Big ticket events like the Purple Finale succeed by following a winning formula: free lunch and free punch. Meanwhile, much of their work goes unnoticed, like lobbying the province for more access to education.

While these leaders get the glory and the scorn, a hefty amount of work is done by other people: councillors, commissioners, volunteers and staff. So as much as we love these evaluations, they can only represent simple summation of a complex year. They evaluate the leaders, while the rank-and-file go largely unnoticed.

It’s something true of the Gazette as well. In fact, we mirror each other more closely than either camps notice. We’re both student-run, student-lead organizations. Our teams have similar trial-by-fire mentalities, succeeding and failing in the public eye. Our achievements go widely unnoticed while our shortcomings become the cause de jour for armchair critics everywhere.

There was a feeling in September that both groups would achieve something different this year.

At the Gazette, we overhauled everything we could, including the most significant layout change in years. Much of our work has been behind the scenes, like a digital workflow that makes us online-ready, or a creative section boasting video and graphics. It was part of a mission to modernize the Gazette after years of meekly playing catch-up to a changing medium.

Meanwhile, the USC dove head-first into a new governance structure empowering councillors to do work previously helmed by full-time executives. There was a renewed spirit to involve students, emphasized by events they’d simply appreciate, like the widely successful Purple Fest. They had the most prudent and reasonable approach to business and finance in years.

But after months of optimism, reality settled in. The USC floundered in handling the UWO Faculty Association strike, provoking a salvo of criticism from average students and the Gazette. Meanwhile, our incessant interest in USC politics and Western news kept news coverage local while offering a handful of forgettable stories.

Both groups are grappling with a changing and growing student body, one far less engaged than years past. So while the USC preaches about getting students involved, the Gazette pleads with readers to volunteer. But most students want nothing to do with either of us.

This should all be considered when summarizing a year of work. That student organizations are always at the mercy of the people willing to do the work. That leaders get the brunt of criticism and praise, but their achievements are owed to their employees, who in student circles are the most devoted types you’ll find.

Because it’s the volunteers who do obscene amounts of work for no discernable reason. It’s devotion to an organization, a name, an idea. For the newspaper folks, it’s the Gazette and what it represents. For the politically inclined, it’s the student government and its aspirations.

But after years at the Gazette and a term as editor-in-chief, I’m starting to realize we’re not so different after all.

The idea’s a little counter-intuitive: you usually decide if a suit fits after trying it on — something made impossible by the internet’s cold, impersonal and altogether digital face.

But what Indochino loses in tactile testing it makes up for everywhere else. It’s easily hundreds of dollars cheaper than a custom suit at the nearby tailor. The deep customization system lets buyers browse an impressive suit selection and customize it however they like: your choice of lapel shape, buttons and jacket lining. Jump over to the advanced options to add or remove pockets, change the cuffs or embellish your suit with pick stitching or natural shoulders.

It’s something that might make suit snobs cringe. For purists, nothing replaces the well-worn hands of a custom tailor or the quality of designer brands.

But results speak for themselves. Full disclosure: I haven’t received my suit yet, so I can’t personally speak to the quality. But Western alumnus Richard Wong ordered one from Indochino — a two-button, three-piece pinstripe suit and with blue lining — and called the fit perfect and the material sufficient.

“It doesn’t compare to anything at Harry Rosen’s or Holt’s, but it’s one of the best suits under $500 I’ve ever bought,” he said.

The Vancouver-based start-up has grown over the past couple of years, partly due to a rabid social media campaign. Thirty seconds after I tweeted about Indochino, I had a reply from Indochino’s internet marketer Jason Carvalho, who promptly answered a question or two.

It’s this humanizing approach that makes Indochino a little less daunting. Buying a suit is probably the most difficult clothing purchase men have to make. But the 16-step measuring process ensures a snug fit and it’s paired with simple instructions and stripped-down videos. Get a friend to do the measuring or pay your tailor a visit to get the numbers.

“It’s surprisingly great customer service and I would definitely recommend it for others,” Wong says. “Especially when they have sales or other deals that make the purchase an easier decision.”

