tuesday, november 19, 2013

8
live in style. Contact now to book a tour before we fill up! www.londonprop.com www.facebook.com/WesternHousing @LPCRedbricks UWO's #1 rated off campus housing Best locations around campus Built with energy efficient technology Secure and safe living environment Massive rooms and closets In suite laundry and dishwashers in every unit TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013 CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 107, ISSUE 40 the gazette WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA • @UWOGAZETTE Our Rob is better than your Rob since 1906 Can’t Stop Me! Mustangs brave the Calgary cold against the Dinos in this year’s Mitchell Bowl >> pg. 7 TODAY high 4 low -2 TOMORROW high 6 low 0 Money doesn’t reach those who need it most Tuition tax credits don’t work Richard Raycraft NEWS EDITOR Tax credits tied to post-secondary education don’t do very much to assist low-income families in pay- ing for it, according to a new study. A report released by the C.D. Howe Institute hopes to raise ques- tions regarding the effectiveness of tax credits in lowering the cost of post-secondary education and increasing enrollment, particu- larly for students from low-income families. Laurier economics professor Christine Neill — a specialist in public economics — authored the report for the non-profit research institute, entitled “What You Don’t Know Can’t Help You: Lessons of Behavioural Economics for Tax- Based Student Aid.” “Postsecondary tax credits cost the federal and provincial govern- ments billions of dollars each year, but are not distributed equitably and may have no proven effect in boosting enrolment,” a press release from the Institute said. “Tuition and education/textbook tax credits, in particular, cost the federal govern- ment alone around $1.6 billion in 2012 — a sum greater than the net cost of the Canada Student Loan Program.” Though unknown to many stu- dents, the tax credits allow students to receive tax rebates of thousands of dollars. The post-secondary tax credits are non-refundable, how- ever, meaning that one must owe a certain amount in tax to claim them. For this reason the tax credits can be transferred to families. “The question is really about the timing of it,” Neill explained. “It’s exactly the kids who have the lowest income parents who have to wait the longest to get the cash in hand, which is not equitable or fair, and it’s also bad from an efficiency perspective.” Put simply, the money from the tax credits often reaches students only after they have graduated and have enough taxable income to claim them. “One of the main reasons for the tax credits existing is to try and encourage more people to go into post-secondary education,” Neill said. Neill also explained research is showing an extra couple thou- sand dollars does not typically make a difference to students from >> see TAX pg.3 Training TAs can improve teaching Kevin Hurren OPINIONS EDITOR Can teaching assistants get the same training as full-time teach- ers? Probably not, but two new studies have found that even mini- mal training can greatly improve TA performance. The two studies, one focusing on international TAs and the other on TAs at the University of Windsor and Western, looked at the impact instructional programs had on the effectiveness of teaching assistants. The study concerning Western is to be released online today. Funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, the stud- ies conducted a number of short, one-day sessions as part of pro- longed training programs meant to equip TAs with organizational methods of teaching undergradu- ate students. “Both pieces of research have confirmed that participating in teaching development makes a big difference,” said Nanda Dimitrov, associate director at the Teaching Support Centre and co-author of both studies. The Teaching Support Centre, located in D.B. Weldon Library, offers free support to TAs and pro- fessors seeking to improve their teaching skills. Even within the one-day ses- sions, participating TAs were able to absorb concrete teaching tech- niques for facilitating discussions, marking and asking effective ques- tions to their class. Similarly, the study found that those who elected to take part in several sessions were able to dem- onstrate greater confidence. But these training sessions, Dimitrov noted, are not only benefi- cial for the classroom environment. “[TAs] see value in training because they see value in pro- fessional development, building their CV and developing other transferable skills that are valued not only in the university classroom but in other careers as well,” she said. Additionally, Dimitrov explained these continual programs fostered communities within TA groups — regardless of academic background or constituency. “When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they con- tinue to discuss teaching and share great activities they’ve used in tuto- rials,” she said. “It increases teaching quality, good teaching spreads and they help each other.” In terms of how more attention on TA performance will take shape on campuses, the Lead TA program at Western is just one example. The program, as reported last week in The Gazette, consists of eight experienced TAs placed in various faculties, whose sole responsibility is to train other TAs to become bet- ter teachers. Although the studies don’t come to groundbreaking results, con- cluding that training TAs will lead to better performances, Dimitrov said such findings would be help- ful tools when continuing to develop these programs. “We always knew that they work, and now we have the data to support it,” she said. When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they continue to discuss teaching, sharing great activities they’ve used in tutorials —Nanda Dimitrov Associate director at the Teaching Support Centre and co-author of both studies. Logan Ly GAZETTE CASH IN HAND. A recent study reported that tuition tax credits are ineffective for students because low-income students — those the most in need — can’t take full advantage. Lack of awareness is also an issue.

