Victoria Day is right around the corner, approaching this coming Monday, May 18. Here’s what will be open and closed around UW.

Most UW Food Services locations on campus will be closed, including Brubakers, Browsers Café, Evergreen Café, Liquid Assets Café, CEIT Café, Jugo Juice, as well as all Tim Hortons and Starbucks. Some locations such as The Market (Claudette Miller hall) will remain open over the holiday.

All libraries on and off campus will also be closed. These include the Dana Porter and Davis Centre libraries, as well as all branches of the Waterloo and Kitchener Public Libraries. The Fitness Centre and other athletics facilities will be closed on campus, and will not be operational.The Student Life Centre will remain open, including the Turnkey Desk and Flock Stop.

Some locations off campus will remain open for students to enjoy their long weekend. Conestoga Mall will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Kitchener’s Fairview Park Mall will also be open on Monday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

With the first week of spring term already in the books, now is the perfect time to explore fun activities in the region before assignments and deadlines really start to pile up. From movie marathons to fresh flowers, let’s dive into this long weekend’s lineup of events.

If you’re looking to gather some fresh blooms for your space or shop around for a variety of vegetables, visit the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum this Saturday, May 16 for the Heritage Plant sale. This event is running from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; no registration or fee needed to attend. Plant sales are running while supplies last. The sale is also a fundraising event for the FRIENDS of the Waterloo Region Museums.

Head over to the Princess Cinema this Sunday, May 17, for a nostalgic movie marathon of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, to celebrate its 25th anniversary. This cinematic afternoon kicks off at noon and runs until 11:40 p.m. Two breaks will be provided between films. A 30-minute break will follow the first film and a longer 75-minute dinner break will be offered prior to the third film. Non-members can expect to pay $40 plus a $1.50 online fee. Further details can be found on the Princess Cinema’s event page.

On Monday, May 18 from 7 to 8 p.m., get ready for some dancing! Remix Swing on King street in Waterloo is offering shuffle dance classes. You’ll spend the hour improving your footwork and dance moves in this beginner-friendly class. No prior experience required. University students receive 10% off admission. Tickets are $28.25 and can be purchased on the Remix Swing Eventbrite page.

Rory Norris, the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) Vice President of Government Stakeholder Relations, has been elected president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA). Running on a platform based on student affordability after recent OSAP cuts to student grants, Norris aims to increase visibility for OUSA and amplify student voices.

OUSA is an organization consisting of nine student associations in Ontario, including WUSA. Elected WUSA representatives, including Norris, form part of the OUSA steering committee.  The election process for OUSA executive positions begins at the student bodies of each member organization. At UW, an elected WUSA executive joins the steering committee. Afterwards, members of the steering committee elect a president in mid-May who serves until April 30 of the following year.

His platform ran primarily on combatting the inaccessibility of post-secondary education from OSAP changes and the loss of student union independence due to Bill 33 amendments. Other platform points include addressing rising living costs that impact student affordability and increasing OUSA visibility among students.

Rory Norris, WUSA VP and OUSA president-elect. (Photo credit: WUSA)

Norris had previously advocated on these issues during his tenure as WUSA president from May 2023 to April 2024, leading the Board of Directors and supporting student advocacy on the municipal and provincial levels. “I told myself something very clearly [that] I would never run for elected office again,” Norris wrote in his OUSA platform of his thoughts after his tenure as president. Despite this, Norris has continued his involvement in student advocacy and policy work.

Norris stated that his plans as incoming OUSA president are broken down into four key areas, the first of which is enhancing the visibility of OUSA as an organization.

“Students don’t necessarily know what’s going on with OUSA; it operates at … more of an arm’s length,” he observed. Norris explains that he plans to tackle this issue through campus visits and better student interaction through social media. Other matters he will focus on include the impact of Bill 33, student affordability, and reducing student union fees to OUSA.

Regarding the last point, Norris believes that “OUSA is, from a budget perspective, at a pretty healthy place.” According to the new president-elect, OUSA has enough reserves to “cover … two years of expenses without needing to charge those membership fees anymore.” An alternative he mentioned is using certain funding for campaigns of interest, like the ongoing fight against OSAP aid cuts.

When asked about concerns regarding balancing responsibilities between OUSA and WUSA, Norris stated that although another full-time VP at WUSA will help shoulder the workload, he will “probably end up working more hours than [he] would have if [he] did take on this role.” He then went on to state that “the combinations of these two pieces will sort of come into play where, yes, I spend … more time supporting this external organization to which we are a member, but at the same time, I am still making sure I’m committed to my duties and responsibilities.”

Norris has two messages for readers: encouraging students to get involved and building meaningful connections that they can take with them as they depart post-secondary education.

And finally, Norris encourages student advocacy so that constituents can push and fight for the changes they would like to see. He hopes they ask themselves, “how can they look at a problem that exists in the world and start to work towards advocating for a solution?”

ERIN – The council chamber here was packed on May 14 with residents opposed to the remediation plan for the Hillsburgh gravel pit.

Among them were delegates from the Erin Citizens Coalition, formerly the Concerned Citizens of Erin, which spearheaded opposition to the project. 

Erin council approved the remediation plan in January for the property at 9516 Sideroad 27. The site operated as a sand and gravel pit for Strada Aggregates from 1999 to 2021.

The remediation plan will allow pit owner Jay Fieger to bring in 5.36 million cubic metres of fill over 20 years. It will see approximately 150 trucks per day arriving and leaving the site. 

“We respectfully request that council reconsider and rescind the approval of the large-scale commercial fill operation ... along with the associated enabling bylaw amendment,” said Erin resident and ECC delegate Brittney Pakkala. 

“Our request is based on concerns related to procedural process, community safety impacts and potential long-term financial risk within the current 20-year agreement.”

Pakkala criticized the town's public consultation process, stating “property owners within 120 metres did not receive written notice of the proposal, which limited awareness among nearby residents and reduced opportunities prior to the public meeting.”

Erin manager of planning and development David Waters previously told the Advertiser the municipality complied with the town’s site alteration bylaw.

“Notice was published in the Wellington Advertiser, posted on the town’s website and mailed to property owners with 120 metres of the pit,” said Waters.

Pakkala and fellow ECC delegate Paul Campbell took issue with the lack signs on the property prior to the decision.

“The town routinely requires physical signage for relatively minor planning matters, such as additional dwelling units,” said Pakkala.

“Comparable on-site notice for a large, long-term commercial fill operation may have supported broader public awareness and participation.”

Campbell added, “We have raised the issue of the pit signage with our legal council who confirmed that the signage raises questions about whether the appropriate consultation process was undertaken.”

Delegates also brought up the Earth Healing Foundation sign on the property, which lists the Metis people of Canada as being involved in the restoration of the land. The organization is not currently involved with the property, but the sign remains, which resident say is “misleading.”

Pakkala and Campbell also raised concerns about truck traffic along Sideroad 27, 8th Line and Trafalgar Road.

“These routes are active school bus corridors where children are picked up and dropped off daily. The haul route also passes Barbour Field,” said Pakkala. 

Other ECC grievances included the fixed tipping fee for the project, road wear and maintenance, and discrepancies with the original remediation plan, which did not call for completely filling the pit. 

A petition signed by over 300 residents opposed to the project was also submitted to council.

Following the delegations, councillors were asked if they had any questions. After no one spoke up, one resident in the gallery exclaimed “Really? no questions?”

Mayor Michael Dehn responded, “I think we’ve done this a lot already.” The same resident responded, “yeah, but we weren’t told about it.”

Councillor Jamie Cheyne asked about the repercussions of pulling out of the agreement.

“If you rescind the contract, it's a breach of contract and there may be legal implications that the town will have to face from the owner,” said Waters.

Councillor Cathy Aylard said some ECC concerns echoed those she has previously brought forward.

"I still need clarification on the circumstances that if we did not approve it at council level, it would go to the province and be approved and we would lose revenue,” said Aylard. 

