Vol 41 issue 15

International equity

Teasing it apart

We are in Kansas

The prof next door

Sportswriter rising

UTSU campaigns to give international students the right to run for Governing Council for the first time.

As we read the news, it’s always important to keep in mind the overall character of each party.

A 1953 William Inge play casts Theatre Erindale grads-to-be together for the last time.

Students talk about what it’s like to live two floors up or down from the folks who teach classes.

From covering the Sochi Olympics for CBC Sports to writing for theScore, Isaac Owusu’s on a roll.

Medium News, page 2

Medium Opinion, page 5

Medium Arts, page 7

Medium Features, page 10

Medium Sports, page 14

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Medium News, page 2

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Medium Opinion, page 4

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Medium Arts, page 5

Title of story Pellentesque tincidunt lectus eu enim ornare consectetur ultrices mi bibendum.

Medium Features, page 8

Title of story Pellentesque tincidunt lectus eu enim ornare consectetur ultrices mi bibendum.

Medium Sports, page 11

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01.26.2015

Giving a voice to international students UTSU works with groups to demand changes to “exploitative” U of T policies toward international students

JASMEEN VIRK/ THE MEDIUM

International students are welcomed at City Hall in Mississauga, but that doesn’t mean they’re allowed to contribute to university governance at the highest level.

MARIA IQBAL NEWS EDITOR UTSU is calling on U of T and the Ontario government to pay greater attention to international student issues including representation on Governing Council, among other demands.

The union is working with the Association of Part-time University Students and the Canadian Federation of

Students to address what it calls the “exploitation” of international students.

The campaign is calling for OHIP access for international students, a change to the University of Toronto Act so that international students can run for Governing Council, and for international student tuition fees to be regulated.

UTSU VP internal and services

Cameron Wathey called the current eligibility requirements for seats on Governing Council “discriminatory”, noting that three students were declared ineligible to run for Governing Council earlier this month because they did not meet the citizenship requirements.

The University of Toronto Act stipulates, “All members of the Governing Council must be Canadian citizens.”

Individuals seeking nomination to the council are required to present proof of citizenship when submitting the nomination form.

At the UTM Town Hall last semester, Wathey raised his concerns about international student representation on the council to UTM principal Deep Saini, who responded that the issue was “under study”.

Since then, Wathey said he has met

with the current chair of Governing Council, Judy Goldring, who Wathey says is looking into changing the U of T Act so that international students will be eligible to run.

The provincial government ultimately has the power to make the changes.

Policies continued on page 3

More grants, less loans

UTMSU explores

Canadian student group calls for reduced tuition fees for all

the politics of pride Exclusion a key theme in week’s events KARINA COTRAN

PM.GC.CA/PHOTO

Harper launched the Canada Apprentice Loan this month, which has met criticism from the CFS. NICOLE DANESI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR If the cost of tuition isn’t already on the minds of countless postsecondary students, it is certainly the topic of recent prominent discussion and debate.

A group representing postsecondary students across the country has spoken against the federal government’s introduction of a new loan program for students.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the

launch of the Canada Apprentice Loan, an initiative intended to assist trade students in paying for training in the skilled trades.

The initiative, however, isn’t enough to assist students struggling to pay tuition, according to the Canadian Federation of Students.

Jessica McCormick, the national chairperson of the CFS, has called on the federal government to further develop the Canada Student Grants Program, a federal assistance program that does not require students to repay funding, unlike the Canada Appren-

tice Loan program.

“Canada’s current reliance on a loan-based system of student financial assistance has resulted in a generation of graduates burdened with high student debt,” said McCormick in an email to The Medium.

McCormick also expressed concern about inequity among students who are able to front tuition fees during their time in the classroom and those who obtain loans to pay off their education after graduation.

Fees continued on page 4

The annual UTMSU Pride Week was back with a variety of events last week on campus.

During Pride Week, themed “My Pride is Political”, the main issues discussed were problems of exclusion and a lack of understanding of LGBTQ* concerns among the public and even the LGBTQ* community.

The concerns raised were about the misconceptions about labels, including bisexual, transsexual, and polysexual, and a lack of inclusion of LGBTQ* members in public spheres such as social media and education. Discussions of these issues produced many options for addressing them.

Many LGBTQ* members of UTM and their allies attended the events throughout the week.

The Polysexual and Polyamorous Myths and Mingle on Tuesday was a presentation to inform students about polysexuality, or attraction to

multiple genders, and polyamory, having multiple relationships with the consent of all parties. Neither polysexuality nor polyamory is to be confused with polygamy, the actual marriage of more than two partners.

The discussion included how to make polysexuals feel accepted by the LGBTQ* community.

Thursday’s Trans* 101 Workshop was an open discussion on what it means to be a transsexual. The group discussion concerned inclusion and the establishment of trans washrooms and housing on campus and in public spaces.

Transphobia was addressed as well and ways to curb it were suggested, including holding workshops and discussions.

Also discussed was the option of enforcing the use of “preferred pronouns”, i.e. whichever pronoun a person would like to be called by in relation to their gender.

Pride continued on page 4

01.26.2015 THE MEDIUM NEWS» 3

UTM chess places third Club ties, loses only to St. George in national tournament

January 15, 7:20 p.m.

Information/Disturbance Campus Police received a report of a possible fight and responded, identified all parties, and cautioned them.

January 16, 4:10 a.m.

Mischief Report A report of mischief in the Davis Building was received by Campus Police. The incident is being investigated.

JOHN UPPER/PHOTO

The UTM Chess Club placed third in Canada at a tournament held earlier this month.

MARIA IQBAL NEWS EDITOR UTM students spent hours sacrificing pawns, battling knights, and defeating kings to win third place at the Canadian Universities Chess Championship held at Hart House earlier this month.

It was the first time the UTM Chess Club participated in the January 10– 11 tournament, which was open to teams from postsecondary schools across the country.

“We knew we were underdogs. Nobody expected us to do well. Nobody except us,” said Prateek Sanyal, the club’s vice-president.

According to Sanyal, the CUCC is considered the official Canadian university tournament and is one of the biggest chess tournaments in Canada.

To prepare for the tournament, the one-and-a-half-year-old UTM Chess Club held a qualifier among its own members. Once the qualifications were done, the final team members practised against each other.

The tournament featured two streams: open, consisting of profes-

sional teams, and U1800, the standard stream that UTM played in. In each of five rounds, each team played another team, player versus player in four separate chess games. According to a post on the UTM Chess Club’s blog, some of the games took over four hours.

Five students represented UTM at the tournament: Prateek Sanyal, Seiji Nakagawa, Alex Vilchynsky, Nikhil Gupta, and Ivan Manasuev.

UTM was only defeated by the team from U of T St. George.

In first two rounds, UTM defeated the teams from Queen’s and Western before achieving a draw with York, which occurs when two of the four teammates win against two players from the other school.

After beating Ryerson in the fourth round, UTM was pitted against the St. George team for the final.

UTM required a draw against St. George to win the tournament.

Fifteen minutes into the round, Gupta opted to resign. After a few hours Nakagawa lost his game, leaving Sanyal and Vilchynsky to finish the round.

“We both had to win in order to win the tournament,” remarked Sanyal.

Sanyal won his game, and Vilchynsky was left to play the last game remaining in the U1800 category. The team who won the game would win the tournament.

“After fighting long and hard, Alex eventually lost and we slipped down to third place,” said Sanyal.

The St. George team came in first.

“We went home with heavy hearts because we missed first place by an inch, but hey, we came third in Canada,” added Sanyal, who was the UTM player with the highest rating.

The CUCC was the second tournament the UTM Chess Club has participated in during this school year.

Sanyal said that UTM had won all the games in its first tournament, which was against teams from Brock, Ryerson, and York.

The UTM Chess Club also plans to hold an internal tournament this year, expected to be announced in a few weeks. The club continues to host regular meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays for all students to attend.

Tuition freeze and OHIP access among demands Policies continued from page 2 “I have also had several discussions with members of Governing Council and the administration, who have indicated that we have made good arguments and this is something to address,” Wathey said. “It’s clear that international students are fed up with the discrimination and want to address the situation directly.”

Wathey added that other postsecondary schools have similar “discriminatory policies” and said that the issue could be addressed jointly with the other schools.

The groups also raised their concerns at a meeting hosted by the CFS with the minister of training, colleges, and universities Reza Moridi along with other government representatives.

According to the CFS in an online

fact sheet, international students are an “easy target” for high tuition fees because they have little political influence in Canada.

The fact sheet also shows that U of T charged the highest international tuition fees in Canada for the 2011/12 year.

“At the rate at which the population of international students is growing at the university and the way the province and university are recruiting more international students in the upcoming years, we deserve the right to be able to address our concerns to the Governing Council as a student representative,” Wathey said.

Currently, citizenship requirements do not apply to the UTM Campus Council or its standing committees.

According to the Elections Guidelines for the governance bodies, stu-

dents are eligible to run for seats on the two campus councils or their standing committees as long as they are students in the constituency where they seek election, are nominated by students from the same constituency, and remain a student in the same constituency throughout their term.

The campaign also seeks to address deregulated international student fees and international students’ access to OHIP. Specifically, the groups are calling on U of T to freeze international student tuition fees for each cohort of incoming students to help make their tuition more predictable over the course of their degree.

According to Wathey, Premier Kathleen Wynne has also expressed interest in giving international students access to OHIP at a CFS-O meeting earlier this month.

January 16, 9:15 a.m.

Trespass to Property Campus Police received a complaint from RAWC staff in regards to fraudulent use of a RAWC membership.

Campus Police identified and cautioned all persons involved.

January 16, 1:35 p.m.

Trespass to Property A call was received in regards to a person soliciting at the RAWC. Campus Police attended and investigated the complaint.

January 17, 12:22 a.m.

Controlled Drugs & Substances Act After detecting an odour of marijuana, Campus Police investigated several males in the Student Centre and CCT garage. The males were directed to

leave UTM for the night.