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Page 1: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

live in style.

Contact now to book a tour before we fill up!www.londonprop.com www.facebook.com/WesternHousing@LPCRedbricks

✓ UWO's #1 rated off campus housing✓ Best locations around campus✓ Built with energy efficient technology✓ Secure and safe living environment

✓ Massive rooms and closets✓ In suite laundry and dishwashers

in every unit

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2013 CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906 VOLUME 107, ISSUE 40

thegazette

WWW.WESTERNGAZETTE.CA • @UWOGAZETTE

Our Rob is better than your Rob since 1906

Can’t Stop Me!Mustangs brave the Calgary cold against the Dinos in this year’s Mitchell Bowl

>> pg. 7

TODAYhigh4low-2

TOMORROWhigh6low0

Money doesn’t reach those who need it most

Tuition tax credits don’t work

Richard RaycraftNEWS EDITOR

Tax credits tied to post-secondary education don’t do very much to assist low-income families in pay-ing for it, according to a new study.

A report released by the C.D. Howe Institute hopes to raise ques-tions regarding the effectiveness of tax credits in lowering the cost of post-secondary education and increasing enrollment, particu-larly for students from low-income families.

Laurier economics professor Christine Neill — a specialist in public economics — authored the report for the non-profit research institute, entitled “What You Don’t Know Can’t Help You: Lessons of Behavioural Economics for Tax-Based Student Aid.”

“Postsecondary tax credits cost the federal and provincial govern-ments billions of dollars each year, but are not distributed equitably and may have no proven effect in boosting enrolment,” a press release from the Institute said. “Tuition and education/textbook tax credits, in particular, cost the federal govern-ment alone around $1.6 billion in 2012 — a sum greater than the net cost of the Canada Student Loan Program.”

Though unknown to many stu-dents, the tax credits allow students to receive tax rebates of thousands of dollars. The post-secondary tax credits are non-refundable, how-ever, meaning that one must owe a certain amount in tax to claim them. For this reason the tax credits can be transferred to families.

“The question is really about

the timing of it,” Neill explained. “It’s exactly the kids who have the lowest income parents who have to wait the longest to get the cash in hand, which is not equitable or fair, and it’s also bad from an efficiency perspective.”

Put simply, the money from the tax credits often reaches students only after they have graduated and have enough taxable income to claim them.

“One of the main reasons for the tax credits existing is to try and encourage more people to go into post-secondary education,” Neill said.

Neill also explained research is showing an extra couple thou-sand dollars does not typically make a difference to students from

>> see TAX pg.3

Training TAs can improve teaching

Kevin HurrenOPINIONS EDITOR

Can teaching assistants get the same training as full-time teach-ers? Probably not, but two new studies have found that even mini-mal training can greatly improve TA performance.

The two studies, one focusing on international TAs and the other on TAs at the University of Windsor and Western, looked at the impact instructional programs had on the effectiveness of teaching assistants. The study concerning Western is to be released online today.

Funded by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, the stud-ies conducted a number of short, one-day sessions as part of pro-longed training programs meant to equip TAs with organizational methods of teaching undergradu-ate students.

“Both pieces of research have confirmed that participating in teaching development makes a big difference,” said Nanda Dimitrov, associate director at the Teaching Support Centre and co-author of both studies.

The Teaching Support Centre, located in D.B. Weldon Library, offers free support to TAs and pro-fessors seeking to improve their teaching skills.

Even within the one-day ses-sions, participating TAs were able to absorb concrete teaching tech-niques for facilitating discussions, marking and asking effective ques-tions to their class.

Similarly, the study found that those who elected to take part in several sessions were able to dem-onstrate greater confidence.

But these training sessions, Dimitrov noted, are not only benefi-cial for the classroom environment.

“[TAs] see value in training because they see value in pro-fessional development, building their CV and developing other

transferable skills that are valued not only in the university classroom but in other careers as well,” she said.