And he’s right — search for coupon codes online and you’ll likely snag another 10 to 15 per cent off. Your suit arrives in four to six weeks and shipping is also free.

But perhaps most encouraging is their guarantee, which claims the suit will fit perfectly. If not, send it back for a do-over or visit your tailor for alterations on Indochino’s dime — up to $75 worth, at least.

And for most students, that’s a suit that will suit your needs.

Visit Indochino at indochino.com.

It’s a phenomenon of the internet age, and web and anonymity have always made good bedfellows. It’s something internet advocates pride themselves on. But anonymity also coaxes out the worst in people, like how the average person becomes violent when surrounded by a riot. Behind an anonymous disguise, readers feel brave enough to say things their mothers wouldn’t like. Psychologists call it the “disinhibition effect”  — the idea that, without an identity, people are emboldened to act however they like.

Newspapers, on the other hand, have never allowed anonymous letters to fill their opinions pages. It’s an industry that balks at everything anonymous, including sources. But it’s also an industry that prides itself on freedom of speech and positions itself as something of a public forum. So moderating comments becomes a complicated tug-of-war between policy and free speech.

At the Gazette, we have a cute little policy allowing us to moderate comments for a number of reasons. But we usually just remove them when they’re obviously hateful.

Of all the controversial stories we’ve published lately, nothing was apparently more controversial than the first-ever Style Issue, which was pretty much just about clothes.

A list of “Eight simple ways to dress like man” was skillfully relabeled “eight simple ways to dress like a homosexual” by one anonymous fellow. Our most stylish professor was called a litany of evil things by faceless, nameless internet people. Our most dedicated commenter, who often uses the clever handle “Iz The Megatron,” has posted 23 times this year spewing vitriol at anyone who will read.

But since these are just opinions, we leave them up.

I’ve mulled over the comment policy constantly during two years overseeing our website. At times — like when controversial speaker Mark Steyn linked his followers to our articles — the discussion became vindictive and unproductive, so I changed the system so commenters had to register first.

The discussion immediately died. So I changed it back.

On Wednesday, following even more vapid commentary from anonymous people, I changed the system so users have to verify their comment via email. They can still post using a fake name, but have to use their real email.

Again, the discussion died.

So the tug-of-war becomes a three-way between policy, free speech and promoting discussion — another newspaper mandate, at least at the campus level. If we make it too difficult to post a comment, readers — even the good ones — won’t bother running through our little maze.

A friend of mine, using an anonymous name, commented that our Style Issue photo gallery was the stylistic equivalent to a 15-year-old’s birthday party. When I unearthed her email and confronted her, she said: “As an anonymous person, I could represent any kind of individual: male, female, old, young, etc. I prefer it that way.”

She’s definitely on to something. Because as just a student, she’s no different than the people producing the content — the student volunteers who, despite becoming targets in the process, put their name and identity out to the world for all time. Using a fake name, my friend became an entirely different person: a professor, maybe, or someone with authority who could speak down to the petty contributions of simple students.

I’m not against these letters — if university is good for anything, it’s a place to lob criticism from a safe place to anyone within earshot. But since writers put names on their articles, the least I expect from critics is the same courtesy.

Comments are sent to us because, after all, commenters want to share their opinion with the public. And if they intend to put their opinion in the public sphere, they can’t hide behind anonymity. Even if “Iz The Megatron” is a pretty cool name.

They worked hard to get a fee for their club on the March ballot and when the University Students’ Council called the referendum invalid, months of work were also invalidated.

But if the USC’s decision does anything, it gives us time to consider a litany of problems surrounding referendums and the SRP fee.

The margin of victory — almost two to one in favour of supporting the SRP fee — tells a story: plenty of students voted with their hearts, not necessarily their heads.

The 8,553 votes cast for the SRP question came from a mix of informed and uninformed voters, but more likely the latter. Because the fee proposal dovetailed with two more self-serving and attractive proposals — late-night busing and 12-month bus passes. Anyone with a philanthropic bone in their body would approve a 52-cent SRP fee after checking “yes” to both those costly conveniences.

Compounding these problems is the campus referendum system. While USC officials praise referendums for putting choice into students’ hands, average turnout hovers around 25 per cent.

