Volume 46, Issue 19

THE MEDIUM

March 9, 2020

ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The campaign period for the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) is in full swing as candidates gathered at the Blind Duck Pub on Thursday, March 5 for the All Candidates Forum, introducing themselves and their campaign statements to the student body.

The Voice of The University of Toronto Mississauga | themedium.ca

Mitra Yakubi is a fourth-year Biology and Sociology specialist who is leading the Connect UTM slate as the UTMSU president candidate.

“My involvement with the student union goes back to my first year and my involvement has been inspired and motivated by the folks that I’ve met along the way. Whether that was UTMSU executive staff or volunteers, they’ve all added to who I am today and why I’m standing in front of you,” said Yakubi during the All Candi-

“There is a lot of different issues that students have, whether it be financial issues, social issues, or dealing with the stress of studying at UTM and it is very important to talk about these issues. and work towards them,” said Dayala.

Dayala’s campaign points include the improvement of housing resources for students from all backgrounds, international or domestic, and also “educating students about the different kinds of rights they have as a

one’s time here more enjoyable.”

Noha Farawi – Vice President Equity Noha Farawi is a third-year student specializing in criminology and is running for the VP Equity position. Farawi is the current coordinator for the UTMSU Food Bank and serves as an executive member of the Association of Palestinian Students and Zero Waste UTM. “We don’t talk about racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia,

line workers for mental health and consent, as well as continuing the work on existing initiatives.

“Part of why I’m standing before you and why I’m running for this position is my experience on this campus as an international student as well as having worked in offices like the admissions office as well as the office of the registrar,” said Sokhi.

“During summer, when a lot of students are getting rejected by UTM it becomes really hard for certain students to take those conversations,” continued Sokhi.

“S omet hing that we are advocating as a team is to put safeTALK training to all those frontline workers so they can have those conversations so that we need to push them away.”

O NS U ND I T C E L E ERW U S M A T Y U

Med K – Vice President Internal (Independent) The only opposition to the student slate Connect UTM is independent candidate Med K who is running for the position of Vice President Internal.

K’s campaign points address a variety of issues that students have encountered at UTM. K hopes to improve the mental health services that are offered by the administration, especially during examinations. K stated that if elected, he plans on establishing a student garden, increasing the availability of study spaces, and providing student clubs and societies with greater financial support.

One of the points K discussed both on his campaign platform online and during the All Candidates Forum was transparency within the union.

“So, the first time I ever heard of the UTMSU was actually from Reddit. I was surfing Reddit and I was shocked and surprised when I read about the allegations and accusations,” said K. “As a student, I saw some of the hard work that the volunteers, the dedicated people who try to serve our school community, put in each and every day. However, there are so many problems.”

“The UTMSU does not advertise its victories enough. At the same time, it fails to address the viewpoints of critics,” stated K.

dates Forum.

“A lot of the work that Connect UTM is going to do is going to be centered around continuing conversations about free and accessible education because we know that education should be a right and it’s not a privilege,” continued Yakubi.

“We, as Connect UTM, believe that we need to get both involved on our campus and give you those experiences and involvement that you need to build your leadership skills, to build your networking skills that you’re going to need after graduation when you’re applying for jobs and you’re trying to get involved with postgraduate school,” said Yakubi.

student.”

“That’s why I really want to work with my team, to work with campus groups to make their life easier and make sure that they have a better experience at UTM,” said Dayala.

Mitra Yakubi – President

Students United: A year in review

News

Vol 46, No. 19

Fahad Dayala – Vice President Internal Fahad Dayala, a second-year accounting student, is running for the VP Internal position and has previously been involved in the UTMSU both as a volunteer and as a Sponsorship Director.

The perils of the UTM elevators

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Lily Pan – Vice President External The VP External candidate is second-year student Lily Pan who is specializing in management.

“I was introduced to the UTMSU right on the first day I got here, so I had a really smooth transition,” said Pan. “Throughout my experience with the UTMSU I have been able to hear a lot of stories from other students and I realized that not everyone has such a smooth transition.”

“As an international student who has studied in multiple countries before, I also understand a lot of difficulties students might be facing,” stated Pan in her online candidate statement. “My experiences can be utilized to build UTM a more connected community and make every-

How the coronavirus affects the entertainment industry

Arts

the stolen land we’re on right now,” said Farawi during her speech at the All Candidates Forum.

“So, we wait for a climate emergency to have a sustainability week, we wait for a student to get handcuffed to talk about mental health, we wait for Chinese students to get discriminated against because of the coronavirus to talk about xenophobia,” continued Farawi.

“We need to stop waiting for things to happen so we can talk about them.

Sustainability week isn’t enough.

Black History Month isn’t enough.

We need to keep having conversations [and] educating each other.”

Anushka Sokhi – Vice President University Affairs Anushka Sokhi, a third-year biology and psychology major, is the candidate for the VP University Affairs position. Her campaign addresses concerns such as the advancement of co-op opportunities, the establishment of mandatory training of front-

Addressing epidemics through statistics

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Features

After their speeches, a question was put forward by the audience asking the executive candidates what specific issue they were most passionate about.

“The issue I’d be most passionate about is probably accountability because with accountability you track progress. Without accountability you cannot,” said Med K. “If we make broad campaign promises, we must fulfill them.”

In response to K’s statements regarding accountability, Yakubi discussed how initiatives are ongoing conversations, like free and accessible education, which she stated was the issue she was most passionate about.

“Will we at Connect UTM ever stop talking about free and accessible education? Nah,” stated Yakubi.

“Just because something can’t be done in a year, it doesn’t mean that we don’t get to work on it,” said Yakubi. “It’s something that I’m very, very passionate about and you probably have seen me around campus talking about free and accessible education.”

The voting period for the Spring 2020 elections will take place between March 10 and March 12.

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Editor | Melissa Barrientos

Students United: A year in review UTMSU President Atif Abdullah spoke to The Medium about the union’s accomplishments thus far

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

Fighting the Student Choice Initiative and working with the CFS have been paramount for this year.

ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The current executive team of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students Union (UTMSU) was elected in March last year and has been active since May 1, 2019. The team had run as a full slate under Students United with no competitors other than two independent candidates.

Atif Abdullah, the president of the

UTMSU spoke with The Medium regarding their performance so far and what they have accomplished in their first term.

“That’s something that we went through in December, doing a full review of where we stand, especially on our campaign points,” said Abdullah.

“Have we completed them? Are we in progress? Have we started them? So, I think that’s always a tough conversation because there’s always places you

can do better.”

The main focus of the UTMSU president during his campaign was fighting the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) and government cuts to OSAP funding. The UTMSU has been having conversations with other student groups like the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) and the York Federation of Students since their election.

“It was obviously the focal point of

our start of the year, figuring out how to deal with a new situation,” said Abdullah regarding their resistance to the SCI. “We had some good news that came at the end of the first semester when the courts unanimously ruled that the government had overreached, and this was not a mandate of the ministry and the minister’s decision was wrong,” continued Abdullah. “And that’s why in the second semester, as of now, it is on hold. [But] we do not know what the future looks like.”

However, Abdullah went on to state that the fight against the government changes to OSAP funding is still ongoing and that they would continue to work with student groups.

“When it comes to the OSAP, that’s a little bit of a longer-term because it’s not an easy one to challenge but at the same time, it is probably the one that is most impactful for students,” said Abdullah.

“I think people didn’t realize the impact that it would have until they saw their first-semester funding, and their estimates, and realized how much in grants and loans they’re actually losing,” continued Abdullah.

One of the major objectives discussed by the current executives dur-

ing their campaign was free access to post-secondary education.

“That’s one that doesn’t have a timeline. It doesn’t have an end date, but it is something that we will never forget and will constantly fight for,” stated Abdullah.

“We don’t want to let people forget that free education is a possibility. It’s something that we need to continue talking about in this country.”

The executive team’s campaign points also included pushing for changes in academic policies such as the implementation of a permanent self-assigned sick note policy and limits on the penalties surrounding late assignments.

The self-assigned sick notes policy was piloted this summer and is an ongoing initiative of the UTMSU, who hope to have it implemented permanently across all departments.

Although they don’t expect any significant changes to the academic policies in the current academic term, the UTMSU hopes to see the self-assigned sick notes policy implemented permanently in the 2020 summer semester.

The UTMSU has also been fighting to enforce limits on late assignments and finding a cap for the penalties that students can receive.

Recap continued on page 3

UTMSU election features one slate, minimal opposition Connect UTM is running a full slate, with four out of the five positions available uncontested ISIK VERA SENEL WITH NOTES FROM DILJOT BADESHA ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU)’s spring 2020 election campaign period officially began last Monday and will continue until March 13.

The five positions available within the UTMSU executive office are president, vice-president internal, vice-president external, vice-president equity, and vice-president university affairs.

