SPOKEtuesday, october 14, 2014 conestoga college, Kitchener, ont. www.sPoKeonline.coM 45th year — no. 19

local event raises big money for charity.Page 6

Hockey helps the homeless

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

waterloo shop has the must-have costumes. Page 7

Terrifying is trendy

BY NATHAN BROWN

One in five Canadians is diagnosed with a mental health illness in their life. Conestoga College faculty and staff recognize this, and are helping students get the information they need.

Mental Health Awareness Week was held at the col-lege from Oct. 6 to 10, with Counselling Services man-ning booths that featured a different topic on different forms of mental health every day.

Anxiety, depression, eating disorders and suicide preven-tion were among the topics covered.

“We’re trying to create edu-cation and awareness around mental health,” said Shawna Bernard, a counsellor at the college.

The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Week was to reduce the stigma around

mental health. The counsel-ling office took the opportuni-ty to tell students about what they have to offer.

“It’s an opportunity for us to advertise our services and a good time for students to ask questions they need answered,” Bernard said.

Approximately 20 per cent of Canadians will experience a mental health illness in their lifetime, affecting all ages. Students in post-secondary schools become highly sus-ceptible to mental health ill-nesses due to certain factors such as stress and anxiety. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, approximately five per cent of male youth, and 12 per cent of female youth, between the ages of 12-19, experience a major depressive episode.

Conestoga Students Inc. (CSI) took part in the aware-ness week, holding a Yellow Umbrella Project that focused

on eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health and raising awareness about mental health issues within post-secondary schools.

Jeff Scherer, CSI president, said their plan for the week was to hand out as many resources as possible for stu-dents, and have students sign up for a number of events that they will be holding later in October.

Activities included safe-TALK training, two guest speakers and a Yellow

Umbrella colour run. The project also featured

a human library Oct. 10 in the atrium of the college. Students were provided with one-on-one time to talk to oth-ers about mental health. Two counsellors from the college participated in the event, pro-viding students with informa-tion on counselling services.

Information during the men-tal health week also focused on outside resources, like Here 24/7, a group that helps people access addictions, mental health and crisis ser-vices provided by 12 differ-ent agencies across Waterloo, Wellington and Dufferin. The focus of Here 24/7 is to try to create “one-stop shopping.”

On Oct. 22 a three-hour workshop will be held for stu-dents by safeTALK, a pro-gram that provides suicide alertness training to partici-pants. Students can sign up at the CSI office.

BY JUSTIN FORD

Conestoga College will be represented in the upcoming Boston Marathon by a teach-er.

Roger Enns is a 47-year-old mechanical engineering professor who has completely turned his life around. He will compete in the gruelling 26.2-mile race April 20, 2015.

Enns wasn’t always in peak physical condition, in fact, he didn’t start getting into shape until he turned 42. Now, Enns has astounding drive, passion and fire for running.

“The weight loss was a sec-ondary thing,” Enns said. “It does become an addiction.”

Running helped the former 205-pound Enns get into great shape, which in turn helped him eventually shatter his goal of wanting to be able to run five kilometres.

The Ayr, Ont. native joined a running club in Paris, Ont., and never looked back.

“If I hadn’t committed, if I didn’t have that group, I would have quit,” Enns said.

He became extremely dedi-cated and eventually fell in love with running. His wife and two teenage children have been nothing but supportive.

“They’ve been great,” Enns said. “But they do kind of roll their eyes a bit.

“I don’t even think they notice I’m gone,” he said jokingly.

He runs at least four days a week, sometimes as far as 25 kilometres a day. It’s extreme-ly time-consuming, but beyond rewarding.

Although the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings are still on people’s minds, Enns said he’s not worried about some-thing like that happening again, though he understands global events are always tar-gets.

He said his initial goal for the race was to just finish, but now he wants to finish strong.

Despite qualifying for the mar-athon, Enns does have some regrets. One is that it took him 42 years to get into shape. He hopes now that it is some-thing he’ll always love doing.

“For me, it’s the completion of a bucket list goal that I didn’t dream possible,” he said.

Reducing mental health stigma

Teacher to run in marathon

PHOTO BY NIcOlE NEmETHEligible electors in Cambridge have new ways to vote this year in the Oct. 27 municipal election. Residents can now vote online or by phone. For more information, see video at www.spokeonline.com.

VOTING IN cambrIdGe just gOt A WHOLE LOt EAsIER

Awareness week focuses on education

“it’s an opportunity for us to advertise our ser-

vices and a good time for students to ask questions they need answered.”

