3
Frank Appleyard
Letters
In defence of activism our collective well-being and that of
our society. The province needs to re-
Re: “Grading student lobbying” member that we students are the mid-
(Letters, Oct. 23) dle class of tomorrow, which is the
LAST WEEK’S LETTER concerning backbone of the Canadian tax system.
student activism represents a trou- If they wish to provide security to ag-
bling vein of thought: that student ac- ing boomers, they need to give us the
tivism is pointless because the people chance to acquire the skills that will
in charge won’t listen. The letter-writ- allow us to make the money to fund
er’s argument is that since “we don’t a social support network. If more and
vote” our interests will not be looked more young people can’t afford to
after, and governments will choose to become well-educated, their future
support issues important to seniors, incomes will be less and less, and the
who do vote. First of all, let’s exam- society we’ve built on the strength of
ine that “we”. If the writer means that the middle class will be in danger. So
young people don’t vote, there’s no add your voice to the crowd on Nov.
arguing with that. But not all young 5: you’ll be supporting yourself and
people are students; in fact, right be- your society, your present, and the fu-
low his letter, there was a poll show- ture of yourselves and your parents.
ing that 79 per cent of respondents Jim Rae
had voted in the federal election. As Second-year biomedical
students, we are a separate voting bloc science student
from “young people” at large, and the
more vocal we are, the more effective A medical response
our message.
The timing of the Nov. 5 demon- Re: “For a smoke-free-campaign-free
strations is important as well. The campus” (Letters, Oct. 23)
petition-drop last week and the pro- IN RESPONSE TO second-year med-
posed rallies next week should hope- ical student Lise Legault I would like
fully make clear to the Liberal Party to say that as a U of O student and a
of Ontario that dropping student fees non-smoker I believe that the notion
and relieving student debt is a ma- of a campus-wide smoking ban is an
jor concern of a significant voting excellent idea. Allowing smoke to
bloc. The more attention we draw to continually blow in my face while I
ourselves and our concerns now, the walk through university is an affront
more effective our voices will be. This to my rights to a clean and healthy
rally is not confined to Ottawa either; environment. The Canadian Cancer
this is a chance for every University Society has these interesting state-
of Ottawa student to join with other ments on its website: “No amount of
voices across the globe in favour of second-hand smoke is safe”, “second-
Contents
News Students face-off
with administration
SFUO supports students’ struggles. p. 4
Allan Rock answers students face-to-face. p. 5
p. 4
Arts spooktacular
Arts
Jaclyn Lytle checks out the Inside Out film
festival. p. 9
Tina Hassannia reviews Zadie’s Shoes and
p. 9 Look Back In Anger. p. 12
Sports Getting ready for
the Final Four
Women’s soccer wins their quarterfinal match
and will host the OUA Final Four. p. 16
The Fulcrum pays a visit to the Ottawa Curling
p. 16 Club, and manages to avoid serious injury. p. 18
Feature Who won the skeleton
beauty contest? No body!
Rebecca Rich unearths Halloween’s haunted
past. p. 12–13
p. 12 Di is desperate and needs your help. p. 22
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
hand smoke causes sore eyes and
throat, nasal irritation, headaches,
coughing and wheezing, nausea and
dizziness. Second-hand smoke can
also trigger asthma attacks and in-
crease your chances of getting bron-
chitis and pneumonia”, and “if you
have been exposed to second-hand
smoke for a long time, you are more
likely to develop and die from heart
problems, breathing problems, and
lung cancer”.
A person’s right to blow this poi-
son into the air stops where my nose
begins. Maybe the aspiring doctor
should read up on the dangers of
second-hand smoke before further
considering a medical career and
promoting such ludicrous positions
outlined in her letter.
Shawn Smith
Fourth-year English student
On the invisibility of a revolution
AS AN EX-STAFFER of the Student
Federation of the University of Ot-
tawa’s (SFUO) Centre for Students
with Disabilities (CSD), I recall be-
ing asked every September by student
media about the status of accessibility
on campus. I’ve been asked to iden-
tify which disability has it the hard-
est, what can be improved, and how
we plan to do it. The resulting articles
amounted to a few hundred words
and glossed over the nuances about
the insidious ways in which ableism
discriminates.
I suppose that this is the politics of
word allocation. While the Fulcrum’s
arts and culture section re-hashes
reviews of Hollywood’s blockbusters
(as if we can’t find this in an issue of
the Metro), it has neglected disability
culture and the politics of disability
representation (think of the protests
against Tropic Thunder for its depic-
tion of people with learning disabili-
ties; a film reviewed by the Fulcrum).
Same thing with sports. When the
Fulcrum’s sports section declared the
end of the Olympics, it downplayed
the status of the Beijing Paralympics.
The Paralympics are interesting be-
cause they can indicate the status of
disabilities internationally as far as
funding and support goes for Para-
lympic athletes.
How about kicking off a debate
about the levy that students with dis-
abilities pay into the Gee-Gees fund?
When most of the sports teams and
resources are inaccessible, should
they pay into a fund they cannot en-
Business Department
The Fulcrum, the University of Ottawa’s inde-
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
FPS governs all administrative and business
actions of the Fulcrum and consists of the fol-
lowing individuals: Ross Prusakowski (Presi-
dent), Andrea Khanjin (Vice-President), Tyler
Meredith (Chair), Peter Raaymakers, Nick
Taylor-Vaisey, Toby Climie, Scott Bedard and
Andrew Wing.
To contact the Fulcrum’s BOD,
contact Ross Prusakowski at (613) 562-5261.
Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca
joy the same benefits of? Doesn’t this
logic extend to the SFUO if they are
not making their activities and events
accessible? Why are people taking
the money of students with disabili-
ties and not trying to include them?
When someone raises accessibility
as an issue, why is it treated as a nui-
sance?
Disability, in a nutshell, is an angle
on any story. The failure to acknowl-
edge this leads to the perpetuation of
the idea that only able-bodied people
and able-bodied issues are newswor-
thy. Let’s take the recent women-only
gym times debate. Students with
disabilities pay into the gym and fa-
cilities just the same as non-disabled
students. The designs of the gyms are
hardly accessible. So when it comes to
the politics of allocation, the debate
talked over the fact that this was an
able-bodied debate about access.
I understand that the Fulcrum has
looked into making their space ac-
cessible, but has reduced their own
accessibility problems to a zero sum
game; either the Fulcrum publishes
in an inaccessible space, or it doesn’t
have a home. It doesn’t have to be
this way. What’s wrong with meeting
in an accessible space at least once a
month? Reducing it to all or nothing
does nothing to include all. Students
with disabilities pay into your operat-
ing levy, too. Don’t take their money
and shrug them off.
The greatest thing I imagined for
the CSD was that one day it would not
have to exist. Help them fight ableism.
Write about disability. Agitate. Hold
money-takers accountable.
Chelsea Flook
U of O alumna
Discrimination in blood donation
I WAS PROUD to submit an article
for the Fulcrum’s Oct. 16 issue urging
students to donate blood to Canadian
Blood Services (CBS). Unfortunately,
I did not adequately convey a crucial
element that I felt and feel is impor-
tant: CBS continues its ban on blood
donations from men who have had
sex with other men. Though at first
glance the reasoning seems sound, it
speaks from a position of unjustified
fear. And though this policy was re-
visited last year, CBS has yet to speak
to reasonable safeguards and options
like waiting periods as adopted in
Australia and Japan. CBS needs to ad-
dress the issue with a view to logic and
inclusivity. Until then I urge students
Advertising Department
Deidre Butters, Advertising Representative
phone: (613) 880-6494
fax: (613) 562-5259
e-mail: ads@thefulcrum.ca
Check out our rate card online.
Go to www.thefulcrum.ca and
follow the link for “Advertisers”.
Multi-market advertisers:
Campus Plus: (800)265-5372
Campus Plus offers one-stop shopping for over
90 Canadian student
newspapers.
The Fulcrum is a proud member of
Canadian University Press:
www.cup.ca
to give blood to help save lives—and
to speak out against discrimination in
all its forms.
Ted Horton
Third-year political science student
An open letter to Allan Rock
DEAR MR. ROCK,
The Student Federation of the Uni-
versity of Ottawa (SFUO), the collec-
tive voice for all University of Ottawa
undergraduate students, is writing to
inform the University of Ottawa of
two cases denoting serious injustices
against students. The SFUO demands
that you intervene immediately to
remedy these troubling situations.
The SFUO stands strongly behind
all of its students and their appeals, in
particular the most recent deliberate
abuses shown in the TingTing Wang
and Marc Kelly cases. Further, the
SFUO condemns the actions taken
by the U of O to undermine SFUO
nomination rights...
[Ed: Please visit thefulcrum.ca/let-
ters to read this letter in its entirety.]
Dean Haldenby
SFUO president
Due to space constraints, we were
unable to print all letters received.
Please visit thefulcrum.ca/letters
to read more about the smoke-free
campus campaign, issues in the Fac-
ulty of Science, and whether or not
education is truly a right.
thefulcrum.ca poll
Which winter-season Gee-Gees
team will have the best regular
season record?
men’s basketball:
women’s basketball:
men’s hockey:
women’s hockey:
women’s volleyball:
Go to thefulcrum.ca to vote!
Last week’s results
Will you benefit from the SFUO’s
U-Pass?
Yes: 44%
No: 56%
Got something to say?
Send your letters to
editor@thefulcrum.ca
Letters deadline: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Letters must be under 400 words unless
discussed with the editor-in-chief.
Drop off letters at 631 King Edward Ave. or
e-mail
editor@thefulcrum.ca.
Letters must include your name, telephone
number, year, and program of study. Pseud-
onyms may be used after consultation with the
editor-in-chief. We correct spelling and gram-
mar to some extent. The Fulcrum will exercise
discretion in printing letters that are deemed
racist, homophobic, or sexist.
We will not even consider hate literature or
libellous material. The editor-in-chief reserves
the authority on everything printed herein.
 4
Emma Godmere

News Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008

News Editor
news@thefulcrum.ca

Students face off with administration
Many claim
academic appeals
were ignored
by Megan O’Meara
Fulcrum Staff
OVER 70 U of O students have filed academic
appeals with the university’s administration
through the Student Federation of the Univer-
sity of Ottawa’s (SFUO) Student Appeal Centre
(SAC). The SAC’s cases often focus on accusa-
tions of academic fraud, faculty or program
withdrawals, and administrative reimburse-
ments, among other issues.
Two U of O students in particular have
claimed to encounter serious difficulty in re-
solving issues surrounding academic appeals
with the university administration.
The first, Marc Kelly, a sixth-year physics stu-
dent, has encountered trouble with the adminis-
tration for months. His attempts to have his re-
search project accepted by the physics department
have been rejected, and as a result he has filed an
appeal with the university. He claims to have been
met with exclusion from closed-door meetings re-
garding his project, direct refusal of contact, and
most recently, deregistration from the course.
“To my knowledge, this is the first time the
administration has deregistered a student
against their will,” Kelly said. “This is not some-
thing that is done in the university.”
Kelly has not only had problems with his fac-
ulty, but also with the Senate Appeals Commit-
tee. The Student Federation of the University of
Ottawa (SFUO) nominated Kelly for the posi-
tion of student representative on the Commit-
tee, but according to the SFUO, his nomination
was unfairly declined.
The SFUO has decided to take action on the
issue. In a letter to U of O President Allan Rock,
SFUO President Dean Haldenby wrote, “[VP
Academic] Robert Major informed the SFUO
that the nomination was rejected.”
The SFUO claims that Kelly’s rejection was
discriminatory, stating in the letter, “Mr. Major
expressed his belief to an SFUO representative
that Marc Kelly is mentally unstable, and that
this belief supported the rejection.”
While Major was not immediately available
for comment, Rock attempted to respond to
Kelly’s concerns in his speech to students on
Oct. 24.
“[The administration has] some concerns
based upon some of the procedures Mr. Kelly
himself [is] ... a party participant to some of the
[appeal] proceedings that are pending, so we’re
not sure that [accepting him on the committee]
is the wise thing to do,” he said.
While Kelly found the opportunity to ask
Rock about his appeal directly on Oct. 24, many
students often receive no response to their ap-
peals, explained Mireille Gervais, coordinator of
the Student Appeal Centre.
“[Often the administration] won’t even ac-
knowledge that they’ve received my appeal, they
won’t respond to my appeal, [or] it takes months
before my appeal is responded to,” she said.
Another case presented to Rock in Haldenby’s
letter is that of international student TingTing
Wang, who sought guidance from her academic
advisor as she decided which two courses to take
as electives to complete her degree. Her advisor
recommended she take MAT3343, for which
Wang did not have the prerequisites. photo by Ian Flett
As Haldenby explained in his letter to Rock, Marc Kelly speaks during Allan Rock’s question period on Oct. 24.
“had Ms. Wang attempted to register for this
course by herself using the online registration grade to be removed from her transcript. peals.
system, this situation would never have hap- If the failing mark is not removed, Wang is “Over the summer, I had the chance to meet
pened.” worried about the effect it will have on her job with Mireille Gervais and Seamus Wolfe. We
Wang failed the course, and as a result was search. talked about the student appeal committee of
forced to return in the summer to complete her “If a potential employer sees my transcript, it the Senate, [identified] issues that are there to
degree. She was shocked to learn that she had will give the message … that I don’t work hard be dealt with, and I undertook then, as I do now,
been misguided, and frustrated when her appeal and I’m not responsible,” she said. to face those issues squarely,” he said.
was not granted. According to Haldenby, many students have Haldenby reiterated the administration’s need
“I am an international student,” explained had the same experience as Wang. to take responsibility for its actions.
Wang, “and that one course cost me almost “There are a lot of issues with academic advi- “The presidency of our university needs to be
$2,000 alone.” sors,” he said.“[The] Wang case is not an isolated held accountable for these types of actions and
Wang has made two appeals to the university: incident. make sure that they do the right thing, which is
one requesting a reimbursement for the money Rock explained in his Oct. 24 speech to stu- … protect[ing] the student population against
she lost, and the other asking for the failing dents that he plans to attend to the issue of ap- these sorts of injustices,” he said.

