Essential services... Andrei Markovits interviewEssential services legislation intro-duced into House of Assembly for healthcare workers.

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Osty Gale interviews Andrei Marko-vits in his final interview for the Caper Times this year.

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April 7, 2014Volume 41, Number 14www.capertimes.ca t @caper_times f fb.com/cprtimes

Sydney, Nova ScotiaYour community campus newspaper since 1973

Feature Editor Allison Redmond’s Insights into the Future Project, part two of two.

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The Famished Foodie reviews the Black Spoon Bistro in North Sydney in her final article for the Caper Times.

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Insigts into the future, part 2 Black Spoon reviewed

FINALthe

issue

enjoy your summer!

2014-15

The Caper Times stands for the progress and development of Cape Breton County, for our island hertiage, and the community values we all hold dear. The Caper Times is dedicated to the service of the people, that no just cause shall go unchampioned, and that wrong shall not thrive unopposed.

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2 Local & Provincial News

ISSN 1929-1140

ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONMAINE & MARITIMES ASSC. UNIV. JOURNALISTS

SYDNEY–On Mon-day, March 31st, the Nova Scotia government intro-duced legislation regu-lating healthcare sector employees’ right to strike.

The bill, titled the Essential Health and Community Services Act, requires agreements between employers and employees that guarantee essential care in the case of job action. Further-more, it makes any job action by the employer or the employee ille-gal until such guar-antees are in place.

While the bill is most likely the result of recent cries from nurses about poor work conditions and a workload that is unde-sirable for both nurses and patients (sometimes referred to as the nurse/patient ratio problem), it applies to all those employed by the health-care sector. This includes nurses, doctors, paramed-ics, 911 and other com-munications personnel, home care providers, and child care workers. The wording of the bill implies it is also applicable to maintenance personnel and mental health profes-sionals, as well as those generally responsible for services that might fea-sibly be deemed critical.

In a press release, Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union (NSNU) Presi-dent Janet Hazelton stated that the pre-emp-tive move by the prov-ince was unnecessary and infringes on essen-

tial democratic rights.“We fully expected some

form of legislation this week and were prepared to show our collec-tive support for the labour move-ment as well as free and collective bargaining rights. We did not see this broad-stroke approach com-ing. There was no consultation or advance warning which I find alarming,” she says. “As the presi-dent of the Nurses’ Union I feel this action takes away democratic rights, rights that level the play-ing field in negotiations. Essential services legislation as proposed effectively removes that right. For all intents and purposes, nego-tiations will now be one-sided.”

The provincial government’s position is that the bill does not infringe upon the nurses’ right to strike, but rather that it guaran-tees it once an essential services agreement has been established.

“Like all Canadians, Nova Sco-tians deserve to know their health and safety won’t be in jeopardy during a labour disruption,” said Labour and Advanced Education Minister Kelly Regan. “Govern-ment also values the critical work of employees who care for people who are sick, older, or have special needs. This legislation also protects the right to strike once an essential services agreement is in place.”

The strike is expected by government and union officials to be short, happening before it is quashed by the new legislation bring-ing in essential care guarantees. This is following an illegal walk-out on Monday, March 31st follow-ing the introduc-tion of the Essen-tial Health and Community Ser-

vices Act which saw hundreds of nurses leaving their workplaces in protest of the new legislation.

Cease-and-desist letters were filed by the province in response to the walkout, which could have individuals fined $1000 for walk-ing off the job, plus $200 for each additional day of illegal job action.

Surgery cancellations were reported as a result of under-staffing due to the walkout.

While nurses concern them-selves with the right to strike and government struggles to balance the right to strike with the neces-sity of availability of emergency services, some individuals are concerned about something a bit less abstract – their access to care.

“The right to assembly is enshrined in our Charter of Free-doms and is necessary for any healthy democracy. However, nurses are essential to the opera-tions of every hospital and if they do not show up to work lives are at risk,” says Queen’s University His-tory student and Glace Bay resident Corey Schruder. “The NSNU has pulled a fast one on Nova Scotians - they refuse to recognize the role they have played in Nova Scotia’s nursing woes and they only com-pound this very serious problem.”

Some nurses, however, think that patients are already in danger.

“I understand that it’s con-sidered putting patients at risk by striking but that risk is there every day when the employer doesn’t call replacements in for sick nurses or

when a nurse with only three years [of] experience is the senior nurse on a floor. Nurse/patient ratios are hugely important. Even day-cares have caretaker/child ratios that ensure child and caretaker safety. So why don’t our hospi-tals?” asks a CBU nursing student who wished to remain anonymous.

“It’s a nursing standard to advo-cate for patient safety. If we lose our right to strike and our ability to take job action, we can’t work to our standards. That takes away not only our ability to negotiate but also our work satisfaction, employer trust, and sense of autonomy as people.”

Essential services are defined by the bill as functions that are necessary to prevent “loss of life, [...] serious harm or damage to or deterioration of the mental and physical health of one or more per-sons, [...] or serious harm or dam-age to or deterioration of property required for the performance of an essential health or community service in relation to [the above].”

With the introduction of this legislation, Nova Scotia is the last province to guarantee criti-cal care in the event of a strike or other job action. The NSNU has agreed to maintain full staffing levels for emergency rooms, can-cer care, intensive care, and dialy-sis centres in the event of a strike.

Essential services legislation introduced in House of Assembly for health care workersFREDERICK BOUTILIERNEWS EDITOR

3International News

Australian High Court rec-ognizes third gender

On Wednesday, April 2nd the High Court of Australia (the Aus-tralian supreme court) decided that a third, non-specific gender exists.

The ruling allows for the reg-istration of an individual’s sex as “non-specific,” and comes after years of campaigning by Aus-tralian equality activist groups.

While the case is an extraor-dinary one for individuals who do not identify as male or female, it is not the first of its kind, even in Australia. Begin-ning in 2003, newborns in Aus-tralia could be registered with an ‘X’ as their sex, as they could in Germany beginning in 2013.

Nepal began offering a third gender option in 2007.

The move was applauded by

equality activists in the country, who saw the move as the rejection of outdated notions of gender.

Ebola outbreak in West Africa

On Sunday, March 23rd the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that an outbreak of the Ebola virus had begun in southern Guinea.

By March 24th, the death toll had risen to 59 and the virus was confirmed to have spread to Liberia.

The virus was later confirmed to have spread to nearby Sierra Leone.

Since the outbreak, several African nations have instituted temporary travel restrictions until the outbreak clears in order to stop the spread of the disease.

Ebola virus is the most dan-

gerous of several viruses that cause Ebola virus disease, a deadly illness that begins with flu-like symptoms and involves heavy internal bleeding and sometimes coma, often causing death. The virus is spread via contact with blood and other bodily fluids of an infected individual. The prog-nosis upon contracting the disease is quite poor, with fatality rates ranging from 60 to 90 percent.

Two Koreas exchange artil-lery fire

On Monday, March 31st, North and South Korea exchanged artillery fire over their sea border.

The exchange began when a North Korean live-fire exercise began shell-ing South Korean waters.

Pyongyang announced in

advance that they would be performing the military exer-cise, advising South Korea to not operate within the area.

South Korea responded by shelling North Korean sea terri-tory and advising citizens living near the border to seek shelter until the exercise had finished.

Roughly a fifth of all rounds fired during the North Korean exercise entered South Korean waters. No damage or loss of life was incurred during the exchange.

Crimean crisis fallout is abundant

Since the Russian govern-ment’s approval of the annexa-tion of Crimea on Friday, March 21st, the international commu-nity has brought many sanctions upon the Russian Federation.

On Monday, March 24th the G8 summit, which was to take place in Sochi, Russia, was moved to Brussels, Belgium after a unan-imous decision by the other seven countries of the economic forum, effectively excluding Russia and reforming the group as the G7.

This follows previous trade sanctions brought by various Western nations against Rus-sia for what those nations per-ceive as an unjustified land-grab and amidst fears that Russia planned to take the Ukraine.

Despite these accusations and border exercises, Russian officials have repeatedly denied that they plan on attacking the Ukraine.

4 Local & Provincial NewsRegional Municipality faces continuing winter following set of spring storms

SYDNEY–Spring has not been so kind to the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. It may have even been crueler than winter, with two large storms shutting down most of the island since the first day of spring.

On Wednesday, March 26th the CBRM was hit by a blizzard that before its landfall prompted com-parisons by meteorologists (notably The Weather Network) with ‘White Juan,’ the 2004 Nor’Easter that dumped almost a metre of snow on some regions of Nova Scotia and had winds gusting up to 120 km/h.

