SPOKEMONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015 CONESTOGA COLLEGE, KITCHENER, ONT. WWW.SPOKEONLINE.COM 46TH YEAR — NO. 20

CSI creates recipe book for students.Page 3

Get cooking!

A L E A R N I N G N E W S R O O M F O R J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S

It’s time to start thinking about snow and slush.Page 7

Winterize your car

FUNDRAISER ADDS A SPLASH OF COLOUR

PHOTO BY CHRISTEL ALLISONMeghan Parkinson (left), a Conestoga College police foundations student, and Allison Howardth stand with coloured powder on their faces on Oct. 24 during the Mental Health Colour Run or Walk at Conestoga College in support of Lutherwood. For story and additional photos, see Page 6.

BY JESSICA PETT

It’s no secret … everyone likes getting discounts. As Conestoga College students, you are on the brink of receiv-ing a multitude of discount-ed tickets and services that many students don’t even know exist. All you have to do to qualify is to graduate.

Once you officially become a Conestoga College alumnus, you have access to over 20 different discounts on things like tickets, services, credit cards, home and auto insur-ance and on-campus benefits. Some available discounts include Hamilton Tiger Cats tickets, Wonderland passes, Centre in the Square admis-sions and Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada passes. Some major affinity partners include National Car Rental, Johnson Inc., an insurance company, and Maryland Bank of North America.

Tim Tribe, Conestoga Col-lege’s chief development offi-cer, said the college contin-ues to form relationships with affinity partners and contrib-

utors in the hopes that alum-ni will keep a relationship with the college in a way that will benefit both parties.

“It is our hope that alum-ni will stay connected with the college. Perhaps they can nominate someone for an Alumni of Distinction or a Premier’s Award. Or, as they go forward in their careers, consider supporting the insti-tution, as their situation allows.”

However, despite the monthly e-newsletter sent out by Alumni Relations and

mail sent out to alumni by the affinity partners them-selves, many former students still aren’t aware that these benefits are even available to them. Brian Major, a recent architecture project facil-ity management graduate, was surprised to hear of the benefits he was now able to receive, and considered how these benefits could raise a sense of familiarity amongst alumni.

“I was not aware of these advantages but it is a good idea as I feel Conestoga does lack an alumni sense of family compared to the major uni-versities in the surrounding area,” said Major. “I think it is a great resource for recent graduates who are possibly looking to travel and/or still need to live on a budget.”

Tribe said in order to access these benefits, alumni must create an account by register-ing online at www.conestoga-community.ca/login-page. Once logged in, alumni can then see a full list of services available through the Office of Develop-ment and Alumni page.

Discounts galore after graduation

BY MICHELLE MAISONVILLE

It can be hard to find time to relax with constant assign-ments, tests and projects that need to be done for school but Conestoga Student Inc. has started a new event aimed at focusing on student wellness.

Jeff Scherer, CSI president, said in previous years CSI held The Yellow Umbrella Project as their mental health awareness campaign but this year the board of directors decided they needed a new campaign.

“Our board felt that it was something we wanted to focus on for longer than just a week,” said Scherer.

That’s how the idea of Mel-low Mondays came to be.

“The goal of Mellow Mon-days is each week to focus on a different type of stu-dent wellness and promote activities for things that they can do to promote better well-ness,” he said.

“A lot of students deal with stress in different ways so as a student association we like to just give them oppor-tunities for other things they can do to deal with stress.”

Some of the past Mellow Monday events have included outdoor games, walks, mas-sages and yoga, however they haven’t all been successful.

“We’ve had hits and miss-es,” he said, adding that they didn’t get a big turnout when they held the guided outdoor walks but other events, like the palm and aura reading, were successful.

“Unfortunately you can’t predict that an event’s not going to be successful … we can’t go back and change it to something else,” Scherer said.

“Some things weren’t suc-cessful so we kind of just look at those and say, ‘Well we just won’t do those again, what else can we do in their place,’ and the ones that were successful, how can we make them better.”

Josh Dunsmore, a first-year protection/security investi-gation student, thought the activities were a good idea and provided something that the college doesn’t have already.

“There’s not much at the college to actually wind down and relax,” Dunsmore said.

However, he thought having it on another day might work a bit better.

“I think it’d be better in the middle of the week because on Monday everybody’s just had the weekend,” he said.

“Having it in the middle of the week would be perfect.”

Lynn Robbins White, a Conestoga College counsel-lor, thought it was a positive event for students.

“I think any opportunity to engage students, breaking down the stigma of mental health, any kind of activity that is promoting wellness can’t be a bad thing,” she said.

Robbins White said it can also be good because stu-dents can go to events like these that are supporting mental health and maybe learn about the other resources that are available on campus.

“(Students may think) if students are promoting this, your government’s support-ing it, it’s an activity, maybe there’s something else that I can get for the wellness of my mental health,” she said.

Having it on Mondays could be a good thing, she said, because sometimes over the weekend students get discon-nected from their friends or something bad could happen that students may need to get away from.

Some upcoming activities for Mellow Mondays include palm and aura readings, Lego and Connectix, media-tion, a drum circle and cross-word and sudoku puzzles. Students can find exact dates on when these events are being held on CSI’s website, www.conestogastudents.com, or on posters hung around the school.

CSI is already looking ahead and planning Mellow Mon-days for next semester.

College wants alumni to stay connected

Get mellow on Mondays

Page 2 s SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015NEWS

Now deep thoughts... with Conestoga College

Random questions answered by random studentsWhat’s the best piece of advice

you’ve ever heard?

“How are you ever going to know if you don’t give it a try?”

