Fucked Up, which, on
Monday night, won the 2009 Polaris
Music Prize an award given each
year to the best full-length Canadian
album, based solely on artistic merit.
I really have a hard time looking
at Fucked Up and thinking of it as
artistic, he said in an interview after
winning the award on Sept. 21. I look
at it as just what we did. Its hard to
look at it and think, Hey this is such
a great artistic achievement. I suppose
if anything, the reason its an artistic
achievement is because it won the
Polaris.
Fucked Up beat out nine other
shortlisted contestants at Monday
Nights Polaris Prize Gala at Torontos
historic Masonic Hall, including
new-wave heavyweight Metric, genre-
defying KNAAN, and 2007 winner
Patrick Watson.
Abraham said he was shocked over
his bands win.
I was like, did they say Joel Plaskett?
e whole night, I was like, [itll be]
KNAAN, Joel Plaskett, KNAAN,
Joel Plaskett. And then I was like, oh
man, I cant believe we won.
Fucked Up is the rst punk band
to make it to the ten-album shortlist
for the $20,000 Polaris Music Prize in
its four-year history, making the win a
signicant step for hardcore music in
Canada.
While Abraham said in the post-
gala press conference that Fucked Ups
win means the hardcore genre could
become more accepted in the country,
It never should be totally accepted.
But at the same time I hope it means
therell be a greater understanding of it
in Canada, because there are so many
amazing bands that have come from
Canada in more extreme genres.
Being considered on par with
previous winners Caribou, Patrick
Watson, and Final Fantasy whom
Abraham said he worships means
the world to the frontman.
CBC Radio 3s Grant Lawrence,
who co-hosted the gala with
MuchMusic VJ Sarah Taylor, said he
was shocked by the winner.
Everyone that said its an indie
rock prize has to look again, because
a hardcore band just won, said
Lawrence after the gala. at shakes
it up, and Im happy for [Fucked Up].
e radio host called the gala the
best hed seen in its four years, and
only had kind words to say for the
nominees.
e quality of the bands that we
see here are incredible. One won, but
I think all of the artists are winners in
many ways . . . It really felt like we were
seeing the cream of the crop of 2009.
is moment, tonight, is the only place
to be in Canadian music anywhere.
For the rst time in the prizes
history, each nominated act was invited
to play a short set at the gala. While
some performances were intimate
Joel Plaskett and Metric each played
acoustic sets other acts opted to have
fun with the occasion.
Patrick Watson and band members
played while winding through the
crowd, wearing suits designed to look
like trees made out of lamps. Elliott
BROOD handed the audience cooking
sheets and wooden spoons to play
along with the band, and Hey Rosetta!
brought numerous percussionists and
violinists on stage with them, totaling
fourteen people to play their song
Tired Eyes.
Fucked Up had their own guests,
too, including Lullabye Arkestra and
2006 Polaris Music Prize winner Final
Fantasy, whose pedal-looped violin
ris began the performance. e live
broadcast of the show on MuchMusic
didnt hold frontman Abraham back
from performing how he wanted, as
he slowly stripped o his clothes until
he wandered the stage in hiked-up
boxer briefs. Compared to some of the
bands past performances, though, this
was tame or at least less bloody.
In spite of Fucked Ups let-loose-
on-stage antics, Abraham said that
the band plans on using the $20,000
for a legitimately serious project a
benet record to draw attention to the
over 500 missing aboriginal women in
Canada.
Were going to [. . .] raise some
Josh OKane
CUP National Bureau Chief
Fucked Up upends indie expectations
Hardcore underdog shifts Canadian music prize from traditional indie rock winners
money for these people. Its a
marginalized group, its a [racial]
crime and its ignored. Were putting
out a benet record with some really
fun guests, and we can pay for it.
e 2009 Polaris Music Prize long
list, comprised of forty albums selected
by a 181 member jury comprised of
Canadian journalists, broadcasters and
bloggers, was announced last June. e
ten-album shortlist was announced
in June, and also included Chad
VanGaalen and Malajube.
Frontman Damian Abraham bellows as Fucked Up perform live.
Internet Photo/Donofthedead
OHorten (Baard Owe) and costar.
Internet Photo/Hamburg
Whimsy, Norway-style
A review of Bent Hamers OHorten
You there!
Reading the newspaper!
(yes, you.)
Argosy Entertainment
will please you in ways no
lover ever could.
So write for them!
Nowadays, music is everywhere. I'm not referring to the
musical sounds of nature or the city or anything as
ill-defined as that. With the advent of recording technologies
and the digital innovations since music is everywhere. I
can hear Portuguese-Angolan DJs while I walk to school; it is
rare not to hear light rock as I'm grocery shopping and so
on. All of this readily available music is easy to consume, in
some situations impossible not to. And much of it has been
pushed through so many layers of production that real
instruments have become indistinguishable from
programmed beats. This easy, processed, product, for most
of us, is the first thing our minds turn to when asked about
music. There is, however, another option the live show.
Live shows are difficult. They require an investment of time,
energy and certainly money. And they put one as a
spectator in a position of weakness. The customer may
always be right but the audience member is almost invari-
ably wrong. Going out to shows entails subjecting oneself to
the tastes of someone else but it is in this giving over that the
experience is made.
When listening to music at home I can adjust the sound as I
see fit and skip to my favourites tracks or even parts therein,
I have control. While at a show, these decisions are made
by someone else and I am left to the task of listening, really
listening to what is going on on stage. A friend of mine who
had the good fortune to see My Bloody Valentine, described
THE CHMA 106. 9 FM CAMPUS & COMMUNI TY RADI O BULLETI N
HIDDEN CAMERAS
OCTOBER 1, 2009 OFFICIALLY OCTOBER EDITION
364-2221
WWW.MTA.CA/CHMA
ST. VINCENT
ACTOR
4AD
Around two years ago I had the pleasure of being
introduced to the music of Annie Clark, A.K.A. St. Vincent,
as I was killing time on music blogs. While skimming
through several of my favourites I kept seeing the same
picture of this woman with wild, curly hair followed by
several paragraphs of gushing praise for the music she
created. That picture ended up being the album cover for
her debut album, Marry Me, and the praise was 100%
correct. I listened to that album more than almost any other
release from 2007 (the only albums I listened to more were
probably The Reminder by Feist and Sky Blue Sky by
Wilco) and I still pull it out of the CD case fairly often. To
sum up, I liked it. A lot.
When news of a new album started to leak I was
excited, but also a little nervous. I couldnt help but fear
that one of my new favourite musicians would fall into the
sophomore slump that has claimed so many talented
young gunslingers (this is why Im cautiously optimistic
about 2nd albums by the Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver). All
fears disappeared when album opener The Strangers
leaked and it became clear that this new album would be
comfortably familiar all the while exploring new sonic
territory.
In interviews for this album, Clark has said that
her goal was to mix the beautiful with the ugly and I feel
that is a very apt way of describing Actor. For an example
of this one should listen to the previously mentioned The
Strangers. This song starts with Clark putting her beautiful
voice to good use with a multi-tracked Annie Clark choir
which leads into a catchy, drum machine heavy pop(-ish)
song followed by some grungy guitar playing only to end
up the way the song started. Its a wild ride to say the least.
As good as The Strangers is, it cant hold up to
the albums highpoint, Marrow. This song reminds me of
Prince at his best in that its extremely catchy and has a
very dance-friendly beat all the while challenging the
listener with guitar breakdowns and interesting lyrics.
Speaking of lyrics, this is another way that Clark mixes the
beautiful and the ugly. In a song like The Bed Clark takes
music that could be described as stately and adds lyrics
about two children who find their fathers gun and intend to
teach them all a lesson.
I feel like I might be scaring people off with this
review. The album certainly can be difficult from time to
time, but theres also a lot here for the casual listener, like
the fuzzed-out stomp rock of Actor Out of Work, or the
deliciously catchy Laughing With A Mouth of Blood.
Actor is an ambitious work of art that takes the listener in
and out of their comfort zones many times throughout its 39
minute duration and stands as a reminder as to why we
love pop music in the first place. If youll allow me to quote
myself, To sum up, I liked it. A lot.
- Scott Brown
www.ilovestvincent.com
Recommended tracks: 1, 4, 6, 7, 9
Here it now on CHMA 106.9 FM
A WEEKLY RECORD REVIEW
HAWKSLEY WORKMAN
+ JENN GRANT
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2 ~ BRUNTON AUDITORIUM
TICKETS ON SALE NOW! ONLY $25
AVAILABLE AT THE SAC OFFICE,
THUNDER & LIGHTING LTD and DUCKYS
UPCOMING CONCERTS
ATTIC TRANSMISSIONS
THE CHMA CHARTS WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 22, 2009
THE CHARTS
RANK ARTIST TITLE (LABEL)
01. HEY ROSETTA!* Into Your Lungs (Sonic)
02. JOEL PLASKETT*Three (MapleMusic)
03. VARIOUS* Quebec Emergent 0809 (Sopref)
04. THE NOVAKS* Things Fall Apart (Sonic)
05. MEISHA AND THE SPANKS* Mmmade For Me (Transistor 66)
06. SHARE* Slumping In Your Murals (Forward Music Group)
07. MARDEEN* Demo (Collagen Rock)
08. COEUR DE PIRATE* Coeur De Pirate (Grosse Boite)
09. DAN MANGAN* Nice, Nice, Very Nice (File Under: Music)
10. ATTACK IN BLACK* Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) (Dine Alone)
11. HOT PANDA* Volcano...Bloody Volcano (Mint)
12. THE WIND WHISTLES* Animals Are People Too (Self-Released)
13. CLASSIFIED* Self Explanatory (Sony/BMG)
14. JAPANDROIDS* Post-Nothing (Unfamiliar)
15. THE JOE* Ut Oh (Old Ugly)
16. THE BURNING HELL* Baby (Weewerk)
17. CHAD VANGAALEN* Soft Airplane (Flemish Eye)
18. GHETTOSOCKS* I Can Make Your Dog Famous (Alpha Flight)
19. HORSES* Horses (Out Of Touch)
20. THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE* Hometowns (Self-Released)
21. THE GOT TO GET GOT* Sahalee (Noyes)
22. COREY ISENOR* Young Squire (Self-Released)
23. DOG IS BLUE* ...Makes Ghost Noises (Self Released)
24. PAT LEPOIDEVIN* Blue Tornadoes (Self-Released)
25. DOG DAY* Concentration (Outside)
26. ZEUS* Sounds Like Zeus (Arts & Crafts)
27. IRON GIANT* Creator Of Scars (Diminished Fifth)
28. OLENKA AND THE AUTUMN LOVERS* Papillonette (Self-Released)
29. DOUG HOYER* Busy, Busy, Busy (Self-Released)
30. RAH RAH* Going Steady (Young Soul)
HEY ROSETTA!