For the UTMSU board of directors, there are 14 seats available in total with 11 directors-at-large in division two, two part-time directors in division three, and one professional faculty seat in division four.

With only a week left until voting begins on March 10, the candidates for the executive team and the board of directors made their presence known all around campus with promotional posters. The candidates themselves went around campus to

discuss their concerns and objectives with students.

The UTMSU elections have been composed of uncontested student slates ever since the spring 2018 elections with minor opposition by individual candidates. The composition of the current election is no exception.

Connect UTM, the only student slate in this year’s election, is running a full team with candidates campaigning for all available positions: Mitra Yakubi for president, Fahad Dayala for vice-president internal, Lily Pan for vice-president external, Anushka Sokhi for vice-president university affairs, and Noha Farawi for vice-president equity.

Connect UTM’s initiatives range from the organization of a peer-run support program, fighting for free education, improving parking and transit on campus, and continuing the conversations started by the current executive team.

The only opposition to Connect UTM’s slate is Med K, an independent candidate who is running for

the position of vice-president internal. K’s campaign, with the slogan “promote new initiatives to improve student life,” includes initiatives such as advocating for student financial and mental well-being, enhancing the UTMSU’s transparency, and aiding students who face the challenge

of taking three or more midterms in a single day.

For the 11 directors-at-large positions within division two there are 18 candidates: Sameer Naderi, Alvin Jeffrey Stanislaus, Xiaodan (Silvia) Zhou, Shehrabano Ali, Liza Nasir, Aadityam Modgal, Yiming Chen,

Aditya Chopra, Taarika Salariya, Trudy Michelle McKnight, Lai Wei, Laiba Khan, Mohammad Shafullah, Maelis Barre, Wenhan Lou, Aysha Qureshi, Noor-Ul-Huda Masoom, and Juan David Cobo.

Election continued on page 3

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

A party, their posters and politics permeate through the upcoming election for the UTMSU.

03.09.2020 THE MEDIUM NEWS

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CESAR, CFS intervene in RSU legal action Both organizations announced plans to intervene in Ryerson University’s agreement termination with the RSU

TREVOR SLAWSON/RYERSON UNIVERSITY

The financial misconduct of the RSU has caused Ryerson to terminate the long-standing contract.

SALEHA FARUQUE DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR On March 2, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O) and the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson (CESAR) held a joint press conference announcing plans to intervene in Ryerson University’s agreement termination with the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU).

The 34-year old operating agreement was officially terminated on January 24 after the university learned of

RSU’s alleged management of internal affairs related to financial misconduct.

CESAR and CFS-O’s intervention follows an announcement made by the university no longer recognizing the RSU as an official student body representing Ryerson students. CESAR president Nicole Brayiannis and CFS-O chairperson Sofia Descalzi both reacted to the decision through their statements released at the press conference.

CESAR did not condone the RSU

actions, which were alleged to have occurred during the 2018-2019 term.

However, the association reiterated it did not believe Ryerson University was acting in the “best interest” of its students. According to Brayiannis, intervening means empowering students in pursuing their best interests.

“Autonomy is central to a student union’s ability to effectively represent their membership,” said Descalzi at the press conference, adding that the move by Ryerson University signified

Students spoke about their experiences with the UTMSU Election continued from page 2 However, only seven candidates have submitted official campaign statements to the UTMSU. The Medium spoke with students across campus regarding their experiences with the campaigns so far and what they would like to see from next year’s UTMSU executive team.

Amal Yusuf, a fourth-year student majoring in biology, said that she plans on voting once the voting period begins.

“I’ve seen a couple of posters around and spoken to a couple of representatives about what their party wanted to put forth on campus,” said Yusuf. “I would like to see more funding going to various student programs on campus.”

Hala Nayef, a first-year student studying environmental science, stated that she would like to see better food options and improvements “regarding mental health services and the accessibility of the services.”

A second-year environmental science and human geography major who would like to remain anonymous said that she had also come across campaign posters and plans to vote.

“I’ve seen posters and I’ve seen some of my friends endorse other people,” said the student.

The student went on to state that she would like to see an improvement of mental health and environmental initiatives alongside “accessibility and making sure everyone has access to everything and making sure that everyone’s okay.”

“I think I might vote once I get to read a little bit more about the candidates’ platforms,” stated Sarah Ballestrin, a first-year environmental management student.

“I definitely want to see some action done around sustainability on campus, as well as the Wi-Fi. We’re very disconnected, a lot of people have trouble with that. Even during class when we actually have to use it for activity,” continued Ballestrin.

Ballestrin also stressed how sustainability efforts on campus is important to consider when going through candidates’ platforms.

“I would like to see the restaurants on campus be more cooperative with zero waste,” said Ballestrin. “Because sometimes they don’t really want to cooperate with you if you ask not to get packaging or to bring your own reusable containers.”

Students, as union members, can cast their votes through a paper balloting voting process after providing legitimate identification. Had the option of online voting not been so opposed by the UTMSU at their 2018 Annual General Meeting, students would have been able to submit their votes through the ACORN student web services.

Voting will take place between March 10 and March 12 at all major academic buildings on campus from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

a “violation” of the “autonomy and independence of student unions.”

Ryerson’s agreement with the RSU has existed since September 1986, becoming terminated after a year of attempted negotiations between the university and students’ union. An official termination notice read that the university “lost confidence in the RSU’s ability to represent students with good governance and to supply the services that students pay for.”

Student incidental fees towards supporting the student union, approximately $130 per year, were also suspended by the university within days of the agreement termination.

In January, Ryerson’s independent student newspaper, The Eyeopener, reported on financial activities dating back to June 2018 that went against union policies. According to the newspaper, among several instances of unauthorized spending included credit card purchases such as Airbnb, Toronto nightclubs, LCBOs and more. Having belonged to certain RSU executives, the credit card statements totalled several thousand dollars.

In May 2018, salaries of executive members were raised by 30.5 per cent following private meetings.

The RSU executives failed to produce expense receipts to the university, which also requested a forensic audit of RSU finances in January.

Meetings to obtain access to financial records were also denied. “[Ryerson University] has tried […] to negotiate an agreement that ensures a model of good governance and accountability. Unfortunately, the RSU has ceased responding to

the university’s efforts to reach common ground,” Ryerson University expressed in a January statement after no audit was produced by the RSU. Despite the controversial timeline of events, CESAR and CFS stressed a collective responsibility to support student unions as “separate, thirdparty entities from the university or college where they operate.”

Both organizations also agreed that Ryerson’s decision to cancel its student union agreement was “setting a standard that harms core principles of students’ union autonomy, fair and free elections, and independent student voices on campuses across the country.”

On January 28, the RSU responded to the terminated agreement by filing legal action with the Ontario Superior Court. The student union cited damages of $2.7 million, including $100,000 in punitive damages, for breach of contract and the release of withheld student fees.

According to Louis Century, CESAR legal representative, their application to intervene means being able to represent their clients in court.

CESAR represents 16,000 continuing education students at Ryerson, while the CFS-O represents 500,000 college and university students, including more than 60 student unions across Canada.

Joining the RSU legal intervention “shows students across the country that an attack against one is an attack on all,” said Descalzi at the press conference.

A court date was set for March 6, 2020.

UTMSU big on conversations Recap continued from page 2 “We have started the conversation with a few departments. It is a touchy subject as every department is a little independent and has their own sort of idea of how late penalties should be subjected to students,” continued Abdullah.

“Some believe that they shouldn’t get one at all. So, it is a tough conversation because everyone is on different pages,” continued Abdullah. “But we have started conversations with departments and the Dean of Academics and the registrar to see what the policy could look like.”

The final major initiative that the UTMSU had emphasized during their campaign focused on issues of racism, homophobia, anti-Indigenous racism, and other forms of op-

pression.

“That is an everlasting campaign that should not even have an end goal because the second we stop talking about it or forget to talk about it is when we will notice these problems being more prevalent in existence,” said Abdullah.

“We’ve been working with the registrar and with different departments across the campus to make sure that their frontline staff have also gone through [training] to help identify certain issues, and how to not be a bystander.”

Abullah also discussed eXpression Against Oppression (XAO) which is a week-long event that focuses on key ideas that challenge oppression and increases public awareness surrounding equity.

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UTM alumni recognized in Forbes Daniel Almeida and Keizac Lee were recognized in Forbes Magazine’s ‘30 under 30’ list for their work SHERYL GURAJADA CONTRIBUTOR For close to a decade now, Forbes magazine has been recognizing 30 individuals under the age of 30 who are making a mark in various fields and categories. In the 2020 issue that was released this past December, two University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) alumni have been named: Daniel Almeida in the science category and Keizac Lee in the games and immigrant categories.

Daniel Almeida is currently a Ph.D. candidate in neuroepigenetics at the Douglas Mental Health Institute at McGill University. Almeida graduated from UTM with high distinction from the comparative physiology program in 2014 and has been making strides in mental health research since.

