Issue 12 - November 24 2011

Page 1

THE NEWS Protestors sent packing Page 4

THE ARTS

THE INSIDE Fine Arts in tough times Page 5

Steven Page

Page 7

the newspaper The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly

Since 1978

VOL XXXIV Issue 12 • November 24, 2011

New fundraising campaign one for the books

U of T announces $2 billion fundraising goal

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David Palmer (above) unveils largest fundraising campaign in Canadian university history.

CUPE drives a hard bargain

Last Sunday evening at Convocation Hall, the University of Toronto launched Boundless, a $2 billion fundraising campaign, which makes it the largest campaign in Canadian university history. President David Naylor said,” Canada must have universities that can achieve two related goals: conduct the advanced research that will help solve the grand challenges humanity now faces, and offer the best and brightest students an exceptional education to help them build a better world.” Boundless was officially launched on Sunday, but fundraising campaigns never really end. The previous campaign officially ended in 2003, and since then nearly half the target--$966 million--has been raised. “It goes on and on,” said former U of T Chancellor Hal Jackman. “The campaign starts, which means everyone should come to the trough again to give. After so many years you have to have another campaign so that they’ll

come again.” U of T has a large trough. The school has a global network of over 500,000 prospective donors and alumni spread across 174 countries. Although U of T regularly fairs well in global rankings, it does so despite financial constraints. In activating this huge potential donor pool, Boundless can work to put U of T on a more equal footing with its competitors. “We’re very, very good, in spite of having low per-capita funding,” said U of T Chancellor David Peterson. “We’re funded way below the per-capita funding of the schools we compete with--the Oxfords, the Harvards.” While Oxford and Harvard are private universities, U of T’s total revenue per full-time student is indeed about 41 per cent lower than average for publicly funded peer institutions in the United States. “We are studying in the province with the highest tuition fees, lowest per-student funding, and largest class sizes,” said Danielle Sandhu, President of BODI BOLD

MATTHEW D.H. GRAY

by Yukon Damov

see page 2

Inside this issue...

by Talia Gordon In a move to accelerate a bargaining process that has been stalled since July, on November 22, Unit 1 Members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902 unanimously supported a call for a strike vote. CUPE 3902 is the trade union representing Teaching Assistants, Lab Demonstrators, and other contract academic staff at the University of Toronto. Polls opened to members

across U of T campuses last Tuesday. If the strike vote passes, it will authorize the Union Executive to call a strike if the university administration keeps refusing to address key issues presented by the Unit 1 Bargaining Team in their Collective Agreement. The previous three-year CUPE 3902 Unit 1 Collective Agreement (CA) lapsed at the end of April, which signaled the start of a new bargaining process aimed at solving a number of problems identified by the Union. These

problems include inadequate funding packages for TAs, poor allocation of fellowship money, and the growing size of undergraduate tutorials and labs. Chief Spokesperson for Unit 1 Bargaining Committee James Nugent explained that the real value of the funding package has decreased over the past few years. The package has been frozen at $15,000, despite the increased cost of living in Toronto and general inflation. In addition, said Nugent, taxable re-

see page 2

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“Change” in Yemen Page 3

BODI BOLD NANA ARBOVA

Union calls for more funding, fewer students


2

THE NEWS

November 24, 2011

from “the books”

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the newspaper the newspaper is the University of Toronto’s independent weekly paper, published since 1978. VOL XXXIV No. 12

Editor-in-Chief Cara Sabatini

Design Editor Samantha Chiusolo

News Editor Geoff Vendeville

Copy Editor Talia Gordon

Associate News Editor Yukon Damov

Arts Editor Vanessa Purdy

Photo Editor Bodi Bold

Contributors

Associate Photo Editor Nana Arbova

Web Editor Andrew Walt the newspaper 1 Spadina Crescent Suite 245 Toronto, ON M5S 1A1

Nana Arbova, Aberdeen Berry, Bodi Bold, Dan Christensen, Yukon Damov, Talia Gordon, Vanessa Purdy, Cara Sabatini, David Stokes, Geoffrey Vendeville, Andrew Walt. Editorial: 416-593-1552 thenewspaper@gmail.com www.thenewspaper.ca

the newspaper is published by Planet Publications Inc., a nonprofit corporation. All U of T community members, including students, staff and faculty, are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper.