While the roughly 40 cm of snow didn’t touch White Juan’s dubious record, wind gusts did pass 100 km/h.

Much of the CBRM was shut down during the blizzard, including local businesses, public transit, the

Cape Breton University campus, malls, and fast food restaurants. With minimal reported power out-ages in most business centres, most of the shut-downs were voluntary, due to worsening road conditions.

Business was not as usual the day following the storm, with some businesses and the Cape Breton University campus opting to stay closed due to road conditions.

Just four days later, on Monday, March 31st, Sydney was put under an extended freezing rain warn-ing. Strong winds and freezing rain began in the morning and battered the island for two consecutive days. While cancellations were few on the storm’s first day, they did nota-bly include the Cape Breton Uni-versity campus, which had already allotted a ‘make-up day’ due to

missed class time (owing mostly to the unfor-giving winter).

On Tuesday, April 1st almost the entire region closed its doors and hunkered down for the storm. With icy road conditions due to remain-ing snow from the earlier bliz-zard and hail fall since combined with mass power outages, the Cape Breton Univer-sity campus once again cancelled operations for the day. Much of the island

followed, either volun-tarily or due to power outage.

The same day, the Cape Breton District Health Authority cancelled all services except emergency ser-vices, lasting until the following day.

Power outages lasted more than a day in some areas sur-rounding Sydney, and outages in Sydney began around noon on Tuesday. Power was restored to much of Sydney around 7:30 PM, but with small, intermittent out-ages lasting until the next morning.

With some businesses losing almost a full week of operations and the loss of a full class week for CBU students, in addition to dam-age caused to personal property due to winter conditions, it could easily be said that spring has cer-tainly not sprung for the CBRM.

FREDERICK BOUTILIERNEWS EDITOR | PHOTO: ERYN-JEAN SARGENT

Nova Scotia Power rates will not increase in 2015

SYDNEY–With abundant power outages and the recent 3% increase still fresh in consumer minds, one piece of good news has come recently about electricity in Nova Scotia: rates will remain the same throughout 2015.Nova Scotia Power is required to have significant rate hikes approved by the province, but has not filed an application to increase rates for 2015, as it has for the previous two years.The recent rate hikes were part of an initiative by the province’s sole power supplier to stabilize energy prices in the long-term by investing in sustainable energy infrastructure.According to Nova Scotia Power’s website explaining the rate hikes, they were due to the up-front cost

of building such infrastructure and expected energy costs to stabilize long-term.The announcement that NS Power will not seek a rate hike in 2015 was accompanied by news that the company’s fuel costs actually came in over budget, but the company president stated that the lack of a rate hike was caused by a recent reduction in operating costs.Students should appreciate the news especially, with tight budgets due to ever-increasing tuition fees being helped slightly by the lack of a rate increase, as well as the recent $0.10 increase in the minimum wage.

FREDERICK BOUTILIERNEWS EDITOR

Laptop light a better wakeup call than coffee

ST. JOHN’S (CUP) — Researchers at Mid Sweden University (Mittuniversitetet) recently completed a study that suggests the distinctive ‘blue light’ emitted by laptops, cellphones, LEDs and other electronic gadgets is even more effective than caffeine at boosting brain power.Both caffeine and blue light are shown to improve cognitive function, as both test groups out-performed the control in visual reaction and decision-making tasks. But those exposed to an electronic glow were even better than caffeine users at staying focused in the face of distraction, and had much better visual reaction.Exposure to any kind of light will affect the human body in both positive and negative ways, but not all wavelengths are equal. In

addition to increasing alertness, one Harvard study showed blue light suppressed melatonin production for about twice as long as green light and shifted the circadian rhythms that govern our internal clocks by twice as much (three hours compared to one-and-a-half hours).This is not to say the power of light has only dark side-effects. There are treatments being developed that use blue light to treat pain, blindness and depression. And one study showed that only two minutes of the blue light from lamps used for tooth whitening was enough to kill bacteria associated with bad breath.The key seems to be when the exposure occurs. That same Harvard study also demonstrates that during normal daylight

hours blue light seems to not only increase alertness, but also improve mood and memory. Night-owls and shift-workers, however, are at an increased risk for sleep disorders, as well as the litany of more serious problems listed above.The Harvard study recommends avoiding looking at bright screens for two to three hours before bedtime, but those unwilling to forgo their nocturnal habits still have options. Red light has the smallest effect on melatonin and circadian rhythms, so a dim red night-light could be beneficial. There are also special blue-blocking glasses that filter the specific wavelength but still allow for good vision indoors.Finally, the more bright light you are exposed to during the daytime, when your body is expecting it, the better you should fall asleep at night.

STEVEN STAUFFERTHE MUSE / CUPWIRE

5AthleticsRegional Municipality faces continuing winter following set of spring storms

followed, either volun-tarily or due to power outage.

The same day, the Cape Breton District Health Authority cancelled all services except emergency ser-vices, lasting until the following day.

Power outages lasted more than a day in some areas sur-rounding Sydney, and outages in Sydney began around noon on Tuesday. Power was restored to much of Sydney around 7:30 PM, but with small, intermittent out-ages lasting until the next morning.

With some businesses losing almost a full week of operations and the loss of a full class week for CBU students, in addition to dam-age caused to personal property due to winter conditions, it could easily be said that spring has cer-tainly not sprung for the CBRM.

Laptop light a better wakeup call than coffeehours blue light seems to not only increase alertness, but also improve mood and memory. Night-owls and shift-workers, however, are at an increased risk for sleep disorders, as well as the litany of more serious problems listed above.The Harvard study recommends avoiding looking at bright screens for two to three hours before bedtime, but those unwilling to forgo their nocturnal habits still have options. Red light has the smallest effect on melatonin and circadian rhythms, so a dim red night-light could be beneficial. There are also special blue-blocking glasses that filter the specific wavelength but still allow for good vision indoors.Finally, the more bright light you are exposed to during the daytime, when your body is expecting it, the better you should fall asleep at night.

WINDSOR (CUP) — There’s a new player when comes to hockey equipment. Since their induc-tion into professional hockey in 1999, composite sticks have taken flak for their high occurrence of breakage. Enter Colt Hockey, a Toronto-based company who with the help of aerospace and medi-cal supplies manufacturer Integran Technologies created the Colt.

In their 15 years on the mar-ket, no company has been able to balance the high performance of the composite with the dura-bility of a wooden stick. Though they offer massive benefits in terms of performance because of their light weight and low flex

point, they break at an exponen-tial rate compared to the wooden sticks of the previous generation.

The Colt is constructed with a material not yet scene in hockey that allows it to demonstrate the same strength as industrial steal, while maintaining the light weight flexibility of the current composites.

According to their website, a Colt can withstand 397 pounds of force, compared to the 263.5 pounds taken by a conventional composite. Further, in the tens of thousands of hours put into testing the Colt, the subjects experienced no degradation in the shaft, which is common in traditional sticks. This means that the 397 pounds

figure always applies to the Colt; regular composites will withstand less force through continued use.

“We haven’t stopped re-engi-neering and looking to improve the product,” said co-founder Daniel Lucchesi. “The point is reaching the compromise between weight, per-formance and durability. With the Colt, what you gain in weight you gain in confidence to know that you can lean into it 100 per cent and trust that your equipment won’t fail.”

Entering a market dominated by major corporations Easton, Ree-bok and Bauer, Lucchesi and the Colt Hockey team face an uphill battle in terms of selling their brand. Similar to a small cellphone manu-facturer competing with Apple and Samsung, generally the voice that is heard is the one talking the loud-

est, even with an inferior product.In September of last year Colt

Hockey launched a Kickstarter cam-paign to increase production of the Colt. By the end of that period they had not only met, but exceeded their $75,000, proving the demand for a reliable high-performance product.

“The way that we have con-ducted ourselves is that we genu-inely want to improve the game and see players play to their full poten-tial. Our main goal is keeping this stick Canadian and developing it for the fans and the players who have supported us so far,” noted Lucchesi.

Lucchesi also discussed the possibility of a partnership with National Hockey League ath-letes, but noted that the amount of resources needed to customize each stick to professional play-

ers’ specifications is not something the company would be willing to allot resources to at this time.

Rather, the focus of the Colt is to continue to develop the product to be the best it can be. “We like to think that the stick speaks for itself. Want to see variety and choice, and want people to receive a better standard of equipment,” concludes Lucchesi.