In an interview with U of T Alumni Magazine Almeida stated, “U of T is where I first fell in love with research and developed a capacity for critical thinking, and for that reason it will always hold a special place in my heart.”

Almeida’s research focuses on abuse and mental trauma faced in childhood and how it affects adult mental illnesses. He studies discrete molecular changes in the brain of

CANADIAN INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH/TWITTER

Almeida has been recognized in the science division for his work on abuse and mental trauma. those who have died by suicide and have a history of childhood abuse.

“Being selected for Forbes 30 under 30 in the science category is a tremendous honour,” said Almeida in an interview with U of T Alumni Magazine. “The nature of our work makes it easy to visualize the impact that

our research may one day have on the lives of individuals suffering from mental illness. I am so grateful to be part of such an amazing team and to share my research with the world.”

Keizac Lee is the youngest partner of Kowloon Nights, an investment fund that supports independent game

developers at a global level. Lee graduated with distinction from UTM in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree from the Communications, Culture and Information Technology (CCIT) program.

To the U of T Alumni Magazine Lee shares, “I am humbled by the Forbes

recognition. I share this honour with the mentors and team members at Kowloon Nights as well as the game developers we support.”

Lee currently works on the early stage investments in PC and console games globally, overseeing a portfolio of game titles and managing platform relations like Google, Nintendo, and Twitch. Lee has been working with start-up investment since 2015 when he started working with BNP Paribas, then moved onto Convoy Financial Group before finally landing with Kowloon Nights where he is able to practice his passion.

Speaking on his transformation to turn his gaming addiction into a successful career venture Lee said, “when I was younger, I had a dysfunctional relationship with gaming; I was addicted. But as I grew up, that relationship transformed into a more positive one, and I began to rely on games as a support system during tough times, and as a way to socialize. Gaming has some negative connotations […] but I strongly believe that it can be a force for good.”

Lee was also listed in the immigrants category of Forbes’ 30 under 30 with other notable names, like Latino singer-songwriter Maluma.

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April 5 // 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM The Medium office with physical ballot, or you can email your votes to editor@themedium.ca, or call the editor-in-chief with your votes at 647-876-7126

IF YOU'RE RUNNING - Anyone can run. You can find the nomination form at themedium.ca/elections.

- You MUST submit your nomination form to The Medium office by March 31st, 11:59 PM, or to the outgoing editor-in-chief at editor@themedium.ca There will be a candidates forum on April 1st at 5 PM. You will be asked to deliver a 1-2 minute speech advocating for why people should vote for you. You will also be asked questions by the outgoing masthead.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact editor@themedium.ca.

February 27 th , 2020 Police Assisstance Campus Police attended the library for a report of one student trapped inside elevator #2. Mississauga Fire and an elevator technician attended and freed the student.

February 27 th , 2020 Motor Vehicle Collision Campus Police attended Outer Circle Road near MN building for a collision involving two vehicles. One vehicle was towed and both parties attended Peel Regional Police station.

March 03 rd , 2020 Fraud A student attended the Campus Police office to report a fraudulent phone call. The male, who spoke mandarin to the student, claimed to be a police officer and demanded money to be sent to a bank account or the student would be arrested. The student transferred money to the individual and then realized they were a victim of a scam.

Campus Police would like to remind students to never give out any personal or banking information, do not transfer any money to unverified sources, and any suspicious phone calls be reported to Campus Police.

March 04 th , 2020 Theft Campus Police received a report of two stolen iPads from the library after the items were left unattended.

March 04 th , 2020 Theft Campus Police received a report of a stolen laptop from the IB building.

The investigation is ongoing.

March 04 th , 2020 Police Assisstance Campus Police were made aware of a video surfacing on Youtube. The individual was spoken to and advised to remove the video.

These reports are those that have been released to The Medium from Campus Police 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-TIPS (8477).

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ASSOCIATES News: Farishteh Khan, Isik Vera Senel, Diljot Badesha Satire: -A&E: Shalomi Ranasinghe Features: Latisha Lobban, Bismah Rizvi Sports: Noor Bhatia, Duaa Nasir Photo: Hayden Mak, Kellsy Ann Meneses, Nour Saqqa, Irtaqa Arif

The perils of using the elevators on campus When an elevator fails on campus, the response time should not be so volatile and lengthy AYA YAFAOUI STAFF WRITER It’s 1:40 p.m., and you enter the library elevator to go up. The elevator ascends to the main floor, but its doors open partially and need to be pried open by another student to fully open. You don’t give it much thought.

Two more people enter the elevator, yet the doors don’t close, prompting them to exit. Finally, the doors close and you are alone. The elevator tries to ascend again but starts to shake.

Worried, you start pressing other floors hoping to stop the shaking. The shaking does stop, but you are now stuck in the library elevator alone.

You press the help button hoping for an answer, but there is none. Two minutes go by. Then five. Five minutes become ten. Ten minutes stretch into fifteen. You start to google what you should do, trying to get the doors to open three times. You try the help button again and wait for another few minutes, but nothing happens, and no one answers.

It is now 2:00 p.m. You decide to call the campus Facilities Management and Planning department and explain to them your situation. They say they will send campus police and security. After 25 minutes, the police arrive and tell you that a mechanic is on his way in about half an hour. You hope you’ll be out of there before your three o’clock class.

3:00 p.m. comes and the mechanic has not arrived. Campus police and security tell you that the firefighters are coming to get you out. They arrive and get to work trying to free you.

The hour ticks by, and you realize you won’t be making it to class after all.

After an hour and a half, campus police inform you that the firefighters weren’t able to get the doors open and that they are calling in another mechanic, but it will take them half an hour to get to campus.

The mechanic starts to work at 5:00 p.m., and you call your parents to tell them not to expect you home too early.

At 5:26 p.m., you are freed. The police question you and then let you go. You’ve spent over 4 hours stuck in that elevator and missed your classes for the day.

The above story is not a thought experiment or a fictional anecdote, but a real experience that happened to a friend of mine a week ago. The experience was anxiety-inducing, frustrating, and even a little bit traumatic. Yet he was lucky. He wasn’t claustrophobic and did not have any urgent events he needed to go to. And he had cell service and Wi-Fi—which if he hadn’t been able to get would have meant waiting for who knows how long until someone at the library noticed his predicament. He was also lucky that he got stuck in the afternoon and not in the late evening, and

that the weather didn’t get in the way of his rescue.

Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are not uncommon at UTM. This past October, The Medium wrote an article about the CCT elevators and spoke to an ICCIT professor about his experiences being trapped in those elevators.

The first incident had the professor and two other students trapped in the elevator for an hour and a half until they were eventually freed by an elevator mechanic, while the second occasion had the professor go through a truly torturous and frightening event that involved the elevator falling down some distance and activating a loud alarm that couldn’t be turned off once it had stopped. The professor was stuck in that elevator for two and a half hours until he was freed and able to escape that blaring siren.

Of course, this issue affects everyone on campus, but it directly disadvantages our disabled community at UTM. In fact, two opinion pieces published in The Medium last semester focused on the challenges that students with disabilities face when it comes to accessibility on campus.

Both spoke about the barrier that a broken elevator poses to their accessibility and independence. Now add on top of that the risk of getting stuck in an elevator and this issue becomes an urgent safety concern.

One might wonder what the uni-

versity is doing about the elevator problem, and the answer is not enough. There are two issues with the current elevator situation. The first is the procedure for dealing with a failed elevator, and the second is the lack of proper maintenance the elevators receive in general.

When an elevator fails, only a certified mechanic from the contracted maintenance company, OTIS, can effectively solve the problem and release people if they are trapped. If there is an emergency—or if the mechanic doesn’t show up—the fire department is allowed to assist, though they may not always be able to free the people trapped.

On average, it takes between 45 minutes to an hour for a certified mechanic to attend to an elevator entrapment, but that range doesn’t take into account the time it takes for the mechanic to arrive on the scene, which is heavily influenced by factors such as time of day, traffic, and the weather, as well as the time it takes to get a hold of the mechanic. This means that should you find yourself trapped in an elevator; the period of your entrapment depends heavily on luck.

Needless to say, this system is not effective nor safe. Response time should not be so volatile and lengthy.

When an entrapment does occur, the procedure to free people should be quick and expectable. This means it should not hinge so heavily on a

single person’s involvement. There need to be other ways for emergency services to access the elevator’s control panel and work to free people safely. Or the university should have a mechanic on staff with the necessary knowledge of how to free people.

On the other hand, elevator malfunctions are due to a lack of proper maintenance, and OTIS only inspects and performs maintenance on the elevators quarterly and annually.

Yet it is the Facilities Management and Planning (FM&P) department on campus that tracks complaints and notifications for repairs. So far, the FM&P stated last October that it is reaching out to elevator consultants for full condition and performance assessments of the elevators on campus. They also said they are undertaking several projects to try and modernize the elevators on campus over the next five years.

