The signage saga continues

Week two of the high octane nomination period has begun so let’s see if we can stretch 500 words out of it, shall we?

The first week of nominations was highlighted by some proposed changes to the way campaigns are run at Western.

The second week? Well, it’s been highlighted by some other proposed changes to the way campaigns are run at Western.

So is life in an election no one cares about for a position that the most qualified candidates don’t want. But we’ll write about it — I mean, someone has to.

Since the first attempt at an open forum for By-Law 2, the USC’s official elections manual, was such a smashing success, we’ll be doing it all over again this Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 in the USC boardroom.

It’s tough to conjure up a whole new roster of jokes so you can really just read last week’s blog post on the first meeting and adjust the date to a week later. I know what you’re thinking — topping last week’s attendance of 10 will be tough. But the USC can dream, can’t they?

Once again, the Gazette will be there to see if anything actually happens — don’t hold yer breath — and report on it thusly.

The bigger news will come later that night when the USC votes on a motion put forward by Ivey President Marino Felice and King’s representative Emily Jarvis to ban all outdoor signage during the campaign period. It’s unclear what kind of legs this motion has with council but if it is passed and comes into effect for the upcoming campaign period it would be pretty monumental.

The motion must be especially worrisome for potential candidates who have already prepared their signage ahead of the beginning of campaigning on Feb. 1. An outdoor signage ban would render much of their materials useless.

Even more worrisome? This proposed policy from Western’s Board of Governors that could come into effect on Thursday, just four days before the campaign period.

The policy would limit outdoor signage to designated areas on campus, set a maximum sign size of 2’ x 4’, ban any signs that are driven into the ground with a stake and eliminate all signs and posters affixed to any campus structure.

According to the proposal, “the 2010 student election campaign was particularly challenging both in terms of the magnitude of the signage that was everywhere on campus and the mess that was left after the election campaign was over.”

Well put. But likely nothing short of a flat out ban would solve the problem of left-over signs littering university grounds. Regardless, it will be nice to have the egregious campaign signage limited to at least particular segments of campus. Call me biased but Western is one of the more attractive university campuses in Ontario and coating it with large, far-too-often-neon-coloured signage designed to attract attention with its loudness really ruins campus for two weeks every year.

We’ll have a clearer idea of the signage limitations come Friday, but for now we can be fairly certain that there will be major and welcome changes to the ways candidates can campaign this year.

‘Bout time — mascot ban next, please.

Finding the social balance

Between long days of class, part-time jobs and socializing, it’s not shocking to discover students don’t devote a whole lot of time towards schoolwork.

The percentage of the day that students devote to studying is low — seven per cent, to be exact. This is approximately half of what students devoted ten years ago, raising a few questions about modern day study habits.

If we’re only spending a small fraction of our time on curricular work, are we able to acquire the higher-learning skills with which we’re expected to graduate? Were university students of the past significantly more studious?

Modern post-secondary education seems to be comparatively more focused on the social and extracurricular aspects of school life. University may no longer be solely for the serious academics in the upper classes of society — but this is not necessarily a bad thing.

The personal development and social networking achieved at school is often just as important as completing the coursework required to graduate.

The decrease in study time is also more symptomatic of problems with the structure of our education rather than the problems with students.

When students are evaluated on only two or three examinations, it’s not surprising to see students adapt by only cramming to pass their tests, rather than learning the entirety of the course material.

So is there a way to get students to study again?

Professors can help by being more engaging with their students — a class heavily reliant on participation will at least reward those students willing to make the effort.

It’s hard to say that the onus should be on the students. With more students than ever requiring part-time jobs to fund their education, less time than ever is available for studying.

It also seems that professional schools and entering the work force require more than just a degree. When such a heavy emphasis is put on extracurricular work, it’s not at all surprising that students would prefer to wind down at the end of the day instead of hitting the books.

But this might not even be necessary for a modern education. A healthy social life contributes to a students overall education just as much as the time spent studying course material. In the end, if a student can pass their courses, they should spend their time however they see fit.

—The Gazette Editorial Board

Mustangs’ firing squad slaughter Paladins

The girls from the Royal Military College didn’t put up much of a fight against the Mustangs.

After losing a five set heartbreaker last weekend against the McMaster Marauders, the Mustangs were eager to bounce back against the RMC Paladins — and that’s exactly what they did.

