Featured Stories
Deli-cious success in ShanghaiYou’ve just slurped the last of your matzo ball soup when your overstuffed smoked meat sandwich arrives, piping hot, on rye, slathered with mustard, garnished with a pickle and a side of slaw. [
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Helping spark a 'Soul Fusion' Victoria Falana, BA’12 (Kinesiology), embraces uncomfortable situations.
Raised by Nigerian “non-musical” parents in Brampton, Ont., Falana searched for her voice as a youth, listening to the sounds of Fela Kuti and King Sunny Adé, as well as traditional radio pop. [
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Listening through the yearsSomewhere, I’m sure I saw a photo of the Duke Ellington Orchestra playing at Wonderland Gardens. Probably it was on the red-and-white bandshell itself, one night in the ‘80s when I was at the old dancehall off Springbank Road. [
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Strength in our numbersWestern alumni are widely recognized by the campus community as important stakeholders in this public – and for us – very special institution. [
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Taking on the AmericasTurns out, it wasn’t just another race for Sasha Gollish. Competing on the final night of the 2015 Pan Am Games, the Western Engineering alumna walked into CIBC Athletics Stadium at York University ready for her 1,500-metre race. She was on home turf – a Toronto woman taking on the best of the Americas on Canadian soil. Even so, she never expected what happened next. [
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The fair way How does Natalie Raffoul, BESc’01, approach her golf game? “With a sense of humour.” Don’t get her wrong. The Managing Partner
at Brion Raffoul loves the game and her time on the courses of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club. In fact, she considers it a welcomed respite from her hectic world. “That’s my retreat,” she said. “That’s my sanity – right
there.” [
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Changing face of fast foodNo one would accuse Matthew Corrin, BA’02, of lacking confidence. In May, the 33-year-old Corrin, founder and CEO of the better-for-you restaurant enterprise Freshii, penned an open letter to McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook essentially daring the burger-peddling behemoth to co-brand a Freshii store inside any of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. locations. [
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Profiles
Haunted art with living impactVisual artist Ed Pien, BFA’82, has been stalked by ghosts since he was a boy. “We are who we are based on the stories and the baggage we inherit, based on the stories and memories we build,” said the 56-year-old. “I’m looking for similarities among people. Once we find these common elements, or common grounds, we can then start to celebrate our differences.” [
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Helping spark a 'Soul Fusion' Victoria Falana, BA’12 (Kinesiology), embraces uncomfortable situations.
Raised by Nigerian “non-musical” parents in Brampton, Ont., Falana searched for her voice as a youth, listening to the sounds of Fela Kuti and King Sunny Adé, as well as traditional radio pop. [
Read more]
Taking on the AmericasTurns out, it wasn’t just another race for Sasha Gollish. Competing on the final night of the 2015 Pan Am Games, the Western Engineering alumna walked into CIBC Athletics Stadium at York University ready for her 1,500-metre race. She was on home turf – a Toronto woman taking on the best of the Americas on Canadian soil. Even so, she never expected what happened next. [
Read more]
The fair way How does Natalie Raffoul, BESc’01, approach her golf game? “With a sense of humour.” Don’t get her wrong. The Managing Partner
at Brion Raffoul loves the game and her time on the courses of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club. In fact, she considers it a welcomed respite from her hectic world. “That’s my retreat,” she said. “That’s my sanity – right
there.” [
Read more]
Letters From Our Readers
Adoration of guns offensive to CanadiansWith so many Western grads contributing in positive ways to the world, I am offended by the article on Robert Bianchin who produces a product with only one purpose - destruction. The adoration of guns is offensive to most Canadians.
Let’s see more articles about grads who are making the world a
better place, not worse.
[
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Better stories to tell?I am shocked that you are profiling a gun manufacturer in the Gazette who thinks that the only difference between us and Americans is the number of guns and bumper stickers we have. Surely you can find alumni with better stories to tell. [
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Disappointed in gun articleAs a grad (PhD’01, History) who now also lives in Pennsylvania, I'm disappointed that you would feature an alumni ("Big Shot," Spring 2015) who has embraced one of the most significant differences between Canada and the United States: the gun culture.
It is not something to be celebrated, or at least viewed uncritically and opportunistically. While Canada can learn some things from its neighbour to the south, an enthusiasm for and marketing of deadly weapons is not one of them.