Except while these projects are necessary, they do not directly remedy the issue of elevator failures because frequent use necessitates frequent maintenance, not just some new parts.

In the end, the elevators on campus are always going to breakdown due to high volume traffic, it’s just that the frequency at which they do so, and the impact of such malfunctions, needs to be mitigated to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. For now, I’ll be taking the stairs.

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Editor | Erin Delaney

SATIRE

UTM girl shocked to discover UTMSU election boyfriend was actually ugly overwhelmed by voter turnout of 15

BEN WHITE/UNSPLASH.COM

Pictured: Old UTMSU execs realizing they peaked in university.

TALA ALKHALDI/THE MEDIUM

She came to realize that she had been swindled by height, Instagram content, and attention.

ERIN DELANEY SATIRE EDITOR Jenny Spulunky’s outlook on life, like most young women, is based on the attention and validation she receives from men who barely shower and yell at their mothers. However, as she informed The Medium, for the past few months she thought she had found the man of her dreams.

“He was my dream guy, I just loved how he would send the most romantic messages, like, ‘u up?’ and ‘send pics.’ I think a poet said a picture is worth a thousand words?”

Spulunky, a fourth-year religion major, told The Medium, “He gave me everything I could ever want: attention, someone to pop my back zits, rides to places, and something to post on my Instagram.”

But after a “mutual” decision to

end the relationship, she made a horrifying discovery. Her boyfriend had been ugly the whole time.

“Maybe it was his basketball shorts and athletic socks peeking out of his four-year-old Nike slides that fooled me. I’m so embarrassed. I had been bragging to everyone for months about how much better my life had gotten, only to find I’d been letting an uggo hit it,” Spulunky sobbed.

When asked how she was able to find him attractive, she explained, “He had beautiful shiny hair, probably because he only washed it every fortnight. Sure, he didn’t clean his fingernails, but it still felt the same when he held my hand. And yes, now that I think about it he was wearing the exact same sweatpants every time I saw him for six months. Love really is blind,” She sighed. “I thought he was so cute! He had the best features. He

was tall… and… Fuck.”

Spulunky quickly deleted every photo of him off her Instagram and scrubbed her social media of any trace of his existence. But she feared the damage had already been done.

Everyone now knew she was into ugly guys. Spulunky had sunk to a new low.

“My whole life has been turned upside down. I can’t trust anyone. My friends never even tried to tell me he was ugly. All they said was that he was ‘unique.’ My mother said he was perfect for me. What does that say about how they see me? Am I ugly too?”

Now a part of the witness protection program, accepted for witness ugliness, Spulunky is hoping to put her past behind her and focus on her academics, at least until the next 4/10 walks by.

ERIN DELANEY SATIRE EDITOR Fifteen of the UTMSU’s closest friends, family, and marital partners are expected to overwhelm the polls this coming week as the competition heats up between the Connect UTM slate and… for the five executive seats.

The positions are incredibly vital to the inner workings of the UTMSU since they allow the union to develop necessary student initiatives, like collecting student dues for the CFS, and handing out Churros sometimes.

The Connect UTM slate, made up of previous UTMSU employees, is currently leading in the polls across the university, mostly due to the fact that they are running unopposed and no one can really cares about the UTMSU election at all.

President-elect Mitra Yakubi, known for being “sensitive” when asked basic questions by the media, is expected to uphold the union’s long standing tradition of avoiding responsibilities and wasting student fees, all while providing the guise of a “bustling” campus life at UTM. When questioned by The Medium about her slate’s platform, Yakubi demanded that the journalists for The Medium be registered as “emotional offenders.”

“I’m fed up with The Medium blatantly harassing people by asking basic questions. I’m sick and tired of being held accountable by you people.

How am I going to do anything if I have to be transparent about it?”

When questioned about how she was expecting to deal with tough conversations if she couldn’t respond to basic questions, Yakubi declined to answer. She then excused herself, claiming she had to go order foam for Frosh which is over six months away.

While most of the executive positions available are uncontested, guaranteeing another year of a UTMSU that simply exists, there is one lone

cowboy trying to shake things up.

For the role of VP Internal, Med K is challenging Connect UTM’s Fahad Dayala for the position.

Med K, unique for having a perspective outside of the clique-yness of the UTMSU, appeals to the lucrative Reddit demographic of UTM, often appearing on the UTM subreddit. Most recently, K brought attention to the disdain students have for Chartwells, the company responsible for your 20-minute Subway sandwich wait and the hair in your Thai food.

The most notable aspect of Med K’s platform is the demand for transparency, a word that sent all other nominees flipping through their dictionaries to find the definition during the all candidates forum.

Dayala responded urgently, “Accountability isn’t like Rome. It can’t be built in a day, but we can certainly burn it down. You just expect us to be honest? And actually hold our promises? Do you even know how politics works?”

Dayala continued to discuss her credentials, most notably her time assisting in the management of Frosh: “We were proud to organize the cringey-est frosh this side of the GTA. Sure, we may not have streets full of joyous students, actually fun activities, or anything that resembles a real campus social life, but it’s an event that still happens, and that, my friends, is an accomplishment.”

As the forum continued, the students running for Board of Directors managed to say some nonsense that never really amounted to anything, while Yakubi summarized the impact of the UTMSU by saying, “We work very hard to give UTM the shell of a student life it currently has. Can you imagine the campus culture without free breakfast?”

With the “competition” heating up, we here at The Medium are begging students to care at least a little bit.

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Editor | Vinney Wong

Play review: Oh, What a Lovely War! Hart House’s final production of the season depicted a WWI virtual reality game that was difficult to follow SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Hart House Theatre’s fifth and final production of their 2019/2020 season was Oh, What a Lovely War, directed

by Autumn Smith. The play depicted a WWI virtual reality video game and had a running time of approximately two hours and fifteen minutes.

The stage was set up with three screens: one main screen in landscape that stood as a backdrop for all the scenes, then two screens on both sides of the stage, in portrait, which also showed the same picture as the main screen, but in smaller portions.

Depending on the scene, the side screens would show a different picture than the larger main screen.

There were strengths and weaknesses of Oh, What a Lovely War’s production. To begin, the primary strong suits of the play included the special effects, mild humour, and timing of gun shots and explosions.

One brilliant aspect of the special effects was the production’s incorporation of the video game. The screens would play the options of choosing characters, weapons, and settings of a video game. This was a neat way to embody the video game element of the play; the production did a great job of showcasing this. They also

SCOTT GORMAN/HART HOUSE

Hart House brought videogames to the past in this historical reenactment of World War I. used coloured green fog when toxic chlorine gas fumed through the land, which felt impressively realistic.

Some scenes contained mild humour, which resonated with audience members. There was one scene in which the video game players had to choose between two characters: Wilson (Katie Ready-Walters) or Pankhurst (Jillian Robinson). As the players were choosing between these two characters, the side screens pro-

jected the characters in battle stance, in which their body bounces around, waiting to be chosen. Some people in the audience laughed at this because of their close resemblance to video game characters.

The timings of gun shots and explosions were very well rehearsed.

When soldiers and players were shot during the war, the gun-shot hole was projected on the screens. Every gunshot scene was executed with preci-

sion. The actors and actresses fell to the ground realistically and appeared to be dead.

Despite the well-rehearsed elements, I found the play lacking in several areas. Considering the production featured a twelve-person cast, every actor and actress either played two or more roles. This was confusing to me as an audience member because I had a hard time understanding who was who in the different scenes.

The play did not perform up to standards that I had expected. The acting in particular scenes lacked energy while the choreography lacked synchronicity.

Additionally, the visuals in a particular scene where the characters read out a letter was difficult to follow and perhaps did not translate as it was intended. The letter wrote itself on the screens, in cursive handwriting, as the characters read their lines independently. The letter was not read out loud to the audience even though it was projected on to the screen. The main screen projected the entire letter meanwhile the side portrait screens only showed bits and pieces of the letter, cutting out full sentences. Although the letter was projected on the screen, I couldn’t actually read it and had no idea what it said. The problem with the letter being entirely projected on the main screen is that it stood behind the characters on stage. They blocked parts of the message which left the audience uninformed.

Despite the historical storyline and realistic sound effects, the play was rather boring. I noticed that during intermission, some audience members left, which goes to show that Oh, What a Lovely War was not so lovely.

Oh, What a Lovely War ran from February 28 to March 7.

Coronavirus effects on entertainment With COVID-19 continuing to spread, entertainment companies are delaying film releases and concerts DANICA TENG ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR The coronavirus outbreak—now named COVID-19—has filled the new year with despair. Just entering the third month of 2020, the virus had 93,090 confirmed cases with over 3,000 deaths. But alongside the virus, there is something else that travels just as fast: fear. COVID-19 has affected many more lives than the numbers show, and the entertainment industry has taken a big hit.

