thegazettewww.westerngazette.ca WESTERNS DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER EST.1906 VOLUME 103, ISSUE 28 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

... barely making deadline since 1906

SPORTS

MENS RUGBYMustangs prepare for post-season p.9

A&E

THE STILLSMontreal band gives London props p.5

NEWS

LED STREET LIGHTSGreen initiative proposed to city council p.3

Vendor legitimacy called into questionRetailer assures merchandise obtained from companies distributors

SpokespeedbumpsBy Meagan KashtyGazette Staff

Despite renovations including apatio, pool tables and new seating,The Spoke has brought lower thanexpected numbers in the UniversityStudents Councils first quarterlybudget.

The student tavern, which hasbeen in existence since 1969, catersto students and staff at Western. Thereinstitution of The Spokes liquorlicense for the lounge was meant tomotivate students to utilize thelounge.

Sacha Kumar, USC vice-presidentfinance, was not worried about theSpoke being behind budget. It wasa bit behind budget expectations,but thats because when the budgetwas created last year, we didnt antic-ipate it being shut down at all,Kumar noted.

The unexpected renovation wastherefore not reflected in the pro-posed budget.

We made [renovations] animmediate priority of ours, Kumarsaid. [The board] couldnt haveanticipated that.

Jeff Armour, food and beveragemanager for The Wave and Spoke,noted that by taking into account achange in The Spoke and Wavesbusiness models, along with thenotion of nightly academic pro-gramming, the opening of The Spokewould have drastic affects on the firstquarterly budget.

Concerns have been raised overthe newly licensed Spoke patio andits lack of use over the wintermonths. While the patio was a majorfeatature of the renovations, itsopening in late September has dis-suaded some students to make useof it.

I havent used the patio, but I alsohavent wanted to, Bill Atyeo, a third-year nursing student said. He citedbad weather as one of his reasons forn reasons for not using it.

Kumar regretted the late opening,but was optimistic about the patiossuccess for the future.

Ideally we would have liked tohave the patio ready to go for mid toearly September, but we still got itdone, Kumar said. Its fully licensedand should be ready to go when thewinter is done.

Armour reiterated while the patiomay not have immediate success, itis a long-term investment for theuniversity.

[The patio] is a nice, joint collab-orative effort between [the USC andUWO], Armour said. The weatherisnt great, but thats OK. The patiowill be there [years from now] and

PLEASE SEE ARMOUR P2

By Allie FonarevGazette Staff

Billabong, Abercrombie and Fitch,Ed Hardy and Dolce & Gabbanawere on the list of brands availablefor students to buy at low prices thisweek in the atrium of the Universi-ty Community Centre.

Acccording to vendor YolandaBelfrutto, she has several clothingstores including Passa Passa Gear inSimcoe, Ontario.

The Gazette conducted an inves-tigation of the vendors clothes andnoted certain discrepancies withthe product labels and price tags.

Product labels did not containany French writing on them.According to Mario Iafrate, a privateinvestigator of Hallmark Investiga-tions, labels bought from Canadiandistributors would have Frenchwriting on them.

According to Iafrate, clothingfrom Canadian distributors shouldhave a CA number and a RN num-ber. If not then the item was onlyintended for the another market.

This isnt illegal, but it means

they are bypassing the Canadiandistributor, Iafrate said, in regardsto clothing that does not come fromCanadian distributors.

Hallmark Investigations previ-ously worked on a case of counter-feit merchandise at Western. Iafrateis a private investigator who hasworked for the anti-counterfeitinglawfirm Kestenberg, Siegal, Lip-kus LLP.

While Iafrate could not com-ment on the products seen by theGazette, since he had not seen themdirectly, he explained important dis-tinctions for distinguishing betweenreal and counterfeit products.

Iafrate mentioned legitimatemerchandise usually have distinctcontrol numbers on labels for dif-ferent styles or colors of garments.The tags on the clothing reviewedby the Gazette sold this week in theUCC have the same control num-bers for different shirts.

According to Yolanda Belfrutto,one of the vendors at the booth, themerchandise comes straight fromthe manufacturer. The second ven-dor at the booth, whose name,

according to Belfrutto, is John Doe,confirmed they obtained merchan-dise from the distributors.

However, according to the Aber-crombie and Fitch Brand Protec-tion department, the only way toget A&F clothing is through theirU.S., Canadian and U.K. stores, orthrough catalogues and the com-pany website.

Unlike the black market, whichis illegal, the grey market is thetrade of a commodity through dis-tribution channels, which are unof-ficial, unauthorized, or unintendedby the original manufacturer butnot illegal.

It is not known whether theproducts sold in the UCC atriumwere sourced from the grey market.

Nick Vassiliou, manager of reser-vations at the University StudentsCouncil, noted the procedure forselecting vendors in the UCC isstandard.

They came to us as [all propos-als do], we took their requests to theadvertising overview committeeand they were good to go, heexplained.

Susan McKone, reservations co-ordinator, reflected on the processas well.

I felt safe bringing her inbecause she has a legitimate storeand she had Western studentsworking for her in the summer andthey suggested that she bring herstuff in, she said.

While the reservations depart-ment looks at the products vendorswill be selling, they maintain theyare not experts at distinguishingwhether they are authentic.

We have assurances from ourvendors [] they are notified ofstipulations of what to sell andwhat not to sell, Vassiliou main-tained.

People do prey on universitystudents. [and] its more obviouswhen you see it at a hospital orschool, Iafrate said.

Kevin Macwan, a third-yearhealth science student, believedunauthentic merchandise doesmake a difference from having thereal brand.

