CHRONICLE 16-17 ISSUE 10

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10 The Chronicle February 7 - 13, 2017 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Community Photograph by Tyler Hodgkinson Oshawa's 'Rink of Dreams' located at Brick by Brick park on John St., has been an active area for local residents. ‘Rink of Dreams’ comes to life again Tyler Hodgkinson The Chronicle Ice skating has been a Canadian tradition for generations, however, one look around Durham Region reveals a lack of outdoor rinks. Gliding on ponds was a common practice now frowned upon, and city-funded boards are a rarity. The city of Oshawa has municipal programs allowing volunteers to build and maintain outdoor rinks. Cristan and Steve Doupe, and Dave Rout felt it was their duty to “step up” and help build an area for all to share in their hometown. The result is the ‘Rink of Dreams’, located at the Brick by Brick park on John St., just south of the Midtown Mall. It is used for both skating and hockey. Cristan Doupe says the idea came from a “love for hockey” shared by her, her husband and her son’s coach. The ‘Rink of Dreams’ was brought to the public in 2015 as part of a Gofundme page. The initiative raised $60, far less needed than to produce and upkeep the rink St. Louis Bar & Grill donated plastic for the structure. The ice was installed, and Oshawa residents got to skate. “We were able to get a month and half of good skating,” says Doupe. Like last year, Doupe and her fellow volunteers are responsible for the upkeep of the rink. Local businesses stepped up once again this winter to help the Doupes and Rout with costs. Riley’s Pub, Justice Burger and Smoke’s Poutinerie all donated money to go towards the plastic needed for the rink. Doupe also credits the Oshawa Fire Services in the success of the ‘Rink of Dreams’. The response team was unable to use nearby fire hydrants due to city regulations, however, they did have 10 fire trucks dispense 13,000 gallons of water. Despite help from the community, not all aspects about the rink have been positive. “We have had a few incidents of vandalism, which hurts the fun for everyone,” Doupe says. According to the hockey mom, some people walked across the freezing water, leaving massive footprints in the structure. The surface needed to be reconstructed. Due to safety concerns, Durham Region generally does not allow public skating on ponds. However, some areas of water, such as Elgin Pond in Uxbridge, have a flag-based system telling the public when the pond is safe enough to skate on. But if positive comments on Smoke’s Poutinerie’s Facebook page are any indication of satisfaction, the Oshawa residents seem content with just the ‘Rink of Dreams’. “What a great idea!!! Grew up in the Beaches in Toronto and as a kid we had four outdoor rinks to [choose] from…glad this is happening,” wrote Jason Govereau. As for the builders of the rink and other Oshawa residents, skating is a daily activity, weather permitted.
Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 7 - 13, 2017 The Chronicle 11 Students leaving U.S. but not for DC, UOIT Some Canadian schools see jump in American apps, but not here Alex Debets The Chronicle Neither Durham College nor UOIT have seen an increase in American student applications since U.S. President Donald Trump’s election in November. However, both the University of Toronto and McMaster University have seen an increase in applications since the election in November. U of T officials say applications from U.S. students are up 70 per cent this year, but suggest there is a range of factors why the numbers are up, from Trump's election win to the low Canadian dollar. McMaster's applications from U.S. students are up 34 per cent. But that growth is not reflected here. UOIT currently has three American students enrolled, and Durham College has six. That is a small number compared to the 800 and 600 college international students at the university and college respectively. One of the three university students is Danny Elser, a centre for the Ridgebacks men hockey team. He was born in Hopewell Junction, N.Y., and has played hockey in Sweden, Canada, and the U.S. Elser enjoys being in Canada, although he wouldn’t live in Canada if it wasn’t for hockey. “I moved away from home when I was 13 to play hockey and to go to prep school,” he says, “so if I wasn’t playing hockey I would probably stay home.” Elser says he doesn’t notice any cultural differences between the neighbouring countries, except the emphasis on collegiate sports. “I have siblings that go to school back home, in the States,” he says. “I think in terms of sports it’s a little bit popular, NCAA sports.” Both schools have seen a similar number of applications over past years. For example, UOIT has steadily seen 12–16 applications over the past three years and sits at 16 for the 2016-17 school year. The university began increasing recruitment south of the border last year, after realizing a weaker Canadian dollar could be appealing for American students. Joe Stokes is the associate registrar for the university, and says he wishes he could connect these efforts to applications, but the numbers aren’t there. “I would love to say that our little experiment last year into the United States, where we got a whole bunch of students from upstate New York, because we were there,” says Stokes, “but really they’re just coming from all over the place.” The university doesn’t focus too heavily on attracting American students. The five biggest areas of focus for recruitment are the Caribbean, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. But when they do apply, Stokes says, applications from the United States have “no rhyme or reason,” adding the university sees applications from Texas, New York, and California, in all programs across the board. Program preference from other countries varies. Typically, based on the country of origins economic state, according to Stokes. “China or Saudi Arabia, some of our larger populations, are really interested in engineering and business, but from a place like the Caribbean we see, a lot of in business as well, but a lot of social sciences,” he says. As for the college, it has not seen any significant data relating to applications from the United States, according to Aldo Mendizabal, the Photograph by Alex Debets Ridgebacks forward Danny Elser is one of three Americans enrolled at UOIT. manager of international recruitment. The post-secondary community in Durham sees more students from the Caribbean, India, and Mexico. Mendizabal says a college education in Canada is different than an American education, and U.S. students are more likely to apply to universities here because they align more closely with the American state university system.
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CHRONICLE 16-17 ISSUE 10

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