Volume 48, Issue 11

The Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Toronto Mississauga since 1974

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Issue 11 Volume 48

November 29 2021

LGBTQ2S+ Awareness

PATRICIA GOMEZ, PERFORMATIVE, 2021

Performative Patricia Gomez gouache, 2021 Patricia Gomez is a Spanish/Filipino Canadian artist currently studying at the University of Toronto and Sheridan, and living and working in Mississauga, Ontario. Through her art, Gomez aims to addresses social issues and topics surrounding LGBTQ2S+ women of colour in western artistic circles, and present her personal experiences through a fitting artistic medium.

“Performative is a series of gouache paintings I created to visualize the feeling of performative femininity, specifically surrounding the male gaze and makeup culture. As a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, as I became more comfortable with my own identity and sexuality, I found my relationship with how I presented myself change. These pieces are meant to emulate that feeling, while also opening ideas of gender and societal expectations. This is also why I chose to stick to a palette of pink and blue, as these colours are attributed to common gender stereotypes.”

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NEWS

Editor | May Alsaigh news@themedium.ca

The pandemic’s impact on LGBTQ2S+ communities Resources such as OUT@UTM and the Health and Wellness Centre show support for the LGBTQ2S+ communities.

Hema Ramnarine Staff Writer

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ith the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, many communities and organizations have endured several unexpected challenges. One heavily affected group is the LGBTQ2s+ community. Recent studies are showing that the already vulnerable community is facing the risk of neglect with the return to an in-person lifestyle.

Initial findings from several ongoing studies and surveys have found that LGBTQ2S+ communities have been, and continue to be, disproportionally affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. With threats against mental and physical wellbeing, several are encountering financial hardships and effects of the HIV-AIDS epidemic.

In July 2021, QueerCOVIDTO, a U of T study observing the mental health of these communities, found that LGBTQ2S+ spaces were at a much higher risk because of the pandemic.

Numerous spaces were put further at risk after the closures of businesses became more prominent. In the same month, it was announced that the iconic Crews & Tangos bar (508 Church St, Toronto) would be integrated into part of a condo, despite protests from the community.

For members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, support during these uncertain times is crucial. U of T, like many other universities, offer groups and clubs for students and faculty to join.

Some have introduced online services to accommodate social distancing measures during the pandemic.

For instance, some groups at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) are available to students through their commitment in creating a welcoming and supportive atmosphere.

OUT@UTM, through the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office, offers resources and events for students. Some events are inperson, while others are virtual.

Additionally, UTM’s Health and Wellness Center offers mental and physical health resources. Through insurance offered by the university, students have access to medical and dental care. The Health and Wellness Center also offers guided meditation on their Instagram Lives every day at 1 p.m., and personal counselling over the phone, ensuring students have access to mental health resources while keeping safe.

Though advocating for social distancing measures is important during these times, it is especially crucial to consider marginalized groups and their struggles.

Results from the aforementioned study’s primary survey show that many members of the community feel that women, trans, and non-binary spaces are even more at risk than those for gay men. UTM’s Women and Gender Equity Center offers safe spaces, awareness nights, peer support, and access to food and menstruation products for any woman who is struggling.

To broaden the understanding of how public crises like the pandemic can affect the LGBTQ2S+ communities, raising awareness is crucial. Students are able to participate in the QueerCOVIDTO survey to do so and are even eligible to be compensated $30 upon completion.

As stated in one of QueerCOVIDTO’s publications, factors such as race, gender, sexuality, class, or age are not mutually exclusive entities, but rather interconnecting influences that shape our social experiences.

It has long been known that members of the LGBTQ2S+ community have been at a disproportionally higher risk for social, physical, and mental obstacles. For this reason, U of T students can seek support through the multiple mentioned resources and groups.

Students and newcomers receive support from ongoing aid programs U of T hosts panel events and clothing drives to collect donations and gather resources to give back this winter season.

Anjalli Becharbhai Staff Writer

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ith winter approaching and the fall semester coming to an end, many U of T support programs have made a return this year. Some have been newly implemented, while others were reintroduced.

One of which is the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union’s (UTMSU) annual clothing drive. From November 22 to 26, the union provided donated clothing items to students and anyone else in need this holiday season.

At the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), donations were collected in the Presentation Room, located in the Student Centre, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Some clothing items were left in the Food Centre for students, while another portion was donated to non-profit organizations.

Students were encouraged to bring gently used or new clothing items to the event. Winter clothing items such as gloves, hats, coats, and socks were especially encouraged to be donated. All clothing items were washed prior

to being donated and students were reminded not to bring any intimate clothing items.

As an incentive, students who donated were able to participate in a raffle to win Raptors tickets.

The Medium spoke with President of the UTMSU, Mitra Yakubi, via email about the annual drive. Yakubi commented on why she believes the clothing drive is an effective way of giving back and states, “Clothing drives are an amazing way to give back to the community and to re- duce the negative impact of fast fashion. A lot of the waste

that is in our oceans and dumps are clothes, especially clothes that can still be worn.”

“Therefore, instead of contributing to a system that harms our environment, students are encouraged to bring the clothes that they simply don’t like and wear anymore to our drive,” she continues.

Yakubi also comments on why students should feel a desire to give back after experiencing insecurity following a pandemic.

“Students should feel motivated because the pandemic has affected people in many ways.

Many people are struggling financially, as they’ve lost their personal or parental source of income and are having a difficult time accessing basic necessities. This is a great way to give back and support their community.”

As a way to combat food insecurity, the UTMSU will continue to provide free food to students through Free Breakfast Wednesdays and Free Late Night Dinners. This will allow students to feel less anxious about accessing a proper meal, especially when studying for exams.

Additionally, the UTMSU will be giving away exam de-stressor bags filled with items to help support students through their exams this year.

The University of Toronto Mississauga Pre-

Law Organization (UTMPLO) is another organization that gave back this year. This year, UTMPLO hosted a Holiday Charity Social panel event, virtually and in-person, on November 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets were $2, and all proceeds were donated to the Sick Kids Hospital.

The event provided students who have an interest in law with the opportunity to ask questions to Jordana Goldist, a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto, and Taylor Mcglashan, a law student at Ohio State University.

U of T’s St. George campus has also devised efforts to give back this winter. RefugeAid hosted a winter clothing drive for refugees and newcomers which took place at the Buttery of Trinity College. The drive started on November 28 and is running until December 5. With aim to provide newcomers with warm clothing needed to get through Canadian weather, the organization will continue collecting donations for the community.

These events encourage students at U of T and UTM to consider and provide for those in need this winter season. With a giving community, these efforts strive to support newcomers, students, and children, with support systems that foster their wellbeing and growth.

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U of T graduates endure another year of virtual convocation Students share angry comments on social media platforms demanding the university to reinstate in-person celebrations.

May Alsaigh News Editor

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n November 18, graduating students at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) celebrated yet another virtual convocation. Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s ceremony was pre-recorded and made available to the public through YouTube.

Compared to last year’s event, this ceremony was noninteractive. During the virtual celebration in 2020, graduates were able to ask questions about resources available for U of T alumni, as well as questions regarding their future plans.

This year, for many students, the announcement of another virtual ceremony bore disappointment and frustration. Several students have taken to platforms like Twitter to share their dissatisfaction, using the trending hashtag “UofTGrad21.” However, the hashtag also shares some of U of T’s graduating class with headshots and short descriptions.

On November 18, one account wrote, “congrats to all my fellow graduates but I think we deserve better. How can @ UofT justify in person classes this semester, but not an in person convocation?”

“Another yet, another depressed student with a broken heart expecting [U of T] to finally give a convocation they deserve and ultimately feeling resent and disappointment in choosing ‘Canada’s #1 [university],’” tweeted another angry user.

For the fall Class of 2021, more than 5,700 students from 70 different countries received their degrees, joining the 600,000 U of T alumni across the globe.

Similar to previous years, the ceremony also incorporated

remarks from U of T Chancellor, Rose Patten; President of U of T, Meric Gertler; and Chair of Governing Council at U of T, Brian Lawson.

During the virtual ceremony, Gertler made mention of the university’s prestigious reputation and stated, “we have no doubt that the University of Toronto’s high international standing can be attributed to generations of dedicated and very talented faculty and staff members.”

“But we also understand that this reputation has been built by our alumni, a group that now includes each and every one of you. So, to the graduating class, let me say thank you,” he continued.

This year’s celebration left students angry and displeased over the efforts put into virtual elements as opposed to working toward an in-person commemoration.

For instance, U of T created a virtual photo booth where participants were able to upload or take a photo and paste it on top of landscape backgrounds of their choice. One of which is the Convocation Hall, located on the St. George campus.

Additionally, numerous petitions have been circulating on Change.org demanding for an in-person convocation to be organized by the university. One of which, titled “Conduct an In-Person Graduation Ceremony for the UofT Class of 2021,” has 187 signatures, with a goal of 200.

Reet Singh, the creator of the petition writes, “after four years of passionate hard work, challenges, sacrifices and tens of thousands of dollars later, U of T grads deserve to walk across the stage and receive their well earned degree.”

Singh goes on to say, “the Class of 2021 spent the entirety of their senior year in a pandemic and missed out on many long-awaited experiences—we demand that graduation not be one of those missed experiences.”

Anaam Khan, a fourth-year student specializing in Political Science at UTM is also hoping for an in-person convocation next year.

“I believe the university should accommodate those who wish to have a virtual convocation alongside those who wish to have an in-person convocation,” Khan mentions in an email interview with The Medium. “It takes a lot of effort and planning but I’m sure all graduates will appreciate it.”

After more than a year of the Covid-19 outbreak, many students have faced numerous challenges, including the transition to online academia and financial barriers. For this reason, several are calling for an in-person ceremony to recognize their efforts, especially with the gradual lift of restrictions. With a vaccinated U of T population of 99 per cent, this raises the question of whether online celebrations will persist in 2022.

UTMSU invites students to gather virtually for their Annual General Meeting The Textbook Exchange Program and the Job Readiness Program are only a few of the new changes implemented this year for UTM students.

Haya Abu Ghosh Associate Opinion Editor

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n November 23, the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU) held their Annual General Meeting, where they discussed future plans and current campaigns. Using their UTORid, students from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) were able to register for the meeting and join via Zoom.

The UTMSU began by discussing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the university. The union made it a priority to continue hosting in-person events, such as Cyber 2021, Sauga Fest, and Halloweek, as they recognize the challenges most first-year students face with making new friends.