the University of Toronto Students’ Union. “We need to increase political pressure on the government to ensure adequate funding for our colleges and universities and we can do this by engaging in joint lobbying with our university administration.” Meanwhile, Boundless shares Chancellor Peterson’s vision of U of T as a global institution. Both of its “central pillars” use the word “global”: Preparing global citizens and meeting global challenges. The first pillar, looking into the university, will prepare students who look out toward the world. The second pillar involves research and teaching, including attempts to attract world-class minds a new generation of “risingstar” faculty. “There are an endless number of projects involved,” said Chancellor Peterson. “It’s broken into 23 campaigns. It’s

bricks and mortar but more importantly it’s student assistance--it’s chairs--it’s research. It affects all parts of the university.” Now various departments and divisions are creating their own priorities and goals. Here is how the funds will be divided according to the campaign’s priorities: $650 million for faculty, including the creation of more than 200 new chairs, professorships and “rising star” faculty positions; $500 million for student programming and financial aid, which will be divided into $300 million for graduate and undergraduate financial assistance, and $200 million for student-focused initiatives such as smaller learning communities, international internships, research grants, international exchanges and peer mentoring; $450 million for research and programs, including a range of priori-

ties including acquisitions for libraries and cutting-edge research projects; and, $400 million for infrastructure such as libraries, classrooms, labs, study spaces, athletic facilities and public spaces across all three campuses. And while Sandhu has concerns about the influence philanthropists will carry, Terrence Donnelly, whose name is attached to the U of T Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular research, and recently donated $12 million dollars for the Mississauga campus’ new Health Sciences Complex, is optimistic of U of T’s role in the future, “It’s onward and upward. I think there are new fields of research that are becoming evident and branching off what we’ve already discovered. I think the horizon is unlimited. This campaign is about growth and about future success in areas we can’t even imagine.”

from “hard bargain” search assistantships are now being included as part of the package. In the past, these positions could serve to bring in extra money for graduate students; with the current structure of funding packages, this is no longer the case. Another problem addressed in the draft proposals is the length of time for which the funding package is available to graduate students. “The university has organized a situation in which programs of study take, on average, six years to complete, but funding packages only last for four or five years,” said Nugent. This often leaves graduate students in financially precarious positions. Nugent explained that the Doctoral Completion Grant (DCG) had acted as a rebate on tuition, providing a safety net for students whose funding had been cut short. Last year, the Provost unilaterally cancelled this grant. According to Nugent, this action was taken without consulting any boards, including the CUPE. The administration has thus far declined to provide any explanation for their choice to cut the grant. At the heart of these issues is what Nugent described as the “constant erosion of the quality of education at U of T.” In a recent study conducted by the Globe and Mail on student satisfaction at Canadian universities, U of T ranked among the lowest across the board. Nugent

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2011 Gift Ideas

chalked this up to what he called “unwieldy tutorial sizes” and gross understaffing. In some departments, tutorial sizes have reached a stunning 500 students. The new CA calls for a hard cap of 50, and requires tutorials of 20 or more students to be staffed by more than one TA. “We’re teachers who care about good pedagogy and good education,” commented Nugent, who is a TA and student course instructor in the Department of Geography. Many graduate students echo his sentiments, and have voiced concerns about the effectiveness of their teaching as class size grows. “No matter how many students you’re assigned to teach, you’re paid the same,” said anthropology MA student and TA, Cindy Ochieng. She emphasized the need for better training programs and

TA’s rally support for better funding and smaller tutorials. more support for teaching assistants, which is another issue raised by the bargaining team. Cindy added, “Some of the issues addressed [by CUPE] are aimed at preserving what we already have. Others are a move towards having a better experience for students and TAs.” Nugent explained, “If the University of Toronto wants to remain a world class institution, it can’t forget that it’s not simply a research institution; it’s also a place where students come to learn. This should be a priority.” It is hoped that the strike vote will send a strong message of membership support to the university administration and spark productive negotiations with CUPE 3902.


