January 17, 2013 by The Newspaper

the newspaper

The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly

UTSU takes step toward electoral reform You still don’t have to show up to vote Isaac Thornley The agenda for the next General Meeting was contested at the UTSU Board of Director’s meeting Monday. Two by-law amendments were proposed: an item to prohibit proxy voting was rejected, but decreasing the amount of signatures necessary for nomination as an executive candidate will be discussed at the February 5 meeting. Larger issues, namely electoral reform and online voting, were absent from Monday’s meeting, but Corey Scott, VP Internal assured the newspaper that electoral reform will be on the

Since 1978

VOL XXXV Issue 17 • January 10, 2013

Why TDSB director Chris Spence wouldn’t survive U of T in the 21st century p3

GM’s agenda. The last GM came to an abrupt halt when the agenda was voted down within thirty minutes of the meeting’s commencement, prompting the unusual scenario of having a GM in February. Two motions submitted by Sam Greene, Head of Trinity College Meeting, sought to amend UTSU by-laws so as to prohibit proxy voting by its board members and to halve the number of nomination signatures required to run for executive positions, from 200 to 100. Proposals for by-law amendments must first

cont’d page 2 KALEENA STASIAK

It’s a no pants party, and you’re invited, U of T Sex Education Centre to hold Awareness event at local sex club Campus is abuzz regarding “Sexy Social”, the upcoming U of T Sexual Education Centre event on Monday, January 21. Clothing is optional and sex, while not explicitly encouraged, is openly welcomed. To debut its annual Sexual Awareness Week, the SEC has rented out Oasis Aqualounge, which bills itself as “an adventurous place to sun, soak and explore your sexuality.”

Located a stone’s throw from both Church and Wellesley and St. George campus, the SEC hopes students will “come out and enjoy all the amenities of Toronto’s best sex club.” Although the event starts at 11am, clothes must remain firmly affixed until seven pm. In response to a Toronto Star inquiry, external education and outreach coordinator Dylan Tower stated, “there is not any type of ‘you should be having sex when you’re here.’ It’s very

much, come and enjoy the space. There’s not prodding or pushing in that [sexual] direction.” As an affiliate of the U of T Student Union, the SEC commands a 25 cent levy from undergraduate student fees. The club delivers educational talks and provides workshops and counselling, in addition to free safesex supplies. According to their website, their principal mission is to provide a non-judgemental space in which positive sex conversations can be held.

Some conservative observers are beginning to question whether the Oasis event is taking a step too far in the SEC’s quest for de-stigmatization. National Post columnist Barbara Kay goes so far as to refer to the event as “tarted-up promotion of voyeurism.” Similar voices are wondering whether the groups official funding entails a duty to uphold some sort of social norm. Holding a nude event is one thing, but could permitting (and by extension, encouraging)

sex at the event cross the line? In response to a second question posed by the Star regarding U of T’s stance on the event, a spokesperson for the SEC responded “the University will not attempt to censor, control or interfere with any group on the basis of its philosophy, beliefs, interests or opinions expressed, unless and until these lead to activities which are illegal or BODI BOLD

Emerson Vandenberg

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THE NEWS

January 10, 2013

Schoolyard affair II

Op-ed: the teachers should forget the Liberals

Sebastian Greenholtz The Liberals and the teachers’ unions have had a good run together; education reform used to be a big Liberal priority, and the teachers responded with votes. However the era of a Liberalteacher partnership has come to an end. The Liberals are no friends of labour. Liberals have sold out the unions, passed austerity measures, and championed a kind of anti-reform with the passage of Bill 115, which cuts pay and benefits as well as limiting the right of teachers to strike. This is only one in a series of cuts to workers across the board, from massive back-to-work laws to making workers pay 50% of their pension costs and freezing social assistance rates. The Liberals justify their cuts in the name of “balancing the budget”, but for workers struggling with a 4% inflation for food, electricity, and gasoline in Ontario, the province’s bank accounts are

definitely second in importance to their own. The teachers should recognize their position as workers just as much as the barista at Starbucks or the lathe turner in a factory in Brampton or Mississauga are workers, albeit with more training than the average worker. This is by no means to diminish the importance of teachers in our society; in fact, quite the opposite. What if kids didn’t learn to read and write, think critically about the world around them, dream of improving the world we live in based on the achievements of the past? Workers are the backbone, the cornerstone, the base of everything we do and everything we are, and teachers are an essential part of that base. So why should the teachers forget about the Liberals? Why should all workers forget about the Liberals? Because they are not a party of the workers, for the workers. It’s in the name - “liberal” comes from an eco-

the newspaper is the University of Toronto’s independent weekly paper, published since 1978. VOL XXXV No. 17 Editor-in-Chief Cara Sabatini