“Whenever I’m asked about this issue, I cant specifically provide someone a link to that information with background.”

Dehn said TAPMO (the Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario) "would be willing to do a training session ... if that’s an interest to council."

“I think it’s an interest to council and to residents,” replied Aylard, to applause from the gallery.

Councillor Bridget Ryan also brought up the Earth Healing Foundation, stating the organization lists the Town of Erin as a partner on its website – but “we are not.”

Waters told council he has had no contact with the Earth Healing Foundation and later stated he “had no comment” on why it lists the town as a partner.

A motion to receive the delegation for information was carried by council. 

After three years of organizing and negotiations, CUPE Local 5524, the union representing graduate student workers and sessional instructors at UW, has finally ratified collective agreements for its members. The new agreements for Unit 0 and Unit 1 are retroactively effective from May 1, 2023 and currently in effect until May 1, 2027.

“This is an excellent first contract and a very good contract in general,” says Scott Sørli, president of CUPE 5524 and member of the bargaining committee for Unit 0, the local’s subunit representing sessional faculty. Both contracts include minimum wage raises, formal grievance procedures, and other policies the union hopes will improve job security and working conditions.

CUPE 5524 was first certified as a union in January 2023, originally made up of sessional faculty, after 86.1 per cent of eligible voters voted to unionize. The local expanded to include graduate student TAs and RAs under a second subunit, Unit 1, in early 2024, with 95.1 per cent voting in favor.

What followed was a longer and more drawn-out process than expected. After delays in assembling the employer’s bargaining committee to negotiate Unit 1 contract items, both parties negotiated shared items and language that applied to both Unit 0 and Unit 1 last summer. In August, union representatives reported that the employer intended to refuse bargaining Unit 1 contract items until after Unit 0 items were finalized, contrary to a previous verbal agreement. That and minimal meaningful engagement in negotiations during the bargaining window sparked an e-action campaign in late August, which CUPE 5524 hoped would push the university to come to the table in good faith.

In October 2025, the union came close to striking as perceived stonewalling continued. CUPE 5524 held a larger members’ meeting to discuss the possibility of picketing, but in November, turnover in members on the employer’s bargaining committee helped avert a walkout.

“After that, bargaining was astronomically faster for getting much more reasonable and much more frequent passbacks from the employer,” states Erin Silver, vice president of Unit 1 and member of the unit’s bargaining committee. “They were willing to meet up and discuss issues much more readily.” Imprint reached out to the university for a response, but they declined to comment on the matter.

Negotiations continued steadily in the months after, with bargaining sessions sometimes going late into the night. Sørli recalls that one Unit 0 session ended at 10:30 p.m. on a Friday night. The final bargaining session for Unit 1, which entailed negotiating wages and administrative oversight over TA and RA assignments to undergraduate students, lasted 19 hours, ending at around 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 27. 

“We could see that there was going to be agreement from both sides coming forward,” Sørli recalls. “Once there starts to be some kind of velocity at the table in terms of the final issues, you really don’t want to leave the room.”

Both parties finalized tentative agreements for Unit 0 on Jan. 9 and Unit 1 on Jan. 30, with members voting to ratify the documents on Feb. 3 and Feb. 25 respectively. Members voted overwhelmingly in favor of the new contracts and had a highly positive response. “I think everyone, the employer as well as the union, was really looking forward to com[ing] to an agreement at the end,” says Sørli.

While UW declined to comment on the details of the bargaining process, the university said in a statement to Imprint that the ratification is “an important development for the university community and was achieved thanks to the hard work of both CUPE 5524 and the university bargaining teams,” with the agreements “[reflecting] the mutual priorities of both parties.” Both documents will be available on UW’s Human Resources website, where collective agreements with other bargaining units and associations are posted.

As for what is in the ratified agreements, union leadership believes that the contracts codify hard-won victories that will make it more sustainable for their members to study and work at UW.

Communications director and math graduate student Gaia Noseworthy has emphasized that the Unit 1 contract’s new clauses will protect funding and job security for graduate students. “There was a long history in the past [where], if you got other funding, you start losing your [teaching assistantships] or TA funding, and one of our biggest items was to remove that,” says Noseworthy. Typically, graduate students in doctoral or research-based master’s programs will receive TA or RA appointments as part of their funding package. These graduate students may also be eligible to receive additional funding, like the tri-agency scholarship from Canada’s three major research councils that oversee academic research funding.

“Something that used to happen to a lot of [graduate] students here is, if they were to gain one of these big scholarships … you would lose all of your other funding sources,” Noseworthy said. The new Unit 1 contract prevents the loss of TA or RA employment that would offset funding from other sources, so the total funding given to a graduate student is expected to increase rather than remain unchanged in these circumstances.

Another section Noseworthy highlights is a seniority clause for TA and RA positions. Graduate students typically are guaranteed a minimum number of TA or RA appointments to help fund their studies for a fixed number of years. Under the new agreement, graduate student TAs and RAs who have worked longer are prioritized for new positions. This includes graduate students who are studying beyond that initial duration, “meaning people who might be struggling financially because of this decision are much less likely to face struggles throughout the latter [part] of their degree.”

In addition to job security, the new agreement also enforces higher wages for its members. Silver cites that the agreement gives all members a minimum increase of 2.8 per cent in wages. Effective May 1, graduate TAs now have a minimum hourly wage of $51.53. Master’s research assistants are paid at least $49.14, and PhD research assistants are paid $58.46. Graduate students who were paid higher rates prior to May 1 will not see their wages decrease.

For sessional faculty, incremental wage raises have been negotiated. A sessional instructor who began teaching on or after May 1, 2023 would be paid a minimum of $8,910 per 0.5 credit. That wage increases by 3 per cent for courses taught in 2024, another 3 per cent in 2025, and a 2.5 per cent increase in 2026 for a current rate of $9,688.93 per 0.5 credit. That minimum, Sørli says, “is better than what most universities are getting right now for sessionals,” and is a step towards alleviating financial pressure during a struggling economy and high living costs.

Kavi Duvvoori, CUPE 5524’s recording secretary and English PhD student, is particularly glad to now have a formal grievance process for members. “We’ve seen situations across the university where … really devastating demands were being put on people,” says Duvvoori. “Sometimes that looks like TAs being asked to do dozens of hours of extra work that conflict with their own work as students and researchers.” With explicit timelines and policies for each stage, Duvvoori hopes members will be better protected against exploitation in the workplace, “but even more importantly, teach the lesson that there is accountability even for workers that are lower in the hierarchy, and … prevent these situations from happening.”

So what’s next for CUPE 5524? While the agreements are a good first step, one priority of renegotiations in 2027 is securing benefits for members, like health insurance and pension plans. The current agreements pay a rebate to members at the end of each term in lieu of benefits, totalling $100 for graduate student employees and $200 for sessional faculty members.

In the meantime, union leadership has shifted their focus to enforcing the collective agreements, like helping members obtain backpay and continuing outreach to the wider UW community. Duvvoori notes that prior to joining CUPE 5524, many members have had little experience or knowledge in advocacy and organized action.

“Canadian labor law contexts and histories of labor are not shared by everyone,” Duvvoori states. “One important part is just explaining how democratic, member-led unions work for everyone involved [and] showing through this process that coming together with your coworkers to try to improve conditions … can provide concrete results within a reasonable time frame.”

As for working within the institution itself, Sørli says, “every department has operated as a little bit of an isolated fiefdom,” where one department’s policies and practices differ from the next. “It’s been an interesting experience and challenge to begin to communicate a standardized contract … to those various departments that operate in extremely different ways.”

CUPE 5524 also hopes to continue its strong working relationships with other non-member groups at UW, like its sibling chapter CUPE 793, UWSA, FAUW, and WUSA. Noseworthy observes that many undergraduate students in particular have volunteered or plan to become members when they start graduate studies at UW. “Almost every undergrad student I’ve talked to really does understand why we’re doing this … they’re surprised that some of their teachers are in conditions that are so economically unsustainable, and they want to support them in some way.”