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3

THE NEWS

Journalist describes obstacles to ‘Change’ in Yemen Khaled Al-Hammadi honoured for reports on protests in Yemen by Cara Sabatini

ignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. “The ultimate goal is for President Saleh to step down,” said Al-Hammadi, “but [the protesters] have already achieved many goals . . . like weakening the regime.” Al-Hammadi explained that the protests do not necessarily oppose the ruling party, but rather the nepotism that has marked the president’s rule of more than three decades. Anti-Saleh protesters are not the only voices heard in the square. Since the demonstrations began nearly 10 months ago, two protest movements have formed on the streets of Sanaa: those who oppose President Saleh, and those who are loyal to him. In addition to the use of security forces responsible for a number of kidnappings, Al-Hammadi explained that the regime installed snipers to shoot at any protesters who attempt “to cross the front lines [into the loyalist camp],” and to deter onlookers from joining the protest.

Protests in Yemen continue, following President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s agreement on Wednesday to shift power within 30 days to the country’s Vice President. “All promises are for the media, not for action,” said Khaled Al-Hammadi, a Yemeni journalist who operates out of a tent as a makeshift office in the middle of what is known as Sanaa’s “Change Square.” The encampment near university grounds in Yemen’s capital is the epicentre of the Arab Spring’s longest running protest, which began this February. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression has awarded Khaled Al-Hammadi the International Press Freedom Award to honour his exemplary courage and passion for free expression. After he accepts the award in Toronto, Al-Hammadi, who works with the news outlet Al Jazeera English to report on Yemen’s uprising, will return to Yemen Friday, November 25 to rejoin those who demand the immediate res-

“People are living in lawlessness,” said Al-Hammadi, who risks the danger of leaving the camp once per week to visit his family. The lack of security has prevented people from working and going to school, which has damaged the majority of private companies. This damage to the private sector, combined with an already devastating unemployment rate of 60 per cent, has collapsed the economy. “Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Arab world,” said Al-Hammadi. “Yemen had money from oil . . . and tourism industries, but it went to the president’s pockets.” “Elections have been used as a tool [by the Saleh regime] to show the international community that we are an international society,” said Al-Hammadi. The international community has paid less attention to the uprisings in Yemen than other countries in the region. AlHammadi warned that international pressure is needed in order to prevent the possibility

of civil war. “If this happens,” said Al-Hammadi, “60 million weapons would be in the hands of civilians, tribesmen would have guns . . . and the country could become a haven for Al Qaeda and international terrorist groups.” International media coverage of the corrupt regime and the resulting uprising has paled in comparison to those in Egypt, Tunisia, and Syria. Al-Hammadi attributes this to the difficulties that face foreign media outlets in a tightly censored country. “The regime has closed the doors of Yemen to the media,” said Al-Hammadi. Relations between the United States and Yemen’s neighbouring country Saudi Arabia have also prevented a demand for the president’s deposition, as both countries’ investments would be at risk if a new regime were to assume power. “There are too many people for them [Saleh’s security forces] to storm the square,” said Al-Hammadi. Many university

students join protesters in the afternoons to participate in daily programmes and to attend speeches. The square has become a forum for people to practice various skills including photography, journalism, and even medicine in makeshift hospitals. Small businesses have set up camp, and a number of artists may be seen rendering the situation in the square. While nearly half the army has defected and a number of Saleh’s relatives have left their military and ministerial positions, unemployment continues to rise and provinces remain devastated by the regime’s use of rockets against the uprising population. According to Al-Hammadi, Yemen’s biggest challenge will be the building of functional economic and judicial systems while cultivating unity among Yemeni society. In the meantime, “the protesters must keep flowing the news of revolution and the region,” AlHammadi said.

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4

THE INSIDE

November 24, 2011

Occupy Toronto no longer

Judge upholds city’s decision to evict protestors from St. James’ Park

4

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Occupy protestors stand their ground.

