The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Good

It’s fair to say the Green Bay Packers had a good day on Sunday. But none had a better day than Aaron Rodgers or Jarius Wynn.

Rodgers finally cemented his status as a top NFL quarterback with his MVP performance in the Super Bowl. He became only the third quarterback to throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, joining his boyhood heroes Joe Montana and Steve Young, both of the San Francisco 49ers.

Plus he ended any conversation about former Packer Brett Favre by equalling Favre’s championship total and winning an award that the much-maligned retired quarterback never won.

Wynn, on the other hand, may have had an even better day. Granted, the back-up defensive end had less to do with the Super Bowl win than Rodgers. But Wynn also witnessed the birth of his son earlier on Sunday. When winning the Super Bowl is the second best part of your day, you probably had a good one.

The couple still hadn’t come up with a middle name for the child but Wynn had a few options he was considering, including Dallas, Aaron or Super. Jarius Super Wynn Jr. It has a nice ring to it.

Bad

How on earth is Matt Cooke going to explain his way out of this?

The man already has a reputation as a dirty player, and he did nothing to help that image this week.

On Sunday against Washington, he stuck out his leg and put a knee-on-knee hit on Alexander Ovechkin. Naturally, he said it was unintentional after the game. Fair enough, sometimes that happens when the player with the puck suddenly changes direction. He managed to escape suspension.

However, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau lashed out, calling it a dirty play.

So to prove Boudreau wrong, Cooke went out into the Penguins next game against Columbus and hit Blue Jackets defenceman Fedor Tyutin from behind into the boards.

He somehow was allowed to stay in the game for the dirty hit. He is likely to be suspended for this, but it is unlikely it will be for a substantial period of time. Tyutin escaped serious injury, which will help Cooke’s case, but that really shouldn’t matter.

The NHL should probably throw the book at this goon, or someone is going to get seriously injured. Just ask Marc Savard. Assuming he still has the mental capability to answer.

Ugly

Poor Cleveland.

You lost your precious King James, in an embarrassing way no less, and everything has gone down hill since then.

Needless to say, the Cavs are having a shaky season. Their last win occurred on December 18 versus the New York Knicks. Since then the Cavaliers have lost 25 games in a row— the longest losing streak in NBA history. And what other sad loser team did they beat out for the record?

Themselves. The 1982-83 Cleveland Cavaliers held the old NBA record for most consecutive loses at 24 games, however that was spread out over two seasons. So all in all, this season’s Cleveland Cavaliers are the worst, officially the worst.

But perhaps we could look at the very dim bright side. These Cavs are only the second worst team in professional sport history. The elusive top sport is still held by the 1976-77 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their first 26 NFL games.

So even though they are in the midst of the ugliest season in NBA history, the Cavs can avoid being the absolute worst if they win their next game. And with games coming up against Detroit and the LA Clippers — perhaps they can salvage some of their reputation.

Letter: Experience key for USC

To the Editor:

The vacuous politicos are at it again. “For you” was the first slogan to accost me this year and earns the distinction of containing within it less substance than a ninth grade gym class.

Next I was treated to a view of the semi-nude “DBR” covering his genitalia with a bit of newspaper. This was Ocular molestation — a terse description perhaps, but appropriate if not understated.

The popularity contest, the silly gimmicks (for example, cell phone chargers in the University Community Centre) and the jester-ish candidates have all converged this year. We are experiencing the perfect storm of hilarity; the electoral process has been reduced to a laughingstock. It’s time the student body reclaims our dignity and chooses the candidate with the best platform rather than the best pecs. Omid Salari is that candidate.

Omid boasts a history of comprehensive servitude to the University and presents well-reasoned responses to policy questions upon interview. Most important though are Omid’s policies towards Council spending. The vast bureaucracy is saddled with debt and the eventuality of increased student fees is virtually certain. In the age of vociferously extravagant tuition costs this is absolutely not something we should condone. The luxuries of decorating the UCC with fresh paint and a new mural when current construction is already over budget and overdue, or installing in it cell phone chargers and signal boosters, are wasteful. Mr. Salari knows where and how to cut wasteful spending, and cut it he will.

Wake up, Western. Let’s be a sensible student body for once.

