Vol 45 Issue 14

THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

January 14, 201 9 Volume 45, Issue 14 themedium.c a

Transit changes for Mississauga

Subjective Journalism

Women in the hip hop scene

EvoEco’s 10th Anniversary!

Reinventing pilates

News, page 2

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

U of T source of environmental change UTM Lauren Ead awarded the Youth Environmental Award for her proposal on alleviating climate change GRACE MEANEY The University of Toronto proves to be a source for environmental changemakers as students Lauren Ead and Christopher Ford were awarded the Youth Environmental Awards by Partners in Project Green on November 29, 2018.

In an interview with Newswire, John MacKenzie, CEO of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), stated “the members of Partners in Project Green have completed 2500 sustainability projects that continue to make direct positive contributions to the health of our environment.”

The Youth Environmental Award sponsored by Coca-Cola Canada encouraged students across the Greater Toronto Area to develop their own sustainability project to alleviate the effects of climate change municipally or privately. Alongside numerous other awards, Partners in Project Green awarded both Youth Environmental Awards to University of Toronto students Lauren Ead and Christopher Ford for their environmental efforts.

UTM student and recipient of

PHOTO FROM ROCHMANLAB.COM

Lauren Ead’s plan would produce plastic commodities that can be recycled infinitely. the Undergraduate Environmental Award Lauren Ead described her proposed plan as “a waste management initiative within the clean technology sector. This hypothetical initiative would allow plastic commodities to be produced with plastic polymers that can be recycled an infinite

amount of times.” Her goal was to “aid in alleviating the anthropogenic consequences attributed to plastic pollution through reducing production of plastic polymers.” Moving forward, Lauren intends to do further research in the subject matter and discuss implementation of her “hy-

pothetical model with industry and research professionals, in hopes that it may play an integral role in waste management.”

When asked what prompted her interest in a waste management initiative, Lauren Ead stated, “plastic pollution has always been an important

environmental issue to me, which has grown in importance throughout my ongoing research at Chelsea Rochman’s Microplastic laboratory, as I have seen the firsthand effects of microplastics.”

As a result of her research at the University of Toronto, Ead was motivated to design a hypothetical model to help lessen the detrimental effects of climate change which is, in part, caused by the growing plastic epidemic.

The second recipient, Christopher Ford, was awarded the Graduate Youth Environmental Award for his proposal, which “focused on the application of behavioural economics in policy-making related to energy, water, transportation, and waste.” Ford described the core idea of behavioural economics as compensating for irrational decision-makers through policy. When asked whether he would work towards implementing his proposal moving forward, he stated that, “the core ideas are definitely things I would like to see come to fruition here in Ontario.”

Award continued on page 3

Breakdown: UTSU fees paid by UTM students The Medium takes a closer look into the fees paid to the UTSG students’ union by UTM students MELISSA BARRIENTOS ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR On April 30, 2008, the UTSU and UTMSU drew up the Associate Membership Agreement (AMA) in the hopes of improving services for both UTSG and UTM students. In UTSU’s Bylaw XIII, “Relationship with the UTMSU”, it states the UTSU shall “take reasonable steps to avoid duplicating or overlapping services, advocacy, and representation to their members registered at the UTM campus that are provided by the UTMSU.” It follows a requirement in the AMA that prohibits the UTMSU and UTSU from having ‘duplicating or overlapping services’ so as to avoid competition and service conflicts.

This would mean that, following the separation of the two unions, the UTMSU will have the freedom to pursue and provide services the UTSU currently offers at the St. George campus. UTM students will no longer have to travel to the St. George campus to receive the services they pay annually for.

A domestic full-time undergraduate UTM student pays a total of

$1,710.34 in incidental, system access and ancillary fees for an academic year. As UTM students are currently represented by both unions, they also pay fees to both unions. From the non-tuition incidental fee, UTM students pay a total of $344.02 per semester for services from both unions ($688.04 per academic year).

Following the separation between the UTSU and UTMSU, UTM students will no longer pay UTSU fees, including the non-refundable membership fee of $19.04, which the UTSU retains 15 per cent of for service purposes. The following cost breakdown contains the fees UTM students have been paying for per semester to the UTSU. The UTSU represents the following services and will thus either be removed from UTM student’s accessibility or will be renegotiated and included in UTMSU’s fee for the following year.

The following chart is a breakdown of the non-refundable and refundable levies and fees currently paid by UTM students.

The Medium will continue to investigate what will happen to the UTSU services come June 31, 2019.

Non-Refundable Levies and Fees Membership Fee Accessibility Resource Fund (Capital Levy) Accessibility Resources Fund (Operating Levy) Student Refugee Program Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)

Per Semester $19.04

Refundable Lev- Per Semester ies and Fees Dental Plan Fee $77.58

$1.00

Dollars for Daycare

$0.50

$0.50

Health Plan Fee $92.81

$0.72

Orientation Fee $0.50

$8.05

Sustainable Food Programming Blue Sky Solar Racing Centre for Women and Trans People Downtown Legal Services

$0.15 $0.13 $0.50 $3.22

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Transit plan released The city of Mississauga hopes to reform city transportation by 2041

January 5 th , 2019 Police Assistance Campus Police attended a residence for a student experiencing medical distress. Peel Police, Mississauga Fire, and Peel Ambulance also attended. The student was transported to hospital.

January 8 th , 2019 Trespass to Property Act Campus Police received a report of tutoring services being sold. Campus Police spoke with the group and cautioned them for soliciting on campus.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Miway ridership grew more than fifteen per cent from 2011 to 2016.

These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.

Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.

Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents, or any other incident, is requested to contact the UTM Campus Police at 905828-5200, Peel Regional Police at 905-453-3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

ALI TAHA NEWS EDITOR The city of Mississauga recently released its transportation master plan, which offers a preliminary idea of how the city will tackle issues surrounding traffic indigestion, limited space, and the freedom to move over the next twenty years.

The master plan has six main goals: safety, inclusion, integration, connectivity, health and resilience. The plan is a result of ‘Mississauga Moves,’ a city project involving extensive technical research, and engagement with stakeholders and the public.

According to the plan, the main

mode of travel in Mississauga is by automobile, with 85 per cent of trips taken to, from, or within Mississauga being by car. Transit makes up only eleven per cent of trips taken, but the ridership continues to grow every year. MiWay ridership grew more than fifteen per cent from 2011 to 2016.

Recently, overcrowding has become an issue on Miway buses for UTM students.

By 2041, the city hopes to establish more ‘high occupancy vehicle’ (HOV) lanes, as well as work in partnership with the province of Ontario to enhance the streetscape around highway interchanges.

They also hope to invest in a “longterm transit network plan” that will include a potential high-frequency network to ensure public transportation needs are met.

“By 2041, Mississauga’s transportation system will have to accommodate an extra 300,000 trips per day” states the master plan.

The city has also released a survey that will allow the public to offer feedback on the draft transportation master plan. They plan on producing an annual “progress update” to allow city staff, stakeholders, partners, and the public to see whether progress is being made toward the goals of the plan.

Fighting climate change

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH.COM

01.14.2019 THE MEDIUM NEWS

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HUMANS OF UTM

“If I could go back in time, I don’t think I’d go to a different university, just because I do think University of Toronto is one of the best universities in Ontario and it’s also close.

The Mississauga campus is especially very close. I feel like I learned a lot. I liked all my professors. Well, let’s say most of my professors. Overall, I had a good time. Some of my favourite memories were having good times with the friends I made here.”

Ford’s interest in climate change was inpsired by his Master of Science at U of T. Award continued from page 1 While he may not plan to directly integrate Behavioural Economics (BE) into the municipality of Toronto, Ford hopes to see the government move forward with environmental initiatives involving BE. Christopher Ford’s interest in climate change stemmed from his time at the University of Toronto

while completing a Master of Science in Sustainability Management.

Through his program, Ford was introduced to the concept of behavioural economics, as taught by Dr. Jacob Hirsh. Resultingly, a plan to integrate behavioural economics into policy-making was designed by Ford to spur environmental change.

