Vol 56 Issue 19 by The Eyeopener

Volume 56 - Issue 19 March 16, 2023

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TMSU organizes silent protest for earthquake victims in front of SLC

By Krishika Jethani

The Toronto Metropolitan Stu dents’ Union (TMSU) held a silent protest outside the Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Cen tre (SLC) on March 7.

The “Your Silence is Loud” pro test lasted 29 minutes to mark the number of days since the 7.8 magni tude earthquake occurred on Feb. 6, in Türkiye and Syria.

Despite the cold and windy weather, protestors held up signs that read “Your silence is loud” and “Help restore hope.”

The event was assembled “to con demn the authorities’ silence and lack of support for the victims,” according to an email sent to Eyeopener by TMSU Faculty of Arts director Aya Bakir.

“[We] demand accountability from those in power who have not taken action to provide aid and assistance to those affected by the earthquake,” said Bakir. “The affected communities’ lives and well-being cannot be ignored.”

Bakir, who is also a member of the TMSU’s equity committee, said she was feeling “hopeless” and wanted to dedicate her time assist ing those in need.

She said she was upset by the lack of response from the school, especially for students who found it “tough” to communicate with their professors about their ab sence in classes.

“I’m one of the lucky ones be cause my professors were very un derstanding…but for a university that prides itself on promoting di versity, they really failed to provide any support and action to care for its students,” said Bakir.

Previously, The Eye reported that students felt uncomfortable with the fun stories posted on the school’s Instagram account on the day of the

ward Kerr Hall. As they made a loop through the quad, students kept their signs high to catch the attention of others.

Second-year sociology student Simone Cellario also participated in the protest. They felt the silence was very “powerful” and “self-explanatory.”

Bakir said she is satisfied she was able to put together the protest and bring light to the issue.

“It’s worth something that somehow I was able to transform my pain and all the sorrows that I’ve been feeling from the past month into ac-

by the earthquake, in what was a community effort.

She said some volunteers delivered these donations to the Mississauga Drives, organized by the Turkish Consulate, with warehouse drop-off points in Mississauga and North York. TMSU staff members

“Especially in such a diverse city where it’s full of international students, immigrant families and first generations, having a member of the university that would help logistically or by supporting you to create these kinds of initiatives would be very helpful,” they explained.

TMSU investigating possible past financial mismanagement

tions came to light when the students’ union was preparing for its annual audit.

The transactions under investigation are from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2022, according to the statement. This was during the previous executive team’s term, under president Siddhanth Satish, said Gerges.

In a call with The Eye , Gerges said the students’ union began investigating at the end of August 2022, after the former financial controller was let go and the TMSU was given access to documents in his possession.

By Gabriela Silva Ponte, Racy Rafique and MacAndrew

transactions” from the 2021-22

In the email, TMSU president Marina Gerges said the transac-

In the email, Gerges said the TMSU has been consulting with legal counsel and external accountants to review its financial history as well as to “provide recommendations to ensure that financial mis-

management does not occur again in the future.”

The preliminary investigative report was provided to the TMSU on Feb. 23 and an overview was presented by the TMSU’s legal counsel during an in-camera session at the Board of Directors meeting on Feb. 24, executive director Reanna Maharaj confirmed to The Eye “We have updated the University on the report and the actions that the organization may be taking,” said Gerges in the statement.

She added that the TMSU cannot disclose the report at this time since it is “legally privileged” and would “jeopardize legal action against the previous executives.”

“We know these issues are important to our members and the broader TMU community. Despite

a number of hurdles and obstacles throughout the year, the 20222023 TMSU Board of Directors has continued to work in the best interest of TMU students,” read Gerges’ statement.

She said that the TMSU will provide further updates as they become available.

“We are committed to being as open and transparent as possible and will provide further updates as they become available,” she said.

Gerges said legal counsel is currently working on the first step of the lawsuit.

She added that the report cannot be released to the student population now but that “once it’s disclosed to the defendants, [she] wouldn’t be surprised if it somehow ended up in the hands of students.”

KINZA ZAFAR/THE EYEOPENER Jake The Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) is investigating “questionable financial fiscal year, according to an email sent to its members and obtained by The Eyeopener. KRISHIKA JETHANI/THE EYEOPENER

TMSU confirms VP equity account downloaded internal files before resignation

By Jake MacAndrew, Racy Rafique and Gabriela Silva Ponte

The Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) confirmed that data from the vice president equity Google account was exported on March 3.

In an emailed statement to The Eyeopener, the TMSU said the vice president equity’s account successfully used Google Takeout three times to download a copy of their data and upload it to another Google account.

According to screenshots obtained by The Eye , the user “requested to export data” four times on March 2 at 9:10 p.m. and on March 3 at 11:49 a.m., 11:53 a.m. and 12:07 p.m., as previously reported by The Eye

But the account only downloaded information three times, twice at 11:49 a.m. and once at 11:50 a.m. on March 3, according to TMSU president Marina Gerges.

Data from the vice president equity Google account was exported on March 3.

According to screenshots sent to The Eye by Gerges, the downloaded information was from Gmail.

These downloads occurred before former vice president equity Areesha Qureshi’s resignation at 3:31 p.m. on March 3.

The students’ union said it has since turned off the Google Takeout service feature on all its accounts.

“As the Vice-President Equity has now resigned, we are working diligently to ensure that all information that was downloaded, including any personal information and correspondence with the TMSU is maintained solely in secure TMSU servers and accounts,” the statement reads.

Director of programming Co-

rey Scott told The Eye in an emailed statement that the TMSU “currently has no evidence that any personal information or correspondence from the account has been further shared or disseminated.”

Qureshi said she did not download any documents or files from the Drive, as previously reported by The Eye “I did back up the emails from my year (which is my work, and my portfolio) because many people have tried to suggest that I did not do any work this year,” she said.

At the September Board of Directors (BoD) meeting, members of the equity committee said Qureshi was not communicating or updating them. Faculty of science director Shirin Kalavi said she hadn’t seen Qureshi participate in the events she’d planned either, as previously reported by The Eye

Scott said the TMSU has involved their legal counsel and reached out to Qureshi to “clarify her legal obligations and have requested that she immediately delete all emails, documents or other information that was downloaded from the vp.equity@ yourtmsu.ca account.”

He said that in signing a non-

disclosure agreement (NDA), each board member agreed not to “use, copy, store in any retrieval system or otherwise deal with the Confidential Information in any manner whatsoever without Discloser’s prior written consent except as is reasonably required for the Purpose.”

According to the BoD’s NDA, obtained by The Eye , “confidential information” is “any and all proprietary information and information of a confidential or secret nature which are applicable to or related in any way to the affairs of Ryerson Students’ Union…regardless of… whether the information is specifically identified as ‘confidential’ or ‘proprietary.’”

Qureshi previously told The Eye

“I did back up the emails from my year because many people have tried to suggest that I did not do any work this year”

that she was allegedly amongst the few executive members who “did not hesitate to sign” the NDA at the beginning of the year.

“These emails were downloaded

as a direct result of the toxic work environment at the student’s union and as a means of self-preservation and nothing else,” she told The Eye in an email. “Nevertheless, I understand that this information is confidential and do not plan on sharing this with anyone.”

Qureshi said she would be deleting the downloaded emails as instructed by TMSU’s legal counsel.

“This entire fiasco is to paint me in a bad light and somehow make me look horrible in front of everyone,” Qureshi said.

Previously, Qureshi said she put her name forward to run for president in the TMSU’s upcoming elections. However, according to Section 4.4 of the TMSU’s bylaws, any director or officer is deemed ineligible to run again if they have “previously resigned their position as a Director with less than thirty (30) days notice.” Qureshi resigned effective immediately.

