Robots are taking over SAIT, if what is transpiring in the Thomas Riley building is any indication.

Local high school robot gurus have been using SAIT as a training ground as they prepare for the World Robotic Championships, better known as FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition.

SAIT machinist instructor Jeff MacaRoy said that students, predominantly from Bishop Caroll High School, have practiced to run computer numerical control machines, computerized mills, print reading and a number of ..read more

Having a complexion that rivals the colour of cold oatmeal may seem more appealing when one considers the frightening possibility of skin cancer that can come with a golden glow.

According to the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation, an estimated 5,000 Canadians are diagnosed with melanoma annually, and Canadians born in the 1990s are two to three times more likely to develop skin cancer than those born in the 1960s.

With these daunting statistics, it appears people have been forbidden from enjoying the ..read more

Ever since geek-media hit the movie scene, being uncool has become a social norm.

With the annual Comic Expo only weeks away (April 27 – 29), Calgarians are getting ready to cosplay, see their favourite stars and attend the reunion of the cast from Star Trek, The Next Generation.

The expo has increased in popularity over the past few years, ticket sales for this year have already surpassed the attendance from all previous years, and as the slogan for the expo suggests, ..read more

The summer season is a busy time for most sport enthusiasts. But students on a tight budget, or who will be working away their summer fun, may find themselves at a loss for ideas.

Check out the following collection of affordable alternatives for sporty “staycations” around Alberta.

BEST PLACES TO GO

Northern Alberta:

Lesser Slave Lake is known for its remarkable stretches of white sandy beaches and hiking trails. The lake is located in a provincial park that features both thick, evergreen forest and ..read more

This provincial election is going to be one of the closest elections in Alberta history. The different political parties are looking for the support of the youth vote, and The Weal has interviewed candidates from across the province to know the position of each party.

ROB ANDERSON, Wildrose Party Candidate for Airdrie

The Wildrose Party considers that an expansion in post-secondary education access is needed especially in the trades, “to help to fulfill the need of trade workers on the oil ..read more

In partnership with SAIT Recreation, the ‘AKF Break the Cycle’ fundraiser and attempt to break the World Record for the most one-inch pine boards broken at the same time will be held on April 14.

The Ohtsuka Amateur Karate Foundation (AKF Karate) and the SAIT Karate club are adding the Guinness world record attempt to this years fundraiser in hopes of drawing more attention to the cause.

“We are trying to drive home the point, to stomp out domestic violence while raising ..read more

As the days get longer and beach season starts to enter the minds of Calgarians, many look for a head start on the sun. Sweetan employee Jess Hosfield said spring is the busiest time for their salon.

“Clients say they just don’t feel good when they’re white and pale. Getting a nice base (tan) gets them excited for summer!”

SAIT Radio, Television and Broadcast News student Haley Jarmain can relate.

“I’ll go every day for a week, then take a couple months off,” ..read more

As Sarah Podorieszach slid down a German G-force tunnel, a bad turn shattered her future in Olympic luge, leading her to pursue a future through SAIT’s welding technician program.

Podorieszach was born and raised in Calgary; however, ‘like father like daughter’, she has dual-citizenship in both Italy and Canada. It was also her father’s guiding hand that pointed out an ad in the newspaper for a luge summer camp at COP.

“I loved it right away, and I tried out for the ..read more

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Few surprises came at this year’s annual Trojans awards banquet held on March 30 at the Calgary Stampeders Red and White club.

Top players Rachel Caputo, Darcee Froese and Jon Malin received due acknowledgment for their contributions and performance this year.

The additional SAIT Trojans who earned Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) award for either first or second all-star team status for the 2011-12 season are as follows:

Men’s basketball guard Ajay Sihota, first-year information technology, South Division ..read more

With social media becoming a larger part of people’s daily lives, it was only a matter of time before that popularity was translated to the workplace. However, it is going too far when an employer asks for the password to their worker’s personal account.

Lately, according to the Associated Press, it has become common for North American employers to ask potential or current employees for the passwords to their personal Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts as a further screening ..read more

The old adage of wearing your heart on your sleeve has given way to wearing your personality on the bridge of your nose with the immensely popular ‘hipster glasses’.