— shawna bernard

Page 2 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014NEWs

Now deep thoughts... with Conestoga College

Random questions answered by random students“If you were at a friend’s or

relative’s and you found a dead insect in your salad, what would you do?”

“Slap the person hosting the party.”

Alex Dawkins,first-year

business marketing

“Start flipping out and throw it.”

Dylan Embro,first-year

protection, security and investigation

“Not eat it.”

stephanie samson,first-year

business foundations

“Tell them.”

Kelly Cooke,first-year

fitness and health promotion

“Flick it off and keep eating.”

Patryk Banarik,first-year

business marketing

“Take it out.”

Jordi Cain,second-year

biotechnology

Smile Conestoga, you could be our next respondent!

c-wing classrooms new and Improved

PHOTO BY CArmEN PONCiANOC-wing underwent major renovations this summer. above, andrew Kocher, a third-year graphic design student, works on his assignment in one of the renovated classrooms. See www.spokeonline.com for video.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SPOKE s Page 3NEWs

Information is key in struggle against Ebola The World Health Organization says more than 6,000 infected

BY JACK PARKINsON

Ebola. It is a word that is unfortunately, becoming more and more familiar these days. The first reports this year were in March, with hospital staff in Guinea telling the country’s Ministry of Health about a virus from its south-eastern regions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) later confirmed the disease to be Ebola. In 2013, researchers at the New England Journal of Medicine traced the out-break to a two-year-old girl who died from the virus in Meiliandou, a small village in southeastern Guinea.

Since then Ebola has spread like wildfire across West Africa.

The latest figures from WHO place the number of total infections at more than 6,000 across the three hard-est-hit countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The number of deaths in those

countries is more than 3,000 and WHO recently declared that the situation constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (a PHEIC).

The outbreak meets all the criteria that warrant a PHEIC, and was described by WHO as an “extraordinary event” in their declaration on Aug. 8.

This is the third time in its history that WHO has made such a declaration – the other two times were related to the H1N1 spread in 2009 and the resurgence of polio in May of this year.

The virus has appeared in the United States but has so far only affected a few peo-ple. It has not appeared in Canada.

“I’m advised by our International Education Office that none of Conestoga’s international students come from the areas of West Africa that are experiencing the out-break,” said Brenda Cassidy,

director of corporate com-munications at Conestoga College, in an email.

Conestoga and many post-secondary institutions with international student bodies face a unique problem when it comes to international out-breaks like the current Ebola one. Conestoga has thousands of students using the campus every day, and even a single person could be enough to infect many more.

But, according to Cassidy, the actual risk of infection at Conestoga is almost nonex-istent.

“Given that the incubation period for the disease is two to 21 days, anyone who has been here since early September cannot have contracted the virus,” Cassidy said.

Ebola is not transmitted by air, water or food, but rather through direct contact with bodily fluids. The disease remains in animals most of the time and must make the jump to humans.

These restrictions make spread difficult in North America – one of the contrib-uting reasons Ebola spread so quickly in West Africa is that many religious and funerary practices in the region involve hugging and close physical contact. In Ontario, this is not the case.

Several of the countries hit by Ebola’s spread have underdeveloped health infra-structure. Sierra Leone, for instance, has a population of six million people, yet has only about 130 doctors and just over a thousand nurses.

Above all, the most impor-tant thing is prevention and information. Cassidy stressed that Conestoga has a plan in case Ebola does appear in Ontario or Canada. In that event, Conestoga would follow all guidelines, screening recommendations and precautions issued by local public health officials for preventing the spread of the disease.

“I’m advised by our International Education

Office that none of Conestoga’s international

students come from the areas of West Africa that

are experiencing the outbreak.” — Brenda Cassidy

PreParing for mid-terms

PHOTO BY NATHAN BROWNConestoga biotechnical students formed a study group to help them prepare for upcoming mid- terms at the college. studying with classmates helps students be more successful..

46th bavarian festival held in k-w

PHOTO BY BETH CROusEdebbie spencer, of kitchener, window shops at oktoberfest head-quarters before the opening ceremonies and keg tapping on oct. 10. at 11:30 a.m. being held at kitchener City hall.

Page 4 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014COMMENTARY

Conestoga College may seem like a friendly, cosy and comfortable place for most students, but there is a war raging outside its walls. Parking lots have been caus-ing otherwise good drivers to become reckless.

