The Ottawa Senators are back in the playoff hunt after proving Tuesday night they want it more than the Detroit Red Wings. The Senators closed out back-to-back games against the […]
Guillaume Laflamme
Photos:
March 1, 2023 Revised: March 1, 2023 3:17pm
The Ottawa Senators are back in the playoff hunt after proving Tuesday night they want it more than the Detroit Red Wings.
The Senators closed out back-to-back games against the Red Wings in dominating fashion, winning 6-1 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Senators went into Tuesday’s game with plenty of momentum after Monday’s spectacular 6-2 victory over Detroit.
The first period was off to an aggressive start with both teams picking up right where they left off the previous night.
Detroit kicked things off, scoring one goal in the first five minutes, but the Senators were quick to respond with Tim Stützle tying up the game within minutes on a penalty shot.
After regaining the momentum, the Sens refused to let it go, scoring an additional three goals in the first period. Austin Watson scored two of those goals.
Claude Giroux led the Senators against Detroit this week, earning a star of the game for both clashes. Giroux put up six points over the two games.
Following the victory, the Senators had 64 points in the NHL standings, putting them in fifth place in the wild card race.
The Senators will have less than 48 hours to recuperate from their demanding back-to-back games before facing the New York Rangers.
The Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 on Monday as the race for a playoff spot heats up. The Sens took a commanding stance in the standings as […]
Alex Lambert
Photos: Alex Lambert
February 28, 2023 Revised: February 28, 2023 2:44pm
Photo: Alex Lambert
A couple of Red Wings fans brought posters and high hopes to the Sens game on Monday.
The Ottawa Senators beat the Detroit Red Wings 6-2 on Monday as the race for a playoff spot heats up.
The Sens took a commanding stance in the standings as a result of the big win at the Canadian Tire Centre.
The stakes were high for the Senators, seven points out of a playoff wildcard position. Detroit’s placement ahead of Ottawa in the division forced the game into a must-win situation for both teams.
Fast-paced, rugged hockey didn’t provoke the referees, who let slashing and hooking go uncalled in between grisly hits.
Bailing out the team on defensive breakdowns, Senators’ goalie Cam Talbot batted shots away, surviving the early pressure.
While Detroit got several chances from stolen breakout passes, Ottawa fought back with authority on defence, not letting the Red Wings get close in the second and third periods.
Ottawa occupied the offensive zone with dominant passing plays throughout the first period, but the Senators found no upper hand on power-play opportunities.
Thomas Chabot was caught overextended after a quick pass by Pius Suter to give up a goal off Tyler Bertuzzi’s wrist shot midway through the first perriod.
Despite Ottawa’s defensive efforts clogging the lanes and pushing offence aside, David Perron buried one, making the score 2-1 and taking the lead back for Detroit.
The Sens’ power play came full circle in the second period, with Claude Giroux and Brady Tkachuk scoring on back-to-back penalties after failing to convert in the first.
Chabot scored a shorthanded goal over the goalies’ top blocker side, beginning the third by pushing the game further out of reach. Tim Stutzle buried a bomb top blocker-side to confirm the Senators’ win.
The Senators play the Red Wings again Tuesday night at home with hopes of gaining more leverage in the playoff standings.
Midterm week can be a stressful time for students with most of their days filled with studying and homework. Intramural sports give students a chance to have fun with teammates […]
Annika Schlarb
Photos: Annika Schlarb
February 27, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: Annika Schlarb
Matheus Holand, Joseph Alababat and Matt Warner refereeing an afternoon soccer game at the dome.
Midterm week can be a stressful time for students with most of their days filled with studying and homework. Intramural sports give students a chance to have fun with teammates while getting a workout in.
Algonquin College offers intramural sports for students Monday through Friday where players can engage in competition.
Students can sign up for multiple sports at once if it fits into their schedule. The school offers volleyball, basketball, ball hockey and badminton at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre in the recreational gym. Cricket, soccer, flag football and ultimate frisbee take place in the Sports Field located at Z-building, also known as the dome.
Mitchell McPherson and Djibril Fall are the team captains for their intramural basketball team, the Flint Packers. Last semester, McPherson and Fall played on separate intramural basketball teams.
“We both decided that our teams didn’t satisfy our needs in terms of playmaking and sharing the ball,” said Fall.
This semester, the duo decided to make a team together and chose players that showed up to the recreational gym. “We play well together,” he continued. “This term we chose players we thought would fit well with the way we play.”
