Editorial
2 April 26-May 9, 2012
Want to report for The Dialog?
Fight for education now This past year has seen a wave of struggle around post-secondary education. Students at George Brown College (GBC) and 23 other colleges in Ontario last fall were greeted by picket lines of support staff, represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) The Student Association’s (SA) board of directors unanimously voted to stand in solidarity with the support staff. The SA distributed information to students about the strike and highlighted the long wait times students were forced to endure to access OSAP at student services while the colleges dragged their feet negotiating a fair contact. When the support staff settled after an 18 day strike, the struggle for quality, affordable post-secondary education was just getting started. On Feb. 1, over 300 GBC students joined thousands across Ontario in the annual day of action organized by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) against the rising costs of education. Over 3,000 students marched in Toronto chanting, “Dalton, you’re a liar, tuition is getting higher”. However, it was the student movement in Quebec that exploded. Students there launched a student strike against the Liberal government’s plans to raise tuition 75 per cent over five years. They have been picketing their CEGEPs
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and universities since Feb. 13 and holding mass demonstrations including one numbering 200,000 people on March 22. On April 5, members of the SA, CFS and other student and union activists occupied the office of Glen Murray, the minister of training colleges and universities, for one day. They were protesting a cut of $121 million in postsecondary education funding and the raising of tuition by an average of five per cent taking hundreds of dollars out of students’ pockets next year. Meanwhile, college and university presidents once again made Ontario’s Sunshine List of the top-paid public employees with GBC president Anne Sado raking in $354,953.35 in salary and taxable benefits in 2011. This summer unionized faculty at Ontario’s colleges are gearing up to start their round of collective bargaining and college students could be looking at another fall semester of labour unrest. Something is seriously broken with a post-secondary education system that has Ontario students paying the highest tuition rates in Canada while the corporate tax rate has been lowered to a paltry 11.5 per cent. It’s high time that changed and the government fully-fund free post-secondary education for every student that wants to learn.
Reporters play a key role in our student community. They gather information and prepare stories for our student publications and inform us about newsworthy events and happenings in our community. They present factual information on current issues and report on the actions of public officials, executives, and others who exercise power. We are currently looking for motivated students with a passion for storytelling to join our team. Please send a cover letter, resume and a sample of your writing to us at: sapccoord@georgebrown.ca
Student Association of George Brown College Job Title:
Dialog reporter
Job Category:
Department/Group:
Publications and Media
Job Code/ Req#:
Location:
Various
Travel Required:
Yes
Level/Salary Range:
$61.25/article + $12.81/hr for editorial meetings
Position Type:
Temporary part‐time
HR Contact:
Scott Cordingley
Start Date:
Mid‐August 2012
Yes
Posting Expires:
On‐going
Will Train Applicant(s): Fax or E‐mail:
sapccoord@georgebrown.ca Subject Line: <your name>: Dialog reporter application Attention: Mick.Sweetman Job Description:
Mail:
Reporters play a key role in our student community. They gather information and prepare stories for our student publications and inform us about newsworthy events and happenings in our community. They present factual information on current issues and report on the actions of public officials, executives, and others who exercise power.
Student Association of George Brown College 142 Kendal Ave. Toronto, ON M5R 1M3 ATTN: Publications and Media, E122
General Responsibilities: • • • • • •
Will be assigned articles from the managing editor. Will be responsible for a certain number of assigned articles per issue. Responsible to create articles that are fact based and have photos, if necessary. Regularly attend Dialog collective meetings. Will keep accurate and up to date records of research, interviews, etc. Will file stories and images in a timely and accurate manner.
Requirements: • • • • •
Writing articles for a newspaper, newsletter, or website, or experience in other forms of communication with a strong sense of news writing. Working in a diverse and demanding office where team work and communication is vital. Working with digital photography, Adobe Photoshop and InDesign are assets. Our writers will have the ability to work to strict deadlines, have excellent communication skills, be willing to follow established style guides and have the desire to work in a student collective environment. A writing sample of a news article will be required as part of the interview process.
Managing Editor: Mick Sweetman SA Publications and Communications Coordinator: Mick Sweetman Dialog Published by: Student Association of George Brown college
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George Brown College student newspaper
Dialog Reporters: Matt Del Biondi Contact in person or mail: Room E122 - Casa Loma 142 Kendal Avenue Toronto, ON M5R 1M3 Tel: 416-415-5000 ext. 6386 Fax: 416-415-2491 sapccoord@georgebrown.ca
Jason Miller Corrie Sakaluk Maverick Smith
Dialog Contributors: Micheal Stefancic
The Dialog newspaper is published by the Dialog Collective under the auspices of the Student Association of George Brown College. The collective is comprised of student editors and reporters and is responsible for the overall vision and direction of the Dialog newspaper, as it coincides with the larger vision of mission of the Student Association. The cost of producing a monthly newspaper is in part defrayed by advertising revenue and largely subsidized by the Student Association. Occasionally, some advertisers, products and services do not reflect the policies of the SA.