January 19, 2:59 p.m.

Fraud Under $5,000 Campus Police investigated a report of a U-Pass being used in a fraudulent manner. Campus Police identified the parties involved and cautioned them.

No charges were laid.

January 19, 4:10 p.m.

Personal Safety Concern Campus Police and Peel Police investigated a report of off-campus assault.

January 19, 5:06 p.m.

Theft Under $5,000 A student reported the theft of his cell phone from the RAWC Gym C. Estimated value of the cell phone is $600.

January 20, 2:30 p.m.

Assault Campus Police investigated and interviewed several students that reported a physical confrontation while in the Blind Duck Pub. No charges were laid.

January 20, 2015 at 4:30 p.m.

Motor Vehicle Accident A motor vehicle accident occurred in lot 8. There were no injuries and damage to both vehicles was minimal.

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.

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 01.26.2015

»FALL READING WEEK

OR EARLY DECEMBER BREAK?

Roop Ranghawa 4th year, English lit

Iqra Noveen 2nd year, crim

December break. I find that’s the time I need off.

December break, because I can then focus on my exams.

Week features coffee, casino, conversation

ZARA RIZWAN/THE MEDIUM

UTMSU’s annual Pride Week featured several events last week.

Charles Salame 3rd year, math & eco

Elvin D’mello 4th year, commerce

December break. I’d rather have a longer break between classes and exams.

December. The fall break is pointless; what do you have to study after midterms?

Pride continued from page 2 The Queer People of Colour discussion concerned how people of colour stand within the LGBTQ* community. While the week’s other events were open to all UTM students, the QPOC was restricted to those who identified as a queer or trans* person of colour.

There were also social events at which members of the LGBTQ* community mingled with their peers in a safe environment.

These included the Queer Coffee House on Friday, intended to be a night of fun and relaxation open to members of the LGBTQ* community and those outside it. It featured poetry, theatre, and mu-

sic performances, and raised funds for the East Mississauga Community Health Centre QX Program.

The other social events were Ace’s Casino Night and the Convo Café.

UTMSU’s LGBTQ coordinator Miranda Jurilj did not respond to requests for comment.

30% Off grant criticized as inequitable “Those who can afford to cover the cost of a postsecondary education upfront only pay the sticker price, while those who cannot afford it must pay the sticker price plus accrued interest,” said McCormick. “Being from a low-income background should not limit access to college or university, nor should it result in some students paying more than others because they can’t cover the upfront cost.”

According to the UTM Office of the Registrar, 52% of current undergraduate students receive assistance from OSAP. In the 2013/14 school year, UTM distributed 620 scholarships to domestic and international first-year

students.

The same year, 216 full-time students also received UTM grants as well as the Ontario First Generation Bursary through OSAP. International students, however, are not eligible to receive this funding.

In an interview with The Medium during her January 15 stop on campus, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne defended her government’s approach to assisting students through methods such as the “30% Off ” tuition rebate available to eligible students, which has aided 230,000 students, according to the premier.

McCormick, however, pointed to concerns regarding the accessibility of the Ontario rebate due to eligibility requirements.

According to the provincial government’s website, to be eligible for the 30% Off rebate, students must be studying full-time, belong to a family that earns under $160,000 in gross annual income, and meet citizenship and other requirements.

“This money could be more equitably distributed by investing in an across the board tuition fee reduction for all students,” says McCormick.

The CFS has also called upon both the provincial and federal government to fully fund postsecondary tuition.

“Federal and provincial governments should increase investments to Canada’s colleges and universities,” said McCormick. “In turn, students are able to access the education and training they need to get a decent job

and subsequently contribute to the taxation system that funds public services like education.”

The sentiment is also shared with UTMSU as the union launched a “Drop the Fees Coalition” on January 14, intended to lobby for lower tuition fees.

During the coalition launch, UTMSU representatives declared their mission to eventually eradicate postsecondary tuition fees.

For many years, neither the federal nor provincial governments has responded to traditional CFS-Ontario means, such as marching in Queen’s Park chanting “Fuck fees” and other slogans.

Further south, however, there have been some changes.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to fully fund the first two years of student education at community college.

The proposal, entitled “America’s College Promise”, requires that students completing a degree or certificate maintain a 2.5 GPA as a part-time or full-time student in order to receive the subsidy.

Premier Wynne, however, told the Canadian Free Press that she is not planning to follow suit, claiming that it might limit the number of students who would benefit.

UTMSU did not respond to requests for comment on the effectiveness of current government funding for students or its plans for working toward eliminating tuition fees.

Survivors remember Auschwitz 70 years after liberation

Social media sites close down accounts used for drug sales

Woman alive after being stranded while snowboarding in B.C.

Teen temporarily blind after watching too much Netflix on phone

Obama to visit Saudi Arabia to pay condolences, meet king

Hundreds of survivors from the former concentration camp at Auschwitz will gather at the site this week to mark the 70th anniversary of their liberation. Three hundred of the former prisoners will attend the tribute in Poland on Tuesday. The number of Auschwitz survivors still alive is unknown, but a reported 1,500 attended the 60th anniversary in 2005.

Social media companies are taking measures against accounts depicting images of marijuana and other drugs.

Instagram has closed down social media accounts that promote the sale of cannabis. Laws vary among U.S. states, with some charging people who post photos of drug use a fine of $150,000 and time in jail, while others allow drug sales in some cases.

A snowboarder has been found alive after being stranded for three days near a mountain in Whistler, B.C. When the search team found the woman, she was airlifted to the hospital for treatment. Her condition has since been declared “good”. The snowboarder was reported missing on January 23.

A London, Ontario teen was temporarily blind after spending too much time watching shows and reading on her smartphone. Optometrists report that excessive staring at handheld devices is increasingly causing damage to the eyes of young users, though the case of the teenager is rare. After three months of therapy, the teen’s vision has returned to normal.

U.S. President Barack Obama is to visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet King Salman, who acceded to the throne following the death of his older brother Abdullah last week.

Vice-president Joe Biden was initially supposed to represent Obama on the visit, but the president’s itinerary for his stay in India has been revised so that he could make the visit himself.

Source: CBC News

Source: BuzzFeed

Source: National Post

Source: Toronto Sun

Source: CNN

Fees continued from page 2

01.26.2015 THE MEDIUM OPINION» 5

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Looking at the good and the bad Rather than swing from opinion to opinion, let’s examine motives and patterns I’ve been thinking about the fact that there are some groups that work to improve students’ outlooks at university, some that are indifferent, and some that prey on students, primarily for money. Most groups are a mix. And all three types affect us at UTM. Here’s one example of a group that’s probably more or less indifferent: the government. In politics, the various public interests are rarely close to a party’s heart, except insofar as they affect electability and provide necessary resources. The natural consequence is that the decisions a party makes are generally those that are likely to be perceived as most helpful, rather than those that in fact are most helpful.

Take the 30% Off grant introduced

by McGuinty’s government in 2012.

This year, the grant amounts to $1,780 for a year of school (which, by the way, is less than 30% of what I usually paid when I was full-time). It’s definitely nice to get that in grants instead of loans when you can—it just sounds like free money.

But two negative things can be said about it. One is what the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario says: that it’s not available to enough students. This is just a complaint about scope, i.e. it’s fundamentally on board with the grant but would like to see it expanded. I also have a complaint about the nature of the grant. It came about after the dissolution of the pro-

vincial Work-Study funding, which allowed students to have on-campus jobs and earn money. This is a much more productive means of granting, since it allows us to get experience in a safe, educational environment—the old give a man a fish vs. teach a man to fish. This program could have been expanded. Instead, it was cut, and some universities, including U of T, recognized the value of Work-Study and began running programs internally— which ultimately costs money that has to come from somewhere.

But the knowledge that politicians respond to pressures like that to “be easy on our wallets” is common. Here’s a somewhat different example, to return to CFS-Ontario, of which each of us is a member.

They’re more of a mix. They do indeed so some good work for students.

A glance at their homepage will now and then show campaigns on sustainability, aboriginal access to education, and tenants’ rights. And as I was just saying, they try to hold the government to their promises. Right now, as you can read in our news section this week, they’re responding to Harper to tell him we need more grants, not more loans.

But—in the practically inevitable manner of student organizations— they also carry on a host of self-perpetuating practices that are ultimately harmful to students. The basic one is,

of course, the ticket price. Membership is not free, and the cashflow adds up when you have tens of thousands of students across three campuses (and hundreds of thousands across Canada). If they use those funds ineffectively, it’s a hit against students.

And they do. For years, for example, when unions have tried to leave the CFS—among them is U of T’s Graduate Students’ Union—they find their defederation referenda fought against in costly court cases and rejected on ludicrous grounds (including ones outside of CFS’s authority, as ruled by a Québec judge just this month in connection to McGill’s graduate union).

Suffice it to say that taking student money and using it to stop the students from leaving is not good.

Similarly, having a hand in many student unions’ elections and having revolving doors that keep the same faces around for years undermine the democratic principles they campaign for. As with any representation, concern for your constituency’s good can easily be subtly sidetracked into concern for self-perpetuation.

As far as student unions’ track records go, this modus operandi is nothing new. The lesson is, again, that we should not take any propaganda uncritically, even if some of the things a group does are to our benefit—which they certainly are. Of course the baby shouldn’t be thrown out with bathwa-

ter, but that doesn’t mean you should keep the bathwater forever.

How about U of T? I think the mix might be part helpful and part indifferent. Helpful in that the bottom line is to educate, which, on the whole, the university does manage to do year after year. But indifferent insofar as they have to be concerned with (you guessed it) self-perpetuation. When fees are frozen or per-student funding is cut by a government, a typical university naturally responds by shifting priorities—for example, pressuring departments to enlarge class sizes— and becoming distracted from broader self-improvement, which sadly requires freedom of resources.

