3

Frank Appleyard

Letters Grading good work
Re: “Give me more A+s”
(Opinion, Jan. 8)
MR. MICHAEL OLENDER,
I read your “Heckles” column of
Jan. 8 with interest. An associate pro-
fessor of history at the U of O since
2003, I have taught at the universities
of Calgary, Alberta, Bishop’s, Carle-
ton, and the Royal Military College of
Canada. Your column raises two im-
portant issues: the lack of professorial
comments on student papers; and a
common student belief that the hard
work alone merits an A+. Let me offer
my two cents.
As to the lack of comments, I agree
with you. I think all professors should
make comments on student papers.
I am sometimes asked by students
from other professors’ classes to read
papers that contain no comments.
Most are quite happy with their grade
but want to know why they did well
so that they can replicate such success
in the future. I do not blame them.
Success as well as failure should be
explained.
But comments on a paper are not
necessarily helpful either. Students
who have taken my courses can attest
that I write all over papers. Lastly, I
write a paragraph at the paper’s end
reiterating my thoughts about the
paper. I also hand out very detailed
Essay Writing Guide sheets in ev-
ery course, and dedicate at least one
class to essay troubleshooting. Stu-
dents often come to me to find out
why they did not get the grade they
wanted. Their reactions to my com-
ments usually break down as follows:
blank uncomprehending stares as I
explain (again) why their papers went
wrong, admissions they did not read
my comments, or repeated claims
that because they worked very hard
they deserve a better grade than the
one they got.
Let me concentrate on reaction
three and the notion that hard work
must necessarily be rewarded with a
suitably high grade. I am sorry to say
that a student’s hard work may not re-
sult in a good grade regardless of how
many hours one works for one must
work hard and well. Anyone with
a reasonable level of self-discipline
can complete the requisite number
of hours required to get a term paper
done. But does that mean the paper is
good? Not always. What if the thesis
is badly explained? What if improper
sources are used? What if the writing
is poor? In other words, bad papers
can take just as much effort to write
as very good ones.
I explain this conundrum to stu-
dents thusly. If I was an engineer who
designed a bridge, but I miscalculated
the load factor and the bridge sub-
sequently collapsed and killed your
family because of my mistake, I doubt
my pleas that “I worked really hard”
would matter as you sued me into
oblivion—nor should they. Bad work
cannot be defended. Yet my “brilliant”
parable rarely carries the day.
As you are not my student, I cannot
Jan. 22–28, 2009
say why you got 87 per cent on the pa-
per that had no comments on it rather
than, say, 92 per cent. I always tell
good students that they should read
the comments on their papers too be-
cause they might be doing one or two
small and easily corrected things that
prevent that high A assigned to their
paper from being an A+. But many
do not do that, which reminds me
of a quotation from Admiral Alfred
Thayer Mahan that “defeat cries aloud
for explanation, whereas victory, like
charity, can hide a multitude of sins.”
While I cannot defend my col-
leagues who decline to explain why
they hand out the grades that they do,
I cannot accept your assertion either
that hard work alone merits an A+—
one must work well too.
Dr. Galen Perras
History professor
Kind words
Re: “Support for the sake of support”
(Editorial, Jan. 8)
I JUST FINISHED reading the most
recent edition of the Fulcrum, ter-
minating as always with the editorial
pieces. After reading the two edito-
rial articles that you wrote, I feel com-
pelled to share with you just how im-
pressed I am with the ideas presented
in the articles as well as the manner
in which they were presented. Jour-
nalism, to me, has always been about
honesty, relevance to the layman, in-
tegrity, daring to say what others will
not, and presenting events in a clear,
direct, well thought-out manner. Both
Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca
tive intelligence. For the readers who
did not have the chance to read over
this farce, it appeared to be an edito-
rial that listed what the Fulcrum looks
for in the next SFUO president. It
could have been an awesome piece,
but you missed your shot.
Instead, what you published was
a very thinly veiled list of criticisms
about our current president and oth-
er possible candidates vying for the
soon-to-be open position. But then
again, it’s obvious that this missed
shot was actually a perfectly execut-
ed one. It’s obvious that this missed
shot actually intended to attack these
people.
That’s alright though, it’s actually
not that bad. As a newspaper, you are
well within your right to criticize the
president or anybody else with your
editorials. But this is not really what
you did.
My point is this: if you are going
to advise us on what to look for in the
next president, then do so. And if you
are going to criticize SFUO President
Dean Haldenby and other candidates,
then do so as well. But for the sake of
our intelligence and of your paper’s
reputation, be honest about what it
is you are saying. Do not hide behind
your editorial, taking cowardly shots
at these people, without being honest
and brave enough to admit that you
are doing so. If you did not like the
fact that mass faxes were sent out as a
form of protest, or that Haldenby was
allowed to take a second bilingualism
test, then call out by name whoever it
is you blame for this, so that they can
Ottawa in the decision-making pro-
cess. What I’m wondering is: can you
blame them?
Student activist behaviour in the
past has been, quite frankly, embar-
rassing and a detriment to its own
causes. Take for example the Board of
Governors (BOG) meeting held last
semester to vote on increasing tuition.
I was primarily appalled at the ridicu-
lously disrespectful picture chosen
by the SFUO to promote the event
on Facebook. Though pleased by the
student turnout at the BOG meeting,
my confidence in the student move-
ment quickly turned into complete
horror when said students held up
rude signs and called out “Shame!”
during discussion and again during
voting. I’ve also heard about students
attempting to “make a point” by shov-
ing cameras in the faces of senators
at Senate meetings, causing them to
simply adjourn instead of holding
much-needed reviews on courses of-
fered at the university.
Is it any wonder that Allan Rock
and the U of O administration show
less and less enthusiasm to collaborate
with students? Firstly, as the adminis-
tration, they deserve a modicum of
respect, since the fact that they run
the university allows us students to
graduate with valuable degrees. The
fact that we are their clients entitles
us to respect as well, but so far, we’ve
done a great job of negating that en-
titlement.
Tamar Friedman
Second-year economics and
political science student

Contents
your piece about the ideal Student reply to that criticism.
Federation of the University of Ottawa In essence, what you published Read the rest of this letter and
(SFUO) president and the decision to last week was a spineless attempt at others at thefulcrum.ca/letters

News E-vote for the SFUO support striking transit workers fulfill
my definition of good, responsible,
Megan O’Meara reveals the new well-crafted journalism. I just wanted
online method of voting for February’s to share with you how happy I was to
elections. p. 4 read such well-written articles.
Adam Roberts
Transit strike update: wanna crash Third-year history student
p. 4 with the president? p. 7
Cowardice in opinion
Leif music
Arts Re: “Fulcrum seeks ideal SFUO presi-
Peter Henderson talks with songwriter
dent” (Editorial, Jan. 8)
SHAME ON YOU, Fulcrum, shame
Leif Vollebekk. p. 12 on you. Here I was, thinking that
we had a respectable and respectful
Kalin Smith finds out about English-language student newspaper
p. 12 Life After God. p. 13 on campus, but I guess I was wrong.
I say this in regards to the last edito-
rial from the Fulcrum. Unfortunately,
Sports The Wright stuff there was a blatant lack of respect for
the Fulcrum readers and their collec-
Men’s basketball’s newest player lights up
the court. p. 21
Business Department
Should fighting be allowed in hockey? The Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s inde-
voicing your discontent with certain
people, but without actually saying
so. We are university students, we are thefulcrum.ca poll
capable of intelligent thought, and we
are most certainly capable of seeing Last week’s results
what was really implied in that edito-
rial. In the future, if you want to say Do you think the benefits
something, just say it. Do not try to be of online voting outweigh
witty, do not try to be clever, because
the potential problems?
you just end up insulting us and em-
barrassing yourselves and your repu-
tation in the process. Yes:
Luc Roy
Third-year criminology student
No:
Time to grow up
Go to thefulcrum.ca
IT CAME AS no surprise to me when
I read of the city’s rejection of the U- to vote!
Pass, as well as its reluctance to in-
clude the students of the University of Got something to say?
Send your letters to
Advertising Department editor@thefulcrum.ca
Deidre Butters, Advertising Representative
Letters deadline: Sunday, 1 p.m.

p. 21
Megan O’Meara investigates. p. 22 pendent English-language student newpaper,
is published by the Fulcrum Publishing Society
(FPS) Inc., a not-for-profit corporation whose
members consist of all Univeristy of Ottawa
students. The Board of Directors (BOD) of the
Letters must be under 400 words unless
phone: (613) 880-6494
discussed with the editor-in-chief.
fax: (613) 562-5259
e-mail: ads@thefulcrum.ca
Drop off letters at 631 King Edward Ave.
or email editor@thefulcrum.ca.
Check out our rate card online.

Feature Will there ever be FPS governs all administrative and business
actions of the Fulcrum and consists of the fol-
lowing individuals: Ross Prusakowski (Presi-
Go to www.thefulcrum.ca and
follow the link for “Advertisers”.
Multi-market advertisers:
Letters must include your name, telephone
number, year, and program of study. Pseud-

peace?
Joe Howell investigates the crisis in the
Middle East first-hand. p. 16-17
dent), Andrea Khanjin (Vice-President), Tyler
Meredith (Chair), Peter Raaymakers, Nick Tay-
lor-Vaisey, Toby Climie, Scott Bedard, William
Stephenson, and Andrew Wing.
To contact the Fulcrum’s BOD,
onyms may be used after consultation with the
Campus Plus: (800)265-5372
editor-in-chief. We correct spelling and gram-
Campus Plus offers one-stop shopping for over
mar to some extent. The Fulcrum will exercise
90 Canadian student
discretion in printing letters that are deemed
newspapers.
racist, homophobic, or sexist.
The Fulcrum is a proud member of
We will not even consider hate literature or

p. 16 Di describes the right climate for climax. p. 30

contact Ross Prusakowski at (613) 562-5261. Canadian University Press:
www.cup.ca
libellous material. The editor-in-chief reserves
the authority on everything printed herein.
 4
Emma Godmere

News Jan. 22–28, 2009

News Editor
news@thefulcrum.ca

Change through a click of the mouse
Online voting to be
offered during upcom-
ing SFUO elections
by Megan O’Meara
Fulcrum Staff
THIS FEB. 10–13, students will have
the opportunity to vote while sitting at
home in their pyjamas, as e-voting ar-
rives to complement traditional paper-
ballot voting in the upcoming Student
Federation of the University of Ottawa
(SFUO) elections.
E-voting—which will be powered by
a third-party company, Evote.ca—was
approved for use in the next election
by the SFUO’s Board of Administra-
tion (BOA) during its first meeting of
2009 on Jan. 11. While some members
were skeptical, others, like Faculty of
Arts representative Ryan Kennery, felt
it was an appropriate time to introduce
something new.
“I think it’s something that’s been a
long time coming,” said Kennery. “We
do enough things online these days,
and any opportunity we have to make
voting more accessible and easier for
students is a good thing, so I’m really
looking forward to seeing how it all
turns out.”
SFUO VP University Affairs Sea-
mus Wolfe was one of the board mem-
bers to vote against the motion, but
stressed that, in theory, e-voting seems
like a good idea.
“I think the idea is a good one ...
these are types of ways that we can bet-
ter involve our students in elections,” he
said. “I’m not against e-voting—I just
wish that we would have had more time
to essentially look at all the possibilities
and had all of that research in front of
us before we [made] a big decision.”
Julie Séguin, vp communications for
the SFUO, also voted against e-voting
and echoed Wolfe’s concerns.
“I had the recommendations from
over four experienced people, both
students and professionals, to not
jump on this project so soon with-
out consulting students, getting other
schools’ feedback and doing some tri-
al runs on smaller occasions (faculty
elections or referendums),” she said in
an email.
SFUO President Dean Haldenby
also had reservations about the online
voting process.
“I do not know if it is a security risk
or not,” he said in an email. “We have
not used this system, and when I was
deciding on it at the board I was asked
to put a lot of faith in a system that we
have never used before ... I believe that
students will accept the system; how-
ever the voter turnout will be the big
indicator on that result.”
The elections committee, which
includes SFUO chief electoral officer
Sylvia Lewis-Havard, chief returning
officer Mike Naim, and chief informa-
tion officer Wassim Garzouzi, were
all in support of this particular elec-
toral reform. Lewis-Havard, who has
worked to research and prepare for e-
voting since being hired in December,
explained in an email what students
should be expecting for the vote.
“All students will receive an email
directly to their [U of O] email account
containing instructions, [an identifica-
tion] number, and a link to vote,” she
said. “By following the link, students
will enter their [U of O] email account
and their [identification] number to
login. The voting is explained at length
and is as easy—if not easier than—a
paper ballot.”
The most common concerns about
e-voting surround security, since the
information is loaded onto the Inter-
net.
“I voted against e-voting because
there is automatically the possibility
of fraud, putting the elections in jeop-
ardy,” said Séguin. “By fraud, I mean
students giving a friend the [identifica-
tion] number they received by email,
allowing someone else to vote more
than once.”
Lewis-Havard indicated that the
electronic process had been carefully
inspected, however.
“The software has been scrutinized
at length and has passed every single
independent evaluation,” she ex-
plained. “There are also three mirror
servers, in case the primary one does
go down. In addition, the company
does hire hackers to try to break into
the system and there has never been a
successful security breach.”
With every concern surrounding
e-voting that was brought up at the
Jan. 11 BOA meeting, the elections
committee explained the precautions
they took to ensure there will be no is-
sues. Lewis-Havard noted some of the
advantages to the e-voting process, in-
cluding giving access to students who
aren’t always on campus.
“Contrary to many other univer-
sities, we are not removing options
from voters,” said Lewis-Havard, not-
ing that traditional polling stations
will still be stationed on campus. “We
are actually adding options, while illustration by Alex Martin
maintaining and improving the for-
mer system.” name,” she said. to target more students than a regular
Lewis-Havard explained another The elections committee also pro- station would, since they could move
advantage to e-voting that students posed providing small, mobile polling to higher-traffic areas. The BOA voted
will discover after following the link stations on campus, which would have to eliminate all of these mobile stations
to vote. consisted of a poll clerk carrying a lap- and replace them with more large sta-
“A big benefit of [e-voting] is the top. These stations would have moved tions inside buildings such as Arts and
ability to access each candidate’s around designated areas, following the Simard halls.
platform before voting, as it is read- traffic between buildings and in hall-
ily available next to each candidate’s ways. The goal of these stations was E-VOTING continued on p. 11

