March 14, 2013

e h t

BODI BOLD

r e p a p s w e n

Thursday, March 14, is the last day to vote on the UTSU Executive Committee and Bike Chain Referendum.

Visit utsu.ca for more details.

The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly

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VOL XXXV Issue 24 • March 14, 2013

UTSU VP External candidate pulls out mid-election Sana Ali’s open letter of resignation meets online support Isaac Thornley Team Renew’s Vice-President External candidate Sana Ali pulled out of the UTSU election Wednesday afternoon, midway through the three day voting period, in the form of an open letter on Facebook.

Though the letter was addressed “Dear Team Renew,” both the incumbent UTSU executives and candidate slate Renew have yet to respond publicly.

The letter quickly spread

through U of T’s political regions of Facebook, gaining over 1300 likes and 350 shares in a matter of hours.The letter was met with strong support from an overwhelming majority of Facebook commenters.

Ali has been called brave and thoughtful by many of the same people who would have spoken out against her as a member of Team Renew only days ago.

Ali’s primary criticisms focused on what she perceived to

be reluctance on the part of the union to engage with opposing points of view, as well as a sense of feeling pushed into a set of conforming ideas and roles that were not of her own choosing. “It has become clear to me that my job description is to fade away into a team of absurdly like-minded candidates and apparently work towards some pre-decided goals that have remained unchanging from year to year.”

Though Ali criticizes the

UTSU for “[their] vague responses” to questions about the day to day roles and responsibilities of the VP External position, her points of criticism share such ambiguity. Ali acknowledges this ambiguity by saying she “[does] not want to assign blame.” Ali also implicitly accuses the UTSU of racial profiling when recruiting potential executives, “I think what my [candidate] statement really should have said is “I am Sana Ali and my purpose on

team RENEW is to bring visual cultural and social diversity, not my actual voice, individuality, or opinions.”

Ali does provide an interesting bit of information when explaining the process of drafting candidate statements.

“Isn’t it odd that my candidate statement on the UTSU Elections and Referenda web page was not written by me?

In fact if you read all of them, the only ones that look like they were actually written by

Creativity at core of Idle No More movement Idle No More isn’t going anywhere, say host and producer of CIUT’s Indigenous Waves Sarah Boivin Victoria College’s Aboriginal Awareness Week began this Tuesday with a panel discussion on the roots, nature, and impact of the Idle No More movement. The discussion featured Jamais DaCosta and Susan Blight, respectively Executive Producer and host of the CIUT show ‘Indigenous Waves’ -- a creative, commu-

nity-focused “celebration of Indigenous cultures.” Hosted

by Victoria College Students’ Administrative Council’s Education and Equity Committee, the event welcomed students and members of the larger community -- Indigenous and settler alike -- to engage with larger questions surrounding the movement.

To begin the discussion, both women introduced themselves

in their Indigenous languages and identified their respective backgrounds: DaCosta as mixed settler and Mohawk of the Bear Clan, and Blight as a Couchiching Anishnaabe, Turtle Clan.

Blight also thanked the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation for allowing the discussion to take place on their land. While Idle No More has many sides, representing

legal, cultural and political battles, it is this demand for respect for Indigenous identity and land rights that lies at the heart of the movement.

Begun by four women in Saskatchewan, Idle No More is based on resisting the recent unilateral legislative decisions of the Conservative government, including the notorious Bill C-45 which stripped legislative protection from thou-

sands of bodies of water in Canada. The movement has expanded its focus to include education and awareness, while rooting itself in a strong history of Indigenous resistance that began, in DaCosta’s words, “long before Idle No More was a hashtag.”

The movement differs not only in its particular struggles -- the recent infringement on Aboriginal rights by the

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THE NEWS

March 14, 2013 the editorial

Let’s talk campus politics

The story of the year Yukon Damov Don’t let anybody tell you campus politics is not about personality or petty and internecine squabbles — by now, you should be able to beat them to the punchline.

You can also tell them it makes for meaningful drama. That, yes, it can appear small-minded.

And, yes, what is there to show for it all? The drama’s actors are continually learning their parts, waiting for their cues and improvising — on a small stage and for a small audience.

Yet all of it is not without its merit or relevance to students.

This year’s elections for UTSU Executive positions find the Team Renew slate running unopposed. The reasons the almost-rans didn’t run has much to do with what has been going on all year — electoral reform and (for short-hand, not the sake of spreading misinformation) defederation (the union’s not a federation, etc).

