Million Dollar Bonus

Government grants additional funding for disabled

Evan French | NEWS REPORTER

Humber College will receive nearly $1 million from the McGuinty government, as part of a new plan to ensure students with disabilities succeed in their studies.

“Full-time students with disabilities are the ones who will benefit,” said an excited Judy Harvey, dean of student services. “Because a reduced course load is an essential requirement for them, they usually wind up paying for the program several times over.”

Until now students with disabilities have paid the same tuition for courses they may have had to repeat at the end of their programs. Harvey said the new changes will make it financially possible for students with disabilities to succeed.

Students who need more time to complete their studies will only pay $20 for each extra course.

Harvey said that although she is thrilled to have more money available, change has been a long time coming.

“What has been added is now covering our costs. We were running deficits. Now they’re meeting our needs, in terms of usage,” she said.

Chris Bentley, minister of training, was at Humber’s Lakeshore campus last week to announce that more than $40 million had been set aside to help students with disabilities enrolled in post-secondary programs. The sum includes a $4 million contribution as part of the Access to Opportunities strategy, designed to provide students with disabilities new services.

Humber custodial staff clean up and dish out

Jordana Stier | LIFE REPORTER

Cleaning up vomit, feces and used condoms is just another day for Humber’s janitorial staff.

“Somebody’s got to do it,” said Joel Umana, manager of custodial operations.

Finding the brutish leavings of people with barnyard manners in bathrooms – and sometimes hallways – is something that custodial staff have becomed accustomed to.

“People get sick and then they just (vomit) all over the toilet seat and the wall,” Umana said.

She said the worst thing to clean up is puke.

“People who don’t make it to the toilet, puke all over the floor or in the sink… and in the hallways,” Umana said.

Working as a janitor for 17 years and at Humber for nine, Umana knows how to brace himself for the mess students leave behind.

Low event turnout disappoints

Daria Locke | IN FOCUS REPORTER

HSF has issued a call to clubs around campus to get involved with Black History Month due to unexpectedly low participation so far.

“We’re disappointed (in) the lack of involvement from the clubs around campus,” said Aaron Miller, events co-ordinator for the HSF. “We didn’t get as much response from them as we had hoped for. There is still time for them(students) to get involved.”

“It is important to put on these events because we have a diverse student population at Humber,” Miller said.

Guelph-Humber has also had some problems getting this year’s celebration of culture off the ground. Randi Standford, a first-year public relations student at Guelph-Humber had approached the HSF to collaborate on some events during the upcoming month.

“It’s such an important part of Canadian history,” she said. “I want the students here to know about the contributions of black men and women.”

Standford said there is a lack of cultural events at Guelph-Humber and said there needs to be more to raise the consciousness of students about different cultures.

“I’m hoping to make a change so that another Black History Month doesn’t go by without anything being done,” Standford said.

Even though many clubs are not involved, HSF has numerous events planned.

“We have a great mix of events this year,” said Ercole Perrone, executive director of HSF. “A bit of entertainment, some cultural events. It’s going to be really good.”

More needs to be done to raise awareness

In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson started, Black History Month (then called “Negro History Week”) in the United States. Since then the black community’s reflection on the struggle has blossomed throughout North America.

The Canadian Negro Women’s Association brought the weeklong celebration across the border into Toronto 24 years ago and by 1979, the city of Toronto officially proclaimed February as Black History Month. February is society’s chance to celebrate and applaud the contributions black figures have made and are making to this country, but after walking around Humber this week nobody would know it.

HSF programming director Aaron Miller faced a dilemma this year, getting in touch with the Caribbean Culture Society to organize a student symposium or gala on what it’s like to grow up as a black youth. He was hoping the Caribbean Culture Society would spearhead the plan, but sadly it couldn’t be reached. Fortunately for Miller and HSF, a Humber student has stepped up. In the next few days, Miller and his student volunteer will plan the gala together. HSF already has some cultural events scheduled to take place later this month, but Miller is still disappointed with the campus club’s lack of involvement. But there is still time for them to get involved, Miller said.

Wario’s a little shaky but still smooth

WarioWare: Smooth Moves | Nintendo Wii | Available Now

Justin Holmes | SPORTS EDITOR

Fans of the WarioWare series will find more of what they love in WarioWare: Smooth Moves for the Nintendo Wii.