Senate meeting cut short after
students film proceedings
by Jolene Hansell
Fulcrum Staff
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa’s Jan. 12 Senate
meeting was brought to an abrupt close after sev-
eral students attempted to videotape the proceed-
ings. The students were acting in solidarity with
Marc Kelly, a deregistered physics student, who
was arrested for causing a disturbance after at-
tempting to film the Senate’s Dec. 1 meeting. The
students were intent on promoting transparency
at meetings that, while open to the public, have
prohibited any recordings of proceedings.
While no firm anti-recording policy is yet in
place, the Senate did previously pass a motion to
prohibit taping meetings, according to Andrée
Dumulon, director of communications for the U
of O.
“It is a public meeting, but there was a deci-
sion made, I don’t know when, that taping at the
Senate meeting was prohibited,” she said.
U of O President Allan Rock indicated that
the Senate is looking to establish a policy on re-
cording, ideally by the next Senate meeting.
“We want to have a policy in place so it’s clear
to everybody, and that’s something we will re-
solve in time for the next meeting or at the next
meeting,” he said.
Seamus Wolfe, vp university affairs for the
Student Federation of the University of Ottawa,
was present at the meeting and explained that
Rock proceeded to ask senators whether or not
the meeting should continue in the presence of
the cameras. After some deliberation from sena-
tors, Rock, who chaired the meeting, chose to
end the meeting without putting this decision
to a formal vote.
Wolfe expressed that Rock’s actions showed
a “blatant disregard for procedurally ending a
meeting”.
Rock indicated that several people were actu-
ally calling to adjourn the proceedings.
“I didn’t think there was any need for a formal
vote; there seemed to be a clear consensus, and
that was my judgement as chair,” he said.
SENATE continued on p. 10
SFUO student centre plans postponed
by Amanda Shendruk
Fulcrum Staff
A DECISION BY the Student Federation of the
University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) ad hoc com-
mittee on student space has halted plans for a
student-owned and -operated centre at the Uni-
versity of Ottawa.
“The student space committee has decided to
re-evaluate the implementation plan, but we still
plan on building a new student centre in the fu-
ture,” SFUO President Dean Haldenby said in an
interview with the Fulcrum. Haldenby made the
postponement announcement at the Jan. 11 Board
of Administration (BOA) meeting.
“We didn’t feel that this was the proper year
for a referendum,” he continued, citing the eco-
nomic downturn, a growing list of upcoming
referendum questions, and a desire for more
consultation with the U of O student commu-
nity as reasons for the postponement.
“It is a great time for us to take a step back,
look at the project, look at where we can im-
prove and how we can make this the best stu-
dent centre for students,” he said.
In spring 2008, Haldenby campaigned on a plat-
form that strongly promoted the development of a
new student centre. Although plans have been halt-
ed for now, Haldenby said he is not disappointed.
“It’s unfortunate for me because I would have
liked to have seen a referendum in place before I
left,” he said. “However, at the same time, it’s the
most responsible thing to do as president … It
was a hard decision, but one that I had to make.”
The BOA accepted the committee’s initial stu-
dent centre report and an implementation plan
was adopted in October 2008 with the objective
of holding a student referendum in February.
However, before the question of a referendum was
opened to debate, the ad hoc committee recom-
mended that the BOA wait on holding a referen-
dum, stating that it would return to the board by
the end of the year with a more detailed imple-
mentation plan.
A referendum on the student centre is ex-
pected in 2010.
 www.sfuo.ca
‘I will run,’
FÉUO SFUO
Fédération étudiante

CAMPUS REPORT
Student Federation

SFUO hopefuls declare

$35,00… What the !*%@?
You are being charged
$35,00 to split your tuition
fees into two payments.
This discriminates against students
who don't have the means to pay their
fees in one lump sum.
Join the movement.
Drop Fees committee
meetings:
Thursdays at 6 P.M. in Café Alternatif.
campaigns@sfuo.ca
Relay for Life
Volunteers
Needed
Foot
ot Patrol
Patr
ol
by Emma Godmere there are many, many more. That’s extremely
Fulcrum Staff positive.”
While the success of drawing candidates—
THE PINK AND green posters that have cov- especially students running in elections for the
ered the campus for the first two weeks of the first time—can be largely attributed to the two-
new semester have done their job. week-long campaign, Garzouzi pointed to other
The I Will Run campaign, launched by the events during this academic year that likely in-
Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s spired students.
(SFUO) elections bureau on Jan. 5, has encour- “Certainly I think that the [Canadian Fed-
aged undergraduate students to run for a vari- eration of Students] referendum contributed
ety of SFUO- and university-related positions, to people getting more interested, but I would
according to the elections bureau’s chief infor- argue that ... there was a big drop [in partici-
mation officer Wassim Garzouzi. pation] last year,” he said. “In the by-election,
“I can tell you it’s a record year in terms of there was only a three per cent turnout and
candidates,” he said, shortly after the deadline I think a lot of people started saying, ‘Okay,
for declaring can- there’s a problem,
didacy had passed
on Jan. 19. “We es-
“It’s a record year in we need to change
something,’ and I
sentially plastered terms of candidates.” think that’s what
campus with posters
and banners, we sent
Wassim Garzouzi happened this year
and that’s what con-
two emails on the
SFUO elections chief information tributed to the jump
officer [in candidacy num-
general listserv to
all students, we sent bers].”
an email to all clubs, we sent emails to vari- Garzouzi is familiar with last year’s voter
ous groups on campus as well to send to their turnout issues, as he was the editor-in-chief at
members, we took out a record amount of ads La Rotonde during the 2007–08 school year. He
in both [campus] newspapers, and we actu- explained the reasons behind his move to an
ally ran a PR campaign on CHUO as well.” SFUO media-related position after a year in the
While the official candiates’ list is not re- student media.
leased until Jan. 29, according to Garzouzi, “I think as an observer I’ve been a bit dis-
there are currently 20 people running for vari- couraged for the past [while] and I feel there
ous SFUO executive positions, and approxi- are a lot of similarities between my role in the
mately double last year’s number of candidates elections office and my role as a journalist,
running for the SFUO’s Board of Administra- which was always to get students informed and

Closing
tion (BOA). involved,” he said.

CONCERT
The SFUO also works with the university Garzouzi and the rest of the SFUO elections
in the elections of student representatives office are planning to launch another phase
for both the Board of Governors (BOG) and of their campaign entitled I Will Vote, where
X 7433 the Senate. candidates will be provided with a variety of
“We spoke with [the university] briefly and resources, including reduced costs for cam-
de cclôture
ô they said it is a record year,” said Garzouzi. paign website setup, in an effort to make sure
“It’s going to be the [greatest] amount of all students get the word out about their plat-

Beast
candidates for the BOG, certainly. Last year forms. The campaign will be launched Feb. 1
[there were] only two [candidates], this year as a lead-up to the Feb. 10–12 elections.

NN
ro# K’NA
Numé
Now Open Writers.
Jan. 30 jan. Photographers.
www.winter.sfuo.ca Basement of Simard Illustrators.
SIGN-UP NOW! WINTER GAMES
Proofreaders.
Pride
The Fulcrum needs
volunteers to produce every issue.

Week Help us out.

No experience necessary.
Jan. 30 to Feb 7. Staff meetings are Thursdays at 2:30 p.m.
Drop in and say hi.

www.winter.sfuo.ca
www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // NEWS // 5
by Amanda Shendruk
Stuck in a rut
Students with physical disabilities burdened by poor snow removal
Fulcrum Staff

A
s snowflakes fall gently on the University of Ottawa
campus, students wander back and forth to class,
steaming coffee mugs in hand. Most of them, how-
ever, are completely unaware that for a handful of
students like Briton Amos and Julie Steeper, the snowfall might “When you have an inch of snow on the ground, it’s like
mean missing days of school, or even an exam.
“I’ve had to stay away from classes a number of times [be-
cause of poor snow removal],” said Amos, a fourth-year inter-
putting a 50-pound sack of potatoes on your back.”
national development student who has been in a self-propelled
wheelchair since an injury in 1991. “And I feel that’s completely
wrong, especially when I’m paying for the course.”
Briton Amos
Despite being “very strong,” Amos said travelling through
snow in his wheelchair is physically exhausting.
“Every night that I come home, I have to take pain meds be-
cause just getting around campus is absolutely unbearable,” he
explained. “When you have an inch of snow on the ground, it’s
like putting a 50-pound sack of potatoes on your back.”
Steeper, a third-year political science and philosophy stu-
dent, was born with cerebral palsy, which seriously affects her
balance. Walking is difficult for her, and she spends much of her
time in a motorized scooter.
For Steeper, getting through the snow is just as difficult on
foot as it is in her scooter.
“I fall all the time, [so] I know how to fall safely,” she said.
Steeper lives in residence at the U of O because, she admitted,
travel in the winter is so treacherous that there is no way she
could live off campus. She recounted a day last winter when she
became stuck in the snow on the corner of Laurier Avenue and
Cumberland Street. Passersby ignored her requests for help,
until, as she said, “This big guy in this huge tractor stops the
four lanes of traffic right in the intersection … and he pushed
me down two streets!” She admitted to being equal parts thank-
ful and embarrassed as cars honked at the large vehicle block-
ing their way.
Amos and Steeper are not alone in their struggle. Approxi-
mately 40 students with physical disabilities are registered with
Access Service, a program that falls under the U of O’s Student
Academic Success Service and aims to reduce barriers to students
with disabilities. Common physical disabilities among these stu-
dents include arthritis, visual impairment, and fibromyalgia.
Many require the assistance of crutches, wheelchairs, or canes.
Most of the issues for students with mobility difficulties in-
volve restricted movement over packed-down snow that has
not been plowed to expose pavement, or difficulty using ramps
where snow accumulates shortly after they are shoveled; but for
some, the consequences of poor snow removal go far beyond
missing a class or two.
“It’s very dangerous,” said Amos. “If I [were on campus] at
night and I was studying, and I tried to get from one building to
another and I got stuck, I’m screwed, and I freeze and die.” “I think one of the main issues is [that] people are not sure The CSD was created in 2003 in part to respond to the snow
Adding to the problem, Amos said that he has given up hope where to report problems they’re facing,” she said, stressing that removal problem. Virginie Corneau St-Hilaire, the centre’s co-
that the university will ever seriously consider the gravity of the students having immediate accessibility issues should contact ordinator, said snow removal would be more effective if it were
problem. Physical Resources at ext. 2222. more strategic.
“My first year I was [at the U of O] I complained about [the Lecomte also reinforced the importance of informing the “We’ve been saying in our internal discussions, if you plow
snow removal]. The second year, I complained about it. The university of any immediate problems with snow removal. a ramp, everyone can use [it], but if you [shovel] a set of stairs,
third year, I did not complain because I gave up on these peo- “I think it’s a question of communication ... I haven’t received someone who uses a wheelchair won’t be able to use it,” she said.
ple,” he said, expressing his belief that a serious injury will have a lot of complaints [concerning] the access on campus myself,” The centre also recently secured an upcoming meeting with U
to occur on campus before any serious action is taken. he said. “[If there is] some accessibility problem, usually I can of O VP Resources Victor Simon.
On-campus groups like the Student Federation of the Uni- have it resolved in five minutes—the only thing is that I have to “I informed [SFUO president] Dean Haldenby that I would
versity of Ottawa (SFUO) Centre for Students with Disabilities know it, I have to know that there is a problem.” gladly meet with him and other student representatives to iden-
(CSD) and Access Service work to solve mobility issues for stu- Lecomte indicated that the university has a crew of at least tify the specific problems with snow removal and receive any
dents like Amos and Steeper, and both spend a considerable four workers on site every day for snow removal—and up to suggestions that they may have to improve this service,” said
amount of time dealing with the problem of snow removal. sixteen on days with heavy snowfall—who often clear out side- Simon.
“We had a [productive] meeting last week with [Benoit walks and parking lots at night. “This is a big step for us because this is the first meeting we’ve
Lecomte, grounds supervisor and] the person in charge of snow “We’ve got some standards here that are built into our con- had with central administration since we’ve existed,” said St-Hi-
removal,” said Marie-Claude Rouleau, an academic support tracts, which I make sure [are upheld],” he said. “The thing is laire. “So hopefully that will bring about some positive change.”
specialist at Access Service. that sometimes the contractors don’t have the time to go around
Rouleau noted that students with disabilities are often uni- and come back; as fast as they clear out the ramps ... by the time For more information about Access Service, log on to sass.uotta-
formed about how to effectively respond if they encounter an im- they come back, sometimes the snow is falling so fast [and] it’s wa.ca/access, and to find out more about the CSD, log on to sfuo.
passable walkway or ramp, or become stuck in unplowed areas. impossible to be on site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” ca/services/ceh-csd/en/index.htm.

photo by Martha Pearce

6 \\ NEWS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

 Transit strike update
U of O community
takes in students
by Emma Godmere on the street corner hoping to get a
Fulcrum Staff shuttle, [and] the shuttle was full,”
continued Rock, who has opened up
STUDENTS WHO HAVE had to his own home to two students.
face long walks in freezing cold tem- Michelle Ferland, manager of off-
peratures, expensive taxi rides, and campus housing at the U of O, reiter-
packed shuttles during the weeks- ated that many students are still fac-
long city transit strike now have the ing extremely difficult circumstances
opportunity to temporarily live closer when trying to get to campus.
to campus, thanks to a new U of O “I had a fellow [come into the
initiative. housing office] earlier who’s from Or-
The House-a-Student program, the leans. He takes a taxi from his place
brainchild of U of O President Allan to the shuttle at Place D’Orleans, and
Rock launched on Jan. 19 by the univer- sometimes he waits hours because
sity’s off-campus housing services, aims the shuttle is full,” she said.
to match students in need with com- Ferland was happy to announce,
munity members willing to open their however, that by 5 p.m. on the project’s
homes as the OC Transpo strike nears first day, 26 people, including universi-
the 50-day mark— ty employees and
all for free. regular students, image courtesy octranspo.notlong.com
“I proposed it
on the weekend,
“Some [students] are had homes.
offered their

because I’ve been actually saying that they Rock empha-

getting emails have to look at the sized students’
from students need for the
who are frus- option of abandoning unique project due U of O third-year Common Law student Frank Cinanni
trated,” explained their courses.” to the city’s unique
originally created this map at octranspo.notlong.com,
Rock. “Some of Allan Rock circumstances.
them are actu- “We have to do where other students can edit the map to include new
ally saying that U of O President something, and
stops and shuttle routes from all four major post-second-
they have to look the strike’s drag-
at the option of ging on,” he said. ary schools in Ottawa.
abandoning their courses ... they’re “I was hoping it would be resolved
missing classes, they’re falling be- on the weekend, but it wasn’t.”
hind in their assignments, and even When asked if this program will At ottawashuttle.pbwiki.com, students can find this
with the flexibility being shown by continue for the duration of the Google map of all shuttle routes and stops—as all
professors, some [students] are in strike, Rock had no problem in stay-
real jeopardy of losing the whole ing involved as long as need be. shuttles are now available to all post-secondary
course.” “I can speak for myself—I’ll have students in the city—along with links to individual
While the university has continued two students chez moi for as long as
to offer a city-wide shuttle service free the strike lasts.”
schools’ bus schedules.
of charge to students, and added five
more buses and two new stops the Anyone in the community willing to of- For information about the U of O’s shuttle service, visit
same day the housing project was fer temporary housing, along with any
launched, many students continue to U of O students looking to find a tem- protection.uottawa.ca/en/added_shuttles.html.
be left out in the cold. porary home, can log on to residence.
“Last week, [with] the weather uottawa.ca/en/och/house-a-student.
50 below, [students were] standing html for more information.

