Tuesday, December 8, 2009

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WESTERN’S DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • EST.1906 • VOLUME 103, ISSUE 54

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

MEN’S HOCKEY KEEPS STREAK ALIVE

Piotr Angiel/Gazette

FLYING HIGH. An unidentified Mustang player manages to get a shot off despite being checked into an airborne position. The ‘Stangs went on to win their game against the Windsor Lancers 2-1 in overtime. Full game recap on p.7.

Union rejects latest offer 78.5 per cent of members vote to extend strike

Research windfall to boost a dozen projects By Meagan Kashty

By Cheryl Stone Gazette Staff

Get out your mukluks and parkas — as winter arrives in London, there’s no end in sight for the bus strike. The latest offer from the London Transit Commission was rejected by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 741 yesterday afternoon. A total of 410 union members voted, with 78.5 per cent against LTC’s offer. “It was basically the same contract that [the union] turned down in October,” Pat Hunniford, president of ATU Local 741, said. The newest offer included a 9.3 per cent pay increase over three years and an increase in driver wages from $23.08 to $25.23 per hour. A press release from the LTC stated this was their final offer. Hunniford was not impressed with the offer, explaining many of the benefits previously agreed upon were taken out of the contract and

were returned as wage increases. “They basically put lipstick on a pig — it’s still a pig,” he noted. The union plans to picket City Hall this week in hopes of putting an end to the strike. According to Hunniford, city hall could order the LTC to accept arbitration. Hunniford explained arbitration would also force the union back to work, as having an arbitrator obligates them to work under the old contract until a new one is reached. “We’ve made it perfectly clear since June 1 [that arbitration] is the best way to resolve this,” Hunniford said. While students continue to wait for a resolution to the strike, the University Students’ Council is waiting for a refund. According to Emily Rowe, USC president, LTC will reimburse 52 cents per student for each day of the strike. This amount will be returned directly to the USC 30 days after the end of the strike. “As of now the community vans are provided by the University,”

Rowe said. She added the Mustangs moving Mustangs program has incurred costs of about $1,000 to date. David Winninger, chair of the LTC, was unable to be reached for comment at press time. According to a press release by the LTC, no further talks have been scheduled.

Wage details of the latest London Transit Commission three-year contract offer, which was rejected by ATU Local 741 on Monday (Previous offer) • 9.3% increase in all wages spread over three years (8.3%) • Driver wage increase from $23.08 to $25.23 ($23.08 to $25.00) • Skilled-trade wage increase from $26.81 to $29.31 ($26.81 to $29.02)

Gazette Staff

Research will be receiving a boost thanks to funding from the Ontario Research Fund. Western will receive $19 million to go towards various research endeavours. A dozen research projects at the university will benefit from the funds, which are meant to help strengthen the province’s competitiveness in the global innovation-driven economy. “We will now have the funds available to develop world class research facilities at Western,” Ted Hewitt, vice-president research and international relations at Western, said. He added initiatives include a first-rate centre for the preservation and analysis of aboriginal artifacts, the construction of the world’s only facility to study the effects or hurricane force winds on buildings and improvements in image-guided surgery. The program matches funding for awards Western faculty have received from the Canada Founda-

tion for Innovation. “The federal program provides 40 per cent of the funding for equipment and infrastructure for applicants who are able to demonstrate how their work advances innovative research in a wide variety of disciplines,” Hewitt said. Once approved by the federal program, these grants are then matched by the Ontario government’s ORF program, with the remaining 20 per cent provided by institutional and industry sources. “We are extremely proud of our researchers, and grateful to the province of Ontario for its continued support of advanced research through ORF,” Amit Chakma, Western president, noted in a press release. “Innovative discoveries made by researchers across the disciplines are resulting in new knowledge that improve health, social and economic welfare through the province.” Terry Peters, a scientist with Robart’s Imaging Research Group, PLEASE SEE 250 P2

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theGazette • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

EVENTS CALENDAR Tues, Dec. 8 • Western Cares Food Drive When: Until Friday Where: Donation boxes or shopping carts will be set up in as many locations as possible around campus. What: For more information visit the Western Cares Food Drive website at communications.uwo.ca/facultyandstaff/Wes ternCaresFoodDrive.htm • Exam Stress Relief Week When: Until Friday Where: University Community Centre What: Check out the University Students’ Council website for more details and a full schedule of events. • Grocery Checkout When: 12:30 - 3 p.m. Where: UCC Atrium What: Grocery Checkout is in the UCC to aid students unable to make large grocery runs during the bus strike. Wed, Dec. 9 • Instrumental Holiday Concert When: 2:30 - 4:30p.m.

