SIFE holds Global Entrepreneurship Week events at Lakehead

Amy Szybalski

News Writer

This past Wednesday in the Agora, Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) celebrated Global Entrepreneurship Week. This is an international movement where entrepreneurs gather across the globe to brainstorm new ways of doing things.

“SIFE [was] trying to raise awareness and gauge the community’s awareness of entrepreneurship,” said Madora Day, one of SIFE’s presidents.

The Global Entrepreneurship Week works toward four goals. The first goal is to inspire youth by introducing entrepreneurship to those who would have not considered it their career path.

The second goal is to connect young people across the world, to discover new ideas. The third is to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs.

The final goal is to engage young people in demonstrating to our country’s leaders how entrepreneurship is central to the country’s economic and cultural health.

While raising the awareness of entrepreneurship, SIFE also filmed a Youtube video. The group’s co-president, Kaniz Mouli said, “we are asking students of their view on entrepreneurship and also asking them if they have ever thought of starting up their own business or not.”

“Surprisingly the majority of students know about entrepreneurship but many haven’t thought about starting their own business,” said Mouli.

According to Day, SIFE tries “to create economic opportunities in our community through our projects, and we base our projects on financial literacy and entrepreneurship.”

These projects include information sessions in which people can learn how to budget their money and how the credit card industry works. “We try to teach people how to use their money, and really maximize their wealth,” asserted Day.

In addition to setting up the information station in the Agora, SIFE also held a financial literacy workshop on Friday to teach people budgeting skills to help them live on a fixed income.

SIFE will also be working Paul Martin’s Aboriginal Education Initiative through the Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program to empower students with the knowledge and tools to become successful in their academic and career endeavors. The launch of this program was also this past Friday.

Students looking for more information on SIFE can visit their website at www.sife.org.

Photo by Cole Breiland

Engineers look to solar power bike shack, Judicial Committee ratified, and Centre coordinators give updates

Stacey Goyan

News Editor

Last Thursday’s board meeting saw a surprising motion brought forward by President Dave Grad encouraging LUSU to develop a five-year strategic plan.

The board passed the motion that will see goals set for the student union’s future.

Grad felt the plan would make LUSU more accountable and focused in its direction.

Sustainability commissioner Alex Boulet distributed a tentative timeline for the strategic plan, which would see a committee formed with students, the LUSU executive, and board members. Board of Director, Rochelle Fiorito, felt centre coordinators should also be active on the committee.

Grad stated that the plan would be a lengthy process and would not be finalized in time to present at the Annual General Meeting, which takes place in the spring. The process would involve a survey to collect students’ opinions, and various other stages before being finalized.

No specific details were available regarding what LUSU had in mind for its strategic plan.

In stark contrast to the previous week, Thursday’s meeting saw only two student deputations. The first offered an opinion on the ongoing Life Support debate, while the other was resolved during an in camera session.

After some debate, the board ratified three members of the Judicial Review Committee. Chief Justice Arlette Carrier was on hand to urge the board to action. The committee was set to discuss a pending complaint last week, but was unable to do so, as no committee members were ratified.

Concerns were brought forward that some of the individuals considered for ratification had publicly expressed their opinions on the issue being discussed, and thus, may appear biased.

Carrier told the board they had broken the constitution by not giving a response to the complaint within two business days, and that they ought to act.

Board member Katrina Scheibler-Smith moved the board into recess to allow time for the constitution to be consulted. Grad noted that while he would back the decision of the board, he felt a decision at that time might be rushed. The board ratified the members despite this.

Coordinators from the Aboriginal Awareness Centre, Multicultural Centre, and the Sustainability Initiative were on hand to deliver updates on their respective services.

Sustainability commissioner Alex Boulet outlined his work on campus in promoting food security, the Braun Building courtyard, and composting on campus.

Boulet announced the partnership between the sustainability initiative and a group of engineering students in developing a solar power system for the bike shack.

Zac Trolley, President of the Engineering Students Society, spoke of the project to the board of directors. He asserted that LUSU should promote more students in university projects, such as the parking lot and developing a more efficient lighting system for the library.

“We are designing it to be implemented, not a pie-in-the-sky ideal,” said Trolley on the project.

Brent Kelso spoke to the board about his work to engage more students with the Aboriginal Awareness Centre. The coordinator unveiled the new logo and design for the centre, and showcased a signed hockey stick from Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo, which he plans to raffle off.

Multicultural Centre coordinator Neva Bassingthwaite brought the board up-to-date on the centre’s events thus far in the year. The centre has been busy hosting cultural and hand-drumming workshops, as well as working on the upcoming World AIDS Day Benefit.