IN DEFENCE OF LIVE MUSIC
BY JAMES GODDARD
their notorious 'Holocaust session' as both the most
terrifying and beautiful thing she had ever witnessed. Only
true noise fans can listen to fuzz, distortion and feedback
for twenty solid minutes alone in their bedrooms and even
then it's not likely to be played at the blistering volumes of
a live show. That said when you are there experiencing
something like that, when you can feel the bass in your rib
cage, you have no choice but to really listen or leave.
Not all shows are built on the epic scale of a My Bloody
Valentine set. Yet even more modest shows with more
accessible music demand something of you and hopefully
they give it back. You may be wet and cold after a walk
through the rain down to the Roadhouse. As you climb the
wooden stairs of the patio you might look behind you at
the train station sitting squatly on the open marsh. You
might wonder why you left the comforts of home or
campus. That first chord will hopefully make you under-
stand. Seeing the correspondence between what someone
is doing with their hands and voice and what you are
hearing. Hearing a song you thought you knew so well
turned into something very different. Actually listening
intently to music not as an accompaniment to something
else but as the activity itself. So I encourage you at least
once this year to go out and listen to music whether it be a
Blues Society gig, part of Stereophonic or a classical recital
at Brunton Auditorium. Go out and remember what it feels
like to listen.
PAPER WAVES WITH SARAH, SUNDAY NIGHTS AT 6PM
Sarah is a seasoned CHMA programmer and is back for
another year on the CHMA airwaves.
On my show I talk about the two things I cannot ever get
enough of: Canadian art and Canadian music. I really
like to play tunes that I can get up and dance around to in
the booth, though I typically only have the guts to do that
when I've got two songs playing back to back! Lately, I
would have to say I listen to a lot of The Rural Alberta
Advantage, Attack in Black, The Constantines, Chad
VanGaalen and Shotgun Jimmie. Sarah's mix of sweet
banter and great music is sure to be the perfect end to
your weekend and a step towards a great week.
Listen to Paper Waves and more great programming tune
into CHMA 106.9 FM or listen online at www.mta.ca/chma
PROGRAMMER HIGHLIGHT
THE SHEEP DOGS OCTOBER 3 ~ GEORGES
THE GOOD LOVELIES OCTOBER 7 ~ STRUTS
ARTS & LITERATURE
Fancy this - theatre as a method of teaching
Arts and Souls: Spotlight on artists
Maria Maute
Argosy Staff
Our (art)istic rea(lit)y - e body as a canvas
A weekly column by Maria and Vivi
Vivi Reich
Argosy Staff
A story many can relate to: a
seventeen-year-old straight out of
high school comes to Mount Allison
with the goal of graduating with a
bachelor of something, and within a
few weeks, realizes that it wasnt for
them and switches their academic
studies completely. Dr. Alex Fancy,
professor Emeritus of French and
Drama, was no exception. He came to
Mt. A with the intention of studying
Sciences, but in my rst year I realized
I didnt want to be a scientist, its what
everyone else wanted me to be, he
admits. He took an extra arts course,
and the only one that t in his schedule
was French. is is how Fancys
passion and love for French started.
After graduation, he was fortunate
to get a scholarship to study in
Paris, France. During his time at
the Sorbonne University, he fell in
love with Paris and its theatres. In
the winter, theaters were warm and
they were a great place to meet new
people, he explains. Up to this point,
he had only studied French literature
and had never studied drama.
During his time in Paris, what was
called the second French revolution
occurred. It was the student and worker
rebellion of 1968. is experience
had a huge impact on Fancy: I
remember at one point there were
one million people marching down
the streets and they were chanting
congestion, congestion, congestion!
(French for co-management). e
students wanted more say as to
how their university was structured.
ese two elements, his growing
passion for theater, the atmosphere
of rebellion in Paris and the need
for a joint management inspired
him and inuenced his work.
Fancy returned to Mt. A as a
professor, this time to teach French.
He staged his rst play in 1968, which
in time evolved into Tintamarre, a
bilingual theatre company formed
in 1982. Fancy realized that theatre
is the perfect way to promote
language acquisition. He learned
from anthropologists and linguists
that language is a three-dimensional
phenomenon: word, tone, and gesture.
e stage becomes the perfect
place to combine all three elements.
When students were on stage,
speaking in French, they looked
bilingual - even when they werent,
Fancy noted. I realized it was
so empowering for students.
Fancy believes that education is
a collaborative work. He wants his
students to be actively involved in
the classroom and to take part in the
structuring of the course. His goal
is to empower students in order for
them to become actors in their own
world. is philosophy and his ways
of teaching have earned him the
Herbert and Leota Tucker Teaching
Award, the 3M National Teaching
Fellowship, the Association of
Atlantic Universities Distinguished
Teacher Award, and the Lieutenant-
Governors Dialogue Award.
Fancy not only seeks a co-
management in the classroom, but
also on the stage. e plays that
Tintamarre stages are collaborative
Dr. Alex Fancy, professor Emeritus of French and Drama, formed Tintamarre, a bilingual theatre company.
Maria Maute
e human body. Possibly the most
dynamic canvas in existence. Indeed, it
has been utilized by artists worldwide
for generations upon generations, even
reaching into the modern-day world.
Anyone who has missed the tattoo
trend that has mushroomed in the
past ve to ten years lives under a rock.
It is commonly believed that
knowledge of tattoos was brought
by European and North American
explorers from Polynesia to their
respective home countries in the
eighteenth century. e Polynesian
tattoo became popular in Europe
among sailors. But surprisingly enough,
tattooing was a common practice in
the European region in ancient times.
tzi the Iceman, dating from the
fourth to fth millennium BCE, was
found at the Italian-Austrian border in
1991 with simple dots and lines on his
lower spine, behind his left knee, and
on his right ankle. ere is evidence
to suggest that because of their
placement on the body, the tattoos
were therapeutic to alleviate pain,
according to the University of York.
In Cambodia and ailand, yantra
tattooing is a sacred art practiced
by Buddhist monks and Brahmin
priests. It is still practiced today, and
used for self-protection to ward o
evil. It is interesting that Buddhist
monks would practice this, as a
central part of Buddhism is release
from the body and the physical
world, and one would think a tattoo
is an epitome of bodily attachment.
New Zealands aborigines, the
Maori, practiced Ta Moko, to indicate
a persons history of achievement
and their tribal status. Ta Moko was
considered an honour, worn by both
men and women, on the face and
buttocks of men and the chin, lips, and
shoulders of women. e Ta Moko were
applied by chiseling into the skin with
albatross bone, then adding pigment
productions, in the sense that all the
participants are actively involved in
the creation of the script. e group
meets every week to improvise,
brainstorm, and discuss dierent
aspects of the play. Fancy then takes
their ideas and writes a bilingual script.
I try to listen to the ideas,
the description of characters and
all the whacky ideas they come
up with, he explains. Students
here are incredibly creative.
Tintamarres goal is to celebrate
diversity and the role of theatre,
teaching and learning. Tintamarre
has become a way for me to become
a better teacher, says Fancy.
At the beginning, I never thought I
could be a writer,the playwright admits.
He began writing his own scripts on
the topic of teaching and learning.
When you are a writer, it is important
to write about something you know,
he explains. As a teacher I encourage
students to write - I think its important
to practice what I teach, he states.
One of his rst plays, is Hour has
Too Many Minutes, was performed at
a national conference on teaching and
learning, which was such a success that
he was invited to show it at a national
american conference on the same topic
in Ohio and Indiana. Since then, Fancy
has given workshops on his method
of teaching in six dierent countries.
Combining his love for theatre,
his passion for the French language
and his experiences with co-
management in Paris, Fancy has
created a unique learning experience
for students as well as a successful and
incomparable theatre company. Alex
Fancy is not only an inspiring and
committed teacher, but also an artist
in the classroom and in the theatre.
of gum and dye from vegetation
rendered to soot and mixed with oil.
Even the ancient Egyptians
practiced tattooing. Tattoo instruments
and gurines with tattoo patterns have
been found in Egypt, as well as on
mummies. Most ancient Egyptians
who were tattooed were women, and it
has been thought that they were used as
marks for prostitutes. Cate Lineberry of
the Smithsonian Magazine writes that
she believes tattoos had a therapeutic
role as amulets during pregnancy and
birth. e ancient Egyptians also used
soot inserted into the pricked skin.
In nineteenth and twentieth
century Europe, a fascination with
circus freaks grew, and women
covered with tattoos were included
in traveling circuses that also featured
little people, conjoined twins, and
supposed three- or four-legged people.
Freak shows, now more commonly
called side shows, have even
extended into the new millennium.
Tattoos now, however, are old news.
ese days, tattoos may have meaning
as they have for millennia, or are purely
aesthetic. ere is also still a stigma
attached to this art form. In Japan,
tattoos are associated with yakuza, or
organized crime groups, and are often
not allowed in public bathhouses.