NEWSBRIEFS Where: UCC Atrium (stage) What: Western Chamber Music ensembles will be performing live. • Huron Annual Christmas Dinner and Carol Service When: 5:45 p.m. Where: Huron Chapel What: Students and friends of Huron will gather to sing carols and celebrate the coming Christmas season. All are welcome. Thurs, Dec. 10 • Seasonal Influenza Immunization Clinics When: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Where: UCC What: Staff and faculty immunization clinics to be held. The clinics do not require an appointment. USC Free Late Night Exam Shuttle When: Until Dec. 21 Where: Natural Science and Oxford Drive (in front of UCC Building) What: A late-night shuttle service is being provided by the USC, offering students a safe way to get home. If you have an event you would like to share please send your information to [email protected]

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will be one of the individuals benefiting from the funding. Peters and his colleagues will be purchasing new imaging equipment to be used for the development of minimally invasive surgical procedures. “The impact will be the development of new surgical techniques that can be performed without major trauma to the patient,” Peters noted. “It will allow us to take maximum advantage of images made with CAT scans and MRI scans.” Peters placed emphasis on the initiative being a university-wide collaborative project, which will bring many scientists together. “It’s a tremendous stimulus for interdisciplinary research,” he concluded. The funding has the potential to impact individuals outside the university community. “We are recognizing the work that our researchers do and the wealth and jobs they create in London,” Chris Bentley, MPP London West, said in a press release. “Today’s investment will support the work of more than 250 researchers. New discoveries will continue to be made [and] we want those people, those ideas, and those jobs right here in our community.”

“New discoveries will continue to be made [and] we want those people, those ideas, and those jobs right here in our community.” — Chris Bentley, MPP London West

Western’s research projects could eventually have an international impact on researching as a whole. Neal Ferris, Lawson Chair of Canadian archeology at Western, will use the funding to ensure all archaeological collections are preserved and digitized so they continue to be sustainable, and so their information remains accessible to other archaeologists. “It will put Ontario archaeology on the global discourse in regards to archaeological theory,” Ferris noted. “We’ll be a leader.” The research funding is part of a $268 million province-wide investment that will support 214 projects and more than 3,300 researchers in 14 cities.

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Health care looks ahead Health services in Southwestern Ontario received a blueprint for the future from the South West Local Health Integration Network. The South West LHIN — which serves almost one million people across more than 53 health service providers — released its Health System Design Blueprint on Nov. 30. It outlined the way health care in the area will change by the year 2022. South West also released the Integrated Health Service Plan outlining short-term goals for the next three years. “We’ve set the direction as the [financer] of these [organizations] as to what these changes should look like, but the transformation that’s required will be the responsibility of everyone,” Michael Barrett, chief executive officer of South West LHIN, said. The short-term plan outlined three priorities: seniors and adults with complex needs, mental health and preventing chronic illness. “We’re focusing on sick people, instead of prevention,” he said. The blueprint outlined the need for a more collaborative and patient-focused health care system. “It’s one system of care, not this segmented system we had before,” Barrett said. Barrett added he hopes to see a system where every interaction with a health care provider aims to educate patients. “We saw a demand for more self-management,” he said. The reports were based on consultation with hospitals, community mental health and addictions providers, community support service care providers and other health care providers, along with members of the public. “[They were asked] what they think the health system should look like in the future,” Barrett explained. Recipients of the South West LHIN’s planning, integration and financial services include hospitals and other larger care centres, and smaller programs such as Meals on Wheels. —Cheryl Stone