Im not paying for somethingthats not real, he said.

P2 news theGazette THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

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The weather isntgreat, but thats OK.The patio will be there[years from now] andoverall it will be agreat facility.

Jeff Armour, USC food and beverage manager

EVALUATING USC FOOD SERVICES

overall it will be a great facility.Other potential cost factors

include payment for increased secu-rity, although Kumar noted thesecosts were minimsts were minimal.

There were slight increases inlabor costs, but that was fully antici-pated and fully expected, Kumarsaid, reiterating this would not havebeen in the budget projection lastyear, as it was a result of renovationcosts.

Increased security has beenimplemented as a means of makingsure no outside beverages arebrought into the Spoke a newlyinstigated rule that has caused a bitof student frustration.

Its definitely an inconvenience,Atyeo said. If I want to grab a bitefrom The Spoke, I cant bring in myTim Hortons cup.

However, this rule is set out by theAlcohol and Gaming Commission ofOntario and as such is not up for dis-cussion.

There may be an initial resis-tance, but as people learn, they willadapt, Armour said, also addingthere is USC liaison educating peo-ple at the front door.

Despite policy changes andunpleasant weather, both Armourand Kumar maintained they are see-ing the growing popularity of theSpoke.

I think were going to see majorimprovements, Armour empha-sized. Both venues are busy.

The Grad Club manager, MarcLalonde, noted The Spokes renova-tions have not had an effect on theirbusiness, most likely because of adifferent target audience.

We have very little undergradbusiness, Lalonde said. It doesntaffect us.

Ideally we will have a reallystrong Q2, so were communicatingto the managers to keep their costslow and really push their services tothe students, Kumar said. Hopeful-ly we will see an increase in spend-ing habits, but only time will tell.

Armour,USC notworriedCONTINUED FROM P1

Laura Barclay/Gazette

news P3theGazette THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

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Dalhousie put on probationAdministration at Dalhousie Uni-versity rushed to reassure under-graduate medical students of thevalidity of their degrees in the wakeof a two year probation.

The medical school was deter-mined to be not-compliant on 17of 132 standards examined by theLiason Committee on Medical Edu-cation, a group that certifies med-ical schools in the U.S. and Canada.

The committee determined themedical school had not defined theobjectives of its educational pro-gram. These objectives are meantto be used to assess studentprogress in developing the compe-tencies expected of a physician.

According to the committee,students do not receive properassistance in making career andresidency program choices andhave inadequate study space.

Although the school was alsofound to be in breach of standardsrequiring there be comparable edu-cational experiences and equiva-lent methods of evaluation acrossinstructional sites, the DalhousieMedicine New Brunswick campusis still expected to open in Septem-ber 2010.

The student reaction was quitepositive, Mary McIntosh, commu-nications manager at the NewBrunswick Campus, said.

There are only 30 seats in [theNew Brunswick] program and wedont expect that it will be difficultto fill these seats with excellent can-didates, she added.

Students at Dalhousie Medical

Schools main campus in Halifaxhave been very supportive and con-tinue to be engaged in the remedi-ation process according to AllisonGerrard, a spokesperson for theschool.

Ora Morison

Flawed fish guidelinespose health risks

A recent study conducted at West-ern has found 20 to 30 per cent ofCanadian women of child bearingage to have mercury levels highenough to damage the brain of afetus.

Many of the women who partic-ipated in the study thought theirfish consumption was withinhealth guidelines the mainsource of mercury is in fish con-sumption.

This proved to be a concern forGideon Koren, Ivey chair in molec-ular toxicology at the SchulichSchool of Medicine and Dentistry.

The guidelines are flawedbecause they are based on howmuch fish women consume ratherthan the mercury levels in the spe-cific fish they consume, he said.

Even more worrying is the factfish is considered an especiallyimportant source of nutrition dur-ing pregnancy.

According to Koren, highamounts of mercury in a pregnantmother could stunt the psycholog-ical growth of the baby.

However, if a womans mercurylevel is high, a change in diet canrectify the problem.

Fadesola Adedayo

Long payback period of LEDlighting sticking point for CityBy Abid-Aziz LadhaniGazette Staff

Street lights in London may beundergoing changes in an effort toreduce light pollution and save taxdollars.

Bud Polhill, board of controlmember, supported the implemen-tation of light-emitting diode streetlights. Directing the beam along theroadway or sidewalk, LED technol-ogy refrains from sending wastedlight into the sky.

Typical street lights use high-pressure sodium and tend to inflatea municipalitys energy bill. Howev-er, recent developments in LEDtechnology have been reported toreduce energy usage by half.

Judy Bryant, Ward 13 council-lor, agreed it was time to look atall options to save energy, moneyand be more environmentallysustainable.

I brought up the fact that a

number of cities, such as Tucsonand Chicago, are lowering theintensity of lighting and makingsure the lights do not bleedupwards into the sky, Bryant said.

Yet, despite the benefits of thisinitiative, the cost of LED lighting isthe subject of debate in City Hall.

Based on our analysis, the pay-back period is 24 years, as the capi-tal cost of the fixtures are consider-ably more money than the currentbulbs, Shane Maguire, divisionmanager of parking and traffic sig-nals, said.

However, Polhill disagreed.Every company I have spoken withsuggests it will take seven years[but] Im not sure that the numbersour staff have are current figures,he said.

Bryant maintains she did notpropose to shut off street lightsaltogether in order to save costs,although some committee mem-bers were under the impression this

was her intention. I could never support shutting

off our street lights. You cannot havethat in every street in the city. It isnot acceptable or safe, Polhill said.