www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // NEWS // 7

 U of O suspends Rancourt
Physics prof banned
from campus,
faces dismissal
by Michael Olender
Fulcrum Staff
PHYSICS PROFESSOR DENIS Ran-
court has been suspended from teach-
ing, banned from campus, and recom-
mended to be fired by Dean of Science
André Lalonde, according to two Dec.
10 letters sent from the U of O admin-
istration to the professor. The letters
were reportedly received shortly before
Protection Services escorted Rancourt
off campus grounds. Rancourt’s dis-
missal is pending.
Lalonde’s office declined to com-
ment on the situation.
The U of O has stated the professor’s
issuing of A+ grades to all students
in a fourth-year physics course in the
winter 2008 term prompted the issuing
of the letters. Rancourt, who has spent
over 20 years at the U of O, contends
he’s been developing this teaching
method for years, and that the univer-
sity has approved the grades in several
courses.
“I’ve had several advanced phys-
ics courses and a graduate course in
which grades of A+ were attributed to
all students,” Rancourt explained, indi-
cating that the university has decided
to discipline him on only one of the
courses. “In all these other courses, the
... university has approved the grades
that I gave. Now, in [PHY4385-5100],
again, the employer—the university—
approved the grades … and then I was
disciplined for it after the administra-
tion had approved them.”
The university’s actions arrived eight
months after the grades were assigned
and in light of a June 2008 decision by
arbitrator Michel G. Picher in the uni-
versity’s attempted disciplinary action
against Rancourt for his teaching meth-
ods. The decision found that Rancourt’s
non-conventional grading methods,
which he implemented in 2005 and had
used since, were under the purview of a
professor’s academic freedom.
“We’ve already gone to court over
this question of my grading method as
it is incorporated as part of my overall
pedagogical method and the arbitrator
Michel Picher has ruled in my favour
completely,” Rancourt said. “And when
an employer completely ignores that,
pretends that the grading issue is dis-
connected from my pedagogy, one of
my lawyers said that that amounts to
contempt of court.”
Rancourt said that the university is
claiming that the A+s were attributed
arbitrarily, and therefore he has acted
unprofessionally, which allows the
university to circumvent due process,
disregard an investigation required by
the collective agreement—a document
that essentially outlines the legal rela-
tionship between the university and its
unionized professors—into his teach-
ing method, and fire him. In a Jan. 5
letter to Marc Jolicoeur, chair of the
Board of Governors, he wrote, “The
lack of due process in the university’s
actions is also alarming and is a threat
to the principle of tenure. [Lalonde]
simply asserts that my grading is in-
dependent of my pedagogical method
and thereby circumvents a formal eval-
uation of my teaching to recommend
my dismissal without my ever being
heard.” On Jan. 11, Rancourt filed a
grievance with the U of O alleging that
the administration violated collective
agreement procedures in sending him
the dismissal letters.
Further, echoing interviews with the
University of Toronto’s Varsity on Jan.
12 and Talk Ottawa on Rogers TV on
Jan. 7, Rancourt stated that the pre-
text for dismissal by the university was
because he was an outspoken critic of
Israel, noting that his position on the
Israel-Palestine conflict is well known,
as he had invited Palestinian guests to
speak in his 2005 activism course. He
had also denounced former U of O
president Gilles Patry on his blog, U
of O Watch, for making a public state-
ment criticizing the academic boycott
of Israel that was initiated in the U.K.
Rancourt claims that the Israel lobby in
North America “[contacts] and [influ-
ences] powerful trend-setting institu-
tions, such as universities, and making
sure that critics of Israel get expelled
from universities.
“It appears that [U of O President]
Allan Rock is a point-man of the Is-
rael lobby at the University of Ottawa.
So when Allan Rock says he wants to
put Canada’s University in the service
of the world, it means that he wants to
have exchange programs with Israel in
order to legitimize Israel … and you see
that you have a tenured and very vocal,
very political professor who is going
to be outspoken against hijacking the
institution in that way. If you couple
those things together then you have
very powerful interests that want to get
rid of that very annoying person.”
When contacted by the Fulcrum,
Rock declined to comment, citing the
collective agreement.
Rancourt has until Feb. 2 to sub-
mit a legal brief to present his case to
the Board of Governors, followed by
a scheduled meeting required by the
collective agreement. The expected dis- Im in ur website,
missal decision by the executive of the
BOG will be made in March. steelin’ ur newz.
“I’m going to fight it all the way
by every means possible—media in- www.thefulcrum.ca
terviews, legal means, grievances, Send images of your cat to
whatever means are available to me,” production@thefulcrum.ca to
Rancourt said. be made into ads!

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8 \\ NEWS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

 countability from their institution. fiscal years, a situation that was realized when a

News in
Prior to the firing of Pete, Thomas Roussin,
vice-president of communication for FNUC
Students’ Association, told Canadian University
Press there was developing fear and frustration
former executive couldn’t withdraw money be-
cause the CSU bank accounts were seized, ac-
cording to Kashfi. The alleged culprit still has not
been charged with any offence and the investiga-

brief
First Nations University of Canada students
oppose firing of top
administrator
SASKATOON (CUP) – STUDENTS AT THE
Regina, Sask.-based First Nations University
of Canada (FNUC) say they are frustrated with
what they call a lack of leadership and man-
agement—sentiments they made clear to the
photo by Taylor Bendig (CUP)
institution’s administration by rallying on Jan.
13. Organized by the FNUC Students’ Associa-
tion, the rally was in reaction to the firing of
Shauneen Pete, who was terminated from her
position as vp academic the week before. Pete
alleges she was fired without cause.
Brandy Morris, FNUC representative and
rally organizer, said that the firing was the “last
straw” for students who want answers and ac-
with the departure of faculty. About 60 faculty
and staff members have left the institution over
the past four years, including the vice-president
of administration, and a former president, who
chose to leave.
—Wendy Gillis,
Central Bureau Chief
Negligence pushes Concordia
Student Union deficit over $500,000
MONTREAL (CUP) – THE PRESIDENT OF
the Concordia Student Union (CSU), Keyana
Kashfi, wants to put allegations and questions
regarding the finances of the CSU to rest by
opening up to the student press.
This comes in light of various accusations
made against the CSU, which include everything
from embezzlement to non-disclosure. On Nov.
25, The Link reported on questionable financial
activity on the part of the CSU based on infor-
mation obtained from confidential sources. Ac-
cording to the CSU, negligence on the part of a
former employee as well as former executives of
the union caused the CSU to incur a combined
deficit of nearly $500,000 for the fiscal years
ending May 31, 2006, and May 31, 2007.
The CSU must pay back-taxes for the affected
tion is ongoing.
—Terrine Friday, The Link
Climate change lowering water levels: study
WATERLOO (CUP) – AN EIGHT-YEAR
STUDY conducted by researchers from Wilfrid
Laurier University and the University of Water-
loo has revealed that climate change has caused
freshwater levels to decline over the course of
the 20th century.
The study focused on the Peace-Athabasca
Delta, a point of convergence for the Peace and
Athabasca rivers in northeast Alberta, and is of
particular interest to those who rely on fresh
water—notably the Alberta oil sands industry.
By examining lake sediments from differ-
ent parts of the delta, researchers were able to
reconstruct its environmental history and pin-
point climatic patterns over the last 1,000 years.
It ultimately revealed that flood frequency and
lake levels have been in steady decline since the
early 20th century, and dismissed the notion
that the 1968 construction of B.C. Hydro’s W. A.
C. Bennett hydroelectric dam is the single cause
of the delta’s changing hydrology.
—Taryn Orwen-Parrish,
The Cord Weekly

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www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // NEWS // 9


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SENATE continued from p.4
“And as a matter of fact, no one
challenged it, so I guess they agreed.”
After the meeting, Wolfe met with
Rock to discuss the transparency of
Senate meetings. Wolfe indicated
that the meeting was amicable and
that together he and Rock came to a
conclusion.
“It was concluded that having a
live video feed of each meeting might
be able to show that the administra-
tion is open to having live meetings,”
Wolfe said.
While Rock declined to comment
on what he said was an off-the-record
meeting, he indicated that he intends
to talk to senators about a live web-
cast of the proceedings.
“That would remove even the
faintest of suggestion that there was
anything hidden going on or that it
was inaccessible to people,” he said.
“The meetings are public, anybody
can come and watch the meetings,
[but] there are apparently those who
think that they should be allowed to
take photographs as well, or film it.
I don’t agree,” he continued. “I don’t
think that by becoming a member
of the Senate you implicitly agree to
have others take your picture or film
you and then make whatever use
they want to of that.”
—with files from Emma Godmere

SUMMER
20 0 9 www.arts-orford.org
II want
want you.
3165, chemin du Parc, Orford (Québec) J1X 7A2, CANADA
T 819 843-3981 | 1 800 567-6155 (Canada Toll free)
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Open House
January 24, 2009
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Sir George Williams Campus Loyola Campus

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Montreal, Quebec Montreal, Quebec
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10 \\ NEWS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

E-VOTING continued from p. 4 impact their re-election. We feel there be a decision made by the board, not
Naim indicated his disappoint- needs to be a distance between the employees,” he said.
ment with the decision, and felt that elections office and the board.” Despite the issues that arose at the

The Fulcrum staff meetings

the board overstepped their boundar- Kennery voiced similar concerns meeting, the elections committee ex-
ies by choosing the voting hours as after the meeting. pects the e-vote to go smoothly and

are Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

well—which have traditionally been
decided by the elections committee.
“The constitution does not mandate
the board to select where the vote will
take place nor the details of that vote,”
explained Naim via email. “It is obvi-
ously disappointing to see the board
overreach its mandate and impede
on the responsibilities of the elections
office. It is even more troubling that
many declared candidates were vot-
ing on decisions that would inevitably
“We hired [the SFUO elections em-
ployees] to do a job, and it seemed as
though the board was stepping out-
side of its bounds,” he said.
Wolfe, however, expressed that
some major decisions do need to be
left to board members.
“The BOA [is] not and should not
be in a position to micromanage an
election; however, if there [are] going
to be radical changes in the way an
election is taking place, that should
ultimately encourage more under-
graduate students to vote.
“It does open up opportunities for co-
op students, for part-time students, for
students with disabilities, for students
who don’t have courses [during the
polling times] ... and on top of that we’re
New volunteers
keeping the existing polling stations,
so it’s really just adding options,” said
always welcome
Garzouzi. “It’s definitely a huge upgrade
from what we’ve had in the past.”
—with files from Emma Godmere

www.thefulcrum.ca
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www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // NEWS // 11