Additionally, Dimitrov explained these continual programs fostered communities within TA groups — regardless of academic background or constituency.

“When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they con-tinue to discuss teaching and share

great activities they’ve used in tuto-rials,” she said. “It increases teaching quality, good teaching spreads and they help each other.”

In terms of how more attention on TA performance will take shape on campuses, the Lead TA program at Western is just one example.

The program, as reported last week in The Gazette, consists of eight experienced TAs placed in various faculties, whose sole responsibility is to train other TAs to become bet-ter teachers.

Although the studies don’t come to groundbreaking results, con-cluding that training TAs will lead to better performances, Dimitrov said such findings would be help-ful tools when continuing to develop these programs.

“We always knew that they work, and now we have the data to support it,” she said.

When TAs participate in one of our programs, they go back to their home department and they continue to discuss teaching, sharing great activities they’ve used in tutorials

—Nanda DimitrovAssociate director at the Teaching Support

Centre and co-author of both studies.

Logan Ly GAZETTE

CASH IN HAND. A recent study reported that tuition tax credits are ineffective for students because low-income students — those the most in need — can’t take full advantage. Lack of awareness is also an issue.

Page 2: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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2 • thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013

CROSSWORD By Eugene Sheffer

The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error.© 2002 by Kings Features Syndicate, Inc.

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Caught on Camera

City Hall to shine light on women abuse

London will be lighting City Hall with purple lights in support of woman’s abuse awareness for the month of November next year, fol-lowing a unanimous committee vote.

City Hall will be participating in the Shine The Light On Woman Abuse project, alongside many businesses, schools, churches and neighbourhoods in downtown London that are already shining purple lights on their buildings and homes.

The initiative, started in 2010 by the London Abused Women’s Centre, met with plenty of support, according to a press release from City Hall.

“Standing united in our efforts to end this unacceptable behaviour is the only way society will be able to stop the abuse,” said Mayor Joe Fontana in a press release.

Western has been a partner for years, lighting Alumni Hall, and buildings at Kings’ College and Brescia University in purple to show support.

“One board member, and her husband who was a police sergeant, saw it in New York, and decided to bring it back to London,” said Megan Walker, executive director at the London Abused Women’s Centre.

Walker said that not only has the initiative gained widespread support in London, it has begun to spread to other municipalities in Ontario. The group is working with, and believes the project will be adopted by, municipalities in Manitoba and Nova Scotia in the coming year.

Walker said since the promo-tional campaign, women have been feeling more comfortable seeking help, with 60 per cent more phone calls and walk-ins between fiscal 2011 and 2012.

Ontario has recognized November as Wife Assault Prevention Month since 1986 — the official name was changed to Women Abuse Prevention Month in 2005.

—Soheil Milani

News Briefs

Logan Ly GAZETTE

FLY ON THE WALL. The Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights club put up an apartheid wall display on Concrete Beach yesterday as part of their second annual Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Week.

Page 3: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013 • 3

high-income families with regards to whether they will attend post-secondary education. For students from low-income families, the thou-sands of dollars appear to make a substantial difference.

“The people who are influenced by the extra $2,000 are kids from low-income families, and they’re the ones not getting the money upfront,” Neill explained. “So if you’re trying to encourage people to attend post-secondary you also

want to give the money to the lower income kids early preferably, when they need the money, and this tax credit doesn’t do that.”

As for solutions, Neill suggests making the tax refundable, so that families who do not pay very much tax would still get the credit paid out to them after their taxes are filed. This would also allow the money to be delivered to students faster, when they need it. Another possible solu-tion is to use some of the money to directly cut tuition, since students are more aware of tuition fees.

Another issue is awareness. Neill points out that most students sim-ply do not know that the tax credits exist or how to claim them, as they are not advertised on many student financial aid websites or resources.

“If even I did not know how much money I was saving on my tuition fees when I’m financially literate and studying this field […] how can we expect the tax credits to have an effect on peoples’ decisions when they don’t know about them?” Neill questioned.

Student tax breaks analyzed>> TAX continued from pg.1

Storm knocks out powerHamza Tariq

GAZETTE STAFF

London and other regions of Southwestern Ontario were affected by severe thunderstorms and high winds Sunday night from the same weather system that rav-aged Midwestern United States last weekend.