Ultimately, the local hopes to strengthen the culture of solidarity, inclusion, and collective action in the UW community, especially during uncertain times. “It’s really important that we allow ourselves to ask the question of what a good university would look like — a university that really provides for the needs and hopes” of the campus community and society at large, says Duvvoori. “At its best, this process allows us to ask that question and pursue it in a democratic and member-led way, rather than one that just depends on what the Premier decides or what big companies decide.”

Noseworthy encourages readers to volunteer for causes they are passionate about, especially local organizations. “You don’t need to spend 20 hours a week. It can be two, and that will still make a difference.” They stress that there are other ways to contribute outside of donations, as “sometimes money is not the biggest problem you can face, [but] having people to use that money … to try and build a better world.”

“I had been sick for the whole week. I was having a bout of insomnia, and hadn’t had more than 2 hours of sleep in like 48 hours. I was surviving off a coffee and five packs of honey from the SLC Tim Horton’s and I had to host one of our open mic shows in that state.” 

This was how UW comedy club co-exec Gursher Baath (fondly) described his worst standup comedy fail. 

When asked about how he ended up getting through this particularly disastrous open mic, Baath said, “When I watched back the video, I was messing up the order of words and my joke timing was off, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. That’s kinda the lesson there, like everything can go wrong in your set, and it will still turn out okay. It’s not that bad as you think it is, you’re going to walk out of it just fine,”  

The UW comedy club is made up of students by day and some pretty funny comedians by night. “Our main goal was to introduce comedy to a lot of the students because a lot of people don’t really know much about stand up comedy. We wanted to build a community of people who wanted to do and watch comedy,” Owen Stephenson said, another club co-exec. 

What started off with booking out classrooms for open mics has expanded to open mics in bigger venues on campus. The club also runs joke writing sessions, and comedy workshops hosted by external Canadian comedians. 

The club open mic nights usually occur once a month somewhere on campus, such as the Grad House and the SLC Bomber Pub. Not only are these nights a great showcase of the comedic talent we have at UW, but also a cool opportunity to dip your toes into doing a little bit of your own standup if you have ever been curious. 

As another club co-exec Sneha Sridhar said, “Comedy doesn’t have the best reputation of being friendly to newcomers, so it’s nice to have a safe space where people do comedy. The UW Comedy Club kind of does a really good job of being a very supportive and safe space for people to try out new things.” 

While the open mic nights give people a good opportunity to do stand up in front of an audience to hone their performance skills, another equally important aspect of comedy is writing jokes and telling a coherent story. “We host write and chill sessions somewhat regularly, so that people who have never done comedy before can kind of build up their confidence,” Stephenson said about their efforts to incorporate other aspects of comedy into the club. “It’s essentially just kind of a low pressure place where you can meet other people and discuss what you’re working on if you want to take a stab at writing comedy. You can bounce some ideas off of other people and get suggestions for your joke,” Sridhar said about these write and chill sessions. 

Attending many of these events held by the UW comedy club got me thinking: is there a reason people are drawn to watching and doing standup comedy, beyond just for laughs? When asked about the significance of comedy in general, Baath responded with the following: “Humour in itself is a fundamental pillar of life, of being human. It’s a communal thing that brings people together. Being in the room with another student or friend and hearing them joke is mainly what I hope we provide with our shows and events,”. “It’s all about bringing Student Life back into the Student Life Centre,” adds club secretary Avri Jeffcott jokingly. 

Going beyond student comedians, the club also has local comedians in the area perform at their open mics, which provides a fresh perspective to the jokes that are told, as well as some pretty cool opportunities to learn more about the comedy scene as a whole. These professional comedians are also invited to other events, such as their write and chill sessions, with their most recent session hosting a joke writing workshop by local KW comedian Lukas Swore. 

I was curious to learn more about the KW comedy scene, and what kinds of events were up and running in the area beyond campus. I was able to reach out to two external comedians. Renee Groux, one of the local comedians that has performed at a UW comedy club open mic, is currently working as a co-producer of Girl Night. Girl Night hosts regular live comedy events in the KW region that showcases famous women comedians, as well as those who are up and coming in the comedy scene. Matt Render is another local comedian that has performed at UW comedy club events, who is currently on a comedy tour of the GTA. 

When asked why people are drawn to watching and doing comedy, Render responded: “I like the idea of seeing people just speak honestly and candidly without any type of pretense. Being philosophical but also being able to be lighthearted and humorous is something I find refreshing about comedy. It’s something that has helped me through the hardest times in my life.”

Groux echoed a similar sentiment: “The most skilled version of doing comedy is not just to tell the audience who you are, but to tell the audience something about themselves. I think that’s the number one thing people are looking for, to be seen for who they are. That’s my goal and that’s when I feel I’ve done a good job.” 

With much of the leadership within the UW comedy club graduating, they are looking for students to join the club and carry on with hosting these events on campus. If you’ve ever found yourself interested in watching (or maybe even doing) a little bit of standup comedy, reach out to the UW comedy club at @uwcomedy to see how you can get involved in the coming terms. Regardless of what ends up happening, you will definitely enjoy yourself, and hopefully, even laugh a little. 

At the end of a school year where many Warriors set records or brought their teams on impressive postseason runs, 880 UW student-athletes, administrative staff, coaches, and guests sat at the edge of their seats at the end of the 64th annual Athletic Awards Banquet to see who won the evening’s most coveted awards: the Totzke and Marsden trophies for male and female athlete of the year; respectively.

Following the nominees for the Totzke trophy, PhD student Cameron Seth was announced as the recipient, the first time a squash athlete has won the award since Eric Dingle in 2009. He stayed on stage and joined third-year Niki Shemirani in making UW history when she received the Marsden trophy, making her the first squash player to do so since Micaala Seth, Cameron’s sister, in 2013. 

The pair shared a hug and a round of applause from all in attendance before walking off. The duo is the first squash pair to win both of the awards in the same year. After each securing the OUA MVP awards for women’s and men’s squash with a combined record of 11 wins and no losses, it’s easy to see why. 

“We’re great friends,” says Seth. “We train together all the time,” added Shemirani.

Niki Shemirani 

Shemirani is entering her fourth year of systems design engineering. (Photo credit: Abdullah Pathan)

Shemirani’s journey to success began in Iran, where she was born and raised. An exuberant and athletic child, her parents enrolled her in sports such as swimming, skating, and skiing before eventually signing her up for squash at 7. She fell in love after the first session and has been playing ever since.

After booking a flight to Toronto at 16, Shemirani faced a new challenge: establishing herself in a community that had grown up together as a foreigner who knew nothing about Canada.

“It was really hard at first,” she says. “These were all people who grew up together and have played together, and I’m good but not exactly at their level.” With aspirations to play on the professional circuit, Shemirani practiced tirelessly before abruptly having to stop when the COVID-19 pandemic began. But pressure can burst a pipe or make a diamond, and she decided she’d become a diamond.

“I’d sit at home and watch YouTube videos to improve my skills, I’d try to go for runs, and it was really cold,” she reminisces. “A lot of people I was playing with quit during or after the pandemic.”

Having sown the seeds to become a great player, she reaped the benefits at 18 when she competed in the Canadian Junior Open (CJO). In a tournament featuring upwards of 300 athletes from 20 countries, Shemirani won the U19 division. She says this is the moment when things began to click for her. Now with a tournament win and her family’s ongoing support, the systems design engineering major was all too happy to join UW’s team when she began university.

She’s left her mark on the program in more ways than one; she’s designed training plans for teammates, is a vocal leader and has only continued to develop as a player. 

In February’s 3-day OUA championship tournament, each athlete played an individual match against one opponent in a best-of-5 format, where team points were awarded based on the results. Most games were incredibly competitive and came down to the wire, except for when Shemirani took the court. Across 6 matches, she won 15 games and lost none, and finished with a field-high rating of 5.71. For comparison, top players worldwide have a rating of 6.0+. But she expects even more of herself; she is the #124-ranked women’s squash player in the world as of the time of this writing, after all.