Manufacturing a better hockey stickMIKE SPECHTTHE LANCE / CUPWIRE

FREDERICTON (CUP) — As many people would agree, sports are fun to participate in, as well as

to watch. But what a lot of you may not realize is just how beneficial that game of hockey or that soccer match actually is for your health.

Sports of all kinds are an easy and enjoyable way to get in a solid cardio and/or strength-training workout.

In fact, you will rarely find activities to keep you motivated enough to meet at least the weekly minimum of 150 minutes of mod-erate intensity or higher aerobic physical activity for people ages 18-65, according to the Cana-dian Physical Activity Guidelines.

What does this mean for you?Well, it means 2.5 hours of more

or less any activity that involves moving your legs, arms and feet.

This equates to moderate sports such as golfing, badminton or soft-ball or other vigorous activities such as tennis, soccer or swimming.

In terms of physical health, this can easily improve cardio-

vascular capacity and feelings of fatigue, just to name a couple

Participating in these types of sports and exercise can play both a therapeutic and a preventa-tive role in the lives of Canadians.

Playing higher intensity sports increases the good stress levels on the body and teaches the ath-letes how to overcome obstacles, as well as how to make decisions when you are drained, which a key aspect is keeping your mind sharp.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health web-site, meeting these requirements can significantly help preventing issues like heart disease and its precursors, insomnia and arthritis.

Sport and exercise is even used to treat type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancers and even mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, as they improve mood and alleviate stress.

These improved bodily and men-tal health standards lead to a much longer, happier, and healthy life – which means a more fulfilling life.

Participating in physical activ-ity contributes significantly to weight loss, appearance and image. Improving all of these things allows people struggling with these types of issues and confidence-hinder-ing anxieties the chance to have greater self-esteem. All of this cre-ates an ongoing cycle – the more you exercise the better you feel physically and mentally and the more likely you are to keep it up.

Choosing not to participate in sporting exercise can lead to weight gain, muscle loss and even bone decay, not to mention missing out on some great memories with people sharing a common goal.

Feeling fatigued and heavy all day is hard on your body and mind, and can also lead to fatigue and feeling sick-like symptoms more often during the day, accord-ing to the Canadian Health Agency.

So how about next time you reach for the remote, try reaching for your gear and head out for some rewarding and intense workout instead.

Why sports are good for your healthKYLE MERRITTTHE BRUNSWICKAN / CUPWIRE

Highlights of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games

The opening of the Olympic Games in Sochi started on February 7th and it was a spectacular event. The graphics and lights were amazing. Carrying the Canadian flag for our 220 Canadian Athletes was Calgary-born Hayley Wickenheiser. Hayley has served as the team captain for the Women’s Hockey Team since 2007. Our athletes were strong and proud and represented our country well. Canada took its first medal on the first day with Justine Dufour-Lapointe winning the Gold medal for Moguls Snow Boarding. After two weeks of intense competition our athletes returned with a total of 25 medals – 10 Gold, 10 Silver and 5 Bronze! As I write this article the Paralympics are taking place in Sochi. To date, March 13th, our Canadian Paralympic Athletes have taken a total of 9 medals – 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze! The Paralympic Games

started with a British group of WWII veterans and is now a huge international sporting event that allows athletes with physical or intellectual disabilities a chance to show the world what those with disabilities can do! If someone was to ask me what the highlight of the Olympic Games was I would have to say the Women’s Hockey Game for the Gold. The gals kept us on the edge of our seats, like most women do, to come back from a score of 0-2 and win it with a score of 3-2 having tied it up in the last 5 minutes of the game and scoring the winning goal in overtime.

FRANKIE MACQUEENINTERN

6 Opinon

CBU should absorb ICEAP Earlier this year, CBU

announced it would be dealing with declining numbers in the future, mainly due to a drop in domestic students. If it really wishes to take bold action in addressing this con-cern, well perhaps it would be wise for CBU to absorb ICEAP. It would serve to provide at the minimum, marginal improvements in student equality for CBU and ICEAP stu-dents alike, and could have a ripple effect in enrolment and econom-ics; CBU could promote its brand while the students take English Academic Preparation and the fol-low up degree of their choosing. I took some time and compared and contrasted various aspects of ICEAP and CBU and how they may impact students financially, academically and professionally. I believe this is completely unjust, mostly for ICEAP students. CBU absorbing ICEAP would make the cost of education between for CBU and ICEAP students more equal. While I have to admit, I have not spoken to any ICEAP employee or student, I am taking hard facts from the CBU and ICEAP websites. If you don’t believe me, feel free to research yourself. In a nutshell, ICEAP is an English Academic Preparation school, meaning they teach English to international stu-dents to prepare them for western post-secondary education, specifi-cally, a conditional acceptance to CBU. The website is www.iceap.ca.

First, I have to comment on the regional representation that ICEAP offers. A quick search of the NS Reg-istry of Joint Stocks, it shows that there are 3 executives listed. Two of these people reside in Toronto; the only Nova Scotian is a mere recog-nized agent. If President Wheeler of CBU was domiciled in New York, for example, and was purporting to represent those who attend the university, it would be laughable at best. Students need representation that is actually around to represent

and engage students. Furthermore, it shows the money that is used to run ICEAP (and pay its executives) doesn’t necessarily stay local and help the Cape Breton economy as much as it could, unlike CBU. There are jobs for Cape Bretoners at ICEAP, which pay well in respect to the job requirements, right? Well, on the Job Bank #7339829 is a job posting for International Student Advisor posted March 3, 2014. For that job, you would need to have post-secondary training, 1-2 years’ experience, speak Arabic or Manda-rin, and deal with students, parents and ICEAP staff regarding personal and social issues. These can include life management skills, health peer medication, sexual and substance abuse, among others. Sound like it would pay well, right? Well yes, if you worked hard at your univer-sity degree to get $10.30-11.00 an hour and you only wanted to work 20 hours a week. They seem to think it is enough, since they are hiring for two positions, anyway. Wouldn’t your parents be proud? I digress, if ICEAP was formally brought into the CBU fold, it would keep more money in Cape Breton, and lead by Cape Bretoners, who are CBU faculty and staff. The workload for International Student Advisors would be eased by the multitude of services we have on campus, and they would get paid better according to their educa-tion, job requirements and abilities. To contrast this, JKAC tutors and educational assistants get paid $17 an hour and that is a student job. ICEAP has student employment for work terms that pay $8.60 an hour.

In respect to the fees associ-ated with CBU and ICEAP, they could be fairer to both groups. I will address ICEAP first. Its admission and transfer credit fees are $200 and $250, respectively. CBU is $25 and $50. The average tuition costs per week (ICEAP levels are in 8 week sets) are $347.50-$460.00, depend-ing on the level or program you’re

in. If you go to CBU the weekly cost of tuition is $193.43 (based off 16 week terms) for domestic under-grad program. According to ICEAP the as far as refunds go, you can get 100% fees refunded, if you are not accepted into ICEAP or get your visa in time. Beyond that, it’s quite grey. ICEAP will refund remaining tuition, which takes up to 4 weeks, if ICEAP programs are completed and you get into CBU. It states, any other refunds will not be con-sidered. CBU treats students better in this respect, where you can get increments of 25% of your tuition for a course back if you drop out in the few months for a 3 credit course or the few months of second term for a six credit course. Now, since this deals with admission, but has an ethical toll, rather than a monetary one, so I thought I would stick it here. One thing about ICEAP blew me away was the application form. ICEAP actually wants applicants to disclose their Facebook name, which they don’t even explain why. Perhaps, applicants should be grate-ful they didn’t ask for their Twitter, Snapchat nor, Myspace. Imag-ine the bad PR that would result, if CBU followed suit or the drop in enrolment due to privacy con-cerns? This shows that ICEAP isn’t as diligent or ethical in treating its students and it’s not even the end of it. If CBU overtook ICEAP, it could streamline these fees, by lower-ing them, which would be fairer to ICEAP students; this could increase enrolment, give students consis-tency in paying for educational pur-suits and thus help promote CBU.