It’s hard to imagine, but we do often buy into simplified stories that lionize or villainize. Critical thought requires teasing apart the stream of words and actions from a person or group to identify what we should oppose and what we should support.

YOURS, LUKE SAWCZAK

CORRECTION NOTICE In the January 17 issue, the credit for “100 first-year stories” should have been Farah Qaiser, not Farah Khan. Also, both Farah Qaiser and Aranie Vijayaratnam should have been credited as staff writers.

6

«OPINION

THE MEDIUM 01.26.2015

Vivid symbols of the past

Response: not about

Learning something about my family on a trip to Auschwitz

all-gender washrooms

On January 27, it will be the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a Nazi German concentration camp that was responsible for the death of approximately 1.1 million people, most of whom were Jews, during the Second World War. As the anniversary has been slowly approaching, I’ve been thinking more and more about what it means in modern times, and the importance of remembrance of this event.

This past May, I participated in a program called “The March of Remembrance and Hope” (MRH), where I traveled with 30 other students and a Holocaust survivor across Germany and Poland for nine days. We started our journey in Berlin and made our way across several Polish cities, such as Warsaw and Krakow. Over the course of nine days, I learned so much about the Holocaust from visiting different memorial sites and concentration camps, as well as from hearing stories from Pinchas Gutter, the survivor who was traveling with us. It wasn’t until we had visited Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau, a Nazi German concentration and death camp, that I realized what it meant “to remember” and why it is so important that we do.

I come from a Polish background on my father’s side, and always knew that we had some sort of connection to the Holocaust, but never knew or cared to learn more about it until returning from this trip. In Auschwitz’s first camp, a lot of the old buildings’ exteriors have been kept, but inside

they have set up an amazing museum and memorial that no words could do justice to, especially the “Book of Names” exhibit. I hadn’t expected to see this exhibit, so when we entered the room I was a bit taken aback, especially when I noticed that several other students whom I had been traveling with were flocking to the pages and searching for names. At the time, I wasn’t aware that approximately 4.2 million names belonging to Holocaust victims filled this huge book.

My grandfather had lost all but one brother, but he worked hard sacrificing all he could to offer his children the life he never had.

Out of pure curiosity, I started to look through the pages and names and wondered if I would find the names of any of my family members, but I was doubtful. I made my way to the “K” section of last names and started browsing through, and felt my stomach drop. I recognized the name, place of birth, and place of death belonging to my great-grandfather.

There it was, in the pages of a book overwhelmed with millions of victims’ names: the name of somebody in my family.

My great-grandfather, among millions of others, died under terrible,

atrocious circumstances, but he mattered. They all mattered and their place in history will not be forgotten.

The book is imposing in its physical size alone; however, once you realize that every single person in that book had been murdered in the Holocaust, that feeling of being overwhelmed grows. This feeling underlies the importance of remembering, and why the phrase “Never Again” carries so much meaning.

Traveling through Germany and Poland, I noticed how modern the cities were. If you had no knowledge of the Holocaust, it would be very hard to tell it even happened, because of how well the cities were rebuilt. To remember the Holocaust means more than just being aware of historical facts, it means that the millions and millions of lives lost are not forgotten. It means ensuring that as we move forward, we do our best to advocate for social justice, and speak up when there is anything less. Finally we remember so that this never happens again, regardless of who is affected.

My grandfather had lost all but one brother in the Holocaust, but he worked hard sacrificing all that he could to rebuild a family and offer his children the life he never had. That is a life of opportunity, freedom, and dignity, and exempt from the burden that he, himself carried for the rest of his life.

Sharon Kowalski 3rd year, sociology & criminology

I am an alumna, class of 2005. I like to come visit the campus at least twice a year, mostly to immerse myself in the culture of learning and because a lot of good changes happened in my life during my time at UTM. There is a special place in my heart for this campus—despite the fact that I barely recognize it anymore.

With respect to the article about the washroom issue (“Including everyone is hard”, Jan. 12), I do not agree. The issue at hand is not about accommodating “the students who require all gender-washrooms”, but the enclosed space in which toilets are located. The current model of toilet facilities is not working anymore. Perhaps we should try to innovate the model.

The design of all-gender washrooms have become a growing architectural trend in several Western European countries. I am pleased to see that the “all-gender washrooms” are finding their place in local businesses such as movie theatres and in Toronto’s club district. As mentioned in the article, many small businesses have “all-gender washrooms”, and the reason that safety is not a concern in these toilet facilities has to do with the fact that coworkers and colleagues are not strangers.

Perhaps we need to dump the “washroom” model and replace it with an open-concept, walkthrough space in which toilets are situated in fully enclosed stalls—floor to ceiling. According to this model, accommodating everyone is easy, not hard. The walls that connect and create the space we call “washrooms” must be removed. Why

do we need an enclosed space in which toilets and sinks are located when we can enclose them and connect them in a row?

The washroom in question is the one located in the Student Centre. Walkthrough toilet facilities based on the floor-to-ceiling toilet stalls offer the following benefits: Safety concerns are drastically reduced because users are only enclosed in the toilet stalls. Fully enclosed means 100% privacy.

The walkthrough model fits well architecturally with the building design as there are three more “walkthrough halls” connecting the Student Centre to the pub. The issue regarding access to the pub during afterhours is not an issue directly connected to toilet facilities. For example, this can be solved by opening up the wall with the sinks to make an L-shape design.

It will cost much less if we keep the toilets where they are, remove the partial stalls, and replace them with fully enclosed ones.

The sinks and mirror can either be replaced with mini-sinks placed inside of the stalls, or they can remain where they are. The latter adds another advantage as it opens up the possibility of more hand-washing among those entering or exiting the building.

This kind of toilet facility solves the issue of segregation and safety—all people have access to toilets in that part of the building.

Natalie Woloshyn Alumna

01.26.2015

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Theatre Erindale goes on a picnic Student actors give another stellar performance in Picnic, their fourth play of 2015 JOEY CLOSE William Inge’s 1953 Pulitzer Prize– winning play Picnic is being brought to the Theatre Erindale stage as the fourth show of its season. Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the preview performance of the play, directed by Patrick Young. The cast included 11 of the 20 graduating students of the Sheridan-UTM Theatre and Drama Studies Program.

This modern version of the classic play takes us back to small-town middle America, specifically a 1952 Kansas, where two teenage sisters, Madge, “the pretty one”, and Millie, “the smart one”, struggle to find out who they are and dream of what they hope to become. The story unravels the insecurities, doubts, regrets, and anxieties of the surrounding characters, who are all fighting their own internal battles. What is not expected among the group is the young, shirtless drifter Hal Carter, who shakes up the pot on his arrival.

Roberto Esteves stars as former college football star Hal Carter, who, right from his first line, exudes a charm and charisma that lights up the stage—not to mention that he’s topless for most of the first act. He delivers an excellent and (what seems to be) effortless performance as a college dropout who struggles with his own insecurities, troubled past, and the recent fears of a future with little opportunity.

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Olivia Orton, Eilish Waller, and Jaime Lujan star in Picnic.

Eilish Waller also gave a good performance as the “oh so beautiful” soft and delicate Madge Owens, who struggles to find more meaning to life than just being pretty. Millie (Olivia Orton), Madge’s younger sister, gave an all-or-nothing stellar performance as a teen who finds comfort in reading books and who aspires one day to make it as a big-time author in New York City. Both are from a modest family, and Madge carries the pressure of marrying her Ivy League boyfriend, Alan Seymour (Thomas

Ketchum), in order to secure a promising future. However, sparks begin to fly between Madge and Hal. Waller and Esteves have a mesmerizing chemistry and carry off this romantic relationship perfectly.

Hannah Ehman as high school teacher Miss Rosemary Sydney was intriguing to watch. From the moment she stepped onto the stage with her vibrant red hair, slippers, and pink nightgown, you just knew she was going to make you laugh, and she did. From a drunken dance with Hal

to a desperate plea to Howard Bevans to marry her, Ehman had one of the more demanding roles. But she captured the audience’s attention in every scene and conveyed her impeccable range as a performer.

Laura McCallum, who played the widower Flo Owens, provided a nice balance among the characters as the practical and concerned mother of Madge and Millie. What intrigued me about McCallum’s performance was how well she embodied the characteristics of a middle-aged woman in

her facial expressions and body language—from the way she delivered her lines, it was easy to forget that McCallum is a young graduate-to-be.

Two performances I can’t omit are Angelica Appelman and Katie Cattell-Daniels, who held smaller roles as Miss Kronkite and Christine Schoenwalder. Not only did their witty comments often make the audience laugh, but they also demonstrated how women in their position in the 1950s thought, acted, and portrayed themselves within their communities.

Director Patrick Young said the actors “had to be very brave to take this on because it does call for a lot of emotional, physical, and sexual exposure”.

The biggest challenge “was moving from moment to moment with clarity and specificity […],” added McCallum. “It’s a fast-moving show with conversation topics changing every page.” However, she felt that in tonight’s preview performance the cast “had definitely found a natural way of moving through the play”.

This show will remain close to the hearts of these soon-to-be grads as it is the last time they will perform at Theatre Erindale together. “It has been a very sentimental experience,” said McCallum.

Picnic runs till February 1 at Theatre Erindale. The ticket price for students is $12; tickets can be purchased online or in person at the box office.

Funny business happening at Ontario’s art gallery At least six of the 1,100 works of AGO’s latest exhibit, “What’s So Funny?”, are wonderful ASSIA MESSAOUDI The “What’s So Funny?” exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario lacked many things, including art pieces.

The AGO’s website claims to feature over 1,100 works donated to them by the Trier-Fodor Foundation, but apparently only had six of them on display.

On arriving at the AGO, I asked at the info desk where I could find the “What’s So Funny?” exhibit and I was held up because no one seemed to have heard of it. An employee offered to lead me to where she suspected the exhibit might be, and I followed her begrudgingly.