Opinions expressed in the Dialog are not necessarily those of the Dialog Collective, the Student Association of George Brown College, or its editorial staff. Dialog will not publish any material that attempts to incite violence or hatred against individuals or groups, particularly based on race, national origin, ethnicity, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability. Contributions to the Dialog are always gratefully accepted. We request that articles be submitted as digital copies in plain-text (TXT) or rich-text (RTF) format. Letters to the editor can be sent in an email message to sapccoord@georgebrown.ca. Images should be in EPS format as vector images or TIF format (Mac or PC). We request that you submit a hard copy of your work. Originals only please.
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News
April 26- May 9, 2012 3
Day of Silence speaks louder than words
every individual feels equally safe and welcome by becoming a Dialog Reporter Gay-Straight Alliance.” Bolton was echoed by diThis year marks the 17th annual rector of education Chris Spence, Day of Silence, a student-led who said “We are very proud to event designed to draw attention be a leader when it comes to proto homophobia and anti-LGBT moting equity and inclusion for behaviour in schools. It takes all, as we believe that equity of place every year on April 20, opportunity and equity of acwith many schools in neighcess to our programs, services, bourhoods across Toronto and resources are critical to the and Canada participating. achievement of successful out According to the Day comes for all those whom we of Silence website, “students serve, and for those who serve from middle school to colour school system.” lege take a vow of silence Earlier in that same year, in an effort to encourage Spence also announced a sysschools and classmates to adtem-wide “Positive Spaces” dress the problem of anti-LGcampaign, training a staff repreBT behaviour by illustrating sentative in each school to have the silencing effect of bullya level of understanding and ing and harassment on LGBT comfort with issues of gender, students and those perceived sexuality and sexual behaviour to be LGBT”. and designating space within The first Day of Sithe school where students could lence took place in 1996, speak openly with their reprewhen students at the Universentative. sity of Virginia organized it in It is a testament to the response to a class assignment persistent and committed North on non-violent protests. Over America-wide organizing ef150 students participated in forts around LGBT rights that this inaugural event. In 1997, progressive and institutionalorganizers took their efforts ized steps like these have finalnational and nearly 100 colly been taken. leges and universities in the This year at George United States participated. Brown College, the Student AsIn 2001, the Gay, Lesbian & sociation’s community centres Straight Education Network planned activities for the Day (GLSEN), a US-based naof Silence and held an event tional education organization called the Night of Noise in the founded in 1990 and focused distillery district, near the St. on ensuring safe schools for James campus, on April 19th, all students, became the ofas a lead-up. ficial organizational sponsor According to Claudia for the annual event. Caine, community centre coor GLSEN’s website dinator at the Student AssociaMademoiseselle Belle Jumelles hosts the Night of Noise before the Day states that they “envision a tion, this year’s Day of Silence of Silence at the Stirling Room April 19 2012 Photo: Mick Sweetman world in which every child was “an example of students, learns to respect and accept from middle school to college, all people, regardless of sexual bodies regarding gay, lesbian, ers, trustees have a responsibility working together proactively to orientation or gender identity/ bisexual and transgender people to set a strong example for our bring attention to the anti-LGBT expression.” In Canada, groups and about anti-gay harassment school communities,” said board name-calling, bullying and hawith these values and a similar vi- and violence.” chair Chris Bolton. “We are rassment experienced by LGBT sion exist in high schools across After almost two decades proud to demonstrate our support and straight students alike.” the country, called Gay-Straight of the Day of Silence, and years for learning environments where By Corrie Sakaluk
Alliances (GSAs). According to the website of the Safe Schools Coalition, GSAs are “clubs devoted to human rights and human dignity...that have a social justice and education focus and work to change school policies and to educate their staff and student
of GSAs working actively within school boards at the student-level, trustees at the Toronto District School Board became the first in the country to approve a motion declaring themselves a GSA on April 13, 2011. “I believe that, as lead-
4 April 26 - May 9, 2012
News
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Earth Day saves consumers money By Maverick Smith Dialog Reporter
Earth Day 2012 was Sunday April 22, 2012. Starting in 1970 in the United States of America as an environmental awareness day, Earth Day became an international event in 1990. This coincided with the United Nations summit at Rio de Janeiro dealing with the environment. Currently, Earth Day is celebrated by 1 billion people in over 170 countries. People hold events and carry out projects in order to address local environmental issues.