The UTMSU also mentioned they will be continuing campaigns such as Know Your Academics, My Mental Health Matters, Fairness for International Students, United for Equality, Consent is Mandatory, No Means No, Education for All, and the Safe Return to Campus. The union acknowledges they have been closed for the majority of the pandemic and for this reason, they will continue to find new ways to support students.

Additionally, during the summer, the UTMSU continued with summer care packages, where they delivered kits with personal hygiene products, stationery, and snacks. More than 100 students received a care package.

Some new programs that were introduced this year include the Textbook Exchange Program, as well as the Job Readiness Program.

President of the UTMSU, Mitra Yakubi, men-

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tions during the meeting, “We have something for everyone, and we are not really slowing down. Together, we made so many positive changes on this campus and we don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.”

Regarding bursaries, the UTMSU was able to distribute over $100,000 to financially support students living on and off campus. Aiming to fight against oppressive frameworks, they also announced a new bursary titled the Racialized Community Involvement Grant, which will be available to those who are part of marginalized communities.

Financial statements for The Blind Duck, from April 2020 to 2021, reveal that the restaurant faced a serious impact to their services due to their inability to operate during the lockdown. To combat this, the restaurant introduced take-out services during the pandemic.

The Blind Duck’s recovery process starts with governmental assistance of between 100 and 135 thousand dollars. With the assistance, brand new patio and lounge furniture was installed at the restaurant as part of a renovation project to improve the Student Centre. Many UTM students have taken the initiative to opt-out of UTMSU services, such as the student levy, which also justifies the decrease in revenue.

The Education for All campaign has significantly advanced since its introduction; one specific goal that was achieved was the consideration of international students. Vice President External, Maëlis Barre states, “some actions that the UTMSU has taken is hosting impactful actions and having lobbying meetings with different decision makers to push forward our demands for these campaigns.”

For this initiative, the UTMSU organized an international student meeting where they addressed some challenges that these students were facing, allowing the union to identify what demands need to be met by U of T. Lastly and most recently, the Safe Return to Campus campaign fights against in-person classes in January 2022, instead advocating for more options due to the rapid and unexpected decision. Yakubi states, “The purpose of this campaign is to ensure that that return is gradual and one that does not leave anybody behind.” With several students facing challenges in transitioning back to an in-person environment, the UTMSU is calling for a safer and gradual return to the university with the consideration of all students.

With the help of students, staff, and faculty, the UTM campus can continue to achieve beneficial and impactful changes. As Yakubi says, “students united will never be defeated.”

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Embracing a safe space for LGBTQ2s+ communities with UTM’s Positive Space Committee UTM Positive Space Committee introduces new plans and ideas for students to expect in the next year.

Razia Saleh Associate News Editor

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he University of Toronto Mississauga’s (UTM) Positive Space Committee hosted their first meeting this year on November 15. Led by Ignacio Mongrel, the cochair of the committee, the meeting discussed upcoming events and plans for students in the winter semester.

First started in November of 1995, the group was a way for the LGBTQ2s+ community to find a free space to express themselves and feel comfortable in the presence of others. The group is open to all students at UTM and—as stated on their website—the group aims to “increase visibility and talk about sexual diversity.”

The committee was created through informal networking on campus, where meetings were held to discuss any issues identified by students.

At the meeting, Mongrel discussed a few events the committee will be hosting within the next year. Specifically, Mongrel opened up about their last meeting in June where they talked about U of T Pride Pitch, a social entrepreneurship initiative where students can compete for a cash prize of $5,000.

This was the second year of the event. Mongrel mentions that the committee has since received funds from Youth Change Entrepreneurship to continue the program.

“We got more money than we did last year—our cash prize increased. We also had more applications than last year, we had about 16 applications last year, and this year

we got around 40.” In total, Mongrel reveals there were 60 attendees at the event.

“As we get closer to Pride Month in 2022, we can get a closer look at what that would look like.” Mongrel mentions that there is a possibility that Pride Month will be inperson, where UTM Principal and U of T Vice President Alexandra Gillespie offered to host the event in her home at Lislehurst. Located on Principal’s Road, the number of guests to be invited is yet to be announced.

There were also many discussions at the meeting regarding ways to support the LGBTQ2S+ community. One of the ideas consisted of creating a mentorship program that would enable students to share their experiences outside of academia. Mongrel mentions that this specific plan could be something the committee will look into for those who may be interested.

One student at the meeting finds this idea to be rather beneficial. “Someone who is like me or had similar struggles and has come out successful, and [is now] doing what they are passionate about would be a great opportunity [to share].” Mongrel states that for their next meeting, attendees can expect to hear more about the program.

The committee also mentions they will continue to use social media as a way of making announcements and growing their community. Though it is quite difficult to host in-person events, the group will carry on with organizing virtual meetings for UTM students.

The committee will continue to support LGBTQ2S+ students by being open to new ideas and hosting frequent events for everyone to participate in and enjoy.

Larry Lau Associate News Editor

Trans Awareness Week at U of T This year, the Transgender Day of Remembrance was commemorated on November 20. Trans Awareness Week was held at U of T during the week of November 15 to 19. Several workshops were held to raise awareness on gender expression and identity. On November 19, the day before Transgender Day of Resemblance, two critical events were held: the virtual U of T’s Trans Day of Remembrance & Resilience, followed by a Trans, Nonbinary, and Two-Spirit Gathering. Participants were able to engage in heartfelt conversations while doing origami. For the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) specifically, Principal Alexandra Gillespie wrote a letter addressing the student body, maintaining UTM’s dedication to transgender inclusion and anti-discrimination.

Indigenous author and poet Lee Maracle passes away at 71 On November 11, renowned Indigenous author, Lee Maracle, passed away at the age of 71 in Surrey, British Columbia.

Formerly a professor at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at U of T and a member of the Stó:lō Nation, Maracle was praised for her unwavering determination to fight against Indigenous oppression in Canada. Previously, in recognition of her achievements, she was named an officer of the Order of Canada. Her work has reached the hearts of many communities, creating an outstanding legacy as one of Canada’s most influential Indigenous authors.

United Nations’ stand against climate change From October 31 to November 13, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) was held in Glasgow this year. Originally taking place in 2020, COP26 was set for a 5-year plan to implement emissions reduction procedures as stipulated by the 2015 Paris Agreement at COP21. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, COP26 was pushed back by one year. As COP26 concluded, countries made new pledges to slow climate change. Methane gas emission cuts and reduction in reliance on coal were among the countries’ promises. Additionally, it was decided that when the nations meet again for the 2022 COP27, stricter pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be made.

U of T Signs the Scarborough Charter On November 18, 2021, U of T joined many other Canadian universities to sign the Scarborough Charter. The charter recognizes inequalities faced by Black individuals in academia and provides a concrete framework on actions needed to improve Black inclusion and fight racism. Notably, the charter brings forth four overarching concepts for institutions to foster Black inclusion in higher education. First, “Black Flourishing” focuses on the dedication to enable the potential of black students, “Inclusive Excellence” emphasizes the need to facilitate inclusive education and participation for students, “Mutuality” acknowledges the role of universities and colleges in assisting the development of Black communities, and “Accountability” prioritizes the commitment of universities and colleges to improve inclusion.

U of T’s emerging and pandemic infections consortium

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The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has quantified the risk of widespread infections among the general public. To prepare for future occurrences of similarly infectious diseases, Professor Scott Gray-Owen from the Temerty Faculty of Medicine will be spearheading the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC). This month, Gray-Owen announced he will be creating a team consisting of cancer researchers and policymakers to further study lessons of pandemics. Gray-Owen is also the academic advisor of the Toronto Infectious Diseases Laboratory. Through connecting experts and researchers with advanced facilities, EPIC aims to raise the public awareness of infectious diseases and prevent future pandemics while effectively quelling the effects of those that occur.

MASTHEAD EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Provost editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Elisa Nguyen managing@themedium.ca News May Alsaigh news@themedium.ca Opinion Aroni Sarkar opinion@themedium.ca Features Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes features@themedium.ca A&E Danica Teng arts@themedium.ca Sports Duaa Nasir sports@themedium.ca Photo Hayden Mak photos@themedium.ca Design Manjot Pabla design@themedium.ca Copy Juliana Stacey juliana@themedium.ca Miguel DaSilva miguel@themedium.ca Social Belicia Chevolleau social@themedium.ca Videographer Nikolas Towsey video@themedium.ca

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OPINION

Editor | Aroni Sarkar opinion@themedium.ca

It’s never too early to teach kids about gender Should the topic of preferred pronouns be discussed at a young age?

If we as a society value youth well-being, then the answer is ‘yes’.

Anaam Khan Contributor

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recent TikTok of elementary school children sharing their preferred pronouns has sparked a dialogue on the topic of gender related pedagogy. Certain members of the online and offline public are of the opinion that elementary school is much too early for children to be introduced to the concept of gendered language. In their view, educators should refrain from broaching the topic of preferred pronouns as a result of children’s lack of understanding of abstract social concepts. This position, however, is largely unsupported by the scientific literature and might even be harmful to youth’s mental health.

A study published in the online journal Child Development by researchers at the University of Québec in Montréal found that a sense of one’s own gender identity was already developed in students aged one to six, prior to elementary school. While older children in the observed age groups had demonstrated a stronger preference for gender affiliative activity, there is ample evidence to suggest that the concept of gender is not unfamiliar to children due to early socialization.

A similar study led researchers at Texas A&M University to conclude that a thorough sense of one’s own gender identity could be observed in children at just 19 months (almost a year and a half) of age. It is clear then, that children are cognitively equipped to understand conversations about gender and preferred pronouns by the time they reach elementary school.

Because gender forms a crucial aspect of one’s personhood at such a young age there is value in teaching children to understand and respect each other’s identities. It goes without saying that chil-

dren deserve to grow up in a healthy and nurturing environment during their developmental years. One way to create such an environment for children, especially trans or gender nonconforming children, is to make spaces respectful and gender-affirming.

According to a recent study published in the Cognitive and Behavioral Practice Journal, trans and gender nonconforming children face a noticeable mental health disparity due to family rejection, peer and community victimization, social isolation, and discrimination in their daily lives. Researchers found that providing trans and gender nonconforming children with a supportive schooling environment (one that allows them to express themselves without guilt or shame) leads to significant improvements in mental health. Respecting children’s gender identity has, therefore, proven to improve the quality of life for many trans and gender nonconforming youth.

Despite the evidence, the sad reality is that many spaces, including schools and educational institutions, are not always inclusive.

According to the Trevor Project, only one in five transgender and nonbinary youth reported having their pronouns respected by all or most of the people in their lives. This number drops down to one in ten for youth who primarily identified as nonbinary.