The TMSU’s election verification period has been taking place since March 4, while the campaigning period began March 13 and will conclude on March 24. Students can vote in the elections from March 21 to March 24.

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What is TheEyeopener?

The Eye is Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) largest independent student newspaper. Founded in 1967, we cover all things TMU. Notably, we’ve broken stories like the renaming of the university last year, the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union credit card scandal in 2019 and reported on bed bugs on campus in 2018. We print weekly and you may have seen our papers on stands in and around campus!

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Our role is to provide information to readers on matters which affect student life. The accent will be on covering TMU events and issues but it must be remembered that student life is not restricted to the campus.

Volunteer with us!

The Eye has numerous talented and hard-working volunteers that contribute to our paper weekly. We always welcome and actively

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No prior experience is required to volunteer. Students can choose to contribute to The Eye at any time during the school year. There is no obligation to completing tasks every week—our volunteers sign-up for tasks when they want to and are able to complete them.

Many of our volunteers have also

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Editor-in-Chief

Abeer “Bald” Khan

News

Jake “Take Care” MacAndrew Gabriela “Pillar of News” Silva Ponte Racy “Garage Band Teacher” Rafique

Photo

Konnor “PPE Equipment” Killoran

Vanessa “Uniquit “Kauk Kinza “Future of The Eye” Zafar

Online

Thea “Nocturnal” Gribilas

Madeline “Has That Shirt Too Kinda” Liao

Features

Stephanie “Met The Family” Davoli

Arts and Culture

Shaki “Aca-Awesome” Sutharsan

Business and Technology

Natalie “InDesign Icky” Vilkoff

Communities

Negin “Ace” Khodayari

Sports

Gavin “Eyes and Ears Everywhere” Axelrod Jack “Undefeated” MacCool

Fun and Satire

Zarmminaa “Donut Santa” Rehman

Media

Sonia “Cute Doggo” Khurana

Youdon “Birthday Girl” Tenzin

Web

Nishil “The Comeback” Kapadia Sam “Kids” Chowdhury

General Manager

Liane “No BandAid :(” McLarty

Advertising Manager

Chris “Pulling Rabbits Out of Hats” Roberts

Design Director

J.D. “Chair Lifter” Mowat

Contributors

Stephanie “Scrounging” Beattie

Krishika “Cold and Windy” Jethani

Anthony “Keeper of the Gonj” Lippa-Hardy

Fredrick “What’s your 2023 resolution?” Reyes

Nalyn “Barden Bella” Tindall

Aliya “Snow Can’t Stop Me” Karimjee

Sammy “NidekniL” Kogan

Denise “Radiohead-head” Xiao

Oceanne “Goodbye Kitty” Li

Emerson “Still Not Edited” Williams

Maya “Cover Story” Zaid

Joshua “Story Is Finally Out“ Chang

Aneesa “Best,” Bhanji

Chou “Bread” Tzuyu

Remy “Ratatouille” Ratatouille

Bulletin “Fucking” Board

Michelle “Mother” Yeoh

Jeon “We Love You” Jungkook

Angela “Did The Thing” Bassett

Stephanie “Snubbed” Hsu

NEWS X CONTRIBS 3

The students’ union is seeking legal advice to ensure the security of information

KINZA ZAFAR/THE EYEOPENER

TMU: Be our voice

By Maya Zaid

When third-year electrical and computer engineering PhD candidate Shirin Hosseini was unable to contact her family in Iran due to internet blockages during recent protests, she knew she had to create a space at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) where she could reach other Iranians.

On Sept. 16, 2022, country-wide protests broke-out when 22-year-old woman, Zhina (Mahsa) Amini died after being arrested by the Islamic republic’s so-called morality police in Iran—a force tasked with detaining people who violate the government’s dress code.

Most recently on March 5, Iran International, a U.S. based Iranian news agency, reported a surge in chemical attacks on Iranian schoolgirls which started in the fall.

According to the news outlet, about 80 schools were targeted by chemical attacks with dozens of girls hospitalized in early March. Since then, the international community has been seeking answers to the mysterious attacks.

As a revolution demanding the dismantlement of the current Iranian government sparked back home, Iranian students at TMU were left looking for ways to raise awareness within their campus community.

Through the Career, Co-op and Student Success Centre, Hosseini was able to connect with Iranian community members Rojan Reybod, a Ted Rogers School of Management project coordinator and Sina Rahimi,

a second-year building science PhD candidate. Together, the three created a five-day campus event called TMU: Be Our Voice.

“TMU does have such a large Iranian community, from faculty, staff and students and we wanted to bring everyone together as well as inform other people outside of the Iranian community on what’s happening,” said Reybod.

Within these three days, Reybod, Rahimi and Hosseini planned different events from speeches and mental health workshops to live musical performances at The Innovation Studio on campus from March 6 -10, to raise awareness about what’s happening in their homeland.

“We decided to finally get things together and organize an event, which [brought] executive members from the university [together] and ask them what are their plans to support the Iranian communities,” she said.

When asked at the event about how the school aims to support Iranian students during this time, the university administrators said they try to create mental health and financial services for students in need as best they can.

At the event, paintings from Iranian artists such as Azadeh Momeni’s piece called “HOPE” were exhibited in the drop-in art gallery at the studio from Monday to Friday.

The art gallery also included a timeline featuring all the events in Iran from September 2022 to now, written both in Persian and translated to English for people who are outside the Iranian community.

with continuous trauma, especially since not being able to get in touch with their families.

MAYA ZAID/THE EYEOPENER

TMU president Mohamed Lachemi, vice president equity and community inclusion, Tanya Demello and Vice-Provost Students, Jen McMillan were all in attendance for the opening event on March 6.

In his speech, Lachemi addressed the negative image Iran has in media and wished the international community was more aware of the country’s rich history and contributions to civilization.

Rahimi said the first event was dedicated to showing support for Iranian students by bringing in university leaders to answer students’ questions and concerns.

A mental health day was planned on March 7 to help Iranian students manage their stress. It included Iranian psychotherapists Anahita Jakibchuk and Brian Williams, the TMU Test Centre and Accessibility Services manager.

Hosseini said since families in Iran are not currently in a good financial situation, Iranian students–especially international students like herself–cannot expect financial support from them.

“We wanted them to assign some mental health resources for Iranian students,” Hosseini said.

Rahimi said during these six months, Iranians have been dealing

TMU set to introduce new wellbeing strategy

By Joshua Chang

For the first time since 2018, Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee (MHWC) plans to update its strategies to support staff and students on campus.

In a statement to The Eyeopener, the university said the MHWC launched its new strategic planning process in January after reflecting on the previous strategy and gathering information about students’ current mental health.

The committee announced its plans to update their strategies on the official TMU website stating that they aim to create a flourishing university community that promotes mental health and wellbeing for all members to help them succeed.

As the development of the new strategy is underway, students think it’s much needed. Smiksha Singla, a fourth-year creative industries student and the president of the Society of the Creative School, noticed student progression at TMU had changed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said even upper-year students are learning to navigate university-life for the first time.

“Even our seniors are kind of like freshmen,” Singla said.

“How can one adapt so fast? There are so many people and campus is bustling again but I’m not as comfortable as I was in 2019,” she said regarding what she’s seen among TMU students who are back on campus this year.

In their announcement, MHWC discussed the effects the pandemic had on students’ mental health and how it “both exposed and exacerbated a mental health crisis that was well underway.”

Statistics Canada reported that in the spring of 2021, one in four Canadians were experiencing a mental illness—a critical difference from one in five Canadians in the fall of 2020.

Some students agree that the transition from pandemic-life back to in-person learning has had a severe impact on their mental health.

Jean Lee, a second-year graphic communications management student says the transition out of the pandemic has been extremely difficult for her.