“This initiative has shaped how the business community imple-

ments sustainability projects” said VP of Stakeholder Relations and Communications for the Greater Toronto Airports Security Hillary Marshall. Through sustainability initiatives drawn up by people like Lauren Ead and Christopher Ford, founders of Partners in Project Green “look forward to working together for many years to come.”

Mississauga mother disappears suddenly in SUV

Massive new starbucks opens in Mississauga

Shots fired by Peel cops during stolen vehicle investigation

Angela Fragale, known as Angie to friends and family, was last seen on Dec. 26 near her home in the area of Battleford Road and Tenth Line West in Meadowvale. She was seen driving a white Ford Explorer with license plate number CARA 352. Family members have been out searching malls and other neighbourhoods in search of the woman.

If you’re a fan of the hugely popular coffee chain, you’ll be pleased to know that a brand new Starbucks location has recently opened in Mississauga. The new location is at Heartland Town Centre and has recently been opened for business. As usual, the store specializes in coffee, tea, and a variety of pastries in one of the franchise’s locations across Mississauga.

According to police, officers conducting the investigation attempted to arrest a woman in a plaza near Tomken Road and Eglinton Avenue when she allegedly took off in a Jeep. The Jeep collided with a truck in the area, severely damaging its front end, before coming to a stop in the middle of the roadway.

Source: Mississauga News

Source: Insauga

Source: Mississauga News

U of T team designs drone

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE SKY GUYS

The team created the drone titled the DX-3 Vanguard.

ALI TAHA NEWS EDITOR

Woman faces numerous charges after Peel police officer injured

eBay under fire for auctioning off belongings of Holocaust victims

3 people taken to hospital following apartment fire in Mississauga

Police said officers were investigating a stolen Jeep Wrangler in a parking lot in the area of Tomken Road and Eglinton Avenue when a woman, who was driving the vehicle, attempted to evade police. Authorities allege the woman crashed into a police officer, two police cruisers and a white cube truck before being arrested.

The auction website eBay has apologized after a newspaper found apparent Holocaust memorabilia, including the clothes of concentration camp victims, being offered for sale. The items included shoes and a suitcase from concentration camp prisoners, Star of David armbands, and a uniform allegedly belonging to a Polish baker who died in Auschwitz.

Shortly after 5 p.m., emergency crews were called to the scene on Sherobee Road near Hurontario Street and the QEW. The fire was contained to the bedroom of a unit and was extinguished within an hour. Three people were taken to hospital. Two of them were treated for smoke inhalation while the third suffered burns on their hands.

Source: Global News

Source: The Globe and Mail

Source: Mississauga News

University of Toronto graduates have recently developed a next-gen drone that is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings.

Jeremy Wang, a fourth-year student in engineering science, is leading a nine-person team of designers that are creating and testing the longrange drone.

The team hopes to design an unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV) that combines the best features of both fixedwing and multi-rotor drones.

Conventionally, fixed-wing UAVs have been able to fly long distances, but the downside is that they require a long runway to take off and land.

Multi-rotor UAVs, on the other hand, can perform vertical take-off and lands, but have a shorter battery life and are only good at flying short distances.

The drone created by the team,

titled the DX-3 Vanguard, includes multiple rotors spread across a fixedwing body. This allows the drone to take-off vertically before transitioning into forward flight. The DX-3 Vanguard can theoretically “carry a payload of up to three kilograms, stay aloft for up to 24 hours, and cover up to 1,500 kilometres before refuelling.”

The drone also has a cloud-based data management system, allowing users to “process, upload and view images and video data” from the DX3.

In an interview with U of T news, Wang praised the university’s engineering program, stating, “I think this team is a testament to U of T engineering. The faculty provides a very solid and rigorous academic foundation, but also a very rich co-curricular environment where you can join design teams, take part in competitions and supplement theory with experiential learning.”

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MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Mahmoud Sarouji editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Alicia Boatto managing@themedium.ca News Ali Taha news@themedium.ca A&E Paula Cho arts@themedium.ca Features Jessica Cabral features@themedium.ca Sports Vanessa Cesario sports@themedium.ca — Photo Yasmeen Alkoka photos@themedium.ca Design Alexa Neves-Hua design@themedium.ca Copy Mahnoor Ayub copy@themedium.ca Online Olivia Adamczyk online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Kayvon Aflaki Melissa Barrientos A&E Srijan Sahu Features Fatima Adil Liayana Jondy Kevin Kim Sports Amrish Wagle Photo Julia Healy Brittany Semplonius Copy TBA GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Lyndon Amat web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Adam Sarouji distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca Cartoonist Anthony Labonté COPYRIGHTS All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, and cannot be used without written consent.

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To contribute, email editor@themedium.ca

Never settle for subjective journalism If you read campus publications, you are probably well aware of the tensions between campus newspapers and students’ unions. Reading the articles myself, I often question, what is the backstory here? What really happened and could this all have been resolved if we just sat down and hashed out our problems?

Last week, I read a piece in The Medium about their relationship with the UTMSU and some issues that have risen in the past few months.

Knowing the other side of the story, I figured I’d share it with all of you because though there were many inaccuracies in the opinion piece (yes, an opinion can be misinformed too); we also saw some very bold statements that I agree with.

At first, I took great offence to what was written in last week’s edition. As a UTMSU executive, it’s hard not to feel defensive and frustrated when baseless accusations are hurled at you. Being here for the past eight months, I have grown very attached to the union’s work so even the smallest student issues get me going. So, as I mulled over the op-ed, I eventually came to terms with The Medium’s perspective.

In the era of fake news and governments avoiding media, I understand the very real fear and opposition to blocking journalists and campus media. After reading that the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) and the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) Board discussed a policy to

block the Varsity from live-tweeting and photographing representatives, I knew that something was wrong. As an elected representative, I personally disagree with their move because I believe that elected representatives have a duty to remain open to criticism and to be in the public eye. It’s a hard job and it can be invasive, but it’s the nature of the beast. As elected representatives reflect on their responsibilities, I believe campus papers should do the same.

Campus papers play a vital role and have a duty to keep students updated on campus wide issues and events. With that said, The Medium has a huge responsibility to objective reporting that is free of personal biases. It is crucial to journalism. In the ethics policy submission by the Canadian Association of Journalists, one of the points that stuck to me was under ‘Conflict of Interest’ which states that, “if a journalist does choose to engage in outside political activity or espouse a particular political viewpoint, this activity could create a public perception of bias, or favouritism that would reflect on the journalist’s work. Any journalist who engages in such activities—including running for office— should publicly declare any real or potential conflicts.”

Despite this responsibility, I ask, has The Medium stayed true to this principle? This academic year, I believe that there has been an ongoing issue with subjective journalism and a more pertinent matter of poor

journalistic integrity. From multiple inaccuracies in publications, ‘random’ students being interviewed who always end up being those with personal issues with the Union. Not to mention Executives being recorded without the contributor identifying themselves as Medium staff, there has been a lot. The tipping point for me was after our Annual General Meeting in November, when an editor for The Medium began to corner and harass a part-time staff member who declined to comment about the meeting.

Our part-time student staff, did not sign up to be bullied by editorial staff. We immediately brought the issue to the Medium’s attention. In our correspondence with the Medium, we never communicated, wanted or intended to muzzle them, nor do we want to block them from entering our meetings. However, we stressed the need for a concrete method of communication between the union and the campus paper to ensure that no one is ever harassed again in the name of journalism. We invited the Medium to a meeting to discuss this further but, the Managing Editor jumped the gun and conflated the issue with that of blocking campus media.

I will only say it once: Speaking against aggressive behaviour is not suppressing the media. Though The Medium is capable of making mistakes, they are not absolved of accountability. The Medium should be held to the same standards of ac-

countability as the UTMSU. Though our relationship is complex and at times vitriol, it is important to respect boundaries and community agreements. These critics and discussions are the only way we can ensure that our respective organizations improve and serve their mandates. I want to take the time to recognize the important work of the Medium, but also imagine the type of work we can do together when we address the issues like the quality of education or actual instances of censorship.