Virtual experience helps cancer patients The London Health Sciences Centre selected Resolution Interactive Media to help provide a virtual experience for cancer patients and their families. ResIM, a London, Ontariobased interactive marketing studio, will build an online virtual experience for the London Regional Cancer Program. The project will allow patients and their families to access and navigate the treatment experience from their homes at any time prior to their arrival. The aim of the online experience is to help ease the anxiety and fear associated with cancer diagnosis for first-time patients. “The virtual experience will combine high definition video and way-finding interactive media on a web framework that extends to the initial investment of our client,” Jonathan Kochis, a partner at ResIM, said in a press release. “Our modular approach to large interactive projects such as this allows us to provide a positive user experience to visitors while giving LHSC the ability to easily add to and extend the piece after launch.” Kathryn Kozell, co-ordinator quality initiatives at the LRCP added ResIM was chosen because of their impressive patient and family focused-approach.

091117

—Shreya Tekriwal

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

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theGazette • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

Cadaver shortage causing discomfort in classrooms By Cheryl Stone Gazette Staff

Medical schools are being stiffed when it comes to cadavers. The demand for cadavers is increasing, while donations are not rising, resulting in shortages for first-year courses. “There’s not a shortage in terms of people donating […] what has changed is the demand,” Peter Haase, chair of the clinical anatomy program at Western, said. Haase noted all medical, dentistry, physiology and kinesiology students require either whole or partial cadavers. Cadavers are also used in training programs for robotic surgery at University Hospital. “[Surgeons in particular] really need the hands-on approach,” Haase added. Students noted the importance of working with cadavers in order to prepare for their professional careers. “Having had the experience of working on a human body before definitely made me more comfortable when it came to working on a living human being,” Steve Bisch, a second-year student at Western’s Schulich School of Medicine and

Dentistry, said. Haase explained he understood the value of experience and acknowledged Western was addressing the problem accordingly.

“Having had the experience of working on a human body before definitely made me more comfortable when it came to working on a living human being.” — Steve Bisch, second-year student at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry

“The priority is always given to students that we have to teach,” Hasse said. Another option, he explained, is for researchers to ask for cadavric materials — parts of bodies. According to Haase, medical classes at Schulich typically use 25 cadavers per class, with six students working on each body. McMaster University is facing

the opposite problem, noted Bruce Wainman, director of educational programming in anatomy at McMaster. “When we get up to our full capacity, we start to reject [cadavers],” Wainman said. He cited lack of space was the reason behind the overflow. Wainman explained in order to avoid the shortages, McMaster has used “prosecting” or professional dissecting in the past. This allows students to use the same material for many different needs. “Occasionally there can be a bit of a recycling process,” he explained. The experience of working with an actual cadaver was not lost on Bisch. “I personally felt that the experience of working on a cadaver helped me to mature as a person and as a future physician,” Bisch said. “This led to a fair bit of trepidation at first but slowly I began to gain confidence in what I was doing.” Haase echoed Bisch’s sentiments. “Attitudes change, I think,” Haase said. “At the start there’s a lot of apprehension [at using a cadaver], then they realize how fascinating the body really is.”

Photo Illustration by Corey Stanford/Gazette

TAGGED AND BAGGED. Medical, dental and kinesiology students are currently experiencing a cadaver shortage due to increased demand for the teaching aids.

National education standard targeted

Interested in journalism?

By Abid-Aziz Ladhani

Visit Rm. 263 and talk to managing editor Jaela Bernstien.

Gazette Staff

body is pulling in the same direction,” Eaton said in response to feasibility concerns. Moreover, Eaton pointed out the CCL has developed eight goals shared across jurisdictional mandates, including developing a skilled and adaptable workforce — the starting point for establishing a shared mission. According to Dan Moulton, president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Association, a nation-wide alliance of student groups are planning to lobby the provincial and federal governments on the issue of a shared vision. “Right now Canada is one of the few countries in the world that lacks a true vision at a national level for our post-secondary education system and the direction it’s going to be heading as a country,” Moulton said. “So what that means for us is a lot of uncertainty in terms of, as a nation […] our priorities for an educated and knowledgeable workforce of the future.”