A one-year trial period, con-ducted by LED Roadway Lighting,will test the efficiency and savingsof LED street lights.

We are using LED lighting. In anumber of locations were usingthem, Brandon Watson, commu-nications officer for Westerns Phys-ical Plant, said. When were doingrenovations we always considerLED technology.

According to Watson, one of themost noticeable locations with LEDlighting is the canopy of AlumniHall. Talbot College and the base-ment of Natural Science also havesimilar lighting.

If the lighting is appropriate forthe area, then we will use them,Watson added.

With files from Brittany Siddall

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Piotr Angiel/Gazette

What is a sport?The term has grown increasingly vague over generations.

Most recognize the four big North American games foot-ball, basketball, baseball and ice hockey are sports. How-ever, how do we feel about societys marginal games?

For instance, ballroom dancing is recognized as a sportby the International Olympic Committee. Can that reallybe deemed a sport? Chess is also recognized by the IOC.What, exactly, is so athletic about that?

The word sport, it seems, brings about a lot of conno-tations. Just calling something a sport instantly gives itcredibility.

However, if there are no guidelines for the term, thenwhat is to stop someone from calling penny hockey asport? Or Twister? Or even flip cup?

Not having a solid set of criteria for an activity to benamed a sport cheapens the legitimacy of athletics andallows any simpleton with a game to call themselves anathlete. It undermines the countless hours legitimate ath-letes undertake when training for their activity of choice.

Its time to arrive on criteria for what can and cannotbe deemed a sport, so those who excel in their fields andcommit the time to their event can be recognized as trueathletes. You wouldnt want just any academic institutionto call itself a university and award degrees. There has tobe rules.

On the other hand, maybe we place too much empha-sis on the word sport. There is, after all, no definite reasonwhy the realm of sports should be so exclusive. Why notinclude all physical and mental activities in the realm ofsports. Then everyone would be happy, right?

Plus, it would be difficult to set rigid criteria when thestate of sports is always in flux just look at the evolutionof athletics from the first Olympics to present day com-petition. We arent going to be seeing chariot racing inVancouver next year.

And what about the element of the spectator? When itcomes to television and radio, the fans often dictate whichsports are broadcast and which are left behind.

Thousands of people watch poker on television sta-tions such as Sportsnet and TSN should poker bedeemed a sport? Synchronized swimming is only seen ontelevision during the Olympics is that a sport?

Furthermore, if were going to determine criteria forwhat constitutes a sport, then who should be in charge?

Clearly the IOC has shown they cant be counted on tofairly determine what is and is not a sport, as they have awell documented history of back room deals and under-the-table handshakes.

Just this week it was revealed in a memoir written byYuan Weimin, the former president of the ChineseOlympic Committee, that Beijing was awarded the 2008summer games in exchange for Chinas support ofJacques Rogge in his bid to become IOC president.

At the end of the day, its almost impossible to definesport its just too vague.

But maybe its time somebody tried.

Sports needto be defined

thegazetteVolume 103, Issue 28

Sport is all hoke and hype, but I find it outrageous and wonderful. DICK BEDDOES

Ryan Hendrick Carly Conway Jaela BernstienEditor-In-Chief Deputy Editor Managing Editor

Editor - gazette.editor@uwo.caDeputy - gazette.deputy.editor@uwo.ca

Managing - gazette.managing.editor@uwo.ca

website at www.westerngazette.ca

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Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579, Fax: (519) 661-3960Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580, Fax: (519) 661-3825

The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students Council.

Chrtien will be remembered for manythings the sponsorship scandal, theShawinigan handshake, the pie in theface but certainly not for his merit.

Former prime minister Jean Chrtienis the latest recipient of the supposedlyprestigious Order of Merit an honourbestowed by the British Sovereign forgreat achievement in the arts, learning,literature and science.

When asked by Toronto Star reporterswhy he was appointed to the order,Chrtien responded: they wereimpressed by the fact that I served Cana-da for 40 years.

Since when has punching the clockfor the federal government for 40 yearsdeserved recognition from the BritishMonarchy?

Chrtien will be the fourth Canadianto be accepted into the Order. He standsamong giants such as former prime min-ister and Order member William LyonMackenzie King. King served as primeminister for 21 years and led the nationfrom a colony to an independent nation.

Chrtien had an amusing accent. Also among the list of past recipients

is Florence Nightingale, who pioneeredthe evolution of nurses from lowly doc-tors servants to esteemed medical assis-tants and contributed to the early femi-nist movement.

Chrtien throttled a protestor in Hull.

While it is amusing to berate Chr-tiens meagre accomplishments, theaward brings to surface a more seriousissue the decreasing respect for onceprestigious honours.

As an elite award limited to 24 livingmembers, the Order of Merit is notsomething to be taken lightly. Past recip-ients also include Winston Churchill,Nelson Mandela and T.S. Eliot.

Looking at the latest recipient, how-ever, it seems to have become a pettytitle given away to any popular publicfigure disregarding what they may ormay not have accomplished.

This trend isnt exclusive to the Orderof Merit. The controversial awarding ofthe Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obamais only another recent example of thedecreasing value behind public awards.

It brings to mind the question arethe requirements for these esteemedawards relaxing, or are there simplyfewer candidates than there once were?

Looking back on the 21st century, itseems to be much easier to call to mindthe names of dictators, warlords andfear-mongering politicians than any cel-ebrated individuals who have led theworld towards positive change.

So perhaps it is not the award com-mittees we should criticize, but our-selves. If our politicians seem dwarfed byhistorys innovative leaders, then it istime we let them know.