“I don’t think we ever lost confidence last weekend because it was just a great match,” Mustangs head coach Dave Edwards said about the loss to McMaster. “Tonight’s game was a great night for us to think about getting the touches we needed, and working on a few little things.”

The Mustangs remained in the driver’s seat the entire match, winning the game in three straight sets and improving their record to 9-3.

The Paladins struggled to generate any offence from the beginning and the Mustangs took an early 12-6 lead, forcing RMC to call a timeout. But not even a pep talk could spark the struggling team and the Mustangs took the first set 25-14.

After the game, Mustangs right side hitter Rebecca Oxland was pleased with their dominating performance.

“I thought we played pretty well today, I thought we executed some good passing and hitting and we were definitely prepared for this game,” she said.

Oxland helped the Mustangs defensively with 15 digs, while also earning four kills and six assists.

The Mustangs continued to dictate most of the points in the second set. Mustang middle hitter Stephanie Kreuter delivered one of her three kills of the game to give her team the set point and thanks to an unforced error from the Paladins, the Mustangs took the set 25-15.

Anticipating an easier match, Edwards was able to utilize his entire bench, giving many of his starters a break in anticipation for their game against Queen’s the following evening.

“We knew that RMC wasn’t going to be a really difficult team,” he said. “We wanted to take it seriously, we wanted to respect RMC and I thought it was a great opportunity to get my starters and also everyone else on the bench in.”

With the game out of reach, the Paladins hit the ball into the net in an anti-climatic manner giving the Mustangs the match point. Third-year Christie-Lee Wilson delivered the final kill of the game to earn the victory for the Mustangs.

Despite another loss, RMC head coach Carolyn Welden remained pleased with her team’s efforts.

“It’s always more difficult when you’re on the road,” she said. “I think they did well, we’re learning, we’re a young team. I think we made some unforced errors, [but] they’re building everyday they play.”

Although the Mustangs were happy with the straight set victory, their real test will come against Queen’s who are currently sitting in second place in the eastern conference.

After defeating the Gaels in last year’s Ontario University Athletics bronze medal game, the Mustangs are anticipating a tough match.

“I’m feeling pretty confident, last weekend we definitely showed ourselves what we can do and if we play our game and focus on what we’re doing on our side of the court then we can definitely beat them,” Oxland said.

“Queen’s is a very talented team and we respect them as a team […] but I think we’re ready,” Edwards added.

Students missing out on reading, writing skills

For many students, university is about improving one’s thinking, reasoning and writing skills, provided they can find the time between the socializing, sleeping and going to class.

A recent U.S. report found while the average student GPA was a respectable 3.2, students were not improving much in basic skills such as critical thinking, analytical reasoning and written communications. In fact, after two years, 45 per cent of the students had shown no improvement.

Based on a seven-day week, the average student spent more than half their time socializing or relaxing and a quarter of their time sleeping. Working, volunteering or attending class took up 18 per cent of their time. That leaves students spending a whopping 7 per cent of their time studying — a number that was nearly half of what it was just a decade ago.

“They enroll in courses that do not require substantial reading or writing assignments,” the report said of these students. “They interact with their professors outside of classrooms rarely, if ever; and they define and understand their college experiences as being focused more on social than on academic development.”

The study, which tracked the progress of the 3,500 students in 29 universities in the U.S., also found that students who studied alone consistently scored higher than students studying in groups, or even students who just spent a lot of time in large groups like fraternities.

The results also showed that higher scoring students were the ones taking the more challenging courses. However, according to Kim Holland, instructional designer at Western’s Teaching Support Center, this correlation may be due to a selection bias since students who take challenging courses are also the ones who study harder.

Holland said the study highlights an important difference between students gaining knowledge in a subject versus learning higher order comprehension skills.

“If your view is that universities provide information, well information is cheap now. [It’s] available everywhere. And it’s here today, gone tomorrow,” Holland said. “Hopefully the types of skills that [universities] provide are higher order skills, like analysis. Not just regurgitating stuff that you have to memorize.”

Holland also noted that part of the cause could also be a sense of entitlement held by some students. “I’ve heard students say […] ‘Education is expensive and I’ve paid for it, so give me my degree.’” This leads to a sense of apathy in these students resulting in less effort, he said.

