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MEDIA York student gives back to community
Starting her fifth year in administrative studies next month at York, she plans to study family law after graduation, she said. But before Gordon, who also works as a customer relations coordinator for TD Canada Trust, gets settled into classroom mode, she will host a back-to-school event Saturday, complete with a barbecue and free school supplies donated by local businesses for students in her apartment building heading back to school. Gordon, who organized a similar event last year, said she wanted to give back to her community. In addition to helping students ease back to class, Gordon, a recipient of more than 40 awards and scholarships, also started a volunteer program in her building for high school students looking to earn volunteer hours for graduation.
In the bad luck of the draw, Condie had to face world champion Jinhee Jung of Korea Sunday. Despite a strong showing, Condie lost a 2-1 decision and was eliminated from the competition. A silver medalist at last month's Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Condie reached the quarters by defeating Fei Feng of China, 1-0, in her opening match in the bantam weight division. Feng had defeated Condie for the gold medal in Rio. Local dancer seeks her dream attending school in Toronto Kentucky team heads north to play York Lions Women's team credits gold medal to playing in boy's league "We played very well and the fact we had our team play in a boy's league really helped us prepare," said team member and York alumna Samantha Magalas (right) (BA ‘05), manager of Oakville's Frozen Ropes Baseball facility. The women played in the Toronto Baseball Association midget league against 18 and under rep players. "It was the first time we've entered a team in the boy's league and it worked out really well," said Magalas, who played first base with the York University Lions' baseball team during her university career. Magalas, 24, a veteran member of the national team, now has her sights set on making Team Canada at its selection camp next week in Windsor. She is among 25 players invited to the camp.  Fine arts alumna’s repertoire is endlessThere's an amazing singer from Toronto in town on Thursday night, wrote the London Free Press Aug. 18. Aviva Chernick (right) (BFA ’93) is back in her hometown at the Aeolian Hall as part of its Summer Soiree series. Chernick, 36, left London to study theatre in York’s Faculty of Fine Arts. Modern dance studies and works on the stage followed. In recent years, music has become her main art. She works as a cantorial soloist, taking part in Jewish spiritual practice throughout Toronto. Chernick is also the lead singer for the world fusion band Shakshuka. Pros, cons of health insurance for your pooch But amid the tears, there was one bright spot. He put in a warranty claim at the store where he'd bought the dog and got back $2,000 – enough to cover the purchase price, supplies and about $500 worth of medical bills. Students face future bankruptcy The real question that this article raises is what is the government doing for the average family? In this country it is honestly easier for a student from a lower income family to get an OSAP loan or a bursary than it is for someone of average earnings. I apply for bursaries every year, and every year I hear those three little words: no financial need. So instead I am getting an $8,000 loan from the bank this year, so that I can afford to pay for my education – and part of rent. By the time I graduate I will be about $40,000 in debt. And that's before I go to graduate school. The government needs to provide this assistance, before we have a society full of 25-year-olds declaring bankruptcy after graduation. York student stresses need for rural awareness The speech won over the judges and helped earn her the crown as the 2007 Ambassador of the Fairs. The competition got its start at the CNE back in 1972 as a way to promote youth and agriculture, wrote The Record. Graul will be busy for the next two weeks, appearing at CNE events promoting Ontario agriculture. Then she'll head off to start her second year of political studies at York University. She'll have more engagements throughout the year to promote agriculture. She said she plans on using the $3,500 in prize money to help pay her tuition.
Greenpeace report slams forestry industries The report singles out four pulp and logging companies who together have cut down nearly 200,000 square kilometres of Canada’s boreal forest: Abitibi- Consolidated, Bowater, Kruger, and SFK Pulp, wrote the Standard-Freeholder. It also draws attention to a number of well-known companies who use those forestry products, including Best Buy, Sears, and Coles/Indigo. The report doesn’t call for shoppers to boycott those companies, said Fry. Rather, she hopes that by naming them in the report, those companies would, in turn, pressure the forestry companies to clearcut smaller areas and be more sensitive to wildlife and other ecosystems. “Right now, brand means a lot, and companies are very sensitive to their brand,” said Fry. “It’s worth it, for their bottom line, to be as green as they can.” How to bounce back from the drubbing of a lifetime "Once you become frustrated and it leads to anger, your performance deteriorates rapidly," says Paul Dennis, a sports psychology lecturer in York’s School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health, and player-development coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. When Dennis sees players with losing body language, he advises them to undertake what he calls "emotion regulation" in which they hark back to a positive memory from the past, wrote the Globe. "With the Baltimore Orioles, these are professionals who may at one time have been NCAA champions or the winner of a batting title," Dennis says. "They should be encouraged to think back to that as a way of stopping the negative thoughts." And if they can't dredge up a good sports memory, Dennis says, they can look beyond the field, maybe even to "a particularly enjoyable experience with a spouse or another family member. What I recommend is a ratio of three to one: For every mistake we make, we have to recall three positive experiences." And then there's the Lou Piniella approach, the Globe wrote. With his Chicago Cubs down against the Atlanta Braves two months ago, Piniella, the quick-tempered Cubs' manager, charged after an umpire because of a controversial call. He was eventually tossed from the game and suspended for four games for kicking dirt and making contact with an official. Since Piniella's tirade, the chronically underachieving Cubs have been one of the best teams in the National League. "There is a place for dressing-down," Dennis said. "Coaching is a results-oriented position. If it works, go with it." Perfectionists can be perfectly happy, too