The recreation representative at the ARC creates the sign-up process for the teams and the gym employees are responsible for the promotion. Intramurals are also promoted around the school on posters and on the school’s social media. Students can also sign up to referee and keep score during the games. Gym staff promote openings for score keepers and referees around the school as paying jobs.
Students can sign up to play an intramural sport individually, but it is more common for players to sign up as a team. The team captains can choose anyone to be on their team and can register players by filling out an information sheet from the Welcome Desk at the ARC. The intramural section on the Algonquin College Students’ Association website says “team sizes will depend on the sport, but generally have a minimum size of five or six players and a maximum size of 14 players.”
After teams are registered, intramural organizers create and post a schedule at the rec gym or the dome.
“You just put down a time slot that everyone’s available on the given day,” explained McPherson.
There are six weeks of playing against other teams and then eliminations begin, which eventually result in an overall winning team.
Playing a sport they enjoy gives students an outlet between classes and homework. With midterms this week, the opportunity to get active and play organized sports relieves anxiety and stress.
Mohamed Semo is on the Black Wolves soccer team. He said intramural sports can be beneficial as it helps him with reducing stress, and he has also made new friends by joining the team. Semo describes himself as a “soccer enthusiast” and the ability for him to play soccer recreationally at school is a fun opportunity.
Another student playing intramural soccer, Bakr El Dahbol, said playing intramural sports is beneficial to students as it helps them “get active in the school community.”
The next Intramural registration will take place in September 2023. For more information on the intramural program, visit the Algonquin College Students’ Association website.
The Observatory was filled with over 50 people for the Rockstar Live Karaoke event on Wednesday. Students built up their courage to go up to the microphone and rock out […]
Linda Verreault
Photos: Linda Verreault
February 26, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: Linda Verreault
Betty Joy rocks to Poker Face by Lady Gaga at the Rock Live event in the Observatory.
The Observatory was filled with over 50 people for the Rockstar Live Karaoke event on Wednesday.
Students built up their courage to go up to the microphone and rock out to one of their favourite hit songs.
Brady Collier, 23, a computer programming student, got up and sang a great rendition of Fulsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. Collier was relaxed and at ease on stage and offered some advice.
“Just be yourself and you will do great! We all have a star in us!” said Collier.
Amanda Logan, the events programmer for the Students’ Association, was at the event. “This is one of the major events every year,” she said. “This is a bigger karaoke event because we bring in a full band.”
All the members of the band are professional musicians. Some members have been involved with Rockstar Live since 2001. They have hundreds of songs on their roster.
Sam Griffith, 20, business administration and member of the Algonquin College Glee Club, said, “It’s a big list, it’s intimidating, I’m going to do Justin Timberlake.” He belted out a great rendition of Can’t Stop the Feeling.
There were college employees in attendance such as Bethany Joy, 26, an employee at the Marketplace, who thrilled the crowd with a great vocal performance of Poker Face by Lady Gaga.
The band members included lead guitarist Glenn Finn who has toured as a backup guitarist for Burton Cummings and plays with the Killer Dwarfs and the Rowdy Men, a band that plays Newfoundland music.
The drummer, Dan Loach, has opened for Iron Maiden and Jeff Pearce and is a founding member of Moist, a band with three platinum records.
It made for a great backup band that could riff into full-out guitar solos in songs like Hit Me with Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar.
It was such a successful event the music played later than scheduled. Students rocked on to some of their favourite hits.
Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice, the comedy duo featured in Kenny vs. Spenny, had a meet and greet at the Algonquin Commons Theatre on Thursday to celebrate the show’s 20th […]
Naomie Twagirumukiza
Photos: Naomie Twagirumukiza
February 25, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: Naomie Twagirumukiza
Kenny and Spenny talk to a fan they brought up to the stage.
Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice, the comedy duo featured in Kenny vs. Spenny, had a meet and greet at the Algonquin Commons Theatre on Thursday to celebrate the show’s 20th anniversary.
Their fans were gifted with a ride down memory lane with old, new and unreleased videos of the show and some merchandise clothing with the show’s name.
The show was about two best friends competing against each other, and the loser had to do something decided by the winner. The fans loved them for their constant fights, and they did not disappoint.
The comedians, still in character, talked about how some of the things they did on video created some controversies and got them cancelled. This is why they started the show saying they were “uncancelled.”
Just like they usually do in their videos, the show mostly consisted of Kenny making fun of Spenny. The audience was more than happy to participate and randomly called Spenny names, like an idiot, that related to their videos.