Students petition McGuinty to drop fees

Thousands of signatures
delivered to premier’s
local office
by Laura Clementson
Fulcrum Contributor
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA students
brought their message loud and clear
to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s
Ottawa office on Oct. 22, protesting
what they argue is unaffordable tuition.
As part of the Drop Fees campaign
organized by the Canadian Federation
of Students (CFS), student activists
built momentum for the Nov. 5 day of
action by handing in a petition with
thousands of signatures to the pre-
mier’s local constituency office.
Despite the frigid temperatures on
the morning of Oct. 22, approximately
photo by Laura Clementson 30 students met in front of Thomp-
Students are met by cameras at Dalton McGuinty’s office on Oct. 22. son Hall to attend the rally. Protesters
initially ran into problems when their
bus didn’t arrive; however, Carleton
students also participating in the dem-
onstration swung by the campus to
pick them up.
“We’re all fighting for a common
goal,” explained Brittany Smyth, presi-
dent of the Carleton University Stu-
dent Association.
A throng of reporters met demon-
strators once they got off the bus at the
Ottawa-South office.
“We have the media on our side,”
said Student Federation of the Univer-
sity of Ottawa (SFUO) VP Communi-
cations Julie Séguin. “I’m really happy
they showed up because that’s going to
help visibility for Nov. 5.”
The demonstration was just one
of many as student unions across the
province handed in their Drop Fees
petitions all on the same day. Accord-
ing to Séguin, there were approximate-
ly 100,000 signatures from Ontario
post-secondary students altogether,
with about 10,000 coming from U of
O students.
Nov. 5 marks only the beginning of
the Drop Fees campaign, explained
Séguin. A follow-up demonstration
is expected to take place three weeks
after the Nov. 5 rally, at Ottawa-Vanier
MPP Madeleine Meilleur’s constitu-
ency office in an effort to solicit a
response from the McGuinty govern-
ment. Séguin is also expecting that the
campaign will continue into second
semester.
SFUO VP University Affairs Sea-
mus Wolfe felt the demonstration was
successful and remained optimistic
about the SFUO’s upcoming efforts on
Nov. 5.
“Right now we’re seeing more and
more people [coming] out to our
meetings and more and more petitions
signed,” he said.
PETITION continued on p. 5
 Allan Rock: unscripted
U of O president fields
student questions at
public event
by Amanda Shendruk
Fulcrum Staff
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA President Allan
Rock hosted a question-and-answer period with
students Oct. 24 in the Unicentre, a gesture that
many saw as a significant step towards improv-
ing the relationship between the administration
and students.
“Obviously I think it’s a good thing that Al-
lan Rock is presenting to students his plans and
his vision … It is a shift from what we’ve expe-
rienced in the past,” said Student Federation
of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) President
Dean Haldenby.
Tansy Etro-Beko, student life commis-
sioner for the Graduate Students Association
(GSAÉD), was also pleased.
“A public forum larger than 20 students at a
time [is something] we have not seen in the past
eight years from the president; therefore, that
was a really big and important step,” she said.
Before fielding questions, Rock delivered a
15-minute address in both French and English
photo by Ian Flett that outlined his vision for the university and,
Allan Rock responded to several questions from students after his speech on Oct. 24. specifically, his goals for the coming two years.
“I believe we should continue to work on the
project that we’ve focused on in recent years, to
improve the quality of the student experience,”
FA C U LT Y O F I N F O R M AT I O N / U N I V E R S I T Y O F T O R O N T O he said. “I would like to make sure that these
will be for you, as you look back, some of the
happiest years of your lives.”
Rock proposed a number of ways he hopes to
The enhance the student experience at the U of O,
including improving the relationship between
iSchool@Toronto
the administration and students, creating an
ombudsperson post, simplifying administrative
procedures, and addressing the ever-decreasing
amount of student space on campus.
“I think we should manage the rate of our
growth in the coming years, to make sure that
we can focus our attention on the students that
I N F O R M A T I O N N I G H T are already here,” he said.
Rock also expressed his interest in strengthen-
ing research opportunities at the U of O, noting
Thinking about applying to graduate school? Think iSchool. that the university is currently rated fifth in re-
Explore the Masters and Doctoral degree programs available at search intensity among 50 Canadian universities.
the Faculty of Information. Discover the wide range of disciplines Finally, Rock proposed an initiative he called
“Canada’s university in the service of the world”.
that will make you a leader in the information field: Archives
and Records Management / Critical Information Studies / Cultural
Heritage / Information Systems, Media and Design / Knowledge
and Information Management / Library and Information Science / PETITION continued from p. 4
Museum Studies.
Just hours after the petitions were dropped
T H U R S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 3 T H O R RESERVE off, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan
T U E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 1 8 T H , 2 0 0 8 , Email: rsvp.ischool@utoronto.ca revealed the $500-million deficit the province is
7 TO 9 P M . by November 11, 2008. facing.
Questions? 416.978.3234
EXPLORE Duncan warned Ontarians to expect lower
Find out about admission require- DISCOVER funding for universities when the new fiscal
ments, scholarships and financial Faculty of Information, year begins in April.
aid; important deadlines and University of Toronto While the Drop Fees campaign has been ac-
dates. Meet our faculty, students, 140 St. George Street, Room 211 tive for several years, students continue to wit-
ness the rise of tuition fees in many provinces
and alumni. Students from all Toronto
across the country. According to Statistics Can-
disciplines welcome.
ada, not only have tuition fees increased, but so
have additional mandatory fees.
www.ischool.utoronto.ca VP Finance Roxanne Dubois explained that
the SFUO has allocated $30,000 towards the
Drop Fees campaign.
www.thefulcrum.ca Oct. 30, 2008
He hopes to increase the number of community
service-oriented programs available to students
and to create such opportunities both in Canada
and the rest of the world.
“Today’s graduates, as we all know, must not
only be educated individuals, they must also be
prepared to be global citizens,” he declared.
Following the address, students were given
the opportunity to ask the president questions.
Marc Kelly, the SFUO’s student nominee to
the Senate Appeals Committee, took the oppor-
tunity to criticize the U of O administration for
appeal proceedings in which he is currently im-
plicated. Rock responded to the outburst with a
partial explanation of the situation involving the
nominee, but when it became clear that Kelly
would not relent in his interruptions, he moved
the question period forward.
“Let’s let others ask questions, Mr. Kelly,” he
said. “This is not just about you.”
In addition to listening to a number of stu-
dents concerned with the situation surrounding
Kelly and the Senate Appeals Committee, Rock
responded to questions about the aesthetics of the
campus, the high cost of international exchanges,
discrimination in university policies, and the de-
clining French population on campus.
Some questioners were visibly upset and an-
gry at the administration for one reason or an-
other, while others thanked Rock for his efforts
and welcomed him to the university.
Coordinator of the Student Appeal Centre
Mireille Gervais shared her concerns about sys-
temic injustice at the U of O. She explained that
over 70 per cent of students that visit the centre
are visible minorities.
In response, Rock said that the number was
“deeply troubling”.
During the question period, Rock was invited
to march with students on the Nov. 5 day of ac-
tion against tuition fees. In reply, he outlined
steps he has taken towards assisting students in
their pursuit of lower tuition and expressed his
support for the event.
“I’m with you in spirit,” he said. “I agree that
governments should contribute more to [post-sec-
ondary education] and if I’m not there to march
on the fifth of November, I’ll be working in my
own way toward the same objective.”
In an interview after the event, Rock shared
his thoughts on the experience.
“I hope that I got my messages across: my
love for the university, my ambitions for its fu-
ture … Apart from that, I thought the exchange
was good. It was lively. There were people rais-
ing questions that were provocative, and that’s
good,” he said.
“I plan to do this again.”
Staff meetings.
We have them.
Thursdays at 4 p.m.
631 King Edward Ave.
The Fulcrum.
NEWS 5
 Morisset Library’s
renovated sixth
floor re-opens

photo by Martha Pearce

Renovated spaces feature new couches and a fireplace on the sixth floor of Morisset.
features a fireplace surrounded by couches.
The floor now also houses the Graduate Stu-
dent Resource and Mentoring Centre and a
Official opening research assistance desk staffed by students. In
highlights extensive addition to 30 computer stations, a number of
rooms outfitted with multimedia equipment,
graduate space which students can reserve for presentations or
group work, are also available to grad students.
Additionally, the floor holds 154 carrels that
by Amanda Shendruk will each be assigned to two students, effec-
Fulcrum Staff tively providing 308 new graduate study spac-
es. As of the week of Oct. 20, 270 requests had
THE NEWLY RENOVATED sixth floor of been received for the desks. Applications for
Morisset Library officially opened on Oct. 27 the carrels can be found online at the Morriset
after weeks of renovations. The move to reno- Library website and will be accepted until the
vate several areas on the top floor was made in first week of November.
response to the chronic shortage of graduate The renovation of the sixth floor of Morisset
student office space. is part of an ongoing
“This is a remarkable process that began in
place and I’m sure it “It’s certainly a step 2006 with the renova-
will be extremely popu- forward in the right tion of the fifth floor.
lar among the students,” “This is just one step
said Dean of Gradu- direction.” of many,” said chief li-
ate Studies Gary Slater, Serge Dupuis brarian Leslie Weir.
who spoke at the event university affairs commissioner The fourth floor was
honouring the floor’s GSAÉD renovated in 2007 and
completion. the university plans to
The floor now in- renovate the third floor
cludes nearly 500 study carrels for both gradu- next summer. Morisset Library receives over
ates and undergraduates; however, a special two-million visits every year, and in 2007 the
emphasis was placed on creating areas exclu- library saw over a quarter million students in
sively for grad students. November alone.
“It’s certainly a step forward in the right di- “We are [even] looking at possibilities for
rection,” said Serge Dupuis, university affairs actually expanding this building,” said Weir.
commissioner at the Graduate Student’s As- She explained that the law, health sciences,
sociation (GSAÉD). “It’s going to be very well and music libraries are also under review, and
received.” interest has been expressed in renovating them
Students can now take advantage of the as well.
floor’s new, grads-only study room. The room
can comfortably seat about 80 people, is acces- For more information about the new study spac-
sible only by punching in a numeric code, and es, check out biblio.uottawa.ca.

6 NEWS Oct. 30, 2008


SFUO and GSAÉD pressure univer-
sity to lower tuition fees
IN A PRESENTATION made to
the university’s Board of Governors
(BOG) on Oct. 27, the campus’s larg-
est undergraduate and graduate stu-
dent associations explained why the
University of Ottawa should be a na-
tional leader in lowering tuition fees.
Citing increased drop-out rates
and a reduced competitive academic
standing nationally as consequences
of rising tuition fees, Federico Car-
vajal, external commissioner for
the Graduate Students’ Association
(GSAÉD) and Seamus Wolfe, vp uni-
versity affairs for the Student Fed-
eration of the University of Ottawa
(SFUO), asserted that the university
must act immediately to help ease
students’ financial burdens. They ex-
www.thefulcrum.ca
plained that because tuition fees are
going up at nearly three times the
rate of inflation and student debt is
rapidly increasing, the U of O should
maintain the current tuition fee levels
for the 2009–10 year for all students,
while cutting post-residency fees for
graduate students in half.
Both U of O President Allan Rock
and BOG Chair Marc Jolicoeur ex-
pressed that both student associations
will have an opportunity to respond
to the administration’s own presenta-
tion in November, while the final de-
cision on next year’s tuition fees will
be made in January.
—Emma Godmere
BOA by-election yields low voter
turnout
THE RECENT STUDENT Fed-
News in brief
eration of the University of Ottawa
(SFUO) Board of Administration
(BOA) by-election saw two candi-
dates elected despite extremely poor
voter turnout.
The by-elections saw only one
candidate vying for each vacant posi-
tion in the Faculty of Education and
the Faculty of Engineering. Students
unanimously elected Myriam Bérubé
as the Faculty of Education’s sole
BOA director with 47 ‘yes’ votes out
of 47 ballots cast. Rob Arntfield won
the position for the Faculty of Engi-
neering with 28 ‘yes’ votes out of a
mere 34 ballots cast, joining Jonathan
Weber as one of two directors for the
faculty.
The BOA is in charge of managing
all aspects of the SFUO, and consists
of members of the SFUO executive
as well as elected members from all
photo by Frank Appleyard
faculties on campus. The board meets
monthly to make decisions on issues
including policy, budgetary alloca-
tions, and disciplinary action.
—Kenny Dodd
Memorial University bans
beer sponsorship
ST. JOHN’S (CUP) – MEMORIAL
UNIVERSITY HAS made the deci-
sion to end dependency on spon-
sorship and donations from brew-
eries in St. John’s, N.L. Christine
Burke, director of housing, food,
and conference services at the uni-
versity, said the decision came after
a review found that no other Cana-
dian university allowed endorse-
ments by alcohol companies. Due to
changes in residence eligibility re-
quirements, 64 per cent of students
Oct. 30, 2008
living on campus were underage as
of September. Noting that sponsors
offered money or other monetary
mechanisms for house events or
charity fundraisers, Burke suggest-
ed that Housing’s contribution to
on-campus life should cover all resi-
dence needs. She said that the alco-
hol companies didn’t like the idea,
but that they understood Housing’s
reasoning that many students are
now underage.
—Kenny Sharpe, The Muse
NEWS 7