Especially as well-educated students,it is also important we scrutinize our-selves as the leaders of tomorrow. If ourparents and grandparents generationsdid not provide the world with leadersworthy of honour, then so be it but wewill.

Re: Six officers needed to take down stu-dent Oct. 16, 2009

To the editor:I am a bit disturbed the general studentbody seems to show only one emotionin response to last weeks violentarrest: anger, perhaps mixed with a bit ofconfusion. While the amount of forceused in the arrest may well have beenexcessive, I have encountered few stu-dents who even consider the possibilitythat, just maybe, the officers were doingtheir jobs as best they knew how.

I am by no means defending policebrutality or the abuse that tends to comehand-in-hand with power. What worriesme is the lack of appreciation for theunpleasant acts that contribute to oursocietys successful and peaceful existence.

As a society, we need to accept manyof the beneficial acts most of us wouldnot care to experience, let alone per-form, contribute to our wellbeing. If Iwere to be running around a publiclocale in a hallucinatory state and evad-ing police detention, I would expect tobe approached by police.

It is easy to protest the mistreatmentof one of our fellow student comrades,but not so easy to consider the reality ofthe situation: a person was required tobe detained, and force was required toensure that detention.

In an intense situation, decisionsoften become black and white thereis no room for perfection. Having a pro-ficient law enforcement agency toensure our constant safety is a luxuryCanadians have, and the cost of that lux-ury is accepting the harsh reality thatpolice work, real police work, is rarelyclean. Desensitize yourselves from ourcontagious hypocrisy. Bad things needto happen to ensure a general good.

David Basu RoyMusic and Engineering IV

P4 opinions theGazette THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Editorials appearing under the opinions heading are decidedupon by a majority of the editorial board and are written by amember of the editorial board but are not necessarily theexpressed opinion of each editorial board member. All otheropinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarilyreflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.

Letters: Must include the contributors name, identification (ie.History II, Dean of Arts) and be submitted to gazette.opin-ions@uwo.ca. Letters judged by the Editor-In-Chief to be libelousor derogatory will not be published. The Gazette reserves theright to edit letters and submissions and makes no guaranteesthat a letter will be published.

All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and car-toons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and onlineversions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any suchmaterial to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazettea non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license topublish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but notlimited to, The Gazettes hard copy and online archives.

Please recycle this newspaper

Section Editors 2009-2010

Ryan Abreu, Tara Athar, Katherine Atkinson, Erin Baker, Mary Ann

Boateng, Jordan Brown, Dylan Clark, Julie-Anne Cleyn, Caitlin Conroy,

Sari Rose Conter, Adam Crozier, Angela Easby. Adam Feldman, Mark

Filipowich, Amber Garratt, Jennifer Gautier, Ricki-Lee Gerbrandt, Jeremy

Gritten, Eliot Hong, Alan Hudes, Aras Kolya, Aaron Korolnek, Jay

LaRochelle, Colin Lim, Julia Lovgren, Kevin Melhuish, Paula Meng,

Jessie Murdock, Maciej Pawlak, Jonathan Pinkus, Jaymin Proulx,

Gennelle Smith, Cali Travis, Jennifer Urbanski, Dale Williams, Casey

Yetman, Emily Zhou

Gazette Staff 2009-2010News - gazette.news@uwo.ca

Sports - gazette.sports@uwo.ca

A&E - gazette.entertainment@uwo.ca

Opinions - gazette.opinions@uwo.ca

Seniors - gazette.senior@gmail.com

Gazette ComposingIan Greaves, ManagerMaja Anjoli-Bili, Cheryl ForsterGazette AdvertisingAlex McKay, ManagerMark Ritchie, Karen Savino, Diana Watson

NewsAllie FonarevMeagan KashtyAbid-Aziz LadhaniShreya Tekriwal

SeniorMike HayesLauren Pelley

SportsDaniel Da SilvaGrace DavisArden Zwelling

GraphicsAli ChiuJesse Tahirali

Arts & EntertainmentNicole GibilliniMaddie Leznoff

OpinionsJaclyn Haggarty

PhotographyLaura BarclayBrett HiggsCorey Stanford

WebStuart Thompson

Awards unmeritedDont GetBernedJaela BernstienManaging Editor

Bad thingsnecessary forgreater good

The Gazette looks back this week to 1990, when stu-dents from the University of Ottawa pelted Members ofParliament with pasta in protest of the plan to levy athree per cent surcharge on student loans.

Kingston Liberal Member of Parliament Peter Mil-likin told the Gazette many of his caucus memberswere hit in the head with noodles during the attack.

They have metal detectors to check anyone whogoes into the public gallery, he said. But they dont

have macaroni detectors.Along with pasta, students threw cards reading

Dont tax my loan! written on the front and had thesignatures of disgruntled students on the back.

Yves Lacroix, then vice-president finance ofOttawas Student Federation and one of the partici-pants of the protest said the noodle rampage was asuccess.

I really think we got their attention, he added.

Did you know?

ArtsEntertainmentP5 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

The Stills join up with Metric for London showMontreal band excited to finally share the stage with old friends

By Nicole GibilliniGazette Staff

Metric and The Stills have geared upfor a Canadian tour and are makinga stop in London. These long timefriends are using their musical tal-ents and growing popularity to playa highly anticipated show at Cen-tennial Hall Friday at 8 p.m.

The Stills, composed of TimFletcher, Dave Hamelin, LiamONeil, Olivier Corbeil and JulienBlais are opening the show andthey love playing with Metric.