Copy Editors Sydney Gautreau

Managing Editor Helene Goderis

Web Editor Joe Howell

News Editor Yukon Damov

Comment Editor Dylan Hornby

Associate News Editors Sebastian Greenholtz Emerson Vandenberg

Contributors

Arts Editor VACANT Photo Editor Bodi Bold Illustrations Editor Nick Ragetli

Jonas Becker, Bodi Bold, Sarah Boivin, Sinead Doherty-Grant, Lou Doyon, Sydney Gautreau, Sebastian Greenholtz, Jack Grobe, Dylan Hornby, Joe Howell, Lauren Mansfield, Adam Oliver, Nick Ragetli, Kaleena Stasiak, Kelsey Stasiak, Fatima Syed, Isaac Thornley, Emerson Vandenberg, Rhiannon White

nomic ideology specifically aiding the capitalists in making profits. The Liberal Party agenda, as shown by the Ontario budget, attacks workers’ salaries and benefits, while allowing for bailouts for Bay Street capitalists. The New Democratic Party, on the other hand, is a labour party built by the unions in the 1960s specifically to represent the workers themselves and to fight for a worker-oriented agenda. They clearly have the teachers’ rights in mind: the Ontario New Democrats voted against Bill 115 across the board and passed an official opposition resolution. The NDP has problems to be sure, and the party’s right wing has made concessions to austerity, but with strong union support - and not just the labour leaders but the rank-and-file themselves, who tend to be more radical and class conscious than the leaders, and have a better chance of pushing the NDP back to real left politics. If we work together in solidarity, calling for policies that recognize that the world cannot operate without workers, and those workers will not work if not given their fair due, we can win.

from “electoral reform” pass through the Board of Directors before going to the GM. The first motion, with an ensuing debate that lasted over an hour, was eventually voted down. Support for the motion claimed that proxy voting encourages absenteeism because it allows representatives the freedom of not showing up to meetings while still having their votes cast. Arguments against the motion drew on notions of accessibility and quality of constituent representation. Many on the board argued that to eliminate the right to proxy votes was both unfair to representatives, who might be commuters or have busy school schedules, and to the students being represented, who without proxy votes would not have their voices heard at all. The second motion to reduce the number of nomination signatures, was carried, barely squeaking over the three-quarters majority vote required to add it to the meeting’s agenda. “I think it’s a win to lower the number of nominations required because it will make elections more accessible and it will decrease some of the electoral controversy we’ve seen over the last few years,” commented Sam Greene after the vote, “but this

from “sex club” which infringe on rights and freedoms.” Corey Scott, current U of T Students Union VP-internal and former VP-internal coordinator for LGBTOUT, a U of T student group aimed at supporting varying sexual identities on campus, asked in an interview “Why are people focusing on concerns of there being an orgy? The event was initially shaped to take a closer look at the stigmatization of certain sexual identities.” Citing a mistake that most people seem to adopt when made aware of the permissibility of sexual acts at Oasis, Scott insisted that the event is precisely about “removing the social rhetoric that hurts people with varying sexual identities.”

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In upcoming news, UTSU will announce the Chief Returning Officer for this year’s general election. The identity of the CRO has been a controversial topic in years past, receiving criticism for being partial to the incumbents. UTSU will also receive a report from a lawyer who they hired to look into the legality of their election rules.

Folks gather poolside at Oasis Aqualounge, 231 Mutual St, Toronto, ON.

Banner photo: Lou Doyon the newspaper 1 Spadina Crescent Suite 245 Toronto, ON M5S 1A1

doesn’t even come close to addressing the concerns that were raised at the last AGM.” Rishi Maharaj from the Engineering Society was both critical and sympathetic of the UTSU, stating, “The UTSU could rightly say that they can’t go ahead and change their whole electoral process a month before their elections.” He then added, “There is a sort of paradox where a lot of these changes, for example if you look at proxies, are things that are meant to change the balance of power. But, naturally things that are meant to change the balance of power are unlikely to be implemented by people who are benefitting from the current arrangement.” The UTSU executives are currently in the process of finalizing the GM’s agenda.