Even though the two best friends were known to be funny, some of their explicit jokes were just too hard to digest for new people in the audience.
“I get that it’s a comedy, but I wasn’t expecting that,” said Aldoline Kamanzi, a business administration student, when a fan was called from the audience and proceeded to remove his pants on stage.
“It took a good minute for me to get used to the jokes,” Kamanzi said.
On the other hand, Kenny and Spenny made new fans with the same jokes.
“I’ve never heard of them,” said Kyle Baker, a student in the occupational therapist assistant and physiotherapy assistant program, “but it was a fun and nice night out.”
Students can use a break from their hectic schedules to enjoy the cuddles from adorable dogs. Aditya Aditya, 19, is a student navigator in the computer system networking program who […]
Linda Verreault
Photos: Linda Verreault
February 24, 2023 Revised: February 24, 2023 3:00pm
Photo: Linda Verreault
Shadow and Daisy, two members of the Paws 4 Stress team.
Students can use a break from their hectic schedules to enjoy the cuddles from adorable dogs.
Aditya Aditya, 19, is a student navigator in the computer system networking program who attended the Paws 4 Stress event in the Student Commons building on Tuesday.
“They have good energy, they are calm,” said Aditya at the event.
This event is geared toward students registered with the Centre for Accessible Learning and is advertised directly to them.
“It’s a time for students to take a break from studying and hang out with some furry friends,” said Leah Grimes, a volunteer support specialist with the Student Commons Volunteer Centre.
Paws 4 Stress was created to help students and staff alleviate stress. They try to run the event once a month and there is no charge. The dogs are certified by St. John Ambulanceand their ages range from two to 10 years old. This is a volunteer program, and the individuals choose to train their pets for events like this.
Larry King is the owner of Shadow, a 12-year-old golden retriever.
“Shadow failed the training program, got halfway. He is the gentlest, kindest dog I’ve ever had. He’s kinda special,” said King.
It was Katrin Nicholson’s first time participating in this event. Her dog, Fawn, is a five-year-old Labrador retriever. Nicholson knew Fawn would be a great therapy dog.
“Fawn was a guide dog for the blind and retired early because of allergies and she has just been certified as a therapy dog,” said Nicholson.
May Sizer, 26, is a business student who attended the event.
“I want my dog to be a therapy dog, so I wanted to see what it was all about. Dogs and puppies are known to ease stress and anxiety,” said Sizer.
Daisy, a nine-year-old Great Pyrenees, has a sweet puppy face. Her owner, Martin Davidson, said Daisy started as a therapy dog in November.
“Her temperament lends itself to this type of work. She is ideally suited for this and since I am retired it worked out for the two of us,” said Davidson.
Shelley Mineault, a student support services staff member, said she recently lost her dog in a tragic accident.
“This was the best part of my day,” said Mineault. “This event helped heal my heart.”
Life
Anxiety | Centre for Accessible Learning | Mental health | Mental health breaks | Stress relief
Algonquin College students gathered at the MakerSpace in the Dare District on Feb. 22 to sit down with henna artist Shelina Syed and learn all about henna, from its cultural […]
Zaynab Safa
Photos: Zaynab Safa
February 24, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: Zaynab Safa
Henna artist Shelina Syed (left) with her twin sister Shameen Syed (right). Participants at the event were able to leave with a cone of henna to take home with them and practice creating designs.
Algonquin College students gathered at the MakerSpace in the Dare District on Feb. 22 to sit down with henna artist Shelina Syed and learn all about henna, from its cultural origins to how to create designs.
“I’m teaching basic skills of henna and going through different patterns that they can create,” said Syed at the afternoon event. She has been working with henna since the age of 13.
The accessible workshop was part of the Creative Collisions series that is hosted by the Centre for Accessible Learning.
The art of henna has been practiced in Pakistan, Syed’s country for origin, for centuries. It is also practiced in India, Africa and the Middle East and is connected to many different cultural events.
Henna is a paste that leaves a temporary stain on the skin, and it contains lawsone, a reddish-orange dye. It is known by many various names around the world, including Henne and AL-Hanna.
“I’m here because I find this event very interesting,” said Fabiana Ferraresso a student navigator. “I also help with the AC Hub to produce social media content. I attend events and see what’s going on. It’s really nice because you get to put your hands on what’s going on, because you get to feel the experience with the students.”