Newcomers will be confused and eventually amused by the title’s quirky and fast-paced collection of frantic minigames. WarioWare’s charm comes from barraging the player with small games – often consisting of simply pushing a button or moving the controller in one direction, lasting only a few seconds – at a breakneck pace. A dearth of multiplayer modes and unlockable side games provide some much-needed replayability.

WarioWare’s easy to learn game play, slick graphics and innovative use of the Wii’s remote controller make it an ideal showpiece for the console. However, fans of previous iterations may find the formula a bit stale.

RATED 3.5 out of 5 

Falling out of the Gap

With new brands grabbing consumer dollars, The Gap continues to struggle

Will Cottingham | BUSINESS REPORTER

The Gap isn’t cool enough for Humber students, said Susan Roberton, fashion program co-ordinator.

The Gap has been struggling, announcing decreasing sales since 2004 and an imminent high management shuffle. Gap Inc. announced net sales of $2.34 billion over a five week period that ended with the close of 2006, which, when compared with the previous year’s figure of $2.44 billion, represents a loss of over four per cent.

Roberton said there will be a trickle-down effect that will hurt suppliers and may affect the number of new jobs in the industry.

“In the past, if you produced for the Gap you could go on to anything,” Roberton said. “But that is becoming less and less true.”

Roberton said the reason behind the Gap’s loss of sales was a drastic change in targeted shoppers.

“They have forced their customer base away,” Roberton said. “They have changed to go after a (younger) customer, but that demographic doesn’t want them.”

Piloting beyond the music scene

 A look at Romeo Liquor Store

Anastasiya Jogal | ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

Romeo Liquor Store, a former Humber student’s band, is looking to take its music to the next level by working with a record label to produce a pilot based on its recording process.

The quartet, featuring three former Humber students, Tony, Dickie and Johnny, plus bassist, Dougie “Murder” is working on the pilot with Tattoo Music Studio.

“It’s going to be informative about the process. But we’re not going set the bands up in an entrapment, like some reality TV shows do,” said Steve Gadsen, the producer and client engineer.

“We’re shooting the pilot currently. We’re looking for funding and interest,” he said.

Tattoo Music has won three Emmy Awards for the CGI Disney show Rolie Polie Olie.

Hawks can’t stop Nipissing streak

Lakers a team “we are capable of beating” – coach Chris Wilkins

Radmila Malobabic | SPORTS REPORTER

The Humber women’s volleyball team took a step back in its quest for the provincial championship last Sunday with a home loss to arch-rival Nipissing.

It was a reversal of the result that saw the Hawks (10-2) beat the undefeated Lakers for the gold medal in the Niagara invitational tournament Jan. 19 and 20.

“We are capable of beating them,” said head coach Chris Wilkins. “We just need to make less mistakes and work hard.”

The Hawks won the first set 25-21, led by Robyn Stafford’s five kills.

“At the beginning we played well,” said setter Heather Longland. “By the second set we needed to work on defence and our serves.”

Humber lost the next three sets: 26-24, 25-23 and 25-15. “We beat ourselves,” said middle Landis Doyle, who managed six kills, four blocks and two aces. “We had a lot of errors in the last three sets.” Robyn Stafford had the most points for the Hawks with 11 kills, two blocks and one ace.

They got the beat

Elite Beat Agents | Nintendo DS | Available Now

Mark Guilherme | BUSINESS EDITOR

It’s hard to pinpoint what is exactly the charm of Nintendo’s Elite Beat Agents.

Perhaps it’s the game’s missions, which consist of outlandish scenarios such as helping an old man win back his gold-digging wife or helping a pair of Hilton-like twins get off a deserted island. If not that, then it’s got to be the quirky mix of Japanese and western style that the game pulls off effortlessly.

While the animated scene plays out on the DS’s upper screen, it’s your job to direct the dance moves of the agents with the stylus on the lower screen, as they groove to modern and classic mainstream hits. The game play of Elite Beat Agents is a wonder that could only be possible on Nintendo’s quirky handheld.

If you wanted to get into the rhythm-action genre but didn’t want to look like that sweaty kid playing DDR at your local mall, Elite Beat Agents is definitely the way to go.

RATED 4 out of 5