The field trip to Oasis Aqua Lounge takes place on Monday, January 21. Admission is $5. 19+

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THE NEWS

School Board director resigns amidst plagiarism scandal While technology catches students, op-ed slips by Lauren Mansfield The director of the Toronto District School Board, Chris Spence, resigned after admitting to plagiarizing an opinion piece he wrote for the Toronto Star. This is not just a one-time occurrence; Spence has been found to frequently “borrow” from other works in his articles. Students must adhere to strict anti-plagiarism rules, and the hypocrisy pushed Spence to resignation. The article that provoked the scandal and investigation, titled “Without school sports, everyone loses,” was constructed from various different sources, including two paragraphs directly copied from a similar article previously published in the New York Times. While Spence admitted to the plagiarism, he offered no explanation. In his letter of resignation to the school

board, Spence stated, “My life’s work has been education, and the education of young people. More than anything else, I regret that I have not set a good or proper example for the many thousands of young people I’ve been privileged to meet and know.” In the latest development of the scandal, U of T launched an investigation into the authenticity of Spence’s 1996 PhD dissertation, and as per the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters his diploma could be revoked if found to be in violation. Although it is still under review, thestar.com reports that in the first 19 pages of the paper they have found five instances of plagiarized work. With the advent of the Internet and the increase of research done online, today’s student has access to previously unimaginable quantities of information. However, has

this accessibility of information led to more plagiarism? “It is hard to say what is the perpetuating instance [causing plagiarism],” commented Jason Chu, the Senior Education Manager of Turnitin. com, the database U of T uses for plagiarism detection. “You can’t point a finger at just one factor - there are many cultural and institutional factors at play that provide additional motivation to plagiarize or use content inappropriately.” In recent years universities have heavily cracked down on plagiarism, and students at U of T frequently must use the program Turnitin to submit assignments. When a paper is submitted it gets compared to an expansive archive of Internet pages, student papers and journal articles, and indicates parts of the student’s paper that match text in the system. If submitted to Turnitin, Spen-

ce’s copy-and-paste tactics would undoubtedly have been caught. Concerning the Spence plagiarism scandal, Chu added, “I think that the public has at large a really low tolerance for plagiarism...particularly from public officials and especially in areas such as education. If you are a public figure, the public is going to find you out.” The case of Chris Spence is just one of the increasing number of authors and officials to be uncovered by attentive readers as serial plagiarizers. With modern technology, all it takes is a little digging by someone who was paying attention and whole careers can become unravelled. Hopefully with an increased awareness of plagiarism and tools available to detect it, Spence’s kind won’t be able to slip by unnoticed any longer.

Governing Council closed to international students, despite numbers Share of financial pie: Art Sci

Large percentage, high tuition, no candidacy Sebastian Greenholtz On Tuesday, January 15, nominations closed for upcoming Governing Council elections, but none of the names submitted are international students. According to the email announcing the elections, students are only eligible to serve if they are Canadian citizens in a full- or part-time degree program. Most of those looking to run may fit the bill, but a significant portion of U of T’s student body is barred from leadership. The rule comes from the University of Toronto Act, legislation passed in 1971 that redefined the governing structure of the university by creating the Governing Council. The Act defines the specifications for all positions on the Council, including the provision that “No person shall serve as a member of the Governing Council unless he is a Canadian citizen.” However this Act, which remains the basis of U of T governance, has not evolved along with the changing composition of the student body. The

number of international students at U of T has increased every year; in nine years international enrollment increased by almost 5000. These numbers are significant when comparing differences in tuition. This year, first year international students in the Faculty of Arts and Science, the least expensive faculty, pay $28 409 per year, while domestic students only pay $5695. Even with international enrollment at a little over 11 per cent, the university makes almost the same amount off of each body of students. The duties of the Governing Council include “management and control of the University[‘s] … revenues” and “invest[ment] of all money that comes into its hands,” according to the University of Toronto Act. Therefore a large part of the university’s tuition revenue comes from a group who have no say in how that revenue is used. Though they are stakeholders, international students have no say in how the university is governed. A weblog from April 2012 from the office of the presi-