It began in November with the first General Meeting. Usually, there is only one GM per year. It was an unusually wellattended meeting. The lineup to get in curved around two corners of hallway; some people were waiting for more than an

hour for entry.

Depending on who you ask, due to miscommunication or a technicality or wrongdoing, Trinity co-head Sam Greene’s item for election reform was not on the agenda. Greene made a speech at the meeting denouncing the whole agenda-creation process as “unfair, un-transparent, and undemocratic.” The meeting ended shortly afterward as the agenda was rejected by membership. No business was conducted; uncertainty ensued.

During the second General Meeting, at the point when members were debating electoral reform, it was noticed that quorum was not met, as the UTM students had left. The meeting was adjourned.

Next Tuesday and next meeting — all about electoral reform.

Students voted to pass the motion; students left.

Unfortunately, the meeting’s approval of electoral reform could not be implemented in time for this year’s elections.

The UTSU Electoral and Referenda Committee had already met, and the Board of Directors — who have final say over election procedures and take direction from the ERC, not the meeting’s vote — was scheduled to

meet on Wednesday. Sufficient electoral reform would not be implemented in time to satisfy UTSU opposition.

By Sunday, EngSoc, St. Mike’s, and Trinity College were preparing to leave the union. Paulina Bogdanova, Trinity co-head, told the newspaper that UTSU president Shaun Shepherd’s absence at the Board of Directors meeting was the straw that broke the camel’s back. He had said he would come and speak in favour of electoral reform.

Shepherd responded that he — “Nobody will believe me”— had thrown out his back while grocery shopping two days before the meeting, and was thus unable to attend. He also had some family matters to attend to that day — namely, an immediate relative who had “almost lost a finger.”

Electoral reform aside, the disgruntled division heads argued that they had had enough of UTSU bullshit and that they could provide the same services (dental and health insurance being the important one), at the same or lower cost to students.

Bogdanova was approached to be a part of the almost-slate for this election; Pierre Harfouche, an executive at the Engineering Society, and Mike Cowan, presi-

dent of the St. Michael’s College Students’ Union, were also a part of that almost-slate. They chose to stay true to the idea of defederation.

Aimee Quenneville — another part of that slate, from University College — argued that under the current election system she would have no chance against the incumbents, lacking “the manpower or the time as full-time students to go to UTM to campaign for ourselves. We don’t have professional photographers [to be able] to put up the beautiful posters that the incumbents have.”

Strikingly, the execs are all fiercely and genuinely passionate about their position. But if not for campus media finding legs in this story (and bashing our readers over the heads with it), the entire conversation would have taken place in an echo chamber of about two dozen people.

Do these petty squabbles and internecine conflicts merit media attention? They do, if for nothing else than to focus attention on the student union, to highlight questions as to its purpose, its relevance and effectiveness.

The question of the union’s relevance and effectiveness gets

lost in the toxic atmosphere of campus politics, where the high-minded talk of dialogue, openness and transparency seem to implode in a cloud of divisive “he said, she said” accusations and counter-accusations.

It’s been a spirited battle this year and the union has something to show for it. Munib Sajjad’s (UTSU VP University Affairs, current UTSU Presidential candidate) work to uncover illegal ancillary fees students pay to the university is the strongest indication of the union’s relevance, considering the union’s job is to serve students’ interests by making university more affordable.

At the same time, the union is on the brink of something unpredictable: an executive slate elected in an unopposed election (minus Sana Ali, former candidate for VP external) plus roughly half the union’s membership gone = who knows?

Moreover, who cares? We as students have a responsibility at this critical juncture to be involved with the processes of defederation and to understand its consequences, not only for the divisions, but for the union and our fellow students who will remain in the union.

Meanwhile, enjoy the show.

the newspaper is the University of Toronto’s independent weekly paper, published since 1978.

VOL XXXV No. 24 Editor-in-Chief Cara Sabatini

News Editor Yukon Damov

Associate News Editors Sebastian Greenholtz Emerson Vandenberg

Features Editor David Stokes

Associate Art Editor Carissa Ainslie

Comment Editor Dylan Hornby

Photo Editor Bodi Bold

Contributors

Copy Editor Sydney Gautreau

Spencer Afonso, Bodi Bold, Yukon Damov, Peter Gatti, Sebastian Greenholtz, Kevin Hempstead, Dylan Hornby, Lauren Peat, David Stokes, Fang Su, Isaac Thornley, Emerson Vandenberg

Managing Editor Helene Goderis

Cover illustration by KAREL REINGA

Illustrations Editor Nick Ragetli

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3

THE NEWS

Referenda, time to call: who is the fairest one of all?