In a democracy, it’s never the majority that wins, but the loudest voice at the table. In other words, whoever shows up. And with moral questions like SRP funding, the supporters will always be motivated to the voting booth more often than the opposition, who votes with abstentions.

It’s interesting then, that the best “Vote No” campaign might be no campaign at all. If everyone who voted “no” in the referendum withheld their vote entirely, none of the questions would have passed; we wouldn’t have reached the minimum number of votes to make the referendum considered valid. Is that democracy?

The USC’s decision will hang in the air as SRP plans their appeal — one surely relying on the fact that the USC could keep the “Vote Yes” side disqualified without canning the results.

It’s fitting that so many demerit points were awarded for fairly trivial things like sending emails. It’s part of the USC’s agonizing “culture of control” — the idea that they must oversee and legislate student lives into a cesspool of bureaucracy. Campaigning on election day only helps promote the vote — something the USC could always use to boost turnout. Yes, they broke the rules and should be penalized. But we have some time before the next referendum to consider what, exactly, these rules are trying to prevent.

If nothing changes, we’ll see the SRP question appear on next year’s ballot and if this year is any indication, it’ll pass. But now’s the perfect time to breathe while USC councillors consider alternatives and SRP advocates listen. Other schools have better systems: a “charity menu” where students decide which charities among a list they should support. Or an opt-out charity fee worth several dollars that goes to a variety of charities at once.

The university should also take notice and consider how they’ll play a role with the SRP next year.

In the meantime, visit the SRP website or call to donate 52 cents. But only if that’s your thing.

Visit the site at bit.ly/uwo-srp or call 1-800-267-8699 to make a donation.

Rogers is building a new tower near campus by the summer and Bell said they’ve asked Western if they could install more on-campus equipment to boost capacity.

Andrea Sardinha, public relations specialist for Rogers, said this week cellphone use on campus has doubled from last fall. The demand prompted Rogers to investigate building a new cell tower.

“Land acquisition for a cell site that would improve service to campus turned out to be more of a challenge than we expected and took longer than we would have liked,” Sardinha said. “We are pleased to report that we are moving forward on improvements.”

Sardinha said better service would arrive by early summer at a cost that’s typically “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Back in September, Bell also said they would tweak existing towers and look into building a new site. They confirmed this week that a proposal was submitted to Western for “more on-campus equipment that will boost capacity further.”

“Bell has added a second channel and an additional antenna to the Richmond St. site that serves the university to boost capacity,” Bell representative Jason Laszlo said last week. He said the company is also in discussions with University Hospital to build a new cell site before the next school year.

“As for the proposal filed with the University administration, we await their response,” he said.

Meanwhile, Western is assembling a team of officials to address the customer service relationship with major cellphone providers like Bell and Rogers.

“This will include an item on how they could improve reception on campus,” said Debbie Jones, director of Information Technology Services at Western. But she noted discussions with the telecom giants related to new towers on Western’s campus have not taken place.

Jones added Western will know the outcome of their task-force around summertime.

He owes his dapper sense of style to his father — an Italian who wore a suit nearly every day. Though Paul Benedetti’s dad didn’t have much money, his suits were always tailored.

It’s part of a culture and style Benedetti lives everyday, requiring an air of professionalism and put-togetherness — something lost on plenty of North American men. It’s also the reason he wears a tie to nearly every class he teaches.

“It shows I’m here to do business,” he says.

How to get the look

Benedetti’s advice for young graduates is to grab two garments once you graduate — a nice suit and, perhaps more importantly, a blue blazer.

“You should get the most expensive one you can afford,” he says.

Price points and brands will vary, but don’t be too concerned with labels. Instead, pick natural fabrics like wool and make sure the suit and jacket are sewn together instead of glued. You can buy a $100 suit, he says, but it will look like a $100 suit.

Creative Director Lauren Pelley nabbed these affordable finds at the local Talize vintage store.

Vintage stores these days aren’t your mom’s Sally Ann. Hipsters have flocked to these stores for years and proprietors took notice, improving selection and hiking up prices. These days, vintage stores are as diverse as the clothes you’ll find inside: from Toronto’s impossibly hip Black Market, to the thrifty chain store Talize, to local consignment boutique Mesh.

