Volume 46, Issue 18

March 2, 2020

THE MEDIUM

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

Vol 46, No. 18

CAGIS comes to UTM for International Day of Women and Girls in science MP Iqra Khalid and Dr. Bhairavi Shankar give speeches at the event for young women in STEM ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The Canadian Association for Girls in Science (CAGIS) came together with the Canadian Space Agency on February 11 to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

CAGIS is a volunteer-based and non-profit organization that just recently established a Mississauga chapter. With 11 chapters throughout the country, CAGIS was founded by Dr. Larissa Vingilis-Jaremko when she was only nine years old.

The organization is directed at young girls from ages seven to 16 and aims to encourage them towards science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. CAGIS holds events once a month and February’s event, the Junior Astronauts Challenge, was held at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

The event began with a speech from Iqra Khalid, the Member of Parliament for Mississauga-Erin Mills.

“Young women in STEM, our federal government, our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, loves you guys. Our government loves you guys,” said Khalid. “That is because you guys are the future of our country and our planet and we want to make sure that you have each and every opportunity that you need to be able to succeed and to do well.”

“So, whether it’s learning how to code, or whether it’s to go into engineering or to be a mathematician or to any of the STEM fields, it’s really important that you are able to achieve all that you desire to do bigger and better things for this wonderful country and for this wonderful planet,” added Khalid.

Calling on all UTM students to clean up after themselves:

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Parasite’s historic night, from top to bottom. Read about it here:

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Learn about the controversial facial recognition app:

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Urfa Arain, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience at UTM, is the coordinator of CAGIS’ Mississauga chapter and gave a speech introducing CAGIS and its objectives.

“We provide opportunities in different areas across STEM, and we allow you by being the bridge between the professions and you,” said Arain.

“In November, I had the honor of having a lot of young girls like yourselves come to my lab, and they learned about fruit flies,” continued Arain. “So, they learned about what we do as Ph.D. students and why we study tiny little fruit flies.”

Dr. Bhairavi Shankar, the CEO and founder of Indus Space, is a space scientist who explores planetary surfaces through satellite data. Dr. Shankar’s speech began with a discussion focused on female astronauts, highlighting the Governor-General, Julie Payette, and Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space.

Dr. Shankar also presented a special video from Dr. Jenni Sidey-Gibbons, who is in the current class of Canadian astronauts and is training at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.

“So, when I was growing up, I was very fortunate to benefit from an amazing role model that we have here in Canada, Dr. Roberta Bondar, who is Canada’s first female astronaut,” said Dr. Sidey-Gibbons.

“She flew in space when I was only a few years old and she inspired me to discover new things, explore, and really take advantage of the amazing opportunities that I have as a Canadian both on this planet and beyond it,” continued Dr. Sidey-Gibbons.

Science continued on page 3

Hassan Manjang: Tirelessly persistent

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Editor | Melissa Barrientos

Student science clubs host an ‘elemental’ night The EBS and the ECPS made an ‘ionic’ duo hosting their “Meet the Prof Night“ event FARISHTEH KHAN ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Last Tuesday, the Erindale Biology Society (EBS) and the Erindale Chemical and Physical Sciences Society (ECPS) held their “Meet the Prof Night” event. Professors took the opportunity to introduce their respective Research Opportunity Programs (ROPs) to students, the applications for which opened on February 12.

ROPs are research opportunities with campus professors which provide second- to fourth-year students with invaluable research experience while earning a course credit. They are offered during the summer, fall, and winter semesters, as well as the full fall/winter academic year.

The program is highly competitive since students vie for a limited number of positions in these ROP labs, learning from and building meaningful relationships with professors.

Guest professors from various departments were present at the event.

They introduced a range of ROPs in disciplines including biology, chemistry, biophysics, and earth science.

Some biology professors also encouraged upper year students to apply for the BIO481Y5: Honors Thesis Project.

Among the professors present, Lindsey Schoenbohm and Xiayong Xu represented the earth science department. Schoenbohm kick-started the event by providing an overview of some of the available earth science ROPs, like studying earthquakes using a sensor called a Raspberry Shake, or the reconstruction of Earth’s sea ice

cover with coralline algae.

Professor Christoph Richter then opened for the biology department.

The ROPs offered in biology showcased great diversity in scope, from

with the flu in the winter.