In Canada, Earth Day has since grown and evolved to a broader movement of Earth Month. During this time “environment” becomes the buzzword in Canadian homes. It is especially important to hold an event like Earth Day in these days of rising oil prices, wildlife destruction and pipeline projects. The focus for Earth Day is different each year. This year, the focus is on taking up a personal habit that is good for the Earth. This can mean anything from not buying bottled water to
using vinegar instead of household cleaners to clean your home. The idea is that, although the environmental problems confronting the world seem insurmountable, the actions taken by individual people do matter and can make a difference. The government seems to agree with this assessment; it is taking part in Earth Day by offering some initiatives for green consumers. The Ontario Power Authority’s heating and cooling incentive program reimburses you $250- $400 for replacing an existing central air conditioning
system with an Energy Star-rated one. The program will also give consumers $250 for upgrading their furnace. This switch to energy efficient appliances will reduce energy household consumption up to 30 per cent a year. The movement reaches into the homes of all people, including George Brown College students, and encourages them to get involved in helping to save the environment.
Faculty bargaining with colleges in summer By Corrie Sakaluk Dialog Reporter
College faculty represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), counsellors, instructors, librarians and professors, are preparing to enter into province-wide collective bargaining. This process could have a big impact on the delivery of quality college education in Ontario. The earliest possible date that the union is able to give notice to bargain under the Colleges Collective Bargaining Act is June 4, and they do plan to move forward with serving notice on this date. According to the OPSEU website, their preparations prior to entering into the bargaining process are explained quite clearly for the public. “The first step in collective bargaining is the setting of demands by members at each college. All of those demands are then sent to the provincial demand setting meeting.” which took place in Toronto on March 31 and April 1, attended by delegates from every college in Ontario. Delegates at this meeting emphasized their desire to be
“reasonable and focused in order to optimize success at the bargaining table” and have collectively agreed to three top priorities, guided by their central emphasis on quality education: •Faculty member’s control over the selection of materials, evaluation methods and teaching methodology.
co-chaired by Carolyn Gaunt (Cambrian College) and Ted Montgomery (Seneca College), and comprised of Rod Bain (Algonquin College), Gary Bonczak (Fleming College), Benoit Dupuis (La Cite Collegiale), Lynn Dee Eason (Sault College) and JP Hornick (George Brown College).
•Improving the rights of partial-load members to maintain their employment. •Addressing issues of on-line and hybrid teaching in all of its various forms. In total, the union voted to bring only 28 demands to the bargaining table. Their website states that “the academic rights of faculty, the additional specific needs of partial-load teachers, fair compensation for college faculty in relation to university and high school teachers, job security and staffing, and some reasonable improvements to benefits are all included in the demand package”. The bargaining team is
Image: OPSEU Prior to the start of bargaining, OPSEU will be working diligently to involve the college community and the broader public in reflecting on the value and
importance of quality education in our society. They have sponsored a video contest for college faculty and students that has a $1000 prize for the best video in five minutes or less showcasing quality education at Ontario colleges. The deadline for submission is Sunday May 13, and more information can be found online at www.opseu.org. On June 1, OPSEU will also be co-hosting a symposium on academic freedom and quality education with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). The aim is to feature a panel of academic experts on the topic of basic academic freedom rights of faculty to determine their teaching in Ontario colleges, and to live-stream the symposium for the public and to provide findings to all college faculty members afterwards. For those planning to attend or return to an Ontario college in the fall, it is certainly encouraging to see this level of transparency and commitment to a fast and reasonable process from one of the key players involved in this upcoming bargaining process.