A look into the legal precedent of defederation Isaac Thornley “From the beginning of this discussion everyone must have been thinking about legal representation,” said Rishi Maharaj, Engineering Society president, in an interview with The Varsity just over a month ago. The potential for legal disputes have informed the strategies of those seeking defederation from the UTSU in recent years, with the seemingly precedent-setting 2008 legal case in the background.

In 2010, when the Engineering Society had expressed interest in redirecting the fees paid by engineering students from the UTSU to the EngSoc, the UTSU responded with a letter outlining a “legal precedent” that stood in their way. A similar response was sent to the Trinity College Meeting in February of this year, and another to the Engineering Society later that same month.

This legal precedent is referring to a case in 2008 when the Erindale College Students’ Union (better known as the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union, or UTMSU)

along with the association of Erindale Part-time Undergraduate Students (EPUS), attempted to redirect fees from the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) to the UTMSU, and also to “withdraw the recognition of APUS as the ‘representative student committee’ (pursuant to the University of Toronto Act, 1947) for UTM part-time undergraduate students,” via referendum.

The referendum voted in favour of redirecting fees paid by part-time undergrad UTM students from APUS to UTMSU, and to shift their official representative responsibility from APUS to UTMSU. The results of the referendum were respected by both the Administration and the Governing Council, as illustrated in a Memorandum to the members of the Governing Council issued by the office of then-Interim Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Misak, dated October 2, 2008. “The administration had no reason to believe that the result of the referendum held among part-time undergraduates at UTM was not a valid articulation of students’ views on this matter.”

Before any of those changes could be made, APUS initiated legal proceedings against UTMSU, and on August 27, 2008, Ontario Supreme Court Justice Beth Allen issued an order in favour of APUS. The Provost’s Memorandum described the court’s ruling as such: “Specifically, the court determined that there were fundamental flaws in the referendum process... the process was unfair because APUS did not receive appropriate notice of the referendum.”

The UTSU has taken Justice Allen’s ruling to be a sign that they are operating on the right side of the law, as it seems to back up their primary argument: that any referendum that deals with the membership of the union must be facilitated within the union itself and must involve every one of the union’s 47 000 members, as per their by-laws. This means that a referendum held by a governing body such as a college or faculty council, cannot be recognized as legitimate by the UTSU. Those advocating for defederation have argued that Justice Allen’s ruling had more to do with a perception of proce-

dural incompetence on the part of UTMSU in delivering a fair and democratic referendum, and that if a referendum is facilitated properly both the Governing Council and the courts should have no problem with respecting its results. “It was a pretty unfair referendum overall. I think many of the concerns over [that case] were about the procedural fairness of the referendum. I think we have done due diligence in ensuring that UTSU is aware and involved in this process,” said Sam Greene addressing the Trinity College Meeting on February 25.

There are many questions in need of answers concerning the various legal ramifications of defederation. As we approach the end of March, and we enter the referenda period, questions of legal precedents, the immutability of union by-laws, and of the meaning of membership in student unions and the larger Canadian Federation of Students, all gain heightened importance and merit further conversation.

Apartheid from the eyes of a diplomat

Palestinian Diplomat Afif Safieh on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Sebastian Greenholtz On Friday, March 8, in a public lecture that tail-ended the events of Toronto’s Israeli Apartheid week, Ambassador for the Palestinian Diplomatic Corps Afif Safieh analyzed the IsraeliPalestinian conflict through the political lens offered by his professional experience. While other events this week highlighted activism and resistance in Israel, Palestine, and abroad, Safieh’s public lecture tackled the question of using international law to forge a path to freedom for Palestine.

Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) was first created in 2004 at U of T to discuss the Israeli occupation of Palestine, but has since spread to cities around the world. IAW also supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which calls for pulling support from companies that support human rights violations in the occupied territories.

Despite the less-than-radical profile of the day’s speaker, the event organizers Students Against Israeli Apartheid reminded the audience twice of their disruptions policy, warning, “We have in the room a group of experienced and

trained marshals who will escort the harassers out of the room and call security to intervene if needed.”

IAW has been criticized in the past as being anti-semitic or promoting intolerance, however, even Safieh commented after the second reminder, “I don’t think anybody is intentionally disrupting, they got the message.”

Safieh began by condemning of the actions of Israel and the ideology of Zionism. He described the two main denials of Palestinian oppression: “Zionism, one of its founding principles was that Palestine is a ‘land without a people for a people without a land.’ Our mere physical existence was denied. … Then we were denied our basic rights, individual and collective, and later and even more disturbingly, we were denied our suffering and our pain.”