Many companies are delaying or cancelling movie productions and releases, as well as concerts and other attractions. These effects don’t only mean loss for the company, but also for every individual in the industry who helps to make these works of art come to life for a living.

Much like the virus, the effects on the entertainment industry started in China but are now spreading worldwide. The Lunar New Year is a big holiday for China and many countries in Asia, typically seeing increases in revenue for entertainment.

However, due to fears and efforts to contain COVID-19, China closed movie theatres all over the country—

PHOTO/IMDB.COM

James Bond movie No Time To Die, plus other movies and events have been pushed or cancelled. an industry which usually sees a revenue of over $1 billion in ticket sales for the new year. Film releases like No Time to Die, the new James Bond movie, and Mulan have delayed their initial release dates in China. Attractions that usually draw crowds of customers, such as Shanghai’s Disneyland which also earns around $1 billion annually, were temporarily shut down.

As the outbreak spreads, other entertainment companies world-

wide are starting to feel the effects.

Italy saw many temporary closures, especially in the northern cities, for major museums like Museo Correr. Filming for the seventh Mission Impossible movie was put on hold as they had plans to shoot in Venice for three weeks. The Louvre in Paris, France was also temporarily closed until recently for Paris Fashion Week.

In South Korea, which has the second highest infection rate in the

world, events like Seoul Fashion Week and Busan Theatre Festival, are cancelled or postponed, and official guided tours for their popular Gyeongbokgung Palace are suspended. Japan closed many popular spots like its Universal Studios, The Tokyo Skytree, and many museums, along with event cancellations, such as their famous cherry blossom festivals. Disney attractions face much loss not only in Shanghai, but with the temporary closures of Japan’s

Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea, as well as Hong Kong Disneyland.

While some of these closures are only temporary, the loss in revenue is costly for all involved.

While tourist attractions and movie industries shut down amid fears, the music industry isn’t safe either.

American rock band, Green Day, postponed their “Hella Mega Tour” concerts in Asia that were supposed to take place in March. With a rise of COVID-19 cases in Korea, much of the K-pop industry is on pause.

K-pop group BTS’ concerts scheduled in April were cancelled as they planned to perform multiple times in Seoul. Other groups, like GOT7, WINNER, and (G)I-DLE, also had to cancel scheduled tour dates.

With over 90,000 cases of the coronavirus worldwide, these are only some places and events that were affected globally. Many more industry events, film and art festivals, museums, and conventions remain closed or cancelled even now.

Even if COVID-19 eventually passes, fear will still linger, deepening the economic wound and possibly leaving a lasting scar on all the different entertainment industries.

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Paris is Burning explores drag culture The 1990 film followed Black LGBT and Latino participants in the ballroom amidst social struggles ADA WAGU STAFF WRITER Last Tuesday, Hart House Social Justice Committee hosted a film screening of Paris is Burning. Seen as one of the most important and relevant documentaries about the LGBT community, it was released in 1990 and is still constantly referred to and discussed today. A panel with drag performers from Toronto joined the audience afterwards to discuss the drag scene in the near past and today.

“In the great tradition of Paris is Burning, bring out your library cards!

Because reading is what? Fundamental!” If you’ve watched any season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, this phrase will be familiar as it is often gleefully trilled

by RuPaul along with other popular Drag Race terms such as “reading,” “living,” and “shade.” These phrases are timeless and as colourful as the Drag Queens themselves. However, the celebrated culture of drag that we know and love today, were drawn from Paris is Burning, which presented an important history of drag and ball culture by following Black LGBT and Latino participants in the ball-

PHOTO/IMDB.COM

Hart House hosted a screening of Paris is Burning, a documentary about the 1980s ballroom scene. room scene in the late 1980s.

Although the film prominently featured gay and transgender issues that men and women struggled with, it also brought up important discussions about class. Pushed to the fringes of society and often kicked out from their homes, the Black LGBT

REWIND CHRIS BERBERIAN CONTRIBUTOR Eyes Wide Shut is an enigma.

It’s not quite erotica, it’s not quite thriller. It hit theatres in July, but the story takes place at Christmas. Some characters appear one scene only to vanish the next. It’s uncanny and mesmerizing and, above all else, a masterpiece.

Adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle, the story follows a young couple navigating their marriage and infidelities in upperclass Manhattan. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) is our protagonist, a budding doctor who sports suave suits, slicked-back hair, and an alluring smile. While at a party, supermodels cling to his arms, vying to take him where the rainbow ends.

Alice Harford (Nicole Kidman), a housewife, is soft-speaking and sensuous. She attracts men without raising a finger, dancing with a mysterious Hungarian hunk and nearly sleeping with him.

The Harfords know they’re hot stuff, but successfully uphold the sanctity of their marriage. Soon, that all changes.

One night, after attending a garish mansion party, Alice confesses something that leaves Bill spiraling. Something that compels him into New York’s underbelly, a nightmarish trip tinged with disappearing prostitutes, late-night costume shops, and that infamous scene. Let’s just say: you won’t forget it anytime soon.

Director Stanley Kubrick, a visual perfectionist, reels us into this psychosexual nightmare with crossdissolves, soft lighting, and saturated colours. Cherry reds and neon blues permeate the city, a disorienting con-

trast against the night sky and the black party cloaks.

As Bill meanders through empty streets and never-ending corridors, the slow Steadicam narrows into its one-point perspective. We feel the events before we actually see them.

Kubrick chips away at the depths of our subconscious, forcing us to confront the darkest aspects of human nature.

While Kubrick hypnotizes us visually, the score seeps beneath our skin. Romanian church music plays backwards, giving way to foreboding drumbeats and unsettling sitar. After Bill sees something he shouldn’t, the room goes quiet. He tries to leave, but he’s trapped inside and so are we. When all is silent, and we least expect it, the staccato piano strikes.

Each note hits higher and higher.

Quicker and quicker. Matching our heartbeat.

Buried beneath its shocking visuals and score, Eyes Wide Shut is a film about conspiracies and cover-ups. It’s about the depravities of the wealthy elite, an exposé of what happens when Jeffrey Epstein walks free. It’s also about infidelity, female sexuality, emasculation, cult leaders in red cloaks, Christmas, and the dangers of staying out past our bedtime. All these themes are both timeless and timely.

In 1999, Eyes Wide Shut released during the height of Y2K hysteria.

It was a strange time, rampant with conspiracy theorists prepared for impending global collapse. Some built bunkers while others bought flamethrowers. It was a shining example of our proclivity to both fear and fascinate over the unknown. And, like Kubrick’s nightmarish masterpiece, we just can’t keep our eyes shut.

and Latino kids often ended up on the streets and relegated to poorly paid jobs—if they could find any at all.

They could barely survive with such jobs as people didn’t want to pay them more than they deserve. Working on the streets was their best option, despite the dangers and risks.

As I watched the documentary and listened to the ball performers speak about their hopes and dreams, it was clear that they did not just want to move upwardly from their class, but to be seen as rich and successful.

Many of the ball categories that were walked in reflected that; business ex-

ecutive, vogue, realness. All these categories represented a figure who was not just accepted and belonged in the world of the cis, straight, and wealthy, but was also admired in them.

The panel that followed the screening involved four drag performers: Courtney Conquers, a bio drag Queen; Zackey Lime, a drag king; Luna DuBois, a drag queen; and The Ugly One, a drag queen (that’s her actual drag name!). All expressing various facets of drag and coming from different perspectives in terms of how they view and came to drag. They spoke in front of the audience for over an hour about the drag scene in Toronto. Conquers spoke about seeing Paris is Burning for the first time, saying that it came “on TV when [she] was about ten-years-old.” She resonated with the concept of family and houses, referring to the drag community as a chosen family.

Mel and Zayn of the Social Justice Committee did a successful job of hosting an event that shed light on not only the drag scene in Toronto, but part of its important history and influences.

The Bachelor and cheating SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR ABC’s The Bachelor is a reality dating television show. The premise follows a bachelor as he ventures into the dating world with a selected group of females who are potential candidates.

Throughout the season, the bachelor goes on one-on-one and group dates with the women; the contestants and the bachelor travel to exotic and romantic locations for their dates. Each week culminates with the lead eliminating one woman, until he is left with the one he chooses to marry.

Since the premise of the show is about finding love through relationships, how can this reality television series promote healthy relationships, when the bachelor is dating numerous women at once? Does The Bachelor normalize cheating? Is openly going on dates with several women considered cheating, if the other women involved are aware of his actions?

A broad definition of cheating is an act of unfair or dishonest doing.

In relationships, cheating can be noted through emotional, physical, or sexual affairs. The boundary of cheating can be a fine line and those in relationships have a different perception of what cheating entails.

Since cheating is an unfair or dishonest act, is the bachelor really cheating if the other women are aware of his separate relationships?