Total Arts & Science tuition

International tuition 45.6% Domestic tuition 55.4%

Total Arts & Science students

International students 15.8% Domestic students 84.2%

Using 2011-2012 numbers from UToronto budgetary reports and tuition listings, the average tuition paid by the current student was calculated and multiplied by the number of international versus domestic students. NB: Resulting figures are estimates based on available stats. dent mentions that “Many members of the university community would argue that recruiting and educating international students is indeed part of our ‘core business’.” As part of that business, the university actively recruits international students. Tara Egan Wu, International Recruitment Officer for Arts and Science, said in an email to the newspaper, “We go to countries where we get a lot of students ... and also may strategically visit countries where we hope to increase yield (number of students who accept their offers), or number of applications.” No plans are in the works for opening up the Governing Council to international

students. In 2007 a Task Force on Governance reviewed the practices of the Governing Council and reported on necessary reforms. While the Canadian citizenship clause was mentioned, the report stated, “We would emphasize that we have encountered no compelling evidence to open the Act at this time.” However the Task Force suggested that in the more distant future these changes could be pursued. As the university continues to increase the number and percentage of international students, the need for this reform may become more apparent. Until then, look forward to the upcoming elections, maple leaf approved.

the briefs ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ invades Toronto

Dozens of pantless commuters rode the city’s subway Sunday afternoon, participating in the annual event that asks random travellers to board public transit without trousers. The purpose of this exercise is admittedly non-existent. TTC security was on hand, but did not reprimand the exhibitionist commuters. Despite the mild weather, only about 60 people boarded the rocket with bare legs. Citizens of London and Mexico City, who also participated, drew numbers in the hundreds.

Jodie Foster rocks crowd with confessional acceptance speech

The acclaimed actress, best known for her roles in The Silence of the Lambs and Nell, made a startling admission at Sunday’s Golden Globes awards, revealing, with the use of allusion and metaphor, that she is a lesbian. “I’m just going to put it out there, all nice and proud… I’m single.” In receiving the Lifetime of Cinematic Achievement Award, Foster fooled no one with her misleading punch-line, adding “I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago.”

First video footage of giant squid in natural habitat

Japanese scientists have finally videotaped one of the world’s largest, and yet most elusive creatures. The giant squid, known most famously for supposedly inspiring stories of the Kraken, lives near the ocean floor and rarely comes near the surface. Using a deep-sea camera apparatus, known as the Medusa, researchers have live footage of the giant squid living in its natural environment. The video is available on many news sites. -Emerson Vandenberg

THE DEBATE

January 17, 2013

Haiti, foreign aid on thin ice? MOTION: Foreign aid is “nuts” when we’re struggling at home. - Don Cherry Last week, Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry railed against the amount of money Canada’s government spends on foreign aid. He called it “nuts” that Canadians can suffer from long hospital wait times and other service shortfalls, yet can give over $50 million in aid to Haiti following a devastating earthquake in 2010. Should Canada continue current relief efforts? Or should we rethink how we spend our money overseas?

Society demonizes the cheap -- just look at how we revile Ebenezer Scrooge. It is accordingly an unspoken rule in our society that charity is good, regardless of circumstance. The righteousness of giving to the poor has been ingrained in the North American zeitgeist from different sources over time ranging from the works of Dickens to contemporary television commercials. The result is that as a nation we give to the global poor in the form of foreign aid. In our quest to propagate the zeitgeist’s view on charity, we lambast those who challenge it while ignoring the virtue of thrift. When hockey commentator Don Cherry challenged the charity-loving zeitgeist by questioning the prudence of foreign aid when need is present in this country, the media ripped him apart. Let us put aside emotions and passions and pretend we have not seen those “a dollar a day” commercials soundtracked by “Amazing Grace” or an emotionally ripe Sarah McLachlan song and look at the facts. In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, Canada gave away almost five billion dollars, including more than 226 million to Haiti. This has done virtually nothing. In contrast to the first round of reactive aid that stabilized the country and saved lives, the following waves of money have done little. Even former GovernorGeneral and current UNESCO special envoy for Haiti Michaëlle Jean has admitted that change i s needed in the way that taxpayer money is allocated. The current policy on foreign aid has not done much since it was begun. While reactive, short-term foreign aid to disaster stricken zones has saved lives and helped create

stability, long-term aid does comparatively little. Compare the countries Canada was giving aid to fifty years ago with today’s recipients: they are pretty much the same. Moreover, while you are looking at today’s recipients of aid, take a close look at the names; for 2009-2010, we even gave aid to Russia, Syria (pre-revolt), Burma, North Korea, and Iran. If anyone reading thinks aid to those countries helped anyone who was not listed in the army, let this be a firm reality check. Long-term foreign aid is useless, and our current strategy does not actually help those in need. Further, it realistically does little to raise nations out of poverty. Our nation cannot continue to give foreign aid in the manner that we currently do, which is akin to throwing money into a burning house in order to douse the flames. In this regard, Cherry is correct.