The problem originates with parking permits. Although Conestoga College has thousands of students flowing through its doors on any given day, the number of parking spots is fixed. The very nature of having a lim-ited number of parking spots available causes the mildest mannered driver to become vicious, almost stalker-like, when hunting for a space. Students are forced to circle full parking lots for a half hour or longer, desperately seeking a free spot, while at the same time checking the clock hoping that they will only be slightly late for class. If a spot does open up, multiple vehicles race toward each other to see who will be the lucky one.

The hunt for parking spots has become such a challenge that students are disregard-ing simple rules of the road in order to obtain that great

spot close to the building. I have witnessed on more than one occasion a motorist nar-rowly missing an unsuspect-ing student who assumed that because the vehicle was slowing down, the driver wouldn’t accelerate despite a vacant parking spot coming into view. Students who are crossing in the crosswalks have the right of way, but now it’s the pedestrians who must be vigilant to ensure they aren’t flattened by a driver who is more concerned about a piece of pavement than a human life.

Something needs to change before it’s too late. Drivers at Conestoga College need to pay more attention to their surroundings when entering a busy school area.

People walking in the crosswalk shouldn’t have to jump back to avoid being hit. Drivers should follow the posted speed limits and allow

enough time to commute, and, subsequently, find park-ing, without running some-one over. The excuse, “I was going to be late for class” doesn’t excuse poor driving.

With winter approaching, treacherous road conditions will only amplify this war between students and vehicles. Taking an extra few minutes before your morning commute to properly clean your vehicle (whether that means defog-ging your windows or brush-ing away the snow) is a must. But, more importantly, taking the time to set your schedule accordingly is essential if you are to avoid being charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Pedestrians shouldn’t feel the need to take to social media in order to shame poor driving, the responsibility falls on drivers to be mindful of their surroundings.

Parking lots have become a battleground

Beth CrouseOpinion

Spoke welcomes letters to the editor. Letters should be signed and include the name and telephone number of the writer. Writers will be contact-ed 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.Email letters to: www.spokeonline.com with the subject line

“Letter to the Editor,” or bring them to Room 1C30 at the Doon campus.

Letters are welcome

Condors need to be cautious when walking in college parking lots.

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: Beth CrouseAssignment Editors: alex Riese, maryssa mcfaddenAdvertising Managers: jack Parkinson, jordan johnstoneSpoke Online Editors: Carson Deshevy-Renouf, Cody mudge, ian mcBride

production Managers: Cassie Tulecki, Carmen Ponciano

photo Editors (print): Nathan Brown, Kali Caudle, justin fordphoto Editors (online): josh Kennedy, Nicole Nemeth, heather Stanley

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Faculty 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

“Parking lots have been causing otherwise good drivers to become

reckless.”

Again at war

BY JORdAN JOhNSTONE

With the Islamic State (IS) taking over swaths of land in Syria and Iraq, committing countless atrocities and war crimes as they do, it has rallied the interna-tional community against them. On Oct. 6 the House of Commons voted to join the United States-led coalition against IS in Iraq.

“Today we are bringing forward a motion asking this House to confirm its confidence for a government deci-sion to join our allies and partners in launching airstrikes against ISIL,” Prime Minster Stephen Harper said in par-liament, according to a press release on the PMO’s website.

Those partners include the United States, United Kingdom, France, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Harper said the mission will focus on Iraq and made it clear Canada would only carry out airstrikes in Syria once that government gave Canada permission to do so. Other allies have already launched airstrikes in Syria, which has been locked in a three-year civil war against IS, other terrorist groups and rebel factions.

He also said Canada would not work with Bashar al Assad’s government forces to combat IS in Syria.

“The revulsion of the Government of Canada to the actions of the Assad regime is well known,” Harper told the house.

Despite joining the Unites States’ 11-year campaign in Iraq, Harper promised Canada’s participation wouldn’t be prolonged.

With no combat troops on the ground and Iraq and Kurdish troops barely hanging on, many wonder what the end strategy will be in order to eliminate the IS threat.

Canada’s part may be a token role, with the support given just to add one more name to the coalition list.

Or maybe Harper has finally gotten Canada involved in a war he wanted be involved in 10 years ago as opposition leader. These bloody campaigns have caused countless loss of life and suffering throughout the Middle East. Let’s just be sure to do it right this time.

Canada’s last campaign in the Middle East didn’t end well and being dragged in to another long ground cam-paign is what IS wants.

The views herein represent the position of the newspa-per, not necessarily the author.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SPOKE s Page 5NEWS

Opportunity of a lifetimeConestoga degree students can experience

nuances of China and JapanBy IaN McBrIdE

Some Conestoga degree students will have the opportunity of a lifetime when they travel to China and Japan in May 2015.