RGW_N_09_1002_B1_B.indd 1 1/9/09 4:54:14 PM

Arts & Culture
You’ve got to
be
Leif
Montreal-based songwriter
Leif Vollebekk has a new
album and a bright future
by Peter Henderson
Fulcrum Staff
LEIF VOLLEBEKK DOESN’T know what he
sounds like. The singer/songwriter is playing a
show at the new Café Alternatif on Jan. 22, and
he’s having trouble describing which genre his
music fits into.
“I try not to [explain it], because either it
sounds like I’m really insecure or really arro-
gant,” says Vollebekk. “I have trouble finding a
happy medium. I listen to a lot of Bob Dylan,
and I listen to a lot of Sigur Rós—I guess I’m
trying to hit that atmospheric folk, something
like that.”
Vollebekk is also playing a show at the Black
Sheep Inn on Jan. 23, which has hosted such
artists as Joel Plaskett, Serena Ryder, and Corb
Lund.
“It’s a great venue,” says Vollebekk. “They treat
the musicians well, and everyone there is super.
A lot of music lovers go there. It’s kind of far, so
you don’t just walk in there by accident. Usually
the big artists who go to Ottawa or Montreal go
there, so it’s a small place to see big names.”
Vollebekk is supporting Basia Bulat both
nights.
“It’s really by chance,” Vollebekk explains.
“[Students’ Association of the Faculty of Arts
VP Social] Dario [Petruzzi] was putting to-
Jan. 22–28, 2009
gether the show [at Café Alternatif]. He got her,
[and] then he asked me to open. Unrelated [to
that], the Black Sheep have me open for people
sometimes, and they asked me to open up for
her.”
Vollebekk released his first full-length al-
bum, Inlands, in the fall of 2008. Although he
often performs by himself, the album has full
accompaniment from a backing band. Some
solo artists use pre-recorded material or other
means of accompaniment when performing
live, but Vollebekk prefers keeping it simple.
“Sometimes it’s really cool when you see
someone play, and they can do what they did
with a full band just on the guitar,” he says.
“It helps to give a different perspective on the
songs. It’s pretty challenging to play alone, and I
like that challenge.”
Recreating the studio sound on his album
isn’t a priority, either.
“There’s two different schools of thought,
I guess,” explains Vollebekk. “Maybe there’s
more. Some people really just want to recre-
ate exactly what the album was, so people can
see that the band wasn’t doing all studio magic.
But I tend to like just trying different takes on
the songs. It’s not really about reproducing, it’s
more trying to create a similar atmosphere. I
couldn’t for the life of me play drums and bass
at the same time and make it sound good, so
I just try and touch on the ambience that I
want.”
Although he had help on his album, Volle-
bekk prefers touring on his own—for the time
being, at least. It frees him from the responsibili-
ties and stress of managing several band mem-
bers.
Peter Henderson
Arts & Culture Editor
arts@thefulcrum.ca
“I have a few people [that I know]. I have a
drummer, I have a bassist, I have string players,”
he says. “It’s cool, but I tend to not be very or-
ganized, especially when it’s just one-shot trips
out of the city. I feel guilty asking someone to
drive six or seven hours to Toronto to play for
like $20.”
While Vollebekk lives in Montreal, he cut
his teeth in the Ottawa music scene, though he
doesn’t claim to have ever been a part of it.
“I knew that there was a scene. I just wasn’t
in it,” he claims. “I wouldn’t know how to get
people out to shows. I just didn’t know what I
was doing.”
Vollebekk moved to Montreal in August 2008
to work on his music career and for a change of
scenery.
“I was born and raised in Ottawa, and I think
that after a long time in one city it’s cool to live
somewhere else. I think I was a bit tapped out in
Ottawa. Having grown up there, I didn’t really
have the eye for figuring out where it was that I
needed to play or should play. I lived in Ottawa
my whole life, and I just had to try something
different.”
The move to Montreal allowed Vollebekk to
meet other musicians and broaden his musical
horizons, opportunities he never found in Ot-
tawa.
“Montreal is kind of like the Mecca of the
music scene,” he says. “A lot of the bands that
come out of Montreal are often not born and
raised [there]—they come to meet other musi-
cians.
“Just in the past few months I’ve met so
many great musicians who want to collabo-
rate and want to play with me, and I want to
12
photo courtesy Leif Vollebekk
play with them. I didn’t find that in Ottawa,
but I think [Ottawa’s scene] is getting better
and better.”
Vollebekk often returns to Ottawa for shows,
and he hopes that the music scene he never re-
ally discovered can grow into something more
substantial and popular.
“I think that people are just a bit ... doubtful,”
he claims. “I’d make sure I knew who was play-
ing before I went to a show. I think that’s exactly
what happens—you don’t discover who you
want to hear [if you don’t go to shows].
“There’s tons of good music in Ottawa, too,”
he continues. “That’s what’s crazy. Meredith
Luce, or Souljazz Orchestra, that kind of stuff—
there’s some really hip stuff happening.”
The future of Vollebekk’s music career in-
cludes a summer of playing festivals and per-
haps a fall tour of the U.S.
“I’m hoping to play the U.S. this year, but it’s
a lot of organization,” explains Vollebekk. “I’m
learning quickly, but there’s a lot of paperwork
and a lot of things to do. Oddly enough, [there
are] a few small towns in the States that know
who I am. I think that’s what happens with the
Internet, especially when someone’s from some-
where else—you think that maybe they’re popu-
lar where they are. I think that’s the feeling. ‘Oh,
that guy’s from Montreal, there must be tons of
people at his shows!’”
Leif Vollebekk plays Café Alternatif on Jan. 22 at
8 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door. He will also be
playing the Black Sheep Inn (735 Chemin River-
side, Gatineau, QC) on Jan. 23 at 8:30 p.m. Tick-
ets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. For more
information, visit myspace.com/LeifVollebekk.
 The atheist
generation
Life After God moves
from the written page
to the stage
by Kalin Smith
Fulcrum Staff
“YOU ARE THE first generation to be raised
without religion,” writes the prolific Vancouver-
born writer and visual artist Douglas Coupland
in his 1994 collection of short stories Life After
God. The emptiness and disconnectedness of
modern life are explored in the book, and expe-
rienced local director and Vision Theatre artis-
tic director Greg Wysynski is bringing Michael
Lewis MacLennan’s theatrical adaptation to the
Arts Court Theatre Jan. 21–31.
Life After God is the story of six high school
friends and the events in each of their lives
leading up to their fifteenth high school re-
union. The cast consists primarily of Ottawa
talent. Riley Stewart portrays Scout, the lead
role in the production, alongside Chantale
Plante, Jen Scrivens, Jerome Bourgault, and
J.P. Chartier.
The play, like the book, is a satirical take on
the search for meaning and the emptiness of an
entire generation—those born between 1961
and 1981, who are often accused of being apa-
thetic, hypercritical, and disengaged from the
world around them—and it maintains Coup-
land’s original sharp-witted but raw storyline
and selected dialogue.
“[The stage adaptation] focuses on a genera-
tional perspective, the generation [Coupland]
defined as ‘Generation X’,” Wysynski explains.
“It uses Coupland’s witty, sort of sarcastic sense
of humour that flows through Generation X—
the way people talk, and the rhythms that they
talk in. MacLennan picks it all up so beautifully,
www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 //
photo courtesy Coupland.com
and that is a real addition to the play itself.”
Wysynski elaborates further on MacLennan’s
job of adapting such a diverse and scattershot
novel.
“MacLennan expands on Coupland’s original
themes [in Life After God] in a more theatrical
sense,” explains Wysynski. “If you’ve read the
book, it’s a real jumble of stories, images, and
quotes, and it is all really strong lyrical work
that MacLennan takes from the novel. That’s
the one thing that hits you right off—the way
the writing flows.”
Wysynski believes that MacLennan succeeds
in bringing together the pieces of Coupland’s
work in his own unique way.
“[MacLennan] has used a sort of multi-
style approach,” Wysynski explains. “There are
monologue sequences, two-, three-, four-, and
five-person scenes, and then choral sections
which bring the cast together and that add the
dimension of what is being told in Coupland’s
original [collection of] short stories.”
The quest to discover the meaning in life is
a recurring theme in Life After God. Wysynski
believes that the appeal of the stage version of
Life After God is much broader than that of the
novel, which was heavily focused on the experi-
ence of only one generation.
“I think everyone, no matter what genera-
tion they’re from, can identify with emptiness
of some kind in their own lives,” says Wysynski.
“These are wider issues [in the play] that can be
found in everyone, and the spiritual hole that
we are talking about exists in everyone, or if it’s
not a spiritual hole it’s another sort of emptiness
that most feel towards life. I think it’s a univer-
sal concept; I don’t think it can be defined or left
for one generation to feel. ”
Life After God is at the Arts Court Theatre (2
Daly Ave.) Jan. 21–31. Tickets are $20 for stu-
dents and are available from the Arts Court Box
Office at 613-564-7240. For more information,
visit visiontheatre.ca.
ARTS // 13
 Buried Child is not what it seems
The Pulitzer Prize-
winning play leaves a
strong, existentialist
aftertaste
by Tina Hassannia
Fulcrum Contributor
MUCH LIKE WINE, oysters, and
modern art, Buried Child—the latest
National Arts Centre (NAC) theatre
offering, written by Sam Shepard
and directed by Peter Hinton—has a
learning curve when it comes to ap-
preciation. At first glance, the 1979
Pulitzer Prize-winning play is baf-
fling, especially to viewers who try
too hard to make sense of the narra-
tive. A post-play discussion with your
theatre date may be in order.
In Buried Child, Shepard beautifully
depicts the dysfunctional nature of an
all-American family that refuses to rec-
ognize their twenty-something-year-
old relative, Vince. He has returned
home for the first time in years with
his girlfriend Shelley in tow. The fam-
ily can’t remember Vince’s relationship
with them, and they don’t seem to care
that there are two strangers in their
house. The attempts made by Shelley
to uncover the deep, dark, dirty secrets
of the family finally come to fruition
14 \\ ARTS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca
at the end of the play. While not eas-
ily digestible, these secrets reveal the
reasons behind the family’s collective
amnesia and they also force the viewer
to consider the existential reality of the
characters themselves.
With so much attention put into
the mere comprehension of the un-
raveling story line, it is easy for the
audience of Buried Child to take the
play’s excellent production values for
granted. The set design, blocking,
and acting are all spot-on, mostly
because Hinton keeps things simple
in order to let Shepard’s masterful
script shine through. The set is func-
tionalist, featuring a house wall with
missing blocks, which give it a dilap-
idated vibe congruent with the state
of the family. David Fox is the finest
actor in the crew and brilliantly por-
trays Vince’s grandfather, the sardon-
ic, alcoholic, and damaged Dodge.
Randy Hughson and Alex Ivanovici,
who play respectively Dodge’s sons,
Tilden and Bradley, are also quite
masterful in channelling the futile- photo courtesy National Arts Centre
minded creepiness of the two broth-
ers. Christie Watson grows into the surreal characterization required to gether the play’s jaggedly sharp puzzle atre, questions galore will flood their
confused and later hopeless Vince. make this play work. pieces. An example of Shepard’s subtle minds, and it may take some time be-
Adrienne Gould does an accept- Buried Child demonstrates Shepa- symbolism occurs with the random fore they realize the genius of Shep-
able job playing Shelley, and while rd’s use of surrealism at its finest—he burst of corn crops that Vince’s father, ard, and his clever infusion of the
Clare Coulter is excellent as Vince’s subtly weaves in fantastical symbols Tilden, discovers in the first act, a feat fantastical and the realistic. For fans
grandmother, Halie, her voice is far that appear to be commonplace ob- that Vince’s grandfather, Dodge, re- of avant-garde theatre, Buried Child
too grating. In all, the characters jects only until after the play is over, fuses to believe has happened. is sure to satisfy your craving for the
are believable and communicate the and the viewer has managed to put to- As the audience leaves the the- weird.
 Good
The Wrestler Film
THE WRESTLER INTRODUCES Randy “The
Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) as an aged,
beaten-down wrestler still keen on the profes-
sion 20 years after his major success because it’s
the only thing he knows how to do. While not
as sharp as in his glory years, Randy is capable
in the ring, and the choreographed wrestling
is both entertaining and intense. After a par-
ticularly brutal match, Randy collapses in the
locker room. Medical issues force him to retire
from the ring, and from that moment on it’s
hard to take your eyes off Rourke’s complete
embodiment of a defeated yet still devoted
man.
Darren Aronofsky’s directing is superb, es-
pecially considering the film’s style is a no-
table departure from his earlier work. In films
like π and Requiem for a Dream, his directing
felt cold, distant, and at times disconnected. In
The Wrestler, the grainy, hand-held camera that
films Randy in a documentary-like fashion feels
compassionate, often intimate as it follows him
through very private moments. Aronofsky’s use
of music—especially the 80s hair metal and
grim, plucked guitar—contributes immensely to
the film’s warmth and often fleshes out Randy’s
complicated, concealed emotions. As the film
progresses, Randy questions his actions in life
and begins to understand himself. Aronofsky’s
direction facilitates the shift by placing him in a
world that feels natural and familiar.
Randy’s loneliness is thrown into harsh re-
lief after he retires from the ring. He reaches
out to Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), an aging strip-
per who encourages him to reconcile with his
Bad
A
only daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood).
Randy’s detachment from his daughter—who
Bride Wars Film C
BRIDE WARS, THE first estrogen-fuelled chick- maid of honor, but neither one will move their
flick of 2009, tells the story of two lifelong bo- date. This conflict soon escalates into an all-out
resents his absence during her childhood—is som buddies Emma (Anne Hathway) and Liv war, with each girl doing her best to sabotage
moving, and offers insight into how he neglect- (Kate Hudson). The two women lead success- the other’s perfect wedding.
ed her during his glory years. His neglect has ful and well-rounded lives; Emma as a philan- While the plot is gimmicky, Bride Wars is
had severe emotional consequences for both thropic middle-school teacher and Liv as an ag- not a terrible movie. It has its moments, like
him and his daughter. Randy copes with his gressive businesswoman. The story is set in New the reaction of Liv’s fiancée (Steve Howey)
failing health and frustration with being out of York City, like most chick flicks released in this when Emma swaps the hair dye intended for
the ring, but his solitude steadily becomes the decade, and finds the Liv’s pre-wedding
focus of the film. Both Tomei and Wood give duo eagerly awaiting the touch-up. Even a tear-
sincere supporting performances, with Tomei’s chance of fulfilling their ful Hudson, complete
alternating between firm and fragile being par-
ticularly striking.
shared childhood dream
of an extravagant June
Start taking bets on a Baby with a blue-streaked
coiffure, can’t help but
But The Wrestler is Rourke’s film. What wedding at the city’s lux- Wars release date if the laugh when she’s com-
makes the movie so fascinating is the capti-
vating character study of a man who lives in
urious Plaza Hotel.
The story finds Emma
film grosses enough. pared to a really hot
Smurf.
the shadow of his faded glory. Rourke is excel- and Liv both getting en- Bride Wars is a typi-
lent throughout Robert D. Siegel’s bulletproof thusiastically engaged cal chick flick; it banks
script, not once faltering. There are many heart- to their long-time beaus on genre tropes like
breaking moments in this film—such as when within days of each other. Together, they step the juxtaposition of career-driven beauties of
Randy is sitting at a table signing decades-old forth joyfully into the world of wedding plan- opposing hair colour, absurdly ridiculous cat
memorabilia, working behind a deli counter to ning, coordinating florists and caterers while fights, a couple of hair- or skin-related crises,
make ends meet, and spending an afternoon searching for the perfect dress. This search pro- Candice Bergen’s token matriarchal role, and a
out on the boardwalk with his daughter—that vides the film with one of its many overly repeat- slim opening for a potential sequel—start tak-
Rourke executes so convincingly it’s hard to ed lines—“You don’t alter a Vera [Wang], you al- ing bets on a Baby Wars release date if the film
believe he’s been on Hollywood’s blacklist for ter yourself to fit Vera”. With only three months grosses enough. Bride Wars is an entertaining
15 years. Rourke’s evocation of constant silent to go until the big day, drama ensues when, due popcorn chick-flick, but really, there’s nothing
pain and mute desperation as well as his see- to a mishap with the bookings, Emma and Liv’s new here to make it worth the price of admis-
sawing between frustration with himself and weddings are scheduled on the same day. The sion.
fleeting happiness deserves Oscar attention. two were originally scheduled to be each other’s —Jaclyn Lytle
Still, while a lot is being said about Rourke in
the run-up to Academy Award nomination an-
nouncements, The Wrestler is a triumph and Everyone’s a critic.
should be celebrated as a whole. Review movies for the Fulcrum.
—Michael Olender Email volunteer@thefulcrum.ca for more info.

Sex, violence, and opera

U of O modernizes
Georges Bizet’s
Carmen
by Ania Bula
Fulcrum Contributor
JEALOUSY, LUST, AND murder—
Georges Bizet’s classic opera Carmen
has all three in spades. A hot Cuban
nightclub filled with dancing girls,
a communist uprising, and a sordid
love triangle all find their place in the
U of O’s Music Department’s revolu-
tionary update of the opera.
Carmen, which runs Jan. 23–Feb. 1
at the Alumni Auditorium, breaks the
stereotype of traditional opera with
content that was considered scandal-
ous and highly controversial in 1875
when it was first performed, and its
timeless story still burns with sensual
passion more than a century after it
was written.
“It’s got sex, it’s got murder, it’s got
violence,” says Whitney O’Hearn, one
of the two actresses playing the titular
Carmen.
“It’s HBO,” jokes James O’Farrell,
who plays the lovestruck Don José.
José is a naïve young army officer who
is seduced by Carmen and forms one
part of a bizarre love triangle with her
and another man. This love triangle is
the central plot device of the opera.
In the original, the other man was a
Spanish bullfighter, but this updated
version from the U of O transports
the action to 1950s revolutionary-era
Cuba and the other man in the love
triangle is not a bullfighter but the fa-
mous revolutionary Che Guevera.
“Testosterone,” says Philippe
Courchesne-Leboeuf, when asked to
describe what drives his portrayal of
Guevera. Leboeuf sees his character
as the manifestation of raw male pow-
er, the hero, and the lover. Although
a relatively small role, the character’s
importance lies in the consequences
of his affair with Carmen.
According to director Sandra Gra-
ham, who is also a professor in the
U of O’s music department and an
internationally renowned mezzo-so-
prano in her own right, the location
was changed from Spain to Cuba in
an attempt to give the opera a more
modern feel.
“To commemorate the 50th an-
niversary of the [Cuban] Revolution,
I am setting Bizet’s opera Carmen in
Cuba in 1958–1959,” Graham says.
“This is still in keeping with the
‘Spanish’ and gypsy-like flavour of the
original story.”
The new setting adds political
tension to a story already filled with
comedy and sexual tension.
There are two performers playing
each major role in the play—with the
exception of Don José and Guevara—
and they perform on alternate nights,
in order to preserve their voices.
CARMEN continued on p. 19 photo by Martha Pearce

www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // ARTS // 15

 Big dreams and small hop by Joe Howell / The Strand (CUP)

Peace in the Middle East

W
hen I arrived in Sderot on power in 2006, were designed to put polit- the West Ba
Dec. 17, 2008, 11 rockets ical pressure on the government by plung- remove 63 s
had already fallen in and ing over a million Palestinians further into and hand ov
around the Israeli border desolation. exchange fo
town. School was letting out, and boys In response to Hamas’ demands, Israel they wouldn
were playing soccer in front of a bomb decided to ease the embargo, which al- tinians woul
shelter, while other children were being lows only the barest of necessities over the ever state th
carefully corralled onto an armoured bus. border; But as arms smuggling into, and Although
It was the very end of the so-called rocket fire out of, Gaza never ceased, they monumenta
ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, be- clamped back down. of perpetua
fore the launch of Israel’s Operation Cast Both continued harming the other side were growin
Lead. It would also be one of the last indiscriminately, Israel through collective Two deca
peaceful moments the town of nearly punishment, Hamas through untargeted construction
20,000 people would know. Soon after, the explosives. Both have a lot to answer for. prime mini
Israelis’ aerial bombing of Gaza not even never have
a mile away would put an end to classes Is peace possible? At the time,
completely. plete Biblica
It was also the tail end of the organized It’s surely more productive to look at the and the Pale
portion of my travels in the country, spon- long-term prospects for peace rather than more than s
sored largely by the National Committee point fingers in this latest episode of the At the sam
for Jewish Campus Life, and it was becom- conflict, however, so I will concern myself estinians wo
ing apparent the ending had been spoiled with that. How can we help prevent this from them
for me. madness from lasting another 100 years? part of the 1
“If you think you get it, you don’t get To figure out what needs to be done, plan.
it,” my guide Michael Bauer had told me, the first place we should look is at the last And here
in regards to the perennial conflict in the major chance for an Israeli/Palestinian paring to
region. “If you realize you don’t get it, then settlement, why it failed, and the follow- claims to all
you’re starting to get it.” ing developments that have set the process sea, forever.
How right he was. back even further. Indeed, th
In July 2000, United States president ermind sha
Complications in Gaza Bill Clinton sat down Yasser Arafat, then- once unthin
chairman of the Palestinian Liberation to me by Ca
Most people, my pre-trip self included, Organization, with Israeli prime minister have agreed
have fairly simplistic notions of what is re- Ehud Barak (now the minister of defence) have led to a
quired to bring peace to the Middle East. at Camp David. “Take it a
“All Israel has to do is return to the The negotiations came closer to reach- Aviv, and th
Green Line and end the occupation,” one ing a “final status settlement” between the Nearly an
might tell you, while another insists that if warring peoples than anything previously same as an
Hamas stopped firing missiles and recog- attempted, which made the sting of their contention
nized the Jewish state’s right to exist, the collapse especially painful. return”. Wou
problem would be solved. Shortly after the Camp David talks fell Palestinians
Both of these hypothetical armchair- apart, the second Intifada—the Arabic the soon-to
diplomats are partially right, but they are word for uprising—broke out with more but to Israe
also horribly wrong. After all, if the centu- violence than the first, Israeli public opin- compromisi
ry-old struggle has such an easy answer, it ion swung to the right, and Clinton pro- Israel said
would have been found by now. That said, nounced himself a failure. ics showed t
anyone peddling a quick fix is probably Amid this misery, there is still hope in tially make
woefully uninformed; the same goes for the common ground the talks aroused. own state w
anyone offering a one-sided condemna- Both sides warmed to concessions that had to be pr
tion. would have been unthinkable in previous And so, w
The rockets hitting Sderot on that mild decades. table, Arafat
December day were but a tiny example Among them was sharing Jerusalem,
of the enormous complexity of the beast. the city that contains some of the holiest Pe
Hamas said the rockets were in response places in Judaism, Islam, and Christian-
to Israel’s not fulfilling their end of the ity, and is thus both the spiritual and geo- From this h
ceasefire and lifting the crippling sanc- graphical epicentre of the conflict. pects have d
tions on Gaza. Another was the complete return of after the fail
The sanctions, started after Hamas took the Gaza Strip and about 91 per cent of mit in 2000,
photos by Zoriah / Zoriah.com
page 16 | the fulcrum