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Canada is in need of a national direction for post-secondary education according to the Canadian Council on Learning. The independent education policy think-tank made the case for the adoption of a national strategy for post-secondary education in a report entitled, “Up to Par: The Challenge of Demonstrating Quality in Canadian Postsecondary Education.” The recommendation comes in the absence of clear pan-Canadian expectations for its universities and colleges. “What we’ve got in Canada […] is a situation where we don’t have a well understood or widely agreed upon framework by which to determine quality,” Isabelle Eaton, research analyst with CCL, said. “We have a pretty good sense that our institutions are doing well in post-secondary education […] but we don’t necessarily have the standards to understand that, measure it or demonstrate it,” she added. Currently, post-secondary institutions are under the jurisdiction of the provinces. According to Eaton, the lack of shared goals across provinces and jurisdictions obstructs any effort to assess the state of post-secondary education. “We recognize there are jurisdictions […] there are 13 provinces and territories [and] there are traditions of institutional autonomy and all of those things have to be taken into consideration,” Eaton said. In the view of Watson Swail, president of the Education Policy Institute, the lack of national standards prevents the provincial government from being fully accountable in its handling of post-secondary education. “This is an Achilles heal of education and specifically of post-sec-

ondary education in Canada,” Swail said. “It keeps the provinces from doing more by hiding behind data that aren’t shared.” Swail added the loss of the Millennium Scholarship Foundation would be a significant blow because of the research EPI conducted regarding provincial handling of post-secondary education. Yet some, including Ben Levin, former deputy minister of education in Ontario, questioned the feasibility of adopting a national strategy. “We are not going to have a pan-Canadian strategy because provinces have differing views on post-secondary education,” Levin said. “It depends on what is in a national strategy.” Levin believed provincial governments widely differ on issues including the role of technical education in the post-secondary sector. “We’re not so much talking about a very specific strategy so much as having the kinds of discussions that would mean every-

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opinions

theGazette • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

thegazette Volume 103, issue 54 “Civilizations in decline are consistently characterized by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity.” — ARNOLD TOYNBEE

Ryan Hendrick

Carly Conway

Jaela Bernstien

Editor-In-Chief

Deputy Editor

Managing Editor

Editor - [email protected] Deputy - [email protected] Managing - [email protected] website at www.westerngazette.ca University Community Centre Rm. 263 The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, CANADA. N6A 3K7 Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580 Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579 The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.

No National Standards The Canadian Council on Learning is arguing in favour of national standards for all Canadian post-secondary institutions. The CCL claims quality standards would ensure Canada remains competitive within the global education marketplace, not to mention making it easier for Canadian students to evaluate their institutions. There is no denying there would be benefits to setting Canadian standards for universities and colleges. Rankings done by the Globe and Mail and Macleans offer some insight into the performance of post-secondary institutions, but their accuracy is questionable, especially with many universities boycotting the surveys by refusing to offer information. Perhaps Canada could learn from examples such as the European Union, which has followed a post-secondary quality standard system since the late 1990s. National standards would ideally hold our education system to fair and common expectations, providing students with a reliable resource when they consider their options. Despite the potential advantages of implementing a national standard, it is not feasible in a country as large and diverse as Canada. From the intimate environment of the East Coast, to the research-focused institutions of central Canada and the international learning community in British Columbia, there are a wide range of approaches to higher learning in Canada. Any set of standards meant to measure quality of learning and student experience would have to meet the impossible goal of setting a rubric that would fairly compare Canada’s diverse institutions — no matter their individual styles. Even if such national standards were set, there would be the danger of forcing our schools to homogenize — the last thing we want to see happen to our richly diverse education system. Furthermore, students looking at different universities tend to place more value in word of mouth comparisons than any formalized standards. After all, few Western students would be able to recall which universities placed highest overall in Macleans 2009 rankings, but ask them which schools are known for best school spirit — and they’ll probably reluctantly admit Queen’s tops the charts. Everyone knows “if you walk and talk you can go to Brock,” and most students agree an undergraduate degree at York is useless — even if you manage to avoid their trend of long-term faculty strikes. Overall, national standards are overrated and doomed to be flawed. While it might work for some countries, any Canadian system meant to measure and qualify our postsecondary institutions would be more likely to do harm than help. We’re all proud to be Western students, but we can also admit education is not solely about the school or its impressive ratings — it’s about what each individual takes from their time and experience at University. For more information on the issue of national post-secondary standards, see National P3 Editorials appearing under the ‘opinions’ heading are decided upon by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff. Letters: Must include the contributor’s name, identification (ie. History II, Dean of Arts) and be submitted to [email protected]. Letters judged by the Editor-In-Chief to be libelous or derogatory will not be published. The Gazette reserves the right to edit letters and submissions and makes no guarantees that a letter will be published. All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives. • Please recycle this newspaper •