“Sometimes all we can do is cry… and it makes it worse when you don’t know if they’re arrested [or] if they’re being killed with no news,” he said. The three-day event concluded on International Women’s Day on March 8, with a discussion led by Iranian panelists about women of the Iranian revolution. This event, which bolstered the highest turnout of the week, featured a live band later in the evening that performed revolutionary songs.

“Most of the songs that were playing last night were music coming from the revolution,” Reybod said. “People [have been] coming up with these songs that are more emotional and I think that was a really good way to connect with our attendees.”

The event room on the second floor of the studio was dimly lit and packed with Iranian students from universities across the Greater Toronto Area as an acoustic band played for the intimate crowd who sang

along to emotion-filled anthems. “I’m emotional and happy that we had our friends here with us. I think all of us needed this kind of event, to get reunited again,” said Hosseini. Iranian panelist and TMU English professor, Nima Naghibi, said the event was incredible and much needed as TMU hadn’t shared that much support or information since the uprisings.

Naghibi’s work focuses around the intersection of Western feminist movements with Iranian feminist movements in the 20th century but coming from an Iranian background motivates her work as well.

Naghibi encouraged the international community to come together during this time. “If we all work together collaboratively, across borders, across nations, across all kinds of differences and learn to see each other as allies, then there’s some potential for real change.”

For more info Instagram @TMUBEOURVOICE

“I feel like I’m more mentally drained,” Lee says. “This is the first time I have classes that are all inperson, with in-person exams and midterms, so I feel like I was more on top of my game during COVID.”

Lee, who had also noticed a particular decline in the mental health of her peers, said counseling sessions would be beneficial for students’ mental health and wellbeing on campus.

“I’ve talked to a lot of friends and they think it’s been very hard to transition,” she says. “Having a weekly session or even monthly sessions for certain things and certain events have been very helpful to a lot of them.”

The MHWC’s 2018 Terms of Reference, which outlines the committee’s purpose and vision back when it started, states that TMU students who were surveyed regarding their mental health acknowledged that “mental health and wellbeing issues have impacted their academic outcomes.”

In the same statement to The Eye, the university said “We are currently in the process of gathering student input and recommendations that will be considered in the next iteration of the strategy, which we aim to have completed in the summer.”

The Eyeopener’s Unofficial Sports Awards

By Gavin Axelrod and Jack MacCool

The 2022-23 Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) athletic season came and went in the blink of an eye. Here at The Eyeopener sports section, we subjected ourselves to watching every single Bold game the entire year across every sport—literally every single one. So we think we’re more than qualified to hand out some incredibly important and prestigious hardware to the athletes, coaches and staff that made our coverage possible. Here are The Eye’s 2022-23 Unofficial Sports Awards.

Game of the year: Women’s volleyball senior night

If you were present in the gym for this game, you’d know why it won our ‘Game of the Year’ award. TMU took a quick two-sets-to-none lead with the second of the two being just a three-point game. Then, a McMaster team on the ropes bounced back and took the third and fourth to tie the match, sending it to a deciding fifth set. This fifth and final set needed extra points to decide and the anticipation with each swing of the ball was suffocating. One serve hung on the net for seconds before falling inches past the centre line for a point. Ultimately, it was the Bold who came out on top, sending their seniors home happy in their final regular season games.

Team of the year: Men’s soccer

The Bold men’s soccer team had a banner season, settling for an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) silver medal and earning fifth-place at nationals. It was a historic finish for the program in Kamloops, B.C., as they won their first game ever at nationals and rebounded from an opening-day loss to defeat the Université du Québec à Trois Rivières Patriotes in the consolation final. It was a unanimous decision for the men’s soccer team to take home our ‘Team of the Year’ award, as they were the university’s lone varsity program to qualify for nationals this season.

Moment of the year: Men’s basketball’s 18-point comeback win vs. Carleton Ravens

It was an absolute scene at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) when the Bold men’s basketball team pulled off an improbable 18-point comeback against the Ravens on Jan. 21. It wasn’t just the number of points they came back from but also how TMU got it done—emphatic play after emphatic play down the stretch against the reigning national champions and eventual OUA leaders. After the lead ballooned to 18 in the second quarter, TMU outscored the Ravens 46-29 in the second half led by some highlight reel slams and clutch shooting. The win was the first time TMU had won against Carleton at home since 2016.

The “WTF that actually happened?” Award: Men’s volleyball sweeps undefeated No. 2 McMaster With an undefeated 18-0 record and the No. 2 ranking next to their name, the McMaster men’s volleyball team strolled into the MAC expecting a run of the mill, business-like win. But the Bold had other plans. With a 9-11 record entering the final game of the regular season, TMU needed to win to make certain they’d appear in the playoffs. The Bold came in and stifled the Marauders, winning in straight sets and never really breaking a sweat until a late third set push by McMaster. The No. 2 ranked team’s undefeated record was no more and it was the first time the team had lost two sets in a single match since Dec. 3.

Athlete to Watch:

Dechlan Papadopoulos

First-year geographic analysis student Dechlan Papadopoulos had a rookie season to remember. The wrestler took home a bronze medal in the 57kg division and then went on to the national stage to claim third place in the same

First Team All-Eyeopener Awards

Receiving first team honours within your sport is one of the great accomplishments an athlete can earn. Here at The Eyeopener, we like to tackle first team awards a little bit differently.

We value things like who gave the best post-game sound when we were writing a recap or which players looked coolest on the court when the long athletic season made games blend together.

We even picked out some players from teams that we thought were underrated despite their excellent performances this year.

weight category. Papadopoulos defeated McMaster’s Francesco Fortino—who won silver at the OUA championship—to earn the national bronze medal in the 57kg division. He is also a three-time Ontario Federation of School Athletics Association (OFSAA) champion and earns our ‘Athlete to Watch’ award as someone to keep an eye out for in the coming years as his trophy case expands.

Storyline of the Year: MHKY falters with nationals on the horizon

The TMU Bold men’s hockey team saw its chance at back-to-back national championship tournament appearances snapped by their crosstown rivals on Feb. 19. The team dropped a do-or-die Game 3 to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues on home ice. The squad won 11 of 16 games in the fall semester but only five of their final 11 winter semester games. Head coach Johnny Duco described the campaign as “a tale of two hockey teams.” TMU’s men’s hockey squad will be perhaps the most interesting to watch in the upcoming year as they’re set to host the 2024 U Sports Men’s Hockey National Championship at the MAC and will receive an automatic entry into the tournament. But Duco told The Eye earlier this year that the team wants to earn its way into the event without relying on the automatic berth.

Celebration of the Year:

Ivymae Perez

A little bit of rain didn’t stop the TMU women’s soccer team from vanquishing the Trent Excalibur 4-0 and it also gave us one of our favourite photos this year. Bold star Ivymae Perez—who went on to earn OUA All-Star honours—potted two goals in the match and celebrated by sliding across the slippery field. It’s a moment that became known as “The Ivy Slide” around our office and one we won’t forget anytime soon.

Here are the 2022-23 First Team All-Eyeopener Awards.

First Team All-interview: The athletes and their quotes are the backbone of what we do here at The Eye’s sports section. We need their thoughts to propel our stories. Here is who we thought gave some of the best interviews throughout the season.

Winners:

Akeem Clarke

Alex King

Katelyn Grasman

Lisa Haley

Ra Seang

First Team All-underrated: There are so many athletes that play at TMU, of course not every single one is going to get all the shine all the time. Here’s who we thought were always contributing to wins and maybe didn’t get the credit they deserved this season, making them the most underrated.