She led me to a tiny hallway that featured six pieces. Only three had descriptions. I asked if there were any other pieces available for viewing, and a curator from the

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There were only six pieces available, but they were worth it.

AGO told me that the rest of the pieces were in vaults. The viewing of those pieces was limited to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays. I was

there at 11 a.m. and unfortunately couldn’t wait another two hours.

But I enjoyed the ones I saw.

The pieces by Czechoslovakian

artist Walter Trier were labelled as “humourous” due to the satirical message behind them. Trier was known for his illustrations

in children’s books, but this collection showed him in an entirely new light. My two favourite pieces were Parisian Tea and Philosophy Asleep. The titles of both were originally in French, and the artwork itself carried the French titles at the bottom.

Parisian Tea or Le Thé Parisien is a striking piece filled with different colours and shapes. The characters are exaggerated, giving a humourous effect. The men are seen frolicking with women sitting in chairs, fanning themselves. The men appear sinister and red-faced while the women are pale with plunging necklines. The image is said to ridicule the youth of the day and depict the dramatic rise of prostitution in the early 1800s.

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Philosophy Asleep CBC just got a little stranger and other satires

Strange Empire is empowering and puts women in charge

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One of the pieces that drew attention.

AGO continued from page 7 The second piece that stood out to me was Philosophy Asleep or La Philosophie Endormie. A woman dressed elegantly sleeps on a chair with books around her. This piece was described as critiquing the morals of the late 1700s, a time when women became engaged in educational and scholarly pursuits and were ridiculed for it. The symbolism behind the sleeping woman among books is supposed to represent the idea that philosophy and science were too exhausting for the female brain. The reason the woman is so elegantly dressed is that women lack and depth and can only be admired for their physical and outward beau-

ty, the idea being mocked here.

Both Parisian Tea and Philosophy Asleep represent popular ideas about women back in the 1700s and 1800s, and the views are interchangeable in their depiction of women as objects made to please men physically. Personally, I thought these pieces carried the most weight and meaning.

There were other pieces that were humourous—in particular, the artwork christened A Gust of Wind or Le coup de vent that shows a man and woman being caught in heavy winds and the man’s umbrella being turned inside out. If you find yourself at the AGO, stop by the “What’s So Funny?” exhibit, even if it is just to see those few pieces.

But try to do so at 1 p.m.

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These three women rule the TV for half an hour each week.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELS ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Television is getting edgy. Admittedly, I don’t follow a lot of shows (blame it on the honours BA), but I do know what people are watching.

Orange is the New Black, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Girls are all vying for top place. And here’s the thing: all of these shows deal in some way or other with material that is previously unexplored or feature content not usually seen on television.

And then I think about the kind of content CBC has produced in the past few years: Heartland and Mr. D hardly seem artistically competitive with Girls. But then Strange Empire happened. Still in its first season, Strange Empire first aired in October 2014, and in doing so opened up a whole new playing space for Canadian actors and TV aficionados.

I suppose Strange Empire technically qualifies as a Western, though at the same time actively takes

down anything a Western is supposed to be. The lead roles go to three strong, independent women: Cara Gee plays Kat Loving, a nononsense, pants-wearing, pistolshooting woman taking care of her adopted children and searching for her lost husband; Tattiawna Jones is Isabelle Slotter, married to a terrifying tyrant husband and mourning the death of her child; and Melissa Farman plays Rebecca Blithely, a young doctor obsessed with science and the workings of the human body.

The conversation around casting and race is not an easy one to follow or participate in. Period theatre tends to blind-cast very easily, especially in plays where a character’s race has nothing to do with the plot. In contrast, any kind of film or TV work relies on realism to such a degree that blind-casting is impossible. These days, the trend is still that white actors get romantic leads and everyone else is reduced to stereotypes. This is partly due to the

speed at which plot and characters have to be established, especially in a 20- or 30-minute pilot episode. In utter defiance of this, however, the script of Strange Empire writes into the problem, setting the show in an environment nearly exploding with tension around the dynamics between black, white, Native American, and Chinese. Kat is Métis, Isabelle is black, and neither character is a stereotype.

And it doesn’t stop there. Kat Loving shoots a gun and rides a horse better than most of the men.

She has more authority than the power-hungry John Slotter, and no one can pull the wool over her eyes. Similarly, Rebecca Blithely has an affair with a man who works in Slotter’s coal mine, and who (spoiler alert) is in fact a hermaphrodite.

Unless I am mistaken, Canadian TV is catching up with the trends set by American and British counterparts—and carving a place for open-minded casting and writing as it happens.

Fall Out Boy still wows the crowd As their sound evolves, FOB again makes a great album CHRISTOPHER ANTILOPE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR A few minutes after choosing to write a new album review, my best friend coincidentally emailed me this: “Check out the new Fall Out Boy album, American Beauty/American Psycho (preferably with loud headphones).” I now understand why he added the last recommendation.

Beginning the new year with the release of their sixth album, Fall Out Boy has given lovers of their alternative rock another successful run. It’s a fun album with great tunes, and to be honest, when the music stopped playing on my phone, I was upset.

American Beauty/American Psycho is 11 songs that range from the ’90s-pop-sounding titular song to the hit single, “Centuries”. Some songs have a more serious, though upbeat, melody to them, like “The

Kids Aren’t Alright” and “Jet Pack Blues”.

Were I to choose a favourite song, it would have to be “American Beauty/American Psycho”, the most upbeat song of the album. The song

This album shows the evolution of the band; what was once a punk/pop rock band is now a mature alternative rock group. sounds like it could be the lovechild of a 1990s DJ and a rocker from the 21st century. Despite a catchy chorus and the nonstop instrumentation, the ending comes too soon.

Half inspirational and half old-

school feel-good rock, “Centuries” will pump you up and make you want to walk in slow motion with fireworks going off behind you. All about leaving a legacy and “going down in history”—not like Rudolph; he was last month—“Centuries” is one of the reasons my friend recommended that I listen to the album with “loud headphones”. The song starts a capella and moves onto an ensemble of instruments with lead vocals by Patrick Stump, whose familiar voice runs chills up your spine.

This album shows the evolution of the band; what was once a punk/ pop rock band is now a mature, alternative rock group. It’s an album I will tell people to check out, just as I encourage you to do. Particularly if you’re looking for an old sound that will bring back memories from high school.

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Visiting the ROM from home Hungry for more Virtual tours allow art lovers to see a gallery from the couch KAITLYN FERNANDES If you haven’t gotten around to visiting the Royal Ontario Museum, the Google Art Project will allow you to do so without leaving your house.

In August, the ROM was added to the growing list of museums that have opened their doors to Google’s 360-degree “trolley camera”, allowing Google to create a virtual tour of the museum available online. Along with the virtual tours, high-resolution photos of more than 460 artifacts and paintings will be made available, according to a press release on the ROM’s website.

The idea for the project was conceived when Amit Sood, head of the Google Art Project, and a group of Google employees began looking for a way to help museums make their art more accessible with technology, Sood explained in a February 2011 blog post. He also mentioned that Google Art users have access to “more than 1,000 pieces of art”, and are able to virtually tour “more than 385 rooms within museums” from around the world.

Along with virtual museum tours, the Google Art site also offers several other features. Many pieces of art come with links you can click on to learn more about where the piece is from, when it was made, what it depicts, and so

on. This feature makes the Google Art Project a great educational tool. Users also have the ability to create their own galleries by collecting and saving certain pieces of art that they can then share via social media.

The one facet of the project I didn’t enjoy was the main reason most people would be drawn to the site in the first place: the virtual museum tour. But I should men-

After trying out a few programs, I don’t think they’re a replacement for going to a real museum and seeing the art in person. tion that I’m also not a big fan of Google Street View, with which the virtual museum tours share all of their setbacks. For an experience that at least approaches being comparable to visiting a museum in person, you would need a lot of time and even more patience, since the site loads images very slowly and inconsistently, some areas of the screen seemingly developing faster than others.

Also, just like in street view, it’s very easy to get lost or disoriented, especially when you click one of the direction arrows many times

in frustration and then end up far from where you wanted to be.

However, the site does have a navigation bar where you can click on a painting to travel to its location in the museum.

That said, if you don’t normally have issues with street view, then you would probably enjoy the virtual tours.

A much better online alternative to view the ROM is to take one of the virtual gallery tours offered on the ROM’s own website. Each tour offers 360-degree views from five to 10 fixed spots on the showroom floor, giving you coverage of an entire collection. On the same computer and in the same browser I had used to experience the Google Art Project, the screen loaded instantly and showed great high-resolution images.

After trying out a few different virtual tour programs, I definitely don’t think they’re a replacement for going to a museum and seeing the art in person. The online version of the dinosaur exhibit in particular at the ROM didn’t come close to the feeling of standing right in front of the huge brontosaurus skeleton that spans the entire gallery.

Since the ROM is free to all postsecondary students with a valid T-Card on Tuesdays, I would definitely recommend skipping the virtual tour and making the trip downtown.

Red Rising packs a punch Pierce Brown’s latest novel doesn’t let readers down KAIZAD KABRAJI Thanks to the glut of dystopian fiction that already lines bookstore shelves, I couldn’t help being skeptical when I first heard the ardent praise for Pierce Brown’s Red Rising. The book has been repeatedly compared to the likes of Ender’s Game, The Lord of the Rings, and, of course, The Hunger Games. Since its release just under a year ago, the novel has found itself on the New York Times Best Seller List and already has a seven-figure movie deal with Universal Studios. So is the hype justified?

Yes. Yes, I believe it is.

The book tells the tale of Darrow, a 16-year-old boy born as a Red, the lowest tier in his society’s colourcoded caste system. Forced into living deep under the surface of Mars, the Reds are made to toil in the hopes that their labour will help terraform the planet into a place that is habitable for future generations.

Little do they know that Mars was made livable ages ago and is now inhabited by the upper classes, all of whom are ruled by the “Golds”.