As a piece of advice to any and all readers of campus papers and drama with their local students’ union, find out both sides of the story, but never settle for subjective news or those who try to escape accountability.

On a final note, we invite you and The Medium to attend public UTMSU meetings and engage with any of the executives about their work. Come by to our next board meeting, we’ve never stopped you before!

ATIF ABDULLAH VICE PRESIDENT EXTERNAL UTMSU

CORRECTION NOTICE The January 7 article “Guide to Winter 2019 on a Budget”,“Gertler released from Waterfront project”, and “Major changes to student services” were corrected.

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The elusive world of hip hop’s women The male-dominated hip hop industry is notorious for its misogynistic lyrics and exclusion of female artists SRIJAN SAHU ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

Like most genres, Hip Hop has come to mean more to its fans than simply music. Although its roots are debatable, one thing is for certain: it has become a true representation of black urban culture in America. No one could have predicted the colossal impact the genre would go on to have when it emerged on the party scenes of the Bronx during the late 1970’s.

A research article published in 2015

by Imperial College London claimed that the Hip Hop movement marked the ‘single most important event that shaped American Music.’ While initially the music was about AfricanAmerican inner-city struggles, it has since embraced artists from all cultures. The changing world of Hip Hop has seen the rise and fall of distinct styles within itself, but perhaps the most important lens through which one should view it is the role of women.

Hip Hop is often associated with defiance and rebellion. It has a rare ability to let people speak their truths and live out their vicarious natures

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH.COM

Female rappers used Hip Hop to reclaim their sexuality, with many adopting raunchy personas. through music—which appeals to the youth. Though its themes vary, ideas of upward mobility, culture, hardships and success can be found in every artist’s repertoire. Its message is powerful, but its identity is flawed. So, given the very essence of its origins, it’s not very surprising to find provocative language being used to describe women. Aside from the lyrics, music videos brought by digitalization also objectify women and portray them as objects of pleasure.

Even the big names in the industry are guilty of some of these. Rapper turned actor O’Shea Jackson Sr. (Ice Cube) once defended his allegedly misogynistic lyrics by saying, “If you’re a bitch, you’re probably not going to like us. If you’re a ho, you probably don’t like us. If you’re not a ho or a bitch, don’t be jumping to the defense of these despicable females.”

People have come to accept this side of Hip Hop as part and parcel of the wider culture.

After the rising surge in popularity of Hip Hop, it didn’t take long for female rappers to follow suit. The likes of MC Lyte and Lauren Hill formed a strong foundation for years to come.

The role of women in Hip Hop has developed in the same way as Hip Hop itself.

In the beginning, some women used their newfound platform to get important messages across. And they used the art of lyrical storytelling to do just that. With the contin-

ued objectification of women in the background, MC Lyte discussed the dangers of drinking and driving in Poor Georgie (1991) and Salt-N-Pepa expressed the importance of safe sex in “Let’s Talk About Sex” (1990).

Similarly, Queen Latifah’s U.N.I.T.Y. (1994) called for solidarity among women and for a stop to the normal use of the words “bitches” and “hoes” in rap. These women integrated the sexual themes that were ever so popular with the male rappers into their own rhymes, while at the same time, denouncing the derogatory remarks made by their male counterparts.

Soon, female rappers started reclaiming their sexuality and many artists adopted a raunchy persona, a clear contrast to their earlier images.

Artists like Lil Kim, Foxy Brown, and Trina gained widespread popularity with their overt use of sexuality.

The Hip Hop industry was founded on these radical principles and it was since being used at the expense of women. However, in their search for significance in a male dominated industry, they attempted to show that what men can do, women can do better.

Hip Hop continued on page 7

A rock musical of peace, love, and big hair Lead actors of Hart House Theatre’s production of Hair discuss the counterculture and their freedom-loving characters PAULA CHO A&E EDITOR

Much more than flower crowns, bell-bottom jeans, and tie-dye, Hart House Theatre presents Hair, a story set in the 60’s about advocating for individual freedom, questioning governmental authority, and spreading love. Directed and choreographed by Julie Tomaino, the rock musical celebrates its 50th anniversary during a time of both similar and newfound social unrest. The Medium sat down with actors Marisa Dashney, Christian Hodge, and Andrew Perry to discuss the recurring relevance of the counterculture movement and what we can learn from it.

Hair chronicles a tribe of freedomloving hippies who are confronted by the realities of an oppressive government when one of their own, Claude, is drafted into the Vietnam War. The central plot follows his struggle between persisting with the revolution by protesting the war or abiding the law and pleasing his parents by enlisting. “The most terrifying thing for our cast to acknowledge was the pain that comes with losing people you love to something you don’t believe in and something you’re fighting against,” Dashney says. Perry continues, “especially the way the show is set

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HART HOUSE THEATRE, BACKGROUND FROM PIXABAY.COM

Andrew Perry, Marisa Dashney, and Christian Hodge (left to right) discuss the relevance of Hair. up, the tribe is almost like one character—it’s like losing a limb. I play Berger. There’s not really a leader but if there were to be a leader or poster boy of the groovy revolution, it would probably be him. He’s totally against everything that’s going on in Vietnam, and he encourages all the men, including Claude, to dodge the draft and continue living the protest life in New York.”

The title of the show and iconic motif of the 60’s is clarified in the opening act via a musical number. Dashney explains, “Everyone’s just talking about how big their hair is and why hippies love their hair so much. We’ve

discovered that they just wanted to get to the root of human nature and our humanity. And that is in our hair.”

A significant theme of the musical is resistance to authority, which relates in more ways than one to our political landscape today. Skepticism and civil disobedience operate as pillars of our democracy, and their importance is clearly demonstrated in Hair. “I strongly believe that any time period in history has always had an undercurrent of revolutionary radical movements. I think that because of social media, we’ve been able to share it more and understand its prevalence, whereas back then, you could

easily ignore it. Now, it’s becoming more mainstream to be skeptical,” Dashney says. “It’s not hard to really jump in and understand what these people care about and why because we care about the exact same things right now. And so I don’t feel there’s a huge difference between me and my character—I really support everything she believes in. There’s no real disconnect because theatre and artists should be the ones to fight for humanity.”

Although none of the cast lived through the 60’s and the Vietnam war, they’re each pulling from personal experience and research to portray these

rebellious characters and serious topics. Hodge turned to his parents for insight on what it must be like to realize a loved one is leaving for war. He says, “I have one family member who did go to Vietnam and we know nothing about it because he will never talk about what he saw over there. That’s what I learned, really nothing and everything,” which truly spoke volumes.

In regard to discerning the counterculture and wartime, Perry shared many “conversations with my parents—they were both huge hippies.

And what I’ve seen in pop culture and cinema, that was my only knowledge of the Vietnam War until this show.

The beautiful part of theatre is it totally immerses the actors in that world.

It’s been a journey learning about how much we the people didn’t know what was actually going on and how many lives were taken so unnecessarily.”

After rehearsing for months and pushing themselves to embodying characters of a different decade, the actors agree that the show has revitalized their conception of just how much the world needs love. Dashney says, “Sheila demands a lot of confidence and is teaching me a lot about liberation and taking ownership, and demanding love and respect.”

Hair runs at Hart House Theatre from January 18 to February 2.

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Shoplifters: a heartwarming exploration of family Japanese award-nominated film Shoplifters is on view at TIFF and follows a family facing hardship WENDELL MACAPAGAL

What makes a family?

Hirokazu Kore-eda crafts a story about a family living in poverty, living on the outskirts of Tokyo in a small, run down house barely big enough to fit them all. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, winning one of the film industry’s greatest prizes, the Palme d’Or, and became the first Japanese film to win the prize in over two decades. On the film winning, president of the jury, Cate Blanchett, said, “We were completely bowled over

by Shoplifters. How intermeshed the performances were with the directorial vision” The film follows Osamu (Lily Franky) and Nobuyo (Nobuyo Shibata), a couple living in cramped housing with a group composing of an elderly lady Hatsue (Kirin Kiki), her granddaughter Aki (Mayu Matsuoka), and a young boy named Shota (Kairi Jō).