Unless we, as a society, make an effort to respect children’s personhood, the mental health disparities between trans or gender nonconforming children and their cisgender peers will continue to persist. The video that sparked a conversation regarding the topic of pronouns in an elementary school classroom is proof that it is not too early for children to learn to respect each other. It shows that it is not too early for children to understand the impact of gendered language. Most importantly, it provides an example of an inclusive academic space that prioritizes youth mental health and well-being.

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Editorial

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Representation matters BBC employees have quit, accusing the company of transphobia and misrepresenting LGBTQ2S+ issues within their publications.

The Medium

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n October 26, the BBC published an article titled “We’re being pressured into sex by some trans women” which discussed whether some lesbians are considered transphobic if they do not want to pursue physical relations with trans women. However, the article contained comments by a former lesbian porn actor, who has been accused of inappropriate and sexual misconduct in the past, and described trans women in the article as “vile, weak, and disgusting” among other offensive statements. In the week following the article, an open letter with more than 20,000 signatures circulated demanding BBC to apologize.

A listening session for BBC’s Pride network, that is, only for LGBTQ2S+ members of the BBC staff, was held fol-

lowing the backlash of this article. LGBTQ2S+ employees shared their grievances and highlighted the distrust, frustration, and shame they felt being a part of the publication.

At least five employees have quit the BBC because of how LGBTQ2S+ issues were represented in their publication, in writing, and in other multi-media platforms like podcasts.

The BBC claimed that the article had gone through heavy editing processes to ensure it met their editorial standards, claiming they were “committed to covering different viewpoints in the name of impartiality,” but, they eventually acceded, edited the article, and removed those comments.

News media is the primary way most people receive information and form their opinions on important issues. When LGBTQ2S+ people are misrepresented in threatening ways, it adds onto the phobia that the LGBTQ2S+ community face, especially the trans community who are not only marginalised within the general public, but also within the LG-

BTQ2S+ community. Impartiality cannot be used as a shield for promoting hate speech, or comments that can inspire hatred toward a particular community. The news media, just like us at The Medium, are responsible for whether issues are represented properly, who speaks on and represents these issues, and whether they meet not only editorial standards, but also ethical standards.

BRIT awards announce genderneutral categories We should be celebrating the artist and their art, not reduce them to a binary.

Haya Abu Ghosh Associate Opinion Editor

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he Brit Awards announced that in 2022 they plan to eliminate the gender segregations for male and female awards for Artist of the Year and International Artist of the Year. They will be replaced with genderneutral awards because according to the Brit Awards, they will be “celebrating artists solely for their music” and are “committed to making the show more inclusive.” Diversity and inclusivity are the main goals for the awards as they are also including new forms of music such as R&B, Hip Hop, Rap, and a Dance act.

Singer and Brit winner Sam Smith, who identifies as non-binary, has historically encouraged the Brit awards to change their rules regarding the gendered awards to create categories that are best fitted for those who do not identify as a male or female. They were unable to participate in the gendered categories due to their identity and their inability to fit into the binary of the awards, which is the case for many gender non-conforming artists. Other award-winning events such as the Grammys and MTV’s Video Music Awards have transitioned into gender-neutral categories as well.

“Other award-winning events such as the Grammys and MTV’s Video Music Awards have transitioned into gender-neutral categories as well.”

The change has some implications, including how each female and male artist have different perspectives, vocal tones, and low or high pitches, which will influence how the audience perceives them and impact their

chances of winning the award. Other critics have commented on this new change. British journalist India Willoughby argues that, “somebody this year will miss out on ongoing years too. I just wish there was a way that we could recognize the fact that there is a great male singer and there is a great female singer. I’m just thinking of previous years, one in particular in 2014 the female best singer was Ellie Goulding. But the male best singer was David Bowie. So, who is going to win there?

Ellie Goulding would have never picked up the award.”

Although they do have a point in their argument, the fact remains that gendered and binary awards exclude a lot of people. There are probably artists within the male and female categories that were forced to choose one side over the other just to have a chance at competing. It’s demeaning and disrespectful to artists to force them to choose categories that go against their identity, and frankly, it’s outdated. If pitch, vocals, lyrics, and production were the markers for winning music awards, then there can be awards made specifically for those and include nominees of all genders. The talent of an individual and their team shouldn’t be reduced down to a binary.

The 21st century is a time when we are evolving to become more inclusive and diverse. Respecting people’s pronouns and the way they choose to identify themselves is at the heart of it. The transition into creating gender-neutral awards is called for, a step forward to accepting people who choose to express themselves the way they want to and celebrating their art and personhood. This change does have its challenges, but the important part is that it leaves nobody out.

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I am pansexual My journey of discovering my sexuality and coming out to my family and friends as pansexual.

Jordan Johnson Contributor

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i. My name is Jordan, and I am pansexual. To give you a starting point, the definition of pansexuality according to Wikipedia is “sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity.”

The first time I heard the term ‘pansexual’ I was in grade ten. My older friend confided in me that she thought maybe she could be pansexual and that it meant she “just likes anyone, and it doesn’t matter to [her] what someone’s gender is. If [she] likes someone, [she] likes them.” It had stuck in my head since then. Something about that word seemed to fit me like a glove.

Our conversation stuck to the back of my mind all through high school. I was constantly wondering if my initial reaction was correct. I had a perpetual back and forth conversation with myself as to whether I liked some women because I admired them as individuals and wanted to be close friends, or whether there was more behind that admiration that I hadn’t unpacked.

Fast forward to my first year in university, I slowly began to unpack some of those feelings I was confused about in high school. I started to realize that some of the women I admired carried more than a platonic admiration. I was seriously considering that I was not straight, but I was still unsure of myself.

Second year of university rolled around, and I was getting closer to putting my finger on how I felt. Then I joined TikTok. The community I found in the LGBTQ2S+ side of TikTok was the perfect space for me to begin experimenting with the types of attraction I was feeling. I found myself drawn

towards cis-presenting men and women, however, I also found myself attracted to masculine presenting women, feminine presenting men, non-binary and androgenous presenting people, transgender men, transgender women, and people who did not fit any label at all. Now I was beginning to realize that maybe I had gotten it right from the beginning, but I didn’t have the environment to realize it at the time.

Halfway through my second year of university, the Covid-19 pandemic began, and I had to go back to my small conservative Canadian town. Despite my change in environment, I was still determined to go through with my coming out journey. For the next six months I sat on the idea that I was pansexual.

Through all the lockdowns I contemplated if or how I should come out, or if I was even sure of myself. The whole time I was determined that pansexual was the term I felt the most connected with, but there was still a voice in my head saying, ‘what if you’re wrong?’

During the summer of 2020, my friend who was studying abroad, and also happened to be a lesbian, finally managed to come home. I confided in her how I had been feeling and she helped me talk through my

feelings, until I finally realized it was true. All of these doubts I had were not how I had actually felt. I said it out loud for the first time. I am pansexual. It felt so good to finally say it.

Slowly after that day in July, I started to tell people. The first person I told was my younger brother. He’s only two years younger than I am and I was almost certain that his reaction would be just what I needed in my first coming out conversation. I was right. I told him I was pansexual, and after explaining to him that I don’t care about people’s sex or gender, that I like people for who they are and it doesn’t matter to me what sex or gender someone identifies as, he gave me a resounding, “okay.” The fact that he had almost no reaction and carried on like it changed no part of our lives or relationship was exactly what I needed.

After coming out to my brother it got easier. It made me realize that the people I chose to keep in my life were the kind of people I trusted and felt safe around. I told my friends.

They were all excited for me, some of them told me they already knew, some had no idea, but they all accepted me. I even managed to come out to my parents that winter, but perhaps those are stories for another time.

A queer, Muslim Christmas “We are moving towards a world where queer Muslims can confidently tell their stories, one’s that don’t revolve around trauma and conflict.”

Nawshin Nawal Abanti Contributor

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s it a happy ending, or do they dramatically die?”

“Sort of..? The dead guy’s family accepts his gay male lover in the end, drawn together by grief and mourning. That’s kind of happy?” We considered while trying to choose a movie to watch.

We ended up watching The Office instead. Oscar was a gay man of colour, we reasoned. I did feel a little honour-bound to support queer cinema, even if it was darkly depressing and not at all an escape from the existential quagmire that is to exist and be gay. But The Office would make a room full of gays very happy, someone would point out. And isn’t that what queer movie nights were all about, after all?

IMDb.com

Queer movies very often failed to pass the ‘happy ending, non-tragic’ litmus test we imposed in our little club. I remember the dark days of the early to mid 2000’s, when satisfying representation was almost exclusively found in the darker, dustier corners of the internet, confined to tumblr posts and fanfiction embellished with explicitly queer, people of colour (POC) narratives. We compulsively filled in the blanks where media failed, inserting ourselves in the worlds we loved and furiously dissecting subtext for any crumb of gay tossed our way (quite magnanimously).

Nuanced, culturally-informed representation was rare, and queer, culturally-situated representation rarer still. So, to have come to a historical point in time where The Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night can exist feels monumental. First of all, the title reads like a tumblr wish fulfillment fever-dream, which is a very good thing. The short film is a feel-good, Christmas rom-com about a queer Muslim woman introducing her partner to her family for the first time, and absolutely no one dies at the end.

The central conflict? Her Brown family is intense, hostile to romantic partners, and sort of crazy.

As a Brown person, I can very much attest to this. Decentering a dramatic coming-out storyline is refreshing, and adding a queer twist to the age old ‘who’s coming to dinner’ trope in a searingly Brown context is inspired. On every intellectual level, I agree that queer, Muslim representation is long over-due. Progress is slow, but the days of queer, POC stories being relegated to fringe internet lore are numbered. We beg for crumbs no longer!

Admittedly, on a more visceral, pettier level, I am conflicted.

As a gay having committed the grave crime of apostacy, the celebration of queer, Muslim representation does make me a smidge uncomfortable. I was ten when I decided to renounce God (every bit the precocious heathen with a heart of gold). The punishment due to an apostate is traditionally, and quite unequivocally, death. You can maybe sense from whence the discomfort arises.

My best friends in school, all hijabis, daintily side-stepped the

issue like a puddle on the sidewalk. They sadly nodded along to my tirades against indiscriminate hair removal, took my queercoded fanfiction in stride, and accommodated my vegetarianism. But the lesbian elephant in the room, growing alarmingly gayer by the year, was never broached, not even tentatively. Even as I wore a purple tuxedo to prom, sporting a fresh f-boy fade, they marveled at my boldness and assured me I would turn the head of the boy I elected to like that year.