The meeting concluded with a pitch from sustainability commissioner Alex Boulet for LUSU to work with Bullfrog Power. LUSU would pay approximately $0.30 per kilowatt-hour for the company to inject an equivalent amount of green energy to offset the power used by LUSU.

Board members Mario Nucci and Andrew Cudowski, who spoke against the pitch, were skeptical of the company. Ultimately LUSU did not adopt a motion on the issue.

Photo by Cole Breiland

Students take part in sleep tunnel experiment to gauge their quality of sleep

Amy Szybalski

News Writer

This past Wednesday in the Agora, the Student Health and Counselling Centre put on a sleep tunnel experiment. The experiment was implemented to help students assess their sleep habits, and to determine solutions to help improve their sleep patterns.

36 students and staff members made their way through the sleep tunnel. In addition, approximately 15 stopped to visit the table, taking either a pamphlet or speaking to one of the nurses available.

Students who went through the tunnel were asked ten questions ranging from, “Do you require an alarm clock in the morning?” to “Do you use stimulants after six o’clock in the evening?”

The experiment revealed that not maintaining the same bedtime and wakeup time from weekdays to weekends is detrimental. Also, the use of stimulants after six pm, and trying harder to sleep when having difficulty falling asleep, are the biggest challenges facing LU staff and students.

“Students tend to have very varied schedules and a lot good sleep habits are very difficult for a student lifestyle,” commented Rhonda Gauthier, Senior registered nurse here at LU. “You need your sleep time to process all the information that you’re getting at school all day.”

Gauthier has a fountain of advice for students, especially around exam time: “Staying up all night to study is really not advisable nor is it beneficial, you’re going to retain less than if you had said, ‘look its midnight I’m going to bed.’”

In regard to the use of stimulants, Rhonda pointed out, “even if you think you’re a person that can drink coffee late at night, you may think that you’re getting effective sleep but your not getting into those deeper sleep levels that allow you to process.”

All people who went through the sleep tunnel learned something about their own sleep habits, and gained some valuable tips to improve their rest.

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

This week: Sports Swag?

From Michael Jordan high-heels to jersey sweater-vests to…signature scents?! Athletes really do have it all, and so could you—if you look hard enough. The world is full of rare and odd sports swag for anybody looking for something out of the ordinary—and willing to break the bank to acquire whatever they “need”.

Sports swag clearly has collector’s item appeal and purpose, but that does not mean the large majority of it is not ridiculously comical. Fancy a pair of Air Jordan VIII high-heels? How about a “Shaq Attaq Pepsi Paq?” Or maybe a NBA skateboard? Want to “smell” like Carmelo Anthony? Just buy his “signature” TAG “Stay Up” body spray. Or better yet, how about some player-specific jersey sweater vests at 175 Euros apiece? These all just go to show that just about anything and everything is sold out there, and that athletes are often associated with some of the most ridiculous swag.

On the more “serious” side of sports swag, how about checking out the new Jordan 25^th Anniversary Sneakers being worn by new Jordan Brand signee Dwyane Wade. The sneakers have a massive transparent window through the middle of the shoe that supposedly represents Michael Jordan’s ability to “see through opponents.” Regardless of the sheer idiocy of having a window on a shoe, which is seemingly connected to our apparent need to see our opponent’s socks, it will still fly off the shelves. Why? It’s collectable sports swag, and it’s connected to Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade. Which gets me to this week’s question: will fans buy anything branded with an athlete’s name or even associated with them on any scale? It certainly looks that way.

Moir shuts out Paladins to lead Lakehead to series opening win on Friday; LU falters in surprising 5-4 shootout loss on Saturday

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Six goals, textbook goaltending, and the continuance of a renewed swagger on defense, all worked in coalescence on Friday night as the Wolves men’s hockey team trounced the RMC Paladins 6-0 at the Constantine Arena in Kingston, Ontario.

While the Wolves offensive talent has yet to really sputter this year, the defensive game certainly has had its lapses here and there. But the defensive effort put forth against the Paladins was certainly a good starting point in addressing the issue.

Building upon last week’s strong closing effort against Toronto was Wolves goaltender Kyle Moir, who tossed aside 22 Paladin shots on the way to his second shutout of the season.

On the offensive end, six different players once again scored in the 6-0 victory for the Wolves.

Scoring in the first period, on the power-play, was Pierre-Marc Guilbault, whose goal also stood up as the game winner when the final horn blew.

Mark Soares, Scott Dobben, Shandor Alphonso, Brock McPherson and Victor Anilane also scored for a Wolves’ team that played with the Paladins all night, outshooting RMC 45-22. McPherson also added two assists for a three point night to tie with teammate Dan Speer, who had three helpers of his own, as LU’s leading scorers.