High achievers often expect the best of themselves, "and that's not necessarily a bad thing," he says. The troubled people are those whose whole self-worth hinges on perfect performance and who feel they must conceal shortcomings. Those most invested in appearing perfect to others have the deepest feelings of shame and inferiority, Flett's studies show. "This shame fuels depression and stress." Some perfectionist tendencies may be helpful in life, and even hard to change when they're destructive, Flett says. "It's better to work on responding more constructively when things don't work out 100 per cent rather than trying to lower your standards." Reaching for the stars
McNeil, a doctoral student in the early 1970s at York, worked with Carswell, principal investigator in the project and Optech chairman, to develop the first lidar system designed for terrestrial atmospheric research at York's multi-disciplinary Centre for Research in Earth & Space Science. "Dr. Carswell was my PhD supervisor," said McNeil. McNeil was "bowled over" when he received an email last week from Carswell telling him the modern-day Optech lidar technology was launched into space. "The Mars-bound generation of this now miniaturized technology involved contributions from dozens of individuals over many years and has come a long way from the one-ton ruby laser 'Model T' monster we designed back then," said McNeil. Criminalization of HIV/AIDS transmission still poses problems, says Young With few such cases passing through, courts take a long time to make decisions on sentencing, says one Toronto lawyer. "Criminalization of HIV/AIDS transmission has really only been taking place for the last 15 years and there's not a specific offence for it," explains Alan Young, a criminal law professor in York’s Osgoode Hall Law School. And the difficulty of figuring out who may have been infected, and when, makes it all the more difficult. "It's a crime that goes unnoticed for many years...and if you're in the universe of multiple sexual partners, it becomes a bit of a logistical nightmare," he adds. Liberals are vulnerable on environment issue, says York professor Mark Winfield, professor in York’s Faculty of Environmental, Studies, said the Liberals are vulnerable to losing support to both the Greens and the NDP over their handling of the province's electricity system. McGuinty promised in 2003 to close the province's pollution-spewing, coal-fired electricity plants by 2007, but he has backtracked twice on that pledge and pushed the date back to 2014. He has also said the province will spend billions of dollars building new nuclear plants, which both the NDP and Green Party oppose. "The environmental file is a real area of vulnerability for the government," Winfield said. "There is the question of coal phase-out and the question of the overall direction, including nuclear." MP set to tie same-sex knot Executives hit the books to hone their edge It took 20 intensive months, during which he studied every weekend and missed a couple of ski seasons with his wife and two sons. But his family was supportive and the investment of time and money was well worth it, Bérard says. "I wanted to be a better manager – more complete, more rounded, more versatile – and that's what the MBA provided." Wheel-Trans service is overloaded, underfunded "This sends a message that where I need to go and what I want to do is not important," says Terri-Lynn Langdon, a PhD student at York. "It carries with it the pervasive attitude that persons with disabilities can just stay at home and, further, that the endeavours of people with disabilities are trivial." Schulich professor pans imminent sale of federal buildings On the other side of the equation, some union leaders and the federal New Democrats have declared that the deal doesn't make financial sense and could end up costing taxpayers double the amount the government will make from a sale. And they are not alone: In an interview with CanWest News, James McKellar (left), director of the Real Property Program at York University’s Schulich School of Business, maintained that the deal stinks. "It looks like the government's doing the right thing today, but it's really short-term gain for long-term pain," said McKellar. Something wrong in Hogtown Secondly, Toronto's revenue has not been static, wrote Zerker. There have been tens of thousands of new condominiums built that are taxed at exorbitant rates (higher than tax rates on single houses), and all of that money has been pouring into Toronto's coffers. I think we need an independent auditor to review where and how these new monies have been spent. There's something amiss in Toronto, and we need answers. The forestry industry is one that Fry, who grew up in Cornwall before leaving to take environmental studies at Toronto’s York University, knows first- hand. Golden advice from a mining magnate In Get Smarter, written with The Globe and Mail's business columnist, Derek DeCloet, he ladles out homespun wisdom in two-to-four-page crisply written, anecdote-laden chapters aimed at 30- to 40-year-olds, but golden at any age. Picking a field to invest in is simple, says Schulich. Go for a business with high profit margins since the jobs usually pay more, have fewer layoffs and bankruptcies, and are less stressful. He spent a good chunk of his life in oil and mining, where the great advantage is that you can double or triple the value of a company with one drill hole. "No other industry can create wealth as rapidly," he observes. But stay away from foreign oil plays, where you can run into expropriation. Closer to home, given the poor margins, he warns against airlines, auto parts, retailing, biotechnology, grocery stores, chemicals, wholesaling, machinery manufacturing, paper and forest products, auto manufacturing, restaurants, appliance manufacturing, trucking, any manufacturing competing with China, and telecom service.