Winners:

Eve Uwayesu

Lamar Everd

Abby Harrison

Scarlett Gingera

Lauren Griffin

First Team All-in-game style: Look good, feel good, play good. It isn’t proper grammar but it sure is true. Whenever you’re engaging in sporting activity, looking cool is a big part of it. Whether it’s the all white shoes, compression wear and jerseys or the sweet helmet designs—here are the athletes we thought always rocked the best on drip on the field, ice or court.

Winners:

Rachel Farwell

Ashley Ditchfield

Kai Edmonds

Carly Clarke

Jeremie Kayeye

AWARDS SZN 5

MATTHEW LIN/THE EYEOPENER NASHRA SYED/THE EYEOPENER MATTHEW LIN/THE EYEOPENER

Haven’t we seen that before?

As AI-generated art gains popularity, TMU students are questioning its place in the creative industries

Surrounded by the hum of coffee shop chatter, Brennan Seedhouse Robinson sits at a circular table in Toronto’s east end. The table, hardly large enough to fit a laptop, is the meeting spot for the freelance graphic designer and his friend. While he works primarily in design, something about a human-filled atmosphere above painted tile floors allows his creative ideas to flow.

It was in this warm coffee shop, during the end of January, where Seedhouse Robinson and his friend got into a conversation about downloading Midjourney, an artificial intelligence (AI) art generator that runs through a channel on the social messaging and computing platform, Discord.

The Midjourney server currently holds the largest number of members on Discord with about 9.5 million users, according to a January 2023 Statista article. The technology is one of many AI engines that generates art by scanning the web for past images and information based on written prompts.

Seedhouse Robinson began experimenting with prompts. “I got really fascinated on how I could push the bounds within my own work.”

Although he was intrigued by the concepts AI could combine visually, none of Seedhouse Robinson’s creations ever went further than the downloads folder on his laptop. As a fourth-year media production student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), he wanted to see if AI technology could advance his productivity as a designer and generate images “purely from a non-commercial perspective.” For him, using the AI art generator was like an addition to his usual sketchbook process.

“That fascinates me, not in the actual creation of that image but what sort of concepts it might pull together, more as a brainsays.

However, he’s not fully sure how comfortable he feels using AI generators like these. “I am quite cautious of the ethical implications of [AI art], being so related to my field and even hearing of colleagues and friends who have been impacted by this,” he says.

Words by Stephanie Beattie Visuals by Vanessa Kauk and Oceanne Li

And while some TMU students specializing in design may be intrigued by AI—from the realistic TikTok filters to surreal art production—they are coming to terms with the role the technology might play in their chosen industries. As AI becomes more popular, students say they are balancing the good it can bring to their fields with its real ethical concerns.

AI technology scans existing images and rapidly combs through online information, which could include other people’s published art. This quick and efficient trend not only pulls from other artists’ work without attribution but there are also foundational concerns surrounding implicit bias in the technology. Still, AI’s popularity is growing rapidly and could make its way into more creative fields in the future such as digital and fine art spaces.

Debashis Sinha, an assistant professor at TMU’s School of Performance, began working with AI technology, specifically with sound and media, in 2019. Recently, he says he’s noticed there’s been a lot more concern about the ethics of AI, especially in the art scene.

“When we talk about the assumptions of AI in the creative space, I think a big [worry] is the repurposing of previous work and the use of these massive data sets, that have been compiled without permission or without consent,” he says. Data sets can include various images, text, audio, videos and numerical data, according to DataToBiz, a data analytic and AI consulting service.

storming tool,” he ated art

Some people on social media are also concerned about AI taking up space in cultural production. An AI-generpiece, titled “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” by game designer Jason Allen, sparked controversy online when it won first prize in the digital arts category of the Colorado State Fair on Aug. 26, 2022. After the precedent-setting win, Reddit users debated whether AI art is taking away opportunities from other traditionally more hands-on artwork.

Dumont, a third-year fashion student, started a passion project in the comfort of her family cottage near Lake Huron. It was a clear summer day in August 2022 and instead of swimming, Dumont decided to stay indoors reading and conducting research for about four hours straight for the sole purpose of engaging with fashion history.

But before she knew it, she had reached a halt.

“It got to the point where I had so many tabs open in Chrome that it stopped counting. And it just gave me a little sideways smiley face telling me ‘You’ve gone too far,’” Dumont said. The smiley face appears once a user reaches over 100 tabs on a Chrome browser. Most of the tabs Dumont had open were collections of subcultures and niche pockets of fashion history but she didn’t realize how many tabs she actually had open until the smiley face appeared.

Unlike the heavy research conducted by Dumont, she says she’s seen some designers and people interested in fashion talk about AI generators as a means of “really fast ideation.” According to the Interaction Design Foundation, ideation is the part of the creative process which includes generating ideas for a design. Dumont says it’s important to cite your sources and not “rip anyone off.” She adds that since AI combines past images without attribution, using it in the ideation process would make it “significantly harder to map where the inspiration is coming from.”

When he combined prompts with the names of famous painters, the program would mimic their art style. For the average person, famous paintings can be recognizable. But for smaller and current artists, Seedhouse Robinson questions how issues of copyright and ownership will impact their work.

“There’s a lot of reference work to pull from for a program like that but it was still an interesting insight to what it could be for a lot more current artists,” he says.

AI-generated art hit a new peak in popularity at the tail end of 2022. The website NightCafe Studio, for example, is a popular modern software that uses text-to-image technology to curate images within seconds. Users generated over 35 million artworks as of October 2022, according to their website. And in December 2022, on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, many people used AI filters to generate surreal style scenes and transform their selfies into animated portraits.

Some comments demonstrated concern about the potential disconnect between the artist and the medium. Since AI artwork is visually produced by these online generators, it’s unclear who should be given credit—the person who writes the prompt or the technology itself.

Seedhouse Robinson says he’s interested to see if AI adapts to future potential policies surrounding ownership and copyright.

“It’s having a huge impact, especially for designers and artists. It’s quite terrifying.”

As he tries to navigate how AI might play into the creative industries, Seedhouse Robinson says it has potential to do good but better governance in terms of attribution would give him “a lot more confidence” as a designer.

Slouched in a patchwork-covered spinning chair, Julia Dumont scrounged through her iPad for information as she researched fashion history from the ‘80s. After being inspired by the costume designs in the popular television series “Stranger Things,”

could the

traditionally AI an

When it comes to her own creative process, Dumont has tried Artbreeder, a machine-learning based art website, to generate different faces for her sketches. Although she used the software with the goal of beating “same face syndrome” (which is when an artist unintentionally draws similar facial features on multiple characters), the AI-generated faces that came up on Dumont’s screen all looked the same as well. She discovered that when a user tries to prompt AI to generate anything beyond traditional Eurocentric beauty standards “you get this weird, garbled nonsense,” with unrealistic and out of proportion facial features.

Norah Lorway, an assistant professor at TMU’s RTA School of Media with a PhD in computer music and human-computer interaction, works with AI in sound, computer science and digital healthcare.

“It’s perceiving, synthesizing and inferring information and this is all determined by machines,” says Lorway. This machine learning is “like a spreadsheet,” they added. While it’s helpful to categorize and sort data, AI lacks the multifaceted emotional qualities of the human spectrum.

“Any kind of emotional quality that is programmed to these algorithms, I think, is going to be biased toward the person who made it.”

Lorway says a lot of algorithms are created by “cis[gender] white male programmers,” allowing racial and gender-based biases to go unchecked.

“There’s not a lot of responsibility and [accountability] for it,” they added.

There are organizations today that are fighting for better inclusivity in the AI sphere. The Algorithmic Justice League (AJL), founded by computer scientist Joy Buolamwini, is a non-profit organization based in the U.S. that combines

art and research to raise awareness toward the harms of AI technology. According to the organization’s website, Buolamwini calls algorithmic bias “the coded gaze,” where racism, sexism, ableism and other forms of discrimination are embedded within AI systems.

