THE GIFT OF GIVING
Mississaugacharity usesdonationstomake
Christmaspossible forthoseinneed
STUDENTS HOST
Blush N Bloom redefines cosmetics
Humber Polytechnic’s cosmetics students hosted the Blush N Bloom event at the Centre for Entrepreneurship on Nov. 28. The event highlighted NUDESTIX’s eco-conscious innovations, particularly their new Blush Stax product.
Live makeup demonstrations and cosmetic appointments brought sustainability and creativity to the forefront, underscoring how Humber students are leading industry trends.
The Blush N Bloom event exemplified how Humber’s curriculum equips students with practical industry skills. Brendan Yhip, a professor in the cosmetic management program, highlighted the event’s significance.
“This event really showcased the students’ talents and their ability to bring together different aspects of what they’ve learned. It was about encouraging them to push their creative boundaries and demonstrate their expertise in a professional setting,” he said. The event brought together talents from various disciplines. Students were divided into teams responsible for social media,
marketing, and product demonstrations. This collaborative effort fostered teamwork and professional growth, preparing them for industry challenges.
“I treated the students as employees of their own event.
They were responsible for everything from marketing to event execution, which mirrors the real-world demands of the beauty industry,” Yhip said.
NUDESTIX’s Blush Stax stood out in the event. The cruelty-free, vegan, and eco-friendly blush can be used as a lip stain, eye shadow, and contour, offering a versatile and sustainable solution for beauty enthusiasts. Kritika Thakur, a student makeup artist for the event, shared her excitement about working with the product.
“This was my first time using NUDESTIX, and it was a great experience. The multitasking features of the Blush Stax amazed me,” she said.
Thakur also said the importance of the event and how it was a platform for learning and growth.
“I gained lots of experience. I learned how to communicate, gather with people, talk to them, and even how to do the demos.
It was a really good thing for my growth,” she said. Saakshi Modi, the project manager of Blush N Bloom played an important role in organizing the event. Her responsibilities included ensuring deadlines were met and motivating her classmates.
“My role as project manager mainly included giving everybody a direction, making sure everybody is keeping up with the deadlines, and getting people in the class excited about the event,” Modi said.
Despite challenges such as sponsor coordination, Modi and her team delivered a polished and professional event.
“Getting donations from sponsors was one of the most essential challenges, and if they weren’t responding, we had to make sure we had a backup,” she said. “What I saw today was incredible. Within ten minutes, we knew what to do because we had such a clear picture of how the event was going to look.”
The emphasis on sustainability resonated with attendees, as many inquired about the ecofriendly aspects of the products.
“I had two or three people come in today and ask me if the product is sustainable and
Humber Et Cetera is the Humber Polytechnic journalism program laboratory newspaper. It is created by journalism students in the Advanced Diploma program. Et Cetera serves to inform the Humber community and give its readers well-rounded coverage on the things that matter to them.
I loved those questions,” Modi said. “Seeing that awareness and consciousness in this generation is amazing, and it shows how much people care about eco-friendly and cruelty-free products.” The collaboration between Humber Polytechnic and NUDESTIX is evidence of Humber’s dedication to fostering meaningful industry relationships. Events like Blush N Bloom enhance students’ skills and address emerging trends in sustainable beauty.
“Working with an industry product like NUDESTIX really pushes students to think with an industry mindset. Learning how to speak about the product, sell it, and apply the knowledge from both the brand and their classes,” Yhip said. “It’s a lovely mix of innovation and education. It’s a tangible experience for them.”
As Yhip reflected on the success of the event, he noted its broader implications.
“We showed that cosmetics can be for everyone and that sustainability and innovation are the future,” Yhip said. “This is just the beginning for our students as they lead the way in redefining beauty.”
Humber cosmetics students host makeup event featuring eco-friendly products like NUDESTIX on Thursday at the Centre for Entrepreneurship.
HUMBERETC/LUIS MIGUEL S.DE CASTRO
Luis Miguel S. De Castro
HumberETC Culture
Stars shine at Woodbine Cinema
celebrities including film director
Cinéstarz Deluxe Woodbine theatre marked its first anniversary by rolling out the red carpet for numerous Canadian celebrities and influencers before watching luxury movies.
Melissa DiMarco, a Canadian actress, producer and television personality, hosted her first Cinestarz red carpet events on Wednesday evening. It was a packed gathering of media, social media influencers, and special guests who saw VIP movie screenings of Wicked, Gladiator II, or Moana 2.
The attendees also had a chance to win giveaways including free movies for a year, gift certificates, TVs, and tablets.
PREVIEW
They also get to see the special preview of Out There @ the Movies, a five-minute preshow segment with DiMarco.
They feature personal movie-going stories from Canadian
Jason Reitman, retired actress Evangeline Lilly, WWE star Trish Stratus, actor Gabriel Labelle and others.
DiMarco also shows behindthe-scenes insights, surprises and celebrity interviews.
“I wanted to do something special for the preshows, so I’m launching here but it will be premiering in the theatres you guys get a sneak peek,” DiMarco said.
“And Canadian celebrities share what is important to them with going out to see the movies, the movies going out to experience,” she said
She is known for her role as Daphne Hatzilakos in the drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which ran between 2002 and 2010.
DiMarco is also the host of her syndicated television program Out There with Melissa DiMarco, a comedy where an entertainment journalist played by DiMarcothat interviews celebrities.
