January 14, 2010 Making eavesdropping okay 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
VP Campus Life resigns amid charity controversy
Proceeds from the THUD nally dispersed
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
European-style sandwiches now available in Sackville
Deli shop opens this week on Bridge Street
Maggie Lee
Argosy Contributor
The THUD event on Halloween was to raise funds for UNICEF and Meal Exchange. The nal prots came out to $1441.65 for each organization.
Patrick Forestell
Pickles deli will offer a variety of imported products from Germany.
Maggie Lee
See MOTION page 5
See PICKLES page 2
As many have noticed, a new business
has set up in Sackville. e deli-style
restaurant and shop, named Pickles,
was scheduled to open its doors on
Wednesday, at the time this article
went to print. e European-style deli
will oer a new style of food to tempt
Mount Allison students and the gen-
eral Sackville community.
Gabi Hunter, the owner of Pickles,
said that her new store will specialize
in traditional European style sand-
wiches and other imported food and
specialty beverages from Europe. For
Hunter, a native of Austria, the objec-
tive of Pickles is to provide healthy,
high quality food. e price range for
an average sandwich will be between
$3.99- $5.49, depending on choice of
buns, bread, and toppings.
Hunter hopes to introduce the
concept of open-faced sandwiches to
the residents of Sackville. ese are a
traditional staple of the Austrian diet,
where the sandwich consists of only
one slice of bread served with top-
pings. e bread is typically denser,
and the store will oer a variety of
buns. Hunter also plans to add diver-
sity to the typical North American
experience of sandwiches by introduc-
ing German pickles. e dierence be-
tween North American and German
pickles, she explained, is that the latter
taste a bit sweeter and she encour-
aged potential customers to try them
for themselves.
Likewise, the sauces and spreads she
plans to use will follow European reci-
pes and will contain ingredients that
will add more diversity and avour to
the North American palette. She also
emphasizes that the bread and buns
used will be preservative free, while
the sausages are gluten and MSG free.
e deli will be oering an alternative
to the typical soda pop by introducing
European drinks such as San Pellegri-
no sparkling water, Limonata, Aran-
ciata, and the original Fanta. Other
original beverages include German
root beer and a non-alcoholic beer for
the designated driver.
e SAC is o to a rough start to the
year with the resignation of VP Cam-
pus Life, Patrick Forestell. He an-
nounced this decision in a letter read
at the rst SAC meeting, alleging that
the cause was a mismanagement of the
funds raised at the THUD Halloween
party.
According to Forestell, the proceeds
from THUD were supposed to be split
and the halves donated to Meal Ex-
change and the Mount Allison chapter
of UNICEF. Over the exam period it
was proposed within the SAC execu-
tive to donate $1000 to both organiza-
tions. is amount, however, was not
50 per cent, and the remainder of the
funds were left in the Student Activi-
ties Oce (SAO) account. Forestell
claims the intention was to cover the
losses from Last Class Bash, held in
December.
Although initially denying that the
money was ever intended for such a
purpose, when presented with written
evidence suggesting this as a possibil-
ity, the SAC admitted that this option
had been considered early on in their
discussions.
We discussed what could be done,
and that was one of our ideas, ex-
plained Ryan Sargent, VP Finance
and Operations. [It was] one of the
very rst proposals that we said, before
we even had an idea of what was the
outcome of Last Class Bash, which
we still dont really know [...] as we
progressed, that option of actually re-
allocating funds was never mentioned
again or voted upon. e nal decision
was that the funds were being split and
were being withheld, he claimed.
Forestell disputes the claim that the
SAC Executive did in fact ultimately
decide to do this. e Argosy has re-
ceived no copy of a written record
from the SAC of any decisive meeting
or email on this issue.
e major problem in my mind
was that, as an organization [...] we
were lying to students, said Forestell.
We were basically taking the money
and putting it where we hadnt said it
was going.
e SACs reason for withholding
some of the funds from THUD was
that they had not yet received all of the
bills, some of which had accidentally
been charged to ornton, which had
co-hosted part of the event. Others
were simply delayed in the chain of
paperwork.
We dont usually enter agreements
with charities for events like this be-
cause of the delay that it takes to get
bills from the university, said Sargent.
Its just the nature of how the -
nancial system works, agreed SAC
President, Trevey Davis. Because it
was a charity event, and the charities
needed money at the time, we gave
what we thought was an approximate
amount of what how much half of the
prot would be.
Sargent also stressed that the issue
was discussed extensively, although
mostly over email.
is was brought to the exec [...]
this wasnt a sole decision by [the SAC
Oce Manager] or myself.
Along with his resignation, For-
estell proposed a motion to rectify the
situation. Council held a lengthy and
extensive debate over the issue but
eventually accepted the motion, with
an amendment. e nal version al-
lowed for the remaining proceeds in
the Student Administration (SAO)
account to be split equally between the
two charities, after all of the nal bills
had been received.
I was ne with the decision that
was made, but I was disappointed that
it took council 2.5 hours to come to
the right decision, said Forestell.
ere was much confusion due to
the fact that revenues and expenses for
both the THUD and the Last Class
Bash are on the same account.
Its all on one line. e money goes
into one SAO revenue account, and
any bills come out of one expenses ac-
counts [...] that revenue stays in the
account to pay for other events [...] if
there was ever extra revenue it stays in
that account and if theres ever extra
expenses, it comes out of that account
and puts it in the red, claried Sar-
gent.
Forestell agree[s] that the funds
should have been left in the account,
however, they should have been iso-
lated for that event.
A further controversy stemmed
from the fact that the SAC sent the
cheque to the national UNICEF or-
ganization, rather than giving it to the
campus UNICEF group.
Are iPhones becoming
second best?
p 22 & 23
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2 JANUARY 14, 2010 THE ARGOSY NEWS
Mt. A to receive Federal funding
Senator announces funding for athletics infrastructure improvements
e SAC came back on January 6, 2010
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
Julie Stephenson
Argosy Staff
University, town and provincial representatives turned out for the announcement.
Sue Seaborn
Pickles hopes to cater to a new niche with its sandwiches and products
Continued from front page
e rst meeting of the SAC in 2010 was full
of controversy and unprofessionalism. Most of
the meeting was taken up with the resignation of
Patrick Forestell from his position as VP Campus
Life, and the issues he raised in respect to the dis-
persion of funds from the THUD event on Hal-
loween. Unfortunately, a great deal of movement
to get snacks, and whispering between members
meant that some Councillors were unable to hear
all of the nancial details reported by VP Finance
and Operations, Ryan Sargent. After a lengthy
and sometimes heated debate, Council passed a
motion to give out the rest of the funds after the
nal bills had been received.
e remaining business was dealt with rapidly.
Sargent reported the resignation of the Secretary
of the Union, while new assignments to sev-
eral committees were approved. Bennett House
Councillor Anna MacKay asked about the pos-
sibility of holding wet-dry nights at the Pub. Al-
though licensed to hold these kinds of events, the
Pub does not have the insurance to do so. Sat-
ellite Councillor Stephen Smith voiced several
concerns, all falling under the portfolio of the
VP Campus Life. He mentioned the lack of an
academic mentor for the satellite residences, and
was told that they should seek out the mentor
of their partner houses. It was pointed out that
ornton is also lacking an academic mentor, and
VP Academic Sarah Carrigan-Kent promised to
look into both of the situations.
Science Senator Duncan Bowes asked about
the amount of Internet porn he had been re-
ceiving to his Mount Allison email. Executive
members related similar experiences after post-
ing their emails to the SAC website, and recom-
mended linking Webmail to Gmail to those who
did not wish to receive these emails.
e next SAC meeting will take place on
Wednesday January 20, 2010 at 7 pm in Avard
Dixon 111.
Hunters business will incorporate a blend of lo-
cal and imported food. I wish to support local
business where I can.
And while the store will sell a variety of ready-
to-purchase products, such as spices, oil, vinegar,
candies, cookies, pasta, and jelly, all imported pre-
dominately from Germany, the sandwiches fea-
tured in her store, are locally made. For example,
a local baker and a meat supplier from Moncton
and Petitcodiac will supply ingredients.
Many students will remember this location
housing a Subway, which closed down in 2008.
Since then a sh and chips restaurant Flash in
a Pan attempted to establish itself. is failed to
catch on, leaving Pickles the opportunity.
Hunter has little anxiety or concern over the
quick turnover of businesses seen in recent years.
She is condent that her business will have a
comparative advantage, as her store will be oer-
ing something lacking as yet in the town.
e location is very good, beside the Bridge
Street Caf, with the university up that way. A
lot of the students are walking back, and they will
want to come in, she cites, also hoping to attract
locals, professionals and families. Despite Sub-
ways closure, this chains ability to remain in busi-
ness for sixteen years is an indication to Hunter
that the market can hold a sandwich place, and
that her store provides the right niche.
Food runs in the family, Hunter claims, al-
though Pickles is her rst attempt at owning and
establishing a business in the food industry. With
chefs in the family and her time in Austria as the
owner of a clothing boutique, she believes she has
the experience.
Hunter wants the shop to be welcoming.
We thought of what name could we use [and]
we wanted it to be catchy and fun so it makes
people smile. Her husband suggested the name
Pickles and they immediately knew it was right.
Hunter came to Canada after meeting her
husband, a New Brunswick native. ey have
since been living in British Columbia with their
three children. Last year they relocated across
the country to the Maritimes in the pursuit of a
slower pace of life, and the idea of starting a deli
slowly evolved. Hunters family began to realize
how complicated it was to nd something special
to eat in Sackville without venturing out through
the snowy weather to Amherst or Moncton. e
realization that Sackville needed a deli coincided
with her personal and professional aspirations.
With her children getting older, it seemed the
opportune time to explore new objectives, and
thus Pickles was established. e need for a deli
in Sackville, her dream to open up her own store
and the opportunity to get back to work life all
seem to have led onto a path to establishing
Pickles.
e popularity and longevity of the establish-
ment will be tested in the coming months, but
for those looking to expand their meal options,
Pickles European avours are a change from the
usual downtown food choices.
It was announced this past Monday that Mount
Allison will be receiving $752,000 to upgrade its
recreational facilities. New Brunswick Senator
and former senior adviser and director of strate-
gic communication to Prime Minister Stephen
Harper, the Honourable Carolyn Stewart Olsen
made the announcement in front of Mt. A stu-
dents, sta, faculty, Sackville residents, and local
media.
Acting as a representative for the Minister of
State, Keith Asheld, Stewart-Olsen indicated
that the funding provided would be used to re-
furbish [...] the tennis courts, repairing the light-
ing system at the athletic eld and improve [...]
the track, pool, and change areas at the athletic
centre.
e funding comes from the Recreational In-
frastructure Canada (RInC), a program that is
part of Canadas Economic Action Plan. e At-
lantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
delivers the RInC program for the entire Atlan-
tic region. While the Canadian government has
invested over $300 million in ACOA since 2006,
they have committed to investing $500 million in
RInC over a period of two years.
e announcement, which took place in the
athletic centre, comes as good news both to the
university and town communities. e Mayor of
Sackville, Pat Estabrooks, joined University Pres-
ident and Vice-Chancellor, Robert Campbell, in
praising the health benets and economic eects
of the announcement.
Campbell commented on the combination of
athletic and academic experience at Mt. A, saying
that the University strives to attend to all dimen-
sions of student life and that the funding would
have positive consequences with the town. He
later explained that there is a good division of re-
sources between the Mt. A and Sackville, as each
shares recreation resources the other does not
have access to.
During her speech, Estabrooks explained that
the funding and recreational upgrades are in sync
with the Town of Sackvilles adoption of a ten
year Recreation Plan. She also mirrored Camp-
bells statement by remarking that the relation-
ship between the university and town allows for
a quicker realization of plans to provide people
with the facilities needed.
Mt. A applied for the funding through the
RInC program which stipulates that the fund-
ing provided by the Government will be matched
by the University. As the guidelines explain that
projects are selected on the basis of merit and
construction readiness, the deadline for the up-
grades is March 31, 2011. e nal budget for
the recreational upgrades will be approximately
$1.5 million.
Pierre Arsenault, Director of Athletics and
Recreation, spoke at the announcement about
how the funding was very good news, not only
for Mt. A students but the community as a
whole. Calling it a needed facelift for the ath-
letic centre, Arsenault explained that the funding
will come in at the beginning of the 2010 scal
year on May 1 and they intend to begin immedi-
ately with the new school year in mind.
All speakers acknowledged the economic
benets of the stimulus funding and the gen-
eral positive consequences of the announcement.
Campbell commented that although the athletic
centre was the main beneciary of the funding,
the eects on the University and town commu-
nity show a national eort to maintain national
vitality.
THE ARGOSY NEWS 3 JANUARY 14, 2010
is week in the world
A weekly miscellany compiled by Kristina Mansveld
Julie Cruikshank
Attack on Togolese soccer team
e Africa Cup of Nations began on
Sunday without the Togo national
soccer team, after an attack on the
team bus left three dead and nu-
merous players wounded. e attack
took place in the oil-rich province of
Cabinda, a tumultuous region of An-
gola. A separatist rebel group claimed
responsibility for the violence. e
Angolan government had remained
silent regarding concerns that the
competition could take place safely,
and is yet to contact the Togolese
government regarding the attack.
Meanwhile, the football team col-
lectively decided that they preferred
to remain in Cabinda and participate
in the competition, but Togos gov-
ernment demanded that they return
home, where three days of mourning
will be observed to honour the dead.
New Croatian President vows to re-
duce corruption
Ivo Josipovic won Croatias presiden-
tial election by a larger than expected
margin of 60.3 per cent in the sec-
ond run-o vote. Josipovic promises
to lead an, uncompromising ght
against corruption and further Croa-
tias negotiations for European Union
membership. In his victory speech, he
proclaimed, I deeply believe that
all of us want to live in a country in
which work is rewarded and crime
punished, in a country of social secu-
rity and justice. Josipovic was likely
referring to the corruption allegations
staining the reputation of his political
opponent and Zagrebs mayor, Milan
Bandic. Cracking down on corruption
has been deemed essential in order for
Croatia to be accepted into the EU.
Malaysian religious violence rises
Violence between Christians and
Muslims continues to escalate in Ma-
laysia after a December 31 court ruling
legitimized a Christian newsletters
right to refer to god as Allah. e
attacks started on Friday in the capi-
tal of Kuala Lumpur and have since
spread. Eight churches and a Catholic
school have been targeted so far, and
rumours of a mosque attack continue
to circulate. Opponents of the ruling
argue that the word will confuse Ma-
lay Muslim. Catholic ocials main-
tain that the main readership of the
newsletter, indigenous tribes in East
Malaysia, has been using the word Al-
lah to refer to God for decades.
Chief charged for Zelayas expulsion
Senior Honduran military chiefs have
been charged with abuse of power
regarding their alleged role in the ar-
rest and expulsion of President Man-
uel Zelaya. Roberto Micheletti, the
countrys de facto leader of a military-
backed government, has promised to
step down on January 27, explaining
that the US has promised millions of
dollars in aid to Honduras if he does
so. e European Union, the US and
other nations froze aid after the coup
that installed Michelettis government.
Zelaya declared that the relatively mi-
nor charges upon individuals, seen by
some as mere scapegoats, are an at-
tempt to achieve impunity for the
soldiers by accusing them of minor
crimes. Michelettis government has
also discussed granting immunity to
those involved in ousting Zelaya.
Xe employees face murder charges
Justin Cannon and Chris Drotle, two
former employees of the American
private security rm Blackwater, were
charged with second-degree murder
and attempted murder on ursday.
e charges are related to a shooting
incident in Kabul following a trac
accident, which Drotle argues was
justied by a fear for his life. e two
men were employed to train the Af-
ghan National Army by Blackwater,
as ordered by the US Defence De-
partment. Widespread accusations of
recklessness and illegality plague the
private security rm, whose person-
nel have been involved in a number
of questionable civilian deaths in Af-
ghanistan and Iraq.
Jessica Emin
Pub tries out new strategies in hopes of increasing sales
Closure at the end of the year still imminent
To continue, the Pub needs students to come earlier and more often.
Rebecca Anne Dixon
Argosy Staff
e Trantramarsh Club, Mount Alli-
sons campus pub does not look set to
close yet. Although the prospects are
not encouraging, the Board is keep-
ing a positive outlook and trying new
strategies to cut costs, and to attract
students.
Over the holidays the Pub Board
held a crucial meeting to decide how
to move forward. Jonathan Scooter
Clark, the business manager explained
the three courses of action proposed:
to close down immediately, to stay
open and use some money to make
small but hopefully protable changes,
or to gamble and take all of the left-
over money for a big change.
None of the options were good,
Clark said, however he also stated that
it was unanimous consensus that the
middle option was the lesser of three
evils.
e most obvious change will be the
artwork in the Pub. Five hundred dol-
lars was spent on paint and supplies,
and student artist Corey Isenor was
asked to complete the work, as he de-
tails in the Argosy on page 20.
In trying to gure out what small
things we could do to make a dier-
ence, we thought supercial, visual
stu, explained Clark, pointing out
that the decorated wall is the rst
thing people entering the Pub will see
and that this had been one of the most
frequent complaints or suggestions.
e artwork was installed on Tuesday.
e university was involved in ap-
proving the paintings and they have
been very supportive of getting them
involved, remarked Clark.
e Board also decided to put $500
to improving the DJ equipment, which
helps with set-up and take-down time.
Other strategies included the residence
drink competition, updating the web-
site (which had still used photos from
the old Pub location), and cost cutting
measures, such as having a dance oor
in the main area of the Pub.
We wanted to give students a
couple weeks o the Pub, come back
and feel like a fresh start, said Clark.
So far it seems to have worked, with
higher sales reported for the rst week
of January. Not using the solarium
saves the Pub money on many fronts,
including not only the rental fee, but
custodial services and the risk of dam-
ages to the facility.
Clark summed this up astutely: By
not having the solarium we save at
least $350 a night, and considering our
average markup, thats about $800 in
sales that we dont have to have.
Despite these changes, the current
situation points to the Pub having to
shut down after this semester. Many
problems have been cited for this,
from not having a dance oor and
poor acoustics to the current sluggish-
ness of the economy and rising labour
and product costs. e multiplicity of
causes make it dicult to identify a
specic project that could reverse the
Pubs misfortunes.
On Monday, the Pub held another
meeting, which without new nancial
information, mainly upheld the status
quo determined in December.
e university representative on the
Board, Michelle Strain said there was
a very frank discussion about the fu-
ture at the meeting. Ive been on the
board since 2003 and I have to say
that it was the rst time that people
seriously discussed the future of the
board.
However, there were few specics
determined at the meeting, since the
situation by the end of the year was not
yet certain.
Were still hoping that the Pub
board can turn it around, because that
would be the best thing. If they cant,
we have to be starting to think about
[that], although we havent really come
up with a plan, said Strain.
She conrmed that the university
would look at installing another kind
of student venue in its place, because
it would be crazy to leave such a cen-
tral space empty. e university has
not discussed this yet.
is would mean that the Pub was
no longer student-owned.
e way it works now is that we
have a voice to impact the way that the
Pub is run, said VP Academic Sarah
Carrigan-Kent. Its kind of a special
place right now, where we have so
much input.
Students make up the majority of
the Pub Board, with several positions
reserved for them, and several at large
that can be lled. Additionally, there is
an ocial SAC representative partici-
pating. Carrigan-Kent points out the
benets of this being that this execu-
tive can receive feedback from the SAC
Council, and provide councilors with
information to relay to their constitu-
ents. Usually it is the VP Campus Life
who sits on the Board, however due to
this executives recent resignation, VP
Finance and Operations Ryan Sargent
was selected by the other executive to
take over the position.
Clark and Carrigan-Kent were
equally adamant that the best thing
students can do is to come out to the
Pub more often, and earlier.
We cant make the pub work based
just on the people who show up at
midnight on Saturday, stated Clark.
Strain agreed that there is little else
that will make the dierence you can
go as far as you think [with dierent
strategies] and even beyond, but if
people arent coming...
Carrigan-Kent thinks that the
threat of the Pubs closure isnt real yet
to students and that they dont realize
how critical it is right now.
Comments and suggestions are
welcomed by the Board at any point.
Clark said that the majority of the
comments do actually get discussed in
meetings and are especially important
at this stage.
For now the Pub is in limbo and
must wait on student support, hoping
its new strategies will encourage more
people to come and enjoy its facilities,
whether they wish to dance or to sit
and socialize with their friends after
a day of classes. e Boards next key
meeting is scheduled for February 15,
at which they will review nancial re-
ports from January and look again to
what sort of future is in fact feasible
for the Pub.
THE ARGOSY NEWS 4 JANUARY 14,2010
Clickers are used to monitor student participation, ask questions and administer quizzes in large classes.
Jessica Emin
Fume hood work disrupts lab work
Funding deadline means construction must go forward despite classes
Susan Rogers
Argosy Staff
Construction means cancelled labs for most of the semester.
Students reactions are divided between relief and frustration.
Callan Field
New device to measure students classroom comprehension
Opinion divided over use of student response systems
Susan Rogers
Argosy Staff
Mount Allison has seen an increased
use of student response systems as a
teaching tool in class rooms this year.
e little devices, more commonly
known as clickers, resemble a TV re-
mote, and are gaining widespread ac-
claim at universities around the world.
Professors nd them a good way to
engage students, to break up the bore-
dom of a long lecture, and to ensure
that students understand what they are
being taught.
Biochemistry professor Dr. Amanda
Cockshutt used clickers with her rst
year biochemistry class this fall. Previ-
ously she had found it dicult to tell
which students in her largest classes
were entirely lost, and which ones were
simply bored because they had seen
the material before. With the clicker
system, she could ask students a ques-
tion and receive an immediate result,
informing her of the percentage of the
class who had correctly answered the
question. e clickers were also help-
ful for tracking class attendance. e
clicker tools can show other statistical
data about students answers.
It tells you who is in class everyday
and whether those people understand,
said Cockshutt. Dr. Elliot Stollar, who
is also implementing clickers in one of
Mount Allison chemistry and bio-
chemistry students are facing several
weeks worth of disruptions to their
course-work this semester, as another
phase of the fume hood replacement
project in Barclay puts several teaching
labs out of commission.
e ongoing work in the building,
which is being funded by a govern-
ment project called the Knowledge
Infrastructure Program, must be com-
pleted by March 31 in order for Mt.
A to receive the funds. As the funding
was only awarded to Mt. A over the
summer, the project has been running
full tilt in order to nish on time.
What this means for students is
that scheduled labs have had to be
cancelled due to construction work.
e estimated time required to nish
work on each oor is six weeks. With
the need to keep the project moving
forward rapidly, it is not feasible to
proceed room by room, and so each
oor will be shut down one at a time
to complete work.
Currently the most aected labs
are those scheduled to be on the third
oor of Barclay, which is where the
work is beginning. Due to the smaller
class sizes, the biochemistry lab was
moved temporarily to second oor.
e Organic Chemistry course, how-
ever, could not be moved due to class
size and problems with moving all of
the required equipment, and has had
their lab time cancelled until work is
nished on third oor.
e department has been creative in
nding other work that can be done, in
an attempt to oset some of the impact
that missed labs will have on students
quality of education. Some alternatives
to lab work have been organized, in-
cluding more computer based labs, and
TA run problem-solving tutorial ses-
sions. Other courses will give students
data to work with if the construction
interferes with their scheduled major
lab projects so that they are at least still
able to develop their lab report writing
skills.
Dr. Stephen McClatchie, Provost
and Vice President Academic at Mt.