I remember trying to find hadith loopholes so they could come to the school field trips abroad (women aren’t allowed to leave the country without their mehram, or male guardian), some jurisprudential fatwa that could rescue me from sharing a room with the girl who baby-talked to her boyfriend all night (“babyyy I wuuuv you”).

Growing up in a very Muslim country, I didn’t really know what a ‘secular’, progressive Islam could look like. My parents are more Bengali than Muslim, which is to say, they observe what they choose to observe and decry the rest as ‘culturally’ incompatible. Theirs is a faith stitched together by tradition, convenience, and a love for wine. Culture and religion often seemed to be at odds, owing to our (relatively) recent conversion (our ancestors were Hindus a mere two hundred years ago, and the ‘pernicious’ influence persists).

It was only when I came here, to Canada, that I fully grasped the cultural significance of religion. Here, to be a Muslim queer is a forceful declaration of identity, a cultural and ethnic marker that tethers them to their community. It’s a clear stand against erasure in a cultural landscape that paints queer POC as invisible, and if not invisible, miserable.

I am ultimately glad we are moving towards a world where queer Muslims can confidently tell their stories, one’s that don’t revolve around trauma and conflict. Stories where the queer characters are unambiguously happy. Media has been historically hostile to happy Muslims and happy queers, so maybe happy queer Muslims are the most radically revolutionary stance of all.

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Why some victims of sexual violence choose to remain quiet It is never okay to question a victim’s choice to not speak out.

Aia Jaber Contributor

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he overwhelming shadow that looms over victims of sexual violence is one difficult to face, especially when they are gripped by a loss for words and the inability to move or process. Just as most women have stories of sexual assault or harassment, it is scary to learn that our schools, workplaces, and even social circles potentially have an abuser. Recently, within the Peel District School Board, high schools have seen a plethora of cases which spurred outrage amongst students—a feat that has been disregarded by the schools.

I’d like to preface by saying that every victim may have different views and thoughts on all that I will say. I speak from what I have witnessed and heard from those who’ve shared their experiences with me. I do not wish to speak for you but rather, I hope you find comfort in my words and see that you are not alone.

When victims of sexual violence are asked insensitive questions that don’t acknowledge the complexities of their experience, it strikes fear and shame into their hearts.

Number one: Why didn’t you just report this case?

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Often times, after trauma, the victim desires to never see nor deal with anything attributing to the horrific event(s). To go through the exhausting process of accusing your abuser and fighting for justice is frustrating.

It’s filled with backlash and pity, and is often a reminder of what may be the worst experience of an individual’s life. There are those victims who reach a point in which they repress memories as their body deems the

trauma far too great to handle.

While this analogy will fail to even come close to the fear and obstacles an abuser exerts, I feel as though this is the simplest message. Imagine a small dog standing in front of a large, dangerous dog. This aggressive dog towers over its victim. It blocks all routes to safety and stability. If the smaller dog even tries to move, the larger dog fights.

The smaller dog feels as though it’s at a loss; trapped by an entity that has fixated on its destruction. It is especially difficult when the perpetrator of the crime is an individual the victim is familiar with. About eight out of ten sexual assault cases are committed by someone the victim knows.

“It can feel humiliating and draining to try and prove that you shouldn’t have been assaulted.”

It is debilitating to share details of one of the most painful experiences in front of strangers and non-strangers alike. The act of sitting in a courtroom, trying to prove that your abuser should be held accountable for committing a crime, is never easy, especially when the system denies women their right to feel safe and have justice. It can feel humiliating and draining to try and prove that you shouldn’t have been assaulted.

Men are also victims of sexual violence.

Society enjoys telling men not to feel certain emotions, otherwise they’re not men. Wondering why they weren’t strong enough to fight off the abuser runs laps through their minds. Many choose to refute a victim’s claims of sexual violence, leading to a feeling of loneliness and lack of support.

Number two: Why didn’t you just say no?

Some people just don’t understand ‘no’.

Many say ‘no’ continuously and are seen as playing hard to get, which the abuser sees as a challenge. Sometimes, people feel their only option is to stay quiet to avoid a worse outcome. That silence is still not consent, and is not an invitation for anyone to touch you or make you feel uncomfortable.

Consent does not necessarily pertain to sexual activity; it extends to all spheres of communication and physical touch. Everyone needs to understand that if someone does not want to be hugged, or touched, that does not make it okay to disregard their feelings. Consent is also non-physical; it is not okay to crack inappropriate jokes or make lewd comments to a stranger or someone you barely know just to make them uncomfortable.

I understand the desire to extend a warm hand to a stranger or a friend, and I recognize that this is a norm for many. PreCovid-19 especially, it was normal to touch upon greeting, but the pandemic has made it unequivocally evident that consent is not simply granted during sexual encounters, it is required for handshakes, comments, and high-fives too.

Victims of abuse are incredibly powerful.

I do believe that those who live each day with this immense amount of trauma are heroes.

They are very much my own; both those who choose to remain silent or feel able to share their stories. To those who’ve gotten justice finally, or in the pursuit of such, thank you for inspiring and strengthening so many victims. Please do not feel rushed to voice your stories and experiences, but please know that you are worth hearing.

How sex-positivity can leave asexuals behind While the sex-positivity movement can benefit women and the LGBTQ2S+ community, it still struggles to accept a lack of sexual desire as normal.

Dellannia Segreti Associate Sports & Health Editor

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ex-positivity can be best understood as a social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality. It respects all consensual sexual activities, recognizing that there is no one “right” way to express desire.

From this definition, it is clear that sex-positivity plays an important role in promoting the recognition of sexuality as a natural and healthy part of being. On the surface, this has a multitude of benefits for individuals who identify as LGBTQ2S+, as it opens the space for acceptance and promotion toward the nature and fluidity of sexuality.

However, in looking at the social context and the broader impact of sex-positivity, asexuality is left behind and does not

benefit from the movement. Asexuality is characterized as a lack of sexual attraction to others. In some cases, it includes people who have low or no interest in sex or desire for sexual activity.

Despite sex-positivity’s numerous benefits, one criticism of the movement is that it emphasizes that sex is a good thing for everyone. Lacking sexual desire or interest in sex must mean that something is wrong. In relationships, where sex may be a requirement, those with low desire are seen as broken, and thus, need to fix themselves.

While the sex-positivity movement has good intentions, there are aspects of sexuality and certain people it overlooks. This calls for individuals to analyze the social and philosophical movement of sex-positivity to be more inclusive and carry these efforts forward toward a future movement that is more understanding and impactful for all.

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features

Editor | Ricardo Jaroslav Valdes features@themedium.ca

Dr. Maria Cichosz’s transcends queer literature in her latest novel Cam & Beau Dalainey Gervais Associate Features Editor

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et in recession-era Toronto, Dr. Maria Cichosz’s novel Cam & Beau tells the story of two best friends sharing unspoken knowledge and sorrowful longing, for Cam is holding onto a secret: he is in love with his male best friend, Beau. Rather than jeopardizing their friendship, Cam keeps his longing to himself.

“It’s the kind of book that I’ve always wanted to read,” says Dr. Cichosz, a University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) sessional lecturer in the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology department. “A queer love story that doesn’t deal with coming out like a lot of other queer love story books focus on.” This reflection reminds readers that although coming out may be a significant event in queer people’s lives, there are other stories to tell.

Dr. Cichosz joined the UTM community in the fall of 2020 and currently teaches WRI173: Creative Non-Fiction and WRI365: Editing: Principles and Practice. She’s also the Fiction and Reviews Editor at Broken Pencil magazine and a Book Review Editor for the academic journal The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs. “I have a very active reading practice,” she notes. “David Foster Wallace was huge for me because his work confirmed my gut conviction that writing is fundamentally not about your ego or sounding smart and clever, but about connecting with other human beings in a sincere and vulnerable way.”

Published in 2020, Cam & Beau has been a decade-long project, with most of the writing taking place between 2010 and 2013. However, that was not the first time Dr. Cichosz had tried writing the novel. “[It] was my second or third time attempting to write this piece,” she reflects. “I don’t think I was strong enough of a writer the first time around.”

With the story evolving in Toronto during a drug epidemic, the novel explores the concept of love as an addictive substance. In a previous interview with The Rumpus, Dr. Cichosz reflects on the intersectionality of inner psychological torment and drug abuse through the parallel of Cam and Beau’s drug use and Cam’s love for Beau. Although a story with a queer love interest, Cam & Beau is more than a queer novel where gender

constrains the narrative. Themes of love, responsibility, and lasting friendships encapsulates the novel as a well-rounded theorypacked experience.

According to Dr. Cichosz, finding a publisher was a difficult and lengthy process. Cam & Beau was solely signed by Now or Never Publishing Company. To this day, there are many people wanting to get their work published, and it’s important to know where to look for a publishing company that will do your work justice. When looking back at the hardships faced in the publication process, Dr. Cichosz reflects on the importance of making connections while in academic settings, especially if a future in writing is for you. “It’s important to make professional connections when you have the opportunity,” she explains. “You never know when someone will be able to help push your work out.”

Dr. Cichosz has been in school for most of her life. Her love for writing developed after spending nearly two decades in academia. “I’ve always been inclined toward reading and writing and putting ideas together which are the building blocks of what it would take to be a scholar long-term,” she states.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree at U of T with a Women’s Studies specialist, an English major, and a Book and Media Studies minor, Dr. Cichosz pursued a master’s degree from the Women and Gender Studies Institute at U of T’s St. George campus. “I started to see how these ideas were coming together in interesting ways and felt like I had a handle on wanting to explore them at a higher level,” she adds.

The master’s degree was interdisciplinary in nature, giving enrolled students the opportunity to branch out to other fields of study and apply those through a Women and Gender Studies lens. Focusing on literary and visual studies work, Dr. Cichosz’s thesis was about Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

“I studied [the film] as a metaphor for tripping,” she recalls.

“Which was then analyzed as a metaphor for making knowledge in new and creative ways.”

She later moved to the U.S. to complete a Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University. There, she faced a new set of challenges. International students residing in the U.S. are considered “nonresident aliens.” These are people who don’t hold a citizenship or green card and must therefore pay taxes on any income they earn. “Financially, it was difficult living on just my graduate student living package without having access to other financial aid.”

GOODREADS & ASH NAYLER

The novel tells a beautiful and tragic story of love, friendship, and drug addiction.

