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Volume XXXVIII Issue III October 8th 2015
the newspaper University of Toronto’s independent community paper
Since 1978
QUEER & DISORIENTED INSIDE 3 4
UTSU views on the Annual General Meeting JFL42 we review Trevor Noah, Miranda Sings
& more of your favourite comedians
5 6
ELECTION 2K15 a guide to this year’s candidates JOHNNYLAND controversy in all-ages music scene
A look at U of T’s frosh week alternatives by Maxim Basu and Prisca Lam
For first years, frosh week is one of the easiest and quickest ways to familiarize themselves with the campus and meet a lot of new people. The first week of September for them becomes a free-for-all of new experiences, new memories and new faces. But frosh week isn’t the only orientation U of T has to offer. Disorientation Week is an alternative to frosh week for many students in which discussion panels and events are organized focusing on social justice, community involvement and environmental justice. Running from September 21 to 25, Disorientation is the first of many different U of T Orientations that a student can enjoy on the St. George campus.
tionships, positive energy and maintaining longevity. However, the stigma and fear of HIV/AIDS can bar people from fully participating in sexual encounters with others. This event revealed that South Asians are especially prone to fear of HIV/AIDS due to cultural standards of abstaining from sex until marriage and arranged marriage practices. Additionally, HIV/AIDS is particularly troublesome to South Asians because the virus is more widespread on that subcontinent than it is the West. For a long time in many countries, HIV/AIDS was thought of as the ‘gay virus.’ Gay men were labelled by society as the primary carriers of the virus. In reality, the virus developed in Africa and is predominant amongst heterosexual men and women. Toronto has events and sites that commemorate the struggle against HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ+ community as well as others. The most prominent event is World
WARNING
This issue is election-heavy!
Rethinking HIV Risk, Monday Sept. 21
AIDS Day and the most prominent site is the Toronto
HIV/AIDS poses many risks to individuals, but its
AIDS Memorial located in Barbara Hall Park, within
impacts have been misinterpreted throughout history
walking distance of the St. George campus.
due to racism, sexism, homophobia and other social problems. This discussion panel was facilitated by
Surviving the Colonized Classroom, Sept. 23
Shriya Hari, the Community Development and Volun-
Facilitated by Victoria Herrera and Lisa Boivin, “Sur-
teer Coordinator at the Alliance for South Asian AIDS
viving the Colonized Classroom” opened my eyes to
Prevention (ASSAP).
the repercussions of colonialism and imperialism that are present in the Canadian school system today.
Sexual health was highlighted as an important part of any person’s life; it is important in forming rela-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
The UTSU is holding a Plebiscite. The proposal you are asked to consider is: “Are you in favour of moving the start of Orientation Week to a few days before Labour Day in order to allow for the introduction of a Fall Reading Week?”
Polling days: October 27-29 Polling times: 9:00am-6:00pm Polling locations: Galbraith, Sidney Smith, Gerstein, Wetmore, OISE, TYP, Old Vic
@UTSU98
For more information, visit your Students’ Union website at utsu.ca or contact the Chief Returning Officer at cro@utsu.ca.
by Astoria Felix
Masthead
the newspaper
University of Toronto’s independent community paper since 1978 the newspaper is published by Planet Publications Inc., a non-profit corporation
Editor-In-Chief - Dylan Hornby Managing Editor - Zach Morgenstern Arts Editor - Prisca Lam Music Editor - Melissa Vincent Comment Editor - Fraser Allan-Best Online Editor - Isaac Thornley
Design Editor - Ariel Ryann Art Director - Maxwell Galley Marketing Director - Neil McKenzie-Sutter Photo Editor - Stefan Bird Senior Copy Editor - Alina Butt Web Design - Christopher Bathgate
256 McCaul St. Suite 106 Toronto, ON M5T 1W5 thenewspaper@ gmail.com
Contributors Maxim Basu, Fraser Allan-Best, Stefan Bird, Alina Butt, Jenny Crick, Leeanne Do, Nithiya G., Astoria Felix, Dylan Hornby, Carly Hysenaj, Prisca Lam, Hilary Lo, Zach Morgenstern, Sanjana Nigam, Nikki Pangilinan, Barbod Pournajar, Ariel Ryann, Diandra Sasongko, Joyce Wong All U of T community members, including students, alumni, faculty, and staff are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper.
www.thenewspaper.ca
the news 3
Reviews of the UTSU AGM Three rookies and a vet reflect on the UTSU’s big show
photo by Stefan Bird
On October 7, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) held its annual general meeting (AGM), a chance for members to vote on policies, look at audits and hear from their President. Only some … okay, nearly none of that happened. Here’s how AGM rookies Hilary Lo, Diandra Sasongko and Barbod Pournajar felt about it, and how AGM vet Zach Morgenstern felt it stacked up. Samosas. BNAD. Spirit fingers. By Hilary Lo Going into this thing, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard that it was going to be a “shit show” and had prepared myself to watch people who didn’t give a flying fuck about the school yell obscenities at each other. Well, yeah, this did happen, but the flipside of that was wholly unexpected. What attracts so many people to the AGM year after year, even after they’ve graduated from the school, is its weird balance between complete and utter chaos and genuine, heartfelt emotion. Watching Madina Siddiqui, president of the Afghan Students’ Association, passionately plead her case for including her club in the budgetary process while simultaneously eyeing the students sipping on beers in the seats in front of mine was an exceptionally unique experience. It seemed that for the large amount of people who attended solely for the free food and bad jokes, there were an equal amount who were using this time prudently to voice their concerns and proposals in a space where they were guaranteed to be heard (granted the BNAD [the Engineering Band] didn’t come crashing in halfway through). I just wish it could have stayed that productive throughout the entire five hours. As the meeting dragged on, the conversations around me shifted noticeably towards the negative; the vote counts became increasingly tedious, and as university students stuck in a lecture hall are prone to do, people started to grow exceedingly restless.The debates got sloppier, the kids next to me started eating pie, and the whole thing essentially went to shit. I can’t wait for the next one.