Now, one thing that surprised me was the living costs between ICEAP and CBU students for on campus housing. I thought surely, CBU would charge less to CBU stu-dents. However, that is not the case. I am breaking it down to month by month, since ICEAP students pay per month and CBU charges per term, here is the fee differential. For CBU students, the cost of living in residence, which depends on dorm or apartment style, single or double

occupancy, it can cost $26.25 to $51.25 more, than an ICEAP stu-dent. This begs the question, what does a CBU students do while liv-ing in residence that justifies the excess cost? I ask this because I doubt CBU is losing money on the lower ICEAP fees. Granted, it is very hand in glove, since ICEAP is prepping them for CBU. However, this equates to (not considering future price increases) $720.00 to $1,640.00 over 4 years at CBU onto a CBU student. There is also a price difference for meal plans on campus and this is where CBU charges more. When CBU students pay $81.25 more a month for a 7 day meal plan, than ICEAP students, when no one even gets a refund towards days they did not even use it. That can cost up to $2,600.00 more over 4 academic years. The bottom-line here is these fees should be equal, and I fail to find any justification for the difference on the website.

Class schedules are quite demanding for ICEAP, since they go to 6 classes a day and attend a mandatory conversational Eng-lish program afterward. This could explain the tuition difference, but NSCC’s tuition per week is actu-ally lower than both schools. CBU wins on class loads, depending on your program, however there is lots of time for other course require-ments. Attendance is another con-cern. While it is important to have repetition to learn English, ICEAP has a stringent attendance policy of 90%. They actually make you sign a contract to this effect (again, it’s on the website), which I am sure any judge would question the legal-ity of the policy contract, since it is a contract in English for an English preparation school pupil, signed when they arrive. I read it over and I highly doubt they understand all of the words in it. If you fall south of 90% and have than a less than 80% average, you have to repeat your level. Even if your ten minutes late, you’re considered absent for that class, period. So, if your bus runs late from your Sydney home

stay, several times in the winter, you’re screwed. Furthermore, they reserve the right to deduct 30% of your mark if you miss 10% of class time, if they don’t make you repeat. CBU offers more flexibility here, depending on course require-ments and there is no institution-wide mandatory class attendance policy and if you fail, but feel you are worthy of a passing grade, there are procedures to challenge it. ICEAP is devoid of any appeal pro-cess once you have failed since you have signed a contract, which you may have barely understood. Now to the female half of our readers, how would you feel if CBU had a policy that stated, “Female students may not miss class due to menstru-ation”? Well, I can’t speak to that because I am a male; however that really raised my eyebrows. It’s not without helpful advice; ICEAP sug-gests women use Ibuprofen as the cure of choice. How thoughtful of them to tell you how to cope with your own bodily functions. Again, how would it be received if CBU did such a thing? If I found such questionable details of ICEAP from its own website, I can only wonder else about ICEAP is questionable?

In closing, I implore CBU to consider taking over ICEAP since it would lead to a more positive future in relation to the programs and stu-dents. Since it would increase enrol-ment to CBU, increase the money that stays within the community, improve the ICEAP jobs and rate of pay under ICEAP, improve student equality in policy and cost. Fur-thermore, if CBU bought ICEAP, these students could be members of the CBUSU, affording them repre-sentation and services that ICEAP does not. CBU has a defined mis-sion, vision and set of values that promote education. I can’t help but think ICEAPs policies are over-bearing and unfair. In the end, CBU prides itself on being an interna-tional institution; this would only be a natural extension of that boast.

Beinéan MacDonald

Special extended letters to the editor:THESE ARE THE AUTHOR’S VIEWS, NOT THAT OF THE CAPER TIMES, CAPER MEDIA, OF ITS ASSOCIATES.

This is the second and final addition to the Insight into the future project started in my class. In this edition we see a program called Youth in Motion, a call for gender equal-ity, activism, and animal abuse.

Youth in Motion Katie Sheriff

Youth in Motion is a pro-gram that Cape Breton Univer-sity, The Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex, Sport Nova Scotia, Health and Well-ness, the Cape Breton Vic-toria Regional School Board and many more have created. Youth in Motion is a program for grade four students to come to CBU and the Complex for a day to promote the impor-tance of physical activity and healthy eating. Throughout the day students are able to par-ticipate in different stations that are provided by CBU students, staff and volunteers from local communities around CBU. The students are also provided with free healthy snacks and lunches.

The reason I believe that this program is important is for a number of reasons: physical activity, opportunity and com-munity. This program shows stu-dents the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. The program provides students with sports that they may have already played or never played before. Promoting physical activity is important because it helps prevent diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Along with physical activity it gives youth opportunity. Some students who attend this program may have never had the opportunity to par-

Features – Insight into the Future: part two

7Feature

This is the second and final addition to the Insight into the future project started in my class. In this edition we see a program called Youth in Motion, a call for gender equal-ity, activism, and animal abuse.

Youth in Motion Katie Sheriff

Youth in Motion is a pro-gram that Cape Breton Univer-sity, The Cape Breton Health Recreation Complex, Sport Nova Scotia, Health and Well-ness, the Cape Breton Vic-toria Regional School Board and many more have created. Youth in Motion is a program for grade four students to come to CBU and the Complex for a day to promote the impor-tance of physical activity and healthy eating. Throughout the day students are able to par-ticipate in different stations that are provided by CBU students, staff and volunteers from local communities around CBU. The students are also provided with free healthy snacks and lunches.

The reason I believe that this program is important is for a number of reasons: physical activity, opportunity and com-munity. This program shows stu-dents the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. The program provides students with sports that they may have already played or never played before. Promoting physical activity is important because it helps prevent diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Along with physical activity it gives youth opportunity. Some students who attend this program may have never had the opportunity to par-

ticipate in these sports and may never have been able to come to what CBU and the Com-plex offers. With sharing these activities, some students may be able to gain a sense of self con-fidence by trying new things.

The last point I would like to make is community. Cape Breton University is a com-munity inside Sydney. Having a program like these gets CBU students and the Sydney and surrounding area community to come together. In my opinion I believe that this is very important.

Gender inequalityKim Chant

Gender inequality is an issue affecting each and every one of us. More often than not we do not even realize we are being affected by the issue. This issue is one to look at because it is happening everywhere around us including at home through parenting, relationships, and equalization of household chores, at work through salary, career placements, and harass-ment, and also among many countries and cultures includ-ing Asia and the Malay Mus-lim communities, India and the Sitapur district, and also the United States. Taking a closer look as to how gender inequal-ity is displayed among these cultures… In Asia, the “missing girls” phenomenon continues to surface. This phenomenon shows women losing economic and nutritional resources result-ing in the devaluing of women. In India, an event is held where women make rag dolls and then the next morning have the dolls destroyed by their own broth-

ers. The bashing of the doll symbolizes the brothers of the women bashing their spirits and maintaining power and total dominance. This issue needs to be addressed and quickly not only because of the reasons I have stated previously but also that gender inequality is often argued to be the cause of vul-nerability in society as a whole. I believe that to begin address-ing this issue, we have to work towards removing the gender stereotypes in television adver-tisements. As a society that is growing up with media, and unfortunately being taken over by it, we must address this issue immediately to remove the ste-reotypes that are placed on not only women, but also men. These television advertisements are seriously affecting our soci-ety as a whole and the younger generation who are our future. If we do not address this issue now, who knows what could be in store for us in the future concerning gender inequality.

ActivismMaria LeBlanc

Activism is defined as the policy or action of using vig-orous campaigning to bring about political or social change. When you look at the rights we have today you can trace these rights back to a fight for change, to a group of people who knew that there needed to be change and fought hard for it. Societies of the global north have become apathetic to social movements and activism. What has been forgotten is the con-cept that democracy is a con-stant, not a given. There needs to be active participation and vigilance to maintain any sense of fairness and democracy.

This generation of people under 25 constitutes more than half of the world’s population. We have more access than ever before and have the ability to connect with millions of oth-ers around the world from our homes. We are also seeing a rapid deterioration of the planet due to the rapid development that occurred in the last 100 years. The weather is chang-ing, inequality is deepening, and unrest and violence can be found in nearly every country.

My change for the future is involvement in the form of activism. Becoming involved in the movements for social change is imperative to ensure the world in which future gen-erations live is not even more filled by misery than it currently is. We cannot continue to mea-sure a successful life in mate-rial gains, those of us who are privileged to live in safety with a roof over our head and food in our fridges need to push even harder for change because we live under the safest conditions to do so. We can either continue to complain about the horrible things happening to humans and the environment or we can get out and empower ourselves and others to fight for change.

Preventing Animal AbuseJulia Fong & Lauren Read-man

Animal abuse is when ani-mals are physically or psycho-logically harmed. This also includes neglecting animals. There is usually no real inten-tion behind why people hurt animals, other than the fact they are letting their anger out.