Variety of Halloween
events to take place
on campus
by Katie DeClerq
Fulcrum Contributor
THIS HALLOWEEN, UNIVERSITY
of Ottawa students will be treated to
a variety of Halloween-themed ac-
tivities taking place on all corners of
the campus. Numerous events have
been planned for the weekend of Oct.
31–Nov. 2 to satisfy the needs of the
community and provide entertain-
ment for students.
The Pumpkin Olympics, normally
an annual Student Federation of the
University of Ottawa (SFUO) event,
have been cancelled this year. After
receiving criticism for wasting pump-
kins and due to a desire to keep their
events fresh, the SFUO has decided to
go in another direction.
“Many other members in the SFUO
were planning Halloween events quite
early in the month, and there was al-
ready a lot of emphasis on that,” said
U of O gets ghostly
SFUO VP Social Joel Larose. “This
year, we are revamping our social
programs and our goal was to spread
our events throughout the year.”
Bon Appétit, the SFUO-run food
bank, is promoting Trick or Eat, a cos-
tumed food drive on Oct. 31, 5 p.m.–8
p.m. Teams of students participating in
the event go door to door wearing cos-
tumes and asking for non-perishable
food donations. These items will be
donated to the non-profit organization
Meal Exchanges, a national student-
founded charity that addresses local
hunger and poverty.
The U of O is one of many schools
across Canada participating in Trick
or Eat. Last year, U of O students
raised approximately $5,000 worth of
food, and Bon Appétit has raised the
bar, setting a goal of $7,500 this year.
To register, either as a team or an in-
dividual, visit trickoreat.ca or visit the
Agora in the Unicentre at 4:30 p.m.
on Oct. 31 to register in person.
“It will be a great time,” said Sa-
mantha Warford, assistant coordina-
tor for Bon Appétit. “It’s an amazing
cause, it’s a lot of fun, and it doesn’t
take a lot of time to do.”
For those wishing to experience a
more frightful Halloween, the Stu-
dent Association of the Faculty of
Arts (SAFA) is hosting their third-an-
nual haunted house, 7 p.m.–10 p.m.
on Oct. 30 and 31.
Volunteers have been at work
throughout the month of October,
brainstorming and building sets
and structures to prepare for the
event. Due to the recent renovations
at Café Alternatif in Simard Hall,
the event will take place in the old
games room in the basement of the
Unicentre. Admission is $2 and at
the end of the night, funds collected
will be donated to a charitable or-
ganization.
Antonio Carito, SAFA’s coordina-
tor for the haunted house, wanted to
warn U of O students.
“[Students] should know that we do
not do small types of scares that are
common in family-oriented haunted
houses … we have made people cryy
with fright and we are proud of it.”
For more information about Trick or
Eat, check out sfuo.ca/services/bonap-
petit/english/events.htm, and to find
out more about SAFA’s haunted house,
go to artsuottawa.ca/eng/events.html. illustration by Devin A. Beauregard

La Rotonde continues
to weather the storm
French-language student
newspaper navigates first
year of autonomy
by Emma Godmere
Fulcrum Staff
AFTER ACHIEVING INDEPEN-
DENCE from the Student Federation
of the University of Ottawa (SFUO)
in May, La Rotonde’s staff have spent
the last several months working out
constitutional and contractual chang-
es and now also face the challenge of
filling four editorial board and staff
positions, including the recently va-
cated position of editor-in-chief.
François-Olivier Dorais cited per-
sonal reasons for his resignation from
the position in mid-October.
“It’s very challenging to be at La
Rotonde right now,” said Céline Basto,
interim editor-in-chief and current
news editor. “[We’re] a really small
team, we’re missing four people, and
it’s a lot of work for every member.
Every member is taking on a lot right
now.”
Caroline Bouchard, La Rotonde’s
general manager, also highlighted
the current workload the newspaper
faces and indicated there is still a lot
photo by Alex Smyth that remains to be worked on.
“La Rotonde fought a lot for its in-
dependence and it was done quickly,”
said Bouchard. “I think that maybe
[some] things at the beginning were
missing, but that’s why I’ve been hired,
and that’s why I’ve been working in
close collaboration with the SFUO to
make sure that these little details are
solved as quickly as possible in order
for the newspaper to be able to start
the year on solid ground in general.
“[From] an administrative per-
spective, for sure there’s work to do,
like any other starting business …
whenever you’re starting to be in-
corporated there’s adjustments to
be made,” she continued. “The great
thing right now is that we have a very,
very strong administration board.
They have a pretty good idea of what
it takes to be independent and to be
on solid ground.”
The SFUO holds two non-voting
positions on La Rotonde’s adminis-
tration board. SFUO President Dean
Haldenby explained that their role is
mainly an advisory one.
“We do sit on their board as ex-
officio [members] … and that’s for
reasons just like this,” he said. “This
is their first year of independence,
they’ve only been independent for
six months now, so in order to help
facilitate that and help them work on
advice … to support them and give
them ideas from a larger student or-
ganization perspective, we’re there to
help them with that.
“We’re also there to make sure that
the contract that we had signed with
them is being adhered to, because we
need to make sure that the money is
being properly spent on what it’s sup-
posed to be spent on and that they are
getting issues out,” he continued.
According to Bouchard, most of
the paper’s budgetary concerns have
now been addressed.
“We’re probably going to be able to
go back to 20 pages,” she said, after
the paper printed 16-page issues in
recent weeks.
“We haven’t really met with the
administration board to talk about
money, so that’s going to have to pass
through them, but pretty much the is-
sues have been solved when it comes
to budgeting.”
Dorais noted that financial issues
are commonplace for newly indepen-
dent organizations.
“When you [go] autonomous,
you have to appropriate yourself ev-
erything. You have to do your own
budget, you have to do your own con-
tracts, your own constitution and all
this stuff still has to be reworked,” he
said. “We still have some work to do
on this.”
Bouchard expects a new editor-in-
chief to be chosen through a hiring
process by mid-November.

8 NEWS Oct. 30, 2008 www.thefulcrum.ca


Arts & Culture
Alternative film festival
turns Ottawa Inside Out
Toronto festival
returns to Ottawa for
the second time
by Jaclyn Lytle
Fulcrum Staff
THE TORONTO-BASED INSIDE Out film
festival is coming to three venues in the capital
Oct. 30–Nov. 2. Inside Out, which has put on
festivals in Toronto for almost 20 years, came
to Ottawa for the first time last fall. The festival
screens films relevant to gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender (GLBT) communities with
the mandate “To challenge attitudes. To change
lives.”
“Ottawa was our first major expansion proj-
ect [out of Toronto],” says festival programmer
Jason St. Laurent. “Last year was a pilot initia-
tive to gauge the community interest in this
kind of festival.
“[The response] was overwhelming,” St.
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
Laurent continues. “More than 1,500 people
showed up for a first time weekend initiative.
The community really came out and drove.
[Last year’s festival] was put on at the time with
a very bare-boned budget. It was done on a
small scale.”
Support from the Ottawa GLBT community
has allowed this year’s festival to grow and ex-
pand. Events will take place at three venues:
Empire 7 Cinemas (111 Albert St.), the Na-
tional Gallery of Canada (380 Sussex Dr.), and
SAW Gallery (67 Nicholas St.).
“This year the festival has made all kinds of
changes and improvements,” explains St. Lau-
rent. “We’ve increased capacity by about 25 per
cent [by changing the central screening loca-
tion] to the National Gallery. This time we can
do more. We’ve gotten government funding,
and hired an Ottawa-based festival coordina-
tor to help get a finger on the pulse of the city.”
This year Inside Out, in partnership with
SAW Gallery, is offering the newly created
Video Virgin Award.
“[The prize is designed] to help encour-
age local queer filmmakers,” says St. Laurent.
“We’re trying to create support to encourage
Peter Henderson
Arts & Culture Editor
arts@thefulcrum.ca
this work to be made in Ottawa.”
Another exciting addition to this year’s pro-
gramming will be the opening night party,
Drag-O-Rama, taking place at SAW Gallery
on Oct. 30 following the screening of Darren
Ashton’s film Razzle Dazzle at the Empire 7
Cinemas.
“Everyone that comes out is welcome to
come party with us afterwards. It brings every-
one together,” says St. Laurent. “[The party will
be] a celebration of all things queer.”
St. Laurent feels that the festival is relevant
to youth issues.
“There are lots of programming choices that
young adults would respond to. Many of the
films are actually featuring youth, or have cine-
matic run-throughs that would be of interest to
any young adult,” he claims. “XXY, The Secrets,
and [some of the] shorts [that] are scattered
throughout, like Pariah, would all be obvious
examples of relevant programming”.
XXY is a Spanish film about a young inter-
sex person named Alex. It deals with universal
problems like identity, the sometimes rocky re-
lationship between children and their parents,
and the enormous emotional challenge of ado-
9
photo courtesy Inside Out
lescence. The Secrets is a French film about the
budding relationship between two young Jew-
ish girls, dealing with issues of family, religion,
and carnal desire. Both films will be presented
with English subtitles.
St. Laurent thinks that bringing the Inside
Out festival to Ottawa is important for the lo-
cal GLBT community.
“A city as vibrant as Ottawa has to have
events [of this kind],” concludes St. Laurent.
“Pride has established itself as a major cul-
tural event [in the city]. In essence our role is
… not only to promote independent work and
cinema, but also [create] a means for the com-
munity to see complex images of themselves
on-screen. Our hope is to become a highlight
of the fall cultural calendar. [We want] to radi-
ate more than we did last year. We want to see
more people.”
The Inside Out Ottawa-Gatineau GLBT Film
and Video Festival runs Oct 30–Nov. 2. Single-
screening tickets are available online and at
Venus Envy (320 Lisgar St.). Tickets are $10 for
students. More information and a full schedule
are available at insideout.ca/ottawa.
 The original angry young man
Look Back in Anger
challenges
contemporary apathy
by Tina Hassannia
Fulcrum Contributor
IN THE 52 years since John Osbourne wrote
Look Back in Anger—the first British play about
the working class—countless playwrights have
addressed the underlying social issues of their
times. Instead of plays merely entertaining au-
diences, authors have broached subjects like
poverty, AIDS, cancer, and homosexuality in
order to create controversy and discussion.
Look Back In Anger completely revolution-
ized British theatre when it first premiered in
1952. It was the first time an ironing board—
or the squalid and cramped quarters of a low-
class apartment—appeared on a British the-
atre stage. These settings would scarcely raise
eyebrows today the way they did in the fifties.
So why would anyone want to produce a seem-
ingly outdated story about the repressive Brit-
ish social-class system?
For Third Wall Theatre, the current issues
may be different—the economic nosedive, the
environment, human rights violations—but
they’re still rooted in apathy and inequality.
Through the main character, Jimmy Porter, an
angry young man who projects his frustrations
about the world onto his wife, the audience con-
cludes that while the issues may have changed,
humanity’s visceral reaction to them has not.
Porter is played by Stewart Matthews, a short
but fierce actor who never breaks character or
even seems to blink. His delivery of certain
lines is spot on, but others are yelled too fast
for the audience to catch. Porter’s wife Alison
is played by Kristina Watt, a well-established
Ottawa actress who has enough stage presence
to display her contempt and despair through
furrowed brows and small frowns alone. Rich-
ard Gelinas plays Jimmy’s old friend and the
couple’s mediator, Cliff. Gelinas is quietly bril-
liant at conveying the subtle, amiable humour
provided by his character. Alison’s friend, Hel-
ena, is played by Amanda Kellock, who plays
her two-faced role perfectly.
The set is designed “in the round”, which
means audience members sit all the way around
the stage. The cramped quarters of the couple’s
apartment, along with the shabby furniture,
symbolize both Jimmy’s perceived oppression
and the couple’s relationship woes. Performing
on a circular stage is problematic, because some
sections of the audience occasionally can’t see
the actor’s faces or gestures.
At times, the cast lacked a cohesive chemistry
essential for this play, and the physical move-
ment of Jimmy and Helena’s characters before
their forbidden kiss was awkward at best.
Regardless of these issues, Third Wall’s pro-
duction of this incredibly difficult play is ad-
mirable and worth seeing if only to make the
viewer think about how much—or little—we’ve
progressed in 50 years.
Look Back in Anger runs until Nov. 1. Tickets are
$20 for students, with special rush pricing avail-
able. For more information, visit thirdwall.com.
photo by Richard Ellis

Walk a mile in a gambler’s shoes
Zadie’s Shoes brings
dysfunction to the stage
by Tina Hassannia
Fulcrum Contributor
GAMBLING ADDICTION, RELIGIOUS faith,
terminal illness, and dysfunctional families.
Whew! With such heady topics, the fodder is as
ripe as glistening fruit. Few writers would be so
bold as to incorporate them all into one play, but
then there’s Adam Pettle. He’s the playwright be-
hind the new Great Canadian Theatre Company
(GCTC) production Zadie’s Shoes, who ambi-
tiously explores all four subjects in his witty yet
powerful play about a gambling addict named
Benjamin (Aaron Willis), and his cancer-strick-
en girlfriend, Ruth (Sarah McVie).
Zadie’s Shoes revolves around money; specifi-
cally, money Benjamin gambles away that Ruth
had planned to use for a trip to an alternative
medical-treatment centre in Mexico. Despite
sage advice from a wise old man named Eli
(Peter Froehlich) about the importance of love,
Ben is concerned only with somehow winning
the money back, instead of being honest with
his girlfriend about his relapse into addiction.
Meanwhile, Ruth struggles to tell her two self-
ish, attention-seeking sisters about her decision
to stop chemotherapy. The comedic relief in
Zadie’s Shoes comes mostly from Ben’s interac-
tions with Bear (Dylan Roberts), a recovering
substance-abuser who can barely keep it to-
gether long enough to help Ben execute a crazy
scheme to win the money back.
photo courtesy Paul Toogood Photography Ben is a flat and unchanging character, and
Willis unfortunately plays him straighter than
a rake—he doesn’t stand out. McVie’s depiction
of the responsible, down-to-earth Ruth is just as
boring. Amy Rutherford plays Ruth’s straight-
laced sister Beth, a competitive curler, with little
fanfare, while the flakiness of Ruth’s hippie sister,
Lily, is baked to perfection by Anthousa Harris.
Beth’s husband, Sean, is completely unnecessary
for the plot development, but Kris Joseph’s por-
trayal shines through, despite his few lines.
Finally, we have Froehlich’s Eli, the lovable old
Jewish man who gives Ben and the audience nug-
gets of truth that are indispensable in any situation.
Froehlich ignites the stage every time he appears,
which is a relief considering the sparse spontaneity
from the rest of the cast. The only exception is Dy-
lan Roberts, who seems to revel in his role as Bear.
Both are eminently watchable, and the audience
can’t help but share in their exuberance.
The play’s set design is barely worth mention-
ing except for the inclusion of a rectangular screen
in the top left corner that informs the audience of
the gambling results and curling scores during the
play’s most tense scene. It’s completely unneces-
sary. Director Lise Ann Johnson and set designer
Brian Smith went so far to justify the existence of
the screen as to have it read “Café” and “Diner”
during scenes located in a café and diner.
Zadie’s Shoes is more fun than it should be,
particularly due to its witty, humorous dialogue,
but despite its weighty subject matter it doesn’t
really teach any lessons in the end. Unless, of
course, you’re a gambling addict.
Zadie’s Shoes runs until Nov. 9. Tickets are $30
for students, and available from the GCTC box
office at 613-236-5192.