Jonas Becker The recent spate of incendiary remarks made by Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry has thrust the issue of foreign aid into the public spotlight. Cherry’s position is supported by Minister of International Cooperation Julian Fantino, who announced on January 8 that he would be slashing all further funding of reconstruction efforts due to corruption and a slow progress rate. While some of these concerns have merit, Canada should not panic and abandon its international obligations. To contextualize the issue, it is important to remember the sheer scope of the devastation that was unleashed on Haiti in 2010. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed over 300,000 people, left a further 1.5 million

homeless, and wrecked Haiti’s fragile public infrastructure along with its already struggling government bureaucracies. As countries around the world -Canada included -- pledged to help rebuild the shattered country, waves of violence and looting began. Sanitation and crime remain major problems in Haiti, yet, despite Fantino’s reservations, progress has been made. Over 1,000,000 homes have been rebuilt, and the country is slowly recovering economically. Such a complex reconstruction will require not only time, money and effort, but also patience. Progress will realistically remain slow for years to come, but this is expected from a country that has experienced such catastrophe. Furthermore, Canadians pride themselves in being seen as a responsible member of the international community, often responding to requests for aid and others forms of support. If Canada writes off reconstruction efforts in Haiti as a lost cause, how will we be remembered by future generations? Will we be the country that abandoned the citizens of Haiti in their hour of greatest need? Cherry’s comments encapsulate a reactionary and selfish viewpoint on the issue of foreign aid versus domestic problems. It is prudent to remember that historically Canada, too, has benefitted from international generosity. After the Halifax Explosion of 1917, casualties would have been much worse due to winter without the prompt and generous aid from the city of Boston. Perhaps the future will see countries who currently require aid in a position to help Canada. Let us not give them a reason to ignore us.

RHIANNON WHITE

Jack Grobe

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THE INSIDE

University degree or reality TV? CBC series Dragon’s Den reflects harsh climate for Canadian youths seeking venture capital

Student entrepreneurs pitch their plans to ‘Dragon’ Kevin O’Leary, hoping for a little peace, love and venture capital. Fatima Syed On Monday, January 14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the government’s $400 million plan to help increase private-sector investments in the next seven to ten years. According to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the Venture Capital Action Plan aims to provide financial support and strategic incentive to young entrepreneurs to focus their creativity and ingenuity into the local economy, lest they be lost to larger American enterprises. Harper’s announcement was made on the set of the Frenchlanguage version of the popular Canadian television series, Dragons’ Den, now in its seventh season. Harper was reported to have said, “It’s a very popular show. One that my own family watches quite often.” The set was a fitting backdrop as the show’s popularity and number of seasons is indicative of Canada’s interest in fostering an entrepreneurial climate. Modeled on the concept of venture capitalism, the first six

seasons saw approximately five million dollars worth of Dragon investment in over forty businesses. The seventh season has exponentially seen eighty-seven handshake deals worth more than 13 million dollars. The Den has become a national forum and standard for business, entrepreneurship, and innovation. In turn this has forced change in business curriculums across the country and affected the aspirations of entrepreneurial children and adults alike. There has been a shift in mentality about the valuation of companies credited to the pedagogical element of the program; it is teaching Canadians to be realistic about their company’s worth. In a phone interview with the newspaper, associate producer Richard Maerov credits the show’s success to relatability and innovations: “I think the secret is that everyone has a business idea that they think would be a success … seeing fellow Canadians come on and turn their ideas into actual businesses allows them to live vicariously

