caper times (2013-02)

16
www.capermedia.ca ISSN 1929-1140 the voice of the students at CBU VOL. XL, ISS. 9 • 21 Jan. 2013 CAPER•TIMES @caper_times fb.com/cprtimes “STUDENTS ARE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS INSTITUTION” —Dr. David Wheeler, incoming sixth president of Cape Breton University M.G. Mäder, UE Editor-in-Chief ll(Sydney, NS)—Dr. David Wheeler was ap- pointed as the sixth president of Cape Breton University on Monday, 14th January 2013. Wheeler, a former dean at Dalhousie University in Halifax and, more recently, Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Plymouth in the United King- dom, brings to the top job a fresh outlook and an exciting attitude towards the research being done at CBU. When asked about his past experiences and how they might contribute to his role as president, Wheeler responded “I’ve been in the private sec- tor…I’ve been in academia, I’ve done public policy work, I’ve advised the corporations, consultants, I’ve advised governments, and worked around the world. I feel like every one of those experi- ences certainly makes me optimistic about what I can bring here because I believe in what this institution is doing” adding “whether it’s sports, whether it’s about what students are passion- ate about, whether it’s the academics, or doing something in all of it, I empathise with it.” He also noted that he feels a strong fit between himself and the values of Cape Breton University. “I’m a big believer in concepts such as sustainability [and] social justice.” Wheeler, who has been heavily involved in both the business and environmental science worlds, has some interesting ideas about where the future lies for the academic programmes offered at CBU. “I am a big believer in interdisciplinary programmes…because they [could be] a par- ticular strength to this university” he said, later floating the example of a degree in sustainability and business which would allow for specialisation in preparation for a career in the ever expanding “green” products sector. In regards to the local revitalisation of the Cape Breton County economy, Wheeler said “This in- stitution is crucial to Cape Breton. It’s also crucial to Nova Scotia, and I would argue it’s crucial to Canada because [ an economically] healthy Cape Breton denotes a healthy Nova Scotia, and a healthy Canada.” He foresees CBU as an anchor upon which the rest of the local economy can build on. “Our role in [the Cape Breton economy] is very important.” Wheeler also emphasised the need to continue to strengthen links with the aboriginal community in Cape Breton in a way that encourages mutual See Wheeler, page 2

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Page 1: Caper Times (2013-02)

www.capermedia.ca ISSN 1929-1140 the voice of the students at CBUVOL. XL, ISS. 9 • 21 Jan. 2013

CAPER•TIMES@caper_times fb.com/cprtimes

“STUDENTS ARE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN THE SUCCESS OF THIS INSTITUTION”—Dr. David Wheeler, incoming sixth president of Cape Breton University

M.G. Mäder, UEEditor-in-Chief

ll(Sydney, NS)—Dr. David Wheeler was ap-pointed as the sixth president of Cape Breton University on Monday, 14th January 2013. Wheeler, a former dean at Dalhousie University in Halifax and, more recently, Pro Vice Chancellor at the University of Plymouth in the United King-dom, brings to the top job a fresh outlook and an exciting attitude towards the research being done at CBU. When asked about his past experiences and how they might contribute to his role as president, Wheeler responded “I’ve been in the private sec-tor…I’ve been in academia, I’ve done public policy work, I’ve advised the corporations, consultants, I’ve advised governments, and worked around the world. I feel like every one of those experi-ences certainly makes me optimistic about what I can bring here because I believe in what this institution is doing” adding “whether it’s sports, whether it’s about what students are passion-

ate about, whether it’s the academics, or doing something in all of it, I empathise with it.” He also noted that he feels a strong fit between himself and the values of Cape Breton University. “I’m

a big believer in concepts such as sustainability [and] social justice.”Wheeler, who has been heavily involved in both

the business and environmental science worlds, has some interesting ideas about where the future lies for the academic programmes offered at CBU. “I am a big believer in interdisciplinary programmes…because they [could be] a par-ticular strength to this university” he said, later floating the example of a degree in sustainability and business which would allow for specialisation in preparation for a career in the ever expanding “green” products sector.In regards to the local revitalisation of the Cape Breton County economy, Wheeler said “This in-stitution is crucial to Cape Breton. It’s also crucial to Nova Scotia, and I would argue it’s crucial to Canada because [ an economically] healthy Cape Breton denotes a healthy Nova Scotia, and a healthy Canada.” He foresees CBU as an anchor upon which the rest of the local economy can build on. “Our role in [the Cape Breton economy] is very important.”Wheeler also emphasised the need to continue to strengthen links with the aboriginal community in Cape Breton in a way that encourages mutual

See Wheeler, page 2

Page 2: Caper Times (2013-02)

2 NEWSAbout Us

Mitch MäderEditor-in-Chief & Chair of the Editorial Board

Andrew SkinnerCreative Director

Holly KennedyBusiness Director

Allison RedmondSenior Correspondent

Frederick BoutilierSenior Correspondent

Justine WilliamsonIntern

The Caper Times is a division of Caper Media and is printed on a fortnightly basis with distribution points across Sydney Metro and Cape Breton County. Caper Media is the autono-mous news agency of the Cape Breton University Students’ Union. The Times is proudly printed in the unionised print shop of the Cape Breton Post in Sydney, Nova Scotia. We welcome your questions, comments, enquiries, or submissi-ons from students or members of the greater Cape Breton community via our email: [email protected]

Our offices are located in the Students’ Union Building at Cape Breton University.

Mail can be sent to: Caper MediaPO Box 5300Sydney, NS B1P 6L2

Contact Us

Dial: 902.563.1890 ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥

[email protected] ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥ ¥¥¥

PO Box 5300 Sydney, NS B1P 6L2

benefit.

As well, he acknowledged that some areas of the campus are in need of modernisation but noted that an old building does not determine what kind of research can be done within it.In terms of student-university relations, Wheeler intends to ensure that student leaders are worked

with to ensure a healthy relationship between stu-dents and the university. “Students are key stake-holders in the success of this institution and I’m really looking forward to working with the student leaders, or individual student societies.” Wheeler takes over the position of president in March, when Dr. John Harker’s term will end.