“We had a very significant November storm move through southern Ontario yesterday after-noon and during the overnight hours. In London itself we had peak wind gusts of 82 km/h,” said Geoff Coulson, meteorologist for Environment Canada.

The high winds damaged power lines leaving thousands of residents of London and south-ern Ontario left without power for hours and a large number are still facing outages.

Hydro One, the corporation that provides electricity across Ontario, couldn’t yet provide a

time for power resumption for all consumers by press time.

“Thirty outages across the prov-ince affected over 71,000 custom-ers and it is due to the winds that have come across the province,” a spokesperson for Hydro One said.

She stated that the damaging winds caused trees to make con-tact with power lines and lines were also directly damaged by the winds.

James Voogt, associate professor at the department of geography at Western, said the low-pressure sys-tem — which caused the weather conditions — is moving east so the winds could be expected to subside over the next day or so.

“The forecast calls for another (but weaker) mid-latitude cyclone by around Thursday,” he said. “As that system leaves the current fore-cast is calling for colder tempera-tures by the end of the week with the possibility of lake-effect snow as winds come from the northwest

over the Great Lakes.”Voogt said the weather experi-

enced came from a “mid-latitude cyclone.” Such cyclones can cause lightning, hail, tornadoes, thun-derstorms and significant high winds — which could cause power disruption.

According to Coulson, despite the winds diminishing to below the warning criteria, it would continue to be windy in London. He also cautioned against slick road con-ditions and advised drivers to have both hands on the wheel especially in exposed areas due to wind gusts.

With power crews working around the clock to restore electric-ity in London and across the prov-ince, and the winds dying down, most consumers were expected to have their power restored by the end of the day yesterday.

After a mild weekend, tempera-tures are expected to drop again with highs remaining under 10 degrees for the rest of the week.

Haida Liu GAZETTE

USC town hall WednesdayIain BoekhoffNEWS EDITOR

Students are set to gather at the Mustang Lounge on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for a town hall meet-ing to address issues with the Peer Support Centre.

According to Sam Krishnapillai, vice-president internal for the University Students’ Council, town halls have been scheduled for each month this year, and based on feed-back from the past two years’ town halls about the PSC, this year’s event was moved to the first semester rather than the end of the year.

The feedback from the town hall will be incorporated into a policy motion at the USC council meeting at the end of this month. Krishnapillai said the policy is

meant to outline the mandate and the principles and values of the space because there is not a formal policy on it right now. She said she was excited to hear directly from students in person, and hoped USC councillors would be there to add their input to the council meeting on November 27.

“Any time I get the opportunity to be face-to-face with them, peo-ple seem to really understand the messaging behind what’s going on,” Krishnapillai said. “So just hoping to clarify and get a better understand-ing of where everyone stands and then take any feedback I get and incorporate it into the council meet-ing [later] this month.”

The PSC has been a lightning rod of discussion after the USC made several changes to its structure and

operations earlier this year. The town hall will be a venue for students to make their voices heard directly to USC executives and councillors.

“I think once the USC acknowl-edges that there has been changes and that they are significantly dif-ferent, we can move forward,” said Eternity Martis, a fourth-year English and women’s studies stu-dent. “Not just pushing things under the rug, but addressing it. I think that will heal a lot of wounds right now. I don’t think we can move forward until we talk about the communica-tion barrier [and] the changes.”

She added the miscommunica-tion between the USC and users and coordinators of the PSC has created a lot of frustration for stu-dents who are already marginalized and vulnerable.

Naira Ahmed GAZETTE

Page 4: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

4 • thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Arts&Life tuesdaytweetI see Ford Motor Co. has asked #RobFord to not use their logo anymore on his t-shirts. And Coke was like “Don’t even think about it.”

@billmaher

Portrait of the poet as an experimenterSara-Mai ChittyGAZETTE STAFF

Poetry is going high-tech at Western.The Public Humanities program

at Western is presenting PoetryLab tonight in Conron Hall, a diverse and dynamic reading of poetry in a form that promises to be unlike any traditional means of the expe-rience encountered before. Philip Glennie, program co-coordinator of the event, is excited for the poets and the audience to be a part of something he believes might be more than a ripple in the Canadian poetry scene.

“PoetryLab is different in the extent that it’s run from beginning to end almost as if you are going to a movie theatre,” Glennie explains. “There’s really no explanation of each poet as they come up to the podium. The event takes place for the most part in the dark. So you’re hearing the voices and seeing the poems being projected and when the poems are projected, what that gives the audience a chance to do is to read the poem on their terms, the way they would read it in a book.”