—Jeffrey Di Tomasso
Science II

Letter: Sexism discussion continues

Re: “Column response letters troubling” (Feb. 8, 2011)

To the Editor:
My logic doesn’t suggest that “pointing out an empirically demonstrable, physiological difference between men and women is sexist”; it argues that pointing out differences in a way that constructs men as superior, and women as inferior, is. Tahirali does this openly in his article.
Stating “only women can have babies” would not necessarily be sexist, as Chant suggests (although this seemingly innocuous ‘truth’ could be critically engaged at length – consider recent developments in reproductive technology and genetic engineering, and the range of people, such as trans-men, who can ‘have babies’ but exist outside the conventional definition of what constitutes a ‘woman’).
Rather, according to my logic, what would be sexist is claiming that “women are at a genetic disadvantage” because they can have babies, or because they’re thought to be weaker than men.
Chant’s response is counterintuitive. How does Tahirali’s insistence that we “face the fact” of gender inequality “promote discussion on […] gender equality”? And how does my letter – which explicitly poses open-ended questions about gender – stifle debate and hurt my cause of challenging sexism? By calling my argument an ad hominem attack, Chant actually closes down the possibility of exploring why certain points of view might be sexist.
Despite Chant’s attempt to dismiss my argument, it’s still important to consider the questions it raises. Why have we organized society according to differences between “men” and “women” when there are infinite differences within these groups? How has this informed what we consider a “disadvantage”?

—Stephanie Oliver
English PhD IV

Jim Bryson overshadows The Weakerthans

Performance 3.5/5

Opener’s 4/5

Crowd 4/5

Set list 3.5/5

Worth the cash 3.5/5

Tuesday night’s show at Aeolian Hall featured many well-known Canadian musicians.

Daniel Ledwell opened the concert, showcasing his solo work from his album Two Over Seven.

The acoustic folk-inspired sound received an overall positive response from the audience. Ledwell interacted with the audience in between songs by taking requests and joking about how he forgets his own songs because he plays with so many other bands.

Daniel Roman, who also plays in the band Attack In Black, took the stage next with his solo work from his album Sleep Beneath the Willow. Backed by a female vocalist, the audience again responded positively to his traditional country sound. Ramano finished his set with a cover of American country singer George Jones’ “Never Grow Cold.”

Aeolian Hall had filled up by the time Jim Bryson, The Weakerthans and Daniel Ledwell came on stage together. They opened with songs “Fell Off the Dock” and “Wild Folk” from their album The Falcon Lake Incident. The trio had recorded the album together over two winter weeks spent in a cabin in Manitoba. They then played a stretch of Bryson’s solo material including “By the Bridge” and “Sleeping in Toronto.”

Partway through the show, Bryson called for the audience to participate in clapping along with the song “Constellation,” suggesting that it added to the song’s overall effect.

Close to the end of the performance, the rest of the band left the stage while Bryson remained to play acoustically. He even chose to sing without a microphone, highlighting the venue’s great acoustics.

The band then returned to play a few more songs including “Metal Girls” and “Up All Night” before thanking the crowd and inviting everyone to come and chat in the lobby.

Though Bryson did a good job at keeping the crowd engaged, it seemed almost unfair to only focus on his solo work or Falcon Lake Incident songs when there were members of The Weakerthans on stage. Playing some of The Weakerthans’ material certainly would have pleased the crowd and could have added to the overall performance.

Marc Jordan – Crucifix In Dreamland

Marc Jordan

Crucifix In Dreamland

EMI Records

In what can be considered a departure from Marc Jordan’s jazz-infused sound, strong country influences linger over the Toronto-based singer-songwriter’s 12th record, Crucifix In Dreamland.

Jordan is not new to the music scene. In 1977 he was signed to Warner Bros. where he produced his album Mannequin with producer Gary Katz. Thirty-four years later he is still producing great music.

Crucifix In Dreamland features liberal doses of pedal steel guitar and a guest appearance by bluegrass singer and fiddler Alison Krauss. Jordan weaves a distinct country sound throughout the album while continuing to juggle traditional rock and pop elements.

Each song is relatively easy-listening, but by the time the record finds a flow around the third track, every song that follows ultimately feels like a duplicate of the last.

