A Ripping Good Time

(Spoiler Warning: A Lot of Prostitutes Die)

By Garrett CURLEY

Just in time for Halloween, A Community Theatre is staging Jack the Ripper: Monster Of Whitechapel at the Carrefour Theatre. The fun of the play is that it presents the story of history’s most famous serial killer as a comedy.

Producer Adam Gauthier and director Richard Haines are the driving force behind the production.

“It’s a show that I had for a number of years, and Rich and I were talking and said we’d like to work together in a show again. So I said, ‘why don’t we do a show around Halloween?’” says Gauthier. Gauthier also acts in the show, taking on the role of Officer O’Connell.

The show’s plot revolves around a small group of Londoners who are trying to solve the murders, one of whom is ultimately revealed to be the murderer. Each person has a different role to play. Phillip Poole (Joe MacDonald), an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, tries to solve the murders with keen detective work. Dr. Forbes Winslow (Fraser MacCallum) does the forensics work with the bodies. Pegeen (Barbara Rodenhizer) employs clairvoyance and tries to read the future, and bungling police commissioner Warren (Greg Chandler) oversees the whole operation.

All the while the bodies are piling up, and it becomes funnier and funnier to watch the characters struggle to solve the killings. This parallels the story of the real Jack the Ripper. There are many conflicting theories as to who the killer was, none of which are conclusive. This, according to Haines, is what makes Jack such a fascinating character.

Adding to the fun of the show are its alternate endings. Each night, actors draw straws backstage to determine who will be revealed as the killer for that show. A different killer is revealed every night, and not even the other actors know who they might be until they meet them onstage.

Audience response to the show has been enthusiastic, and even more people attended the second show than the first. Fraser MacCallum is thrilled to have so many caught up in the mystery.

“It’s a great show because it’s a whodunnit; the audience is involved all the way,” he says.

Jack the Ripper opened on Friday the 24th and played again the 25th, and will play again Thursday and Friday of this week, the 30th and 31st. Tickets are $14 and can be purchased at the door. Dress up in costume on the 31st, and you can get a ticket for only $12. The doors open at 7:30, and the show starts at 8 and ends around 10. For anyone going to the Halloween pub at the Wave, it would be a great way to begin the evening!

If you’re like me and you have to ask somebody where the Carrefour theatre is, it’s inside École François Buote. If you turn off Riverside Drive at the hospital and follow the left side of the fork in that road, it’ll come up on your right.

Haines is very pleased with how the show has been going. Asked for comment, he would only offer “muahahaha!” and that means a lot coming from him.

Women's Studies Society: Back, Busy, and Ballsy (pardon the pun)

by Amanda BULMAN

Many students have noticed the recent return and revitalization of several on campus groups that were less visible in previous years. The UPEI Women’s Studies Society is one of those groups. With a new roster of enthusiastic members it’s proving to be one the most active, political , creative and outspoken groups around. Members have already been hosting events and planning activities that manage to simultaneously promote feminist issues and fun. Senior chair member of the WSS Erica Van Driel thinks that a more visible society ultimately reflects a growing interest in the field of Women’s Studies,
“I think Women’s Studies is growing because women are finding a voice and finding each other and engaging in new discussions,” Van Driel said, “The WSS gives people interested in women studies events a place to gather and share .”
Already this year, the Women’s Studies Society has hosted a small back to school party and a film night followed by discussion that is part of an ongoing series geniusly entitled “Babes Beyond Borders”. Van Driel asserts that these events are just the beginning and that the WSS has many excellent activities planned.
“Babes Beyond Borders is my favourite activity that we’re doing. The films we watch feature women who challenge the prescribed gender roles and expectations laid out for them by society. We’re also planning on doing a food and toy drive closer to Christmas and we are working on organizing a road race entitled ‘The Feminist Five K’. Next semester we’re planning a wine and cheese, a coffee house, and a continuation of our film series.”
The group is also determined to change the negative way in which students often view the field of Women’s Studies.
“People who assume that Women’s Studies majors are man hating dykes need to do some research before making such outdated comments. Women’s Studies is about open-mindedness and social constructionist perspectives. It’s about challenging stereotypes not adhering to them. I would invite anyone who is confused about women’s studies to society events and to ask questions rather than jump to conclusions.”
The next Women’s Studies event is on Halloween with a showing of the Rocky Picture Horror show. To get in contact with the WSS or to get involved add the WSS on facebook, or check out the blog womensstudiessociety@blogspot.com

The 300 Million Dollar Status Quo

by Spencer LEE

With the majority of students’ minds filled with the stress of mid-terms, it seemed like the election ended as quickly as it was called. This issue of The Semantic is pleased to bring you – the half time recap of the Federal Election.
The results are what it boils down to, and I will not keep you waiting. The results fell out with the Conservative Party at 143 seats, the Liberal Party with 73 seats, the Bloc Quebecois garnering 50 seats, and the New Democratic Party scoring 37 seats.
Also, two independent candidates were elected to parliament.
Despite more media coverage, the Green Party won no seats.
The Conservative government remains in power, incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper has the ability to form a minority government, not unlike the minority government he had before.
There were some upsets, victories, defeats, tears shed, and blood lost all of which I will include in the Election Highlights.