Shop, rest, repeat

Successful vintage shopping will require dedication because you won’t always find something you like, something that fits, and something you can afford in one go. Repeat viewing is necessary.

Scour, young vintager, scour

There’s a technique to use when vintage shopping: Look. At. Everything.

These stores are always arranged in racks like a warehouse-sized closet, meaning it’s impossible to see whether that polo is a frumpy blob or a Lacoste gem until you take a genuine look. Spread those racks apart and start flipping as fast as you can to inspect the inventory in a reasonable amount of time.

Have a mind to mend

Not everything will fit perfectly, but considering you’ve saved $50 on that loose-fitting blazer, paying for a little tailoring is an elegant solution. If you own a sewing machine and posses the skills, tailor it yourself. Thrift stores don’t usually accept torn garments, so the most you’ll have to do is a nip here or a tuck there.

Know what not to buy

You can’t spring your entire wardrobe from Value Village. Lots of clothing you’ll find on the vintage trail are dated or donated by another generation, which is great for that vintage look but can backfire if you’re hoping to score something like jeans. A vintage sweater is one thing, but light blue high-waisted mom jeans are another entirely. Buy jeans, pants and formal wear at real store and spend the money they deserve.

It’s time to upgrade. But this doesn’t mean getting all metrosexual, doing your nails and slipping into something your girlfriend would wear. It means dressing like a grown-up.

1. Get clothes that fit

Where to start: This is a really important rule. If you break every other rule, you’ll still look confident and mature if your clothes fit properly. There was a time when Levi’s promoted carpenter jeans and baggy fits. The year was 1998 and you were a child. These days, it’s proper to wear well-fitting clothes. Excess fabric makes you look unconfident and unshapely. Having clothes that form around your body is flattering for small to medium sized guys. For larger bodies, wearing a blazer or sweater helps disguise your love handles. This also means going down a size. Ditch your large clothes and go for a medium.

Avoid: Skinny jeans, unless you’re a hipster. Anything too tight has the same effect as anything too large — awkward and unshapely.

2. Don’t wear running shoes as regular shoes

Where to start: Wear running shoes to the gym, not to the bar. As for alternatives, almost anything else will work. Try getting a pair of casual shoes from a classy shoe store like Aldo or Transit. It’s a good idea to get something leather to wear with jeans — just avoid something you could also wear to the prom.

Avoid: Footlocker, square-toed dress shoes

3. Wear dark jeans and get some pants

Where to start: Throw out your light blue jeans. They make you look like a 12-year-old on a field trip to the zoo. The easiest way to look mature is wearing dark jeans or pants. Slacks are great — they’re just pants made from fabric other than denim.

Avoid: Pleats — those folds near the waistband — unless your idea of looking like a man is looking like your grandpa.

4. Ditch everything with a graphic

Where to start: That ironic and subtly sexual graphic tee from Abercrombie was hilarious in Grade 11, but these days it makes you look like an immature pervert. While logos gave you clout in high school, men get more clout from possessing an air of confidence, professionalism and success. And from looking good, regardless of where they bought their clothes.

Avoid: Sexually ironic graphic tees.

5. Get a watch

Where to start: Most men are terrified by accessories — and with just cause. Necklaces, bracelets and rings and best reserved for the creepy mustachioed guy at the local pawn shop. But watches are timeless. And in an age where cellphones have made the wristwatch obsolete, wearing one says you’re a punctual gentleman with places to be.

Avoid: Anything that measures water pressure or counts your steps. Save these athletic watches for the gym.

6. Throw out (donate) almost everything from high school

Where to start: Get rid of everything your mom ever bought you. Throw graphic tees, baggy blue jeans and baseball caps into a garbage bag and truck it over to the local Value Village.

Avoid: Throwing out versatile clothes like plain sweaters. They’ll still look good after you’ve overhauled the rest of your wardrobe.