In the United States, they are also
associated with gangs and prisoners are
often inked, sometimes with symbols
such as a tear, which indicates the
person has committed murder. Major
religions such as Judaism and Islam
frown upon the practice of tattooing.
In Islam it is commonly seen as
mutilating a perfect creation by God,
the body; and in the Torah, Judaisms
holy book, God commanded that
gashes or cut marks are not allowed.
Many tattoos in our day and age
are made in honour of those who have
passed away by depicting their initials
or even their portraits. Tattoos of
biblical phrases are common, as well as
many religious and spiritual symbols.
Sometimes tattoos are political.
Sometimes they are aesthetic. ey can
be smaller than a dime or cover large
Internet photo/blog.art-tistic
A contemporary Maori tattoo.
e thrill of getting a tattoo
can be considered addictive.
Tattoo artists enjoy using the
human body as a canvas.
areas of the body such as the back, and
there have been cases of people with
their whole bodies tattooed. Clearly,
the ancient spiritual tattoo practice
has carried on through this day, and
the thrill of getting a tattoo can be
considered addictive. Tattoo artists
enjoy using the human body as a
canvas. Many believe, myself included,
that those who do not have tattoos
can never understand the motivations
behind tattoos until they have
experienced it themselves. But no one
can deny that this is clearly one of the
longest-lasting artistic trends in history.
LA Ink star Kat von D showing off full tattoo sleeves
Internet photo/Photobucket
23 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY ARTS & LITERATURE
e League of Purcell enchants United Church
Henry VIII would have been proud of this performance of music from Tudor England
Vivi Reich
Argosy Staff
Tudor England best known for
Henry VIII, courtly love poetry, and
Showtimes hit e Tudors. e
Tudors ruled England from 1485
to 1603, and while they are famous
for including one of Englands
nuttiest kings, they also brought
England to a time of prosperity
and power. And the music of
their time is nothing to sneeze at.
is past Sunday, the Early Music
Festival ended with a performance
entitled e League of Purcell
Melancholy England. It featured
music composed by well-known
composers from the time of Tudor
England, including Henry Purcell,
Robert Ramsey, John Blow, and John
Milton. While the title of the concert
implies an evening of melancholic
music, this was certainly not the
only mood of the evening. e songs
performed were almost all of a
Christian theme, including sorrow
at death and murder, sadness at lifes
trials and tribulations, and also joy and
delight in God. Intwined in the latter
mood was also a sense of humility
and smallness in the presence of God.
e structure of music in this time
period is complex. e motet form is
best described as three or four voices,
with the top the most important and
the rest as background. e voices
in music from the Tudor era overlap
with dierent rhythms and tones, and
sometimes do not harmonize very
comfortably at all. Most measures,
however, do end in a clear, harmonizing
note with all voices together. Often,
the voices do not seem to match the
music, and while both may be in the
same key, the voices often take their
own rhythmic path while the music
takes another. is was the case at the
League of Purcell concert, causing
a beautiful, complex, harsh, and
sometimes seemingly erratic melody
and accompaniment. Much music of
the time was a cappella, meaning with
no instruments, though the concert
included cello, violins, harpsichord,
organ, and lute. e pitch and rhythm
of the voices often coincided with
the themes of the song. According to
Lara Eakins, a Tudor historian, an
ascending line of notes might coincide
with the words of the heavens or
the stars. Similarly, a harsh sound
might be heard with death or evil.
Situated in front of the large organ at
the Sackville United Church, soprano
Shannon Mercer, tenor Charles
Daniels, and bass Tyler Duncan
started the show under large stained
glass windows that ltered the light
beautifully into the sanctuary. Mercer
was a delight to listen to and watch,
swaying with the music as if every inch
of her body were singing; if she could,
perhaps she would have moved her body
more than the concert space allowed.
All of the singers voices rang clear as
bells, bubbling up from the depths of
their bodies. is was also especially
apparent in mezzo soprano Yulia van
Dorens performances in various songs
and Matthew Whites singing as alto.
When singing phrases such as we are
risen, or a repeated hallelujah, one
could truly feel uplifted with the rise
of the voices. Alexander Weimann,
the conductor, harpsichordist, and
organist, also played as if nothing
made him happier than moving
his hands across the keys. At times,
the Louisbourg Choir directed by
Monique Richard joined the singers.
Lara Eakins comment above
about Tudor music is very tting
for Mourning Song VII Foe of
Mankind by John Coperario, a song
performed early in the concert. At
times, the voices were almost frantic,
exemplifying the nervousness and
anxiety one might feel after a murder.
e harmonies sent chills down the
spines of the audience as the singers
told a story of turning to God for help
in times of grief. Let mine eyes run
down with tears by Henry Purcell
was another example of the form
reecting content like tears running
down cheeks, the melodies and
harmonies owed and rippled until
the end of a verse, when the voices
would pull together and pause before
moving on, much like a tear that has
paused before falling from a chin.
I will give thanks unto ee, o
Lord by Henry Purcell seemed to
demonstrate the state of England
during the Tudor reign. e lyrics
created a sense of communal society,
reected also in the melody, as the
voices were more often than not
following the same rhythm. It seems
that the people of England often
turned towards religion and the church
for comfort in their tumultuous times.
Towards the beginning of the second
half, Alex Weimann paused to explain
to the audience that they would include
a song entitled In guilty night. Both
Robert Ramsey and Henry Purcell had
written their own versions, depicting
the biblical story of Sauls request of
the Witch of Endor to call forth the
ghost of the recently deceased prophet
Samuel. It was rather unclear as to
which version was sung rst, but the
melancholic tone was present in both.
Saul and the Witchs voices alternate
with solos from the mezzo soprano
and the tenor as if in conversation.
When these powerful, stirring songs
that have survived and been handed
down thousands of years came to an
end, the sanctuary thundered with
applause. e musicians and the singers
left the sanctuary, but soon the singers
were back for one last song. A cappella,
their voices lled the sanctuary, and
the audience was left with nothing but
their ending note rising to the heavens.

Vivi Reich
Soprano Shannon Mercer, mezzo soprano Yulia van Doren, alto Matthew White, tenor Charles Daniels, and
bass Tyler Duncan perform at the United Church accompanied by the Louisburg Choir and with conductor,
harpsichordist, and organist Alex Weimann performing at the Sackville United Church.
e melodies and
harmonies owed and
rippled until the end of
a verse, when the voices
would pull together and
pause before moving
on, much like a tear
that has paused before
falling from a chin.
24 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY ARTS & LITERATURE
A chat with the START Gallery student coordinator
Erin Canning has big ambitions for the START Gallery in the 2009-10 year
Vivi Reich
Argosy Staff
e little show that could
A preview of Lauchie, Liza, and Rory at Live Bait eatre
Julie Cruikshank
Argosy Staff
What does Sackville have in common
with New Zealand, Toronto,
Antigonish and Edmonton? e
answer is Lauchie, Liza and Rory
a little play from Cape Breton
that has had a big impact. Opening
Friday, October 2 at Live Bait eatre,
Lauchie, Liza and Rory is a two-person
play set in Cape Breton about just
exactly how complicated love can be.
e show, directed by Mary-Colin
Chisholm, has been going for nearly
ten years. It is based on the book of
the same name by author Sheldon
Currie, whose other notable works
include Margarets Museum and e
Glace Bay Miners Museum. It tells
the story of Liza, who is married to the
sensible, down to earth Lauchie. But
her whole life has been spent pining
for his reckless, more exciting identical
twin brother, Rory. e show made its
debut at Festival Antigonish and was
picked up by Mulgrave Road eatre.
After touring around Nova Scotia, it
went to the Magnetic North eatre
Festival in Edmonton. From there
it was picked up by several theatre
companies in New Zealand. Once
the Mulgrave Road run was over,
the show was picked up by Frankie
Productions (made up of Mary-
Colin Chisholm, Christian Murray,
who portrays Lauchie, and Mary
Ellen MacLean. Natasha MacLellan
takes over the female roles from
Burgundy Code.) Following its run
at Live Bait, the show is moving on
to the Celtic Colours festival in Cape
Breton, back to Edmonton in January,
and then to Eastern Front eatre
of Halifax in April. Its the little
show that could! says MacLellan.
So what does it take to bring a show
like this to Sackville? As it turns out,
its a lot easier than you might think.
Live Bait artistic director Karen
Valanne is typically approached by
theatre companies with scripts for her
to review, and then she and a board of
Live Bait sta decide which shows to
accept as part of their season. With
Lauchie, Liza and Rory, the decision
was easy. I wanted to see it, so Im
going to bring it in! laughs Valanne.
e show, which Valanne describes as
having lots of humour and romance,
has a distinctly maritime, small-town
avour to it. I feel like its something
our audiences will really enjoy,she says.
Once a show has been booked,
technical and facilities director Jocelyn
Pringle handles the details. Asked
about what her job entails, Pringle
laughs. It means I hang the lights
and scrub the toilets. Her job is to
deal with the technical aspects of
shows coming in such as lighting,
stage design, and seating. Usually
these details are determined by the
production company responsible
for putting on the show, but shows
featured in conjunction with Live Bait
eatre involve the sta in set and
technical decisions. e Adventures
of Donna Earla Glick, which debuts at
the end of October, is a collaboration
between Live Bait and Frankie
Productions. Pringle also handles
the booking of the Live Bait space
for other events such as weddings.
A show like Lauchie, Liza and Rory
comes with its own set of challenges.
Two actors portray a small town
cast of nearly twenty characters,
which obviously led to some
creative problem-solving in terms of
production. Props and costume are
minimal, but sometimes are quite
signicant, explains actress Natasha
MacLellan, who portrays Liza and
the other female characters in the
show. ey are often used to indicate
a change of character or even to be
the character. is was a collaborative
work, but its safe to say that Mary-
Colins direction is responsible for
many of the zany-but-genius choices.