His language took a pragmatic turn, however, when he analyzed solutions. Pointing to the UN Resolution vote of November 2012 that made Palestine a non-member observer state, Safieh aimed to show that world opinion favours a free and sovereign Palestine.

The main problem Safieh

described with the peace process was a lack of political will to find a solution. Attempts at peace have been made since the 1970s, including direct talks since 2010 encouraged by US President Barack Obama.

Safieh further addressed Obama and US involvement in the region. He called for Obama to use the influence and funds of the US to push for peace. Safieh commented, “Too much was left to local belligerent parties to sort it out, and the US needs to throw itself behind peace, rather than behind war.”

Rather than continuing bilateral talks, Safieh stressed that peace needs to be negotiated with international presence.

Safieh sees Obama a multilat-

eralist and urged Obama to cooperate with international partners to counter the Zionist lobby that pushes for continuing investment in Israeli military defense.

Safieh summarized the plight of his people, proclaiming, “We the Palestinians, we are either blessed or plagued with too much history, too much theology, too much mythology, and very little geography.” While his message of peace through international law may have turned off the activist-minded participants in Israeli Apartheid Week, the standing ovation he received at the end showed some still have hope for ballot box solutions.

from “mid-election” a real person and not based off a template are those written by the independents- because the same person ‘reviewed’ and submitted the other twentythree.” This “same person” is never named.

Serious questions remain, however, the most obvious one being: who will be the UTSU VP External for the 2013-14 academic year. The UTSU bylaws state that executive vacancies require a by-election to be called in no later than 30 days. UTSU members were unavailable for comment.

from “Idle No More” Conservatives -- but also in its insistence on Indigenous creativity as its fundamental driving force.

From the beginning, the movement has been led by a wide cross-section of the population (women, children, elders, etc.) and has strictly rejected tactical aggression, such as blockades, in favour of active creativity: round dances, drum circles and teach-ins.

Tuesday’s informed discussion was part of that creative drive.

The Idle No More movement is about questions of aboriginal identity and, as DaCosta stressed, it must be led

by Aboriginal people. It can also, however, be a catalyst for non-Indigenous Canadians to “start their own decolonizing process” and overcome what DaCosta sees as the dominant eurocentrism of the public education system. Blight emphasized that the movement is meant to be inclusive; issues of land and water, while holding a particular significance to Aboriginal peoples, are also central to wider Canadian identity.

Idle No More has successfully gained staggering momentum as a cohesive resistance movement largely because of social media. Liking and hashtagging have not only been a vital factor in spreading awareness, but they have also minimized the movement’s dependence on mainstream Canadian media -- a medium that over the past few months has given voice to ill-informed (often, racist) views while silencing Indigenous perspectives. Blight and DaCosta were clear in emphasizing that Idle No More is still going strong, even if it isn’t being covered by the mainstream.

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THE INSIDE

March 14, 2013

You say ‘Toronto,’ I say ‘Toronno’ Lauren Peat Can how we speak be as important as what we say? Apparently so according to the research of Sali Tagliamonte, a University of Toronto linguistics professor and self-described “linguistic detective.” From 2002 to 2004, Taglimonte scoured the city for native Torontonians, and as was reported by the Toronto Star, recorded the speech of 214 participants aged eight to 92, classifying their speech patterns in terms of age and gender.

In an interview with the newspaper, Tagliamonte discussed her research that tracked the progression of “Torontonian English” throughout a few generations. The result was the creation of a linguistic map of the city’s “oral history.” Her findings show that Torontonian patterns of speech are historically and environmentally complex.

While there is certainly a communicative gap between these generations – such as the contemporary vernacular grandparents and parents might not understand – there is nevertheless a kind of intergenerational dialogue. Lan-

guage, said Tagliamonte, is a cumulative process; it essentially matures and disseminates from one’s environment, and is heavily influenced by one’s parents, and later by one’s peer groups, especially those within schools.

Tagliamonte explained that Toronto’s multiculturalism makes it a particularly interesting place to study linguistic development. Even while coexisting with such linguistic diversity, Torontonian English acts as a kind of melting pot in which people from dissimilar backgrounds generally adopt the same patterns of speech.

Tagliamonte cited one instance in which she accompanied six University of Toronto students – each of a completely different “cultural persuasion” – to England, where a British colleague was simply “amazed” at the fact that the students “sounded more or less the same.”