7. No more snowboarding jackets

Where to start: While they’re great for the snowhill, many gents mistake these comfortable jackets as something suited for everyday wear. Your alternatives aren’t limited to peacoats — which are great, by the way. You can also grab plenty of warm winter coats that don’t look like you’re competing in the X Games. Try Urban Behaviour or H&M for some warmer but fashionable outwear.

Avoid: Puffy coats. You’re not Fred Durst.

8. Get a haircut, ditch the gel

Where to start: Hair gel was popular when ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys topped the charts. These days it’s proper to have hair that’s au naturel —cropped short or kept long without using obvious products. Buy a wax or paste the next time you get a haircut. The hairdresser can recommend something for your particular style.

Avoid: Flipping your hair up at the front. This is worse than a mushroom cut.

The upgrade comes at a time when usage is mounting. It’s up 33 per cent from last year, and complaints surrounding wireless internet on campus are becoming fierce.

“I’m just really fed up with the lack of wireless service across campus,” Natasha Willis, a second-year political science student at Western, wrote in a letter to the Gazette. “I pay well over $6,000 a year to come here and at the very least, I’d like to be able to connect to internet in a library.”

According to Debbie Jones, director for Western’s Information Technology Services, Western introduced a new wireless infrastructure on Dec. 20, 2010. She said ITS is upgrading old access points with newer, faster versions as part of a four-year overhaul.

Since this time last year, capacity on the network has increased by over 31.5 per cent. But the overhaul is time-consuming and not without speed bumps along the way.

“The end user experience is dependent on a huge number of factors, and for ITS to help, we need to ask lots of questions to pin point the problem,” Jones said.

The list of factors is long, she said, including the computers and software students are using, the strength of the signal in the room and the numbers of users on a network at a given time.

As it stands, around 15,000 students log on to wireless in any given day, while the network capacity is 7,500 simultaneous connections.

“Two days this past week there was a large increase in internet traffic and Western’s internet connection became filled to capacity,” Jones said. “All of Western’s internet traffic was impacted, during this time but those using wireless might assume it was a ’slow wireless’ problem.”

In response, ITS is trying to get students to log onto their alternative secure network called “uwosecure-v2” — a network they upgraded late last month. Wireless traffic on this network is encrypted instead of plain text. It’s also safe from the Facebook threat that was discovered last December, which allowed users to log onto other people’s Facebook accounts who are using the same unsecured network.

But the process to log onto uwosecure can be complicated, requiring a number of steps and changes to default internet settings. The network’s also not selected by default by WiFi-enabled computers since it’s locked, meaning many students might not know it exists at all.

Cellphone troubles

Wireless internet isn’t the only connectivity problem facing students. Cellphone reception on campus has been a year-long struggle for many students. The issue prompted University Students’ Council president-elect Andrew Forgione to include cellphone signal boosters in his platform — a promise he says is coming throughout the summer.

While ITS handles WiFi signals, Jones said cellphone companies are responsible for their own reception.

Back in September, Rogers and Bell responded to an article in the Gazette about poor cell phone service saying they were making improvements.

Reached yesterday, Bell media representative Jason Laszlo said Bell increased capacity and coverage by making antenna adjustments and installing more antennas in the area.

“In anticipation of even greater demand in the near future, Bell has also filed with University administration a proposal to install additional on-campus equipment that will boost capacity further,” he said via email.

Rogers didn’t return calls by press time but previously claimed to be increasing capacity on the network after smartphone use nearly doubled since 2009. They expected the issue to be resolved by the end of September.

The March 18 referendum will pose three questions, among them whether students want to pay $12.15 for a late night bus program. The nearly $370,000 initiative would pay for buses around campus and downtown from 11 p.m. to 1:50 a.m. Thursday to Sunday.

It’s a proposal that Yellow London Taxi owner Hasan Savehilaghi is campaigning against.

“This is an attempt to damage the taxi industry,” he said. “Really, this is a deal made behind closed doors between the student council and Aboutown.”

Savehilaghi cited safety and service as his two main concerns, noting students will still have to walk home from campus or the few bus stops offered on the routes. He also argued while all students will pay the mandatory $12.15 fee, not all students will use it.

On Tuesday, the London Taxi Association had a meeting where several taxi drivers — including some from Aboutown — raised the issue, according to Savehilaghi. Aboutown had a separate meeting yesterday and Savehilaghi expected drivers raised concerns over the transportation issue there as well.

