Woman On Ice Fore-check Their Way Into Gaining Respect and Recognition Into the Hockey World

Similar to crashing the net on a fore-check, feminists have been battling for the development of women’s hockey since it originated in 1892. These ‘hockey feminists’ have come a long way since the first women’s game held in Barrie, Ont. yet they continue to fight for equality in comparison to men’s hockey leagues.

After the first girl’s game of hockey in 1892, there was a slow development of the game until the 1920s and 1930s where the first era of women’s hockey arose. Leagues, teams and tournaments came to surface in almost every region of Canada and even some places in the United States. In Canada, the best teams met in an East-West tournament to declare a national champion. This was a good stepping stone for women’s hockey as it transformed women’s hockey from a game to a sport full of passion and competition. Although there was progress being made, hockey was still seen as a man’s sport and was
in great need of a female hero to speed up the process of transforming the game.

In the 1950s, a new feminist appeared to challenge people’s outlook on the
sport. Abby Hoffman, a nine year old who had already been skating for six years,
was faced with a dilemma. Hoffman wanted to play hockey competitively but there were
no leagues that allowed girls to play in her area. For Hoffman and her parents, this was a
minor issue that could be taken care of. Suiting up in her equipment at home and keeping
her hair short, Hoffman disguised herself as a boy and competed with boys on the St.
Catherines male hockey team. She was selected to play for an all-star charity game but
when she was forced to give her birth certificate her secret came to light and was unable
to compete due to her revealed gender. This issue was taken to the Ontario Supreme
Court of Justice where Hoffman and her parent’s challenged the ‘boy’s only’ policy in
minor hockey. The court decided to shoot down Hoffman’s request to compete with male
hockey players. Seen as a tragic ending at the time, this story is now an inspiration to
many female hockey players along with feminist’s in general and is yet another building
block to the development of women’s hockey.

Hoffman’s courage advanced the growth of women’s hockey as it motivated other
girl hockey player’s to challenge the policy even into the 60s. The girls were still being
rejected but by the 1980s university hockey teams were formed for not only males but
females too. The N.C.A.A. finally recognized the game in 1993.

In the 1990s, women’s hockey grew to a whole new level where eight countries
competed in the World Championship. All this demand for women’s hockey leagues led
to the biggest impact in the growth of the game people have ever seen in history. In 1998,
women’s hockey became a sport in the Olympics held in Japan. The tournament consisted
of six teams; Canada, U.S.A., Finland, China, Sweden and Japan. This event is
acknowledged for having the greatest impact on making young female athletes aware that
hockey is not only for men, but for woman too. Two years after the becoming of this
Olympic sport, the United States saw a 50 per cent increase in the number of girls
registering in hockey leagues. From 1990-2000, Canada saw a 300 per cent increase. The
Olympics are recognized for the great change in participation of females in the game.

Today, female hockey leagues are at an all time high and mixed gender teams are
a lot more common specifically when looking at younger ages. Hockey is also starting to
see some female icon’s in the game today. Goaltender’s, Manon Rheaume and Erin
Whitten played professional hockey in the men’s minor level. The ‘Wayne Gretzky’ of
women’s hockey Hayley Wickenheiser joined Salumut of the Finish Second Division and
became the first woman to record a point in men’s professional hockey. Michelle Anger,
a Laurier student and one of few female hockey players in Laurier’s intramural league
claims that “women’s hockey is growing rapidly and it’s undeniable. I saw Hayley
Wickenheiser on a cereal commercial about a year ago. She’s an inspiration.”

A true statement, there is no denying that with so many leagues, the Olympics and
more up and coming idols, feminists have come a long way since women’s hockey first
originated. Every day more and more girls are inspired to play hockey and grow the
courage to compete with male’s but the women’s hockey still isn’t respected as equally
as it is for men. Dr. Katherine Spring, a speaker at the F-Word Forum, raised the
question, “ Why are males called ‘The Golden Hawks’ and females are labelled as ‘The
Lady Hawks?’” Feminists are keeping a positive attitude about their progress with hopes
to reach their goal of one day making men’s hockey and women’s hockey equal sports.