Luke Driver,first-year

business administration marketing

“By this time next year, it probably won’t matter.”

Alex Schmitt,first-year

accounting, audit and information technology

“Be kind to everyone you meet – everyone’s going through something.”

Naichel Purewal,first-year

health office administration

“Be your own influence. Don’t let other people’s opinions overpower you.”

Josee Priestap,first-year

paramedic

“Learn to shrug things off –everything happens for a reason.”

Jocelyn Hanson,first-year

broadcast television

“Stay consistent with your work and with anything else that you’re doing. Just stay on top of your game.”

Andrew Piluk,first-year

journalism broadcast

Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!

FILBERT CARTOONS

BY KANDACE GALLANT

If only there were more hours in a day …

People find it hard to fit everything into their sched-ules, such as work, projects, eating and kids, so the first thing to go is exercise. Drew Harvey, faculty member in the fitness and health promotion program, agreed that these things prevent people from getting a good workout in.

“Often the thought process goes like this, ‘I want to exer-cise but I also want to get a jump-start on my research project,’” he said.

Upon entering school full time, students’ priorities start to change. They may have gone to the gym every day before, but now their proj-ects are taking over their free time. Exercising regularly is important for your body and your mind and is beneficial in the long run. It can help improve poor posture and diet and is proven to help pre-vent diseases, according to the Health Discovery website, www.healthdiscovery.net.

“Recognize that any kind of activity is better than no activity,” said Harvey. “The greatest improvements in health occur when you go from no exercise to some exercise. Even if you do not feel like doing an intense workout, a brief walk is far better than nothing.”

He suggested you track your workouts and the exercise you get with a calendar or by using an app. This can help track any improvements you are making, even if it’s just a small one. Seeing your improvements can also help boost your confidence and your mood.

When asked if he had any tips for people to stay moti-vated to work out, Harvey said a normal part of the pro-cess is changing your mind-set from wanting to hang out with friends to wanting to exercise regularly.

“Some days it will be really important to you and other days it won’t,” he said. “Expect your motivation to vary. You can plan for days when your

motivation is low. Strategies to overcome the urge to skip the workout session is neces-sary.”

Ryan Borman, a second-year student in police foundations, said he definitely loses moti-vation some days, but other days he’ll have a lot of energy. “I just try to picture what I want my body to look like and what I want my health to be like in the long run,” he said. “Working out definitely makes me feel better about myself, but when I want to take a break from it, I will.”

Another great way to stay motivated is going to classes. Harvey said you’ll learn new exercises and be social at the same time. But, he said, going to a gym can be intimidat-ing and you’re taking more time for everything, instead of focusing on your exercise.

“Time is required to get to the gym, change in and out of clothing, shower, and so on. For many, a home-based option is more time effective.”

He said people need to ask themselves questions instead of trying to choose between going to a gym or staying at home.

“I recommend having numer-ous options for exercise so the question becomes, ‘What type

of exercise am I going to do today?’ rather than ‘Do I feel like going to the gym today?’”

Even just a five-minute workout everyday can be effective, but being consistent is very important, according to Health Discovery. Stopping and starting again can cause injuries and a lot of unwant-ed strain on your muscles and tendons. Stretching is important too, as it increases flexibility and prepares and warms up your body for the next moves.

People need to remember that workouts can be fun too. Harvey said the most impor-tant factor for fitness fun is including others.

“This might mean a workout buddy, a friend for a ‘walk and talk,’ signing up for rock climb-ing classes or playing sports.”

The Health Discovery web-site states finding upbeat music and funky tunes can help get people in the mood, as well as having something distracting on in the back-ground to keep your mind off of how long you’re working out or what you think your body should look like, such as a movie or Netflix.

Signing up for fun classes like Zumba can help people get in the mood too.

Tips and tricks to stay motivated

PHOTO BY KANDACE GALLANTThe gym at Conestoga College’s Doon campus is available for all full-time students and includes many different types of equipment.

Monday, November 2, 2015 SPOKE s Page 3NEWS

Cooking with Conestoga Students Inc.BY MARISSA CUDDY

Conestoga Students Inc. has created a cookbook for stu-dents who need a little help in the kitchen. The book, which is free, gives advice on how to cook and eat healthy on a student budget.

Jeff Scherer, CSI president, said the board of directors has been talking about a cookbook since he became president a few years ago. However, he said it takes a lot to create a cookbook. All the organiz-ing, design and research on recipes takes time and dedi-cation.

“It’s always been kind of a plan to put together a cook-book for students,” Scherer said, adding the plan was to promote healthier eating for students rather than fast food or dining out, and to promote low cost and easy meals.

Scherer said the cookbook gives students an opportunity to cook relatively easy meals that are cost friendly and have healthier ingredients.

Andrea D’Ambrosio, a reg-istered dietitian and owner of Dietetic Directions, said it is important people see cook-ing nutritiously as budget friendly and that it can be a delicious meal. She said it can

inspire students to get in the kitchen.

Dietitians Canada says 43 per cent of Canadians say they do not cook balanced meals for themselves or their families. Scherer said a per-son coming to college for the first time may experience the difficulties of cooking for themselves and resort to easy, unhealthy meals. The cookbook offers meals that are a healthier choice than mac and cheese or fast food.

Scherer said he hopes that CSI can add to and update the book each year. He said they will wait for feedback and see how popular the book is at the smaller campuses. It is currently only available at the Waterloo and Cambridge campuses and there are about eight recipes in it. Hopefully, the cookbook will be at the Doon campus within the next few weeks.

“The board last year had talked about student sub-missions so if students have family recipes or recipes they came up with, we would have contests,” Scherer said. This is an idea they may run in the future to choose the best or most popular recipes.