The atmosphere is integral to the effect that the Lab is trying to create. Glennie and participating poets Scott Beckett, the University Students’ Council’s student writer-in-residence, as well as Tom Cull, Joel Faflak and Western’s writer-in-residence NourbeSe Philip aim to breach private and public recep-tion and explore how the audience

interacts with poetry.“You’re having this intensely pri-

vate reading experience by reading it projected on the screen,” Glennie explains. “But when the poets become involved and start reading it aloud in their voice, it starts to blur the line between your private expe-rience and the public experience of sharing it read by the author — the poet.”

Beckett, a participating poet, was drawn to the event because of the unique presentation it offered.

“The audience is going to expe-rience poetry in a way that might reveal something more than reading it normally,” he says. “I suppose, to put it more simply, the special thing about this event is that PoetryLab is not an act of reading nor listening, it is experiencing.”

Tom Cull, also participating, is excited to participate because of this unique format.

“I think it is going to be a lot of fun. I think it will be moving, chal-lenging, prickly and a bit tickly,”

Cull says. “This event doesn’t sim-ply present four separate readers but seeks to create a kind of organic unity among readers, audience members and words. I hope to come away feeling energized, full of ideas, and heartened by the experience of good poetic group hug.”

Another unique feature of PoetryLab is the incorporation of Twitter. While not a traditional poetic medium, the aim of Twitter is for participants — both poets and audience — to react and interact as

the performance unravels.“We will have the live feed going

during the event,” Glennie explains. “And poets will even have a chance to respond to the tweets. As the event goes on Tweets will have an opportunity to respond to each other, so any sort of response audi-ence members might have, any impressions, or maybe their own [poetry] can be tweeted.”

The addition of Twitter changes the dynamic of the performance and lends to new realms currently being established between literature and poetry and technology. Some might say poetry is a dying art, but Glennie does not feel the same.

“I think that as our culture becomes more and more obsessed with short digestible poetic-like statements, there is an opportunity for it to experience a resurgence if it’s able to couple with technology in the right way. Tweets for example, being these very short statements, are supposed to be very impactful, much like poetry. If the 800-page novel can exist today, I think poetry can too,” Glennie laughs.

Beckett also speaks to poetic tradition.

“Poetry is a really fluid genre, but the form of poetry readings has always been quite standard. PoetryLab allows for the act of trans-mission to be as varied and experi-mental as the form itself,” he says.

PoetryLab will take place on November 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Conron Hall (University College Rm. 224)

Bill Wang GAZETTE

EXPLORATORY LABORATORY. Tonight, the Public Humanities at Western will present PoetryLab. Western student writer-in-residence, Scott Beckett and Western’s writer-in-residence, NourbeSe Philip, as well as other student writers will be presenting their works in unique and experimental ways.

McQueen delivers powerful, gritty realityBrent Holmes

ARTS & LIFE EDITOR

12 Years a SlaveGGGGFDirected by: Steve McQueenStarring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti.

Based off of Solomon Northup’s autobiographical account docu-menting his experience being kid-napped and sold into slavery in the Deep South, Steven McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is a brutal depiction of the true reality of slavery often hidden behind films like Gone with the Wind.

Solomon (Chitwetel Ejiofor) is a successful freeman and musician in New York, but when he takes up a job in Washington he is kidnapped and sold into slavery. With nobody caring who he really is, Solomon has to keep his true identity a secret as he tries to find a way to get a message to his family.

Ejiofor’s performance is abso-lutely Oscar-worthy. Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul Dano also give good per-formances as horrific plantation owners and overseers. However, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt’s less than 10-minute cameos are grossly unnecessary—they are roles that literally anyone could have played

and their presence takes the viewer out of the film.

McQueen directs Northup’s story masterfully. He does not pres-ent Northup’s events with a sense of time or with notice to what is happening outside of Northup’s experience and echoes this with long uninterrupted takes. The brutal whipping scene is depicted with the camera rotating in a circle around the action, making for one of the most unbearable scenes put to film.