These codes of speech, suggested Taglimonte, are culturally and contextually specific, and thus attempts to “moralize” language are contrary and largely ineffective. For example, the word “like,” is a par-

ticular focus of such moralization: the continuous use of “like” throughout speech is typically deemed “bad” or “undesirable” -- the epitome of poor articulation.

The use of “like,” however, is merely a form of linguistic evolution, said Tagliamonte.

“People tend to criticize a [linguistic] variety that may not be like their own. We might describe it as being ‘bad grammar’ or sounding ‘uneducated’… [but] there is nothing intrinsically wrong with [different] ways of saying things.

It’s just that we impose that... social judgment on the way people talk.”

Tagliamonte further suggested that the conception of language as being pure and static is also misguided. Rather, it is something constructed, often from an inclination toward social hierarchy: “Certain ways of speaking are associated with social groups and because those social groups are not highly regarded, then [we] impose [our] views on their language use…. Using ‘ain’t’ for example, used to be perfectly good English, but now it’s reviled.”

BODI BOLD

U of T prof, like, explores our language

Tagliamonte drew upon Torontonian pronunciations of the word “Scarborough” by means of example. A British person might balk at the Torontonian pronunciation “scarburrow,” instead saying something more akin to “scarbra.” The pronunciation of “Toronto” as “Toronno” is also geographically specific, and only common among the cityfolk themselves.

Torontonian English will continue to evolve; Tagliamonte explained that her previous project was only the

first installment, and she plans on returning to the same locations in 2023 in order to examine how its codes of speech have changed.

Toronto’s cultural and linguistic moment is ultimately a form of belonging, creating a sense of communion and similarity among such a diverse population: “we don’t talk like Shakespeare, or like our grandparents… would we want to?” asked Tagliamonte. Words are markers of identity, and each one contributes to where language goes next.

OPINION: A French Québec, but to what ends?

Excessive language enforcement policies display ugly egoism in La Belle Provence Québec language laws, which insist on things like business signage are fostering an antiEnglish culture. In light of the recent resignation from Québec’s Office of French language (OQLF), questions regarding the agency’s excessive enforcement policies have once again entered the spotlight.

Louise Marchand’s directorial stint at the head of the controversial watchdog department was short-lived amidst scandal and unwanted press attention for excessive application of French-only policy.

The so-called ‘pastagate’ affair earned particular attention for insisting that an Italian restaurant provide translations for menu items such as pasta and calamari. Comic though its institutional rigidity may be, the language office feels it

serves an important duty in maintaining the province’s French-speaking heritage.

It is furthermore the case that these laws are discriminating against non-French speaking residents, be they English-speaking or otherwise; a growing population segment that is not being fairly represented from a linguistic standpoint.

This spirited defence of linguistic heritage is mirrored in France. Their storied FrenchEnglish rivalry with the British is something of a macrocosm to the situation between Québec and the rest of Canada.

Although it’s tough to say whether or not an aspect inherent in the French language engenders this kind of protectionism, the decline of French dominance globally, from the heydays of the 18th century, helps explain the inflated self-

perception. Centuries ago, French was the lingua franca of cosmopolitanism. All diplomatic communications between governments were conducted in French and France was the hotbed of enlightenment culture in Europe.

Francophone dominance has since declined, usurped globally by the language of its long-time neighbour. At the root of this may be where France, as well as Québec, find such intransigence in the face of language pressure.

Moving forward, one can expect little change from the OQLF’s policies. Although words like pasta and calamari may become future exceptions to signage enforcement, multilingualism will continue to be downplayed. Heartfelt concern for the future of one’s community in Québec is, like in France, largely based on

linguistic uniformity. It is unlikely that meaningful change will soon come in this regard, but who can expect as much when the issue is considered a matter of cultural identity?

In generations to come, perhaps English will feel the squeeze and suffer a similar

fate as old French, which, despite being a beautiful language, has decreased in the number of native speakers.

Would English speaking peoples simply let their linguistic identity simmer in the melting pot as well?

NICK RAGETLI

Emerson Vandenberg

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5

THE INSIDE

Dark Ages, shiny art at the AGO Art showing the paradises and purgatories of the 14th century imagination is an acquired taste David Stokes The AGO’s new exhibition, “Revealing the Early Renaissance,” contains more than 90 pieces from Florence during the first half of the 14th century and includes triptychs, altarpieces, and manuscript pages. It is a serious and difficult show though it has an enigmatic charm.