Something every U of T student should experience at least once By Diandra Sasongko I had no expectations going into my very first AGM. Entering the hall at OISE felt like attending a really rowdy lecture, and I thought that for the most part I would be indifferent to discussions held within those five gruelling hours. With each vote result I anticipated I could feel myself becoming more and more emotionally invested in the issues being discussed and the motions being put forward. A student who wanted to make structural changes to the UTSU urged for there to be better representation for international students. Another wanted to make these changes to also create a safer environment for LGBTQ+ students, who also often lack representation. It is interesting to see progress being pushed for, with these changes hoping to be made with intersectional approaches that tackle various isms and phobias. Having to sit through hours of people using parliamentary language and being so confused by the terminology that I often lost track of what was being discussed was absolutely exhausting. However, it made me proud to know that I attend a school where students are passionate about ensuring that minorities are not at a disadvantage and, beyond this, that so many of them are eager to make a difference that positively impacts the whole U of T student body. Of course, seeing the BNAD disrupt the entire thing and get chased out by security was really entertaining too. A Review of the UTSU AGM By Barbod Pournajar The UTSU AGM was held earlier this week, and with it came the usual antics and rowdiness of a typical AGM. The early remarks were interrupted by the Engineering band, which upheld tradition by causing a ruckus. There was one prominent student amendment on the agenda led by second year student Madina Siddiqui. Her motion encompassed a fundamental problem with the UTSU’s annual budget proposal: it doesn’t include clubs on campus, which is problematic be-
cause clubs receive funding from the UTSU.
Grading the UTSU AGM By Zach Morgenstern
The AGM then moved to the main proposal, which was the restructuring of the board of executives to better represent LGBTQ+ people and international students, to name a few. There were two proposals. The first was proposed by Khrystyna Zhuk and it keeps the same structure of the Board. The second was proposed by Grayce Slobodian and introduces new board positions, including one per college and eight representatives from UTM. Ultimately, Zhuk’s proposal was passed with the support of Trinity College students.
I attended three UTSU AGMs (and a special GM) before this one. I saw a meeting get shut down. I saw another get painfully filibustered. I saw one bombarded with aggressive cheers and vuvuzela videos and another get bombarded with a young Conservative telling people not to worry about internship exploitation because “McDonald’s is hiring.”
Many students showed astounding support for Zhuk’s proposal, claiming that it includes and consults many groups on campus, whereas Grayce’s proposal failed to consult major groups on campus such as Trinity students, who felt that representation under Zhuk’s proposal was more prominent. The motion initially passed but did not get a two-thirds majority, and therefore no board motion was brought to fruition at the AGM. What was alarming was that many of the Trinity students who came to the AGM left immediately after, which was disrespectful because it shows a major flaw in the college system: it is inherently segregational and divisive, and it promotes people to support the interests of their college/ faculty rather than the interest of the student body as a whole. The UTSU really displayed its inefficiency, as it took nearly four hours to vote on just one of the proposals presented by the UTSU. They got through three of the 16 points on the agenda. This is a result of outdated systems that enable bureaucratic nonsense in meetings such as these. The AGM predicates itself on the rule of Robert, which is very outdated and nonsensical. There are so many laws and bylaws that it seems as if every word uttered is contradictory. The AGM was ineffective, inefficient, useless and didn’t really change anything, and a part of the problem is that this current UTSU does not have a great reputation amongst students, and therefore many feel that they can undermine the authority of the UTSU. If the UTSU wants to be taken seriously, then it must really think about its branding and the way members carry themselves.
The Beginning: A+ This AGM was as quirky as the others at the start. Madina Siddiqui protested the non-inclusion of a motion she’d submitted, and despite the chair’s insistence that it would be wrong for him to change the agenda without giving notice, Siddiqui got the floor to vote in her favor, defying UTSU procedural precedent. Siddiqui was followed by socialist freshman Jack Rising, who introduced an impromptu motion for the UTSU to agitate towards a strike for free tuition. Rising won a vote to challenge the chair and got his motion on the agenda. The Middle: C+ The middle of the meeting, a sequel of last year’s debate on reforming the UTSU’s board of directors structure to comply with new corporate law, was predictable and slow. Khrystyna Zhuk and Grayce Slobodian pitched the competing proposals, with Zhuk’s appealing to the college-government demographic and Slobodian’s to UTM and the leftybase of past UTSUs. While both made strong pitches, Zhuk’s supporters came in droves to the microphones. Zhuk’s proposal ultimately beat out Slobodian’s, but could not get enough votes to pass, leaving the UTSU back where it started … again. The End: ZZZZZ-The meeting dragged on past 10 p.m. and debate broke out as to whether or not it should end. The initial answer was that no-agenda items needed to be completed. After 10 minutes of debating what it would mean to debate those motions, majority opinion changed and the membership voted overwhelmingly to adjourn. Gone for me were the happy memories of Siddiqui and Rising’s spirited victories, because they didn’t matter—nor did most of what was on the agenda.