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SOGS should end the hate, co-operate Re: “Recalling the rest of the recalled story” Dec. 3, 2009

conflict in SOGS; however, in regards to the current president, the students have spoken. As a result, I would ask you to respect that decision, while doing what is necessary protect the democratic values of the society. I urge you to do what is necessary to ensure the functioning of Council in a democratic fashion and in accordance with the bylaws and policies of the Society. —Charles Wilson Western Alumnus

To the editor: As a former member of Western’s Society of Graduate Students, I have watched the recent events surrounding the attempted recall of the current SOGS president with heartfelt dismay. I write this letter to give my advice to the current leadership of SOGS, and it is my sincere hope they will listen and sort through their differences. First, let me say debate is good. Intelligent debate is to be expected from a student society, especially a graduate student union. It is my experience that conflict can either be used as a force for change or a force to destroy. I would implore all involved to use the present conflict as a force for change, a force to build up and a force to discuss and decide. Second, I would urge all involved not to target their fellow students’ motives through targeting their political affiliations, academic department or connections with external organizations. The fact that several members have attempted to bring political affiliation or connections to external organizations into this conflict is unacceptable. The current debate surrounding the Canadian Federation of Students is something too important to be reduced to such attacks. I know many people of all political affiliations connected with the CFS and find great value in their services; just like I know many people who find the methods of CFS to be overly aggressive in the pursuit of their goals. The debate is far too important to be reduced to such simplistic dialogue, or even worse, silence through censorship and intimidation. Finally, I understand there is growing

Section Editors 2009-2010 News Meagan Kashty Abid-Aziz Ladhani Cheryl Stone Shreya Tekriwal Stuart Thompson Arts & Entertainment Amber Garratt Nicole Gibillini Maddie Leznoff Sports Daniel Da Silva Grace Davis Arden Zwelling

Senior Mike Hayes Lauren Pelley Opinions Jaclyn Haggarty Photography Laura Barclay Brett Higgs Corey Stanford Graphics Ali Chiu Jesse Tahirali Web Stuart Thompson

award. Now, I am not a political scientist, so perhaps I am off mark, but my understanding is that one reason communism failed is that it did not reward hard work. The author of “Costly exam review divides students” suggests students cannot afford tutoring or review courses, but the majority of them seem to afford blackberries, iPods, take-out food and weekly trips to Richmond Row. Stop berating those who work hard and are provided a necessary service. If the University prevents said service from being performed, then it is you who have blocked the education of hundreds of students.

More money means more opportunity Gazette called

—Jamu Alford PhD Physics

Re: “Costly exam review divides students” Dec. 4, 2009 To the editor: In case you haven’t figured this out yet, everything in life is two-tiered. In our current society we have a points system, developed over thousands of years, to decide who gets what based upon performance of previous work. This system, called “money,” rewards people who work hard, or the children of people who work hard. If they want to spend their money on clothing that is their choice. If they want to spend money on tutoring, because they either don’t get physics, didn’t feel like going to class or because they want good grades to go to medical school, then it is their choice. As to why the tutoring/review class services are not offered by the University, the simple answer is that it is being done well privately. Keeping it private guarantees a high level of quality. If your tutor does a crap job, you fire him and tell your friends they suck. If your TA does a bad job, he/she still gets paid. You can punish said TA by giving a poor review at the end of the year, and then all the TA [is denied is a teaching]

out on “tragic” puppy error Re: “Gazette Wish List: Chakma Claus, Free Coffee, Puppies” Dec. 4, 2009 To the editor: One of the requests in the “Gazette Wish List” was to “increase the student to puppy ratio on campus.” This would mean increasing the number of students for every puppy, or decreasing the number of puppies per each student. I think we can all agree that that would be a tragedy. Furthermore, the mistake was repeated in the comic on the same page. I must say that I do agree with what was trying to be said. More puppies are certainly necessary in order to make December a much more enjoyable time of year. —Kayla Brown Biology II

Ed note: Yup — we screwed up. Thanks for drawing our attention to the tragic puppy error. Even brilliant journalists like ourselves occasionally make mistakes — we know, it’s shocking.