“There are many such cook-books out there, some good

and some not so good,” said Keith Muller, the chair of the School of Business and Hospitality. “Students need a reliable and trustworthy source for healthy eating.” He suggests having some cook-ing classes to accompany the book and help students get started cooking.

“Nutrition affects everybody in how they think and how they feel. Eating well helps optimize our health and can help our emotional state,” D’Ambrosio said. This is why it is important students have healthy meals and pay atten-tion to their diet.

Muller and D’Ambrosio have some tips for students on the best ways to be healthy at college. They encourage stu-dents to cook their own meals and eat out less. They also said to plan for extras and put them in the freezer, so they can be heated up later, and learn how to shop wisely because bulk purchasing is not always the best and so much ends up being thrown out.

“I would like to just say when you are able to make your own meals you are in the driver’s seat of your diet. You are in control of the items you put in your meals,”

D’Ambrosio said.Many of the ingredients for

the recipes in the cookbook are healthy. Scherer said the cookbook centres around items a student already has or would want to purchase.

“If students have feedback or comments on it than come in and tell us,” Scherer said. Students who want a cook-book or want to know more can go to CSI’s main office at any campus.

PHOTO BY MARISSA CUDDYThomas Orendi, (left) communications and media producer for CSI, and Jeff Scherer, CSI president, show off the new student cookbook created by CSI.

Just Breathe, Just Run group helps reduce stressBY TAYLOR SCHWEITZER

Deep breath in, deep breath out. On your mark, get set, go!

When it comes to mental health, finding ways to elimi-nate stress and anxiety can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be.

Counselling Services at Conestoga College wants to make the word, “stress,” disap-pear from all aspects of your life. The Just Breathe, Just Run group helps with that by offering tips and ways that can be fun and beneficial for an after school extracurricular activity.

Erin Kravetsky, a counsel-lor at Conestoga College and the facilitator of Just Breathe, Just Run, said running is the best way to calm the mind, regardless of the situation you are in.

“A big thing with running that we try to show in this group is the tip of staying pres-ent. I think that helps to calm the mind,” Kravetsky said. “We’re always worrying about everything. I think one way running can calm us down is because you’re in the present, you’re grounded with your sur-roundings, you’re focused on what is going on right now and that’s important.”

Everyone is encouraged to

join the running group, regard-less whether you are a great runner or not.

“It’s been a really positive experience joining this group,” said Emma Schmidt, a student in Conestoga’s bachelor of pub-lic relations program. “I love showing up every week and doing something active with a group of people. It’s been really nice where you can hold each other accountable and encour-age each other. So, you’re help-ing yourself and others. I think that helps people and that’s why people should join.”

Rebecca Rees, a student in the general arts and science program, said, “The group has made me more aware of men-tal health because we always talk about it. Every day at the end of our run, we do stretches and talk about lessons on men-tal health, as well as working on exercises that can help us out on our own time as a stress reliever.”

The running component of the Just Breathe, Just Run group is eight weeks long, the same time frame as mental health awareness that hap-pens every fall. However, Kravetsky said the group will continue to meet.

“I picked eight weeks for how long I wanted the event

to run because most run-ning events are eight weeks long,” Kravetsky said. “Eight weeks is a good period of time where you can see a difference if you never ran before, but eight weeks also gets us to November and a perfect time

where it’s not snowing yet.” At some point in life, we all

can experience different men-tal health issues. Sometimes we can deal with it on our own and sometimes we need help to get through it. At Conestoga College, students

and faculty are there to help whoever is in need by join-ing groups or talking one-on-one with someone. For more information, call 519-748-5220, ext. 2324 or email Erin Kravetsky at ekravetsky@conestogac.on.ca.

PHOTO BY TAYLOR SCHWEITZER Emma Schmidt, a student in Conestoga’s bachelor of public relations program, practises some rou-tine warm-ups before a run on Oct. 21 on the trails behind Conestoga College. She is a member of the Just Breath, Just Run group which focuses on reducing stress.

I want to live in the days where you had to look some-one up in the telephone book. When you had to put an effort into pursuing a relationship with someone, whether a friendship or more than that. Nowadays you can flex your social muscles over social media platforms. There are, of course, benefits of social media that make our lives as social mammals more efficient. But these platforms are also artificial, and are practically a simula-tion of face-to-face communi-cation. Call me pessimistic, but culturally speaking, we aren’t headed in the right direction.

To rely on social media heavily today is just unhealthy. This social revo-lution is at a point where it’s not bringing us together, but tearing us apart. The ego-tistic upkeep of some social media accounts can be just nauseating. Obsessive social media users are more con-cerned with the message that they are trying to present than discovering what other people are up too.

It’s simple to exhibit confidence from behind a cellphone. Everyone takes advantage of it, including me. We revise and edit mes-

sages and photos to confirm we are coming across just smart enough, just funny enough, or just persuasive enough. Whatever message you want to present, what-ever persona you want to promote, the Internet is your oyster.

The phone app Tinder shows just how far we have gone. The app simply posts an individual in your area, and you assess if he or she meets your standards of appearance by reviewing photos. If you decide to swipe the photo left, you are saying you’re not interested in this person. If you swipe to the right, you are saying you find that individual attractive. If the two same people “swipe right” on each other’s photos, they are considered a match, and will be given the chance to privately message each other. That’s right, a rela-tionship built strictly off of looks. Good luck on the first date, I hope he or she isn’t a

murderer.Isn’t the most attractive

part of an individual on the inside? A little far-fetched, but isn’t that what was advocated on every cartoon show and family sitcom? We promote these norms in our culture, but falter to the effi-ciency of privately swiping people from the comfort of our bedroom.