There are some people who may not be aware that they are hurting the animal. For exam-

ple, you get a hamster but you are unaware of how to prop-erly care for that hamster or a snake because you lack the knowledge of what it eats, what its habitat is supposed to be like, and how often you are to clean their enclosure.

Another factor that can be detrimental in the living con-ditions of an animal is their food. Some foods or edible products are not good for ani-mals. For example, chocolate, weed, and turkey skin are not good for dogs- weed is actu-ally worse than chocolate.

In cases of intentional abuse, the abusive actions toward the animal in question tend to be rougher. It has been found that there is a link between inten-tionally abusing an animal and issues around control. People may also use animals as a form of control over their partner as it’s easier to hurt the animal than to hurt the person, “Look what I can do if you don’t listen to me”.

In order to help end ani-mal abuse, education is key. Educate yourself on how to properly treat your pet. Talk to your veterinarian and ask him/her about the animal’s diet and its living arrangement. You can also talk to people at the pet stores and rescue centers as well as conducting your own research on how to care for an animal before you buy it.

It’s important to teach people from a young age how to properly care for animals, through a class pet, or school trips to wildlife parks or animal rescues. If people decide to get a pet, they should find out how that pet should be cared for. Pets need loving homes where they will be loved by their owners.

Features – Insight into the Future: part twoALLISON REDMONDFEATURES EDITOR

Kennedy, Ramsay-Mader, Redmond finish terms at Times Long-time Caper Times employee Mitch Ramsay-Mader will finish his term as editor-in-chief on May 1. Ramsay-Mader has been appointed to the position of Director of Promotions for the CBU Students’ Union and will begin his new job May 1. Ramsay-Mader was hired in October 2011 as business manager after which he served as editor-in-chief for two years. Holly Kennedy, the business director for the past two years, will graduate with a nursing degree in May. Kennedy plans to work in Cape Breton. Allison Redmond, current features editor and past senior correspondent, will also graduate and plans to continue her education.

Accessibility at Cape Breton University

As part of a group project for COMS 2100 last semester I took the time, with an attendant, to check out the accessibility at CBU. We measured ramps, including the two that are outside; checked out the size of elevators, checked out the campus library, and checked all doorways with automatic buttons for accessibility. As an individual in a wheelchair I need to be able to get to my classes. I am able to use all of the ramps on campus but many of them are very narrow for those with a chair as large as mine. This includes the ones outside. During nasty weather conditions I can’t move quickly into the building because of the narrow width of these ramps. Doorways are also a problem for an individual with a power wheeled chair. I was shocked to find that many of the automatic buttons

for accessibility were not working. This would make it very difficult for an individual who can’t get through the door by any other means. A few of the elevators are also very small to hold power wheeled chairs making it difficult for someone in a power wheeled chair to use them. Once I was in the elevator I had no room to turn around so I have to back up out of it. The only available elevator in the library is out back and many do not know about it. The device that is set up by the stairs is very open and scary for someone in a wheelchair. If the power were to go out in the School of Business or in the CE section of the campus I would have no way to get down. I took my concerns to Bret Parlee, Facilities Management Manager. Bret was very nice and helpful in answering my questions. For

instance, evacuating a person in a wheel chair from the second floor of the CE or SSOB, fire wardens have been instructed to move the person to the stairwell, which is a fire protected area, and have someone wait there with the individual until several firemen can carry him/her down. If the fire is threatening in the stairwell the individual is to be moved to a safe area immediately. Furthermore, CBU is the only university in Canada with 100% sprinkler protection. New construction on campus is completed with regards to the National Building Code of Canada legislation regarding barrier free access. The university is currently working on automatic doorway functions to get them all in working order but some delays are to be expected. Regarding the National Building Code perhaps our government needs to revise standard sizes for ramps and doorways considering all wheel chair types and

sizes. So, to answer the question, yes, for the most part, CBU is accessible for those with physical disabilities and in my opinion ranks higher than most universities in Canada in this way.

FRANKIE MACQUEENINTERN

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THINKING ABOUT OUTPERFORMING THE COMPETITION? SO ARE WE.OUR WORLD-RENOWNED FACULTY BRING FRESH THINKING TO THE CLASSROOMS OF OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS WHERE WE ARE PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF BUSINESS LEADERS.

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10 Arts and Lifestyle

The chilly excursions that leave me searching for the best cuisine in Sydney are about to end as another year wraps up nicely with a color-ful little bow. With the knowl-edge that these foodie articles were coming to a close, I deliberated on where my final eating place should

be. Somewhere new to my taste buds was needed. But where?! My faithful partner-in-crime looked at me with a wonderful eureka moment. “What about the Black Spoon?” he asked with hope. Not one to deny such a request, I glee-fully got into my car and we ven-tured all the way over to the Black

Spoon Bistro in North Sydney. Upon entering this quaint little

waterfront restaurant, we were met with warm smiles from the most pleasant wait staff I’ve met in a long time. We were seated at a small table that had a cute light up centerpiece to create an ambiance amid the dark little restaurant. The

atmosphere was so very relaxing and intimate. I felt content just to gab after my order was taken, not even realizing the time passing as we waited. I had ordered the maple curry plate while my companion ordered the pecan crusted chicken. The prices were a tad intimidating but we figured we’d go out with a bang for this particular review.

I must admit that for all the reviews that I have written during

my time at this newspaper, this place won best restaurant of the year in my books. The food was melt-in-your-mouth amazing, the flavors were delectably satisfying to the palate, the wait staff were so friendly and suggestive, the atmosphere was respectable and enticing. I will be visiting this place happily again to try their lunch menu in the future.

visits the Black Spoon BistroHOLLY KENNEDYCAPER TIMES FOOD REVIEWER

EDMONTON (CUP) — A week ago I was sitting in a class-room full of anxious students. We were getting our midterm results back, our first marks received back this term. Think-ing back, I remembered plow-ing through the written response confidently, and felt a tingle of optimism. Maybe I did alright.

Before handing out the exams, our professor stepped out in front of her desk to collectively warn the stu-dents of some mistakes made.

“Some of you had used a phrase in the written por-tion that was called ‘People of Colour,’ or ‘Women of Colour.’ These are inappropriate words and you shouldn’t use them. They originate from slavery, and they’re racist, oppressive terms,” she said. My face heated red; I was one of those students. I was nervous I would be penal-ized. But I wasn’t embarrassed of what I wrote because I don’t think its offensive to use the term People of Colour (PoC).

It could be easy to con-fuse People of Colour for rac-ist slang such as “coloureds” or “coloured people.” Those were slavery phrases created by white

people as an “othering” process. Labelling slaves as a differ-ent colour made them different from the whites. Instead of see-ing a person that deserves the same privileges as the Europe-ans, they saw a colour that was designed or destined for slavery. There’s no connection between PoC and “coloured people.” Not only do they originate from different eras, but they were created for different purposes.

The term People of Colour was made in recent history to define the political experience of non-white citizens and to unify people from various diverse backgrounds on the basis that they have lesser advantages in a society that systemically privi-leges white people. Historian and activist Loretta Ross refers to the National Women’s Confer-ence in 1977 in the USA where black women had to put forward their own specific action plan that addressed their concerns because the conference’s focus was overwhelmingly white-dominant. In doing this, women of different ethnicities wanted inclusion as they identified with the marginalization expe-rienced by black women. The

term Women of Colour (WoC) was a way of connecting them together, to recognize each oth-er’s struggle and stand together in solidarity. So while whites push the label “coloured peo-ple” upon PoC, the term People of Colour is a self-expression.

It’s a phrase circulated in the feminist/womanist corners of the internet today. Websites like Tumblr have given voice to WoC as they can repost feminist articles written by white free-lance journalist feminists and critique their messages; after all, they have been the loudest voices of feminism in paid pub-lishing. Some of the hashtags used on Twitter to discuss the obstacles of WoC have sparked large debate and become trend-ing, like @Karnythia’s #Soli-darityIsForWhiteWomen and @suey_park’s #NotYourAsian-Sidekick, which have made viral headlines in the past year.

Through these online inter-actions, the awareness of inter-sectionality has been brought to the forefront. It is an integral part of third-wave feminism because it includes every woman-iden-tifying person’s cross-sectional status in society that either limits their opportunities or heightens them. WoC feminists have especially examined how

their race and gender combi-nation applies to how they are received in social interactions, in media, in legislation and more. The intersections of privi-lege include your gender, race, class, sexuality, fitness, able-bodiedness, cis or trans identity and a host of other factors. But simply assigning yourself your “race” isn’t always so cut-and-dry. Limitations to the term Peo-ple of Colour have been argued.