4
the arts Comedians Trevor Noah, Miranda Sings, Bill Burr and Hannibal Buress headline Toronto’s annual Just the feature? For Laughs comedy festival. But was it all a laughing matter? The night before his first appearance as host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah took the JFL42 stage and conquered a concert hall crammed full with a diverse crowd that was only fitting considering his repertoire. The once fledgling South African comic expectedly guided the audience through a winding narrative on his favorite and most powerful topics: race relations and being African in the U.S. He cruised through seamless transitions between his experience growing up during Apartheid and visiting an intimidatingly white Scotland on tour, to police violence in the U.S. and being harangued for possibly carrying Ebola onto an airplane. I was one of the many self-conscious white audience members tense in my seat, reflecting on the truths he was charmingly digressing into the mic and wondering when it was appropriate for me to laugh.
Trevor Noah By Ariel Ryann
At times, I became uncomfortable with my own ethnicity as he delivered his delightfully snarky gospel on the ridiculousness of white privilege and racism in the Southern U.S., which is where I call home. And all throughout it, I agreed wholeheartedly and reveled in the guilt and discomfort he was transferring onto me. Trevor is one of the few comedians I know of that truly understands satire and its proper use, and in that, I’ve always adored him and his ability to mock the system rather than its sufferable effects on others. His style is fresh, his perspective is direct and his points are so relieving you’ll be thanking him for finally saying them outloud. If straightforward sarcasm is your style, as it is mine, I recommending tuning into the new Daily Show on Comedy Network so you too can get a cold dose of racial realities from the straight-talking Trevor Noah.
Colleen Ballinger Evans is a YouTube personality who plays the character of Miranda Sings in her videos. Miranda Sings is a terrible singer who thinks she’s fabulous, with her rocking red lips and high-waisted sweatpants. Evans started the channel in 2008, and since then her videos have gone viral, bringing in a total of over 671,490,422 views. Her live show at the Sony Center for JFL42 was completely packed with squealing kids accompanied by dads who were dragged along for the ride. Watching the show was like waiting for a viral video to buffer outside a crowded 24-hour McDonald’s during a blizzard with spotty wifi. There were frequent drops in energy, especially in the last ten minutes. It was tedious watching a one-joke character drag on for an hour. The show was all about Miranda and her attention span of three seconds, as demonstrated in the way she never spent too long on one song, always switching around after just a few seconds.There were jokes that the adults could laugh at, but they totally flew past the kids, who were the most excited to be there.
Miranda Sings By Astoria Felix
However, she encouraged audience participation and showed clips of some of her viral videos, which pleased all the Mirfandas. She also didn’t hesitate to promote her book, Selp-Helf, throughout the show. Surely enough, this generated a lot of interest from the crowd, as a large amount of them lined up at the merchandise table after the show. So, in the end I guess I’m just being a hater, just like Colleen Ballinger Evans sang at the beginning of the show: haters pay her bills, and so do Miranda fans.
Upon finding a seat in the Sony Centre, the person next to me turned and made an off-colour joke. I won’t repeat it, but I laughed. The two of us were there to see Bill Burr, a headline comic at JFL, known for his crassly provocative and arguably misogynistic set. Burr did not disappoint. Fresh out of the gate, Burr riffed on the sexual transition of Caitlyn Jenner. He plead ignorance as he blazed through jokes sure to offend the sensibilities of any audience, especially a Canadian one. But—for the most part—they didn’t. Instead, the act offered a sort of catharsis. The more shocking parts of the show were reminiscent of a distant uncle on an offensive rant at a family reunion. But instead of having to nervously prod the potato salad, the audience was offered the release of laughter. This is where Burr shines. Sensing the tension of the crowd after a rather cavalier mention of the Holocaust, Burr pivoted the show to settle on the topic. Burr built on the tension that most comics would try to contain. By the end of each controversial segment, Burr opened the pop can he had just shaken. The audience’s tension released through choruses of laughter. But the show was not for everyone, and it wasn’t just a matter of the pert versus the puritanical. Burr’s performance was just as much about tone as it was about content. While Burr resonated with some, others may have preferred a different—but not necessarily “safer”—comic mood.
Bill Burr By Fraser Allan Best
For many comedians, the festival is a place to showcase their most carefully compiled material to present a thematic arc or punchy cohesive statement. Burr’s choose-your-own-adventure style stunted this possibility, leaving the audience with a string of disjointed— albeit entertaining—segments on topics ranging from overpopulation to oral sex. As the crowd exited the Sony Centre and started to whisper about the next comic at JFL42, I wondered if Burr’s performance would stand out as a memorable one.
Hannibal Buress, the final headliner this year at Toronto’s very own JFL42, was able to end the comedy festival with a bang, a rap and a standing ovation. Buress, unlike many comedians, rose to fame a bit differently. Buress came into stand up after brief writing stints at Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. What really brought on his success was his second album, “Animal Furnace,” which aired as a special on the Comedy Network, and his appearance on multiple late-night talk shows. All of this ultimately led to him receiving his own late-night television series, Why? with Hannibal Buress.
