radix MEDIA STUDIES • UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH-HUMBER

FEB. 5, 2014

RADIXONLINE.CA

When the sun goes down in winter months, the reported number of snatch and grab cell phone thefts goes up at Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber.

“It’s been my experience in my career, particularly in post second-ary, that the winter months tend to be more prone to robberies,” said Rob Kilfoyle, director of public safety and emergency management at Humber College. Kilfoyle started the position six months ago and was previously the director of security services at York University for almost four years.

“It doesn’t happen to everyone, but there are people out there that are not really paying attention,” Kilfoyle said.

Waiting for the bus while texting or talking on the phone, listening

Dark months shine light on cell phone thefts

BY RIANNON WESTALLCRIME

The Pan American Games will be coming to the Greater Toronto Area next summer at a cost of around $2.4 billion dollars, a number that has some University of Guelph-Humber students feeling confused.

“I think that one billion dollars is a lot of money to spend on some-thing I have never even heard of,” said third-year Family and Community Social Services (FCSS) student Shannon Duffy.

The Pan American games also had some students confused with a popular dystopian movie series star-ring Jennifer Lawrence.

“Is it like the Hunger Games?” asked Selina Saysinh, also a third-year FCSS student.

The Pan American games will be taking place in Toronto over the course of July 2015 and will bring around 7,000 athletes to the city, according to the game’s website.

The Toronto 2015 Organizing Committee plans to spend around $1.4 billion on upgrades and brand new venues, plus an additional $1 billion on an athlete’s village.

The Pan American games are currently the third largest inter-national sporting games, after the Summer Olympics and the Asian Games. The games feature coun-tries from the North, South and Central America.

Humber College Political

Science professor Chris Irwin thinks the confusion over the high spending costs is normal for any large sporting event.

“Some people will say it’s a waste of public money and that the Pan Am games are not prestigious,” he said. “Others will say however that we’ll get great facilities and the city will have a worldwide presence.”

Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, who represents Ward 4 Etobicoke Centre, sees the positive side of hosting.

“There will be some spin off benefits like some new facilities,” said Lindsay Luby.

“The Etobicoke Olympium

has finally been upgraded,” Lind-say Luby said. “It was falling into despair.”

The city of Toronto has agreed to invest $20 million dollars into the Olympium and it will be used as a training facility during the games.

However, Councillor Lind-say Luby said a downfall of host-ing the games might be traffic and congestion, which are two problems Torontonians face on a daily basis.

Some students also think the Pan American games could be a good idea for the city, as they’ll bring in tourism dollars.

Third-year business student Jaylen McCurbin believes the games might be a success for the city due to their international presence.

“The usage of $2 billion dollars on anything by a municipality is a big figure that cannot go unno-ticed,” said McCurbin.

“However, for a major inter-national event like the Pan Am Games, having them in Toronto will put a lot of money into hotels and travel companies,” added McCurbin.

“Not to mention the revenue stream that will also come from sponsorship through companies that want to be a part of the games and get their brands in the public eye.”

Councillor Mark Grimes, Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore, believes the games are a smart investment for the city that will provide many benefits in the years to come.

“This is a great opportunity for sport and for Toronto to show-case its diversity, assets and attrac-tions on an international stage,” said Grimes.

Students should be extra cautious of brazen robberies during winter months

Pan-Am Games 2015: are they worth it?

to music or even reading are ideal for thieves to act. Cell phone theft can occur whenever a student is distracted.

“Someone will run up and just [grab it] out of your hands,” said Kilfoyle.

Jessica Spape, a psychology profes-sor in Humber’s criminal justice program, said that men who keep their cell phones in their back pockets could be easy targets.

“Criminals don’t want to be in a sticky situation, they want things that are easy…that’s why they’re doing it in the dark.”

Data from the department of public safety at Humber College North Campus shows that only two mobile devices were reported stolen in the summer of 2012. That number jumped that fall and spiked in winter 2013 to 40, more than double from the previous winter.

Data implies that theft of mobile devices is on the rise, even if not all are reported. The total number reported last year was 78, an increase of almost 30 from 2012.

Obula Srikanth, an information technology student, said his friend became a victim about eight months ago while walking in the dark from campus to the Woodbine Centre.

He said his friend was walking alone when a man jumped out and punched her. The man grabbed her cell phone and ran.

Despite the assault, Obula doesn’t view cell phone theft as an issue on school grounds, “I don’t think anyone’s out stealing cell phones.”

Kilfoyle encourages taking a preventative approach, cautioning

students to be aware of their surroundings and hide devices when they’re not in use.

Spape said that walking with others would be a good safety precaution because criminals would have to fend off more students and are unlikely to risk a higher chance of being identified.

“It’s far more intimidating to go up to a whole group,” she said.

Kilfoyle said backing up cell phone data and having the model and serial number on hand can help minimize impact if theft occurs. He also recom-mends that students know how to cancel their service to avoid charges.

