HAAAYDN!
U of T opera over the moon p. 7
BATTLE OF THE SLICES our judges weigh in p. 4-5
the newspaper
University of Toronto’s independent weekly
Vol. XXXii N0. 0
Students rally against tuition fees
the brief the campus HRH the Prince of Wales will present the change of colours to two Regiments at Varsity Stadium, Nov 5. at 5pm.
TEjAS PARASHER
the local H1N1 has reared its ugly head in the sports arena. On Nov. 3, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced that two upcoming women’s volleyball games (Thunder Bay vs. Ottawa) would be rescheduled due to a confirmed case of H1N1.
ALEX NURSALL
Tuition fees, funding, and equity issues continue to be some of the most contentious topics at U of T. On November 5, the UTSU is planning a ‘Day of Action’ rally to protest escalating undergraduate tuition fees. Between seven and ten thousand students are expected to participate. The rally brings together most major GTA schools. All three branches of the University of Toronto, York, Ryerson, and OCAD will converge in Queen’s Park, as part of a province-wide Day of Action. Similar protests and demonstrations will be held at campuses across Ontario. The main impetus for these demonstrations is that Ontario students continue to face both the highest and fastest-increasing tuition fees in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, tuition fees in Ontario jumped 5 per cent for the 2009-2010 academic year, in comparison to a national average of 3.6 per cent. Similarly, Ontario students paid $5,951 in annual tuition, whereas the Canadian mean was $4,917. These increases
November 5, 2009
Adam Awad, UTSU VP-University Affairs , speaks to a student about the Drop Fees protest happening Nov. 5. have come quickly on the heels of Premier Dalton McGuinty’s annulment of a provincial tuition freeze in 2005, two years before its promised termination date. Student union leaders point out that the spike in fees is due to such actions of the provincial
government, rather than the university administration. Hadia Akhtar, VP External for UTSU, says, “For a certain quality of education, there is a certain inevitable cost. U of T’s operational budget comes from three main sources: tuition, government funding, and private
donations. It is only because of the provincial government’s decision to institute cutbacks on post-secondary education that the university has been forced to compensate by hiking up undergraduate fees.” She adds that, for this reason, Continued on page 3
the world Italian Judge Oscar Magi convicted 23 Americans, 22 of them CIA agents, as well as 2 Italian agents for kidnapping. The Obama administration has expressed disappointment and the state department says an appeal is likely. the weird A US report indicates that dysfunctional driving skills may be linked to a mutant gene. The gene controls a protein which affects memory. “I’d be curious to know the genetics of people who get into car crashes,” said Dr. Steven Cramer, leader of the study. -Amina Stella
ANDREw gyoRkoS On October 16, Disability Studies scholar and educator Dr. Rod Michalko was informed by New College’s Acting Principal, Shahrzad Mojab, that his threeyear teaching contract would not be renewed. In the days following New College’s decision, significant student outcry in the form of online petitions and the Save Disability Studies at U of T campaign caused the university to reconsider.
On October 29, the university announced that Dr. Rod Michalko’s contract would be renewed, but this victory has not convinced supporters of the Disability Studies movement that the problem has been solved. “Education should reflect the needs and wants of the students,” said Isabel Lay, chair of the Equity Studies Student’s Union and leader of the Save Disability Studies campaign, in Continued on page 3
ALEX NURSALL
Save Disability Studies campaign fights back
isabel Lay, President of the Equity Studies Students’ Union, speaks to a crowd outside of Sid Smith on Tuesday during a protest against the cuts to the Equity Studies Program.