through them.” Maerov added, the secret is that “[the show has] somehow found a way to make business entertaining -- and for the most part business is boring -- by showcasing ... how people have put everything they have into making their dreams come true.” Dragons’ Den is “as close to reality TV as you’re going to get,” said Maerov. The initial pitches to the producers are part of an informal process, that allows producers to screen the entrepreneurs for their entertainment and profit value. Maerov sees entertainment as the primary concern, saying “personality is very important when selecting the candidate both for the good and bad ideas. If the person sounds really boring, has low energy, or makes you fall asleep -- even if they’re telling you about all the money they’re making -- it’s just not going to impress.” Once the entrepreneurs are selected for the Dragons to see – last year there were 220 chosen of which over a half were shown on TV – therein begins a “collaborative process” between the

producer and entrepreneur to make sure the rules of the den are followed (for example, no PowerPoint presentations) and that the pitches are entertaining and visually interesting. The Dragons meanwhile remain blissfully unaware of what they’ll see. “We don’t tell the Dragons anything about the business at all. When they come down those stairs into the den that is the first time the Dragons see them or know anything about them. That’s the beauty of our show, the reaction on the Dragons’ faces,” says Maerov. Maerov postulated, “I think people are addicted to seeing both success and failure … people like to see car crashes.” The show accordingly covers all of them and “the Dragons follow through on the majority of the handshake deals that are made on the show [but] ultimately, not all deals end up closing as circumstances change after the filming.” That’s business. For the young entrepreneurs who want to enter this world, Maerov’s advice was to stay in school, but he also advised that

“if you have some time in your spare time it’s worth starting a small business venture, borrow some money from your folks and go for it. You don’t necessarily have to make crazy profits; it’s the experience itself that’s worth it.” If it becomes a big success, then you should go back to school at a later date to finish it like the show’s newest Dragon, David Chilton. So, if you have the next “big thing” in business go to the CBC studio on Saturday with your passion and your personality, because according to Maerov, that is what makes a great entrepreneur. “The Dragons are all nice people who get on really well off the camera. They’re all good people,” said Maerov -- yes, even Kevin, “but when you’re talking business, everything is fair game.” For more information about the show or the soon-to-begin audition visit: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/

THE ARTS

January 17, 2013

Hart House Theatre turns Robin Hood into musical delight Cynicism and mirth flip classic tale on its head

The comedic and whimsical Robin Hood: The legendary Musical Comedy has come to Hart House. The overzealous romance of the original tale of Robin Hood is turned upon its head as the play pokes fun at the clichéd plot lines, characters, and romanticized class struggle in a style that recalls Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The show was originally developed in Halifax by director Jesse Maclean and theatre company Shakespeare by the Sea in 2005; now Maclean and three members of the original cast have brought with them their fast paced, song and dance filled delight of a show for Torontonians to enjoy. The musical score by Jeremy Hutton and Kieren MacMillan is a perfect combination of frolicking medieval hymns and catchy old show tunes (think the happy parts of Camelot). The songs range from

witty to hilariously absurd, in particular “The Evil Song” is truly unforgettable. These in turn are performed by singers who belt with modern musical singing power and exuberance. Although the main actors sing with gusto and clarity, listen closely as some singing lines and jokes are said very quickly. Be advised: an extended hearty laugh might entail missing the next joke entirely. Robin Hood is played with brilliant pomposity by Daniel James; King John, played by Kevin McPherson of the original production, is spot on with his lines and hilariously deadpan in his delivery. Kelly McCormack makes a smart and dangerous Will Scarlet, who wins our hearts with her steadfast devotion to the Merry Men and her surprising infatuation with the arrogant Robin Hood. McCormack’s rich, plaintive voice captures our hearts in

her solo “I’m Lonely.” The song was one of the few moments when laughter quieted as the audience was captivated by her beautiful voice that alternately belted powerfully and glided sweetly over a gen-

tler passage. Due to the tight pacing and pure entertainment value, it is hard to believe this production is at least two and a half hours long. If you cannot stand the cloying sweetness, innocence

and overbearing morals of classic musicals, you will get a kick out of this cynical, yet strangely light-hearted musical comedy. Robin Hood runs until January 26 at Hart House Theatre.