MacLellan goes on to elaborate
about what is involved in performing
a show like this. She explains that
the most dicult thing for the actors
is being certain about what characters
they are portraying and when. e
show just zips by when we perform
it, so there isnt one chance to sit
down and relax. e lights come up,
and we dont rest until they go down.
Its thrilling, but a little scary, too.
A two-hander play like this can be
challenging, yes, but Im working with
a magnicent actor, Christian, who I
wholeheartedly trust, which makes
it easier. When you enjoy the story,
playing with the other actor is a treat
to do. And audiences enjoy it. Its
funny and touching and they get a kick
out of us playing so many characters.
e rehearsal process for a show like
this is a lot like learning choreography,
according to MacLellan. In some
scenes the actors are carrying on
conversations where they are playing
two or three people at once. But its
a labour of love for the actors. I
loved Lauchie, Liza and Rory from
the minute I saw it, says MacLellan.
Nothing beats a good love story, and
this one really captured me. Maybe its
because I am from Cape Breton? So
the story of it caught me, but it was also
funny. Sheldon Currie has such a subtle
sense of humour, and his writing is so
beautiful being the actor delivering
those lines is really an honour.
It is likely that anyone who follows
the arts happenings in Sackville and
on campus will know that the START
Gallery is a gallery which allows
students to display their work. START
literally stands for Student Art,but its
ocial name is the Student-Run Art
Gallery. Erin Canning, the student
coordinator of the gallery, spoke with
the Argosy about just what her job
entails, and what can be expected
from the START Gallery this year.
e gallery is a space for student
artwork, exhibited most likely for the
rst time by those who are allotted
gallery time. It is a non-intimidating
setting for students, who are selected a
few at a time twice a year by a panel to
exhibit their work. Canning does not
participate in this selection process,
but essentially does run the gallery on
her own. She conrms dates of events
with John Murchie, the Struts Gallery
coordinator, so that schedules do not
overlap, as the Struts and START
galleries are in the same building. But,
I basically make decisions about who
goes when and what we do with the
rest of the space. She also makes sure
artists have what they need, as well as
planning events. While the focus of the
START Gallery is on Mount Allisons
ne arts students, one does not have
to be an artist to be in the space. is
is a concept Canning is attempting to
spread on and o campus groups and
individuals. Case in point, Canning
says, I have zero artistic talent. But,
I love the feeling of being in an artist
community, even if not as an artist-
creator. While she does not spend
much physical time at the gallery,
she does spend most of her time
sending e-mails for the organization
and planning of events other than
student shows. Having organizational
skills is a plus, as well as good public
relations skills to get what both sides
want without oending anyone.
Canning was attracted to the job
due to her desire to work in a gallery
after she graduates from Mount
Allison. She says this could be
challenging, because gallery positions
are few and far between. When asked
if she would start her own gallery,
she laughs and answers, It depends
on whether or not I pass my math
classes and get a business degree.
Canning likes the concept of the
START and Struts galleries, being
student and artist run. e START
Gallery in particular supports local
culture, whereas Struts often features
more established artists from regions
near and far from Sackville. e Struts
gallery may display oil landscape
paintings, while the START Gallery
may feature a combination of
photography and sewing, such as
Nicole Smiths recently displayed work.
In order to fulll the objective of
creating a welcoming space for all,
the gallery will hold a contest for
a new START logo. In mid to end
November, the gallery will host a
contest, and attendees can vote for the
competing logos. e winner will be
announced the same night. Canning
believes this will promote a coming
together of artists and non-artists.
ough Canning may not have
a particularly clear inkling of what
she will do in the future with this
gallery management experience, she
says with condence that she loves
ose Streets
Kory dEntremont
ose streets were a church.
e sunlight fell like a hymn through
the branches
and the wind whispered like snow.
ose streets were a church.
On that tarry asphalt
the children danced the sermons
and laughed the homilies.
On that tarry asphalt a rolling
basketball was penance,
and a rocking helmet forgiveness.
ose streets were a church.
e beaches were pews facing
the sun; hung above the waters like
a drop of sunower oil on a spoon
hangs on itself, like June breathes
July-deep before dripping into
August.
Pausing like the hands of a boy pause
over
a girl as the sun sets
by the ruby red waves,
by the lips of waters by the cloudy lips
of sky.
ose streets were a church,
but I dont know if I have enough
faith left.
A little corner of poetry
her job at the START Gallery. Its
a lot of work, but I love it a lot.
The START Gallerys student coordinator Erin Canning dilligently
planning new events to welcome students and the community.
Vivi Reich
Internet Photo/Live Bait eatre
When you enjoy the story,
playing with the other
actor is a treat to do. And
audiences enjoy it. Its
funny and touching and
they get a kick out of us
playing so many characters. For a play that grew out of a
seven page story about love on Cape
Breton, Lauchie, Liza and Rory has
a wide appeal. It is a really specic
story, but thats what makes it so
universal, too, says MacLellan. It
captures something about Cape
Breton and Atlantic Canada, really,
that I am proud to be a part of.
Lauchie, Liza and Rory runs
October 2 and 3 at 8pm at Live
Bait eatre. Tickets are available at
Tidewater Books, and at the Live Bait
box oce at 87 Main Street. ey
can also be bought online at www.
livebaittheatre.com. is weekend, get
out and see the little show that could.
25 OCTOBER 1, 2009 THE ARGOSY ARTS & LITERATURE
Kristen Atkins: Line Constructions at START Gallery
Recent drawings and paintings by student Kristen Atkins
You may have missed it, but between
the Olive Branch and the Laundromat,
a little inconspicuous multi purpose
space has made its home in Sackville
since the summer of this year. It is
called under & Lightning, and it
exemplies the art culture and diversity
that makes Sackville what it is.
Artists Jon Claytor and Paul
Henderson, and photographer John
Haney have turned an old barbershop
into a studio, homemade sock (and
bag, clothes, and non homemade
items) dispensary, and local arts and
crafts repository. Paul Henderson
jokes, between the 3 of us [were]
pretty capable at a bunch of stu we
dont necessarily do full time: fashion
advice, interior decorating, private
investigation. When one enters the
store and peruses the shelves, it is clear
that the space is truly multi-purpose.
Hammers hang next to socks; rubber
boots in dierent sizes sit under a
homemade dress that hangs on the
wall. A large glass display case houses
postcards, hats, and local zines. Just
behind the counter, John Claytors
watercolour paintings cover the wall
in a corner. Other areas of the walls
are decorated with art by local artists
and photographers. Shirts hang from
a rack, next to a spinning wooden
creation by Leah Garnett of the Mount
Allison ne arts department. e focus
is obviously on local artists, necessary
merchandise, and a space for the
three owners to complete their work.
e space was acquired by Claytor,
Henderson, and Haney in early July of
this year. It is also the Sappyfest oce.
Sappyfest, a Sackville music festival
which just completed its fourth year,
attracts around a thousand attendees
from all over the world even from as
far as China. under & Lightnings
grand opening on September 19 was
a hit, attracting approximately sixty
people, half of which were Mt. A
students. It included refreshments
and music by banjo-playing Old Man
Luedecke, and was a nice turnout for
the community, as Henderson puts it.
Since then, people have come in
mostly out of curiosity, but Henderson
admits many people using the
laundromat next door have come in
just to ask for change. While the three
artists have no retail experience, they
opened the store as an experiment.
Henderson adds, its the complete
wrong way to operate a business.
Most people start a business with
a business plan and a direction of
what they want to do...[we] wanted
to remain ambiguous and open, and
see how much time we had and what
kind of things we wanted to do.
e store is not necessarily locally
focused, but instead community
focused. It is a place for friends of
Claytor, Haney, and Henderson and
the three owners themselves to display
and sell their work. It even goes so
far as to include furniture from the
Maritimes. e display case in the
front was bought in Riverport, Nova
Scotia. Henderson attached wheels
for easy access to the back. Next
to the front door sit three antique
and wooden attached fold-up seats.
Henderson explains they are from the
Condence Lodge, an Oddfellows
Hall in Riverport, Nova Scotia. A
friend of Henderson bought the hall
to renovate as a recording studio and
live music venue. Henderson says,
these are the theatre seats from
the balcony...eyre all over the
community because the hall has been
closed for quite a while. e seats are
on loan to under & Lightning until
the hall opens again with an inaugural
concert, at which point if you bring
your chairs back, you get in for free.
e space is an eclectic mix, very
dierent from the convenience stores
most people are used to. is day and
age has seen the ourishing of Wal-
Marts, shopping malls, and convenience
stores selling cookie-cutter furniture,
housewares, clothing, and even
artwork. Every piece of merchandise
has its place with the rest of its kind,
with no real variety from which to
choose. under & Lightning rejects
this retail practice. e peripheral
space of all [towns] is all exactly the
same, Henderson expands. You
know exactly what your coee is going
to taste like in every town in Canada.
He nds these homogenous stores do
not reect any type of culture, whereas
a place like under & Lightning
can inhabit the personalities of its
occupants. Its pretty exciting for us,
Henderson goes on to say. I see it as
one more step in what is great about
Sackville, that a space like this can
exist, but that there is so much going
on here culturally. Its almost annoying
how much stu you feel obligated to
go to or could go to. And I just keep
doing more. He adds with a smile
and a chuckle, Sorry. I apologize.
Please dont. It is this kind
of innovative space that makes
Sackville the vibrant place we all love.
under and Lightning opens in Sackville
Sackvilles new and unique convenience store oers arts, crafts, and miscellaneous goods
Vivi Reich
Argosy Staff
Drawings and paintings done with line and dealing with dichotomies, and includes gurative and abstract work. Large paintings with hidden images play tricks on the eyes as one studies the painting to discern
the main images from the lines of colour around them. e work is vibrant, colourful, and thought-provoking, especially Atkins exploration of chickens and their place in the world. A metaphor of the world
today or simplistic rambling? Go to the START Gallery and study these dynamic images to decide for yourself!