Hannibal Buress By Sanjana Nigam
photos by JFL42
Buress’s October 3 show, as he said, was his second biggest headlining show, with the entire Sony Centre packed to the brim. Buress kept the sentiments lighthearted, thanking the crowd for coming to watch him perform tonight rather than going to the Taylor Swift concert only a couple of blocks away. Buress was able to keep the crowd laughing and engaged for two whole hours, discussing things like his worry of getting a botched laser eye surgery, only to be called “Blind Comedian Hannibal Buress” when introduced on stage. He joked about being rejected from a two-star hotel, expressed his hatred for baseball and addressed the speculation surrounding his viral Bill Cosby routine. Buress kept momentum going till the very end of the show. He started to end the show by discussing the absurd gibberish lyrics in rap songs, using examples ranging from the weak beat of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” to Tupac’s lyrics about sickle cell anemia. This ultimately led him to end the show rapping in gibberish with a beat provided by his DJ and a trio of ballerinas as background dancers. The minute Buress started rapping, the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation, and when he went acapella the entire crowd boomed and yelled even louder. The show ended past midnight with a satisfied crowd and a great concluding act. The stamina and talent Buress possesses really goes to show that this man can please a crowd.
the parties 5
Eager beaver leaders
by Joyce Wong
A crash course on Canada’s 42nd federal election by Carly Hysenaj
Election day—Monday, Oct. 19—is advancing closer into view amid this round’s colourful political landscape. If you are planning to vote, be the best kind of voter you can be: an informed one. Here is a quick breakdown of the four major leaders’ key commitments to Canadians: Conservative Party Stephen Harper The current PM and arguably the most controversial candidate among young Canadians, Harper pledges to: reduce corporate and small business tax rates; allot $5.3 billion a year towards provincial and municipal infrastructure; support Northern Gateway and the proposed Keystone XL oil pipelines; continue supporting overseas Canadian military operations and increase the defence budget; enact tougher immigration policies; continue enforcing Bill C-51 (the bill that allows government monitoring of personal calls and emails in an effort to combat terrorism); maintain current marijuana laws; keep tuition rates aligned with economic inflation; and provide $500 million in funding to Aboriginal schools.
New Democratic Party Thomas Mulcair The PM hopeful and current NDP Opposition House Leader plans to: balance the federal budget and maintain personal income tax rates; increase corporate and decrease small business tax rates; raise federal funding for Canadian infrastructure; oppose both the Northern Gateway and Keystone XL pipelines but support Energy East pipeline; completely withdraw the Canadian military from Iraq and Syria; boost foreign aid; repeal Bill C-51; reinstate door-to-door mail delivery; decriminalize marijuana; remove interest rates on student loans; and reduce poverty and educational imbalances among First Nations people. Liberal Party Justin Trudeau The Liberal leader and son of former Liberal PM Pierre Trudeau promises to: increase taxes for the richest canadians while lowering taxes for the middle class; maintain tax breaks for small businesses; run modest defecits double federal infrastructure investment over the next decade; oppose the Northern Gateway and support the Keystone XL
When three’s a crowd
When you’re voting against the Conservatives in a tri-party system, no one wins by Jenny Crick
Every so often, the Conservative MP for my family’s riding makes the mistake of sending a comments and feedback card to our house. Inevitably, my mother mails it back to the little grinning man in the picture covered in irate ranting and rude diagrams. She uses the term weasel liberally. Even as blue signs become outnumbered by orange and red, the grinning man from the Conservative party wins our riding time and time again. If I can respectfully discount the Green and Communist parties, there are three big players in Canadian politics. People who own trucks and pronounce Iraq like Bush fit in snugly with the Conservatives. But for those who have a compost bin they usually empty out, the choice isn’t as clear. If you’re looking to the left, you’ll have to make a critical decision when selecting between two options. If left versus right is the way most people see things, why are there three choices? The Conservative Party won a majority government with less than half of the popular vote. It’s like a third date Canada shouldn’t have agreed to. Right-wing voters only have one real option, so they unite behind the Conservatives. The left
are splitting between two parties that are nearly indistinguishable on the political spectrum. This isn’t the case in the U.S. where, though a bit limited by the binary, the left-right battle can be played out at the polls. In Canada the left do not have a solitary party to rally behind. Voters whose political views can be summarized as “anything but Harper” are getting strategic with their ballots. Their only objective is to defeat the Conservatives. Instead of choosing the party they like, they vote for the one with the greatest chance of winning. It becomes a question of confidence. How smug can Tom Mulcair’s beard get? How often can Justin flick his hair back like a teen idol? It gets confusing and weird. When I ask my gnome-like mother who will get her vote this year, she adjusts her faux fur vest (worn indoors because “October is when it gets nippy”) and turns into Winston Churchill. She holds a glowing stogie over her paper and thinks. Across Canada, indisputably all wearing faux fur vests, our left-wing voters stand between two parties.
pipelines; increase aid for Iraqi and Syrian refugees and limit Canada’s combative military involvement in these areas; amend the strict monitoring policies of Bill C-51; restore Canada Post’s door-todoor delivery; legalize and tax marijuana; and provide educational funding to First Nations people. Green Party Elizabeth May If the Green Party leader is voted Prime Minister, she pledges to: eliminate personal taxes on incomes less than $20,000; reduce small business tax rates; finance national rail and light rail systems; establish tuition-free education by 2020, starting with lower-income individuals; implement higher standards for green infrastructure and power generation; oppose all oil pipeline plans; reduce military defence spending; provide more affordable housing; ban unpaid internships; increase penalties for domestic violence; and provide First Nations people with the legal right to approve or deny natural resource projects on their land.
How to vote Voting is simple: if you’re a Canadian citizen who is 18 or older and can prove your identity and address with valid government documents (a driver’s license with an address, OR, for example, a Canadian passport plus a piece of mail—like a hydro bill—that lists your address), head to the Elections Canada website and register to vote. If you only live in Toronto during the school year, register with the address you consider “home” and your vote will count towards a candidate in the riding corresponding to this address. A heads-up: once registered, you can vote in advance from October 9 through 12, in case you can’t on October 19. More information, including a complete list of voting locations across Canada, can be found on the Elections Canada website. U of T students stuck on campus can easily cast their ballot at the Graduate Students’ Union’s Gym and Records Room on October 19 between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Young voices matter. Do some Googling, know your candidates and take 20 minutes on Monday, Oct. 19 to exercise your right to vote.