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News
April 26-May 9, 2012 5
May Day march brings together activists By Corrie Sakaluk
is always about the people who are most marginalised in any society. On Tuesday May 1, International It’s a history that NOII is trying to Workers Day, or May Day, will be keep alive.” celebrated in Toronto for the fourth On the Occupy Toronto consecutive year. Activities have website, they declare that “Inspired been cooperatively organized by by 126 years of workers’ struggles, the May 1st Movement (M1M), the Arab spring, the Indignados No One Is Illegal Toronto (NOII), of Spain, the global fights against and Occupy Toronto. austerity, and the international After years of May Day Occupy movement, we take to receiving little to no recognition the streets! Take the day off work in Toronto, while workers around (if you can get away with it), get the world took to the street for together with friends and affinity marches and celebrations, it is see- groups, and engage in smaller diing a resurgence here. The actions rect actions and assemblies around of May Day this year have been the city during the day!” endorsed by over 45 unions, coali- Organizing around May tions, social justice and community Day in Toronto over the past four groups in Toronto. years has had its challenges, as left M1M was formed in 2008, groups struggle amongst themcomposed largely of immigrant selves to make sure their indiand migrant organizations, and vidual messages and priorities are with a mandate to reclaim the hisrepresented. Prior to the existence tory of May Day for the working of M1M, NOII had independently class in Toronto. M1M currently organized days of action in May of has ten member organizations. each year from 2006 – 2008. M1M is an expressly anti Hussan’s perspective is that capitalist coalition, believing “that in 2009, M1M approached NOII we cannot expect capitalism to and offered to organize a commeet the needs of the people. We munity festival before the annual can’t propagate illusions about NOII march. “That’s how the day what’s possible in this system. We was split,” he says, and “NOII was need to build the capacity of the part of the M1M coalition in terms people to fight for a new society.” of organizing performances, but According to Pablo Vivan- the march and demonstration were co, an organizer with Barrio Nuevo still coordinated by us alone.” which is one of the founding M1M “There has only ever been organizations, “May Day has its one May Day march, which was origins in North America with the initiated by M1M in 2009, with 1886 Haymarket massacre in Chi- NOII as a member of the M1M cago, yet ironically North America coalition” says Jesse Benjamin, is really the only place in the world an organizer with Basics Commuwhere May 1st isn’t viewed as the nity Newsletter, another founding day for working class people to be member of M1M. “After that first on the streets.” May Day march, NOII split from Organizer Syed Hussan of M1M and held a separate migrants NOII elaborated, “The Chicago rights march for two years. In 2011 Haymarket massacre took place the two marches ended at a united during a time of an immigrant rally.” round-up and was originally called “We tried to figure out a Emancipation Day, because immi- way to join the marches and the grant workers were not allowed to call in 2010 and 2011, but we vote. May Day has been celebrated couldn’t work together,” said Husacross North American by migrant san. “There were a lot of issues workers and undocumented people with process and decision-making. in keeping with the themes of There isn’t a difference in our International Workers Day, which politics, but there’s a difference in Dialog Reporter
emphasis. This year we’ve decided on a joint march, it’s just taken a lot of time. It’s about relationship building.” “One challenge is that M1M, NOII and Occupy have a lot of structural differences,” said Benjamin. “NOII is one organization, M1M is a coalition of many individual organizations and Occupy is more of a forum than an organization. That means there are very different kinds of internal dialogue and methods of decision making, so producing a unified voice between the three takes longer than when you’re working within a single coalition.” “There is a demand that arises for maximum unity amongst those of us who are working to resist mounting injustices, and who are advocating for and building alternatives to the current system,” said Vivanco. “I am hopeful that this will be a contribution to greater coordination and cooperation among social and community organization in building a mass movement. Hopefully we will continue to have discussion and debate among our organizations about where we stand, where we want to go and how we think we can get there.” This year, everyone will meet in Nathan Phillips Square at 4 p.m. to participate in one coordinated, peaceful and family-friendly march towards a joint community event in Alexandra Park at Queen and Bathurst for 7 p.m. Occupy Toronto activists will also participate in a 24 hour re-occupation of an undisclosed location departing from Alexandra Park at 9 p.m. Occupy has also called for May 1st to be a “Sick Day” for all workers in Toronto, which has gained them attention from mainstream news sources such as CBC, and they are hosting guerrilla gardening and a potluck on the south side of Queen’s Park from 2 p.m. onwards. All three organizations agreed one hundred percent about the central focus on indigenous
solidarity for this year’s May Day. They have a unified call for all Canadians to look to First Nations organizers and activists for inspiration and guidance and Indigenous people will lead the march. “Aboriginal people are showing us the way forward as they stand up all across the country to defend their land, their lives, and their livelihoods from the plunder of Canadian government and the corporations” says the M1M website. “There is a close relationship between the national liberation struggle and the class struggle, but it’s one that has historically been understood very poorly by the left,” says Benjamin. “ With greater cooperation we can overcome that weakness.”