Long shots depicting the beauty of the Southern landscape are mas-terfully reinscribed with a sense of horror. Cutting from the horrors of slavery — such as when Northup is forced to stand on tippy-toes with a noose around his neck for a day — to the Southern landscape or natural environment is a power-ful statement as if in bitter satire of Gone With the Wind’s view that, “it is a landscape just wanting to be beautiful.”

The film’s score is another high point. The mechanical sound of Hans Zimmer’s soundtrack power-fully echoes the sound of the steam-boat’s wheel during Northup’s kidnap and journey South. Long takes of the wheel and its ripples in the water is a hard reflection of the reality of slavery — turning black men and women into machines for exploitation by the South.

Comparisons with last year’s

Django Unchained are inevitable as both films depict the hard truths of the system of slavery in the United States — however, while Tarantino provided a sense of cathartic release in having Django shoot his way through plantations, McQueen’s film is about hard reality — the film leaves its audience with the truth that, even if the political will existed back then, there can never

be justice for the crimes committed under slavery.

Perhaps one of McQueen’s most powerfully orchestrated scenes is the one of Northup’s reunion with his family. In a less experienced director’s hands, this scene might have been a powerful scene of returning, where a happy family awaits Northup’s return. This is not the case in 12 Years a Slave — there

is only the horrible reality that while Northup may have spent 12 years in the South, he has lost his entire life as his children have grown up and his wife has remarried.

12 Years A Slave is an incredibly potent film and a must-see. It is brutal, unflinching, hard, and its only solace is that for Canadian viewers, the Canucks get to be the heroes.

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Page 5: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013 • 5

American Horror Story: Coven“The Axeman Cometh”

This week’s episode of Coven pro-vided us with a less crazed collec-tion of storylines than this season has typically been offering.

It begins with a historically accu-rate depiction of the New Orleans “Axeman” in 1919. One of the Axeman’s most infamous actions was threatening the entire city that he would go on a murderous ram-page, yet spare those who had jazz music playing their homes.

In this episode, a group of suf-fragette witches murder the Axeman in an act of vengeance for his crimes against the people of New Orleans. Coven is all about strong women, but this was perhaps the most direct moment of female empowerment — as this group of women stabbed the Axeman, it felt as though the patriarchy was dying a speedy, yet meticulous death.

Flashing back to the pres-ent, young Zoe stumbles upon

photographs showing that the num-ber of witches is steadily declining.

Zoe’s logical response to this? Grab a ouija board! In hopes of connecting with the since-deceased Madison, the girls of the coven come together. When questionable spirits (such as the f’ing Axeman) start to reveal themselves, Queenie takes issue with this. They continue and discover Madison is in the attic.

Last week, we were introduced to Spalding’s incredibly creepy house of dolls. This week, when the girls arrive to check out the attic, they soon discover Madison’s body amongst Spalding’s playthings. Upon capturing Spalding, Queenie goes all sociopath and wants to tor-ture and kill him. Zoe convinces her this is not the best route and they take the limp body of Madison away.

Cordelia returns after having acid thrown in her face last week and is graced with a brand new power of sight — she can see everyone’s secrets. In a place as insane as this coven, this newfound power will

likely become problematic. Sure enough, upon touching her hus-band, Hank, boom! Cordelia discov-ers that he has been engaging in the horizontal tango with a mysterious redhead — along with all the other secrets Hank has other things up his sleeve.

Of course, leave it to Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett) to deliver the best scene of the episode. Hank has been working as professional witch hunter for Laveau. This scene serves as an acting showcase for Bassett — she rips apart the scen-ery. Good grief! Her enunciation! Her anger! This becomes extremely apparent when she says, “When I plant a fatass cracker bitch, I expect her to stay planted.”

Overall, it’s an excellent and action-packed episode. If you’re just tuning in now, it’s highly rec-ommended you start from episode one, because if you start from “The Axeman Cometh” the plot might seem a bit… choppy.

—Bradley Metlin

Page 6: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

6 • thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Opinions

thegazetteVolume 107, Issue 40www.westerngazette.ca

Contact:www.westerngazette.caUniversity Community Centre Rm. 263The University of Western OntarioLondon, ON, CANADAN6A 3K7Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579

Julian UzielliEditor-In-Chief

Cameron M. SmithDeputy Editor

Jason SinukoffManaging Editor

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

Editorials are decided by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.

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All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.