Amidst several highlights, namely “Bamboo Girl,” “Your Love Was All” and some impressive collaborators including Hawksley Workman and Ron Sexsmith, the lulls in between lead to a weary listening experience.

— Anna Gebremedhin

Super week not so super for NFL, fans

Tracy Sabo/CNN

Well, at least the Super Bowl game was alright, because the week leading up to it was just awful.

Super Week — a truly creative name — was nothing but disaster after disaster for the NFL’s image.

It started with the snow in Dallas. The week is usually a party atmosphere and an interactive fan experience, resulting in tons of money for the host city. But none of that happened because people were too afraid to go outside into the few inches of snow.

It didn’t help that the city was utterly incapable of dealing with the conditions. They failed entirely to clear off the major highways and the stadium was completely covered in snow. That probably wasn’t a big deal — until the snow and ice fell off the roof and injured six people.

But the biggest public relations debacle was the inability to seat fans. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was desperate to put on an over-the-top show in his brand new stadium and that goal included breaking the Super Bowl attendance record — which he failed, by the way. So they sold extra tickets, which required them to install extra seats.

Problem was that the seats couldn’t be installed in time and the floors and stairs were unusable.

The league knew that this was going to be an issue mid-week, yet they kept quiet about it until game day. In other words, they could have told fans that they weren’t going to have their seat, allowing them to cancel their travel plans and watch from home. Those fans would have been angry, but it would have been a better than what happened.

Some of the fans were able to go watch the game on television outside of the stadium, but about 400 were unable to get into that designated area. They were left scrambling to find a way to watch the game.

The league has promised to either give the fans a ticket to next year’s game plus $2,400 (three times the face value of their Super Bowl XLV tickets) or a ticket to the fan’s Super Bowl of choice plus round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

That’s a great deal but I’m willing to bet that all of those fans paid way more than three times the face value for those crappy seats anyway. Not to mention the ridiculous cost for airfare, parking and hotel accommodations, setting those fans back a few thousand dollars more. So, with either option, they are still taking in a substantial loss.

While this may be difficult to figure out, how about one of those options plus a full reimbursement of this year’s trip, ticket and accommodations? Not just for those 400 fans, but for all of the fans that lost their seats.

Sure, it’ll likely cost a ton of money, but once that gets out into the media, it’ll go over well with the public. The ability to get all of their decisions right and take care of the fans is, after all, what has made the NFL the top American league.

With this disaster being the last bitter taste in the fans’ mouths before an impending lockout, the NFL better do something drastic, or they may lose their place in the throne of the North American sporting world.

Day Ten — Dog Days

Corey Stanford/Gazette

So this happened.

His name is Mathew Bogdanovski and Omid Salari swears he didn’t put him up to it.

“I did not encourage him to do this, it was all his own initiative,” Salari said Wednesday night. “I’m blown away. It’s completely unbelievable the support I’m getting.”

Bogdanovski stood in the middle of the University Community Centre Wednesday afternoon, plastered in anti-censorship, pro-Salari literature. He had a sign up sheet on his back where people could leave their names and e-mails. It attracted quite a crowd and it was entirely unprecedented.

It’s undeniable that Salari’s unorthodox campaign and following is having a profound effect on campus. Whether he’s being endorsed on DC++, suspending a yellow balloon above UC Hill or swearing and ranting at debates, Salari has completely turned this race on its head.

He’s flown in the face of his critics — myself included — continuing to up the ante with every passing day. While his tactics are sometimes bizarre and other times juvenile, you can’t deny that they’re attracting considerable attention.

Triggering #Forgibombs on Twitter is one thing. But it doesn’t even come close to the reach of Salari’s unconventional tactics. Add that to Salari’s aggressive performance at debates and it looks like we’ve got one hell of a candidate.

Grinding out the dog days

It’s weird to be talking about dog days in this, a two-week election period, but we are undeniably upon them. It’s been ten days since we started this craziness and the whole thing has grown rather bothersome. Everyone’s tired. Everyone’s cranky. Creativity is running dry.

The platforms have been dissected and challenged beyond the point of reason. The candidates have answered the same questions about environmentalism, clubs and mental health services ad nauseam. And even the usually antagonistic commenters on this blog can’t find the motivation to call me a knob anymore.