A, said that when plans for this project
were originally drawn up they were for
a project in phases, which would have
been completed over the course of
two summers, so to not interfere with
school work. When the government
funding was awarded however, all
work had to be nished by the end of
the scal year, and the project, which
began over the summer, had to be con-
tinued into the academic year.
If someone were to ask, well, this
timing doesnt seem to be very appro-
priate? or why in the world are we do-
ing it in this way? they would be abso-
lutely right, explained Dr. Ollerhead,
Dean of Sciences. e problem is
simple [...] the reason that this project
is going ahead is because the federal
government gave us money [] so we
didnt know, say, two years ago that we
had the money.
It is certainly true that the new fa-
cilities will be better for current and
future generations of students at Mt.
A, as they will greatly enhance the air
quality in Barclay building, and pro-
vide more fume hood space to carry
out work in teaching labs. e facilities
will also put spot ventilation in rst
year chemistry labs, which will im-
prove safety for working students.
Professors research labs will also be
disrupted during the process, however
class rooms and the Cragg Resource
Center in the Chemistry building,
will not be aected by the lab recon-
struction. Head of the Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Dr.
Glen Briand, added that he doesnt be-
lieve the work will interfere with hon-
ours student research, because most of
them are writing their theses at this
point and have their lab work more or
less wrapped up.
While the schedule cant be mapped
out precisely due to the nature of the
work, and surprises that keep pop-
ping up (such as duct work that was
never connected when the building
was built), the goal is to have the work
nished by the March 31. One ben-
et of this is that it means a single
year of disruption to lab work, rather
than having disturbance spread over a
couple of years.
Student reaction is mixed, particu-
larly among those in Organic Chem-
istry who are not likely to begin labs
for another six weeks.
I have mixed emotions about the
Organic Labs being postponed, simply
because I feel like Im being cheated
out of my education, said second year
student Chris Stone. But in a way Im
sort of happy because I have six weeks
of an afternoon free. Other students
feel similarly, citing the benet of a
change from the ordinarily hectic lab
schedule, but lamenting that they are
missing weeks of the lab education
that they are paying to receive.
Inconvenient as it is for the mo-
ment, it appears both the students and
the administration have little choice
but to deal with the annoyance, while
waiting in anticipation of the state-of-
the-art facilities they will have in the
future.
Ollerhead summed up the situation
astutely: e bottom line is, is it ideal?
Absolutely not. From a management
perspective, doing it in the middle of
the term? Absolutely not. Is it ideal
from the big picture perspective? At
least in my view yes, because well end
up with a far more sophisticated and
far more modern ventilation system
which will ultimately be healthier and
safer for everybody.
his classes this year, said that he likes
the idea of them because often stu-
dents are too afraid to admit that they
dont understand, even when directly
asked in class. With the clickers he
will be able to ask a few questions per
class period, and know for certain if his
large class really understands what he
is teaching.
While many professors seem to love
the device, students have more mixed
reviews. e reason for liking or dis-
liking the clicker was the same, said
Cockshutt, who polled her students on
their opinion of the tool. e clicker
forced them to come to class and keep
up with course content.
e Argosy heard many grumblings
of discontent at the mention of click-
ers, though most students were un-
willing to go on the record with their
comments.
I liked the idea of the clickers, but
I found they were stressful, said one
second year student, who used a clicker
last semester. ey were a good idea
all around, but, speed became an issue,
and it just made a lot of people very
stressed sometimes.
Some students also disliked being
tested immediately on material that
when has just been presented to them,
particularly when professors award
marks for clicker questions. While
some professors award marks mainly
based on attendance, the way in which
clicker work is graded depends on this
class.
ere were students, however, who
enjoyed having clickers in class.
I kind of liked them, actually. Despite
the pricing, and the need for a Visa to
set one up (which was a major issue
for many students), the clickers al-
lowed the professor, and the students,
to know just what we knew at the time
-- if a whole class bombed a question,
we went over it and talked about it.
It was a good system, in class, said
Tristan Roddick.
Second year student Allie Byrne has
just started using a clicker one of her
classes this semester.
Ive never used a clicker before, so Im
willing to give it a shot, she said.
One of the biggest problems with
the device seems to be the price. Cost-
ing $13.00 US just to register for a
course, the clickers are a steep invest-
ment for students, particularly at Mt.
A where only a few courses use them.
And while some other universities will
buy back clickers at the end of the se-
mester, and re-sell them to other stu-
dents in the same way as textbooks,
Mt. A doesnt yet oer this option.
Whether clickers will catch on as
much at Mt. A as they have at other
universities remains to be seen. As Mt.
As class sizes are already quite small,
the devices would only be useful in the
larger rst and second year courses.
Whether student opinion will grow
as they are implemented more often is
another question remaining.
ey were a good idea all
around, but, speed be-
came an issue, and it just
made a lot of people very
stressed sometimes.
Reporter Michelle Lang killed in Afghanistan
Five new Canadian deaths close 2009
Sam Reynolds
The Peak (Simon Fraser University)
UNB announces rst First Nations governance degree
School also looking to design a culturally appropriate teaching curriculum for Aboriginal students
Sarah Ratchford
CUP Atlantic Bureau Chief
Foundational subjects will be designed to be culturally appropriate.
Jessica Emin
BURNABY, B.C. (CUP) - Four Ca-
nadian soldiers and a journalist didnt
live to see New Years Eve this year.
On December 30, Calgary Herald
journalist Michelle Lang and four Ca-
nadian soldiers were killed when an
improvised explosive device destroyed
the armoured vehicle they were travel-
ing in near Kandahar.
Late on the afternoon of January 3,
the bodies of Lang and the four sol-
diers arrived at the Canadian Forces
Base in Trenton, Ont. A repatriation
ceremony was performed on the ve
bodies at the base.
Repatriation ceremonies are nor-
mally reserved for military personnel;
however, Canadian Forces Repatria-
tion Ocer Capt. Wayne Johnston
explained in a QMI Agency story that
an exception was made in Langs hon-
our.
She was in Afghanistan obviously
doing the job she loved [. . .] She died
with soldiers telling the story about
soldiers and the good work they are
doing, said Johnston.
Lang is the rst Canadian civilian
to be repatriated.
e journalist originally arrived in
Afghanistan on December 11, 2009
and was scheduled to leave on Janu-
FREDERICTON (CUP) Students
at the University of New Brunswick
are the rst in the country to have an
opportunity to study for a degree in
First Nations governance and man-
agement.
e bachelors degree was an-
nounced on January 6 as part of a
series of Aboriginal post-secondary
initiatives for the province of New
Brunswick for which the government
is allotting $1 million.
e standalone degree, the rst of its
kind in Canada, is being implemented
at the request of First Nations com-
munities, says Dr. Linda Doige, direc-
tor of the Mikmaq-Maliseet Institute
at the UNB Fredericton campus.
She says the process thats being
followed to form this degree is just as
important as the nal product.
We have already held a series of
conversations with First Nations com-
munities regarding the needs, the
ideas, what the content might be for
a degree, and what would be the top-
ics that First Nations people feel are
necessary to explore in a degree in gov-
ernance.
e degree, Doige says, will assist
First Nations people to govern them-
selves as opposed to being dependent
on other forms of governance, by giv-
ing them understanding of how gover-
nance functions.
is will assist First Nations people
with self-governance within their own
communities.
Details of the degree are still in pre-
liminary stages, but it will be interdis-
ciplinary in nature, including courses
from a variety of dierent faculties.
e degree will be granted through the
schools faculty of education.
e First Nations education fund-
ing will be split between New Bruns-
wicks major post-secondary institu-
tions, including UNB Fredericton
and Saint John, St. omas Univer-
sity, lUniversit de Moncton, the New
Brunswick Community College cam-
puses and the New Brunswick College
of Craft and Design.
e money is intended to recruit
and retain Aboriginal students, as well
as developing programs to help them
pursue an education.
Donald Arsenault is New Bruns-
wicks minister of post-secondary edu-
cation, training and labour. He says the
making of this degree program goes
along with the provinces action plan
to transform post secondary educa-
tion in the province.
Part of the action plan is to give
access to more individuals, says Ar-
senault. e Aboriginal community
has tremendous opportunities. is
program respects that community and
gives them a wealth of opportunity. Its
also the rst of its kind in Canada, so
that speaks volumes as well. Im very
proud to provide the funding in order
to do this.
Jonathan Dutcher, part of New
Brunswicks Maliseet community, is
currently pursuing a degree in music
at St. Francis Xavier University in An-
tigonish, N.S. He says the creation of
this degree is an important step for-
ward.
I think its a good initiative. ere
hasnt been a real attempt towards
First Nations governance anywhere
in Canada. Its a big step forward for
UNB to be doing that, says Dutcher.
Aboriginal communities need better
educated leaders.
Jaden Keitlah, national aboriginal
caucus chairperson for the Canadian
Federation of Students (CFS), says he
applauds the government for recruit-
ing, but that there are funding prob-
lems at the federal level.
Status First Nations and Inuit pay-
ing for school only have a 2 per cent
increase per year since 1996. e gov-
ernment has failed to keep pace with a
rising cost in education, he says.
Despite this, Keitlah calls the devel-
opments in New Brunswick a huge
step towards getting First Nations in
the door.
Arati Sharma, national director of
the Canadian Alliance of Student As-
sociations (CASA), agrees the new de-
gree is a step in the right direction.
From CASAs perspective, we think
this is great. It fullls the need for a
unique program. Its lling a niche for
underrepresented students. Inuit, First
Nations, Mtis aboriginal students
need access; any sort of programs ca-
tered towards their group is fantastic.
Doige says that UNB has also been
given funding to evaluate and design a
pre-service teacher curriculum in core
subjects such as English, math and sci-
ence that would be culturally appro-
priate for First Nations students.
Anyone planning to teach First
Nations students would take these
courses, the details of which would be
developed in the same way as the gov-
ernance and leadership degree.
Well be asking First Nations
people what exactly should be in these
courses. What were doing is decolo-
nizing content.
Doige says that material currently
being taught in public schools will
have to be looked at from a dierent
perspective and taught in a dierent
way in order to respect First Nations
cultures.
is is not a bunch of people who
know about governance saying is is
what it should be. Its First Nations
people saying we want this, this is
whats important to us. Its been lis-
tening, not talking.
e degree will be kept inclusive,
and it will be open to all students in-
terested in learning about its subject
matter, not only First Nations stu-
dents.
e First Nations governance and
leadership degree is expected to be
available for enrolment in the next two
years.
ary 22, 2010. She was covering the war
for the Canwest News Service, and
was assigned to tell the story of the
Canadian experience in Afghanistan.
Lang was travelling with a provincial
reconstruction team when the group
was killed by the explosive device.
Originally from Vancouver, Lang
graduated from Simon Fraser Uni-
versity with a bachelor of arts in Eng-
lish. While attending SFU, Lang also
wrote for the news section of the SFU
student newspaper, the Peak from
1996-1997, covering campus events
and student politics.
After graduating from SFU, Lang
worked as an intern at the Prince
George Free Press. She later moved
on to reporting jobs in Regina and
Moose Jaw before being hired by the
Calgary Herald in 2002. In May 2008,
Langs journalistic abilities earned her
the prestigious National Newspaper
Award for her coverage of health care
and medicine issues in Alberta.
In addition to writing for Canwest
News Service while in Afghanistan,
Lang blogged about life in the Kan-
dahar Aireld, a base where Canadian
troops are stationed. e last post on
her blog Afghanistan Dispatches was
about a hair stylist from Fredericton,
N.B. hired by the Canadian Forces to
be a combat barber in Afghanistan.
In an article for the Vancouver
Observer, fellow SFU alumna Stacey
Robinsmith described Lang as some-
one who had a strong work ethic and
stood her ground.
Lang is the seventeenth journalist
killed in Afghanistan since the mis-
sion began in 2001. To date, 138 Ca-
nadian troops have lost their lives in
Afghanistan.
Internet Photo/Calgary Herald
THE ARGOSY NEWS 5 JANUARY 14,2010
A motion was passed to distribute the funds equally between UNICEF and Meal Exchange
Continued from front page
We werent raising money to give
to a club to hold events, were raising
money for UNICEF, for use for their
work, said Sargent. He added that the
money earned by the group for their
work operating the coat check was
given to their club activities. Similarly,
he said, Meal Exchange provides ma-
terials for the fundraising campaign,
but allows groups to support their lo-
cal food bank.
Nathan Walker, President of UNI-
CEF Mt. A appeared shocked when
this was revealed at Council.
e agreement that I had made
[was] that it was going to go to the
UNICEF club on campus, to support
the campaigns that they have been de-
voting time to on campus, said For-
estell, who suggested and coordinated
the charitable aspect of the event. I
do think that the executive has shown
a lack of trust in a student group on
campus by making a donation to the
national organization, when the agree-
ment was made with a campus group.
Walker explained that it was the
result of a miscommunication between
members of the SAC executive, and
were happy with the resolution that
was reached in council. In a statement
he said that Unicef Mount Allison
values [its] relationship with the SAC,
and [it] look[s] forward to working
with them again in the future.
Forestell felt that resigning was the
only plausible way of bringing this for-
ward to Council, as the other executive
had shot down his suggestions to do
so, saying it was an internal matter in
the portfolio of the VP Finance and
Operations.
I think its a wake-up call to coun-
cillors, as this was the rst time a lot
of them had heard of this issue, said
Forestell. In the end I hope that [...]
all of the councillors on council will
represent their students, will represent
the people who donated to this cause
[...] and to continue to require trans-
parency, and to continue to require ac-
countability.
e other executive reject these ac-
cusations of nancial honesty.
e integrity of the SAC in terms
of the nances, I think is healthy, and
was followed to the letter of the law,
said Davis. I think the only sort of
questions about integrity come from a
lack of professionalism and levelhead-
ed discussion.
Although the bills have since been
received and the full prots split fty-
fty between the two charities, For-
estell believes this was not the SACs
original intention and did not feel
comfortable continuing to work in his
capacity as an executive. e SAC say
there was never any real problem, and
that all would have been dealt with ac-
cordingly, in time. While, there is no
way of determining what would have
conspired, Mt. A students can at least
be glad that their charitable support
was not, in the end, waylaid.
OPINIONS
In my role as Editor of e Argosy, I
read through each article before it goes
to press. Not only do I essentially get
a heavy view of the issues we cover, I
also tend to see the other side of issues
as I watch editors and writers work
through them. I harbour no grand
belief that I know more than anyone
else and I am the rst to admit that
I am as capable of missing details as
the next person. My position as Editor
does not give me super powers in any
area.
However, over the past four months,
I have been continually confronted
with the fact that there is a lack of
awareness. We may be amazingly adept
at feeling compassion and sympathy
towards others, and we are certainly
talented at being passionate about the
things that we care about. Yet, can we
be passionate about the things that
dont strike a chord in our lives, that
dont tug at our heart strings?
Maybe its not about being
passionate, but about being aware.
When my roommates asked what I
was writing on for my weekly editorial,
and I replied by saying awareness,
they amusedly asked awareness about
Knowing is half the battle
Having an awareness of the world around you is critical
Julie Stephenson
Argosy Staff
what?
Its not about what specically...but
the concern of being aware of as much
as we can.
So much has happened over the past
year. At Mount Allison, we have seen
our student government stumble over
several complications, student numbers
rise, the launch of our own observatory,
and inuential faces such as Stephen
Lewis have graced our podiums. On the
global platform, there has been a Black
US President, an economic crisis, two
Canadian governmental prorogues,
continued warfare, multiple human
rights violations, and the H1N1 asco.
If you recognized the majority of those
matters, congratulations. What about
the other issues? Do you know about
the changes in teaching evaluations at
Mt. A, health care options for students,
Sackvilles Film Festival, or that wind
power is now a possibility in town.
I am not trying to point out
shortcomings or aws in the masses at
Mt. A. If I were, I would be pointing
to myself before anyone else. Instead,
I am hoping that instead of making
New Years resolutions about weight
loss, making it to all your classes
this semester, or drinking less, try
committing to being more aware.
Surprisingly, it takes less eort than
the traditional resolutions.
Make an eort to take ve minutes
to browse a news site, pay attention
to global issues, and be aware of local
issues. Despite the fact that most of
us are away from Sackville for ve
months out of the year, we are still
residents. It pays to listen to the town;
you nd out that they are searching
for new doctors and by-laws against
idling and in support of solar shading
are being considered.
Next time I go walking through
campus looking for comments on
current issues, I would love not to hear
the phrases I dont know about that
or what is that?
If you turn to the Features section
of the Argosy, you will nd an editorial
on the proposed anti-homosexual law
from Uganda. e article details the
possible human rights violations that
are occurring in the country; results
of a group of people who are unaware
or choose to be unaware of the gross
indecencies and hypocritical thought
they are promoting. We are certainly not
in line with the Ugandan government,
but all it takes is ignorance or decisive
inaction and we become part of the
damage.
At the end of the day, it is your
decision how much you are involved
in physically changing or aecting
something. Sometimes we cant
commit to an event or charity. Being
aware of whats going on in the world
around you, in the town around you,
and in community that surrounds you,
is probably one of the easiest changes
you can make.
ere are other articles within the
Opinions section that speak about
acting now and making sure our rights
and freedoms arent taken away from us.
Each of those writers make intelligent
comments about the current state of
aairs in Canada and the world today.
You should read each of them carefully.
Dont let other people tell you what to
think. is is the year of International
Engagement, after all.
Missed@MTA
Dear Mr. Pear,
I really miss our nightly
cribbage matches. Looking
forward to beating you in the
New Year! XOXO,
Worst Musician Ever
Yellow Hat Soc Exam
You walked into our soc exam
wearing a yellow hat and our
prof said he didnt want to
mess around with you. I, on
the other hand, would love to
mess around sometime.
To German universities
Please stop sending your
exceptionally attractive male
students to Mount Allison. It
is particularly distracting to
some of us female students.
Okay, well dont actually stop
sending them. But I mean
really... wow.
Heartless?
You walked right by my
dog without seeing him. He
wagged his tail at you and
snied your shoes as you
charged on by. Stop and pet
him next time!
Pretty Girl at the Pub
I saw you on Trivia Night in
an all-girls team. Youre an
ace trivia master and your hair
ipping drove me crazy. Want
to exchange trivia facts over
dinner sometime?
Morning Moose
On Monday morning around
9 am, I entered the student
centre to see a guy in a moose
hat - literally, a hat with a
moose face and antlers. at
really made my morning,
moose hat guy!
Girl with the Magenta Coat
Youre always so happy, its
very cute! Keep on singing
and feel better soon <3
Dear lm music composer
Dont give up just yet!
Meal Hall Love
Hey big guy with the chef
hat in meal hall... your food
is yummi!
Glove love
You wear the darkest hats and
coats and always look quite
surly when you walk around.
However, your bright red
mittens are a great contrast
and show a nicer side of you!
Meal Hall inker
You often sit by yourself in
meal hall with nothing but a
book for company. You seem
to really enjoy the quiet and
the isolation. If youre ever
inclined, Id love to join your
book club!
What should Mount Allisons New Years resolution be?
Allison Dolan
To lighten the
workload of hard
working students.
Brandon Cullins
To not let
resolutioners into
the gym.
Julia Kondak
Chicken strips in
meal hall!
Lisa MacLean
To maintain its
perfectness!
Sarah Underhill
To have more
school-wide events
outside of Frosh
Week and other
than Sports games.
Jordy Paul-Fontaine
Create more space for
incoming students
in residence to create
a more comfortable
living space.
Photos by Jenifer Boyce
7 JANUARY 14,2010 THE ARGOSY OPINIONS
Stephen Harpers move to prorogue Parliament
is purely tactical and arrogant, and appropriately
described in the Economist magazine as nothing
less than naked self-interest. Historically,
Parliament was given power to control the powers
of the King. In our current system, the purpose of
Parliament - made up of our elected members - is
to hold the government accountable, thus keeping
it in check from abuses. It is a fundamental
institution and its role is vital to our democracy
- its what we vote for! We dont vote for a Prime
Minister!
In calling Governor General Michalle Jean
(rather than meeting in person as is required by
protocol) to prorogue (SHUTTING IT DOWN)
government until March 3, Harper has shown
deep disrespect for Canadians Parliamentary
institution. is seeming contempt has rendered
our votes meaningless-and for what?
To prorogue Parliament is nothing new to the
world, or this country; the dierence in this case
lies not only in the facts, but also the role it plays as
part of a larger narrative. ere is nothing routine
about this prorogue. Try as he might to use the
Olympics as an excuse, no other host country has
prorogued so early, instead sitting either right
up to or during the Olympics. As shocking as
these facts are in and of themselves, what is much
more disturbing is that this is the second time
our Prime Minister has prorogued Parliament in
little more than a year, for equally unacceptable
reasons (to hide from a vote of condence) that
violate our democratic traditions.
Governments have prorogued Parliament in
the past typically to end a term, when the bulk of
the bills had been passed this is a stark contrast
with the thirty-seven pieces of legislation (more
than half of all government bills) that are now
killed (so all that work for waste and we pay
their salaries) as a result of Harpers decision on
December 30 when he thought wed be too busy
to notice, planning our New Years revelry or
hanging out on a beach somewhere. ough our
economy continues to struggle and our soldiers
are at war, Harper has gone ahead and suspended
Parliament for sixty-three days - while our
Commonwealth allies are heading back to work
in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. - only
Canada has SUSPENDED GOVERNMENT
for such an extended period. Why?
It would appear the Prime Minister
has prorogued to avoid responsibility and
accountability for the torture issue, the decit,
the economy, etc., and getting away with it is a
direct attack on Canadian democracy. Harper has
in essence ipped the bird to Parliament by his
outright refusal to hand over documents relating
to the detainees tortured in Afghanistan and thus
is in contempt of Parliament as Parliament has
the legal right to those documents. at is the
law of our land.
Harper is attempting (and thus far successfully
so) to concentrate power in the PMO - his
oce - to make himself like a king. By allowing
Harper to end discussion any time it suits him
makes Parliament accountable to him, and not
vice versa. us, he is granting higher authority
to himself, and in doing so silencing opposition
whose entire purpose (in Parliament) is to hold
the government accountable. Accountability as
gained through such checks and balances that
Parliament provides is a large part of what makes
the system democratic; taking that away renders
our votes, thus making our voices, irrelevant,
diminishing our democracy.
It is all too apparent the lengths Harper
is willing to go to gain political power at the
expense of Canadian democracy. He has been
successful to date due to his increasing hold
on the media. Without an objective media
that challenges and questions government, a
democracy is weakened. Canadians are starting
to wake up to this pattern of running away from
accountability, shutting down, and silencing
dissent. is isnt the democracy our forefathers
had in mind. We are moving backward.
Harper is doing this based on the assumption
that Canadians are apathetic; that apathy is what
is allowing this to happen. We must ght to
protect what we too often take for granted. Our
democracy is slipping out of our grip and we
must take it back. Our votes do mean something
-- we cant let our voices be silenced because
Harper doesnt want to hear what we have to say.
He is not king. We as Canadians, and especially
as youth, have an obligation to take back our
future which is being stolen from us; its time
to take a stand. Attend the rally on January 23
(posters will be up this week), write to MPs, and
when the time comes, vote. Across the country,
Canadians are nally starting to wake up (the
Facebook group Canadians Against Proroguing
Parliament has 150, 960 members and is still
growing, an indication at very least)have you?
Pro-rogue
Justine Panchuk
Argosy Submission
Jessica Emin
8 JANUARY 14,2010 THE ARGOSY OPINIONS
During one of my frequent bouts of
procrastination during this past exam
period, I found myself perusing the
headlines on the CBC website. For
those of you who have forgotten (either
accidentally, or because you wished to),
back in December the climate change
conference in Copenhagen was the
talk of the day. On that particular
day, as snow fell softly outside, the
headline that caught my eye read as
follows: UN head chides countries at
Copenhagen.