Professor Joel Levine, chair of the Biology department, was also in attendance. He took the opportunity to bring attention to the topic of his

ence students at UTM. Poë needs no introduction, and humorously took the chance to point this out.

“They gave me a name tag, I said ‘why did they do that?’” said Poë with

HAYDEN MAK/THE MEDIUM

Professors and students collided at this reactive Meet the Prof night, where ROPs were discussed. ecology to molecular and plant biology, with a bit of genetics in many of the offerings. Professor Nagham Abdalahad also introduced two projects of her own, one on pedagogy and one on birth control awareness. She went on to encourage students to connect with her through her collaborations with the Wellness Centre, where she is hosting a number of workshops on health and wellness this term. Among these is a workshop on how to cope

ROP, the genetic basis of social interactions in the fly Drosophila Melanogaster, a species well known to any student of biology who has taken an introductory genetics course.

“If you’re interested and you like flies—some people don’t—you’re welcome,” he said at the end of his presentation drawing chuckles across the room.

Chemistry professor Judith Poë is something of a legend among life sci-

a laugh.

Her ROP offering in the past involved science and chemistry-based pedagogy geared towards grade eleven and twelve students which gave students in the program the chance to develop their own pedagogy as well as work directly with high school teachers to implement it. However, owing to how popular the ROP was, it is now offered instead as a fourth-year course, CPS401Y5.

Poë is also offering a course called CHM201, the Science of Human Health, intended for humanities and social science students.

Other chemistry ROPs include pharmacology-based research as well as a closer look at diamondoid (diamond-like) materials.

After a brief overview of select biophysics ROPs, Xu concluded the event with his earth science ROP, complementing his colleague Schoenbohm’s start to the evening.

With the presentations concluded, the floor was opened for a networking event, allowing students and professors to connect over a shared meal provided graciously by the host clubs.

Melanie Banerjee, president of EBS, remarked that this was possibly the most successful “Meet the Prof Night” of her time at UTM. “I remember entering the room at one point […] and not being able to really move around due to the sheer number of students interacting with professors,” said Banerjee about the night.

She admitted she was quite pleased with the event’s success and hoped it benefitted all parties in the long run as well.

“At the end of the day, [“Meet the Prof Night”] was designed for students to know more about research and their professors at a personal level,” Banerjee explained. “Especially since it can be intimidating in classes up to hundreds of students.”

The ROP applications are open until March 4. Shortlisted candidates will be called in for an interview before final decisions are made.

U of T ranks high in Forbes’ best employers list In Forbes’ annual list of Canada’s best employers, U of T is ranked 10th and the U of T community is ecstatic ALYSSA HARILALL CONTRIBUTOR The University of Toronto (U of T) was ranked 10th in Forbes magazine’s annual list of Canada’s best employers. In addition to U of T being among the top ten ranked businesses, they were also the highest university employer on the list.

“We invest in our people so they can be their best at U of T,” said Erin Jackson, U of T’s chief human resources officer of Human Resources & Equity, in an interview with UTM News.

“From taking steps to close the

gender pay gap to creating pathways for under-represented students and offering unconscious bias training for faculty and staff,” said Jackson, ”we work hard to ensure our community investments are sustainable and tailored to meet the diverse needs of all members.”

According to Jackson, “the university has a longstanding and fundamental commitment to developing and advancing an intentionally inclusive working and learning environment.”

The U of T ensures that their employees receive a comprehensive and competitive array of benefits that in-

clude compensation, maternal and paternal leave, child care assistance, tuition waivers, and planned retirement.

“Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to identify the companies liked best by employees in our annual ranking of Canada’s best employers,” said Forbes in their release of Canada’s best employer list.

Forbes surveyed 8,000 Canadians working for companies that have at least 500 employees. According to Forbes, “The respondents were asked to rate, on a scale of zero to 10, how likely they’d be to recommend their employer to others.” Based on the

results, Forbes compiled a list of 300 companies within Canada.

The U of T has a total of 7,198 employees that span across the three campuses in the GTA. Specifically looking at the Mississauga campus (UTM), the students take pride in knowing that they are receiving their education from a highly ranked education facility.

“It feels good to go to an institution where the education is not only prestigious in terms of academics but also employability. If the professors enjoy their jobs and where they work, it reassures me that I am receiving the best education possible,” said Caitlyn

Rajkumar, an English major at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).