And, it gets better. The two-week trip is a new course that meets one of their elec-tive requirements.

Taking place from May 1-17, the course, titled, cultural, historical and economical overview of Japan and China, builds on last year’s expedi-tion to England and France. Students will explore four cit-ies (two in China and two in Japan), and spend three or four days in each. They will study various aspects of the countries, such as cul-ture, politics, history, econo-my, spirituality and food, and will come to understand the differences between the East and the West.

Daily meetings will be held to discuss course material and activities for the day, and the course evaluation will consist of an exam, daily journal and paper.

Pierre Brunet and Renee Ha are the instructors who will be accompanying the stu-dents to Asia. Brunet is a pro-fessor in Conestoga’s School of Business and Ha is a lec-turer in the School of Liberal Studies.

The cities that will be explored in China are Suzhou and Shanghai, and Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan. Suzhou is a 2,500-year-old city that is now the cultural epicen-tre and Shanghai is a thriv-ing international city that is the economic powerhouse of China. Kyoto is known as the imperial city and cultural soul of Japan and Tokyo is the capital, which has the most populous metropolitan area in the world at approximately 36 million people.

According to Brunet, popu-lation density will be a dras-tic change for students. “The density of population will be the first shock,” he said.

“In the Tokyo subway, dur-ing rush hour, individuals are hired to push people in the wagons. All this is done with care, but that will be unusual for students.”

Adjusting to the new lan-guages will be difficult as well. “Students will be exposed to the writing (through signs and indica-tions) as we travel around. They will also hear the lan-guage. It is certain that they will find this point challen-ging as no one will have any points of reference,” Brunet said.

Safety will not be an issue because China and Japan have excellent track records in terms of low levels of theft and aggression.

The cost of the trip (includ-ing taxes) is $3,650, which covers airfare, local trans-portation, accommodations, breakfast (China only) and museums.

Students interested in signing up for this course should attend one of the 30-minute presentations being held on Oct. 20, 22, 23 or 24 at the Doon or Cambridge campuses. For times and room numbers, or for further information, email Pierre Brunet at jpbrunet@conestogac.on.ca.

The application deadline is Nov. 3.

WEIrd FactS aBOut chINa aNd JapaN

Here are some things about these two Asian powerhouses that you probably didn’t know.

� Table tennis is China’s national sport. � Late-night dancing is illegal in Japan. � 100 million people in China live on less than $1 USD per day. � Japan suffers 1,500 earthquakes every year. � The world’s first paper money was created in China 1,400

years ago. � Japan has just two gun-related homicides per year. � Almost a third of San Francisco’s air pollution comes from

China. � The world’s oldest company operated in Japan from 578 AD

to 2006. � Seventy-eight per cent of software installed in China in 2010

was pirated. � Japanese trains are among the world’s most punctual: their

average delay is just 18 seconds.

Campaigning heatS up with the eleCtion oCt. 27

phOtO By alEx rIESECandidates in the upcoming municipal election gathered at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts in Kitchener for a discussion of the arts on oct. 1. Above, informed citizens take notes on the candidates’ answers to decide which one will get their vote. For video, see www.spokeonline.com.

“Students will be exposed to the writing

(through signs and indications) as we travel

around ... it is certain that they will find this point challenging as no one will have any points of

reference.” — Pierre Brunet

Page 6 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014NEWS

Hockey helps the homelessBY JOSH KENNEDY

People living on the streets, fighting the cold weather and looking for something to eat are getting help from Hockey Helps the Homeless.

The organization was founded in 1996 by a group of Toronto business profession-als who decided to make an annual industry hockey tour-nament into a charity event. It is a volunteer-driven orga-nization that hosts fantasy hockey tournaments in vari-ous Canadian cites including Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. Each team has at least two NHL alumni and three Canadian Women Hockey League alumni playing on it. All of the proceeds go to charities involving the homeless, such as the House of Friendship, which specializes in helping children, youth, men and women with low income and offering them healthier lives by feeding them and provid-ing shelters and supportive housing.

In Waterloo Region there are more than 2,800 people who are homeless.

“Homeless people are affect-ed in many ways, such as mental illness or abuse,” said Mark Wolf, the commit-tee head of the Kitchener-Waterloo men’s team. “And these charities are perfect to get them the help they need.”