6 the music
Johnnyland accused of being ‘rape apologists’ Blog post sparks a social media firestorm in the Toronto music scene Toronto’s all-ages music scene has been shaken up this past week over allegations published online that Johnnyland, a collective group that hosts all-ages shows at several venues in the city, “is run by rape apologists.” Last week, Gush Goddess, an anonymous Toronto casual blogger, received stories from several survivors of rape and sexual harassment that claimed Johnnyland has “horribly handled” situations of sexual coercion, assault and rape during their shows or people involved with Johnnyland. Gush, with the consent of the two alleged survivors, shared their stories on her blog on Monday afternoon. The first story was told by the friend of an alleged survivor, stating, “not only did they allow the rapists to continue to participate and play at their shows, but they also denied and victim blamed my friend who was, at the time, one of their admins as well.” While it must be stressed that the validity of these experiences cannot be confirmed, the initial post by Gush soon prompted over a dozen others to send in stories of similar experiences occurring during Johnnyland events. All-ages events are known for often being rife with problems related to underage drinking and drug use. Despite Johnnyland’s stated goal of being a “safe haven” for youth music, many of the stories shared by Gush mention incidents resulting from unsafe conditions.
The second story shared in Gush’s initial post was written by an 18-year-old, who said, “I bought a couple of PBRs and someone I knew asked to have a sip and I let them and it got passed around and it got back to me and I kept drinking it. And … from doctor’s [sic] analysis as well as a nurse diagnosis, that [sic] it had ketamine in it, likely a large dose. It made me act erratic and wild and unpredictable and scary. I was running around harassing people and yelling at them. Nobody tried to help, I was raped later that night after going to Cold Tea with everyone.” In addition to the posts indicating an unsafe environment festering at Johnnyland shows, many accusations have circled around the response and behaviour of members of the committee that run Johnnyland. At best, these stories claim that the committee was unresponsive to reports of underage drinking, sexual coercion and assaults that occurred at Johnnyland shows. At worst, they claim that prominent members in the committee itself and artists encouraged and even participated in these acts. Shortly after Gush’s posts came to light, Johnnyland posted a response on their Facebook page to address the various accusations against them, saying: “At our show venues we have both professional security and volunteers to ensure the safety and security of everyone who attends our shows. We have never sold alcohol to underage teens, or condoned
Several venues in Toronto such as D-beatstro, located at Lansdowne and Bloor, have said they will no longer welcome shows organized by Johnnyland. Meanwhile, supporters of the alleged victims in the all-ages music community have started to react, creating a new Twitter hashtag called #solidaritywithsurvivors.
The lingering threat of silencing the voices of female artists
The latitude for artists like Grimes to deliver such a painful and powerful message hinges on creative independence. The freedom to expose the rawest parts of life is essential to authentic creativity. However, there is a newfound tepidness in society to exploring the boundaries of intellectual independence. In a climate where content is vulnerable to social media policing, it is almost impossible
such sales. Any guests selling drugs or alcohol would be immediately removed from our shows…. To be absolutely clear, Johnnyland is not an organization that would ever condone rape apologists, sexual or physical assault. But at the same time, we cannot apologize for things we are not guilty of, and we cannot condone one misinformed anonymous blogger, however well intentioned, to make untrue accusations that run against everything Johnnyland stands for.” The reaction to the statement was mixed, with many coming to the defense of Johnnyland on the grounds that the accusations were unproven and defamatory to the accused, who were often mentioned by name in the stories collected by Gush. Others claimed the statement passed the blame onto unpaid volunteers and authorities having a love of partying and not being able to control their attendees, which survivors said they were not comfortable with. Although Gush had posted a response to Johnnyland, the blog was taken down as of Wednesday evening on the advice of legal counsel.
ment in her career to shock her audience with something that she cared about. But despite her high profile at the time, the statement’s public reception was sordid, clashing with widespread opinion.
Censhership In light of an anticipated October album release by acclaimed Canadian artist Grimes, alongside her co-signing to Jay Z’s ROC Nation, we are reminded of her career’s poignant start. Her debut single “Oblivion” is a reflection of her experience with sexual violence. The single speaks to feelings of detachment and dissociation that often follow such a traumatic experience. Rather than her trauma being a passive fixture in her music, it is a source of strength in reclaiming power and autonomy. Her work unapologetically whispers into each listener, “I exist. I’m alive.”
by Ann Ominous
by Nithya G.
to express even the most acceptable message. In Grimes’s case, even though people have considerable empathy for victims of sexual assault, the gritty lyrics she uses to deliver an honest account are unpalatable to the mainstream. If creativity is constantly inhibited by what makes others uncomfortable, these accounts are at risk of falling out of public view. What if she was expected to obscure aspects of her life and pacify her intended original meaning? For the sake of safeguarding public modesties, society would lose contact with an account that—whether comfortable or not—is subjectively very real. But this is an epidemic not limited to Grimes. In 2014, Tanya Tagaq, an Inuk singer, accepted the Polaris Music Prize with a speech that took an unexpected jab at PETA’s ban on seal hunting, promoting traditional Indigenous seal hunting. Like many artists, she chose a peak mo-
Earlier this year, Nicki Minaj spoke out about her frustration with tone-policing and internalized racism originating from her own personal experience in the business. Miley Cyrus’s popular rebuke of the rapper’s statement embodied the role usually filled by voices in the public square. Our attitude is misguided. The moment that an artist voicing their experiences makes you uncomfortable is when you should investigate your own biases, rather than minimizing their artistic voice. Where should we stand as female musicians take over the world with their stories and “baggage?” While it’s imperative to be thoughtful, it is not imperative to censor your lived experiences and opinions to prevent the discomfort of others. We should encourage young artists to be informed, but create without fear. To allow their pain or their observations to be voiced, not subdued. When speaking about her single “Oblivion,” Grimes said something unexpectedly powerful,“I can’t censor myself. I needed to make this song.” She followed her impulse, resisted her trepidations and followed the moments that spoke to her. Grimes’s most recent work, the title unknown, will be released this October.