Goodness gracious, chiding? Isnt
that a bit uncalled for?
As I read further, it got worse. It
would appear that this chiding was in
fact prompted by, as the CBC called
it, Dickering. Whoa, now. Shut the
front door!
If you like to think of the math, the
level of cooperation at UN climate
summits is inversely proportional to
the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. Early on at Copenhagen,
the G77 nations had boycotted talks,
formal working groups had been
cancelled, and with all this dickering
the head of the United Nations, Ban
Ki-Moon, pulled out the only weapon
that the UN still uses: chiding.
Some might say that the United
Nations needs a backbone, or whatever
the multilateral equivalent is. Although
I dont consider myself a climate change
alarmist, its unacceptable that lack of
cooperation has become the hallmark
of environmental discussions. e UN
organizes conferences and then allows
them to become shouting matches
and grand wastes of precious time. But
I understand that getting everyone
together is hard enough, let alone
nding a good compromise. In fact, a
good compromise is near impossible
when there are so many competing
interests.
Responding to responsibility
Protests and propaganda at Copenhagen
Martin Wightman
Argosy Staff
Copenhagen, Denmark - December 14 2009 - As the Copenhagen
climate talks enter their second week, the four horsemen of the
apocalypse descend on Copenhagen.They are in Copenhagen to send
an ominous reminder to world leaders of what is at stake if they do
not take urgent climate action and agree a fair, ambitious and legally
binding deal. Christian slund / Greenpeace
...with all this dickering,
the head of the United
Nations, Ban Ki-Moon,
pulled out the only
weapon that the UN still
uses: chiding.
e predominantly Western
environmental movement tends to
view itself as far and away the most
important cause in the world. Within
the environmental movement there
are a few who are truly educated and
walk the talk. eres also the crew of
bandwagon enviros who are generally
bored, rich, and none too concerned
about the science. Alternatively in
the West there are those who use a
handful of emails stolen from the
University of East Anglia to discount
every scrap of climate research --
- ever. However, in contrast to both
these groups, those who are concerned
about their next meal seem to have
little time to jump into the debate:
gloried environmentalism often
doesnt resonate well with developing
nations who are also interested in
alleviating poverty, creating jobs, and
providing health care. Add in the so-
called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia,
India, China), and youve got quite the
bowl of soup.
So, with all these conicting points
of view, its no surprise that long range
planning is less enjoyable than just
some good old-fashioned dickering
and protesting. I am not nave enough
to believe that any compromise will
be simultaneously satisfactory to hard
line environmental groups and exible
enough to accommodate the poorest
nation or strongest transnational
interest. I do hope, however, that
Copenhagen serves as a warning to us
that governments are unlikely to band
together and come to some magical
solution. If there is any progress made,
its not likely to make the ultimate big
dierence we might like. e UN has
a tough job.
at sounds bleak, but thankfully
Copenhagen is not the end of the
story. I dont know if youll like the
real story though. It involves us
taking responsibility for ourselves and
not mindlessly blaming traditional
targets like governments and abstract
corporate and industrial polluters.
Although these targets are not without
their sins, the time we allot for large
scale protests and lobbying should be
limited (lets not all y to Copenhagen,
for example), and some of us should
start living the talk in those areas
where were not. I suppose in theory
we know that real environmental
change requires scores of us radically
changing our lifestyles and altering our
consumer choices. But the trick is that
real environmental change requires us
(yes, us at Mount Allison just as much
as anyone) to change our lifestyles. I
repeat for a third and nal time: real
change means voluntarily making big
changes in our living standards and
lifestyles. And until we do, its unfair
to put all the blame on governments
and corporations, or even the UN.
Im as frustrated with the dickering
as Ban Ki-Moon, but if our only
response is verbal, were missing
the point. Its time to shut o our
megaphones until we commit to
cleaning up our own act.
is past Christmas Day, a young
man by the name of Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, attempted to blow up
an airplane. It was a transatlantic voyage
from Amsterdam bound for Detroit
and in the nal hours of the ight
the young man attempted to ignite
a bomb containing pentaerythritol,
a powerful explosive. ankfully, the
attack failed and no one except the
intending bomber himself was injured.
However, despite the impotence of the
bomb itself, the incident has not been
without fallout.
Reactions to the attempted bombing
have run the typical gamut of political
commentary, however as the attack
was a decided failure, many pundits
have wasted no time in turning the
issue to ridicule. Names like the
crotch bomber, and fruit of the
boom have abounded and have turned
what might otherwise have been a
national tragedy into an item for comic
bemusement. One group, however, that
isnt laughing is the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA), who
have, since the bombing attempt, been
mandated by United States President
Barack Obama to put into practise
on a large scale the use of full body
scanners.
Full body scanners emit
electromagnetic radiation with a
wavelength of a few millimetres that
allows them to penetrate clothing and
reect o the individual to be captured
by a receiver in order to produce
images with a resolution ne enough
to distinguish eyelashes. e result
is an image of the human body that
leaves very little to the imagination.
Full body scanners are not exactly
new; the Kelowna Airport has been
using a trial system for over a year
now. However Rob Merrield, the
Minister of State for Transportation,
has conrmed that since the foiled
bombing attempt, forty-four new units
have been ordered and will be installed
at airports in Vancouver, Calgary,
Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto,
Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax. ese
new security steps are in keeping
with the direction put forward by the
United States Government; our own
Canadian government has not had a
similar discussion on this issue because
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has
prorogued Parliament and undertaken
this process without Parliamentary
consent or mandate.
e question of whether full body
scanners are eective in protecting
against terrorism remains to be seen.
While these new devices can identify
heretofore undetectable plastic
explosives, they cannot penetrate
body cavities and security experts have
pointed out that is simply a matter
of time before the crotch bomber
becomes the anal cavity bomber.
All questions of ecacy aside, a more
pressing question for this Editor
is what exactly were giving up in
our seemingly relentless pursuit of
security. Its at this point in my rant
that I should quote the oft-cited
platitude by Benjamin Franklin that
those who would sell their freedom
for their security deserve neither; the
sentiment bears consideration.
Now, Im no prude; I recognize that
similar technologies and exposure are
in use in hospitals and doctors oces,
however Im not entirely comfortable
with the prospect of a scanner snapping
a photo of me in naked totality.
Particularly since, despite the TSAs
explicit statement to the contrary, these
scanners can record, save, and distribute
the photos if congured appropriately.
In fact, so revealing are these photos
that the scanners are not permitted to
be used on children under the age of
eighteen because they would violate
the national criminal code provisions
protecting against child pornography
in the USA, Canada, and the UK.
Despite these reservations, in a
recent poll of American citizens, 78 per
cent were in favour of the new devices
and similar results have been found
in Canada. It seems that despite their
intrusions on privacy, the modest gains
in security aorded by body scanners
are winning the day in the court of
public opinion. I suppose when media
outlets and our own governments
pander to our fears of terror its not
unreasonable to expect otherwise.
e recent case of a hapless man
wandering past an unattended security
kiosk into a secure area of Newark
Airport without being scanned is a
perfect example of the chronic panic
we have inicted on ourselves. e
security breach caused the complete
lockdown of one of the worlds biggest
and busiest terminals for more than six
hours, delayed hundreds of ight, and
required the rescanning of thousands
of frustrated passengers. All of this
because a kiosk was left unattended
and a man accidently wandered
through. Whats more, despite the
gratuitous display of security, the man
was never found.
As a society we have become
conditioned for an omnipresent fear
of terror without ever being asked to
evaluate what exactly our society is
doing to merit such hatred. Perhaps
if we were more accustomed to
that sort of self-reection wed be
more repulsed by the fact that our
government sees no problem asking
us to eectively strip naked without
a Parliamentary mandate. is was
done at the same time the government
shut down Parliament as it was in the
process of subpoenaing for the release
of documents detailing the treatment
of Afghan detainees and how we may
have violated the Geneva Convention
in the process. e majority of
Canadians who have no problem with
the use of body scanners aside, does
anyone else see a problem here?
Checking our dignity and rights along with our luggage
Stephen Middleton
Argosy Staff
Internet Photo/silive
The Students Administrative
Council
S.A.C. Fact
Upcoming Events & Reminders
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.
Club & Society Funding - next deadline
February 17, 2010
Academic Enrichment Funding - next deadlines
January 25, February 19 and March 22, 2010
Clubs & Societies - wish to advertise an event?
Submit an Event on the mta.ca homepage under
Events
Garnet & Gold presentsThoroughly Modern
Millie, A New Musical, Jan. 28, 29, 30 at CON
Hall 8:00 pm (doors open at 7:30); tickets
available at the SAC oIfce - $10/students/
seniors & $12/others
Cabaret Night Music as a cure presents an
evening of cabaret music, drinks, and food.
Friday January 15, 10pm, Tweedie Hall.
Admission is suggested donation oI $5.00. All
proceeds donated to Nobodys Children.
Mounties Basketball Mt.A. vs. Kings College.
Saturday, January 16 Women play at 1:30pm,
Men play at 3:30pm. Mt.A. vs. MSVU. Sunday,
January 17. Women play at 2:30pm, Men play
at 4:30pm.
Mounties Volleyball Mt.A. vs. MSVU,
Sunday, January 17 at 12:0opm.
Bennett vs Windsor Snowbowl Friday,
January 15, 4-6pm, Bennett Quad.
B.O.D.I.E.S. Calendar On Sale Now! Pick
one up Ior $15 in the SAC OIfce anytime. or
the lobby of the Student Centre from 12-1. All
proceeds go to the Global Brigades and their
initiative in Honduras.
B.O.D.I.E.S. Movie Night Wednesday, January
20, 8pm-10pm in the Wu Centre. BODIES will
be showing the flm Playing UnIair` as part oI
their media campaign regarding the portrayal of
the athletic body.
The SAC is doing its best to be eco friendly!
If you havnt already spotted our banners
around campus, not only are the informative
but they are also completely reusable! We
simply reuse the letters and Velcro them to
the Ielt. Additionally. the oIfcial application
for the SAC Green Investment Fund are
available on our website, sac.mta.ca, under
the Services tab. The deadline to submit
project applications is February 12that 4pm,
in the SAC oIfce. GIF will support green
capital projects aimed to reduce carbon
emissions in the Sackville area, submitted
by students, staff, faculty, and the general
public.
Halloween
THUD
October 31st,
2009
Revenue
Door Sales 5,208.50
Thornton Contribu-
tion 500.00
Door Donations 220.00
Gross Revenue 5,928.50
Taxes (682.04)
Net Revenue 5,246.46
Expenses
Bar Services 258.25
PUB Fee 1,327.43
CPs & Clean-Up 577.48
Thornton Refund 200.00
Total 2,363.16
3URW 2,883.30
Distribution:
Sackville Food
Bank $1,441.65
UNICEF Canada $1,441.65

TONIGHT (Thursday), JANUARY 14 BAND BEFORE
TIME@ THE PUB. 10PM
Sackvilles very own Band Before Time! Not only are these
guys local, and cute, but they play music. Whoah!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 TRIVIA + DJ BONES PRESENT
INDIE POP NIGHT!
Indie Popo Night at the Pub!! Were bringing in DJ Bones
for a special night of Indie Music associated with Winter
Carnival!! Start the evening off right with Pub Trivia from
8pm-11pm, then enjoy the music of Bones from 11pm to
2am!
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
Ruby Jean The ThoughtIul Bees A/V Jenocide;
Events taking place at a snow hill near you, the PUB, &
Georges Fabulous Roadhouse!
Pridham`s Studio (12 York St.) is the oIfcial class
2010 Photographer. Call 536-0401 to book your
appointment. Pridhams will submit your photo
directly to the yearbook staff and will put your photo
on the departments composite.
SAC Used Book Sale
The SAC holds a used book sale each semester so that students can sell their books and
fnd deals on used books. This semester`s sale was a huge success!
Budget Submission
For the frst time. the SAC has been working on putting together a Iormal submission
representing student interests to the Presidents Executive Group regarding the University
budget for the 2010-2011 academic year. If you have any questions or input regarding this
submission please feel free to contact us! Email sacpresident@mta.ca.
MTA Cribs
External AIIairs is taking on a new video proiect profling student housing in Sackville. II
you want to be involved or have your aparment/house Ieatured in the video. please contact
the VP External Affairs at sacexternal@mta.ca.
UNION NOTICE
To: All Union Members
From: Mount Allison Students Administrative
Council
c/o Vice-President Finance and Operations
The mandate of the S.A.C. is to improve student
life and protect student interests. The S.A.C.
aims to foster a community where the quality of
student life is constantly improving. In light of
recent discussions revolving around the S.A.C.
Halloween Event held on October 31, 2009,
and in order to maintain transparency of our
organization. below is a fnancial statement Irom
the event.
For Iurther inIormation regarding the fnances
of the Union, please feel free to stop by the
S.A.C. oIfce or email Vice-President Finance
and Operations. Ryan Sargent. at sacfnance(
mta.ca.
SAC ENTERTAINMENT
PRESENTS:
WINTER CARNIVAL
GRAD PHOTOS!!
Book Your Grad Photo Appointment at
Pridhams NOW To Make the YearBook
DEADLINE
What Weve Been Working On

FEATURES
Frames of Reference
In October, the Ugandan parliament
introduced a terrifying bill that it
intended to pass by the end of 2009.
e bill, now delayed in debate
following substantial international
outcry, would see practicing
homosexuals put to death.
In response to threats from donor
countries to revoke all future aid
should the bill go through, the new
punishment for being a gay Ugandan
has been brought down to a mere
life in prison. e details of this bill
reveal the full malice law makers wish
to unleash.
e law would charge members
of the public that do not report
sightings of homosexual activity
within twenty-four hours, with three
years of prison. Many rights activists
within Uganda believe this will result
in a nation-wide witch hunt for a
minority that has already suered for
decades from beatings, burnings, and
extreme stigma.
Furthermore, the law would not
only apply to citizens but anyone
of Ugandan nationality outside the
country.
[Gay Ugandans abroad] are
supposed to be brought back to
Uganda and convicted here says
Frank Mugisha, head of a sexual
minority group in the country. e
government is putting homosexuality
on the level of treason.
Indeed that is the very message
law makers and many community
cleric leaders wish to espouse. In
this enormously homophobicand
extremely devoutcountry, HIV/
AIDS is considered directly related
to homosexuality and it is believed
homosexuals actively convert
children to fulll their desires. As a
result of religious fundamentalism,
mis-education, or plain ignorant
hate, the Ugandan parliament has
concluded homosexuals are a threat
to the security and purity of this war-
torn central African state.
Finally, HIV/AIDS treatment and
prevention organizations fear for
their own existence because the bill
further forbids any promotion of
homosexuality. A clause which has
become grossly interpreted by some
law makers to include any Ugandans
diagnosed withor even tested
forHIV.
e extremity of the punishment
raises a serious question, however.
Why such an extreme, and why
now? e answer may be found
in the awkward clash of two non-
exclusive virtues of democracy: the
independence of the court of law,
and the inherent mob rule imposed
on any democratic constitution.
In 2008, Victor Juliet Mukasa,
a transgender, successfully
challenged a Ugandan law stating
that transgender, gay, and lesbian
Ugandans did not have the rights
of a citizen. e law was established
in the time of colonialism and was
never revoked by the independent
government.
e victory was widely praised
as a success of justice and law over
bigotry, as well as an indication that
political corruption in the courts
was not as widespread as many had
feared.
e win brought massive public
outcry. While no ocial number
is agreed upon, it is believed that
approximately 90 per cent of
Ugandans believe homosexuality
to be morally wrong or a disease.
is prejudice was quickly fanned
by community leaders, clerics, and
even foreign organizations that
would periodically speak of the sins
of homosexuality. Feeling intense
pressure to respond, parliament
proudly introduced the bill now
before them.
e anti-homosexuality law
will most likely pass government
spokesman Fred Opolot said, it
represents democracy at work.
e extreme backlash to the
progressive court decision has
become a crisis of political survival.
Community leaders have threatened
that any potential member of
parliament that does not vote for
this bill will not be well received
in Ugandas closeand crucial
elections.
On the other side, about 40 per
cent of the countrys budget comes
from international aid; aid that is
now being treated as a political game
chip for all self-proclaimed human-
rights-concerned countries.
It seems for now that all those
involved are holding steadfast in
their hard line positions. Meanwhile
the potential genocide of a subset of
Ugandans around the world is sitting
in the balance. Even without the bill
passing into law, violence against
suspected homosexuals and gay
sympathizers has already broken out
in many parts of the country.
Many people will suer and even
die because of this bill, whether it
gets passed or not.
Sasha Van Katwyk
Argosy Staff
Internet Photo/Acadia Foundation
Last semester saw the SAC preside
over two controversial elections and
a perceived sense of disorganization
and disunity. Seeing as its a new year,
it may be time for the SAC to take
stock of whats gone well in the recent
past and to make resolutions to change
those things that havent.
Numerous students were interviewed
to see what their perception of the
SACs performance has been since the
beginning of last semester.
Reactions were predictably mixed,
but they certainly provided some
insight into what role students feel
the SAC has been playing in recent
months.
On the upside, it seems that some
students are pleased with the visibility
and accessibility of the organization.
Chris McGean, a fourth-year student,
said that this year, more than any other,
he has seen the SAC, make more
contact with the student body and its
easier to get in contact with them.
Others said that the SAC was
most eective at attracting a strong
voter turnout, despite unexpected
elections. Im mostly impressed by
their promotion of elections, said
Giulio Hurd. Sarah omas echoed
this saying the SAC is best at getting
people out to vote.
e ability of a student government
to hold an election, however, does not
seem to garner points with the whole
student body. omas added, e
only thing Ive seen is elections, and
that she would rather see, a coherent
groupaccomplishing things that
students want.
Others lost faith in the organization
due to the numerous elections over the
fall term.
Georgia Bock said, After the
election asco, I wasnt as keen on the
SAC.
Katy Best articulated a similar
disappointment regarding the
elections: It was exciting when there
was new blood that might be coming
in, but it dragged on; lost its oomph.
Other students were more scathing
in their criticism. A student who asked
not to have her name printed said, I
think theyve done less this year than
they have in the past. is year it just
seems like a lot of drama. She added
that, really I cant think of anything
[theyve done] that doesnt involve
drinking thats impressed me this
year.
Ian Luddington agreed with this
assessment saying, It seems theres
a big air of ineptitude with them. In
my whole four years here, Ive never
said, Oh wow Im glad the SACs here
cause they did this.
A nal reaction, was the admission
of ignorance of the SAC. Several
students declined an interview, saying
they couldnt participate because they
dont know anything about the SAC.
Mark McCumber summed this up
saying, I have no idea about anything
they accomplish.
While the majority of students
seemed to range from indierent to
highly critical regarding the SAC,
many quickly acknowledged that they
think members of the SAC work hard,
and that the SAC is an important part
of student life.
Indeed, Erin Buchanan said, I get
the impression that they do a lot.
omas said, they denitely
work hard, and Best agrees that its
important that we do have a SAC.
Bock also shared this sentiment
saying, I nd the SAC does a lot of
good things, Ive just stopped paying
attention.
So, it seems there is a paradox
between students being critical of the
SAC, but still seeing it--and those that
work for it--as important for students.
Perhaps it is too bold to compare the
SAC to national politics, but a similar
phenomenon has developed there.
In their research, political scientists
Dalton and Wattenberg, conclude
that in many contemporary industrial
democracies there is widespread
dissatisfaction with the role played by
political parties.
However, researchers have also found
time and time again that Canadians
continue to see parties as an essential
part of their democratic life.
Ultimately then, it seems that the
representatives of the SAC may be
confronting the same issues that
representatives in democracies around
the world face.
Indeed, most elected representatives
struggle with how to keep constituents
involved after an election, particularly
a controversial one. And in most
democracies there is never a shortage
of criticism of the party in power.
In one respect, the SAC may
actually have an advantage students
think they work hard at their jobs.
In a political climate where the trust
and respect of politicians in society at
large seems to have reached a new low,
the SAC may actually be a step ahead
here.
Without a doubt, this year has not
been without troubles for the SAC.
Looking ahead in 2010, the SAC
should leverage the respect they have
while working to reorganize, connect
students to their actions, and broadcast
new policy as successfully as they
advertise elections.
Fraser Harland
Argosy Staff
A new year for students,
old feelings for the SAC
What can the student government take from 2009?
I get the impression that they do a lot.
-Erin Buchanan
I nd the SAC does a lot of good things, Ive just
stopped paying attention.
-Georgia Bock
e only thing Ive seen is elections
-Sarah omas
is year it just seems like a lot of drama. Really I
cant think of anything [theyve done] that doesnt
involve drinking thats impressed me this year.
-Anonymous
Jessica Emin
A large portion of the student body nd that the only student services the SAC has offered are elections.
rough Stained Glass
11 THE ARGOSY FEATURES JANUARY 14, 2010
Rev. John C. Perkin
University Chaplain
Another new year, and for many of
us another new set of resolutions; this
year also brings us one step closer
to the date of mythic signicance,
December 21, 2012. is date has
spawned a sudden spate of apocalyptic
and post-apocalyptic books and lms,
likely not to fade away until we reach
2013. We have both a fascination
with and a fear of the mythical end-
dates for our world.
We might remember the doom
and gloom predictions of what would
happen when the chronological
odometer ticked over to the year
2000; many people laid in stores of
food, fresh water, and cash, and web
sites suggested everything from ways
to defend ones home to how to make
a nutritious and tasty drink from
spruce bark. June 6, 2006 (6.6.6 for
the biblically fearful) came and went
without much notice, other than the
unusual mid-week release of a new
movie, the remake of e Omen
which tells the story of the birth of
the Antichrist.
Now we can prepare for the
apocalyptic date of December 21,
2012, when the Mayan calendar
ocially expires. In brief, the Mayan
long count calendar, developed
hundreds of years ago, calculates the
passage of time in units of days, and
groups of days, measured in units of
twenty and eighteen, with the largest
unit (a baktun) being measured as
144,000 days. Projecting far into
the future, their calendar calculated
only thirteen baktun, so that the
nal calculated date was recorded
as 13.0.0.0.0. at date occurs on
December 21, 2012 (although to be
honest I dont know if that takes into
account the shift from the Julian to
the Gregorian calendar in much of
the western world in 1582; this took
place in Great Britain and its colonies
in 1752, meaning that the date moved
from Wednesday September 2 to
ursday September 14 overnight).
However, I will give the assurance
that I will not beat this subject to
death for the next three years. Let
it be sucient here to highlight the
nature of apocalyptic speculation
and the fears it engenders; my own
experience with this was signicantly
high levels of enrollment in the
Apocalyptic Consciousness course in
the late 1990s.
Often, in the years leading up to
the turn of the millennium (actually,
December 31, 2000, but thats another
story), the questions raised by students
in the class had less to do with the
academic study of the material than
with the possibility that the speculation
might be real; deep down, what many
students wanted to know was not
what is the source of this imagery?
but rather is it real, will it really
happen?
We all share fears of the collapse of
the world order, the environment, the
laws that govern planetary rotation.
We all want to know, in the face of
failed Kyoto accords and the actual--if
not ocial--failure of the Copenhagen
summit, if we can save the planet,
prevent our own destruction, and if the
earth can repair itself.