Teachers, students and workers protest at Berkeley University (September 19,2010 8:44 p.m.)

On Sept. 24, a protest of 5,000 people took place at Berkeley University. Students, teachers and other faculty members at the University of California all attended the rally. The protest made the public aware of the issues in the state’s lack of assistance of funding for the university. Protestors demanded an end to budget cuts, layoffs and the increase in tuition. The protest seemed to gain a lot of support from student organizations and unions. However, at the rate universities are going when looking at the increase in costs, the big question is; will the protestors’ voices be heard? 

“Education should be free! Education should be free!”  One of many chants the

protestors screamed at the massive rally. The size of the crowd made it hard for some

students and staff, who weren’t participating, to manoeuvre around campus. Some classes

were forced to be postponed or cancelled for the day as the rally was too hectic.

Obviously the protestors were hoping to make a big impact on the people. Their message

was heard not only in California, but many other places as well.

“They definitely got their point across to a lot of people, I mean my friends and I

heard about it and we live hours away,” first year Laurier student Steven Haines

explained. “But I think it will take a lot more for the leaders of the state to change their

minds,”

Indeed, at the rate the government and university leaders are going it will take a

lot to stop them. U.S.A Today has been tracking annual university changes since 2003,

when in-state charges went up 12 per cent from the year before. Since then, the average

increase for in-state tuition and fees is about 38 per cent. In some cases it was much

higher; with the University of Oklahoma-Norman at 95 per cent, the University of

Arizona-Tucson at 85 per cent and the University of California-Berkeley at 80 per cent.

On top of this, Berkeley laid off 34 custodians this year. Although right now the state

doesn’t seem to be listening, many people believe the protest to be “the beginning of a

movement to lower prices” and the more they speak out, the more they will be heard.

Aside from hearing about the battle between the leaders of the state and those who

feel they’re being treated unfairly, how is this affecting students, staff and anyone else in

Canada? “The cost of university is getting very expensive here too. Maybe if schools in

the U.S. changed their minds, schools in Canada would follow,” Wilfrid Laurier’s second

year student Lenard explains.

Like schools in the U.S., Canada’s cost for university is increasing and is now

more expensive then ever here in Ontario. Canadian full-time students in undergrad

programs paid 4 per cent more on average in tuition fees for 2010/2011 compared to last

year. Ontario students are paying the highest fees in Canada at $6,307. International

student fees are also increasing significantly. Their average tuition is $16,768 this year,

which is a 5.2 per cent increase compared to last year. These statistics are proof that

students in Canada should also take action.

In today’s workforce, most jobs require more than just a high school diploma.

Unfortunately, governments aren’t helping out in giving people the opportunity to get an

education. In 1999, students in Manitoba were finding it difficult to afford tuition fees

and went to the government for help. The NDP reduced fees by 10 per cent which

resulted in enrolment increasing by 30 per cent and a major decrease in student debt.

Today, having a post-secondary education is even more crucial, which means

governments need to help make school affordable. “The government should help lower

tuition, the price of books and maybe even help reduce student debt,” Lenard states.

Another way of helping could be to shift the $1.4 billion that is already there for

education-related savings schemes to up front student grants.

As government and leaders of the universities continue to do nothing, it is very

likely that these protests will continue in a more vigorous manner.

Lawrence Hill discusses his novel, The Book of Negroes in Brantford Ontario

On Sept. 30, faculty members, students of Laurier University and residences of the town showed up to the Research Centre in Brantford, Ont. to watch

Lawrence Hill discuss his award winning novel, The Book of Negroes.

Lawrence Hill is best known for his 2001 novel, Any Known Blood and his memoir Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada. The main focus of this event was his third novel The Book of Negroes. Having won awards such as the

2007 Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize, the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize and the 2008 Evergreen award, this novel is considered a historic treasure.