DiMarco wanted the red carpet
event to be about more than just the celebrities; she wanted it to be about the influences who are big fans of the movie.
“We wanted this red carpet to be not only the celebrities walking but also people who are fans of movie-going experience,” she said. DiMarco also said the 35-year-old Woodbine Mall and Fantasy Fair at the corner of Highway 27 and Rexdale Boulevard was the perfect spot to host the event because it is a hidden gem.
Kia Watt, a first-year Criminal Justice student, excels as a shooting guard for the Humber Hawks women’s basketball, averaging 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists this season.
Watt began playing basketball in grade three, but her passion blossomed in middle school when the competition became more intense and challenging.
“That’s when I started taking training seriously,” Watt said. “I also began playing in AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) and other leagues, which helped me improve my skills and confidence.”
Her efforts paid off, as Watt became only the third player in Humber history to join the prestigious 1,000-point club during her rookie season.
“It feels amazing to achieve this,” Watt said. “Being coached by two players in the 1,000-point club makes it even more special and inspiring.”
To maintain her success, Watt stays committed to practicing daily and caring for her mental and physical health with the support of her coaches and teammates.
“My coaches, therapists, and mental health coaches are amazing,” Watt said. “They help me get better physically and mentally, which motivates me to keep improving every day.”
Watt focuses on short-term goals, hoping to lead Humber to win the OCAA and National Championships this season before looking further into her basketball future.
“I only see myself playing college basketball right now,” she said. “Winning for our school and program is my biggest goal at this moment.”
HUMBERETC/MATTHEW R. ZINIUK Kia Watt on the court against the Mohawk Mountaineers.
Zainab Raza
HumberETC Culture
Actress and former WWE star Trish Stratus showing off her Hall of Fame ring to Canadian actress Melissa DiMarco on Woodbine’s red carpet.
HUMBERETC/NICHOLAS PRENCIPE
The host of the event with content creator VIPs on either side of her.
HUMBERETC/NICHOLAS PRENCIPE
Holiday Helpers come together,
Reet Arora HumberETC News
Santa’s workshop in Mississauga has started wrapping presents and preparing them for families in need across the Greater Toronto Area. Packages are put together by corporate volunteers who take time off work to give back to the community.
Sarah Rutka, co-founder of Holiday Helpers, a charity whose mission is to provide a one-time personalized Christmas package to families, said it makes the hard work worth it with the thank-you letters from kids at the end.
COMMUNITY
She said people get referred to the program by a social worker, identifying a family in need of help.
“Once they qualify for the program, they get to fill out a wish list, for themselves and all the kids and it’s very specific,” Rutka said.
She said the wish list is then matched with a donor who has the budget for it and then they go shopping and drop off the listed items around this time of the year.
“These are all packages that have been dropped off by donors and they’re gonna sit there until we get a chance to go through them,” Rutka said.
She said in a couple days, the entire grid
will be full as the donors drop off more packages.
Rutka said the common grid spots are where the packages sit until they are wrapped and then boxed for delivery
“There are some packages that are already done and will be dropped off in the next few days,” she said.
Boxes of artificial Christmas trees ring about the warehouse floor where unwrapped presents wait to be packaged.
Rutka said the families can opt to get a Christmas tree as well, and most take one.
Lisa Bruno, a volunteer with Holiday Helpers, said this is her first time volunteering for the charity. It is a lot of work, but she said it’s very rewarding.
“I just think, you know, we have so much, and you have to give back somehow, you can’t always just take-take-take,” Bruno said.
Rutka said the families come from various organizations including, “women’s shelters, the school board, police victim services, a lot of immigrant organizations, native aboriginal organizations, food banks and mental health organizations.
“We do this every year, we’ve been doing this for the past 25 years,” Rutka said.
Rutka said she started this organization with her sister April and the Salvation Army when they lived in Brampton.
“I was in high school, April was in university, she was volunteering with the Sal-
Holiday Helpers is a volunteer group based in Mississauga. They come
together, bring joy to families in need
vation Army and in Brampton there was a family that lost their home in a fire, and everyone was just coming together and giving them stuff,” she said.
Rutka said her family didn’t have any money, so they helped by giving in kind with a Christmas tree and decorations.
“The Salvation Army came back to us and said that made the kids feel normal, they knew Santa would be able to find them,” she said.
Rutka said the charity became official in 2004 and they made this seasonal because the sisters have full-time jobs.
“Every year we got a little bit bigger, so we started adding more stuff, at first it was just Christmas trees, then we added grocery cards,” she said.
GIVING
Rutka said one of the things that is included in the packages is a grocery gift card with a minimum amount of $150 on it.
“We will often give families more, so if it’s a bigger family we will give them $200, $250... a lot of them come from food bank so we know there is a lot of food insecurity,” she said.
Rutka said some families don’t have any winter coats, and they get so happy when they get a sweater.
“We get feedback like they don’t have a heater in their apartment because they’re in Toronto Housing or something, so we
know they need special items,” she said.
Rutka said every package is customized to what they need.
“Our goal is 1,150 families. Our high-end goal will be 1,200 so we don’t know if we will get there,” she said.
The 2023 Holiday Helpers Report states the organization helped 1,149 families last year including 926 in GTA, 149 in Hamilton and 74 in Durham.
Based on the report, over 3,500 volunteers came together to support the families and helped sponsor 4,311 people in total.
Bruno said it’s hard to see people struggle especially when you see young parents on the application forms.