6 April 26- May 9, 2012
News
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HEQCO accused of political editing By Corrie Sakaluk Dialog Reporter
Recently there have been serious allegations raised about political editing of research and academic misconduct by the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO). A report titled “Student Services at Queen’s University: An Evaluation of the Supported Learning Groups Pilot Program” has had its contents publicly questioned by two of the three researchers listed as the report’s authors: Jennifer Massey and Sean Field. The third researcher, Jeff Burrow, chose not to get involved for personal reasons. HEQCO was created in 2005 through the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario Act. HEQCO has a mandate to “evaluate the postsecondary sector and provide policy recommendations to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities to enhance the access, quality and accountability of Ontario’s colleges and universities” and claims to be an “arm’s-length agency that brings evidence-based research to the continued improvement of the postsecondary education system in Ontario”. Council members at HEQCO are appointed for two or three year terms by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and they provide an annual report to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, who then presents the report to the entire Legislative Assembly. HEQCO initiates and conducts research studies, evaluations and reports, often in partnership with post-secondary institutions. Since becoming fully operational
in 2007, their website says that they have “published, completed, or have in progress, over 120 publications stemming from research it has conducted or commissioned.” HEQCO contracted Queen’s University as a research partner to produce a report on the value of Supported Learning Groups (SLGs), as reflected in the experience of an SLG pilot project at Queen’s. Massey was employed by Queen’s University at student affairs and conducted research in that capacity, and Field was sub-contracted by Queen’s as a research assistant for the project. The study used a mixed method approach: “Quantitative data was compiled from student surveys, student records and SLG attendance files collected during the 2009-2010 academic year. “Qualitative data was collected through focus groups conducted at the end of the 2009-
2010 academic year.” Five research questions or themes guided the inquiry: factors influencing SLG participation, SLG participation as related to academic performance, drop-out rates, engagement, and study skills. SLGs are one example of a Supplemental Instruction (SI) models that, according to the introduction of the report, have “grown considerably on...campuses in an a effort to enhance student engagement and retention in large undergraduate courses, as well as improve grades.” “As budgets are squeezed and first-year class sizes increase,” the introduction reads, “SI has become an important component of the delivery of undergraduate education.” According to Field, the report “went through several months of revisions, like most academic publications. HEQCO asked for
changes and many of them were reasonable, so we made them.
“The big question is: If this has happened to us, how many other researchers has it happened to?” “Then they asked for a bunch of changes that we said that we wouldn’t make, and we provided rationale for not making those revisions.” Most at issue for Field was that “they wanted to cut the most critical paragraph of text in our literature review that contextualizes our research in relation to ongoing neoliberal education reforms, and they didn’t give a strong rationale for the cut.” “They also wanted us to aggregate certain statistics.” Field said. “We refused on the basis that it would provide a less precise view of the results and we didn’t believe that was ethical”. HEQCO’s executive director of communications Susan BlochNevitte said, “In this and all research contracts, HEQCO provides feedback on draft reports, which the author is free to accept or reject. This is why regular communication with the author is so critical. We take no position pro or con on specific interventions. We are focused on evidence and we take our responsibility for research quality very seriously.” “By June of 2011, we had submitted our final draft” Field clarifies. “But they kept contacting us and asking us to make the same changes over and over. We said no and that we were done. Then we saw, to our surprise, that the report had been published, and all of the
The Dialog changes we had said no to had been made.” On April 10, 2012, Jennifer Massey sent an email to HEQCO president & CEO Harvey Weingarten outlining her and Field’s concerns and requests. “We were not made aware of the intended publication date,” reads Massey’s email, and “substantial changes were made to the report
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included Massey’s email also requested that the report be removed from the HEQCO website, that the original final report be published, that HEQCO disclose who made the changes and apologize. HEQCO has placed responsibility for the edits squarely upon Queen’s University, refused to apologize and offered only to remove Massey’s and Field’s name from their version of the report. Weingarten’s email reads, “HEQCO neither wrote nor inserted or deleted any portions of the final report. The HEQCO contract had been signed with Queen`s without our knowledge or conUniversity, and because the origisent.” nal principal investigator had not “We are concerned besatisfactorily fulfilled her contraccause we believe these changes tual obligations, Queen’s Univerconstitute a breach of academic sity chose to proceed with final and intellectual integrity by revisions, which we subsequently HEQCO” her email continues. published.” “The changes alter the text of In an interview with the report such that the report no Bloch-Nevitte on April 25, she longer accurately reflects the opin- said “Queen’s University underions of the authors. Nowhere does took to complete the final revithe report indicate that the text sions to produce a publicationwas substantially altered without ready final report.” She said, knowledge or consent of the au“there may have been changes thors after final submission, or by made that are inappropriate in whom”. their view.” The changes outlined and Field said, “The burden of contested in Massey’s first email responsibility lies with HEQCO include: as the publisher, although they’ve •Change of the report’s title tried to lay the blame at the feet •Text critical of SI models being of Queen’s University. We don’t removed know who made the changes. We •Research tables that were deemed expected to receive an email or statistically weak and thus previphone call from Queen’s to help ously removed by the authors was clear things up but they’ve been
“We are focussed on evidence and we take our responsibility for research quality very seriously.”