Protesters at Occupy Toronto spent last weekend nervously awaiting Justice David Brown’s opinion on whether city officials have the right to put an end to the demonstration in St. James’ Park. The judge’s decision was initially meant to be delivered on Saturday, but was delayed until Monday morning. His verdict: the campers must go. The protesters were reluctant to leave the park they had occupied since October 15. Despite Judge Brown’s ruling, many insisted that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms permitted them to stay put. “I assume the Constitution will remain intact and we can stay,” said protester Gerald Parker. Julie Perrault, another demonstrator, was puzzled by Brown’s decision. “Evictions [of Occupy protests in other cities[ were mostly deemed illegal.” Jim McDowell, a member of the Canadian Auto Workers’ Union, also argued, “The Constitution overrules [municipal] bylaws.” Judge Brown evidently disagreed with the protesters. He argued that, although Occupy Toronto is a peaceful protest, the municipal rules against camping in the park are “reasonable limits prescribed by law” in compliance with Section 1 of the Charter. On Sunday, the day before Judge Brown was to issue his decision, protesters still didn’t have a plan for what to do after their possible eviction. A protester named Hector said he was concerned about police brutality. “I’m ambivalent about staying,” he said, “but there are people [willing to be] arrested for all of us, and I want to bear witness to that.” After being notified of the

judge’s decision to uphold the city’s eviction order, protesters held a rally on Monday night. Although some protesters had already packed up their tents and left the park, many more gathered to discuss what they would do next. Union and First Nations representatives were also in attendance. The protesters chanted “Evict Rob Ford,” and one of the speakers stated that “Ideas cannot be killed by an eviction notice.” This was greeted with a roar of approval. In private, protesters were not as sanguine. Hector was dismayed by the prospective loss of Occupy Toronto’s “culture of public discussion where anyone can have their voice heard.” Perrault said defiantly, “We can’t be evicted. The camps will stay. Location is not relevant.” David McNally added, “They are so so silly with their threats and their notices. Rob Ford is quaking in his boots right now!” The protesters also proudly discussed their achievements. At the rally, a speaker announced, “What we have here is very symbolic and important.” One protester commented, rather cynically, “I guess what we got out of this is that we were noticed, though not necessarily for the better.” Others felt they had succeeded in calling attention to important social issues. “The 99% need a voice,” said Cammier Pierce, a union representative. Yesterday, Occupy Toronto was shut down peacefully. CBC reported that only 12 arrests were made, and six of these people were soon released. Mayor Ford said in a press conference that Occupy Toronto would not be allowed to relocate: “The protest is over and I’d like to keep it that way. If they move to another park, they will be asked to leave immediately.”

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NANA ARBOVA

by Aberdeen Berry


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5

THE INSIDE

6

Department makes art work

Fine Art faculty finds new ways to cope with smaller budget then you’ll have a critique and present your work in front of the class.” Jackson, an intern at Sotheby’s, had just come from the Royal Ontario Museum where she was helping hang paintings for upcoming Canadian art auction. She came to U of T to study International Relations, but changed her mind and her major after taking a few Visual Studies studio classes. “I found it very relaxing, it was a really nice space... [and] small enough so that professors know who you are. If you want to spend time with them to get feedback, they’re even available outside office hours to talk to

ists, such as A. A. Bronson and multimedia artist Vera Frankel. There are rumours that Visual Studies may try to become more profitable by separating from Art History next year and merging with Architecture. However, Jackson worried that this move could take away from its credibility as an art school. Queen’s University recently announced that it would not be accepting new students into its fine arts program next year, drawing attention to challenges facing art departments across the country. “We can’t help but be nervous when we look around and see that we stick out. We’re an anomaly,” Steele said.

As the co-president of the Fine Art Students’ Union, Jackson often represents the department at university open houses. “I get a lot of parents asking me what I’ll do with my life. It can be a little scary, because once you get a job, there isn’t always much job security. But you have to realize that there are jobs in that field, and people want creative thinkers.” At the end of our interview, Professor Legge, told me about her grandmother, who grew up in rural Ontario in the 1930s learning Greek and Latin in high school. “Even at the height of the Depression in Ontario, no one asked her why she was learning