It would be nice if the candidates could spark some interest in the race before Monday’s traditional final push. They’re trying — but it seems like yet another campaign video or pushing some snow around on UC Hill unfortunately just doesn’t do it. Even the Bogdanovski stunt was apparently not initiated by a candidate.

It’s not easy to inspire student voters. Some would say impossible. But there has to be one last great idea out there, just waiting for a candidate to stumble upon it.

Endorsements

So the Western Libertarians have endorsed Omid Salari as their candidate for president. As far as I know they’re the first to publicly endorse someone — alert me to others in the comments — but I imagine the various endorsements will begin to roll in as this week goes on.

Which brings me to a question of some debate around these parts — should the Gazette endorse a candidate?

To make it clear, we would never endorse a candidate unless the vast majority of the editorial board agreed that individual was the best choice for president. Three years ago the endorsement of Stephen Lecce was an easy one to make. He was head and shoulders above the other candidates and everyone in our office believed he would do a great job. He would go on to win. The year before that, however, the Gazette endorsed Chris Reynolds who would end up losing the election.

Two years ago, with six candidates to choose from, the office was relatively split between a few choices. Even though Emily Rowe’s victory was easy to predict, few were actually willing to endorse her for the job over the competition. The same could be said about last year when Mike Tithecott was clearly the favourite among the USC but didn’t have majority support within our office.

Some feel the Gazette shouldn’t even endorse a candidate, considering our apparently wide-ranging influence on campus. It’s funny — when it’s convenient for people, they complain that we have too much influence. But when we speak out against an issue that some disagree with, the same folks will turn around and say we don’t have any sway on campus.

Some within our office even, including StuartAtGazette, don’t feel like we should endorse a candidate because not enough members of our office — much like campus in general — are engaged with the USC elections. Outside of our front office and our news section, interest and knowledge of the USC is rather limited.

Then again, who at this school has been following the race closer than us? Even if only 8-10 of us know the ins and outs of all the candidates and their platforms, surely that group can offer a better perspective on who the best candidate is than a partisan group or organization on campus.

Some have also raised the issue that there are students on this campus who will simply vote for whoever the Gazette tells them too. Many thought that was the case when Lecce was elected after our endorsement. Of course, Reynolds earned our endorsement the year prior and lost to Tom Stevenson so what does that tell ya?

Whatever our influence, it’s common practice for a newspaper to endorse a candidate and I’d personally like to see us at least have the discussion. I don’t care if our editorial board has to spend hours locked in a room trying to talk over the UCC construction sounds, we should emerge with a candidate to endorse. Even a backhanded endorsement would be welcome, like this one for George Smitherman which is less about the quality of the chosen candidate and more about the ineptness of the rest of the field.

Not endorsing a candidate because we don’t like any of them or can’t reach a consensus is a cop out. One of the candidates is going to be president. It’s not like we can endorse some ideal candidate not in the race. You need to measure the candidates against their competition, not against the ideal. The best of a bunch of knobs is still the best option.

I fear the backlash over endorsing someone would be outrageous. But I think it’s something we should do. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Do not miss this

A Real USC Presidential Debate will take place tonight at The Great Hall at Huron, which I’m informed is in fact not that room in the UCC basement. Feelings hurt easily FTW!

This will be an actual debate with discussion between the candidates and opportunities afforded for them to rebut each other. Big ups to Adam Fearnall et al. for organizing the event which will be moderated by former USC executive board member Dan Moulton.

Immediately following the debate, the candidates will head to the Gazette office where they will participate in the Gazette’s skills competition, which yes, we are doing again this year. Events will include a sobriety test, an unnecessarily hard and specific pop quiz, a game of twister, a tricycle obstacle course and a wet t-shirt contest.

Wait — what?

Okay, not exactly the wet t-shirt contest you were probably thinking of. We’ll be dunking the candidates’ campaign shirts in water, freezing them and then making them race against each other to unravel the shirt and put it on.

Yeah, it sounds kind of weird and pointless to me too but I trust the Gazette’s crack news team which organized these shenanigans so we’ll see how things shake out. If anything, Salari will likely do something silly, we’ll take a picture of it and then it’ll all be worth it.

Too Fancy Gents: Medicinal Measures for Melancholy

The secrecy imperative

The days of the fraternity paddle are dead and gone, according to members of the Greek scene at Western. But other schools evidently haven’t received the memo.