“How can they do everything on their own and a lot of people’s (family) live all over, so they need help,” Bruno said.
She said Holiday Helpers are here to be their family because there is a chance they might not have one.
Bruno said she plans on continuing to be a part of this “wonderful charity.”
“The two girls who started this charity, April and Sarah, are wonderful, they’re very nice to us,” she said.
Bruno said she is very proud of them for what they have done and their accomplishment is incredible.
“Especially with the number of families they’re trying to help out is a huge, huge number and for those two women to be responsible for those 1,200 families is just wow,” she said.
Mental health crisis calls divert to TCCS
Fernando Bossoes HumberETC News
The Toronto police have answered fewer mental health crisis calls since 2021, as a community-based service stepped into the spotlight as the city’s top choice for mental health support.
The Toronto Community Crisis Service (TCCS) is a community-based, non-police-led mental health crisis service launched in 2022 to serve as the city’s fourth emergency option. The service works with four community anchor partners: TAIBU Community Health Centre, 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations, Gerstein Crisis Centre and Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Toronto. It provides free and confidential mental health support through a team of mobile crisis workers by calling 211.
Aside from the initial point of response, the service also offers follow-up support, which includes case management of up to 90 days and a 48-hour post-crisis connection.
Nicole Watson, the manager of the city’s policing reform unit, said TCCS has received nearly 19,000 calls from March 2022 to the end of September 2024. She said the service responded to almost 17,000 of those calls.
Watson said TCCS is excited to see how much more impact the service will have following Mayor Olivia Chow’s announcement of citywide expansion on Sept. 26.
“We are seeing a substantial uptake, which should only grow with citywide expansion,” Watson said. “Now that we’ve been expanded a few months, we’re doubling the number of calls from pre-expansion, and we hope that will increase with our public awareness efforts.”
The community-based service has seen apparent success. Data shows Toronto police have answered fewer mental health crisis calls since 2021.
Police saw a steady increase in the number of mental health crisis calls attended from 2014 to 2021. It reached a peak in 2021 with 35,393 answered calls. However, since 2021 and the launch of TCCS in 2022, police have reported a decline in calls attended.
As of Sept. 30 this year, according to data posted on the police open data portal, police responded to 25,234 mental health calls, surpassing the 23,555 responses for the same period in 2023. It’s not yet clear whether 2024 will mark the first overall increase in calls since 2021, but this year is still on pace to come in below the numbers seen before the launch of the crisis service.
Watson said there is a growing awareness that police are not best placed to manage mental health crisis calls. She said as people become aware of alternative options that provide ongoing support, they may feel more inclined to choose them.
Maurienne Tolentino, a researcher at the Wellesley Institute — an organization that focuses on research relevant to supporting health equity in the Greater Toronto Area — said evidence shows police-led mental health crisis interventions often lead to the use of force.
Tolentino said encounters with marginalized communities are frequently met with discrimination. The researcher said the data from Toronto police shows the community’s appetite for a non-police-led service.
“There have been calls to move away from police-led interventions because of the history of policing within marginalized communities,” Tolentino told Humber Et Cetera.
Susan Davies, executive director at the Gerstein Crisis Centre, said racialized communities feel they are over-policed, which makes people unsafe to call 911 over a mental health crisis.
Davies said there are instances where police are included as part of the crisis response, such as when someone’s safety is at high risk. However, the goal is always to respond without police involvement.
“We’ve done a lot of work with our local (police) divisions doing outreach, making them aware of us, so that they know they can step away, that we can step in,” Davies said.
“If it starts with a police response, it doesn’t have to end with this police response.”
The Gerstein Crisis Centre surveyed 207 mental health service users in 2021, a year
before TCCS was launched. They found that 85 users reached out to their primary care provider over a mental health service, while only 36 called the police.
“Nobody wants the police coming to their door. They don’t want to see their son taken away by the police for all their neighbours [to see]. The individual in crisis doesn’t want their healthcare to be delivered in that kind of way,” Davies said.
Toronto police did not have anyone available for an interview, but in a statement to Humber Et Cetera, Constable Tyler Rowles, the assistant mental health and addictions coordinator, said they respond to about 30,000 mental health-related events annually and are working with the city and community partners on call diversion initiatives.
Tolentino said there needs to be more investment in community-based resources such as libraries and food banks, which also contribute to overall community well-being. They said evidence shows mental health crisis interventions do not benefit from having police involved.
Davies said Gerstein Crisis Centre wants more funding for crisis beds as part of the TCCS model. She said that having a space that provides the foundation for people to
begin to build on their wellness would help the crisis teams improve the overall quality of the service.
“For many people that we’re working with, having a safe place can be the foundation that allows them to settle their mental health. Unfortunately, the shelters don’t offer that kind of feeling,” Davies said. “I think it’s a piece that we would still love to see happen, and we will be continuing to point out as a potential growth to the model.”
With its 2023 Strengthening the Community Crisis System Grant, TCCS funded CMHA Toronto with two additional 24/7 dedicated crisis beds. The grant also allows extended drop-in hours for the Waan’kiiyendamome, the “We Feel Safe” project, and funds the Parkdale Community Food Bank and the Fred Victor Mission’s mental health project for African, Black and Caribbean communities.
Watson said that TCCS requires intergovernmental engagement and investment.
“The City of Toronto has really stepped up in funding and ensuring this service is available,” she said. “But, I think the long-term goal, and we had this in our last report, is to see the province also step into this realm and provide additional support.”