I find thatMetric fans arereally receptive.Our music reallyworks with theirs I think it isjust really a goodmix of crowds.We have a com-mon interest,but we are verydifferent bands,lead singer andguitarist Fletchersays.

The Stills areonly making a few stops with Met-ric, but have been enjoying playingon their own as well especially intheir hometown of Montreal.

People think it would be reallystressful playing a show in yourhometown, but it was really awe-some. It is a lot of fun to party andperform there, Fletcher says.

The two bands have touredtogether before, the first time beingabout five years ago. They are goodfriends and finally decided theyneeded to work something outtogether in terms of a tour.

We always run into [each] otherand we finally said come on, weneed to get something going,Fletcher says.

The Stills released their latestalbum Oceans Will Rise in August2008. They are currently in the writ-ing process, but arent ready toshowcase anything new just yet.They plan to play songs from theirfirst three albums on the tour.

Fletcher says the new materialwill be similar to their first album,but it will be more intimate thanwhat they have done in the past.

I think weare honing in onsomething reallypersonal, hesays. We are justkind of living ourlives and writing.We know wherewe want to go sowe are justassembling theart.

The Stills loveplaying in Cana-dian cities, butthey have a par-

ticular fondness for London. London is such a rock-and-roll

town, Fletcher says. It is so nice toplay here. It is also nice to spendsome time with family and friendsthat live here.

The only request Fletcher has forhis London fans is that they comeout to the show and have a goodtime.

We just want people to come outto party and see the show, he says.

Metric and The Stills play Centen-nial Hall Friday at 8 p.m. CentennialHall is located at 609 Wellington St.

London is such arock-and-roll town.Its so nice to playhere. It is also nice tospend some time withfamily and friendsthat live [in the city].

Tim FletcherThe Stills vocalist

Gazette File Photo

HEY MRS. TAMBOURINE WOMAN. Emily Haines of Metric joins friends The Stills as both bands take to thestage at Centennial Hall.

Courtesy of Daniel Cianfarra

TO THE LEFT NOW YALL. Montreal band The Stills are touring across the country and are making a stop in London on Friday. They released their third album, Oceans Will Rise, in 2008and are currently working on their fourth.

P6 arts&entertainment theGazette THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

Where The Wild Things Are delivers aestheticallyAdaptation of Sendaks popular childrens tale lives up to the hype

By Maddie LeznoffGazette Staff

Where the Wild Things AreDirected by: Spike JonzeStarring: Max Records, CatherineKeener, James Gandolfini

Spike Jonzes adaptation of Wherethe Wild Things Are is a film sur-rounded by hype. The screen ver-sion of Maurice Sendaks popularchildrens picture book is darkerthan expected, and slow at times,but offers a treat for the eyes andears.

The script stays fairly close toSendaks original tale. Max(Records) is a lonely and energeticyoung boy who feels neglected byhis sister and his mother who has anew boyfriend. After an argumentwith his mother (Keener), Max runsaway from home and sails off to afar away land where he meets theWild Things.

The Wild Things are an eclecticgroup of beasts who, thanks to greatCGI and special effects, uncannilyresemble the drawings fromSendaks book. The animal-likecreatures are somewhat represen-tative of a dysfunctional family they appoint Max as their king andleader in the hope he can fix theirbroken relationships, and in doingso, Max deals with his own familyissues.

Where the Wild Things Are isvisually stunning. Filmed in NewZealand, the film highlights thelands natural beauty with simplewide shots of beaches, cliffs andforests. The Wild Things, voiced bywell-known actors like Forest Whit-taker and Gandolfini, are gorgeous-ly animated and seem more humanthan beast its easy to forget Maxis the sole human for most of thefilm.

The role of Max is perfectly cast.Using an actual 12-year-old for therole ensured Records innocenceand naivety came across as genuineon screen. Max is a part any youngboy would enjoy playing, as yelling,running, jumping and dirt fightsare all part of the plot. However,Records is equally talented in deliv-ering poignant moments in addi-tion to the action sequences.

The soundtrack, composedentirely of songs by Karen O and theKids, matches both the playful andserious tones of the film. The leadsinger of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs col-laborated with a childrens choir tocreate the soundtrack, achieving asense of nostalgia with jingle-jangleindie-pop and kids voices.

One downfall of the film was inprogress. Some of the quieterscenes of introspection that featureone-on-one conversation betweenMax and the Wild Things are slowand come dangerously close tosappy. These moments are saved byquirky humour that shines throughwhen least expected.

Though Sendaks book wasmeant for children, Jonzes film isintended for more mature audi-ences darker undertones of sad-ness and anger struggle against amessage of hope, love and family.

Where the Wild Things Are is notall hype, and if nothing else, thefilm makes you long to be an imag-inative and carefree kid again.

Gazette File Photo

WHOS CUTER? Spike Jonzes version of Where The Wild Things Are features loveable animated creatures and an adorable little boy.

www.westerngazette.ca

Break UpPete Yorn and Scarlett JohanssonAtco/Rhino

When initial expectations are low,the feeling of being pleasantly sur-prised with an album multiplies.Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johanssonslatest musical endeavour, Break Up,exceeds all expectations.

While neither Johanssons norYorns solo music careers have beena resounding success, Johanssons2008 album Anywhere I Lay MyHead comes to mind, together theymake a congruous pair.

Johanssons rich, deep vocalsmake up for what they lack inrange, and although Yorns vocalsare somewhat weak, his musicaltalent is undeniable. He penned themajority of the tracks on the albumand provides accompaniment onguitar, piano and banjo.