However, Dr. Cichosz persevered through her challenges, working through the Ph.D. program with scholars from a wide range of departments due to the interdisciplinary nature of the program. “I had the opportunity of taking my own interests and following them organically in a way that interconnected with Gender Studies,” she continues. “I focused a lot on Visual Studies, Philosophy, and Literary History.”

As a first-generation Canadian, Dr. Cichosz faced challenges on the journey to academia that are felt by many international students. She reflects on the privileges that aren’t often spoken about. “I didn’t realize until I got to St. George how much privilege people had that they just took for granted. Like [assuming] that everyone understands the same cultural references,” she explains. People understand concepts differently based on their socioeconomic backgrounds, which is a phenomenon she has experienced first-hand.

Dr. Cichosz is currently working on other projects. Her second book titled Middlemen, is in the process of finding a publisher, while a third one titled The Protégé is being written with a Canada Council for the Arts grant. Writing a book has always been in the back of Dr. Cichosz’s mind, having begun writing fiction as a child and having taken the practice more seriously in high school. While reflecting on the past years of writing, she leaves aspiring authors with one piece of advice: “If writing is what you want to do and it’s for the right reasons, you just have to sit down and do it for yourself.”

Societal gender norms should be a thing of the past Gender expression and identity needs to be taught from an early age to foster an inclusive environment for everyone.

Prisha Maneka Nuckchady Associate Features Editor

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or most of us, gender identity and gender expression form an integral part of our lives as they relate to our self-identity. When an individual realizes that they don’t conform with the stereotypical gender roles and identities, self-identity becomes confusing.

Approximately 13 per cent of Canada’s population—more than 4 million people— identify as a member of the LGBTQ2S+

community. Of those, 40 per cent have experienced discrimination and 60 per cent have faced hardships linked to their gender identity. This discrimination is not only misplaced but is also a clear violation of basic human rights.

Doug VanderLaan, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto Mississauga, focuses his research on the field of gender and sexual orientation diversity, gender identity and expression in youth, and cross-cultural psychology. He was recently recognized globally as one of the top researchers in the field of gender identity. Among his various research

projects, he has explored what children think about gender stereotypes and how they feel about others whose behaviours don’t correspond to gender norms.

In one study, Professor VanderLaan conducted experiments with children and young adolescents by dividing them into two groups. One group watched a standard zoo animal movie, while the other watched a movie in which several children were gender non-stereotypical. Professor VanderLaan and his colleagues found that those watching the gender-diverse movie reacted more positively to peers that were gender nonstereotypical. “They gave more positive ap-

praisals than the [zoo group],” he says.

Professor VanderLaan notes that gender identity and gender roles do not originate solely from biological differences between males and females. He points out that when we’re young—infants even—we observe our environment and notice patterns of behavior that typically (though not always) vary from gender to gender. For instance, a common stereotype is that boys gravitate toward superheroes and girls gravitate toward princesses. As a result, we learn about our gender identity based on those stereotypes. >> GENDER continues on page 11

11 >> GENDER continued from page 10 “These patterns help children understand their gender identity better and help them understand themselves as people in the world,” explains Professor VanderLaan. “[It is] an ongoing process throughout our lives. We weigh our own feelings against the messages we’re receiving from society about gender roles most prevalent in society.”

Non-correspondence to gender stereotypes

can be hard for many gender-diverse individuals. Before coming out, many face gender dysphoria. According to Professor VanderLaan, gender dysphoria is the distress related to an incongruence between someone’s experienced gender and their assigned sex at birth. He states that those who identify as transgender express themselves through their physical appearance and choose their own pronouns. However, he adds that this is often not enough to alleviate gender dysphoria. “Medical treatments including hormonal or surgical treatments significantly contribute to alleviating distress,” he says.

In collaboration with Chiang Mai University in Thailand, Professor VanderLaan currently studies the brains of transgender adolescents and how they develop under hormonal treatments that facilitate gender transition. “A wide range of perspectives can [and needs] to be taken while studying this topic because it’s such a complex phenomenon,” he explains.

Through his work in Thailand, Professor VanderLaan noticed differences in gender expression when compared with Western

countries. To him, Thailand is unique and different from Canada in terms of traditional beliefs and attitudes around gender and sexuality. “The [LGBTQ2S+] community is more visible,” he says. “You see them around the streets more often and people don’t react strongly. It feels like there’s a bit less stigma surrounding gender diversity.”

Aside from gender dysphoria, genderdiverse individuals are at an increased risk of developing mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. “A lot of studies are showing that this risk seems to be correlated with [social backgrounds],” explains Professor VanderLaan. “Like how well children and adolescents get along with their peers and parents, and the degree of acceptance they receive from them.”

As a result, forming a secure base for children is incredibly important. To do so, parents and schools must cultivate an encouraging, open-minded, and accepting environment for everyone. “What this means is [essentially] having less traditional views about gender and not endorsing gender stereotypes,” he continues.

Professor VanderLaan states that on top

of increasing acceptance and reducing stigma and discrimination, adjustments to the healthcare system are still needed. “Doctors need to be trained specifically in relation to trans healthcare,” he concludes. “I feel that there is not adequate care for them in our system.”

Increasing acceptance and breaking gender stereotypes must be taught from childhood by fostering an inclusive and accepting environment for everyone, rather than merely expecting individuals to conform to stereotypical norms.

Diabetes was formerly a death sentence, but the discovery of insulin changed that Today, diabetics learn how to live with the disease rather than how to survive.

Abdullah Sher Contributor

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live with diabetes and had a chocolate-dip donut from Tim Hortons yesterday. It tasted amazing. And I am completely fine. You might’ve seen diabetes as the punchline caption hanging below a chocolate cake Instagram post: “diabetes never tasted so good.” But no, sweet snacks don’t taste like diabetes. Diabetes sucks.

In the weeks leading up to my own diagnosis 12 years ago, I wet my bed, soiled my pants in class, kept unusually chugging down gallons of water, and suffered from extreme fatigue. This continued for about two weeks until my parents dragged me to the hospital, where I fainted.

Today, I expect to live a full life. A hundred years ago, even after a diagnosis, no effective treatment existed. Hospital wards were filled with bedridden diabetic skeletons draped in skin. Occasionally, some diabetics regained semi-consciousness before relapsing into a coma.

Diabetes was a death sentence—that is, until Dr. Fredrick Banting discovered insulin in 1921.

The discovery of diabetes The Greek physician Aretaeus of Cappadocia first coined the term “diabetes” 1900 years ago. Diabetes translates to “siphon.” As Aretaeus stated: “No essential part of the drink is absorbed by the body while great masses of the flesh are limbs into urine.” For Aretaeus, he only saw his patients eating whole meals and coming back each consecutive day looking more and more like the skeletal undead.

Diabetes comes in a few different subtypes. The one Aretaeus described was eventually named diabetes mellitus. The word mellitus—Latin for honey—describes the sweet taste of urine from diabetic individuals. Urine was a defining diagnostic. Under normal circumstances, one does not expect urine to be anything remotely close to honey. Given that the diabetic body didn’t absorb any nutrients, it made sense that any sugars consumed would simply waste away in the disposed urine. Unfortunately for physicians of the past, the only way to accurately

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diagnose someone with diabetes for hundreds of years was by taste. Hence diabetes mellitus—sweet siphon.

What diabetes does In a non-diabetic body the digestive system takes full control of food absorption and digestion. The stomach mashes food to a pulp, the small intestine absorbs it, and the liver processes nutrients and ejects them into the bloodstream.

Amongst these nutrients are carbohydrates, which break down into glucose. Cells take in glucose and use it in a process called cellular respiration. This process uses glucose and oxygen to make an energy molecule called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Without ATP, the body collapses.

Cells must take in glucose for cellular respiration to occur.

However, glucose can only enter cells through specific glucose transporters, akin to cell gates. These “gates” need a corresponding “key” to open.

In 1889, researchers at the University of Strasbourg in France found that removing a dog’s pancreas induced severe diabetes. They concluded that the pancreas must hold the key to treating diabetes. Scientists dubbed this hypothesized key to what we know as insulin. The pancreas produces insulin through a series of island-shaped cells called the Islets of Langerhans.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the immune system in a diabetic body goes rogue. Normally, it detects and destroys invaders it deems foreign and harmful.

Through an as-of-yet unknown mechanism, the immune system mistakenly identifies the Islets of Langerhans as foreign and harmful and therefore destroys them in an autoimmune attack.

Without the islets, the pancreas cannot produce insulin. This causes two main problems: the first is hyperglycaemia, which is a surplus concentration of blood glucose that eventually clogs the bloodstream; the second is a severe lack of glucose inside the cells.

How the body reacts To revert hyperglycaemia (or high blood glucose), the body attempts to autocorrect by filtering the glucose out of the kidneys into urine, known as glycosuria. This causes frequent urination, which consequently leads to increased thirst, dehydration, and damage to the kidneys.

During this time, glucose remains inaccessible for cellular respiration, which leads to a lack of energy molecules (or ATP), which then causes the body to collapse. Consequently, the body self-cannibalizes any accessible fats, muscles, proteins, and other “non-essential” body resources for energy.

This yields far less energy and

leads to toxic ketones. In large concentrations, ketones acidify the blood and pose a life-threatening condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).

Was I suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis before my own diagnosis? If I wasn’t already, I most likely would have in a few more days. Today, DKA mandates a trip to the emergency room—people usually survive. A hundred years ago, diabetic ketoacidosis was always fatal. In fact, it compounded the problem introduced with severe hyperglycaemia. Ketones made the blood acidic, glucose clogged the blood vessels like plaque, eating food only exacerbated the problem.

Starving to survive In 1919, the best treatment for diabetes was a starvation diet published by Dr. Fredrick Allen of the Rockefeller Foundation in New York. Patients started with a strict week-long fasting period. During this time, the lack of new glucose allowed the kidneys to slowly filter out high blood sugar levels through the urine. Doctors then slowly reintroduced macronutrients like fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into the body. Eventually, they fed patients until they detected glucose in the urine again. In his findings, Allen recommended a fat-heavy, lowcarb diet. These diets helped marginally extend diabetic lifespans.

The good news In 1921, Dr. Fredrick Banting and his colleagues at the University of Toronto isolated pancreatic insulin. A year later, Banting injected insulin for the first time into Leonard Thompson, a dying 14-year-old boy who had been suffering from type 1 diabetes. After the shot, his blood sugar levels stabilized. He lived another 13 years until he died from pneumonia.

After the initial discovery, Banting sold the subsequent patents for insulin to the University of Toronto for a symbolic $1.00 price. As he aptly put it, “insulin belongs to the world, not me.”