Iconic and easily identifiable, hipster specs are the eyewear trend du jour, and are generally characterized by over-sized, thick black-rimmed frames. Originally popular in the 1960s, the bold eyewear look was famously popularized by artistic types such as Buddy Holly and Woody Allen, but fell to the wayside during the 1990s when ..read more

While many of you probably don’t look forward to Easter with the same excitement as when you were a kid, it’s still a great excuse to eat chocolate.

Another reason to gorge this spring is due to a new study funded by the National Institute of Health. They found that regularly eating chocolate five times a week is linked to a lower body mass index. Now that you can eat your chocolate guilt-free, you have to decide what cocoa treats you ..read more

Imagine that instead of eating lunch or doing homework during your last class break, you were hooking up with a hot, anonymous stranger.

For a lot of SAIT students, that sounds like something out of a daydream. For SAIT’s gay men, it can very much be a reality.

Gay students are connecting online through websites, apps and social media in big numbers, and many of the networks are dedicated solely to hooking up. The popularity of social media hookups has grown so ..read more

On March 30, Sled Island and the Gateway presented Anti-Freeze. It was the warm-up event for the summer music festival. Anti-Freeze featured the talents of many acts from Canada and the United States such as Murder by Death, Big John Bates, Rococode, In Media Res, Black Mastiff, Chron Goblin, and Sons of Bears.

The diversity of genres was a factor that filtered crowds in and out throughout the day, and into the early morning hours. It wasn’t a full house, but ..read more

“Celine Dion, is she Canadian?”

Serge Pizzorno, lead songwriter and guitarist of British band Kasabian, is being tested on his Canadian music knowledge.

“I like Mike Myers, he’s Canadian right?” asks Pizzorno with a laugh. “Wayne’s World, does that count as music?”

“Forgive me for my English ignorance, we probably mix up American and Canadian [artists],” admits Pizzorno.

It’s impossible not to be charmed by Pizzorno’s engaging and warm personality. But as the leader and face of one of the UK’s most beloved contemporary ..read more

Athletes aren’t the only ones who perspire when it comes to sports. By the time they hit the field, court or ice, a substantial amount of effort has already gone into every aspect of the game, especially the equipment used.

With more than $712,000 in funding from the federal government, SAIT’s Sports and Wellness Engineering Technology Institute (SWETI) is working on a number of projects to innovate equipment for athletes.

According to the director of applied research and innovation services (ARIS), Alex ..read more

Balancing school, work, and life is hard enough for any student, but when one adds team all-star to the list, it seems down-right impossible.

For SAIT Trojans men’s volleyball player Darcee Froese and women’s basketball player Rachel Caputo it is simply a matter of determination and time management.

Along with maintaining a stellar G.P.A., these two students have also been named Canadian Colleges Athletic Association academic all-Canadians for the 2011-12 season.

To receive the award, players must be named to an all-star team ..read more

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VICTORIA (CUP)—Have you ever noticed that dubstep is kind of like porn? No? Well, think about it.

When someone talks about their interest in dubstep, they’re often given the same looks that people get if they openly discuss their porn obsession. You often hear people use the same adjectives to describe the two, like “dirty,” “hardcore” or “wob-wob” (an equivalent to “fap-fap”).

Both porn and dubstep keep a heavy beat, raise your pulse and get your juices flowing.

I don’t often listen to ..read more

Sebastian Rodas’ aggressive campaign strategy paid off this past Tuesday when he was declared the new SAIT Students’ Association president at the Gateway.

Rodas earned 64 per cent or 409 votes, defeating Zaheed Khan (aka Big Z) who took in 232 votes or 36 per cent.

“At the end of the day it is about letting the students know that we are here. It is always good to remind them that we will fight for anything that we need to,” said the ..read more

One of the first things an athlete will talk about when becoming part of a team is their excitement to pull a jersey over their heads for the first time.

While cliché, athletes will say they are honoured to wear their team’s logo, representing teams’ past accomplishments and history.

However, jerseys, sweaters, and bibs often change, and new versions are adopted for special events. Both the Calgary Hitmen and Flames introduced new jerseys for the 2011 Heritage Classic that became popular with ..read more

There are tons of vegetarian options around the city. As vegetarianism becomes more accepted, wide-spread, and even trendy, business is booming for many establishments. With $15, one can get a delicious, well-portioned meal at any of the places listed below.