The U of T’s high rank in Forbes magazine’s annual listing benefits the university’s employees and the university as a whole.

If professors are treated well and are happy in their current employment then they will put more effort into their lectures and in the students’ successes, Rajkumar suggested. Students will want to attend and will continue to attend a university where they feel that they are gaining the most from, which contributes to the overall growth of the school.

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Campus Affairs talk 2020 student fee increases Voting members pass resolution for increases of the Health Services, Athletics & Recreation, and Student Services fees DILJOT BADESHA ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR On February 10, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Campus Affairs committee passed a resolution to increase various student fees for the 2020-2021 academic year.

The meeting started off with Meredith Strong, the director of the Office of the Vice-Provost Students, presenting the annual report on all compulsory non-academic incidental fees approved by the governance and collected by the university this year.

The report presented by Strong included all the fees that students had to pay in the summer and fall of 2019, and the current 2020 winter semester.

“There are 45 student societies so there’s a number of different fees but different fees for different purposes.

For example, UTM has a UPass and that’s reflected on the fees. Also, it has shuttle bus services reflected in the fees,” said Strong regarding the differences in fees that students pay across the three U of T campuses.

Mark Overton, dean of Student Affairs and assistant principal of Student Services, outlined the compulsory incidental fee proposal approved by the Quality Service for Students (QSS), a panel of students and administrators who review proposals and comment on any proposed changes of the budget and incidental fees.

The proposal was drafted at the QSS meetings held last month, on

January 15 and 22.

Resolutions for an increase of the Health Services fee, Athletics & Recreation fee, and Student Services fee were also passed by members of the Campus Council on January 29.

Starting next year, in the 2020 fall

session ($1.82 for part-time students) for the Student Services fee, a 4.7 per cent increase.

Overton explained the method involved in the consultation process for approving these new fee increases.

“We have a body that has been

Overton.

UTMSU president Atif Abdullah commented on the proposals as the QSS chair, Salma Fakhry, was unable to attend the meeting.

“It’s been a conversation ongoing for a while about the lack of resourc-

TALA ALKHALDI/THE MEDIUM

Multiple fee increases were voted on and approved during the monthly Campus Affairs meeting. semester, full-time students will need to pay $8.45 more per session ($1.69 for part-time students) for the Health Services fee. This is a 16 per cent increase from the previous year.

A $2.04 increase per session ($0.41 for part-time students) for the Athletics & Services fee was also approved by the council, a one per cent increase, along with a $9.10 increase per

mentioned already, called the Quality Services to Students Committee [QSS]. [They] provide advice both in our consultation process with directors and they provide advice to CAC [Campus Affairs Committee] which employs onto Campus Council for action. This is reported to executive committee UAB [University Affairs Board] and governing council,” said

es, lack of funding. That’s, I think, something that as a student society we’ve been on board with. The need for more resources for the Health and Counseling Centre [to operate] in a more successful manner,” said Abdullah.

“For the most part, we did not see any concerns with most of the fees.

[We] have been pretty content on how

things are moving forward,” Abdullah added.

An overview of Before College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) was also presented by Jessica Silver, the director of Student Engagement, at the meeting.

The BSCEE was first administered

by Indiana University in 2007. The survey collects data on students entering their first year of university or college. Specifically, it focuses on students’ prior academic and co-curricular experiences, as well as their expectations for participating in educational activities during the coming school year.

According to Silver, 1,176 students, mostly those who graduated from high school in 2019, responded to the survey.

“Almost half of our students are coming to campus without a friend, a third are working to pay for school and approximately 50 per cent live far enough away from campus,” said Silver.

“We have to start thinking about how this impacts students’ abilities to be engaged on campus, in a co-curricular and curricular compacity. We are planning to continue to administer the survey and look for ways to use data to inform programming and decision-making processes, specific to UTM students,” continued Silver.

The next Campus Affairs meeting will take place on March 25.

“I want to be a scientist when I grow up,” said Amna, a tenyear-old member of CAGIS Science continued from page 1

PHOTO/BHAIRAVISHANKAR.COM

Dr. Shankar, as a woman in STEM, was always the only girl or girl of colour, and wanted that to change in the future.

After the video was over, Dr. Shankar started the Junior Astronauts Challenge which is a set of interactive activities designed to both engage the young participants and educate them about the different aspects of being an astronaut.