The thematic content of the art is overwhelmingly (and for the secular patron, numbingly) religious. The majority of the works repeatedly show the same handful of tropes from the bible—madonnas, crucifixions, etc. As they come from before the perspectival experimentation of the high Renaissance (Michelangelo et. al. show up 100 years later) there seems to be one general formula for all the faces and figures.

But once one looks past the religious obsessiveness of the themes and warms to the particular style of the paintings, contemporary viewers will find this an art of graceful and delicate detail.

There is something odd and alien about the faces in the show that is deeply haunting.

Work after work features ethereal and exquisitely draped figures shown in harmonious arrangements standing in seas of gold (the dominant material of the show); they face the viewer with weightless and wordless address. Their skin is gauzy and soft as clouds, and one feels that in this art emotions are deep and buried; meant to be subtly suggested and understood rather than vividly expressed. The feelings of separation, sorrow and restraint abound.

Violence is also unflinchingly common. Heads are hacked off and saints die heroic deaths to become martyrs: the action heroes of their time they are bathed in eternal gold, their flesh evocatively and knowingly -- in a time wracked by plague -- painted paper thin.

Some of the works show the near-cinematic tableau that the more expressive artists could coax from stock religious scenes. Pacino di Bonaguida’s Polyptych with

Crucifixion has Christ’s blood exploding out in geyers like a slasher film effect and pooling around a skull beneath the cross. Taddeo Gaddi’s Stigmatization of St. Francis shows a flying Jesus shooting what looks like five red lasers at St. Francis.

But perhaps the show’s most charming details are small and from anonymous hands.

For example, the twisting brocades of flowers and gilded

text whose incredible and inspiring hand-painted intricacies appear at near magnifying-glass scale. And sneaking in, slowly, in the midst of the religious scenes, are scenes of refreshingly humanistic and romantic pathos.

There is a figure of a heartbroken and lonely Dante sitting in the middle an illuminated ‘N’ on the first page of his book. One finds a scene featuring a bunch of friends out

hunting together. In one manuscript there is the sight of a princess, a dragon, a knight, and a white horse all together in a rousing -- and strikingly secular -- vignette about the fight for love.

This sudden explosion of gold-lined artistry featured in the exhibit came to Florence largely because it became the regional centre of trade. Her banks and textiles manufacturing generated large profits

The Virgin and Child with Saints and Allegorical Figures, about 1315–20, Giotto di Bondone (Italian, about 1267–1337). Tempera and gold leaf on panel.

and their owners, the burghers -- a new and growing class of middle class citizens -- felt secure enough from the power of the church to spend on fashionable luxury.

Florence was also an independent republic and it’s civic pride -- a new concept in medieval Europe -- resulted in art being used as Florentine propaganda (there is one scene called The Expulsion of the Poor from Siena and The Poor of Siena Being Generously Received in Florence). With all its gold and rigourous craftsmanship, these works were the expensive corporate art of its day and birthed the trends of middle class ostentation and aesthetic appreciation.

These paintings and their paint were expensive and difficult to make. Many of the colours were made from precious stones (like lapis lazuli) which were crushed and then applied by trained artists to wood or paper. Grinding up the nicest materials they knew of and using them to make art was a good idea in terms of artistic longevity; over six hundred years later, the colours are so exceptionally vivid they look like they were painted yesterday.

In the gallery, contemporary viewers are shown art in volumes that reaches Stendhal syndrome-inducing proportions. People who lived during the 14th century likely would not see works like this often, so when they did it was likely the most beautiful thing they would see for a while. The sight of such scenes inspired them to use faith as a means to get through the grim reality of their present and aim for the gold-lined paradise beyond.

For us now, however, this show is a chance to understand and marvel at the treasures of the past, even though, for all it’s gold, it’s nothing close to heaven.

Revealing the Early Renaissance: Stories and Secrets in Florentine Art opens March 16 at the AGO, 317 Dundas Street West.

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THE ARTS

March 14, 2013

Vic College presents musical take on The Odyssey Successful student-written rock opera finds its way to Victoria College Drama Society, slaughters all competition The Victoria College Drama Society concluded its run of The Odyssey, its most successful show in years, on Saturday, March 9. The new production – the student-written rock opera adaptation of the Homer’s epic – drew in over 1000 people in a new attendance record.

The sheer volume of attendees entailed that VCDS had to print additional tickets.

The show was entirely created from scratch; this marks a huge departure from typical student productions. “It was original choreography. Original everything,” stated lead choreographer Tiferet Nashman. “That’s pretty cool. Everything worked on something original.” More than 50 cast and crew members were involved. Coupled with the unprecedented sales, the musical also received a standing ovation following all three performances.