As someone that’s techni-cally half-white and half-per-son-of-colour, I have struggled to define my own areas of privi-lege and oppression. I identify as mixed race because I’m bira-cial and that term reflects my experiences with racism. But I have fair (albeit yellow-toned) skin, and for some people I can pass as white. So I then have white-passing privilege, which is not white privilege, as my colour doesn’t reflect my ethnic-ity, my family’s second genera-tion immigration or the various tensions of being mixed race (which could be further explored in a different article). The term People of Colour views every-one through a monoracial lens; you’re either one of them or you’re white. This disservice people of mixed ancestry that appear ethnically ambiguous

and experience specific political dilemmas suited to each person.

The term PoC is a new one in our history and will either con-tinue to thrive on the feminist blogs and become mainstream, or we will soon have new expres-sions and frameworks to define the systemic oppression in soci-ety. I generally use the term Per-son of Colour because I appre-ciate that it recognizes “person” before “colour.” It’s a preferable alternative to “ethnic minority,” which sounds like a dangerous stranger. Of course, if you know someone that rejects the iden-tity Person of Colour, respect it. Though we can discuss its disadvantages in the context of today, and it can be mistaken for racist speech for some peo-ple, its initial intention in 1977 pushed the repressive eugenic agenda of feminism out the win-dow and addressed the experi-ences of all women instead of the popularized White Feminist.

Women of Colour and Intersectionality BRIA SAIDTHE GATEWAY / CUPWIRE

CALLUM COOKECONTRIBUTOR

11Arts and Lifestylevisits the Black Spoon Bistro

Women of Colour and Intersectionality

Welcome to Night Vale is a narrative podcast created by Joseph Fink that first aired June 15, 2012. Night Vale has an interesting place within the scope of podcasts because it has a narrative nature, unlike most with are in a radio show for-mat. But Night Vale’s content is where it brings an amazing and vast narrative that unravels the great lectures of the modern

world. Welcome to Night Vale is a postmodern parody of the modern world using the style of mythology to tell its story.

With the first episode they set up a small town in the middle of the desert within the United States of America called Night Vale. They have a rival town called Desert Bluffs which is home to the company Strex-Corp Synernists Incorporated. Outside of these two towns, there are only desert wastes around. Night Vale has most of the buildings you would assume a small town would have: a bowling alley, an Arby’s, and the like. It is guarded by the Sheriff’s secret police force with is the main policing body within the town. It is unclear whether the city is governed by the Mayor or if she is a figure-head for the mysterious hooded figures of the City Conceal.

Our stories are told through

the perceptive the announcer for Night Vale Public Radio, Cecil Palmer. Cecil is a native to Night Vale and is not fazed by the often odd occurrences that happen in the town. He had a fairly normal up bring in the town, he was selected to be in the Night Vale Boy Scouts where he earned the Suverious radio Host badge and the Advanced Siege-Breaking Tactics Badge. He generally acts happy on the radio but has been shown to jump to anger if the need is there.

Night Vale often takes jabs at people’s fears of the modern day. In the first episode it talks about how to keep your chil-dren safe while they play in the scrub lands and sand wastes. Cecil brushes over the idea that there are multiple types of helicopter that are each danger-ous for the children playing in different ways. Even the heli-copter flown by the Sheriff’s secret police have been known to kidnap children. But he then put an emphasis on how Gato-rade is not healthy for the chil-dren and that you should give them water instead. This mocks how many people will jump to fix a small problem in the world but will often just accept a large one as a fact of life.

There is also mockery about how governments often get

away with frivolous spending and will just spin it any way they can. In the first episode they talk about Night Vale’s new Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area, but Night Vale, being a land locked desert community, has no waterfront for the recreation area and there is no waterfront even near the town. But they just keep insisting that it will be extremely good for the economy in Night Vale. After it became apparent the facilities had failed to bring in any income, the busi-ness association claims that the entire “Harbor and Waterfront Recreation Area” was just a mass hallucination and they did not waste a large sum of money on it. This clearly mocks how most groups cannot accept the failure of any of their projects no matter how unlikely they are to work.

Another example is how they point out how groups can make absurd claims and not need them to back it up. On the radio show Cecil is asked by the Night Vale chapter of the NRA to advertise their bum-per stickers. The stickers states “Guns Don’t Kill People / It’s Impossible To Be Killed By A Gun / We are all invincible to bullets, and it’s a miracle,” as many claim made by groups this claim is outrageous and clearly false. But they can make the claim anyway and do not care about the consequences.

But the major parodies of culture come in both towns; Night Vale and Desert Bluffs. While both are parodies of modern political beliefs, Des-ert Bluffs is a much harsher critic of small government then Night Vale is of large govern-ment. Desert Bluffs as a com-munity has no government but is governed by the company StrexCorp Synernists Incorpo-rated. They are portrayed as a happier, more upbeat town com-pared to Night Vale, though all is not what it appears. It appears that most of, if not all, of Des-ert Bluffs are on mood altering drugs. This is supported by the quote the fact they provide the citizens with “Mood Regula-tors”. In later episodes it is also shown how predatory it would allow the companies to become. It shows StrexCorp buying out and starting to try to take over Night Vale. It also shows that their equivalent of Night Vale Public Radio, Desert Bluff Public Radio, focuses on posi-tive stories and is often filled with pro StrexCorp propaganda.

Night Vale is a softer parody but still does well. It shows how often large political bodies can be bloated, in effect, and corrupt. It mocks how there is a mayor in Night Vale but the mayor does not run the town, the City Council does. There is also the episode which shows that the

city council will misappropriate funds for their own pleasure. In this episode it informs us that they set up a “Pink Floyd Multi-media Laser Spectacular” with-out the knowledge of anyone else in the community. It could also be argued that they also par-ody how people overly respect authority. This is shown in how most of the residents of Night Vale would never dare to break the rules set out by city council, even if they are nonsensical.

Welcome to Night Vale’s style of storytelling is similar to the Greek fables in how it is formed. While the first episode is disjointed compared to the rest of the series, this is impor-tant to how the rest of the series plays out. This first episode touches on the world of Night Vale and some of the people within it. But the later episodes will take one aspect mentioned before and greatly expand on it. For example in an early epi-sode, “The Glow Cloud,” it is mentioned that there is a float-ing cat in the bathroom named Khosheck and he is the sta-tion pet. He is mentioned from time to time in episodes but is greatly expanded on the episode “Visitor.” This style matches a large amount of myths of cul-ture and writings. This shows how Night Vale is a modern mythology and as an important parody works in modern society.

Welcome To Night Vale as Postmodern FolkloreCALLUM COOKECONTRIBUTOR

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12 Arts and Lifestyle

Andrei Markovits or “Andy” as he is commonly referred to is a Political Sci-ence Andrei S. Markovits is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and the Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of Comparative Poli-tics and German Studies at the University of Michigan. He is the author and editor of many books, scholarly articles, con-ference papers, book reviews and newspaper contributions in English and many foreign languages. He most recently attended and gave a presentation at South by South West in Aus-tin, Texas on comparative sports in Europe and North America.

During my interview with him, we decided to tackle a dif-ferent approach, most notably our love for The Grateful Dead. Upon interviewing him, I found him to very thoughtful with his answers, as he told me that he usually never is interviewed for his time travelling with The Grateful Dead as a Deadhead, which is something he honored me in doing. Within the inter-view he discussed when he first heard of and saw the Grate-ful Dead, how Jerry Garcia & Country Joe MacDonald con-trasted, the importance of The Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia within his own life, his favor-ite albums from the band, the band’s upcoming 50th anniver-sary as well as what he learned from travelling with them for so many years… As Jerry Gar-cia once sang in “Truckin’ ”: It really is a “Long, Strange Trip!”

Osty Gale: Starting off, could you tell me a little bit about what you did up until this point, where you were born and grew up?

Andy Markovits: I was born in the West end of Romania in 1948, I grew up there until I was 9 but then I also moved to New York as well as Vienna. I lived in both New York and Vienna from the ages of 9 to 18, and then in 1967 I attended Columbia University; I got five degrees at Columbia University in New York then became an academic at Harvard, then Wes-leyan University in Connecticut and then California Santa Cruz and university of Michigan. I’ve had various visiting appoint-ments in Austria, Israel and Ger-many, you know, various places. But in short, that is my life.