The album works well as awhole, achieving a smooth transi-

tion from song to song. From theupbeat opening track Relator tothe country vibe of Wear and Tearand bittersweet love song Sham-poo, the collection is easy listeningfrom beginning to end. The onlymisstep is the pairs unremarkableattempt at a cover of Chris Bellsinsightful ballad I am the Cosmos.

Overall, the album is a success.There doesnt seem to be any signof a break up in sight for this newduo.

Joseph Bainbridge

By Pat MartiniGazette Writer

At the moment, Reginas RahRah are touring in Montreal and theyre sick.

Despite illness, they remainin good spirits as they make theirway to Southwestern Ontariowhere they will play in Londonon Monday at the BlackshirePub.

Rah Rah offer a pop-folksound, which blends the foun-dations of roots music with analternative delivery, makingthem a band pushing theboundaries of Canadian music.They also want to assert theirPrairie pride for any who mayhave second guesses as to what arock band from Saskatchewanmight sound like.

Our music does have aprairie vibe. People are reallysupportive back home. Mainlywere not shy about saying wherewere from, Erin Passmore says,who provides vocals, bass, drumand keyboard for the group. Wehappily acknowledge our folkroots being from Saskatchewan.

Passmore is just one of eightmembers in the band.

It started in high school, Iguess, she says. A bunch of usrandomly started playing andeventually we decided to put outa record.

In 2006 the band released anEP and worked their way upfrom there.

Not knowing our asses fromour elbows, the recording took along time, Passmore says. Itcan be a slow process but itsalways a learning experience. Itgave us time to realize what wewanted to be.

Young Soul Records, a com-pany based in Regina, releasedtheir 2008 album Going Steady.The album showcases thegroups sound and image andhighlights their musical prowessand lyrical strengths.

There is a definite aesthetic toRah Rah. The bands quirky spiritis evident in the largegroup. Their MySpace page alonegives some insight into the natureof a Rah Rah show notablyphotos channeling an early 90sFresh Prince of Bel-Air look.

Along with instruments com-mon in a rock group, theyemploy Pop Rock candies whencompleting their sound.

Our shows have Pop Rockssolos! Passmore exclaims. Weuse confetti if we can find it at agas station or something on theway into town. Its all verytongue-in-cheek. We have insidejokes on stage.

As light-hearted as they are,Rah Rah take their music seri-ously. Marshall Burns, the prin-ciple songwriter of the group,uses images and stories fromtimes gone by and gives them acontemporary relevance.

The song A Duet for Emmy-lou and the Grievous Angel pre-sents this songwriting formulaas it uses the tale of a famouscountry music duo as a templatefor a story of unrequited modernlove. Guitars and violins standout and accentuate the poeticsof the straightforward approachto their songs.

This will be the bands secondtime coming to London theyplayed here over the summer and as they continue to travelacross the country, they work onforming a sound they can calltheir own despite already havingestablished a unique method ofperformance.

On the benefits of having agroup comprised of such eclectictastes Passmore explains, itlends itself to constant inspira-tion and different personalities.Everyone comes with differentmusical experiences its great.

There is something to be saidfor the group from Regina whouse their musical histories anddiffering styles to form such aunique yet familiar sound. RahRah present another side of theever-changing face of Canadianmusic, and have a lot of funalong the way.

Rah Rah play the BlackshirePub, located at 511 Talbot St, onOct. 26.

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Rah Rahs tongue-in-cheek act comes to LondonPrairie band brings folk-pop and possibly confetti and Pop Rocks to Blackshire Pub

CHILLIN OUT MAXIN RELAXIN ALL COOL. The large and eclectic band Rah Rah show their Prairie pride onMonday at the Blackshire Pub.

Our music does have aPrairie vibe. People arereally supportive backhome. Mainly were notshy about saying wherewere from.

Erin PassmoreRah Rah band member

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FORTICKETS

By Margot SmithGazette Writer

Only one thing could improve uponthe perfect fall weather Sundayafternoon for Westerns mens rugbyteam rounding out their regularseason with a convincing 36-0 winover the McMaster Marauders.

The Mustangs came prepared tolet the defending Ontario Universi-ty Athletics champions know theywill have to be ready to work hardto keep the cup this year.

We are definitely happy withthe result, Westerns head coachTony Roes said. It was a littleintense for the first 45 or 50 min-utes, but the guys stuck it out andended up breaking it open at theend. We are happy with the 36points, but probably happier withthe shutout.

The Marauders acknowledgedthey were outplayed by a strongWestern squad ready to capitalizeon the their blunders.

Western played very well. Theywere the better team on the day. Weturned over possession too much that really hurt us, McMasterhead coach Phil White said. [West-ern] played well across the teamand deserve the win on the day.

Within the first 10 minutes ofplay Western set the tone with a tryfrom Marcus Mitchell taking a 5-0lead. Midway through the half,McMaster made a determinedpush for a try, but Western heldthem off inches from the goal line.

The first 10 minutes we cameout storming and scored early, thenit became a really physical battle forthe rest of the first half, Westerncaptain Dave Jacks said.

The second half was one-sidedas Western exploited weaknesses inthe Marauders defence, running infive tries from Alan Si, Conor Train-or, Aaron Kennedy, Conor Wadeand a second from Mitchell. Afterconverts from Si and Simon Faderthe Mustangs finished with anauthoritative 36-0 victory.

The main reason we pulledaway in the second half was the waywe pulled together as a team. Theforwards were doing a lot of thedirty work and getting our skilledbacks the ball, and when they getthe ball some of those guys are real-ly dangerous, Jacks said.