Not withholding the patent allowed rapid advancement in diabetic research over the century. Today, the insulin pump, a device that mimics the human pancreas and delivers insulin into the body, replace injections and allow better control over diabetes. These pumps are advancing closer and closer to a truly artificial pancreas.

Over the years, with a strong support system full of helpful family, teachers, and friends—one that empowers instead of mocks–I have grown out of any embarrassment I feel toward my disease.

I ate that donut yesterday just like anyone else. I had to manually give myself insulin, sure, but while diabetes still exists, it is no longer a crippling disease. And maybe in a few more years, someone may stumble upon the cure. A hundred years ago, diabetes was no longer a death sentence. Perhaps in another hundred years, diabetes may no longer be a sentence at all. That is the dream.

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Arts

Editor | Danica Teng arts@themedium.ca

Adele’s 30 is devastatingly perfect This latest album marks the artist’s return with a reformed style that keeps the same insightful lyrics.

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fter six years, Adele finally says “Hello” once again with her fourth studio album, 30. With this recent release, the 15-time Grammy Award winner takes on a new theme and sound, slightly straying away from her dark-thrill style to something a little more refined. So, what is this new album about? Adele could not have put it any better: “divorce babe, divorce.” But even more so, it is a message to her son, Angelo Adkins, for the future—an explanation of her divorce and navigating life’s changes. Sometimes it is easier to say what you can never voice aloud through art. With Adele, it is all wrapped up neatly in just 12 songs.

In March 2021, the British singer divorced Simon Konecki, CEO of the charity Drop4Drop. Although the divorce ended as well as it could have, with none of the usual messy and dramafilled gossip, it is clear that the relationship took a toll on the singer. I mean, just listen to her song “To Be Loved.”

Having been away from all the online publicity, once Adele announced the release of her album, especially the lead single “Easy on Me,” the world went wild (as it should). 30 is a transformation from her previous studio albums—19, 21, and 25—which were centred around relationships and heartbreak; they all had a sense of melancholy or retribution for those who wronged her, giving her music that powerful element that she is known for. With 30, Adele draws from a deeper place in her heart, focusing on discovering herself and the hardships she went through without blaming other people.

The album, when listened to from beginning to end (which you really should), feels like a lesson; it is an experience that you go through with Adele, but at the same time, she guides you through it all. Notably, she teaches a lesson that most artists shy away from: sometimes you need to be selfish for your own happiness.

“Strangers by Nature,” a song about reassurance, opens 30 and is meant to set the scene for the rest of the album. Diving into the ’70s groove, “My Little Love,” is the beginning of Adele’s dedication to her son and contains snippets of recorded conversations with him.

The first few songs are slower with a more melodic flow, but Adele’s signature style shines later through tracks like “Oh My God” which has a more defined beat, mirroring the realization that she is not tied to a partner anymore. Pulling from the ’60s,

ADELE

Maggie Ng Contributor

“I Drink Wine” is a more lighthearted song about shedding your ego. “Woman Like Me” entertains listeners, as it is more of a diss track directed at her ex-husband, with a messaging style reminiscent of her earlier albums. Lastly, “Love is a Game,” the retro, whimsical song filled with orchestral instrumentals, brings 30 to a satisfying close.

Starting this musical journey in 2018, Adele wanted to produce music with people she felt comfortable with during her times of darkness and uncertainty. For 30, she brought back Greg Jurstin, Tobias Jesso Jr., Max Martin, and Shellback— all producers on her previous albums. However, the record also includes Ludwig Goransson and Inflo from the English Band Sault, people she always wanted to work with.

The legend that she is, Adele did not make a comeback with just an album. Exclusively on TV network CBS, Adele performed iconic tracks like “Skyfall” and “Rolling in the Deep,” along with some songs from her newest album at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The close-knit event welcomed stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez, Lizzo, and Seth Rogen to the audience.

Additionally, Adele became the first-ever individual to be on the covers of both British Vogue and American Vogue within the same month. Each publication has stunning photos of the singer and in-depth personal interviews that explore more of her life and music career.

Once again, Adele delivers an outstanding album—one that can be delved into in search of layers of lyrical meaning or just to enjoy her pure-toned voice. Her new music is soothing and interlaced with groovy elements. Even with a new sense of style and maturity, doesn’t 30 just make you want to go through all of Adele’s past songs too? An Adele-listening party here we come.

Learning to love yourself in The Sky Blues Robbie Couch’s debut novel has readers’ hearts soaring with its lessons of life.

Shruti Kamath Staff Writer

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n our heteronormative society, a large struggle for the LGBTQ2S+ community is acceptance. Even when ignored, negative reactions are so pervasive that they can affect a person’s self-perception. In his coming-of-age novel, The Sky Blues, Robbie Couch explores what happens after coming out, and how self-acceptance is the hardest battle to win.

The Sky Blues tells the story of 17-year-old Sky Baker, the only openly gay student at an extremely conservative Michigan high school. When Sky’s plans to prompose to his longtime crush are revealed in a hateful email blast throughout the town, he tries to expose the perpetrator with the help of a diverse cast of friends. a At times, Sky finds it difficult to be himself—wearing his favourite pink shirt, swaying his hips while walking, and even the way he holds his books all make him a target for homophobic comments. So, he adjusts his behaviours and mannerisms to avoid being seen as “too gay.”

From subtle mocking to blatantly offensive comments, Sky is never completely comfortable with himself in his environment, especially with a mother that threw him out of the house and a brother who despises him—all because of his identity. However, the story offers hope through the relationships he forms.

Sky’s friends, teachers, and another openly gay man with a connection to his past all help him learn to be proud and appreciate himself for who he is. Throughout the book, his community comes together to defend and support Sky from the anonymous email hacker in the most heartwarming ways.

They let him slowly take off his masquerade of conformity to finally accept himself and know that “you never have to prove yourself to anyone who doesn’t accept you for who you are.”

During this journey, Sky alsoa understands that despite being part of the LGBTQ2S+ community, he can help fuel certain stereotypes. By speculating about another character’s sexuality, gender, and pronouns, he sees how seemingly “harmless” thoughts can have the most adverse effects. Instead of justifying his behaviour, Sky apologizes for his actions and strives to be more mindful.

An admirable part of the novel is how it promotes the idea of putting yourself first. Sky is never pressured to listen to the explanations or apologies of the people who wronged him. It is not his obligation or responsibility to assuage someone else’s guilt. He does not continue to let other people treat him miserably and begins to stand up for himself, choosing to prioritize his happiness and peace of mind.

In this moving debut novel, Couch sensibly tackles concepts like acceptance, depression, body dysmorphia, and racism. The Sky Blues brims with hope. Hope that even in the most awful and loneliest of times there will always be a community of people that will accept, love, and support you for yourself, even if it takes time to find them.

GOODREADS

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The birth of a hero in Eyes of the Eternal with author G.E. White With the release of her debut novel, this author shares her past at UTM and discusses the book’s creation with The Medium.

Dalainey Gervais Associate Features Editor

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ike many aspiring authors, G.E. White began writing fiction in middle school.

Tweens often gravitate to fanfiction—a genre based on taking characters from movies, TV shows, and books to tell stories of romances and duels that never had the chance to happen. “[It is] an easy way to transition from someone else’s ideas to your own,” says White while reflecting on some of her first works of fiction. Since those middle school years, White has gone on to write and publish her own original work of fiction, Eyes of the Eternal.

White is an alumna from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and graduated in 2007 after completing a degree with a major in Professional Writing and Communication (PWC) and a double minor in English and Religion. An influential figure from White’s undergraduate years, Guy Allen, is a continually prominent researcher and professor within the PWC program. “Having smaller courses with 15 or 20 people was a lot more freeing than bigger classes, and I [feel]

like my writing is reflective of the one-on-one opportunities I had in classes like those I took with Guy Allen,” says White.

Professors in the PWC program prepare their students for life as an author, if that is what they decide to pursue. “The truth of the matter is, most authors work a second job,” says White. “Professors would let us know that to have that steady life and be a writer, you would need to look at television writing.”

After UTM, White took her professor’s

CHRISTINA KOLOMBOS

advice and pursued a graduate certificate in Television Writing and Producing at Humber.

During the process, White wrote screenplays that she will revisit in the future.

Currently, White writes audio descriptions.

“My job is making stories and movies accessible for people who are visually impaired,” explains White. “It’s almost like making them into audiobooks.” Due to the volume of content coming out, and the push for a fully accessible world, the field of audio description is growing fast; it is a new form of writing where writers have to learn what aspects of movie or TV visuals should be described to help accurately portray a scene.

In the time of the Harry Potter craze, White came up with the first idea for Eyes of the Eternal. Everyone wanted to write the next best sci-fi, and White wanted to do that by incorporating Greek mythology. “This was before Percy Jackson,” says White, reflecting on the challenges she faced after discovering the series. “Once I became aware of Percy Jackson, I thought my life was over and the idea for Eyes of the Eternal was no longer good.”

After years of reworking and putting down what is now Eyes of the Eternal, White selfpublished the novel in 2016. Later, she was introduced to the Doll House Publishing team, where she took down the self-published ver-

sion to be reworked for the publishing house.

Over the course of writing, like many authors, White experienced a sense of imposter syndrome. “Reading about other authors’ experiences writing novels is something that helped me through that, which I suggest for new writers as well,” says White. On September 22, 2021, Eyes of the Eternal was released as book one in the Realms of Rebirth series.

Following the life of 17-year-old Quinn, the novel is about the reincarnation of Greek gods in modern-day life. “There’s a lot of myself depicted in the novel,” says White, as a member of the LGBTQ2s+ community herself. “The [main] character Quinn is a gay man, and I can’t speak to that experience, but I did my best to include parts of myself through him.”

Although Eyes of the Eternal was originally written for middle grade readers, the book slowly evolved to the New Adult genre. Depicting themes of identity and responsibility, it has added to the much-needed representation of queer youth in literature. These themes will be further developed in the second novel of the series, which will mostly take place in the underworld—the afterlife of Greek mythology. Until then, readers can enjoy the beginning of Quinn’s journey in White’s stunning debut novel.

tick, tick... BOOM! is a true tribute to Jonathon Larson With a stunning soundtrack and powerful performances, this successful adaptation has everything to love about musical theatre.

Delaney Rombough Contributor

Spoiler warning: this review mentions scenes from the movie.

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ick, tick... BOOM! is a semi-autobiographical musical about composer and playwright Jonathan Larson, played by Andrew Garfield. With a screenplay by Steven Levenson, this movie adaptation was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, marking his directorial debut.