The Top 5 fundraising teams this year are Parkway Ford ($3,490), Team WalterFedy ($3,245), Freedom 55 Financial ($785), Waterloo Fire Rescue ($435) and KW Oldtimers ($270). To date,

Hockey Helps the Homeless has raised over $3.5 million in donations.

The organization has many sponsors for their events. Locally they include CTV, Kool FM, KFUN and the Kitchener Rangers.

To assist the organization, the Waterloo Fire Rescue recently held car washes at

their station on Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.

“We are trying to raise money so we can get a team together that is sponsored by the city fire department,” said Fred TenEyck, the captain training officer at Waterloo Fire Rescue Station No. 3. “We are hoping to raise $6,000. One hundred

per cent of the raised funds will be going to local home-less charities.”

The actual hockey tourna-ment will take place on Oct. 24 at RIM Park for those interested in watching the action. Teams will be pro-vided with breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a banquet. Each team member

will receive his own profes-sional personalized jersey. Teams are guaranteed three games and each player must raise at least $350 in dona-tions.

For more information on how to register for this tour-nament and other upcoming events, go to www.hockey-helpsthehomeless.com

PHOTO BY JOSH KENNEDYZack Thibodeau, a pre-service firefighter education and training student at Conestoga, stands by a sign at Waterloo Fire Rescue Station No. 3, which held a car wash Oct. 4 to raise money to help pay for a charity hockey team.

Kitchener resident TakeS heliCOpTeR FOR a SpiN

PHOTO BY CarSON DESHEvY-rENOufkitchener resident andy Borosch takes his electric-powered remote control helicopter out for a spin on Oct. 4 before fall kicks into full gear.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SPOKE s Page 7Feature

It's Almost Time for GhoulBy Matt HOWeLL

Halloween is the one time of the year when you are encouraged to be someone else – whether it is someone humorous or sexy.

David Buckle, operations manager for the Spirit Halloween store in the Bridgeport Plaza, 75 Weber St. N., in Waterloo, said there are definitely some costumes that you will be seeing more of if you are handing out candy to the little monsters this year

“Licensed Disney costumes are always really big with the kids for sure. The movie Frozen was really big this year and every little girl, and boy for that matter, wants a Disney Frozen costume,” Buckle said.

But Halloween isn’t limited to the kids having all the fun, adults can get into the dressing up game too – usually with more X-rated and wacky costumes.

“With girls, especially in a university area like this, it’s kind of cute. With the guys, it’s usually something funny,” Buckle said.

A lot of people will go out and pick a costume off the rack, but there are also

the imaginative folks who will put their own costume together for something completely original.

“We get a lot of people who piece together their own costume so they will grab a mask and add a voice disguiser and different props. It definitely is really popular. I had a woman at the bank ask me how she could make a unicorn costume. Well, we have stuff for that too,” Buckle said.

The store is packed full of things to dress up as, with superhero and zombie-themed costumes taking up most of the space. A wall of masks offers everything from creepy clowns to disgusting monsters.

Now, if you can’t find the perfect costume in the stores or aren’t great at putting something together, there are other options such as ordering online.

Luke Reeve and his girlfriend were walking around in awe at the Spirit Halloween store as they looked at all the

masks and costumes.Pointing at his girlfriend, Reeve said she wants to be Belle from Disney, and Reeve’s girlfriend pointed at him and said she wanted him to be the beast. With a beard and long hair, he was well on his way to making that happen but they had to order

his costume online. As for what they had

planned for the evening, Reeve said, “We want to go to a bar or something.”

With Halloween only a few weeks away, people are flocking to area costume shops.

Chris Garrett, a first-time costume shop employee, said it’s a lot of fun working at Spirit Halloween but he has noticed how busy the store is starting to get.

“Weekends are a little bit crazy compared to during the week, and the closer we get to Halloween, it’s picking up a lot,” Garrett said.

NEWsPage 8 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014

by carsoN dEshEvy-rENouf

There is nothing more sat-isfying in a video game than watching the hours upon hours of work you’ve put in paying off. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one game that delivers that expe-rience on a very bloody silver platter.

Shadow of Mordor is a role-playing game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy realm of “Middle-earth.” The events take place between the sto-ries of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings saga, and tell the tale of Talion, a rang-er captain garrisoned at the Black Gate. On the night the dark lord Sauron returns to Mordor, the Black Gate is overrun, and Talion is forced to watch his wife and son die before he himself is executed.