10 ARTS Oct. 30, 2008 www.thefulcrum.ca

 The Fashist
Costumes are the true horror of Halloween
EACH YEAR, I dread the end of October. It’s not
the fall weather that weighs heavily on my heart.
Rather, the return of my dashing pea coat to my
regular wardrobe actually fills me with pleasure.
No, it is the terrible curse of that festive occasion
you Canadians call Halloween that causes the bile
to rise in my gullet. At no other time and nowhere
else on Earth are there ever as many fashion
crimes as there are on Oct. 31 in Canada.
Now, most Europeans celebrate All Saints’ Day
as a religious holiday, not as a crass celebration
of death like it’s become around here. It’s mostly
a Catholic occasion, and it’s a far cry from the
hedonism and vulgarity that characterizes the
North American Halloween. Unfortunately,
your commercialized holiday is making inroads
in Europe, and with me being in Canada they
might not have enough taste to resist.
Last year’s Halloween was a ghoulish parade
of fashion failures—I’ve seen more style in a
morgue. Store-bought Elvis wigs perch precari-
ously above over-the-top costumes, as Ottawa’s
university students declare all-out war on the
concepts of good taste and fashion. This year
will be no better, though the prospect of a white
Halloween means that, with many people stay-
ing inside, my nightly constitutional may not be
quite the assault on the eyes it was last Oct. 31.
Let’s start the roll-call of shame with the old
standby of women’s Halloween wardrobes: the
“sexy [blank]” costume. Sexy nurse, sexy biker,
sexy taxidermist—these ideas could n’t be more
outmoded. The women who parade around in
www.thefulcrum.ca
these daring displays of décolletage are aiming
for sultry and seductive but end up looking mere-
ly trashy and tasteless. My time in Amsterdam
has prepared me for various displays of bulging
flesh, but there’s a limit to my tolerance—and the
stretching capacity of nylon. Giorgio, my tailor,
would cry if he saw the nefarious ends to which
fabric is being used. Avoid these simplistic and
overused costumes.
A more unisex solution for Halloween is the
pop-culture costume. Many people can’t come
up with their own unique idea, and feel content
to plagiarize those of the style-bankrupt scribes
in Hollywood. Captain Jack Sparrow and Lara
Croft are both mainstays of the lazy Halloween
carouser. Of course, this always ends in terrible
fashion crimes—store-bought costumes fit ter-
ribly no matter who wears them, and finding
matching clothes at a thrift store is a near im-
possibility. If it’s easy, someone else will have the
same idea, and if it’s hard, you probably won’t
pull it off.
This year’s popular costume will most defi-
nitely be Heath Ledger’s incarnation of the Jok-
er. Stay far away from this costume, and not just
because of the terribly outré purple suit. Most
Hollywood or television costumes are passé, un-
less you have the budget for custom-made cou-
ture by Givenchy or Jean Paul Gaultier. Wearing
a wife-beater and covering yourself in blood
doesn’t make you look like Bruce Willis in Die
Hard, it just makes you look like an ignoble ple-
beian. If you’re overdrawn at the First Bank of
Imagination and a Hollywood costume is a ne-
cessity, go with something older and a bit more
obscure, but still recognizable. A fellow student
regaled me of the time he went as the principal
from some show called Saved by the Yell or some
such, and how he ended up lonelier than King
Lear.
Remember, there is an inverse relationship
between the obscurity of your costume and the
likelihood that you’ll end the night with another
reveller. If you have to explain your costume for
more than 10 seconds, it’s definitely a dud. Avoid
anything that’s not either instantly recognizable
or easily explained. No one cares about obscure
video-game characters or television person-
alities, and even literary characters—my own
personal preference—need to be pretty main-
stream. Anna Karenina is a great costume, but
only if you’re going to a party full of literature
professors.
Though fashion rules are relaxed on Hallow-
een, they’re not suspended. Trashy clothes are
still trashy; yellow and purple still don’t mix; and
god forbid you should wear stripes with checks.
sudoku answers from p. 22
For the best costume, try something original
and unique—don’t imitate, but rather emulate
other ideas with your own personal twist. This
city may be lacking in style, but your costume
could start a renaissance—just try to avoid being
too sexy.
Got a question for the fashist?
Email arts@thefulcrum.ca
Oct. 30, 2008 ARTS 11
 Th
Halloween in Ottawa
What: A historic narrative walk What: Haunting season: hayrides, labyrinths, What: Wagon rides, haunted barn, and theatre
through Ottawa haunts pumpkin farm Where: Proulx Sugarbush and Berry Farm,
Where: The Haunted Walks of Ottawa, Where: Saunder’s Farm, 7893 Bleeks Rd. 1865 O’Toole Rd.
73 Clarence St. When: Oct. 30 and 31 When: Oct. 30 and 31
When: Oct. 30 and 31. Departure times vary daily Cost: Tickets range from $19.99 to 24.99 and can be More info: proulxberryfarm.com or
from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. purchased online 613-833-2417
Cost: $12.50–$14.50 depending on the tour chosen More info: saundersfarm.com or 613-838-5440
More info: hauntedwalk.com or 613-232-0344 What: Witches’ Gathering/Costume party
What: Rocky Horror Picture Show Where: Barrymore’s Music Hall, 323 Bank St.
What: Big Jeezus Truck Halloween Bash Where: Café Alternatif When: Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rainbow Bistro, 76 Murray St. When: Oct. 31, 6:30 p.m. Cost: $15
When: Oct. 31, 9:30 p.m. Cost: $2 19+
Cost: free.
19+