WHEELER continued from page 1

Justine Williamson

ll(Sydney, NS) – It’s been one long year in the making, but the Camel Lounge Cafe & Grill is finally open for business! The Camel Lounge is a restaurant serving only authentic Egyptian style cuisine. On 9th January I had the pleasure of sitting down with a few of the business owners to chat and enjoy a delicious meal.The Camel Lounge has five co-owners, Magdy Abdel-baky, Shadi Adel, Mahamoud Mafouz, Bassem Amine, and Alex Brawley all of whom previously attended Cape Breton University. The five have worked tireless-ly for the past twelve months preparing and putting the last touches on everything.Abdelbaky said “It has not been easy;” there have been many speed bumps in the road. Egyptian-Born Hannah Abdelbaky,(mother of Magdy) prepares all the dishes and is the brains of the kitchen operation. The Lounge has a laid back atmosphere, traditional music is played while you relax and sip delicious Turk-

ish coffee.I’ve tried many different dishes over the years and I was happy to come across something at The Camel Lounge that I’ve never tried before called Bamya. Bamya, also known as Orka, is a flowering plant which is later harvested for its green seed pods; the pods are then simmered in a tomato sauce and topped with lime juice. When asked what crowd of people they intend to attract Brawley replied “We expect to attract many people from the Arabic community as well as native Sydney people who just want to try something different”. The Camel will also feature live entertain-ment, such as belly dancers, and possibly live music.The Camel Lounge is certainly something Sydney has yet to see. Abdelbaky said he plans to provide all cus-tomers with a memorable experience by “Providing great service”. The Lounge is also unique because it is the only restaurant in Cape Breton that serves Herbal Hookah. The Camel Lounge Cafe & Grill is Located on 263 Townsend Street in Sydney, so when you get your next break between classes I highly recommend you go grab some lunch!

FORMER CBU STUDENTS OPEN EGYPTIAN STYLE RESTAURANT IN SYDNEY

Page 3: Caper Times (2013-02)

3NEWSCAPER TIMES SUBMITS OFFICIAL BID TO HOST SPRING 2013 ATLANTIC REGIONAL CANA-DIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS CONFE-RENCE; AWAITS RESULTS

Alex Dougal

ll(Sydney, NS)—The Caper Times submitted an official bid to play host newspaper to the spring 2013 Atlan-tic regional conference of the Cana-dian University Press, a cooperative of which the newspaper is part own-er. The 6-page document featured a complete plan for the hosting of the conference, solved funding is-sues, and listed numerous possible guests at the conference. As well, the document featured two pages of reasons the conference ought to be brought to Sydney, noting the bus-tling city of 20,000 people is a media hub, with the Nova Scotia flagship transcontinental newspaper printed in downtown Sydney. The winning paper will be chosen by 1st February. Should the Times be chosen as the

winning paper, it would mark, what is believed to be, the first time that the conference has been hosted by the Times or even on Cape Breton Island. Editor-in-Chief M.G. Mäder com-mented “Caper Times has been in a steady growth cycle since last April. The bid to host the regional con-ference is just one more wrung on the ladder for the Times and we’re not stopping now. Students at CBU deserve a paper that is active and delivering news and information of all varieties in the most efficient way possible, while at the same time providing an outlet for the student body, and that is what we are do-ing.” The tentative dates for a Syd-ney conference are from the evening of Friday, 1st March to the morning of Sunday, 3rd March.

HAVE A NEWS TIP?

MAKE SOME $$$ We pay $50 to the person with the best news tip of the year*^.

*September 2012-April 2013 | ^$50.00 Canadian, must be claimed within 30 days of notification or prize will be rescinded. Caper Times re-serves the right to judge the best new tip of the year. No employee, relative, or relation of an employee of the Cape Breton University Stu-

dents’ Union may qualify for prize.

Call: (902) 563-1890

Page 4: Caper Times (2013-02)

4 NEWS

Frederick BoutilierSenior Correspondent

llA commonly held belief among students (and some members of the general population) is that students carry too much of a financial bur-den; it is common to hear talk of “student financial crises” and “the debt sentence.” But, really, how poorly off are we? A CFS (Canadian Federa-tion of Students) report states that over $15 billion is owed by students across Canada, plus an estimated $5-8 million in private student debt (i.e. credit card debt, etc.). While the CFS estimates that the average student will owe over $27,000 in student loan debt by the end of their graduation at present rates, it should be noted that this is an estimate; the most recently available official data (Sta-tistics Canada, 2010) says that this number was $18,800 (though for students graduating in 2005). The Globe and Mail noted an important statistical discrepancy in late 2012, namely that the wild fluctuation in cited student debt av-erages are most likely due to differ-ences in what constitutes gradua-tion day. “The figure of $13,600 was for college graduates who gradu-ated with debt while the $25,600 figure was for doctoral graduates who graduated with debt. Bache-lor’s and Master’s degree graduates with student debt had an average between $20,000 and $25,000.” The same article also notes that almost half of all Canadian stu-dents graduate debt-free, and that

the median debt might be a more accurate figure because “[...]about one quarter of students that hold almost all the debt.” A widely publicized survey commissioned by BMO suggested that over half of all post-secondary students in Canada expect to graduate with upwards of $20,000 in debt, while just under half of all students believe they will be able to pay off their student loans within five years. Interestingly enough, the survey revealed that Atlantic Cana-dian students expect to graduate with more debt than their peers, but especially notable is that while Canada-wide 44 percent of students expected to be able to pay off their student loans in five years or less, only 30 percent of Atlantic Canadi-an students expected to be able to pay off their loans in the same time period. Little data is available on a by-province basis for student debt, and so it becomes necessary to consider the cost of tuition when comparing Nova Scotia (and the At-lantic provinces generally) to other provinces. Statistics Canada estimates that the average cost of a year’s tuition nationwide is $5,581 for the 2012-2013 academic year. In Nova Scotia, the cost is almost 10 percent higher, at $5,934 for 2012-2013.It should be noted that just Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have above-average tuition rates in Atlantic Canada (with Nova Scotia’s average rate being just seventeen dollars higher than our bilingual neighbour); Prince Edward Island

has an average rate very slightly below the national average, while Newfoundland and Labrador has about half the average national tuition rate (this being due to generous government education funding provided by the provincial government and the concentration of government funding into a single institution, rather than multiple instituons). (Statistics Canada, 2013) In the US, the average debt held by a student at graduation reported by the ASA (American Student Assistance) organization (and widely publicized otherwise in the American media) was $26,600 in 2012, increasing at a rate of roughly 5 percent per year. Tuition fees average over $8,100 (though this includes room and board fees as well as tuition). The UK, meanwhile, charges £8,400 for a year of tuition, though the UK situation is much more complex (university tuition rates are capped by the government and have recently skyrocketed after being capped at just over £3,000 in 2004, and universities are re-quired by law to provide assistance to those from low-income back-grounds). While it would be hard to say that Canadian students are ex-tremely well-off, it would be equally false to say they’re doing terribly, at least compared to some of our neighbours. Canadian students aren’t getting a free ride, but for the most part – at least, taking into account other parts of the world – they’re not too burdened, either.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK: THE REAL STUDENT DEBT SITUATION