Highlights
The Conservatives swept all of Manitoba and Alberta, with the exception of two seats: one being Wascana which belongs to long standing Liberal and former cabinet member Ralph Goodale, and the second of Edmonton-Strathcona which was won by the NDP “star” Candidate Linda Duncan. This environmental lawyer turfed Conservative Caucus leader Rahim Jaffer who had held the seat since 1997.
The NDP picked up eight seats in total since the last election in 2006, with the majority of them being in Northern Ontario.
Newfoundland, on the other hand, went entirely Liberal, save for the one seat: St. John’s East went to the NDP. The Conservatives lost their once three seat foothold in this province, no thanks to the premier of the province, Danny Williams. After a fallout with Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the Atlantic Accord, Williams vowed to launch what he would coin the “ABC” campaign, which is to say “Anything But Conservative”. This news came to a shock to some, as Williams himself was elected to the Premiership of Newfoundland on a Conservative platform.
Conservative National Defense Minister Peter MacKay was victorious in what was thought to be a close battle between Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and himself. Liberal leader Stephane Dion made the controversial decision not to run a candidate in Central Nova in an alliance between the Green Party and the Liberal party to get May elected. However, both parties underestimated MacKay’s stronghold on the riding, and MacKay was elected, earning 46% of the vote to May’s 32%.
The big upset to us here, and residents of Prince Edward Island was in the riding of Egmont, where Conservative Gail Shea was able to win her seat against former PEI Premier Keith Milligan. This seat had been held by Liberals for over 20 years. Formerly, Minister Peter MacKay was appointed to represent PEI as there were no elected Conservatives to take the position.

While Harper did not win his majority, the Liberal party did lose 27 seats. This is a dramatic upset and the worst electoral finishing for the Liberal Party since the time of Confederation.
On the question of the Liberal campaign finish, third year Political Science student Timothy Cullen offered this:
“Well, obviously the party is disappointed, but now that the election is behind us, we must prepare for a new session of Parliament, where our MPs and Senators will be called on to address some serious challenges.”
The NDP picked up eight seats, two of which were from the Conservatives. The rest were scored of Northern Ontario seats, were held by Liberal incumbents.
The Bloc picked up two seats from its 2006 finishing, it is cause for belief it seems still for the Separatist movement is still alive and well in Quebec. Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe assures us all that Quebec is making its move towards sovereignty one small step at a time.

The Green Party expected to pick up one seat, failed to do so but raised in support from 2006 to an overall total of 6.02%. Green Party leader Elizabeth May also enjoyed the pleasure of being accepted into the National Leaders’ Debate for the first time.
As for the Green Party’s finish, supporter Mitchell Gallant is optimistic,
“I think she did really well. She didn’t gain any seats but she picked up a lot of popular vote, and I think next time, she’ll do better.”
The Conservative Party picks up 18 seats and falls short 12 of forming a majority Government. Some students like Dan Aiken feel this is not a loss for the Conservative leader but a victory.
“Well you can’t take everything as a loss, I mean they have more seats than they had before, and the Liberals have less so obviously this can’t be considered a loss in any sense of the word.”
As for the hopes of Stephen Harper forming a majority he said:
“I think they are a relatively new Party, and this has been there third election. I think to expect any sort of majority anytime soon, would be hoping for too much. All they can do now, is show the people that when they are in Government, they know what they’re doing.”
So as it looks now, it will be a Conservative minority government, governing for now, as long as Jack Layton doesn’t get the election jitters, and the Bloc doesn’t succeed in becoming their own country, because the way it seems the Liberals are preoccupied by infighting and an upcoming Leadership Convention. Can the Liberal Party get a Federal facelift in time, is Elizabeth May ever going to stop running in Central Nova, will Gilles Duceppe ever dye his hair, and will Jack Layton ever shave his moustache?

Tune into the Next Federal Election Campaign, date: TBA

Assassins!

Battle Royale Breaks out at UPEI

In an innovative game organized by Jon Millington, UPEI students find themselves pitted against each other in a game of survival.

“Assassins”, brought to UPEI by Millington himself, is a game that Students target other students, picking from a hat their target and hitting them with an elastic band. At UPEI, killers may be ruthless: sling-shots as well as head shots are allowed. Once killed, the victim is to assign their killer their own target. For example, were this reporter to die by the merciless elastic of Shawn Bruce, this reporter would then tell Bruce that her target was Neil Guo. Bruce would then attempt to pick off Guo in a manner equally as ruthless as he (theoretically) picked off this reporter.