Motivated by the loss of his wife and a burning hatred for the oppressive Golds, Darrow is recruited by a

group of rebels in order to infiltrate and destroy the Gold regime from the inside.

Despite my initial wariness, Red Rising impressed me. The story was intense and action-packed for the most part, but it did have some issues with pacing. The first few chapters have a lot of description and are riddled with jargon. We’re introduced to our protagonist as well as his immediate family and the world in which they live. The amount of description seems justified here because of all the new information being thrown at you. However, the unique slang can trip you up at first and needs to be puzzled out through contextual cues unless specifically explained by the narrator. All of this leads to a rather slow beginning, but once you get the hang of interpreting the story’s jargon, you realize how intricate the world Brown has created is. Some might complain, but I personally love having little world-building details that allow a better understanding of the narrative’s universe. If that means that the story is the tiniest bit slow in the beginning, then I’m okay with it.

But it’s the characters that really bring this story to life. While one might argue that Katniss Ever-

deen is essentially the same person at the end of her saga, there is absolutely no denying Darrow’s growth throughout Red Rising. He is both physically and psychologically transformed by the trials he endures. However, it was Brown’s colourful cast of supporting characters that I truly fell in love with.

Despite his initial hatred for all Golds, Darrow soon discovers that life, even in the ruling class, isn’t quite as idyllic as he once believed.

He finds friendship in people he should hate, people who wouldn’t have looked at him twice if they’d known of his lowly birth. He forges bonds with characters who are cold, calculating, and incredibly obnoxious while also being thoroughly likeable. Brown’s ability to juggle all the different sides to his plethora of characters is a testament to his skill as a writer.

Notwithstanding the pacing, I thoroughly enjoyed Red Rising.

Even as I turned the last page, I knew I had to get my hands on the second book. That’s right: Red Rising is only the first instalment in a trilogy of the same name. The second book, Golden Son, has just come out, and I can only hope that it’s as good as the first.

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Jennifer Aniston takes on an entirely different role.

AMANDA HAVEY In Daniel Barnz’s Cake, Jennifer Aniston plays Claire Bennett, a middleaged woman suffering from trauma trying to cope with the suicide of a member in her crisis group. Anna Kendrick plays the ghost of Nina, the woman who committed suicide. Aniston does well in sufficiently portraying a broken woman using satire as a front to cope with deep pain.

Although Aniston takes a great leap from her traditional rom-com roles, the movie is lacking in substance and plot. Nothing really happens besides Claire’s everyday struggles. But the themes were dense and difficult to watch, bringing out the waterworks throughout. In fact, I started to wonder if it was just the troubling subject matter that made me feel something instead of the acting or writing. I kept waiting for more to be revealed, for the backstory of Claire’s demons to be disclosed or the reasons for Nina’s suicide. This never happened. Instead, the story unravelled around events

that were only hinted at.

At times, the movie also became cliché; the heartwarming relationship between the Latino housekeeper and Claire, the convenient friendship formed between Claire and Nina’s widowed husband, and Claire having to travel to Mexico to get more painkillers—these subplots are all unoriginal tropes.

One thing that didn’t quite fit was the title itself: Cake. It almost felt as if a cake had been put in the movie simply so the title had some relevance. If the title was going to be based on objects that reoccur most throughout the film, it should have been titled Painkillers.

Movies don’t have to be uplifting or happy to be great. They can deal with heartbreaking topics and still leave viewers satisfied, feeling like they’ve gained something from the experience. Cake didn’t do this; it left me feeling empty and disappointed.

I spent my afternoon watching a woman go through agony for $13 and left the theatre having eaten a crumb when I was hungry for a slice.

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Guess who’s coming for dinner Several academic departments make the move to upper-year residence Erindale Hall DANA BRITTON It’s not hard to imagine walking with your friend across campus and complaining about how gruelling your professor’s midterm just was. Most of us are notorious for this and it’s come to be a natural part of university life.

But the students who reside in Erindale Hall might need to be a bit more cautious about what they say now that several university departments have moved their offices from the North Building into the residence.

These departments include historical studies, language studies, and English and drama. The faculty and staff occupy the second and third floors of the building and the students live on the first, fourth, and fifth. The location switch is a result of the upcoming renovation of North Building and the departments are expected to remain in Erindale for three years until new office space is built for them.

The main doors are open to students and staff from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and then it becomes resident-accessible only.

Seems oddly reminiscent of that Arthur episode when Arthur’s teacher

MAYDA ALKHALDI/ THE MEDIUM

New security measures have been enforced to accommodate the changes in the residence. comes to live with his family, doesn’t it? At first, it was abnormal and he had to be on his best behaviour, but in time it became a positive experience. Similarly, Erindale students ini-

tially felt that sharing their home with professors would be undesirable, but now they appear optimistic about the change.

Erindale resident Chelsea Ranger, a

third-year theatre, drama, and performance studies major, has the offices of three of her four professors just a floor or so away from her own apartment. “I’ve run into professors, but

not doing laundry yet,” she jokes.

She claims the departments in Erindale “are community-focused.

There’s talk in the language department about having an office welcoming party.” She also feels safe despite all the traffic, but “doors do get jammed” on the first floor, she says, so she keeps her door locked.

Jenna Menzies, the community development coordinator for upperyear buildings, discussed the safety procedures in Erindale Hall. A TCard swipe is required in each of the stairwell doors and the main entrances. Students swipe their card to unlock the door and gain access to the first few floors. Only students who live in the building have access to the fourth and fifth floors. This causes the elevator to only ascend to the third floor unless an authorized resident swipes their T-Card to go higher.

“Our neighbourhood watch program also encourages students to be active community members and to report anything out of the ordinary in their community,” says Menzies.

Erindale continued on page 13

Looking ahead to the next chapter “Human books” share their experiences and advice with students at the Living Library ANDREEA MIHAI ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR LAURA MCCALLUM Students had the opportunity to talk to human books on Wednesday evening for the third annual Living Library.

A conversation with a “human book”—an alum or significant person in the community—is a chance to learn more about their journey after university. Students registered up to a week before the event. Chartwells catered the evening; the popcorn in a bag was a quaint and appropriate option.

For the first time in its history, before the one-on-one conversations, the human books were available in facilitated group conversations to give students an opportunity to talk to several people at once on topics such as publishing and education.

The Medium rounded up highlights and nuggets of knowledge from a selection of the event’s books.

(BA ’77), & PLAYWRIGHT BOBBY DEL RIO (HBA ’01)

GROUP CONVERSATION WITH POET ANNA YIN,CRIMINAL PROFILER KATE LINES

The Medium: Do you have any advice for how to get past the query stage or the proposal stage of publish-

PRISCILLA SUEN/ THE MEDIUM

The books agree that chance played a major role in the development of their careers. ing? How to make your work stand out when you’re asking for representation or asking a publisher to publish?

Bobby Del Rio: I think that there’s two perceptions. There’s what

everyone thinks you should do and the way it actually works. I think personally that querying and knocking on doors and all that stuff—I mean it’s like sure, one in a million times that will happen—but the reality is it’s

who you know and how good you are.

To be honest, if you’re really good, the doors fly open, right? It’s like I had a lot of things happen to me right away.

I was winning competitions and competing across North America when I was 23 years old. But I had been really focused and worked really hard at it.

When you’re really good at stuff, you can be amazed at how many people will accommodate you.

Kate Lines: Networking is really huge as well. So the opportunities that you get can be just from someone you met here […] You know, there’s a lot of festivals, book festivals, there’s a lot of writers there, there’s a lot of publishers at those functions as well, just getting to know people, like going to social events and that kind of thing, just networking in those circles.

Anna Yin: In my own experience, you always submit a lot of poetry and poems to a poetry contest. So for my experience I won some contests and won some awards. Then the publishers started to notice me. But still, like everyone said, it’s a community.

Library continued on page 11

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So who brought the study snacks?

The facilitated study group model at UTM works for some students and not for others FARAH QAISER STAFF WRITER Occasionally, at the beginning of a course, we hear that familiar announcement: “There are FSGs offered for this course and I’d encourage you all to attend.” Some students scoff at that announcement—why give up an hour of your precious time for a facilitated study group when you could dedicate it to finishing a long-procrastinated assignment or eating lunch? If there are no participation marks, why bother?

Some believe that FSGs aren’t for them and that studying independently is simply their style. Others aren’t aware that this resource exists or don’t understand what exactly it entails.

So what can an FSG do for a student?

Thomas Klubi, the learning strategist here at the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre, who is also in charge of FSGs, believes they’re the best approach in terms of creating a link between first- and second-year students.

“Over the years, we [at the RGASC] have tried a number of different approaches,” he says. “We’ve tried a mentor approach where we would include the mentors in workshops, or we’d have mentors run workshops within specific disciplines, and it was a hit-or-miss type of thing. Sometimes we got students; sometimes we didn’t.”

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FSGs are available at all three U of T campuses.

The peer-facilitated program is based on the Supplemental Instruction model developed by the University of Missouri. This model was first applied in Canada by the University of Guelph. In 2003, UTM started offering the FSG program.

Initially there were 26 facilitators for 17 courses. Today, the program has grown to 31 sessions with about 200 volunteer facilitators. UTM was the first of U of T’s three campuses to implement the program; FSGs have now spread to the Scarbor-

ough campus and the Faculty of Engineering and Medicine on the St. George campus.

The idea behind SI is that senior “model” students are trained in a specific discipline for a course.

Training consists of two days of intensive workshops and activities to prepare the facilitators for what might be their first classroom-leading experience. These facilitators then work with the instructors to plan and run weekly sessions. The intent is to embed academic skills

rather than reteach specific content.

Facilitators are recommended by the course instructor, though students can sometimes approach Klubi directly. Farah Badr, a fourthyear biotechnology specialist with a minor in chemistry, was one of the latter; following her own experiences with FSGs, she decided to contact the RGASC to discover how to get involved with the program. “I thought that my grades were high enough in calculus, so I was curious as to how I could become a student

leader,” she says.