All-Canadian Mars mission planned for 2009 Northern Light plans to use the same launch method that satellites use: A commercial rocket, likely a very reliable type called Rockot, made from converted Soviet ballistic missiles. But the spacecraft that flies on to Mars, and likely the mission control for the period after it lands on Mars, would be all Canadian, with headquarters at York University in Project leader Ben Quine (left), director of space engineering in York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, said the Canadians can do a smaller and far cheaper mission than NASA by manufacturing their own machinery "in-house" at universities, testing them there as well, and designing a smaller robot. York is also the lead university for a Canadian package of instruments on board NASA's current Mars Phoenix spacecraft, wrote CanWest. York also has one big advantage: its own testing facility to "qualify" hardware for space. Next month, the York team will publicly test the entry, descent and landing system (EDLS), dropping a prototype lander from a helicopter to simulate landing on Mars.
"While in microgravity, astronauts have a harder time reaching and pointing to objects than when they are on Earth. This could be critical in emergency situations," he says. Fowler says space shuttle pilots and payload operators need quick and accurate hand-eye co-ordination to manoeuvre objects in space. Canada must demand justice for journalists This cowardly attack will not prevent efforts by Somali Canadians and the entire global Somali community to bring peace to their beleaguered nation, wrote Omar. It will not silence the independent voices of dedicated journalists who work in difficult and often dangerous conditions to expose ongoing war crimes in Somalia by informing the Somali public, Canada and the world of the atrocities directed at the civilian population. York professor in faith-based school group challenges McGuinty Some proponents of change, however, disagree with the premier’s position. McGuinty, his wife, Terri, and the couple’s four children all attended Catholic schools. Ms McGuinty continues to teach part time in the Catholic system. Eric Lawee, humanities professor in York’s Faculty of Arts, said he sees “tremendous hypocrisy” in McGuinty’s opposition to extending funding to religious schools. “As he tells the story, [faith-based schools are] segregationist, regressive and so on – and yet here’s someone whose wife goes off every day and provides this type of education,” said Lawee, a member of a multi-faith coalition pushing for funding. "I think it belies everything he says about faith-based schooling. The fact that we have a premier who’s a product of these types of schools shows that one can not only integrate, having had exposure to faith-based schooling, but can flourish and make major contributions to the welfare of all Ontarians regardless of their faith.” Lawee’s children attend Jewish schools in the Toronto area. “I bike to work every day and I bike by a Catholic school and I see all the things my kids don’t have because they’re members of the wrong religion, as it were, in Ontario in 2007,” he said.
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MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2007 |
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With the start of a new school year just around the corner, Tamara Gordon (right) wanted to give back to the community that had seen the York student through her darkest hours, wrote the North York Mirror Aug. 21. The 21-year-old was left paralyzed from the waist down after a 2002 high school ski trip accident, which also left her unable to use her dominant left hand and an onset of diabetes left her vision impaired. Gordon spent two months in the hospital before transferring to Toronto Rehab's Lyndhurst Centre in the Bayview and Eglinton avenues area for spinal cord rehabilitation from April to August 2002.
Condie goes down fighting
Team Ontario's senior women's baseball team credits playing in a Toronto men's league during the season for their success at the national tournament, wrote the Hamilton Spectator Aug. 18. Team Ontario went undefeated in six games to win the gold medal in Quebec City Aug. 13. 
A new report that slams the forestry industry’s destruction of Canada’s boreal forest, and names 35 companies who profit from that destruction, has an intriguing Cornwall connection, wrote the CornwallStandard-Freeholder Aug. 21. Cornwall native and York alumna Kim Fry (left) (BES ’99), who ran locally for the federal NDP in 2000, is one of the key authors of the investigative report, released Monday by global environmental organization Greenpeace.
Sky-high standards per se don't make people anxious, ashamed or depressed, researchers reported at the American Psychological Association meeting. Newer studies are teasing out the toxic parts of a perfectionist streak, separating them from more benign or positive aspects, says Gordon Flett (left), Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health in York’s Faculty of Health.
Retired Malaspina University-College physics and liberal studies professor Russ McNeil (right) (PhD ‘73) has some pretty impressive bragging rights. Technology he helped pioneer 35 years ago is on its way to Mars, wrote the Nanaimo News Bulletin Aug. 18. 
Optech lidar (laser radar) technology, first developed by McNeil and York Professor Allan Carswell (left) [now emeritus] in 1972, has been tweaked and fine-tuned into modern-day technology currently on board NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, launched into space from Florida's Cape Canaveral Aug. 4. 
six largest cities will fetch upwards of $1.65 billion for Ottawa's coffers. That could represent a "profit" of $250 million to $350 million based on an initial valuation of $1.4 billion.
Philanthropist Seymour Schulich (right) has a business school named after him at York University, wrote The Globe and Mail Aug. 22. But when it comes to giving career advice, the former stock analyst who struck it rich with his gold company in Nevada is anything but academic.
Toronto. The price: an estimated $20 million, or possibly less if another country shares the rocket. NASA's Mars Phoenix mission, now underway, costs US$420 million.
Space shuttle Endeavour brings home York experiment
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