TCCS workers aim to give people in mental health crisis the proper attention they require.
COURTESY/TORONTO COMMUNITY CRISIS SERVICE
Supporting local play grows Canadian soccer
The way to keep growing soccer in Canada is to support local teams from the grassroots level to the professional game.
It’s time for local support for local clubs to grow across Canada, from fans to broadcasting networks to reporters.
The landscape of the sport has changed drastically over the past 15 years. In 2010, Toronto FC was the only Canadian club in Major League Soccer (MLS), and Canada had no dedicated professional league in the men’s or women’s game.
Since then, there have been two new Canadian MLS franchises in Montreal and Vancouver, the Canadian Premier League (CPL) began play in 2019 as a top-flight men’s professional league and the Northern Super League (NSL) will begin play in 2025 as a top-flight women’s professional league.
On the semi-professional side of things, League1 Canada has affiliated with or founded men’s and women’s leagues in Ontario, Quebec, B.C. and Alberta.
These domestic leagues are the key to growing the sport of soccer in Canada. Having locally grown
clubs at the semi-pro and professional levels gives more opportunities to Canadian players to play important games and move up the worldwide pyramid of soccer. However, these leagues need support to succeed.
The CPL averaged about 4,000 fans per regular season game in 2024, a number the NSL should target to keep pace with during its inaugural season next year.
League1 Canada attendances fluctuate heavily, but Simcoe County Rovers took a reported 2,000 fans to their away game at
TALES FROM HUMBER
BMO Field against Toronto FC on April 24 of this year.
Getting fans to come out to the games is ideal, but clubs need to build awareness and hype to get fans out. A good way to do that is through getting games on television.
The NSL may have a leg up on the CPL in this respect, as the CPL is exclusively on OneSoccer, a streaming service which does not have a channel on Bell or Rogers cable, despite an ongoing legal battle between Rogers and OneSoccer’s parent companies to achieve
this feat. OneSoccer has managed to get a channel on FuboTV and Telus Optik, but not on the big boys.
Meanwhile, the NSL has struck a multi-year deal to be featured across CBC/Radio-Canada and TSN/RDS to broadcast games across their networks.
This is a huge deal for the league, being able to catch the eyes of casual viewers or people who aren’t looking to spend money on a whole streaming service just to watch soccer, which is what OneSoccer is.
However, The OneSoccer feed of the 2024 CPL final was simulcasted
by CBC, where it reached more than 600,000 viewers.
Numbers like the ones listed above show support is there for domestic soccer when it’s available to fans. People love the national teams when they succeed, and it’s time for that support to grow for these new leagues focused on developing Canadian talent.
The three MLS teams should continue to push for success in the league and grow their academies to help produce more elite Canadian talent.
The CPL and NSL should aim for new heights, build professional clubs in passionate communities across the country and develop the infrastructure needed to support true top-flight professional leagues. League1 Canada should continue to fill the gaps in smaller communities and succeed in their goal to develop players to push them up the ranks of soccer in Canada. The pyramid of soccer has been established in Canada. But these leagues and clubs are nothing without support from fans in local communities.
Soccer fans in Canada: it’s time to get out and support your local club.
Navigating college without a support system
It was a mild 13C Toronto morning on that fall day in 2005. That was when Robert and Nancy Kersnik welcomed three fraternal triplets Nina, Amanda, and Paulina into the family.
According to 2022-2023 data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), acute care hospitals in Canada not including Quebec had 63 deliveries of triplets. All born one minute apart, and prematurely at just 25 weeks old, this was not an easy task for the couple to take on. Due to complications, we were eventually transported to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mount Sinai Hospital, a place we would call
home for a few months.
From that moment on, it was clear we had a close bond. We ate together, shared rooms and mostly wore the same outfits.
But despite the similarities, our personalities are quite different. I was the one who always asked questions, Amanda went with the flow, and Paulina was the rambunctious one.
In school, we would frequently get asked what it’s like to be a triplet.
Imagine being with two others all day every day, having the same classes, and friends, and being known to your classmates as “the triplets”.
It was also quite difficult for us to make and keep friends, and because of this, I am so grateful that I have sisters who I call built-in best friends for life.
Once high school came around though, those four years changed everything. Just after the end of my first semester in March 2020, a pandemic was declared worldwide.
Before I knew it, online school and video chats were the new norms, and my anxiety began to reach an all-time high. My siblings,
specifically Paulina, helped me navigate that stress, even though she may not realize it.
During the pandemic, we shared a room for a while, which strengthened the bond between the two of us. Graduation, however, revealed the fear of being alone in college.
Thankfully, Paulina and I studied in the same program at Humber, which made the transition smoother. But as time went on and credits were racked up, she knew another plan was in the cards for her.
Unfortunately, this was a moment that I knew would be unavoidable, yet one that I was dreading. Having her take her own path for good felt like my identity, and someone I turned to for comfort had been taken from me in an instant.
Suddenly, with the snap of a finger, my life was truly mine to live.
In the first few weeks of my third semester, feeling lonely was the biggest obstacle I faced, despite being surrounded by the people who were there to support me.
One of these moments included my biggest of the semester when my first ever sports story got chosen as the back page of Humber Et
Cetera. Leading up to the publication deadline my mind was filled with anxious thoughts as I wondered whether my photos would meet expectations, especially after I saw the work of my peers. This was a major emotional hurdle for me.