Listen.
the feature 7
Queer & disoriented Continued from front page Boivin, herself a member of the Dininu K’ue First Nations of the NorthwestTerritories, spearheaded the discussion by stressing that the modern Canadian school curriculum has ‘dehumanized’ many First Nations and other minority children by focusing on the ‘colonial’ perspective of the story of Canada. Despite the fact I was taught about residential schools and given some Aboriginal perspectives on Canadian history growing up in Alberta, Boivin pointed out that there is a reason why there are so few First Nations children in public schools: partly that the curriculum is in English and partly that it teaches that European explorers and officials ‘discovered’ and ‘civilized’ Canada. First Nations and their histories on this land are totally ignored. The discussion made its way to the main theme of the talk: the Sixties Scoop. This was something I and many others in the room had never heard about. In essence, the Sixties Scoop was the Canadian government’s practice of ‘scooping’ up First Nations children from their families—taking them away forever from their roots—and giving them to European-Canadian families for adoption in order to ‘civilize’ the children. Boivin admitted to herself being a victim of the Sixties Scoop. She stated that the moment that she was born, her mother was not allowed to hold her; it was only decades later when she finally met her biological mother. Reconnecting with her biological mother and father allowed Boivin to learn about the first-hand experiences of her parents in residential schools. “The first thing they did was they cut your hair,” Boivin said. “Then they burned your clothes, gave you a uniform, changed your name and gave you a number.” At this moment I realized how uninformed I was about the residential school system. In class, I’d read about this in the textbooks, we’d have a test on the key terms and events and then we’d move on to the next topic. It would be more truthful to have speakers like Boivin in Canadian schools to personalize the residential school experience for students. The discussion’s main conclusion was that First Nations—particularly First Nations women—are dehumanized in the classroom and in Canadian society. First Nations customs are not taken into consideration when forming the curriculum. In Canadian society, First Nations are largely treated as second-class citizens. The Cindy Gladue case, in which a First Nations woman
was raped and the Crown allowed the body to be ‘cut into pieces’ for evidence with no guilty verdict ultimately given yet to date, serves as an example of this dehumanization. Boivin has advice for anyone who feels that they are dehumanized: “Draw something that’s you! Pick a symbol!” Boivin has coped with her experiences by drawing symbols to represent her family, her birth, her friends and her culture. Samples of her art can be found online at indigenousbioethicist. wordpress.com. Toronto, Baltimore and Beyond: Confronting Police Violence in Communities, Wednesday, Sept. 23 This was a very popular event. There was a full crowd in the Koffler House auditorium and it was being filmed by media outlets, too. The panel involved Alicia Garza, the co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter, Yusra Ali, the leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Toronto and Kimalee Phillip, a member of the Network for the Elimination of Police Violence. The aim of the panel was to voice opinions about police violence against black communities and to highlight the movement and its aspirations. The first theme was to highlight black activism in Canada versus the activism present in the United States. It was stressed that ‘anti-blackness’ was a global phenomenon and that the ‘myth’ of Canada being a ‘safe haven’ for black people was a lie. It was stated that racism exists in Canada because of the global societal construction of ‘white supremacy.’ There were loud cheers for this argument. In Toronto, it was pointed out that black people have a problem with defining what ‘blackness’ is. The example of student clubs at the University of Toronto was brought up. There is a club for black students, but in that club, Caribbean voices are not represented and only Eastern African black people are represented. In essence, there exists a “homogenization of blacks.” Yusra Ali took the spotlight and stated that black people face a lot of mental illnesses because of white supremacy. It was suggested that the best strategy for activism in the Black Lives Matter movement was to organize, “challenge the capitalist system because it kills relationships” and include everyone in the movement, black elders in particular. It was argued that there are links between “heterosexism, patriarchy and women’s rights,” and all of those elements need to be challenged. A speaker added, “The structure of
society is wrong—it is very white. The education in high schools is very Euro-centric, very white. We need to affirm blackness in the curriculum.” Queer Orientation U of T’s Queer Orientation is a weeklong orientation available for all students, especially LGBTQ+ people and allies, to network and meet other people on campus through a series of activities. Events are vast and diverse, each drawing in a different crowd full of excitable first-years exclaiming, “This is the first gay event that I’ve ever been to!” Meanwhile, the older students, whose eyes may shine slightly less at the familiar prospect of Queer Orientation, are certainly still eager to attend. Queer Orientation on the St. George campus begins with a Cupcake Mixer, a small social to get to know the campus Sexual Education Centre (SEC) and address any needs one may have concerning the campus’s queer accessibility—a fantastic way to start off the week by first making sure how to best accommodate their students’ needs. The cupcakes are free and DIY, allowing you to exercise your creativity over your confectionary design as well as meeting people you may never see again. There are several different aspects of Queer Orientation for queer people and allies who are looking for all sorts of activities, which is the most charming point of U of T’s Queer Orientation. Involvement If you were looking to get involved in U of T’s queer community, Queer Orientation had just the events and socials for you. On Sunday, you could have attended the Board Game Cafe—since there is no better way to get to know someone than over coffee and a game of Monopoly or Uno. Or, if you’re more of a party person, there was also an event for you on Thursday: Homohop, a 45-year-old annual event featuring hip hop beats, where you could meet all sorts of people and watch drag performances as well. Even more specific events were available to seek out people you can identify with within the LGBTQ+ community, including POC, queer or trans parents, international student lunches, several events for women and trans people and some events for asexual people and allies as well. Discussion Not only is Queer Orientation a great way to meet other queer people, it’s also a great event to facilitate discussion, groups and discourse about LGBTQ+ issues. In events like Decolonizing Queerness, storytelling and performances are used to explore intersectionality within POC and Aboriginal people. In events like Queer and Trans Students of Colour, students sit around in a circle to discuss their experiences as people of colour, vent-