During his speech, Hill reveals that the novel and title came to him from a

document he read at the University of Waterloo by James Walker. The original Book of

Negroes is the first documentation of black people in North America. Hill’s novel gives

specific names, ages and backgrounds of the 3,000 black people searching for freedom

after leaving New York for Nova Scotia. It is set near the end of the American

Revolutionary War. These people were promised land and liberty if they helped fight in

the war but instead received poverty, hunger, disease and plenty more adversity.

Hill intrigued his fans by giving them a taste of his new novel through a handful

of passages. He starts his novel off in a unique, unexpected way. The first scene doesn’t

begin on the ship with all the slaves like most of his fans expected, it starts off with the

main character Aminata and her three month journey through the desert before reaching

the ship. “I wanted the readers to feel her pain. This was her first harsh journey and the

readers needed to experience it to get completely into the story,” Hill elucidates.

During the book discussion, a more playful side of Hill’s character was revealed

as he had fans in stitches on numerous occasions. His humorous side was clearly

reflected onto this novel as he showed in a few of his passages. “It was difficult to write

humorously about such a painful topic but at times it was necessary for the sake of

getting the point across,” Hill explains to his crowd after reading one of his funnier

passages.

After a series of questions from the public, fans stood in line to have novels

signed by the brilliant author. An exciting time for Lawrence Hill that seems to only be

the beginning of his career as he claims, “I’m working on two novels at the moment and

have a children’s novel half done. The one contemporary novel is due in a few months. It

is a sad story but also has humour in it.” The crowd was very enthused after discovering

The Book of Negroes will be made into a movie in a few years.

Professors and peers discuss J. Edward Chamberlin’s book, “If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories?’

On Oct. 20, students and Brantford residents left a day-long conference at Laurier wondering what it was all about. This conference was held in the Carnegie Building giving professors and peers the opportunity to examine Edward Chamberlin’s book, If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories? Themes and issues regarding the Grand River Forum were also discussed. “I think they should have done a better job explaining the conference,” Brantford resident Glen Harris points out. “They seemed to be rushing the speakers through their discussions and it only made the audience more confused.”

Brenda Murphy, a Contemporary Studies professor teaching Climate Change and Society, presented a discussion about stories from three different cultures and how they leave their carbon footprint. Using Chamberlin’s book as a guide, Murphy and her two assistant’s attempted to find common ground between the three cultures. The main goal of this discussion was to show the audience how culture and class have an effect on our carbon consumption by discussing ancestors and their carbon footprint. The three women claimed that by explaining the science behind it all, they could find a way of reducing their carbon consumption which would save the Earth. The audience gained some useful knowledge about climate change and how it relates to society, however, they  found it a bit difficult to completely understand what Murphy’s discussion had to do with Chamberlin’s book. “I read Chamberlin’s book and I still couldn’t understand what the climate change discussion had to do with it,” Laurier student Lainie Wisniewski states. “I can’t imagine what people who haven’t read the novel were thinking,”

Another speaker at the conference was Rob Kristofferson. His readings were about

‘Stories of the Self, Imaginations of Home: Crafts Workers and Their Diaries in the Mid-

Victorian Transatlantic World’ Kristofferson’s paper offered the story of how a

journeyman patternmaker named Andrew Mcllwraith told himself a story of hope for

success which led to his actual success. McIlwraith was the only known Upper Canadian

craftsman to leave documented diaries of his activities. Kristofferson claims that

McIlwraith’s documents are an important source to the Canadian working class and

social history. Kristofferson did a great job telling the story of a young craftsman,

however, according to the audience he too did a poor job of relating it to Chamberlin’s

book. Another Laurier student named Chris Pimentel said. “It was a frustrating

discussion. A few members of the audience and I were all wondering what it had to do

with Chamberlin’s book.”

The speakers and leaders of the conference meant to raise questions, create new idea’s

and provoke thought about Chamberlin’s novel and their particular aspect in their

discussion. The audience seemed to think that although their intentions were good, the

conference was a major failure.