Fortunately for me, my professor absolutely loved it, but even with the recognition, I still felt empty inside. It hit me that the people who I really wanted to experience my biggest accomplishment yet were nowhere to be found.
Looking back, although it may have hurt tremendously, separa-
tion was essential for our growth as individuals and the development of our futures.
Now, thanks to the faculty and friends in my program, I can finally say that I truly feel like I fit in for the first time in a long time. I always try to remember that letting go means I am learning to accept the journey that lies ahead of me, and even if it may be frightening, chasing the unknown can be the most exciting part of life.
Nina A. Kersnik, she/her, is a reporterforHumberETCcovering sports.
From left, triplets Nina, Amanda and Paulina Kersnik posed with their baby photo.
HUMBERETC/NINA A. KERSNIK
Nina A. Kersnik
Calgary FC beat Forge to the 2024 North Star Cup. It’s up to fans now to support Canada’s soccer pyramid.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/STUART GRADON
Uncreative people use AI
When I was sitting in the back of my writing class last year, I saw almost everyone open up Chat GPT to work on an assignment.
I knew something was wrong.
Ever since generative Artificial Intelligence was released, almost everybody started using it in one way or another.
Essays, math questions, spreadsheets or instant artificial pictures highlight a growing problem, we’re getting lazy.
After all, nobody would want to spend hours and hours painting a masterpiece when you could have anything you can imagine instantly by typing a few words and then clicking a button.
That goes for writing, too, when writing an essay, story, poem, report or anything else when Chat GPT could easily churn out something that might be better than what you could’ve made yourself.
The concerning rise of generative AI programs and tools brings important questions and moral implications to the table.
Obviously, Artificial Intelligence has its benefits as well. It can help streamline work, monitor patients in hospitals, and give qualified therapy to those who need it.
However, when technology is abused to the extent it seems to be, the human touch and the beauty of the soul are constrained and snuffed out by the overwhelming amount of mass-produced art.
Art is not a computer code that makes the most logical rendition of something based on a prompt. It’s something that is made from the soul of a human. Vincent Van Gogh poured his lifelong depression into his work, and Eminem used his extremely rough childhood as inspiration for his songs, Artificial Intelligence cannot experience the
pain and emotion put into art and the effect it could have on people is lost in translation.
Another issue is the erosion of originality.
AI models like Chat GPT or DALLE-E don’t create new work. Whenever it “creates something,” it’s blending countless works of art created by real artists.
According to a recent study presented at the joint conference AI, Ethics, and Society, hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery, artists reported economic losses and reputational harm due to AI-generated works.
Tools like MidJourney and Stable Diffusion, trained on billions of images, often use artists’ works without consent.
This practice not only undermines artists’ livelihoods but also leads to the proliferation of derivative, non-original art, potentially diluting the cultural richness of creative industries.
Then comes the question of ownership, who owns something AI generated? Can an artist sue for infringement? Does the company own the claim to all generated images? These are issues that we have yet to address and until we do the ethics of AI remain cloudy.
Maybe the most troubling prospect of how AI would impact the future would be the replacement of creativity with convenience.
For future generations, they will be flooded with generic AI slop from their education to their music.
What will happen to the joy of effort being paid off? It will be replaced by complacency.
The prospect of AI like this gives the risk that we will become a civilization that covets speed and ease over effort and accomplishment.
Of course, AI can be used as an effective tool in many situations however we have to think critically about it and not praise it as the best tool we have.
We have to consider if we are using AI to enhance our creative process or if we are fully replacing it.
At the end of the day, the messy, unpredictable and bewitchingly flawed process that is human creativity belongs to us and we should not lose it in the continuous race for optimization.
Tait A. Graham, he/him, is a reporter for HumberETCcovering politics.
CUPW strike coverage has failed Canadians
Coming off the recent news that Canada Post, the Crown Corporation, has begun laying off striking workers, many peers of mine, who even call themselves left-wing, were shocked by this development in the strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
This is largely the fault of the media coverage.
It has covered how the strike has inconvenienced social media influencer dogs, letters to Santa and caused billionaires to lose out on sales, along with the valid complaints from Canadians who have important packages, such as passports, halted in the mail since Nov. 15.
But little to no media coverage has gone towards the atrocious conditions many Canadian postal workers live with, causing the strike to be spurred.
CUPW has made their demands very clear. Among them are many reasonable expectations that anyone should expect from an efficient crown corporation: job security, improved protection for employees against harassment and technological change, better medical leave, wages that match inflation and the cost of living, better group benefits coverage, rest and meal periods, improved rights for On Call Relief Employees and maximizing and maintaining eight-hour routes for rural and suburban postal workers.
Little has been talked about in the media about some Canadian Post employees using food banks, precarious pension issues and an overall struggle to meet the cost of living.
While Canadian Post has been struggling financially, its solutions have not helped much with its insistence on using gig workers to fill a labour void.
When these two groups came together to negotiate and end the strike, what happened? Eight days of negotiation changed nothing. Canada Post left the table and stated that both parties needed to reconsider their positions shortly before laying employees off in what has been described as a scare tactic reminiscent of Reagan’s treatment of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) in 1981.
While PATCO workers were not allowed to return to work in any federal service, David Doorey, a York University professor in work law, has clarified in a blog that the law is clear on the point of striking workers having job rights entitling them to return to work after the conclusion of a strike.