Naturally we compare our-selves to others. But on social media it’s a whole other level. We compare the num-ber of likes, views, friends, and followers. We know where our friends have gone and where they are going. Through this comparison we are competitive, making sure our message stands out above all others. This obses-sion brings a great amount of added stress to people’s lives.

So don’t be afraid to get old-fashioned, and have the mindset to enjoy the long time tradition of face-to-face communication. Be the social revival. Don’t resort to using apps and gadgets. Spend that time develop-ing your own real-life indi-viduality. Instead of striving for some illusion online, be yourself in person. We are a social species, don’t let us become endangered.

Page 4 s SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015COMMENTARY

Escape the obsession of social media

Feminism not just a fight for women

BY SARA SASILA

A certain F word has been around for years, yet, in today’s world it is a word that makes some people cringe.

Feminism. We will never really understand why people are so against feminism – what is so wrong about fighting for equality?

Some would argue that feminism in today’s society is far dif-ferent than it was years ago. What once meant “a group fight-ing for equality” now means “an anti-male group consisting of bitter women,” which in all cases is completely ludicrous.

Where would we be without feminism?Being a feminist means believing in the power of equality.

However, some say that feminists only believe in the power of other women. That being said, those who say that don’t understand the impact that feminism has had in our era for women.

For centuries, women have and are still fighting for gender equality – socially, politically and economically.

So why are feminists being bashed? Could it be that those who hate feminism aren’t educated about what exactly it means?

With the way our culture and the media treat women, and the immense anti-feminism movements that have been going on for decades, it is difficult for young people to get the right information about feminism and gender equality.

The ever-so-popular actress Shailene Woodley said she is not a feminist because she “loves men.”

“I think the idea of ‘raise women to power, then take the men away from the power’ is never going to work out because you need balance,” she said in an interview. “I don’t know how we as women expect men to respect us because we don’t even seem to respect each other.”

She later goes on to talk about how she considers herself a “humanist” instead.

Emma Watson, of Harry Potter fame, is a United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador. She launched a campaign called HeforShe back in 2014, which aims to get men involved in the gender equality movement.

“I was appointed six months ago and the more I have spo-ken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating,” she said. “If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop. Feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.”

We, as individuals, need to acknowledge that feminism is not just a women’s fight. It is a fight for all those who don’t have a voice. It is a fight for equality for all, which, despite being a problem for centuries, is still a problem today.

The views herein represent the position of the newspaper, not necessarily the author.

Sean Malinowski Opinion

Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contacted for verification.No unsigned letters will be published.Letters should be no longer

than 500 words.Spoke reserves the right to edit any letter for publication.Address correspondence to:

The Editor, Spoke, 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ont., N2G 4M4

Letters are welcome

This is not feminism. Feminism is about equality for all.

SPOKEI S P U B L I S H E D A N D P R O D U C E D W E E K L Y B Y T H E J O U R N A L I S M S T U D E N T S O F C O N E S T O G A C O L L E G E

The views and opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect the views of Conestoga College. Spoke shall not be liable for any damages arising out of errors in advertising beyond the amount paid for the space. Letters to the editor are subject to acceptance or rejection and should be clearly written or typed; a MS Word file would be helpful. Letters must not contain any libellous statements.

Editor: Paul BorehamAssignment Editors: Leah Morrow, Garrett BurchettAdvertising Managers: Sarah Veenstra, Sara SasilaSpoke Online Editors: Kandace Gallant, Joe Weppler, Christel Allison, Matt Linseman

Production Managers: Jessica Hammer, Ashley Nequest, Ethan KompfPhoto Editors (print): Jenna Braun, Marissa Cuddy, Adam Schwartz, Brea BergenPhoto Editors (online): Emmie Siroky, Sean Malinowski, Jason Mota, Jessica Pett

Social Media Editor: Chris Hussey, Mike Stromme, Josh Van OstrandCirculation Manager: Michelle Maisonville, Taylor SchweitzerFaculty Supervisor and Adviser: Christina Jonas

Spoke’s address is 299 Doon Valley Dr., Room 1C30, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 4M4. Phone: 519-748-5220, ext. 3691, 3692, 3693, 3694Fax: 519-748-3534Email: spoke@conestogac.on.caWebsite: www.spokeonline.com

Monday, November 2, 2015 SPOKE s Page 5NEWS

BY SARAH VEENSTRA

It’s a work of art. A modern day Picasso designed to with-stand the simple, mundane activities of everyday life. It’s more than just a manicure.

There’s a new business in town, travelling around, colouring women’s lives in a small but uplifting way.

“There is nothing like work-ing with someone who truly loves what they do,” said long-time client Erin White. “It was evident from the moment I met her that she was a gifted artist.”

Alyssa Allen, an esthetician in Cambridge, created her own business cleverly named Nail’d It, offering clients manicures and waxing in the comfort of their own home.

“It honestly happened by accident,” said Allen. “I didn’t have a space in my own home to do it. So, I thought, why not just go to someone’s house and when I’m done, I can pack up and go? I felt it made a lot of sense. It’s easier to do big-ger groups this way and new moms love it for convenience.”

Since starting the business nearly one year ago, Allen has renovated a small area in her home so clients can come to her but admits 90 per cent still prefer her to go to them.

“A lot of my newer clients will come to my house,” said Allen. “A lot of my Cambridge clients also come to me, or cli-ents who live in Kitchener but work in Cambridge or Guelph will come to me on their way home from work.”

While the bulk of her cli-ents are located in Waterloo Region, Allen finds word of mouth is travelling fast.