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P5 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

ArtsEntertainment Arkells sell out Call the Office, get crowd hyped up Hamilton band and openers put on high-energy show for packed venue

CONCERT REVIEW

Performance: Openers: Crowd: By Pat Martini Gazette Staff

Corey Stanford/Gazette

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT? The Arkells sure know how to get an audience amped up — crowd members moshed and got on stage with the band at the end of the night.

Call the Office was bursting at the seams Thursday night as three groups offered up soul-infused rock ’n’ roll to a sweaty, energetic crowd. Hamilton five-piece band the Arkells headlined and brought along fellow Steeltown rockers Young Rival and Toronto’s Sweet Thing for a night that was nothing short of epic. The show was a huge success — tickets were sold out, much to the dismay of many Arkells fans who lined up at the Call the Office doors anyway. Sweet Thing kicked off the evening. They brought a unique mixture of songs that had everything from soul, punk and hard rock to blues and a touch of ska. Sweet Thing’s frontman was extremely entertaining and mimicked the style of a classic R&B singer. He danced like Smokey Robinson and turned his microphone stand upside down like Rod Stewart — the set was fun to watch, to say the least. The band’s only shortcoming was their lack of on-stage banter, which was the sole indication of their relative inexperience. Next on stage was Young Rival. These guys are no strangers to London, as they have passed through numerous times with a handful of other bands. Lead singer Aron D’Alesio fronts the garage-rock revival band that has a touch of psychobilly as well. The band’s riffs are familiar and their overall sound is accessible to a wide audience. Young Rival’s set was short but sweet, and D’Alesio effectively communicated with the crowd.

Set List: Worth the $$$:

Before playing their popular track, “Your Island,” he joked, “Our music video for this next song played on MuchMusic. Do they even play videos on Much anymore?” The Arkells finished the night with a bang. The audience had hyped themselves up for the performance while they waited for the band to take the stage, which finally happened around midnight. The band set the tone for the rest of their set with a fast-paced and impassioned performance of “Heart of the City” and followed up with “The Ballad of Huge Chavez,” which was clearly a crowd favourite. “Is everybody okay?” Arkells frontman Max Kerman asked the crowd early into their set. “We need to make sure we’re looking out for each other out there so everybody can have a good time.” This was a good piece of advice, seeing as people had already begun to crowd surf. After slowing the pace with a slower song — really the only one of the night — the crowd once again went crazy when they recognized the noticeable rapid-fire drumming and guitar riff from “Oh, The Boss is Coming.” Not surprisingly, the crowd demanded an encore from the Arkells. They played a cover of The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” followed by a rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” This prompted the opening bands and several crowd members to join the Arkells on stage to cap off the night. It was the perfect ending to a night of bluesy alternative rock — it was also a great way to relieve stress before the inevitable exam season.

Zeus as a mob boss, and other Greek myths Artist Sarah Kane puts modern twist on ancient stories By Mark Filipowich Gazette Staff

With the cultural debt the West owes to ancient Greece, it’s no surprise that allusions to the Greeks and their mythology continue to resurface in art. Visual artist Sarah Kane has based her latest work, Something Wicked this Way Comes, on the familiar motif of Greek mythology with an interesting new twist. Her exhibit debuts at the London Arts Project today. “[The exhibit] is sort of a collection of my take on some of the