GEOFFREY VENDEVILLE

The City of Toronto has recently proposed that museums be made more profitable by serving as venues for weddings and private parties. The Fine Art Department at U of T is not yet in such dire straits. “We aren’t yet using our department as a wedding and event venue,” Department Chair Elizabeth Legge said. Pointing to a coffee-coloured mould stain on the plaster ceiling of her office, she joked, “Is there a niche market for people who want to get married under a stain and fluorescent lights?” Like many other university departments, Fine Art, composed of the Art History and Visual Studies programs, was asked to trim its budget. As chair, Legge had to decide what her department could do without. “Administering cuts is a very difficult thing to do,” she remarked. “I would always rather cut hardware than people.” So the department got rid of all office phones except for hers. (“Privilege of the chair,” she said sarcastically.) That may sound insignificant, but unplugging their phones has saved around $20,000 per year. Professors have started to dip into their own re-

search grants to pay for guest lectures. The Art History program has also had to expand class sizes. Since 2008, Legge’s own undergrad course, The Dada and Surrealist Tradition, grew from 50odd students to 182. Fine Art is not the only U of T department that has been forced to reduce its budget. In fact, Legge said her department was relatively lucky; they could afford to hire two new professors in the last three years. “By university standards, that’s great - when there’s not much hiring going on,” she said. The Visual Studies program has had more difficulty cutting costs and raising revenue. Unlike other courses, fine art classes can’t be taught to an auditorium of a hundred students; studio space is essential to the program. Studio classes must be small (enrollment is usually about 24 people) so that students can critique one another’s work. Corrie Jackson, an Art History and Visual Studies double major described the typical studio class: “You’ll get an assignment, and you’ll have about two weeks to finish it. You can talk to your professor and get feedback, and

Corrie Jackson (above) leafs through her prints. Shannon Garden-Smith (left) presents her installation in the style of artist Kay Rosen.

GEOFFREY VENDEVILLE

by Geoffrey Vendeville

you.” Since Visual Studies can’t raise money by increasing course enrollment, the department has stopped hiring sessional faculty. Director of Visual Studies, Professor Lisa Steele, said the program can no longer offer a “master class” with a visiting Canadian artist. In the past, U of T had brought in well-known art-

Not only has the recession placed greater financial pressures on university art departments, it has also raised questions about the value of a fine arts education in today’s economy. A fine arts education rarely leads to a high-paying job, and a work of art has no practical application. As Oscar Wilde once wrote, “all art is quite useless.”

these things,” Legge said. “Maybe it’s generational. But we used to see knowledge as equipment that can be used no matter what you do.” “The problem isn’t class sizes; it’s about finding support for these [art] departments,” Jackson said. Or the department could just resort to hosting weddings.


6

THE ARTS

November 24, 2011

The tsound of music

Taking your date to the symphony will get you to third base

ty of genres and eras. From the sublime heights of Beethoven to the whimsy of The Wizard of Oz, all brands of music are represented. The only thing a prospective patron has to do is pick a programme to enjoy. But can you enjoy the music too much? When asked about the taboo practice of enraptured applause in-between

movement breaks, horn player Gabriel Radford responded by saying that adherence to such decorum was, from the perspective of the pit, “the last thing on our mind.” Radford added that knowing their playing is appreciated only helps them. Of course not every piece played will move you to fits

of rapture, though it certainly helps to listen to the programme beforehand. But even when a piece isn’t beloved, there is something majestically tender about the unamplified sound of a 100 piece orchestra reaching out to an audience. And when the TSO is on fire, the experience is incredibly electric, even exhaust-

ing, like a type of sonic yoga. It’s no wonder some people pay full price for this. tsoundcheck is free to join and tickets can be bought either online or at the Roy Thompson box office for $14 each. The upcoming Christmas season includes numerous performances of holiday favourite, Handel’s Messiah.

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Going to the symphony has long been a luxury reserved for royalty, noblemen, and aristocrats. In short, people who aren’t students. But now, thanks in part to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, things have changed. Since 2001, the TSO has offered tsoundcheck, a cheap ticket programme for those between the ages of 18 and 35. This is a sort of revolution in the experience of classical music, akin to, say, Schoenberg’s atonal technique. Going to the symphony is suddenly the same price as going to the movies. Not to mention, it makes for a much better date. The tsoundcheck programme has been successful both in sales and in making the TSO audience one of the youngest and most diverse in classical music. The same could be said of the orchestra itself, which has a sizable contingent of a younger players. Also unencumbered by convention is the selection of the TSO, which prominently features music from a wide varie-