Allison RedmondSenior Correspondent

llLast Sunday, January 13th, we saw the 70th annual Golden Globe awards broadcast. It was a night dedicated to honouring those who displayed excellence in film and television throughout the year. There were some big winners, laughs, tears, and of course some very unhappy faces. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted the Golden Globes, or as Amy Poehler described it as the only time that “the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people of television”. The gags from the pair were both tasteful and hilarious, from poking fun at James Cameron to Taylor Swift needing some “me time”. One of the winners of the night was for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” Christoph Waltz won for Django Unchained. Fellow cast member Leonardo DiCaprio received a nomination for this cat-egory. In what is becoming a Golden Globes tradition for Leo though, he did not win... again. Django Un-chained won for “Best Screenplay”. Les Miserables did well for itself. Les Miserables won for over-all “Best Motion Picture: Comedy or Musical” and was nominated for “Best Original Song” for “Sud-denly”. Hugh Jackman won for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Mo-tion Picture: Comedy or Musical”

THE GOLDEN GLOBES

See Golden Globes, page 5

Page 5: Caper Times (2013-02)

5NEWS

for his performance in the musical and Anne Hathaway won for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Sup-porting Role in a Motion Picture”. Anne Hathaway’s acceptance speech was wonderful. She thanked Sally Fields for being a “vanguard against typecasting”, that as “the girl who started out as the princess of Geno-via,” with Sally going from the Flying Nun to Mary Todd Lincoln really has encouraged her to try new roles. Alongside Les Miserables, Taylor Swift and Adele were nomi-nees for “Best Original Song” with Adele taking the award for her song “Skyfall” from the new James Bond movie Skyfall. Taylor Swift apparent-ly did not take losing well, looking

rather put out during Adele’s accep-tance speech and apparently leaving the show not long afterwards. There were many other win-ners that night such as Argo as Best Drama Picture. Jennifer Lawrence won “Best Performance by an Ac-tress in a Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy”, I do wish though that “J-La” does not stick as a nickname. Brave won for Best Animated Film, and Life of Pi won for Best Original Score. To see the complete list of winners and the nominees check out the Golden Globe’s website and check out some of the backstage interviews.

Show your student id and receive 2 for the price of 1 on regular priced lift tickets or rental combo’s

GOLDEN GLOBES

YouOwnIt CAPER TIMES | 40 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

The Caper Times collective ownership by the students of Cape Breton University has provided well paying jobs to young journalists for the last

40 years, as well as producing an excellent

publication, and earning high ad revenue for your

students’ union. It’s a win-win for all.

#KeepingYouConnected

Page 6: Caper Times (2013-02)

6 LIFESTYLE CBUSU WOMENS CENTRE

•Upcoming Events•

Poetry Workshop: Saturday, January 26 Bonne MacLeod will be hosting a poetry workshop on Saturday, January 26 from 11-3 at CBU. She will discuss the topic of sexuality with the end result being to produce a piece of writing. You need not have any poetry written. Simply bring paper, pens and a lunch. Registration is $5. Contact the women’s centre if you are interested in attending. Dress Shop & Swap: Thursday, January 31 With the holidays over and our pockets a little lighter spending sprees aren’t always an option. So why not join the Women’s Centre at our Dress Shop and Swap? We are now looking for dresses to be dropped off at the centre. From casual sun frocks and skirts to fancy cocktail numbers and party dresses we want whatever you have lingering in that closet of yours! How it Works: Sell a Dress! Drop off your gently used dresses to the Women’s Centre over the month of January. Fill out the size and price of your article. We will set up your dress in our make shift boutique from 1-5 on Thursday, January 31. If your dress is not sold we will contact you and you can pick it up in the centre at a time that suits you. Drop off your dresses at the Women’s Centre! We are open 8:30-4:30, Mondays to Fridays. Or you can contact us at [email protected]. This event is open to all staff, faculty and students. Buy a Dress! Looking for something new this semester? Check out our dresses on January 31 from 1-5 in Multipurpose Room B. Find something that suits you!

The Vagina Monologues, Thursday, February 14 VDAY 2013 Cape Breton Presents:

The Vagina Monologues Directed by Nicole MacDougall Produced by the CBUSU Women's Centre With performances by: Allison Haley Bhreagh MacNeil Brittany Fagan-Steele Carrie MacDonald Jessie MacDonald Jodi McDavid Madonna Doucette Maile Graham-Laidlaw Mary-Jean Doyle Nicole Croft Samantha White Sarah Blanchard Sarah-Kate MacKinnon Seonaid MacNeil Stephanie Hennessy Thursday, February 14th, 2013 at the CBU Boardmore Playhouse Doors open at 6:30PM Show starts at 7PM Tickets are $10 and will be on sale in advance at Caper Convenience next week. 10% of proceeds go to the VDAY Spotlight Campaign. All other proceeds go to support the Cape Breton Transition House. This Valentine's Day feel the love. Help stop the violence. About V-Day V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler's award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2012, over 5,800 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists around the world, educating millions of people about the reality of violence against women and girls. For more information please visit www.vday.org Contact [email protected] for more information about this event

The Empire Upon Which the Sun Never SetsAlex Dougal

If you know your history of the British Empire and later Commonwealth, you'll love this puzzle.

10

4

9

2 3

7

14

13

15

11

16

1

5

17

12

18

8

6

Across2 Home of the Imperial

Parliament 6 This country was the first to

become a republic within the British Commonwealth

8 The Burmese people live here 10 Head of the Commonwealth;

Head of State of 15 Commonwealth Realms, including Canada

14 Colony in the Carribean island of which half was destroyed in a volcanic eruption

15 Great Britain went to war under Margaret Thatcher over these South Atlantic Islands in 1982

16 Site of the first aeroplane flight in the British Empire; also the shiretown of Victoria County

17 The original Dominion, granted home rule in 1867

18 Capital of the Empire

Down1 The jewel colony of the Atlantic;

home of Bermuda Shorts 3 Home of the "Kiwis" 4 This South Atlantic colony

shares a Governor with the Falkland Islands

5 Only territory in the British Isles to leave the Commonwealth

7 First colony to be granted responsible government in the Empire

9 This former colony became a Canadian province in 1949

11 Given back to China in 1997 12 The tea capital of the Empire;

now known as Ski Lanka 13 Penal colony turned crown

colony; home of kangaroos

John Bury

llIt seems odd, at a glance, that Warner Bros. dropped Gangster Squad in January — you’d think they would want their star-studded period piece somewhere more promi-nent; summer maybe, or the Christmas season. But then you see the movie, and it makes sense. It's the kind of movie they don't want you to notice too much, because for all the talent and money and hype poured into it, it's just not good.Its main problem is a terrible script. Gangster Squad has no character of its own; in its place boilerplate, reminiscences of other period cops-and-mobsters movies. The characters are mostly one-dimensional (Josh Brolin's Sgt. O'Mara) or lumps of cliches (Sean Penn's Mickey Cohen). It can't find a tone, stum-bling from weak attempts at humor to brutal vio-lence—consequentially its pivotal serious scenes feel jarring and manipula-tive. Perhaps worst of all is its moral simplicity, which gives the film an uneasily propagandistic vibe—nailed down by Brolin's

trite and sappy closing voiceover about the hero-ism of police. Speaking on the plan to take back Los Angeles from Mickey Cohen, Nick Nolte's police chief boasts of how their ancestors took this land from "savage Indians" (so does Cohen). Several characters also draw parallels between the war on Cohen and World War II. The film is selling an American hero myth, basking in the glory of supposedly justified violence—all written over the notoriously violent, racist, corrupt history of the LAPD. Tellingly, the squad's wiretapper Keeler, the sole character to question the morality of their guerilla campaign, is the first to be killed.The cast doesn't help matters; big name actors doing nothing, good ac-tors given nothing to do. Ryan Gosling apparently couldn’t be bothered to act at all: his performance consists of smiling and mumbling, and raising his voice a bit when things get serious. Brolin plays the square jawed hero cop to the hilt as if he mistook an archetype for a character.