The AJL was created from Buolamwini’s 2017 thesis project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called “Gender Shades.” In the video on the Gender Shades website, she says her idea for the project was born when she saw how multiple facial recognition softwares only detected the faces of her friends with lighter complexions. It wasn’t until Buolamwini, who is Black, put on a white mask that completely covered her face, that the algorithms recognized her. A deeper dive into the technology revealed common issues of misgendering and other inaccuracies, which the AJL continues to explore today.

“Most people don’t question [bias] because it’s just a part of everyday life and that’s a problem,” says Lorway. “So, I think this new Justice League is trying to question it and I think it applies in the arts as well, for sure.”

Alongside issues of bias within AI, Dumont also noticed a lot of repetition in the machine-generated art. “AI loves butterflies, for whatever reason, when they’re generating gowns,” she says, adding that some softwares often generate the same bodice and a skirt that rarely changes.

This semester, Dumont has an assignment to create a completely original concept for a design. She was given specific instructions not to draw inspiration from other artists or pieces of fashion. “It’s very much the opposite of AI. It has to be original, it has to be specific, non-vague and not using any copyrighted materials,” Dumont says.

Given her love for historical research, Dumont decided to compile ideas for a design based on a raven, a bird known for its dark colour and symbolic meaning. Her process began by combining research on the mythology, pop culture and science behind the animal itself.

For Dumont, working on this project has demonstrated how human thought and ideation differ from AI—the latter isn’t trained to think about the more tactical aspects like how a design feels or sounds in real life. For instance, her idea of layered garments made of satin and tulle would produce a soft sound like rustling bird feathers as the outfit moved, which Dumont says would not be typically thought of by a machine pulling from past images.

She hopes to put this concept together physically someday, which will require even more research on how fabrics drape and feel, the cost and the sustainability of each material.

Part of the creative process, Dumont says, is taking materials and figuring out how they can be made into something. “AI might just kind of ignore how the physics of certain materials work, making it harder to translate,” she adds.

dia, a piece that stood out to him recently was American rapper Lil Yatchy’s Let’s Start Here album cover art, which was AIgenerated. The album, released this January, featured a cover of seven people dressed in formal business clothing with digitally distorted faces.

Although the facial distortion on the album cover was likely intentional, AI art can sometimes produce unwanted errors. Mahendran says he once saw AI-generated art with seven fingers on a human hand, all of which looked the same in size

and shape.

Despite AI’s technological flaws, Mahendran says he is seeing it slowly being implemented into the workplace and predicts that it’ll evolve more within the next few years. As someone who hopes to start working in the graphic design field upon his graduation this June, this is a cause of concern for him.

“I worry about it and it takes away the privilege to create art,” he says.

While some argue that AI will never completely replace human creativity, a 2016 study from the University of Oxford, found that approximately 47 per cent of U.S. jobs at that time were at high risk of being absorbed by AI machines.

Not everyone is all that concerned though. For instance, while Sinha believes that it’s important to acknowledge the reality of AI in today’s world, he also thinks these tools won’t be taking over all cultural production.

“It’s just simply not in the cards. It’s not going to happen,” he says. Sinha says AI generators should be considered as “statistical modeling tools” because they function by pulling from the past. In music and performance, AI algorithms draw from previous musical data to help create new sounds and images.

However, regardless of how advanced AI technology gets, Sinha says there will always be space for us to tell new stories.

“AI and machine learning in these processes will never answer the questions that we, as human beings, ask of ourselves, ask of our creativity, ask of the world.”

Acommon day for Seedhouse Robinson consists of him sitting by his bed alongside plants that have unexpectedly reached his height as he opens his Adobe programs and refers to notes and sketches. His recent desire to work with his art in a more tangible way has fuelled his decision to purchase a new scanner. This new device allows him to print his clean, minimalist designs and turn them into something he can physically hold in his hands. There is, however, the occasional misprint.

“I think those little bits, even if it’s just the distortion of a scan, that is one thing I absolutely adore and want to see more of in my work,” he says. “It’s those little imperfections that make something feel so much more real in a digital space.”

Like all technology, Seedhouse Robinson also saw imperfections in AI generated images. When prompts were combined with famous artist styles on Midjourney, he said one portrait image generated more than two hands. Despite the occasional human inaccuracy, Seedhouse Robinson says he’s excited about embracing those machine errors in the future of AI because those errors are a reminder that human-made art is still essential.

It’s not uncommon for Ashan Mahendran, a fifth-year graphic communications management student at TMU, to spend hours on Adobe Creative Suite perfecting his latest projects. Inspired by pop culture, Mahendran usually creates mixed media images in Photoshop for leisure. He says while AI makes the design process faster, it doesn’t necessarily lead to the best final outcome for the artist and the artwork.

“It’s best if we just use our own skills to make our pieces and everything. Using AI just cuts our work.”

As he keeps up-to-date with AI art discourse on social me-

“The worse job it does of replicating other artists’ work, the better.”

While AI can provide some inspiration for artists to continue their work, nothing beats genuine human connection for Seedhouse Robinson. He says when a “creative block” hits, he often visits a local cafe or park to connect with the community around him. These seemingly mundane interactions allow artists’ to create art that is personal and unique to the human experience—which is something that AI cannot replicate.

“As of yet, in my own experience, I have not seen a machine reproduce something that gives that same sense of connection, that same sense of community around the world.”

MACHINE-MADE ART 7

looked

It’s not just about who you know

By Aneesa Bhanji

When Hope Schrier began making TikToks while working as a sales associate at Garage, she never expected it would lead to a new career opportunity. Schrier, a second-year creative industries student, said without her active presence on TikTok, she wouldn’t have landed her job today as a social media brand ambassador for the clothing company.

“I didn’t even really know too much about the ambassador program. I would just make TikToks at work because it was fun for me,” she said.

Even though she was making the videos for fun, it led to a new opportunity when Schrier’s manager suggested she join the ambassador team.

“It’s definitely been the coolest thing to happen to me,” she said.

But while social media has brought Schrier new opportunities, the pressure to always maintain a certain image online has left her feeling overwhelmed.

“I think, unfortunately, with certain things like trends, people can take things the wrong way. You have to be very careful with what

you post online,” Schrier said.

In the beginning of this year, The Harris Poll was commissioned by Express Employment Professionals to conduct a survey. It found that 65 per cent of Canadian companies say they use social media to screen job applicants.

As we become entrenched into the digital age, networking on social media has become a necessity for Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students to grow their roster of connections and market themselves to future employers.

“It’s almost an extension of your CV or resume…a formal way to put yourself out in the world as a potential candidate for work,” said Gavin Adamson, a journalism professor at TMU.

A 2019 field experiment conducted by ResumeGo, an online resume service, found that job applicants who included a link to a “comprehensive LinkedIn profile” were 71 per cent more likely to receive a job interview.

Kaylee Chu, a third-year professional communications student, said she felt pressured to start social media networking in her first year of university, especially since her program did not offer a co-op option.

“There [were] a lot of people around me who had been networking for years, since they were in high school and now they’re working in co-ops for big companies,” Chu said.

After building her network on apps like LinkedIn, Chu said being active on social media has led her to compare herself to her peers.

As she began to see more posts like “I started a position at this company” and “I’m excited for my new chapter,” she felt intimidated. “You feel really behind,” she said.

In 2021, Statistics Canada reported that frequent exposure to information about user’s exciting activities, material success and personal accomplishments, like jobs, can lead to idealized perceptions of other peoples’ lives, with increased feelings of social deprivation, lower self-esteem and unhappiness.