1.1million 952
Gazans dependent on food aid
Palestinian minors killed by Israel
between July 2000 and November 2008 140
Suicide bombing a
Israel between 200
pes
ank to Palestine. Israel would
settlements from these regions
ver part of Green Line Israel in
or the parts of the West Bank
n’t vacate. In return, the Pales-
ld be permitted to form what-
hey liked.
h rejected, this concession was
al, and proof of just how tired
al bloodshed the two nations
ng.
ades earlier, when settlement
n began in earnest, Israeli
ster Menachem Begin would
considered these proposals.
the idea of a historically com-
al Israel was a pervasive one,
estinians were regarded as little
quatters.
me time, Arafat vowed the Pal-
ould reclaim all the land taken
when they were expelled as
1947 United Nations partition
e were Barak and Arafat, pre-
relinquish their respective
l the land from the river to the
he idea of returning land, nev-
aring the Temple Mount was
nkable. But as one Israeli put it
amp David, his country would
to nearly anything that would
a lasting peace.
all! Just leave us the beach, Tel
he airport,” he joked.
nything is, of course, not the
nything. The major point of
was the so-called “right of
uld the millions of displaced
s be able to return to not just
-be-created state of Palestine,
el proper? There would be no
ing on this one.
d absolutely not. Demograph-
that allowing this could poten-
the Jews a minority in their
within a few decades, and this
revented.
with the right of return off the
t walked away.
eace talks falter
high watermark, peace pros-
deteriorated. Only two months
lure of the Camp David sum-
, the first Israeli casualty from
0 5,300 1,000
attacks in
00 and 2007
the second Intifada was recorded.
Since that day, roughly 5,300 Palestin-
ians and 1,000 Israelis have died in the re-
newed violence, along with dozens of for-
eigners, not including the death toll from
the latest fighting in Gaza.
The ongoing violence will drive both
body counts considerably higher, increase
animosity and distrust between the two
groups, and make diplomacy an impos-
sible dream in the process. Right?
Maybe not. I hold a slight, perhaps na-
ïve hope that the blood in the streets will
reinforce the desire and up the urgency for
some sort of compromise to be reached.
Surely, no one enjoys the status quo—the
Palestinian civilian casualties have been
heartbreaking and any deal for the inhab-
itants of Gaza would be better than the
situation they’re currently in.
But it’s a two-way street: what Israeli
man would want to spend every minute
of his life between the ages of 18 and 45
knowing he could be called to fight at a
moment’s notice? What Israeli woman
wants to know that her children will be
conscripted the minute they reach adult-
hood? What on Earth could be more im- tive to see proper surveying done of how sentiment against itself, alienated its Arab New Republic, are going to want to head
portant for either side than escaping these many of the 4 million displaced Palestin- neighbours, and killed a saddening num- back to the bargaining table.
conditions? ians would insist on immigrating to Israel, ber of civilians and children. Hamas must Halevi explained to me that he was de-
While in Israel, one of the speakers I if they had enough reason to return to Pal- be defeated by other means. lighted when Israel unilaterally withdrew
had the opportunity to listen to was the estine instead. Diplomacy is an option. Why was Hamas from Gaza in 2005, but the relentless bar-
Globe and Mail Middle Eastern corre- elected in the first place? The most likely rage of Qassam rockets since then has
spondent Patrick Martin. Hamas reason seems to be that Hamas was consid- made him wary of handing back more ter-
He said we will need a “magnifying ered honest and capable of actually deliver- ritory. What if that land is used as a beach-
glass” to see the differences between the One of the other aspects of the dispute that ing essential services, while the notoriously head for attacks? Moderates like him must
eventual deal struck and what was offered the sides will need to make a tough com- corrupt and ineffectual Fatah party (which be re-convinced withdrawal is wise.
at Camp David nine years ago. promise on is Hamas. The political party, governs the West Bank) was not. My thoughts now turn to a presentation
“In broad strokes, we see what’s there,” considered a “terrorist organization” by Faced with the choice of voting for bad I saw by Dr. Mohammed Dajani, founding
said Martin, and he’s probably right. Canada, was democratically elected in or worse, Gazans decided on Hamas—an director of the American Studies Institute
It does not seem that either camp can Gaza in 2006. ambigious choice. at Al-Quds University, a Palestinian uni-
concede much more and still walk away The fact that Hamas—a party that re- Could there be a third way? Might the versity in Jerusalem.
from the negotiations thinking it was fuses to recognize Israel and calls for the international community be able to em- In his presentation, “Big Dreams, Small
fair. There are mutually exclusive things state’s destruction in its founding char- power a neutral party, and give them the Hope”, Dajani explained the conflict comes
neither side will budge on—the right of ter—was elected by Gazans poses a ma- resources to address the myriad humani- down to the nationalistic “Big Dream”
return most specifically—but if they truly jor roadblock on the road to peace. Israel tarian issues that plague Gaza? camps on both sides, who want the enemy
want peace, they’ll have to compromise argues it cannot negotiate with the party Assuming the majority of residents vot- gone at all costs, and the “Small Hope”
eventually. or the people it represents if Hamas truly ed for Hamas because the party was better contingents, who “believe in the peaceful
They must work out the devil in the hopes for Israel’s ruin. able to feed their children, this could pos- co-existence between the two peoples and
details—perhaps finding a way to entice Yet, there are options available to Is- sibly work. call for the establishment of a two-state
as many Palestinians back to the new state rael beyond an all-out war against Hamas. solution, living next to each other in har-
as possible through financial and housing Hamas’ guerrilla army cannot be defeated Is the end in sight? mony, peace, and security with Jerusalem
incentives, and agreeing to let the few who in a conventional, quick war any more as a shared capital for both.”
absolutely must come back to Israeli land than the Iraqi insurgency could be. Even One thing is certain: the missiles coming Will enough people eventually move
do just that. Mechanisms might be devel- if the rocket attacks can be silenced, they out of Gaza must be halted one way or to the latter group, deciding that nothing
oped to prevent the feared flood of immi- will inevitably resume in the future, and another, if self-described leftists like Yossi is more valuable than a higher quality of
grants that would make Jews a minority. Israel will have accomplished little. Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalem life? We can only hope for this, next year
At the very least, it would be informa- It will also have poisoned international Centre and Israeli correspondent for the in Jerusalem.
the fulcrum | page 17
Palestinians killed between the 2000 Camp
David peace talks and Operation Cast Lead
Israelis killed between the 2000 Camp
David peace talks and Operation Cast Lead
Album reviews
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE HAS had a career-long
identity crisis. In a recent interview with the Na-
Animal Collective
tional Public Radio program Spinning On Air,
band members spoke of their affinity for melody
Merriweather Post
and catchy pop. This musical approach has been
present on all Animal Collective’s releases, but
has always been out-matched by the band’s de-
Pavilion sire for experimental structures and sounds. Past
results were interesting, sometimes enjoyable,
though mostly frustrating due to sonic overkill
and a lack of focus. However, on Merriweather
A Post Pavilion, Animal Collective’s ninth album,
they’ve finally struck a perfect balance between
vivacious indie pop and boisterous experimen-
GEOFF BERNER’S KLEZMER Mongrels
sounds exactly as the title suggests it should—a
bizarre mix of alternative rock and traditional
Geoff Berner Jewish folk. Klezmer is Jewish folk music that
originated in the 15th century, emphasizing
Klezmer Mongrels danceable melodies played on accordion, vio-
lin, and clarinet. Even though the music on the
album fits the klezmer genre, Geoff Berner is
definitely not going to be headlining any Ha-
nukkah festivities to support this album. ‘Mon-
grel’ is the key word for this album: Berner has
B mashed together a punk attitude with the in-
strumentals of a Jewish wedding to create his
own mongrel genre that only its parents can
disown. Klezmer Mongrels’ 11 tracks feature
songs that would outrage any mother, Jew-
LOW FIDELITY CAPTURES the sweeter side
of the blues, thanks to Treasa Levasseur’s sub-
tle yet beautiful voice and musical accompani-
ment tailor-made for a dark coffee house. The
album is polished and layered acoustic blues
Treasa Levasseur that thankfully doesn’t sound overproduced—
restrained touches of horns and even a gos-
Low Fidelity pel choir pepper the album, adding mellow
warmth to the music. This is most apparent
on the second half of the album, especially on
“Give Me Just One” and the stunning “Rest
B of the Ride”, where Levasseur consolidates
the best elements of artists like Mavis Staples
and The Band into a simmering gospel-blues
dirge. Unfortunately, her lack of innovation
WINTER HOURS IS The Deep Dark Woods’
third foray into the ambiguous genre of alt-coun-
try. The album relies heavily upon twangy guitars,
copious harmonies, and monotonous drumming.
The Deep Dark Woods Thankfully, though, the band has taken country
away from songs about ma’ dog, ma’ girlfriend,
Winter Hours and ma’ truck and back towards the ear-pleasing,
finger-tapping country your parents liked so
much. Listeners will find Winter Hours highly
reminiscent of early Neil Young, The Band, or
A-
Bob Dylan’s folk and country albums. “Polly”
18 \\ ARTS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca
tation. Here, unlike on previous releases, the
weird electronic sounds don’t seem like they’ve
been forced into the band’s tribal dance-like
rhythms—everything feels natural and has a
purpose. Songs like “My Girls” and “Daily Rou-
tine” sound like Neanderthals who have been
given synthesizers and laptops to use in their
celebrations. Merriweather Post Pavilion isn’t
an evolution for the band—it’s still the familiar
Animal Collective sound—but because there
is none of the musical meandering that dotted
their previous works it’s the band’s most refined
release to date.
—Danyal Khoral
ish or otherwise. “The Whiskey” has Berner
exploring the role whisky had in his concep-
tion, while “No Tobacco” proclaims proudly
that British Columbian marijuana is so potent
that “you don’t need anything to mix with it”.
Finally, on “Half German Girlfriend” Berner
lightheartedly sings about racial prejudice and
alludes to the Holocaust, singing “both Nazis
and Orthodox Jews would be disgusted by
the dirty things he does with his half-German
girlfriend”. Relying heavily on accordion and
violin, the album does get obnoxious at some
points, but it is completely necessary to suc-
cessfully create one of the most tongue-in-
cheek albums you will ever hear.
—Julian Blizzard
and aping of her influences is also the album’s
biggest weakness—she doesn’t stand out when
compared to her predecessors or even con-
temporaries like Norah Jones. The lyrics of her
original songs often deal with her own life with
precise and sometimes scathing detail, but
with the exception of the upbeat opener “Help
Me Over” and the aforementioned “Rest of the
Ride”, the songs tend to blend together, both
with themselves and with a myriad of other
artists doing the same thing. With a stronger
set of tunes, Levasseur could release a mod-
ern classic, but she doesn’t quite deliver on the
promise that is shown here.
—Nicholas Rudiak
and “The Birds on the Bridge” could actually be
mistaken for covers of Dylan or Young. However,
these blatant acknowledgements to likely influ-
ences do the album no harm as The Deep Dark
Woods could do much worse than emulating
some of country’s most prolific artists. Country
fans will appreciate Winter Hours for its wonder-
fully mellow taste of the prairies, but while it’s a
fine country album, it remains to be seen whether
the band can carve out its own distinct sound.
—Julian Blizzard
CARMEN continued from p. 15
Although Don José and Guevera were
originally cast with two actors, both
roles lost an actor over the course of
the production.
Carmen has a simple story, but the
complex characters in the opera are
easily misunderstood. It was a chal-
lenge for some of the actors and ac-
tresses to find an understanding of
the parts they play.
“I had the common view of Carmen
that everybody does—kind of a slut,”
admits O’Hearn. “But then, after go-
ing through rehearsals, and getting to
know the music and getting to know
her more, she has so many layers. She
is so complicated I don’t even know if
I have her figured out yet.”
Graham realizes that opera may no
longer be the most popular genre in
today’s society. However, she believes
that the engaging stories and stun-
ning music will continue to transcend
the limitations of time.
“Anything that’s well written will
continue to be enjoyed years from
now,” explains Graham. “The music is
so beautiful. I think people are always
ready to hear beautiful singing. I think
there is always a place for opera.”
Carmen runs Jan. 23–Feb. 1 at the
Alumni Auditorium. Tickets are $10 at
the door, $5 for students and seniors.
For more information, visit music.uot-
tawa.ca.

If you’re reading this, you have the attention to

detail we need in our proofreaders.

Come to 631 King Edward on Tuesday evenings to keep

the Fulcrum error-free.

YEP.YOU’ VE
Students are invited to enter by January 30, 2009

GOTMUMPS
GETMUMPSANDYOU’LLSPEND9DAYSINISOLATION.
Mumps is a very contagious disease that can cause serious complications.Catch it and you’ll have to spend 9 days in
isolation.4 out of 5 young adults are not fully protected.Make sure you are.Get the mumps catch-up vaccination.
Find out more at Ontario.ca/mumps or call 1-866-559-4598
Paid for by the Government of Ontario

www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // ARTS // 19

You’ll never eat brunch in this town again

An apology to Clint Eastwood

Peter Henderson
Arts & Culture Editor
DEAR MR. EASTWOOD,
Can I call you Clint? No? All right, there’s no
need to grimace. Mr. Eastwood, I recently saw
your latest film, Gran Torino, otherwise known
as Clint Eastwood Thinks the Young Generation
is a Bunch of Pussies Who Need to Man Up, and
I want to set the record straight.
First off, we’re sorry. I’m apologizing on
behalf of my generation, which has become
caught up in a consumerist, instant-gratifica-
tion culture that shortens attention spans and all about. It is popular today to view the past time to call their grandparents because they’re
creates kids with no time for history, studies, or with a jaundiced eye, and your generation is too busy on Facebook are the people who got
the wisdom of our elders. There were moments not without its sins—segregation, McCarthy- Barack Obama elected—despite your Republi-
in Gran Torino when I cringed at the selfish- ism, and oppression—but that’s not the whole can Party membership, Mr. Eastwood, I know
ness and stupidity of the characters onscreen; story. You were the ones who fought the good you’d be as scared as I was at the prospect of a
not because they fight, defeating an President Palin. We’re still young, but we know
were caricatures, but evil empire in Eu- we can beat this economic crisis, too. We have
because they were so rope and protecting not been as tested as previous generations, but
true to life. I’ve seen I’ve seen a teenage girl dressed at least some of the I believe—whatever our struggle—that we will
a teenage girl dressed like a tramp, text messaging at a Korean people from show the grit and determination that have been
like a tramp, text
messaging at a funer-
funeral, and you’re right to show decades of tyranny.
Today, we too often
lacking of late.
Mr. Eastwood, we may have lost our way, but
al, and you’re right to just how inconsiderate and forget the sacrifices I’m sure we will rediscover the positive values
show just how incon- embarrassing people born after of the Greatest Gen- of your generation—respect, compassion, and
siderate and embar- eration, and for that I strength. It’s hard to separate you from your
rassing people born
1980 can be. am sorry. most famous characters, Mr. Eastwood, but
after 1980 can be. Mr. Eastwood, I’m your mythic image is that of a man who never
Mr. Eastwood, you a pussy. I don’t know backed down, who righted the wrongs he saw,
represent a bygone era, an era of strong, silent a lug wrench from a socket wrench, I can’t and who truly believed in justice. Keep making
men who did their duty without complain- rewire a circuit, and, to quote the late, great movies like Gran Torino, and maybe we’ll learn
ing, who did what was right without equivo- Mitch Hedberg, “if my car breaks down and how to live up to your example.
cating, and who knew what being a man—in the gas tank does not say ‘E’, I’m fucked.” But
the full sense of the word, encompassing ma- my generation isn’t all gang-bangers and self- arts@thefulcrum.ca
turity, manual skill, and moral character—was centred assholes. The same jerks who can’t find 613-562-5931

Want to get a summer job? Learn to write.