“It’s started to trickle out,” said Allen. “I now have a few people in New Hamburg, a few in Brantford, London and even a group of friends in Georgetown that I do a nail

party for when I go. I’m will-ing to go farther, especially if it’s for a group, then it’s totally worth it for me to pack up and go.”

Nail parties, in which a group of three to eight women will get together to all have manicures and their eye-brows waxed and tinted are far more poplar than Allen predicted.

“The one I did two weeks ago was for a girl who got engaged,” said Allen. “It wasn’t for her shower or any-thing, it was just an excuse for everyone to get together. They get together and drink wine and get their nails done. They all hang out or circulate in and out. It’s pretty cool.”

Allen admits that her cli-ents’ dedication is what’s made her so successful in such a short time.

“A client that I have from way back in the day, is in university now in Montreal,” said Allen. “She’ll actually wait to get her nails done until she comes home so she can see me. It’s crazy! I never thought in a million years that a 19-year-old would care

that much about her nails.”What is it that makes Allen

worth the wait? The art.“She has so much passion for

what she does,” said White. “The creativity is inspired and I feel so special I get to wear her artwork on my nails.”

Allen credits her nearly seven-year background in esthetics and her own flare for fashion for her ability to create the coin-size wonders.

“Nails are my life,” said Allen. “It sounds so stupid and cliché but when I’m not doing nails, I’m at home looking up what’s next. Everything that happens from New York Fall Fashion Week to an Aritzia fall/winter collection, I’m making sure I know what’s happening on the runway. I can tell people which colours or patterns are in.”

The top three colours for right now? Allen admits although black, deep maroons

and purple are trending (a normal indication of fall), the “it” colours are whites, greys and a clear nude.

Nail shape of the moment? Allen said it’s something she’s termed the “Kylie,” after Kylie Jenner’s repeated display of long tapered nails with a squared edge, some-thing Allen herself is current-ly sporting. She added that the almond shape is also “not going anywhere for a while.”

“My thing that I love is lin-ear, geometric shapes and patterns,” said Allen. “My love of this seems to be rub-bing off on my clients. They always bring me pictures and I’ll show them my ideas and we collaborate. I feel that’s what they now look for too, lots of lines, lots of dots. You can do a lot with those two.”

A Nail’d It manicure costs $35 for one solid colour or $40 for a manicure with artwork,

lasting anywhere from two to three weeks.

“I feel like I have so much more to bring to the table than Joe down the road who pos-sibly isn’t certified or doesn’t clean his tools,” said Allen. “If you want people to comment on your nails, I guarantee peo-ple will, but by no means do you have to do nail art.”

Allen makes a point of steril-izing her tools between every client and wrapping them in antibacterial packaging that’s sealed and opened only right before each use.

“I try to keep it classy,” she said. “No palm trees please but if you were to ask I would do a palm tree. I would do it in a cool way without the tacky flowers and wispy lines, you know the ones I’m talking about. I would make sure I nailed it.”

For more information go to www.naildit.ca.

Behind the nails

PHOTO BY SARAH VEENSTRAAlyssa Allen shows off the design she painted on her own nails. Allen is the esthetician behind Nail’d It, a business that colours the lives of women.

The cost of parking at Conestoga College is the highest in the region for post-secondary schools. Students can be expected to pay as much as $379 for a two-semester pass. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.

PHOTO BY ADAM SCHWARTZ

PHOTO BY SARAH VEENSTRAAn after shot of a Nail’d It manicure.

THE PRICE ISN’T RIGHT

Page 6 s SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015NEWS

Students participate in fundraiser for mental healthBY CHRISTEL ALLISON

Green- and yellow-coloured powders were the colourful part of a cold, rainy morn-ing when Condors came out to run and walk for mental health.

On Oct. 24, Conestoga Students Inc. held a five-kilo-metre Mental Health Colour Run or Walk to raise money in support of Lutherwood.

Lutherwood is a non-prof-it health and social service organization in Waterloo that provides mental health, employment, housing and family support services to people in Waterloo Region and Wellington County.

Their mental health services include social skills training for youth with autism, family counselling, short-term cri-sis stabilization, safe haven (an alternative to living on the street), and school-based services. Lutherwood is locat-ed at 285 Benjamin Rd. in Waterloo.

The skies were grey and it was raining heavily when students came out with their families and friends to show support and try to have a colour-ful day while making memories they would cherish forever.

“She brought me here,” said Isabella Kalenik, an early childhood education student, as she stood next to the friend who invited her. “It’s fun, I love it.”

The morning started with a special presentation in the Sanctuary on transforming pain into progress by Nova Rutherford, a personal devel-opment coach and speaker. By the time her presenta-tion was over, a few people were in tears and every-one was motivated to be involved regardless of the downpour.

Before running or walk-ing, students had fun dous-ing each other with cups of coloured powder to get in the spirit of the day.

“It’s for a good cause. Why not?” said Beth Schneider, a health science student.

Colour runners and walkers happily made it to the fin-ish line in all their colourful glory. Speed was not the goal of the day, making sure the coloured powder didn’t get in your eyes was.

A free lunch was provided after the run.

Approximately 30 people participated, raising $1,452 for Lutherwood.

PHOTOS BY CHRISTEL ALLISONBeth Schneider, left, a Conestoga health science student, and Isabella Kalenik, an early childhood education student, participated in the Mental Health Colour Run or Walk on Oct. 24.

Darren Falcone (left to right), Rachel Wall and Sarah Shortt throw coloured powder in the air during the event that was organized by CSI.

Conestoga students make the environment colourful with green and yellow powder in support of Lutherwood’s mental health pro-grams.