Doorey voiced befuddlement at both Canada Post’s strategy in the treatment of CUPW workers and the legality of it. Large publications such as the Toronto Star bury this fact on the 16th page rather than on the cover with the majority of the printed story.
These private media enterprises cover the workers’ issues closer to how the robber barons of the Gilded Age would when journalistically integral reporters wish for the masses who hark to them to be properly informed of all the information they need to have an informed opinion.
Canadian media seems to have missed the story of this labour dispute. This isn’t only about numbers but also about how some Crown Corporation employees rely on social assistance despite having a job. Santa may not get his letters, but these workers have risked their Christmases to get a better deal.
The importance of proper dissemination of information has never been more pressing on the national conscious, and contemporary media has shown it cannot deliver anything but catchy headlines and half-baked coverage.
Asher Lowry Klaver, they/them, is the opinioneditoratHumberETCandcovers politicalandculturalissues.
Tait A. Graham
The media coverage of CUPW’s strike has failed to inform the public of the worker’s struggle.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/DARRYL DYCK
Asher Klaver
Hawks volleyball teams dominate Menkeepimprovingastheyperform
Valencia Amore HumberETC Sports
The Humber Hawks men’s volleyball team defeated the Conestoga Condors on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to three games.
The Condors offered the Hawks a strong challenge, but Humber players kept their cool and showed excellent teamwork to finish the season undefeated. The Hawks now boast a 10-0 record, the only undefeated Ontario College Athletic Association team.
But despite its blank sheet, the team is fourth in the national rankings.
Second-year player Caleb Huot noticed their opponent’s attitude toward competition in Wednesday’s match.
“Obviously we’re undefeated right now, but we came into this game knowing they’re going to come out strong, which they did. They came out strong, but we held our own, and we just played hard,” Huot said.
There were solid serves and strong defensive efforts from the Condors, but the Hawks immediately away established their dominance in the opening set.
The tone of the game was established by Humber’s skill to take advantage of the Condors’ mistakes.
The Hawks kept control thanks to crucial plays from Huot and steady scoring from outside hitter
Kyle Gray-Phillips.
“Going out there, playing my game and staying composed,” Gray-Phillips said of his mindset toward the match versus the Condors.
Humber kept up its rhythm thanks to his persistent focus, especially in the second and third sets, intense strikes in the third quarter of the game.
Conestoga tried to match Humber’s speed with hard serves and fast attacks, but the Condors’ attempts were blocked by the Hawks’ defensive and skillful block-work.
Humber’s confidence was on its highest level by the third set, when they won smoothly to end the match. The Hawks took the series 25-22, 25-23 and 25-18.
Conestoga pressured the Hawks to play at their highest level, but Humber won because of their determination and teamwork, Huot said.
“As a team, we motivate each other every single day at practice, and it’s that dedication and hard work that guides the team’s performance,” he said.
Throughout the game, the
Hawks showed their flexibility, a defining characteristic of their success this year.
Their complete roster ensures each player plays a part in their wins, creating an extensive and flexible team dynamic.
The Hawks are becoming stronger every game and are firmly focused on having a season worthy of winning the championship.
As they prepare for their upcoming game against St. Clair Saints in Windsor, Ont., this Saturday, the Hawks want to keep up their winning streak. Their undefeated record and desire for a championship season will likely be tested once more in this match-up.
The Humber Hawks volleyball teams are each off to undefeated 10-0 starts to their regular seasons. Despite this, each team is ranked fourth on the official CCAA rankings. The teams faced the Conestoga
OCAA with matching 10-0 starts Womenplayingwithconfidence
Valencia Amore HumberETC Sports
The Humber Hawks women’s volleyball team finished an intense match against the Conestoga Condors on Wednesday night, maintaining its clean sheet with a 10-0 record. And, just like the men’s team, they hold the fourth spot in the national rankings.
The Hawks proved why they are among the league’s best teams with their strong play and consistent aggression during the first set of the game with 27 points and leaving Conestoga, now with a 3-8 record, with 17 points.
The match showed Humber’s ability to maintain its composure despite Conestoga’s difficult challenge.
“I think we came out confident but not overly confident,” fourth-year player Averi Bodner said. “We know how to play Humber volleyball, and we just stuck to that even when was close, we just kept pushing.”
The Hawks took control of the game early by using their quick serves and strong blocking to keep the Condors off edge.
Hannah Manners provided six points in the first set.
Humber took the second set 25-19 and secured the sweep with another 25-19 set.
Conestoga was able to hold the score close for periods of time, but Humber’s consistency and coordination ensured they kept things under control.
“We play a really aggressive style of volleyball our last match we never really did that, so today we wanted to be really aggressive and high compound,” head coach Chris Walkins said.
Humber’s strength was shown by players from both starters and bench players, while the Condors were kept on the defensive by powerful offensive plays.
Humber’s position as one of the league’s strongest teams grew stronger with the victory, but they face a challenge this weekend in Windsor, Ont., in a battle of two undefeated teams, the 9-0 St. Clair Saints.
Seneca women’s team is the third undefeated team this season, currently with an 11-0 record.
The Hawks’ recent play shows not only their athletic ability but their capacity to bounce back on the court.
The next home game for the Hawks is Jan. 2 against the Redeemer Royals, currently 4-5.
The Hawks were able to adjust to every challenge Conestoga threw at them with ease, whether it was through strong kills or calculated defensive plays in the third set.