When it comes to networking, constantly updating social media is also now part of the process. Many students are feeling the pressure to keep their profiles up to date to advance their careers.

Adamson said on one hand, social media networking can be tremendously beneficial for students in showing themselves to be the pro-

fessionals that businesses and organizations are looking for.

On the other hand, it can create a lot of pressure to make sure that all the messaging is kind of on point especially throughout a variety of profiles. “It’s just a layer of work that frankly, was not there 10 years ago,” said Adamson.

Networking online has also left students questioning when to use social media for fun and when to use it for work.

Mirelle Gique, a fourth-year marketing student and a social media assistant for the University Relations department at TMU, said maintain-

ing this balance can be difficult.

“The line is kind of blurry, where sometimes I’m scrolling for fun and then I see an idea that I really like, that could be for work,” said Gique.

She encouraged students to set limits for themselves on social media and said students should be authentic when networking online.

“On social media, it’s kind of hard to sometimes be yourself or it’s easier to be someone you’re not,” Gique said. “But stay true to who you are. It is kind of cheesy but that’s the best way to make genuine connections and build your network online.”

TMFR showcases RF-19 car at their first-ever auto show

By Konnor Killoran

The Toronto Metropolitan Formula Racing team (TMFR) showcased its RF-19 project car at the 50th Annual Toronto AutoShow last month, alongside new electric technology from big brands such as Hyundai and Subaru.

The auto show, which ran from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26, showcased the industry’s latest innovations, newest concept cars and interactive demos.

The group is composed of students from all programs and allows for them to get hands-on, industry experience by building a car, managing a team and racing in the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) international competition, that features teams from around the world.

Isabelle Bonello, the business lead at TMFR, said the team was super excited about the opportunity to be at the event. “This is our first year doing the Autoshow,” said Bonello. She added that the event gave everybody an idea of how hard the team works. “Being able to show it to a ton of people that come to the Autoshow over the next ten days. It’s just a surreal experience.”

The group showcased their RF-19 project car, which was a team favourite due to its aero package —the design elements of the car which reduce drag and allow it to go faster. This is the first time in two years that the auto show was back in-person after it was cancelled in 2021 and 2022 due to

the pandemic. But Bonello said that working online during the pandemic was a silver lining for TMFR, who used the time to work on the business and recruitment side of the team.

“The online environment of COVID-19 helped us quite a bit in terms of marketing and exposure to the team,” she said.

For TMFR and Bonello, the auto show was an amazing opportunity for the team members to apply concepts and theory to real life.

“What I’ve learned over the past two and a half years, I can apply in real life and I do apply [my experience] to the internships that I have,” she said.

“It’s stuff that you learn in class but then you have this real-life system that you can apply it to.”

Mobility Reimagined was the overarching theme at the AutoShow and it was showcased in droves, as every manufacturer and company wanted to talk about their latest electric vehicle (EV) innovations. And TMFR was no different.

The team believed that learning how to produce an EV would be excellent industry experience, keeping them ahead of the curve, which is why they made the switch to an EV platform in 2020. “The industry is moving in that direction. So we should move in that direction as well,’” said Bonello.

The group competed in the FSAE EV Competition last June with its latest iteration of the EV, placing first in Ontario and fifth in Canada. “We were

extremely proud of that,” said Bonello.

She added that it’s “been an interesting change” as the team has previously focused on combustion engines rather than EV.

A combustion engine is a type of engine where combustion, also known as the burning of fuel, occurs on the inside, according to Kiddle, an online encyclopedia.

“It’s been an interesting change for sure because the team has been [focused on] combustion for at least 23 years prior to that.”

Ghafoor Khodayari, a senior manufacturing engineer and program manager at UltraFit Manufacturing—a company which specializes in automotive parts—said he sees the shift to EV’s enabling innovation within the

design of cars, especially because space gets freed up from simpler components. “Electric cars will keep designing [more efficient] vehicles,” he said.

Bonello said TMFR has been an excellent runway for members to land in the industry, especially with the networking they do with their sponsors. “There are some people that work at Tesla, there’s some that work at Magna, Honda, other car companies,” said Bonello.

Khodayari echoed that the program is a great opportunity for students. “Whatever you learn there, you can directly apply in the real industry,” said Khodayari. “Because you are free at that time, you can think about whatever is impossible. Because every impossible thing may one day be possible.”

Statistics show that the industry also appreciates hands-on experience. According to a survey done by Oakland Community College and the Farmington, MI. Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis, 43 per cent of engineering firms said they would be interested in having a student work as an intern.

“Everybody starts off the same, no one has any idea what they’re doing,” Bonello said. “This is a learning team. We’re here to support each other.”

BIZ & TECH 8

‘You feel really behind’: TMU students feel overwhelmed by the pressure of networking

Disclaimer: Ghafoor Khodayari is the father of communities editor Negin Khodayari. However, Negin was not involved in the editing or production of this piece. SAMMY KOGAN/THE EYEOPENER KONNOR KILLORAN/THE EYEOPENER

How weed stores near TMU compete for students’ business

By Anthony Lippa-Hardy

As cannabis stores continue to pop up around campus, some Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students and experts are wary of store density, saying prices are still high and the amount of dispensaries seems unsustainable.

Fourth-year politics and governance student Jenna Yakabuski said there are too many independent dispensaries with high prices.

“As much as I do support small businesses like that, the pricing is not really an option for students,” said Yakabuski.

Vince Cabansag, a first-year professional communications student, said he goes to dispensaries because the atmosphere makes him feel safe. He chooses stores that have different customer experiences. “[With some stores] I go there just because as soon as I walk in they have good vibes and good music.”

But with high costs, he has to find a way to save money. “I go to different places because if some shops only take cash, they have cheaper prices,” he said.

As of March 2023, there are five cannabis stores around Yonge and College Streets alone, including two Tokyo Smokes within a 1 km radius of each other.

To attract students at lower price points, some dispensary managers said their stores use special discounts and cheaper products to appeal to students.

Tokyo Smoke, Fire and Flower and Body and Spirit Cannabis offer student discounts as an incentive. The latter, located just a twominute walk away from campus at 361 Yonge Street, offers a 15 per cent discount to students.

that the products that we carry are the same as other places,” said Shefsky.

On the other hand, as students grapple with high prices, experts warn the lack of diversity in product options could lead to dispensaries around TMU struggling to maintain a competitive edge.

Bradley Poulos, a business professor at TMU, said there isn’t enough variety in the local dispensaries’ products which makes it difficult for stores to compete.

He said while a business model like an auto mall—where several car dealerships are placed together—works, this is not the case for weed stores. “[Cannabis store products] are not different enough from each other,” said Poulos.

“The retailers, they’re still fighting the black market,” said Poulos.

The black market refers to the “illegal trading of goods that are not allowed to be bought and sold, or that there are not enough of for everyone who wants them,” according to Cambridge University Press and Assessment.

ing bought and sold is being bought on the illicit market,” he said.

Jonathan Shefsky, manager at Body and Spirit Cannabis, said the store tries to tailor its services to students by quickly getting new products on the shelves. “[Other stores] actually take a couple of days to input all of their products. We do it in a couple of hours,” said Shefsky.

Body and Spirit targets the student demographic by getting popular products and making them available for purchase quicker than the other local dispensaries. Shefsky said the store tries to bring in a wide selection of cheap cannabis flowers and pre-rolls, as those products are favoured among students.

“[Students] come to us because they know we will always give them the student discount and they know

Data from Statistics Canada shows that the average legal price of cannabis at the end of 2019 was $10.30 per gram, while the average price of illegal cannabis was $5.73. It also showed that while legal cannabis prices increased by about 6.3 per cent from the previous year, illegal prices decreased by around 11 per cent.