Showingone’s true colours

Monday, November 2, 2015 SPOKE s Page 7NEWS

Winterize your car

Local gallery hosts psychic soiree

BY BREA BERGEN

Whether you are a believer or a skeptic, visiting a psychic is definitely an experience. You could do just that at the Homer Watson House and Gallery’s fifth annual Psychic Soirée event on Oct. 24.

The sold-out fundraiser pro-vided a comfortable yet elegant atmosphere for people to have readings with the psychics in attendance, roam the gal-lery sharing their experiences and admiring the displays. Proceeds went to planning and programming for the gallery.

In TV shows and movies, psy-chics stereotypically are shown wearing head scarves and ornate jewelry, hovering over crystal balls. These were not part of the event. The Homer Watson psychics were seated at small, round tables in all corners of the room, dressed casually, awaiting their visi-tors, who had scheduled 15- or 30-minute readings.

Ceceillia, one of the psychics, said her family is gifted, some-thing she’s known her whole life. Being 16 years old, she has only been reading other people for about five years. However, she has always seen things, but wasn’t always as accepting of her gift. “Once I hit about (age) 11 or 12, I understood it more,” she said.

Lucy James, who attended the event, said her reading went really well. “She told me some things that were very accurate about my father and my two sons, particularly my younger son,” she said. She was surprised, being a bit of a skeptic, but she said she is a little bit more of a believer

after the session. Staff were also present dur-

ing the event, telling the his-tory and stories of the Homer Watson house, which they believe spirits of the Watson family still visit.

According to the staff, there have been sightings of not only Watson, a famous Canadian painter, but also his sister Phoebe. People have reported seeing a woman dressed in historic clothing, as well as a man wearing suspenders with a long beard, resembling both Phoebe and Homer Watson.

Helena Ball, director of mar-keting and public programs at the gallery, described an experience she had. “I just want to say, I am the biggest skeptic here,” she said before beginning her story. She had been sitting in on an inter-view with a transfigurationist before an event much like this one. The lights turned off, and she could see a woman in old-fashioned clothes, including a hat and a veil, staring at her. “And then I freaked,” she said, “because I’m the biggest skeptic and didn’t think I’d see anything.” After speaking with her colleagues and look-ing at some photographs, it is believed that the woman she saw had been Roxa Watson, Homer Watson’s wife.

Although no sightings were reported on the night of the recent event, one woman did say that her reading had been interrupted. The psy-chic she was speaking with told her he could not read her because there was a lit-tle boy standing beside her, interrupting him. When she looked, no one could be seen.

BY MATT LINSEMAN

The winter season is your vehicle’s worst enemy, especial-ly if you don’t winterize it.

There are some steps you should take before the first snowfall if you want to keep your vehicle in good condition all winter long.

There are some important parts that you must prep for the winter to reduce the chance of breaking down and ensuring you and your vehicle are safe to drive on slippery roads.

“Snow tires are probably the first thing people think of when it comes to preparing for win-ter driving,” said Kevin Bell, a professor in the motive power programs at Conestoga College. “Once the temperature has dropped below 7 C consistently, it’s time to put on your snow tires.”

Make sure that they are suit-able for use in colder weather and low traction conditions like snow and ice. If they aren’t, purchase a good set of winter tires because they are worth the extra cost.

Checking your fluids and changing them if necessary before the snow hits is just as important. Windshield wash-er fluid is often one that is overlooked. There are summer blends which will freeze around 0 C, effecting visibility. When it comes to the quality of washer fluid, it’s well worth spending the extra money on a better brand.

Wiper blades are also an important tool when driving in snowy conditions. With all of the blasting our windshields take, it’s important that we change them at least annually because the winter season is rough on them and they can wear out more quickly.

Also, you never want to end up stranded due to a dead bat-tery. Conducting a quick test can determine your battery’s charge confirming that you’ll be able to start your vehicle in the cold. Most hardware stores offer a maintainer/charger that can be left connected while your vehicle is in storage.

“The heater in your vehicle typically doesn’t require any type of annual service, but you’ll want to make sure it’s working properly before the deep freeze arrives,” said Bell. “For safety reasons, the defrost setting is the most important and is actually part of a pro-vincial safety inspection. Also, most temperature gauges should be running at the half-way mark once your vehicle has warmed up.”

Motorcycles and other power-sport vehicles need to be winterized as well and there are a few things riders should complete before win-ter hits. Some important pro-cedures include fogging the engine with oil (which should only be done by profession-als), adding a fuel stabilizer

to protect the fuel system and changing the oil.

“The corrosion of metal sur-faces including internal engine components can be minimized by using fogging oil,” said Matt Lowry, an instructor in the motorcycle and power-sport vehicle program at Conestoga College. “Fogging oil and WD-40 are ideal products for protection and will even pro-long the life of rubber compo-nents, excluding tires.”

“Once spring rolls around, you should have the vehicle re-inspected for any wear and tear that’s occurred over the winter. This will keep your investment in good condi-tion for the summer months,” said Jeff Oakes, program co-ordinator of the automo-tive fundamental programs at Conestoga College. “Also, don’t forget to remove your winter tires. The softer tread design does not last long on dry pavement.”

There will be a cost for winterizing your vehicle, but it’s worth it. Look for a winter package that includes a winter inspection.

PHOTO BY BREA BERGENA group gathers while Paige Bolta, Homer Watson House and Gallery’s education and administrative assistant, (third from left) tells stories about ghost sightings at the gallery.

PHOTO BY MATT LINSEMANIt’s crucial that you prepare your vehicle for the winter season. There are some components that you risk damaging if you don’t.