Conestoga Condors at home on campus on Nov. 27, as both teams took down the school from Kitchener, Ont., by a score of 3-0 each. Hawks travel next to Windsor, Ont., facing St. Clair College on Nov. 30.
Averi Bodner, a fourth-year player.
Humber Esports hopeful despite tourney loss
Gabriel Noda
Julia-Marie Ilano
HumberETC Esports
Humber Esports failed in its bid to win in the Canadian Esports National tournament, losing two of three in a roundrobin earlier this week.
Humber lost on Monday to Western University and then lost its opportunity to advance by losing to Carleton University on Wednesday.
This year’s version of the Valorant team had changed its lineup, with Arthur Gaudio and Mohid Ali returning and Shyam Sivachandran being promoted as head coach.
The rest of the team is filled out with the recently added rookies Charles Parsons, Goven Narula, Rafael Lofranco, Michael Xu and Tia Kelsey, the first woman joining the Valorant team for the first time.
An hour before their first official match together, team captain Ali said he wasn’t worried about the changes to the team despite not having enough time to prepare.
“I don’t think Rookies are new to me, I feel like I’ve known them my whole life, honestly,” he said. Ali praised his former teammate Sivachandran on his new coaching position.
“I think he is suited for the job. He has a lot of good views and ideas, and he can apply it really well,” he said.
Gaudio had to tape up his wrist with kinetic tape before the game.
He was Humber’s sentinel, the role of a player who can hold an area.
“In practice, I felt a little pain in my wrist. It kinda bothered me a bit,” he said.
As they headed into the first game location, called the Sunset map, Humber looked to take a fast lead. The Valorant squad led during the first few rounds and looked confident and focused, but Western would come back stronger, taking the lead to make it 4-3.
Sivachandran took a technical timeout due to computer issues after 15 minutes in, allowing Humber to cool down from losing the lead.
The two veterans took the chance to get the team’s energy up as the team had hit an emotional slump.
After the timeout, Humber struggled to get back into the rhythm they first had during the first few rounds, feeling uncoordinated and demotivated due to a lack of preparation for the match.
Western University went on a nine-round streak outplaying Humber, taking map one, making it 1-0.
As the Humber squad entered the second map, Ascent, they started with an aggressive attack against Western. As they head into later rounds, Humber made it a back-and-forth affair, with Parson holding up the weight of the team.
Although Humber Esports looked to stay alive, they ultimately fell short, letting Western University go on another nine-round streak to sweep Humber into the loser’s bracket.
Despite fearing elimination, Humber was anything but scared about going against Carleton University for their second match on Wednesday.
This time, the team had an energy shift and exchanged playful banter before discussing strategies.
Ali said the members had good vibes.
“We’re correcting a lot of the mistakes that we made on Monday, and they’re really cracking down on their timings, their trades, and their comms,” he said before the next match against Carleton.
Although the full roster was present on Wednesday, the main lineup prioritized the rookie players.
Gaudio and Ali said they wanted to give newer players more experience and help Sivachandran coach the showdown.
The five-player team consisted of Xu, Kelsey, Parson, Lofranco and Narula.
Sivachandran said the team played as the characters they were more comfortable with.
For the first set against Carleton, the varsity team plans to rely on Lofranco, Xu and Narula.
The game opened with the map Ascent for the second time in their run.
The team’s positive attitude quickly dissipated as Carleton took a strong lead against Humber.
“You guys are overthinking a lot of things. I think you guys are stressing out too much. Don’t think too much,” Sivachandran said during a timeout.
Even with these reassurances, Humber ultimately lost the first game with a heartbreaking score of 1-13.
Players were quiet as they processed the results during the short break before the second game with the Split map.
The veteran players and coach
Sivachandran worked with the team to bring energy and morale back up so they could figure out a new strategy.
The team noticed Carleton preferred to sneak in the middle of the map and overwhelm the Humber squad.
Although Xu was the team’s lead, Parsons aided in calling out and directing the team. Kelsey clutched for her team twice, meaning she was the last survivor of Humber’s team as Carleton’s squad picked off her teammates.
She didn’t let her fellow players down and left them leaping out of their chairs and cheering because she “clutched up” to keep the team alive in the match for as long as she could.
Despite the valiant efforts, Humber lost to Carleton with a score of 2-0.
Lofranco said the experience was good preparation for one of the biggest global collegiate tournaments, College Valorant, next semester.
“I’m honestly glad of the things we got done today. We’re a new team, so we’re going to have to work on polishing our [strategies] and working on our mental [morale] together,” Lofranco said.
Xu said the team plans to play smaller tournaments to prepare for College Valorant. He said he expects to lose more before they win, but he’s happy with the team.
“Success comes with time, and it’s unfortunate that we didn’t come in with a bang,” he said. “But there are opportunities ahead. We’re going to capitalize on that.”
Humber Esports Valorant team at the Canadian Esports National tournament at Humber BCTI on Nov. 25.
HUMBERETC/GABRIEL
The full Humber Esports Valorant roster of the 2024-2025 season. From bottom left, clockwise, Arthur Gaudio, Shyam Sivachandran, Michael Xu, Tia Kelsey, Rafael Lofranco, Mohid Ali, Govin Narula and Charles Parsons.
HUMBERETC/JULIA-MARIE ILANO
Game Changers challenge gender norms
Julia-Marie Ilano HumberETC Esports
When Caitlyn “CaitlynGG” Groff was first approached about joining Ontario Tech Student Union’s inclusive esports team, she accepted without hesitation.