“I really want to push and see how high I can go [after graduation],” she says. “I’m aiming for top 20 [in the world].”

Despite many extraordinary accomplishments at a young age, she says the moments that have impacted her career and life the most came after losses.

“Sometimes you lose [a close match], and you learn more from those than wins,” she says. “I always think about what I could’ve done better, I reflect. As athletes, sometimes we win and forget everything, but you need to sit down and think about what happened.”

Now entering her fourth year, she plans on “doing it all again” next season. 

“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to speak, and to have such great coaches and teammates, and an incredibly supportive family,” she says. “It’s great for the squash community [at UW] to see if you put in hours, you’ll get results.”

Cameron Seth

Cameron Seth is in his final year of a five year PhD in computer science. (Photo credit: Abdullah Pathan)

An injury derailing a promising career is every athlete’s deepest fear, but Cameron Seth has never been one to run away from a challenge. He’s conquered professional squash players, completed an undergraduate degree in computer science, and is now pursuing a doctorate. So what was it that threatened to permanently take him off the court? Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a genetic condition that causes the hip joints to rub against one another. 

After finishing his first round of schooling in 2016 and walking away with a Shield of Excellence award, Seth played professionally in the Professional Squash Association. He’d already won the CJO when he was 18, and now with nothing but time and resources at his disposal, he increased the intensity of his training. 

Aside from Micaala Seth, Cameron has another sister, a brother, and parents who played squash for UW. The family dynamic and Seth’s individual skill culminated in a professional title in New York in 2019.

“Most athletes will go their entire careers without [a title], and I had to beat two guys who were top 100 in the world to win. I worked really hard and it paid off,” he recalls.

He achieved a peak ranking of 113th in the world before injuries came knocking. His success had come at a price; the pain from FAI and overuse became unbearable, sidelining him for 2.5 years. The normal recovery time is eight months.

“I took time off, then the pandemic happened, and I couldn’t train anyway, so I decided to get my master’s degree,” he says.

After returning to UW to complete his PhD, Seth was overjoyed to return to a team environment. Ten years after he last represented the black and gold, he’d have a chance to measure his skill against younger, more athletic players at the OUA championships. Having sat out so long, he knew he’d need to use skill and experience rather than brute force. Fortunately, skill and experience were all he needed.

Seth won five matches with no losses, and finished with an otherworldly rating of 6.69. His team finished fourth, and after nearly three years of inactivity, Seth had another trophy to add to his cabinet.

Like Shemirani, he accepted the Totzke trophy with poise.

“Sometimes squash isn’t as recognized as some other sports, so to win [the Totzke trophy] and get that recognition, it’s an honour,” he says.

With Shemirani entering her final year and Seth graduating, the squash duo aren’t turning their back on the sport that has defined their lives. Close friends, they’ll be playing in a national tournament in Vancouver at the end of April. Both praise the Warriors’ responsiveness and availability as contributing factors to their triumphs.

“I’ve spoken to athletes at other schools; a lot don’t get much support from their athletics department, so we definitely notice the help we get from ours,” Seth says. “It’s what leads us to having players like [Shemirani], and it’s why we have a good team.”

“[Seth and I] push each other to be better. We won’t get [complacent]. Just because we won awards doesn’t mean we’ll settle down. Athletes get hungrier after success,” Shemirani says about their future ventures. 

The time was dragging on. I had been staring at my laptop screen for hours, finishing the final paper of my last undergraduate course. Focused, yet exhausted by the task and all that time online, I lifted my gaze when a sudden flutter of movement caught my eye. Looking up from my laptop, I was delighted to see a delicate, red-feathered baby bird had decided to perch on my open window sill. The little bird peered inside, met my gaze, and flew away in a flash.

Have you ever thought about all the moments you might miss when you’re distracted by your phone or laptop? From the moment we open our eyes to the moment we close them and finally get some sleep, we’ve likely spent several hours staring at a screen. Whether it’s at school or at a job, screens have become synonymous with getting our work done.

What about when time online begins to overtake our personal time? Though you might not be typing up a midterm paper on Word on your phone in your free time, scrolling through social media or engaging in other ‘leisure’ online activities during every other spare moment might mean unknowingly missing out on moments that just might mean the most.

So, how can we cultivate healthier screentime habits? Denise Marigold, associate professor in social development studies at UW, has lended her insights into what it means to use our screentime mindfully and in ways that can enhance our life and close relationships.

How is screen time affecting your well-being?

Asked how students can distinguish between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ digital habits, Marigold said they should consider: “When people are using their screen time, what is it taking away from, if anything? What are they doing, or not doing, instead?” She went on to highlight how unhealthier habits are evident when individuals are avoiding responsibilities, such as work or school, or not engaging in regular exercise or in-person interactions. If you’re already a bit anxious about getting out there and interacting in-person, Marigold touched on how escaping through excessive screen time can contribute to escape conditioning: “The more you avoid that thing [that is] giving you anxiety, it just reinforces not doing the thing.”

Ensuring your screentime isn’t a mindless distraction to run from your responsibilities or work lies at the core of understanding whether your relationship with screen is supporting or undermining your well-being. A 2023 PubMed study touched on how research into the hazards of excessive screen time suggests that the physical health consequences are worth paying attention to. As most of us will know, staring at our screens for hours on end can cause eye strain, headaches, and neck, shoulder, and back pain as a result of the poor posture often assumed while on our devices. Likewise, the mental health impact of too much screen time is layered. When we use our devices in a way that leads to reduced face-to-face interactions, we’re much more likely to feel a reduction in our sense of connection with others.

A 2019 study on the effects of excessive screen time neurodevelopment and mental health, published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction found that correlations have already been linked to higher screen usage and higher rates of anxiety and depression, among other mood disorders. The impact of blue light on the circadian rhythm can reduce our ability to get quality sleep, in turn increasing our risk of developing a mood disorder. The study suggested that among young people, cognitive development can be negatively impacted by excessive screen use, resulting in poor problem-solving abilities, reduced creativity, and poor attention span. 

If all of that isn’t enough to motivate you to set limits on your recreational screentime,the study found that specifically among young adults aged 18-25, unhealthy and excessive screen time (which the study defined as over 2-3 hours of daily exposure to electronic media, including computer, phone, and television use) led to thinning of the cerebral cortex. This area of the brain manages memory and our ability to effectively make decisions and problem-solve. 

Finally, a 2024 Stanford article describes passive screen time as comparable to “eating sugar but for your brain.” What they mean is that although it ‘tastes’ good, screentime isn’t real ‘nutrition’ for our brains. It’s truly in-person social connection, exercise, quality sleep, and hobbies that don’t make use of screens, that truly give our brains the ‘nutrition’ it needs to operate at its peak and enable us to feel truly well.

How has technology changed our expectations in relationships?

Have you ever texted a friend and expected an immediate reply, only to have them reply hours later? Some of us don’t mind receiving a later response when we reach out to friends through digital means. Our expectations can play a role in determining whether digital communication supports or reduces our sense of closeness and security in our close relationships. 

Marigold touched on this common expectation that people respond to online communication urgently, describing, “there’s often an expectation that people will respond right away, be immediately available, because they have their phones.” She emphasized the need to understand that we may not always be able to speak to someone or receive a response, until we plan a sit-down conversation or reserve time for specific conversations. 

Digital means of communication offer us a buffer in terms of the immediacy in which we reply. Via text, we’re able to take our time when crafting a reply, as opposed to needing to directly respond during in-person conversations. Marigold also described how in heated arguments or conversations, being able to sit with your feelings and response as opposed to blurting out your immediate response in-person, can be a benefit.

Jiah Kaur, a fourth-year biology student, believes technology keeps students connected amid their hectic schedules. She admits however, “I’ve noticed a distinction between being connected and actually feeling connected. While messaging is convenient, it doesn’t always substitute for face-to-face interactions.” Shen went on to emphasize how being overly absorbed in phones when out with others, can distract from the experience. She added, “While screens allow us to reach out to people more easily, they don’t always help us be fully present with them. It’s all about finding the right balance.” 