Photos by Jessica Emin
He nds [...] homogenous stores
do not reect any type of culture,
whereas a place like under
& Lightning can inhabit the
personalities of its occupants
Jessica Emin
Internet Photo/Sappy Records
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Geek Chic
of the Week
While not strictly geek chic (or indeed, chic at all), this instant-mullet kit is sure to light a re of ironic delight (or
actual disgust) in the hearts of all who gaze upon it. Unsurprisingly, its being sold for ten bucks US.
http://www.thingsyouneverknew.com/product/thingstowear/oddaccessories/ponytail+cap.do
October 1, 2009:
Ponytail Cap
Sci/Tech
News Ticker

Guy Lalibert, Cirque du Soleil founder, to become rst Canadian space tourist, will perform in orbit
ere has been much rejoicing in the
scientic community this past week.
For the rst time, an HIV/AIDS
vaccine trial has been shown to work
in a minority of people.
Sure, this might prompt questions
like, shouldnt we be rejoicing over a
vaccine that works in a large majority
of people as opposed to a minority?
However, AIDS vaccine trials
to date have been generally labeled
inconclusive at best and practically
cataclysmic at worst. One vaccine
tested in 2007 was stopped early
because it seemed to actually increase
the risk of infection for men.
e new vaccine, called RV 144,
is actually a combination of two
genetically engineered vaccines, which
individually were not shown to decrease
susceptibility to infection. e rst
drug, Alvac-HIV from Sano-Pasteur,
is actually a canarypox virus that has
three AIDS virus genes grafted onto
it. e other drug, Aidsvax, is an
engineered version of a protein found
on the surface of the AIDS virus. e
drug is grown in a broth of hamster
ovary cells.
RV 144 was tested on 16,402
volunteers in ailand in 2006 and
was found to be just over thirty per
cent eective. Half of the volunteers
were given six doses of two vaccines
in 2006, the other volunteers were
given a placebo, and the volunteers
had regular HIV tests for three years.
e sample of people was drawn from
across ai society, not limited to high
risk groups.
e interesting part was that the
viral load (the amount of the virus in
the blood) of those who did become
AIDS vaccine, almost
ai trial promising, but battle not over
infected, was roughly the same in those
who had received the placebo and
those who had received the vaccine.
Generally, it would be expected to nd
that the viral load was lower in those
who received the vaccine and still
become infected.
is evidence suggests that instead
of producing neutralizing antibodies,
the kind that are normally seen in
vaccinations, would ag the virus for
destruction; the vaccine might also
produce binding antibodies, which
would boost the immune response to
the virus.
While the vaccine is far from reliable
enough to market, the researchers are
lauding it as a key step in directing
vaccine research from here on out.
It is yet unknown as to whether this
vaccine would be successful outside
of ailand. Results have shown it to
be successful against the two main
strains of HIV in ailand, subtypes B
and E, though both strains are highly
mutable. Only B is common in Europe
and North America.
e ai study demonstrates why
the HIV vaccine eld must take a
balanced approach to conducting both
the basic research needed to discover
and design new HIV vaccines and,
when appropriate, testing candidate
vaccines in people, says Margaret I.
Johnston, director of NIAIDs Vaccine
Research Program within the Division
of AIDS. Both avenues provide
critical information that will continue
to help us better understand what is
needed to develop a fully protective
HIV vaccine.
SciTechLink:
Electron microscopy
of AIDS virus
http://bit.ly/XXQX2
Suzy Rogers
Argosy Correspondant
Gee Brain, what do you want to do
tonight?
e same thing we do every night,
Pinky - try to take over the world!
Growing up watching these two
vivacious rodents collaborate on plots
for world domination gave a generation
of children wild daydreams of a planet
under the control of a population
of mutant, sadistic lab mice. Due to
recent scientic work, it turns out that
the shows creators might not have
actually been too far from the mark
with what rodent demeanor could look
like in the not-too-distance future.
FOXP2 is a gene implicated
in human language development.
Scientists at the University of
Pennsylvania have altered the homolog
of this gene in lab mice to match ours.
In fact, the same gene in mice, though
it has a dierent function, is only one
base pair dierent from our own.
While no whispers of world
domination were heard, brain patterns
during vocalization were much more
Of mice and men in white coats
Human gene for language development inserted into mice
similar to ours (of course, on the show
they just wait until the scientists go
home for the day to speak). Curiously,
the vocalizations themselves diered
from the ultrasonic squeaks and
squawks of normal, everyday mice.
Perhaps this means that mice are
indeed formulating a dastardly
language of their own.
It is interesting to note that the
existence of the same gene in both
humans and mice gives strong evidence
for evolutionary theory. In fact, ninety-
nine per cent of protein-coding genes
are common between humans and
mice, showing that we must indeed
have a common ancestor. e reminder
of our genes are primarily responsible
for turning on and o the protein-
coding genes (only forty per cent of
the rest of our genome is common).
e FOXP2 gene in mice, as well as
humans, is responsible for all sorts of
development beyond speech, including
brain, lung, and gut tissues.
Of course, speech development
requires a whole lot more than just
this one gene. Vocalization is only one
of piece of a pretty big jigsaw puzzle.
So far as scientists can tell, messing
Ross MacLean
Argosy Staff
with this gene doesnt give the mice
the ability to decipher and interpret
phonemes. And mice, although pretty
intelligent, do not have the ability to
consider absent or hypothetical objects,
or hypothetical situations, some of the
key aspects to human language.
Brocas area, which is involved with
speech production, and Wernikes
area, which is involved in language
comprehension, were two of the rst
to be mapped in the human brain.
e next step in this eld should be
to see what changes could be made to
gene loci aecting these areas to bring
mouse language skills up to ours.
Mice certainly arent composing
Shakespeare just yet, but perhaps
one day soon our conversations could
transcend that species-specic border.
Other, less unnatural applications for
this research could include treatments
for autism and dementia patients who
lose speech capabilities.
SciTechLink:
Pinky and the Brain
describe neuroanatomy
http://bit.ly/172OCS
Internet Graphic /
thingsyouneverknew.com
WINDSOR (CUP) - Even though
nurses, doctors and pharmacists may
constantly tell you to wash your hands,
they may not be practising what they
preach.
A recent study conducted by a
University of Windsor researcher could
indicate that healthcare providers
might be speaking hypocritically.
Maher El-Masri, a research chair at
UWindsors nursing faculty, recently
collaborated on an observational study
with a University of Miami researcher
at an oncology unit in Miami, Fla. that
revealed some disappointing results.
In his study, which involved three
nursing research assistants observing
47 healthcare providers for a total of
612 observations, El-Masri found that
hand washing compliance rates were
as low as 42 per cent before medical
procedures, and 72 per cent after
procedures.
Furthermore, a fully proper
compliance, which necessitates
washing before and after any medical
procedure, only occurred 34 per cent
of the time.
According to El-Masri, there are a
number of variables involved in this
low rate, but ignorance is not one of
them.
Some people think it is due to a
lack of knowledge, but the truth of
the matter is that healthcare providers
know they have to wash their hands.
is is the rst thing they learn
when they come to medical school,
or pharmaceutical school, says El-
Masri.
Factors aecting this rate, according
to El-Masri, include understang
and prioritizing, but also include the
invisible nature of micro-organisms.
If I see blood on my hands, Im
likely to go and wash my hands. If I
touch urine, Im likely to go wash my
hands. But if I just move a patient
from a chair back to bed, for instance,
or I changed the IV bag for the
patient, the assumption is that I did
not do something that contaminated
my hands, he says.
Also aecting the rates of hand
washing were the risks involved
with the procedure, with healthcare
providers much more likely to comply
with proper hygiene if conducting a
high-risk procedure.
El-Masri further notes the eects
that over-washing can have on skin,
particularly that of females, who
generally have more sensitive skin.
Healthcare providers, he says, dont
want their hands to dry, and they
dont want their hands to crack. And
its known that if you over-wash your
hands, they dry, and they dont want to
do that. He notes that manufacturers
of hand sanitizer and soap are
beginning to address this with their
products, however.
El-Masri has studied predictors of
infection in many dierent ways, but
this was the rst time that he was
able to study hand hygiene as a factor,
because it is such a dicult statistic to
quantify in a survey.
He admits that every study could
have a limitation or a possible margin
of error, but he notes that this was
taken into account in his studys
adjusted analysis.
Despite the grave results of this
survey, El-Masri continues to stress
the strong need for hand washing.
He notes that it is the absolute
strongest prevention method for
disease and infection, including the
H1N1 virus.
El-Masri adds it is always a safe
precaution for students to wash their
hands even if they feel like their hands
may be clean.
Hand-washing hypocrisy in healthcare
Michal Tellos
University of Windsor
27
THE AFCDSY - SCENCE AN0 TECHNDLDCY
DCTD8EF 1, 2009
Matt Collett
Argosy Contributor
Soviet doomsday device online?
Cold War-era Perimetr system supposedly still active
Wisconsin Tourism Federation changes name to Federation for Wisconsin Tourism -- Bank of American sued for $1.784 x 10
21
In 1964 Stanley Kubrick directed
the lm Dr. Strangelove: Or How
I Learned to Stop Worrying and
Love the Bomb, which presented a
Soviet Union in possession of a fail-
deadly system. Called a doomsday
device, the device would guarantee
a retaliatory strike capable of
rendering planet Earth a radioactive
wasteland. When the Americans
accidentally dropped an H-bomb, this
fully automated system awoke and
detonated highly radioactive cobalt
bombs positioned across the planet
resulting in an apocalypse. Fortunately,
Kubricks vision was one of absolute
ction - who could be stupid enough
to build such a machine, whose sole
objective was to eradicate all forms of
life without thinking twice?