Osty: Whom or what introduced you to the Grateful Dead’s music?

Andy M: Oh very, very simple. It was in September of 1969, The Grateful Dead were playing at The Fillmore East in New York and I went to see them. They were on a double-bill with Country Joe and the Fish. Country Joe was on first and I just found them okay, because he just finished his “one two three for Vietnam thing I thought I was okay but he constantly jumped around and cursed but then at mid-night, I will never forget this, I had already heard of the Dead in 1969, and I’ve already heard Live/Dead or something, and neither Wake Of The Flood or American Beauty had not been released yet but as a young 18 year old kid from the dormitory at Columbia University. So out they came, The Grateful Dead, and it was just exactly the oppo-site, first of all it was totally non-hype. They tuned their instru-

ments for 30 minutes and didn’t say a word to anybody. Then all of a sudden- out of their tuning they launched into this magnifi-cent version of “Morning Dew” and from then on it was just love at first sight, you know? It was slow, it was touching. Jerry’s guitar literally just wept and it was beautiful. That is how I got into The Grateful Dead; at a concert in the fall of 1969 at The Fillmore East in New York City and the rest is history.

Osty: After that, did you travel with them?

Andy M: Well no, I didn’t actually travel WITH them, but what I did do is I went on 6, 8, 9, concerts even, following them on my own. It actually started more for me after I finished my Doctorate Degree from Harvard in 1976. I’m not too sure of the date, it may have been the Fall of ‘75 or ‘76, where I attended a show at The Boston Music Hall on Tremont street, it was this old, beautiful hall in really bad shape and Jerry Garcia had this white guitar at the time and it was with the Godchaux’s - I love Keith’s piano playing - I saw them, and because I wasn’t a student anymore I had more free time to attend their concerts.

Andy: I lived in the East end of Boston at the time from ‘76 to ‘92, and basically whenever they performed at, the Boston Gar-dens for 6-7 nights, I’d usually go to 3 or 4 shows. Or when they performed in Providence, which is only a couple of hours driving distance away, I’d catch a con-cert there as well. Then when I was at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, I’d go to their shows whenever they’d per-form in New Haven or Hartford. I also managed to attend some

shows in Worchester and out on the Cape in ‘81 and ‘82, I also saw them in Lewiston Maine, at an outdoor concert. Basically I saw them a lot in New England, 40- 50 times or more. Mostly they were in Boston because I lived in Boston at the time.

Andy: I also remember going to see them three times at their 1980 Radio City Music Hall shows in New York where they played for 12 nights in a row at the Warfield Theatre. I remember I was teaching at Wesleyan University at the time, and I was driving from New York and I went to see those. In ‘92 I became a prof in Univer-sity of Santa Cruz, which is very near San Francisco, which is like their base. Then I started to see them at the Oakland Coliseum a lot. I also attended a few of their most beloved venues at the Shoreline in Mountainview, Cal-ifornia. It was an outdoor show, with a totally beautiful atmo-sphere. I saw them there often.

Andy: I also attended a Jerry Garcia and David Gris-man show at the Warfield in San Francisco - a wonderful place. I attended the New Year’s Eve show in ‘82 where they brought out that black Rhythm & Blues singer; she was in that movie about Muddy Waters? - What was her name? Etta James! That’s it! Bill Graham also came down as “Father Time” from the ceiling. So I saw them on the West Coast, and then Jerry died in ‘95, which I was in Europe at the time of his death.

Osty: Did you catch any post- Garcia shows with any other reincarnations of the band (Phil & Friends, Furthur, The Dead, etc.?)

Andy: Yes, I also saw the

remaining members in various incarnations - Phil and Friends, The Dead- and in fact the last time I saw them as “The Dead” with Warren Haynes was in May 2009 at the Shoreline I had spent a year at Stanford on a sabbatical from Michigan and I remember Warren Haynes was amazing because he performed with The Dead on Saturday and the Allman Brothers Band on Sunday and I saw them both. The last time I saw anything “Dead” related was this past June, of 2013, in Philadelphia when Jerry’s’ music was being performed by Warren Haynes with various orchestras. He played with the Pittsburgh sym-phony in Philadelphia. Person-ally, I thought it was a failure. I mean, it was lovely to hear, and it was fun and whatnot but it just didn’t work. The Orches-tra was just an accompaniment and I felt the orchestra took over and I thought it just didn’t work.

Osty: The name “Jerry Garcia”; in your own words, explain what he meant to you.

Andy: Oh god...(pauses) Jerry Garcia was a total genius with intense integrity. This guy, was the anti- rock star. He didn’t move on stage, he was this great musician who was unbelievably understated and he was a phe-nomenal musician. To me, Jerry Garcia wasn’t a rock star as such, although he had his own sound. There are more techni-cally advanced guitar players in today’s age, but right from the get-go you could pick out his sound - anytime, anyplace. He was just this really unique guy, so that to me is Jerry Gar-cia. His sound, his integrity, he was never taken up with the mainstream and like I told you

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13Arts and Lifestyle

remaining members in various incarnations - Phil and Friends, The Dead- and in fact the last time I saw them as “The Dead” with Warren Haynes was in May 2009 at the Shoreline I had spent a year at Stanford on a sabbatical from Michigan and I remember Warren Haynes was amazing because he performed with The Dead on Saturday and the Allman Brothers Band on Sunday and I saw them both. The last time I saw anything “Dead” related was this past June, of 2013, in Philadelphia when Jerry’s’ music was being performed by Warren Haynes with various orchestras. He played with the Pittsburgh sym-phony in Philadelphia. Person-ally, I thought it was a failure. I mean, it was lovely to hear, and it was fun and whatnot but it just didn’t work. The Orches-tra was just an accompaniment and I felt the orchestra took over and I thought it just didn’t work.

Osty: The name “Jerry Garcia”; in your own words, explain what he meant to you.

Andy: Oh god...(pauses) Jerry Garcia was a total genius with intense integrity. This guy, was the anti- rock star. He didn’t move on stage, he was this great musician who was unbelievably understated and he was a phe-nomenal musician. To me, Jerry Garcia wasn’t a rock star as such, although he had his own sound. There are more techni-cally advanced guitar players in today’s age, but right from the get-go you could pick out his sound - anytime, anyplace. He was just this really unique guy, so that to me is Jerry Gar-cia. His sound, his integrity, he was never taken up with the mainstream and like I told you

The Osty Gale Interviews: Andrei Markovitsbefore, how I attended upwards to over 100 Grateful Dead con-certs, not including of course, the Jerry Garcia Band concerts.

Andy: Again, with the Jerry Garcia Band I sometimes thought he was rude – to a degree. With the Grateful Dead, when they performed a concert and came out on stage, everyone knew who each musician was. When he toured with the Jerry Garcia Band, Jerry occasion-ally toured with people, with, you know, in this pre-internet and he would never introduce them. He would just basically come out with them, play and leave. He was clearly aloof, but I really liked that, because in a world that’s so full of roll and roll, hype and craziness, I found this to be sort of rude. To me there’s a contrast between Garcia and Country Joe Mac-Donald. He never said anything and just tuned and tuned and tuned. He would just launch into an amazing song right out of the tuning and it would sound amazing! Absolutely amazing!

Andy: Here’s another fas-cinating story - I saw them at Essen in Germany at the Rock-palast concert in 1980 with The Who. This was quite fascinating because not many people knew them in Germany; people knew of them but they weren’t that well known like The Who. They were really a cult band in Europe. So, The Who came out first and the announcer makes it a big deal and The Who went straight into “My Generation” and then fin-ishes their set and exit the stage.

Andy: By now its’ very late- around midnight - and the announcer says: “And now from San Francisco, California: The Grateful Dead!” He announced

the members: Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, and Jerry Garcia... And the audience says nothing! You know? With any other band, they would come out with all the amazing lights, the guitars tuned, and would immediately start playing - I remember seeing The Rolling Stones in Madrid. The announcer announced them: “The Rolling Stones”, and out they came, straight into “Under My Thumb”, completely rehearsed and a great song to kick off a concert. I felt really bad for that German announcer.

Andy: Here are five guys from California and then noth-ing! Then a minute later, you see these guys ambling on the stage, Garcia smoking a ciga-rette and putting it out on his amp; They were completely non- stars you know? Then they would just jam around for a bit, tuning their guitars, and then they started their first set with “Alabama Getaway” and I’m sure many of the non- Dead-head fans that were there were probably really puzzled. They were probably thinking: “What is this?” I still felt really bad for that announcer. (Laughs) That’s my fascinating story for you.