Deep inside, we read the doomsayers
and prophets of destruction, and we
wonder they are not right. As noted by
one news site, a bellwether of interest
in the events of 2012 is the NASA
web site Ask an Astrobiologist;
on this site, senior scientist David
Morrison responds to questions
from the public on all manner of
astral issues. Over the last year, more
than half of the inquiries on the most
popular list were related to concerns
about the year 2012 and the end of the
Mayan calendar, wondering if this is
a sign of the impending end of time,
and the end of the world as we know
it. Morrisons response is that e
purveyors of doom are promoting a
hoax. And far be it from me to add
to the fearmongering.
e apocalyptic texts of the
Hebrew and Christian bibles are
works that seem to announce
impending doom, but in reality are
works that call for righteous living.
e Book of Revelation is probably
one of the most misunderstood books
of the western world, writing in
images of destruction and doomsday
but in reality giving encouragement
to its readers and hearers to not give
in to unjust powers; it is a plea to live
responsibly, justly, ethically.
at, perhaps, is the best message
as we approach 2012: as each new
year rolls around, it is in fact a new
opportunity to make a resolution and
a commitment to choose to live in
justice, in peace with the earth and its
inhabitants, to think globally and act
locally, as we anticipate the calendar
of earths life stretching out for years
and years to come. As for me, I will
watch the sun set on December 21
2012, and anticipating watching
it rise again the next day, through
stained glass.
e beginning of every Mount
Allison students semester always
involves a visit to the bookstore an
experience that eats up a lot of time
and even more money. However, with
the aid of the Internet, many students
are nding new ways to save money on
books and skip the lineup.
Without a doubt, the cost of books
adds a signicant expense to the
budget of every university student.
According to the Mt. A bookstore,
at the rst year level, students in the
Arts should expect to pay $60-110 per
course and students in the Sciences
and Commerce should expect $80-
170.
With the cost of books in each
semester running upwards of $500
for some students, many students
expressed dissatisfaction at cost.
Nathan Hall said simply, I nd the
prices high, and Nicole McMillan
said the costs are only fair when there
are used copies available.
However, other students
acknowledged that the bookstore is
making the prices as cheap as they
can.
Devin Spencer refused to fault the
bookstore saying, ey charge what
they pay for them.
e bookstores website does
claim that it is owned and operated
by Mount Allison University and
is committed to making available
textbooks and course materials at the
lowest possible price.
According to Nancy Morton who
runs the Book Buyback, the bookstore
is succeeding in this regard. She said
that she has visited several university
bookstores in the Maritimes and that
at Mt. A, prices are 20 per cent less
than any other university Ive gone
to.
Given the number of students in the
bookstore over this week, it seems that
many students are satised with, or at
least resigned to, the price of books
here.
Indeed, over the course of this
week, the Mt. A bookstore was full of
students getting their books for the
semester. e trac was so heavy that
at times it had the air of a nightclub,
with an employee at the door only
letting people in after others had left.
However, while most students
are happy to acknowledge that the
Tired of the lines? Go online!
Fraser Harland
Argosy Staff
Some alternative options to get books that save time and money
bookstore is doing what they can
to keep prices lower, some have still
turned to the Internet to try to do even
better.
For example, McMillan said, I buy
them here, try to nd them online and
then return them.
So what online resources are
available to nd cheaper books?
A rst place many people think to
look is amazon.ca. In many cases, books
here can be found cheaper. However,
the dierence in price for each book
is often only $5-10, and thus doesnt
provide a huge incentive to move away
from a source thats right on campus.
However two other websites provide
the potential for substantially larger
savings.
e rst is textbookrenter.com. is
site compiles information from several
renter sites, and provides the user with
the company with the cheapest price.
ese prices are often 50 per cent of
what the Mt. A bookstore charges for
used copies.
e books can then be rented over
a one semester period, and then the
student just needs to ship the book
back at the end of the semester.
is seems like an excellent money-
saving option for students, especially
those that would sell their books back
at the end of the semester anyway.
e second is called abebooks.com,
and seems the best option for many
books. In some cases, books can be
bought here for even cheaper than at
textbookrenter.com (see the infobox),
and they dont have to be given back at
the end of the semester.
However, if the student no longer
wants the book, they can be sold back
to the site, allowing for even more
money to be saved.
So with the extra costs that always
come at the start of a semester and
tuition prices as high as ever, every
student should be happy to know that
there are a few good options to save
some money on books.
Heres hoping you didnt throw out
that receipt from the bookstore!
POLS 4131
Canadian
Parties in
Transition
BIOL 1201
Human
Biology
ECON 2111
Economic
Growth
ENGL 3211
Norton
Shakespeare
Anthology
Mt. A
bookstore
33.72 (used)
44.96 (new)
112.92 (used)
150.56 (new)
127.40 (used)
169.86 (new)
64.24 (used)
85.64 (new)
U of T
bookstore
42.95 (new) 144.10 (new) 164.95 (new) Not sold
Amazon 39.59 (new) 142.96 (new) 157.63 (new) 87.98 (new)
Textbook
renter.com*
19.99
(1 semester)
51.49
(1 semester)
68.99
(1 semester)
32.40
(1 semester)
Abebooks.
com
27.66 (used) 39.61 (used) 20.65 (used) 53.03 (used)
*Prices in American Dollars
Some quick text-cost comparisons
All information received from online sources. Mount Allison prices found at
store listed prices. Prices based on ofcial costs the day of print.
Cooking with Jess
So Easy Creamy Crab Dip
-250g brick of cream cheese, softened
-6-8oz of canned crab meat, drained
-3 tbsp fresh of preserved parmesan
cheese
-1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
-20 spinach leaves of assorted, ripped
into small pieces
-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
-parmesan cheese to taste (to create
gratin while baking)
-1 box of your preferred cracker or
breadstick
Optional ingredients:
-2 large bell peppers, red or yellow,
cleaned of seeds and cut along the side
to create an opening in which to place
the dip (as seen above).
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a
small bowl mix cream cheese and crab
meat throughly. Add parmesan cheese,
garlic, spinach, and black pepper. Blend
well. Spoon the cheese mixture into a
small oven safe dish and spread the top
at with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle a
desired amount of parmesan cheese
over the top. Bake the dish for 15-20
minutes immediately before serving
for the best results.
As an alternative you can also bake
the dip inside a bell pepper which
has been gouged open and cleaned of
seeds. Place the lled bell peppers in
an oven safe dish to bake. e cook
time and oven temperature remains
the same. Serves 6.
Jessica Emin
Argosy Staff
Jessica Emin
12 THE ARGOSY FEATURES JANUARY 14, 2010
Friday, December 18 was the last
day for the Fossil of the Day, a
contest held by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) to shine a
spotlight on the most obstructive
countries at Copenhagen negotiations
on climate change.
It so happened that on this day,
Canada was awarded Fossil of the
Year following the calculation of
total number of points it received
throughout the twelve day conference.
With an overwhelming lead over
other contenders, Canada was
crowned the ocial Colossal Fossil
of Copenhagen.
e decision was based on 500 votes
from the Climate Action Network
coalition (a group of about 500 NGOs)
for Canadas weak, uninspiring inaction
and obstruction of progress towards
climate change solutions.
A media event was even organized
in which a fake medallion was placed
around the neck of a man dressed
as Stephen Harper. is took place
in a large warehouse in downtown
Copenhagen after access for registered
non-governmental organizations to the
conference centre was unfortunately
restricted by a 300 person maximum.
Ben Wikler, from Avaaz.org
(an international activist group),
presented the award with a coinciding
speech about just how much Canada
deserved this award for the completely
unacceptable position they brought
into Copenhagen, and refusing to
strengthen it in the least.
Among these criticisms is the fact
that Canadas emissions were among
the worst in the industrialized world.
e leaked cabinet documents were
also given attention, that revealed that
there was contemplation for a cap-
and-trade plan that would not even
reach their already unambitious 2020
reduction targets.
Ultimately, Canada was seen as
believing that there had to be a
choice between the economy and the
environment, placing the tar sands
at top priority every time. us their
performance at Copenhagen was said
to have been built on two years of
delay, obstruction, and total inaction.
e mock awards have become an
interesting feature to the annual two-
week conference of the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). e question Canadians
are now asking is whether we are
deserving of the label least progressive
country at the Copenhagen summit?
Canada has been receiving a lot of
criticism from environmental groups,
premiers, mayors, and other developing
countries for its weak eort in reducing
greenhouse gas emissions. During the
week at Copenhagen, Stephen Harper
failed to show any reason why we
didnt deserve this award by refusing
to rule out giving special breaks to the
Alberta oil sands, while oering no
worthy short or long term targets or
numbers.
Its also worth mentioning that
Canada was able to beat out some
of the heavy fossil competitors
like China, the United States (US),
Australia, and Saudi Arabia.
It may be surprising to many that
this is not the rst time Canada has
received this award. During the two-
week conference in Poznan, Poland in
2008, Canada was able to achieve ten
daily fossil awards, including prizes for
obstructing progress towards science
based targets and advocating the
removal of a reference to indigenous
peoples rights in deforestation text.
Among these criticisms, Canada
also misrepresented its national target
with a 20 per cent reduction of
emissions by 2020 which was based
on 2006 levels and in reality was
less than a three per cent reduction
from the 1990s. Canada also tried to
argue that oil and gas exports should
not be counted against us--basically
for the tar sands--and that our poor
performance was justied by the fact
that were a large, cold country. Award-
giving NGOs respond to this by
pointing out that targets are set based
on historical levels, and Canada has, if
anything, gotten warmer since the base
target dates.
No matter what is said, the verdict is
that Canada remains the only country
to have ratied Kyoto and blatantly
ignored it. We are now 30 per cent
over our Kyoto target. Last year at
the UNs climate conference in Bali,
Canada and the US were able to tie
for the most fossil awards. However,
with the removal of George W. Bush,
one has to wonder if Stephen Harper
hasnt become the new Bush in terms
of being the worst climate change
abuser.
With time running out, does
Canada have any time to be fooling
around? Climate change is a big issue
that everyone but Canada seems to be
taking seriously. e now overriding
question is whether Copenhagen II
will showcase a change of heart for
Canadians, or if we will be coming
home with yet another Fossil medal.
I took o from the Moncton airport
at 6:30 am feeling like a runaway--
ditching class right before exams in
my rst semester, rst year, and ying
to Denmark. With two nal papers to
write, I gured, with confused logic, I
would manage.
I had decided in the middle of
the night--after watching the Pros
and Cons duke it out in the Munk
debate--that I would drain my savings
account to absorb a fragment of the
events of Copenhagen, and come back
the night before my rst exam. ere
was nothing heroic about it; I simply
thought, How can I not?After all, the
climate crisis facing us is undoubtedly
the biggest issue of the international
community, as its implications aect
everything tenfold.
Taking the metro from the
Copenhagen airport into the city, I
stepped out, bag on back, into the
dark Danish night. What I noticed
immediately was the number of people
riding bikesand the paved lanes on
the road designed for them. A green
city indeed.
e rst few days I spent roaming
around, as I couldnt go inside the
conference. e streets were bustling;
you couldnt walk ve feet without
encountering a relentless activist
(mostly Greenpeace and Amnesty
International).
Justine Panchuk
Argosy Contributor
Hopenhagen, rst hand
One Mount Allison students experience at one of the most
inuential conferences of our generation
Internet Photo/Greenpeace
Canada crowned
Colossal Fossil
Canadas federal
government has not
been open or transparent
with Canadians or the
international community.
Almost every public space had a
display relating to the conference.
From a giant balloon representing one
ton of CO2, to a melting polar bear
and even a giant pile of junk, the point
was all too clear. A giant sphere visible
in the centre of a model sustainable
city lit up as the earth, displaying
the term Hopenhagen. And there I
was, amidst the chaos with little more
purpose then being compelled out of a
strange necessity to see and feel it.
Never had I seen so many people
together to address the environment;
ocial delegates from all over the
world were attendingnot to mention
the youth, media, activists, and various
curious people who were all thrown
together in this optimistic metropolis.
COP15 was a climate change
conference in which people placed
high hopes, but predictions for any
real legally binding agreement were
grim. Mostly the conference marked
the beginning of tough negotiations
and decisions to come.
ough I met many inspiring people,
such as Daniel Tseleie of Ecology
North who came with the Canadian
Youth Delegation (CYD) and spoke
on Youth Day in a World Wildlife
Foundation tent. is man truly
represented the voice of the Canadian
people in that he emphasized how
Prime Minister Harper and Minister
Prentice did not democratically
represent Canadians in Copenhagen.
e CYD, along with many non-
government organizations, were
barred from the conference in the
second week. Canadas lead negotiator
Michael Martin was asked by the
delegation to consider the notion that
Canada has been blocking progress;
Martin then asked the CYD to explain
why. Daniel Tseleie drafted a response
on behalf of the delegation, which was
later read to the chief negotiator.
In essence, he revealed the larger
narrative that the government has
been operating under, with its actions
making the process closed and
undemocratic.e federal government
utterly refused to meet with both the
CYD and the civil society delegates.
e response went on to point
out that the documents leaked that
revealed a secret agenda to lower
reduction targets (from the already
low 3 per cent to below 1990 levels
by 2020) suggest Canadas federal
government has not been open or
transparent with Canadians or the
international community.
e level of dishonesty that the
Canadian government displayed
is astonishing, its disregard for the
environment sickening, and the most
frustrating part is that these tactics and
actions were not an accurate reection
of the majority view of Canadian
citizens.
I asked Roya Lo, a student from
Taiwan, about the atmosphere within
the conference; she, like many others,
felt the atmosphere in the conference
was hopeful at rst but soon became
anxious.
Roya said the hope faded
dramatically on the third day, when
the Danish document leaked: e
tension between the dierent groups
grew worse day by day.
Her opinions of the ocial delegates
oered some further insight. She was
frustrated with the richer countries
and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India,
and China) behavior, putting their
own benet as the top priority, and
pinning the burden on the less wealthy
nations.
She felt that the African delegates
could have improved their negotiation
skills, and saw the island delegates as
the voice of justice, yet they lacked
inuence.
We agreed that the results were
frustrating (a nonbinding agreement
that urges major polluters to make
deeper emissions cuts), but that they
inspired a bigger movement to spread
across the globe.
I had to y back just as the
conference was starting, missing the
protests, much to my dismay. ough
what I say seems hypocritical due
to the distance I ew, what I gained
was invaluable in that I realized there
is simply no time to sit around and
twiddle our thumbs anymore.
e time to hesitate is through--
now is when we actually have to do
something. Economically a green shift
is benecial and it is pathetic to even
have to say that. is is no longer just
an environmental issue; our inaction is
encouraging genocide.
As we speak, people are already
suering as a result of climate change
in our own country and abroad. If that
isnt enough, nothing ever will be. We
must change-- there is no plan (or
planet) B.
Jennifer Musgrave
Argosy Staff
Julie Cruikshank
Is this the worlds new emblem for Canada following Copenhagen?
For the very rst green and friendly challenge going out to
Mount Allison, why not try cohabiting a study space?
By sharing a room, you can save on heat (if you can
control your very own lovely heat) as well as electricity! Not
only do you have an excellent study buddy, but you only
need to use one set of lights.
Sounds like a plan to me!
Rosalind Crump
Argosy Contributor
13 THE ARGOSY FEATURES JANUARY 14, 2010
E\/RYHV$VVDVVLQ
It is the New Year and the time
when minds turn from all the fun
and festivities to the task of getting
ourselves back into shape. Yes, the
New Year is a time of resolutions to
make changes. But what does this
mean for us SexBombs? Well, with all
those diets being thrown our way, how
about one that reportedly improves
your sex life? Now, thats something
I can resolve to do. e name of the
diet in question is the Orgasmic Diet.
I know, sounds yummy already!
e idea of the Orgasmic Diet is
to achieve, through diet, what other
forms of therapy may not be able to
assist you with, achieving the ever
desired big O, or if you are orgasmic,
a bigger and better one. e author
of the book, e Orgasmic Diet, is
Marrena Lindberg. ough there is
no formal medical research done on
the diet, Lindberg claims to have
gained support from doctors who
work in the eld for her work. By
incorporating a healthy balanced
whole food diet, health all around is
reportedly improved, which naturally
leads to a better sex life.
According to Lindberg, there are
four things women need for optimal
sexual function: Sucient free
testosterone, balanced dopamine-
serotonin levels, PC (pubococcygeus)
muscle tone, and healthy genital
circulation. How it works is that
by addressing these four areas it
enables a woman to experience
high sexual desire and intense sexual
responsiveness.
e Orgasmic Diet reportedly:
-Raises free testosterone through
emphasis increasing protein, zinc, and
magnesium in the diet
-Balancing two important
neurotransmitters regulating womens
libido and sexual function- dopamine
and serotonin using omega-3 fatty
acids and dark chocolate
-Preventing serotonin spikes which
interfere with balance by avoiding
caeine and all-carb meals
-Improve blood ow to genital
region, think Viagra, and increasing
vaginal muscle tone.
Lindbergs dietary prescription is
a balanced diet for every meal: 40
per cent carbs, 30 per cent protein,
30 per cent fats. e aim is to try to
get carbs from fruits and vegetables
rather than starch or sugar based
sources, and reportedly, you can eat
as much as you like. Also there are
vitamin supplements including sh
oils, calcium, magnesium, zinc, a
multivitamin, iron, and vitamin C.
Foods to avoid are trans fats,
soy products, energy drinks, and
caeinated drinks.
e diet also gives instructions on
exercising your sex muscles also know
as Keigels and tips as to what are
Orgasm Killers, something everyone
who is making the resolution to
improve their Orgasmic Diet should
want to know. Along with the diet, the
second part of the book aims at giving
advice for women, almost like a how
to manual with chapter topics such as
Clitoral Orgasms. is may be a good
book for ladies, but I am thinking the
gentlemen may be interested in these
sections as well. A good night stand
book at this juncture, wouldnt you
agree? e book also addresses both
clitoral and vaginal orgasms through
explanation and then moves on to
give tips on how to achieve both.
ough I am not sure, as there are
no studies done to date, if I would
recommend this as the cure all for
achieving or experiencing better
orgasms, I would say it does seem to
merit a look as it simply focuses on a
healthy balanced diet. e only thing
I really saw missing was the inclusion
of a good physical exercise routine,
which we all know is key to looking
hot. And we all know, looking hot
makes you feel condent and being
in shape allows you to do bedroom
sport better than a couch potato can.
Of course, you would want to check
with a doctor before starting any new
diet, especially one that includes
supplements as a prescribed part of
the diet, but hey, what do you have
to loose? Really this diets hook is all
in what you have to nd. And just
think, next time youre sitting around
with your friends, talking over all of
your New Years resolutions, wont
you be proud to say your turned over
a new leaf and went on the Orgasmic
Diet. Now doesnt that sound better
than, I started eating a healthy well
balanced diet? Boring! And ladies, if
you felt your guy was sabotaging your
attempts to widdle that middle, I bet
he will be more than supportive if
you tell him where this diet will take
both of you.
So hey, what have you got to lose,
and if nothing else, the topic makes a
great ice breaker!
When you mention public speaking,
you might be met with some hesitation
and apprehension. After all, who
wouldnt want to experience the thrill
of a sternum-shattering heartbeat as
one approaches the lectern to deliver
a speech to an audience just waiting to
pass harsh judgment on every slip of
the tongue, mispronunciation, or even
better, a memory blackout. Indeed,
with infamous trademarks such as
sweaty palms, wobbly legs, and a jittery
voice, is it any wonder that public
speaking is often listed among many
peoples biggest fears?
is is, however, very unfortunate
because public speaking, if done well,
can be a tremendously positive and
enriching experience. In addition to
being an essential skill for anyone in
a position of leadership, good oratory
skills can boost self condence and
promote personal growth. Fortunately,
the fear of public speaking is one that
can be overcome with enough practice
in front of a supportive audience.
It was with this idea that Ralph C.
Smedley founded the rst Toastmasters
club in the basement of a YMCA in
Santa Ana, California in 1924. at
rst club was so successful that several
other Toastmasters clubs were formed
in the area and by 1927, a federation of
clubs had been formed. In 1930, the
name Toastmasters International was
ocially adopted to encompass this
federation. Since then, Toastmasters
International has grown to hold over
250,000 members in 12,500 clubs in
106 countries and now, a Toastmasters
club is being formed at Mount
Allison.
Toastmasters International is a
non-prot organization that provides
its clubs with support and materials to
help its members to practice speaking
before an audience. A Toastmasters
club provides the perfect audience to
practice on because it is composed
entirely of people who are also trying
to improve their communication skills
or even overcome their own fear of
public speaking.
is means that while new members
standing before the club to deliver
their rst speech may or may not feel
condent about how they will perform,
they can feel condent that everyone
they are speaking to will understand
any mistakes they make, as many of
them have probably made similar
mistakes themselves.
At every Toastmasters meeting,
there are two or three members that
in turn stand up and deliver a speech
which they had prepared beforehand.
ese speeches are prepared according
to the guidelines of one of ten speech
projects in a manual given to all new
members. Each of these projects builds
o of the previous one to help new
members become condent speakers.
After the prepared speeches have
been delivered, the meeting moves
on to the table topics segment of the
meeting. Table topics are impromptu
speeches that help members to practice
thinking on their feet, for they will
have only a few minutes to prepare
their talk.
In the nal segment of a Toastmasters
meeting, both the prepared speeches
and impromptu speeches are evaluated
on the basis of time, grammar,
audible pauses, and hesitations in the
speech, as well as the overall delivery.
Evaluations give speakers direct and
immediate feedback on what they
need to improve upon, what they
did well, and their overall progress
as a speaker. Evaluations also force
evaluators to become engaged listeners
and to develop skills in motivation and
positive feedback.
Prepared speeches and evaluations
make a Toastmasters club an ideal
setting to practice a presentation for
a class, or improve upon a speech for
anyone running for a position in the
SAC. ese are just some examples
of ways Mt. A students can directly
benet from participating in a
Toastmasters club.
Upon reaching various milestones
(e.g. having delivered the rst ten
speeches, the rst thirty speeches,
etc) Toastmasters receive a certicate
indicating their level of progress as a
speaker. As Toastmasters is a recognized
and respected organization, these
certicates can be put in ones resume
and be very meaningful, especially to
employers who are looking for job
applicants who are condent public
speakers. us, in addition to all of the
intangible benets of participating in a
Toastmasters club, there are also many
tangible benets.
A Toastmasters club is a mutually
supportive group of people helping
one another reach the common goal of
becoming better speakers. Toastmasters
is a learn-by-doing system and one
must participate in order to benet,
but all time invested in a Toastmasters
club is time invested in oneself and it
pays back with compound interest.
Anyone who would like to learn
more about Toastmasters is strongly
encouraged to attend a demonstration
Toastmasters meeting which will be
held on Monday, January 18, at 6:00
pm in the Wu Center (Dunn 113).
A toast of the town
New Toastmasters club sets up at Mt. A
Paul Shaver
Argosy Contributor
Jessica Emin
The journalists drinking game
You know you want in on this.
Write for Features
THE ARGOSY YEAR IN REVIEW JANUARY 14, 2010 14
Lets review the year, shall we?
Sports
News & Opinions
Top 10 Stories of 2009
10 H1N1
9 Size of 1st Year Class
8 Shinerama
7 SAC Elections
6 Mailboxes
5 orton Flooding
4 e Pub drama
3 SAC Re-Elections
2 350 Campaign
1 Peter Mansbridge
Top 10 great Arts & Literature events of 2009
In no particular order:
1. Hermngilde Chiasson was appointed the artist in
residence for Mount Allison University and the Universit
de Moncton. Chiasson is an interdisciplinary artist. He has
produced a variety of lms, written numerous books and
created a great number of visual art projects. He is a Mt. A
alumn.