When there are three contestants remaining, the bachelor offers them keys to the fantasy suite, which is a hotel room where the couple spend the night together and have sex, without cameras.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Andi Dorfman, the bachelorette for season 10 of The Bachelorette (the spin-off of The Bachelor), wrote “almost every Bachelor has sex with everyone he goes into the fantasy

suites with.”

When you step away from the idea that The Bachelor is a reality television dating game show, and think logically about one man dating several women at once, you can’t help but think—he is cheating and everyone is okay with that.

The Bachelor normalizes the concept of cheating because the bachelor himself is in relationships with multiple women. Although this is the whole point of the show, there is something unsettling about it. How can trust be built when the bachelor is building relationships with multiple people at once? How can the bachelor be in love with so many women at once? Is he really in love or he is performing for the cameras?

In an interview with BUILD, the season 23 bachelor Colton Underwood talked about how his experience on the show still affected his personal life. He stated, “I even caught myself, at times, sort of going about things just because that’s what the bachelor was supposed to do... he’s supposed to take three [women] to fantasy suites and he’s supposed to break up with one and go through all these rose ceremonies. And it’s like, okay, but this is my life after this.”

Underwood’s season was untraditional because he chose a contestant who left the show. He told BUILD that, “I couldn’t let someone walk away that I was in love with. And that’s what I came to this show for, is I came to find love, and I came to find a love worth fighting for, and I found that.”

Underwood might have found love on his season, but the same cannot be said for other seasons. Out of the 23 completed seasons, only two couples remain together today. 14 out of 23 couples got engaged during their season finale, however, 13 of those engagements and/or marriages eventually broke off.

ANANYA ANANTH/THE MEDIUM

Considering The Bachelor has an 8.6 per cent success rate, does the concept of not being in a monogamous relationship during the dating period, have anything to do with this? Viewers will not know the exact reasons why, but the speculation of an unfaithful start to their relationship seems like a valid indication for an eventual breakup.

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Editor | Fatima Adil

Addressing epidemics through stats Data science workshop introduces students to the role of statistics in tracking outbreaks and epidemics REAGAN ROOPNARINE CONTRIBUTOR

With statistics and numerical data being constantly televised during the current coronavirus outbreak, it may be difficult to determine which data is credible and what the data even means. If there is anything that the Data Science and Bio Workshop held at UTM last Thursday emphasized, it is that context matters.

The workshop was organized by the Women in Science and Computing Club (WiSC) and hosted by an epidemiologist from Public Health Ontario and the UTM statistics faculty. The workshop aimed to introduce students to the role of statistics in tracking common outbreak patterns.

Ashini Weerasinghe and Samantha-Jo Caetano began the workshop with a scenario which entailed a public health unit noticing an increase in diarrhea, fever, and other common symptoms. Attendees were provided a lengthy table which displayed a list of subjects, the subjects’ genders, and the foods they claimed to have eaten prior to experiencing the symptoms.

The task was to determine which foods were causing the increase in sickness.

To solve the scenario, students were advised to calculate the relative risk—a term which refers to an individual’s risk of developing an illness relative to everyone else’s risk.

WISC UTM/FACEBOOK

This event saw participants calculating the relative risk of developing an illness relative to others.

The relative risk is calculated for each different circumstance, and can only be used if the number of people who got ill and what they ate beforehand is known. In this case, the different circumstances were the types of food subjects recalled eating.

The relative risk is expressed as a ratio of the probability of an illness in an exposed group to the probability of illness in an unexposed group. It is the standard calculation health units use to assess an influx of illness. It is important to note; however, that it is not finite. For example, just because the relative risk of those who ate potatoes is zero, that does not mean that an individual who ate potatoes has a zero percent chance of getting sick.

The individual could still get sick and if they did, they would be considered an outlier. The context is very important when analyzing data regarding an illness. News stations often like to report that there is, for example, a fifty percent increase in an illness or its risk of contraction. The question is, what is that percentage relative to?

When health units are not aware of how many people got ill or of what they ate before contracting the illness, health professionals use the odds ratio. This normally happens when the disease occurs on a larger scale such as nationally or internationally. The odds ratio quantifies the odds of getting sick given a particular circumstance, which, in the scenario

mentioned above, would be the type of food. While the odds ratio is not as accurate as a relative ratio, it is the only method that can be used in certain situations such as when the COVID-19 initially broke out. In terms of COVID-19, it was difficult to determine whether the virus had a continuous source, where the exposure occurred over multiple and separate time periods, or a point source, where the exposure occurred over a single time period and at one particular source.

Other issues regarding tracking illnesses include biases. A common type of bias is the recall bias which describes when subjects are more likely to say that they were exposed to

a stimulus when they experience an associated outcome. People often require visual aids when recalling what they were, and were not, exposed to.

For instance, Weerasinghe provided the example of drug recalls. If subjects are solely provided the name of the medication when being questioned about exposure, the subjects are more likely to say that they did take it. Therefore, health units have to physically show subjects the medication container and the tablets in order to receive an accurate yes-or-no response.

In terms of COVID-19, it may seem as if the number of cases multiplied overnight. Weerasinghe explained how part of this jump was due to improved detection methods.

When hospitals are able to test the presence of the virus more efficiently, the number of confirmed cases rapidly increase by default. The epidemiologist also noted that the number of COVID-19 cases are beginning to plateau in China, but gradually increase in other countries.

By the end of the workshop, it became clear that there are various ways the media can portray the spread of a disease inaccurately. Students were introduced to the various methods used by public health professionals, with some methods being more accurate than others. While viruses remain a threat, it is important to understand the context behind the numbers being widely reported.

International Women’s Day: A brief history Having originated in New York City in 1909, the International Women’s Day has a rich and interesting history FATIMA ADIL FEATURES EDITOR Countries around the world celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday. The day is held on March 8 each year and is meant to celebrate the achievements made by women along with raising awareness of the discrimination that women continue to face because of their gender. This article provides a brief overview of the holiday’s history.

As TIME reports, on February 1908, thousands of female garment workers went on strike and marched throughout New York City to protest the working conditions, low wages, and sexual harassment they had to face. The strikes carried on for more than a year, and on February 28, 1909, the Socialist Party of America organized the first National Women’s Day in honour of the strikes.

Clara Zetkin, a German working women’s rights activist, pushed for the day to be celebrated across the

world as a symbol for advocating universal suffrage. Her motion was passed at the International Conference of Working Women in 1910 and countries across Europe such as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland celebrated the holiday in 1911. It became an important day for protests against World War I. While International Women’s Day was established in Russia in 1913, a significant demonstration occurred in 1917—a period when Russia was experiencing food shortages due to World War I. On February 28, which was the equivalent of March 8 in the Russian calendar, women workers marched to demand bread and an end to the war. Their demonstration sparked the Russian Revolution, as a week later, the Tsar of Russia abdicated. Russian women also gained the right to vote in 1917 as “a direct consequence” of their protests.

The day spread throughout socialist nations such as Cuba and China and was regarded “as an important

day to recognize the contributions women have made to both family and the economy.” After the Second World War, the day’s significance transitioned from protesting war and worker rights to advocating women’s equality. The United Nations officially recognized the day in 1975 which was also International Women’s Year. Each year, the day has different themes assigned by the UN such as ‘Women and the Peace Table’ in 1997, ‘Equal Access to Education, Training, and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women’ in 2011, and ‘I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights’ this year.

Some countries such as Afghanistan and Moldova have designated International Women’s Day as an official public holiday while other countries celebrate it unofficially. International Women’s Day has a rich history and should not only serve as a celebration of women’s rights, but also a reminder of the discrimination women continue to face.

PHOTO/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Clara Zetkin was a German working women’s rights activist.

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THE MEDIUM 03.09.2020

Researching the impact of politics on land Dr. Andrea Olive, Chair of UTM’s political science department, discusses her journey to UTM and her research BISMAH RIZVI ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

Dr. Andrea Olive is the Chair of the Department of Political Science at UTM and an associate professor in the Department of Geography. Her work encompasses both fields as she researches environmental issues within a social science context. For this issue, The Medium interviewed Olive about her journey to UTM, her research, and her role as a department chair.

Olive competed her undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Calgary in 2002. During her undergraduate degree, she also took political science classes and eventually realized that she was interested in political science and that it would be more practical in terms of impact. She decided to pursue political science further and completed her Master’s degree at Dalhousie University and her Ph.D. at Purdue University.

Olive then joined UTM in 2012, specifically because UTM at the time needed an individual whose research involved tackling environmental issues from a political science perspective—exactly what Olive was interested in. In terms of how she was introduced to geography, Olive says that “[she] got the job and then sort of realized [that] there [was] this whole other field where people [we]re interested in the things that [she was] and [we]re having conversations about the things that [she] care[d] about.”