CONESTOGA COURTS FUTURE STUDENTS

PHOTO BY MIKE STROMMEProspective Conestoga students gathered at Conestoga College for the student fair that was held on Oct. 21. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.

Page 8 SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015

Monday, November 2, 2015 SPOKE Page 9NEWS

BY JOE WEPPLER

According to www.literacy.ca, 42 per cent of Canadian adults between the ages of 16 and 65 have low literacy skills. As recently as 2013, Statistics Canada found that not even a quarter of work-aged respondents scored above level 3 – the minimum level of proficiency – on the International Adult Literacy Survey.

According to professionals, the key to increasing the liter-acy rate in Canada is simple. Introduce reading to children at an early age.

“It’s incredibly important. It’s the most important thing, as far as I’m concerned,” said Tina Runstedler, the children’s team leader for the Preston branch of Idea Exchange, Cambridge’s ver-sion of a modern, city-wide library service.

“It lets them build a founda-tion for everything in their life, no matter what they’re going to study or what they’re going to do,” she said.

Conestoga students agree with Runstedler.

“It’s vital to me,” said first-year practical nursing stu-dent, Brooke Rier. “It’s impor-tant for children to develop good reading and writing skills in order to ensure suc-cess in both schooling as well as their future careers.”

“(It helps) develop children’s minds towards intelligence and imagination,” said Portia

Bejjany, a second-year televi-sion broadcasting student.

Runstedler played host on Oct. 23 at the Preston library

to around 20 children and their parents for a drop-in morning of songs, crafts, dancing and, most important-

ly, storytime. The story of choice that

week was Big Bear Hug by Nicholas Oldland, an endear-ing tale about a large, tree-hugging bear who comes face to face with an axe-hefting lumberjack. The story, with its simple yet powerful mes-sage of environmentalism and violence avoidance, is the most recent title selected by the Let’s Read committee. Let’s Read is a family literacy initiative in Waterloo Region dedicated to getting children, and their families, reading.

Hosting events across Waterloo Region, Let’s Read is a large proponent of not only teaching and encourag-ing children to read, but also being a role model and using literacy skills in every day life.

Let’s Read urges anyone with children involved in their lives, be it parents, uncles, aunts or siblings, to set a solid example and read with and engage them on a daily basis.

For those who never got in to reading as a hobby at a young age, or are interested in read-ing but don’t know where to start, Runstedler has a tip for you.

“Read whatever you love,” she said. “If you love comic books, games, anything that hooks your interest, read it. Not everyone wants to read heavy political science jour-nals. And you don’t have to. Read what you find interest-ing.”

Children should read daily

PHOTO BY JOE WEPPLERMata Campbell, 2, holds the 2015 Let’s Read Selection of the Year, Big Bear Hug, by Nicholas Oldland at the Preston Library in Cambridge on Oct. 23.

RED CROSS CELEBRATES 100 YEARS IN WATERLOO REGIONCHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS

PHOTO BY EMMIE SIROKYChristmas is only nine weeks away. Finding the perfect gift can be hard if you don’t know the person very well. Visiting local shops is a good way to get ideas. Meagan Gier from Simply Wonderful Toys in Guelph loves giving people ideas. For video story, visit www.spokeonline.com.

PHOTO BY JOSH VAN OSTRANDThe Red Cross celebrated its 100th anniversary in Waterloo Region with an open house at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery on Oct. 24 featuring speakers and historical objects from the organi-zation’s history. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.

Page 10 s SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015FUN & GAMES

AriesMarch 21 -

April 19

AquariusJanuary 20 - February 18

TaurusApril 20 - May 20

LibraSeptember 23 -

October 22

GeminiMay 21 - June 21

ScorpioOctober 23 - November 21

CapricornDecember 22 -

January 19

SagittariusNovember 22 - December 21

CancerJune 22 - July 22

LeoJuly 23 -

August 22

VirgoAugust 23 -

September 22

PiscesFebruary 19 -

March 20

That’s enough time for play. You have to take the bull by the horns and set yourself to work – no more putting it off, or else you’ll end up regretting it.

You know well that life doesn’t come on a silver plat-ter. You enjoy working hard to achieve your goals, so keep on doing the work that makes you happy.

Don’t travel far for a little while. Stay close to your friends and family and express that great sense of humour you have.

Your days are busy with studying and socializing, but take some occasion-al downtime for you and your thoughts. Don’t bottle things up.

Show your friends how much they are appreciated, and don’t be afraid to make new ones. Strike up a conversa-tion with a stranger – you might just hit it off.

You are a bit of a workahol-ic, but everyone needs some time to appreciate what is going on around them. Don’t forget this.

There are many people out there with the same con-cerns as you. Seek them out and solve them together.

Go forth and make all of these things happen. It is written in the

stars.

Horoscope Week of November 2, 2015

Avoid making any large purchases. The price is not right – at least not at the moment.

Don’t forget to take a good, long walk from time to time to enjoy the scenery. The fall colours won’t last forever.

It’s your time of the year. You know you enjoy this kind of weather more than anyone, so make the most of it.

Lighten up. You don’t need so much stress. Enjoy a good laugh with a good friend.

Take some solid time to relax. You may not be able to do so again for a while.

Useless FactsOh Cliff!

Sudoku Puzzle

Word Search

Fill in the grid with digits in such a manner that every row, every column and every 3x3 box accommo-dates the digits 1-9, with-out repeating any.

Male bees will try to attract sex partners with orchid fragrance.

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

Americans are responsible for about 1/5 of the world’s gar-bage annually.

In Utah, it is illegal to swear in front of a dead person.