7 April 26-May 9, 2012
absolutely silent, which is really bizarre. We copied them on all of our communications with HEQCO.” Massey says that HEQCO has “responded to our grievance by pointing to timelines, contracts, and other parties” and that “these responses are neither sufficient nor satisfactory.” She says that HEQCO “provides a very selective narrative of events as they occurred, diverting attention away from the important issue that HEQCO, by their own admission, published a report knowing it contained material not authorized by the authors.” “If there was a contractual problem prior to us expressing concern about the report, they certainly didn’t bring it up” says Field. “I’m confused as to why they didn’t contact us about it, as they were in contact with us about other things.” Massey is more vocal, “the suggestion that the authors were unresponsive or unreachable is ridiculous. We had satisfactorily fulfilled our contractual obligations to HEQCO, and this is evident by the fact that the text of our final report submitted on June 6, 2011 corresponds with the published report. This confirms that the final report we submitted was acceptable for publication.” Bloch-Nevitte says the situation “appears to be a misunderstanding and it is unfortunate that the researchers involved with this project didn’t contact HEQCO or Queen’s to clarify the facts before making public allegations.” But Massey is resolute that “The disclaimer printed on page two of the report, poses that the opinions presented in the report are solely those of the authors, and HEQCO accepts this
“They kept contacting us and asking us to make the same changes over and over. We said no and that we were done. Then we saw to our surprise that the report had been published and all the changes we said no to had been made.”
to be a false representation. They admit publishing a report with full knowledge that it contained changes made by people other than the authors. This constitutes a breach of academic and intellectual integrity by HEQCO”. Field said, “The way the disclaimer reads at the beginning of the report is misleading and false. HEQCO is presenting the report as if has the same weight as peer-reviewed research, which is not true. If HEQCO published the report and said that it was compiled by HEQCO with contributions by the following authors, then this wouldn’t be an issue. But that’s not what they did.” “If HEQCO recognizes the so-called misunderstanding” Massey says “then they have a responsibility to correct it. The
“This constitutes a breach of academic and intelectual integrity by HEQCO.” resolution to this situation is straight forward.” “Miscommunications happen all of the time” agrees Field. “But rarely does an organization act in the way that HEQCO did, acknowledging a miscommunication but deciding to publish what they want under the author’s names anyways.” Field also voices a broader concern that sets off alarm bells regarding the legitimacy of research supporting a massive onslaught of cuts across the provincial public sectors. “From what I understand” he said, “the Drummond Report drew heavily on HEQCO research, and Drummond’s recommendations are being used to reformulate public policy all across Ontario. The big question is: If this has happened to us, how many other researchers has it happened to? Academic integrity has not been upheld and yet these reports are being used to formulate policy. It’s a very serious issue.”
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8 April 26 - May 9, 2012
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Food workers rally for contract By Maverick Smith Dialog Reporter
Currently, negotiations are underway between food service workers at the University of Toronto, represented by the trade union UNITE HERE local 75, and the companies Aramark and Compass Group Canada. In the current political climate of conservative cost-cutting union membership benefit the workers a great deal. According to the website of UNITE HERE, often not having a union results in the employer taking advantage of the employee by doling out minimumwage, part-time jobs with no benefits. If negotiations succeed, these food service workers would be joining UNITE HERE, a union
of 50,000 members in Canada alone. Joining a union has many advantages beyond the obvious one of job security. At George Brown College the food service workers also belong a union called Workers United, who are affiliated with the Service Employees International Union and split from UNITE HERE in 2006. These workers are able to demand better working conditions, raises and benefits from the multiservice company Compass Group Canada. With a contact, union members are entitled to benefits. These cannot be legally taken away should the world economy experience another recession. The same goes for pension plans; once written into collective bargaining
agreements they cannot be reneged upon. This is especially important due to the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;greyingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of the population as the baby boomers get older. Being injured on the job is another hazard that is mitigated if one belongs to a union. Not only do unions ensure that union members receive health and safety information, they also make sure that each workplace has a health and safety committee. Unions also make sure that members receive up to date information when it comes to laws regarding health and safety. Beyond these job-specific rights however, UNITE HERE goes a step further by offering education and training sessions which will allow members to improve their qualifications.
Worker speaks to a rally at UofT April 16. Photo: UNITE HERE If food service workers succeed in negotiating their union contract with Aramark and Compass they will be able to breathe a little easier knowing that their jobs are secure.
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Sports
April 26- May 9, 2012 9
Huskies finish year in the right direction By Jason Miller Dialog Reporter
The Huskies have seen a lot of success this season. They have captured medals, improved on personal bests and have young teams that are headed in the right direction. With more varsity teams joining the blue and white and athletic facility improvements the Huskies are building a new culture of winning. Badminton Dayvon Reid and Mark Wong went undefeated in OCAA play, finishing with a strong 21-12, 2113 against Mohawk’s Hong and Nazimuddin. They both went on to the CCAA national championships in Kamloops B.C. where they kept their undefeated streak alive all the way to the gold medal game. It was during this match against Lou Wei and Simon Wu of Douglas College that they were handed their first and final loss of the season. They claimed the CCAA silver medal and Reid was given the Eileen Harle fair play award. Wong and Reid were awarded all-star selection and Reid also claimed the OCAA men’s player of the year. On the women’s side Boryana Yankova burst onto the badminton scene defeating the reigning OCAA champ Tracy Wong during an exhibition tournament. However she was unable to do it again losing to her in the women’s single’s OCAA final 21-4, 21-8. She also was selected as a OCAA first team all-star.