2. under and Lightning opened its doors in the fall. is
neat little creative space is a store, a studio and the ocial
oce for SappyFest and Records, all in one. Since its opening
it has hosted numerous shows, concerts and has provided a
space for visual artists to display their art.
3. e Allisonian Art Garden was created to help ne
arts students sell and promote their art. e project is an
entrepreneurial program developed by the Entrepreneurship
and New Creations commerce class of Mt. A. rough
a partnership with selected Fine Arts students, this
program has helped assist in the planning, marketing and
administrating of two art auctions.
4. Music and Drama student Landon Braverman used the
poems published in 7 Mondays, Mount Allisons annual
journal of literature and photography, and composed music
to the words of aspiring student writers. e songs were
performed by music students in the fall.
5. Visual art is not always on a canvas: Moorea Hum, a former
Mt. A student opened her tattoo studio called For Keeps
Tattoo. Sackville has not had a tattoo studio in three years,
the latest one called Pins and Needles closed in 2006.
H
u
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2009 was a good year for the Mounties with several teams bringing home
championships and many teams making notable strides. e winter saw the
womens volleyball team return to the national championships after defeating
a determined Saint omas (STU)Tommies squad to recapture the ACAA
crown.
e badminton squad swept away its opponents while
hosting the ACAA Championships with several
individuals moving on to the national championship. Mt.
As basketball teams did well as Sackville also played host
to the conference nals and Mountie swimmers excelled
at the AUS Championships, setting personal bests along
the way.
In the fall, the Mounties kept up their winning
ways, with the football and mens and womens
soccer teams staying in the playo hunt until
the very end. As always, the mens and womens
rugby teams continued their dominance of
the ACAA, sweeping both championships
played at home in Sackville.
What will 2010 bring? With the way
2009 went, its not hard to imagine that
well have a few more banners to raise to
the rafters once 2011 rolls around.
Top nine signs of the apocalypse in 2009
9. War and Peace: e Obama Edition. Its not every world leader
who can take home a Nobel Peace Prize while deploying more
troops to ght in Afghanistan. While some might question the
legitimacy of Barack Obamas award, you also have to wonder what
everyone else was doing so bad that made him the best choice.
8. Paul Blart: e new face of blockbusters. You scoed when you
saw the trailers. You mocked your friends when they went to a
matinee. Somehow curiosity got the best of you, and you forked
over twelve bucks to see a pudgy mall cop slide awkwardly across
the oor. While thats sad, itd not nearly as sad as the fact this
lm made close to $200 million worldwide,
inevitably spawning more movies showcasing
individuals with all the authority of a hall
monitor.
7. Michael Jackson dies. While this is
quite sad, its also very unsettling. How
is it possible that someone with that
much medical work done is capable of
dying? If science is able to transform
a cherubic black boy into an anemic
white woman, shouldnt it also be able
to channel the King of Pops essence
into a cyborg by now?
6. Media goes hog wild for Swine Flu.
Ok, so if you were one of the unfortunate
victims of H1N1, you had a pretty shitty
week while you were under. But did
you vomit up your intestine?
Dissolve into a puddle of
bile? Ooze blood out
of your sockets while
squealing like a pig?
Most likely not, though
the press and their
hysteria tried their darnedest to convince everyone you would. And
if you watched FOX News, youd probably think it was all part of
Obamas Evil Scheme To Destroy American Decency (and the
reputation of respectable pigs everywhere).
5. Fame-starved parents teach son the value of lying. Richard Heene
and Mayumi Iizuka made a strong case for Worst Parents of 2009
by hiding their son in the attic, telling news crews he disappeared in
a homemade weather balloon, and making their kid go along with
the whole thing. Falcon Heene, you have a glorious future of con
artistry to look forward to.
4. Sarah Palin pens a bestseller. In other news, Sarah Palin has read
a whole book by herself. Eat that, Couric!
3. e secret to success is having the right look. As always.
Sure, Susan Boyle is a wonderful Cinderella story. But would
everyone have been so deeply moved if her vocalization was
emanating from a Megan Fox doppelganger? No. So kids,
forget practicing day and night to master a craft; talent alone
can only take you so far. All thats keeping you from scoring a
record deal is getting a beat down with an ugly stick.
2. Pubescent girls wish to donate blood for love. Vampire
Fever has swept the world, and why not? Vampires stay up all
hours of the night, exude a certain devil-may-care attitude (as
theyre immortal), FEAST ON BLOOD, and apparently turn
diamond in the sun (what a great accessory!). Who wouldnt want
their twelve-year-old daughter worshipping these creatures?
1. Twitter ushers in 24hr banality. Have you ever spent an
entire day in your underwear, scratching your balls
and reading about every processed food known
to man on Wikipedia? Of course you have, and
All color graphics by Julie Cruikshank
The Mount Allison time line, according to The Argosy
THE ARGOSY YEAR IN REVIEW JANUARY 14, 2010 15
Top 10 great Arts & Literature events of 2009
In no particular order:
1. Hermngilde Chiasson was appointed the artist in
residence for Mount Allison University and the Universit
de Moncton. Chiasson is an interdisciplinary artist. He has
produced a variety of lms, written numerous books and
created a great number of visual art projects. He is a Mt. A
2. under and Lightning opened its doors in the fall. is
neat little creative space is a store, a studio and the ocial
oce for SappyFest and Records, all in one. Since its opening
it has hosted numerous shows, concerts and has provided a
space for visual artists to display their art.
3. e Allisonian Art Garden was created to help ne
arts students sell and promote their art. e project is an
entrepreneurial program developed by the Entrepreneurship
and New Creations commerce class of Mt. A. rough
a partnership with selected Fine Arts students, this
program has helped assist in the planning, marketing and
administrating of two art auctions.
4. Music and Drama student Landon Braverman used the
poems published in 7 Mondays, Mount Allisons annual
journal of literature and photography, and composed music
to the words of aspiring student writers. e songs were
performed by music students in the fall.
5. Visual art is not always on a canvas: Moorea Hum, a former
Mt. A student opened her tattoo studio called For Keeps
Tattoo. Sackville has not had a tattoo studio in three years,
the latest one called Pins and Needles closed in 2006.
6. e Owens Art Gallery featured exhibits by prominent,
world renowned artists, such as a theremin pendulum
sound installation by Gordon Monahan, imaginative
paintings by Sara Hartland-Rowe, and storytelling by
Native author Terrance Houle. ese are just some of the
amazing shows that have come to Sackville and Mount
Allison.
7. e 14th Annual Symposium of Art, this year called
You Gave Me Strength to Stand Alone Again, came to
Sackville from October 17 to 24. It featured a sound art
show on Sackvilles campus and community radio station,
CHMA; an all-night drawing marathon, and experiments
with everyday items, such as books, to create music.
8. e START Gallery (Student Art Gallery) featured
works by some of Mount Allisons ne arts students and
hosted events such as a night of movies by the Japanese
lmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.
9. e Early Music Festival took place for its 6th year
in Sackville, featuring medieval music by the Jongleurs
de la Mandragore, fancy costumes fashioned as the style
of the middle ages, and a concert of Music from Tudor
England.
10. roughout the Fall 2009 semester, Windsor eatre
housed fantastic plays such as Dancing at Lughnasah,
Company, and two excellent one acts, showing o the
talent that Mount Allisons own theatre houses.
H
u
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Top Four Robots This Year
Well, 2009 was an eventful year. e Copenhagen conference, swine u, President Obama calling Kanye West a jackass.
But as usual, we here in the Sci/Tech section are thinking about more important things: the future. And perhaps the
most important aspect of the future is robot companions. With that in mind, please enjoy this retrospective of the sort
of exciting developments that will lead to robot companions.
4 Of Stealthy Robots
An important aspect of our future robotic companions will be protection, whether prison guards or border patrol. A
team at Seoul National University in Korea has developed a protocol which allows robots to sneak
up on a target, taking into account the size of the robot, the available cover and the
speed of the target. is video showcases the completed protocol, in
simulation: http://bit.ly/52OpGz
3 Of A Medical Snake
Modern battleelds are dangerous places. If youre unlucky
enough to suer a battleeld injury, the rst thirty minutes see
86 per cent of wounded die. us, speed is of the essence, but
battleeld medics are inviting targets. e priority is to get the
wounded soldier out of the line of re, wasting valuable minutes.
Enter a snake-like robot developed by Carnegie Mellon Universitys
Prof. Howie Choset. e medical sensor-covered, highly articulated
bot can be wirelessly controlled by a doctor far from the ght, and allow a
complete diagnosis while still on the stretcher: http://bit.ly/5QmJyQ
2 Of Robotic Followers
From those little mouse-droids cleaning the oors of the Death Star, to religious
conceptions of golems, the concept of robots following their human masters at a close, but discreet,
distance has captured the imagination of nerds everywhere. Sadly, this has been historically viewed as quite dicult
to do, as machine sight is still a long way o. However, Brown University, using a depth-imaging infrared camera and
specially written image processing software, has created a robot that not only follows you at a set distance but also can
accept gestures as commands: http://bit.ly/8V5rzn
1 Of Walking
As common as it seems on television, a big challenge in robotics is walking upright. Bipedalism, despite how easy
we humans make it seem, is actually an impressively involved process that is decidedly non-trivial to implement in a
robot. Enter Boston Dynamics, a company lauded in 2005 for its creation and subsequent improvement of BigDog,
a creepily realistic four-legged pack mule robot with an uncanny sense of balance (video exists of US Army testers
kicking the poor thing whilst it walks, and it doesnt fall once) and an impressive 155-kilo carrying capacity. Now BD
is back with Petman, a two-legged version for testing chemical suits. Capable of human-like walking, crawling, and a
similar propensity to recover from kicks, Petman is an important step forward for robotics, but dont expect a Cylon
or an NS-5 anytime soon. Petman will probably be forever relegated to simple chemical testing; its 5.1kph top speed
and complete inability to carry any weight isnt exactly impressive.
hysteria tried their darnedest to convince everyone you would. And
if you watched FOX News, youd probably think it was all part of
Obamas Evil Scheme To Destroy American Decency (and the
reputation of respectable pigs everywhere).
5. Fame-starved parents teach son the value of lying. Richard Heene
and Mayumi Iizuka made a strong case for Worst Parents of 2009
by hiding their son in the attic, telling news crews he disappeared in
a homemade weather balloon, and making their kid go along with
the whole thing. Falcon Heene, you have a glorious future of con
artistry to look forward to.
4. Sarah Palin pens a bestseller. In other news, Sarah Palin has read
a whole book by herself. Eat that, Couric!
3. e secret to success is having the right look. As always.
Sure, Susan Boyle is a wonderful Cinderella story. But would
everyone have been so deeply moved if her vocalization was
emanating from a Megan Fox doppelganger? No. So kids,
forget practicing day and night to master a craft; talent alone
can only take you so far. All thats keeping you from scoring a
record deal is getting a beat down with an ugly stick.
2. Pubescent girls wish to donate blood for love. Vampire
Fever has swept the world, and why not? Vampires stay up all
hours of the night, exude a certain devil-may-care attitude (as
theyre immortal), FEAST ON BLOOD, and apparently turn
diamond in the sun (what a great accessory!). Who wouldnt want
their twelve-year-old daughter worshipping these creatures?
1. Twitter ushers in 24hr banality. Have you ever spent an
entire day in your underwear, scratching your balls
and reading about every processed food known
to man on Wikipedia? Of course you have, and
we all know because you thought the whole
world valued this information and tweeted
the entire experience. Unless youre Jack
Bauer, we can probably make do without the
constant updates.
4BH5DBG
2010...
Best of
time line, according to The Argosy
ENTERTAINMENT
e few, the proud, the best albums of 2009
e Argosy looks back at the nest records of 2009, from Julie Doiron to Dirty Projectors and more
Neil Bonner
Argosy Staff
Julie Cruikshank
Fuck Buttons Tarot Sport
Fuck Buttons 2008 debut Street
Horrrsing was a collection of fascinating
sounds neon synth loops, worn drum
breaks, death metal howls, and washes
of white noise in search of just the
right mixture. It was a fascinating
record, sure, but it also felt like the
prelude to something greater.
Tarot Sport doesnt just meet
these expectations, it destroys them.
Following the lead of Street Horrrsings
stunning single Bright Tomorrow,
Andrew Hung and Benjamin John
Power achieve a perfect synthesis
between dance and noise, using one
to unlock dierent dimensions of the
other. Each of the seven tracks on
Tarot is fascinating and fully realized
no mean feat when most of them are
almost ten minutes long: e Lisbon
Maru chronicles the sinking of the
titular Japanese troopship through
harsh, almost marital arpeggios and a
burbling synthesizer loop that remains
just out of frame until a massive blast
of noise brings everything into focus.
Olympians sounds like a cross
between the Chariots of Fire theme
and a panic attack; if there were any
justice, this would be the song playing
as ski jumpers land in Vancouver.
Best of all is Flight of the Feathered
Serpent, which rides a blissfully
simple hook into the sunset. Ecstatic
and hypnotic.
Julie Doiron I Can Wonder What I
Did With Your Day
In which our beloved hometown hero
drops one of the best albums of a long
career, seemingly without breaking
a sweat. Doiron switches between
the fuzz-pop of Consolation Prize,
the gentle acoustic ditty Glad to be
Alive, and looping When Breaks Get
Wet with ease. New interpretations of
Calm Down Its Monday and Shotgun
and Jaybird tunes sit comfortably
along with Doirons new material. Put
simply, I Can Wonder What You Did
With Your Day perfectly captures the
charm and beauty of our little town of
Sackville.
Japandroids Post-Nothing
As the title suggests, Post-Nothing
isnt some genre-busting game-
changer to be analyzed in the back
pages of pop music journals. Rather,
Japandroids have created an almost
deceptively simple album of punchy,
noisy rock songs aimed directly at your
pleasure centre. You know that part in
a song - a perfect drum solo, guitar ri,
or vocal where you have just drop
what youre doing and bang your head
accordingly? Guitarist Brian King and
drummer David Prowse must have sat
down and said, Yeah, lets do that,
but all the time. Somehow, it never
gets old: the unstoppable opening
trio of e Boys Are Leaving Town,
Young Hearts Spark Fire, and Wet
Hair gives way to the strutting Heart
Sweats, the aecting I Quit Girls,
and Crazy/Forever, which is like
Vitamin Cs Graduation for kids
in white t-shirts and ripped jeans.
Remember how in September I wrote
that you could [e]xpect to see this one
at the top of my list come the years
end? Well, here we are.
Outdoor Miners Twelve Hundred
Dollars
Yeah, its not an album, but so what?
is Edmonton trios debut single
provides more bang for your buck than
most of 2009s full-lengths. Imagine
if Wire and Pavement moved to
western Canada, met during a break at
their dull jobs at the tire factory and
started playing fuzz-rock tunes in a
damp basement to stave o the harsh
Edmontonian winter, they might
sound like Outdoor Miners. Or maybe
not. Either way, these three songs have
hooks to spare, drenched in perfectly
caeinated guitar tone. Youll love
this. 7-inch single available on Pop Echo
records, mp3s available on iTunes.
Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca
e best of the megahyped indie trifecta
of 2009 (the others being Grizzly Bear
and Animal Collective), Bitte Orca
was my summer jam. Something like
a 1970s soft-rock album pressed on
warped vinyl, crossed with a radio r-
and-b jam. If youve heard the name,
youve probably heard lots of eusive
praise for Bitte Orca, so I wont bore
you with anymore. Just go listen to it,
okay?
Destroyer Bay of Pigs [EP]
Once again proving that an artists
best work can be found in between
albums, Destroyers Dan Bejar sets a
drunken, rambling tangent on the Bay
of Pigs invasion to fourteen minutes
of icy ambient disco. Unexpected?
Not entirely: Destroyers earlier work
relied heavily on MIDI synthesizers,
but it never had a beat quite like this.
Dicult? Surprisingly, no. Beneath
Bejars comic, touching, and sometimes
perplexing lyrics (sample: Magnolias
a girl. Her hearts made of wood /
As apocalypses go, thats pretty good
/ Sha-la-la, wouldnt you say?), lurks
a genuinely catchy blend of gorgeous
ambient space, clapping beats, and just
the right amount of acoustic guitar.
Attack in Black Years (by One
ousand Fingertips)
Far be it from this reporter to try
and gure out what Attack in Black
wanted to accomplish with Years, but
I cant help feeling like these four lads
from Welland, Ontario have created
the ultimate Canadian road trip
album. e rhythms of these sixteen
sounds mirror the various stages of
a cross-country trek blasting down
the Trans-Canada, pulling into small
towns at sundown, gaping in awe at
sights you had no idea could be found
in your own backyard.
Mostly though, this is just some
of the best rock music of the year.
Attack in Black are equally adept at
shuing folk (the title track), jangly,
harmonized pop (Leaving Your Death
in a Flowerbed) and slow-burning
anthems (e Greater Niagara Circle
Route). Years of touring, recording,
and backing musicians from Shotgun
Jimmie to City and Color have paid
o, turning Attack in Black into one
of the most formidable bands in the
country. Years is a bona-de Canadian
classic.
tUnE-yArDs BiRd-BrAiNs
Lo- production can go one of two
ways: it can be used as a mask to make
weak songs more authentic, or it can
resonate with the songs, causing the
listener to reconsider the possibilities
of recording. Happily, tUnE-yArDs
falls into the latter category. Armed
with only a digital voice recorder,
shareware mixing software, a ukulele,
and irritating capitalization, Merrill
Garbus created one of the years
most unique and endearing debut
albums. A blend of folk music, worldly
grooves, brittle hip-hop beats, and
eld recordings (the rst song ends
with a child talking about fresh
blueberries), BiRd-BrAiNs is long on
charm and short on delity. Garbus
voice is capable of delicate sing-songs
as well as needle-pushing belt-outs.
e positive notices BiRd-BrAiNs is
racking up are a good sign that Garbus
might be able to record in a studio next
time. But its comforting to know she
doesnt need it.
Top row (L-R): Fuck Buttons -
Tarot Sport, Julie Doiron - I Can
Wonder What You Did With Your
Day, Japandroids - Post-Nothing.
Middle row (L-R): Outdoor Miners
- Twelve Hundred Dollars, Dirty
Projectors - Bitte Orca, Destroyer
- Bay of Pigs. Bottom Row (L-R):
Attack in Black - Years (by One
Thousand Fingertips), tUnE-yArDs
- BiRd-BrAiNs.
Internet Photo/e Skinny Internet Photo/Jagjaguwar Internet Photo/Polyvinyl
Internet Photo/Weird Canada Internet Photo/Amie Street Internet Photo/Pitchfork
Internet Photo/Aquarium Drunkard Internet Photo/Quick Before It Melts
17 JANUARY 14, 2010 THE ARGOSY ENTERTAINMENT
G A I N P E R S P E C T I V E
Applications accepted until
January 31, 2010
For details visit STU.ca/socialwork
This piece of paper can
help you change lives.
The Post-Degree
Social Work Programme
at St.Thomas University
If youre someone who is
dedicated to making a dierence
in the lives of others, then
St. Thomas University
has been waiting for you.
Frost warms hearts at Georges
Corey Isenor releases his second album to a packed house
Evan Rensch
Neil Bonner
Argosy Staff
I arrived at Georges Roadhouse for
the launch of Corey Isenors album
Frost Saturday at 10:00 pm. You might
think I was cutting things a little close
considering thats exactly when the
show was set to begin, but keep in
mind thats 10:00 pm GMT (Georges
Mean Time), which roughly translates
to whenever. is is a widely
acknowledged fact around town, so I
was surprised to nd a sizable crowd
already seated. Its a testament to
two simple facts about Corey Isenor:
(1) people like him a lot, and (2) hes
becoming one hell of a songwriter.
Opening the show was Prince
Edward Island folk-rock quartet
Raccoon Bandit. Riding on some very
positive buzz for their 2009 album
Campcraft, which has landed them
spots in the 2010 Music PEI Awards
and the Dead of Winter Festival in
Halifax. e band has clear roots
in the Canadian folk tradition and
country music, but theres also a clear
indie rock inuence, especially in the
upbeat songs toward the end of the set.
For a band as new as Raccoon Bandit,
their set was impressive. Expect them
to steal hearts across the country very
soon.
Isenors new CD Frost is, as the
title suggests, a more muted, autumnal
aair than his last album Young Squire.
While the album itself contains
production work and additional
instrumentation from Shotgun Jimmie,
Corey performed solo, with only a pair
of acoustic guitars. is seemed like a
risky proposition at rst, considering
the size of the crowd and the ensuing
noise levels (including one person who
kept yelling YEA-UH la Lil Jon).
But Coreys songs were strong enough
to capture the crowds attention. Album
opener Riverwoman started the set;
the waltz-like drumbeat and swooning
harmonium of the album version were
absent, but the core of the song was
a captivating one. He stuck to songs
from Frost, bringing out his harmonica
later in the set. Notably, Isenor told the
crowd that his harmonica was found
inside the couch at Duckys, proving
that he is a far braver man than I.
Having nished his set, Corey led the
crowd in two covers: the Shotgun and
Jaybird perennial Marquee Glass
and e Faces classic Ooh La La.
All around the roadhouse, people
had arms around each other, swaying,
singing along, and clinking beer
glasses. e rst Georges show of the
new year proved that Frosts reception
was anything but chilly.
Avatars stunning visuals live up to the hype
Rebecca Caissie
Argosy Correspondent
When I arrived at the movie theatre,
we all stood in line lled with an
excitement that I havent felt about
going to the movies since I was a
little girl in elementary school. After
hearing all the rumors and reading
all the reviews, I was pumped! Totally
psyched! I looked up and down the
line and we were all pretty much in
the same state of frenzy could
that be the word? Finally I ordered my
ticket and received the much coveted
3D glasses and the pass that would
allow me entrance into the fantasy
experience of Avatar.
Oscar-winning director James
Cameron reportedly began working
on Avatar fteen years ago, before
the technology was available to make
his vision a reality. He has apparently
been working on the production of the
lm for four years. It is a live action
lm with cutting edge special eects,
promising to immerse viewers in a
new cinematic experience. For once,
the goal is to utilize amazing new
technology to enhance rather than
over shadow the story.
But, what is that story? We have
heard so much about the amazing
visuals that most of us went in with
barely any idea of the plot. Well, I
looked it up in advance, because like a
child at Christmas, I just couldnt wait.
e story is placed in an alien world
where civilization faces an energy
crisis. e key to solving this energy
crisis lies in a rare mineral found in an
outpost light years away on an outpost
called Pandora. Because Pandora is a
toxic atmosphere, humans must have
their consciousness linked to an Avatar,
a remotely controlled biological body,
a genetically engineered hybrid of
human DNA and native Pandorian
DNA. Jakes (main character) mission
is to inltrate the colony of natives,
the Navi, who oppose the mining
necessary to produce the mineral that
would save Earth. Of course, things
become complicated when Jake meets
and falls in love with Neytiri, a native
of Pandora.
Im happy to report that the lm
was absolutely stunning. e visual
eects were amazing and lived up
to everything that was reported by
both media and those who had gone
on to see it. e visual eects made
the length of the lm seem almost
too short, which was perfect because
you are left feeling you wanted to see
more, even though you had seen so
much. Anyone who has seen Avatar
will understand exactly what I mean
by that. For those who havent, I highly
recommend seeing this lm at the
theaters in 3D because this isnt one of
those movies you will want to see rst
at home.
e panoramic nature scenes were
juxtaposed to the mined and ruined
earth images which seemed to me
to mirror the conversations we have
currently about the fears of driving
Earth to ruins. As for the story itself,
it was wasnt exactly enhanced by the
special eects. If this was a aw, I
would say it was a minor one as the
movie nonetheless translated onto the
screen Camerons fteen-year vision.