We’ll show you how.
volunteer@thefulcrum.ca

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20 \\ ARTS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

 21
David McClelland

Sports Jan. 22–28, 2009

Sports Editor
sports@thefulcrum.ca

A
fresh
start American guard Josh Wright
joins men’s basketball team
by Anna Rocoski Gees is a step back for Wright. If Wright wants
Fulcrum Staff to someday take a shot at the National Basket-
ball Association, he’ll have an uphill battle—
ON DEC. 17, guard Josh Wright was officially CIS players rarely get a shot at the big leagues,
activated as the newest member of the Gee- and none have made it all the way since Brian
Gees men’s basketball team. Wright, formerly Heaney in 1969. Wright isn’t letting that worry
with the National Collegiate Athletic Associa- him, though, preferring to focus on maximizing
tion (NCAA) Division I Syracuse Orange, one his potential with the Gees.
of the top 25 men’s basketball programs in the “The sky is the limit,” said Wright. “I have no
United States, left that team in December 2007, limitations on what I am able to do as long as
following what some speculated was a conflict I keep doing what is right—prepare myself and
with Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. After take care of myself.”
sitting out the mandatory one year required to Often when a talented new player arrives
transfer between the NCAA and Canadian In- with a team midway through the season, there
teruniversity Sports is a chance the player
(CIS), Wright is now won’t integrate well
playing out his re- “This is the first real team into the new environ-
maining year and a that I have been on since ment. DeAveiro noted
half of eligibility in that this is far from the
Ottawa. high school as far as case with Wright.
“Here I am allowed camaraderie with the “He’s added some
to be myself; that’s depth, experience, and
one of the biggest players goes.” talent we didn’t have,
[factors]. I have just Josh Wright so he definitely makes
always wanted to be
myself,” said Wright,
Gee-Gees guard us a better team,” he
said. “[Wright] has
a Utica, New York na- done everything he
tive, regarding his decision to come to Canada. can to fit in with his teammates and I think his
“I can honestly say [I feel like] this is the first teammates are comfortable with [Wright] and
real team that I have been on since high school they’re happy that he is here.”
as far as the camaraderie with the players goes.” DeAveiro also noted that Wright will prob-
Compared to NCAA basketball, CIS basket- ably need some time before he is completely
ball is relatively obscure, so the reasons behind familiar with the Gees’ game plan.
Wright’s transfer may seem confusing. Gee- “It’s going to take him a while to really un-
Gees head coach Dave DeAveiro explained that derstand our defense system because he comes
the reduced pressure in CIS was a factor for from a completely different system so he strug-
Wright. gled a little with that [in his first game with us],”
“It’s much more of a business down there,” DeAveiro continued. “The next night I think ev-
said DeAveiro. “You put 20,000 people in an are- erybody got a little glimpse of what Josh Wright
na, you generate millions of dollars, and alumni is capable of doing.”
are putting money into the program—but you For Wright, the bottom line is simply playing
have to win. So if you don’t win, you lose your the sport he loves, no matter where that might
job. As a player there, you have to perform, be- be.
cause if you don’t perform the coach will pull “Basketball is the same everywhere you go,” photo by Frank Appleyard
you over and put the next guy in.” he said. “It’s about how you prepare for the game Josh Wright transferred to the Gee-Gees after playing two seasons with the NCAA Division I
It can be argued that playing for the Gee- and how you approach the game.” Syracuse Orange.
 The gloves are off
Part of the sport,
or destined to be
banned?
by Megan O’Meara
Fulcrum Staff

THE RECENT DEATH of 21-year-old Ontario

Hockey Association (OHA) player Don Sander-
son, a member of the Whitby Dunlops who fell
into a coma after hitting his unprotected head
against the ice during a fight, has caused an ex-
plosive reaction from those against fighting in
hockey.
Many coaches, players, and fans feel that fight-
ing is sewn into the fabric of the game, despite
occasional serious injuries and even the death
of Sanderson. But sometimes hockey’s fighting
culture spills into the rest of the sport in ugly
ways, such as Todd Bertuzzi’s brutal attack on
Steve Moore in 2004.
Gee-Gee’s fourth-year centre Dan McDonald
feels that it would be tough to take the fighting
out of the game.
“I don’t think they’ll ever be able to abolish it
completely from the game,” he said. “It wouldn’t
be hockey without it.”
Still, OHA officials have attempted to satisfy
the desires of critics as they are now debating
new rules on helmet safety and fighting in the
league. illustration by Alex Martin
Meanwhile, fighting at the Canadian Inter- at the U of O, she has not encountered one fight
university Sport (CIS) level is already penalized involving one of her players. Leger, on the other
with automatic ejection, or if a hit to the head is hand, has seen some fights, but not many.
involved the player receives an automatic major “In my six years [here] there’s been maybe The
penalty and a two-game suspension. Currently, five to 10 fights at the maximum,” he said. knowledge
players wanting to drop the gloves must be sure Of course, the reason for the differing num- to compete

Sprott MBA
to keep their helmets and chin straps on before bers of fights has a lot to do with the gender of
and during their clash. the players.
Typically at the uni- “Fighting in hockey
versity level, fighting is something that’s
is rare, but that doesn’t “I don’t think they’ll more exclusively on the
men’s side; on the wom-
The Sprott MBA Advantage
prevent coaches of both
the men’s and women’s ever be able to abolish en’s side, it’s very rare to
t
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teams from being quite
opinionated on the it completely from the see a fight,” said Gee-
Gees women’s hockey – Financial Management
matter. game ... It wouldn’t be captain Danika Smith.
“[In men’s hockey] it’s
– International Business
– Management & Change
Dave Leger, the head
coach of the Gee-Gees hockey without it.” usually associated with – Technology Management
men’s hockey team, is Dan McDonald the entertainment side
among those who wish [of the game], because t
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to keep fighting—as
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long as it’s regulated— so that’s something that t
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in junior hockey was quite unfortunate, but it While fighting is banned at the university lev-


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sounds to me like it was ... purely accidental,” el and junior level (or typically results in a sus-
explained Leger. “To those who aren’t accus- pension), there is no evidence that this will ever Take your career to the next level with
tomed to the game of hockey it’s quite shocking, be the case in the NHL. Fans are often divided the knowledge to compete.
but I think most Canadians are used to seeing it on the issue, with some feeling that it is just a
as part of the sport. Fighting with controls func- part of the sport, while others feel it’s no longer sprott.carleton.ca/mba
tions well across the country.” necessary and that hockey should not become a
The head coach of the Gee-Gee’s women’s blood sport. For his part, McDonald noted that
hockey team, Shelley Coolidge, falls on the oth- even if fighting in hockey is banned, it won’t
er side of the debate. stop the fights from happening.
“[Fighting] isn’t necessary,” said Coolidge via “There’s still going to be incidents where tem-
email. “[Hockey] is a game of skill.” pers boil over and guys will take matters into Next Information Sessions:
Coolidge noted that, in her six years as a coach their own hands and fight.”
+BO


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QN 'FC


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www.thefulcrum.ca
#SPPLTUSFFU
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It’s the bee’s knees. Reserve your place today!

mba_info@sprott.carleton.ca 613-520-2807

22 \\ SPORTS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

 The Fulcrum will have a special
general meeting Jan. 29 at 2:30 p.m.
to discuss amendments
Capital showdown
to its constitution. Gee-Gees looking
to avenge 2008
The meeting will be held at losses
631 King Edward Ave., in addition by Hilary Caton
and David McClelland
to our regular staff meeting. Fulcrum Staff

ON JAN. 28, Scotiabank Place will

host the third annual MBNA Capi-
For more information, tal Hoops Classic, an event that has
become Ottawa’s biggest annual
email editor@thefulcrum.ca. university sporting event. A yearly
tradition since 2007, the event pits
the Gees against the cross-town ri-
val Carleton Ravens in a showdown
at Scotiabank Place in front of 9,000
fans (and this year televised nation-
ally on The Score). This year, the
sudoku answers Gee-Gees will be looking to avenge
from p. 30 last year’s pair of losses to Carleton,
who defeated the men’s team 70-66
and the women’s team 53-43. Like
last year, the double header will
dap_campusp_4x7-5_sep12.eps 09/12/2008 9:47:52 AM start with the women’s basketball
teams at 6 p.m., followed by the
men’s teams at 8 p.m.
With the Carleton Ravens ranked
first in Canada and the Gees second,
this year’s game will be a battle for
supremacy in men’s basketball. Both
teams are also on 11-game winning
streaks, which will likely extend to
13 game streaks after both teams play
the 6-7 Queen’s Golden Gaels and
0-13 RMC Paladins the weekend of
Jan. 23–24.
“I think it’s the same as every year,
regardless of our ranking,” said fifth-
year centre Dax Dessureault. “This
time we might be ranked number
one for the first time in my career, so
there’s that much more hype to it.”
The game will likely end up deter-
mining which team will control first
place in the Ontario University Ath-
letics East division, as Carleton and
Ottawa have remained deadlocked
since the beginning of the season.
Gee-Gees head coach Dave
DeAveiro feels that his team has the
experience to take such a high-pres-
sure game with few problems.
“Most of our guys have been in a
game like this, our returning guys
have played it for two years and our
rookies have [played] this year at Sco-
tiabank Place when we played South-
ern Alabama and Providence,” he said.
“But they weren’t playing for number
one or number two in the country, so
it’ll definitely be a different feeling.”
Meanwhile, the Gee-Gee’s women’s
basketball team is having a much- photo by Meaghan Walton
improved season over last year, when The top two men’s basketball teams in Canada will battle for supremacy
the team finished 3-19. They current- when the Gees take on the Carleton Ravens at Scotiabank Place Jan. 28.
ly sport a 8-5 record, and are just one
game behind the Ravens, who are tied be there, so it becomes a big deal, plus “We’ve taken it game-by-game all
with the Toronto Varsity Blues for the men’s team will be there watching. year, so that’s not going to change.
first-place in the OUA East. So, there’s a fair bit of pressure from That’s just how we do things.”
“We’re doing a little bit more prep both sides.”
for Carleton, I think, but we know Head coach Andy Sparks isn’t wor- Tickets for the Capital Hoops Classic
the players. We faced them at the be- rying about the game against Carleton cost $15 for students. The price includes
ginning of the regular season, so we just yet, preferring to wait until after transportation to and from Scotiabank
know the way they play pretty well,” the Gees play the Queen’s Golden Place. Tickets are available from the
said second-year guard Emilie Mo- Gaels on Jan. 23 and RMC Paladins SFUO office, Gee-Gee’s box office and
rasse. “So many people are going to on Jan. 24. geegees.ca.

www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 // SPORTS // 23

 Skating through the capital
by Ben Myers
Fulcrum Staff
SKATING THE RIDEAU Canal can
only be described as a sensory experi-
ence: The crisp sound of skate blades
scraping across the surface of the ice;
the sight of hundreds of people smil-
ing, laughing, and struggling to stay
upright; and, of course, the sugary
taste of the canal’s unofficial treat, the
beaver tail.
While extremely cold weather (as
low as -34, with the windchill factor)
prevented many people from enjoy-
ing the canal earlier in the month,
many anxious skaters finally took to
the ice on Jan. 18, in balmy –15 tem-
peratures. Whether flailing arms and
tripping over their own feet in rented
skates, or zooming along in speed
skates, winter enthusiasts took to the
world’s largest skating rink in force.
U of O students Maxime Laliberte
and Tanya Marcoux took the oppor-
tunity for a romantic skate around
the Corktown Bridge and toward the
Rideau Centre. Stopping for a beaver
tail was mandatory.
“It’s my favourite part,” Marcoux
said.
Coupling seems to be an impor-
tant part of the Canal experience
for many. One passing skater noted,
“holding hands prevents falling over,”
to a nearby companion, who then du-
tifully clutched his mitt—to prevent
injury, of course.
In the 1970s, Ottawa City Council
toyed with the idea of paving the Ride-
au Canal in order to make a highway
into the heart of downtown. Colonel
John By, who directed the construc-
tion of the canal from 1826–32, must
have rolled over in his grave. Luckily,
the canal survived as a waterway and
is now a UNESCO World Heritage
Site and source of civic pride. Many
skaters however, simply come for the
exercise.
Taking off their skates at the north
end of the canal near the Snowbowl
concert area at Rideau Street, Amelia
Bailey, Oliver Wilkenson, and Chris-
tina Seensson had only a minute to
reflect on their canal experience be-
fore escaping the cold and catching a
lift back home.
Bailey initially said the need for ex-
ercise brought her crew out to skate
before conceding the real reason.
Seensson, a native of Norway, had not
yet tasted a beaver tail nor had she
skated on the canal—two quintessen-
tially Canadian experiences.
“It’s really nice here. No pollution,
not much garbage around. You would
expect that, [Ottawa] being the capi-
tal,” Seensson remarked before dash-
ing off with her friends.
The Snowbowl will host Colin
James, Jim Cuddy, and other musical
acts during Winterlude, Ottawa’s offi-
cial celebration of the winter season,
held Feb. 6–22. Not far away, Con-
federation Park will become ground
zero for ice sculptures and curious
onlookers.
For now though, the skaters glee-
fully scrape over the hills and valleys
of the Rideau Canal’s uneven surface.
Simply for the love of the activity, they
glide from the Parliament Buildings
all the way to Carleton University.
The skaters absorb all the aspects of
the world’s largest skating rink, wait-
photo by Maria Rondon
ing for the next sensory experience to The Rideau Canal Skateway, which runs near the U of O campus, is a winter experience that should not be
hit them. missed.