After learning more about geography and discussing with colleagues, she

delved into the field. “I have come to see myself as a geographer, even though I think what I’m still most interested in is the policy that’s made at the provincial and federal level that impacts land,” she says. Currently, Olive teaches and publishes research in both the political science and geography departments. She was appointed Chair of the Political Science Department in July 2019.

with each other. They are equally as devastating, and even if we solve climate change, [biodiversity loss] won’t fix on its own.” She adds that the “science is very clear about [what we need to do] but [the] policy is not catching up.” Alongside her research, Olive and her colleague at Dalhousie University are organizing various workshops for scholars and nongovernmental agencies (NGOs) such

alteration, often for agriculture, and more recently for oil and gas, is creating a significant impact on the land and the life that lives on it. Olive explains that because of the stereotype of Saskatchewan being empty, flat land, the grasslands and its biodiversity are often left out of the larger narrative about environment and policy.

Last year, Olive wrote about the environmental history of Saskatchewan

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

Dr. Olive tries to minimize her impact on the environment, and maintains a connection with nature.

Olive studies how humans interact with and manage the land along with how their activities impact wildlife. One of Olive’s current research projects—titled “The Transformative Politics of the Wild”—examines the loss of biodiversity and the relevant policies. She explains that climate change is one of the factors causing the mass extinctions of wildlife, but not the only reason: “[Climate change and biodiversity loss] are interrelated

as the World Wildlife Fund to discuss solutions and the political barriers.

More recent workshops focused specifically on Indigenous contexts and the policies around conservation in Indigenous protected areas.

Olive’s other research project is based on the grasslands of Saskatchewan, the province where she was born and raised. “The grasslands are actually the most endangered major ecosystem on Earth,” she states. Land

and a biography about a farmer and environmental minister in the nineties who worked in conservation. “I really do think I’m always going to continue to write about my home and be thinking about Saskatchewan politics,” reflects Olive.

In her personal life, Olive makes a significant effort to minimize her impact on the environment and maintain a connection with nature. She divulges that learning about climate

change and biodiversity loss can be very depressing, so focusing on action is very important for her. Recently, she has decided to reduce her consumerism, cut back on social media, and commit to spending more time in nature. Olive says that “just keeping that connection to the land, to where [she’s] from, why this is important, and why [she] value[s] it, helps [her] in [her] research.”

The transition into the department chair position has been a major one for Olive. While the position leaves less time for teaching and research, it allows Olive to work with students in a different capacity, such as being more involved with the Political Science and Pre-Law Association. Olive also gets to work with new faculty members: “It’s exciting because we have so many young professors…and seven professors who are sort of new to the department. Mentoring them and helping them become tenured professors is maybe one of the more rewarding parts [of being Chair].” As Chair, Olive plays a large role in developing the political science program and diversifying the courses and the type of research being conducted. She explains that the department recently introduced a thesis course, which Olive teaches, and the department will also soon be introducing an internship course.

In the future, Olive hopes to continue her research on the transformative politics of the wild and Saskatchewan’s grasslands and create new opportunities for students and faculty in the political science department at UTM.

Canada’s Italian culinary culture Dr. Teresa Lobalsamo examined the influence of Italian immigration on food at March’s Lecture Me! event WARREN STAR CONTRIBUTOR

Last Tuesday, the Education Experiential Unit hosted “Lecture Me! Italian-Canadian Foodways: Redefining Italian Culinary Culture” at the Mississauga Central Library, featuring our very own professor Teresa Lobalsamo who some may know from ITA235H5F: Italian History and Culture Through Food.

When you think of a lecture focused on Italian immigrant integration into Canada, you may imagine Italiese (a hybrid language created from the English and Italian languages), car manufacturers, or labour skills. If so, you’ll be surprised to hear that this lecture chose possibly one of the greatest contributions to our country: food.

The years shortly before World War One and World War Two saw some of the biggest emigrations of Italians.

While many arrived in Pier 21, Halifax, they would eventually leave for Canadian capital cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Being drawn to people similar to themselves lead to a ghettoization process and the creation of “Little Italys” in their new homes.

The first of these new Italy’s was in St. John’s Ward, which expanded

as more families came to join their already-settled husbands and fathers.

The bustling economy of Toronto led to a gradual increase in jobs and income, granting immigrants the power to buy more products, specifically Italian ingredients.

Produce stores responded to this demand with abundant supply, with the newly purchased “Power” grocery store at the forefront. Other stores opened in kind, such as La Paloma for gelato and Tre Mari Bakery for pastries. It also helped that during the fascist reign in Italy, the Regime allowed the exportation of Italian products. Many new-Canadians purchased familiar foods and brands, from Unico tomato conserves to Lancia and De Cecco pasta.

For some time, Italian cuisine did not share the haute culture of their French neighbours, and the low demand meant low prices. In 1959, Arnaldo Clinica Gastronomica won Italy its first Michelin Star, proving that reaching a higher food quality could lead to a greater popularity of these restaurants. The opening of La Scala in Toronto was the first in a trend of fine dining restaurants, and a quite significant change to Canadian cuisine. Unlike other restaurants at the time, they did not serve “red meat sauces” (an American creation). They instead served never-before-seen pas-

ta dishes and classic veal plates.

While La Scala was serving a more fanciful platter, the streets were settling with Mastro’s Pizza. Located on 1965 Wilson’s Ave, it introduced the first wave of Italian food to Toronto like pizza and spaghetti (the former being another American invention).

Not just that, but the sandwich craze at the time had brought the “hero” to Chicago, which was originally a slice of beef with sweet peppers pressed between two slices of bread. You may know it these days under the same name those in New England did, the “sub.”

The last type of restaurant that emerged from Italian culinary was the eat-in bar, such as Bar Diplomatico (1968). These bars lacked a kitchen, so meals were served from food cooked at home by mothers, daughters, and grandmothers and then brought in for customers to purchase.

Restaurants like these were familiar landmarks for Italians to gather and discuss their daily lives, an integral part of any community.

“I could feel that there was much interest in the audience, and it manifested in the wonderful discussion during the presentation’s question section at the end,” said Lobalsamo about the Lecture Me event.

Many attendees were part of the local Italian community, and for them,

EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION UNIT/FACEBOOK

Italian immigrants credited with revolutionizing the food world. food is more than just something to sate your appetite. It’s a sign of old roots merging with a new sense of identity, a vehicle for success to grant you a livelihood, and most importantly acceptance in the new world.

In an attempt to recover this heritage, the Italian professor has begun the “Menu Analysis & Digitalization Project.”

Menus used in newer, generalized restaurants such as Olive Garden have lost the Italian language and variety, even going so far as to change

the meaning of words through misuse. While “shrimp scampi fritta” may seem fancy, it can be translated as “fried shrimp shrimp.” It is only in America that ‘scampi’ is a garlic sauce instead of a type of shrimp.

After spending the night in the theatre room surrounded by reminiscing elders and bright-eyed students, I feel that Lobalsamo spoke for us all when she said, “I would like to thank Italian immigrants for bringing Italian cuisine to the forefront of culinary culture outside of the country.”

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Editor | Sarah-May Edwardo Oldfield

Internet addiction can harm academics Increased internet use impacts students’ cognitive skills and therefore has negative affect on academics HIRA BURNEY STAFF WRITER The study of the relationship between the use of internet technology, digital devices, and academic performance and behaviors has been a topic of interest for researchers for years. A current research study conducted by Robert Truzoli and colleagues with Swansea University and the University of Milan looked at 285 students in an Italian University studying health-related drug courses. The study explored the relationship between problematic internet use and the motivation to learn, and examined psychological and social factors mediating this relationship.

New research has found a negative correlation between internet use and academic performance. The study found that a person’s increased internet use impacts their learning strategies, making it harder for them to productively organize their learning and effectively manage their time.

They feel less motivated to study and perform well, and therefore perform poorly on their academics.

As motivation decreases, the more

BELICIA CHEVOLLEAU/THE MEDIUM

Internet addiction can lead to less motivation, increased loneliness, and higher levels of anxiety. anxious students are while taking tests, which is made worse by the increased levels of loneliness they feel.

These poorer social interactions are a result of internet addiction, and im-

pact a student’s motivation to engage in highly social educational environments, such as universities.

This recently published study by Truzoli and his colleagues used inter-

net addiction tests which measured, 20 items on a 1-4 scale, the extent to which internet disrupts a person’s everyday life, as well as hospital anxiety and depression scales widely used

measures of anxiety and depression.

They also used the UCLA loneliness scale which consists of statements designed to assess loneliness. And lastly, the researchers used motivated strategies for learning questionnaires that measure learning strategies and the motivation in students to study.

Increased internet use has also been thought to impact students’ cognitive skills by impairing abilities across a range of executive functioning tasks such as impulse control, planning, and affects reward sensitivity. These cognitive abilities and skills may impact academic behaviors such as the motivation to learn, ability to plan, and reinforcement from task completion, as well as produce higher levels of depression and anxiety.