Time and reality passed away as I was
swept up into the world of Avatar.
Its message of a ruined world, hope
and unity came through, but it was
the imagery and special eects that
made this lm an instant classic and
James Camerons latest lm fullls the promise of 3D movies, and begs to be seen on the big screen
Internet Photo/Collider
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) looks on as his avatar is prepared in James Camerons Avatar. The lm has topped the box ofce since its release.
Corey Isenor, who launched his latest album Frost on January 9.
By now you have no doubt seen posters of a fire breathing
pheasant wreaking havoc on the peaceful metropolis of Sackville,
and you might be asking yourself: What IS Stereophonic? Well,
before residents start assembling a Pheasant Annihilation Task
Force, STEREOPHONIC IS CHMA'S ANNUAL FUNDRAISING
MUSIC FESTIVAL and it is set to take Sackville by storm January
20th to 23rd. Just to clarify, CHMA has not employed pheasants
(fire breathing or otherwise) for this year's festival. Instead, lovers
of live music can look forward to enough music to quench even the
most insatiable of musical appetites.
Last year, Stereophonic Six was the most sucessful festival to date,
raising important funds for your campus and community radio
station and treating everyone to some great live music. Who could
forget Old Man Luedecke at the Vogue Cinema had audience
members standing and clapping and singing along enough to
shake the theater walls? Or the conclusion of the festival by Plants
& Animals, and Wintersleep had crowds at Georges in a drunken
rock-frenzy? This year is sure to sure to be just as memorable.
Talented acts from around the Maritimes are packing their
microphones, and music venues across Sackville (conventional or
otherwise) are being preped for next week's festivities. CHMA is
glad to welcome back some of our favorite bands and singers
back as well as bringing in what are sure to staples for future
Stereophonics. Wednesday night's music starts at the Mount
Allison Chapel with some beautiful music from the likes of Pat
THE CHMA 106. 9 FM CAMPUS & COMMUNI TY RADI O BULLETI N
JANUARY 14, 2010 THIS YEARS BEST EDITION
FINALE A PIPE DREAM AND A PROMISE
Hip-hop's not dead, it just moved to Detroit and got laid off by GM.
FERRISWHEEL WOODSONGS FROM THE BACKROOM
Piano and acoustic guitar can be made to sound like minimal techno.
STAY ALI MUSIC FOR MEN
Swedish children ghost-write an unreleased Daft Punk album on their Gameboys.
NOVELLER RED RAINBOWS AND PAINT ON THE SHADOWS
RIYL: Noise. Ambient.
ATTACK IN BLACK YEARS (BY A THOUSAND FINGERTIPS)
Guitar music doesn't suck, no matter what they tell you.
SHOTGUN JIMMIE STILL JIMMIE, PAINT IT PINK EP, THE ORGAN DONOR
The same is true for organ music.
DANIEL, FRED & JULIE - DANIEL, FRED & JULIE
Bringing it back to what's golden.
VALLEYS SOMETIMES WATER KILLS PEOPLE
Who gave these folks effects pedals?
YORK REDOUBT YORK REDOUBT, CHEAP FUNERALS EP
In honour of (a short) lifetime achievement.
NEKO CASE MIDDLE CYCLONE
Killer whales.
THE BEST* ALBUMS OF 2009
*THREE COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE VIEWS OF MUSIC FROM THE PAST YEAR FROM CHMA'S RESIDENT MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS
ATTIC TRANSMISSIONS
THE CHMA CHARTS WEEK ENDING JANUARY 12, 2010
THE CHARTS
RANK ARTIST TITLE (LABEL)
01 SAID THE WHALE* Islands Disappear (Hidden Pony)
02 DANIEL, FRED & JULIE* Daniel, Fred & Julie (You've Changed)
03 ATTACK IN BLACK/BABY EAGLE* Attack In Black/Baby Eagle Split (You've Changed)
04 HORSES* Horses (Out Of Touch)
05 SHARE* Slumping In Your Murals (Forward Music Group)
06 THE JOHN WAYNE COVER BAND* The Flatlands (Self-Released)
07 SHOTGUN JIMMIE* Still Jimmie (You've Changed)
08 OHBIJOU* Beacons (Last Gang)
09 CONSTRUCTION & DESTRUCTION* Video Et Taceo (Self-Released)
10 BAHAMAS* Pink Strat (Nevado)
11 COUSINS* Out On Town (Youth Club)
12 ATTACK IN BLACK* Years (By One Thousand Fingertips) (Dine Alone)
13 ISLANDS* Vapours (Anti-)
14 REVERIE SOUND REVUE* Reverie Sound Revue (Boompa)
15 OWEN PALLETT* Final Fantasy : Heartland (For Great Justice)
16 KAREN O AND THE KIDS Where the Wild Things Are (Interscope)
17 THINK ABOUT LIFE* Family (Alien8)
18 OROMOCTO DIAMOND* Le Choc du Futur (P572)
19 THE FIRST AID KIT* Still Standing (Self-Released)
20 YORK REDOUBT* York Redoubt (Noyes)
21 OBITS I Blame You (Sub Pop)
22 THE XX XX (Young Turks)
23 DEVIL EYES* Devil Eyes (Signed By Force)
24 THE GOT TO GET GOT* Sahalee (Noyes)
25 DOG DAY* Concentration (Outside)
26 PAT LEPOIDEVIN* Blue Tornadoes (Self-Released)
27 HANNAH GEORGAS* Chit Chat (Hidden Pony)
28 A HISTORY OF* Action In The North Atlantic (Noyes)
29 VARIOUS New Moon Soundtrack (Atlantic)
30 VALLEYS* Sometimes Water Kills People (Semprini)
31 COREY ISENOR* Frost (Independent)
DOUG HOYER
Lepoidevin and Baby Eagle and then the night ends with at
raucous concert with BA Johnston at the campus Pub. Thursday
brings the second annual station dance party with Oromoncto
Diamond in the CHMA offices and to unwind later that night
Ducky's Pub will host a Mario Kart Tournament (and other video
games). Friday will see The Vogue Cinema transformed into
Sackville's best-kept-secret Music Venue on Friday for the
Beautiful Music Showcase featuring Corey Isenor, Gianna
Lauren, Cousins, and more! The whole week comes to a
crashing finale on Saturday night with two more concerts starting
off at Struts Gallery where indie sweethearts Construction &
Destruction and will be playing alongside The Bad Arts. The
Traditional Saturday night rock concert ends the festival at
George's Fabulous Roadhouse with Port City All Star Adam
Mowery and Sackville's own John Wayne Cover Band, and
Shotgun Jimmie. More acts will be announced soon, and the
entire lineup and additional information is available now on the
Stereophonic website.
Stereophonic is a great festival which brings together community
members and university students alike together to enjoy live music
and support campus radio. Festival passes and Tshirts are on sale
now in the Student Centre. See you in front of the stage!
No pheasants were harmed in the making of this music festival.
www.mta.ca/chma/stereophonic.htm
STEREOPHONTASTIC
YOUR STEREOPHONIC SEVEN SURVIVAL GUIDE
BY VANESSA BLACKIER
ST. VINCENT - ACTOR
Beautiful vocals, crunchy guitars, dark lyrics, and beats, beats, beats.
GRIZZLY BEAR - VECKATIMEST
Our generations Beach Boys? Sure, why not.
WILCO - WILCO (THE ALBUM)
Their worst album, but still really good.
DIRTY PROJECTORS - BITTE ORCA
Sort of wanky, sort of weird, sort of awesome.
JULIE DOIRON - CAN WONDER WHAT YOU DID WITH YOUR DAY
Another great album from Julie Doiron. Julie embraces the rawk on this one.
THE DECEMBERISTS - THE HAZARDS OF LOVE
Surprisingly good for a rock opera about shape shifters and child murderers and stuff.
ATTACK IN BLACK - YEARS (BY ONE THOUSAND FINGERTIPS)
These guys just keeping getting better and better.
BILL CALLAHAN - SOMETIMES I WISH WE WERE AN EAGLE
You might also know him as Smog. Or (Smog). I just know him as that talented older dude.
JOEL PLASKETT - THREE
I'm shocked at how little filler is on the three discs that make up this album.
JOHN VANDERSLICE - ROMANIAN NAMES /SHOTGUN JIMMIE - STILL JIMMIE (TIE)
John gets synth-y and Jimmie is still good ol' Jimmie.
DAN MANGAN - NICE, NICE, VERY NICE
I Robots
JULIE DOIRON - I CAN WONDER WHAT YOU DID WITH YOUR DAY
Beautiful Sackville days and drunken nights at Ducky's.
LIGHTNING DUST - INFINITE LIGHT
That old timey feel.
CLUES - CLUES
Like an ugly puppy that you like more and more.
OHBIJOU - BEACONS
Definitely not the opera.
JENN GRANT - ECHOES
As sweet as fireflies on a warm summer night.
SAID THE WHALE - ISLANDS DISAPPEAR
As magical as Camillo the Magician
VARIOUS ARTISTS - FRIENDS IN BELLWOODS 2
Best Friends Forever.
YOU SAY PARTY, WE SAY DIE - XXXX
Let's crash Laura Palmer's Prom.
ZEUS - SOUNDS LIKE ZEUS EP
Five songs that will be marching through your head.
INDIE ROCK NIGHT!!!
JON McKIEL + DUZHEKNEW
WITH COUSINS
FRIDAY JANUARY 15TH
STRUTS GALLERY ~ 9PM
ALL AGES ~ 5$
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
JAMES GODDARD VANESSA BLACKIER SCOTT BROWN
HUMOUR
Top Ten New Years
Resolution (And
Their Reason for
Termination)
Lindsay Laltoo
10. Attend Friday afternoon classes
(broken once roommate unveils the
Wii they got for Christmas and the
Weekly Bowling Battles begin).
9. Eat better (until Burrito Day at the
cafeteria coincides with the arrival
of your moms care package of eleven
dierent types of fudge).
8. Exercise more (abandoned when
you get out of breath walking up York
Street to the gym).
7. Spend less (kept until you
accidentally smash your roommates TV
screen during an intense Wii bowling
session and need to replace it).
6. Stop pining over your ex (one day
when looking for spare change for
January 14, 2010
Dear Diary
You know what? This whole
vampire thing is just a pain
in the ass. I made a new friend
yesterday at school. He invited
me over to his house after class
to test out the Xbox 360 he got
for his birthday. We were about
IWHHQPLQXWHVIURPKLVKRXVH
when he started talking about
girls and he asked me if I had
a girlfriend. I started to think
about the past three hundred
years I have spent alone. My
stomach started to rumble and
then I ate him.
See, the thing is diary,
Im an emotional eater. Every
time that I think about how I have
never had anybody to hold my
pale, cold-blooded, sexy vampire
body, I get this feeling inside of
me that makes me just want to
VLQNP\WHHWKLQWRKXPDQHVK
It can be triggered by almost
anything. For example, the other
day I got lost at the local Wal-
Mart and found myself in the
jewellery department. As I looked
at the rings, pondering what was
more beautiful, the diamonds
or my skin when it was struck
by natural sunlight, the cashier
asked me Oh lookin for a last
minute Valentines Day gift for
the special girl, are we? Then
that same feeling of sadness
rushed inside of me and I ate her
too. I was disgusted with myself
as the store manager ran over to
her. He started to cry and kissed
her head. He was her husband
and I had taken her from him.
He would never love again, not
like this, and he would be lonely.
I felt his pain, I felt his sadness.
Then I ate him too.
I dont know what I am
JRLQJWRGR'LDU\,QGP\VHOI
eating anyone I meet because
I hate being lonely, and I am
lonely because Ill eat anyone
I meet. The other day I started
reading the twilight series. I
understand how unrealistic
the story is, but I cant help but
wonder if there is hope for me.
As you know diary, vampire
tears are rare and sacred because
of their ability to cure Type 2
diabetes, but I couldnt keep
from sobbing every time Bella
let Edward hold her. I must have
eaten two people in this town
for every chapter I read, but it
was worth it for the inspiration
it gave me. Starting today I
will begin dealing with my
feelings without eating anyone
around me. Actually, this entry
has made me pretty upset, so I
am ending it here by saying
starting tomorrow, I will begin
dealing with my feelings
without eating anyone.
the New TV Fund you come across
a wrapper from their favourite gum,
and the whole downward spiral starts
anew).
5. Stop mocking your roommates
(they get crocs to putter around the
apartment in. Crocs.)
4. Start ossing (you realize its a lame
resolution, and besides which, you need
your oss to install trip wires around
the apartment).
3. Get better grades (you head to the
library for a study session, but since
youve never been there you get lost,
and somehow end up at the pub. A
couple pitchers in, and everythings
looking A+!).
2. Do something nice for someone
everyday (after a few days of this, you
get bitter that no ones returning the
favour, and start spitting in peoples
coee when they arent looking).
1. Write for Humour! (We can make
this happen! Seriously, dont you want
to keep at least ONE resolution?).
From the Mixed-Up Files of
The Vampire Watch Society
(Sackville Charter)
The following document was uncovered by Erik Fraser.
...a sex shop in Vancouver is promising
free vibrators to all medal-winning
athletes, with Olympic penis rings also
on sale (QMI Agency)
...a man trying to help clear his street
with his snowblower ended up with a
public intoxication ticket after nearly
getting run over twice (e Canadian
Press)
...a man whos been living at the
University of Victoria since 1991,
despite not completing a course for
credit since 1997, has recently been
evicted (e Canadian Press)
...a Romanian
family is trying
to recover their
funds after a
man hid 40,000 euro in a pair of old
shoes, which were accidentally thrown
away by his wife (e Associated
Press)
In Odder News.... Weird Stories From Around The World
...police are charging a man in Oregon
with third-degree robbery for snipping
or gluing womens hair in several
separate incidences on area buses (e
Associated Press)
Argosy InAction by Lindsay Laltoo
Adventures In University by Kate Paterson
a touch of grace by Erik Fraser
ARTS & LITERATURE
Altman creates more than just music
Arts and souls: spotlight on artists
Maria Maute
Argosy Staff
Maria Maute
WL Altman denes himself as a
musician, composer, performer and
ultimately, an interdisciplinary artist.
He plays numerous instruments,
notably the guitar, keyboard and
electronics, and he is also a singer. His
musical career started early on when
he was in high school, I was a rocker,
playing in local cover bands during
my teenage years, he laughs. He went
on to university and got interested in
composition and now holds a masters
degree in composition from the
University of Nebraska.
Altmans work is dicult to dene;
it is clearly atonal and very modern
music. I nd labels dicult, the
composer explains, because the very
goal of creativity is to avoid being
boxed in by those very sort if things.
When Altman begins a new project,
he approaches it with a blank slate. I
could say that I have this free atonal
language: I can create and impose
any kind of structure and language
which gives me a great deal of
freedom, remarks Altman, But I also
have a love for the simple power of
three-chord root music. ese are the
two poles of my creative world and
energy. is combination of a very
modern and open interpretation of
Altman. When the group was rst
created in 2006, they toured Britain
and Europe, and they just completed
a tour in Japan.
e composer and musician also
works on a lot of solo projects. He goes
by the pseudonym El Ron Maltan
when he works on his solo rock projects.
El Ron Maltan will be performing
during Stereophonic on Saturday,
January 23 at Struts gallery. He also
hosts a show on CHMA every
ursday night at midnight called
e one handed jam where he plays
live electronics in the studio. He did
an interesting project in 2005 with the
inmates of the Dorchester Penitentiary.
Together with videographer Fred
Squire, the inmates and Altman
improvised music and created a piece
called Humming and Drumming.
e piece was twenty minutes long and
premiered at the Owens Art Gallery.
e project was part of a program by
SOCAN called New music in new
places which helped fund Altmans
work. [SOCAN] provoked me to
come up with a very new idea and a
quite unusual place to do that kind of
music, says Altman.
Currently Altman is working on
a piece commisioned by the group
Motion Ensemble. is piece will be
an electronic opera with live video
projections and light sensors that
react to movement. In order to write
this piece, Altman will be going into
residency in Ban for a month and a
half. On the way there, he will stop in
Calgary for the premiere performance
of one of his pieces for ute and
electronics. Its fun when your new
music is performed somewhere else,
comments the composer.
WL Altman is an interdisciplinary
artist who uses many dierent
mediums and ideas to express himself.
His work can be found online at:
http://www.sbotnwo.com/, http://
www.myspace.com/elronmaltan and
http://thecsessions.ca/.
In the vast world of poetry in the
history of the planet, one small,
humble form has stayed strong since
approximately the seventeenth century.
is form is haiku, originating in
Japan and now indulged in worldwide.
Haiku poems are one stanza and three
metrical phrases of ve, seven, and
ve moras (syllables). In English, one
would see these as three lines, and
in Japanese, these would be printed
in a single vertical line. ese poems
often have a connection to Buddhism,
and nature is a strong, if not the only,
presence. ough they are
seemingly simple poems,
when written in Japanese,
they are actually quite complex.
e ve/seven/ve syllable pattern is
strictly followed in Japanese, whereas
in English, exceptions can be made,
especially because the form began in
a non-English language. A kireji, or
cutting word, is present at the end of
Japanese haiku, providing a dignied
ending and ends a verse with a sense
of closure. e season of a poem is
also implied through a word or phrase.
e poem Old Pond by the
17
th
century poet, Matsuo Basho, is
perhaps one of the most well known:
An old pond!
A frog jumps in -
e sound of water.
is can be juxtaposed with newer
forms of haiku, such as Urban Haiku
by Michael R. Collins:
Silence - a strangled
Telephone has forgotten
at it should ring.
(ese poems found on the website
entitled Haiku for People.)
In the English poem, one can see
the metric pattern clearly, but this
pattern has been lost in the English
translation of the Japanese poem.
I personally think that haiku is one
of the most beautiful forms of poetry.
It is simple and does not lend itself
to long interpretations, which can be
refreshing if one wants to read poetry
for pleasure instead of, for example, in a
university class. e simple fact that it
can also say so much in so little words
is also intriguing to me. If nothing else,
there is clear and enjoyable imagery that
is brought forth by these little poems.
Earlier this week large panels of
paintings were hung on the far end
wall of the Pub. is is one of a
few smaller projects to make the
locale more welcoming to students.
Jonathan Scooter Clark, the
Pubs full-time manager, calls this
decorative eort baby steps towards
giving the venue some personality.
During the board of directors
meeting at the end of November the
Pub got permission to go ahead with
what Clark calls an experiment with
[decorating] one wall to judge the
students reaction. If the reaction
towards the paintings is positive,
it will increase the chances of the
board of directors allowing paintings
on the remaining walls as well.
e paintings were designed and
created by Fine Arts student Corey
Isenor who volunteered his time to
this project. I wanted to keep [the
paintings] simple but active and
welcoming in the space, explains
Isenor, Making them colourful and
patterned, I felt would allow the
work to be easily approachable by
everyone who saw them and would
enhance the space of the pub in a
positive way. For Isenor the imagery
itself is not meant to represent
anything directly, he comments,
more just a composition of various
visual elements that are somewhat
interacting within the artwork.
Clark explained that Isenor came in
after the exams were over and measured
the dimensions of the walls. He then
worked on a design and the paintings
over the Christmas break and nished
everything in the rst week of this
semester. It was a quick project, says
the manager of the Pub, but we wanted
to get it done at the beginning of the
term. e project consisted of eight
sheets of masonite and $400 worth of
paint and varnish. Clark assures that if
the other walls were to be decorated, it
would cost less since a lot of paint and
varnish is left over from this project.
e managers next goal is to add a
e Tatramarsh Club is nally getting some personality
Student art is decorating the walls of the pub
Maria Maute
Argosy Staff
few low-energy coloured lights for some
mood lighting. A lot of the feedback
in the last year was that the bar needs
more character, explains Clark, We
Vivi Reich
Argosy Staff
music, together with a rock and pop
inuence describes both Altman and
his music.
Altman has worked on a great variety
and number of musical projects over
the years. Interestingly, since Canadas
top news anchor is now the chancellor
of Mount Allison University, Altman
was part of a local folk-rock group
named Peter Mansbridge and the
CBCs. [Peter Mansbridge] knows
about us, comments the composer,
e CBC got kind of interested in
it, but I dont know if he knows our
songs. Currently Altman is part of
a project called e CFL Sessions,
which is something he works on
together with Mt. A graduate, Henry
Svec. He is also part of a group called
Sbot N Wo, a duo formed together
with his wife and professor from the
Music Department, Helen Pridmore.
[Pridmore] does voice and I process
her live on the laptop, explains
need to nd a compromise between
a clean and modern bar, but still with
that kind of character and atmosphere
that the students liked in the old pub.
e paintings reect the style of the
old pub, bright and vibrant colours
and patterns on a black background.
I nd labels dicult
because the very goal
of creativity is to avoid
being boxed in by those
very sort if things.
Jessica Emin
Internet Photo/Sonic
21 THE ARGOSY ARTS & LITERATURE
is coming Saturday at 2 pm
Monctons Empire 8 eatres will be
showing the Metropolitan Operas
Carmen through live transmission in
HD, according to the Empire eatres
website. Carmen is one of several
operas being broadcast live this season
thanks to the Operas Live in HD
transmission program. According to
their home page, Live in HD began
in 2006 and broadcasts Metropolitan
Opera productions from New York to
over 1,000 venues in forty-two dierent
countries. is 2009-2010 season,
thanks to the collaboration between
Empire 8 eatres and the Opera, such
performances as Carmen, Les Contes
dHomann, Simon Boccanegra,
Der Rosenkavalier, Hamlet and
Armida will be made available to the
general public for $21.95. To attend
the real thing at the Metropolitan
Opera in New York, the ticket could
cost anywhere from $295US to
$80US, depending on where you sit.
e Metropolitan Opera isnt the
only organization trying to broaden
the opera fan base. Fulvio Paolocci
and Angelica Marin from GlobalPost
describe another attempt to bring
opera to the masses with an Italian
program called Toccata e Fuga, in
which opera is performed for free in
streets of Rome. Paolocci and Marin
underline the anxiety felt even in Italy
about the longevity and survival of this
dying music genre despite its once
integral role in the Italian identity.
According to opera enthusiast and
soprano singer Hilary Ready - who
is currently pursuing her Bachelor of
Music in Voice at Mount Allison -
the accessibility of the Operas many
productions is an especially exciting
prospect. Ready says that for her, e
most exciting thing... about the Live
from the Met[ropolitan] broadcasts
is just the general notion of opera
being resurrected. For years it has
been something that old people and
music nerds listen to, but with these
broadcasts, anybody can listen to it
and enjoy it. As Ready also points
out, these broadcastings are very
important in the continuation of
opera productions in a technological
age when much of our entertainment
relies on ease of access. In this way the
Operas Live in HD program is not
only important in spreading art in our
communities, but also because it assures
the survival of an art form that has been
considered elitist until very recently.
e show this Saturday will star
Elina Garanca as Carmen, the
ery character rst brought to us
by Prosper Mrime in his novella
Carmen in 1845, and later in Georges
Bizets opera in 1875. On the web
page Richard Eyre, director of the
performance describes his production,
saying, Carmen is about sex, violence,
and racismand its corollary:
freedom... I hope that the audience
will come away shocked and awed,
because I think that a good production
of this opera should be both shocking
and awesomebut also touching...