Well, according to an article
published last week in Wired, the
Soviets may have done just that. Even
more terrifying, it might still be active.
e system is called Perimetr,
though many have come to call it
Mertvaya Ruka, or Dead Hand. It is
thought to have been built sometime
in the mid 1980s, a time which P.D.
Smith, in his book Doomsday Men:
e Real Dr. Strangelove and the
Dream of the Superweapon, recalls was
when the Soviets realized that their
missile deterrent was not sucient
and whose command was likely to be
obliterated in an American nuclear
strike. Consequentially, Perimetrs key
feature, and its most terrifying, is that
it needs no orders from high ranking
ocials to carry out its function.
e actual infrastructure of the Dead
Hand is quite simple. Distributed
across Russia are various sensors
that relay seismic, radiation and air
pressure activity to central computers.
ese computes are located in bunkers
impenetrable to any known weaponry.
Inside the bunker are junior ocers
and regular enlistees assigned to the
unenviable task of fully activating the
In a study of 38,000 patients with
head injuries ranging from moderate
to severe, it was found that those with
alcohol in their system were generally
more likely to survive. e thirty-eight
per cent of patients who tested positive
for ethanol also tended to be younger
(around thirty-three to forty years
old), had less severe injuries and spent
less time on a ventilator or in intensive
care than those with no alcohol in
their system at all.
Basically, for every 100 sober people
with head injuries who died, only
eighty-eight would die who had raised
ethanol levels in their blood.
ese facts have led scientists
to question whether administering
Alcohol and brain injury - a working relationship?
New study shows that having a little alcohol in your system may actually save your brain from trauma
Jennifer Musgrave
Argosy Staff
Much of the Australian inland is
covered by desert, but last week urban
residents in New South Wales got a
little more sand than they bargained
for.
Last Tuesday, residents of Canberra,
woke up to an immense cloud of red
dust, reducing visibility in the city to
a minimum. Callers to ABC Radio
described the scene as something
from the end of the world. One man
looked outside his window and initially
thought that he had been spared from
a nuclear attack. Fire stations were
kept busy responding to smoke alarms
falsely set o by the dust. Asthma
patients ooded emergency rooms.
Overnight, the strongest rainstorm in
the capital in months turned all the
dust to mud and washed it away.
e worst of it reached Sydneys
four and a half million inhabitants on
Wednesday. e largest metropolitan
area in Australia saw sales on surgical
face masks soar higher even than during
the swine u crisis. Unfortunately,
masks couldnt be provided to many
birds and other small animals whose
lungs couldnt handle the dust. Sydney
International Airport saw multiple
grounded planes and incoming
e world ends in Oz
New South Wales, Australia dusted red
Ross MacLean
Argosy Staff
ights were diverted to Melbourne.
Unbelievably, by Friday wind had
carried dust almost two thousand
kilometers to New Zealand.
e storm originated in the far west
of New South Wales. It was caused by
a series of ordinary events, beginning
with a not uncommon period of
drought. Dry conditions plus a low
pressure system plus a cold front on
September 22 brought tons of dust
into the air, and a gale-force wind of
100 km/h brought the mountains of
dust to the coastal cities. At its worst
point, the storm was carrying away an
estimated 75,000 tons of dirt per hour
from the continent.
Photos illustrate the eerie
apocalyptic-like scenes. e media
made several analogies likening the
storm to the end of the world; in most
areas of the state, visibility was reduced
to 100 to 200 meters. Air quality was
rated as poor to hazardous, sending
at least 500 choking Australians to the
hospital. Two shermen were lost o
the coast but were later retrieved by a
coast guard helicopter.
No fatalities were reported.
SciTechLink:
Red Dust: Flickr
gallery of Sydney
http://bit.ly/oe3I8
ethanol to patients might help them
recover from brain injuries. e lead
researcher of this study, Ali Salim,
has suggested that the alcohol may
be reducing inammation and
resultant brain damage by blunting
the amount of adrenalin going to the
brain as a result of the injury. ere
still needs to be a better understanding
of the mechanisms through which this
occurs so that medical practitioners can
gure out the appropriate doses and
specic timing for treatments before
clinical trials can be considered.
Now, despite what you may
be thinking, while a little alcohol
apparently couldnt hurt to have in
your system before a brain injury, it is
also a fact that about fty per cent of
the people who actually sustain a head
injury are intoxicated. Additionally,
being a alcohol abuser increases both
Internet Photo/ Australias public broadcaster
Believe it or not, this picture is not related to the mushroom cloud
the likelihood and severity of head
injuries. In animal experiments it has
also been found that while a low dose
of alcohol can protect the brain from
injury, a higher dose can increase the
chances of death.
While Salims study might suggest
otherwise, it is evidently clear that
alcohol is still a major contributor to
brain related trauma and injury. e
risk of head injury is double in families
with a history of alcoholism than
those without, while the incidence
of head injury in alcoholics is two to
four times higher than the general
population. Alcohol drinkers also
suer more complications and severe
injuries than non-drinkers even if their
overall survival rate is higher.
It is also important to remember
that brain injuries are diverse, so that
while ethanol may help some, it may
not work for others. Brain injuries also
destroy brain cells which means that
the remaining cells have to work harder
to make up for the missing ones. is
also means that using alcohol after an
injury can endanger these cells (since
more alcohol spreads out over less
cells) and take away any progress you
make after head trauma.
Alcohol is generally considered to
cause more injuries than it can cure,
as it is associated with forty to fty
per cent of trac fatalities; twenty-
ve to thirty-ve per cent of nonfatal
motor vehicle injuries; up to sixty-four
per cent of res and burns; forty-
eight per cent of hypothermia and
frostbite cases; and twenty per cent of
completed suicides. Finally, each year
about two million Americans sustain
head injuries (half of which are a result
of alcohol use) with a resulting 56,000
deaths. ey rank as the fourth leading
cause of death and the leading cause of
death in people aged one to forty-four
years of age.
Head injuries are simply no laughing
matter; they often (if survived) also
lead to long term psychological and
behavioural problems. Despite Salims
curious ndings, the dangers are
obvious when it comes to alcohol and
risky behaviour: ultimately, your best
bet is just to play it safe.
SciTechLink:
Hangover science,
for those not
yet convinced of
this article
http://bit.ly/jtPi4
machine if necessary.
If the device is activated the
system has to check o four if/then
propositions: If it was turned on, then
it will try to determine that a nuclear
weapon had hit Soviet soil using the
network of sensors. If it deemed that
one had, the system would attempt to
communicate with a higher ocial.
If it did, and if some amount of time
passed without further indications
of attack, the machine would assume
ocials were still living who could
order the counterattack and shut down.
However, if the line to the ocials
went dead, then Perimetr would
assume that apocalypse had arrived.
en, launch authority for the entire
nuclear arsenal would be granted to
whoever was assigned to the bunker.
Essentially, this means the duty of
destroying the world as we know it
would be bestowed to an individual
whose most dicult decisions in the
line of duty, prior to the attack, would
have been choosing what to eat.
According to the Wired article, the
system is currently still active with
constant upgrades being made to it
under a veil of disconcerting secrecy.
It is Dr. Strangelove himself,
the ctional madman U.S. nuclear
strategist, who detects the systems
aw, albeit in Perimetrs cinematic
alter ego. After being appraised of the
systems existence and the likelihood
of its being triggered by a U.S. bomber
on an unauthorized mission to nuke
its Soviet target, Dr. Strangelove
exclaims, Yes, but the ... whole point
of the doomsday machine ... is lost ...
if you keep it a secret! Why didnt you
tell the world, eh?
SciTechLink:
HYDESim Nuclear
Detonation Simulator
http://bit.ly/PAzIM
Internet Photo/ ickr
SPORTS & FITNESS
is past Sunday the Mount
Allison rugby teams travelled to
Halifax to take on the Blue Devils
of University Kings College.
e womens game started at 3 p.m.
on the Wanderers Grounds elds. It
was a close game, ending with a 5-0
score for Mt. A late in the second half
with fourth year Jean T-Rex Baker
scoring the game-winning try. Kings
threatened twice, but were unable to put
points on the board. Samantha Wolfe,
Tara Keohan and Caylieh Robertson
all led the Mounties with phenomenal
play, crashing and rucking the ball hard.
Due to a double booking of the
eld, the mens team had to travel
to Dartmouth to face o against the
Blue Devils. It was an exciting game,
with a nal score of 17-17, the closest
the men have come to losing in over
three years. Conner Meagher, Dave
Maxwell and Brandon Strongman
put the points on the board for the
Mounties, with captain Josh Davies
successfully kicking one convert.
To have the home advantage for
the ACAA Championships in early
November, Mt. A will have to maintain
their rst place lead. Currently, the
women sit in rst place with nine
points while the men have a slim one
point lead over Kings. e Mounties
next home game is this Friday with
the women kicking o at 7 p.m. under
the lights against the NSAC Rams.
Kings test Mounties
Amanda Stewart and
Rachel Betuik
Argosy Contributors
Womens
Mens
5
0
17
17
e Mount Allison Mounties, for
the third consecutive game, were
unable to get any consistent kind
of oense going, leading to a 49-
27 loss against the visiting McGill
Redmen in the rst of two interlock
weeks between the AUS and QIFC.
ree-time All-Canadian receiver/
returner Gary Ross nally seemed to
nd his rhythm, accumulating 265 all-
purpose yards, including a 90-yard punt
return touchdown in the rst quarter
to get the Mounties on the board.
Freshman quarterback Jake
Hotchkiss got his rst career start after
sitting out of the Homecoming battle
last weekend, and showed a lot of
potential, but ve interceptions added
up to help put the Mounties away.
McGill used a big play to their full
advantage, starting o with a 53-yard
run by Andrew Hamilton on their
opening oensive drive to grab the lead.
