OVER THE EDGE ey 13-27, 2008 Scott Beaton International Club President President of International Club for: 1.5 Years. Astrological Sign: Gemini. Shoe Size: 14. Other Club memberships: JDC. Good at: Jeopardy. Speaks: English and Portuguese fluently as well as conversation al Spanish and English. Likes: Beer and Chinese Food. Dislikes: Mushrooms. Feels Like Doing Right Now: Playing Hockey. Major: International Business. Minor: International Studies. Lindsey Stinson Vice President Alpha Pi Beta Sorority — Sports and Clubs Number of Club Members: Approximately 75. Purpose of Club: To integrate international students with Canad- ian culture. However most Canadian students tend to think that the International club is only for International students, therefore we need more Canadian students as members. Events last semester: Camping trip to One Hundred Mile House, trip to Alaska for thanksgiving weekend, keg party for Oktoberfest, trip to Edmonton for Remembrance Day weekend. Events planned for this semester: I’ve been really busy, so this semester has started off slow. However, I am trying to organize a series of events including: a keg party for Valentines Day, a Cou- gars game outing, a curling night, the annual International Club year end dinner, as well as the annual clothing switch party. The International Club is also meeting at the College Heights Pub in about 20 minutes so I’ve got to go grab the bus now. Later. Get io inaeeete club piesitonts Andrew Bailey with International Club Pres- ident Scott Beaton. Looking over another awesome edition of Over the Edge. Praoro Covresy or Mrrcu Gaeanr Major: Political Science Minor: First Nation Studies Andrew ailey with Vice President of Alpha Pi Beta Sorority Vice President Lindsey Stinson, checking out the latest news in Over The Edge. Proto Courtesy or Mrron Grant Alpha Pi Beta is UNBC’s oldest club. : Having officially formed in 1994 we’re over 13 years old! Astro Sign: Leo Shoe Size: 6 Other Clubs: None Good at: Making a scene Speaks: Only English but I can swear in French. Number of Club Members: Fifteen active members, two volun teer members and between Forty and Fifty Alumni. Purpose of Club: To create bonds of friendship, while volunteer ing in the Prince George community. Past Events: Angels for Africa, Mock Dating Game, Spring Fling-Luau at the Generator, every year we have bake sales and other fundraisers such as the “Hoop of Love” to fundraise moneyfor local women’s shelters. ter. Likes: Playing guitar (poorly), coffee, sushi and political ban Dislikes: Tuition prices, finger scanning at the gym and Tom Cruise, he’s entirely too sneaky to be trusted. Feels Like Doing Right Now: Having a beer and watching the hockey game. Cheerleaders tell critics to bring it on Men find niche in physically taxing sport of By Jackiyn Guay THE CHARLATAN (CARLETON University) OTTAWA (CUP) -- “Cheerlead- ing isn’t all pompoms and high- kicks,” said Gareth Jones, one of the Carleton cheerleading team’s head coaches. That stereotype, however, is one of the biggest misconceptions about the sport. In reality, it is physical and requires skill. “One of the easiest moves in cheerleading is called a ‘cupie,’ which involves one of the guys holding a girl above his head with one hand,” said Jones. “How can somebody knock a sport that involves that level of difficulty?” Jones, who was both a cheer- leader and rugby player while he attended the University of Guelph, has now coached Carle- ton’s cheerleading team for two years. He coaches alongside six others, including another head coach, one tumbling coach and four assistants. Apparently the large support staff was exactly what the team needed to boost its success rate. “Their dedication, hard work and will to learn, and constantly striving to be better, was what cheerleading helped them in this past year’s na- tionals,” said Jones. In one year, the team went from fourth-last in the nation to being ranked the fourth-best team in the country. “This will be Carleton’s best cheerleading team ever,” he said. Even with the impressive im- provement, a certain negative mentality towards cheerleading from society, peers and the media is seemingly unshakable. This is especially the case to- wards male cheerleaders. Team captain Anson Wong said he is well aware of the negative stigma towards the sport. “Movies always portray cheer- leading as a girl’s sport and many don’t even consider it a sport at all,” he said. “They see it as people cheering for a team, not being a part of one.” Wong said cheerleaders have no reason to be ashamed. “You're going to get a little flak here and there from those who don’t understand the sport, but just as much time and hard work goes into preparing our routines as any other competitive team at Carleton.” Adam Daigle, another male cheerleader for Carleton, breaks down the training aspects of the team. “Training is always a great bonding experience. It takes place three times ‘a week for a few hours, which consist of either tumbling, gymnastics, stunting (lifts), and/or conditioning,” he said. Wong also said practice is one of the perks. “Tt takes a lot of skill and is both an intense workout and a great challenge,” he said. Cheerleader Brendan Smith noted that one of his favourite things about being on the team is the friends he has developed. One would think this, in itself, would be reason enough to entice any male Carleton student to join the team. But Jones said he recognizes the ridicule of male cheerleaders as inevitable. “Tt’s usually from those individ- uals who are ignorant or jealous,” he said. That being said, the male cheerleaders of the Carleton team agreed that the positives far out- weigh the negatives. And as for those who stereo- type male cheerleaders: “Come and try it once,” said Daigle. “You'll leave sore and tired and then you'll think otherwise.” Events Planned for this Semester: Valentines Day Card and Candy Sale where all proceeds are going to either the Phoenix orQuebec Street Women’s Shelters. We also organize many Fon due nights as well as Wine and Cheese parties so it’s a very fun club to be a part of. Internet gives scrabblers competitive edge By Mime Berry THE CARILLON (University oF REGINA) REGINA (CUP) — Scrabulous — the online version of Scrabble made popular through Facebook — has explod- ed onto campuses across the nation, becoming this term’s most popular past-time for procrastin- ating students. According to John Chew, a mathematics graduate student at the University of Toronto and webmaster for the National Scrabble As- sociation, Scrabulous is a great way to develop your Scrabble game. “People who play the game on a serious level are still uncommon,” Chew said. “It’s hard to find quality opponents when you don’t live near big clubs.” This is where the in- ternet comes in handy, he said. The internet allows you to compete against more top quality players, improving the dynamic of your game. It’s all about healthy competition. Chew said that even the Montreal and Toronto Scrabble clubs are inher- ently different. He said that though the Montreal club is smaller, it has pro- duced more champions. Of the last seven inter- national tournaments, three of the winners have been Canadian and two of them have come out of’ the Montreal club. Because of this, the in- herent competitiveness of the Montreal Club is that much better. The international tour- naments are three days long and have been held every two years since 1991. The last Canadian player to have won the tournament was Adam Logan, a math profes- sor at the University of Waterloo, and friend of Chew’s, in 2005. The most recent cham- pionship was held last weekend in Mumbai, India and was won by Nigel Richards of New Zealand. According to Chew, not only is Richards a brilliant player, but he knows every word in the dictionary. “If you were to study the dictionary for 4- 5 hours a day, anyone \ could accomplish this feat in about a year,” said Chew. And he would know. He’s been playing com- petitive scrabble since the early 1990s, and has tried to compete in at least one tournament every year. “T like making order out of chaos,” Chew said. “Tt’s like you are creating a work of art out of let- ters and every time it’s beautiful.” There’s lot of strategy too he says — it’s not just about playing the high- est score available. For instance, when there are about 10 tiles left, the game becomes a chess match. “It’s where intui- tion can really shine,” he said. Besides being a gradu- ate student, Chew is the director of both the To- tonto Scrabble Club and the Canadian Scrabble Championships. He’s also a_ self-identified ’ Scrabble consultant, and spends approximately three-quarters of his time traveling around the world, arranging matches and tournaments.