To report on-campus crimes, visit the main desk in NX building or call 416-675-8500.

Winning a sporting tournament once is hard enough, but retaining that title for a second straight year is a true feat.

The Humber Women’s team started the New Year by defending their title and taking home the Humber Cup at the second annual curling Bonspiel.

The tournament was held at Weston Golf and Country Club this past month and featured a number of teams including Fanshawe, St. Clair, Seneca and Mohawk.

The Humber Women’s curling team went undefeated, clinging to a great 2-0 record. Sarah Jagger, the skip or team captain, played a huge role in leading her team to victory.

Jagger was named tournament MVP by her peers, an accomplishment that she confessed would not be possi-ble without her teammates.

“All of my team members had a great day and played very well, so I was honoured to be chosen as the MVP. I play four or five days a week, so I guess practice does pay off,” she said.

To Jagger, curling is more than just a sport, it is part of her DNA. A curler for more than twelve years, she has aspirations of one day playing profes-sionally in the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, a big event held by the Cana-dian Curling Association.

“Curling has helped me break out of my shell and become more social and confident while competing at a high level,” Jagger said.

Third-year coach, Cindy Bishop was at the helm for her second straight Bonspiel and believes participating in the tournament is crucial for everyone involved.

“It is great for them to see some of the talent they are going to have to go up against, especially in the provin-cials,” Bishop said.

Bishop believes raising awareness about curling is the sport’s biggest challenge. However, with the Olym-pics around the corner, she is hopeful that more people will give it a shot.

“It’s very hopeful that the Olym-pics tend to bring a bigger spotlight to the game of curling which in turn leads to bigger awareness in colleges and universities,” said Bishop.

The Women’s team head off to Sault St. Marie next month, hoping to see great results at Provincials.

Curling conquest

BY MATTHEW PEDIASSPORTS

Humber women win

PHOTO: KELSEY WESTALL

PHOTO: B+H ARCHITECTS

PHOTO: JESS RAYMOND

The Pan American games will be taking place in Toronto over the course of July 2015 and will bring around 7,000 athletes to the city.

BY JENNIFER KINGPOLITICS

The Pan-Am Games will be coming to the GTA next summer at a cost of $2.4M

A rendering of the Etobicoke Olympium, which is currently under construction. The city plans to invest $20 million into it.

RADIX • UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH-HUMBER FEB. 5, 2014

Tomson Varghese thought it was a shrewd move to take the helm of a student organization that promotes business.

Varghese is the president of DECA-UGH, an award-winning organization dedicated to helping post-second-ary students excel in real-life business situations.

“I realized that to get ahead in the busi-ness world, every student has to stand out among their other counterparts, so I took the leap towards leadership,” said Varghese.

“I simultaneously decided that I would help any and every student who had the same commitment to achieve something bigger than what they would simply obtain inside the classroom.”

DECA is an award-winning organi-zation dedicated to helping post-second-ary students excel in real-life business situations.

Any university can join by putting together a team of executives, recruiting students to serve as delegates and having a faculty advisor to assist with the teams strategic planning and training.

DECA-UGH Vice President Michael Legosz described DECA best when he said, “We basically just help students work on their case skills, analyzing skills and networking skills - all of the skills they will need for business.”

“It’s open to everyone. Our chapter is mostly business students but we are hoping to get different minds into DECA. You analyze and apply things differently.”

DECA-UGH offers training sessions for delegates year-round to help prepare them for Invitational and Provincial competitions.

Although the Invitational competitions are by invitation only, Provincials are open to everyone, making it the biggest compe-tition of the year.

“At Provincials, there’s individual cate-gories and team categories,” said Legosz.

“Individual competitions give you 15 minutes to sit down, analyze and solve a case and then you get 15 minutes to pres-ent to a judge. Team categories, you get around 30 minutes to solve your case with two people and then 15 minutes to present.”

Individual categories include: finan-cial service management, management consulting, fashion marketing and restau-rant management. While team cate-gories include business-to-business, international marketing (business) and accounting.

DECA-UGH delegate Natasha Venditti attended Provincials this year and came away with many lessons that it taught her.

“You get the experience of quick-think-ing because you are given a limited amount of time to come up with this presentation. It forces you to learn problem solving and communication skills.”

HANDLING EDITORS

Jesse EspanaCody Loconte

WRITERS

Michael BrownJennifer King

Kristina KirkaldyCody Loconte

Matthew PediasRiannon Westall

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Michael BrownKristina KirkaldyJess RaymondKelsey Westall

FACULTY ADVISOR

Stephanie Matteis

TECHNICAL ADVISOR, PRINT

Jasmine Kabiling

TECHNICAL ADVISOR, ONLINE

Marc Tavares

CONTACTRadix

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Blvd.Toronto, ON

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The new businessHow do universities balance religious freedoms and protect gender equality?

Religious accommodation sparks student debate

Students and faculty at the Univer-sity of Guelph-Humber are debating reli-gious freedom and gender equality after a recent controversy sparked at York University.