Hathaway said that a competitive advantage most dispensaries have over the black market is better quality products. Both Poulos and Hathaway said that most often dispensaries are also safer than cannabis products bought illegally.

Andrew Hathaway, an associate professor in sociology & anthropology at the University of Guelph, said many people still purchase their cannabis products illegally.

“About 40 per cent of all weed be-

This is mainly due to the regulations dispensaries must follow to ensure their products meet the federal standards and aren’t made with any dangerous chemicals or contaminants, said Hathaway.

“To a certain degree weed is weed and you like the stuff that tastes better,” said Hathaway. “There’s a slight difference sometimes in terms of the way it makes you feel.”

But for Cabansag, price is more important as a student. “Quality wise, weed is weed,” he echoes. “Some stores are just way [too] expensive today.”

BIZ & TECH 9

“I go to different places because if some shops only take cash, they have cheaper prices”

“To a certain degree weed is weed and you like the stuff that tastes better”

“There’s a slight difference sometimes in terms of the way it makes you feel”

KONNOR

KILLORAN/THE EYEOPENER

KONNOR KILLORAN/THE EYEOPENER KONNOR KILLORAN/THE EYEOPENER

With a high density of weed stores around campus, students worry about high prices while experts warn about the dangers of an oversaturated market

On That Note to represent Canada at ICCA semi-finals

By Nalyn Tindall

Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) very own On That Note a cappella group, comprised of women and queer performers, will be competing in the International Championship Of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) semi-finals in Buffalo, N.Y. next week.

Following their win at the ICCA central quarter-finals in Waterloo, Ont., on Jan. 2, the group will represent Canada on the international stage on March 25, alongside the University of Toronto’s group Surround Sound, who placed second at the competition.

The quarter-final marked the group’s first in-person competition since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, making the opportunity all the more exciting for the vocalists.

“We didn’t really know where we stand, compared to the other groups. It was just about just giving our best,” said Susanna Lee Lee, a fifth-year psychology student and executive director of On That Note.

On That Note is one of three a cappella groups at TMU under the Toronto Metropolitan A Capella Collective. The group shines a light on women and queer performers with specific arrangements that prioritize voices with

higher vocal ranges, such as sopranos and altos.

Co-founders Susanna Lee and Lyara Malvar, formed the group in 2020 after seeing a demand for increased opportunity for performers with these voices on campus.

“I noticed that there were a lot of really great upper voice singers and they would otherwise get into the group but because of balance, there’s just not enough space for everyone,” said Malvar.

on the choreography team during her first a cappella season this school year.

“Whenever I come into rehearsal I feel like I can leave any other stress or worries just out the door, and then I come in, and I’m having fun with my friends and I’m also doing what I love, which is singing and dancing,” said Bianchini.

The ICCA competitions are featured in the Pitch Perfect film franchise which Bianchini grew up watching. “On That Note is making my dreams a reality,” she said.

Both having been involved in a capella previously, the two have been able to rise to the top at both TMU and on a national stage.

First prize is not the only award On That Note left the Waterloo, Ont. quarterfinals with, winning three of the four special awards at the competition.

Malvar, a fourth-year graphics communications management student, the music director for On That Note and TMU A Cappella Collective president, won outstanding soloist and outstanding arrangement for their rendition of “BIGGER” by Beyonce. The group also took home the award for best choreography.

Carina Bianchini, a second-year professional music student, worked

Like Pitch Perfect’s “Barden Bellas,” On That Note is a women centric group, setting them apart from many.

“I think just having that kind of uniqueness to us, not only in our identity but also our sound, is really important to me,” said Malvar. “We all really do feel like a team and really love each other as a family,” said Lee.

unable to compete in the quarterfinals—sickness and unforeseen circumstances left three members unable to compete—to showcase their talents.

award winning set and a music video later this year.

The upcoming semi-final competition will take the group further than they’ve ever gone before. It will also act as a second chance for members of the group who were

“The opportunity to have members who had to miss the quarters to participate in the semis…that was my main motivation for winning,” said Lee.

On That Note plans to release a professionally recorded EP of their

“It will be cool to just have a recorded thing where we could look back on this incredible journey that we’ve all been on,” said Malvar.

On That Note is collecting proceeds to fund their trip to Buffalo for the ICCA semi-finals and their future endeavors. Their GoFundMe can be found at www.gofundme. com/f/FundThatNote.

Students come together to take part in Culture Fest despite snowstorm

due to the snowstorm.

“It was nice to still see a lot of students talking to their friends [and] enjoying a meal together, which is really an important piece and aspect of culture, which is what we wanted,” said Wong.

Culture Fest was originally supposed to feature a fashion show but the snowstorm led a few student groups and models to cancel.

Still, students and staff made the best of the circumstances. They were able to try different types of cuisine, including Caribbean, Syrian, Palestinian and Jordanian dishes, which allowed students to eat the food they recognized from their home country or cultural background and explore new options as well.

By Aliya Karimjee

On a snowy night on the last day of February, students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) had the opportunity to explore different cultures as part of Culture Fest.

Culture Fest, which was hosted by Student Life and Learning Support (SLLS) and International Student Support (ISS), took place on Feb. 28 at the Sheldon and Tracy

Levy Student Learning Centre.

Students were able to meet different cultural student groups at TMU, put on mehndi (henna), test their knowledge on how to say “hello” in different languages through Kahoot quizzes and try different types of cuisine.

Dinelli Lowe, a first-year engineering student, said culture plays a significant role in one’s life, which is why she loves to attend events on

campus like Culture Fest.

Lowe is Sinhalese and said she appreciated seeing a little part of the fashion and culture.

“I don’t really have a lot of outlets to show my culture so it’s not something I see very often and I feel very proud when I do,” she said.

Sara Wong, the orientation and campus events facilitator, explained that the event was still successful despite there being a lower turnout

Some students also attended wearing traditional clothes despite the lack of a proper runway.

Rama Barham, an international student experience facilitator and student advisor, said despite the fashion show part of the Culture Fest being cancelled due to the snowstorm, some students who attended did share what they were wearing and its cultural significance.

Similarly, Adrian Omoruyi, a first-year computer engineering stu-

dent, wore a yellow Buba, which is a colourful, long printed Nigerian shirt, mostly worn at events.

“Culture Fest was an opportunity for people to express themselves more. TMU is really multicultural,” said Omoruyi.

His friend Douglas Rogers, a firstyear computer engineering student, added that he also loves clothing as a form of cultural self-expression.

“I really love dressing up. Clothes are a very important way of expressing yourself, and I find it interesting when you live in an area like this, downtown Toronto, the different styles and fashions mix because there’s so many different types of people,” said Rogers.

He appreciated that the event still took place despite the challenges brought by the snowstorm.

“Culture is life. You live and express yourself to your culture,” said Rogers. “Not only is it an expression of yourself but it’s an expression of your history, your family and everyone from your country.”

The appreciation among students and staff is the reason Barham said she continues to organize events like Culture Fest.

“Culture to me means where you feel like home,” said Barham.

ARTS & CULTURE 10

“We all really do feel like a team and really love each other as a family”

“On That Note is making my dreams a reality”

ALIYA KARIMJEE/THE EYEOPENER PHOTO VIA @OTN.ACAPPELLA ON INSTAGRAM

TMU students vs New Year’s resolutions

By Fredrick Reyes

New Year’s resolutions have long been used to evaluate what is most important in our lives.

Have you ever wondered what kinds of resolutions Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students make on New Year’s Day and whether they are capable of fulfilling their goals beyond limiting their screen time?

It has been more than 65 days since we welcomed the new year, giving TMU students a little bit over two months to maintain, alter or completely change their resolutions. So we asked five TMU students if they followed through on their New Year’s resolutions and here’s what they had to say.