GANGSTER SQUAD REVIEW

See Gangster Squad, page 8

Page 7: Caper Times (2013-02)

7LIFESTYLEThe Empire Upon Which the Sun Never SetsAlex Dougal

If you know your history of the British Empire and later Commonwealth, you'll love this puzzle.

10

4

9

2 3

7

14

13

15

11

16

1

5

17

12

18

8

6

Across2 Home of the Imperial

Parliament 6 This country was the first to

become a republic within the British Commonwealth

8 The Burmese people live here 10 Head of the Commonwealth;

Head of State of 15 Commonwealth Realms, including Canada

14 Colony in the Carribean island of which half was destroyed in a volcanic eruption

15 Great Britain went to war under Margaret Thatcher over these South Atlantic Islands in 1982

16 Site of the first aeroplane flight in the British Empire; also the shiretown of Victoria County

17 The original Dominion, granted home rule in 1867

18 Capital of the Empire

Down1 The jewel colony of the Atlantic;

home of Bermuda Shorts 3 Home of the "Kiwis" 4 This South Atlantic colony

shares a Governor with the Falkland Islands

5 Only territory in the British Isles to leave the Commonwealth

7 First colony to be granted responsible government in the Empire

9 This former colony became a Canadian province in 1949

11 Given back to China in 1997 12 The tea capital of the Empire;

now known as Ski Lanka 13 Penal colony turned crown

colony; home of kangaroos

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Page 8: Caper Times (2013-02)

8 LIFESTYLE

Emma Stone is given basically two modes to work in: sexy and scared. She puts in a good effort, but they don't add up to a character. Penn at least seems like he's having fun hamming it up. Meanwhile, Giovanni Ribisi and Mireille Enos bring more nuance and humanity than the rest of the cast put together—too bad they aren't given enough screen time to make it count.To its small credit, the production design is very nice. The cinematogra-phy captures the requisite neo-noir vibe well enough—a good mimic, essentially. The shooting and editing are less successful: Fleischer is overly impressed by jumpy cutting and zooms and slow-motion, and the ac-tion suffers for it. Particularly during shoot-outs, coherence is often tenu-ous.Gangster Squad is lazy. Its whole approach to genre is lazy, manifest mostly in its lazy script, and the actors swallow it with a smile and channel it into lazy performances. All parties in-volved can do better, and everything they're aiming for has been done bet-ter. The film deserves to be forgotten – and its release date makes this sad task a whole lot easier.

GANGSTER SQUAD conrinued from page 6 Frederick Boutilier

Senior Correspondent

llI love listening to music. Many, if not most people do. Having gone a few months without a good pair of headphones, I finally acquired a new set just recently, and it had been so long that I almost forgot what it’s like to experience music the way it’s meant to be heard. With that in mind, I set on my quest of going back and listen-ing to some stuff I hadn’t given proper treatment to in a long time, and I got to say, I found a whole lot that I loved anew – but one item in particular deserved special mention. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are a genre-jumping (but usu-ally rock) group originally from San Francisco. While almost everything they do is good (if not great), the one album that still really stands out to me as a musical achievement is their fourth studio album, “Baby 81.” “Took out a Loan” is one of the best intro tracks I’ve ever heard for an album, both in its quality and its musical arrangement. The guitar chugs along an otherwise empty soundscape, until eventually the band gives the song an almost explosive christening in the form of its ultra-catchy chorus. The album then gears into the two singles taken from the album, “Berlin” and “Weapon of Choice,” they are certainly deserv-ing of their recognition with their powerful riffs and large drumming. “Baby 81” calms down for a bit for the middle of the album, which is almost jarring at first due to the cold introduction of “Win-

dows” (Turn your eyes from the win-dow/so you won’t see this world) following the incredible high spirits of “Weapon of Choice.” It more or less remains on this note for a while – not to its detriment. The sudden change in mood invokes a more realistic tone in the album – it is not happy, or sad, dancy or thoughtful; it merely is. “Cold Wind” is an almost perfect meld of the two sides of the album, and with “666 Conducer” almost bringing a colder, yet more human and far less mechanically grinding counterpoint to Big Black’s “Jordan, Minnesota,” the album far from comes apart. In the middle of “Cold Wind” and “666 Conducer” is the very agreeable “Not What You Wanted,” which almost feels like a rocked-up version of a prime-era Jesus and Mary Chain single. After calming down with “All You Do Is Talk” (which is prob-ably the most pop-like song on the entire album, somehow combining tonally deep drones and noise with a crooning vocal setup), the album gets closer to its beginning with “Lien On Your Dreams,” which really caught me off-guard when I last listened to it. “Lien On Your Dreams” sounds like a pretty standard BRMC song (if there is such a thing), with its range of sexual and yearning lyr-ics, that eventually (and I dare say very unexpectedly) explodes into an almost euphoric, idealistic rhythm while the lead singer Robert Been croons “You’re all I came here for/You are my lonely soul.” Continuing on “Lien On Your Dreams’” opening is “Need Some Air,” probably the most excit-

ing song on the album. What hap-pens next is almost certainly one of the things that truly locks the album in as one of the most solid track lineups of all time. Very suddenly, “Baby 81” slows down to a crawl with “Killing the Light,” with its (predictably) dark tones and slow rocking chorus. If you like long, heart wrenching songs, “American X” is for you. For a very long time I thought this was the best song on the album, and while I changed my mind, I can still see that it’s prob-ably underrated. It comes out of nowhere, with a distinct serious tone backed up by a guitar almost tearing down your heart strings with its near-growling chords. The choruses leap from the soundscape, and I have to note I love the mix-ing on the chorus – the increasingly breathless been slices through the mix, both with volume, technique, and lyrical content (Your open arms, they only seem to surrender/All that matters). The droning, slow ending lets you slowly fade into the outro, “Am I Only,” leaving you reflect on the incredible sonic experience you just took part in. There are very few albums that can boast as much consis-tent track-for-track staying power as “Baby 81.” From the opening strings of “Took Out a Loan” to the soft almost-singsong “Am I Only,” the group proves more than ever that BRMC is not just a tribute to the past, but an inspiration for the future.