12 FEATURE Oct. 30, 2008

illustration by Amlake T-Digaf
he night of the living dead
by Rebecca Rich
Fulcrum Contributor
EVERY YEAR, AS the leaves begin to change
colour and T-shirts are traded in for sweat-
ers, the excitement of Halloween begins to
build in children and adults alike. By mid-
October, a typical conversation will touch
on costume ideas and party plans for the big
event. Whether it means carving a pump-
kin, planning a unique costume, or going
on a hayride, Halloween brings out the cre-
ative side in everyone. Although Oct. 31 is a
widely celebrated holiday, most Canadians
are unaware of the history of this festivity.
Why do people dress up in costumes and
go trick-or-treating? Why is Oct. 31 associ-
ated with ghosts, goblins, and things that go
bump in the night? Halloween is an occa-
sion of blended cultural tradition, religious
superstitions, and rich history, with just a
dash of myth, childish fun, and imagination
thrown in for good measure.
Origins of Halloween
Contrary to the beliefs of holiday cynics
who blame candy companies for inventing
this sugar-rich holiday for profit, the origins
of Halloween can be traced back to Celtic
civilizations in the fifth century. Shelley
Rabinovitch, professor in the Department
of Classics and Religious Studies at the U
of O, is best known for teaching SRS1110
(Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Phenom-
ena). Some of her research focuses on reli-
gion and popular culture.
“We know that it was an old Celtic holy
day,” she said. “It [was] considered the time
of year when the space of living and [the
space of] the spirits of the dead [were] close
to each other.”
Halloween was known as “Samhain” in
the Celtic language. It was later named “All
Hallow’s Eve” in 837 by Pope Gregory IV
when the tradition was taken up by the
Christian world. Halloween was meant as a
holiday to honour the season after the last
harvest occurred and subsequently, the ag-
ricultural bounty of the land started to die.
As people often made their living off the
land, this was a time of strife and economic
uncertainty. Dark thoughts emerged dur-
ing those pessimistic times and were even-
tually translated to the frightening images
we see in the present incarnation of Hal-
loween.
“[Halloween] is after the last harvest,
when things start[ed] to die,” Rabinovitch
said. “We see seasons slip into the dead part
of the year. To the northern world, it [was]
about death, about the time when the earth
goes to sleep.”
The origins of trick-or-treating
Modern Halloween traditions are not new
inventions, but rather practices that have
evolved over time into the familiar rituals
celebrated today. The origins of many tradi-
tions have been lost over generations, but
there are a few that still exist today.
Rabinovitch explained that it was once
believed that spirits could roam freely
among the living and, because of this, cer-
tain superstitions developed. People began
to travel from house to house, dressed in
costume in order to distract or frighten
the impish spirits away. As this service was
considered a tremendous help to the home-
owner, residents would often give small gifts
to the group. This ‘treat’ often consisted of
food and has developed more recently—to
many parents’ chagrin—into candy.
Over the years, in many rural areas, if
the homeowner did not provide a treat of
some sort to the group, people would often
respond by tipping the home’s outhouse,
thus inserting the “trick” into the tradition
of trick-or-treating.
According to the History Channel film
The Real Story of Halloween, outside of Celt-
ic custom, trick-or-treating was also related
to the English tradition of giving soul cakes
on All Souls’ Day in return for a promise to
pray for a dead family member. Soul cakes
were round cakes left at tombstones for the
dead with the belief it would free a soul
from purgatory. This practice was altered
by the Catholic church as children were en-
couraged to “go a-souling”, or travel from
house to house gathering food, alcohol, or
money for their families instead of leaving
the gathered goods for the dead.
According to Nicholas Rogers, a York
University history professor and author of
the book Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to
Party Night, Halloween and trick-or-treat-
ing first appeared in North America in the
early 19th century when Scottish, Irish, and
English immigration was high. Immigrants
brought along their culture and traditions
but as religion played less and less of a role
in their lives, so too did the religious aspects
of Halloween. Trick-or-treating became ex-
clusively a children’s event in the early 1900s
and has been ever-present to this day.
Carving out the
jack-o’-lantern’s history
One of the most creative staples of Hal-
loween in Canada and the United States is
the jack-o’-lantern that lights up countless
doorways in late October. Halloween would
not be the same without this important tra-
ditional object.
According to Halloween, a 2004 book
written by Joyce Kessel and Nancy Carlson,
the jack-o’-lantern originated in Ireland.
While many versions of the jack-o’-lantern
myth exist, the most consistent account
claims that a mischievous boy named Jack
was sent to hell, where even the Devil grew
tired of his tricks. Jack was cast out of hell by
the Devil and given a burning ember so he
could see during his eternity of wandering
in limbo. Jack placed this ember in a carved
turnip.
Following this myth, it was believed
that a candlelit pumpkin or similar veg-
etable placed on a windowsill or front porch
would discourage Jack’s soul from creating
mischief in that house on Halloween night.
According to The Real Story of Halloween,
large beets or turnips were originally used
in place of pumpkins, but as immigrants
moved to North America they found that
pumpkins were more readily available than
turnips and used them in place of other veg-
etables as jack-o’-lanterns. People began to
carve holes in the front of the pumpkins in
order to see the candle flickering inside, cre-
ating the familiar jack-o’-lantern of today.
Evidence of the jack-o’-lantern’s intro-
duction in Canadian society can be found
as early as 1866. The Kingston Daily News
printed an article that year describing the
revelries of Halloween. An excerpt read:
“There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins
from which to make transparent heads and
face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches
of tallow candle.”
Halloween celebrated worldwide
Despite the North American inclination to
view Halloween as a fun-filled night of par-
tying and binge candy-eating, Halloween is
considered a very spiritual holiday in other
cultures.
“In North America it has become a holi-
day for children, but it never used to be,”
explained Rabinovitch. “It was very much
about adults; it was a family thing.”
It’s easy to think of Halloween as a North
American phenomenon, but the occasion
can be found in distinctive forms across
several different cultures.
Rabinovitch explains that in Mexico, the
equivalent of the North American Hallow-
een is known as the “Day of the Dead”. Mex-
ican celebrations retain many religious ele-
ments and include such customs as building
altars of flowers and spending the night at a
loved one’s gravesite.
“These visits to family graves are often
accompanied by food as the loved ones are
considered to still be present in spirit,” she
Oct. 30, 2008
said.
Rabinovitch also described an ever-pres-
ent Scottish custom of “first fotting” that ex-
ists alongside the similar traditions of trick-
or-treating and costume parties. According
to this practice, the first person to cross your
threshold on Halloween brings luck with
them. Most often, it was a tall, dark-haired
male who brought luck to the household he
entered.
It is not only children, parents and enthu-
siastic young adults that celebrate a varia-
tion on Halloween, but religious groups as
well.
The religion of Wicca is one such group.
Members are known as Wiccans, or mod-
ern-day witches. For Wiccans, Halloween is
considered a time to celebrate and to hon-
our the dead. Halloween retains its original
name of Samhain and is celebrated as the
first day of the Wiccan new year. A ritual
feast is held both for the living and for the
dead. According to Rabinovitch, offerings
are often left for the dead.
“It’s understood that [the dead] eat on a
psychic level,” she said. “[The living] often
want to make contact with their beloved
ones.”
An article written in the China Daily in
2006 described how Halloween is celebrated
in China. Similar to Celtic belief, Chinese
belief warns that Halloween is the one night
when the gates of hell are opened and spirits
are able to join the living. On this day the
living place food or water on their doorsteps
or near pictures of loved ones so that they
are able to eat after a year of starvation in
hell.
Halloween in Sweden is a different story
altogether. While cynics in North America
believe some holidays exist because of re-
tailers, in Sweden, this is actually true. In
the mid-1990s, retail business organizers in-
troduced the practice of Halloween to make
more profit. Retailers used its popularity in
the United States to legitimize it to the pop-
ulation. Although some Swedish Christian
organizations protest, Halloween has been
embraced by the nation’s youth.
While the celebrations of different cul-
tures might vary slightly, they remain simi-
lar in the belief that Halloween is a time to
connect with the dead. However, in North
America, Oct. 31 has become a time of fun
for adults and children alike, an occasion
where dressing up and eating entire kilo-
grams of candy is not only allowed but is
actually encouraged. Evidenced by the Jok-
ers, mummies, and sexy nurses prowling
the streets on Oct. 31, Halloween allows
our creative side to reign free and offers
children a chance to bring their fantasies
to life.
FEATURE 13
 Bone-chilling
Halloween films
Movies to fill your
night when you’re too
old to trick or treat
THERE COMES A time in your life when you have
to face up to a terrible truth: you’re too old to trick-
or-treat. No more pillowcases full of candy, no more
bartering of Tootsie Rolls for candy bars, and no more
toothbrushes from the old lady down the street—it’s a
tragedy for all teenagers. Halloween night doesn’t have
to be boring, though—pop in one of these films and en-
joy the sheer thrill of terror.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
THE DIRECTORS OF The Blair Witch Project, Eduar-
do Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, realize that the scariest
thing in the world isn’t a deranged killer but rather the
combination of darkness and our own imagination. In
film, what may be off-screen is often more terrifying than
what’s actually shown, as our mind fills in the terrible de-
tails. The Blair Witch Project tells the story of three wan-
nabe filmmakers venturing into the Maryland woods in
order to document the legend of the Blair Witch. The
camerawork is done by the actors themselves, and much
of the dialogue is improvised—it feels like a completely
believable home movie. The subsequent shaky-camera
horror is not so much about immediate danger as it is
about moments that defy logic and evoke unknown ter-
rors. There are two sequences of transcendent horror in
the film. The first is a hike through the dark woods with
bizarre, ghostly children’s voices just at the edge of hear-
ing, and the other is a trek through an abandoned, di-
lapidated house. Both moments are triumphs of the hor-
ror genre. Part guerilla film experiment and part classic
ghost story, The Blair Witch Project is proof that special
effects and visual wizardry are no match for pure terror.
—Danyal Khoral
The Exorcist (1973)
LOOKING TO GET scared this Halloween night? The
Exorcist is the horror movie to watch. First released in
1973, it was the first film that brought the paranormal
into daily life—this movie chills your blood because it
could happen to you. The film tells the story of Chris
MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), a Hollywood actress and
single mother of a beautiful and intelligent daughter,
Regan (Linda Blair). After an encounter with a Ouija
board, Regan starts acting bizarrely—she becomes
catatonic at points, urinates in front of her mother’s
party guests, and begins to injure herself. After medi-
cal experiments—which are scary enough in their own
right—the doctors come to believe that Regan might
benefit from an exorcism. What follows is incredibly
frightening, as Regan becomes a true instrument of
the Devil and spiritually battles two priests. The splat-
ters of green vomit, the 360-degree head spin, and the
sickening voices emanating from a cute little girl are
some of the scariest aspects of this movie. The Exorcist
is extraordinary in every way and will not disappoint
anyone looking for a Halloween thrill.
—Camila Juarez
Halloween (1978)
HALLOWEEN IS THE prototypical teen slasher movie.
It’s a masterpiece from director John Carpenter, who
has been hugely influential in the horror genre thanks
to this film and other classics like The Thing and Assault
14 ARTS Oct. 30, 2008
on Precinct 13. On Halloween night, 1963, Michael My-
ers murders his older sister in one of the most intense
single-take shots in the history of cinema. Carpenter
films the murder through the eyes of the murderer, cre-
ating an intensity and immediacy that is still terrifying
today. After 15 years of incarceration, Myers escapes
and returns to his old stomping grounds to kill again,
with his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence)
only a few steps behind. Neighbourhood girl Laurie
Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) must fight off the seemingly
invincible Myers and keep her friends safe. Halloween
has some truly shocking murders, and the film’s dark
lighting and eerie music create a frightening and un-
comfortable atmosphere. Myers’s apparent ability to
teleport around the neighbourhood and move far more
quickly when he’s off-screen gives his rampage an edge
of the paranormal, and the cliffhanger ending sets the
horror standard for other movies to follow. Check this
film out to see teen horror done right.
—Camila Juarez
The Shining (1980) photo by Elizabeth Chiang
THE ICONIC IMAGES of the blood in the elevator
shaft, the ghost twins in the hallway, and the famed Jack
Nicholson line “Here’s Johnny!” are just the beginning
of the terror in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Unlike re-
cent torture-porn flicks like the Saw series, The Shining
has a truly frightening plot. It’s not scary just because it’s
gory or makes us jump—though it does that as well—
it’s the psychological aspects of the film that evoke our
deepest fears. It depicts the psychological unraveling of
Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson), and the eerie emptiness
of the colossal Overlook Hotel serves only to heighten
the tension—madness and isolation permeate the film.
The Shining is executed so well that the only thing you
can do is hold on tight and watch. The horror is not just
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atmosphere, and you will cringe as Torrance descends Now, I want a
into madness. The movie is scary because it evokes
more than a tangible fear. Rather, it creates a feeling that
transcends conscious human fear and sinks deep into
rewarding career*
your subconscious. *not just a job
—Alessandro Nahon
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www.thefulcrum.ca
 Good Bad
Rachel Getting MarriedFilm
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED depicts one cane.
of the most dysfunctional families ever to be
A-
The movie is filmed in a documentary style,
Saw V Film d
THE JIGSAW KILLER is back in David Hackl’s series of challenges that they must pass to stay
Saw V. Yes, he died for good after years of alive, but they usually involve some measure of
shown on screen. Through the eyes of an emo- with shots done by hand-held camera that have moralistic terror in Saw IV, but that didn’t pain for all the participants, even the successful
tionally damaged daughter, we see a group of a tendency to blur and shake. The camera con- stop the producers from returning to the ones. Jigsaw preys on human instinct, and his
people trying to put aside their differences and tinually moves in, out, and around to capture long-dry well. The movie picks up where the games are premeditated according to people’s
come together as a family. characters’ reactions, especially those of the last film left off, and shows flashback scenes behaviour—characters have to break away from
Anne Hathaway plays Kym, the dark and brooding Kym. The film also boasts several for viewers who avoided the last instalment of their own nature to succeed. An interesting idea,
brooding black sheep of the family who has an moments of background comedy during more this torturous franchise. Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) but it was already fully explored in the first Saw.
unfortunate predilection for drugs and alco- dramatic scenes, making for an absurd juxta- and his apprentice Amanda Young (Shawnee Here, it’s an excuse for disgusting viscera and
hol. The film’s plot finds Kym, fresh out of re- position. A good example is the climactic emo- Smith) are both dead, but another of Jigsaw’s disembowelling. If you love gory death scenes,
hab, coming back home tional confrontation followers has taken up this movie won’t disap-
into the loving—albeit Hathaway gives her best between Kym and the the killer’s mantle. This point.
judgmental—arms of soon-to-be married Ra- loyal apprentice was For everyone else,
her family, who are a performance to date as the chel, in which an extra recruited after Jigsaw the problem is that
few days away from cel- self-centered Kym, who walks on-screen during helped avenge the death If you love gory death scenes, Saw V just isn’t scary.
ebrating the wedding consistently utters cringe- their tense argument of a family member. this movie won’t disappoint. Scenes that used to get
of Kym’s older sister, and does a double-take, There are three survi- viewers jumpy have
Rachel. Hathaway gives inducing one-liners. before proceeding to vors from Saw IV who been recreated over
her best performance to slowly and deliberately return here: a little girl and over throughout
date as the self-centred Kym, who consistently exit off-screen. who has about three the series, completely
utters cringe-inducing one-liners. Kym has a Rachel Getting Married is sad and heart- minutes of screen time, Detective Hoffman erasing any surprise for anyone who has seen
tough-time differentiating between what should wrenching for almost the entire duration, but (Costas Mandylor) and Detective Strahm any of the other films. The acting is terrible,
be said and what thoughts should be kept inside this heavy atmosphere is offset by moments of (Scott Patterson). One of the detectives, how- but it’s hard to be convincing when your only
her head—a challenge for any actor, but one that levity and eventual emotional closure. Director ever, isn’t quite what he seems. job in a film is to be ripped apart in original
Hathaway meets head-on. Jonathan Demme creates immediacy with his The story of Saw V should be nothing new to and bizarre ways. Ultimately, Saw V is a waste
Other than the dark, twisted one-liners, the innovative camera work, and the subtle perfor- anyone familiar with the series—it’s almost iden- of time—just one more chance to cash in on
script and other dialogue are extremely simple. mances make these flawed characters seem very tical, plot-wise, to the previous movies. Victims the Saw brandname before people realize every
It’s mostly exasperated yelling, interjected with real. This is a fine film for anyone who has ever get captured, they wake up in an empty ware- movie in the franchise—except the first one—
the occasional grunt or holler, as the characters been interested in family dynamics. house in various torture devices, and disgusting sucks.
try to deal with the family’s emotional hurri- —Hisham Kelati and scary gore ensues. The victims go through a —Camila Juarez
images courtesy Lionsgate Films and Sony Pictures Classics

www.thefulcrum.ca—the bleeding edge of web 0.9

www.thefulcrum.ca Oct. 30, 2008 ARTS 15


Sports
And then there were four
Women’s soccer
team wins OUA
quarter-final
by Anna Rocoski
Fulcrum Staff
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa wom-
en’s soccer team took on the Queen’s
Golden Gaels in the Ontario Univer-
sity Athletics (OUA) quarter-finals on
Oct 26. Ottawa emerged with a 1-0
victory, meaning they qualified to host
the OUA Final Four tournament. The
teams were originally scheduled to
play on Oct. 25, but wet field condi-
tions required officials to postpone the
game until the following afternoon.
“It was tough because we prepared
for that game and we got ourselves all
psyched up,” said Gee-Gees midfield-
er Rachael Swetnam. “We were ready
to play and then it got postponed, so
[we] had to do that whole routine all
over again.”
The game was a hard-fought battle
that took place mostly in the midfield,
and only a single goal was needed to
decide the victor. Ottawa maintained
possession in the first half, allowing the
Gaels few scoring opportunities. Swet-
nam scored the lone goal for the Gee-
Gees just 14 minutes into the first half.
The first half ended on a low note
however, when Queen’s Summer Ry-
bicki received a nasty-looking head
injury and had to be taken off the field.
Rybicki did not return to the game.
In the second half, the Gees were
less cautious defensively, allowing the
Gaels a handful of dangerous shots on
net. But after 10 nervous minutes, Ot-
tawa again took control of the game,
Ottawa running back Davie Mason rushed for a record-setting 327 yards.
Ottawa midfielder Brittany Harrison tackles the ball away from Queen’s Mary Kampman.
creating a fantastic scoring chance
from striker Courtney Luscombe.
Queen’s had dangerous-looking in-
cursions into Ottawa territory late in
the second half, but most were wast-
ed—the Gaels registered only two
shots on target in the game.
“I thought it was going to be a
very tight battle,” said Ottawa head
coach Steve Johnson. “Both teams
[had] very good defensive records
during the year and I figured one or
two goals would win it. It wouldn’t be
photo by Jamie MacDonald
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
much more than that because both
teams wouldn’t give away [many]
more chances than that.”
Swetnam, whose goal came off a
corner kick, felt that the Gees played
a solid game.
“It feels pretty good, we practised
[the play] a lot,” Swetnam said of her
goal. “At practice that week, we did a
lot of repetitions of exactly that [goal]
so it was nice. It was like another
repetition: it was all pretty easy but I
guess it turned out it was important
Mason runs away with it
Football team
comes up with win in
playoff nail-biter
by David McClelland
Fulcrum Staff
LED BY RUNNING back Davie Ma-
son’s record-setting performance,
the Gee-Gees pulled off a 42-37
victory in a tumultuous game, as
they visited the Guelph Gryphons
for an Ontario University Athletics
(OUA) quarter-final on Oct. 25.
The Gee-Gees were up 18-3 early
in the second quarter, but soon ran
into trouble and watched as their
lead crumbled to just five points
by halftime. The second half fea-
tured some early problems for the
Gee-Gees, and with Guelph leading
David McClelland
Sports Editor
sports@thefulcrum.ca
just because it was the only one.”
The team is now gearing up for a
run at an OUA crown. Since the first-
and second-seeded teams in the OUA
playoffs were both defeated in their
quarter-final games, hosting duties
for the OUA Final Four tournament
falls to the third-seeded Gee-Gees.
“The team has played some very
high-pressure games to finish off the
season and this playoff game I think
was great for us to get in,” said John-
son. “The team has had a great week
34-25 midway through the third
quarter, Ottawa’s season looked like
it might be at an end.
Mason proved to be the saving
grace for the Gee-Gees. With 327
yards of rushing on 31 attempts—
a Canadian Interuniversity Sport
playoff record for rushing yards in
a game—Mason kept the Gee-Gees
in the game in the second half,
muscling out first downs and scor-
ing three touchdowns, including a
key touchdown early in the fourth
quarter that restored Ottawa’s lead.
The previous playoff rushing re-
cord of 317 yards was set on Nov. 7,
1981, by Greg Marshall of the West-
ern Mustangs, who is now their
head coach.
“Guelph did a great job, they took
out our [long] passing game, which
resulted in opening up the run,”
said Ottawa quarterback Josh Saco-
bie, who went 19-29 with two inter-
16
photo by Matt Johnny
of training and will continue that for
next week [and] hopefully make the
final.”
Ottawa will play a semifinal game on
Nov. 1 at 11 a.m. at Matt Anthony
Field against the Brock Badgers. The
winner will go on to play for an OUA
gold medal the following day at 12 p.m.
against the winner of the other semi-
final match between the Carleton Ra-
vens and the Laurier Golden Hawks.
Day passes are $6 for students.
ceptions and 271 passing yards. “I
think our running game once again
saved us … any day your starting
running back runs for 327 yards,
it’s pretty amazing.”
The final score doesn’t tell the
whole story, either. While the Gee-
Gees soundly beat the Gryphons in
offensive output, with 605 yards in
net offence against Guelph’s 382,
the Gryphons were much better at
taking advantage of the situation
handed to them. Guelph capitalized
on Gee-Gee turnovers and mistakes
several times throughout the game
and were able to keep the score close
despite the offensive disparity.
Mason, who accounted for more
than half of those yards, was quick
to credit his teammates and coach-
es as part of the reason for his suc-
cess.
MASON continued on p. 18
 A work in progress
Men’s basketball
comes up short in
dying seconds of
tournament
by Hilary Caton
Fulcrum Staff
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa’s
men’s basketball team hosted three
teams in the annual pre-season Jack
Donohue Tipoff Tournament Oct.
24–26. The Prince Edward Island
Panthers, Guelph Gryphons, and
McGill Redmen all visited the Mont-
petit Gym for a trio of games each,
with the Redmen being crowned the
victors at the end of the weekend.
The Gee-Gees earned a come-
back win in their first game of the
tournament against the P.E.I. Pan-
thers on Oct. 24. Despite struggling
throughout the game, they came up
with a 71-68 victory. Fourth-year
point guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe
scored the winning three-point bas-
ket with just 24 seconds left in the
final quarter.
The following evening, the Gee-
Gees took on the Guelph Gryphons.
The Gee-Gees did not play their best
basketball, and occasionally seemed
slow to react to the Gryphons. Ot-
tawa eventually manged to regroup
and put pressure on Guelph, coming
away with a nailbiting 69-67 win.
The victory guaranteed Ottawa a
spot in the finals against the McGill
Redmen, who also held a 2-0 record
in the tournament.
The Gee-Gees wasted little time
getting started against the Redmen
and attacked hard in an explosive first
quarter, finding themselves leading
20-8 by the end of the frame. Ottawa
looked sharp on both ends of the
court, taking advantage of McGill’s
poor ball handling and empty shots.
But the momentum didn’t last, as
McGill quickly closed the gap with
several three-point shots. Although
Ottawa led 39-36 at the half, McGill
kept up the pressure, and a three-
point basket by McGill forward Mat-
thew Thornhill was enough to sink
the Gees by a score of 75-74.
The 2008-09 Gee-Gees men’s bas-
ketball team has a lot of new blood
running through its veins, with
more than half of the players in only
their first two years of Canadian In-
teruniversity Sports eligibility. As
such, the Gees will likely need to
deal with occasional lapses caused
by lack of experience.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do on
our team, offensively and defensive-
ly,” said fifth-year centre Dax Des-
sureault, who scored over 30 points
during the tournament. “We weren’t
playing that well in all three games.”
Gee-Gees head coach Dave
DeAveiro concurred that there is
still work to be done.
“We have a lot of preparing to
do for sure,” he said, following the
game against McGill. “The players
are just getting an idea of the level
of basketball they’re expected to
play and are playing in.”
Despite their undoing in the Oct.
26 final, DeAveiro still believes his
team had strong showings against
Guelph and P.E.I., and thinks he
will be able to mould his team into
excellent basketball players.
“They still have to learn to pay at-
tention to detail and do a better job
of listening and focusing on things
that were said during time outs, pre-
game speeches and things like that,
so when they’re on the floor they’re
prepared to play,” said DeAveiro.
“This tournament gave a sense that
we have a long way to go in terms of
where we want to be.”
The Jack Donohue tournament
was one of the Gee-Gees’ last chanc-
es to tune up before the regular sea-
son opens on Nov. 7, when Ottawa
visits the University of Western
Ontario Mustangs. The Gees’ final
exhibition match will take place on
Nov. 1, when they visit the National
Collegiate Athletic Association Di- photo by Alex Smyth
vision One Providence College Fri- Ottawa guard Faysia Ibrahim tries to complete a play despite being
ars. knocked off-balance by a UPEI player.