Fourth-year fashion student Anna Maude told The Eyeopener that she kept her resolution to save money immediately after the clock struck midnight— for a solid three hours. She could not endure being away from her MacBook Pro for too long and ended up spending more money on new clothes.

“It’s a little embarrassing I guess but I couldn’t keep myself from checking every high-end designer website,” she explained. “I’m a fashion icon, I need to have the latest and the greatest.”

Maude was quite hesitant to reveal her total when asked how much she spent on new clothes the same night she promised herself to stop online shopping.

“Hear me out, aside from being a student I’m also a designer so I know how difficult it is right now to make a

living, especially in such a competitive industry like fashion,” she said. “So obviously I just had to support my fellow designers and buy most, if not, all of the latest designs from Fendi!”

“And if you really think about it, not keeping my New Year’s resolution was an amazing contribution to society because I’m being gracious to my fellow designers,” Maude reasoned.

Coline Truffaut, a second-year nutrition and food student, made a New Year’s resolution to cook all of her professors’ favourite meals so she could ask for as many extensions as she needed and stop using the excuse that a guinea pig ate her homework when she ignored all her deadlines.

“I just think it’s unfair that I’ve been blaming my boyfriend’s pet for eating my homework all these years,” she said. “It’s also gotten to the point where my professors are beginning to question if we’re not feeding it properly so it’s eating my assignments.”

lazy and don’t want to do my assignments but because I’m working towards my ultimate goal.”

First-year psychology student Bingelly “Bing” Bong said he views New Year’s resolutions as a fun annual tradition rather than serious, as he simply cannot maintain one.

“Life becomes busy and sometimes you just don’t have the time to pursue the goals you set for yourself every day,” he said. “I’m a full-time student who also works full-time most evenings, so I don’t beat myself too much if I don’t have the energy to accomplish my resolutions.”

Bong told The Eye that his New Year’s resolution for this year was to find every pizzeria in Toronto that sells rhubarb on pizza and buy them all so there are none left to sell.

DENISE XIAO/THE EYEOPENER

Truffaut claims she is not a bad student but simply needs as many extensions as she can get since she is also a full-time ASMR YouTuber and is saving for a restaurant that she and her boyfriend plan to open later this year.

“My dream has always been to start my own restaurant,” Truffaut added. “So, this New Year’s resolution of mine isn’t just because I’m

“I know it’s a strange one, but there’s something about rhubarb on pizza that irritates me more than pineapple pizza. That one is fine and I can respect it, a lil’ fruit with your sauce? Sure, but rhubarb on pizza? There is a pretty bold line you’ve crossed with that,” said Bong. “I’m just trying to save the people of Toronto from an extremely questionable pizza flavour...there are far better options!”

When asked how his New Year’s resolution was going, Bong said that as of our interview, he had only found one place that sold rhubarb pizza and plans to keep looking until the end of March.

Benjamin Wallace, a third-year sociology student, set a goal to match his outfits, particularly his hat, to

whichever beverage he has for the entire year while on campus.

“I don’t typically make New Year’s resolutions but I figured I might as well have some fun with it and this seemed like a simple one,” he said.

“I also got a lot of new hats over the winter break, so at the very least I can use them this way.”

Wallace claimed that the unique hats-to-beverage pairing is a great way for him to express his personality and mood for the day, similar to those reversible octopus plushies.

“If I’m feeling energetic and happy, I’ll wear bright red and yellow with my Gatorade; if I’m feeling down, I’ll wear something neutral, like brown to match my latte,” he said.

Wallace declined to comment on how he would dress if he were to be drinking a transparent beverage such as water or sprite.

Fourth-year biology student Ella Griffin said they have kept the same New Year’s resolution since starting at TMU. They have set out to name every single pigeon on campus by the

time they graduate at the end of the year and quite honestly have been pretty successful.

“There’s just so many of these little fuckers and they’re absolutely everywhere,” they said. “It’s not like I can do anything to them so I might as well befriend every single one.”

When asked why they wanted to name every pigeon on campus, Griffin said they felt bad as the little rascals are frequently misunderstood and hated by other students for no reason.

“At first, I’ll admit that I loathed them because, come on, they’re a pain when you’re just trying to walk to class and they suddenly all flock towards you,” they said. “But after I took the time to name each one and spend time with them, I found that they’re not all that bad. They just want to hang out and make friends with the students.”

“I guess now I’ll have to invite all of them to convocation,” Griffin said. “I wonder if TMU is going to allow that. I emailed the president months ago and have yet to hear back.”

What kind of beverages do students enjoy on St. Patty’s day?

a stemless glass.

Notorious for their “love” of all things math and science, engineering students have decided to skip the drinking altogether and stick to what they’ve dubbed “Green Water.” An inside source told us it’s the perfect companion to midterm season. It’s basically just water with a substantial amount of Wilton food dye but who are we to judge?

By Konnor Killoran

Disclaimer: Know your drinking limit—Stay within it.

In honour of St. Patrick’s Day, university students across the country are gearing up for a day filled with green beer and boozy shenanigans.

According to recent studies by the Canadian Alcohol Beverage People (CABP), different university majors seem to have varying preferences when it comes to their celebratory libations. The Eyeopener was able to get an inside scoop from students on

which beverages they’ll be consuming this St. Patty’s day.

Known for their ability to handle high-pressure situations, nursing students have decided to take things up a notch this year by opting for a Long Island Iced Tea. Why settle for one type of alcohol when you can have five?

Child and youth care majors are looking for something a bit more refined to sip on while they contemplate the future of the world’s youth. They’ve opted for a nice glass of rosé or wine because nothing says responsible caretaker like a buzz and

Politics and governance majors have decided to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style with a fine whiskey on the rocks. When you’re going to govern the masses, you might as well do it with a buzz.

Journalism students, famed for being just a tiny bit pretentious, have chosen a nice rum and coke to keep things classy. However, we hear it’s mostly just the coke because they have an interview to do at 11:59 p.m. Sometimes, the old ways are the best ways even when it comes to getting drunk.

Business management majors, who are often found sporting illfitting suits, have decided to go with the tried and true method of beer

or for the new-age, White Claws. When you’re managing the stress of two classes a semester, you need a drink that’s easy enough to down five of in the span of an hour.

With their impeccable and elite sense of taste, fashion students have chosen a cosmopolitan cocktail as their drink of choice. Because nothing says “I know high fashion” like blindly sipping on a drink named after a magazine you only brought to populate your coffee table.

Media production majors, who are just looking for a good time, have made the decision to skip the mixer and go straight for the vodka. Who can blame them? It’s efficient, and effective and makes for a great story the next morning.

Sport media majors, who are just looking to get fucked up while watching the game have chosen the Pink Whitney, a pink lemonadeflavoured vodka, as their drink of choice. Because what’s better than combining two of the greatest things in life—sports and alcohol?

Professional music majors, with a zest in life to be different, have

scouted out pure vanilla extract as their drink of choice, given its 35 per cent alcohol content. The plus side? You can pick up as much as you want without an ID.

Philosophy majors—always looking for a deeper meaning in everything—have chosen to skip the drinks on St. Patrick’s Day and just smoke weed. Everyone knows the best way to contemplate the mysteries of the universe is to get a little bit (maybe more than a bit) high.

Always looking for ways to improve their health, nutrition majors have chosen a B-52 cocktail as their drink of choice. Because nothing says “I’m serious about my nutrition” like a cocktail layered with three different coffee liquors that you’re meant to drink while it’s on fire.

Finally, we have the master’s students who stop by the campus pub on St. Patty’s to reminisce about their “better days” as an undergraduate. Remembering all too well the morning after, they decide to skip the booze and stick to something simple but sweet, a good ole glass of water— minus the green food colouring.

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