Asked whether reducing her screentime would improve her quality of life, Rahmah Bacchus, a third-year chemistry student, agreed. She adds, “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve started to appreciate offline time more than being online. Reducing my screen time would likely improve my overall well-being, eye health, and allow me to spend more time with others in-person.”

Passive (Scrolling) vs. Active engagement: Using social media effectively

There’s often a major difference you’ve already noticed between how you feel when mindlessly scrolling your social media feed, in contrast to how you feel when purposefully, actively engaging in posts or with people you have a sense of connection to. Interestingly, a 2021 journal article published in World Psychiatry, that examined the well-being impact of social networking sites such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, finds that people are spending, on average, over two hours on social networking sites per day. 

As described in this study, the key differentiators between whether all that time online supports our mental health or undermines it, lies in whether two distinct psychological mechanisms are at work. In cases of passive engagement, it is social comparison, specifically upward social comparison (i.e., seeing others as ‘better’) that is tied to feelings of inferiority and envy. Social comparison is at the core of why social media can negatively impact our mental health. In contrast, in active engagement with social media sites, social capital accrual is at the heart of how we can leverage these social platforms and support our well-being. 

Social capital accrual encompasses bonding (instrumental and emotional support tied to our stronger connections) and bridging (the novel perspectives we can accrue through weaker ties). For instance, if you’re using LinkedIn, there can be benefits if you’re actively engaging with close connections or learning about topics that interest you through the posts of weaker ties. If instead you were simply spending your time on LinkedIn, or any social media app, scrolling and comparing accomplishments, you’re much more likely to feel worse. 

How do phones and social media keep us hooked?

The addictive nature of phones and social media is not only tied to the algorithms and designs of apps, but also to the brain chemical dopamine, commonly involved in addiction. Anna Lembke, a Stanford psychologist, has done extensive research in her book Dopamine Nation, into how dopamine and phone addiction play out in today’s world. Addictions often form as a result of quick reward and ease of access, making smartphones and screens the perfect hit of ‘digital dopamine.’ With colorful images, flashing notifications, and endless videos, smartphones and social media offer a limitless supply of visual stimulus. Lembke’s research touches on how the human wiring for connection can make us all the more susceptible to compulsive overconsumption of social media, as we continually engage online for another hit of dopamine. The novelty factor further amplifies the drive to continue our online scrolling. When you finally get off Instagram or TikTok, “the brain is plunged into a dopamine-deficit state as it attempts to adapt to the unnaturally high levels of dopamine social media just released.” As a result, you wind up feeling awful when you finally stopped that one hour scroll, yet felt fine up until the moment you stopped engaging.

Developing digital mindfulness

Despite often knowing that our screentime habits aren’t helping us, the challenge of reducing our time online remains. When asked whether it’s possible to try and push oneself to reduce their screentime, Marigold shared, “With a lot of habit change it can’t just be about willpower, especially when phones and social media are designed to suck us in and addict us.” She went on to describe how social media websites algorithms’ continuous suggestion of videos and posts is an endless loop. She suggested developing external constraints, such as timers that lock you out of your cellphone or even leaving your phone further away, essentially “make it harder to access.” 

However, being compassionate with yourself while working to set boundaries with your screen usage is key. As Marigold emphasized, “It’s designed to be an addictive substance and everyone is challenged with that.” She adds that all things considered, “It’s [about] making sure you have things in your life that are as rewarding, if not more so, than scrolling.” Although it can often be more difficult to get your friends together and coordinate schedules to meet up, Marigold agreed, “it’s worthwhile to put in those efforts to be interacting in the real world.” She also encourages individuals to consider how they feel after an hour of scrolling compared to a walk with a friend, encouraging us to think ahead to how we will feel later when making decisions about our time online.

The first step to ensuring your screentime is adding to your life and enhancing your relationships, might mean developing the self-awareness to question when and why we are choosing to be online. For others, perhaps it is about finding the people and moments that make showing up feel like something you don’t want to miss, because when we’re happiest and most at peace is rarely when we’re online, and is instead when we’re able to pause, be with people we care about, and live in the moment. 

Screens can connect us from halfway across the world to friends and family that mean everything to us. Other times, technology becomes an unhealthy escape, a distraction from challenging emotions you need to face. When you find yourself compulsively reaching for your phone while out with friends, consider pausing, setting it back down, and remembering what it means to be present. In a world where social media and phones can lead us to forget celebrating what we have and what’s already meaningful in our lives, logging out and looking up might just mean spotting a bird outside you’ve never seen before, or discovering moments the online world can’t match.

ERIN – Town of Erin councillor Bridget Ryan has announced she will not be seeking re-election this October.

The announcement was made during a May 14 meeting of council.

“I would like to announce to my council colleagues, to the town staff and to our Town of Erin constituents, that I will officially be not seeking re-election in the fall 2026 election,” said Ryan.

“I will however continue to carry out my municipal councillor responsibilities to the very best of my abilities.”

Ryan added she will “continue running until she hits the wall” over the next five months of her council term. 

“Serving on council has been an enormous opportunity,” said Ryan. "And I’ve experienced many ups and downs.”

Ryan called the decision “bittersweet” and appeared to get emotional as she concluded her remarks.

Councillors, staff and members of the public applauded Ryan following her announcement.  

WatSFiC is marking its half a century through events that reflect the club’s history. “That was a lot of fun doing a lot of the games and watching movies across the past 50 years,” Jaycob Liinamaa, club’s promotional director, shared. Liinamaa has been a member since May 2023 and has held multiple executive roles, including webmaster, president, and promotional director. He is currently serving as pagemaster following his graduation to help complete the Star Songs, a club fanzine revival project.

WatSFiC was founded on Jan. 13, 1976. It initially focused on activities such as movie night hostings and occasional war gaming sessions. However, a key shift came in the late 1970s as tabletop role-playing games became part of the club’s core activities. According to Liinamaa, the club began hosting Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) sessions on May 19, 1978, followed by its first tournament on November 3 of that year, which had 22 entrants and over the years, it grew to as many as 15 teams of 6 in attendance.

As the club expanded, it incorporated a wider range of activities. “We ended up adopting Magic: The Gathering, a live action role-playing (LARP) game, also known as Waterloo by Night. Humans vs. Zombies was originally a part of our club,” Liinamaa shared. The club also maintained a large shared resource collection. “Our library ended up growing to over 1,600 books before the university got rid of the club’s library and we were forced to sell most of them off,” he said, adding that “a good chunk of that collection was rare and collectible books.” The collection was previously housed in the Student Life Centre (SLC), where WatSFiC was a major contributor, and the club had earlier shared space with the Math Society. Today, however, WatSFiC no longer has a permanent headquarters, as that has been repurposed as office space and instead the club books rooms each term for meetings, most often in the Mathematics and Computer building. 

While these elements reflect earlier stages of the club’s development, WatSFiC has since shifted toward a broader and more flexible structure. “It’s really just been more multifaceted than singularly focused,” Liinamaa said. Today, the club runs a mix of recurring and one-time events throughout each academic term, beginning with initiatives designed to build community. At the start of the term, WatSFiC typically hosts a bonfire social to encourage informal interaction among members. This is followed by an introductory one-shot event aimed at new participants, where students can learn the basics of D&D. From there, the club’s programming expands into a range of activities that cater to different interests and experience levels. These include war gaming sessions such as Trench Crusade and Kill Team, as well as efforts to introduce members to the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game. Skill-based and workshop-style events are also part of the schedule, including mini painting nights where members are provided with materials and guided through basic techniques.

In addition to regular programming, the club organizes larger and more specialized events. These include themed gatherings and extended gameplay formats, such as a 24-hour marathon consisting of six back-to-back four-hour D&D sessions. Creative engagement is incorporated through competitions, including a short story contest in which participants write based on a set of prompts, with word limits varying depending on the organizers. A miniature painting contest is also held, where entries are judged by popular vote.