In October, University of Alberta’s student newspaper reported on a video they received that included footage of alleged hazing at the Delta Phi chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After months of thorough investigation, the issue came to a head last week when Frank Robinson, U of A’s dean of students, announced the group was being suspended from the university for five years.

The suspension means the fraternity will not be allowed to register as a student group at the university, use the university’s name or property, or associate themselves with the university in any way.

“Their international [representatives] didn’t really punish them to the full extent, they didn’t have the treatment that they were expecting,” Matt Chornaby, judiciary chair for Western’s Interfraternity Council, explained.

“On our campus, we would probably get hit a lot harder because we are a more involved Greek community; there are larger chapters and where there are larger chapters, there’s more risk involved. Our headquarters would come down hard. I know especially with us, they will immediately seek criminal persecution, whereas in Alberta they didn’t.”

At Western, there are two governing groups for the five sororities and seven fraternities on campus: the Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council. These two groups answer to national and international levels and are required to act under their specific regulations and rules, especially when it comes to hazing.

“The National Panhellenic Council has an approximately 200-page manual, and within that there is a very, very strict — probably page-long — definition on what constitutes hazing,” Emily Mordhorst, president of Western’s Panhellenic Council, noted.

“We have to be very careful with all the activities that we participate in and organize to make sure that they don’t fall under what constitutes hazing.”

Some of the hazing at U of A allegedly included forcing new members to eat their own vomit and locking them in wooden boxes. Chornaby explained while this is an extreme form of hazing, international bodies overseeing fraternities and sororities are just as strict with lighter forms.

“You’d be shocked and surprised as to what our international headquarters and the two governing bodies treat as hazing. Things like doing a scavenger hunt are constituted as hazing unless certain protocols are followed, because we can’t make anyone do anything against their will, so to speak,” he explained.

Instances like the one at U of A, combined with the long history of secrecy in Greek life, have created a number of negative stigmas. Mike Siebert, president of the Interfraternity Council at U of A, admitted this level of secrecy doesn’t help the groups avoid negative stereotypes like hazing.

“It’s true that the secrecy does not help, because it will lead a lot of people to speculate, as is the case with anything that is secret. People speculate, and sometimes it will lead people to believe the worst, even if that isn’t the case,” Siebert explained.

Chornaby noted the groups try to remain transparent where they can.

“If hazing were to occur, all of our websites have the statements about hazing and retention and that sort of thing, so we’re pretty transparent in regards to what transpires. There are secret initiations, but outside of that, nothing is really secret.”

Still, Siebert expressed a certain level of secrecy is an integral part of the Greek life.

“It’s become part of the tradition to keep that level of secrecy, but it also helps build some of the aspects of having a tighter bond with the other members of the chapter and the other members of the group because you all share this same secret knowledge.”

Day Nine — Your days are numbered, dancers

David Basu Roy, hob nobbin' with a couple USC big wigs and showin' a little chest. Who says this guy doesn't have flash?

It’s funny the things you see when you’re walking home from campus at midnight.

There I was, hiking home with MeaganAtGazette after another 14 hour day when we saw around 20-some diligent Forgionians (how long till that’s hashtaged on Twitter?) armed with snow shovels furiously digging away at University College hill in order to make some sort of snow-based campaign advertisement.

Solid move, I say. Like David Basu Roy said in the comments section yesterday, “That’s what campaigning is all about – if one candidate finds a creative way to campaign before the others, power to them.”

It’s another instance of a candidate finding an innovative way to squeeze around the campaign rules. The Board of Governors may have limited the sizes and locations of signs, but they didn’t say anything about the snow other than the fact you can’t colour it.

For the past few years UC Hill has been the site of some of the biggest, most attention-grabbing signs of the campaign. With size restrictions, this year was supposed to be a tad more refined. But since we’ve seen around a gazillion centimeters of snow in beautiful London this winter, this was bound to happen. Luckily for Forgione, it seems like the snow is going to be here for, oh I don’t know, ever.