News Richard Raycraft Megan Devlin Iain Boekhoff Jeremiah Rodriguez

Arts & Life Brent Holmes Mary Ann Ciosk Bradley Metlin

Sports Daniel Weryha Nusaiba Al-Azem Caitlin Martin Newnham

Opinions Kevin Hurren

Associate Kaitlyn McGrath Aaron Zaltzman

Photography Logan Ly Bill Wang Kelly Samuel

Graphics Naira Ahmed

Illustrations Christopher Miszczak John Prata

Online Jesica Hurst

Graphics/Video Mike Laine

Gazette Composing & Gazette Advertising

Gazette Staff 2013-2014Christine Bonk, Hamza Tariq, Stephanie Grella, Kevin Heslop, Lily Robinson, Sara Mai Chitty, Taylor Lasota, Anne Wozney, Nathan Kanter, Emory Liu, Jenny Jay, Jonathan Dunn, Sam Frankel, Cheryl Madliger, Josh Teixera

Ian Greaves, ManagerRobert Armstrong

Diana Watson

• Please recycle this newspaper •

Dear Life

Your anonymous letters to life

Dear Life,Seriously, why doesn’t the Spoke café have any male employees?

Dear Life, Laurier looks like a sexy beast on the new $5 bill.

Dear Life, Were farts always funny? Did cavemen giggle every time they heard a bun-shaker too?

Dear Life, Saw your offer for a sex scandal Kevin. Would a former USC councillor do? [Editor’s note: Yes, Dear Life is the new OKCupid]

Dear Life, Why does the room coming into the library from the UCC tunnel always smell?

Dear Life, Do you think the geese on UC hill feel uncomfortable when they see half the school in Canada Goose jackets?

Dear Life, Every year I check for the Pakistani flag in the UCC atrium. Every year, it isn’t there. I, among many others, feel heartbroken.

Dear Life, Why did the designer of the keyboard put “o” and zero so close to each other?

Dear Life, How is it that after more than 20 years, I don’t even know what I enjoy or want to do with you?

Dear Life, I only go to networking events and information sessions for free food.

Dear Life, I cried after my managerial accounting exam.

wgaz.ca/dearlife

Chris MiszczakILLUSTRATIONS EDITOR

I am in love with books and in love with

places filled with books. Because of this,

libraries were always my home away

from home — my own personal heaven.

When I first started university, librar-

ies were quiet and peaceful places. The

towering buildings were truly something

to behold, and libraries were always very

well kept.

Each library has its own type of

charm. Weldon Library, Taylor Library,

even the library in Huron College —

every library just seems to have its own

personality.

However, the charm of Western

libraries has been fading. There was

once a time when libraries were a pri-

vate sanctuary for those who wanted

quiet and peace of mind. But as mid-

terms and exams keep piling up, it is

becoming more and more difficult to

find a quiet place to sit down.

When I venture into Taylor library to

find my favorite spot, it’s taken. I end

up walking up and down all the aisles

looking for a spot but every single seat

is occupied.

Not only that, but when I go the

library I go to study with no distractions,

and that is something that I cannot do

with dozens of people around me chat-

ting. It’s disruptive and rude, especially

when libraries are is supposed to be

quiet places.

When you are at a library you should

not be talking with your friends like it’s

a common room. Nor should you be on

the phone or listening to your iPods — if

you need music to study, turn it down

to a level where others won’t be able to

hear. It’s annoying and distracting.

Studying next to an obnoxious per-

son in the library is like sitting near a

person on the phone in a movie theatre,

or a crying baby on an airplane. It just

can’t be done comfortably.

The Western libraries are progres-

sively turning more and more into a

social scene. The books themselves are

becoming nothing more than back-

ground decoration, with little to no

attention paid to them.

I don’t know a perfect solution, but

something needs to be done about

this. The answer might be as simple as

respecting the spaces you are in, keep-

ing in mind that libraries are sometimes

the only place where people like me can

find peace of mind. At the end of the

day, I just want my quiet, little, dusty,

book-ridden corner back.

You can’t sit with us, Western library

“If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.”

—Frank Zappa

Miszczak Your Privilege

Mike Laine GAZETTE

HAVE YOUR SAY

The Gazette asked students if they hada hard time studying in the library.

Jesse Nightingale Social Science II

“The clutterness can be a problem, however there are plenty of libraries on campus so

I’m sure you can find a seat somewhere. Also when it’s a quiet floor rather than a silent

floor, I tell them to go to a silent floor to talk.”