L'ACCENT

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programme at capermedia.ca

Page 9: Caper Times (2013-02)

9LIFESTYLE

Holly KennedyBusiness Director

llWhen I’m out and about, it’s not uncommon to hear people complain about the cold, the snow, and the winter blues during this chilly season. When I hear these complaints I often wonder why these people do not embrace the wonder of winter.Yes, I admit that nobody likes frost-bitten fingers or toes, freshly washed frozen hair or starting the car 15 min-utes before leaving in the morning, but there are good qualities about this season as well. For instance, the wonderful feeling of that cup of hot cocoa that warms you up after being outside in the cold or the laughs you can harvest from a good snowball fight amongst friends. Getting out and enjoying winter activities is the answer to making your winter months the most enjoyable it can be. Not only enjoyable, winter activities can help you lose weight and avoid the sedentary lifestyles we easily fall into at this time of year. So what is there to do? Hit the slopes. Ski Ben Eoin is now open and, speaking from experience, the slopes are fantastic. The health benefits of skiing are astronomical, working the leg muscles and joints

to give them a real workout. Core muscles are being used to stabilize you while controlling your motion and speed. Combine that with the fact that Ski Ben Eoin is now offering buy one get one free student deals on Wednesdays (Bring your student ID and you and a friend can ski for the price of one) and you have great winter fun. Skating is another great winter activ-ity to take part in. Not only is it a great cardio exercise, but your legs and core muscle are being worked while you stabilize your balance and speed around the rink. It’s a great calorie burner as well, making it worthwhile fun with friends. Lo-cal skate times for rinks in Sydney and surrounding areas can be found at http://www.cbrm.ns.ca/skating-schedule.html. Other activities that can be utilized in the winter months include snow-shoeing, ice fishing and tobogganing with friends, just to name a few. Get out this winter season and be active - keep yourself fit, have fun, and set yourself up for less work when bikini season comes. Earn that cup of co-coa and make the most of the snow while it’s here.

AVOIDING THE SEDENTARY WINTER SLUMP

Holly KennedyBusiness Director

llChristmas has passed, the New Year has begun, and Cape Breton has its first lab confirmation of Influenza A. Yes, flu season has begun, but are you ready for it? Most people say yes, but when they are faced with the sickness it comes down to questions like “how did I get this? I was so careful”. It’s easy to contract, which is why special precautions should be taken into account during this time of the year to ensure that you don’t get caught with the bug. Influenza is a respiratory infection that is caused by the influenza virus. It starts with headaches, chills and possibly a cough. This can be closely followed by fevers, muscle aches, throat irritation, a runny nose and sneezing. Nausea and vomit-ing may also occur. It can take a week to 10 days to recover from the flu, but if you have other complica-tions such as asthma or diabetes, it can take longer to recover, and can manifest into nightmares such as pneumonia. The virus is transmit-ted from person to person through

drops of moisture emitted from the infected person. This can include coughing, sneezing, or spit exuded simply from talking. It can live on hands and can be passed along surfaces that we touch daily, includ-ing door handles, telephones, and keyboards for up to 48 hours. Handwashing is important in fight-ing against the flu. It is essential to wash your hands regularly, espe-cially after using the washroom or before eating a meal. Avoid work-places, schools, or medical facilities if you believe you are suffering from the flu to lower the risk of spreading the virus to others. Coughing into your sleeve and avoiding people who appear to be sick as well can prevent you from contracting the illness. Staying healthy with nutri-tious food, exercise, and a good night’s sleep can keep you healthy enough to fight off sickness with the least amount of discomfort. With this in mind, it is not too late to visit family doctors, local public health offices, walk-in clinics or the campus Max Bell centre for infor-mation on how to get vaccinated against Influenza.

FLU SEASON IS HERE!

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Page 10: Caper Times (2013-02)

10 THE BACK PAGES

Frederick BoutilierSenior Correspondent

llLate Tuesday afternoon, area band Gruel Beer Party’s bandwag-on was jumped on by a number of members of the general public. The previously unknown in-die rock group received a massive press surge when their late 19th Century touring wagon was stolen by a group of hoodlums and then repeatedly jumped on. While the police have not yet released an official report, many participants of the band-wagon jumping have come for-ward, with quite the mixed bag of emotions. Area dairy farmer Orkin Brown was allegedly one of the first people on-scene, and repeat-edly tried to push the quickly-crowded carriage’s assailants off the edge, claiming that there were “too many people on this band-wagon.” When interviewed, Brown revealed that it wasn’t just the amount of people that made him resort to force. “It wasn’t just the amount of people,” he said to Caper Times staff. “But their ferocity. And they were all wrong. Every single one of them. Like, who cares if it’s got original paint or not? The fact is that this wagon does it like no other wagon does, and I got to thrash it the right way.” Local resident Alex Carr was, by his own account, one of the last bandwagon jumpers to

the so-called party, and by this point inundated by a sea of fellow bandwagon jumpers, repeatedly fell off the bandwagon and was forced to climb back on several times. “A few times I contemplat-ed just staying off the bandwagon, after seeing all these bandwagon fans jumping about and totally not getting what it’s all about,” he told us in an interview. “But in the end I realized, it’s not every day I get to stomp an actual artifact of sorts, and regardless of what these other people think, I should stay on the bandwagon.” “I think I appreciate the old wheels more than the other people,” he later said. While many details are forthcoming at this point, two things remains clear: this band-wagon has been jumped on, and the resultant press ensures that people will be jumping on Gruel Beer Party’s bandwagon for years to come.

UPDATE: Head of local metal band Drool Fear Party has recently come forward as the leader of the event, claiming that the bandwagon was originally his and the members of Gruel Beer Party conspired a plot to steal it. Yuri Poparov, head of a lo-cal restaurant, was astonished. “Does this mean that people were jumping on Drool Fear Party’s bandwagon all along?” he asked.

BAND’S BANDWAGON TOTALLY JUMPED ON Allison Redmond

Senior Correspondent

llWith the new semester starting, many of us have trouble getting back into the habit of having to pack up a lunch to bring to school. Mornings are crazy and you rush to school for-getting to make or pack something to eat. With cheap alternatives on campus like Subway and Mountain Fries, it is easy to buy a tasty and quick meal to go. With almost all the places offering sandwiches, which are filling and easy to carry around or even save for later, the temptation to simply buy lunch and not make your own is high. This of course in the end hurts your bank account much more than preparing a meal at home. Buying take out all the time also has a cost for your weight. Fear not though, there is a way to keep your sandwich-es and your weight down, too. Why not then save your mon-ey, and make an easy “upgraded” grilled cheese. While grilled cheese sandwiches seem more like a food enjoyed as a child (but to be hon-est who does not still love a grilled cheese sandwich), this recipe makes the sandwich a “grown up” food and helps cuts out some of the calories that we find in our store bought lunches. With only 225 calories and 12 grams of fat, this is a tasty and quick alternative. You can also substitute other soft cheeses for goat cheese if that is not your thing, or leave out the apple. That is how I made the recipe the other day and I believe I now have a new favorite breakfast item.