Putting the pieces together

by Ben Myers
Fulcrum Staff
GEE-GEES WOMEN’S VOLLEY-
BALL head coach Lionel Woods has
collected all the right pieces for his
volleyball team, now he just has to
find a way to fit them all together.
With perennial Ontario University
Athletics (OUA) all-stars Christine
Lamey and Laura Simons no longer
the engine of the women’s volleyball
program at the University of Ottawa,
Woods recruited some new players
and has promoted veterans to drive
his team forward.
In their home-opening weekend
Oct. 25–26 at Montpetit Hall against
the Western Mustangs and Windsor
Lancers, both Woods and the fans in
attendance got tastes of the revamped
team’s potential and the challenges it
will face this season trying to make all
the team’s pieces work as one.
“We still look like a young team to-
gether, even though we’re not young
individuals,” Woods said about his
team’s 3-0 loss (25-23, 25-17, 25-
15) to the Mustangs on Oct. 25 and
straight-set win over the Lancers on
Oct. 26 (25-23, 25-20, 25-23).
“We don’t have the rhythm that we
should have yet, we don’t have the
flow we should have,” he continued.
photo by Alex Smyth “We’ve got to spend some time on the
Third-year transfer Tess Edwards (front) and fifth-year Gee-Gee Veronique court together to find it.”
Yeon will have to work together for Ottawa to have a winning season. Gee-Gees third-year setter Tess
Edwards, joining the team after leav-
ing the University of Kentucky, has
been christened the centerpiece of the
Gee-Gees offence. After many years
of consistent setting by Simons, Ot-
tawa is bound to have a new look with
Edwards leading the charge.
“We’ve had four years of the same
rhythm and the same setting and
the same flow … and [now] it’s new,”
Woods said about the change at the
position.
“We still look like a
young team together,
even though we’re not
young individuals.”
Lionel Woods
Gee-Gees head coach
“I think we just need to put a little
more trust in each other,” Edwards
said about improving the connection
between players. “Our players have so
much potential, it’s just [that] we’re
new with each other.”
Edwards not only has to integrate
into the Gee-Gees offensive system,
but she also has to work with players
that are brand-new to university-level
volleyball as well. Third-year middle
Aminata Diallo transferred to Ottawa
as a master’s student after starting on
a strong Laval Rouge et Or team for
two seasons.
Diallo entered the game against the
Lancers for the first time late in the
second set and provided a boost to
the Gees’ offense while fifth-year left-
side Karine Gagnon rested. Standing
6’2”, Diallo is certainly part of Woods’
philosophy of maintaining an intimi-
dating presence at the net. Pursuing a
master’s in social work, the 26-year-
old is looking forward to being part
of an energetic program with a solid
reputation.
“At my age … I don’t want to [play]
with someone who is kind of a down-
er. I just want to have fun and enjoy
it,” she said.
Woods noted his good fortune in
being able to add two experienced
players to the roster this season.
“We don’t have transfers a lot. We
don’t bring in 26 year-olds very of-
ten—now we have two,” he said refer-
ring to Diallo and music theory mas-
ter’s student Jane Berry, who played
sparingly against Windsor.
Diallo seemed to be enjoying her-
self while blasting five kills through
the Lancers’ defence in the second
and third sets. Gagnon re-entered the
game late in the third set to finish off a
game in which the Gees proved to be
better than the Lancers in both block-
ing and kills.
With a record of 3-1 in OUA matches,
the Gee-Gees sit first in the OUA East
division. They are in action Nov. 1,
when they travel to Thunder Bay to
play the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

www.thefulcrum.ca Oct. 30, 2008 SPORTS 17


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www.athabascau.ca/standout

18 SPORTS Oct. 30, 2008
Hurrying hard in Ottawa
photo by Ben Myers
The Ottawa Curling Club’s University and College League attracts students of all skill levels from schools across the city.
by David McClelland out new players; I noticed tips and advice being dispensed
Fulcrum Staff on a regular basis in all three games. Of the three teams with
Fulcrum members, only mine won, which wasn’t necessar-
IT’S SUNDAY EVENING, a time when most university stu- ily a bad thing for my colleagues—it’s traditional in curling
dents are enjoying their last night off before class the next for the winning team to buy the losing team’s post-game
morning. But I found myself doing something different. drinks.
Flanked by two of my fellow editors at the Fulcrum, editor- This leads into one of curling’s greatest appeals: the social
in-chief Frank Appleyard and production manager Ben My- aspect. Everyone I talked to agreed that it was one of the best
ers, I was sliding down the ice at the Ottawa Curling Club parts of the game.
located at 440 O’Connor St., taking in the club’s University “Last year, I met all these people that are here today, and
and College League. I’ve made excellent friends [here],” said Lynn Guy, a fourth-
Curling, for the uninitiated, is a medieval Scottish sport year nursing student at the U of O and a curler for 11 years.
that involves sliding granite rocks down a sheet of spe- “On the ice you get to talk to your team and the other team.
cially prepared ice towards a circular target. It has almost It’s a game with a lot of respect: you wish a good game to the
inexplicably become one of Canada’s most popular and other team, and compliment them on their shots.”
iconic sports, played and watched by thousands from coast It’s certainly a distinctive atmosphere. The Ottawa Curl-
to coast. Personally, I’ve been curling since I was young, ing Club, like most curling clubs, has a bar area built-in
spurred on by my parents—both curlers for as long as I can that quickly fills after the games, as dozens of students sit
remember—though until last Sunday, it had been quite a to chat.
while since I’d curled. Frank and Ben, on the other hand? That’s exactly the sort of thing that the three-year-old
Well, let’s just say they were a little green. league wants to see.
Thankfully, everyone at the Ottawa Curling Club was ex- “[The idea of the league is] to get young people involved
tremely welcoming. We weren’t quite sure what to expect in the sport, which is really big,” said Washburn. “It’s been
going in, but Earl Washburn, a fourth-year political science fairly successful … last year we had over 40 [participants].
student at Carleton University and league convenor, was We’re down this year, [but] we have a lot of new people.”
more than happy to include us and gave a quick lesson to Since this week was only the league’s second night of the
our two curling newbies. season, it’s not too late to get involved. Interested students
And with that, we were off, thrown into one of the three should email Washburn at ewashbur@connect.carleton.ca if
games played that night. The league switches the teams ev- they want to give curling a try. The student fee to play for a
ery week, with players accumulating points individually full season, which lasts from October until March, is $170.
throughout the season, which means that new arrivals never As for my companions, Ben would like it to be noted that
feel like they have to awkwardly break into a pre-existing he only fell twice—and only once on the ice—before he even
set of teams. consumed any alcohol. Frank would like it to be noted that
Throughout the three games, curling talent of all levels after consuming his post-loss beer, curling became his new
was on display. Experienced curlers didn’t hesitate to help favourite sport.
MASON continued from p. 16 “[The game] felt the same, it was that the Gees can give the Gaels a run
just that the game was pretty close,” for their money, as both noted that
“[There] was great blocking, and I he said. “Usually when you have 200 many of the Ottawa players who were
was on a roll,” said Mason. “The of- yards in the first half, you’re blowing injured for the team’s last game against
fensive linemen did a really great job, up [the opposition].” Queen’s are now healthy.
the coaches kept calling it, so I just Now, the Gee-Gees have to get ready
ran.” to face a tough opponent in the OUA The Gee-Gees now face the undefeated
Mason also said that while it felt semifinals, as they will face the unde- Queen’s Golden Gaels in Kingston on
like he was playing any other game, feated Queen’s Golden Gaels, who had Nov. 1 in an OUA semi-final match.
the close score made for a strange a bye through the quarterfinals. Both The winner will go on to play for the
feeling. Mason and Sacobie were confident Yates Cup on Nov. 8.
www.thefulcrum.ca
Around Gee-Gees compete in Ontario
cross-country championships
by Laval University.
—Anna Rocoski
the National Collegiate Athletics As-
sociation Division Two Cortland Red
Dragons and LaMoyne Dolphins.
They play next on Nov. 1 when they
visit the Colgate Raiders in Albany,
NY for an exhibition game.

the
THE UNIVERSITY OF Ottawa’s
cross-country team headed out to
Kingston the morning of Oct. 26
for the Ontario University Athlet-
Women’s basketball earns two wins —David McClelland —Sarah Leavitt
in Quebec City
Men’s hockey plays tug-of-war with
THE GEE-GEES WOMEN’S basket- Concordia Women’s hockey swats Stingers

horn ics championships. Despite the less-

than-ideal rainy weather for the race,
the Gees persevered.
The women ran a 5k race and the
team placed ninth in the 16-team
field. Out of 105 racers, the top three
finishers for Ottawa were Kristin
Marvin in 34th place (19:44), Carly
Teckles in 35th (19:45), and Brenda
Pearce in 47th (20:25).
The men’s team ran a 10k race and
placed 11th in the 15 team field. Out
of 98 runners, the U of O’s top three
finishers were Mathieu Vierula in
37th place (35:25), Trevor Dielman in
57th (36:24), and Jason Desjardins in
70th (37:08).
The men’s and women’s teams did
not qualify to compete at the Canadi-
an Interuniversity Sports (CIS) cross-
country championship. Only the top
five teams and top 20 individuals
move on to compete in the Nov. 8 CIS
championship in Quebec City hosted
GLENDON
ball team was in Quebec City Oct.
24–26 for the Rouge et Or pre-season
tournament, finishing with a respect-
able 2-1 record.
The Gee-Gees are trying to shake
off their dismal 3-19 regular season
record in 2007–08. With new head
coach Andy Sparks and a now-expe-
rienced core of returning players, the
future is much brighter for the Ot-
tawa squad.
The Garnet and Grey began the
tournament on Oct. 24 with a 68-46
loss to the host Laval Rouge et Or, but
didn’t let the game affect their play
through the rest of the weekend. Ot-
tawa posted a 47-36 win against the
Queen’s Golden Gaels on Oct. 25, and
ended the tournament with a close
58-56 victory versus the St. Francis
Xavier X-Women.
The Gee-Gees will play a final pair
of exhibition games Oct. 31 and Nov.
1, when they travel to the U.S. to play
IN A HOME-AND-HOME series on
Oct. 24 and 26, the Gee-Gees men’s
hockey team faced-off against the
Concordia Stingers, losing the fixture
game while winning in Montreal.
On Oct. 24, the Gees played host
to the Stingers and lost 3-1. The Gees
were outshot 32-30 in a game marked
by hard physical battles. Second-year
forward Ryne Gove suffered a cut to his
face after a second-period collision.
On Oct. 26, the Gees travelled to
Montreal to play the Stingers and ex-
acted their revenge with a 6-5 win. In
their first away game of the season,
the Gee-Gees notched 55 shots on
goal, while Concordia tallied 28. With
three power-play goals and the high
shot total, the Gees more than made
up for their performance at home.
The Gee-Gees currently hold a 3-4-
0 record, sitting third in the Ontario
University Athletics Far East division.
IT WAS A dominating victory for the
University of Ottawa women’s hockey
team over the Concordia Stingers on
Oct. 24, earning a 3-0 victory in Mon-
treal.
Concordia was badly outshot by Ot-
tawa; the Gee-Gees registered 50 shots
on net, while the Stingers were only
able to hit Ottawa goaltenders Jessika
Audet and Marie-Helene Malenfant
a combined 16 times in the game.
The Garnet and Grey scored all three
of their goals in the first period, with
third-year forward Joelle Charlebois
scoring twice and team captain Danika
Smith adding the final marker.
Ottawa now holds a 3-0-1 record,
putting the team first in the Que-
bec Student Sports Federation. They
play next Nov. 1, when they host the
McGill Martlets at 6 p.m. at the Sports
Complex. Tickets are $4 for students.
—David McClelland