Beyond its internal programming, WatSFiC is also involved in collaborative initiatives across campus. One such example is the Tabletop Tavern, which brings together communities centred around games such as Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokémon, and board games. While Magic: The Gathering operates within WatSFiC, it functions largely independently and has newer collaborations. 

The club’s current structure has also been shaped by disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some activities, particularly LARP, have not fully returned to their previous format. “Before COVID, the LARP was really a bi-weekly thing… but because that interest died over COVID, we had to try and get it back with just one-off events,” Liinamaa said. He noted that rebuilding participation has been challenging, especially given the complexity of the format.

Membership levels vary by term, but the club maintains a consistent base. According to Liinamaa, the club sees around 60 active members over the course of a year. Weekly attendance typically averages around 20 participants, with an increase to approximately 30 for larger events. Introductory sessions tend to draw the highest turnout. “For one-shot events… we get upwards of 60 people,” he added, though many attend only temporarily. The club operates under an executive structure with the four roles required by WUSA – president, vice-president, treasurer, and secretary; alongside additional positions such as Master of Tournaments (TTRPG events), Master of Events (non-TTRPG events), Warmaster (wargaming), Pagemaster (book club and arts), promotional director, and webmaster. The executive team typically meets weekly before Saturday events, and these meetings are open to members.

Disney, Dreamworks, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli currently dominate the popular consciousness when it comes to mainstream animated films. But did you know plenty of other masterpieces can be found outside the big-name studios? Here are a few lesser-known animated films to check out, spanning not only multiple countries but art styles and themes:

Persepolis

Release Year: 2007 (France)

Runtime: 96 minutes

TW: self-harm, violence, war, political unrest, sexual content

Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is an autobiographical novel that details Satrapi’s childhood and early adulthood. From the Iranian Revolution during her childhood, to her relationships while studying abroad in Austria and then her struggles with depression before her return back to Iran, the film covers the ups and downs of her life set against the backdrop of her changing identity as an Iranian woman. Just like the graphic novel, the film is entirely animated in black and white, aside from its rare and intentional use of colour in certain scenes.

The Illusionist

(Original Title: “L’Illusioniste”)

Release Year: 2010 (France)

Runtime: 79 minutes

When time, trends and technology march on, what happens to art and our sense of wonder? Inspired by an unrealized script by French actor and filmmaker Jacques Tati, this movie spotlights the titular illusionist, reliant on traditional magic tricks as he searches for work across 1959 Europe, while modern entertainment like rock ‘n’ roll bands and movies begin to dominate society. Interwoven with his travels is a touching father-daughter story about the preservation (and loss) of innocence, the relevance of art in modern times, and what it means to believe in magic. This film is also mostly dialogue-free with the narratives carried by subtle visuals and music, so this is a great piece when you’re in the mood for something more lowkey and a little solemn.

Loving Vincent

Released 2017 (Poland, UK)

Runtime: 94 minutes

With all 650,000 frames painstakingly hand painted by oil painters rather than animators, Loving Vincent is the first fully hand painted feature film, telling the story of how the titular Vincent Van Gogh met his demise. The movie uncovers his relationships with close friends and family as the protagonist, a postman’s son, seeks to deliver Vincent’s last letter to his beloved brother Theo. This film won the Audience Award and earned a ten-minute standing ovation during its debut at the 2017 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

Song of the Sea

Released: 2014 (Ireland)

Runtime: 94 minutes

If you want a heartwarming comfort film that features Irish folklore, this movie is for you. Siblings Ben and Saoirse live with their father, grief-stricken years after their selkie mother Bronagh disappeared into the sea during Saoirse’s birth. When Saorise discovers her mother’s sealskin, the two children enter a magical world filled with creatures from Irish mythology to discover the secret behind their mother’s disappearance and repair their fragmented relationship with each other and the rest of their family.

For each month of the spring term, I will introduce a primary ingredient and illustrate its capabilities through a key dish. For May, the ingredient of the month is… sugar! Sugars come in various forms; however, this month will focus on crystallised refined sugar. These types of sugar are your typical white, brown and dark brown sugars. These sugars are perfect for drawing moisture out of foods, enhancing flavour. Additionally, sugars are also used as thickening agents, where the sugar acts as a “thickener” by breaking down into glucose and fructose. In other words, sugar is the go-to ingredient for when you need to enhance sweet flavours or caramelisation (i.e. the thickening process). 

For this month, a strawberry rhubarb compote is the perfect dish to illustrate these two characteristics. This compote captures the sugar’s ability to draw moisture and enhance the flavours of the fruits. The sugar is used to thicken the mixture into a compote consistency. With that, I hope you enjoy this recipe and learn a bit about how sugar performs!

Tools: 

Large mixing bowl 

Spatula or mixing spoon 

Large mason jar or airtight container 

Cooking pot

Ingredients: 

1⅓ cups of quartered or diced strawberries

1¾ cups of thinly sliced rhubarb 

¼ – ½ cup of sugar (optional: white, brown, etc.) 

2 tbsp of filtered water

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

A pinch of salt 

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly clean the strawberries and rhubarb and pat dry with a paper towel. 
2. Quarter or dice your strawberries depending on your preference for texture. Personally, I prefer quarters as they provide more texture. Then, thinly slice the rhubarb.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar, and let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes. During this time, the sugar will draw the moisture out of the fruits to produce more juice that will further thicken the mixture. 
4. At medium heat, cook the mixture for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries and rhubarb have softened. Once softened, add the vanilla extract, water and salt.
5. Let the mixture completely cool and store the compote in a large mason jar or an airtight container. 

GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Police say an inebriated camper with a BB gun was to blame for the evacuation of a portion of the Guelph Lake Conservation Area yesterday.

Wellington County OPP officials say police responded to a “weapons call” at the conservation area, north of Guelph, on May 14 at about 3pm.

According to police, a visiting camper was seen “with an alleged firearm,” so “out of an abundance of caution, nearby campers and guests were evacuated ...  and police began their investigation, alongside [conservation area staff],” police stated in a press release.

“A short time later, it was determined that the camper in question had a pellet gun and was using it to shoot pop cans on their campsite. 

“The camper was also found to be intoxicated ... [and was removed] from the property as a result of an alcohol ban on the premises.”

Police noted there were no injuries reported and the camper was cooperative.

FERGUS – Helmets and gloves flying, the bench emptied onto the ice as the home team scored in overtime at the Fergus sportsplex on May 10.

But the elation was short-lived.

The Fergus Whalers believed they had secured the Clarence Schmalz Cup – but the goal was waived off after a referee ruled the puck did not cross the goal line.

The team regrouped to make the next one count.

It was game five of the Provincial Junior Hockey League (PJHL) final against the Tavistock Braves this past Sunday.

The Braves’ Marc Dionne scored in the first with Joey Martin tying it up early in the second for the Whalers.

Tavistock's Nolan Miller put the Braves ahead once again minutes later. But Jacob Lesser answered with two of his own and Fergus headed into the third period leading 3-2.

Tavistock’s Yann Raskin erased Fergus’ lead with a goal in the third, sending the game into overtime tied 3-3.

Fergus rallied after the disallowed goal for their second chance.

Martin passed to Lesser, who fed Ryan Forwell in the slot for a one-timer that left no doubt.

The team again spilled over the boards, equipment flying, as the horn blared and fans hammered on the glass.

Nine minutes into overtime, the Whalers had clinched the Schmalz Cup, the young franchise’s first provincial Junior C championship, with a 4-3 win.

“It was pretty electric,” captain Tyler Ewald told the Advertiser.

Ewald, a Chatham-Kent native studying accounting in Guelph, said the team was “relentless” in the second and third, firing 21 shots across the two periods.

“We had all the pressure,” Ewald said of the overtime rally. “We just worked them and they ran out of gas.”

