The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesday March 21, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 CREM ATION " Get the Facts. Find out about Jp the choices it provides. " Mm Glen Oaks Memorial Gardens 3164 9th Line, Oakville Q / / 257-1100 OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Focusl OaJcA/Ul& W a t& r fr v r c t fe i t t v c U / FOURTH LINE AUTO For All Your Car's Needs Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems CAA Approved Shop 559 Speers Road 842-3001 In Business in Oakville Since 1979 Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS 845-3824 Ext: 250 Photos by Erin Riley Michael Buckley, a member of the York U n iversi^ debating team, will be competing in a Mock UN at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, against debaters from around the world. Worldtravelling student to debate at Mock UN By Shelly Sanders Greer SPECIAL TO TH E BEAVER 1 24, Michael Buckley has seen more of the world than many of us will in a lifetime. He and his moth er moved to Oakville eight years ago, for his last year of high school. But the itch to travel proved too strong to resist and he ended up doing his last year through correspondence, while travelling. He ended up travelling for the next five years, visiting 71 countries, and com ing home periodically to work, visit family and plan his next excursion. Now, Buckley is in his second year at York University in the Global Political Studies program and, with all that life experience to draw from, is making a name for himself on the York debating team. Recently, at Harvard University in Massachusetts, Buckley and his teammate won in the category of outstanding delegates, quite an accomplishment considering there were thousands of university del egates from around the world, many from prestigious Ivy League universi ties like Princeton and Yale. "I was told about the mock United Nations and wrote a paper to qualify," explains Buckley about the events leading to his involvement in this area. "We're put into different committees and given a partner. At Harvard we dealt with Zimbabwe and our commit tee was Special Political and Decolonization. You Ieam how to debate and the rules of procedure, and when you speak and don't speak." The goal is to come up with resolu tions that may or may not be passed. Each team represents a country. At Harvard, Buckley and his partner were China, which meant they had to follow the foreign policy of China. "The fact that we won an award at Harvard is a big deal," says Buckley. "It was a team effort. A few other peo ple on our team also won awards." Buckley attributes much of his suc cess as a debater to is his extensive travelling, "It's all about the people," he says. "It gives you a different perspective; you get different world views. It has taught me to be humble and allowed me to realize there are a number of views in the world you don't often hear about. "The way we live is a minority. Most of the world lives differently." The next Mock UN will be held in April in New York, with the opening and closing ceremonies taking place at the UN headquarters. This is the Nationals, the biggest Mock UN in the United States. Buckley says that York University will be representing Suriname, and he's looking forward to getting on a committee. His experience on the Mock UN has helped Buckley decide on his career-- not surprisingly, to work for the real UN. To help obtain his goal, he has applied for an exchange to Amsterdam next year, and when he completes his studies at York, hopes to pursue his Masters at Oxford University in England. Until then, he will continue debating, and working at the duty free at the airport, where he can fuel his love for travel and air ports. Buckley's mother, Judy, one of his biggest fans, is obviously proud of her son's efforts and feels strongly that successes like these should become Canada's successes. "Michael's team debated against the London School of Economics. It says something that we won. It says something about Canada. This is how well-known universities get known. Many people don't realize that York University is one of the best in the world for global studies. We have got to get the story out." While the debating is clearly a worthwhile endeavor, it does not come cheap. New York will be the third excursion this year, at a cost of $700 to $800 for each one, when you factor in hotels, bus and food. Buckley and his team would welcome any financial support, either corporate or personal. If you would like more information, call 905-844-9595. The BodyShaping Fitness Studio ForWomen. Dirk Gebhardt Maria Kinlough H IL A R Y F Y RADI LE y.com in Spring cloth coats ave arrived T H E Body Shaping Fitness Studio for W om en is a state o f the art facility designed and operated by M aria K inlough and D irk Gebhardt to enable .women to achieve the body shape that they have always wanted and didn't think possible. W e are not goin g to tell you that this is an overnight process but a gradual journey that we w ill make fun and carefree. T h ere are no quick fixes that w ill last a lifetim e! I f you have been a person who has been enticed by the " Lose weight and get in shape in a month" promises, you know by now that it doesn't work. O ur comm itm ent to you is to provide you with every form o f encouragement. T h e Studio is a com fortable place that w ill help you to fu lfill your dreams. W e design an individual program for you and provide you with all the equipm ent and assistance that you could ever need. Th ere is always som ething fun happening, for instance we have just begun belly-dancing classes. T h e first five minutes o f the class everyone was uncertain as to what to expect but soon came to realize that it was a terrific and fun way to exercise. Downtown Oakville Lakeshore Road East (905) 845-2031 HOURS: Closed Sunday & Monday. Tues.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m-5 p.m. For more information please call (905) 849-1919 183 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, Ontario L6K 1E7 (Between Kerr St. & Dorval Dr.)