Fabiana Ferraresso, a student navigator with the AC Hub, enjoyed the activity with other students gathered around.
Many students go to various events with friends to share these kinds of experiences together, while others attend every event they can find the time to go to.
“We have many regulars who are really familiar with the space now and are even helping other students,” said Zeynep Guzide a disabilities counsellor with CAL. “We have students that volunteer and ambassadors of the program who are showing others how to use the space and sometimes we have one-timers who come in.”
One participant at the event who was eager to learn too was Syed’s twin sister, Shamee.
“I’m here out of curiosity on henna and to support my sister,” she said. “For today, I was more curious on the outcome and how she was running the entire show of it all.”
Students who attended the event were able to leave with a cone of henna to take home with them after practicing designs in the workshop.
Featured Story | Life
Centre for Accessible Learning | Creative collisions | DARE district | Henna | MakerSpace
Carmen Hust, the chair of the Algonquin College nursing program, couldn’t be more pleased about the return of in-person education for nursing students. “Our faculty are very excited that students […]
Jayme Mutchmor
Photos: Arty Sarkisian
February 24, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: Arty Sarkisian
Algonquin College nursing students practice drawing blood for an upcoming exam. From left to right, Olivia Westland, Sam Channon, and Addie Wilson.
Carmen Hust, the chair of the Algonquin College nursing program, couldn’t be more pleased about the return of in-person education for nursing students.
“Our faculty are very excited that students are back in class,” said Hust, sitting in her chair in a sunlit corner office in the B-building on the Woodroffe campus. “We don’t take it for granted anymore.”
During the pandemic period, it was a feat of teamwork and resilience for the faculty to make the quick change from long in-person labs and clinical practice to a mainly online learning environment.
In a visit to the campus on Feb. 10, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his gratitude for the effort that the nursing faculty and students have put into Canada’s public health sector.
“Each of you decided that you wanted to be a part of serving and helping your fellow Canadians,” said Trudeau during his speech to Algonquin College nursing students.
The pandemic, to Hust, was a reminder to be grateful for the time spent together and the skills nursing students learned during the peak of the pandemic.
“The student population that came out of COVID were very self-motivated, they had to be tech-savvy and they had to become advocates for themselves,” said Hust.
The Ontario Government is also showing their support with the release of its new “Learn and Stay Grant,” which will help provide funding to students attending “priority programs,” such as nursing and paramedic studies.
However, while nursing programs have returned to in-person learning, there are still some challenges for Ontario’s nursing students.
For instance, some upper-year students and recent graduates from nursing schools around the province have found themselves being referred to as “COVID-nurses.”
Kayla Marshall-Lewis, a fourth-year nursing student from Algonquin College is one student who has been referred to by this label by other medical professionals.
“We are being called ‘COVID-nurses’ because we are graduating with ‘less’ knowledge,” said Marshall-Lewis. “We have been expected to teach so much of it to ourselves.”
Some professors have heard about these comments and they don’t agree with them.
“Unfortunately, all students might be painted with the same brush as being COVID-nurses,” said Teri-Lynn Christie, a professor of practical nursing at Canadore College. “But in their final consolidation they need to do everything to impress those they are working with that they are still knowledgeable.”
“Once we went fully integrated online, students attempted it, but we had a good portion that chose to step away until which time we were fully face-to-face again,” said Teri-Lynn Christie, professor of practical nursing at Canadore College.
(supplied photo)
Another challenge is that some student nurses have been told by working medical professionals to “get out while they can.”
“On several occasions, nurses at clinical would make comments to us students like ‘you should turn back now while you still can,’ or flat out, ‘why would you choose to be a nurse?’ in a confused and disapproving tone,” said Charley Truyens, now a registered nurse at the Sault Area Hospital. Truyens graduated from the University of Toronto in 2022.
The challenge of being a nursing student during the COVID period has also been difficult for many people. The mix of online learning, fewer in-person labs and less clinical experience led to some nursing students feeling unsupported, isolated and burnt out.
“I started noticing that my grades were slipping despite putting in more time and effort than I ever had in school,” said Truyens. “I think a lot of that was a result of burnout, fatigue and difficulty focusing.”
Marshall-Lewis also felt the effects of remote learning.
“Our in-person lab/clinical time was cut in half and replaced with virtual simulations, which are nothing like real hands-on experiences,” she said. “Lab was done socially distanced so we weren’t actually able to practice our skills in an appropriate setting before performing them in clinical practice.”