Badr went on to be an FSG leader for MAT135 and CHM243 for two years. “I believe that for a student to enjoy FSGs and attend regularly depends partially on the facilitator,” she says. “With some facilitators, students can just click with them, but some of the time the facilitator’s approach isn’t very helpful and students end up not attending FSGs.” “I do enjoy the group learning style that FSGs provide—it’s very different from a typical lecture,” says Fatima Alvi, a first-year life sciences student. “But at the same time, it honestly depends on the course, too. If I believe that I need to study individually, then that’s what I’ll do.”

Maram El-Salamouny, a first-year computer science student, noted that FSG facilitators are not meant to be a substitute for TAs. “It’s helpful to get your questions answered in a group style environment,” she says. “But in my experience, if you have tricky questions, an FSG may not be the answer to your problems.”

Sania Shenwari, a first-year life sciences student, agrees that the FSG environment is not for everyone. “I prefer studying independently as it allows me to go at my own pace, rather than spending an hour going over questions that I may already know beforehand,” she says.

FSG continued on page 13

The footsteps of those who’ve gone before Library continued from page 10 INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS DAVID VELLA TIFF DIRECTOR OF BOARD & EXECUTIVE RELATIONS TM: What would say is your greatest inspiration that led you to where you are now in the film industry?

Was there a certain person or event that inspired you to take this path?

David Vella: For the film industry, not specifically, no. For me, my role in the film industry is the not-for-profit side of things (TIFF is a not-for-profit organization).

My side is on the administrative side—I manage our board of directors and our senior team and try to guide them in that process. So a lot of what my inspiration came from was not-for-profit and fundraising and what I ended up finding out was that arts is where my true passion lies. So being able to use my expertise with the arts, with fundraising to the arts, was exactly what I found I loved so much. […] I never really thought when I was going to school and looking for work that I could do the arts, and do not-for-profit fundraising and film, and combine those two things and find a job and make my living.

BOBBY DEL RIO PLAYWRIGHT TM: How did you know what you wanted to do?

BDR: I did first year at the St. George campus for economics. […]

I was cast in a couple of plays at the same time. I would skip an entire week of school but I would show up 10 minutes early for my play rehearsals, and then I became the star of the play. And then I was like, “Okay, there’s something here.” […

In reference to a playwriting festival he won at UTM while a drama student:] I remounted that play and it became one of the hits of the year at the Toronto theatre. That all happened before I graduated from school. I never looked back.

TM: What challenges did you face?

BDR: You know society hates artists. I find the relationship with society and the artist very intriguing.

Society both loves the artist and is in awe of the artist, but is also jealous and seeks to destroy the artist.

I’ve met so many people who make so much more money than I do who are incredibly jealous of me, because I’m pursuing a passion where they maybe wanted to be an artist. To me it’s not about the challenges; it’s about continually improving every day to become a better artist. And I

don’t care if I make a million dollars or 10 dollars. I’ve written for Hollywood and I’ve gotten a lot of publicity, but I don’t do this for the publicity. I do it to get better at my art every day. I think if you’re focused on the right things, you’ll have a really rewarding career.

“This guy comes along, and he says, ‘Do you want to go up the alley and I’ll give you more than change?’

KATE LINES CRIMINAL PROFILER TM: What challenges did you face becoming a police officer?

KL: One thing that I did when I was learning to be an undercover officer is they put me on the street to panhandle, and I got about $50. This guy comes along, and he says, “Do you want to go up the alley and I’ll give you more than change?” And I always thought, “Oh man, if you only knew that you’re actually talking to a cop!”

TM: Can you talk about your book, Crime Seen?

KL: I felt strongly that enough

had already been written about the bad guys, and now it was time to tell the good guys’ stories—the police officers, families, victims. Stories that don’t usually get written.

Everybody usually has a keen interest in the bad guy and knowing all about what their crimes were.

It always troubled me that you can name a serial killer and people are like, “Oh, I’ve heard of them.”— “Do you know who their victims were?”—“No, I don’t remember any of the names.” You know, I feel kind of bad. That’s why I wrote this book.

I tried to tell real-life stories, how investigations impacted me. […] The book ends with “There is life after policing”—very cathartic for me. I didn’t allow myself to get close to victims while I was working on the cases. Number one, it wasn’t my job to interact with victims, [and you] try not to think about them.

So in writing my book, I tried to be thoughtful in writing about them, and find out who they are and how they are, and let myself become emotional about their stories. It really helped round out my career, because now I’ve taken everyone into consideration.

TM: Can you share an anecdote about overcoming your challenges?

KL: Sometimes, particularly for police officers, it’s hard to know when you want to retire. I had a fan-

tastic career and I was really struggling with, “When am I going to go?

When is it going to be enough?” I could never find that right time. I passed when I could have retired at 30 years. […]

One day I got a call from my cousin. He’d gotten hired by the OPP and he wanted to come and thank me.

He lived up in northern Ontario and for about five years—it was mostly email—we’d talk back and forth, mostly suggestions. Like we’re doing tonight at the Living Library. He decided he wanted to be an officer and [it was] just [a] bonus that he got on the OPP. So he came into my office. […] At the end before he left, he said, “I’m going to graduate in a couple of months. Would you give [me] my badge?” And I said, “Sure.”

Then when he walked out I walked down the hall to my financial assistance and said, “I just found my right time to leave.”

I thought if I’m going to pass the torch to someone, that’s the guy I want to pass it to. Not only did I find my right time, but it ended up being a family member. My last assignment on my last day was giving him his badge. That was a very cool experience for me. I thought it might be some big case, yet it was something—in the big scheme of things—something very small that was the most important.

12

«FEATURES

THE MEDIUM 01.26.2015

Eating internationally on the go Chartwells refreshes travel-friendly line with new flavours, but also high calories MADELEINE BROWN FEATURES EDITOR I never even dared to try the former On the Go line of prepared salads, sandwiches, and portioned fruit or yogurt. I still have a vivid memory from first year of their haunting presence in the illuminating display case in Colman Commons: sandwiches with indistinguishable ingredients, salads wilting in tired dressing and hunks of watermelon oozing their own juices. However, I never expected anyone to do anything about the horror that was On the Go. Then— like a kind of gift for having almost made it through my four years—just a week ago I passed Chartwells staff giving away free samples and there in a refrigerated display case were the newly rebranded (and not the least bit haunting) On the Go products.

Again, I never actually did try the former line, but from the outside, at least, the transformation is comparable to that in a good episode of What Not to Wear. My fear subsiding, I decided to finally give them a go (when I was well and truly on the go). Thus, on my way from class to the gym before I had to catch a shuttle to Sheridan College, I swung by the Second Cup in the Innovation Complex to make my selection. It was tough.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/ THE MEDIUM

Despite a few misses on flavour, the On the Go sandwiches and salads are worth a try.

Salads are now in large clear plastic square containers with each ingredient clustered in sections. Sandwiches are in tan card packages with flattering windows that welcome you to take a peak of what’s inside. Flavours span worldwide including a Jamaican jerk chicken wrap, curry chickpea salad, and tangled Thai salad. No word of a lie, I stood there for

a solid 10 minutes to decide. (And then the cashier took another 10 to add it up, but that’s another story.)

In the end, I chose a cross-selection of products including the California chicken ciabatta, lentil salad, and deconstructed blueberry crumble.

My total for this three-course lunch was $16.79. Fair, it is pricey.

But equally true is that I would never

need to eat that much to satisfy my hunger. In fact, I was happy once I had finished the sandwich, and I proceeded to eat the lentil salad right away only for our foray, reader, into this new offering. I saved the crumble for that evening. The sandwiches range from just under $4 (for egg salad on multigrain) to the $7.49 I paid for mine. Meanwhile, salads

were around the $7 range.

Beyond the price, what actually made the choice even more agonizing was the nutritional information on the package. I completely understand where dietitian Kimberly Green is coming from when she shared her excitement at this addition in last week’s article “How to eat healthy with UTM vendors”, but boy does it make you reflect. I sometimes prefer being blissfully ignorant. I would have loved to try the roast beef, grilled vegetables, and Havarti focaccia, but at 730 calories (and knowing I wanted to try several products… again, all for you, my dear readers), I couldn’t justify it. That’s such a big number, right?

However, along that same line, I love how clearly and simply the ingredients are listed, although it might have been nice to know exactly what made up the guacamole in my sandwich or the vinaigrette in my side salad.

Finally, the eating of the products.

As I hinted before, I enjoyed mine from the back seat of our Sheridan shuttles and even though I dropped my pen several times, the food lived up to its name and survived the trip without any hiccups.

Review continued on page 13

01.26.2015 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 13

Not just problem-solving FSG continued from page 11 A major part of the FSG mandate is to provide senior students with the chance to develop classroom-leading skills and become comfortable with a classroom environment. This experiential activity can also be entered on the co-curricular record.

Some FSGs are also tied to courses; for example, LIN495Y consists of running an FSG for LIN100Y and involves extra responsibilities, including a review of the literature on SI and its effectiveness at UTM. A common misconception I found among the students I interviewed was that FSGs are only held for courses that require problemsolving. This is not true; whether FSGs are offered or not is entirely up to the instructor’s approval. For example, BIO207 (Introductory Genetics) and BIO210 (Fundamentals of Human Anatomy and Physiology) are very different courses; the former requires heavy problemsolving, while the latter stresses processing material. “For a course like BIO210, I would work with the facilitators to adapt the FSG to emphasize memory skills,” Klubi says.

“Each FSG emphasizes the types of skills students need to enhance in each respective course.”

Can attending FSGs improve grades? The answer is yes—but it depends on how frequently you attend. Attending an FSG once is not believed to produce an impact. To reach this conclusion, the RGASC has been compiling a database over the years, which (anonymously)

Can attending FSGs improve grades?

