WHO IS AMY? 5
the newspaper University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly
April 1, 2011
Vol. XXXIII N0. 22
Protesters really want Munk Out of UofT BrainFit
lab puts thinking cap on for head injury prevention
President Naylor’s lecture interrupted by anti-corporate banner drop LESLIE CHEN
HELEN STOLTE
BODI BOLD
Members from the Peter Munk Out of U of T initiative were present for U of T President David Naylor’s guest lecture on Monday to spread the word on their stance against the gold mining giant. Naylor was at Con Hall to lecture for the first-year political science class and was interrupted as a banner dropped from behind him, hanging off a third floor balcony reading “Munk OUT of U of T.” Peter Munk is the founder and chairman of Barrick Gold, the largest gold mining company in the world. The company has been under a lot of scrutiny following reports of abusing human rights laws and harming the environment in countries where they mine. Munk is also the benefactor behind the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, established through his recent $35 million donation, which has lead to implications of the company’s influence and vested interest on academics and global
policy curriculum. Protesters from the initiative chose this lecture to make their point against Munk because the president was responsible,
in part, for the approval of the school’s contract with the benefactor. Monday’s banner drop was led by first year political science
student Juan, who asked not to have his last name published. The protesters were originally Continued on page 3
U of T panel opens up discussion on the situation in Palestine “No Health in Occupation” looks at public health issues faced by the Palestinian people “In total darkness, even a candle makes a difference.” Such were the the words of Dr. Atif Kubursi, Professor of Economics at McMaster University and guest speaker at the panel discussion “No Health in Occupation.” The event, organized by the grad student group Public Health Social Justice Collective, gave insight into the declining living standards of the Palestinian people based on the testimonies of a panel of experts. The panelists included Dr. Ruchama Marton, founder
and president of Physicians for Human Rights-, and Dr. Abdel Rahman Lawendy, who, in 2008, was part of an international medical team to Gaza during the Israeli military effort “Operation Cast Lead.” The PHSJC, a group of politically active graduate students at U of T, organized this dialogue with the aim of conducting an “open and honest discussion of the public health responses to the Israel-Palestinian responses.” Andrea Albagli, serving as moderator, opened up dialogue Continued on page 3
BODI BOLD
ANIMESH ROY
Ruchama Marton, founder and President of Physician for Human Rights and keynote speaker of the lecture.
Hockey without fighting and body checking…would just be figure skating. Yet, receiving a hard blow to the head or being pressed into the boards can cause severe head injuries. PhD student and occupational therapist Nicolas Reed and Michelle Keightley, an assistant professor and clinician, of U of T’s BrainFit laboratory are measuring head impacts in hockey players aged 8-14 in order to determine how to better prevent and treat concussions. Reed and Keightley equipped players’ helmets with six sensor pads, each about the size of a pager, to measure the magnitude of acceleration and the location of head impact during games. Data was wirelessly transmitted to laptops operated by grad students Michelle Mohan and Monica Lau sitting in the stands. The BrainFit study, now in its fourth and final year, is “an initial step towards a greater understanding of head impacts in minor ice hockey,” Keightley says. “The most important thing regarding concussions is education about signs and symptoms. People must realize that even if it seems mild, parents and coaches must exercise caution when a child has a concussion. Most importantly, the child should not continue playing the game after obtaining such an injury”. Recovery time from concusContinued on page 2