The group make their living mainly though Hatsue’s pension from her late husband. Osamu works in day labour, Nobuyo works at a laundry service, and Aki works as a hostess, but they make ends meet by having Osamu and Shota shoplift together.

One night on their way home from shoplifting, they find a young girl, Yuri (Miyu Sasaki) alone, locked out

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

Shoplifters is about a family living in poverty in the outskirts of Tokyo in a small run down house. of her house. They take her to have dinner with their family, but they decide not to return her when they find out Yuri has scars from child abuse.

Them adopting her into their family propels the second act—mostly compromising of the ways bringing Yuri into their lives have changed their relationships and highlighting the unique and beautiful rapport between characters. For example, bringing Yuri into the shoplifting act makes Shota jealous, as it’s something he does with Osamu—we even learn that

he doesn’t refer to Osama as a father yet. Nobuyo doesn’t consider herself a mother but taking care of Yuri causes her to rethink what that means.

These relationships form the film, as we see them doing familial things like shopping and going to the beach.

Their interactions are captivating and the chemistry between characters always reveals new sides to their personalities, forming complicated and multidimensional but loving people.

Several trials start to befall the family, such as Osamu injuring him-

self at work, Nobuyo getting laid off, Hatsue’s failing health, and Yuri’s real parents filing a missing person report.

These trials test their bond as a group and strengthen their relationships through the hard times.

The film’s final act includes them being caught, forcing them to go their separate ways. After a beautiful and heartwarming exploration of their dynamics as a group, it ends with what feels like a gut punch, as the separate individuals fall slowly into loneliness. It’s in this act that Sakura Ando

really shines. She delivers a haunting monologue during the police interrogation, dealing with motherhood and what it means to be and want to be a mother. It’s one of the year’s best performances and has been rewarded by several critics associations.

Shoplifters has been submitted this year as Japan’s entry for the Academy Awards, in the Foreign Language section. The film has big competition against the Mexican film Roma, which has Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity) behind it, as well as Netflix campaigning for it heavily as their first big contender for film awards.

Nonetheless, Shoplifters is a great cinematic achievement, being nominated for almost 50 awards around the world including the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice, Independent Spirit, and National Board of Review awards.

This is one of the most anticipated releases at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, where many of the world’s most buzzed about foreign and indie films often play. In addition to Shoplifters and Roma, the cinema is also playing Golden Globe nominated films such as the Lebanese Capernaum, the Japanese animation Mirai, Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate, and Glenn Close’s winning performance in The Wife.

Penn Badgley’s killer performance in You The Netflix series You follows bookstore manager turned stalker Joe and themes of toxic masculinity MAYA SUPER

You, a Lifetime turned Netflix series based on the book of the same name by Caroline Kepnes, is a thrilling show starring Gossip Girl’s Dan Humphry (Penn Badgley), as well as John Stamos, Elizabeth Lail, Nicole Kang, and Shay Mitchell. Mainly set in the West Village of New York City, this show takes a fresh approach to depicting dating in the modern world by combining the dangers of social media and the concept of “the nice guys,” all while being a pointed commentary on society.

You is based on a bookstore owner named Joe (Penn Badgley in his best performance) who meets and becomes obsessed with a girl named Beck when she comes into his bookstore in Manhattan. This meeting transpires the events of the series which is marketed as a “modern love story.” We have all stalked someone’s Facebook profile, especially someone we are interested in, and during a time of toxic masculinity, #BLM, #MeToo, 21st century feminism, companies illegally monitoring our every move, and hate crimes by white men at an all-time high, this show has never been more poignant or relevant.

Badgley has acknowledged that his character shows how evil people can be. He is perhaps the best actor

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

Penn Badgley plays Joe, an obsessive, dangerous man that is somehow also charming. in the entire show as he portrays an effortlessly charming, handsome, yet rather pretentious bookstore owner who takes it upon himself to “save” Beck, so he can be with her. Moving on from his Gossip Girl years, a show which glamorized stalking and modern love, his contrasting personality shines as a light in the show. It makes us question what really defines romance. Is it someone being enveloped by you? Joined by Pretty Little

Liars star, Shay Mitchell, they both portray brilliantly complex characters. Beck, portrayed by Lail, captures the quintessential pretentious art student, a role the show satirizes, yet compliments at the same time.

Badgley and Mitchell shone in their roles. However, it is not only the acting which made me love the show so much.

You examines the concept of a manic pixie dream girl, a popular

romance trope in which every girl needs a man to rescue her, through the male gaze. It does not glamorize it; it removes the rose coloured glasses and shows the dangers of this mindset. The show also captures the danger of our social media curated lives, the falsity, the stalkers. It speaks about toxic masculinity and how Joe is acting on what he is taught by movies and culture of today. (Joe is a psychopath, but it is interesting to hear

it from his perspective.) It examines what we define as good and evil, the lengths we would go for love, and the mindsets that damages us and society. It focuses on the dangers of the trust we put into technology, which is very relevant considering the Facebook data-mining scandal, though the show examines it as something in our day-to-day lives. The series is an anti-romance as it contains every trope but examined from a different socio-political angle.

You is one of the best shows of 2018. Badgley shows his unique acting ability (if you enjoy him in You, you should watch Greetings from Tim Buckley as I feel Badgley deserves more roles like that.) Badgley describes his role as “a meta extension of Dan Humphrey.” The series captures the complications of modern life, the fears of 21st century women, and the dangers of the toxic masculinity mindset, all in a way that makes one think without even trying. If you do decide to watch it, I would read the book as well as it adds depth to the story. It is a genius, unique premise, the likes of which I have never seen before. I do not want to spoil it for you, but it is a gripping, smart tale of modern love. You is available on Netflix Canada and has been greenlit for a second season, which has not started filming yet.

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Unravelling Bandersnatch Women in Hip Hop Black Mirror: Bandersnatch includes user-interactive features DELANEY ROMBOUGH

In late December 2018, Netflix released Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a full-length interactive movie directed by David Slade, that is part of the Black Mirror series. Throughout this movie, the viewer needs to make choices that will affect the outcome of the story. Sugar Puffs or Frosties? Bite nails or pull earlobe? Kill him or let him go? In total, there are five main endings, with dozens of possible variations, 150 minutes of footage, and 250 individual film segments involved in the latest installment in the Black Mirror series.

I spent a lot of my holiday break trying to get the different endings. I won’t spoil the endings I got in the three times I tried because the whole fun of the movie is finding out what ending your choices will lead you to.

The story begins in 1984 where Stefan Butler (Fionn Whitehead), a video game programmer is working on a new game based on the chooseyour-own-adventure book he is currently reading called Bandersnatch.

He designs the game so the player has to make choices along the way that results in various outcomes and endings, just like the movie itself.

Stefan gets an offer to work on his

game at gaming company Tuckersoft, since his boss, Mohan Thakur (Asim Choudhry) likes the game and wants to publish it in time for Christmas. Here, the viewer can choose to accept or refuse the offer, which is one of the first critical choices.

Stefan works on his game for the next several months, fighting with the software and coding bugs and fighting with his dad, who is worried about him. During this time, Stefan also sees his therapist Dr. Haynes (Alice Lowe). We learn that Stefan’s mother died in a train accident when he was five years old. Haynes ups his dosage of antidepressants, which the viewer can then choose to flush or take, another critical choice.

There are also alternative pathways in which Stefan receives drugs based on previous, less critical choices but either way we still learn about the death of Stefan’s mother and that he is struggling with depression.

As the movie progresses and Stefan’s deadline to submit his game to Thakur approaches, Stefan gets the feeling that he is not fully in control of his actions, the feeling that someone else is controlling him.

Which in fact, is true as the viewer is controlling his actions. When the viewer chooses whether Stefan bites

his nails or pulls on his earlobe, he resists. It’s a weird moment when Stefan becomes aware of that fact, almost breaking the fourth wall.

From there, as the movie comes to an end, the viewer becomes more in control of the story and has to make more decisions in order to wrap up the story in whatever way the viewer’s choices lead to.

Like other episodes of Black Mirror, this film examines society in relation to technology, in this case, video games. It’s dark, satirical, and a little bit anxiety-inducing, especially since there’s no way to know or predict the ending before you get there.