It’s hard not to like the creativity this election season. While the University Students’ Council and Board of Governors took great strides to limit the candidates, the byproduct has been an inspired vigor in trying to find inventive ways to circumvent the rules. Salari’s DC++ advertising campaign is a new one this year and brings Salari into a domain that is entirely unregulated. Forgione’s snow-made sign is another inventive — and incredibly eco-friendly — way to get around some of the restrictions on the hill. Basu Roy has Rick McGhee wearing his shirt so he must be doing something right.

Possible problems? Well, Forgione’s snow-scape is incredibly susceptible to vandalism. Or just wind blowing the snow around. Or a flock of Canadian geese setting up shop in the area and using it as their own personal outhouse.

Yeah, probably the geese.

The surprisingly large Basu Roy contingent

It was good to see David Basu Roy’s camp out in full force at The Spoke Monday afternoon for a coffee house event. Basu Roy actually has a fairly sizable team when they all turn out to something, one that can rival Forgione’s blue-shirted followers. The problem is that presence hasn’t always extended to the UCC lately, where Forgione’s team is constantly buzzing around. Maybe Basu Roy’s campaign philosophy simply isn’t as aggressive as Forgione’s. Or maybe his campaign team is more spread out across campus, whereas Forgione’s seems to hub around the UCC. But the number of green shirts in The Spoke Monday was startling.

Basu Roy has the tools to run a smooth campaign like Forgione’s. Maybe now that he’s past the growing pains of the first week, we’ll really see him come on strong. Then again, as Salari begins to surge after launching his campaign late and Forgione continues to stay the course of being everywhere, Basu Roy may need to do something big before next week to reassert his presence in the race.

It’s a dance dance revolution

I’ve already committed my vote to my man Matt Ryan who is going to make just a fantastic USC President.

But if I wasn’t backing MR. Western I’d have to think long and hard about Andrew Forgione who last night dropped a #Forgibomb of information on his website, tackling an issue that is incredibly close to my heart.

Forgione goes on for 500 words or so, reiterating his support of clubs at Western and his desire to make it easier for clubs to book rooms, plan events and do other clubby things. Big whoop.

But then he makes freakin’ history:

“Plus, I’m sure we would all love it if the dance clubs and various groups that use the UCC space to practice whatever they may be practicing for, had their own private area to practice and rehearse without anyone impeding them.”

Wah-bam!

I know what Forgione meant to say was ‘the dance clubs that use UCC space to get in everyone’s way with their pointless body gyrations’ — but it’s all good. The point is, he plans on expelling them from the UCC permanently, hopefully to some sort of island somewhere with no escape. That, or an eternity of the Monday morning shift cleaning the washrooms in Saugeen would also be accepted.

Listen, if dancing is your thing that’s great. I think that’s fan-freakin-tastic. I understand that the USC hasn’t provided you with the necessary space to shake your assorted grove thangs, ba-donk-a-donks and the like. It’s a crying shame.

But getting to where I’m going is my thing. And most nights in the UCC I can’t do it because you’re grinding all up on each other all over the place. I urge whoever is elected — likely Matt Ryan — to put an end to this and provide these assorted dance crews, units and posses with space that doesn’t double as a main walking artery in the campus’ community centre.

I literally can’t wait for the dance troupe outrage in the comments section.

Odd and Ends

• A pair of letter writers penned some pretty good critiques of the presidential candidates in our opinions section yesterday, including one individual who is fed up of frivolous videos that have “nothing to do with anything the candidate will do to help students.” And another who keenly noticed that “as long as this whole election process continues to be a popularity contest where name recognition rules, the results won’t change.”
• Not sure what Senators do? Yeah me neither but they sure do sound important. Want a crash course? You could read this incredibly informative article written on the topic from the Gazette a couple years back. Or you could stroll down to the Huron Student Activiteis Centre Thursday afternoon at 3:00 where three Senator-at-Large candidates will be hosting a discussion session on the position they’re vying to hold. Take the opportunity and go learn about whatever it is that they do.
• There will be more videos — whether you like it or not. Omid Salari has another video or two coming down the pipe. Andrew Forgione will certainly release something. And the Big Purple Couch will be coming out with a video on trail sort of thing, where they make fun of the candidates videos, which is kind of like shooting fish in a teacup. Hilarity may or may not ensure.
• For a more, um, friendly take on the USC elections period, I have to recommend my man Pat Searle who continues to hit it out of the park with his running stream of elections coverage over at Fuss on the Bus. He was motoring around campus last week filming a USC elections special edition of his internet senatorial talk show — I guess our invitation was lost in the mail… — which we expect to see sometime later this week.
• The official USC elections website was updated recently with a new video and a bunch of information you got from the Gazette last week. It’s alright, I guess. I like the elections committee, they’re good people. But they’re not exactly “your number one non-partisan elections news source” as they’ve been advertising themselves. Why not? Because the only information you’re going to get from their website is pictures of the candidates, their campaign videos and links to their social media. Never mind the fact the Gazette has been publishing numerous in-depth articles from the campaign trail daily and leading the way on Twitter and online. Good thing no one votes in this thing, eh?
• Let me end by saying that it is an absolutely crock of dung that the presidential candidates have been banished to the basement of the UCC this week so that we can sell trashy posters in the UCC atrium. This is as relevant as the USC gets all year and we’re going to shove them out of the most highly-traveled artery on campus for a poster sale? Could we not have bought our Hangover movie posters some other week?