Many nursing professors found it challenging too. It was often difficult to give students enough support through remote learning, leading some students to step back from nursing until schools could teach in person again.
“Once we went fully integrated online, students attempted it, but we had a good portion that chose to step away until which time we were fully face-to-face again,” said Christie.
Now that nursing programs have returned to in-person learning, application rates at Algonquin College have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“Nursing is a team sport, it is not something we do in isolation, and we need each other,” said Hust.
Featured Story | News
Covid-19 | Health care | In-person | Nursing | Nursing program
Local CBC: Twenty-three automated speed cameras are planned to be installed along city roads this year by the City of Ottawa. Leftover cameras which were supposed to be installed last […]
Noah Leafloor
Photos:
February 24, 2023 Revised: February 24, 2023 12:46pm
Local
CBC: Twenty-three automated speed cameras are planned to be installed along city roads this year by the City of Ottawa.
Leftover cameras which were supposed to be installed last year will double the total amount this year. This leaves 40 cameras to be set up in total, according to Carol Hall, associate director of traffic services.
The cameras being installed in school zones and parks are 17 in total. There are 11 in school zones, two near parks and the others along frequent speeding areas.
National
CBC: Tipping culture is being challenged by restaurants that adopt a no-tipping model where wages are higher and the bill is all-inclusive.
Vancouver’s Folke restaurant for instance, gives the customers tips to staff to fund their dinners.
The concept was adopted by the restaurant due to the increase of menu prices by inflation.
Most diners must ask for larger tips due to inflation, but 59 per cent of Canadians would like to see the no-tipping model adopted more often.
On a snowy Thursday evening in Centretown, Algonquin College students wandered the halls of the Canadian Museum of Nature. AC Hub’s Night at the Museum field trip created the opportunity […]
TJ Sider
Photos: TJ Sider
February 24, 2023 Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm
Photo: TJ Sider
Tanay Shah (left) and Pragya Parmar (right) pose in front of a polar bear diorama at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Thursday.
On a snowy Thursday evening in Centretown, Algonquin College students wandered the halls of the Canadian Museum of Nature.
AC Hub’s Night at the Museum field trip created the opportunity for students to see up close the natural wonders of Canada’s past. Thirty students packed into a school bus that sent them to the museum and back.
Samantha Therrien, the event programmer at AC Hub and organizer of Night at the Museum, said the event gives students an opportunity to have some fun.
“We wanted to get back into going off of campus, exploring the city, doing fun activities that students might not otherwise have the budget to do,” said Therrien. “A lot of our students are new to Ottawa and they’re just not familiar with the city, so we would love to provide opportunities for them to be able to get out and do fun things with a group of people they feel comfortable with.”
For some students, this was their first time visiting the museum. Dinosaur skeletons, aquatic life and nature dioramas with bison, moose and grizzly bears were just a few of the exhibits students saw.
Event organizer Samantha Therrien (far right) and Algonquin College students pose in front of the Canadian Museum of Nature on Thursday. Photo credit: TJ Sider
Jason Kaushalya, 23, a Level 1 interactive media design student, said he really enjoyed the experience.
“I’m new to Canada, so it’s pretty amazing,” he said. “It’s like going back to the old ages. It’s crazy, man. It’s crazy.”
Tanay Shah, 24, a Level 2 project management student, said he was inspired to visit after hearing about Ottawa’s various museums.
“For me, after reaching Canada, I’ve heard so much about museums,” said Shah. “All because of Instagram of Algonquin College, we got to know about taking students to somewhere like this and I was so excited about it. I heard about it on every page of Google that it’s a very famous thing and I guess I am very thankful for Algonquin College for taking us here.”
The museum’s exhibits are filled with hyper-realistic portrayals of Canada’s wildlife. Some exhibits featured interactive video elements where students built volcanoes and watched minerals grow.
Tanay Shah (left) and Pragya Parmar (right) explore the water exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Thursday. Photo credit: TJ Sider
Pragya Parmar, 23, a Level 2 strategic global business management student, was in awe over the museum’s displays.
“This is beautiful,” Parmar said. “It’s like every image or section that you see, all the animals are so realistic. I almost felt like after the glass it’s that place because it’s so real. It’s beautiful.”
Therrien said students should expect more out-of-campus events like this in the future.
“We try to do one every month,” she said. “Next month, we are going to an indigenous farm, in partnership with the Mamidosewin Centre. We haven’t started putting that out on our social media yet, but it’s going to be coming out very soon.”