Opera is no longer a high art form for
the elite it is an accessible, relatively
inexpensive form of entertainment
that combines theatre, music, and
song in a passionate way. ough
$21.95 is a little hard on the student
bankbook, it beats having to make
a special trip to New York (though
if youre going for Spring Break, do
check it out), and you can cross o
seeing an opera from your bucket list.
Opera for the Masses
Sarah Visintini
Argosy Contributor
e Metropolitan Operas concerts are being transmitted live on screens around the world
Internet Photo/University of North Carolina
Carmen, the main character from the opera with the same name written by Bizet, is now on the screen.
Plans are in the works to turn the
former student centre building into
a shared ne and dramatic arts space.
e required renovations will mean
that Windsor eatre, a mainstay of
Mount Allisons theatre community
and dramatic arts program, wont be
useable for approximately a two year
period. However Paul Del Motte,
Windsor eatres production manager,
and Helen Pridmore, the interim
director of the Drama Department,
are optimistic about the changes in
store despite the hassle of relocating
an entire department for two years.
Unlike Fine Arts, which currently
operates out of the Gairdner building
and Hart Hall, a disadvantage for
the Drama Department is that that
there is not a space for them to stay
and continue working in while the
renovations are underway. e closure
is not imminent, though according
to Del Motte, the university is required
to give the department twelve months
notice before proceeding with any
renovations to the building. And it
will be a while before the process is
out of the planning stages. Moving
the Windsor eatre to somewhere
else on campus has always been part
of the plan, and we are discussing
where and how well move, when the
time comes, says Helen Pridmore.
Once the renovations have moved
past the planning stages and received
the go-ahead, any work to be done on
the building likely will not start until
April to allow the Drama Department
to nish the academic year where
they are. As Del Motte explains,
nding new temporary locations for
the theatre, rehearsal spaces, shop, and
set, costume, and equipment storage is
best done during the summer months.
ese temporary locations will
probably wind up being in a variety
of places, and will involve spaces
both on and o campus. ere will
probably be a reduction in the level of
performances, and Im not sure what
the heck well do for shop space, says
Del Motte of the changes. Several
on-campus options exist as temporary
homes for the various components of
the Drama Department, including
Brunton Auditorium and Convocation
Hall. O campus, the Live Bait
eatre space is also a possibility. One
of the biggest issues is the need for large
rehearsal spaces. It will be hard losing
Hessler, says Del Motte, referring to
Hessler Hall, where a lot of the Drama
Departments rehearsals take place.
Despite the complications of
temporarily relocating the department,
both Del Motte and Pridmore agree
that the new building will be an
improvement. One benet will be
a slightly larger theatre space, with
more exible seating that will allow
the shape of the performance area
to be altered. ere will also be
storage for sets, props, and costumes,
as well as a construction area for sets
and oce space for the department
sta. According to Pridmore, one
improvement will be a green room that
actually has room in it for a cast to sit
with bathrooms and showers! She
goes on to elaborate, Windsor eatre
has been an amazing space and a lot of
very ne productions have happened
there, but in some senses that has been
due to the ingenuity of the faculty,
sta, and students in making things
work. According to Del Motte,
the biggest problem with the theatre
as it is now is that it is too narrow.
Another advantage of the new
building is that it will be a shared
space between the Drama and Fine
Arts departments, allowing for
increased collaboration between the
two disciplines. Imagine a Fine Arts
student creating a set or costumes for a
Windsor eatre show all in a space
where you just have to move things
across the hall, rather than across
campus! says Pridmore. Del Motte
also cites the potential benets in
integrating the two departments into
one building, explaining that it will
allow for like-minded people from
both disciplines working together, and
interaction between artistic groups.
e only real drawback is that the
inclusion of both departments and
their unique needs in one building
means that the process of building
it may take longer. Apart from
the performance, rehearsal, oce,
technical, and shop spaces required
by the Drama Department, the new
building will also have to house the
Fine Arts print shop, studio areas,
photo darkrooms, and sculpture spaces,
although bronze and metal casting
will continue to operate through the
foundry. Another important aspect
is the buildings ventilation, which
will need to be ecient and meet the
needs of both departments. As Del
Motte mentions, the theatre space
e Windsor eatre must nd several new homes
e theatre has to be relocated during the renovations of the old student centre
Julie Cruikshank
Argosy Staff
JANUARY 14, 2010
will also require air conditioning
for use during the summer months.
Physically a lot of the new building
remains undecided, but according to
Del Motte it will be structured as three
units with a common centre area that
will be used by both departments for
critiques and other interactions. e
three unit areas will contain studio
and oce spaces, as well as production
spaces and classrooms. e building
will also retain its Mt. A feel the plan
is for the outer walls to be sandstone to
reect the rest of the architecture on
campus. e architects themselves
are quite wonderful, actually says Del
Motte, referring to Zeidler Partnership
Architects, the rm contracted to
design the building, adding that they
seem to have a real awareness of
specialization and the unique needs
of the departments that will be using
the space. Such considerations include
having all the dirty spaces, such as
sculpture and shop areas, on the ground
level of the building to allow for heavy
goods to enter and leave. Another is
the placement of Drama Department
oces directly within the theatre space.
Right now, the most pressing issues
still to be resolved are the budget
and related constraints. Plans are
proceeding to ne-tune the building
plans, and of course to nance
the construction etc. says Helen
Pridmore. It seems like slow going,
but after all its a huge project and
we want to get it right, so it will take
some time to get it all done. is is
a sentiment that Del Motte echoes,
saying It would be nice and not nice
if it was next year, but we need to get
it done correctly. And for the Drama
Department, that may mean some
shuing around in the near future.
Plans for the new building, can be
seen at http://www.zeidlerpartnership.
com/.
Jessica Emin
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Sci/Tech
News Ticker

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, survivor of both US nuclear strikes on Japan in WWII, dies of cancer at age 93
Deep in the most covert Microsoft
facilities, presumably requiring security
access beyond Level Windows 8, is
a team working on Microsofts most
ambitious gaming project since the
Xbox. e project is called Natal and
what it seeks to do is nothing short
of change the way we understand
games and interactive media. Natal
promises to add full body, facial and
voice recognition to the Xbox 360,
allowing for seamless real-time control
of games and software using gesture
and voice - and eliminating the need
for control devices.
To date, Microsoft has released
very little information regarding the
specics of Natals hardware since it
wont be making its release until late
this year. However, what is known is
that the unit will contain a 3D video
camera, a microphone and hardware
for receiving and sifting through the
data to obtain an input signal to be
sent to the Xbox 360.
e Natal camera closely resembles
a webcam but operates in 3D by
using both a conventional black and
Matt Collett
Argosy Correspondant
white image sensor coupled with a
near-infrared beam. is camera will
be responsible for both facial and
movement recognition. e software
packed inside Natals hardware will
use data from the camera to identify
roughly 30 parts of the basic human
form such as the face, torso, hips and
appendages with their respective
joints. To do so, Microsoft claims to
have taught the machine to see and
Xbox 360 to get game-changing motion peripheral
Introducing Microsofts Project Natal - and why it might op
ere are countless cellphones on the
market today, and it seems that with
each and every vendor announcement
of new hardware, the question comes
about: could this nally be the iPhone
killer? Up until now, it didnt seem
as though anyone had succeeded in
creating such a device, but whom
better to try their hand than the
venerable giant of the information-age
itself: Google Inc.
A little over a year ago, Google
released its Android operating system
for cellular phones, and since that time,
a number of cellphone manufacturers
have adopted it and implemented it
into their current oerings.
While the platform has received
mixed reviews, none of the devices
running the software have been able
to become a full blown iPhone killer,
but recently Google has set its sights
on just that, with the introduction
early last week of the Google-branded
Nexus One smartphone.
So what exactly is a smartphone,
other than some buzzword used for
the cellphone carriers advertising
campaigns? e premise of the
smartphone is rather simple: it becomes
the device that you rely on for just
about any task, be it checking email,
texting, surng the net, or wasting
away hours playing an addictive game.
All of this is done in the palm of
your hand. Most everything on the
modern smartphone is dependant on
the Internet, and it seems only right
that Google, undisputedly a titan of
the Internet, might have something to
say about the smartphone market.
e Nexus One phone has some
impressive specs. Its very aesthetically
pleasing with a black and gray metallic
enclosure, and boasts a rather large and
attractive 3.7-inch multitouch display,
a 5-megapixel camera with built-in
ash, ve easy access buttons located
below the display, and an onscreen
keyboard.
Internally, the phone is also very
feature-rich with a state-of-the-art
processor, 3G and WiFi connectivity,
and GPS. It also features four
gigabytes of included storage, but is
expandable via a microSD slot on the
side of the device.
e real allure of the device is
brought forth by its operating system:
Android OS. Android oers a rich
experience with its user interface. e
OS utilizes all the technologies of the
phone: a web browser for surng the
net, Google Maps for directions using
the built-in GPS, a mail application,
and few widgets which oer easy
access to information such as news,
stocks, and weather. It has all of the
basic functions of a basic cellphone:
texting, calling, and voice activated
dialing using the voice recognition
feature. e phones functionality is
also expandable as new applications
are released in the Android market.
Overall, early reviews suggest that
the Nexus One is a quirky smartphone
capable of giving the iPhone a run for
its money. e polished user interface
Google releases Nexus One smartphone
Patrick Losier
Argosy Contributor
The Nexus One retails for $529USD; while subsidized by US carriers, Canadians pay full price - for now.
Internet Photo/Google
Search engine giant hopes to do battle with Apple as it wades into the smartphone hardware market
is promising and with Google-backed
software updates, the Google Nexus
One will continue to get better and
better, and may someday trump the
industry-leading iPhone in terms of
user experience and overall consumer
satisfaction.
e Google Nexus One is
immediately available in the United
States though no date has been
announced for a Canadian release.
With any luck, we should see it on
Canadian store shelves very soon.
SciTechLink:
Estate of sci/fi
author Phillip K
Dick sues Google over
naming of Nexus One
http://bit.ly/8FtMhI
of movement the human body can
perform. Now, when the machine
encounters a new form of movement,
it guesses which parts are which and
the possible movements they can
make based on the previous forms it
has encountered. Microsoft claims
Natal can identify the human form in
front of the camera and create a digital
model of it thirty times each second,
rendering a virtually real-time model
of the user.
At this years CES, Microsofts
Aaron Greenberg told the gaming blog
Kotaku that Xbox users can expect a
new experience with Natal and not
a reworking of old game formats:
What we want to do with Natal is
bring entirely new original experiences
to life. ese are going to be brand
new original games and brand new
entertainment experiences that never
existed before. Because theres nothing
else like it, developers are going to be
making brand new content for us.
ough it seems that Microsoft
claims to be at the verge of a new
era of interactive media, they havent
yet shown much to prove it. ey
have indicated, via press release and
interviews, that their games will be an
experience quite unlike that found in
current motion controlled software.
However, their recent tech demos have
signalled that either Microsoft has
more tricks up its sleeve or that theyre
backed into a corner with some great
technology but no way to use it.
Recent videos online and
presentations at consumer electronic
expos have seen Natal powering a fairly
weak sports simulation and as also as
an alternative controller for the game
Burnout Paradise. None of the Natal-
oriented software that Microsoft has
shown has been conrmed for release
and two tech demo videos (Godzilla
and Milo) are said to be computer
generated.
is is a mistake that is often made
when marketing designs products.
Design, ads, and the products
position relative to competing brands
are severely overvalued which then
lead to the undervaluing of creative
capital. Microsoft has said nothing
of software developers for Natal
and has conrmed no releases. Does
Microsoft have ideas for games
already, or are they simply hoping that
other developers will begin investing
their eorts? Or are they hoping that
conventional blockbuster games with
hastily ported motion controls will be
enough to satisfy the appetite of the
Natal userbase? Microsoft needs to
start showing o their vision of Natal
in action before their hype train derails
prematurely and people see Natal for
what it currently seems to be: a really
cool and advanced gizmo with no
games backing it up, meaning it has
almost no practical value. If this does
happen then Microsoft will be in dire
straits, since they appear to be riding
on Natals novelty value to bolster
popularity and eventually, sales.
Coinciding with the predicted
entrance of 3D televisions to the
mass-market, Natals release later this
year could mark a major step forward
in the eld of virtual reality. For now,
however, it seems that unless Microsoft
begins employing creative developers
and publicizing their work, Natal
could end up being another motion-
sensing gimmick in a market already
dominated by the Nintendo Wii.
SciTechLink:
Live demo of Project
Natal on Late Night
with Jimmy Fallon
http://bit.ly/msjE0
What we want to do
with Natal is bring
entirely new original
experiences to life.
ese are going to be
brand new original
games and brand
new entertainment
experiences that never
existed before. Because
theres nothing else like
it, developers are going
to be making brand
new content for us.
recognize parts by employing a eld of
AI called machine learning. By feeding
the computer millions of images of
people, it learns to understand the
basic form and the countless variations
THE AFCDSY - SCENCE AN0 TECHNDLDCY JANUAFY 14, 2010 2J
Geek Chic
of the Week
Holy crap, Star Trek wetsuits. While the ocean is hardly where no man has gone before, you can now safely enjoy
Earths last frontier while thinking of that other one. Bonus: the jocks cant give you a wedgie. eres nothing to
grab.
http://www.roddenberry.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=wetsuit&x=0&y=0
January 14. 2010:
Star Trek Wetsuit
Internet Graphic /
Roddenberry
the future, soon
ranting about CES for
1.53322919 10^-4 millenia
Stuart Townsend
Argosy Staff
Ah, 2010. A new year, and a good
year, I suppose, if only because we
nally removed ourselves from
that singularly unpronouncable
decade, the 00s. Despite my obvious
enthusiasm for a new arbitrary time
unit, I do believe that this year will
herald advances in the one eld of
endeavour guaranteed to put a smile
on my face: consumer electronics.
Every January, the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) delights
nerds from every corner of the
Internet with gadgets from every
corner of the world. It was at CES
that Blu-ray, the original Xbox,
Tetris and even Pong (in reverse
chronological order, of course) were
showcased; many gadget bloggers
yearly schedules revolve around this
event, and many more denizens
of the Internet use CES to decide
which unreleased gizmo to salivate
over in the coming year. So, gentle
reader, let me guide you through my
own personal prognostication for this
coming year: what to pay attention
for, gadget-wise.
For iPhone users like myself,
CES looked good. Relying upon the
iProduct Lines ubiquity, hardware
manufacturer L5 Technology has
released the L5 Remote, a peripheral
that attaches to an iPhone/iPods
dock and serves as a truly universal
remote. Claiming to autodetect
the coding of any given IR device,
and capable of remembering 1000
dierent remote control presets, the
$50 price tag on this item almost
seems reasonable.
E-Readers have seen an insane
popularity boost, as well. E-ink, a
propriatary material that pretty well
mimics the appearance of real paper,
has led to absolutely everybody
releasing an ebook reader; Amazons
Kindle series, the Sony Reader,
Plastic Logics Reader, and Barnes &
Noble nook, to name just a few, and
you should expect more. Even Foxit
Software, known for their PDF
reader applications for PCs, has made
a reader (presumably with awesome
PDF support). Personally, I wont
buy one until theyre completely
DRM-free (and crazy-Orwellian-
shenanigans-free; google amazon
kindle 1984) and in full colour.
Several manufacturers showcased
3D TVs; impressive, sure, but glasses
seem a necessity for now, plus I dont
have like two grand. A more exciting
oer is the concept of the connected
home theatre; the latest TVs and
Blu-ray players are coming standard
with Ethernet jacks, ready to be
plugged into the Internet to provide
you with YouTube, Twitter feeds...
and the Americans with Netix.
Sorry, Canada.
Keep on the lookout for wireless
power. ats right, inductive
charging - no batteries, just power
beamed through the air. Dont look
so confused, Nikola Tesla did it
in 1891. WildCharge, eCoupled
and WiTricity (the latter being my
personal favourite) are names to look
out for.
Not to toot my own horn (which
is an idiom; get your mind out of the
gutter), but white-space devices look
promising, too. See my article, above,
for more information.
Lastly, tablets. e years-long
trend of laptops growing smaller isnt
stopping at netbooks. e ocially
announced Microsoft Courier (a
Minority Report-esque hybrid of a
touchscreen netbook and a pen-and-
paper clipboard) and the rumour-
milled-to-death Apple tablet (almost
a sureity, according to Apple fanboys
obsessively watching the supposedly-
tablet related patents and part orders
Apple has recently made) would be
enough for me to crown tablets the
tech zeitgeist of this year, but theres
also HP (as-yet unnamed), Lenovos
Ideapad U1, and the Notion Ink
Adam Smartpad (which includes an
e-ink screen).
Its going to be the future, soon.
Web 2.0 Suicide Machine automates the permanent removal of your of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn proles
U.S. drug company Cephalon Inc. has
released a new drug sure to be sought
after by procrastinating students all
over North America. Nuvigil is a
modication of a drug released by
the pharmaceuticals company in 1986
called Provigil.
Provigil was rst marketed in France
as a treatment for narcolepsy but has
since become a popular prescription for
many disorders resulting in excessive
sleepiness, including sleep apnea,
shift-work sleep disorder, jet lag, and
other disease-related fatigue.
Usually when a drugs patent runs
out, cheaper generic versions appear
on the market. e similar name is no
coincidence; Nuvigil is only marginally
dierent from its predecessor Provigil.
e two are enantiomers: chemicals
with the same basic structure, but
dierent arrangement, of the same
atoms around a central carbon atom.
Nuvigil oers only one of two isomers
of the compound that makes up
Provigil. Cephalon claims that the
Nuvigil-enantiomer will take longer to
be metabolized, thus making Nuvigil
longer-lasting than Provigil.
e discovery of Nuvigil comes at
a great time for Cephalon, as in just a
few years their earning potential from
Provigil will take a major dive. Nuvigils
patent will run out in 2024, giving the
company plenty of time to capitalize
on the drug. e task now is to bring
loyal proponents of Provigil to the
Nuvigil camp. e price of Provigil has
increased from $5.50 a pill to $13.60
over the last ve years, and currently
Provigil is 50 percent more expensive
than Nuvigil.
Cephalons nu drug regimen
Ross MacLean
Argosy Staff
Cephalon was charged in 2002
for not adhering to statutes of the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). A drug cannot be marketed
for treatment of conditions other
than those approved for the drug
by the FDA. Provigil was accused of
undertaking a misleading marketing
campaign in a lawsuit resulting in over
$500 million in nes to the company.
Politics and business sense aside,
users of Provigil speak volumes about
its eectiveness. It eliminates fatigue
without many of the side eects
of amphetamines which are often
prescribed for the same conditions. Its
extremely sought after by students for
oabel use in exam cramming.
SciTechLink:
More on student abuse
of Provigil et al
http://bit.ly/PgcH1
In our society, TV is ubiquitous. Ever
since the rst brave broadcast in April
1927 from Washington, D.C., most
of North America has been bathed in
the warming glow of analog television
signals. e rabbit ears have been
cultural symbols of the boob tube for
as long as anyone who watches too
much TV can remember.
And the USAs FCC-mandated
digital television transition of June
2009 (with Canadas CRTC following
suit in August 2011) will bring that
era of analog, over-the-air television
to an end. But the frequencies once
reserved for the modern eras opiate
of the masses might soon be utilized
by the likes of Google, Verizon and
Microsoft to provide broadband,
wireless internet with the range and
power of analog television.
is group, styling themselves the
White Spaces Coalition, hopes to
one day provide broadband-style, 80
megabit-per-second (10 megabytes
per second) speeds to your (as-yet
unreleased) white-space device, pretty
much anywhere. But how?
While analog television was limited
to one, 6 MHz-wide band per channel
- a good thing, considering thats how
we once dierentiated one channel
from another - white space devices
digital transmissions are not. Digital
transmissions dont have to worry so
much about interfering with other
channels, a problem analog television
overcame by leaving many megahertz-
White space, the nal frontier
Stuart Townsend
Argosy Staff
Reclaimed TV frequencies to usher in new era of broadband anywhere
wide buers between channels.
e proposed white-space
broadband would take the unutilized
portions of the television broadcast
spectrum, between 54 to 698 MHz
(better known as TV channels 2
through 51), and transmit wireless
internet signals on them.
Right now, its not tech that limits
your ability to check your email in the
middle of Lake Michigan, but rather
interference. Currently, the FCC has
quite stringent rules regarding how
white space devices can transmit.
eres little danger of the devices
interfering with one another, thanks
to cognitive radio (which could be
compared to the digital equivalent of
signaling to a friend across a crowded
room that you two nd a quiet place
to exchange words). But factor in
some rogue electronics that illegally
transmit on the same frequencies
as proposed white-space networks
(wireless mics and medical telemetry,
to name the most concerning devices),
and problems arise.
e solution? e FCC has ruled that
all white-space devices must consult
an FCC-mandated database of local
frequencies (virtually guaranteeing
the inclusion of GPS technology)
and monitor the spectrum once every
minute to ensure that transmissions
arent interfering with the previously
mentioned rogue electronics. e
ocial maintainers of this database?
Google and other members of the
White Spaces Coalition have applied,
and once the FCC ocially names the
database coordinators, analysts expect
white-space devices to take o.
SciTechLink:
Wikipedia on
Cognitive Radio
http://bit.ly/d1Sw2
SPORTS & FITNESS
e mens and womens basketball
teams wasted no time in the new
year, with commanding wins in
both exhibition and ACAA games
over the past week with the women
running over University of Maine
Machias, UNB Saint John, and
Holland College, while the men were
impressive in their wins over University
of Maine Machias and UNBSJ.
On Tuesday, the University of
Maine Machias Clippers visited
Sackville for an exhibition matchup
between the two squads who had met
late last year in Maine. In the rst
game, the womens squad ran out to
an early lead and held o an energetic
Machias team to grab the win 75-58.
e Lady Mounties were powered
by second year forward Marlon
Smith (17 points) and third year
forward Meghan Dickie (16 points).
e second game saw a ght between
the Mounties and the Clippers, with
the Mountie men scoring in the
nal seconds o an alley-oop dunk
by fth year guard Je Sadler to
win 70-68. e Mounties were led
by rst year forward Ben Chisholm
(15 points), Sadler (14 points), and
fourth year Josh Graham (12 points).
Saturday saw the Mounties travel
to Saint John to take on the UNBSJ
Seawolves. In the rst game, the
women dominated the Seawolves from
the beginning and took a commanding
win of 67-27. e Lady Mounties were
again led by Smith (15 points) and
third year guard Danielle Trenholm
(9 points). For the mens matchup,
the Mounties fell behind early with
the Seawolves taking control on an
11 point rst quarter run. However,
they rallied in the second half to win
59-40. Leading scorers for Mount
A were Graham and third year
guard Akil Smith (10 points each).
Sunday featured a home game
between the Mounties and the visiting
Holland College Hurricanes. e
early game saw a strong defensive half
from both teams followed with an up-
tempo second half. Led by Sackville-
native Jennifer Robinsons game
high 15 points, including nine from
beyond the arc, the Lady Mounties
won 81-46. e mens matchup saw
a tough, physical battle between the
Mounties and the visiting Hurricanes
with ocials calling 20 personal fouls
in the rst quarter alone. While the
game was close throughout regulation,
the Mounties were done in by a
combination of technical fouls and
the sharp-shooting Hurricanes, falling
86-75. Graham led the Mounties with
19 points while second year Stephen
Bohan netted a double-double
with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
e Lady Mounties currently sit
in second place in the ACAA in a
tie with STU and 4 points behind
rst place MSVU. e mens squad
sits in a tie for fth place with
ABU, ten points behind the league
leading Mystics. is weekend, the
University of Kings College Blue
Devils visit Sackville on Saturday for
an afternoon matchup and on Sunday,
the MSVU Mystics roll into town
for a full weekend of ACAA action.