In almost all movies, books, and TV shows, the creator gets to decide the fate of our favourite characters.

In Bandersnatch, the viewer gets to decide the fate of the characters and the story arcs, and the endings can be as bloody, twisted, confusing, happy, or sad as we choose, which is what makes this fun and different than other movies and even other episodes of Black Mirror. Knowing there’s no set ending and how every choice the viewer makes leads to a different outcome is reminiscent of real life in which the choices we make affect our future and we don’t know what our ending will be.

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Nicki Minaj is proof of the empowering female faction in Hip Hop. Hip Hop continued from page 5 Almost three decades on, the Hip Hop landscape has changed. We have new music now in the form of mumble rap. What you make of that is beside the point. We have an empowering female faction in the industry and Nicki Minaj is proof of that. She has been on top for nearly a decade and often overshadowed her male colleagues. However, we must ask ourselves if Hip Hop has truly accepted its women.

2018 saw the rise of yet another female star in Cardi B. Yet, most of the year was dedicated towards pitting her against Nicki. The media’s attempt to embroil the two women in conflict was bizarre and mostly based on un-

founded claims. These two were compared so much that eventually they did end up feuding. Sure, the drama proved to be good entertainment, but it also highlighted a sad truth about the genre- that there is only room for one dominant lady. Believe it or not, the only exception was the 90’s where fans were rewarded with a host of female collaborations and Missy Elliot, Kim, and Da Brat came together.

Sadly, even that came to an end. The fact of the matter is that women in the industry are subjected to unfair and unnecessary comparisons that males hardly ever go through, forcing them to fight for the limited space afforded to them. And this is not likely to change in the near future.

ARUMITHA SASIHARAN/THE MEDIUM

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01.14.2019

EvoEco Lab hits 10-year milestone Marc Johnson discusses his work with the lab, their accomplishments, and their future JESSICA CABRAL FEATURES EDITOR

In 2009, EvoEco Lab began as a small lab located at North Carolina State University that consisted of only a technician, two graduate students, a post-doc, and some undergraduate students. This month, the evolutionary ecology lab, which moved to UTM in 2011, is celebrating their tenyear anniversary with a much larger research team. As of January 1, 2019, 15 people work within the lab ranging from undergraduate students to two visiting professors. This week, The Medium spoke with Marc Johnson, the Director of U of T’s Centre for Urban Environments, Canadian Research Chair for Urban Environmental Science, and associate professor in the department of biology at UTM, about his work with the EvoEco Lab and their accomplishments over the

childhood. “From a young age, all I wanted to be was a naturalist, studying frogs in ponds, birds in trees and plants in forests and fields,” Johnson says. “Through time that interest developed, working first as a Park Naturalist in Algonquin, then as a field assistant for researchers in Venezuela, the Appalachian Mountains, the Canadian Artic, and Ontario, and then later a grad student at U of T, Post-doc at Duke University and now a Professor. For a nature lover, being a Professor that does research and shares that knowledge with students and the public is one of the greatest privileges and the best jobs in the world.”

Over the past ten years, the lab has achieved a long list of accomplishments. Along with publishing 81 papers, the EvoEco lab is “among the leading labs in the world studying evolutionary ecology.” Johnson explains that their work “on evolution in urban environments, the adaptation

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC JOHNSON

The evolutionary ecology lab is celebrating their tenth anniversary with a large research team.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC JOHNSON

Marc Johnson wanted to be a naturalist from a young age.

past ten years.

According to Johnson in an email to The Medium, the lab conducts research on evolutionary ecology, which means that the team tries to understand “how ecology drives evolution, and in turn how evolution can [provide] feedback to affect the ecology of populations, communities, and entire ecosystems.”

The research team strives to use their work to answer questions such as “Why do organisms have sex?”, “How do plants evolve defenses against parasites like herbivores and fungal pathogens?”, “Does coevolution between hosts and parasites and between mutualists drive the diversification of traits and species?”, and “Can organisms adapt to urban environments?”

For Johnson, nature has always been an interest for him since his

of plants to their herbivores (including crop species), and the ecological consequences of evolution has helped create or alter multiple paradigms in the field.” In addition to this, the research conducted by the team has also had “applied application in agriculture, conservation and pest migration,” Johnson notes.

But aside from these successes, Johnson believes that the EvoEco lab’s greatest accomplishment over the past decade involves the people that have been trained by the lab.

“Over 50 undergrads, 7 visiting grad students, 15 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students, 7 post-docs and 7 technicians have been trained over the past 10 years,” Johnson says. “Most of these individuals have gone onto careers in science, including as professors, educators, environmental consultants, as well as biotech researchers, and the

medical field.”

When asked about the most memorable moments from the past ten years, Johnson again points to the successes of the individuals within the research team. “Whenever a M.Sc. or Ph.D. student successfully defends their thesis, that’s a pretty great day.

Seeing students accomplish their goals, such as giving their first talk, publishing their first paper, getting a fellowship or a job, those are great memories.”

After ten years of work in the EvoEco lab, Johnson credits two things for continuing to inspire and motivate him. “I am passionate about biology and understanding how the natural world works. Why do we see the species we do in nature, and why do those species exhibit particular behaviors, physiology, abundance and interactions? And how do humans

alter this biology? These are exciting and important questions. Second, the opportunity to help bright young students become great scientists is among my greatest joys in life,” Johnson says.

In terms of where Johnson hopes to take the lab from here, he would “love to understand how humans alter the ecology and evolution of life on our planet, from evolution in cities, to adaptation to climate change, to the process of domestication. These problems have important implications for fundamental biology and its application to human society.”

To celebrate this ten-year milestone, Johnson hopes to plan a weekend trip to Algonquin Park where he and his team can enjoy good food, nature, and simply, each other’s company.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC JOHNSON

Johnson is inspired by biology and an understanding of how the natural world works.

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Using human health for breadth credits New course CHM201 seeks to appeal to students studying within Humanities and Social Sciences KEVIN KIM ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

Many students often find the hunt for distribution credits to satisfy UTM’s graduation requirements to be tedious at times. To graduate from the university, every student, regardless of what field of study they are pursuing, must complete one credit in science, one credit in social science, and one credit in humanities. Courses that satisfy the social science and humanities breadth requisites are often devoured by students early on during their first year, while the science credit is seen as a struggle to complete.

To combat this struggle, a new course, CHM201, offered by the Chemical and Physical Sciences Department for the first time this semester, has been engineered precisely for those looking to fulfill the science breadth requirement of their degree. The course, obviously being associated with science, seeks to appeal to those studying within the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Titled “The Science of Human Health,” CHM201 will focus on educating students on the overarching theme of “the science behind human well-being.” Any chemistry required to facilitate understanding of this theme is taught solely on a rudimen-

PHOTO FROM PIXABAY.COM

Students require a credit in science to graduate, and the new course provides an extra choice. tary basis, as students do not need to possess any prior knowledge of the discipline. One critical takeaway from the course includes an enhanced ability to make decisions relating to human health, whether they be personal or larger in scope.

As described in the syllabus, the course will explore three realms of human health: “nutrition for the prevention of disease, diagnostic tests for the detection of disease and drug discovery for the treatment of disease.” The course also plans to address questions such as, “Should ketchup be considered a vegetable?,” “How do diagnostic strips work?,”

“How are drug targets identified?,” and “What is the path from drug discovery to bringing a drug to market?”

In terms of structure and mark breakdown, CHM201 presents itself in a layout atypical to most science courses. Assignments and group projects make up 50% of the mark distribution, while one mid-term exam and final examination then weigh 10% and 35%, respectively.

In-class participation rounds out the remaining 5%.

Although CHM201 has been under development for a few years by chemistry professor Dr. Judith Poë,

the course is making its first appearance this 2019 Winter term. Currently, there is one instructor for the course: David Armstrong, a postdoctoral researcher for the Chemical and Physical Sciences department.

Armstrong emphasizes the course’s expectation to teach students not closely affiliated with the fields of science to make well-informed decisions in their future when they may encounter those fields.