The male student, who was taking an online sociology course, sent a request to his professor seeking an accommodation not to work with his mostly female group in the class’ only in-person component on account of his religious beliefs.

The student’s request was denied and he accepted the decision. Since then, a new policy regarding accommodations and discrimination has been put in place at York.

Jerry Chomyn, UGH program head of media studies, said that if a similar request were to cross his desk, he would have to — like every request before him — accommodate it on a case-by-case basis.

“The goal is to make our education as accessible to everyone as possible and we go to quite great lengths to accommo-date a lot of the different requests, but the bottom line sometimes is we can only go so far in the accommodation,” he said.

DECA focuses on business knowledge and experience

Seeking help is the first step in student mental health

Kylie Waghorn, 23, a third-year psychology student at the Univer-sity of Guelph-Humber has found the confidence to speak out about her struggle with mental illness.

Waghorn knows how additional pressures and responsibilities from attending university can trigger the onset of mental illness. She said it is easy for students to become over-whelmed by financial worries and academic stress.

Waghorn was diagnosed with bipo-lar disorder after her first-year at the school. She said before her diagno-ses it was difficult for her to get out of bed, she felt like she couldn’t motivate herself and her grades were dropping.

“I ended up being hospitalized,” said Waghorn. She said a friend suggested she get help.

She went to Humber’s Counselling Services, which is free to all Humber and University of Guelph-Humber students.

“Every time I’ve been to the coun-selling services they have been noth-ing but welcoming. They have a variety of staff that range in ages, and who have different racial and cultural backgrounds,” said Waghorn.

“I have definitely felt supported in terms of the accommodations that I receive, the free counselling, and the Humber Student Federation’s medi-cal insurance.”

However in terms of student atti-tudes, Waghorn feels there are still many people who are not aware or educated about mental illness.

“There is still a huge stigma surrounding the topic, so there are still people who are kind of hesitant to talk about it.”

She added, “It’s really difficult because people come here for school, and some don’t necessarily care about other things, so the school has to try

to find ways to reach out to them, but you can only reach so many.”

Alice Salamon, Academic Advi-sor for Early Childhood, Family & Community Social Services and Psychology said it is important to try to dismantle the stigma.

“It’s difficult for people because they tend to feel like they are being self-centered if they are struggling. But students need to realize to be kind to themselves, give themselves a break and seek help when they need it.”

Salamon said that Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber are starting to push their mental health first-aid training.

Humber College’s website said the training teaches people how to recognize and respond to mental health crises. This includes providing support until the person seeks profes-sional help.

“The Mental Health Commis-sion of Canada has a mental health first-aid course, and most faculty and staff are starting to do this program. I know most of the academic advisors are mental health first-aid trained,” said Salamon.

She said that students should feel comfortable approaching any faculty or staff.

Andrew Tibbetts, Counsellor at Humber North Counselling Services said students can either phone or book an appointment in room B112, or come in for on-call spots. “You don’t have to be clinically diagnosed with mental health, you can seek this service even if you’re just looking for someone to talk to ... and we will work with you on a plan,” said Tibbetts.

Counselling services are confi-dential, there’s a 24-hour helpline at 1.866.925.5454.

Shattering the stigma

“The key to this is if it in any way violates the norms of Canadian society, I don’t believe we should be changing our society’s values and norms because one person has asked for an accommodation,” said Chomyn.

Originally, Singer wanted to approve the request because it was an online course, and that the request “would have no substantial impact on the experience of other students,” he wrote in an email to his university colleagues.

Rev. Len Thomas is the chaplain for Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber’s interfaith services. He believes that Singer’s reasoning may have been influenced out of fear of the student filing a human rights complaint.

“It just gets to be a confusing boggle for most people. I think the simplest thing is to leave it at the classroom level,” said Thomas.

Thomas said the story opened discus-sion about how to accommodate the needs of the temporal and religious worlds.

“I think faith has a place in the public square because there are so many people from faith backgrounds out there; and because we have so many faith back-grounds co-mingling now — perhaps

BY MICHAEL BROWNRELIGION

“Students need to realize they need to be kind to themselves, give themselves a break and seek help when they need it.”

BY CODY LOCONTEBUSINESS

BY KRISTINA KIRKALDY PSYCHOLOGY

more than ever — we have to find a way to respect them as well as everybody else,” he said.

In regards to the York story, Chomyn believes that the issue was blown largely out of proportion by the media. “I think the York situation was a tempest in a teapot with a lot of hypotheticals,” he said.

“Someone had a belief, someone asked for an accommodation, the accommo-dation was denied, the person was ok with that. I think it was taken well out of proportion by the media wanting a story.”

DECA UGH-LOGO

PHOTO: KRISTINA KIRKALDY

Kylie Waghorn, U. of Guelph-Humber student shares her struggle with mental health.

PHOTO: MICHAEL BROWN

Rev. Len Thomas, UGH and Humber College chaplain.