Although OTSU offered a varsity team for Valorant, a game changers (GC) team was different. It’s a team solely for women and marginalized genders and it was more appealing than the typical predominantly male varsity teams.
“I felt like it would be a more friendly market. It’s a place where I can actually meet more friends rather than just game with them, [compared to] joining the regular Valorant team with a bunch of dudes, that wasn’t for me,” Groff said.
First developed in 2023, OTSU’s Purple Team is one of the few GC teams that exists within the collegiate esports space.
Ontario has 23 public universities and 24 public colleges. Of the 47 schools, only 36 have an esports club or varsity team supported by the schools.
Based on information from past Esports Canada games, a not-forprofit national competitive esports organization, and respective school websites, 63.8 per cent of schools that offer an esports club
also offer a varsity team.
Despite this, the number of GC teams offered within the collegiate space is slim.
Aurora Series is the only GC collegiate competition offered in North America. Past competitors highlight the Ontario schools that support collegiate GC teams.
Of the 30 schools that offer varsity esports teams, only 20 per cent have a GC team.
Some schools, such as Humber’s Esports Program, allow everyone to play together. For instance, this year’s roster includes Humber’s first female player in Valorant, Tia Kelsey.
Simply introducing women into male-dominated spaces, however, is not enough. The second-year esthetician student said it feels more empowering to play with a team of like-minded individuals.
“We understand each other, we know how shitty the game can be to us and how sexist people naturally are,” Kelsey said. “It’s amazing. It feels like making a difference just doing that.”
Groff said the treatment of marginalized genders within these spaces shows why GC teams are necessary.
Groff said when playing games with other people, those with marginalized genders are treated negatively in games by “toxic teammates.”
“If you’re performing badly due to your toxic teammates, they’re not going to see you as a proper player,” Groff said, “I don’t have the same opportunity to rank up as other people do because I’m a woman.”
Groff said people’s attitudes towards GC teams are often negative as well, with the Purple Team’s male counterparts often getting more opportunities in the spotlight.
“[The male varsity team] gets more time on streams, they get more overall promotion, and the GC team is kind of swept under the rug,” Groff said.
Instances of women not being taken seriously are reasons why people such as Queenie “sriracha” Chen, past player and OTSU’s Purple Team administrator, want people to pay attention to OTSU’s GC team.
“Nobody really takes the GC team seriously, even though they should,” Chen said. “I definitely see a lot of potential [in our players] that people choose to ignore just because we’re females.”
Despite these challenges, GC outside of the collegiate sphere has been gaining more attention within the mainstream esports sphere.
Riot Games Inc., developers
of Valorant, holds a global Game Changers tournament annually. The VALORANT Game Changers Championship was held earlier this month in Berlin, and the American Canadian GC team, Shopify Rebellion (SR) won.
ScantheQRcodetoreadmore aboutwomenandtransgamers.
Q&A: Player Tia Kelsey on claiming her turf
Humber Esport’s varsity team Valorant recently recruited its first female player, Tia Kelsey.
Kelsey is the team’s Controller, a role that relies on taking advantage of map sites from the other team through character utilities. With a background in low-tiered Game Changers teams, esports teams for margin-
alized genders, Humber Et Cetera sat down with the Esthetician student. She spoke about the challenges women and marginalized genders face from their male counterparts during pug matches and tournaments.
Humber ETC.: What was your experience like with GC teams before Humber?
Tia Kelsey: It was really hard to win. Honestly, it was really demotivating because I never had a finalized roster or anything.
We had to constantly pug (pickup) members and teammates and have trials. My old teammate and I, Shinx, would try to build teammates and it would just never happen. It was really exhausting but I kept trying because I was like, oh, I must have potential. Now, I’m on collegiate, and I was like, I’m just going to take a break from GC because the team itself is very hard to develop in general. GC is kind of dying.
Humber ETC.: Why do you think it’s difficult for GC to thrive compared to the typical male-dominated rosters?
Kelsey: GC is not as popular as male-oriented teams. It’s very hard to compete in an area that’s not as known or preached like male teams. I also feel like I don’t see a lot of co-ed teams. It’s why I’m all collegiate now. It’s a really big deal to me because I feel like in collegiate, there’s not enough women on teams at all, or marginalized genders. I really want to make a difference, and I really want to make it far. I was originally a sub, actually, and then I argued that ‘Oh, I don’t deserve that,’ even though everyone’s really good, and I actually argued my way into the main roster. And the point I made was, I want to make a difference as a woman in a collegiate team.
Humber ETC.: How do you feel about
marginalized genders not being taken seriously within the esports space?
Kelsey: I feel like I always have to prove something. Like, I always have to prove that I am good enough to be here and that I’m good enough to play. Even just playing games normally, I always feel like I have to do good, or else I’m going to face people calling me boosted or just sexist comments in general because I’m a girl playing the game, you know. So, I think girls and marginalized genders get overlooked a lot in competitive scenes because they’re just seen as not good enough. And that’s just not true. Even with “flor” being the main example of a trans woman who’s insane at the game, people still try to beat her down, and it always has to do because of her gender.
Caitlyn Groff plays for the Ontario Tech Student Union’s inclusive esports team since its launch last year.
HUMBERETC/JULIA-MARIE ILANO
Julia-Marie Ilano HumberETC Esports Tia Kelsey
HUMBER ET CETERA SPORTS VOLLEYBALL JUGGERNAUTS