When considering enrolling in any course, many students wonder whether it is structured in a manner that is appealing to the student in question. To this end, Armstrong

describes CHM201 as “structured more like an actual science course.

So, there is the front end of the course, a little theory heavy, and there are problems to work through.

The way that it’s currently set up is that the assignments themselves introduce a lot of the course material, so [students] might get an assignment that has some material in it that they don’t yet know how to solve, and it’ll require a bit of interaction with each other, external research, as well as lectures from the course in order to get through those assignments.”

The course is designed to resemble a hybrid structure, where many resources are available online with less focus on lectures.

CHM201 will occasionally invoke concepts from subunits of chemistry, such as the properties of acids and bases, and thermodynamics.

Although these topics are largely based on computation and problem solving like other chemistry courses, Armstrong remarks that “the first thing is de-emphasizing the hard math a little bit. You can fundamentally discuss things like thermodynamics and acids and bases with very, very basic math without having to do explicit calculations, and still get a meaningful idea of how they work.”

Credit continued on page 10

Finance literacy with a creative twist Dr. Radha Maharaj talks about how her research project, Elly, will raise awareness for financial literacy chance to earn a CCR notation. Each category winner receives $300.

MELLISA NAPENAS

With a Ph.D. in economics and accounting, Radha Maharaj, a sessional instructor in UTM’s ICCIT department who is referred to as Dr. M or Prof. M, has a unique way of resolving a problem that many students face when it comes to financial literacy, which is through her research project: Elly.

Her research project is aimed to help raise awareness of financial literacy amongst students. Her sole platform of gathering research from students about financial matters is through an online survey that ends in June 2019.

“Elly,” the name of Maharaj’s research project is not necessarily an acronym but was derived from the concept of “Establishing the Level of Financial Literacy of the Student Body to Assist in Developing Appropriate Pedagogical Methods to Ensure Active Student Engagement.”

There are three components to Elly: the survey, the competition, and the interviews.

Currently, Maharaj teaches corporate finance in the Digital Enterprise Marketing (DEM) program. However, she hopes to address the major interests and concerns about finance through a course she believes will be made available to UTM students in

BRITTANY SEMPLONIUS/THE MEDIUM

Dr. Radha Maharaj wants to cover finance-related topics that are of interest to students.

2020.

Maharaj wants to cover concepts such as: how to maximize taxes, how to invest, and what to invest—topics that are of interest to students.

The new course will be comprised of economics, finance, and sociology and any student, no matter the program they are in, would be eligible to enroll in the course.

The course, Maharaj says is, “a different type of course not just a regular course,” in the sense that, “it will be really taking an in-depth look at [students’] personal goals and objectives.” They would be learning concepts “not at the level where [they] would be doing an exam on it. But at

the level of how it’s affecting [their] life.”

Her ultimate objective is, “to give students tools and techniques but also to instill behavioral change and change their mindset and perception when it comes to looking at the economy and the world and the way that it works.” Aside from that, she “[wants] people to be present and engaged and thinking about their life in real terms.”

When asked how she came up with the idea, Maharaj says that, “after class, every year, students would come to [her] for personal finance advice.” She had seen a demand for it and so she started running finance

workshops for the last couple of years. Wanting to do more than just workshops, Maharaj created her research project, Elly. Elly is not just a survey but contains a creative aspect towards it as well. Through Elly, students are given the opportunity to creatively express themselves about financial matters.

On January 17, 2019 in the Blind Duck Pub an event called “Elly in Action Extravaganza,” will be held as a celebration of “Elly in Action,” the financial literacy campaign.

Students will compete for a $300 cash prize through song, art, dance, or through short film and digital art. Contestants are also given the

Contestants are able to choose from a list of financial topics such as: how it feels to be in debt, how interest rates make them feel, and what exactly does money mean to them.

They are not limited to these topics provided.

To Maharaj, the event taking place is a “celebration of all those admissions and awarding the winners in each category.” The audience will be able to vote for the contestant who they believe to be deserving of the prize.

Not only will there be the competition taking place but there will also be additional entertainment afterwards. There will be other performances and a DJ present. There will also be information booths, such as one from UTM’s Career Center. Through the booths, “students have a chance to figure out where they could get jobs, tips on how to improve [themselves], and how to make [themselves] more employable, and what resources are available.”

For the third aspect of Elly, the interviews, those who choose to participate are given the opportunity to address their questions related to finance. Those who attend are able earn a CCR notation.

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THE MEDIUM 01.14.2019

Does drawing improve your memory?

The Medium investigates the effect drawing and other techniques have on our memory retention FATIMA ADIL ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR For a university student, a heightened memory is a valuable skill to have since success in most courses is largely dependent on the student’s level of understanding and memory. In the following article, The Medium examines the effect of drawing on memory retention and a few other memory encoding strategies.

A study conducted at the University of Waterloo and published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology says that drawing has an advantageous influence on memory.

Lead author Jeffrey Wammes, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychology states that, in their study, drawing always resulted in better recall as compared to other encoding strategies. He attributes this benefit to a “cohesive memory trace” created by drawing. The memory trace integrates visual, motor, and semantic information and therefore, causes the memory to be better retained.

For instance, drawing out a concept involves understanding the topic to think of an appropriate illustration, the motor movements of actually creating the picture, and the resultant visual image. The multi-modal nature of this process has a more beneficial effect on memory retention than simply reading information or writing it out.

Wammes affirms that participants often recalled words they had drawn twice as much as written words.

ASHLEY VANDERKOEN/THE MEDIUM

Studies show that drawing has an advantageous influence on memory.

Wammes, fellow Ph.D. candidate Melissa Meade, and Professor Myra Fernandes, furthermore tested whether adding visual details such as shading to the written word or creating a mental image would affect the results.

Other strategies tested were listing physical characteristics and viewing a picture of the object represented by a word.

The researchers also found that the quality of the drawings did not impact the extent to which the word was recalled. Even if the participants had four seconds to draw a picture, their memory later was still positively influenced. Since the experiments tested single words only, Wammes, Meade, and Fernandes are now testing whether the drawing effect can be applied to different types of informa-

tion.

A second paper which provides supporting evidence to drawing’s beneficial effect on memory describes another recent study conducted by Wammes, Meade, and Fernandes at the University of Waterloo. The researchers showed a set of 30 words to two groups—24 undergraduate students and 24 adults over the age of 65. Participants were instructed to draw half the words and write down the remaining and each task had to be completed within forty seconds.

Both undergraduate students and seniors recalled words they had drawn out better than those written.

While younger adults remembered more words than the seniors overall, the level of retention was similar between both groups for the drawn

words. Therefore, researchers believe that drawing words out can be useful even for dementia patients.

Alongside drawing, there are other strategies to boost memory while studying. According to Dr. Richard C. Mohs, the Chief Scientific Officer for the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation, there are three main ways to improve one’s memory: actively recall while learning, reviewing the information consistently, and by overlearning the material. He recommends being actively involved when reading such as by asking questions, noting interests, and reading out loud. Acronyms and personalizing the information by relating it to a personal anecdote have also been found to greatly improve memory.

For textbook readings—which are

often regarded as the hardest component of studying—Dr. Mohs suggests following the PQRST method. The method entails five steps: Preview, Question, Read, Self-recite, and Test.

Prior to commencing the reading, previewing the entire chapter by skimming the chapter introduction, section headings, and summaries at the end of the chapter, provides you with a general overview of what you are going to be covering. During the reading, asking questions helps the brain become actively involved in synthesizing the information. Moreover, while reading, think carefully about the meaning and relate the material to topics you already have learned before. When finished reading, try and recite the main ideas you have learned to yourself. If you find that you are unable to, go back to the section and ensure you have learned it properly. Lastly, test yourself and review the material once again. While these steps may seem tedious, many research studies have proven their high efficacy.

Another effective memory strategy is the chunking technique which involves grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units. This process improves the amount of information you can remember. Memory encoding strategies such as drawing, the PQRST method, and the chunking technique can be useful in increasing memory recall and should be considered when studying for an exam.