KARA LE

by David Stokes

THE BLOCKBUSTER

The Descendants, your mother would like it Payne’s new film is refreshingly familiar by Dan Christensen If you have a family, or if you’ve loved somebody, or if you’ve lost anybody, or if you’ve been betrayed, or if you’ve not known whether to laugh or to cry, or if you have experienced any human emotion in general, you will undoubtedly be able to relate to The Descendants. Foul! I hear you cry. This is all about a rich lawyer whose wife is injured joy-riding in Hawaii, leaving him to take care of his spoiled daughters as he hems and haws about what to do with a royal inheritance. Sure you can relate to it, if you’re a whiny uppermiddle class white person familiar with tropical locales. While these facts are all in some way true of the film (and the aforementioned demographic describes a hefty number of U of T students), to characterize it in such a fashion is not just uncharitable, but exposes a lack of

humanity suggesting a mild anti-social disorder, or more likely just exposes that you actually didn’t see the movie. I’ll admit that in the opening fifteen minutes, while we are being introduced to Matt King (George Clooney), his comatose wife, and the luscious Hawaiian land plot passed down to him from his ancestors, I had suspicions that this was merely an excuse for director Alexander Payne to go to Hawaii and hang out with George Clooney. While I still hold these suspicions, my attitude began to change upon meeting Matt’s daughters. Scottie is a simple and restless 10-year-old and Alex (Shailene Woodley) her imaginably impatient and standoffish 17-year-old sister. Soon after hearing the news that her mother will shortly be disconnected from life support, Alex apprises her father of some dark deeds in which his wife was involved

before her accident. Matt proceeds to develop an obsession over his wife’s actions with the help of his daughters, as he struggles to decide whether or not to make his cousins rich by selling off the family’s land to resort developers. Payne’s ability to let us see Hawaii as a home rather than a vacation destination instantly allows us to imagine ourselves somewhere amid Matt’s familial quagmire, and yet no singular element of his style can be credited as the one which affords us this view. This talent for invisibly handing perspective off to the audience is one Payne has been developing in each of his films, and comes to greatest fruition here. The characters’ revelations need not be declared but merely suggested, and the whole world of their emotional history is opened. This can give the sense that the film always just misses

the mark of resonance; being pedestrian where it could have been shocking. But Payne doesn’t require bonechilling moments when, over the course of his characters’ journeys, your soul has been moved clear across the room without you even knowing it. While I’m no stranger to the feeling of going to the movies to feel like a strang-

er, to watch the capers of wild and wonderful men and women light years away from myself, sometimes a filmmaker’s greatest achievement is not to dazzle us with the fantastic, but to show us the familiar. In this regard, The Descendants is a masterstroke.


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7

THE ARTS

Page out of his songbook

Former Barenaked Ladies singer bares soul in ensemble by Vanessa Purdy The Art of Time Ensemble was at it again this past weekend at the Enwave Theatre, featuring Canadian artist Steven Page, former frontman of The Barenaked Ladies. Now in its twelfth season, The Ensemble combines classical music with modern genres, reinvigorating the stereotypically antiquated genre with cultural relevance and contemporary appreciation. The musicians, including pianist and artistic director Andrew Burashko, are all excellent in their own regard. But when playing together, they create a unified sound so flawlessly layered that it makes for a first-class sonic vacation. Each performance of The Ensemble showcases the talents of a non-Ensemble Canadian performer, and Steven Page seemed like a perfect fit. As anyone who's explored beyond their hits and singles knows, the former frontman of The Barenaked Ladies has an incredible range and can evoke the whole spectrum of emotions using his voice alone The prospect of hearing him sing virtually anything while backed up by a

high calibre orchestra should surely be reason enough for fans to hand over their wallets. But somehow, somewhere, something went wrong. The only connecting thread to the repertoire chosen seemed to be strange or dark subject matter. A song about a mother hating her child for ruining her figure, for example. Few songs were recognizable, which isn't necessary a complaint in itself. My contention is that, for the most part, when I did know a song (such as Randy Newman’s ‘Marie’), I was constantly and painfully made aware of how obtusely it had been arranged. In the case of ‘Marie’ — a song which lacks Newman’s trademark and oft disconcerting sarcasm and opts for reflective sincerity instead — was treated to a bizarre cacophony of instrumentation that stripped it of its heartbreaking honesty. The artsy arrangements were often distracting and, given the occasionally optional presence of melody and a recurrent lack of lyrical clarity, one wonders if they complimented the original pieces at all. Whether these song choices were even worthy of the talents of those performing them is another question. For the most part, the inter-