The answer is yes--but it depends on how frequently you attend. correlates the grades of students in a course with how often they attend FSGs for the course. On average, there is a 2–3% improvement in marks for those students who attend FSGs. “I’ve also seen up to 10% improvements for students who have regularly attended a FSG session for a course,” says Klubi. “That’s a letter grade change.”

According to Klubi, the assumption is that if a student regularly attends at least one FSG activity a week or more, they will start to improve, in the sense that they will start to make better choices on how they use their hours. “The facilitators are not meant to be teachers, tutors, or TAs; they’re actually designed to help the students focus in that one hour within that community,” says Klubi. “We’re hoping that the students will develop their own learning networks. I’m hopeful that what will happen is that if we model proper study activity within the context of a study group, it will provide a ripple effect. The students will book a room in the library and then they’ll continue the practice.”

FSG attendance is usually about 10–20% for a course, but as Klubi says, it isn’t for everybody.

Obviously, a lot of students prefer to study on their own rather than in a group, but it’s an option available to all. If a student goes to a FSG and they find that it was a positive experience, they will be our best source of advertising,” Klubi says. “We leave the choice to the student.”

Who’d have thought that we’d ever

the below recipe for Gaeng Kiew Warn

have an actual professional chef con-

Kai, or Thailand’s famous green curry.

tributing to Blackboard Special (espe-

Kachroo learned the recipe while in

cially after last week’s catastrophe)?

Bangkok when he was researching the

Well, it isn’t so surprising when you

cuisine and culture for the opening of

consider that Chartwells’ culinary di-

a restaurant called Island Paradise in

rector at UTM, chef Sandeep Kachroo,

Bangalore, India. While his recipe calls

is one of the masterminds behind

for chicken, Kachroo says that it can

the food provider’s dishes offered on

be replaced with seitan, tofu, or veg-

campus. Kachroo started just eight

etables such as broccoli or cauliflow-

months ago after wrapping up his time

er. Furthermore, all the ingredients

with the Bay—their downtown location

(despite how intimidating they may

and other accounts. His background

sound) can be found in Chinese or

includes luxury hotels from all over the

Vietnamese grocery stores across the

world including Asia, Luxembourg, and

GTA, he says.

the south of France.

pare to luxury hotel clientele? “I like be-

obviously has quite a selection of

ing in touch with the next generation,”

recipes to choose from. I requested

says Kachroo. “Their tastes are more

something global and settled on the

evolved than previous generations.”

first type of cuisine that he listed:

Gaeng Kiew Warn Kai SERVES 2 INGREDIENTS

nampla, and oil to a pan and sauté

• 75 g raw chicken chunks

until the oil starts separating from

• 30 g green curry paste

the paste. Add the chicken chunks

• 100 ml coconut milk • 1 g makham (tamarind) paste • 1 tsp coriander root paste

Review continued from page 12 The box for the California chicken ciabatta was so easy to open and it even refolds just as easily if you’re not a glutton like me and want to save some for later. It was a very pretty, dainty, and neatly composed sandwich. On a first sniff, I immediately picked up on the sun-dried tomatoes. (Such a good choice in place of regular sliced tomatoes.)

These tomatoes remained the star ingredient along with that fine, fine ciabatta bread. The guacamole was skimpy and I had to open up my sandwich to see if it was even there.

The chicken was very plainly cooked and lacked absolutely any flavour.

And then there were some greens too, but I mean, what’s there to say about greens? At the end of the day it was just a typical chicken sandwich that, despite how fresh and light it was, lacked something special or a real kick. I’d potentially get it again for the bread alone, though. (I know all you gluten-haters out there are probably mid-gasp right now.)

The lentil salad was hands-down my favourite of the three items. The vinaigrette, although the principal

smell of the dish, did not overwhelm in taste—as Goldilocks once put it, it was “just right”. The cilantro was the best component. There was a nice contrast in texture from crisp cucumbers and red peppers to perfectly cooked lentils. This was a dish whose nutritional label didn’t scare me, either; in fact, it apparently had

The vinaigrette, although the principal smell of the dish, did not overwhlem in taste-as Goldilocks once put it, it was “just right.” a ton of fibre and vitamin C. I’d say that it’s not only tasty, but also filling, cheap (just $3.79), and healthy.

Like the sandwich, its freshness was actually noticeable. I think On the Go is giving the supposedly “Always Fresh” Tim Hortons or the “Eat Fresh” mentality of Subway a run for their money.

Later that day I could finally guilt myself into eating my final purchase,

the deconstructed blueberry crumble, one the of dessert options I had to choose from that morning. Unfortunately, it was so-so. The granola was soft and lacked a nice crunch.

Similarly, I found the ingredients list a bit naïve in that it just stated: “granola, blueberries, blueberry filling”—what’s in the granola, please?

Or that filling? We’d like to know.

Thankfully, whatever made up that granola was at least not sickly sweet.

Then, shocker, the fresh blueberries weren’t terribly fresh, but slightly wrinkled and sour. When mixed with the layers of blueberry filling (which was nicely sweet) it made a confusing combination. I would have preferred just the filling and no blueberries—I mean, it is January; they’re obviously not coming from around here. Nonetheless, it was a reasonably nice, light dessert—in taste, if not in calories.

But I don’t think I could choose it over Chartwells’ giant chocolate chip cookies or those loves of my life, the chocolate-covered rice krispie squares. (Hint: please bring them back!) If I’m going to indulge, I don’t want to pretend that it’s kind of healthy… Just give me my chocolate.

Living next to your prof Erindale continued from page 10 In terms of offices, they are newly renovated. The walls have been knocked down between some of the former residence apartments, while others have only been refurbished—and in some office blocks, stoves, fridges,

and sinks are still standing and functional.

“It’s very nice being in Erindale,” says Shabina Moheebulla, the administrative assistant for the historical studies department, adding that faculty are happy to finally have windows in their offices. Moheebulla also

claims that the students like coming to office hours because it’s more comfortable and welcoming compared to North. Office hours are estimated to be as well attended as before.

Besides, who wouldn’t want to be able to roll out of bed and go to office hours in a matter of 30 seconds?

Not a bad compliment, huh?

Thai. From there he shared with me

• 1 tsp sugar

Can’t get enough ciabatta

So how do we pesky students com-

With such a background, Kachroo

and sauté for 3 minutes.

2. Add half the coconut milk and bring the curry to a boil.

3. Add the chicken along with

• 2 mackroot (Thai lime) leaves

the makham paste, bird chili,

• 1 bird (Thai) chili

and mackroot leaves. Cook for

• 10 (preferably Thai) basil leaves

a few seconds and then add the

• 2 tsp oil

remaining coconut milk. Check the

• 1 tsp nampla (fish sauce)

seasoning and adjust according to your taste.

METHOD 1. Add curry and coriander pastes,

4. Finish with the basil leaves and serve hot with steamed brown rice.

14

«

01.26.2015

Isaac Owusu: writing his own story Former sports editor talks about life after UTM and his rapid rise in sports journalism JASON COELHO SPORTS EDITOR Isaac Owusu is an athlete. But like many students, his career goals were not set in stone while he was going through the motions of undergrad.

Among all the uncertainty in his future, there was one thing that he was sure of, above all: his love for sports.

Owusu attended UTM from 2007 to 2011, dedicating his time to studying and playing football.

Though the boyhood dream of being a pro football player was a thought he entertained, a career on the sidelines with a notebook and a pen was calling.

As students know all too well, a job after university can be difficult to find. A job in a field that you love might be impossible to find.

For every person that tells you to do what you love, there’s another to tell you to be realistic.

But Owusu knew he had a talent for writing and a sports IQ better than the next guy, so during his fourth year he convinced then-sports editor of The Medium Chris Callahan to give him a shot covering the Toronto Argonauts.

His work as The Medium’s “beat Argos writer” later turned into a beat UTM sports writer position when

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Owusu is currently writing for theScore as the news editor for college football and basketball.

Owusu was tasked with covering all UTM sports for the paper.

“I moved up from writer to associate sports editor to sports editor in about a year’s time,” said Owusu.

He recalls taking any opportunity he had to spend time at the Argos’ practices, shadowing pro sports journalists to understand how to handle interviews with

athletes, the way media scrums worked, and gaining any tools that would benefit him as a sports journalist. “Just being around people in the industry, young and old, gave me the understanding of the entire cosmetic of journalism,” he recalls.

“It was a really good hands-on situation.”

There was an element that Owu-

su thought set him apart from other sportswriters: being an athlete.

“I felt that a lot of the content I was reading in newspapers and on the Internet lacked opinions of people who have experience in the field,” he said. “I thought that if someone who was involved with the sport could speak about it, it would go a long way.” But it’s an area of his

writing he’s still trying to get better at and one that he thinks will take more work before he’s satisfied with it.

After Owusu’s time at The Medium came to an end, he immediately went on to study sports journalism at Centennial in order to further his education, completing a oneyear program that eventually led to an internship position at TSN.ca.

After his time at TSN, CBC Sports hired him as an online writer for the 2014 Sochi Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“When that was over, I was finally in the ‘looking for work’ stage and I got with the Hamilton Tiger Cats football team, where I was their staff writer. A little more than halfway through that, I got my calling at theScore,” he said.

Owusu has been working with theScore for four months as the NCAA college football and basketball news editor, a job that requires him to stay on top of everything in the college football world in any way he can. “Social media is huge,” he says. “Staying in touch with what’s breaking and transcribing it into news, watching games and events, and making news or stories out of what I see.”

Owusu continued on page 16

U of T football UTSPAN analyzes sport honours players New sports analytics club at U of T partners with the Blue Jays SIHAN ZHENG ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR ERIC HEWITSON ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Last Thursday evening, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues football program held their first annual football banquet at U of T’s Chestnut Conference Centre.

Throughout the night, awards for outstanding team and individual performances were given to members of the roster. The student athletes also profited from listening to honorary guest speakers and talking with Blues alumni.