With les from Sue Seaborn and
Ankur Ralhan
Basketball Mounties kick o 2010 in style
Women grab a trio of wins; men snag two out of three
Noah Kowalski
Argosy Staff
Sue Seaborn
e Volleyball Mounties kicked o the
new year with a two-match showdown
with the rst place University of New
Brunswick Saint John this past
weekend in Sackville. On Friday, the
Mounties handed the Seawolves
their rst loss of the season with a
rousing 3-1 victory. However, the
Mounties fell short Saturday against
a feisty UNBSJ team, losing 3-0.
and 25-23. e Mounties were led by
game MVP rst year Alex Logue Storr.
Saturdays matinee matchup did
not turn out as well for the Volleyball
Mounties as the Seawolves rebounded
from their rst loss with a win over the
hometown Mounties. Behind a strong
team defensive eort, UNBSJ swept
the games and stormed to a 3-0 with
game scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 25-23.
Following the two matches, Coach
Andrew Kennedy commented,
We managed to split with the top
team in the league [which] is very
encouraging for us. Our service
game needs improvement, as well
as certain aspects of our back court
defensive game. He added, we
know that we can defeat them if we
are consistent in our approach on the
court, and play relaxed and condent.
We certainly were not relaxed or very
condent in our game at times on
Friday and Saturday, and this hurt our
defensive and serve receive systems.
Second year player Caila Henderson
echoed Kennedys assessment, stating
We were very excited for this weekends
games and have been training very
hard. Although the outcome wasnt
all that we hoped we will take the
positive things away and are motivated
to continue working hard for the next
time we see [UNBSJ] on the court.
With the weekend split, the
Volleyball Mounties currently sit in
second place in the ACAA with a 7-
2 record, behind rst place UNBSJ.
Nationally, the Mounties are still
ranked, squeaking into the rankings
at fteen. e young Mounties return
to action next weekend with a home
matchup against the third-ranked
MSVU Mystics on Sunday at noon.
Volleyball Mounties tangle with Seawolves
Earn Split with top-ranked UNBSJ
Friday
3
1
Saturday
0
3
On Friday evening, in front of a
packed gym, the Volleyball Mounties
took the oor against the rst place
Seawolves. While they dropped the
rst game, they quickly shook up the
rust from the break and rallied to take
three straight games and the match with
game scores of 20-25, 25-22, 25-14,
Noah Kowalski
Argosy Staff
Callan Field
THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS 25 JANUARY 14, 2010
e Mount Allison Womens Hockey
Mounties faced o at home on
Sunday to open the second half of
the 2009-10 season, and fell short to
the UPEI Panthers by a score of 4-1.
e Mounties did not play their
best game of the season when it was
needed, and now sit 9 points behind
the Panthers for the nal playo spot in
the AUS with eleven games remaining.
e home squad got o to a shaky
start, allowing a goal on the rst UPEI
shot by Jenelle Mackenzie on the
power play four minutes in. Mackenzie
would set up Lindsay Manning for
another UPEI goal with under two
minutes left in the rst period to give
the Panthers a 2-0 lead even though
being outshot 6-5 by the Mounties.
e second period was a dierent
story, with UPEI outshooting Mount
A 23-5. Genna Phelan scored the lone
Panthers goal in the period on the
powerplay, and Mounties netminder
Meghan Corley-Byrne made several
great saves to keep the Mounties in
the game. Ashlyn Somers had the
Mounties best chance of the period
on a shorthanded breakaway, but was
Hockey Mounties lose tough game
Face steep uphill battle to postseason
Wray Perkin
Argosy Staff
1
4
Captain Jillian Greene holds o a UPEI attacker during Sundays game. The Mounties fell 4-1 to UPEI.
Sue Seaborn
turned aside by UPEIs Kristy Dobson.
e third period saw Mounties Head
Coach Zach Ball do some line juggling,
and the teams exchanged late goals,
with Mount Allisons Jenna Briggs
banging home her third of the season
to put the Mounties on the board.
Mackenzie and Phelan each
had a goal and an assist to pace
the Panthers attack, which red 45
shots on Corley-Byrne. Briggs line
with Jenica Bastarache and Ashlyn
Somers was the Mounties best line,
with Somers having a team-high 4
shots and Bastarache earning the
games third star with a strong eort.
Penalties killed the Mounties at
inopportune times, as every time
they seemed to be getting something
going in the oensive zone they
would suddenly nd themselves
shorthanded. UPEI capitalized twice
on seven powerplay attempts, while the
Mounties went 0-3 on the powerplay.
Dobson stopped 19 shots in
the win, while Corley-Byrne
made 41 saves in the loss.
e road does not get any easier for
the Mounties, as on Friday they host
AUS leading scorer Marieve Provost
and the Universite de Moncton
Aigles Bleues at the Tantramar
Civic Centre. Gametime is 7:15 pm.
League Standings (W-L)
10-2
10-2
7-5
7-5
6-6
5-8
1-13
e NBA is predicated on the star
system. Current TNT analyst
and former player Charles Barkley
preaches that the optimum way to
experience NBA basketball as a fan is
essentially to identify the best players
and follow their every move. David
Stern probably feels the same way.
Since he became commissioner of the
league in 1984, Stern has been publicly
forthright with his plan to model the
NBA after the Disney Corporation,
at the buzzer. Bosh was far from a
complete product, but he stood out
to the point that it was clear he was
the future of the basketball in Canada
and worthy of Mickey Mouse status.
e Raps shipped o Vince Carter
accordingly to ocially usher in the
Chris Bosh-Era (revisionist history,
I know). In the years that followed,
Bosh continued to improve, adding
multiple All-Star appearances to
his suddenly impressive resume,
culminating in what we currently
witness on a nightly basis: a consistent
superstar who puts up 29 points and 13
rebounds as routinely as Snookie takes
it in the face. Further, Bosh is a great
ambassador for the NBA, someone
who my grandfather describes as
seeming articulate and well-read.
at has to count for something, right?
Well, not really. Despite his on-court
brilliance, Bosh wont be starting the
All-Star game for the third straight
year because of a lack of fan votes,
losing out to established veterans like
Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson.
Why is Bosh consistently overlooked?
Because he plays in Toronto. In a league
with teams in twenty-nine cities, only
three (Los Angeles, New York, and
Chicago) boast a larger media market
than Toronto. Yet, the Raptors are
almost always an NBA afterthought
because they exist in a foreign country.
Sad, but true. With an average of zero
to two games per season broadcasted
on American television, the Raps are
amongst the least watched teams. e
lack of U.S. exposure might not make
any dierence on the court, but it
speaks to why players like Bosh have
historically failed to get the recognition
they deserve. I call this phenomenon
the Canadian Shield. While
universally known as eight million
squared kilometres of Precambrian
rock, from a sporting perspective the
Shield refers to athletes or teams in
the Canadian sports landscape that
slip under the radar outside of the
Great White North. How else can
you explain Roberto Alomar falling
eight votes shy of a spot in baseballs
Hall of Fame? Can you name me a
better second baseman? For CB4,
it wasnt until the Beijing Olympics
when, upon watching the U.S. mens
basketball team win the gold boasting
a best ve of Bosh, Lebron, Melo,
Kobe, and Wade, American fans
realized just how good Bosh is. Chris
Bosh should be considered the next
great Power Forward, taking over from
an aging Tim Duncan, but thats just
not the case. Granted, Boshs prole
as an elite player has rose this season,
fuelled by stellar play and rumours of
him playing elsewhere next year and
beyond. He may never be an A1 Alpha-
dog in the mould of Duncan, or even
contemporaries like James or Wade,
but the look on Chris Bosh face during
Raptors game screams of someone
who recognizes the presence of the
Canadian Shield and decidedly wants
out from under it. After all, theres
no Shield in Miami. Or Houston.
Or Dallas. Or... you get the point.
Chris Bosh and the Canadian Shield
David Charles Zarum
Argosy Correspondent
Chris Bosh has been consistently overlooked, despite being one of the most dominant forwards.
Internet Photo/e Indian
Chris Bosh should be
considered the next
great Power Forward
creating a business model in which
the players are the product. Back in
the day, Michael Jordan was Mickey,
Magic and Bird were Donald Duck
and Goofy, Barkley was Tigger...you
get the idea. Twenty-ve years and
a new cast of characters later, NBA
marketing still favours great players
over great teams. ese days, Kobe
and Lebron are Woody and Buzz
Lightyear, Dwyane Wade is Simba,
Dirk Notwitzki is Hannah Montana,
and Shaq is the Genie from Aladdin
(obviously). Sadly, in this model, the all-
time leader in points, rebounds, blocks,
and FTs for the Toronto Raptors,
Chris Bosh, is perennially overlooked.
We should have realized that Bosh
was going to be a great player when,
in his tenth NBA game, he carried the
Raptors to a double-OT win over the
Houston Rockets, scoring 25 points
that included a key three-pointer
THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS 26 JANUARY 14, 2010
Tobacco kills about 45,000
Canadians a year, making it
responsible for more deaths than
AIDS, car accidents, suicide,
murder, res, and accidental
poisonings combined. It is a known
fact that smoking kills, yet many
people are still drawn into the bad
habit as a form of stress reduction,
a way to t into a social network,
or as an attempt to lose weight.
is can become an expensive
habit that has a history of being
hard to quit. At smoking fteen
cigarettes per day, with twenty
cigarettes in a pack, and with
the national average cost per
pack being around nine dollars,
smoking for one year will cost you
$2463.75. To put it in terms most
of you will understand, smoking
for four years at university would
cost you more than a years tuition.
is is not the only cost incurred by
smokers. Science has proven that
smokers are at a very high risk for
diseases such as chronic obstructive
pulmonary disorder, several forms
of cancer, coronary disease, and
leukemia, to name a few. Studies
have also been able to demonstrate
that even inhaling second-hand
smoke can cause these diseases.
Insurance companies are aware of
this and feel that if you are a smoker,
you have a high probability of
incurring large medical bills as you
age. e insurance companies must
cover a portion of these medical
bills and as a result, smokers and
their spouses are now paying higher
insurance premiums. Smokers
will also lose value on homes
and vehicles due to the damage
incurred over the years from smoke.
If you are a current smoker, take
the time to think about how much
you are actually giving up for this
bad habit. Over the years the bills
will add up to much more than
the cost of the cartons. If you feel
that you are ready to quit, the
student development councilors in
the Wellness Centre are available
to discuss the psychology of
quitting smoking with any student.
January encompasses non-smoking
week and as a part of Weedless
Wednesday on January 20, the
Health Matters Society will have a
booth set up in the afternoon in the
entrance of the Wallace McCain
Student Centre. is booth will
display several facts on the eects
of both cigarettes and marijuana.
Stop by to check out the displays
and guess the number of butts
for a chance to win one of several
stainless steel coee mugs. ere
will be pamphlets available with
tips on how to quit smoking as
well as numbers to call for help.
If you nd yourself too busy to drop
by, here are some tricks that have
recently been printed in the Times
and Transcript that people can
use to distract themselves from the
cravings while attempting to quit.
Regularly chewing gum,
drinking sweet liquids and water,
and cutting back on coee can
help the symptoms go away
Nicotine replacement can help
mitigate the withdrawal symptoms
Cut up small drinking straws
to the size of cigarettes to inhale
from and chew on to mimic the
feeling of holding a cigarette
Online programs with chat
rooms where those quitting
can seek encouragement and
understanding from one another
ere is no better time than the
present to quit smoking. e rewards
will begin to accrue just twenty
minutes after your last cigarette
when blood pressure will drop to
normal and body temperature will
increase to normal. By eight hours
after that last cigarette, carbon
monoxide levels in the blood
drop and oxygen levels increase to
normal. Stop by the Health Matters
booth on January 20 to see the
results after twenty-four hours,
forty-eight hours, one week, one
year, ve years, and fteen years
after smoking. You will be surprised!
Samantha Scribner
Argosy Correspondent
After three boring games and a
game that provided a heart attack
a minute in the Wildcard games,
NFL fans can look forward to what
should be a more exciting weekend
in the upcoming Divisional Round.
Here is a game-by-game look at
the Division Semi-Final Matchups.
NFC: Arizona (11-6) at New
Orleans (13-3)
e Cardinals are coming o of a
thrilling 51-45 overtime victory against
the Packers in the wildcard game, and
Kurt Warner had a virtually awless
game, passing for ve key touchdowns.
e Saints are still the favourites,
but many questions have been raised
after losing three in a row to end the
season. With Warner and Saints pivot
Drew Brees going at it, it could be a
repeat of the Packers game; expect an
aerial battle but keep an eye on the
secondaries, particularly Arizonas
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and
New Orleans Darren Sharper, both
of whom nished in the top ve in
the NFL in interceptions this season.
Wray says: New Orleans in a
barnburner.
Dallas (12-5) at Minnesota (12-4)
Dallas is coming o two blowout
victories in a row against the
high-powered, fast oence of the
Philadelphia Eagles. Tony Romo is
nally looking like a high-calibre
quarterback after November, and their
defence has also looked impressive
of late. But Brett Favre and the
Vikings cannot be counted out of
the equation. With Adrian Peterson
in the backeld and Sidney Rice and
impressive rookie Percy Harvin in
the arsenal, look for Favre to have
a good game against a maybe over-
condent Cowboys defence. It may
have to come down to a battle in the
trenches, where Jared Allen (second
in NFL with 14.5 sacks this season)
and the home squad have the edge.
Wray says: Vikings in a
tough, physical close one.
AFC: Baltimore (10-7) at
Indianapolis (14-2)
Much like the Saints, the Colts
were looking great not too long ago,
opening the season 14-0. But losses to
the Jets and the lowly Bills to end the
season have people wondering. Veteran
quarterback Peyton Manning and
youngster Joe Flacco will face o in
an interesting battle of the pivots, and
defensively watch for Indys Dwight
Freeney and the Ravens Ray Lewis,
their heart and soul, to be dierence
makers. In order for Indy to win they
will have to stop the run, something they
have had trouble with at times this year.
Wray says: Baltimore in a very
close upset.
New York Jets (10-7) at San Diego
(13-3)
San Diego has quietly been the most
consistent team in the NFL over the
last few weeks of the season. However,
the J-E-T-S Jets! Jets! Jets! have been
quietly the most rapidly-improving
team over the same time. It is crunch
time for the Jets, clearly the underdogs
in this one. Key matchups include Jets
corner Derrelle Revis against Chargers
wideout Vincent Jackson, and Jets
running back omas Jones against
Shawne Merriman and the Chargers
Defence. e grinding oence of the
Jets will do battle with the big-play
capability of quarterback Philip Rivers,
Jackson and tight end Antonio Gates.
Can the Jets become the true Cinderella
team of the season and advance to
the AFC Championship Game?
Wray says: No. Chargers in a hard-
fought, but ultimately not close game.
Previewing NFL Divisional Playos
Fans wishing for more OT shootouts
Wray Perkin
Argosy Staff
With the season just past the halfway
point this is the perfect time to
examine how everyones NHL season
is coming together. As of the writing
of this article ve teams have already
passed the 60 point plateau and are on
pace to nish well above 110 points:
the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey
Devils, San Jose Sharks, Bualo
Sabres, and Washington Capitals. e
biggest surprise in that group is the
Bualo Sabres, a light-scoring team
riding goaltender Ryan Miller who will
certainly garner Vezina consideration
following the season. Chicago, San
Jose, and Washington are high-
scoring powerhouses each boasting a
roster of young, talented star forwards.
Possibly the most surprising team
in the entire league so far this season
are the Phoenix Coyotes. After
months of legal issues surrounding
the ownership and possible sale of the
team and relocation, the teams future
is nally, albeit temporarily, stable.
Now that the Coyotes have turned
to timely scoring from captain Shane
Doan and Matthew Lombardi, along
with excellent goal-tending from
Ilya Bryzgalov they sit fourth in the
Western Conference. ey are eyeing
their rst playo berth since 2002, and
winning a playo round for the rst
time since 1987, when they were the
Winnipeg Jets; a stretch that has seen
ten rst round exits, and eleven times
missing the post-season all together.
Another surprising team this season
is the Detroit Red Wings. However,
this time, it is for the wrong reasons.
e Red Wings currently sit ninth in
the Western Conference, outside of the
playos. Should the Red Wings fail to
make the playos this year, it would be
the rst time since 1990 that the Red
Wings failed to do so, breaking a streak
of eighteen seasons. Much of the blame
has been levelled on the goalies Chris
Osgood and Jimmy Howard. However,
the fact that their dynamic duo of
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg
currently sit fty-fth and sixty-third
respectfully in NHL scoring speaks
greatly to the oensive woes that the
Red Wings have faced this season.
Another team that is surprisingly
struggling is the Philadelphia Flyers.
Its hard to imagine a team with stars
such as Mike Richards, Je Carter,
Danny Briere, and Chris Pronger is
struggling to compete on a nightly
basis, but the Flyers have found a
way. However, in late December,
it seemed they might be coming
around with a short winning streak.
One interesting piece of information
I noticed over the past week was
during TSNs weekly plus/minus
segment; there, the TSN talking heads
choose their heroes and zeros of the
past week. After scoring four goals in
their victory over the Flyers, Senators
forward Alexei Kovalev still managed
to get himself named as a minus. For
most players, this would be quite odd.
However, Kovalevs underachieving
eorts on most nights has been
overshadowing his incredible talents.
NHL Recap
Midseason Review
Ryan Esch
Argosy Correspondent
Internet Photo/Zimbio Pictures
In addition to the many health risks that come from cigarette
smoking, students should also be worried about the monetary
cost of smoking. Stop by the Health Matters booth to nd out
more information and helpful tips for quitting smoking!
Jessica Emin
27 THE ARGOSY SPORTS & FITNESS JANUARY 14, 2010
From the Sports Desk...
Breeding loyalty
is past week, the US mens junior
hockey team did something no other
team has managed to do in ve years:
beat Canada in the World Juniors.
While I certainly knew about this as
an American living and studying in
Canada, very few of my country mates
had any idea what was going on. e
news didnt even make headlines on
ESPN; you had to navigate through
several pages in order to nd any sort
of reference to the tournament while
Canadas silver medal was plastered
over every newspaper and media outlet.
Ive always been amazed by the
national consciousness that Canadians
seem to possess about hockey. While
trying to engage a BC native about
the NFL playo race is a continual
disappointment, they can easily
talk to me about the problems with
the Canucks. Talk badly about the
Leafs and youll be shunned by your
friends from the GTA for weeks.
And dont even get me started
about the Canadien fansIm fairly
certain some of them have killed in
the name of support for the Habs.
What breeds this insane commitment
to these hockey teams? Most of it
must derive from geographic loyalty.
I know I cheer for the Bruins mainly
because they are close to Vermont.
However, I know my loyalty is also
due to the fact that they ARENT the
Canadiens, a trait that Im sure comes
up when deciding ones dedication to
say the Oilers or the Flames. Some of
it probably also comes from who our
friends and family cheer for. If all of
your friends are Senators fans, most
likely, thats who youre cheering for.
How is loyalty bred? For many
university students, in the US and
Canada alike, their universities become
part of their sports family with people
rabidly supporting their schools. I nd
that when Im at a game, the people
most likely to turn out are the other
varsity sports teams. Every time Ive
been at a hockey or volleyball games,
the football team has been out in force,
cheering on the Mounties. While the
situation is getting better, our support
for our teams is something like the US
support for its junior hockey team. Yes,
there are many dedicated followers
who were overjoyed when our team
managed to somehow hold o Canada
and win the gold. However, the vast
majority seems to be content with their
apathy; they might know that we have
a team, but ask them anything about
it and they are completely clueless.
Noah Kowalski
Argosy Staff
Internet Photo/Idaho Statesman
Athlete of the Week
Marlon Smith
Sponsored by Joeys Pizza and Pasta
Amherst, NS resident Marlon
Smith has won Mountie Athlete of
the Week honours for her reliable
and steady play against the Maine
Clippers, UNBSJ Seawolves, and
the Holland College Hurricanes.
Smith scored in double gures
for all three games over the past
week of womens basketball action.
Against Maine she scored 17
points in the Mounties 75-58
victory, shooting ve-for-ve
from the three-point line. In
league play at Saint John, Smith
dropped in 16 points, pulled in
four rebounds and four steals, and
blocked one shot in her teams 67-27
win over the Seawolves. On Sunday,
against the visiting Hurricanes, she
continued her pace contributing 10
points, six rebounds, and a steal. Also
along with her teammates, Smith
worked the press and helped to cause
38 Hurricane turnovers over the game.
Marlon is a former athlete from
Amherst Regional High School where
she played for the school basketball
squad coached by Fred Gould. She was
also a multi-sport MVP and captain in
softball and soccer as well, and was
the schools Athlete of the Year over
three consecutive seasons (2006-
2008). In her rst year at Mount
Allison last season, Marlon was
selected as the Basketball Mounties
Rookie, and as the Atlantic Colleges
Athletic Associations (ACAA)
Conference Rookie of the Year.
A 59forward, Marlon is currently
in her second year of Arts at Mount
Allison, and is majoring in English.
Other Athlete of the Week
nominees were: Stephen
Bohan (basketball), and
Allison Settle (volleyball).
Sports Weekend
Friday, January 15th
Hockey vs UdeM; 7:45 PM
vs
Badminton @ UKC; 7:00 PM
@
Saturday, January 16th
Badminton @ UKC; 7:00 PM
@
Basketball vs UKC; 1:30, 3:30 PM
vs
Sunday, January 17th
Volleyball vs MSVU; 12:00 PM
vs
Basketball vs MSVU; 2:30, 4:30 PM
vs
SPORTS TWEET
OF THE WEEK
I feel worst than Tiger
Woods right now, at least
he chose to leave his job i
aint got a choice but to go
home...
- Chad Ochocinco (Bengals
Wide Receiver on being
eliminated from the playoffs)
WANT TO COVER
THE OLYMPICS?
WRITE FOR SPORTS!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
MOUNT ALLISON CHAPEL 7PM
OH HOLY NIGHT
LANDON BRAVERMAN
BABETTE HAYWARD
PAT LEPOIDEVIN
BABY EAGLE
DICK MORELLO
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
THE 5 OCLOCK BEERS SHOWCASE
CHMA OFFICES 5:00PM
PASTORALIA
A/V
OROMOCTO DIAMOND
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20
THE PUB 10:30PM
THE WISE CRACKER
WE ARE ACTION (SOLO)
JULIEN SIMON
BRENT RANDALL
BA JOHNSTON
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22
THE BEAUTIFUL MUSIC SHOWCASE
THE VOGUE CINEMA 7:30PM
COREY ISENOR
GIANNA LAUREN
RYAN MCGRATH
COUSINS
OLENKA KRAKUS
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
STRUTS GALLERY 7:00PM
ALL AGES ROCKER
ROBERT BLACKBEARD AND THE NEWS
EL RON MALTAN
CONSTRUCTION AND DESTRUCTION
THE BAD ARTS
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
THE ROCK SHOW
GEORGES FABULOUS ROADHOUSE 10:00PM
THE JOHN WAYNE COVER BAND
ADAM MOWERY
SHOTGUN JIMMIE
FESTIVAL PASSES ARE $30 AND WILL BE ON SALE IN THE STUDENT CENTRE
CHECK THE STEREOPHONIC WEBSITE FOR UPDATES ON THE LINEUP!
WWW.MTA.CA/CHMA/STEREOPHONIC
STEREOPHONIC 7
JANUARY 20 - 23, 2010
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