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www.thefulcrum.ca Oct. 30, 2008 SPORTS 19


Opinion
by Hisham Kelati
On the campaign trail ‘08
Fulcrum Staff
IT IS A time of fear and loathing in
Canada and the world at large today
and has been for the last seven years.
The painful stretch will finally con-
clude with the U.S. presidential elec-
tion on Nov. 4.
There’s economic turmoil world-
wide as America’s capitalist-based
market has begun to crumble in on
itself, the weight of its own corrup-
tion and lack of morality finally con-
suming itself from within. The Cana-
dian dollar has now begun its slow
and heart-breaking descent of value,
beginning to lose ground thanks to
the American market’s continuing
implosion. The corruption on Wall
Street is so bad that federal prosecu-
tors are not even going to attempt
to pursue those greedy, soulless de-
mons working there for insider trad-
ing and bank and securities fraud,
because it might further impact fi-
nancial markets in the U.S.! There
was also another hurricane, named
Ike, which ravaged the American
southern coast, bringing $31 bil-
lion in damages and over a hundred
lost lives. And there’s still the war
in Afghanistan and the occupation
of Iraq—you remember what those
are, don’t you? They’re those pesky
little skirmishes in South Asia and
the Middle East, which were loosely
based on false pretenses.
Calm yourselves! This is no time
to be frightened, you’ve got to be
fearless and committed in times like
these! There’s no point in getting all
sweaty and letting those butterflies
in your stomach get the best of you.
So what if America is finally suc-
cumbing to its constant gorging and
extreme excess, and we’re all going to
die horribly? You’ve got to dig your
feet into the ground and stare at total
annihilation like a real human be-
ing!
But there’s hope! A chance for
all of this to change! Even as we
Canadians, global citizens of the
world, look out across our borders
in united fear, remember that there
may be a revolution coming. On
Nov. 4, the average American, citizen
of the most powerful nation on the
planet, will be going out and electing
people of true service into office!
For some, this may not seem to be
of great importance, but to those with
half a brain and a soul that cries for
the loss of common human decency,
this election is history in the making!
Change is finally afoot! It seems that
those twisted fiends—the ones who
have been gnawing at the very spine
of the political system, crippling it so
that it represents something akin to a
sack of broken innocence and baby
tears—are finally going to be on their
way out!
20
Michael Olender
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
Executive Editor
executive@thefulcrum.ca
Fearless and committed:
And we find fighting for the Big
Seat two agents of hope, both of
whom are riding a wave of change
into a future that—based on present
data and statistics—will likely see a
larger national deficit for America,
the total meltdown of their economy,
and the continued dumping of money
and resources into wars that are im-
possible to win (with Canada riding
shotgun the entire way).
Each party has thrust their best and
brightest up into the spotlight. During
the homestretch to election day, the
lines have been drawn into the sand
and the true faces of the Elephant and
Donkey parties have emerged.
One of these agents of change is a
Democratic senator from Chicago,
Ill., Barack Hussein Obama. Don’t let
his exotic-sounding name fool you!
He’s a genuine American hero; a man
who is the living embodiment of the
American Dream!
A white single mother raised a
black son who made his way to Har-
vard School of Law and has since
become the very first member of a
minority to accept the official presi-
dential nomination of a major po-
litical party. He’s been endorsed by Al
illustration by Alex Martin
Gore, Edward Kennedy, and Oprah
(to name a few), and has a couple of My main quarrel with McCain is Sarah Palin. She’s the lipstick-wearing has become more of a liability than
notches on his political belt, such as the relative ease with which he shifted pit-bull with no leash, whose exten- a godsend. McCain’s campaign is
being one of a handful of senators to gears and turned from a maverick sive political experience consists of unravelling quickly and with such
have voted against the 2003 invasion into a slimy toad. He once claimed being mayor of Wasilla, Alaska for savage force, that his head is a per-
of Iraq. that he was a progressive conserva- four years and governor of Alaska manent blur.
On the other end of the spectrum, tive, but the moment that he finally for less than two years. She’s Mc- The change the world desperately
we have Republican Senator John won that coveted endorsement, he Cain’s pick to be the next possible needs to fix America and drag her
McCain, a Vietnam war-veteran, the reverted into some conformist mu- president of America if he dies. Seri- back from oblivion’s gaping maw
maverick who is going to shake up tant, and has now surrounded himself ously. There is no way that the win- comes in the guise of Barack Hus-
Capitol Hill by getting rid of the pres- with greedy, beady-eyed, multi-term ner of the 1982 Miss Wasilla Pageant sein Obama. Canada’s trade with the
ent corrupt government and putting incumbent senators and lobbyists to should have her hand anywhere near U.S. is so entangled in a Kama Sutra-
in place the exact same government. help his campaign. the button. like web of policies and treaties that
McCain’s bus, the “Straight-Talk Ex- But a presidential nominee has Which brings me to my next point: we need an American president who
press”, has managed to rack up quite got to have an ace in the hole to re- McCain is 74. He’s literally a skipped will actually force regulation of the
heartbeat away from Palin being not-so-free American market, so
sworn in as commander-in-chief! He that he can help stave off the tsu-
has had cancer four separate times, namis of destruction that will fall
My main quarrel with McCain is the relative ease and he refuses to disclose his medical upon Canadians long after the old
records to the public. This makes it and soulless toads, pigs, and horse’s
with which he shifted gears and turned from a look as if he’s got something to hide— asses of Capitol Hill who created it
maverick into a slimy toad. his faltering health. all have moved on to playing bridge
Palin is a woman who, a month be- in Hades, and we’re left toiling at our
fore being picked, claimed to have no nine-to-five jobs in the middle of a
idea what the vice president actually 60-year recession.
a few miles and a shit-load of dents, ally make sure that he don’t lose the does. The Middle-East crisis, the oc- America has a chance to attain
ever since he picked up the nomina- election by a handful of votes, cor- cupation of Iraq, the war in Afghani- glory again, but it will come at a
tion from the worst gang of corpo- rect? And that ace takes shape in the stan, and the overwhelming fear of high price. America will need to
rate-tit-sucking elitists the Repub- form of his vice-presidential candi- global terrorism will be put on the put aside worthless values such as
licans managed to dredge out of the date. Obama brought onto his ticket shoulders of a person whose foreign greed, racism, and fear, and shed
country club long enough to possibly Delaware Senator Joe Biden, a man policy experience consists of her be- the sentiments of ignorance, hate,
win the election and dig America into who has decades of service and ex- lieving that she can see Russia from and apathy. Americans will need
a deeper hole. perience. Biden’s a smart pick, hav- an island off the Alaskan coast! to think of not themselves, but of
I don’t know if it’s a little senility ing served 35 years in the Senate, and I have concluded that the reason and for the greater good. And once
creeping in, but has McCain forgot- having chaired or sat on dozens of Palin was really chosen to be the they do so, the sought-after change
ten that the present party in power committees surrounding war, foreign vice-presidential nominee was based that they need may be blessed upon
is his party, and that he, as well as policy, and women’s rights. America on a plan to sucker in the cynical soc- them. As a Canadian, as well as a
the rest of his party, endorsed and is in safe hands when it comes to cer moms who were angered beyond global citizen, I think I speak for
backed Bush throughout both his Obama’s vp pick. belief at the fact that Hillary Clinton everyone, be it within the borders of
terms in office? Or is that all just McCain, on the other hand, decid- had lost the Democratic nomination my great nation, as well as everyone
being conveniently ignored until he ed that he ought to up the ante and to Obama. But Palin, with her lack else on the face of the planet, when
wins and brings another four years inject some life into a dying cam- of charm, negligible political experi- I say I ache for positive change to
of the same? paign by picking Alaska Governor ence, and frightening conservatism happen.
by Kalin Smith
HECKLES: Don’t drop fees
Fulcrum Staff
NO MATTER WHERE you walk on campus,
you are certain to see “Drop Fees” propaganda.
With posters, pins, and T-shirts advertising the
Nov. 5 rally, the message is almost impossible to
avoid. Advocates have even come to my door,
soliciting their cause, offering persuasive sta-
tistical analyses, alluring leaflets, and all of the
aforementioned apparel. It is all quite glamor-
ous and heavily funded, I assume, but thus far
I’ve not been presented any logical grounds—
aside from the loathsomeness of forking over
hard-earned cash—for why exactly the govern-
ment of Ontario should lower tuition fees. I am
not convinced.
First off, the government of Ontario already
heavily subsidizes the cost of post-secondary ed-
ucation for Canadian citizens. For example, while
a Canadian resident would pay roughly $5,000
for a year of academia, a non-Canadian resi-
dent—those studying abroad, perhaps—would
pay a fee of roughly $15,000. This reduction in
costs is a result of the Canadian philosophy on
higher education: university not only benefits
the individual, but society as a whole. Though
it may seem like gargantuan sums of money stu-
dents are needlessly forking over, these are mere
pennies of the funding these institutions need to
function. The reality is that this is the price of a
globally reputable Western education. Advocat- logic, it is quite simple to figure this dilemma would reduce universities’ operational funds
ing for lower tuition fees shows the lack of ap- out. Let ‘E’ represent enrolment rates, and let ‘T’ and attract an influx of students, consequent-
preciation students have for the fine cost of fine represent rising tuition fees. If enrolment rates ly worsening the situation of universities. The
education. Did your mothers never teach you increase, there is a large demand for an increase more undergrads that come out of these insti-
that you get what you pay for? Students attend- in both facilities and professors (If ‘E’, then tutions, the less reputable a degree seems. If
ing Harvard University in Boston or Oxford in ‘T’). To reiterate, enrolment rates are indeed in- the only ambition of university students is to
London, institutions with the some of the high- creasing as a result of the booming population add three more lines to their resumé, all hope
est tuition fees, pay superlative amounts for a (‘E’). Therefore, more facilities and professors is lost for senior academia.
superlative quality of education. are required to accommodate the increase in Prove me wrong, please.
While it is impossible to deny the fact that student numbers, and accordingly, tuition fees
tuition fees are in- are on the rise (‘T’). A
creasing, it is equally simple, valid logisti-
important to ask why cal form, Modus Pon-
this is happening. The more undergrads that come ens: If ‘E’, then ‘T’, ‘E’,
Quite simply, it’s be- therefore ‘T’.
cause enrollment out of these institutions, the less Above all, it is
rates for Canadian reputable a degree seems. most important to re-
universities are ris- alize that the concept
ing drastically. Enrol- of university may be
ment rates have not lost entirely on con-
been so high since temporary society.
the post-World War II baby boom—when University was once a place for budding intel-
universities such as Brock, York, and Carleton lectuals seeking higher education, fascinated
had to be established to accommodate a mas- by the world around them, and thirsty for
sive influx of students. As the North American knowledge. In fact, the only discipline once
population exploded after the Second World taught in higher academia was philosophy,
War, what we are now seeing are the children the study of knowledge. Today, universities
of these baby boomers. The Echo Boomers, as are home almost entirely to students buffing
they are referred to, were born beginning in the their resumes in the hopes of landing that
late 1980s, and are now entering into Canadian $32,000-a-year job, to afford their luxurious
universities. If you have any knowledge of basic condo on the coast. Lowering tuition fees