Holland added improving higher order comprehensive skills is a two-way street between professors and students.

“You can put systems in place so that students can access […] the information they need to excel. That might be extended office hours […] but the student has to take the responsibility.”

Need funding? There’s an app for that

The Ontario Student Assistance Program just launched a new application for smartphones that will allow students to check the status of their funding applications from their iPhone or Blackberry.

Along with the new app, OSAP has redesigned their website and made applications for funding available earlier in the year in an attempt to make it easier for students to apply for and receive funding.

“This new OSAP mobile app, along with recent OSAP enhancements and our new website, gives students the support they need to pursue their passion and achieve the career of their dreams,” John Milloy, minister of training, colleges, and universities, explained in a press release.

The app and website are part of the province’s Open Ontario plan, a five-year project aimed at improving the economy through various efforts, including investing in post-secondary education.

Second wave renovations

As renovations to the University Community Centre gyms continue, a second group of construction workers are busy transforming other spaces in the building.

Last year, the University Students’ Council posed a referendum asking students to add an additional $25 annually to cover the cost of renovations and maintenance to the UCC. The referendum was passed and construction soon began.

But more renovations to the second floor of the UCC — including Purple Door Promotions — were made possible by a different fund entirely. Two years ago, the USC gave space in the UCC back to Western but still collected fees for it, according to USC president Mike Tithecott.

“We put [the revenue from those fees] under a special capital renewal fund. It was something around $10-15 per student,” Tithecott said.

Using the leftover funds, the USC has since tried to save money on the project, according to Jeff Armour, manager of food and beverages for the USC and contractor on these projects.

He said doing the renovations now instead of the summer let them use Western’s Physical Plant department, which includes carpenters and construction workers. He said this in-house labour is significantly cheaper than using contractors like those renovating the gyms.

To handle these projects, Armour also assumed contractor responsibility on top of managing the Spoke and the Wave, which also saved money.

“I used to do construction — I was a general contractor for years. Running an event in food services like I do is very similar to construction,” Armour said, adding he’s also involved in overseeing the larger gym renovations.

“This is much cheaper because we’ve been working with [Western’s] Physical Plant. We’re using Western’s labour, between myself running the project and giving me [Physical Plant’s] carpenters to work with. We don’t pay a contractor that’ll mark it up all way,” he added.

Armour said these aesthetic and organizational renovations were necessary.

“The building is literally falling down around us,” he joked. “My input is that you could update and fix things now, but once we go further down the road you’re literally going to be looking at rebuilding these spaces,” Armour said.

“My dad always said he could never afford to buy cheap, cause you would constantly have to fix this and that — we’d be spending a lot of money putting Band-Aids on things.”

Armour also noted the USC originally needed to consolidate space on the second floor in order to bring the floor up to fire-code standards. He explained the construction of the mezzanine inside the gyms required a second exit point from the study space, which forced Purple Door out of their existing space.

Their new space, located in the former USC Marketing and Advertising Office, is more than twice the size and includes new flooring, lighting and furniture.

The USC’s marketing office moved across the hall and consolidated with the Gazette composing office. The Gazette editorial office will also be renovated to convert unused darkroom space into office space.

Take a seat for accessibility

Those new blue chairs in Western’s hallways aren’t for sitting. They’re part of the Ontario Undergradute Students’ Alliance annual campaign to bring attention to accessibility issues at universities.

“This campaign will provide students and community members with the opportunity to become directly involved in our advocacy and awareness activities,” Meaghan Coker, OUSA president, explained in a press release. “Our aim is to call attention to the need for increased success, and expanded accessibility, for students who face barriers to higher education.”

Each empty blue chair is meant to represent a student who cannot attend university, according to OUSA.

Current statistics place Ontario’s current participation rate of 18 to 24-year-olds at 40 per cent, with only 33 per cent of students from the lowest income quartile and 28 per cent of Aboriginal students continuing to higher education, directly from high school.

This is the fourth year of campaign has occurred.

No strings attached

No Strings Attached

Director: Ivan Reitman

Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Kline

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher shine in this tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy about friends with benefits.

Adam (Ashton Kutcher) is a struggling writer, while Emma (Natalie Portman) is a young doctor working 80 hours a week. Their lives intersect one drunken night, and because of Emma’s disillusioned view of relationships and hectic work schedule, they agree to embark on a purely sexual relationship.