Here's what the staff has on rotation at the newspaper office this week. Steven Page, former frontman of the Barenaked Ladies play between Page and The Ensemble was well-balanced, and it rarely seemed as if they were competing. This served to augment the unique ability of classical music to tell and shape a story without words, with Page’s voice simply becoming but another instrument. The audience can tell that The Art of Time Ensemble is the product of a visionary director and his talented supporters. However the show seemed to sacrifice authenticity for experimentation in the name of art. And while I do not believe in the ‘vision’ of this particular concert, I have no doubt in the capacity of the concept to enthral and engage.

Andrew – The Replacements, “Swingin Party” Aberdeen -- The Police, “Every Breath You Take” Bodi – Pixies, “No. 13” Dan – Joanna Newsom, “Good Intentions Paving Company” Sam – Cassius, “I Love U So” Vanessa – Gord Downie, “Chancellor”

University of Ottawa

Graduate Studies

uOTTAWA EVENING in Toronto

December 1, 2011 The Royal Ontario Museum, The Glass Room 100 Queen’s Park 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Please RSVP: www.discoveruOttawa.ca/torontoevening

»


THE END

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18. Or ___ (ultimatum) 19. Possess 21. Definite article 23. Abyss 24. “Where’s the ___?” 25. Pester 29. Mock 31. Common conjunction 33. Pebble 34. Soars

36. Tennis fault 38. Soaked 39. Vacation 41. ___ of the woods; neighbourhood 44. Narrow opening 47. Fishing implement 49. Occur 52. Possible contraction in 13 across 55. Writing utensil

57. He has the world on his shoulders 59. Nail with a spiral groove 60. Action word 62. Age 63. Lug behind 65. Be in debt 66. Reject 67. Mob 70. Appropriate 72. Uses a car 74. Unit of land 75. Use eyes 76. Rescued 77. Garden nuisance 78. Concealed 79. Word of assent Down 1. Near the beach 2. Fit 3. Sport mesh 4. Severely uncomfortable 5. Skill 6. Bird abode 7. Innate gift 8. Application 9. Waste receptacle 10. Dine 11. Aid 12. Foot adornment 15. Cried 20. Spider's lair 22. Keeps 24. Lager, stout, or ale 26. Presently 27. Single 28. Still (adv.) 30. Enjoy a chair

November 24, 2011

32. Sawbuck 35. Formal male address 37. Coffee alternative 40. Soda 42. King crustacean 43. Drum or first aid set 44. Petrol 45. Circle segment 46. ___ se; in itself 48. Loyal 50. They're oftenlong or short 51. Deserved 53. Secured, perhaps with 3 down 54. Twice 27 down

56. Not old 58. Speaks 61. Crimson and scarlet 64. Bathe 66. Lead headlong into a pool 67. Uncooked 68. Frozen water 69. Raw mineral 71. Canadian province (acronym) 73. Sunbeam

The Puzzle

by Andrew Walt

ASHTON OSMAK

the campus comment

8

Satirical video by student comedy troupe plays up Queens’ U stereotypes. the newspaper asked: What is the U of T student stereotype?

2

RIcKY Sociology, 2nd year

JACOB Psychology, Phd “I attend badminton, and they are unexceptionally Chinese and Japanese players, out of 30 or 40, and I'm the only white person there.”

WILLIAM History and Political Science, 4th year “That we’re anti-social, that we don’t really care about U of T at all, that we’re elitist, that we’re more self-interested than other students. That and that we don’t have a student identity.”

JULIO Engineering, 1st year

Landan Philosophy and Equities, 4th year “That we’re too Asian, and I can say that because I’m Asian. I find UofT to be a bedrock of activism around various issues, like today we have Trans-Day Remembrance here.”

NANA ARBOVA

“A big one is that we don’t really have lives all we do is study . . . but I’m involved in so many different groups and all of my friends are involved; it just really counteracts that stereotype.”

CARLOS Engineering, 1st year “A stereotype is that all engineers are geeks, which is not true. I’m an engineer, and I’m not a geek.”

“Well the new one I think is that students at U of T don't have a life, we're always studying, I think it's pretty true to be honest.”


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