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Ah, winter. It's arrival is signified by the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte and the imminent Christmas carol soundtrack that is all too short and repeats every hour during your marathon study sessions at Starbucks. Every year around this time, I find myself cursing the fact that I have to wear socks after months of flip-flops and flats, and in turn cursing my parents for bringing us to this place that turns into a windy freezer for eight months of the year. "Why," I will ask, "did you leave the gorgeous and temperate climate of Cape Town for Edmonton, of all places." To which they usually point out that I am safe to walk around by myself and have yet to be held up at gunpoint in this icebox known as Canada.

...

Point for Rodney and Sharon.

Anyways, back to handling winter in Edmonton. While there obviously are things that I despise about it, I can't help but get secretly excited at the coziness factor that it brings on. There's something extremely comforting about, while ridiculous, dressing yourself in sheepskin boots, a jacket that could double as a sleeping bag, or a backwards fleece sweater that makes you look like a smurf. Sitting in front of a fire (or the fireplace channel, I suppose, may be used as a substitute), you can cozy up on the couch and watch the snow fall while drinking your (insert favorite hot beverage/wine here). I'm not sure if it's actually really enjoyable, or we convince ourselves that it is so that we feel better about hibernating inside, but either way, it's not half bad. Winter: the season of paradox. We complain when it's too cold because we can't go outside, but we complain when it's too warm because we can't hold enough snow for a good ski season. Ah well, I guess were used to it by now. But it's fun to complain anyways.

Eric Tillman: Justified GM for Eskimos?

Edmontonians have recently learned that the newly-hired Eric Tillman pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault early on in the year. While some may argue that this has nothing to do with his ability to coach a football team, I feel that it is pretty disgusting and Tillman should not be a representative for a major sports team in Edmonton. Tillman will be coaching, mentoring, and representing a team that represents our city, therefore a message is being sent that Edmontonians are ok with sexual assault, or at the very least willing to sweep it under the carpet. This is the very attitude that many organizations have been working tirelessly against for decades. Sexual assault is an abuse of power and of dominance, and its victims can be scarred in many ways for life. One out of three women and one out of six men will be sexually assaulted in some way in their lifetime, and the majority will never come forward about it because they are scared it will be brushed off or they will not be believed. By hiring Tillman so soon after his violation of a teenage girl, the Eskimos are reinforcing the idea that sexual assault is not a big deal and can be ignored. Why is it ok for a perpetrator of such an awful crime to be placed in a very public and esteemed role? Another excuse for Tillman's behavior is that he was under the influence of medication at the time of his assault. This is yet another classic excuse, although it is usually alcohol that is presented as the drug at fault. This excuse does not carry through for other crimes. If Tillman was in a car accident while on the medications, his excuse could not have been that he was under the influence. For those familiar with sexual assault cases, it is a tried excuse which unfortunately works in many cases. The bottom line is, that unless Tillman goes above and beyond in raising awareness for sexual assault and proving that he has learned from his mistake, I would be embarrassed to say that I am from a city that condones such actions.