Unfortunately, as one character dryly remarks, “that’s not possible,” and things gets dramatic when Adam starts wanting more.

It’s refreshing to see a woman being afraid of commitment and a man as the needy, romantic one in a relationship. The chemistry between Kutcher and Portman make their unfortunate situation believable, and their impeccable comedic timing and frank attitude towards sex is charming and humourous.

Because the movie focuses so much on Adam and Emma’s relationship, the supporting cast is never really developed and remains simply a frame for the rest of the story. Still, Mindy Kaling stands out as Emma’s fellow resident, as does rapper Ludacris in a surprisingly decent turn as one of Adam’s best friends.

Kevin Kline disappoints as Adam’s father, an over-the-hill, pot smoking actor. His only purpose is to place emotional stress on Adam, which woefully under-uses his acting talents. Unfortunately, this is the case for most of the supporting cast. Had they been given a chance to show off their acting repertoire, the movie may have been stronger as a whole.

A romantic comedy that makes the audience laugh out loud is rare, but No Strings Attached provides more than enough awkward hilarity to keep viewers rolling in the aisles.

It definitely caters to a specific audience, as the raunchy humour and up-close sex scenes may leave some viewers a little uncomfortable. However, the fact that the film pushes the envelope is often what makes it so funny. Sex isn’t glossed over, but neither is it romanticized. If anything, Adam and Emma’s romance seems to develop despite their strong chemistry, rather than because of it.

The film also maintains an excellent balance between comedy and drama, moving easily from a joke to an intense emotional scene without a hitch. It also manages to deeply involve the audience in the story without drowning them in sentimentality. This isn’t the greatest film for a first date, but if you like your movies cute, funny and a little outrageous, definitely try No Strings Attached.

Stuck in our heads

“Somebody That I Used to Know” — Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith may be gone but his music has not been forgotten.

“Somebody That I Used to Know” is off of Smith’s 2000 album Figure 8. Like many of his songs “Somebody That I Used to Know” has a lot of emotion invested in the lyrics. Soothing vocals and peaceful guitar riffs make Smith’s song enjoyable to listen to.

Smith’s influences came from a wide variety of artists including Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, The Who, Kiss, Modest Mouse and Pink Floyd. He also found influence from the works of classic authors Samuel Beckett, T.S. Eliot and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The combination of ornate instrumentals and relatable lyrics makes “Somebody That I Use to Know” well worth a listen.

— Amber Garratt

“Pony Up”— Kings of Leon

As an avid Kings of Leon fan, I was naturally excited for the release of their fifth studio album Come Around Sundown. But after watching their video for their first single “Radioactive” I was less than impressed.

After giving the rest of the album a chance, the laidback track “Pony Up” caught my attention with its distinct baseline and southern rock vibe which brings out the Tennessee charm in lead singer Caleb Followill’s voice.

The beat for “Pony Up” was inspired by new wave rock band Talking Heads, with a wiry guitar sound and punchy baseline.

“Pony Up” may not be as catchy as some of the band’s mainstream hits like “Sex On Fire,” or “Use Somebody,” but it has enough spunk to make you keep it on repeat.

— Nicole Gibillini

Canadians under-exercising

The so-called obesity epidemic taking weighing down the U.S. might be migrating north.

Two studies from Statistics Canada released earlier this month showed the vast majority of Canadians don’t get anywhere near the recommended amount of weekly exercise needed to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.

According to the studies, which tracked the exercise habits of roughly 4,500 Canadian adults and children, only 15 per cent of adults are meeting the minimum exercise guidelines set by Health Canada. The agency recommends anyone over 18-years-old get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. Kids aged six to 19 fared even worse, with just seven per cent getting the daily 60 minutes of physical activity needed to stay fit and healthy.

“For the vast majority of Canadians, exercise levels have either stayed the same or decreased over the past few decades,” Peter Lemon, kinesiology professor at Western, said.

Canadians today spend the majority of their time engaged in sedentary pursuits, such as surfing the web, watching television, reading, or playing video games. Canadian adults spend an average of nine and a half hours a day sitting still, while children clock in a little lower at eight and a half hours, according to the report.

Health Canada recently decreased their exercise requirements, which previously recommended children aged five to 17 get 90 minutes of exercise per day and that adults up to age 65 get 30-60 minutes per day.