“It was a long day for us, taking longer than we expected to get to Kingston,” said Thunderwolves head coach Joel Scherban. “We’re happy with how we play and felt we put in a pretty good all-around effort.”

On Saturday, a surprisingly different story unfolded despite a 50-17 shot advantage for the Wolves’ upsetting 5-4 loss in a shootout by the same RMC Paladins that they had breezed past on Friday night. The loss was the Wolves’ first ever to RMC, whom they previously had sported an impressive 9-0-1 record against all-time.

Brock McPherson and Shandor Alphonso each had three-point nights for the Wolves with McPherson potting 2 goals and an assist, and Shandor scoring one in addition to two helpers. Blueliner Ryan Baird added Lakehead’s other goal.

Paul Whalen was the hero for RMC, scoring twice in regulation and adding the shootout winner. Landon Lavictoire and John Hart also tallied for the Paladins.

Goaltending was the biggest story of the contest as RMC’s Andrew Fleming turned aside 46 of 50 shots for the win. LU’s Moir, on the other hand, struggled on the night, sputtering after allowing just one goal in his previous two starts and allowing four goals on 17 shots.

With the weekend split, Lakehead moved to 9-3-2 in OUA play while RMC improved to 4-6-3.

Lakehead will be back on the road again this weekend as they travel to Guelph for Friday and Saturday games against the Gryphons.

Lakehead knocks off York and Laurentian to retain unblemished record; stand at 6-0

Lyle Morissette

Sports Editor

Two big fourth quarters once again were the decisive factors as the Wolves men’s basketball team kept their sizzling start—and undefeated season—on track after a sweep over the York Lions and Laurentian Voyageurs this past weekend.

In what has become common place for the men, another big fourth quarter was the difference, as they beat the York Lions, 89-76, in Toronto this past Friday night. The Wolves outscored the Lions 28-15 in the final frame to close out a game in which they initially trailed 41-37 at halftime.

Big man Yoosrie Salhia led the Wolves with 22 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end as he helped Lakehead out-rebound York 39-26.

Junior guard, Cam Hornby, added 16 points and three steals. While, point guard Greg Carter, and freshman post Ryan Thomson, each had 10.

Vadim Razenberg and Dejan Kravic led the Lions with 16 points apiece, while David Tyndale added 14.

Dramatic fourth quarters have defined the Wolves’ season thus far, being commonly driven by clutch defensive efforts when it really matters—the final quarter of each game.

“We’re happy with our increase in intensity on defence in the second half. I thought we came out flat on defence in the first half, but we made some halftime adjustments to come out with a good win,” said Wolves head coach, Scott Morrison.

To no surprise, Saturday night’s affair against Laurentian drew witness to yet another clutch fourth quarter by the Wolves, which helped them elude the Laurentian Voyageurs in a 78-69 win, in Sudbury.

The Wolves outscored the Voyageurs 23-14 in the crucial final frame to remain undefeated in the OUA regular season, improving their unblemished record to 6-0.

During the year, Lakehead has outscored their opponents 147-85 in the final ten minutes, and Saturday night’s game marked the fifth time in OUA play this year in which LU has overcome a second half deficit to win.

Andrew Hackner led the Pack with 17 points, shooting 7-9 from the field and connecting on 3-4 shots from beyond the arc. Both Greg Carter and Joe Jones added 13 points from the backcourt.

Inside, sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia had a big double-double with 12 point and 12 rebounds.

For Laurentian, Isiah Pasquale knocked down 23 points while forward Matas Tirilis had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Lakehead’s effective ball control was a major factor in the win as the Wolves turned it over just 11 times on the night while grabbing 14 steals, including four by both Jones and Hackner. Despite a very cold night at the free-throw line, 17-31 (54.8%), the Wolves still earned the W by outshooting Laurentian from the field 41.5% to 32.8% for the Voyageurs.

“Obviously we’re happy with another tough effort in the second half,” said coach Morrison.

“We got great efforts from Andrew Hackner and Brendan King, who both played well after struggling a bit last night.  All respect to Laurentian for battling harder than any team we’ve played this year and fighting to the last buzzer.”

Lakehead’s wins set up an enormous battle this upcoming Friday at the Thunderdome where the Wolves will be facing defending CIS champions, the Carleton Ravens in a battle between the only remaining undefeated teams –and the OUA division-leaders– in the conferences.  Perennial contenders, the Ottawa Gee Gees will also make the trip to Thunder Bay to play the Pack on Saturday night. Both games tip off at 8:00 p.m.