previous OCAA bronze medalist. She captured the silver medal in the women’s OCAA Championship 5km race with a time of 18:47. Along with her teammates they also claimed the team silver medal. At the CCAA National Championships Houde-Pearce finished fourth with a time of 18:49 and also landed a spot on the women’s all-Ontario first team. On the men’s side, Sean Sweeney, who was a previous two time OCAA bronze medalist got over the hump and claimed the gold medal in men’s cross country. He finished the 8km race with a time of 25:34. He went on to the CCAA national championships where he finished fifth with a time of 26:10 and was selected to the all-Ontario first team. Women’s Basketball The Huskies finished off a Cinderella season with a bronze medal in the OCAA Championships defeating the Fanshawe Falcons 50-45 in overtime. Throughout the year the Huskies had rhythm holding a 11-5 record in the regular season. During the second half of the season they added more depth to the team as four new players suited up. The consistent strong play continued throughout the playoffs as they also upset Sheridan College 60-57 to advance to the bronze medal game. Aria Charles lead the team with 10.6 points per game and was selected to the east region allstar and first team while teammate Quichelle Barriffe was selected on the east all-rookie team.
of the year with a buzz. They finished the first half with a 7-3 record to sit third in the east. However academic reasons forced the team to begin the second half of the season seven players short. The Huskies were handed two tough losses on the road to the lesser ranked Cambrian and Seneca College that hurt their playoff seeding. They finished the season with an 11-9 record and secured the final playoff spot in the east. In the playoffs they crossed and drew the Algoma Thunderbirds in the first round. This resulted in the Huskies making the nine-hour trip to Sault St. Marie, where they could not hold on losing 74-69. Nana Ntim lead the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game and was selected with teammate Levon Dabbaghian as east all-stars. Men’s soccer The men’s soccer team was hit hard by the support workers’ strike that forced them to hold off on practices and league play until the strike concluded. A new fall format was released once the strike ended and a condensed schedule was enforced. The team had a seven game schedule, and finished last in the OCAA east division with a tie and six losses. Assistant coach Richard Kirwan stressed at the start of the year they had a good defense but struggled offensively. That showed during the season as they only netted seven goals while letting in 20. Kevin Navarro led the Huskies with three goals for the year.
Men’s indoor soccer team qualified for the OCAA provincial tournament after finishing first in the pool C qualification tournament. During the tournament, they were handed a nail-biter loss to the eventual gold medalist Humber Hawks. While on the women’s side they qualified for the provincial championship as well but were quickly eliminated by Sheridan College 1-0. They finished the pool A qualification tournament in third with a 2-2 record. Men’s volleyball In their inaugural season it was clear they were not a normal expansion team. Unlike most teams who struggle at the bottom of the league for a couple of years before the program takes off, the men’s volleyball team were fighting for the final playoff spot in their first year back since 2004. They did not make the playoffs, but finished the season with an 8-14 record to sit seventh in the OCAA east. Edwin Sheon lead the team with 2.69 kills per set and most digs at 98.
Women’s volleyball Just like the men’s team, the women were fighting for the final playoff spot. However were unable to clinch a berth into the next round. They finished seventh in the OCAA east with a 9-11 record. After a promising start to the season where they won four out of the five games the Huskies could not keep up the momentum. Allison Doris led the team with 2.15 kills per game while teammates Simone Kennedy Indoor soccer and Vanetta Martens lead the team Cross Country Men’s basketball It seemed that the better soccer for in digs with 103 and 104 each. Erika Houde-Pearce was also a The men’s basketball team started the year was played indoors. The
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10 April 26 - May 9, 2012
Sports
GBC athletes honoured at annual awards banquet By Jason Miller Dialog Reporter
Dayvon Reid of the badminton team and Melissa Vilar of the women’s basketball team headlined the George Brown College (GBC) athletic awards banquet by taking home athlete of the year honors. Reid was notorious for his success on the badminton court and repeats as male athlete of the year after winning it in 2011. “It is my last year so to win something like this is it is amazing and overwhelming,” Reid said. “It is one of the best feelings. It has so much meaning to me to win it again.” Reid captured the OCAA men’s doubles gold medal with partner Mark Wong. He went on to capture OCAA male badminton player of the year. Afterward Reid with Wong went on to claim silver at the CCAA national championships in Kamloops B.C., dropping their only match of the season.