ing about the microaggressions they experience and acting as support for one another. Sometimes events can be self-reflective as well. In Mapping Wellness, people are asked to look at past experiences in their lives as well as pinpoint challenges and wellness periods. A History Lesson A large part of the LGBTQ+ community is the people from the past who paved the way to make an event like this possible. No Queer Orientation would be complete without a commemoration of their past hardships and a little history lesson about Toronto’s rich LGBTQ+ community. On Saturday, you could attend the Campus to Village tour in order to familiarize yourself with the hub of the Torontonian LGBTQ+ community just east of U of T at Wellesley and Church—a good place to keep in mind for the weekend. Or, on Wednesday, you could learn about the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, a museum archive for LGBTQ+ files and artifacts with a focus on Canadian items. Some Time Off As per all orientation weeks, Queer Orientation also has its relaxing activities to keep your mind off of the end-of-September school crunch—fun events you can take time off from your busy schedule for, and what better fun than to do so in a safe space and environment? If you want time off to relax or to stimulate your body, Queer Orientation had a vast selection of events to choose from. On Monday, you could take salsa and hip hop classes at Dance with Pride. On Tuesday, there is a biking event for queer women and trans people. On Friday, you could choose to start the day off with some relaxing yoga in the Quad—and finish it off that night with Strength Basics, where you could learn the correct way to lift weights. For the more arts-oriented people, there is also Get Crafty with Hart House on Friday, an arts and crafts event to bedazzle your items for the new school year. Inspired by ’80s glam metal stars and rock gods, Get Crafty asks you to find your inner rockstar and channel that through studding and DIY dogtagging. Earlier in the week on Thursday, you could catch LGBT Film Night with a movie called Appropriate Behaviour, a comedy about a bisexual Persian-American woman in Manhattan; these film nights are a monthly feature at U of T throughout the year. No matter who you are or how you identify or what you like to do, don’t worry. There’s always going to be an Orientation for you, and honestly—it’ll be a lot more fun than frosh. To learn more about the CLGA, read online at thenewspaper.ca/the-arts
8 the politics
Communist running in U of T riding
the newspaper’s interview with UniversityRosedale candidate Drew Garvie by Zach Morgenstern & Fraser Allan Best
MORGENSTERN: So you’ve run multiple times both provincially and federally, correct? Could you talk about what the process of getting involved in a campaign is like?
ALLAN BEST: But couldn’t the party get more votes if it moves closer to the mainstream?
GARVIE: I started running in 2007…. [I’ve been] in every provincial and federal election since then…. Basically, you ... put up a $1,000 dollar deposit and collect 100 signatures from people that live in the riding. And these are ... bars to try and keep smaller parties out, or independent candidates out…. We think it’s democratic to not have barriers for participating in an election.…
GARVIE: So it depends on how you see politics.... We think that capitalism is not sustainable.… It brings crises, war, environmental degradation.... So if we start trying to be a new social democratic party that’s slightly to the left of the NDP, … we might be able to get elected, but would we really be changing the world fundamentally? … Is the point to change the world or is the point to get elected? Our point is to change the world….
MORGENSTERN: What do you say to those who may strategically vote for bigger parties?
ALLAN BEST: Within your lifetime could the Communist party threaten to win an election?
GARVIE: The Harper government has ... [brought lower] wages and living standards, austerity, war, environmental degradation, and ... [t]he Liberal party, on key issues like healthcare, the economy, free trade, even war [and] foreign policy, overlap[s] with the Conservatives…. The NDP under Tom Mulcair and even before has moved … to the right to try and take voters away from the Liberal[s]. On some issues they’re still progressive, such as daycare.… But … they’re for balancing the budget in the time of … a recession, … so there are going to be cuts … under an NDP government…. The Green[s] … [support] free education.... It’s good for the student movement to have a champion, … and they’re also against … any pipelines carrying tar sands oil. But they’re also for … the development of the tar sands.... They’re for market solutions to … environmental and social crises, which is not what we’re for…. Why not vote strategically? … It’s not a long term strategy.…
GARVIE: I certainly hope so—in … almost my parents’ lifetime, … we had MPs and MPPs, but it’s really hard to say.... In 2008 ... you’d ... tell people that capitalism’s going to generate serious economic crises and they’d be like, “Okay, yeah sure, great depression.…” But now, especially in Europe, you talk to people and they know that capitalism’s not working for them.… ALLAN BEST: What’s an issue you can hook people on? Is it hard to sell people on the whole communist package? GARVIE: Some people are interested in single issues, but our general message for the campaign is “people’s needs, not corporate greed….” There’s a lot of people out there who understand that corporate greed [and] big business are the root of a lot of the problems, [that] they’re the voices that are saying we need to cut back on social services.… Push down wages, get rid of unions, build pipelines, expand the tar sands.…
Why you shouldn’t vote for .