CHM201 is new this term FEATURES FAQ:

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH.COM

CHM201 is intended for students seeking a distribution credit, despite its affiliation with chemistry.

Credit continued from page 9

Although students will still require some mathematical skill to maneuver the course, “I think they’re perfectly capable of getting through it.”

Despite the course’s affiliation with the chemistry department, CHM201 appears to be a course solely for those seeking a distribution credit, as there is an exclusion towards any CHM/ JCP course taken previously or concurrently. In other words, those who have taken chemistry at any university level cannot enroll in CHM201.

Armstrong explains the main reasoning for this decision, stating that “because it’s intended specifically for humanities and social science students, the chemistry aspect of it is fairly

fundamental, and would be plain too easy for a chemistry or even biology student who would’ve taken chemistry.”

CHM201has been engineered for Humanities and Social Science students looking to fulfill the science breadth requirement of their degree.

Regarding the potential for CHM201 to incite further interest in a humanities or social science student to pursue studies in chemistry, Armstrong describes this as “a bit of an unusual circumstance, because

the course is intended as a breadth requirement […] the more specific courses that would follow up, [students] would most likely not have the prerequisite courses for.”

Prior to the introduction of CHM201, chemistry was a discipline within UTM that did not offer a course easily approachable for students looking to fulfill breadth requirements. Armstrong notes PHY100 as an example of a science course popular for this purpose.

At this time, CHM201 will be offered exclusively during the winter terms of each year. Enrolment numbers may change this in the future.

And given the rising relevance of health and wellness to the lifestyle of many, this certainly seems to be a likely possibility.

1. What is a feature?

A feature is a long-form article that may involve conducting research, scheduling interviews, or attending events. Features usually takes an in-depth look at issues that are relevant to the UTM community. Features are not articles on plays, campus policys, or sports games.

2. How long is a feature article?

A feature article usually ranges between 500 to 1000 words.

3. When is my deadline to submit the article?

Features articles are due on Thursdays at 5p.m. However, if an event occurs after the deadline, we can offer an extension.

4.Do I have to write a feature every week?

No! You can write for any section, whenever you want between September and April.

5. Do I have to come up with headlines myself?

No, section editors will come up with headlines for each article.

6. Who edits my feature article?

Each article, in every section, goes through multiple stages of editing. First the section editor edits it, then the Managing Editor, then the Editor-in-Chief, and then the Copy Editor.

7. If I write for Features, can also write for arts, news or sports?

Yes! You can write for any, and all sections. You can take on as much work as you like.

8. Do I need to come up with my own article topics?

We do accept pitches from the community, but you’re not responsible for topics.

Every section editor will send out a weekly pitch email every Sunday night.

01.14.2019

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Pilatesfit: pilates with an extra crunch The RAWC offers Pilatesfit classes which incorporate traditional pilates exercises with an emphasis on core AMRISH WAGLE ASSOCIATE S&H EDITOR

On the first Friday of the semester, the RAWC held a Pilatesfit group fitness class in the afternoon at the dance studio. At what seems to be the most favourite group fitness class among the ladies at UTM, there were roughly seven times more girls than guys in attendance for this core fitness workout. More importantly, Pilatesfit seems to be a specialized form of actual pilates with a focus on the core, namely the abdomen and lower back.

The class incorporated common core exercises with pilates to improve your posture, strength of deep core muscles and range of motion. This overarching workout was also interwoven with a focus on breathing techniques.

With a lovely background soundtrack of mystic yoga music playing over a stereo, this Pilatesfit class proved to be a pleasant mind-body balance for a toned body.

One of the differentiating aspects of Pilatesfit is that almost every exercise done in the class was on workout mats. The surprising aspect of this class was that during each exercise, the instructor demonstrated opportunities to make them a little bit more challenging with a couple variations.

Hence, the individuals in the class as a whole could go at their own pace

KELLY RUSSO/UNSPLASH.COM

The Medium’s Associate S&H Editor attended the RAWC’s Pilatesfit class and shares the experience. and challenge themselves to their capacity. During exercises the class also emphasized breathing techniques so that each push or pull of a muscle was accompanied with an inhalation or exhalation. Remarkably enough, the coupled breathing actually helped with stretching the muscles even farther so that the motion came easier with the momentum of the whole body.

There were quite a few exercises in the class that could be dissected.

A common one was the Hundred, where the legs were extended up at an angle, the knees bent at 90 degree, while the hands were laid out flat to the side and the head and shoulders lifted off the mat. However, while usually in pilates the hands rapidly flutter up and down, here the focus was just on stretching the hamstring by keeping the legs in the air as well as the core muscles at the centre required to maintain that position for long periods of time.

There were also a few variations of this very exercise including single leg stretches, shoulder bridge and pelvic curl. The latter one basically required one to lie down supinely, but have their feet flat on the ground, and then attempting to slowly lift your pelvis up and down to exercise the abdomen muscles around the spine.

Another prominent exercise was the pilates push up. In this case, the individual stood straight and then bent down to touch their toes. After

stretching the legs, the individual then slowly curls down into a downward dog pose and proceeded to flatten out the body into a push up position, with either the toes or knees touching the ground and maintaining that stance to put weight on the abdomen. Then you’d simply get up and repeat the cycle a few times over. Such exercises were also punctuated with briefer ones including the child pose, and the jack knife where one would supinely lay his torso flat on the mat and then extend his legs upward in a 90-degree angle and progressively rotate them to make acute or obtuse angles. Other exercises included rolling like a ball where you curl up in a fetal position and literally roll around on your back. Also, there was the classic roll up where you’d sit on a mat, back straight, legs extended out in front and then try to lean forward and touch your toes.

Clearly, all these exercises have the same theme where the torso and abdomen muscles are pushed under much pressure. As such, core strength was key. For the novices who lack a daily dose of exercise, core strength workouts can be quite taxing as they focus on muscles usually overlooked in usual physical exertions and sports.

Among the other twelve types of group fitness classes, Pilatesfit stands a worthy and useful addition to the RAWC.

Is shisha worse than smoking cigarettes?

Shisha is often seen as a harmless social activity but can be detrimental to health if smoked excessively SYEDA HASAN

If you ask today’s youth about what they like to do when they’re not camping out in the library studying for midterms or finishing up assignments, they’ll most likely present a scenario that involves them and a group of close friends hanging out at a local shisha lounge, and snapchatting any member of the crew who successfully manages to blow out perfectlyshaped rings of fruit-scented smoke.

According to Manchester Health & Care Commissioning, a ‘shisha’ is a smoking device that is placed vertically on the ground next to the smoker. Tobacco is placed in a compartment within the shisha stand and it is heated beneath pieces of charcoal.

The heat from the charcoal pushes the smoke into a water container where it is supposedly filtered. It then passes into a plastic pipe connected to the stand and is inhaled by the smoker.

Although the act of smoking shisha originated from the high-class society of India in the 15th century, it has

PHOTO FROM PIXABAY.COM

Many people believe smoking shisha is not as harmful since the smoke is filtered through water. grown to become a popular hobby within countries in Europe and North America as well. However, contrary to popular belief, shisha is notorious for the negative health effects it invokes within avid users.

Most people are under the impression that since the smoke is filtered through water, it loses many of its toxins, and thus isn’t as harmful as

the smoke from regular cigarettes.

However, according to the Government of South Australia’s health department, only 5 per cent of the toxic chemicals such as, but not limited to: tar, and fine particles, are filtered out. Since shisha is considered to be a social activity, people tend to smoke it for longer periods of time without realizing it. Users can easily spend

2-3 hours smoking while socializing.

In other words, one hour of consuming shisha is equivalent to smoking around 100 to 200 cigarettes! In addition to this, consumers are exposed to more smoke from a shisha pipe as compared to a cigarette stick. This is because a larger suction force is required to pull the smoke through the long pipe while cigarette sticks

require small puffs or medium-sized drags.

Many shisha lounges are increasingly springing up around cities.

Haze Lounge and Tche Tche in Mississauga are one of the many popular spots for youth to smoke shisha that have opened up in the recent years.