DANIEL DIMARCO

Sinead Doherty-Grant

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THE ARTS

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UTAC exhibit needs no silver lining But if it did, it would be iridescent and Peruvian Sinead Doherty-Grant On Tuesday, January 15, the University of Toronto Art Center opened its doors to Luminescence: The Silver of Peru, an exhibit showcasing Peruvian works of art ranging from the beginning of the common era to the present. The four rooms in University College are filled with the iridescent shine of gilded silver, illuminating the colourful cultural

history on display for all ages. The silver pieces that predate the Spanish colonization were used as offerings to a favourite god, in ceremonial dances, and as symbols of wealth and status by the Inca, Chimú, and Nazca civilizations. The silver is eerily lovely in its immaculate perfection of tiny swirls and intricate patterns; all of these are preserved without injury or dullness.

By the 17th century the Christian influence visibly permeates the art, showcased in an oil painting of the Virgin Mary. This is lavishly engulfed in a thick, symmetrical frame of characteristic gilded silver. However, the Christian grandeur is eclipsed by the eighteenth and nineteenth century crowns also on display; these are embellished with colourful rhinestones in a show of

WTF TO DO

stunning historical regalia, arguably the grandest artifacts in all four rooms. For those interested in learning more about the cultural and political contexts, there are helpful descriptions throughout the gallery facilitating a deeper understanding of the pieces. Burial rituals, Inca Gods, and the decline of silver during the Pacific War are discussed in depth in the collection of over two thousand years of craft. The collection of artifacts celebrates various historical stylistic preferences and a proud legacy of objects. It successfully showcases the precise, intricate artistry of Indigenous groups that continues to inspire awe. The ancient pieces are distanced from us by time and mystery but the beauty can be appreciated by all. University of Toronto Art Center is located at University College, 15 King’s College Circle. Luminescence: The Silver of Peru, runs until March 9.

MMPA

THE FILM What? PLEASURE DOME PRESENTS: Colours That Combine To Make White Where? CINECYCLE | 129 Spadina Ave When? Jan 18 at 7:30pm $8 THE EXHIBIT What? Show Room | New work by Jimmy Limit * Photography playing with the idea of stock imagery, photo and object relationships and consumption Where? CLINT ROENISCH | 944 Queen St W When? Jan 10 – Feb 23 / Wed – Sat 12-5pm Free THE LECTURE What? Steven Loft and Kent Monkman *Discussion between multidisciplinary artist and curator Where? DRAKE HOTEL | 150 Queen St W When? Jan 23 at 7pm $12 - Kelsey Stasiak

Master of Management & Professional Accounting

• Designed primarily for non-business undergraduates • For careers in Management, Finance and Accounting • Extremely high co-op and permanent placement To learn more about the MMPA Program, attend our information sessions: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Room 2198, OISE Building, 252 Bloor St W, University of Toronto Thursday, January 31, 2013 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Room 2198, OISE Building, 252 Bloor St W, University of Toronto

www.utoronto.ca/mmpa

THE END

January 17, 2013

the newspaper is looking to fill the following positions this semester - Arts Editor - Associate Arts Editor - Design Editor - Associate Design Editor - Web Designer Send your cover letter, resume and samples to thenewspaper@gmail.com Interested in contributing? Attend our open meeting Thursdays 7PM at 1 Spadina Crescent, Suite 245

the campus comment

the newspaper asked: What is the best thing ever invented?

“

On Monday, January 14, Prime Minister Stephen Harper revealed the federal government’s new plan to boost venture capitalism in Canada. The Venture Capital Action Plan provides $400 million to the country’s private sector. Harper made the announcement on the set of the French version of Canada’s entrepreneurial based reality television series, Dragons’ Den. See page 5 for more on this story.

JEEVAN 3rd year, Health and Disease “Electricity. Everything works on electricity today. Like, EVERYTHING.”

KEVIN 3rd Year, Commerce “Film. I love films and want to work in the film industry. Personally, there is a lot of films that inspire me and encourage me to pursue my dreams.”

SARAH 1st year, Architecture “The computer. It has opened up a lot of possibilities for education, for medicine, for industry. It has incorporate itself into every aspect of our lives. Imagining life without it is kind of hard for our generation.”

TAYLOR 1st year, Computer Science “I think agriculture - it catalyzed all of civilization, allowing us to stop moving and start thinking.”

SARAH 4th year, Historya “To quote Donnie Darko, I would say soap. It made such an improvement on human health.”

BODI BOLD

BRITTANY 2nd year, Equity and Transnational Diaspora studies “The car. I hate public transit and in a car I just get to be in my own space with my music and do my own thing.”