“Studies have shown that the previous standards actually exceeded the minimum requirement to become fit and to benefit from the health components that are adversely affected if you’re inactive, which are substantial,” Lemon explained.

Noelle Martin, a registered dietician at Western, also commented on the many benefits which come as a result of being fit and healthy.

“If you keep yourself healthy, then you have better output for whatever it is you’re doing, and that also applies to university students,” Martin said. “The student that keeps regular physical activity as part of their lifestyle will find they will have better output in terms of, among other things, remembering things in class, in paying attention and in having better sleep patterns.”

Students at Western, unfortunately, are no exception. Most people are aware of the stereotypical university student who lives on fast food and hasn’t stepped foot in a gym since Orientation Week.

“It’s probably an accurate stereotype to have for many students on campus,” Lemon lamented. “Most individuals in this day and age can find ways to exist with a very low level of physical activity.”

Dedicated exercise is not the only way to help you stay fit.

“It’s not that you have to go to the gym every day, but you should be active every day,” Martin clarified.

While little things like walking to class or taking the stairs do not increase your heart rate to the requisite 150 to 165 beats per minute to qualify as moderate exercise under Health Canada’s guidelines, they do add up.

“It’s still getting your heart rate a little elevated, it’s still moving your muscles and getting your body moving,” Martin said.

Lemon stressed students looking to start increasing their fitness level should not overdo it. “The most important thing is to start slowly and build up,” Lemon concluded. “Becoming physically fit is a major change in lifestyle, so you’ve got to make it a regular event that you can keep up, otherwise you probably won’t succeed.”

Letter: IDF soldier should not have been brought in

Re: “Protest held at IDF speech” (Jan. 21, 2011)

To the Editor:

In light of the stiff opposition Israeli Defense Forces soldier Benjamin Anthony faced upon delivering his speech yesterday, one must realize that there are always two parties involved in a conflict, both of whom feel they are the aggrieved side. Indeed, the Palestine-Israel conflict is no different.

But when a university is allowed to present a soldier from the IDF, a group that has numerously ignored United Nations resolutions and, as seen in the recent aggression on Gaza, even attacked UN secured bases, questions need to be asked.

Would a Serbian officer who served in the attack of Srebrenica in 1995, which resulted in the death of 8000 men while drawing worldwide scrutiny, been allowed to speak in front of a gathering back then?

Some may say that the analogy is unfair, but it’s hard not to draw parallels between that campaign, where UN peacekeepers were taken as human shields, and the recent Israeli one, which resulted in the deaths of 1400 civilians.

It is argued that Israel then was only trying to rid Gaza of “rebel groups,” groups that had immersed themselves in civilian populations, ultimately making this sort of bombing campaign inevitable.

But it’s highly hypocritical of the Canadian government to officially recognize a similar operation in the Anfal Campaign (1988) of Northern Iraq as genocide, while supporting Israel’s efforts as “self-defense.”

Canada may currently be perceived by the world as a “friendly,” neutral state. But if these blatant double standards persist, it’s not hard to envision Canada struggling to uphold this image.

—Saqib Ahmed Dadabhoy.
MIT. IV

Letter: The depth of art is in the eye of the beholder

Re: “Arts still strong, even with Biebs” (Jan. 20, 2010)

To the Editor:

The conclusion to the editorial — suggesting that we as a society embrace shallow arts — is both trite and inaccurate. The truth is that anything is shallow if you don’t dig for a deeper meaning.

We live in an era in which everything must have a purpose. If it’s not marketable, it can’t connect to the Internet, or it doesn’t look good on a résumé then it’s not worth having.

Art has fallen victim to this mentality, and become commoditized: available for a price.

Downloading a song for free is “stealing” because the song has intrinsic value. In fact, the term “art” itself is often understood only in a very limited sense, applicable only to old and overdone — dare I say “overvalued” — works, such as the Mona Lisa. In this case, an excess of signification has dulled their considerable brilliance.
Art should be understood as boundless and infinitely contestable. It follows no formula, nor is it codified in a set of parameters easily laid out in a textbook. To define art is to sterilize it. It has never presupposed brilliance. Art can be bad, and often is. To deny art is to delude oneself. As Oscar Wilde memorably put it, “all art is quite useless.”

—Paul Craig
MIT II