In addition to the team effortput forth by the Mustangs. a rivalrybetween McMaster and Westernaided in fuelling both teams to fieryperformances.

There are a lot of guys on theteam who have never beaten Macbefore, so to beat them is huge andwe know we are one of the topteams, Trainor said.

Perennially we are both rugbypowers. We play each other a lot,and see each other in the playoffs.The calibre of players is high so weknow they are going to be goodmatches, McMaster scrum halfCurtis Wadden said.

McMaster finished the regularseason with their worst record inyears, having lost three matches.

We are obviously disappointed.I know that we arent playing at thelevel that we should be playing,McMasters captain Andrew Lom-bard said.

However, they are still lookingforward to defending their title withthe confidence they have the play-ers to make a deep run in the play-offs.

No one remembers the regularseason once you are into the play-offs, White said. We would like tohave a better [regular season]record. It is a matter of getting thetalent we have working togetherand that will be our goal for the nextfew weeks.

Meanwhile, Western has securedsecond place in the OUA, whichensures them a bye to the semi-finals in London.

All week we talked about con-trolling our destiny, Mustangs out-side centre Mitchell said. Welocked up second spot, which ishuge for us. That means we have 19

days to rest up before the playoffsand we have home field advantage.

The Mustangs will use the nexttwo weeks to tighten up their gameand make sure they are ready forthe playoffs.

I am proud of the guys and Ithink we are aware that we have alot of work to do going into thepost-season, Roes said.

sports P9theGazette THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

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Toronto Maple LeafsThe futility of the Maple Leafs iswell documented, however anyonewho questions the illustrious blueand white around SouthernOntario is often dismissed as anuninformed Habs fan. Maybe itsbest to let the stats speak for them-selves.

As a team, the Leafs are dead lastin the NHL in goals against with 32,points with one and wins with zero.Their 60.7 per cent penalty kill per-centage is good for last in the leagueand their team plus/minus of -12lands them in second last, aboveonly Minnesota who is -15 as a team.The Leafs average two goals pergame, which is also second last in theleague, and they allow more thanfour and a half goals per contest,which is the worst rate in the NHL.

Need any more evidence?The worst part of this years

incarnation of the Leafs has clearlybeen the defence. Free-agentacquisitions Mike Komisarek andFrancois Beauchemin have landedin Toronto with a thud, combiningfor one goal and a horrendousplus/minus rating of -9 in the Leafsfirst seven games. Komisarek,whose 23 penalty minutes are sec-ond on the team, is still looking forhis first point in the blue and white.

Luke Schenn, who is dressing upas a pylon for Halloween, hasregressed in a big way from hisdecent rookie season last year.Tomas Kaberle has been so listlessthat prognosticators and fans alikeare calling for him to be benched.And Jeff Finger has been, well, JeffFinger tallying one assist and aminus six in just four games.

If the Leafs embarrassing start isany signal of things to come, itsgoing to be a long year for Leaf fans.

Mark TeixeiraYankee clean-up hitter AlexRodriguez has shown he can hithome runs at will this post-season,but with the listless Mark Teixeirahitting ahead of him, there is hardlyever anyone on base for Rodriguezto drive in.

Teixeira played stellar defence at

first base during the regular seasonwhile hitting 39 home runs and 122RBIs and making a strong case forthe American League MVP trophy.The defence is still there, but Teix-eiras numbers in the post-seasoncertainly arent worth the $180 mil-lion over 10 years.

The switch-hitting Texiera hasjust four hits in 30 at bats this post-season, which gives him a paltry.133 batting average.

Worse still, Teixieras one playoffhome run would have been a flyballout in any other ballpark in themajors, as it hit the top of the fenceon the short porch at Yankee stadi-um.

Although thus far the Yankeeshave shown they can get it donewithout their regular season leaderin home runs, RBIs and sluggingpercentage, Teixiera will need tofind his swing fast if the Bronxbombers hope to make any noiseagainst stiff National League com-petition in the World Series.

Washington Redskins head coach Jim ZornThe Washington Redskins have justbeen awful this season, and Zornshoulders a lot of the blame.

The Redskins have finishedweek six with a 2-4 record, despiteplaying some of the NFLs mostputrid teams. Their opponents thusfar have a combined record of 9-26.They have also provided the terri-ble Kansas City Chiefs and DetroitLions with their only wins of theseason. Those are the same DetroitLions who failed to win a singlegame last season.

The biggest problem in theWashington locker room is theoffence, which is the unit Zorn washired to improve. The team has putup a total of 79 points on the sea-son, an average of 13 points a game,

which is good enough for 30th inthe league.

Zorn continues to stick by QBJason Campbell, despite his contin-uously bad performances this sea-son.

In an embarrassing twist, Red-skins management has announcedthey brought in Sherman Lewis, aformer NFL offensive co-ordinator,to call all of the offensive plays forthe remainder of the season.

It is unfair to solely blame Zorn,as the quality of his players is low.Definitely, the owner and the man-agement team have done a poorjob in helping Zorn out.

However, the fact remains thathe has failed to get the most out ofhis offensive players and, in turn,has failed to do his job. For that,Zorn deserves to be canned.

SPORTS BRIEFS

Lacrosse looking to reach .500 before playoffs

After losing multiple veterans lastyear, the mens lacrosse team hasproven they are still able to compete.

Six of 10 starters graduated lastseason, forcing the men to adjustand rebuild the team. The team

experienced a high turnover,introducing 14 rookies to

the 33-man roster. While not a varsity

sport, mens lacrossecompete in the

Canadian Uni-versity Field

Lacrosse Asso-ciation, playing atotal of 10 regularseason games againstOntario universities.