Talion is resurrected, how-ever, by the spirit of an ancient elf lord and gifted with strange and powerful Wraith abilities. Players take the role of Talion as he fights his way back to Mordor on a quest to exact vengeance upon those who took the ones he loved. Along the way he uncovers the story of both the ancient spirit that now resides with-in him and the infamous Rings of Power.

The gameplay at first seems very reminiscent of that of Assassin’s Creed titles mixed with Batman: Arkham Asylum. A seemingly linear progression of main story quests set in an open, exploration based world with a massive amount of side quests and missions. That is

followed up by surprisingly fun, free flowing combat that is improved by an expansive set of skills, weapon upgrades and abilities to unlock, and polished by never eliminating the true challenging nature of the game. As you play more and more you discover that Shadow of Mordor takes a very original stance on RPGs.

The game’s most funda-mental and recognizable feature is the “Nemesis System.” This system is based around the primary enemies of the game, the “Uruk-hai,” an advanced breed of Tolkien’s “Orcs.” It generates Uruk warriors, captains and war chiefs in organized “warbands” or military units specific to each individual playthrough of the game. Every enemy you encounter is armed with unique abilities, traits and personalities and are shaped by every action the player takes within the game. This plays a huge part in creat-ing a living, breathing and evolving game world.

One of the best parts of Shadow of Mordor is the fact that it makes use of Tolkien’s world without relying sole-ly on fan service. Of course there is talk of Sauron, and you venture through the Black Gate and Mordor but you are never barraged with

the set pieces that defined the books/films. At most, the game fleshes out the sto-ries behind pieces fans had already known and loved. Monolith Productions, the developer of the game, did well to create a solid RPG without having to ride the coattails of the name.

This is not, however, a perfect game. The story, although interesting, falls off as you progress through it. Besides being given a main, clear goal, I found myself lost in it, and not in a good way. Every once in a while, after a long session of slaughtering

Uruk warriors and infiltrat-ing their ranks, I’d pop back into the story and try to prog-ress. Unfortunately, I would find myself wondering why exactly I had to do what I was doing.

Also, although just nit-picking at this point, I’ve taken keen interest in game soundtracks. Games like The Last of Us and Wolfenstein: The New Order had soundtracks that drew me in and immersed me further into the game. Shadow of Mordor, however, never really had me stopping my game just to appreciate what the compos-

ers had done. Everything just seemed to blend in and never made me feel like the awe-some killing machine I was like Wolfenstein did.

Shadow of Mordor puts a fresh face on Tolkien’s fan-tasy world like no other. Additions like the “Nemesis System” overshadow the few flaws that do exist and give hours upon hours of gaming possibility. Even with a story that is lacklustre, this is by far one of the best games I have played in a long time, and I strongly recommend it to Tolkien and RPG fans alike.

a walk through Mordor

INtErNEt photoShadow of Mordor looks into the life surrounding Middle-earth and the struggles of a man trying to exact revenge.

by Maryssa McfaddEN

The story of broke college stu-dents struggling to pay for all their school and personal needs and eating ramen noodles for weeks on end is one which has been told plenty of times before. Yet, now, something new has been added to the tale.

It’s Poshmark – a free, trendy mobile app for iPhone and Android which allows people to buy, sell and browse clothing and accessories right from their phone.

Although it is currently only available in the U.S., they hope to be available in Canada soon.

Created in 2011 by Manish Chandra and co-founded by Gautam Golwala, Chetan Pungaliya and Tracy Sun, the idea was first formed when Chandra looked at his closet and saw piles of his wife’s shop-ping bags filled with unworn

items. His vision was to make buying and selling lightly worn or new clothes easier for people by making a platform to take pictures of clothes and upload them to a virtual closet for oth-ers to look at and buy if they’re interested.

The app has quickly gained popularity since being cre-ated three years ago and has even been invested in by famous actor, Ashton Kutcher.

Not only can Poshmark help clear a closet of unwant-ed items, according to the app’s publicist, it can also act as a source of income and is a right fit for anyone.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a high school student looking to make some extra allowance, a stay-at-home mom who wants to make another income, a businesswoman looking for a new outfit for a client meet-ing, or a trendy fashionista

looking for the latest styles – Poshmark is for you,” said Joanna Riedl, Poshmark’s spokesperson and publicist.

While there are multiple websites available to buy and sell clothes, Riedl believes Poshmark has qualities which set it apart from its competi-tors.

“We’ve built something that brings these real-world interactions to the online marketplace, and it’s addic-tive. Our users are spend-ing 20-25 minutes in the app daily. These women want to connect with each other. We have found that women come to Poshmark to buy and sell and they stay on the app because of the relationships they establish,” she said.