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

Monday, November 2, 2015 SPOKE s Page 11NEWS

The connective magic of musicBY PAUL BOREHAM

The thick smell of pepper-oni and cheese usually wafts from the Coz-E Corner, which adjoins Subway and Pizza Pizza at Conestoga’s Doon campus. But recently it was filled with the sweet sound of live music.

It is the birth-twangs of a musical community consisting of employees at the college.

The initiative was started by Erin Caldwell, a human resources employee, and Dave Smiderle, chair of the School of Business and Hospitality.

“It’s a time for employees to come together and share creativity with one another, and foster some relationship-building through music shar-ing,” said Caldwell, who has a degree in music and sings professionally outside of her day job at the college.

Smiderle said, “We started these jam sessions as a way to continue building our com-munity here at the college. It doesn’t matter what depart-ment you work for, whether you are faculty, management or administration. What mat-ters is your willingness to share a piece of yourself and a willingness to take a risk by doing so. By connecting in this way, we are strengthen-ing our college as a whole.”

The pizza and sub shop were putting away their dough and toppings when the first musi-cian arrived with electric gui-tar and amp in hand. It wasn’t long before John Brown, a sales events and retail ser-vices employee, had his gui-tar out and was flying up the fingerboard like there was no tomorrow. No wonder – he’s a music teacher at a Long and McQuade music store when not at his day job, he said.

Smiderle arrived next, clad in suit and tie, and promptly strapped his acoustic guitar around his shoulders and strutted over to Brown to discuss the songs they were going to play.

Stefan Pantazi, a health informatics and life sciences professor, followed, and he pulled out his acoustic Dobro guitar. “I haven’t played in many years,” he said, but in a few minutes it was clear he could still carry a tune.

John Fleming, who works at the Welcome Centre in inter-national education, arrived with his electronic drum kit and was soon tap-tapping and making tinkling sounds in time with the others.

As introductions were being made and a screen set up where words and chords to songs were projected, Caldwell arrived with

her voice and got things rolling.They put it all together

and filled the room with song by artists such as The Beatles, Bob Marley, Leonard Skinnard and Coldplay for an hour and a half. Smiderle used his baritone voice to accompa-ny Caldwell. There were stops and starts, the switching of some instruments and some discussion sprinkled through-

out. They ended with a strong version of Summertime, an old jazz tune.

“Summertime, when the livin’ is easy. Fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high … ” sang Caldwell.

There were cheers and talk of the next jam.

Pantazi, while putting his guitar away, said, “I was look-ing forward to playing with

someone, and they’re great. It’s just a matter of getting some songs that we all know. It’s something to look forward to.”

The next jam is Thursday, Nov. 5. They run from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Room 1E04, the Coz-E Corner. Caldwell said students are welcome to drop in and have a listen, and even make some requests.

PHOTO BY PAUL BOREHAMDave Smiderle (from left), chair of the School of Business and Hospitality, John Fleming, who works at the Welcome Centre, Stefan Pantazi, a health informatics and life sciences professor, Erin Caldwell, a human resources employee, and John Brown, a sales events and retail services employee, gather at the Coz-E Corner at Conestoga College’s Doon campus for a jam session.

BY JESSICA HAMMER

Students might not be aware that they can go to school in a different country and get credit for their Conestoga courses. But there are things they should consider first.

Some of the top things are expenses and which country to go to. A lot of research is required.

If a student decides to study abroad, he or she should know it is going to be more expensive. Additional health insurance will be needed and tuition will be higher because Canadian students will be considered international stu-dents. In Canada post-second-ary tuition for Canadians is lower because it is subsidized by both the provincial and fed-eral governments. However, just because tuition is high-er aboard, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. There are other things to consider.

“Some of our programs you can study may be a full 12 months in Australia to get a degree and the alterna-tive in Canada might be you study three years,” said Tao Cruikshank, a career adviser at Conestoga’s Career Hub. “Even though that tuition

in Australia is really expen-sive, at the end of the day because you’re studying for less time it may come out to be the same amount of money.”

Students can get help from various organizations when applying to international schools, trying to find living arrangements and filling out paperwork for visas.

“It’s more for the experi-ence than the actual study-ing,” said Abby Schlupp, a first-year media foundations student, who added that she had some friends who studied abroad last year.

The countries that are most popular are Germany, Australia and England. Students from business and graphic design programs are often the ones

who tend to go overseas.“No matter where you go

you are going to learn a lot about yourself and what your strengths are. It shows a lot

about yourself and you’re much more independent, you can think for yourself and you’re adaptable,” said Cruikshank.

“When you go to a job later, if you can adapt to a whole new country then you could probably adapt well to a com-pany culture.”

Page 12 s SPOKE Monday, November 2, 2015NEWS

Studying abroad a life-changer

A WALK IN THE GARDEN

PHOTO BY ASHLEY NEQUESTCambridge residents enjoy a crisp fall morning in the Cambridge Sculpture Garden, which contains approximately 10 sculptures. Some of them are rotated out every few months. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.

PHOTO BY JESSICA HAMMERTao Cruikshank, a career adviser at the Career Hub, flips to a section in a binder about Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, that provides information about studying abroad.

‘DRINK SMART’ AND ARRIVE HOME ALIVE

PHOTO BY SARA SASILAMothers against Drunk Driving estimates that there are between 1,250 and 1,500 impairment-related crash deaths in Canada each year. Above, Walberto Ramos and Kristin Doerr, two second-year advertising and marketing communication students, promote ‘Drink Smart,’ an organization that brings awareness to the dangers of drunk driving. For video story, go to www.spokeonline.com.

Extensive planning the key to success

“No matter where you go you are going to learn a lot about yourself and

what your strengths are.”

— Tao Cruikshank