Ingredients1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced4 slices French bread (1/2 inch thick)Butter-flavored cooking spray1-ounce herbed fresh goat cheese1/2 small tart apple, thinly sliced1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat ched-dar cheese

Directions:In a small skillet coated with cooking spray, sauté onion until tender, set aside.Place bread slices on a baking sheet; spritz with butter-flavored cooking spray. Broil 4 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.Spread goat cheese over two un-toasted sides of bread slices. Top with apple slices and reserved onion; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Broil 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Top with remaining slices.

Yield: two servings

UPGRADE YOUR SANDWICH

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Page 11: Caper Times (2013-02)

11NATIONAL

Jane Lytvynenko CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief

llOTTAWA (CUP) — After occupy-ing the same office for 40 years, the Gazette, the student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario (UWO), is being threatened with eviction. The school’s students’ council is looking to relocate the paper to a smaller office in order to make room for a multi-faith space.“This is being marketed as an issue of multi-faith but there isn’t much evidence to support this,” said Glo-ria Dickie, the editor-in-chief of the Gazette. “We’re concerned this is in fact a tactic to erode press freedom and campus democracy.”The Gazette, is the only Canadian student paper to publish four-times-a-week and is one of the few large student papers in the country that is not fully autonomous from its student union. They currently have a year-to-year lease with the students' union.According to a statement put out by the University Students' Council (USC), the current multi-faith space does not suit the needs of students. A sentiment Naira Ahmed, the prayer manager at the student as-sociation and graphics editor for the Gazette, does not echo.“There have been no major com-plaints — barely any complaints — about the room and I’ve been very happy with it,” said Ahmed, who uses the room at least 3 to 4 times a day. “If there was a situation where there was no accommodation for just prayer, there is always another prayer room on campus, which I

could walk to.”The main issue is programming be-ing held in the room while students need to pray, but according to Ahmed, the issue can be easily fixed by schedules being posted online.“If I knew in advance I would just go to the other prayer room, it’s very easy to accommodate,” she said. “There’s bound to be scheduling conflicts but its nothing major.”Dua Dahrouj, president of UWO's Muslim Students' Association, told the Gazette that she hadn't heard of any groups that were disappointed with the current multi-faith space.Josh Raisin, vice-president of West-ern Hillel, which organizes events for Jewish students at the university, echoed the sentiment to the Ga-zette.“Personally, for the programs we’re running, it’s perfect," he said.Dickie said that the Gazette has provided the students’ union with several alternatives that fell on deaf ears.“We did provide them with other options ... but they kept saying it wouldn’t be suitable for the multi-faith groups,” she said.The USC has stated that a study was conducted to determine the best possible space for the new multi-faith room. However, the Gazette’s room is the same size as the current area — about 2000 square feet — and would require renovation. The space the newspaper is being asked to move to is about half the size.Ahmed said the current multi-faith area had been renovated two years ago and only opened its doors to students last fall.

“It’s the same space, same amount of space. People are very happy with that room,” said Ahmed. “We do not want to extend at the expense of the Gazette. It would be kind of like trespassing on something historic."The students’ union’s announce-ment has sparked controversy on social media and gained attention in the mainstream media. Numer-ous Gazette alumni and members of the Canadian student journalism community expressed their dismay about the USC's decision through Twitter and by sending the union lettters of support for the newspa-per."The decision to move from one of-fice to another is not a direct threat on press freedoms. But when the decision is made without due con-sultation and fair review of the con-sequences, the motivations become suspect," said Stuart Thompson, a former Gazette editor-in-chief and current multimedia editor for the-Globe and Mail, in a letter that was circulated widely on Twitter.The final decision regarding the space will be reached among the executive on Jan. 21. The students’ union executives did not respond to requests for interview at the time of publication.

Tensions

This is only the latest issue to cause tension between the Gazette and the USC.After the Gazette gave the USC a "B-" grade for their effectiveness last April, issues of the paper dis-appeared from the stands around

UWO's University Community Centre.According to an editorial published by Dickie, this was followed up with the USC refusing for a time to conduct interviews in-person or by phone, although this policy was eventually abandoned.

Future talks

The USC and the Gazette met on Jan. 17 and committed to additional meetings to discuss the future of the Gazette's office.“I was pleased that we were able to make progress on these impor-tant issues. Students rely upon the Gazette and the USC to sustain a strong student voice on campus. Students are better served by a rela-tionship of mutual respect between our two organizations,” said USC President Adam Fearnall in a state-ment released on the USC's website."I’m eager to pursue further consul-tation with the parties involved in this decision, and hope these steps will allow for a fair assessment of the needs of both groups,” Dickie said in the same statement.

UWO STUDENT COUNCIL THREATENS STUDENT NEWSPAPER WITH EVICTIONNEW MULTI-FAITH SPACE GIVEN PRIORITY OVER GAZETTE

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Page 12: Caper Times (2013-02)

12 NATIONAL

Erin Hudson CUP Quebec Bureau Chief

llMONTREAL (CUP) — Engineers trained in Canada tend to wear the pro-fession on their sleeve or, more specifi-cally, the pinky finger of their working hand in the form of an iron ring.“If you walk down the street people know that you’re an engineer. I’m not sure that’s good or bad but there’s a lot of recognition, ” said Robert Paknys, an engineering professor at Concordia University.In Quebec of late, the iron ring can be spotted on the fingers of engineers as they publicly admit to participating in networks of corruption and collu-sion within the province’s construction industry, much to the chagrin of many who know the significance and meaning of the ring.“It’s part of becoming an engineer. It’s another step, once you have your ring, it’s like the finale to your undergrad de-gree,” said Amir Essaapi, a second-year Concordia engineering student.Though participation in the Calling of an Engineer ritual to receive an iron ring is voluntary, the longstanding Canadian tradition has become embedded in the training of engineers.The ritual was created in 1922 when sev-en former presidents of the Engineering Institute of Canada approached Nobel Prize-winning author and poet Rudyard Kipling to create the ritual in order to develop a professional consciousness and sense of responsibility among new engineers entering the industry.“They got a real literary type of person to create the ritual,” said Paknys, who serves as one of seven wardens who pre-side over ritual for the Montreal camp. There are 25 camps — the local posts through which the Corporation of the Seven Wardens Inc. administer the ritual — across Canada.