The week before Jon’s thirtieth birthday, he describes a constant ticking sound in his head, like he is running out of time.

Jon works as a waiter at the Moondance Diner, but there are so many things he needs to do. He needs to talk to his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), he needs to visit a friend who is in the hospital with HIV-AIDS, and most importantly, he needs to finish a crucial song for the musical he has been working on for the past eight years before its first public workshop performance.

At the beginning of the movie, there is a brief introduction for the audience to contextualize Larson’s life, career, and sudden death. Larson originally performed tick, tick... BOOM! as a rock monologue in New York City (NYC) in 1990, before it was later reconfigured into a three-person musical after his death in 1996. This 2021 adaptation shifts between Jon performing the monologue in front of an audience and Jon’s point-of-view as events unfold over one crazy week. It is a creative and effective way to tell this story and a nice tribute to Larson’s original tick, tick... BOOM! performances.

The three main characters in this movie are Jon, Susan, and Jon’s long-time best friend, Michael (Robin de Jesús); all three of them give wonderful, thoughtful performances. Garfield’s

performance as Jon was especially outstanding and moving. It is clear he spent a lot of time and care learning about Larson, including his motivations and mannerisms. He portrays all the feelings of frenzy, anxiety, ambition, frustration, doubt, confidence, sadness, and everything else that comes with being an artist in NYC in such a way the audience has no choice but to feel these emotions too. His vocal skills are also impressive, and one standout scene is when Garfield performed “Why” alone at the piano in the Central Park’s Delacorte Theatre.

Shipp is also great as Susan. Susan and Jon’s relationship is strained, as she has a job offer in the Berkshires, but Jon feels like he cannot leave NYC just as his career is finally gaining some traction. However, they still love and care about each other.

Shipp and Garfield have a natural chemistry that makes their relationship believable as it unfolds on screen. She also does an amazing job with the song “Come to Your Senses.”

De Jesús gives an excellent performance as Michael. Michael has a lot going on in his life too, and everything seems to be go-

IMDb.com

ing his way. He left acting for a job at an advertising company on Madison Avenue where he makes good money and has a swanky new apartment on the Upper East Side. However, Michael gets a positive HIV diagnosis. Unlike Jon, Michael is actually running out of time. De Jesús balances Michael’s conflicting emotions so well. He is happy with his life but sad about his diagnosis; he is frustrated that Jon is not acting like an adult, but he is still a supportive friend. Michael sings a variation of the song “Real Life,” which is a turning point for Michael and Jon, and De Jesús carries this song so beautifully.

In addition to these three main characters, many other Broadway stars make cameo appearances to the delight of musical theatre fans. In the “Sunday” musical sequence at the Moondance Diner, there are cameos from Andre De Shields, Phillipa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, and many others. Theatre legend Stephen Sondheim also does a voice recording for a message that his character leaves for Jon on his answering machine, since Bradley Whitford, who plays Sondheim in the film, was unavailable. Miranda was heavily influenced by Larson’s Rent and his other works, so some of Rent’s original cast members, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia also have cameo appearances. Miranda also plants other Rent Easter eggs throughout the film.

Miranda, the cast, and the creative team treat this movie with such love and care. Levenson and Miranda carefully researched the original production and Larson’s life, trying to stay as true to the source material as possible. They make the props, sets, and everything else as realistic and detailed as possible, from Larson’s apartment in SoHo to the pool where he regularly went swimming. The costume and makeup department also does a stellar job making Garfield look like Larson. With previously unheard songs, including “Swimming” and “Sextet,” tick, tick... BOOM! is truly a love letter to Larson, theatre, and those who make art.

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The Owl House loses its happy ending Disney’s villainous choice takes away an important show for LGBTQ2s+ representation.

Lexey Burns Contributor

Spoiler warning: this review discusses all seasons of The Owl House.

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s anybody else waiting on the highly anticipated third season of Gravity Falls? Me too. To fill the void that Dipper and Mabel left, The Owl House is perfect for disgusting monsters and magic, as well as a strong LGBTQ2S+ representation that goes beyond supporting characters.

The Owl House follows Luz Noceda (Sarah-Nicole Robles), a fictional DominicanAmerican teen who wanders through a portal into a world of magic, while her mother thinks she is at a juvenile detention camp.

In this new world, the notorious witch Eda Clawthorne (Wendie Malick) takes Luz under her wing at Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, allowing Luz to fulfil her dream of becoming a witch.

Despite the show’s popularity, Disney abruptly cancelled it, announcing in May 2021 that season three will wrap up the series in three specials instead of the regular 20 episodes. The show’s creator Dana Terrance, who previously worked on Gravity Falls, has

voiced that she is not happy about the sudden discontinuation. Terrance explained that she did not even get a chance to fight for a fourth season. “Anyway, be gay do witchcraft,” she tweeted.

The main controversy the show raises is its feature of a female pairing, a femslash relationship, between Luz and young witch, Amity Blight (Mae Whitman). Throughout the first season, Amity undergoes major character development, starting as Luz’s rival and the popular bad girl, only to become a dork who has the same favourite book series as Luz and noticeably blushes whenever she is around.

Terrance believes the series was not cancelled due to budget or bad ratings, but because of the LGBTQ2S+ content that “didn’t fit [the Disney] brand.” She also confirms they had problems airing the show in some countries and that the series is fully banned in others for its content.

Amity identifies as a lesbian, while Luz is bisexual and based on Terrance’s own bisexual experience. Season two also introduces Disney’s first explicitly non-binary character, Raine Whispers, who is voiced by non-binary actor and voice artist Avi Roque. Raine avidly uses they/them pronouns throughout the series, and they quickly become a main character in the show as Eda’s love interest

and Head Witch of the Bard Coven—a coven that practices casting spells through music.

Many people praise Disney for having a lot of queer “firsts,” like the same-sex couple seen briefly in Finding Dory and LeFou’s “exclusively gay moment” in the 2017 liveaction remake of Beauty and the Beast, but it is important to see representation of the LGBTQ2S+ community as more than just glimpses of background characters.

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique in which creators hint at a same-sex relationship without ever depicting one. A popular example of this is Dean and Castiel from Supernatural, who dragged viewers through 11 seasons of hinting at a romantic attraction between the two men. This is not the case with The Owl House In season one, Amity tries to face her fear of asking Luz to “Grom”—a twisted version of Hexside’s prom— and early on in season two, Luz asks Amity to be her girlfriend. “When I was first developing Owl House I always wanted to do a prom episode to

make up for my own experiences,” Terrance tweeted. Amity then parades around the rest of the season proudly claiming she is “Luz’s girlfriend.”

The Owl House received massive praise for its LGBTQ2S+ representation within the series. Hopefully, Disney will acknowledge what a significant show this is for the Queer community. Empowering Terrance and other creators to continue channelling their personal experiences into their work allows The Owl House and future shows to normalize queer representation for youth on television.

The world as we know it in An Enemy of the People Theatre Erindale’s latest production immerses audiences in a political setting that is all too familiar.

Julia Skoczypiec Theatre Erindale Correspondent

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hat does it mean to advocate for equality? How does political activism abet and hinder societal judgement? Do family quarrels always have to resolve themselves? In its thought-provoking, emotional, and educational staging, Theatre Erindale’s production of An Enemy of the People sought to answer these complex questions. Originally written

by Henrik Ibsen in 1882, the play was directed by Ray Hogg and adapted by Maria Milisavljevic with Richard Rose to fit a modern Canadian context. Set during a pandemic, the show captivated audiences through a realist and critical approach to family drama, political scandals, and media biases.

Set in the small town of Miramichi, New Brunswick, the story depicted small-town life, where news is misinterpreted as quickly as it travels. Dr. Tom Stockmann (Oliver Parkins), the medical chief of the town’s water systems, discovered that the water pumped through the local spa was contaminated with chemicals like arsenic. Tom’s sister and town mayor Peter Stockmann (Reese Cowley) refused to act on the water issue, threatening to fire him. The situation worsened as Morton Keele (Aaron Clarke), the father of Tom’s supportive partner Kirk (Austin Chaisson), refused to acknowledge the water issue as well. However, with limited resources, Tom

MIKE SLATER

and Kirk found support within the community. The town teacher Anna—also known as “The Captain’’—(Bronwyn Keough), a local YouTube news team run by political activist Michael Campbell (Nicholas Buchanan), journalist Emma Chaisson (Amelia Woolfrey), and a film crew comprised of Drea Hasser (Nicholas Simao) and Sandy (Angel Haines), all did their part to document and fight the town’s water crisis. In the end, audiences were left to determine if “the truth” played a role in equality.

This adaptation paid tribute to the very real issues that present themselves in Canadian politics. Although “the truth must always come first,” a line used in the show, the biases that exist within our society restrain the rights of minority groups and taint honesty.

Each voice on stage, whether they were an enemy or an ally, portrayed the damages that lie within the system.

“The line ‘there is no equality’ is one of the [The] Captain’s first lines spoken in the show

while on a rant about her job as a teacher,” says Keough. “She talks about the curriculum and about having to lie to her young students about their country, when in reality, ‘there is no equality.’ There is something about her bitterness toward life’s circumstances, her acceptance of the lack of equality, and her simultaneous longing to be a saviour that makes Captain an extremely guarded character.”

Regardless of each character’s personal views on individualism, politics, and the media, the sense of community in the play was indestructible. In ways, “the adaptation allowed audiences into the performance,” said Clarke, who played Morton. Through the reshaping of a nineteenth-century Ibsen classic, audiences were brought into the action and forced to choose a “side” they identified with.

The show itself was a call to action. Amid its conflicts, the production used popular music to keep the plot in today’s age and to create moments of laughter and dancing. Almost every scene in the show was accompanied by

familiar Spotify hits. From ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” to Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” every character in the show had a particular connection to each song.

“We were all instructed to make Spotify playlists for our characters close to the beginning of the rehearsal process,” said Parkins, who played Tom. “Often, if a character had an entrance to a song or a dance, the song playing in that moment [was] picked by that actor. Tom’s song is “Kiss” by Prince, a song that informs [audiences] a lot about his identity as a queer transgender man, something that isn’t explored much in the text.”

While connections to the LGBTQ2S+ community are not explicitly explored throughout the play, the music was tactfully crafted to showcase each character’s identity. However, identity was not only a byproduct of the music. Alongside these fun tunes, the dialogue in the show was captivating, powerful, and had me screaming behind my computer screen in both agreement and disapproval.