Just over two minutes later, the
Redmen found themselves in their
rst punting situation of the game
and decided to kick it to Ross, who
broke a few tackles on his way to
the end zone to tie up the game.
e last three drives of the rst
quarter resulted in a pair of eld goals
for McGill and one for the Mounties
o a drive in which Hotchkiss
went three-for-three passing,
including a huge 55-yarder to Ross.
With the score 13-10 for the
visitors for much of the second quarter,
Hamilton ripped o his second huge
play of the game, going 85 yards
on a screen pass to double the lead.
O a quick interception by the
defense, McGill went 31 yards in
six plays to score again, but failed to
convert the extra point, making the
score 26-10. Following this, Hotchkiss
went ve-for-ve on a drive that saw
him improvise with Ross, sending the
veteran receiver deep after rolling out,
and connecting for a 31-yard gain. e
drive ended with veteran kicker Olivier
Eddie nailing an 18-yard eld goal to
cut the lead in half before halftime.
e third quarter provided the
1500 fans in attendance with some
excitement: after McGill scored to
make it 32-13, Hotchkiss showed his
ability to improvise again, this time
sending Adam Molnar deep for a 35-
yard touchdown, the rst touchdown
pass of his young CIS career.
Later in the quarter, Hotchkiss
found Ross on the trademark play
of Head Coach and Oensive
Coordinator Kelly Jerey for a 25-
yard touchdown to cut the lead to
ve, but unfortunately that was as
close as the home squad would get, as
the Redmen added more oense and
more points to nish o the game.
e oense just wasnt able to
get into a rhythm, said veteran left
tackle Aaron Harper. Too many big
plays against us, not enough big plays
from our side; thats what got us.
Indeed it was the big plays that
certainly helped shape the game,
with Hamilton tearing up the ground
game, with 254 yards on twenty-
eight carries, for a 9.1 average and
a pair of touchdowns. Redmen
quarterback Jonathan Collin passed
for 272 yards and two touchdowns,
and McGills star receiver Charles-
Antoine Sinotte was held in check,
accumulating only four receptions
for 39 yards and a touchdown.
Oensively for the Mounties,
Molnar had a career day, with 131
yards receiving on ten receptions,
while Ross collected 96 yards on four
receptions. Freshmen receivers Ryan
Slim Brady and Stu Stewie Moore
earned their rst career CIS receptions.
Matt Pickett was the Mounties
leading rusher with eleven carries for
65 yards, 50 of which came on two
long runs in the fourth quarter of 30
and 20 yards respectively. Hotchkiss
showed his ability to scramble,
with 24 yards on seven carries.
Hotchkiss went 18-of-31 for 258
yards through the air, and Jason Bertrand,
in relief, was 4-of-7 for 30 yards.
Defensively, the Mounties Big
ree were once again the leaders on
the D. Akwasi AK46 Antwi, Jeremy
Snoodler Snider and Ben Mad
Dog Halpern amassed the most
tackles with 11, 10.5 and 9 respectively.
As far as special teams went, the
Mounties had the edge, with Eddie
out-kicking his opponent Austin
Anderson, the son of legendary NFL
kicker Gary Anderson. Anderson,
with the help of punts of 4 and 7 yards,
punted for an average of 21 yards a punt,
while Eddie, behind a 62-yarder, the
longest of the season thus far, powered
his way to an 38.2 yard average. Eddie
was also a perfect 2/2 on eld goals
and 3/3 on converts, while Anderson
had three snaps mued on extra points
and also had a eld goal blocked by
sophomore defensive end Ryan Downe.
e injury bug began to hit
the Mounties big time this week;
receivers Jarrett King and Jared
Collett both sat out Saturdays game;
King with a season-ending knee
injury and Collett with a head injury.
Running back Scott Train Brady
left the game with a lower body
injury, as did safety Matt omson.
e Mounties now enter what
can arguably be called the toughest
three-game stretch in the CIS,
with a home-and-home with Saint
Marys followed by a trip to the
biggest show in the CIS at Laval.
Football Mounties lose rst interlock game
Injuries begin to add up
Wray Perkin
Argosy Staff
Women win; men escape with tie
Weekend Scoreboard
Rugby Soccer
Womens
Mens
2
0
3
0
Football
49
27
Callan Field Callan Field
29 THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS OCTOBER 1, 2009
e Mountie soccer woes continued
Friday night under the lights against
the UPEI Panthers. Both men and
womens squads struggled to nd
their rhythm with the women falling
3-0 and the men also losing 2-0.
In the rst game, the women faced
an impressive UPEI side. An early
goal by UPEIs Andrea Archibald put
the Panthers up 1-0 while another
goal by Kinza Baker gave them the 2-
0 lead at the half. e Lady Mounties
responded with a much better second
half, but faced with a two goal decit,
were unable to overcome their slow
start. AUS-leading goal scorer Tessa
Roche scored the lone goal in the
half, giving the Panthers the 3-0 win.
e mens game also saw UPEI score
twice in the rst half on their way to
the victory. Scores by Rookie Logan
Dawson and Jimmie Mayaleh gave the
Panthers the 2-0 lead and a scoreless
second half ensured a UPEI victory.
After the game Coach Barry
Cooper shared his thoughts:
Right now both teams, mens and
womens, are giving away unnecessary
goals, putting us under pressure,
which we are not handling well.
e Mounties hit the road this
weekend for a tough road trip with
stops at UNB and Saint Marys.
e mens team drops down to
fth place in the standings while
the women plummet to sixth.
Soccer woes continue
Mounties drop both games to UPEI
Sue Seaborn
Noah Kowalski
Argosy Staff
Another hockey season is upon us;
by the time this article is read players
and fans will be gearing up for the
four opening games on ursday
October 1. Now would seem as
good a time as any to break down
how the six Canadian teams look
going into the 2009-2010 campaign.
Montreal Canadiens
e Habs fell short of lofty
expectations last season, going in as
cup contenders before being swept
away in the rst round by the Bruins.
In the o-season, GM Bob Gainey
overhauled the entire team with the
only signicant returning piece from
last season being goalie Carey Price.
New forwards include Brian Gionta,
Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri,
with a number of additions on the
blue line as well. However, this team
may struggle for the depth they have
had in recent years as there may be too
much money tied up in high end free
agents. Short of spectacular play from
the new arrivals and Price, the Habs
look unlikely to see the post season.
Ottawa Senators
For the Ottawa Senators, the summer
was dominated by the seemingly
endless saga of Dany Heatly, and their
attempts to move him. He nally was
moved and the Sens got a couple of
good players in return, but whether
they can match the kind of production
Heatly can provide remains to be seen.
e Sens now lack that big gun theyve
had in Heatly, and Hossa before him.
New arrival Alexei Kovalev can be a
dierence maker, if he wants to be,
which Habs fans can say is not always
a given. With all guns ring the Sens
are a playo team, but not much more.
Toronto Maple Leafs
As a fan of the Maple Leafs Ill say
that this is the rst time I have been
optimistic at the start of a season
since the beginning of the 2003-
2004 season. While the Leafs are
only a playo contender at best, that
remains a major step up from the past
four seasons. Brian Burke has brought
NHL Preview
Ryan Esch
Argosy Correspondent
Internet Photo/Sports Memorabilia
into one description, so thats what
Ill do. In actuality these two teams
are both very similar. Both have
great goaltending, Calgary with the
ever present Miika Kippruso, and
Edmonton having added Nikolai
Khabibulin over the summer. ey
also both look to have a very strong
bluelines. While Edmonton pairs the
under-rated Visnovksy and Souray,
Calgary added Jay Bouwmeester to
play alongside Regehr and Phaneuf.
Where these two teams will be
made or broken is up front. Calgary
will once again depend on Jarome
Iginla for oense, as the rest of
the team is dedicated to that solid,
hard-working, physical, defense rst
system Flames fans are used to. If
Iginla is at the top of his game, the
Flames could be tough to stop this
year. Edmontons oense lacks that
one stand out scoring machine, but
may make up for it in scoring depth.
Horco and Hemsky lead a troop of
skilled, if undersized, forwards. But
the lack of an oensive giant may
prove the Oilers downfall. One thing
is for sure, the battle of Alberta will
interesting to watch this year. However
I do give a slight edge to Calgary.
Vancouver Canucks
While not my pick for the
Champions, the Canadian team with
the greatest chance of hoisting Lord
Stanleys cup is the Vancouver Canucks.
Much of last seasons team remains
intact. Luongo is still in goal, the Sedin
twins were re-signed, and the solid, if
uninspiring, defense of Bieksa, Salo,
and Mitchell remains intact. While
keeping this core, GM Mike Gillis has
added secondary scoring in Mikael
Samuelsson, and more blueline oense
in the name of Christian Erho, and
Mathieu Schneider. e Canucks look
to be the best of the six Canadian
teams, but remain just short of being
real contenders. It seems as though the
1993 Montreal Canadiens will remain
the last Canadian team to win the cup.
While the Leafs are only
a playo contender at
best, that remains a step
up from the past four
seasons.
some much needed grit to the Leafs,
particularly on their blueline, by adding
Mike Komisarek, Garnet Exelby,
and Francois Beauchemin. Burkes
other moves included the signing
of highly regarded Swedish rookie
goalie Jonas the Monster Gustavsson,
and a trade with the Boston Bruins
for American sniper Phil Kessel.
Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames
I know that fans of the Oilers and
fans of the Flames would love it if
I lumped their two teams together
30 THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS OCTOBER 1, 2009
For many of you Allisonians, this week
started out drizzling and miserable,
and you probably had a cold to boot.
I nd that when Im down and out,
the words of Chaucer melt into my
heart like a soothing balm, dont you?
I didnt think so. In fact, in all honesty
I dont usually go to Chaucer to nd a
soothing balm either. I go to the Jean
Coutu. Having reected on the issue, I
realized I that dont go to Chaucer for
anything. And thats where I decided
I needed to change my life this week:
by going to Chaucer for words of
wisdom on Canadian football. I know
what youre thinking: Chaucer didnt
write anything regarding Canadian
football. Of course, I grant that on
the face of it, this statement is true,
but I think if we all scratch deeper
than the surface, we can nd gems
of prose that are exceptionally tting
for the state of the CFL this week.