The production contained a rock and electronica-based

soundtrack, instead of songs more fitting for a musical. As Khamsina explained, “It wasn’t really a musical; more of an original rock opera.”

Many performances at a college level receive lacklustre attendance, which is why The Odyssey’s success is a feather in VCDS’s cap. VCDS has seen declining revenues combined with increased rental fees for Isabel Bader Theatre; as a result it relies on external funding.

They have even proposed a referendum asking to increase Victoria College Union fees to gain additional funds.

Thus The Odyssey may have ushered in a renaissance period for VCDS. “It made people aware of who we are and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said VCDS producer Blaire Townshend. “If we get the funding to start the students get their careers, I’m going to do everything I can to let that happen.”

While the referendum question has yet to be ratified by

VUSAC, it is planned to be held with the student council elections from March 21 to March 25.

The production contained original music and lyrics from singer-songwriter and exchange student Khamsina, who wished to remain quoted under her stage name. Her established career as a performer in the United Kingdom brought a special expertise to advertising the project.

Khamsina tried a number of new advertising techniques, including advertisements in NOW magazine and an Odyssey-themed pub night to raise support.

Social media also played a huge role. “The UTix had a sample video on it which contained tracks from the musical,” explained Khamsina.

“Loads of people facebooked about it when they saw that.”

Khamsina also stressed the accessibility of The Odyssey. “I definitely think that as a classics student, there is massive

excitement with The Odyssey. Many arts students can associate with the concept.”

In contrast to lesser-known titles like Next to Normal, the idea of The Odyssey: A Musical showed a more familiar story, and appeared more intriguing.

All these factors allowed for a production of a new magnitude for VCDS. “I love the precedent that is being set by the student presence,” said Townshend. The Odyssey was VCDS’s last show of the year,

and it remains undetermined if the referendum will pass.

Yet the recent success has breathed new life into the art of college productions.

The election for VUSAC and other referendum items are open to all Victoria College students, and occur March 21-25. Polling stations can be found throughout the College. For more information on VCDS, visit www.vcds.ca.

DANIEL DIMARCO

Kevin Hempstead

Costumes, comics and crazy fans Carissa Ainslie Toronto Comicon was a blur of costumes, comics, and crazy fans. Two days filled with panels and vendors selling their wares, this past weekend’s event was the humbler sibling to August’s behemoth Fan Expo. Both events are put on by Hobby Star Marketing, who pioneered the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995, which was redubbed Fan Expo in 2006.

Conventions like Toronto Comicon and Fan Expo bring together a group of fans with diverse interests that range from gaming to Sci-Fi. Although it is on a certainly smaller scale than its counterpart, Comicon still boasted a few heavy hitting celebrities, such as the majority of the main cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation who were all on hand for autographs and pictures with fans.

The exhibition floor con-

tained over 100 retailers plus many artists both local and from abroad; add in a few hundred fans and the floor became quite crowded.

Since the show was a fraction of the size of Fan Expo, however, it was still an intimate experience that allowed lesser known comic artists, creators, writers, sculptors, jewellers, and clubs to be given a table, as the renting fee was considerably lower.

Fan Expo is already releasing information about the guests for their August 2013 show. So far, Lena Headey from Game of Thrones, Norman Reedus from Walking Dead and George Takei from Star Trek are expected to attend. The calibre of these three guests alone indicates that 2013 will be a big year for Fan Expo. This will be their nineteenth anniversary with 100 000 fans presumed to walk the 750 000 square foot exhibit hall.

Comicon allows people to

CARISSA AINSLIE

Toronto Comicon creates cozy atmosphere, welcomes newcomers to the scene

express their inner nerd without fear of judgement while simultaneously exposing them to different forms of en-

tertainment. This lends itself to an overwhelming feeling of acceptance that everyone, regardless of interest, can enjoy.

Toronto Fan Expo takes place August 22-25 at The Metro Toronto Convention Center, 222 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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THE ARTS

www.thenewspaper.ca

You don’t know Jack Layton Biopic is a tearjerker for Dippers and Liberals alike Dylan Hornby When I heard that the CBC was making a biopic on Jack Layton, I was critical at first.

Being a Liberal from TorontoDanforth (the riding Layton represented in Parliament), I didn’t care for his politics and struggled to understand why people idolized him. Firstly, there’s no doubt he did wonderful things for the NDP. He gave them a charismatic face, a popular following and moved them to official opposition for the first time in history.