Andy: That was the only time I saw The Grateful Dead outside of The United States. I’m a German Political Sci-ence professor and was in Ger-many at the time on a lecture tour at the time which is how I saw them in Essen. That was a huge European festival until I think ‘86 or ‘87 where all these big bands would perform. Then it just stopped for whatever reason, I don’t really know.

Andy: There’s also this film, which you may have heard of, Festival Express, where The

Dead were on a train travelling through Canada performing shows in the Middle and West-ern parts of Canada. There is an absolutely wonderful version of “New Speedway Boogie” and I think they performed it in Cal-gary or Saskatchewan, some-where around there. I never saw them in Canada though.

Osty: What were some key aspects you learned through-out your travels with the band, as well with other con-cert attendees / Deadheads?

Andy: That’s kind of a very hard question to answer. It was sheer pleasure. I loved hearing Jerry Garcia’s guitar licks and Phil Lesh’s bass lines. I just loved their music. I was one of the “Wharf Rats” (a Type of Deadhead that doesn’t use drugs or smoke during a con-cert), I never got into that at all and it was just the music.

Andy: What also came with it, this was secondary, but, I really got to know some peo-ple! There was this long-haired mathematician who was from the University of Michigan, as well as a Federal judge, whom I think his name was Mark Posner. When you went to the shows, you’d talk with these people and you’d say something like: “See you at the fall tour.” and then you would run into these people at the fall tour. I remember I saw The Grateful Dead in Albany, we stayed at this run-down hotel, but I remember I saw them in Albany on a Saturday sometime in either ‘86 or ‘87. It was pure pleasure, from the drive there to the parking lots to the all the nice people. It’s like asking - “What do you gain from watching an amazing jump shot or from an amazing slap

shot?” or “What do you gain from watching Sid the Kid?” If you’re into hockey it’s inspir-ing. It’s the passion, which is something that you cannot quite convey. You cannot! It’s either you’re completely into it and understand it all or you don’t.

Andy: I would occasionally take some friends along with me and they either got totally into it or they didn’t. Most of them, at least enjoyed the con-cert and most of them clearly understood that they were a spe-cial band and that Garcia was a very special artist. But for that, you don’t travel from Boston to Worchester or to Connecticut to see them. What I’m trying to say is, is that that was clearly a form of passion and that passion can-not be explained. That’s what The Grateful Dead were for me.

Osty: What is your favorite album by the Grateful Dead and why do you hold in high regard compared to their other albums?

Andy: You know, I’m not actually an album fan. I don’t think their albums come close to what they actually were live. To me, I’d rather listen to their Cor-nell University concert (5-8-77) or prefer a Dick’s Picks concert series, which would describe them much better. But if I had to pick an album it would either be American Beauty or Wake of the Flood. I feel those are the best. I love Without a Net (live album released in 1990) and their acoustic album Reckoning. This isn’t what this is about; you can’t sum up the spontaneity and the music within their albums.

Andy: What was so amaz-ing about The Grateful Dead; let’s say like on these extended concert trips I would take, I knew they would literally not

repeat one song. They were amazing. They had this amaz-ing repertoire that they mas-tered. With The Grateful Dead, you were never offered any cli-chés or anything. Some nights they were off, that was totally fine though. The records are okay and fine but the records are pale reflections of what the Grateful Dead were all about. I loved the special exhibit that was held at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for over a year. I went three times, for the entire day because the drive isn’t that far from Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was incredible; at the exhibit they had the whole archive of concerts for anyone to just plug in their headsets and listen to. They had one concert from Hunter College. It was incred-ible to listen to a live version of “Sugaree” from that set. The albums are fun, but they aren’t nearly as spectacular compared to their live sets and shows.

Osty: Do you feel that the media misrepre-sented The Grateful Dead?

Andy: Yes, I feel the media misrepresented The Grateful Dead. I’m very glad you asked that. In Rolling Stone, I know there were quite a few covers of Jerry Garcia with interviews and whatever. John Persalis wrote an article in The New York Times – he wrote some good things about them, but as a whole, basically always some-thing of what everyone loves, everyone else misrepresented from the media and/or didn’t give them the praise that they deserve. I think they deserved a greater amount of recogni-tion - Not just as a movement or as part of “the Hippie Gen-eration” as they are commonly

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14 The Backpages

mentioned in. They were so much more and lasted so much longer. I think they were under-appreciated in some ways, so yes, I absolutely think they were misrepresented by the media.

Osty: Regarding the 50th anniversary, how do you feel the remaining members of The Grateful Dead will commemo-rate their 50th anniversary? What would you like to see done for their 50th anniversary?

Andy: I don’t know what to say... As you can hear, I’ve loved answering questions so far and you’ve not stumped me until now. You should go to my old university where I taught and where they’ve got the whole archive of shows, The University of Santa Cruz, and it’s a phenomenal archive and

no rock band has such an exten-sive collection of shows. The University of Berkeley, Stan-ford, and Santa Cruz were all vying for it, but they decided to give the archive to Santa Cruz, because it’s more of the “Hippie University”, you know, more connections where the Grate-ful Dead performed as well as being near Palo Alto, California.

Andy: I’ve got a Grateful Dead decal on my Michigan licence plate on my car and when I was at Stanford in ‘08-’09, and some guy at the Uni-versity came up to me and said: “Listen man, over there is where Bobby and Jerry performed at in ‘65 in Palo Alto!” Clearly they are a part of the fabric of culture there. Regarding the 50th anni-versary I don’t know. Maybe they’ll do another tribute record

like that one, what was it called? Osty: Was it “Deadicated”?Andy: There you go, you’re

very good! There you go that one. Maybe they should do Deadicated again or maybe they’ll do another concert that Bobby put on for Jerry Garcia’s 70th birthday, called “Move Me Brightly”(Now available on DVD). I actually flew out to go to the San Francisco Giants game on August 1st 2012, cel-ebrating Jerry’s 70th birthday. It was wonderful, Bill Walton actually flew up and was there, as well as Mickey Hart (Drum-mer for The Grateful Dead from ‘67-71, ‘74-’95). I actually got to talk to Mickey Hart for a little bit. It was a huge thing for the San Francisco Giants. In fact it was actually the last time I was on the West Coast. This was the

time Bob Weir (Rhythm guitar-ist for The Grateful Dead) was opening up his studio (TRI Studios) and he got multiple people to perform Jerry’s songs with him, Paul Simon’s son was one of them. Maybe they’ll do something like that, although I have no idea what their 50th Anniversary will be like.

Osty: Thank you for your time Andy.

Andy: It was my plea-sure, thank you. Let me just ask you this: How did you find out about me?

Osty: I Googled you when I was looking for other people to interview about their time travelling and attending Grate-ful Dead shows and I really don’t know how you came up.

Andy: But how did the context of me and The Grate-

ful Dead come up though? This is very interesting to me.

Osty: I really don’t know how it came up.

Andy: Fascinating. I’m con-stantly being interviewed for the all the political things in Crimea and obviously sports and the like, but no one has ever interviewed me about my time with The Grateful Dead and I’m so hon-oured. I was only interviewed in Vienna about the Grateful Dead, but other than that I was never interviewed about my time with The Grateful Dead so thank you very much. You’re very knowl-edgeable and that’s very great for a good interviewer so thank you again. I hope you’ll do justice to the interview. I hope you’ll be well, thanks again!

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Goodbye and good luck!Holly KennedyCongratulations!

Holly will graduate with a nursing degree in May and plans to work in Cape Breton. We wish her all the best in her new career and will miss her. Holly has served as the business director of the Caper Times (and subsequently Caper Media) for the past two years. She has been especially successful in securing new advertising clients while maintaining long-time loyal clients as well.

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Allison began at the Caper Times as a senior correspondent and has since moved up to the level of Features Editor. She has been at the Caper Times (now Caper Media) for two years. Allison will graduate in May and plans to pursue a Master’s degree beginning in the autumn. We wish you all the best of luck next year at grad school!

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While not graduating, Mitch will be leaving Caper Media to serve as Director of Promotion for the CBU Students’ Union next year. Mitch has been at the Caper Times (now Caper Media) since he began university three years ago. He served as Editor-in-Chief for two years and oversaw the Caper Times attain autonomy. Good luck next year!

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