Just dont scratch too hard, or youre
going to need some soothing balm.
Forbid us something, and that
thing we desire. --- clearly here
Chaucer is referring to the pigskin
itself. When the opposition has it,
you want it. And thats what many
teams were thinking last weekend.
In front of a record crowd of 62,517
people at Commonwealth Stadium in
Edmonton, the visiting Saskatchewan
Roughriders capitalized on a fumbled
punt return to take the lead and win
the game. is placed them at 7-5,
tied with Calgary atop the West. ey
wanted the football more, and it gives
them a mark under the W column.
And brought of mighty ale a large
quart. In this instance, Chaucer is
referring to the eect of alcohol on
the minds of its consumers. In many
instances in Chaucers England, a
drunken brawl would break out ---
not unlike the brawl that broke out
between the Toronto Argonauts and
the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Of
course, this is not entirely unprovoked.
Consider that Winnipeg has a losing
record, as does Toronto. And quite
frankly, wouldnt you be frustrated if
you lived in Toronto? To add insult
to injury, the Blue Bombers were
victorious, moving up to 4-8, while
the Argos drop to 3-9; both teams
share the basement of the league.
Fighting doesnt solve anything.
e life is short, the crafts so long
to learn. Here Chaucer is referring to
the despair experienced by any team
opposing the Alouettes this season.
No one seems to be able to creatively
crack the core of the Montreal squad.
Martin Wightman
Argosy Correspondent
is would include the Hamilton Ti-
Cats, who were destroyed 42-8 by the
Als. Montreal now sits at 10-2, and
Hamilton plateaus at 6-6. Marcel
Bellefeuille, the coach of the Ti-Cats,
says they will ush the game down
the toilet. is is clearly an instance
where a literary phrase is meant
to be taken non-literally. Chaucer
would agree with me on this one.
Many a smale maketh a grate. I
dont know what Chaucer was getting
at here, but the grate could be a
metaphor for the gridiron. Or maybe
thats a simile, I dont actually know
that either. Regardless, Calgary was
able to defeat the British Columbia
Lions, courtesy of some exceptional
grabs by the Stampeder receivers.
Henry Burris provided some comic
relief when he tried to blast a victory
throw into the stands and instead
smacked the football into his own
helmet. No lasting damage though,
and the Stamps stay atop the West
alongside Saskatchewan at 7-5.
e Lions invert that record at 5-7.
Chaucer wrote in his memoirs that
one of his greatest regrets was not
living long enough to see Canadian
football. e agony of missing the
CFL is acute; as Chaucer says: people
can die of mere imagination. Dont let
Chaucers words haunt your memory
when you lie on your deathbed.
In your rst year of university, it seems
like there are so many opportunities:
to eat, eat, eat. Between late-night
pizzas and late night at Jennings,
it might seem like the so-called
freshman fteen is inevitable.
But with such high tuition, who
can aord to buy a whole new
(bigger) wardrobe? Mount A is full
of chances to work out and work
o all those calories, so that you
can still t into your skinny jeans.
Lets start with the basics. Walking
to and from meal hall often seems
like a workout all in itself, especially
from the South Side residences!
Walking is a part of everyday life on
campus, and thats why its the perfect
exercise for beginners. Try adding a
few more steps to your daily routine
by taking the stairs and taking the
long way to class. You wont even
notice these small adjustments, but
your body will. ere are also some
beautiful scenic trails in Sackville. e
Waterfowl Park is a great place to go
when you want to escape the craze of
campus life and enjoy a peaceful walk.
If a quiet walk in the park isnt your
cup of tea, you should check out the
tness centre. Its pre-paid with your
tuition so theres no fee for using it,
and who doesnt love free stu? e
tness centre has a variety of cardio
and strength-building equipment,
and there is usually an unoccupied
machine, even during peak hours.
Try out a few dierent machines to
see what you like best. If you prefer
to work out in a group, there is a
selection of drop-in classes that you
can go to. Going to group classes
with friends is a great way to socialize
and exercise at the same time.
Other fantastic options available
to students are intramural sports and
clubs. From tennis to hockey, there are
so many ways to get involved. is is
a very fun way to keep in shape and
to play a sport that you might not
otherwise have a chance to. If you have
a sense of rhythm and love to dance,
grab a partner and head to a Swing
Society meeting! Its guaranteed to
be a swinging good time.
Remember, weight gain in your
freshman year is completely normal.
No one can resist garlic ngers all
the time! However, with a little bit
of time and eort, you can keep t
and even have fun while doing it. No
matter what your particular interest
is, there is likely something at Mount
A that will be a great t, just like
those skinny jeans you love so much.
Sackville tness
Ilannah Donohue
Argosy Contributor
LONDON, Ont. (CUP) Looking to
add more satisfaction to your everyday
routine? Yoga, in the form of laughter,
may be just what the doctor ordered.
Rapidly changing the way people
ease tension in their lives, laughter yoga
is making waves among those of us who
live life in the fast (and stressful) lane.
Based on a simple, yet profound
concept, laughter yoga combines
exercise with a sense of humour
to provide revolutionary health
benets to the mind, body, and soul.
Envisioned by Indian physician Dr.
Madan Kataria of Mumbai, laughter
yoga began as nothing more than
a recreational club in the spring of
1995. With only ve members at its
inception, the belly laugh workout
has since grown to the status of having
more than 5,000 social laughter clubs in
more than 60 countries across the globe.
As explained on the founders
website, its premise is quite clever:
laughter is simulated as an exercise
in a group but with eye contact and
playfulness, developing into real and
contagious laughter. It is meant to be
a combination of laughing and yoga
breathing, in order to bring more oxygen
to the body and the brain. Laughter
yoga is based on the assumption that
the body cannot dierentiate between
fake and real laughter, and that their
physiological and psychological
benets are thus identical.
e connection between yoga and
laughter comes from deep within the
core. As one laughs, ones abdominals
rapidly contract and expand, in
eect tightening the underlying
belly muscles. In turn, this causes
an increase in oxygen intake which
works to eectively ush toxins
from ones body and bloodstream.
According to Duncan Cook, a
laughter yoga practitioner, there
are many benets beyond the
physiological ones to getting involved
Yoga with a laugh
Laughter yoga, an interesting alternative workout regimen
Ivana Pelisek
Interrobang (Fanshawe College)
Internet Photo/Amibest Med
Laughter yoga is based
on the assumption the
body cannot dierentiate
between fake and real
laughter...
with this workout regime. Aside from
its ability to bring buness to your
bod, strengthen your immune system,
and even potentially diminish the
signs of aging on your face, contact
with others in a laughter session
oers people a place where they can
be as they are, rather than how they
should be. is is especially benecial
in a societal culture where constraints
are placed on individuals to perform
or behave in particular way[s].
Aubrey Brownne, an 83 year old
retired Londoner and laughter yoga
enthusiast, is certainly convinced of
the exercises merits: it is the best
part of each and every day for me.
Doing these exercises makes me
feel young again and like I can do
anythingall I have to do is smile
and my troubles seem meaningless.
Cook states that a, laughter yoga
session can [also be regarded as a
form of ] meditation, wherein the
mind is allowed to rest for a period
of time. is is important for any
system - human or otherwise [and]
this contributes to calming the
mind stream, in turn leaving space
for greater awareness to take place.
Benets of
Laughter
Yoga:
Reduces
stress
Improves
morale
Boosts
productivity
Reinforces
teamwork
Sparks
creativity
31 THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS OCTOBER 1, 2009
Athlete of the
Week
Gary Ross
Receiver and return specialist Gary
Ross has won Mountie Athlete of
the Week honours for his all-star
performance in Saturdays football
game against McGill University.
ough the Mounties were defeated
by the visiting Redmen 49-27, Gary
put up some impressive numbers
contributing 265 multi-purpose
yards and two touchdowns. Scoring
his rst touchdown on a 90-yard
punt return, Gary ran back a total
of two punt returns for 133 yards,
putting him second in AUS career
punt return yardage (1,598), and
returned a kicko for 25 yards raising
his career kicko return yardage to
1,242 yards. With his four receptions
for 106 yards and one touchdown,
he becomes the conferences eighth
leading receiver in career receptions
(127), and tenth in career receiving
yards (1,962 yards). is season,
Gary leads both the AUS punt return
yardage, and average (9 for 200 yards).
A winner of three All-Canadian
awards, two in the same season last
year, (1st-team all-star special teams,
2nd-team inside receiver), Gary has
been an Academic All-Canadian,
an all-star receiver, and the special
teams player of the year in each
of his three seasons in the league.
A two-time University Athlete
of the Year, Gary is a former
resident of Windsor, ON, and is a
past city all-star and MVP from
Riverside Secondary School. He
is currently enrolled in fourth-
year Science and plans to pursue a
career in dentistry and coaching.
Other athlete of the week
nominees were: Lauren Ledwell
(soccer), and Pat Burtt (soccer).
Sponsored by Joeys Pizza and Pasta
Mountie Sports Week
Friday, Oct. 1
VS
Rugby vs. NSAC/Kings; 7:00 and 8:30 PM
Saturday, Oct. 2
Football @ SMU; 7:00 PM
VS
Sunday, Oct. 3
Lacrosse vs. St. FX; 2:00 PM
@
Come out and cheer!
VS
@
Soccer @ UNB; 1:00 PM and 3:15 PM
VS
Soccer @ SMU; 1:00 PM and 3:15 PM
@
Callan Field
WRITE FOR
SPORTS!
WIN A FREE
SLAPCHOP!
YOULL
LOVE OUR
NUTS!
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Great finger food and drink spe-
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tsa|-s \|-||
sae1o1o sae1o1o
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w|||
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