The highlight of the evening for many was when Mike Steele, offensive lineman from the class of 1978, spoke about what being a Varsity Blue means to him. From 1974 to 1978, he learned the values and tools needed to manage the

challenging and unusual encounters he’s had.

He spoke about how difficult it was losing his wife to a five-year battle with cancer, raising five children into successful grown men, being the educator that he has become, and struggling through triple bypass heart surgery. He said that being a Varsity Blue taught him to be a valuable team member in the game of life, to persevere through tragedy and loss with love and compassion, and, most importantly, not to give up.

Some other notable moments from the evening came during the giving out of awards to various outstanding players.

Football continued on page 15

Some 15 people showed up to the first meeting for the U of T Sports Analytics Group. Meeting every two weeks at the St. George campus and advised by professor Timothy Chan, UTSPAN aims to unite sports fans and statistics fans to conduct original research in the field of sports analytics.

Popularized by the book and subsequent movie Moneyball, the field of sports analytics is a rapidly growing but still relatively new field.

Sports analytics attempts to apply mathematics, analytics, and statistics to the field of sports.

It has seen an explosive growth in popularity in the last few years and no longer is an obscure topic discussed only by hardcore fantasy sports fans. Analytics is every-

where in the world of sports today.

Advanced analytical concepts have been integrated everywhere, including TV broadcasts, player development, and playing strategies. Even baseball cards have been adapted with a focus on advanced statistics.

In this day and age, every sports fan needs to have at least a basic understanding of sports analytics.

In this day and age, every sports fan needs to have at least a basic understanding of sports analytics, and introducing sports fans to the basic concepts is one of UTSPAN’s goals.

Every meeting, there will be presentations on a poorly understood topic

in sports analytics. For instance, next week there will be a presentation on sports gambling, what the odds say about public opinion and implicit probabilities, and how spreads work.

Co-founder of UTSPAN Valentin Stolbunov was surprised that a club like this did not already exist at U of T. “I was interested in sports analytics for a while but only started playing with data myself after seeing some of the cool work being done in soccer analytics during the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” he says. “I actually expected a sports analytics group to already exist at U of T and looked for one, hoping to connect and work with anyone who shared my interest.

When I realized that a group didn’t exist yet, I decided to start one myself.”

SPAN continued on page 16

01.26.2015 THE MEDIUM SPORTS» 15

U of T edges Varsity Blues alumni reflect on time at U of T the Lions 3-2

CIS-SIC.CA/PHOTO

The last time the Blues won the Vanier Cup, in 1993, represents a level of skill they hope to return to.

Football continued from page 14 VARSITYBLUES.CA/PHOTO

A group hug is always needed after a solid win.

JASON COELHO SPORTS EDITOR On Saturday night, as superstars from the NHL laid back and enjoyed casually showcasing their skills as part of the NHL All-Star weekend skills competition in Columbus, Ohio, there was a very different mentality among players in the OUA, who are entering the final lap of the regular season with only 18 periods left to determine who makes it into the playoffs.

On this wild night for hockey, the Varsity Blues hosted the York Lions in their second-last home game of the regular season. U of T was coming off a narrow 4-3 victory over the Lakehead Thunderwolves and had hopes of moving up in the standings and securing a spot in the OUA playoffs, which begin on February 11.

Since it was the last Saturday night the Blues would play at the Varsity Arena for the season, graduating members of the team were honoured during the game.

The Blues got off to a roaring start, netting three goals within the first eight minutes. The first goal came just past the four-minute mark as fourthyear forward Jeff Brown found a gap between the York defencemen and used the extra time he had in front of the net to pick a top corner spot and put his team up 1-0. Brown’s goal was his 11th of the year and added to his team-leading 26 points.

The early goal seemed to give the team a boost, as they continued to roll out the scoring with Michael Markovic netting his 13th of the season less than a minute after Brown.

After a scramble in front of the York net between Blues forwards and

the Lions defence, a loose puck that squeaked past York goaltender Chris Perugini was backhanded into the net

by Paul Van De Velde to put the Blues up 3-0 and give him his 14th point of the season.

The outstanding performance from U of T’s top forwards was matched by fifth-year goaltender Garrett Sheehan, who earned 39 saves on the night during his first game back from injury. Despite Sheehan’s outstanding play, York earned a late goal in the first period to deny him the shutout and scored another late in the third period.

The late surge for York was not enough to give them the equalizer and the Blues won 3-2, making their record 10-11-1 and bringing their points for the season to 21, which puts them fifth in the OUA west division.

In an interview with U of T’s varsity sports at the end of the game, Sheehan spoke about his performance.

“It’s unreal coming back from an injury,” he said. “To win like that is huge; it takes a huge load of your back after sitting out for so long.”

The Cremona, Alberta native was eager to stress the importance of the next few games for the Blues in order to earn a spot in the post-season. The team will play the first of their final five games this Tuesday against the Ryerson Rams at a rather early time for a hockey game to mark the annual Downtown Showdown School Day game—the puck drops at 11 a.m. at Varsity Arena.

The Blues will then enter an eastern road trip to end the season with games against Royal Military College, Carleton, Brock, and finally York.

Aaron Gazendam, who punted a CIS record-setting 101-yard punt last season, received Special Teams Player of the Year. Fellow UTM student athletes cleaned up as well, with Justin Marra winning Defensive Lineman of the Year and running back Lucas Gavak winning Most Inspirational and Offensive Player of the Year.

Record-breaking quarterback Simon Nassar won the Leadership Award and, lastly, Levi Noel, the only allCanadian athlete selected by the CIS, won MVP. The main points head coach Greg

Gary emphasized for the evening were about changing the culture of the program into what it was back in 1993, when the Blues last won a Vanier Cup. Being more durable and buying wholeheartedly into the program will be the next steps needed if this program wants to win more games than it loses, he said. Hosting football banquets is a move in the right direction for the Blues, who can realize the honour and privilege they have in being part of a brotherhood.

As the kicker for the Blues, it was a pleasure sitting at a table with six alumni who were part of the 1993 Vanier Cup team. The conversations

I had with the group motivated me to work as hard as I possibly can over the next few years. I was proud to be part of the same group as them, and it gave me great confidence that one day I’ll become as successful as them through the skills I’ll acquire during my time here.

The team was inspired throughout the night—events like this can only help our success. Going from the banquet to Friday, when the team put on their jerseys with a newfound appreciation for the tradition and culture of being a Blue, we had one of our most productive practices in recent memory.

16

«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 01.26.2015

Analytics, a rising field From athlete to journalist Owusu continued from page 14

BOSTONMAGAZINE.COM/PHOTO

Sports analytics is a rising field being relied upon by a number of professional sports.

SPAN continued from page 14 Another of the group’s goals is to conduct research in the field.

Since sports analytics is a relatively new field, there is a lot of potential for amateur research. There are so many questions in sports that can perhaps be answered with basic research and analysis. UTSPAN seeks to bring together sports analytics fans at U of T in an informal setting to tackle some of these questions.

Members are encouraged to conduct original research in a wide variety of topics and sports, from baseball player performance to possession efficiency in basketball and even inefficiencies in sports betting and fan

behaviour. As a group affiliated with a university, UTSPAN hopes to be able to establish relationships with professional teams to obtain data and cooperation that individual researchers can’t easily get their hands on.

So far, the group has an agreement with the Blue Jays to create models to predict baseball player performance.

Besides collaborating with professional teams, they are also hoping to publish original research in journals and present findings at conferences.

The UTSB conference and the PANEX summit are two that UTSPAN hopes to target. A hackathon is also in the works, possibly focusing on “solving” a problem in sports analytics or answering difficult questions.

Stolbunov and Chan both stress their goal for the group, which is to help students connect with industry professionals. “I think somewhere down the line they’d like sports analytics to be its own department, with students doing specific research,” says Stolbunov. “So it’s definitely something that’s growing in its reach and gaining potential in terms of career opportunities for students.”

Everybody is welcome to attend UTSPAN meetings and to join the mailing list. No previous experience with sports or analytics is needed, and fans of all sports are welcome.

Students can visit their website at sportsanalytics.sa.utoronto.ca for more information.

Owusu is pleased with how it has turned out so far and is grateful for the opportunity he’s been given at theScore. “A lot of times in the sports industry you find yourself covering a beat or doing things that you might not want to do or might not have interest in,” he says. “But being in the situation I’m in with theScore has been very much a dream come true and it’s been cool to do this so quickly following my graduation.”

For the aspiring journalist in any field, Owusu is happy to provide some guidance on how to turn a passion into a career. “I’ve got three pieces of advice. One is to never turn down any opportunity given to you, even if it’s something you feel might be beneath you or you might not be good at doing,” he says. “Also, even when you’re not getting paid for something, it helps to act like you’re being paid for it and put that kind of effort into it.”

His third piece of advice is that if you know that journalism is the career for you, studying journalism in undergrad is not a bad idea, but being educated in fields outside of journalism is important too. “I left U of T with a major in crime law and deviance, with minors in philosophy and political science,” he says. “Broaden your perspective with things that would help you enhance your journalism skillset—all the extra things you equip yourself with will help you

to be a critical thinker.”

It’s common for athletes from championship teams at the beginning of a new season to downplay the success of their team in the previous season and instead shift focus to what can be done to improve on the season ahead. Owusu, like any athlete, says his goal is always to do better. “If you told me when I first started at The Medium that I’d be doing what I am today, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” he says. “But at the same time I never thought that anything was above what I could do.”

“A lot of the content I was reading lacked opinions of people who have experience in the field.”

–Isaac Owusu He believes he is finally learning how to combine his athletic mentality with the world of sports journalism and is excited about where it can take him. “I would say I’m happy where I’m at, but I’m not satisfied. It’s a big difference,” he says.

That’s his inner athlete being voiced—it’s a part of him that will always remain, but at this moment in time, for all intents and purposes, Isaac Owusu is a journalist and his story is still being written.