Meester the only star in The Roommate

The Roommate

Directed by: Christian E. Christiansen

Starring: Minka Kelly, Leighton Meester and Cam Gigandet

2/5 Stars

Most thrillers are meant to keep you questioning the finale until the very end — sadly The Roommate is highly predictable from the start.

The movie stars Minka Kelly as the beautiful and sweet Sara Matthews.  Matthews is heading off to college, excited to start a new chapter in her life. While at a frat party, she catches the attention of heartthrob and drummer, Stephen (Cam Gigandet) while her gorgeous ex-boyfriend, Jason (Matt Lanter) continues to call her. Along with the boy fans, Sara is easily befriended by her dormmates and is liked by everyone she meets — especially her roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester).

What first seems like a blossoming friendship soon turns into a sick obsession. Rebecca is set on having Sara all to herself and decides the best way to go about it is to hurt everyone dearest to her new friend. As the movie develops the audience realizes that Rebecca doesn’t just want to be Sara’s friend but wants to become her — something that becomes apparent when Rebecca pierces her own ears to wear Sara’s jewelry.

Expectations for the movie are trampled when it becomes obvious that the plotline revolves solely around Sara’s slow realization that her roommate is more psychotic than she ever thought possible.

While all of what Rebecca accomplishes may seem relatively sick and twisted, it produces more laughs than shivers. Had the producers wanted a better reaction from the audience, they probably shouldn’t have hired the stars from hit teen television shows like Gossip Girl, The O.C., Vampire Diaries and Friday Night Lights. It’s difficult to take them all seriously and the combination proves to be a failure.

The only real star in the film is Leighton Meester. She demonstrates she’s capable of playing more than just superficial rich girl, Blair Waldorf with this daring new role. Leighton manages to save the film by generating a few disturbing moments with her creepy glares and actions, the worst of them being when she inflicts unnecessary animal cruelty on an adorable and innocent kitten.

The Roommate lacks the twists and turns that make a thriller an entertaining hit. Although the movie’s principal feature may be its cast of familiar faces, Leighton Meester is the only one worth watching.

Charity fashion show supports cancer patients

Charity fashion show supports cancer patients

Fashion show season is upon us again.

Kicking things off is Infusion Canada’s Burlesque Charity Lingerie Show. The show will be held tonight at The London Tap House. It will feature various lingerie outfits as well as choreographed dance numbers by Elan Dance Arts Studio.

Infusion Canada is a charity that launched in 2003 supporting young cancer survivors. Cancer patients aged 13 to 35 are usually found to have unusual kinds of cancers, according to Infusion’s research. They are left with the financial burden of paying for treatment of this cancer. In turn, that affects their ability to afford tuition.

Infusion raises money to grant three to five $2,000 bursaries to young cancer survivors each year – and they’re the only ones who do so. There are chapters of the charity in London, Hamilton and Toronto. Over the past seven years, the three branches have raised over $200,000.

Their official vision is to foster innovation, leadership and growth in young Canadians supporting cancer survival.

Tickets for the show are $10 and can be bought at the door at The London Taphouse. Appetizers are to be served at 10 p.m. and the show will begin at 10:30 p.m.

— Lauren Chan