This has been ongoing since Monday, October 20th. There are three designated safe zones: libraries, cafeterias, and bathrooms. The campus has been largely affected by this game. As an example, in the writing of this story, this reporter spied a crude crucifix-esque wooden creation that was clearly intended for elastic propelling. Upon asking why the slingshot was constucted so sacreligiously, the builder (who did not want to be identified as to not compromise their mission) simply stated in reply ‘in case they are also vampires.’
In another example of human nature, competitors have been sneaky in their means of attracting their victim. In severe cases, competitors have called victims pretending to be Millington and claiming that they would be disqualified if they didn’t come to UPEI at a certain time. Players have also been targetted in classes, during midterms, and in their own apartments. James Webster, a business student, learned the hard way not to open his door to midnight callers, as he became an unwilling victim.

The winner is not he or she that lasts the longest, but rather, he/she whom picks off the most people prior to dying.
Stats regarding current placeholders have not yet been released, however there is wide speculation regarding potential winner.

About 55 people are involved in this game, not all of which are UPEI students. For more statistical information, the facebook group (called simply ‘assassins!’) is updated with every kill.

Death List (as of 12:16pm, Monday, October 27th)
Ernesto Carranza
Jason Morais (riddled by elastics in midterm)
Ashley MacLeod
Tyler Wheeler
Sarah MacDonald
Angus MacPhail
Laura Blezy
Danielle MacDonald (shot down in her own dining room)
James Webster
Anthony Yu
Emily McKenna
Chris Reid
Jackie Skinner
Shawn Bruce
Rob Livingstone
Kate McKenna (alas - Ed.)
Neil Guo
Asher Fredericks
Nicole Lane
Greg Bradley
Matt Yeo
Danielle F. MacDonald
Sarah Bulman
Alex Keoughan
Kaja Gerstein
Brittany Banks

Colonel Gray Haunted House

By Julia MacMILLAN

It’s no secret that many people have horror stories from high school, but Colonel Gray has decided to take those nightmares to a new level, and support two excellent causes along the way.
Colonel Gray's Key Club and Youth in Action group have teamed up to present this years Haunted Basement. The proceeds from this venture will be split between Key Club's main service projects for the year, Sleeping Children Around the World and Free the Children. Sleeping Children is an organization that raises funds to provide bed kits to the neediest of children in underdeveloped and developing countries. Free the Children is an organization recognized all over the world for their inspirational attempts to end poverty, set up solid educational systems in developing countries, eliminate child labor and exploitation and fight for children's rights.
The idea of the Haunted Basement was brought up three years ago, achieving great success. Heading up the project this year are Dana Kenny, Olivia White, Julia McMillan, Patrick McKenna and John Thomas McKenna.
For the last month, about thirty students from both Key Club and Youth in Action have been working hard to create this year's basement. Through lots of creative ideas and many hours of effort on behalf of everyone, the basement has been transformed into a series of hair-raising scenarios and strange characters. And although one would assume that the scariest thing about a high school is the teachers, no teachers have been involved. It’s completely student-run, and they've worked hard to make this a terrifying spot. Thematically planned, this year the story is about a boy frantically trying to find his missing girlfriend. Throughout his search he finds himself in all sorts of scary and disturbing situations.
The Haunted Basement will be open from Monday, October 27 until Thursday the 30th. The basement will run all lunch hour and be open to students at Colonel Gray all week. On Thursday between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 the basement will be open to the public. Because of some content, we advise children to be over the age of 12, or with an adult to enter. The cost is only $2, and all proceeds go to the aforementioned charities.
We encourage all to come check it out, and support Key Club and Youth in Action. If you're seeking a spook this is the place to go.

Adie Montgomery is a Great Buddy

UPEI student coordinates program to make International Students feel more at home

By Kate McKENNA

UPEI student Adie Montgomery understands the importance of having a support system when moved from one’s country. Her empathy, coupled with her urge to make a difference, motivated her to spearhead the UPEI Buddy Program this year.
Started four years ago by an international student, this program has run every semester since. The Buddy Program pairs up an existing UPEI student with an international student in the hopes of helping the international student adjust to their surroundings. The UPEI student acts as a source of information regarding Island culture, local events, and also acts as a means for international students to meet local ones. As coordinator, Montgomery feels strongly about this program, “Of course I am biased as the coordinator, but I truly feel this is a great program to get involved with. There are students from all over the world (over 50 different countries at our university) and it is an amazing opportunity to be introduced to people of diverse cultures. Especially if you plan to travel in the future, this is a way to make friends who you can go visit”
While the program runs for only one semester, most friendships last significantly longer. On top of looking excellent on a resume, Montgomery claims the experience of cross-culture learning is paramount and a lot of fun.
“We want students to have a full Canadian experience, not just one focused around the university.” Montgomery states.
Though student run, this program is funded by the Webster Centre, who forwards the appropriate amount of funding to the student union and the program coordinator.  As program coordinator, Montgomery acts as the liason between the SU and the program itself.
Montgomery adds that student volunteers are necessary to keep such a program running. The Buddy Program is vigourously recruiting, and those interested can visit www.upeisu.com/iscp.asp or stop by the front desk of the SU where there are volunteer forms on hand.