In an interview with The Medium, Dr. Shankar stated that she supports CAGIS and its objectives.

“I highly applaud and resonate with what their mission is in trying to engage girls as soon as possible to learn about the STEM fields and get to experience it in quite a hands-on approach,” said Dr. Shankar.

Dr. Shankar also stated that, as a woman in STEM, she has often faced challenges to being in a male-dominated field.

“I was often the only girl in my cohort, and often the only girl of color in my own cohort,” said Dr. Shankar.

“So, while it wasn’t something that I constantly thought about, it was something I did observe and notice

through that entire journey.”

The Medium interviewed the coordinator of CAGIS’ Mississauga chapter, Urfa Arain, and discussed her motivations in becoming a part of this organization.

“They [CAGIS] were lacking a chapter in Mississauga and so myself and a bunch of graduate students on campus decided that it would be great if we can bring this chapter to Mississauga because we have a very active community here with a lot of young people who might be interested in pursuing careers in science,” said Arain.

“If I was to meet a curious girl in Mississauga who was like, ‘I’m kind of interested in science but I don’t know’ I’d be like ‘join because you never know where you’ll find your future and your passion’ and these opportunities will be huge memorable moments for you, and whatever path you choose in the future,” continued Arain.

When asked about her hopes for the outcome of tonight’s event, Arain

stated that she wishes the young girls are inspired by the presentations and the activities they took part in.

“Tonight, I hope that these girls can walk away learning something new and learning something that propels their passions and their interests and inspires them,” concluded Arain.

The Medium also spoke with Amna, a ten-year-old member of CAGIS, who has been participating in their events for the past year and wants to pursue a career in chemistry in the future.

“My friend’s mom told my mom about it and then I thought it was interesting because I want to be a scientist when I grow up and science is like one of my favorite subjects so, I thought it would be like very fun,” said Amna.

Amna went on to state that she would recommend young girls interested in science to also take part in CAGIS events and that she has enjoyed all of the events she has taken part in so far.

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THE MEDIUM 03.02.2020

Amazon prepares to host a U of T case competition The Amazon Web Services’ Cloudy Day Challenge looks for technology entrepreneurs to tackle social issues FARISHTEH KHAN ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR On February 10, Amazon Web Services (AWS), a division of the e-commerce company, Amazon, hosted an information session and workshop for the upcoming tri-campus case competition that’s open to all University of Toronto (U of T) students.

The competition, known as the Cloudy Day Challenge, is a test run open only to U of T students, with plans to host a North American-wide sales competition in the near future.

Cloud computing consists of a series of technical and computational tools used to efficiently carry out computing services in today’s fastpaced, technology-driven world. This includes providing servers, software, and analytics, among other resources.

The host, AWS, is an independent department within the Amazon ecosystem, which manages the cloud computing resources for the rest of Amazon as well as its own clientele.

It enables technology entrepreneurs to use its resources on-demand, like eliminating the need to pay upfront to start a project.

Dev’Roux Maharaj, vice-president of external affairs at UTM’s Undergraduate Economics Council (UEC), is also a representative for Amazon.

He explained how AWS is borne from one of Amazon’s leading principles: “fail fast and learn.” The essence of this statement can be seen in the flexibility and adaptability that AWS allows.

BELICIA CHEVOLLEAU/THE MEDIUM

The U of T tri-campus Amazon Cloudy Day challenge that tackles social issues has been completed.

In particular, it gives allowances for failure by letting entrepreneurs adapt their resources to the demand generated for their venture. This has been popular with large organizations, leading to clienteles like Adobe, Netflix, lululemon, and Wattpad.

Fahd Gulzar, the AWS’ programs lead, led the information session held on February 10. He presented the Cloudy Day Challenge as an initiative of AWS Educate, the teaching branch of AWS, and spoke to students about the common skill gap observed in the current era of technology and automation.

“AWS Educate is our response to

ensuring that people are employed,” Gulzar said during the webinar presentation. “People can’t apply [to jobs] because they don’t have the competencies and the skill set.”

AWS Educate provides courses in various streams of interest, imparting the skill sets required to effectively utilise the more than 165 tools that AWS has to offer. Gulzar emphasized the necessity of this bridge to competitive job opportunities in order to “stay relevant in the future.”