The men are currently infourth place with a 4-5 record.However, three of the five loss-es were heartbreakers, seeingWestern lose by only one goal.

Having a losing record is disap-pointing, but we really didnt knowwhat to expect coming into this sea-son. Losing four defenseman tograduation left a big hole on defence,but our rookies and returning sec-ond-year players our three veter-an defensemen are all in second year have helped anchor our defence,assistant coach Mike Frith said.

It also helps that we have seniorgoaltender Marc-Thomas Nanobetween the pipes. Marc was the2008 Goalie of the Year and current-ly leads the league in minutesplayed.

Western has one regular seasongame left against Laurier on SundayOct. 25 before they head into theplayoffs.

Our entire team has to play wellfor 80 minutes. When we all play atour best, we can beat any team inthe league, Frith said.

Grace Davis

Faulds not done breaking records

Throughout this season, Mustangsfootball quarterback MichaelFaulds has added several recordsto his list of accomplishments atWestern.

In the Mustangs 60-7 win overWindsor on Sept. 19, Faulds, a kine-siology graduate student, broke for-mer Mustang Chris Hessels recordof 8,637 yards to become Westernsall-time leading passer.

Since then, he managed tobecome only the 3rd QB in Cana-dian Interuniversity Sport historyto throw for over 10,000 yards. For-mer McGill QB Matt Connell andcurrent Queens pivot Dan Branna-

gan were the first two to accom-plish the feat.

In a strange coincidence, bothBrannagan and Faulds managedto eclipse the 10,000 yard mark inlast weekends game whenQueens defeated Western 27-26.

Earlier in the season, duringWesterns tight 41-39 win overGuelph, Faulds set an Ontario Uni-versity Athletics record for careercompletions with a total of 641. For-mer Ottawa Gee-Gee quarterbackJosh Sacobie held the record with637 completions.

Faulds now needs only 194 yardsto break Connells record of 10,455yards, which he hopes to do thisweekend when the Mustangs hostthe Toronto Varsity Blues.

Daniel Da Silva

Mark Teixeira

SportsP12 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2009

ON DECK: Mustangs pitcher Townshend wins Purple Pipe... Friday

MUSTANGS CHEERLEADING

By Allie FonarevGazette Staff

Entering the Power Cheer Gym, thecheerleading stereotype of pom-poms and cheer songs are notice-ably missing.

Instead, there are about 40 ath-letics warming up, running lapsand stretching. The team practicesthree times a week before showcas-ing their skills at every home foot-ball game.

But what they are really trainingfor is the gold medal at the NorthAmerican championships comingup this winter.

Coach David-Lee Tracey, orTrace, as hes called, maintains astrict and disciplined coaching style.

I like to compare it to themarines, he explained. I wantstrong, fit, hard players and it paysoff. It works when the kids under-stand this culture of discipline.They look forward to the aggres-siveness of practice [and] weve hadphenomenal feedback from fans.

Practice begins in May andincludes training camps over thesummer and before orientationweek.

It can get pretty hectic, seniorteam member Danielle Hilliardexclaimed.

The sport crosses over intomany realms, including weight lift-ing, gymnastics, flexibility, stuntsand even flying.

There are so many preconcep-tions about cheerleading that arecompletely wrong, Hilliard argued.When people see us perform, theyrealize that its not just a bunch ofgirls dancing around with pom-poms. We are athletes; not just any-one can pick up the skills that wehave acquired.

Traces favourite aspect of thesport is partner stunting and thephysical group skills.

Its the thing that I [and theteam] enjoy the most, he said. Thatbeing said, gymnastics is clearly thething that separates us from othersin Canada and keeps us runningwith the big guys in the U.S.

Trace travels across Canada tofind recruits and relies on orienta-tion week for discovering more hid-den talent. When scouting he looksfor different types of athletes.

Its about half gymnast andcheerleader-type, and half cross-sport athletes. That school jock-type guy who isnt on a team here[] gets attracted to the program,Trace explained. We have 18 guyson the team now, which changesthe way weve trained.

Trace has seen a lot of changesin the team from the last 30 years,noting the evolution of the teamfrom a sideline-based presence atgames to a dual-based operationdoing its own competitions.

It didnt exist in the 80s when Istarted but we took to it well, he

explained. Since then, the team has enjoyed

much success, and the Mustangsagree Traces coaching is what is get-ting them the gold every year.

With all this practice, it seemslike school and socializing comesecond to the sport. But the teamremains balanced under thecoachs disciplined guidance.

Trace has helped me grow inmany ways. He has allowed me tobecome more vocal and confident,but also has opened my mind inthe way I think and approacheveryday problems, captain TravisStirrat said.

Trace noted while it is difficultfor new members to handle thepressures to compete and meet thedemands of the team, they do riseto the occasion with guidance fromthe older members.

Our team shines under pres-sure that would normally crackother squads, senior memberDavid Slichter reflected.

It helps that the bond betweenteam members is so strong.

This team becomes like family.Connections are made that you willkeep forever, Stirrat concluded.

And with just over a month to gobefore the big competition, theteam is looking pumped and pre-pared at games already.

Our crowd is awesome, thestudents love us; we are ready,Trace said.

Mustang cheerleaders go from sideline to prime timeUnstoppable team has won 23 of last 24 national championships

Follow this story online

Interviews with the cheerleaders and their coach Get a glimpse at the practice facility Allie attempts some cheerleading moves

watch the video report at westerngazette.ca+

Exclusive online content at westerngazette.ca

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