Lindsay Hafner BMOS III

“It’s definitely frustrating when you want to study and you can’t find a seat. Then you have

to go to a different building and waste your own study time in finding a space, especially when there are cubicles but they’re reserved

by a piece of paper.”

Montana Miles Sociology II

“It’s so annoying when people talk in the quiet section while you try to study—I always shush

them. It’s really inconsiderate.”

Devin Golets MIT IV

“Multiple occasions I stroll in looking for a spot to get some good work done, and it’s a bit of a buzz kill when you walk for 15–20 minutes

without any seats.”

Page 7: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

thegazette • Tuesday, November 19, 2013 • 7

SportsRundown >> Western’s women’s hockey team lost 2–1 in a shootout against Queen’s on Sunday > Their next game is against Guelph at Thompson Arena in London on Friday.

factattackThis is Michigan State’s third time being ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. MSU reached the Final Four in 2000–01 & 1978–79.

The Dinos render the Mustangs extinct

Western’s Vanier cup dream destroyed in CalgaryDaniel WeryhaSPORTS EDITOR

After a near perfect season, the Western Mustangs were defeated by the Calgary Dinos in the 2013 Mitchell Bowl. The 44–3 final was Western’s first and final loss of the season, as the Dinos eliminated the Mustangs from the Canadian Interuniversity Sport playoffs, and punched their ticket to the Vanier Cup where they will take on l’Université Laval Rouge et Or in Quebec next Saturday.

The Mustangs’ early special teams blunders gave the Dinos a big first-quarter lead that eventually proved to be insurmountable. In the first half the Mustangs special teams unit mishandled a punt, had a field goal that was blocked and allowed a punt return that was taken back 80 yards by the Dinos.

Late in the second quarter, after a 14-play and 77-yard drive, Mustangs kicker and punter Lirim Hajrullahu gave his team their only score of the game.

“I am shocked,” Greg Marshall, Mustangs head coach said. “I am shocked that it seemed like we just couldn’t ever get it back.”

In contrast, the Dinos ran 66 plays for 512 total yards as they handed the Mustangs four quarters worth of hard-nosed football.

While the favoured Mustangs averaged 57.3 points per game com-ing into the Mitchell bowl, they were surprised by a Dinos team that was plagued by injuries right from the start of their season.

Andrew Buckley, Dinos’ second-string quarterback, completed 18 of

his 27 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

But while the Dinos passing game was indeed effective in the poor weather conditions, they gashed the Mustangs heavily with the nation’s best running game. Mercer Timmis, the second-year running back out of Burlington, Ontario, rushed 16 times for 137 yards and a touchdown — almost half of the team’s 305 total rush yards.

Timmis and the Dinos offence thrived in the cold and unfavourable

weather — a place in which his for-mer Burlington Stampeders team-mate, Will Finch, failed to compare.

The Dinos applied a substan-tial amount of pressure to get after Mustangs quarterback Finch early. After taking a few hits, Finch appeared to be in a significant amount pain.

“Its one of those games where everything that could go wrong did go wrong,” Marshall said. “It started with Will right from the get go. He kind of pulled that hip, and it wasn’t

the same — it wasn’t as effective.”Finch completed nine out of 20

pass attempts for 105 yards, and threw one of the Mustangs’ two interceptions before he had to leave the game at the start of the second half due to the hip injury he sus-tained in the first.

Blake Huggins, who was able to rally the Mustangs in Finch’s place back in 2012 against the Guelph Gryphons, only completed one pass over two quarters of play for a single yard.

“Defensively we played the best game of the season. We were physi-cal in all aspects of the game, and we made four big plays on special teams that I thought affected the game,” Blake Nill, Calgary Dinos head coach, said.

As the Mustangs’ season now comes to an end, only two teams are left standing. The undefeated Dinos will travel east to take on the undefeated Rouge et Or in the 2013 Vanier Cup in Quebec City this com-ing Saturday at 1 p.m..

Courtesy of David Moll

Will Finch of the Western Mustangs prepares to throw the ball. The Mustangs’ undefeated season was ended on Saturday by the Calgary Dinos in the Mitchell Bowl. The Mustangs lost 44–3 in the game and Finch was injured in the game.

Courtesy of David Moll Mike Laine GAZETTE

Page 8: Tuesday, November 19, 2013

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