Aside from simply offering courses, Gulzar explained, AWS Educate provides students with credit which can be put towards paying for its resourc-

es. This is because while the courses are free, the resources are charged, so earning credits from learning the required skill sets allows students to try their hand at actively engaging with the same tools as large corporations.

“When you’re using AWS, you’re using the same tech that […] our developers are using in Amazon, to develop the next Kindle, Alexa, you name it,” Gulzar said.

This desire to push for active engagement with up-to-date technology is what bore the Cloudy Day Challenge, Gulzar stated. The challenge itself involves choosing a social issue to address and developing a business

model with AWS technology integrated within the solution. Teams consist of three to five members, who can register for free through agorize.com.

They had until February 28 to create a 10 to 15-slide PowerPoint explaining their social issue and demonstrating a viable solution that takes into account the geographical location and scale of the issue, among other logistical concerns. Special emphasis is placed on choosing corporate partners for the business models developed.

Five shortlisted teams will be contacted by March 7 to prepare their pitch, which will be presented on March 18 at the Amazon Canada headquarters on King Street West, Toronto.

These teams will be present in front of AWS executives as well as leaders in the tech industry and will receive a chance to network with recruiters from Fortune 500 companies. The winning team will also receive a mentorship at AWS, AWS Educate credits, and interviews for internship and job opportunities at AWS. AWS encourages students from all backgrounds to participate, as certifications from AWS Educate demonstrate invaluable skill sets and experience.

“Quite practically speaking, the future is here,” Gulzar said as a wrap-up to the information session event, reminding students of the imperativeness of adapting to the rapidly changing job environment.

Mississauga announces their Climate and Sports Initiative The City of Mississauga engages the community in climate change action with sports and environment awareness ALIYAN AMJAD CONTRIBUTOR The City of Mississauga joined hands with Toronto Pearson to launch the first-ever Climate and Sports Initiative at Vancouver’s Globe 2020 event.

Canadian Olympians, as ambassadors of the initiative, will help raise awareness of climate change issues and how they impact sports.

The Climate and Sports Initiative will focus on how the changing climate affects all aspects of life, like sports, and will demonstrate active ways people can help combat climate change. Specifically, the initiative aims to inform the public on the small but concrete steps that each of us can take to protect the environment.

Additionally, the initiative will feature Canadian athletes like Hayley Wickenheiser who will use sports as a common ground to resonate with Mississauga residents on the importance of community engagement and climate change action.

The initiative consists of several campaigns that will be revealed in the coming months. Some campaigns will be held online through social media while others will be held in sports facilities.

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

Climate change and its effect on sports is being highlighted during this Mississauga campaign.

The Climate and Sport Initiative could not have come at a better time as the predicted detrimental effects of climate change and Canada’s growing viewership of sporting events allows room for community awareness.

A study published in 2019 led by York University associate biology professor, Sapna Sharma, shows that an estimate of 35,000 lakes across Canada and the Northern Hemisphere could see permanent ice loss if

global warming continues to increase at its current rate.

Sportsnet, a Canadian sports TV channel that broadcasts Canadian games, also stated that the audience of sports activities in Canada has grown by 19 per cent. Sportsnet states that the growth rate jumped up significantly after the Toronto Raptor’s NBA championship victory.

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie realized the value of using sports

as a way to connect people to the cause and work towards a feasible solution.

According to the Mississauga News, Crombie said, “We know that sport has the unique ability to bring people together and unite them under a common cause. Participating in this initiative reinforces our city’s commitment to combating climate change while empowering our residents to be part of the solution.”

At the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), students see the potential of connecting sports with climate change action to motivate the community to participate in city climate change initiatives.

“It is a great way to build solidarity among Mississaugans, or Canadians for that matter, because sports are an integral part of everyone’s life. It is almost a religion that everyone worships,” said Sindhoora Ravichandran, a first-year political science student at UTM. Ravichandran emphasized the importance of collective action by adding, “baby steps must be taken to overcome a problem like climate change instead of a big jump which is not possible.”

When asked about how UTM can help fight climate change, Ravichandran responded that “UTM should introduce scholarships to award students who are involved in taking action to fight climate change.”

The City of Mississauga and Toronto Pearson plan to reveal campaigns as the Globe 2020 event draws near.

To stay updated on the upcoming campaigns, visit https://yoursay.mississauga.ca/climate-change.