Lighting the lamp

Dividing women’s hockey the right way

Sports Federation (QSSF), along with the Car- ably be correct. ference could be easily split into two seven-team
leton Ravens, McGill Martlets, and Concordia It’s pretty obvious that something isn’t work- divisions, with the current QSSF plus Queen’s,
Stingers—and that’s all. Those four teams are ing in women’s hockey. The QSSF is stagnant, the University of Ontario Institute of Technol-
the sum of competition in the QSSF, and as you and there’s been no evidence of change in the ogy Ridgebacks, and York Lions in the east,
would expect the schedule becomes drearily time I’ve been watching the league. Something and the remaining teams in the west. Canadian
repetitive, with the same match-ups recurring obviously needs to be changed, and there are a Interuniversity Sports scheduling pits teams
within mere weeks of one another—over the few ways the league could be improved. mostly against their divisional rivals, meaning
course of their 18-game schedule, the Gees play As I see it, there are two things that could be that most teams would likely only end up tak-
each team no less than six times. Meanwhile, done. The first and simplest would be to move ing one excessively long inter-division road trip
the race for the the Queen’s Golden each season (such as London to Montreal).
playoffs isn’t ter- Gaels from the ten- Teams and fans alike would reap the benefits
David McClelland ribly exciting, as
all but the fourth-
The QSSF is stagnant, and team Ontario Uni-
versity Athletics
of a merged conference. The teams would be able
to test themselves against a much wider variety
Sports Editor place team will find there’s been no evidence of (OUA) conference, of competition, while fans of women’s hockey,

TWO YEARS AGO, when I was just a fresh-

faced volunteer here at the Fulcrum, one of the
first sports that I covered was women’s hockey. I
always enjoyed writing about the team’s games,
as the players were skilled and they, as well as
the coaches, were approachable and friendly (a
major plus for any new sports writer). But, as
time has marched on, I have found it harder and
harder to be enthusiastic about covering wom-
en’s hockey, not due to any fault of the team, but
rather because the Gee-Gees play in a small, iso-
lated conference.
You see, the Gees play in the Quebec Student
themselves in post-
season play. change in the time I’ve been where they cur-
rently play (hold-
in the QSSF especially, would be able to watch
their teams play a much more varied and inter-
On top of this, an watching the league. ing sixth place with esting schedule. I’ll grant it might make playoffs
incredible amount a 9-8-1 record) more difficult to organize, but men’s hockey
of stagnation has into the QSSF. This operates similarly, with three conferences and a
set in, with the same standings repeating year would introduce a new element into the QSSF, large OUA, so I’m sure it could be done. In my
after year. When I first started covering women’s and since Kingston is close to both Ottawa and mind, there’s no question: completely rearrang-
hockey, the final standings put McGill first, Ot- Montreal, it would not adversely affect the Gaels ing the league is the best way of ensuring that
tawa second, Carleton third, and Concordia travel to away games, nor would existing QSSF women’s hockey at the university level will be
rounding off the pack. Last season McGill lead teams have far to go. exciting for fans, journalists, and players alike
the division, followed by Ottawa, Carleton, and But I’m not entirely certain that would be for many years to come.
Concordia. And now, a little past the halfway enough. Although more drastic, I think that this
point in the 2008–09 season? Let’s just say that if second option is better: merge the QSSF and the sports@thefulcrum.ca
you were to take an educated guess, you’d prob- OUA into one big 14-team conference. That con- 613-562-5931

24 \\ SPORTS \\ 01.22.09 \\ www.thefulcrum.ca

Around the horn
U of O to host Canadian national
sledge hockey team
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa will
play host to a different kind of hockey
on Jan. 23 as the Centre for Students
with Disabilities will be holding an
event with the Team Canada sledge
hockey team.
The team will be at Rink One of the
Sports Complex from 2 to 3 p.m., and
will be demonstrating the sport of
sledge hockey—a variant of the sport
played on sleds, designed for athletes
with disabilities—as well as answer-
ing any questions that students may
have about the sport. Following the
demonstration, interested students
with hockey equipment are welcome
to suit up to test their skills against
the team in a scrimmage.
Team Canada won gold in sledge
hockey at the 2006 Paralympic Games,
and will compete in the International
Paralympic Committee World Sledge
Hockey Championships this May in
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
—David McClelland
Men’s basketball rolls
over competition
NOT LONG AFTER reaching second
place in Canadian Interuniversity
Sport (CIS) competition—a season-
high ranking for the University of
Ottawa men’s basketball team—the
Gee-Gees extended their winning
streak to 11 games with a pair of wins
on the road.
>[VXadhZ[g^ZcY^hV
h]ZbVncZZYndjg
ca
friends4friends.
The York Lions offered scant resis-
tance for the Gee-Gees on Jan 16, who
didn’t need much effort to capture the
win. With a substantial 52-35 lead at
the half, the Gees cruised to an easy
86-56 victory. Fourth-year guard Josh
Gibson-Bascombe was the top scorer
for Ottawa with 20 points.
The next day, the Gee-Gees came
up with a victory against the Lauren-
tian Voyageurs in spite of some initial
problems. After falling behind early,
the Gees scraped together a 33-32
lead at the half before dominating the
second half of the game on the way to
an 83-64 win. First-year guard War-
ren Ward led the way for Ottawa with
22 points.
The Gee-Gees now boast an 11-1
record with 10 games remaining, and
alVnh\VbWa^c\!
a^cZ#
]Zae#AZVgcbdgZdc
are tied with the Carleton Ravens for
first in the Ontario University Ath-
letics East division. The Gees will
play two more games on the road in
Kingston against Queen’s on Jan. 23
and Royal Military College on Jan.
24 before returning to Ottawa for
the Capital Hoops Classic against
Carleton at Scotiabank Place on Jan.
28. Tipoff is at 8 p.m., and tickets
(including transportation) are $15
for students, available through gee-
gees.ca.
—David McClelland
Women’s basketball
wins in triple OT
THEY PLAYED A lot more basket-
ball than they were planning on, but
the Gee-Gees women’s basketball
team earned a pair of wins on the
road against the York Lions and Lau-
rentian Lady Vees Jan. 16–17.
Ottawa started slowly against York
on Jan. 16, scoring only 5 points in
the first quarter. Still, the Garnet and
Grey battled hard and tied the game
50-50 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Two overtime periods solved noth-
ing as the two teams were locked in
a dead heat and the game was tied at
69-69 after six frames. The Gees fi-
nally came alive and dominated in the
third overtime, earning an 84-74 win.
Second-year guard Hannah Sunley-
Paisley led Ottawa with 20 points.
Facing Laurentian the next day,
the tired Gees trailed the Vees 33-30
at the half, but dug in in the second
half and came up with a narrow 68-
66 victory. Fourth-year guard Kelly
Weir sunk all five of her three-point
attempts and lead the team with 21
points while second-year guard Emi-
lie Morasse added 18 points.
The Gee-Gees improved their re-
cord to 8-5 and sit in third place in
the OUA East Division. Ottawa plays
Queen’s on Jan. 23 and RMC on Jan.
24 in Kingston before tipping off
against the Carleton Ravens at Scotia-
bank Place in the Capital Hoops Clas-
sic on Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15
for students.
—Mike Gribbon
Men’s hockey hits
bumps in the road
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa men’s
hockey team lost road games against
the University of Ontario Institute of
Technology (UOIT) Ridgebacks on
Jan. 16 and against the York Lions the
next day, both by a score of 4-2.
Penalties were a big issue for both
teams on Jan. 16. The Ridgebacks scored
their first three goals of the game on the
power play, while Ottawa responded
with two power-play goals of their own:
second-year defender Gabriel Houde
scored late in the second period, and
fourth-year centre Dan McDonald
scored early in the third. UOIT scored
once more in the third period, sinking
the Gees.
On Jan. 17, the Lions dominated
the Gees early with three goals in the
first period. Despite four power plays,
Ottawa was unable to find the net. In
the second period, second-year for-
www.thefulcrum.ca
www.thefulcrum.ca // 01.22.09 //
ward Corey Thibaudeau scored for
the Garnet and Grey, and rookie for-
ward Matt Methot notched a power
play goal for Ottawa early in the third
period to make it 3-2. After a closely
contested final frame, the Lions iced
the game with an empty-net goal in
the final minute.
With their 8-8-4 record, the Gees
drop to last place in the OUA Far East
division. Ottawa’s next game is on Jan.
23 at Université du Québec à Trois-
Rivières.
—Andrew Hawley
Concordia women’s
hockey stings back
LESS THAN A week after defeating
the Concordia Stingers 2-0, the Uni-
versity of Ottawa women’s hockey
team was defeated by the Stingers on
Jan. 16 by a score of 2-1.
The first period was played aggres-
sively as eight penalties were called,
four per team. Both sides registered
nine shots on goal but failed to score.
Concordia took four more penal-
ties in the second period, while Ot-
tawa went to the box just once. The
flurry of penalties in the second pe-
riod allowed the Gees to outshoot the
Stingers 18-10 in the frame, though
Ottawa’s power play could not find
the back of the net. In fact, the Sting-
ers scored shorthanded midway
through the period, taking a 1-0 lead
into the third.
Third-year Gees forward Ashley
Burrill tied the game with her third goal
of the season early in the final period.
However, Concordia was able to tally
the winning marker soon after, while
the Gees were unable to find their scor-
ing touch and lost 2-1. The Gees fin-
ished 0-for-9 on the power play.
The loss leaves the team with a
5-4-1 record in the Quebec Student
Sports Federation, good for second
place behind the undefeated McGill
Martlets.
—Andrew Hawley
Women’s volleyball
splits road trip
THE GEE-GEES WOMEN’S volley-
ball team came up with a win and a
loss on its road trip to Kitchener-Wa-
terloo Jan. 16–17.
Against the Laurier Golden Hawks
on Jan. 16, the Gee-Gees took a 26-24
loss to open the match before striking
back with a 25-17 win in the next set.
But Ottawa couldn’t hold off Laurier in
the final two sets, losing 25-18 and 25-
14. Rookie middle Aminata Diallo led
the Gee-Gees with 11 kills and 11 digs.
The following day, the Gees came
up with a hard-fought victory against
the Waterloo Warriors. After Water-
loo won the first set 25-22, the sides
traded wins up until the fifth and final
set when the Gees reversed the pat-
tern to win 15-12.
The weekend leaves Ottawa with an
11-4 record, putting them in second
in the Ontario University Athletics
East. They next play Jan. 24, when
they visit the Ryerson Rams.
—David McClelland
SPORTS // 25
 The Fulcrum Publishing Society
The Fulcrum Publishing Society will be having its annual
general meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 in Desmarais
Hall, room 1160. Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

The meeting will be dealing with

the Society’s audit, the election
of five (5) student directors to
the FPS Board of Directors for
the 2009–10 year and proposed
amendments to the Society’s
bylaws.

All U of O students have a vote,

so come and use it!

All proposed motions will be

posted at www.thefulcrum.ca/
business seven (7) days prior
to the meeting. Visit the site for
more information, or contact
president@thefulcrum.ca.

University of Ottawa

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January 20 : deadline to register for immersion, Winter 2009

January 30 : deadline to apply for scholarships
French Immersion Studies
www.immersion.uOttawa.ca
613-562-5743
 27
Opinion
Sock it to ‘em!
by Dave Atkinson
Fulcrum Contributor
AS A STUDENT of the University
of Ottawa, I have been fed up by the
state of the Student Federation of the
University of Ottawa (SFUO). Most-
ly, I think that the executives take
themselves far too seriously, suffer
from mild delusions of grandeur, and
spend the majority of their time and
energy on things that don’t really help
the 30,000 students who show up to
the U of O every day. I thought that
what was needed was a joke candidate
for the upcoming SFUO elections.
I first envisioned running any num-
ber of inanimate objects as fictional
characters, but these plans were foiled
when I realized that none of these
could pass the dreaded bilingualism
test due to their inability to speak.
Richard Thesock-Lebas to the res-
cue. A sock puppet could pass the
bilingualism test and participate in
the debates, yelling loudly and call-
ing upon the SFUO executive to get
their heads out of the clouds and fo-
cus all of their attention and resources
on improving the day-to-day lives of
those who spend their time between
King Edward Avenue, the canal,
Laurier Avenue, and Lees Avenue. I
picked up a candidacy form and got
Richard his signatures, but then I
paused and made a few casual inqui-
ries. I talked to a few people who were
familiar with the rules and was sad to
learn that since Richard wasn’t a reg-
istered student, I would have to run
under my own name. This seemed
like a hurdle at first, but one that with
a lot of work I could get over. Then
my greatest weakness reared its ugly
head: I’m a full-time student with a
nasty habit of going to class.
Running a campaign and being in-
volved at the level necessary to make
a difference requires more time than
a full-time student has. Were I to run
the sock puppet in any way that mat-
tered, I would need to all but ignore
my classes for about a month during
midterm season. But I will graduate
in May and get the hell out of here,
so I simply can’t spare the time and
energy that is required to undermine
the election process. Sorry folks, but
I came here for a degree. If I run, I
might not get it when I’m supposed
to, and I think that proves a flaw in
the system: to lead students, you have
to stop being one.
So the long and short of it is, I
wussed out. I put school ahead of be-
ing obnoxious to prove a point. But
Richard lives. Even though he cannot
sit upon my hand and run for office,
his ideas and platform survive. He
pens the rest of this article, which
is something of a feat, as he has no
arms.
Jan. 22–28, 2009
Why I wussed out of running for SFUO president
Why the fuck not?
A list of things the
SFUO should do
by Richard Thesock-Lebas
Fulcrum Contributor
SINCE I WASN’T able to run for SFUO
president, the Fulcrum will have to act as my
soapbox. There are things that I would have
changed had I been elected to the big seat,
but alas, the following list will have to do.
Tell us what’s available to students. As a
student, you have a dental plan. You have
a food bank. There is a Pride Centre, a
Women’s Resource Centre, and a number
of other services. When you consider that
there are 30,000 students, only a small
number of students use these services. The
SFUO needs to tell students what they are
paying for. Communication and marketing
need to be beefed up and taken seriously.
Stop telling students that the Security and
Prosperity Partnership is bad, or that they
should vote a certain way on an issue in a
provincial election. Instead, tell them that
they can get some food if they need it, and
that there’s a place with a couch for them
to sit down with people who can help them
with whatever’s going on in their lives. Use
classroom presentations, wander around
and stop people, anything to communicate
that all 30,000 of us have services at our beck
and call. I say this because, at the moment,
too many students just don’t know that.
Pay employees what they’re worth. The
SFUO needs to pay the people who work
for it what they are worth. Skilled workers,
IT workers, accountants, translators, and so
on, are making the same wages as the guy
who scrapes out the Slush Puppy machine at
the Pivik. Nothing against the Slush Puppy
guy, but skilled workers should make more.
If they do, then we can keep them and get
good work out of them, and the SFUO will
run better. Also, if you want someone to
work full-time hours and hand in a full-time
workload, make them full-time employees.
You’re a union, act like it. Why the hell not?
Stop hiring your goddamn friends and
family. François Picard lost in the vp com-
munications election last February, and was
back at the SFUO soon after in a high-paying
postion, chosen over that year’s office man-
ager. The entire reception staff left over it.
No shit. The current manager of 1848 is the
brother of last year’s manager, who is now the
business manager. Until recently the head of
the food bank was the sister of the vp com-
munications. These people may be great at
their jobs, but come on, it looks really, really
bad. Post the jobs everywhere. Post them at
SITE, on bulletin boards, send them out in
the email bulletin. Pick the best person, not
the person you know best. Why not?
Michael Olender
Executive Editor
executive@thefulcrum.ca
Let us see what you’re doing. Why is there Why not?
not an executive meeting podcast? Trust me,
podcasts cost pretty much nothing. Why
Ignore the people who pay attention and
concentrate on the ones who don’t. Ten
are there closed-door meetings for anything
other than human-resources matters? Why
per cent of students vote, 90 per cent don’t.
You have to work for the people who don’t
not let us hear what you’re talking about? care about you, too. You don’t know what
There isn’t an opposition! We are all on the they want you to do, because they can’t be
same side! Why are you hiding? It makes bothered to tell you. So what do you do? Do
you look pointlessly shady. If your interest things you know everyone will benefit from.
is making things better for the 30,000 of us, Keep fighting for the U-Pass, for cheaper
then why hide how you plan on doing it? food, and for no exams on weekends. The
Open the doors and let us see how you’re 90 per cent might not acknowledge or even
handling our business. You called shenani- notice you helped them, but if you’re in this
gans when Marc Kelly was told not to film for glory or validation, you should have
a senate meeting, so put up or shut up. And tried out for Canadian Idol. It’s your job to
update your goddamn blogs. If a teenager make the student experience fundamentally
whose makeup is produced entirely by better. The student experience at its most
Sharpie can update nine times a day, you basic level is getting up, getting here, going
can manage a weekly glimpse into what it is to class, having lunch, writing exams, and
you’re doing. Be as transparent as you want getting back home. Making that process
the administration to be, then double it. easier should be the top priority. Don’t ig-
You demand transparency from the admin- nore the people who ignore you.
istration, and then run executive meetings Why not? Demand this from your cur-
like you’re in that bomb-proof room in the rent executive, demand this of the candi-
basement of the White House. Why not? dates in the upcoming SFUO election, and
Don’t automatically assume non-student if they don’t do it, you know where the of-
organizations (the administration, the city, fice is, and you’re a click away from their
the province) are out to eat puppies. Fight email addresses and phone numbers. Just
fights that you can actually win. Work with keep asking them: why not? Until they give
the administration, don’t take cheap shots an answer that clearly explains why not,
(like that Larry O’Brien Grinch Christmas keep asking. We might just get something
card; he clearly looks more like Lex Luthor done.
or the Vulture anyway), and
focus on things we can real-
ly change. Do you have any
idea how much time, en-
ergy, and money the SFUO
put into promoting the Yes
side on the Mixed Mem-
ber Proportional system
referendum during the last
provincial election? Those
resources couldn’t be better
spent somewhere else? The
split fee, for example: The
$35 it costs to split our tu-
ition in half and pay at the
beginning of each semester
instead of all at once. Fight
it as hard as you can. Go 10
rounds over that pointless
cash grab, raise a stink, use
media, and let people who
aren’t students know that it
costs money to give the uni-
versity money. We can win
that fight. The lower tuition
campaign has never saved
students a dime. We can
save everybody $35 if the
SFUO gets rid of this thing;
thereby actually reducing
the amount of money we
pay for tuition. It’s some-
thing, which I think you’ll
find better than nothing.
 Shut up about Twilight, already!
by Maureen Robinson
Fulcrum Contributor
YOU KNOW WHY Twilight—
the vampire-human love story
saga (turned blockbuster movie
enterprise)—outlived its expiry date
before it even hit the shelves? It’s not
because the forbidden-love theme has
been done before (Lolita and Broke-
back Mountain, to name a few) or
because the series is just filling the
colossal post-Potter fantasy-literature
void. It’s because the story is so atro-
ciously executed over four books’
worth of painful, clichéd narrative in
the voice of the world’s most annoy-
ing protagonist. Believe me, I know.
I read all 2,600 pages, all apparently
written by a lovesick 13-year-old girl
at the back of a school bus.
Haven’t read the books yet? Here,
allow me to summarize: Bella bites
her lip. Bella gasps. Bella is so an-
gry her hands shake. Edward has
cool, marble skin. Bella sees red
and, as quick as lightning, her heart
breaks into a million pieces. There,
I just saved you 2,600 pages of five-
cliché-per-page, predictable teenage
smut. In fact, if any of that sounded
familiar, it’s because you read it in
your little sister’s middle-school di-
ary. You know, when she wished that
the gorgeous, smart, rich, talented,
articulate, and mysterious outcast
from across the lunchroom would
fall timelessly and inexplicably in
love with a plain, clumsy, and one-
dimensional girl with nothing to
offer the storyline but hackneyed,
self-deprecating commentary. Bella’s
story is a pre-packaged teenage fan-
tasy whose insert-self-here provision
only feeds the unrealistic delusions
of a generation of young girls who
believe the Edward Cullen (the sexy,
flawless man, who is also a vampire)
prototype actually exists.
None of which, actually, would be all
that bad, except for the appalling mi-
sogynistic themes embedded through-
out the story. Edward is controlling,
abusive, and frequently enraged at his
“true love”, Bella, at one point hiding
her truck’s engine so she couldn’t visit
illustration by Alex Martin
a male friend. Bella’s only motivation is
to serve Edward and keep him happy
for eternity. Midway through the se-
ries, Edward suddenly abandons Bella,
breaking her heart so completely in
the process that she lapses into a cata-
tonic depression for months until she
“wakes up” and commences a cam-
paign of self-harm, thinking it will
bring Edward back. When they are
eventually reunited, she accepts his
actions without scrutiny and begs for
him never to leave again. In fact, no-
where in the book does Bella mention
any self-empowering goals or aspira-
tions outside of serving the men in her
life, whether it be Edward, her friend
Jacob, or her father. What sort of mes-
sage does this send to young women?
To worship their boyfriends through
abuse and neglect? To set aside all per-
sonal ambitions to keep content the
men of the world, lest they leave and
take all happiness with them?
But back to the story. Author Ste-
phenie Meyer spends three books
developing a complex mythical world
with steadfast rules of self-sacrifice in
exchange for true happiness. The only
anguish readers are delivered is when
the main characters suffer through
the possibility of these sacrifices. I say
possibility because in the fourth book,
the author sews neat little loopholes
into all those rules, permitting an im-
plausible happily-ever-after ending for
everyone. Barf. This isn’t good story-
telling, and it’s obvious to this reader
that the author became so attached to
her characters that she is incapable of
causing them any real pain.
I don’t take offence to the exis-
tence of the Twilight series, just its
outrageous popularity. I hear about
“Edward Cullen Exists” fan clubs and
middle-aged English teachers crying
over these books. #1 New York Times
best-seller? $184 million box-office
intake? Twilight is not worthy of this
fanfare. Where’s an Air Farce Chicken
Cannon when you need one?