Had the Braves scored in overtime, the Whalers would have had to travel to Tavistock for game six of the best-of-seven series.

“The momentum really swings,” Ewald said. “It was really refreshing to get it done in game five.”

That an expansion club managed to win the championship just three years after forming is no small feat.

“We just kept winning – the boys, the players, everybody just bought in and it was quite a ride,” said head coach Ryan Black.

The Fergus Whalers, whose logo and green and blue colours borrow heavily from former NHL franchise the Hartford Whalers, launched in the 2023-24 season.

The team made it to the North Pollock Division finals in 2024-25, but lost to Hanover, which eventually won the Schmalz Cup.

“We reloaded for [this season],” Black said, “the year we wanted to win the Pollock.”

The team finished first in the Pollock Division with 34 wins and seven losses.

It had a remarkable 14-game winning streak heading into the playoffs, and had a 16–2 record in the post-season heading into the Schmalz Cup.

“We were on a big run,” Black said.

“After Christmas, we set some goals, some short-term goals to see if we could pull it off and the guys just bought in. The more games we won, the stronger we got, the more confident we got.”

The Whalers finished the regular season with the third-best record among 63 PJHL teams across the province.

The team then won playoff series against Kincardine, Hanover, Stayner, Frankford and Tavistock, for a combined overall record of 54–10 for the season.

“The Schmalz Cup is the furthest you can go, that’s the ultimate pinnacle,” said Whalers owner Jason Baier.

“To do it in three years is quite an accomplishment.”

This season’s lineup, Baier said, was a “determined and dedicated group that really had a great culture in the room” and became like a family.

“That just cultivated to winning on the ice.”

The majority of the team is made up of University of Guelph students, with just four from Wellington County.

Baier, a Stratford business owner, has coached AAA and Junior B hockey for 20 years, and was a director for the Mitchell Hawks during their 2021-22 Pollock Division win.

He said he was approached by the PJHL about bringing junior hockey back to Centre Wellington nine years after the Fergus Devils folded in 2014-15.

“Coming to Fergus was very exciting for us. We knew it was a hotbed for sports and to be able to bring CW junior hockey back was something that we felt was very exciting,” Baier said.

While the team was finding its footing during its inaugural 2023-24 season, it was lucky to draw 100 fans, according to Baier.

That’s a far cry from the 1,200-plus fans that Baier said attended recent home games – and over 10,000 spectators combined who attended playoff games.

“It’s catapulted within the community and with our players,” Baier said, adding the team is looking to embed itself more deeply in the community off the ice.

Baier expressed gratitude to fans, families and sponsors, including the team’s mainstay, Kitchener-based Coops Drywall.

In the coming weeks, the team will be recognized for its championship win at Queen’s Park by sports minister Neil Lumsden and Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Joseph Racinsky.

Black said staff plans to “reload” the team at its spring camp in Waterloo at the end of the month.

Ewald, who turned 22 during the playoff run and ages out of junior hockey this year, said there’s a strong core of players on the team.

“They’re going to want to continue to try and win it again next year,” Ewald said.

ROCKWOOD – Local driver Brad Ranson made his first appearance on the world stage as he competed in the NASCAR Euro Series on April 18 and 19 in Spain.

The Rockwood resident placed third in his class.

“I started racing in 2020, but this is our first year in NASCAR itself,” said Ranson. 

“I started ... regional racing for the past couple years, and then at the end of last year, I had a good end to the season, and I was invited to do some testing in February with NASCAR Europe.”

“I did well at the testing, and I was offered to drive for the full season in Europe with the NASCAR Europe team.”

Ranson has also been invited to compete in the NASCAR Canada Series, something not many racers typically get to do.

“I am one the few drivers ever to embark on a program both in Europe and Canada in NASCAR,” he said.

Asked if he was nervous to race against more accomplished drivers, Ranson said he is excited. 

“I would say excited more so than nervous ... when you get in the car and you put the helmet on, everything kind of goes away and you’re just driving, but it’s obviously a bigger stage, bigger crowd,” he said. 

“I mean, there was 40,000 people there at that race (last month). So a little bit of nerves from that end, but more excited. I was the only Canadian driver in that series.”

While drivers and their teams prepared to hit the track, spectators were treated to a multitude of festivities.

“[In Europe] NASCAR is kind of viewed as a very American form of racing, so what they do at most of the European events is they turn it into almost a festival of American culture,” said Ranson.

“So they bring monster trucks, they have country music bands, all the fans show up with cowboy hats trying to do their best American impression. They do car shows as well, with strictly American cars that you don’t typically see in Europe.”

When he isn’t competing, Ranson does his best to keep his instincts sharp both at home in Rockwood and on various tracks across the United States.

“I’ve got a simulator in the basement that keeps me a little bit sharp,” said Ranson. “But in the winter, typically, I go down to the States for some weekends to race. This year we were down in Texas and Alabama ... in December and January, when the weather was not so good up here.”

Professional racing in Canada poses some difficulty due to the prolonged winter. 

“That’s one of our biggest deficits here as Canadian racers, is we basically, in a good year, we get six months a year [to race],” said Ranson. 

With his first NASCAR race under his belt, Ranson is geared up and ready to compete in Canada. 

Ranson’s first NASCAR Canada Series race will take place on May 17 at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville. He will be driving the #28 Chevrolet Camaro.

“I mean, hopefully some people will see it on TV ... On the starting lineup on TSN, it’s going to show Brad Ranson from Rockwood, Ontario, so looking forward to representing Rockwood,” he said.

Ranson gave a special thanks to his sponsors.

“Especially with NASCAR, I mean, it’s all about our partners and our sponsors. They’re the ones that fund us to be able to make sure we do what we can do.” 

 Sponsoring Ranson on his racing endeavors are: Wallace Chevrolet in Milton, Best Deal Print Solutions, GMH UV and Komcan/Komori.

While this is Ranson’s first year competing with NASCAR, the local driver is keen on advancing his driving and hopefully winning a championship.

“Our goal is to keep competing and then hopefully win a championship in one of these two series ... next year or the following year,” he said. 

“Or however long I’m lucky enough to be able to keep racing NASCAR.”

Those interested can follow Ranson on social media – @b.ranson.racing on Instagram or Brad Ranson on Facebook – or by visiting nascar.ca. 

All of Ranson’s races will be broadcast live on TSN.

PALMERSTON  – Members of the club that runs an annual John Deere Show here say they were blindsided by recent accusations that their summer event left local soccer fields un-playable.

And they deny any wrongdoing whatsoever.

“There were no ruts that I saw [last year],” said David Craig, past president of the Upper Canada Two Cylinder Club.

“We never heard anything from Minto about issues created the weekend of our show.”

Craig said club members walked the grounds behind the Palmerston community centre, including the main soccer pitch, following the July 25 to 27 event.

“If there was damage, we didn’t do it,” said club member Doug Dann, who noted there is no fence around the pitch.

“If we cause damage we’re going to fix it.”

At an April 21 Minto council meeting, the club was accused by Minto United Soccer Club president Jeff Klemp of leaving behind possible injury-causing ruts that led to the soccer fields being “condemned.”

Klemp had a petition with 171 signatures asking for council to act on the issue and protect the soccer fields, which have served approximately 250 youths annually over the past several years.

“We’re disappointed ... our club has been named,” said Craig. “It insinuates that we are the problem, which I really don’t think is fair.”

The John Deere Show started in Drayton in 1993, moved to Grand Valley in 2012 and has been held in Palmerston for the past three years.

Craig and Dann say the club never had an issue until last fall, when Minto officials approached them about signing an agreement for the 2026 show.

They had previously operated with a verbal agreement, they said, but they decided in January to sign the document, which guarantees no damage to the soccer pitch. 

They assumed that was the end of the matter, until Minto United Soccer Club officials brought it up again this spring, which led to an April 12 letter from the town to the Two Cylinder Club that suggests a portion of its show may be relocated to a different, much smaller part of the property.

“There’s been a lack of clarity from the town,” said Dann.