Another unique and added benefit is the way Poshmark acts as a middleman to the buyer and seller of which helps to make both people

happy.When an item is sold on

Poshmark, the seller receives an email with a free shipping label to print out and fasten to her package before taking it to the post office. Poshmark then tracks the item in the app until it reaches the buyer who, at that time, will get a notification in the app to accept the sale. They have three days to report a problem if the item is damaged or dif-ferent than it was described. Once they accept the sale, Poshmark releases the pay-ment to the seller.

“By acting as a mediator and customer service provid-er, Poshmark has kept the process of buying and selling items within the marketplace safe and simple for all of its users,” Riedl said.

While some competitive platforms have restrictions on what products people on their

site can sell, Poshmark allows users to sell virtually any type of clothing and accessories, anything from forever 21 to Michael Kors.

“We allow all gently used and new women’s clothing and accessories and you’ll get them at prices up to 70 per cent off retail. Our most popular categories are handbags and accessories, shoes and dresses and skirts,” Riedl said.

Since being created, many college students have started using the app as a way to pay for college and university tuition. A 21-year-old fashion merchandising student was even shown on Good Morning America after raising $80,000 since she started on the app in 2012.

For more information on Poshmark visit www.posh-mark.com or search Poshmark on your iPhone’s or Android’s app store.

Poshmark app turns clothing into cash

Video Game

Review

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SPOKE s Page 9feature

Bistro serves more than burgers

The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro, which opened on Fairway Road in Kitchener on Sept. 19, held a charity event on Sept. 30 to raise money for Special Olympics – Kitchener-Waterloo.

PHOtOs BY

kali caudle

BY kali caudle

Not only does The WORKS serve a wide variety of burg-ers, they also serve them in a community-oriented atmo-sphere.

The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro opened its new-est restaurant in Kitchener on Sept. 19 and held a Free Burger Day on Sept. 30 where diners made donations instead of paying for their meal.

Shirley MacLean is the owner and operator of the new restaurant and also owns franchises in Waterloo and Kingston.

In addition to being known for its philanthropic work, the restaurant chain is known for its local favourite burgers that specifically reflect each community.

MacLean personally named the “local faves” burgers which are all connected to the Kitchener community. They include: the Cops & Rangers burger which represents the Waterloo Regional Police and the Kitchener Rangers; the Onkel Hans burger which was named for the Oktoberfest mascot; the Kitchener Sink which is a play on the kitchen sink; Fire Station No. 4 which represents the local fire department; and the Magic Carpet Ride which represents one of Chicopee’s trails.

She didn’t hesitate when

she was given the opportunity to choose a charity to donate the proceeds to.

MacLean grew up in the hockey world.

“My father was a junior hock-ey coach who always had an intellectually challenged per-son on the team as the water boy or as the stick boy, so I grew up always seeing that.” So, it was an easy decision for her to choose Special Olympics – Kitchener-Waterloo.

The Free Burger Day ini-tiative is a prime example of why they are not just a regular restaurant – they also care about the neighbourhood and the community.

In a Sept. 29 article on 570 News’ website, Special Olympics coach Julie Wetzler said they’re very grateful to be on the receiving end of the donation.

MacLean said The WORKS does not do these events all the time, but they do different charitable events throughout the year to support Kitchener charities.

The restaurant, which is located at 589 Fairway Rd. S., is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Yvonne Fernandes, Kitchener Ward 4 councillor, enjoys her Tower-o-Rings at The WORKS.

The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro in Kitchener held a Free Burger Day on Sept. 30 where diners made donations to Special Olympics – Kitchener-Waterloo rather than paying for their meals.

Owner Shirley MacLean (from left), Special Olympics K-W Coach Julie Wetzel, marketing officer Bruce Miller, and (in front) Special Olympics K-W downhill skier, Alaina MacDonald, all attended the launch of The WORKS.

“My father was a junior hockey coach who always had an intellectually chal-lenged person on the team as the water boy or as the

stick boy, so I grew up always seeking that.”

— Shirley MacLean

Page 10 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014fun & 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

Keep your emotions to yourself and they will be attracted to you. They love activities so suggest out-door ones, to spice it up.

When a Capricorn feels safe, they will open up about their emotions. They appreciate practical and useful gifts.

When attracting an Aquarius, communication is key. When planning a date, variety is best. Think of interesting things to do, not the usual.

Pisces like adventure and social events. Take them somewhere new and try a variety of different things. Make them feel comfort-able with you.