Madly Organic Café and Gallery 1455 – 17th Ave. S.W.

It’s all about good food and a good atmosphere.

Madly Organic features local, free-range and chemical-free food. Maintaining variety on their menu, they do serve some meat items, including a Southwestern wrap ($13) for ..read more

The latest fitness craze to promise users derrières that rival those of supermodels sounds like plastic surgery, but costs and hurts less than its name implies.

Provided by the exercise infomercial powerhouse Beach Body—which was responsible for previous fitness fads such as Zumba and P90X—the Brazilian Butt Lift’s website promises to sculpt and tone to, “Help you look divine from behind.”  The science behind the program incorporates various lunges and squats to work your bum’s three major muscles: the gluteus minimus, ..read more

An “all-out rock and roll show,” is what Sons of Bears’ vocalist and guitarist Lorrie Matheson says fans can expect from the band’s upcoming live shows.

Sons of Bears was formed after Matheson’s band mates, John Hadley, Ken Price, and Brian Vans, watched Matheson play a raucous solo show and suggested they start a band.

Having just made their live debut on March 16, the Calgary-based band is still relatively new. Matheson, however, is a music veteran. He has been a fixture ..read more

Although many people forgot about battle rapping after 8 Mile, the art has remained alive and Calgary now has a booming battle rap scene.

Rap battles are nothing new to Calgary. Over the last decade, events such as the annual “Eliminator” drew a decent level of attention to the scene.

This event ran from 2000 to 2005 at various venues including MacEwan Hall and had a few hundred people in attendance at its prime. After that, small battles happened sporadically that went ..read more

SAIT will replace all laptops used by first year Information and Communications Technology students after almost half of the school-assigned computers experienced malfunctions.

Information and communications technology is an e-learning faculty, meaning students are assigned laptops with software required to complete coursework. The vast majority of e-learning programs are a resounding success but this year’s ICT program hasn’t seen the same performance.

Approximately 40 per cent of the SAIT-issued laptops have failed so far this year, causing enormous headaches for students and ..read more

With the next contract negotiation of the U-Pass swiftly approaching this summer, the question has been raised as to what the future of the pass will look like.

The U-Pass agreement between SAIT and the City of Calgary is negotiated every two years, with the next round scheduled for June 2012.

The SAIT Students’ Association made contact with Mayor Naheed Nenshi earlier this year, when they sent him a proposal of the changes they would like to see made to the U-Pass ..read more

SAIT’S pathways to and from buildings have been bombarded with Sebastian Rodas’ presidential ambitions for the past week as the SAIT Students’ Association nominee looks to convince his peers that he’s worthy of their vote.

Yet, many are concerned about the graffiti-style approach that Rodas has taken.

“My initial reaction is that if all the candidates start chalking up everything, what will this place look like in a few years?” questioned SAIT construction instructor Duane Anderson.

Anderson said he supports any student running ..read more

Chinook Lodge Aboriginal Resource Centre is bringing SAIT students the third-annual Taste of Aboriginal Cultures event, which will give attendees the chance to have first-hand experience with Aboriginal culture.

The event will be held at the Chinook Lodge Aboriginal Resource Centre, room NN108 in the Senator Burns building March 26 to 30. It will give students, staff and their families the chance to participate in a fun-filled and informative week.

“It is a week-long celebration of Aboriginal cultures,” said Chinook Lodge student ..read more

On March 21, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification Lynne Yelich announced a federal funding investment of over $712,000 to expand SAIT’s applied research and development services.

SAIT Polytechnic will receive a $512,170 investment for the Sports and Wellness Engineering Technology Institute (SWETI) in addition to $200,000 that is being providedthrough the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

“Our government is committed to supporting Alberta’s growing strengths in developing innovative new products and technologies for ..read more

Running March 22 – 26 the SAIT Students’ Association elections will decide which candidates will represent students for 2012/2013. The Weal spoke with the candidates running for both the Student Executive Council (four, full-time positions with different portfolios) and Student Legislative Council (five, part-time board members who oversee the operations of the SEC). For more information visit saitsa.com.

Student Executive Council President

Zaheed Khan, aka “Big Z”

Big Z has set his sights on the presidential spot after claiming victory in this ..read more