Due to its social attractiveness and the misconception that the various fruity flavours and scents eliminate the nicotine from the shisha, youth are increasingly turning towards it as a means of leisure, not realizing the harmful effects it could have on their health. Pressure to conform to the expectations of their peers of what constitutes popularity has led many youngsters to become addicted to the act of smoking shisha. If society cannot digest the thought of seeing someone smoking around 10-15 cigarettes a day, then why should they turn a blind eye towards an activity that is equivalent to the consumption of cigarettes in the hundreds? Effort needs to be made in order to raise awareness of its harmful nature which should be directed towards youngsters.

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«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 01.14.2019

Create a plan, not just a resolution It is important for people to not only set a new year’s resolution, but also to create a plan to ensure success AMRISH WAGLE ASSOCIATE S&H EDITOR It is a well-established tradition to set resolutions or goals every new year, yet apparently less than 10 per cent of individuals stick to their new year’s resolutions for the entire twelve months. This falls far below expectations simply because we set a goal in place rather than a plan. In fact, there are many reasons for why resolutions don’t work and even more strategies on how to shift your own psychology, in order to make them a reality.

Most people choose resolutions that they think they should have based on other people’s expectations.

Resolutions such as eating healthy or exercising often, tends to fall short of personal relevance or desire. Not to mention, this coupled with the timing of the pledge can completely throw you off. During the beginning of the year, people are usually coming out of a long holiday and looking forward to several more months of hard work.

Both these elements have a tendency to reduce one’s intrinsic motivation for following through on a plan and lose sight of the greater purpose.

Furthermore, it is important to set the right plan to help guide you through the resolution. There are in fact three key elements to successful self-regulation. The first is to have the appropriate goal or standard. This re-

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Establishing a regime to achieve goals is a crucial element for self-regulation. quires one to choose a resolution that is not overly ambitious and rather exceedingly specific. The former prevents one from being discouraged and psychologically miserable from having to face the disheartening goal, making it seem more like work and easier to quit. The latter requirement of a specific goal makes it easier to plan ways to reach the goal or monitor the progress. Objectives such as being a better person are too abstract

to work with, as opposed to losing a set amount of weight by the end of the year.

The second element of self-regulation is to establish a regime to achieve the goal. This must be a concrete process one can apply routinely to make progress towards their resolution.

Plans such as joining a fitness class or taking the stairs every day, can set out the concrete steps one can take each day to ensure they’re actually

progressing towards the goal. The last aspect of self-regulation is monitoring your progress along the way. This is important to ensuring you’re actually progressing in the right direction and how you can better improve your plan to serve the end goal. Too often, individuals fall prey to distraction or absent-mindedness and submit their resolution to a nonviable plan of action or fall off course altogether.

Often, individuals pick a habit they

wish to attain as part of their new year’s resolution. This may include texting less, drinking less or other such automatic actions that are conditioned in their brain. These types of habits have a sure-fire strategy to attain based on science. Firstly, the new habit you wish to implement must be small enough to work with.

Something like “eating healthy” is not small, yet “eating a salad at lunch” can be the perfect sized goal that can fit into your everyday routine. Next, it is best to attach the habit with existing ones. For example, if you already go jogging a few times a week, it may be worthwhile to simply add on 20 more minutes to each run so that your already well-established habits support your new goal of getting more exercise. Lastly, you must make the new habit fairly easy to do, at least for the first week. Setting alarms on your phone and having visual reminders such as sticky notes can go a long way in conducing you to engaging in the habit.

The new year is a chance to gleam across the horizon and find inspiration in the vast possibilities floating in a whole new future. In fact, people that simply establish a resolution are almost 10 times more likely to keep them compared to other forms of selfimprovement. The important aspect in this respect is to never stop trying.

Learning the The science behind IF real way to detox Intermittent fasting can help regulate blood sugar levels MICHELLE IGLESIAS LOUISSA BARNES

If you type the word “detox” into your Google search box, a few things will come up: a couple of local drug addiction treatment centres, some naturopathic medical spas, a sponsored ad by deals.sixpackabs.com for something called Green Detox (I think it’s a juice cleanse?) and about 231,999,999 other websites about weight loss, the detox diet, more juice cleanses, fasting, “the real way to detox”, and “the actual real way to detox—no really this time!”

Full disclosure: I have partaken in my own fair share of lose-weightquick schemes, fad/trendy diets, and yes, even detoxing. I have had my different reasons for detoxing: weight loss, feeling better after a season of overindulgence, or even just occasional bodily maintenance.

I decided to reach out to the Telehealth Ontario hotline, and got in touch with Zara—a lovely Registered Dietician with quite a bit to say about detoxing. “There are a lot of cleanses and detox diets out there that promise to improve health, and to help facilitate weight loss. But there is no scientific evidence to show that our bodies need cleansing.” She continues, “That is what our organs are for—our kidneys, lungs, liver, they all work to filter out different toxins from our system. Detox diets are not based on

scientific evidence and therefore we cannot recommend them.”

Although the detox may be successful in helping you achieve what you wanted, Zara raises a good question—“Say you manage to lose a few pounds. What happens when you’re finished with your detox? It’s all going to come right back.”

According to Zara, detoxing could be unsafe if followed for too long. The longer the detox period, the more dangerous it can be, and the more havoc it could wreak on your organs.

The truth is, detoxing can come with its own set of side effects, ranging from mildly unpleasant to downright dangerous. The spectrum could include diarrhea, feeling faint, dehydration, an imbalance of electrolytes, low blood sugar, low blood pressure, and even palpitations. The dangers increase if you have any pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes.

Of course, there are many ways and interpretations of detoxing. There are herbal teas, supplements that promise to detox your organs (i.e. your liver after the last three crazy weekends you’ve had in a row), laxatives, enemas, fasting, and periods of restrictive dieting. According to Zara, the only type of detox she can get behind is clean eating, which is to say, limiting sugary, processed foods, and swapping them in your diet for nutritious, whole foods—and doing this for the long term.

It is becoming increasingly popular to start the new year with goals and ambitions, especially for weight loss.

Different forms of dieting and trying to find fast ways to lose weight come to mind in order to achieve our goals in short periods of time. Intermittent fasting is something that has taken popularity in the world of dieting and ‘lose-weight-fast’ schemes. There are always going to be positive and negatives of certain diets, but intermittent fasting shows both sides of being beneficial to a person’s health but also being quite dangerous.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a diet that gives the individual only a certain time window to eat, while also restricting the types of foods being consumed. For example, if you didn’t eat between 8 pm and 8 am that is a 12-hour fast—only water is permitted. Like many diets, it will show results, especially because the amount of food you can eat during those specific times will demonstrate result in weight loss.

Usually, these diets have a bad rep for being too restrictive in what the body needs because it is a form of fasting. According to Mark Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, there are more positive benefits from intermittent fasting than negative ones. He states, “Recent randomized controlled trials

in human subjects have demonstrated that IF, including diets that mimic some aspects of FMDs [Fast Mimicking Diets], are achievable in humans and improve many health indicators in healthy individuals and in those with some chronic diseases.” He goes on to discuss how it helps “maintain blood glucose levels in the low normal range”; this definitely is a benefit for those who need to maintain their glucose levels. In Mattson’s case, he argues that intermittent fasting has true long-term benefits, in which medication may not provide. He also mentions that the results he has gotten for weight loss studies are not fully accurate because of other factors, though it did help the subjects with weight and asthma.

Intermittent fasting seems to be safe for the most part, but it is a cau-

tion for those who live a very active lifestyle because you are basically burning the remaining fat on your body. There are sources that state that this method of dieting is easier to do rather than counting calories mentally.

In some ways, this specific method can benefit your body when done right. Restrictive diets do not usually have long term effects because the weight always comes back unless there is a complete lifestyle change at the end of the diet. Doing this diet for long periods of time can affect your body negatively since the purpose is to only be done for a certain amount of time. Though this diet does aid in regulating blood sugar levels and help with weight loss, it is definitely not for everyone and should be further researched before starting.

NAAIRAH PAUROBALLY/THE MEDIUM

Intermittent fasting gives only a certain time window to eat.