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 30
Sarah Leavitt

Distractions Jan. 22–28, 2009

Features Editor
features@thefulcrum.ca

Thryllabus
Thursday, Jan. 22
Summer Job Fair. 10 a.m.–3 p.m.
Unicentre. Basement. Free.
Film: Nick and Norah’s Infinite
Playlist. 8 p.m. Alumni Auditorium.
$2.
Friday, Jan. 23
Workshop: Self-defense for women.
5:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. Protection
Services. 141 Louis-Pasteur. Free.
Men’s basketball: Ottawa vs.
Queen’s.
8 p.m. Montpetit Hall.
$4 for students.
Saturday, Jan. 24
Opera: Carmen. 7 p.m.
Alumni Auditorium. $5 for students.
Women’s volleyball: Ottawa vs.
Ryerson.
2 p.m. Montpetit Hall.
$4 for students.
Free Moustache Rides
Sunday, Jan. 25
Master’s recital: Anton Kuerti on
piano.
1 p.m. Pérez Hall.
Freiman Auditorium.
Free.
Monday, Jan. 26
Chinese New Year’s Party. 6 p.m.
Arts Hall. Room 509. Free.
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Chinese film: Up the Yangtze. 7 p.m.
Lamoureux Hall. Room 223. Free.
Wednesday, Jan. 28
Lecture: “Cuba: A Beacon of
Hope?” 7 p.m. Tabaret Hall.
Room 083. Free.
Capital Hoops Classic. 6 p.m.
Scotiabank Place. $15 for students
including transportation.
by Shane Scott-Travis
Dear Di If you have a question for Di,
e-mail deardi@thefulcrum.ca.
Dear Di,
My ex-girlfriend is a total cunt
because she left me for another man
(we’re not on speaking terms), but
I’ve been worried about her. I saw
her at Christmas and she was a car-
rot. I think she’s been tanning way
too much and that’s not healthy, but
I don’t know if it’s my place to say
something. What should I do?
—Still Cares for Carrot
Dear SCFC,
As a frequent fryer myself, I had
originally planned to answer your
question with a simple “Yes, everyone
knows tanning is bad, and your ex is
old enough to understand the conse-
quences”, but then I did some research.
According to a study published in
the September/October issue of the
American Journal of Health Behavior,
in which 400 college students were
asked about their blue-bed habits, 27
per cent had withdrawal symptoms
when they tried to cut back. They
experienced discomfort when not
having tanned recently and difficulty
controlling their behaviour despite
awareness of its negative impacts such
as freckles, wrinkles, and pre-cancer-
ous lesions. The study concluded that
tanning addiction is common among
students, notably finding that young
people who tan a lot are more likely
to keep tanning as they get older, and
that women, particularly those who
tan indoors, develop skin cancers ear-
lier. If your ex is a carrot as you say,
I believe that it’s worth speaking up
because, if you wait, next Christmas
she’ll look like Donatella Versace. If
she feels dependent on rays, there are
alternatives, like self-tanners, or she
could go au naturel and rediscover
her natural skin tone. If she can’t kick
the habit, she can seek counselling.
Interpreting the strong language in
your question, I think you’re still an-
gry with her, but this isn’t about you
two—it’s about her health. I want you
to cut this column out and send it to
her in the mail (maybe with
a nice Hallmark card apolo-
gizing for publicly calling
her a cunt and a carrot).
That’ll get the issue of over-
tanning and your concern and
anger about the relationship
out in the open. Maybe
she won’t change her
habits, but it is im-
portant that you
try and, regardless of what she choos-
es, you did your part.
Love,
Di
Dear Di,
I recently lost my virginity to
my girlfriend and thus do not have
much experience with sex. She, on
the other hand, has been sexually ac-
tive for quite some time. She told me
she has dated guys for long periods
of time without ever climaxing dur-
ing sex. I kind of feel selfish being
the only one climaxing while in bed
and I want to be able to pleasure her
as much as she pleasures me during
sex. Can you give me any tips?
—Quest for Climax
Dear QFC,
Congratulations on getting your V-
card punched and kudos on keeping
your girlfriend’s satisfaction in mind!
A lot of researchers used to think that
some women couldn’t have orgasms,
but over the last 15 years sex studies
have shown that virtually any woman
can come. There are some things that
can hinder her orgasm, like stress, un-
happiness, and certain medications—
and if she worries too much about
it you can almost guarantee it won’t
happen—but if she’s a healthy young
woman she should be able to climax.
Men have it easy (That SNL Digital
Short “Jizz In My Pants” is bang-on!),
so in contrast, women need a little
extra attention. First of all, explain to
her that she, just like many women be-
fore her, must learn how to reach or-
gasm. Now,
there is a cli-
toral orgasm and a
vaginal orgasm, but the majority of
women need clitoral stimulation to
come, so she should explore her body
on her own, learning what pleases
her. The majority of women first cli-
max through masturbation, so she
should take note of the pressures and
motions she requires to orgasm (for
example, I lie on my stomach and rub
my clit slowly, thinking about Marlon
Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire).
After she’s explored and knows what
she likes, she’s ready to have an orgasm
during sex, and here is where you
come in. You’ve got to get her in the
right frame of mind, so the atmosphere
has to be right—make sure she’s warm
and cozy, be sweet and romantic, and
tell her she’s beautiful. Remember that
while men are ready to blow in almost
an instant, women must be warmed
up, so don’t neglect foreplay. Take your
time caressing her breasts, give her
oral sex, suck on her toes, and always
be open and ask her what she likes,
and tell her to be as specific as possible.
Encourage her to take charge and take
turns moving each other around the
bed. First try bringing her to orgasm
with your hand, which will remind her
of masturbation, then gradually in-
troduce your penis into the equation.
And when she has one orgasm, she’ll
have a million. Remember not to get
discouraged—learning how to come
can be frustrating and time-consum-
ing. Try what I’ve outlined above for
two months, after which if she hasn’t
had an orgasm she can talk to her doc-
tor, seek sex therapy, or even read one
of the dozens of books written about
the female orgasm. Write me if she
comes! Good luck!
Love,
Di

The Thryllabus needs

lots of events to
remain so thrilling.

Email
features@thefulcrum.ca
with suggestions.

sudoku answers on p. 23
 31
Frank Appleyard

Editorial Jan. 22–28, 2009

Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca

f
Preparing for
Obamarama since 1942.
Volume 69 - Issue 18
On the path to student engagement
Jan. 22–28, 2009
phone: (613) 562-5261
fax: (613) 562-5259
631 King Edward Ave.
Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5
editor@thefulcrum.ca
www.thefulcrum.ca

Recycle this paper or something

about Joe Biden being boring.

Staff
Frank ‘washington’ Appleyard
Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca

Ben ‘jefferson’ Myers

Production Manager
production@thefulcrum.ca

Michael ‘lincoln’ Olender

Executive Editor
executive@thefulcrum.ca

Martha ‘j.f.k.’ Pearce

Art Director
design@thefulcrum.ca

Emma ‘taft’ Godmere

News Editor
news@thefulcrum.ca

Peter ‘nixon’ Henderson

Arts & Culture Editor
arts@thefulcrum.ca

T
David ‘jackson’ McClelland HE UNIVERSITY OF Ot-
Sports Editor tawa campus is seemingly
sports@thefulcrum.ca divided into two distinct
camps: those who are pas-
Sarah ‘grant’ Leavitt
Features Editor sionate enough to be distressed about
features@thefulcrum.ca the alarmingly low voter turnout in
annual Student Federation of the Uni-
Danielle ‘hayes’ Blab
Laurel ‘garfield’ Hogan
versity of Ottawa (SFUO) and Gradu-
Copy Editors ate Students’ Association elections,
and those who are only dimly aware
Amanda ‘cleveland’ Shendruk that elections occur in the first place.
Associate News Editor
associatenews@thefulcrum.ca After years of promises and half-
hearted attempts at encouraging stu-
James ‘harrison’ Edwards dents to vote in its elections, the SFUO
Webmaster has taken an appreciable step towards
webmaster@thefulcrum.ca
uniting the apathetic, reluctant stu-
Jessica ‘truman’ Sukstorf dents with their active, involved—and
Volunteer & Visibility vastly outnumbered—counterparts.
Coordinator
volunteer@thefulcrum.ca
The SFUO Board of Administration’s
Jan. 11 decision to re-institute online
Megan ‘eisenhower’ O’Meara voting in next month’s SFUO elections
Staff Writer after a four-year absence from the
Alex ‘hoover’ Martin polls offers a new element of appeal to
Staff Illustrator the election of student representatives,
if only by increasing accessibility to
Inari ‘coolidge’ Vaissi Nagy the electoral process.
Jiselle ‘harding’ Bakker
Ombudsgirls In past years, the SFUO elections
ombudsgirl@thefulcrum.ca have been little more than an exercise
in futility. Voter turnout rates not ex-
Travis ‘cleveland (2nd term)’ Boisvenue
Ombudsboy
ceeding 20 per cent of eligible voters in
ombudsboy@thefulcrum.ca
the last three SFUO general elections
have illustrated how wide the chasm is
between active students and those who
kindly pay their student levy and spend
the next eight months in silence. There
are many complex reasons behind U
of O undergrads’ reluctance to vote.
Still, simply removing an obvious bar-
rier to voting—convenience—through
the institution of e-voting may just be
enough to persuade disinclined voters
to cast a ballot. The SFUO needs to take
that chance.
Its detractors have claimed that
online voting harms student engage-
ment by relegating the complexities of
an election to a glorified online poll.
However, e-voting is simply a new way
to cast a ballot, not a new medium for
the campaign itself. The SFUO elec-
tions committee and the candidates
are still on the hook to encourage stu-
dents to take an interest in the issues
and convince them that casting a bal-
lot is worthwhile. But being able to tell
students that they can vote with little
impact to their already packed sched-
ule is a mighty weapon in the ongoing
fight against apathy.
In backing e-voting, the SFUO has
demonstrated a commitment to in-
volving each of its 30,000 members in
the organization. While voter turnout
is by no means a definitive appraisal
of participation within the SFUO, a
respectable number of ballots cast
increases legitimacy for successful
candidates, and simultaneously lets
students feel that—results notwith-
standing—they have had a say in their
student union and in their campus
community. That is a claim that the
vast majority of students cannot cur-
rently make. Encouraging uninvolved
students to vote in elections by relax-
ing the demands placed on balloting is
not only good for the democratic sys-
tem on campus, but is good for laying
the foundation for a participatory U of
O community.
Admittedly, e-voting is not the sav-
iour for engagement in student affairs
at the U of O. That is a battle that must
be waged on a much larger scale, and
over a much larger time frame. But e-
voting is a viable first step on the road
to establishing an active, involved, and
united student community.
editor@thefulcrum.ca

Nicole ‘johnson’ Gall

Staff Proofreader
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On-campus Distributor
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Advertising Representative
ads@thefulcrum.ca
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Business Manager
business.manager@thefulcrum.ca
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Contributors
Jolene ‘buchanan’ Hansell Anna ‘coolidge’ Rocoski
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Danyal ‘mckinley’ Khoral Nick ‘hayes’ Rudiak
by
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Maureen ‘monroe’ Robinson