Greek myths. It’s one of a series I’m going to be doing,” Kane explains. The piece is a narrative following the events of several familiar figures in Greek mythology. Kane focuses on four different characters: Zeus, Pandora, the Moirae and Aphrodite. However, she is modernizing the ancient characters. “For instance, Zeus, the ruler of all gods, in my show is actually a mob boss,” she explains. Kane emphasizes with every show she does, she has a specific direction in mind for her work. “I don’t just get a collection of

my work and do a mish-mash,” she says. “I like to tell a story in every show that I do. “I am going to be telling people the history of how the characters initially were [as gods] and then kind of leave it up to the viewer [to interpret] my spinoff of the characters,” she says of her latest exhibit. Kane works almost entirely with graphite and acrylic — Something Wicked, which she developed over the past year, is no exception. The process of bringing her ideas to life is a difficult one, beginning with photographs of her ideas and ending with a finished piece on

canvas. “I start by doing photo shoots. I manipulate the photos and then from there I make edits as I’m actually working on graphite or on the acrylic painting,” Kane says. “Then [I] make changes from there.” Kane explains the longer, more complicated process works better for her than just purging her ideas onto a canvas. “I tend to visualize, almost like it’s a scene from a movie,” she says. “When I go out to do the photo shoot it’s very much like a live action experience.” She adds that working with pho-

tos and editing on the move makes her art feel more visceral to her. “I sometimes envy those who can just sit in front of a canvas and let it flow because I’ve never been able to do that,” she laughs. “I kind of get an idea in my head and I try really hard to get it out.” Her effort, coupled with her creative concept, provides a fresh perspective on the widely familiar and timeless ancient myths. The exhibit opens today and runs until Dec. 19 at The Arts Project. Opening reception is tonight from 79 p.m. The Arts Project is located at 203 Dundas St.

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arts&entertainment

theGazette • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

SYTYCD finalists aim to inspire on tour Western student Melanie Mah among top 10 dancers coming to the JLC By Amber Garrat Gazette Staff

The So You Think You Can Dance Canada dancers are lighting up the stage again, but this time on a cross-country tour. The tour will feature performances from the second season’s top 10 finalists. The tour, which started on Nov. 25 in Kelowna, British Columbia, has been making its way across the country. It will make its one-night appearance in London tomorrow

night at the John Labatt Centre. The dancers are thrilled to be doing the tour. “It is an amazing experience being able to dance in front of so many people. It is something that you may never experience especially because dancers are generally back-up or behind an artist,” tap dancer Everett Smith, who placed fourth in the competition, says. “It takes away the competitive atmosphere. Now we get to enjoy the routines. All the pieces are not just crowd favourites, but our favourites too.” The opportunity to tour and dance in front of many Canadian

audiences is something Smith will never forget. “We are given the opportunity to expose ourselves and show our lives and our true passion on the stage. This is something that will stay with me for the rest of my career,” he says. The top 10 finalists featured in the tour are Amy Gardner, Austin Di lulio, Cody Bonnell, Emanuel Sandhu, Jayme Rae Dailey, Kim Gingras, Vincent Desjardins, Smith, winner Tara-Jean Popowich and Western student Melanie Mah, who placed sixth in the competition. “My favourite part of being on

tour is seeing the different locations and inspiring as many people as possible,” Smith says. “You have direct feedback from meet-andgreets and you get to see how many lives you have touched, which is

really the payoff.” Tickets for So You Think You Can Dance Canada are available at the John Labatt Center box office or from www.johnlabattcentre.com. Prices range from $41.25 - $61.25.

“We are given the opportunity to expose ourselves and show our lives and our true passion on the stage. This is something that will stay with me for the rest of my career.” — Everett Smith SYTYCD Canada Finalist

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P7 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2009

Sports

ON DECK: Track and Field season opener... Wednesday

MUSTANGS 3, LANCERS 2 (OT)

Unlikely hero Killing slays Lancers in OT Mustangs hit winter break on 14-game win streak By Alan Hudes Gazette Staff