[
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Campus News
Bentley earns Killam Research PrizeDecades later, David Bentley looks at it as one of the best decisions he’s ever made. As a second-year university student, the Western professor decided to switch the focus of his study – from Physics to English. [
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Campbell appointed Vice-ProvostKaren Campbell was named to a four-year term as Vice-Provost (Academic Planning, Policy & Faculty), starting July 1, 2016. She began Sept. 1 as Special Advisor to the Provost and Vice-Provost-Elect, working closely with Alan Weedon during the final year of his term. Weedon has served as Vice-Provost since July 2002. [
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Canada Post pays tribute to MunroWestern alumna Alice Munro, DLitt’76, the recognized short story master and first Canadian woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, is being celebrated on a new stamp that pays homage to her life and work. [
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New Releases
88 Ice House StreetDonovan "Doc" O'Connell and business school classmate Bev Patterson develop a unique strategy to get Bev's diamond mining, half billion dollar inheritance out of Zimbabwe, where currency restrictions prohibit the transfer of large amounts of capital. [
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A Complex Fate: William L. Shirer and the American CenturyWilliam Shirer (1904-1993), a star foreign correspondent with the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s and ’30s, was a prominent member of what one contemporary observer described as an extraordinary band of American journalists, "some with the Midwest hayseed still in their hair," who gave their North American audiences a visceral sense of how Europe was spiralling into chaos and war. [
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Alice in ShandehlandBy 1931, Ben and Alice Edelson had been married for two decades and had seven children, but for years Alice had been having an affair with the married Jack Horwitz. On the night of 24 November, Ben, Alice, and Jack met at Edelson Jewellers to "settle the thing." Words flew, a brawl erupted, and Jack was shot and killed. [
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All OutCan a man with a demanding job really be a good father? All Out is a bracingly honest answer from Emmy and Gemini Award-winning
anchorman Kevin Newman, BA’81
(Political Science), and his grown son, Alex. [
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Dialogic Materialism: Bakhtin, Embodiment and Moving Image ArtDialogic Materialism: Bakhtin, Embodiment and Moving Image Art argues for the relevance of Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of dialogism as a means of examining the interdisciplinary nature of contemporary moving image art forms. The volume comprises six chapters divided into two sections. [
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Dr. Verity Lake’s Journey of a Thousand RevelationsThe original romantic feminist adventure! Travel back to the 1930’s to meet Dr. Verity Lake, the eccentric and glamourous footloose and fancy-free psychologist who accepts the position of visiting professor in Ottawa – and her life is never the same. [
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In the Tiger ParkWriting about ruins, compost, regeneration and football, Alison Calder explores the ways we learn, or invent, to feel our way through new experiences. [
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InscrutableWhen two private detectives in New York City disrupt a foreign espionage ring, their life takes a decided turn for the worse. [
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Phoebe & DaxChildren are invited to follow Phoebe and her goblin buddy Dax on an adventure as they conduct zany experiments, craft exquisite meals and create artistic masterpieces, leaving behind a mess almost as big as their imagination. [
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Port Stanley: the First Hundred Years, 1804-1904Several excellent books have been published dealing with the history of Port Stanley in the last century, but little attention has been paid to what was happening in Port Stanley in the previous hundred years. John Bostwick received his first land grant at the mouth of Kettle Creek in 1804. This volume deals with how the village changed and grew and developed in the subsequent hundred years. [
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The Resourceful Mother’s Secrets to Emotional HealthIt all starts with you, the parent, and your own emotional health. Meredith Deasley shows how we can come to understand ourselves and our past to ensure a healthier today for us and our children. She clearly explains how our emotional pain manifests itself in our appearance, behaviours and physical health. Most importantly, she teaches us how to heal by parenting ourselves and coming to love all parts of ourselves. [
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The Gairy Movement: A History of GrenadaIn 1979, a violent revolution in Grenada transformed the politics and life in the Caribbean. Subsequently, Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy was forced into exile in the United States and was able to return only after the revolutionary Prime Minister and others were executed by a firing squad in 1983. [
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The Stone MerchantsWhat would you do if someone is trying to kill you and you have no idea why? A romance suspense thriller that weaves murder, romance, and intrigue into a sizzling fast-paced adventure that leads all the way to the White House. [
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Per La Famiglia: Memories and Recipes of Southern Italian Home CookingThis cookbook fetes the celebrations and foods of an Italian-Canadian through the years by writing down family recipes that can be shared with generations to come. While many are traditional, there are also new spins on some to fit the demands of younger generations without missing the love and stories that go into each dish. [
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TRAINING FOR ARMAGEDDONOver the past 225 years the oak savannah at the mouth of the Niagara River -- designated as a Military Reserve but regarded by the local citizenry as their common lands-- has witnessed a broad spectrum of military, political and cultural happenings. [
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