There is a lot to learn from Theatre Erindale’s An Enemy of the People, and these lessons can be put into action. Through this story, the cast encourages audiences to donate to Water First, an organization that supports and addresses the water challenges among Indigenous communities across Canada. Dozens of First Nations continue to live without access to safe drinking water, and despite our federal government’s resources, the Indigenous water supply issue continues to lack priority. If you are interested in finding out more and donating, please check out https://waterfirst.ngo/.

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sports & health

Editor | Duaa Nasir sports@themedium.ca

South Africa to Canada, an international student athlete’s first year experience Ruvimbo Vambe, discusses her childhood, coming to Canada, getting involved at UTM, and her plans for the future.

Robert Bui Campus Athletics Correspondent

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irst-year University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) Commerce student, Ruvimbo Vambe, was raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up with two siblings and attended a private boarding school. Looking back on her experience, Vambe says that growing up, she would often be compared to her older siblings but that as time went on, she was able to forge her own path. From there on, she cherished her experience in boarding school and reflects on her time saying, “I miss the school a lot, and I miss my friends.”

After her high school experience ended, Vambe attended the University of Capetown before enrolling herself at UTM. While education in South Africa was quite different from learning in Canada, one thing she finds particularly different is the help she receives at UTM: “They’re kind of guiding you, the professors […] It’s really great, the support system here.” Vambe mentions how helpful her friends and facilitated study groups have been in her education.

This support structure caters towards students like Vambe who are more social and learn things hands on instead of just through lectures. Just to drive this point home, Vambe says that the tutorials she attends are “amazing” and “so helpful”.

An issue that was amplified during the pandemic was the ability for first-year students to establish a network and create group of friends.

However, Vambe’s experience outside of academics has been positive at UTM. “I’ve been very fortunate to find a de-

By: Reid Fournier

cent group of people and a group of people where our interests align.” She mentions that her friends are relatable since they also live the international experience.

Vambe is involved with athletics as well. She has been playing tennis since the age of six through private lessons. She played for her private boarding school and continued to be coached throughout high school. Nowadays, she is involved with the UTM Tennis Club and plays tennis every Thursday at the Recreation, Athletic & Wellness Centre. Vambe describes her motivations behind joining the club: “[It’s] a great way to meet new people while doing something that I enjoy.”

While her experience at UTM has been positive, her future at the university remains a mystery. When coming to Canada, moving to Ontario was not originally part of her plan. Originally, Vambe’s mother insisted that she go to school in Vancouver so that she could be close to her brother who lives in British Columbia.

When asked if her experience so far has convinced her to stay, she says, “I think it’s still quite early.” Vambe does show appreciation for the school: “I don’t have to worry about something [bad] happening, which is really reassuring being so far away from home.”

Uncertain about how things are going to change in the future, Vambe wants to experience UTM in its full capacity during the in-person winter semester before she decides how to continue.

The Medium hopes that Ruvimbo Vambe makes the decision best for her—whether it’s to stay in Ontario or move to British Columbia. We also hope that all the first-year students at UTM can have a positive experience when creating their networks and getting involved with new things (like writing for The Medium)!

JOHN FORNANDER/UNSPLASH

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#SaveVarsityEagles: UTM varsity sports cancelled for the foreseeable future Athletes and student are angered by the cancellation of varsity sports and have quickly taken action. A meeting with the Dean has been set and students are hoping for mutual agreements, otherwise protests may be taken to the next level.

Elisa Nguyen Managing Editor

CW: Suicide, mental illness, depression

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n November 10, the Department of Recreation, Athletics & Wellness announced that the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) will no longer participate in varsity sports with the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA). According to the athletic department’s website, the decision was made “after careful consideration of student engagement across all programs.” The news shocked student athletes who received the notice through a brief email without much explanation.

In opposition, Soraya Jovin, Avery Torok, and Janella Viado, three basketball players who hoped to compete this year, have started the Bring Back Varsity campaign (@bring. back.varsity on Instagram), which highlights how varsity sports are integral to campus life.

“We as students do not stand with this decision and are demanding that UTM continue the Varsity Sports program at UTM in September of 2022,” reads a post on Instagram.

Jovin, a second-year Criminology, Law & Society student, has been playing basketball for 11 years. She hoped to play in varsity this year but hasn’t had the chance. “I’ve been putting in practice, putting in shots and hours in the gym. I’ve done that to attain this point of playing in OCAA, which is the highest level I plan on playing. And then, it’s just stripped away in one email,” Jovin states. “It was upsetting. It’s been very inconsiderate and—I don’t know—I don’t think decision-makers have consulted athletes and I don’t think they understand how this affects student athletes at all.”

“I don’t think they understand how this affects student athletes at all.”

Torok, a third-year Digital Enterprise Management student, has also been playing basketball her whole life. She was recruited for women’s varsity basketball in 2019 and even won UTM’s Rookie of the Year award in her first year of playing.

“Varsity sports put together a community.

I’ve been able to meet lots of people and have experiences I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Playing varsity sports, you learn what it’s like to be a team player, dedication, hard-work, time management, and you get to enjoy it with people who play the same sport. Now that it got stripped away, I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s like I’m missing something.”

“I don’t have as much of a desire to get good grades,” says Andreas Jankovic, an executive for UTM’s Athletics Council and member of the men’s varsity basketball team whose mental health has been affected as well. “My motivation to achieve higher is gone, countless nights I’ve cried and generally knowing now varsity sports are not coming back I’ve been depressed and suicidal. I’ve spent my whole life playing basketball, and It’s hard to manage without.”

For Viado, one of the athletes leading the Bring Back Varsity campaign, the cancellation of UTM varsity strips her from an opportunity to further her career in basketball. In an earlier interview with The Medium, Viado expressed a feeling of absence when she wasn’t able to compete, and about her dream of opening a sports clinic. “Without it, it takes away a part of me. It’s kind of upsetting that we didn’t get a say in what was happening.”

Viado was recruited into women’s varsity basketball in 2018 and also won UTM’s Rookie of the Year award. Her team placed fourth in the East Division and was recognized at OCAA’s annual banquet.

“The varsity program is one of the main reasons I chose to come to UTM over St. George,” says Chelsea Sloan, a member of the varsity women’s soccer team, and one of the many athletes who put in years of training to play at the collegiate level. “In all honesty, I would be studying downtown Toronto at the St. George campus right now if it weren’t for the varsity soccer team. Although there’s varsity sports at St. George, the OCAA seemed more appealing to me.”

Offered as an alternative to varsity sports, the athletics department suggests students participate in the University of Toronto tricampus league, and that those seeking support should turn to the Health & Counselling Center, My Student Support Program, and AskRegistrar.

Other sport offerings include drop-in sports, which are offered for all UTM students; intramurals, where UTM students compete against each other; and U of T Varsity Blues, which competes in different leagues such as OUA (Ontario University Athletics). Regarding the U of T tri-campus league, Viado, Torok, and Jovin all express that it is a poor replacement for varsity sports, which allows athletes to compete at a higher level, first at the provincial level, and potentially qualify to play at the national level.

“We’re also taking spots from people who wish to do tri-campus but don’t have the ability to do varsity.” Torok explains that once varsity players try out for tri-campus positions, athletes with less experience will lose opportunities to compete as well.

The Medium reached out to Renu Kanga Fonseca, Director of Strategy and Sports and Wellness, who writes in an email interview that the decision to cancel varsity sports was a result of wanting to serve all of the students who pay fees to the athletics department. Fonseca notes that less than 65 varsity athletes are impacted by this decision to cancel UTM varsity, whereas the department has observed that over 1000 students participate in intramural sports.

“Unlike the U of T Varsity Blues, the UTM varsity teams competed at the college level (eg.

Seneca, Mohawk), with very limited spectators or engagement from the broader student population during the 6 years the program was available,” Fonseca writes. She explains that only four sports are affected by the cancellation of UTM’s varsity program, and that those sports will continue to be offered at intramural levels. “No longer [being] tied to the OCAA provides us with flexibility to offer additional sport options to more students and at more times.”

“Despite the Covid-19 pandemic closing recreation and the gym at the UTM campus, fees remain the same.”

Despite the promise to provide additional sport options, not all students feel they’re getting their money’s worth. Sona Tissington, a third-year student and women’s varsity basketball player, writes to The Medium: “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic closing recreation and the gym at the UTM campus, fees remain the same. Despite limited gym hours of operation this semester and that it is closed on weekends, the fees remain the same. Now that the varsity program is cancelled, UTM’s Department of Athletics is, once again, offering its students less, yet the fees have not been adjusted accordingly. Students are enraged and extremely disappointed with the lack of clarity and transparency, especially during this pandemic.”

Determined to fight back, students have teamed up with the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union (UTMSU), who helped arrange a meeting with Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs, Andrea Cater, Assistant Dean of Student Wellness, Support and Success, and Renu Kanga Fonseca. The meet-

ing takes place today, on Monday November 29 at 2 p.m.

Most of all, varsity athletes hope that UTM will “embrace its community, values and encourage creativity, prioritize communication, lead through innovation, and value and promote sustainability,” as stated in their mission statement. Athletes suggest that it would have been better to at least use a “tapered-down multi-year approach,” instead of suddenly cancelling all UTM varsity programs through a brief email to athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport. “[This] would have given senior members the opportunity to complete their programs while providing younger members ample time and opportunity to find alternative options to continue their athletic goals,” reads the Bring Back Varsity Statement sent to the UTMSU. UTM joined OCAA in 2014 and has been participating in basketball, soccer, badminton, and cross-country competitions against students from across Canada. In 2019, UTM’s former badminton coach Lam Trinh was named OCAA’s Badminton Coach of the Year.

He received an award at the OCAA Badminton National Championships banquet for his excellence in training and mentoring student athletes. His team won second place in the West Regional Championships. In 2020, UTM hosted the four-day national varsity badminton championship, marking the second time UTM badminton athletics qualified for nationals. Throughout history, the men’s badminton team won a bronze medal for both singles and doubles in OCAA competitions.

Other notable achievements in the 2019/2020 season, before the suspension of OCAA competitions due to Covid-19, include the men’s soccer team placing second in West Division, women’s soccer team reaching Indoor OCAA Provincials, overall OCAA cross country women’s team winning silver, and women’s cross country individual bronze, among others.

To support the Bring Back Varsity initiative, students can sign the petition to bring back varsity sports by 2022, and share and interact with posts on Instagram (@bring.back. varsity) to spread awareness. Varsity athletes have dedicated an average of 10 years to play at the collegiate level. They have proven that varsity is a source of community, identity, and pride. We hope that UTM will now champion their varsity athletes, just like they’ve done for students both on and off the court.