“This was created by Kipling and we re-produce it faithfully in its form at every ceremony. It’s the job of the wardens in each camp to perpetuate this fidelity to the design of the ritual as produced by Kipling,” he continued.The ritual is a closed ceremony with only candidates and their mentors — engineers who have already taken the

oath and received their iron ring — in attendance. The details of the ritual are kept discrete intentionally, according to Paknys.“The objective is to produce a simple but profound ceremony, not secret but modestly discreet, in total something that agrees with its serious intent,” said Paknys, reading aloud from the warden’s handbook.“Try to imagine in 1926, when this was first done. There were maybe 10 engi-neering grads in a year back then so you would have a very small and intimate

group of people," he said. "That is the kind of spirit that we try to preserve."The ritual for Concordia’s fall 2012 grads was held in the heart of downtown Montreal in a chapel within the Grey Nuns Motherhouse.A chain is wound around all the pews where the new grads sit waiting for the ritual to begin. Mentors, who will later

bestow the iron rings, sit on outer pews, and the seven wardens presiding over the ritual sit at a long table at the front of the sanctuary.A new altar is at the head of the church featuring a hammer and anvil. They are used to tap out a message in Morse code to start the ritual.“It’s three letters: S - S - T. It stands for steel, stone and time or soul, spirit and time,” Paknys explained.A rivet from the Quebec Bridge — the two-time provincial disaster widely-ru-moured to have triggered the iron ring

tradition — is chained to the hammer.The ritual is broken into three sections: the obligation, the charge and lastly the bestowing of the ring.The obligation is read aloud line-by-line giving pause for the grads to repeat the oath they commit to follow in their future work as professional engineers. As they repeat the obligation, the grads hold the chain threaded through the pews with one hand. The chain symbol-izes engineers’ obligation to help one another.“The oath is that we strive our utmost to get it right,” said Paknys. All grads that oblige themselves receive the text of the obligation on a certificate and a wallet sized card.Mentors formed a line at the front of the church with grads approaching them en masse to receive their iron ring.The iron ring serves as a physical re-minder of the oath the candidates have just taken and the obligation they must work by.“It’s not like a convocation where you’re in a big auditorium, people walk across the stage and diplomas are given out. It’s kind of the opposite effect that we’re trying to achieve here,” said Paknys.The chapel is filled with congratulatory conversation, handshakes and hugs as grads receive their rings.Though some grads invited their pro-fessional mentors, family members or friends practicing the profession often fill the role. Paknys explained that hav-ing a mentor is not a requirement of the ritual. “Anyone who’s taken the oath and gone through this ritual can give the ring to any candidate,” he said.“I think the value is enormous ... There’s something about having a ring associ-ated with this there’s kind of a constant reminder that you’ve done this which you don’t get from other things — like a university diploma,” he said.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE “NOT SECRETIVE BUT MODESTLY DISCRETE” IRON RING RITUAL FOR CANADIAN TRAINED-ENGINEERS

The iron ring is worn by engineers who have undergone the nearly cen-tury-old ritual (Photo by) Erin Hudson/Canadian University Press)

Page 13: Caper Times (2013-02)

13NATIONAL

Cherise Letson The Brunswickan (University of New Brunswick)

llWant to get high?With the Liberal Party of Canada adding marijuana legalization to their platform last year, along with the recent legaliza-tion for recreational use in Washington state and Colorado, it looks like a lot of people do.Decades ago, many thought marijuana was the devil’s drug, which would cause whoever uses it to turn into a sinful, psy-chotic, promiscuous junky, as seen in the 1936 American propaganda film Reefer Madness. However, these recent events show the culture around cannabis has changed.“I think it’s shifting to the opposite end of Reefer Madness,” said Donald MacPherson, executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC). “I think people are waking up to say that continuing to prohibit this substance is clearly not in the interest of people; it’s not in the interest of law enforcement.”MacPherson said the CDPC believes there is a need for regulation of mari-juana through a public health approach, and that doing so would allow a more honest discussion on the benefits and the harms of it. He said though too much of anything can be problematic, new research is shedding new light on cannabis, especially in the medical field.“The growing body of research shows that there are clear benefits to can-nabis,” said MacPherson. “The research coming out of the medical cannabis area is growing at a great rate. It’s show-ing cannabis is useful for a number of conditions where existing pharmaceuti-cal products may not be working for an individual.”MacPherson also said marijuana prohibi-tion also makes unnecessary criminals, especially out of young people and that criminalization of cannabis smok-

ers doesn’t solve the issue of organized crime.Julie Dingwell, executive director of AIDS Saint John, said the criminalization also prevents people who are having trouble with a substance, to seek help, since they feel stigmatized and marginalized by society.“I think if we look at what’s been hap-pen-ing in different coun-tries around the world, Portugal for in-stance, when we take the criminal aspect away, people who have serious addic-tions and for whom abuse is the problem, they seek treatment,” said Dingwell.She also said marijuana criminalization is actually fueling the market of large crime.“I think it’s time we realize that all we re-ally do is fuel an underground economy — a black market — a very lucrative market for big crime, and we don’t have to do that,” she said. “We can decide to do things differently, because we have evidence that strongly suggests we should do things differently.”Dingwell believes that criminalization also doesn’t solve one of the issue of drugs in general.“We lock people up, instead of trying

to decide what the bigger issues are. If we’re going to look at the bigger issues of drugs, then perhaps instead of crimi-nalization, we could be looking at things like treatments,” she said.Attitudes have definitely have changed since Reefer Madness. Dingwell said, today, marijuana is a norm for many people and the intense fear around it

has disap-peared. She said the tra-ditional scare-tac-tics are not working anymore, especially on youth.“Fear mon-gering just doesn’t work,” said Dingwell. “It just isn’t the way to talk to people about be-ing safe.”

Marijuana has been illegal in Canada since 1923, and with a few failed attempts for decriminalization, its clear marijuana legalization won’t happen overnight. David Coon, the leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick, said legaliza-tion in Canada would require a change in federal government. He argues that legalization under the current Conserva-tive government won’t happen.“[The current federal government is] very rigid in their thinking,” said Coon. “The other part of the whole drug story of course … is addiction needs to be treated as a health issue, not as a crimi-nal issue.”“[Stephen Harper] is so rigid around

any of these issues. There’s been, to my understanding, quite a struggle on support, federally, for needle exchanges and safe injection sites and so on. He seems to be eager to criminalize every-thing,” said Coon. “So I think [regarding the legalization of] marijuana, you’re not going to see him budge.”The Green Party’s platform includes marijuana legalization, which involves putting regulations in place regard-ing its production. Coon said the party would also develop a taxation rate that’s similar to what exists for tobacco, and would require it to be sold through licensed establishments, similar to liquor stores. The money made from its taxa-tion would go towards funding public services.He thinks if the federal government legalized cannabis, it would probably be done in two steps. He said the govern-ment would likely decriminalize it first, which would allow them to consult the public and work out the already existing issues with medical marijuana. Then the government would put plans in place to pursue legalization.According to Statistics Canada, in 2011, there were 61,406 reported cases of marijuana possession in Canada. There were 16,548 reported cases of produc-tion, and trafficking. This make a total of 77,954 marijuana related cases.A poll released last year by Toronto-based Forum Research Inc., 66 per cent of Canadians are in favour of the legalization or the decriminalization of marijuana, with only 20 per cent of people thinking laws should be left as they are.“It’s becoming a bit of a joke that we can’t get beyond this point,” said MacPherson. “The public is so far ahead of the politicians.”