Geminis love to talk. Be knowledgeable about multi-ple topics in order to impress a Gemini. Speak your mind and engage in a friendly debate.

Shower Leos with compli-ments, they love the atten-tion even if you’re faking it. Leos love to be enter-tained, give them something to laugh about.

Make sure your conversation has a conclusion, Virgos dis-like topics that go nowhere. Impress them with facts and details.

The stars have spoken.

Horoscope Week of October 14, 2014

Let Aries know that you admire them, they thrive for admiration. Give them lots of compliments and engage in deep conversations.

Don’t rush into a relation-ship with a Taurus, they are patient and expect oth-ers to be as well. They are amused by humour, make them laugh.

Listen closely, Scorpios always have something interesting to say. Don’t hide things from them, they need to know what’s going on at all times.

Libras love to talk. They will talk about anything, but mainly focus on them-selves. Be yourself around Libras and you won’t run into any complications.

Be honest and upfront about your feelings from the begin-ning. Don’t lead them on, if you’re not willing to provide a long-term relationship.

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.

More than 30 per cent of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

Termites have been known to eat food twice as fast when heavy metal music is playing.

All female bees in a given hive are sisters.

Owls are the only birds that can see the colour blue.

The Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was introduced in England in 1965.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 SPOKE s Page 11NEWS

Curator thinks outside of the boxBY CODY MUDGE

Hands-on isn’t a term that you would usually associate with an art exhibition. And for good reason. Works of art are easily damaged from fin-gernails, negligence, oily or sweaty palms or deliberate vandalism. At the current exhibition at Waterloo’s Clay and Glass Museum, entitled Archive Fever!, the idea is to buck that trend and put the show into your hands.

Admission is free for the exhibit, which runs through Jan. 4, 2015, and is curated by Krista Blake, a veteran curator of 20 years. Blake’s inspiration came from Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules and Jorge Luis Borges’s short story The Library of Babel.

The exhibit consists of many different boxes. Blake contacted artists, musicians, authors and scientists and asked if they would be willing to fill their boxes with what-ever they wanted. The idea is to select a box at random and catalogue its contents in your mind through hands-on dis-covery. Sometimes a telling clue will give away the box-

filler, but many times Blake will have to provide an answer as to whose belongings you’re rummaging through.

“I like working with differ-ent people and changing the status quo of what you expect from an art show,” Blake said.

Some of the boxes contain favourite records or books usually identifiable as for-mative teenage forays that helped mould an artist or sci-entist. The stuffed head of a real wolf can be found in one. Another box, the only one of its kind, featured some erotic art which set it apart from the grey, spartan uniformity of the rest. Several others fea-tured the first book published by the box-filler, giving away their identity.

When asked which box was her favourite Blake simply shook her head. “I love them all. Some are very simple and get right to the point. Others are very elegant or personal.”

As visitors work their way through the various archives they’re being archived as well. A time machine sculp-ture by Pascal Dufaux centres the exhibition room. It’s a closed-circuit television cam-

era on a rotating table that displays what was filmed 45 seconds earlier onto a projec-tor screen. It’s surreal to see yourself on film but not have it react to your current move-

ments. All of this combines to make the show an expression of how we perceive time and information.

“You’re spellbound for a second. I call it the Houdini

moment, you don’t know what you’re going to get and then you find out. The small space in between those moments is perfect,” Blake said, describ-ing her favourite moment.

PHOTO BY CODY MUDGEKrista Blake, a curator at the Clay and Glass Museum in Waterloo, wants people of all ages to come and experience their interactive art exhibit.

CONESTOGA LAYS OUT NEW WELCOME MAT

PHOTO BY jUSTiN fOrDBrenda Van Beers, a Welcome Centre representative, works diligently in the newly renovated Student Client Services Building. The renovation was approximately a nine-month project with the goal of providing a front door to Conestoga visitors, clients and prospective students at the Doon campus. A new Welcome Centre was the main focus of the renovation project. It was ready for the first week of school.

Page 12 s SPOKE Tuesday, October 14, 2014NEWS

cyclists raise money AT ride for refuge evenT

PHOTOS BY HEaTHEr STaNlEYriders power through the cold and rain to raise money for charities during the ride for refuge event in Bloomingdale, ont. on oct. 4. for video see www.spokeonline.com.

condors soccer TeAm suffers defeAT

PHOTO BY jOrdaN jOHNSTONECondors’ Alex rose steals the ball from a sheridan Bruin on sept. 30 in Kitchener. The Condors lost 6-1.