Meaghan Coker, vice-president university affairs for the University Students’ Council, said the idea was introduced after years of demand — both from students wanting easier transportation and city officials wanting to end drunken congestion on Richmond Row.

The USC has a tentative deal with Aboutown — London’s largest cab company — to provide the same shuttle buses they use on campus. Coker said the buses would improve safety for students attempting to travel home from the bar district.

“The complaints we’ve heard are that students are stranded downtown and can’t get a cab. They need to be able to get home at that time of night, and the only option is to walk or wait several hours or fight each other for cabs,” she said, adding the complaints came from London’s city council and local police.

The idea, Coker said, is to not only transport students from downtown, but to transport students home after studying late at night on campus.

But Savehilaghi was unconvinced, saying the buses would only exacerbate safety concerns by concentrating belligerent students in one location.

“I drove a cab myself for 13 years and I know how the atmosphere is after midnight,” he said. “A taxi would take four people. They can be easily contained and communicated with and negotiated with. But when they’re on a bus, how are you going to control them?”

The USC has included one security guard per bus in their budget, something Coker said could be adjusted depending on student safety.

“I think it’s a flexible model,” she said, adding the buses shouldn’t be thought of as strictly transportation from Richmond Row. “That’s not what we’re doing. That’s a shortsighted view of what a late night bus shuttle could be.”

Next week’s referendum will include two other questions: whether students want to pay for a 12-month bus pass and whether a Western club should receive guaranteed funding.

Coker said the referendum is the best way to let students decide. But for the vote to stand, at least 5,200 students must vote — a significant challenge considering February’s much-hyped USC presidential election netted 8,095 votes, representing 31 per cent of the student population.

With a crowd of supporters celebrating frantically behind him, Andrew Forgione was elected president of the University Students’ Council in a decisive victory Wednesday night.

The fourth-year social science student, who’s currently serving as president of the Social Science Students’ Council, earned 4,214 votes, trouncing runner-up Omid Salari who netted 2,310 votes.

Forgione ran a campaign based on empowering faculty councils and continuing initiatives already underway by this year’s USC executive.

“I’m somewhat relieved but happy. It’s the happiest feeling in the world,” Forgione said after the results were announced.

Forgione came in as a career USCer with a campaign defined by a polished multimedia presence and groundswell support. At the onset of his campaign, Forgione released a heavily produced YouTube video, which was light on platform points but high on enthusiasm.

Forgione said support from the social science faculty definitely helped.

“My campaign team gave me the win,” he said. “We were all in line to begin with.”

By contrast, Salari, a fifth-year ethics major, ran as the change candidate. Despite years of USC involvement, including two years as USC speaker, Salari frequently criticized the USC’s control over Orientation Week and club events. The former president of the Comedy Club punctuated his new approach with jokes and foul language along the campaign trail.

“I feel pretty good. I’m hoping I got 10 per cent [of the vote] so I get my money back,” Salari said, referring to the percentage of votes needed to be reimbursed for campaign expenses. When asked what he would do now, Salari said he’s going to “get a real job with a much easier interview.”

David Basu Roy, a fifth-year student in social justice and peace studies at King’s University College, came in third with 1,571 votes. As the only outsider without much USC experience, Basu Roy ran as an everyman, promoting green initiatives including a greenhouse, which was criticized by USC insiders as infeasible.

He said his only regret was not talking to more students during the campaign.

“On the last day, we [campaigned] hard for the last 14 hours, we hit all the lounges on campus,” Basu Roy said. “I’d just do that everyday.”

In total, 8,095 students voted for a presidential candidate in the election, representing a 31 per cent turnout. This compares to 30 per cent turnout last year and 39 per cent the year before.

Health pass referendum

Despite more students voting “yes” to add $99.89 to their student fees to support a health plan, the referendum failed to meet a quorum of 20 per cent of part–time student voters. In total, 226 part-time students voted yes while 105 voted no.  Only part–time students were able to vote in the referendum. Currently, only full-time students are offered the health plan with an option to opt-out.