ATTITUDES AROUND CANNABIS SHIFTING IN CANADA

Photo by Torben Bjørn Hansen/The Peak

Page 14: Caper Times (2013-02)

14 NATIONAL

Laura Rodgers CUP B.C. Bureau Chief

llVANCOUVER (CUP) — Some might cast Martha Hall Findlay as a dark horse candidate for leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. After all, she's a one-and-a-bit-term former MP who once received just 2.7 per cent of the votes in a leadership race. But she doesn't see it that way."Trust me, there are people who aren't nec-essarily Liberals who are already signing up to support me," she says cannily.This race to determine the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada won't just be voted on by the party-faithful: non-members, so long as they don't belong to a different federal party already, can cast votes as "sup-porters." And it's from these outsiders — many of them weary of politics and a good number of them young — that Hall Findlay hopes to draw her base."Everyone wants more young people in-volved in politics, period," she says, in an Ca-nadian University Press. "Young people are not apathetic. Look at how many people get involved in NGOs, they're in environmental groups, they get involved in other humani-tatian organizations, all kinds of stuff."Her campaign has been low on flash and star power, but relentlessly insistent on substance. She's started releasing — and plans to continue with — a torrent of policy papers and op-eds outlining out intricate stances on such topics as disparate as dairy farms and oil pipelines.The Liberals have been struggling to find their footing for some time, with six leaders in nine years and only 34 seats in the 2011 federal election. With a pro-busi-ness bent informed by her years of experience in the private sector, Hall Findlay is staking out turf many say is to the right of the party's usual sweet spot. But she bristles at any attempt to fit her positions in a straightforward left–right pigeonhole."What is left, and what is right? We don't live in the 1950s anymore," she says. She admits her outlook is socially progressive, economically less so, but will rebut anyone who tries to split the difference. "I don't

think of that as being in some 'mushy middle.' Pick any policy issue — give me 20 policy issues — and I will be pretty clear about where I stand."She doesn't characterize any particular topics as "youth-vote issues," but argues that students and young people should support her based on issues that matter to Canada as a whole. She wants to push for

job growth for recent graduates, in part by making various sectors of the economy more open to interna-tional trade.She sees oil pipelines to B.C.'s coast as a non-nego-tiable part of the country's economic future. "Canada has a tremendous amount of energy and natural resources that the world wants. We get less — and I say 'we' consciously — all Canadians end up suffer-ing because we get a lower price for our oil with the United States being our only market."She's also been adamant in her position on a par-ticular niche issue: ending supply management for Canadian dairy farms, which could lower the price of milk and milk products in the country considerably.On the topic of post-secondary education, she says the current system of loans and grants is "not bad

right now," but could use a bit of tweaking. "The sheer [student debt] numbers are high. That's not so much because of the student loan and grant system, as it is the cost of tuition and the cost of living."She suggests, possibly, a system that might take into account the earning potential of a degree when stu-dent loan agencies evaluate how quickly they expect

a student's debt to be paid off. "I think it's no surprise that people who graduate from law school, biz school [or] engineering probably have a better chance of earning a significant income than history grads," she says.As a graduate of Osgoode Hall law school at Toronto's York University, she still feels she has a stake in Can-ada's legal education system — and the recent Ontario decision to create a spate of unpaid co-op positions for prospective lawyers who don't land articling jobs."That's another one I don't have the answer for," she says. "I would say that there are a fair number of people graduating from law school who still, for example, can't function that well in English — or French, depending on where they are. But we're talking Ontario. To me, that's

a real problem. So maybe we need to be firmer in our law school acceptance. Maybe we need to be firmer in our requirements before somebody's called to the bar. I don't know."And as a self-identified feminist, she'll have no truck with the displays of faux-modesty that have become somewhat expected of female politicians lately."What is it about us women that we have this, 'Oh, gee, I don't know, I don't know if I'm good enough, I don't know if I'm smart enough, I don't know if I have a thick enough skin?' Apparently the guys don't worry about that. Some of them maybe should, but boy, they don't," she says."I'm pretty confident that most people who choose to support me in this leadership will do so because I'm smart. I have some great experience. I'm substantive."

MARTHA HALL FINDLAY LOOKS TO THE NON-FAITHFUL FOR LIBERAL LEADERSHIP

(Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Page 15: Caper Times (2013-02)

15NATIONAL

Travis Gordon The Cadre (University of Prince Edward Island)

llCHARLOTTETOWN (CUP) — The misplacement of an external hard drive from a federal government office in Gatineau, Quebec, has Human Resources and Skills Devel-opment Canada (HRSDC) publicly acknowledging a loss of data con-cerning over half-a-million recipients of Canada Student Loans.“I want all Canadians to know that I

have expressed my disappointment to departmental officials at this un-acceptable and avoidable incident in handling Canadians’ personal information,” said HRSDC Minister Diane Finley in a statement released on Jan. 11.The discovery came during the re-view of a previous incident in which the department had lost a USB key containing the personal information of roughly 5,000 Canadians.The lost hard drive contains infor-mation on 583,000 student loan borrowers who borrowed between

2000 and 2006, with the exception of those borrowers from Quebec, Nunavut, and the Northwest Terri-tories. The information lost includes names, addresses, birthdays, out-standing loan balances, and social insurance numbers. Both the RCMP and the Office of the Privacy Com-missioner have been notified, and are working to resolve the matter.Following the incident, Minister Fin-ley has directed her department to implement stricter security protocols

and tougher privacy protection — including the prohibition of external hard drives.“On behalf of our Government, I want to reassure Canadians that we are serious about protecting their personal information,” continued Finley.“As Minister, I will ensure that every effort is taken so that HRSDC meets the expectations of Canadians in keeping their information safe and secure.”

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LOSES DATA ON HALF A MILLION STUDENT DEBTORS

(Photo by Alex Smyth/Canadian University Press)

A FOCUS ON THE COMMUNITY...CAPER•TIMES The Caper Times is committed to community causes, that’s why it published a memory book for the citizens of the former Town of

Canso to mark the dissolution of the town. The project was funded by private and corporate donations and produced a booklet which commemorated the town that was distributed to the citizens at the

town closing ceremony. Contact the Caper Times to see about projects for your community

minded group.

Page 16: Caper Times (2013-02)

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