Craig said moving campers, many of them seniors, farther way from show attractions is not ideal and, more importantly, neither is a reduced footprint for the event.

“How can we do the same show ... on less space?” he asked.

Craig said the future of the show is now uncertain, but he remains hopeful the matter can be resolved, perhaps during  discussions with Minto officials and with the club’s board of directors – both set for earlier this week (results were not known by press time).

Both Craig and Dann expressed regret about the situation, particularly considering the show’s popularity, its role in “educating the public” on agricultural issues and its charitable efforts in the region.

“We’re trying to be good citizens,” Dann said.

Over the past three years the club has donated over $11,000 combined to the Palmerston Food Bank, Minto fire department, Palmerston hospital and Groves hospital.

“We like to partner with people,” said Craig. “We do a lot of good, positive things with this show.”

Always top of mind for club members, many of them farmers, is being good stewards of the land on which they work, he added.

“I believe in safety and in leaving things the way we found them,” he said.

Craig noted the club would like to discuss the matter with Minto United officials, which to date has not happened.

BRUCEDALE – The results are in on the new Rockwood gateway signs and Guelph/Eramosa residents have a clear favourite.

More than 660 residents filled out a survey between April 7 and 30, choosing their favourite from among three options and providing written feedback as well.

“Option number one emerged as the clear preference with around 70 per cent of respondents choosing this as their preferred sign,” said clerk Amanda Knight during a May 11 council meeting.

The signs will be on:

• Highway 7, Alma entrance;
• Highway 7 Dunbar entrance;
• Wellington Road 27; and
• Harris Street.

Of the 664 total responses, 464 chose option one, 106 chose option two, 54 chose option three and 34 people chose “none of the above”.

Respondents who selected option one as their favourite were asked to explain why.

This feedback  included:

• a strong connection to Rockwood’s natural setting, including the conservation area, river, trees and rock features;
• a rustic, welcoming and “village scale” aesthetic that reflects Rockwood’s identity;
• clear legibility and contrast for drivers and visitors; and
• a design distinct from larger neighbouring municipalities.

“A smaller subset of respondents raised concerns regarding municipal spending priorities or questioned the need for new signage altogether,” states a staff report to council. 

“While these views were noted by staff, they represent a clear minority when considered alongside the overall response volume and voting results.”

The approved budget for the project is $80,000, however the project is expected to cost less than that. 

According to the report, the signs will cost $6,980, posts and installation $27,000, landscaping $5,000 and drawings and permits $3,500, for a total of $42,480. 

Staff also suggested adding lighting to the highway signs via solar panels, at an additional cost of $15,000.

“Now I will mention the signs themselves are reflective,” Knight told council. 

Councillor Mark Bouwmeester said he was “very pleased with the response rate,” and voiced his support for the additional lighting, granted it did not prove to be “overkill” with the reflective signs. 

“In general it’s a great upgrade to the entrance of Rockwood and our endeavour to bring more business and people to the downtown,” said councillor Steven Liebig. “It’s something that’s really needed and it’s really going to help with development.”

All councilors agreed to the additional lighting, unless it reacted poorly with the reflective coating of the signs.

Council voted unanimously to go ahead with the installation of option one. The work will be done by Scutt Signs of Guelph.

WELLINGTON NORTH – Though the Mount Forest Tim Hortons has been there for decades, Wellington North council is taking new measures to mitigate its impact on John Street. 

And a lawyer representing the township has issued a written notice to Tim Hortons regarding traffic issues there. 

A traffic enforcement program will be implemented to stop people from parking or stopping on John Street.

Expected to begin in mid- to late-May, it will include two weeks of education on social media and in local news outlets, two weeks of OPP enforcement and then one week of follow-up to measure compliance. 

The program is expected to cost about $5,000. 

According to a May 4 report to council, township staff met with Tim Hortons officials and the property owners three times in 2024 to discuss John Street traffic issues related to the drive-thru, but neither “acknowledged a traffic issue directly attributable to the drive-thru operations, nor did they propose any remedial measures.” 

The owner of the Mount Forest Tim Hortons did not respond to the Advertiser’s request for comment. 

During reconstruction of John Street in 2025, staff say access to the drive-thru lane moved to Main Street South, and no negative impacts on traffic were observed. 

When John Street reopened in September, township staff say “traffic associated with the drive-thru resumed pre-construction habits, including illegal parking and stopping on John Street. 

“Township staff are requesting a future meeting with 319 Main St. S. property owner and Tim Hortons ... owner to further discuss how they plan to address and correct the John Street traffic issue directly linked to the drive-thru operations,” the report states.

ELORA – The Elora and Fergus Legions just might get their veterans’ crosswalks after all.

Centre Wellington council certainly was willing to entertain the idea on May 11 and directed staff to return with more information, even after staff recommended not allowing the colourful crosswalks in the township.

Local resident Randy Vaine, Elora Legion president Don Cubbage and Fergus Legion president Randy Graham delegated to council seeking the extra consideration for veterans – a permanent and year-round tribute that extends beyond Remembrance Day, they said.

The crosswalks are painted with red and white stripes and often have a maple leaf or an image of a veteran. According to the Canadian Legion, they cannot have the poppy symbol or the Canadian flag.

Vaine had delegated to council last fall hoping the township would approve the plan and have crosswalks installed across from the Elora and Fergus cenotaphs in time for Remembrance Day.

Council sent the question to its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisory committee, which along with staff did not recommend installing the crosswalks.

According to the report by manager of community development Kristen Bettiol:

• paint quickly degrades due to winter weather, salt/sand application and friction from snow plowing and vehicle tires;
• paint colours may not effectively bind to the asphalt;
• non-standard decorative crosswalks can be targets of vandalism;
• annual touch-ups would be required and the entire crosswalk painting will need to be replaced every three to five years, depending on the initial paint material/method, resulting in high operating costs;
• decorative crosswalks are not recognized under the Highway Traffic Act and may create confusion among drivers and pedestrians resulting in safety concerns; and
• accessibility / AODA compliance – for people with low vision, faded colours or busy patterns can be disorienting.

Bettiol noted the township does many things to honour veterans including:

• installation and removal of remembrance banners in Elora and Fergus;
• maintenance of cenotaph grounds in Elora, Salem, Fergus and Belwood;
• road closures for Remembrance Day parades;
• annual Specific Stream funding for Remembrance Day wreaths as part of the Community Investment Fund;
• council participation in ceremonies and events; and
• maintenance and ceremonial management of cenotaph flagpoles.

And with the Inclusive Community Policy in place, there would be opportunity for new methods for honouring veterans through illumination of township sites, media displays and clear procedures related to half-masting and the display of flags on community flagpoles.

Vaine discounted the objections and said there are 110 veterans’ crosswalks in cities across Canada that have been installed and maintained without incident.

Cubbage said the Elora Legion is willing to contribute $500 annually toward touch-ups if requested.

Graham said the staff recommendation “is not the path to take. We are hopeful council will see this as a timely and progressive move forward.”

Council got tripped up on the Inclusive Community Policy and the recommendation about the veterans’ crosswalks, which were both discussed in the same report.

The Inclusive Community Policy is intended to provide a clear framework around flag displays, half-masting, illumination, recognition in public spaces and the township’s diversity calendar to recognize special days and months such as Remembrance Day, Pride Month and National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, among others.

Managing director of community services Adam Gilmore said the policy does not preclude the crosswalks.

Council supported the policy and it passed. But councillors also wanted the crosswalks handled separately.

They passed a motion to have staff meet with the Legions and staff at Wellington County, as some crosswalks would be on a county road, and to investigate the cost of installing the crosswalks. 

Staff are expected to return to council later this month with an update.

Looking for a change of pace, Lyn Allen made the jump to Elmira in taking the helm at Woolwich Community Services.

The former director of an Orangeville-based shelter for abused and homeless women and children brings 38 years of experience to her new role.

She took on the job following the retirement of Kelly Christie, who spent 25 years with WCS, the last eight as executive director.