Lust for political power turning off voters

by Ben Myers
Fulcrum Staff
VOTER APATHY HAS reached an
all-time high, not only in Canada, but
also in our Student Federation of the
University of Ottawa (SFUO) elec-
tions. Less than 60 per cent of reg-
istered Canadians showed up at the
polls for the Oct. 14 federal election.
In the February SFUO elections, 12
per cent of eligible students bothered
to take mere minutes out of their day
to vote. In the March presidential by-
election, even fewer students cared
about electing the most important
position on the SFUO executive: only
3.7 per cent of students voted. The
opinion of fewer than 700 people—
on a campus of almost 30,000 un-
dergrads—chose the current SFUO
president.
What’s wrong with the people who
don’t vote? Nothing. What’s wrong with
democracy? Nothing. What’s wrong
with politics these days? Everything.
The objective of democracy is to
represent the will of as many people
as possible, and yet politicians on
both local and national stages have
made it their objective to cater only
to their base, polarize the issues, and
frame the opposition as not the rep-
resentation of a different philosophy,
but stupid and untrustworthy.
Both student and federal politics
have become a battleground of po-
larized ideologies. To those pursuing
power, elections are meant simply as
a means to pursue a predetermined
ideology. These ideologies are often
diametrically opposed to one another.
If voters don’t like their choice of ex- find time to vote for their SFUO rep- Through his or her inaction, the
tremes, they have little recourse. resentatives. The alienation and apa- non-voter is sending a clear message:
No wonder voters can’t find time to thy has reached the point that politi- You are not my kind of politicians and
make it to the polling booth—we see cians are no longer preaching to the this is not my kind of politics. I don’t
no trace of ourselves within politicians choir. The choir members are the only care what you do because you don’t
anymore. By representing themselves people voting. care about me.
as perfect protectors of ideology as
opposed to negotiators, and demon-
izing their opposition, politicians have
framed themselves out of the realm of
humanity, alienating voters.
At the University of Ottawa, the “stu-
dent movement” has become a defined
group calling students to war. Members
of the SFUO and the Canadian Fed-
eration of Students have framed them-
selves as protectors of students and
student ideology, while failing to ask
students whether they have a unified
ideology (how could we, as promoting
diversity is the objective of so many or-
ganizations on campus?) and whether it
should be pursued through protest.
“All Out” the posters shout at us as
we walk by. Meanwhile, the voice of
the individual student is silenced—how
can we respond? Is there any room in
this student movement for a dissenting
opinion? Is there any room in the Con-
servative or Liberal parties of Canada
for a person who agrees with the leader
only half the time? These people would
surely be expunged by the true believ-
ers.
The ideology must be unified, it
must be strong, and it must be loud.
In the name of pursuing goals, in the
name of unity, in the name of defeat-
ing the opponent, the movement
must be purified of objectors.
And so 40 per cent of voters don’t
make it to the polls on election day.
And so 88 per cent of students don’t illustrations by Alex Martin

www.thefulcrum.ca Oct. 30, 2008 OPINION 21


Distractions
Dear Di If you have a question for Di,
e-mail deardi@thefulcrum.ca.
Dear Di,
I’ve been toying with the idea of shav-
ing my ass but I don’t know how to go
about it. I don’t think it would look very
good if I did it on my own and I also
don’t really trust myself. If you think
shaving is a good idea, how should I raze
my hairy ass?
—Hair Pants
Dear HP,
I can’t think of one benefit that would
come from shaving your ass. Not even
one. You’re probably not an Olympic
diver, so it’s not about fluid dynamics. You
might have someone to impress; I guess
your ass would look squeaky clean, but
I’m all for being relaxed and honest about
who you are. So no, I don’t think shaving
your ass is a spectacular idea. But if you’re
really compelled to shave your badon-
kadonk, I see two options. You’re right,
dealing with four-blade razors or fum-
bling scalding hot wax alone will just lead
to poor aesthetics and pain. Instead, call
up a very good friend, someone who will
find it amusing to bond over basting your
turkey, and get him or her to lather your
ass and shave it for you. Keep in mind:
Don’t skimp on shaving cream or razors,
as cheap stuff equals cuts and nicks, and
take a warm shower to let the heat soften
your skin and relax the hair follicles, mak-
ing hair easier to get rid of. Your second
option is a beauty salon. As a woman who
enjoys her Brazilians, I can tell you that
salons are professional and the aestheti-
cians there will shave absolutely anything.
Listen, I called three salons in the down-
Thursday, Oct. 30
Thryllabus
Mexican cinema: Mecánica nacional. 7 p.m.
Arts Hall. Room 257. Free.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 8 p.m.
Simard Hall. Café Alternatif. Free.
Friday, Oct. 31
Happy Halloween!
Bon Appétit Food Bank presents: Trick
or Eat. 4 p.m. Unicentre Agora. Register in
person or at www.trickoreat.ca.
Lecture: Theocracy and Autonomy in Me-
dieval Islamic and Jewish Philosophy. 3 p.m.
Arts Hall. Room 509. Free.
Saturday, Nov. 1
Women’s hockey: Ottawa vs. McGill.
6 p.m. Sports Complex. Students $4.
That’s the Spirit, the Flats. 8 p.m.
Zaphod Beeblebrox. 27 York St. $5. 19+
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
town core and each informed me that
they would wax your tush. There are no
“partial ass” or “full ass” fees—the average
price quote was $50. So there you go. If
you plan on hitting the salon, just remem-
ber to ask them to shave your whole ass,
not just around your asshole.
Love,
Di
Dear Di,
I’m a bi girl and I’m in two non-mo-
nogamous relationships. I’ve got great
things going with a girl and a guy, but
when they go down on me she uses too
much tongue and he nibbles at my clit!
How do I tell them that I hate these things
that they each do?
—Loves Bilingus
Dear LB,
First for the girl. Remember that women
are sensitive, so if she is going down on you
and slobbering everywhere, I want you to
make noises to guide her to let her know
what you like and what you don’t. Or the
less passive-aggressive option is just being
honest. Don’t do it while she’s down there
because she might get offended or dis-
couraged. Rather, explain to her over tea
that she uses too much tongue and be very
exact about what you prefer. Reassure her
that she’s fantastic, but you think that you’d
be more pleasured if she used less tongue.
As for the boy, you could tell him that you
appreciate the gesture and his being open
to doing it, but that you’re afraid he’ll
bite your whole clit off. Actually, just tell
him bluntly that nibbling doesn’t get you
Sunday, Nov. 2
Master’s recital: Andres Tucci Clark on
cello. 8 p.m. Tabaret Hall. Room 112. Free.
Monday, Nov. 3
Rachel Getting Married. 6:45 p.m.
ByTowne Cinema. 325 Rideau St.
$9, $7 for members.
Radical Readers lecture: Fatelessness read
by Prof. Libby Adler. 4:30 p.m. Fauteux Hall.
Room 202. Free.
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Women’s basketball: Ottawa vs. Carleton.
7 p.m. Montpetit gym. Students $4.
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Speaker: Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury.
8 p.m. Alumni Auditorium. $10.
Ottawa Storytellers: Warriors and Patriots.
7:30 p.m. National Arts Centre.
53 Elgin St. Students $12.
22
Sarah Leavitt
Features Editor
features@thefulcrum.ca
juicy—
anything goes because boys
are so desperate to please that
they won’t be offended at all.
And afterwards, just to smooth ev-
erything over, butter them both up with
a “Think of how much fun it’s going to be
to get down and dirty all the time, but it’ll
be even better if we figure out what gets us
both off.” That’ll open up the floor to their
possible concerns with you. After that
talk, flattery should get you everywhere.
Enjoy!
sudoku answers on p. 11
Love,
Di
The Fulcrum is looking for students to join its board of
Finally, I’ve been stumped by this directors. If you are looking for experience in business
next question for days, so I’m opening or not-for-profit organizations, email Ross Prusakowski,
it up to my dear readers. If anyone has the Fulcrum’s business manager.
an answer (I would like to see answers
to help both men and women, please), business.manager@thefulcrum.ca
write me at deardi@thefulcrum.ca and
I’ll print your advice in the next issue.
Think Things by Jocelyn Robitaille
Thanks!
Dear Di,
My friend told me he got a blow
job behind one of the stacks in the
Morriset Library by a girl that se-
duced him while he was studying.
I’m so jealous! Is there any way that
I can improve my chances of hav-
ing random sex with strangers? Or
do you just have to be really fuck-
ing hot?
—Wanting Fifth-Floor Fun
The Thryllabus
needs lots of events
to remain so thrilling.
Email
features@thefulcrum.ca
with information on your
upcoming events.

Editorial
f
Doing the
Monster Mash since 1942.
Volume 69 - Issue 11
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
phone: (613) 562-5261
fax: (613) 562-5259
631 King Edward Ave.,
Ottawa, ON K1N6N5
editor@thefulcrum.ca
www.thefulcrum.ca
Recycle this paper or
you’ll get candy corn.
Staff
Frank ‘sexy civil servant’ Appleyard
Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca
Ben ‘sexy sandwich artist’ Myers
Production Manager
production@thefulcrum.ca
Michael ‘sexy poet’ Olender
Executive Editor
executive@thefulcrum.ca
Martha ‘sexy scientist’ Pearce
Art Director
design@thefulcrum.ca
Emma ‘sexy bus driver’ Godmere
News Editor
news@thefulcrum.ca
Peter ‘sexy taxidermist’ Henderson
Arts & Culture Editor
arts@thefulcrum.ca
David ‘sexy principal’ McClelland
Sports Editor
sports@thefulcrum.ca
Sarah ‘sexy safety officer’ Leavitt
Features Editor
features@thefulcrum.ca
Danielle ‘sexy coal miner’ Blab
Laurel ‘sexy crossing guard’ Hogan
Copy Editors
Amanda ‘sexy pilot’ Shendruk
Associate News Editor
associatenews@thefulcrum.ca
James ‘sexy telemarketer’ Edwards
Webmaster
webmaster@thefulcrum.ca
Jessica ‘sexy foley artist’ Sukstorf
Volunteer & Visibility
Coordinator
volunteer@thefulcrum.ca
Megan ‘sexy radio host’ O’Meara
Staff Writer
Alex ‘sexy moderator’ Martin
Staff Illustrator
Inari ‘sexy janitor’ Vaissi Nagy
Jiselle ‘sexy bellhop’ Bakker
Ombudsgirls
ombudsgirl@thefulcrum.ca
Travis ‘sexy landscaper’ Boisvenue
Ombudsboy
ombudsboy@thefulcrum.ca
Nicole ‘sexy caddy’ Gall
Staff Proofreader
Robert ‘sexy bookkeeper’ Olender
On-campus Distributor
Deidre ‘sexy accountant’ Butters
Advertising Representative
ads@thefulcrum.ca
Ross ‘sexy economist’ Prusakowski
Business Manager
business.manager@thefulcrum.ca
23
Frank Appleyard
Oct. 30–Nov. 5, 2008
Editor-in-Chief
editor@thefulcrum.ca
Support for a sister publication
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA students enjoy
a luxury not found at many other campuses in
Canada: student media completely free of stu-
dent union ownership or oversight. This means
that while both U of O student newspapers are
partially funded by students, the Student Fed-
eration of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) has
no authority over editorial content or business
decisions. The Fulcrum is currently enjoying its
fourth year of autonomy, while our French coun-
terpart La Rotonde is nearing its seventh month
free from SFUO ownership.
However, the road to this journalistic inde-
pendence is often fraught with perils. Financial
stability is incredibly difficult to achieve during
the vital first few months of autonomy, and staff
work tirelessly to ensure that a product of equal
quality continues to make its way to newsstands
every week. Balancing financial stability with
maintaining the often expensive product of an
established newspaper can be a near-impossible
equation for a newly independent paper.
The staff of the U of O’s French-language stu-
dent newspaper is currently attempting to strike
this balance, and has encountered an under-
standably tight budget in doing so. It is relatively
easy—financially speaking—to remain under
the watchful eye and large budget of the SFUO.
However, surrendering freedom for this comfort
is unacceptable to both journalists and students
who expect their media to function as truly ob-
jective forums for criticism and debate. La Ro-
tonde’s staff and board members’ determined
commitment to upholding the paper’s fledgling
independence despite the incredible workload
and financial constraints necessary to ensure
a stable future is truly laudable. While La Ro-
tonde’s general manager Caroline Bouchard has
indicated that the financial crunch seems to have
passed, ensuring a newly autonomous paper runs
smoothly is typically an ongoing struggle.
Times are apparently doubly difficult for the
newspaper, given the recent resignation of Edi-
tor-in-Chief François-Olivier Dorais. The loss of
leadership and vision that accompanies such a
departure has the potential to be incredibly dis-
tressing for staff. Combined, shoestring finances
and uncertainty among the editorial staff cast an ble to weather these storms and emerge a stable, coverage of events and issues on campus. This
imposing shadow over La Rotonde. autonomous publication. free student media often does not come without
Yet there is much cause for optimism. Not only The Fulcrum and La Rotonde don’t always see a struggle, and the internal battle to ensure a sus-
has La Rotonde apparently survived a significant eye-to-eye when it comes to editorial stances. tainable, independent press is one worth fighting.
budget crunch, but history also indicates that However, what is always shared between the two The La Rotonde staff ’s fight against their cur-
the paper will emerge from this experience un- institutions is respect for each other’s work and rent obstacles in the name of journalistic in-
scathed. As a point of comparison, the Fulcrum a belief that the ability of the student media to dependence deserves the support of all U of O
has encountered both situations that our sister fulfill its role as the fourth estate depends on the students. In this vein, the Fulcrum encourages all
paper is currently in the midst of. From finan- autonomy that both currently enjoy. students to email redaction@larotonde.ca to offer
cial crises in this paper’s first year of autonomy The Fulcrum remains proud of the staff of La a few kind words to the newspaper’s staff in their
to dealing with the mid-year resignation of the Rotonde’s decision to pursue independence, de- ongoing battle with adversity to remain the U of
editor-in-chief two years ago, the Fulcrum has spite knowing the very real struggles they would O’s independent French-language student news-
seen the worst of times and lived to write about face, and will likely continue to face in continu- paper. Consider the Fulcrum the first to voice its
it. Raising these success stories from Fulcrum ing to publish a respected newspaper that has ap- appreciation and support.
history is merely intended to offer the staff of La peared on stands for over 70 years. Bon courage, La Rotonde.
Rotonde a light at the end of the dark tunnel they At the end of the day, an independent press
are currently travelling. Rest assured: it is possi- is vital to providing students with fair, balanced editor@thefulcrum.ca
Contributors
Devin A. ‘sexy cartoonist’ Beauregard Tina ‘sexy mime’ Hassannia Jocelyn ‘sexy pro gamer’ Robitaille
Hilary ‘sexy playwright’ Caton Matt ‘sexy rodeo clown’ Johnny Anna ‘sexy best boy’ Rocoski
Elizabeth ‘sexy gaffer’ Chiang Camila ‘sexy busker’ Juarez Kalin ‘sexy publisher’ Smith cover
Laura ‘sexy lunchlady’ Clementson Danyal ‘sexy engineer’ Khoral Alex ‘sexy CEO’ Smyth
Kenny ‘sexy mascot’ Dodd Hisham ‘sexy retiree’ Kelati Amlake ‘sexy politician’ T-Digaf photo
Katie sexy psychiatrist’ DeClerq Jamie ‘sexy CFO’ MacDonald by
Phil ‘sexy set dresser’ Flickinger Alessandro ‘sexy pharmacist’ Nahon Lihang Nong
Ian ‘sexy parole officer’ Flett Lihang ‘sexy barber’ Nong
Sarah ‘sexy timekeeper’ Gibbons Rebecca ‘sexy beta tester’ Rich