Reid, who will be graduating this year and going on to university, will miss the college where he has seen so much success. “I am going to miss the people,” Reid said. “They treat you like family. You can never be lost in George Brown College.” Vilar, the 5-5 guard from Memphis, Tennessee was a key component to the women’s basketball team that ended a 22-year drought and secured bronze at the OCAA provincials. She was player of the game in the bronze victory, upsetting Fanshawe College 50-45 in overtime. “I was shocked. I did not expect to win anything and when I saw my face on the screen I was speechless.” Vilar said. Vilar is returning for another year with the Huskies and says after the success this year there are more expectations on her and the basketball team. “The bar is set high for us now. The only place to go from her is up. I cannot go backwards and have to get better,” Vilar said.
Ed Mark, the director of athletics, was very proud of the team and individual accomplishments of the year. “We did pretty well this year, probably better then the last five years,” Mark said. “I think we are going up from here, with baby steps we are going to be up there in the OCAA.” Mayor Rob Ford and GBC president Anne Sado were honored guests of the evening and paid tribute to the hard work and success of the athletes. “I am honored to be here tonight and recognize the athletes that have worked so hard this year and it is truly remarkable what they have achieved,” Ford said. “I can relate to every athlete here. I know how hard they have worked behind the scenes, and in the classroom, and know how hard they work to be a success.” Throughout the awards banquet the family feel was evident as athletes cheered on their peers and award winners. “I think this year more
GBC president Anne Sado with athletes of the year Dayvon Reid and Melissa Villar and director of athletics Ed Mark Photo: Michael Stefancic
teams were cheering for each other,” Mark said. “It is all about memories and this night caps the entire year all in one and I think they will remember this as they move on through life.” MVP award winners were: Men’s soccer: Max D’Arcangelo and Taitt Women’s soccer: Mackenzie Oram Golf :Andrew MacIsaac Women’s volleyball: Alyson Clow Men’s volleyball: Edwin Sheon Men’s basketball: Nana Ntim Women’s basketball : Aria Charles and Kristina Lane Cross country: Sean Sweeney The Alex Barbier Bursary, presented to a student athlete for outstanding leadership in their sport of student life involvement, was shared by Marika Phillips and Danique McIntosh. The Husky Merit Award, given to a student who has made an all-around outstanding contribution to varsity athletics programming went to Helder Frizado, the Husky mascot The KC Fitness Award recognized outstanding student athletes who maintained an excellent academic standing within their program and made significant contribution thier team was shared by Ahmad Sangau and Margaret Williams. The Contribution to Athletics Award, sponsored by Vital CPR, was given to individuals who showed Huskies spirit beyond expectation. They were Joseph Tilo, Stephanie Pereira, Peter Boyce as well as Team Connex from the sport and event marketing program: Chezhu Lu, Oksana Levchenko, Tulike Roy and Jingtao Lin.
Clubs
The Dialog
April 26 - May 9, 2012 11
Student Association clubs list
Anime Vortex tsuko_kamonosuke@hotmail.com
Fine Dining ong_ray17@hotmail.com
Hakuna Matata lizbeth_lascano@hotmail.com
Power to Change p2c.gbc@gmail.com
Bachelor of Applied Business bab.association@gmail.com
Food & Beverage Club gbcFandB@hotmail.ca
Hillel @ George Brown gonialter@gmail.com
Bachelor of Business Hospitality Student Club (BABHS) Ahmad wafaahmad89@gmail.com
First Generation Club yuriy_ilyin@rogers.com
HIM Student Association hthande@georgebrown.ca
Professional Networking for the Construction Industry cgraystone@gmail.com
Game Developers Club gamedevsclub@gmail.com
Hospitality, Tourism & Leisure events.htlconnects@gmail.com
GBC Wine Tasting Association mandyschnurr@gmail.com
I Run T.O Club iruntoclothing@gmail.com
GBC Construction Professionals candaceharris_mk@hotmail.com
International Networking Club ddaswani@georgebrown.ca
George Brown Ski & Snowboard gbcskiandsnowboardclub@hotmail.ca
Mosaic Diversity Club urintosh2dani@yahoo.com
Grape Vinez rita.huynh@gmail.com
Muslim Student Association hahmadi@georgebrown.ca
Canadian Association Food Service Professionals atucker6@georgebrown.ca Canadian Nursing Studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Association kathleen.kerr123@gmail.com Career Counselling Study Club (CCPC) Kipros1@gmail.com Cultural Connection Club yvonnecasey@rogers.com
Self Defense Club ugo.sibeudu@gmail.com South Asian Student Alliance shoaib1992@live.com Students for Non-Violence cgraystone@gmail.com Team Jamaica jessica.holder@hotmail.com The Gospel GBC staceyannneil@live.com