Relentless ramblings on the conveyor belt to the election by Barbod Pournajar Elections have descended upon us, bringing a wave of false hope and normative statements. Canadians everywhere are agonizing over their ballot like it’s their “one swing” at a birthday piñata. For most university students, the piñata is Harper. But here’s a few reasons why every party doesn’t deserve your vote. The Conservatives If Dante was to conjure up the tenth ring of hell, it would be another term to describe Our Dear Leader. Before Harper, Canada upheld a modest reputation; we kept quiet, we were polite and we didn’t care if a woman in a
niqab wanted to wear her face covering during a citizenship ceremony. Not so today. He’s our Nixon, but perhaps even more hawkish. “Where do I send troops next?” Stephen thinks to himself as he handles his globes and strokes his F-35. Harper and the conservatives are the ones behind the controversial bills C-51 and C-24, which have effectively stripped many Canadians of their constitutional rights. Harper has ignored student voices calling for lower tuition and marijuana legislation. Like an old man shouting at kids, he doesn’t care about anyone under the age of 50. Harp-
So yeah, if I was talking to people on campus I’d talk more about education, but I think a lot of people understand the corporate greed versus people’s need [philosophy]. ALLAN BEST: Are there any misconceptions you face? Do people ask about gulags? GARVIE: Communism’s not the only word that is controversial…. Some people react very negatively to unions … [and] to feminism. I think we need communism, feminism and unions. In terms [of] talking ... about the twentieth century, … it doesn’t come up all that often, but it does come up.... We’re not advocating for a return to 1930s U.S.S.R.... [Those were] totally different conditions. This is Canada, an advanced, industrialized country, not a peasant country in the 1930s…. ALLAN BEST: The NDP has pulled back on talking about unions because people tend to react negatively to that. Could that be a communist approach as well? GARVIE: No.... It’s a fundamental democratic right to belong to a union. It’s a way that we raise living standards for the whole population…. [The NDP] are talking about the interests of the middle class ... [and] about small business, [while] we’re a working class party. We say that we represent nobody’s interest except the working class…. Middle class in an amorphous … type thing, … which is why they use it, by the way.... ALLAN BESTt: Today, is the connection between the communist and feminist movements ... still strong, or is it under-utilized? GARVIE: [Y]es, the Communist party … stands in solidarity with [feminist] struggles and is often involved in them. For example, ... we’re calling for demands that are reflected in the women’s movement, … like pay equity, … public and free childcare ... [and] cracking down on violence against women…. Could we do more? Absolutely, but, we’re there…. We do have strong feminists in our organization who do work in these areas.… ALLAN BEST: Do you think that public er is more interested in “old-stock” Canadians. The Liberals As consumer technology advances, it seems as if the Trudeau family has gone the way of the Blackberry. Justin’s got all of the looks but none of the charm. He proposes that we raise taxes for the rich and give to the middle class. You know who else tried that? Stalin. Gulags coming to a Nunavut near you. #RealChange Really though, Trudeau’s economic policy is a populist tactic right from the playbook of every political candidate in North America. The idea is best on paper, especially when many of the “rich” people in question have a huge influence in federal politics. In Parliament, Trudeau followed the Conservatives’ lead and voted for Bill C-51, which he claims he did “for the best interest of Canadians.” That’s a slippery response in the face of a bill which so fundamentally breaks away from the judicial values of this country. The NDP It’s hard to differentiate the Liberals from the NDP. During the last debate it
skepticism about the state on issues like police targeting minorities with drug laws and carding hurts the communist, pro-state appeal? GARVIE: When you have a[n] … inequality and then you drop … money into the policing of [marginalized] communities, it’s bound to create racism.… [We] offer a solution. Expanding the state in terms of social services, in terms of education [and] in terms of breaking down systemic racism.... But this would reduce the “militarized police,” mistreating people in these communities and dumping them in jail.… There’s a huge pay gap … in terms of racialized workers—especially indigenous workers—in Canada.... MORGENSTERN: If I’m a student, why should I vote for you? GARVIE: The average [undergraduate] in Canada graduates with $27,000 of debt.... There are no decent paying jobs…. Students getting into universities [tend to come] from higher incomes versus lower incomes.… [W]e’re in favor of getting rid of tuition fees, which would cost between six and seven billion at least for undergrad.... When you consider the military budget is $20 billion ... it’s relatively affordable. [We also want to] have debt forgiveness.… We’re also for stopping corporatization of universities. This is seen at U of T with … the Munk Foundation having some control over the curriculum.... ALLAN BEST: I earn a multi-million dollar salary; why would I ever vote Communist? GARVIE: You wouldn’t, we don’t speak for you, and where did you make all your money? You made it off the backs of the people we represent! ALLAN BEST: Anything else you want to say? GARVIE: Canada needs to have clear anti-austerity, anti-war demands to move Canada in a fundamentally different direction. That’s going to come from a longer-term struggle, it’s not going to come from the elections. So yes, vote communist, but also get out there and do what you can! was like seeing two brothers separated at birth come together to realize they are in fact twins. The NDP wants to decriminalize marijuana and the Liberals want to legalize it. The NDP and Liberals both support the middle class as the focus of their campaign. But Mulcair’s Beard has a firm stance against the Northern Gateway pipeline, a line that extends from Alberta to British Columbia. His opposition puts a crimp in his commitment to strengthen the economy. Although opposing the pipeline resounds with environmentalists, for western voters concerned with this economy, his stance is tantamount to clamping off a giant money-tube across The Rockies. The Election In conclusion, all three party leaders are extremely silly. However, who you should vote for is beyond me. Hell, I don’t even know who I’m going to vote for, if at all. One thing is certain though—despite opposition to Harper on campus, there is still massive support for Our Dear Leader nationwide. This election is important because it truly could tip in any of three different directions. If your vote ever matters, it will be during this election.