This is not only impacting students’ mental health but is also impacting their growth, their ambitions, and their future lives. Though this study only focuses on higher educational establishments with a highly selective case study, care must be practiced at all age levels to reduce the damage caused by internet addiction.

Eagles fight Bruins in first ever playoffs Lady Eagles played their hearts out in a tough loss, ending the most successful run in program history ROBERT BUI STAFF WRITER On Saturday, February 28, the Varsity UTM Women’s Basketball team hosted the Sheridan Bruins in their first ever playoff game in program history. After finishing their season with a 10-6 record—losing their previous two games of the season— the Eagles looked to bounce back.

On the other side of the court, Sheridan had lost their last five games and finished their season with a 9-9 record. Although their form was shaky, Sheridan definitely came to the RAWC with a chip on their shoulder.

In the first quarter, the Bruins went into the game with a lot of energy, coming from the court and their bench. UTM found themselves down 3-7 before taking an early timeout. They had good opportunities but came up short.

The atmosphere in the gym was different from other games; both teams were getting into each other’s faces defensively, often running the shot clock to its final seconds, and were aggressive in the first quarter.

Both teams were sent to the free throw line on several occasions.

Sheridan took a timeout after UTM began to show their hustle

NANCY VO/UTM ATHLETICS

Pressure and momentum were the name of the game as the Lady Eagles fought the Bruins. rebounding the ball and getting to loose balls first. A three on the offensive side and a charge on the defensive side by UTM’s Janella Viado energized the crowd late in the first quarter. A slow, physical start ended in Sheridan’s favour, 10-19.

The second quarter started with a Sheridan three-pointer and a quick response three-point made from Jade Addai. Bodies were falling to the ground as the physical play continued. UTM’s Avery Torok’s three pointer pumped the crowd up while sparking a 9-0 run to force Sheridan into a timeout, 21-23. UTM found their offense and continued to up their defensive pressure, forcing Sheridan to take contested jumpers

while capitalizing on their turnovers. Defensively, UTM’s Kayla Rice was everywhere, catching rebounds and picking up steals.

Out of the timeout, both teams were looking to be the first ones to score, and after two minutes UTM’s Brea Maloney seized a rebound and converted an and-one opportunity to give UTM their first lead of the game, 24-23. Both teams went back and forth to end the half at 25-30, with UTM outscoring Sheridan 1511 in the quarter.

Torok went off to start the second half, scoring ten straight points for UTM. She found her range, taking jumpers with confidence and quality. On the other side, Sheridan

used their screens and pace on face breaks to keep up. They forced UTM into a timeout to slow the game down, 32-39.

Out of the timeout, UTM went on a 13-5 run that was capped by Viado’s back to back threes which gave the Eagles a one-point lead, 45-44.

After a Sheridan timeout late in the third quarter, both teams fought for every point to set up the final quarter. The third quarter ended 47-48 for Sheridan.

The final quarter was looking good for UTM as Addai finished a lay-up on the fast break that gave UTM the lead. After multiple stops on both sides, Sheridan sparked a 7-0 run and forced another UTM

timeout, 49-55. Addai continued to fight for UTM, finding her way to the basket and UTM’s Akashia Moore-Samuels put her body on the line, grabbing a flagrant foul and nailing two free throws and getting the possession back for UTM with three minutes left on the clock, 5859. The Sheridan Bruins silenced the crowd with a three and trip to the free throw line to gain a six-point lead before taking a timeout. Sheridan’s number two hit a three-point dagger with a minute left to go, and with time against them, UTM did not have enough time to close the lead. The game finished in a loss, 62-70.

Pressure and momentum were the name of the game. With many lead changes and a lot of tactical timeouts, both teams felt the presence from each other. Although UTM had a roaring crowd on their side, Sheridan never wavered and with every timeout it seemed as though their coach gave them just a bit more control of themselves.

In the end, the UTM’s Varsity Eagles Women’s Basketball Team played their hearts out for the final game of the season and held their heads high in arguably the most successful run in their program’s history.

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03.09.2020

High tempo tunes for high fitness gains High tempo music helps in the performance of endurance tasks and reduces the fatigue from exercise ANDREW STONE ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR A study published last month in Frontiers in Psychology found that high-tempo music during exercise can have many benefits, including reduced fatigue and improved performance.

The study followed 19 female participants between the ages of 24 and 31 who regularly exercised three to five times per week. Each participant was measured for their mass, height, BMI, and heart rate.

The study required all 19 participants to complete two training exercises four times each. Each time the tests were conducted, the participants were randomly selected to listen to music of varying tempos.

The first exercise was a low intensity endurance task where participants had to walk on a treadmill at 6.5 km/hr for ten minutes. During and after the test was complete, the participants’ heart rate and level of fatigue was measured.

The second test involved a high intensity exercise on the leg press machine, measuring how many repetitions could be completed.

Just like the first test, their heart rates were taken during and after the test.

The results found that high tempo music helps in the performance of endurance tasks and reduces the presence of fatigue from exercise.

This is partly due to the stimulation of the cortical and sub-cortical parts of the brain, effecting emotional responses, movement coordination, and movement planning.

The rhythm of the music appears to help in error correction, since the rhythm of movement seems to become aligned with the rhythm of the music.

All regions of the brain are affected by the presence of music so the brain can’t ignore it. The music distracts the brain from uncomfortable feelings like muscle fatigue and/or tension and helps regulate heart and breathing rates. Endurance tasks were more affected by high tempo music since low intensity exercise requires more thought and participants were more aware of their fatigue. Therefore, the high tempo music distracted the brain and reduced the negative thoughts that come in low intensity exercises.

This research can be used to adjust your exercise routine and improve your fitness results. People who have a hard time with fatigue or stress during low intensity exercise should listen to higher tempo music. High tempo music will have benefits no matter the exercises you do and should be considered an important part of your exercise regimen.

TALA ALKHALDI/THE MEDIUM

High tempo music helps performance of endurance tasks, reduces presence of exercise fatigue.

See you later, depression! Namaste, yoga!

Yoga could become a possible alternative for those who don’t benefit from anti-depressant medications DUAA NASIR ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR “Yoga has become increasingly popular in the West, and many new yoga practitioners cite stress-reduction and other mental health concerns as their primary reason for practicing,” said Lindsey Hopkins, Ph.D. from San Francisco Veteran Affairs Medical Center in a news release on eurekalert.com. “But the empirical research on yoga lags behind its popularity as a first-line approach to mental health.”

With depression now being the leading cause of disability in the world, affecting over 16 million Americans annually, treatments other than therapy and medication are becoming increasingly popular.

A recent study from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) found that yoga can increase levels of the neurotransmitter, Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), which can decrease symptoms of depression.

Chris Streeter, associate professor of psychiatry at BUSM and corresponding author, commented in a news release on eurekalert.com “Think of it this way, we give medications in different doses in order to enact their effects on the body to varying degrees. Here, we explored the same concept, but used yoga. We call that a dosing study. Past yoga

HAYDEN MAK/THE MEDIUM

10-30 per cent of patients do not benefit much from antidepressants, and yoga is a viable option. and depression studies have not really delved deeply into this.”

“A unique strength of this study is that pairing the yoga intervention with brain imaging provides important neurobiological insight as to the ‘how’ yoga may help to alleviate depression and anxiety,” continued Streeter.

“In this study, we found that an important neurochemical, GABA, which is related to mood, anxiety

and sleep, is significantly increased in association with a yoga intervention,” said collaborator and co-author Marisa Silveri.

Thirty clinically depressed patients were divided into two groups: highdose group and low-dose group.

MRI scans and the completion of a clinical depression scale were used to monitor symptoms of depression.

The high-dose group (HDG) participated in three yoga sessions a week,

while the low-dose group (LDG) did only two.

After three months, MRI scans and depressive symptoms were compared to the results prior to the study. It was found that both groups improved through an increase in GABA, however, this increase was not noticeable eight days after the last yoga session.

“The study suggests that the associated increase in GABA levels after

a yoga session are ‘time-limited’ similar to that of pharmacologic treatments, such that completing one session of yoga per week may maintain elevated levels of GABA,” said Chris Streeter.

Since 10-30 per cent of patients do not benefit much (due to individual differences) from antidepressants, yoga is definitely worth a shot.

Yoga has also been found to lower perceived stress, decrease levels of anxiety, prevent heart disease, and may be as effective as physical therapy for lower back pain. It can also help with body image, mindfulness, and fitness, and has become an important part of treating eating-disorders.

With so many benefits, yoga is definitely something you should incorporate into your life. Since it has a low-risk of injury, you can get started simply by following an online tutorial. While there are several different types of yoga, the most common is hatha, a combination of breathing and poses.

“Providing evidence-based data is helpful in getting more individuals to try yoga as a strategy for improving their health and well-being.

These data are crucial for accompanying investigations of underlying neurobiology that will help elucidate ‘how’ yoga works,” said Silveri.