However, Layton’s political impact on Canada was minor at best. As the popular brief leader of the opposition with barely any record to criticize, he simply went out on top when he died. Every NDP and/ or socialist’s heart poured out for him. He was hailed as “the greatest prime minister we never had”. Stephen Lewis considered his last letter a “social democratic manifesto”.

It was like we had lost Pierre Trudeau with a moustache.

Except while Trudeau was actually Prime Minister for over a decade and passed landmark legislation that changed the country, Layton only placed second in an election. He never wrote or enacted any federal laws of his own that made Canada a better place. I thought he was one of the most overrated, hyped-up and vain politicians I had ever seen.

Or at least, that’s what I thought for a while. On Sunday, my friend invited me to watch the premiere of the Layton biopic with some NDP supporters. I was pleasantly surprised at the result. This biopic offers an honest look at the man behind the party, one that doesn’t just focus on his federal success. Layton is portrayed by Hamilton native Rick Roberts, and the film starts off with his career as a well-meaning enthusiastic Toronto city councillor in

the eighties. We see him first struggle to win over and empower Toronto’s emerging gay community and take on a difficult fight against homelessness.

When Layton fails to win the Mayor’s seat in the nineties, he surprisingly aims his sights even higher to federal politics. Layton’s antics behind the scenes of his federal campaign prove entertaining as well. Particularly when he struggles to start a sing-along of Rise Up on a disheartened campaign bus. There is also a subplot of sorts regarding Layton’s relationship with his late Conservative father, that I wish was more drawn-out.

The way the love between Layton and Olivia Chow (SookYin Lee) was portrayed easily warmed my cold Liberal heart.

We see how Layton falls in love Chow’s unique character, how he humorously struggles to impress Chow’s judgemental immigrant mother and

how they uniquely expressed their love in rough times.

While the overall biopic was good, the ending is what did it for me. The entire bar was on the verge of bursting into tears as we watched Layton’s health decline. He became bedridden and unable to speak, yet he still wanted to smile and break out the guitar one last time.

I can tell you that won’t be

voting for the NDP anytime soon, but after watching this biopic I have a newfound appreciation for the man behind the moustache. ven though we may disagree politically, there’s a lot one can learn from the insightful life Jack Layton lived. Give it a watch. After all, every political party deserves a hero.

Visit CBC.ca to watch Jack in its

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the briefs Protests on the streets of Brooklyn New Yorkers in East Flatbush have come on the streets for the third night of protest for the police killing of 16-yearold Kimani Gray. Police have flooded into the area and started making arrests, however numbers are hard to confirm since the event has faced a media blackout. Any information is coming from activists’ livestreams and twitter reports. Images from these sources show a large city street packed with protesters, while swarms of police gather to disperse the crowd.

Dow posts highest gains in 17 years As of Wednesday, March 14, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained for nine straight days and has closed at 14,455.28the highest it has ever

been charted. This record-breaking week started when the Dow passed its all-time high last week of 14,164.53, set in 2007 before the Great Recession hit. The current nine-day streak hasn’t been seen in the stock market since 1996.

Economists are optimistic about the news, and say that the United States’ economy will finally see a strong recovery from the recession in 2013.

Mississippi cans Bloomberg’s ban This week, Michael Bloomberg’s infamous soft drink ban that attempts to outlaw the sale of carbonated drinks above 16oz kicks in. While New Yorkers are feeling the pinch, it’s another story in Mississippi. Lawmakers in Jackson passed an “anti-Bloomberg bill� which seeks to ban local communities from forcing restaurants to post calorie counts and soft drink limits. Ironically, Mississippi is also the most obese state in the US with an approximate rate of 35%.

- SEBASTIAN GREENHOLTZ + DYLAN HORNBY

March 14, 2013

Meanwhile, in Rome On Wednesday, March 14, Cardinals of the Roman Catholic church elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, as the next pope, and leader of 1.2 billion Catholics. Bergoglio is the first pope elected from the New World. He is also the first pope to be a Jesuit and the first from outside of Europe in over a thousand years. He took the name Francis I after St. Francis Xavier, a known advocate for reforming the Church from the sixteenth century.

Despite his namesake, don’t expect to see anything too drastic coming from the Vatican in the near future. As a Cardinal, Bergoglio identified himself among the more socially conservative wing of the church, considering same-sex marriage demonic, opposing access to free contraception in Argentina and is pro-life in all circumstances.

However, Bergoglio is also described as a simple and humble man, and

many are hopeful he can rid the church of its most recent extravagant scandals.

- DYLAN HORNBY

Say hello to Francis.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the 266th Pope.

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