MARCH 21, 2024 VOLUME 117 ISSUE 10
since 1906
THE MIND BEHIND OWIFA How a Western PhD student made a place for women in football RYAN GOODISON COORDINATING EDITOR
T
he rain fell onto Western Alumni Stadium as the Western women’s flag football team took the field. Clad in purple and white, the team has fought tooth and nail to be the best in the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Football Association — they fought just to have this opportunity. Olivia Ghosh-Swaby takes off as the center snaps the ball. She quickly gets into position for the catch, makes it and cuts through the York University defenders. The crowd huddles together in the cold and cheers as Olivia embraces her teammates — Western goes on to win 31–0. The March 9 game is part of the second tournament ever hosted by OWIFA on Haylor-Semotiuk Memorial Field, and over 400 female athletes and 100 coaches from across the province are present. Olivia has been familiar with running on the football field for the past 15 years, but the dual role of player and league executive director is still fresh to her. Starting from the 2019-20 school year, under her leadership, the first intercollegiate women’s football league in Ontario has grown into 15 teams, with executives from schools across Ontario and a dedicated schedule for play. It wasn’t easy to get this upstart league where it is today, a dream that started here at Western, six years ago, when the only football program for women to play in was an unratified club — until Olivia changed that. CONTINUED ON P6
KATHERINE GUO GAZETTE
Broughdale cleared by police as a thousand celebrate St. Patrick’s Day SOPHIA SCHIEFLER NEWS EDITOR VERONICA MACLEAN NEWS EDITOR
O
ver a thousand students dressed in green took to Broughdale Avenue early Saturday afternoon to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day before the street was cleared by London police. The holiday saw hundreds of partiers filling Broughdale Avenue, throwing footballs, blasting
music on house porches and occasionally climbing onto rooftops. The iconic ginger run returned for its second year, where self-identifying gingers ran down the street with partiers cheering for them on either side. Crowds peaked around 3 p.m. before London Police Service officers came to the scene, began clearing students from the street and shutting down
parties. By 4:45 p.m., officers cleared Broughdale Avenue entirely — house parties and streets alike. “Borgs” — short for “blackout rage gallons” — also made a reappearance this year. The popular drinking trend involves a plastic gallon container filled with alcohol, water and various flavourings. Many partiers wrote creative names for their borgs on their jugs, including “A$AP Borgy,” “Borgback Mountain” and “Borgasm Donor.”
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OPINIONS
NEWS
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But it wasn’t just Western University students partying on the streets — students from Fanshawe College and other Ontario universities came to the Forest City to partake in the celebrations as well. “There’s not much going on at Fanshawe. Broughdale’s where [Homecoming] was and this is where St. Patty’s Day is,” said Eric Van Maanen, a first-year plumbing student at Fanshawe.
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CULTURE
SPORTS
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