It may have taken a few extra minutes, but the Mustangs made sure to keep their winning streak alive. Playing its first contest of the season to go beyond regulation, the men’s hockey team narrowly edged the Windsor Lancers 3-2 in overtime to extend its winning streak to 14 games. “The game could have gone either way tonight,” Mustangs head coach Clarke Singer said. “It was a playoff-style hockey game.” The Lancers came out firing on all cylinders and were rewarded for their efforts just over six minutes in, when Brett Oliphant caught Western goaltender Keyvan Hunt out of position for a tap in, giving the Lancers an early lead. “You don’t want to fall behind against a team like that,” Lancers head coach Kevin Hamlin said. “[The lead] was important because I think it challenged them to open up a little bit.” Due to their stale first period performance, the Mustangs were forced to make some adjustments ahead of the second stanza. “We talked about trying to keep the puck deep in their end and really trying to cycle,” Singer said. Those changes helped the Mustangs fight back. Halfway through

Piotr Angiel/Gazette

HOW ABOUT LOOKING AT THE CAMERA NEXT TIME, AARON — COME ON. Aaron Snow (left) celebrates after scoring a goal in the second period of the Mustang’s 3-2 overtime win over the Windsor Lancers Thursday night at Thompson Arena. The ‘Stangs haven’t lost in over two months, going into the winter holiday on a 14-game winning streak. the second period they evened up the score, when Aaron Snow roofed his own rebound to put Western back in the game. With less than three minutes to play in the middle frame, winger Keaton Turkiewicz fired home his team-leading 12th goal, sending the Mustangs to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead. “That’s the one thing — good teams overcome,” Mustangs captain Luc Martin said. “We knew that if we just kept working hard, we would get the bounces.”

Determined not to concede the two points, the Lancers’ Steve Ferry tied the contest just over seven minutes into the third. Though the Mustangs pushed hard for the winner late in the third, Lancers goaltender Jim Watt shut the door with a few stellar saves sending the game into overtime. Watt finished with 29 saves on 32 shots, including 11 in the third. “Watt is the key to their game. He was great,” Singer said. Three minutes into the extra frame, defenceman Geoff Killing

AARON SNOW #27 LW 6’0” 2nd Year

GP 16

G 10

A 17

PTS 27

PIM 18

PPG 3

KEATON TURKIEWICZ #29 RW 5’11” 2nd Year

GP 16

G 12

A 12

PTS 24

PIM 8

PPG 5

RYAN MARTINELLI #44 RD 6’5” 3rd Year GEOFF KILLING #8 LD 6’2” 2nd Year

GP 16

GP 16

GP 16

G 9

G 0

G 7

“Fourteen straight wins means nothing,” Killing said. “We need to come out in the second half and do the exact same thing.” Singer will do what he can to keep the rust off his players over the break. “[We’ll be] making sure that we can get a few practices in before they leave,” he said. The Mustangs return to the ice on Jan 8 and 9 for a doubleheader against the third-place Lakehead Thunderwolves at Thompson arena.

GOALTENDING BY COMMITTEE: MUSTANGS GOALIES

LIGHTING THE LAMP: MUSTANGS TOP GOAL SCORERS

KEVIN BAKER #10 C 6’0” 2nd Year

fired a quick wrist shot for his seventh goal of the season, clinching the win for Western. “We had to fight back and we weren’t just going to give in,” Killing said. “It’s good to get that one back for the team.” “It was a huge win,” Martin added. “We kept our [winning] streak alive and it’s good to go into the break with this momentum.” With no game on the schedule for a month, the Mustangs’ biggest challenge will be maintaining that momentum into the new year.

A 8

A 13

A 6

PTS 17

PTS 13

PTS 12

PIM 14

PIM 56

PIM 16

PPG 3

PPG 0

PPG 1

ANTHONY GRIECO

KEYVAN HUNT

2nd Year King’s University College Brantford, ON

3rd Year King’s University College Coquitlam, BC

GP . . . . . . . . . .10

GP . . . . . . . . . . .9

Mins . . . . . . .470

Mins . . . . . . .448

W . . . . . . . . . . . .8

W . . . . . . . . . . . .6

L . . . . . . . . . . . . .0

L . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

GA . . . . . . . . . .13

GA . . . . . . . . . .26

SO . . . . . . . . . . .1

SO . . . . . . . . . . .0

GAA . . . . . . .1.66

GAA . . . . . . .3.48

SA . . . . . . . . .280

SA . . . . . . . . .217

SVS . . . . . . . . 267

SVS . . . . . . . .191

Save % . . . . ..954

Save % . . . . ..880

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