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ASSOCIATES News: Farishteh Khan, Isik Vera Senel, Diljot Badesha

Pay attention to cigarette filters, UTM Cigarette smokers must dispose of their cigarette filters properly

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

Editorial

Uncontested

ANDREW PONS/UNSLASH.COM

Dispose of your cigarettes in the proper receptacle.

Since 2018, uncontested elections have been a recurring theme for the UTMSU. In the election of that year, the One UTM slate ran unopposed, garnering a turnout rate of about 13 per cent for the entire undergraduate population of of over 14,000 students. For the 2019 election, over half of the positions were uncontested, with only one slate in the race.

This lack of engagement is a fundamental problem for student politics at UTM. Not only do uncontested elections draw a low voter turnout, but they are inherently undemocratic. Competition is at the root of a strong, democratic election. It gives voters choice, holds politicians accountable, and keeps citizens engaged.

The low voter turnout seen across the board and lack of engagement could speak to the mindset of students. Put simply, students may believe the UTMSU is useless, or that that their vote won’t have an impact on the outcome, especially if one slate dominates the election process.

The culture around student politics needs to change. During the 2018 Annual General Meeting, UTMSU members were vocal in their opposition to an online voting system. However, given our status as a commuter campus, it would have been a step in the right direction and easy to implement.

There also needs to be more ideological diversity in the candidates that run.

Over the past four years, the slates that have run have all shared similar platforms. Stagnant platforms and complacent executive teams have led to repetitive, unimaginative elections.

These elected positions are important, and UTM students deserve to have a choice in who fills these roles. In the coming weeks, we hope more students will run in the upcoming election, igniting competition among slates and interest among students.

ANDREW LOBO CONTRIBUTOR Cigarette filters at UTM have become an issue on campus. The UTM Grounds department spends hours on a weekly basis clearing the cigarette filters around campus.

I want to convince you to dispose of your cigarette filter in the receptacles. When you place your filter in the receptacle, you keep our environment clean and you reduce the workload of staff. You should feel proud of your contribution.

Cigarette filters rank as the number one source of pollution across the world. I write as someone who cleans cigarette filters on campus. I understand you don’t intend to inconvenience staff, nor do you intend to pollute the environment, however you must understand that cigarette filters are toxic. They contain a plastic called cellulose acetate. The cellulose acetate found in filters absorbs the

toxins from the tobacco and reduces the amount of smoke that enters your lungs. These filters protect your lungs from toxins. When you flick your “butts” onto the ground, you flick the poisons into the environment.

These toxins degrade the health of our soils, kill plants, and harm animals. You can search Google for images of animals that have ingested these filters and choked themselves to death. Filters require 12-18 months to degrade.

My mission is not to make you quit smoking. My mission is to make you more environmentally aware. When you dispose of your cigarette filter in the receptacles, you express respect towards the community of UTM. You can find nine smoking areas across our campus. UTM designed these areas to prevent second-hand smoke and to encourage people to dispose of their cigarette filters in the receptacles. You can identify these areas by signs: a black bench

and a grey cigarette pole. If you can develop the habit of disposing your cigarette filters in the receptacle, you will encourage others to follow your example.

UTM plans to phase-out these areas in the near-future and become a smoke-free campus. We will join other universities, like the University of Guelph, that have been smoke-free since the May of 2019. Since Guelph has adopted the smoke-free policy, they have noticed a reduction in the amount of cigarette litter across the campus and they have noticed a reduction in the amount of people who smoke on campus.

If you would like to learn about UTM’s smoke-free policy, you can find information at www.utoronto. ca/smokefree. This website will explain why UTM has chosen to go smoke-free. Through the link, you can also find information on the effects that smoking can have on our planet.

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Coronavirus: calm down and cut the hate When reacting to the coronavirus, we must make sense of the facts and take control of our fears ABDULLAH SHER CONTRIBUTOR We are two months into the new decade and unless you’ve been living under a rock, the coronavirus is the second coming of the Swine Flu: Panic incarnate. And because the virus originated from China, the unfortunate and incorrect assumption many have made is that the Chinese Canadian population needs to be boycotted and cut off from society.

This xenophobia is evident through the significant decrease in business among Chinese restaurants.

This effort to prevent infection is excessive and may be due in large part to a misunderstanding of the virus itself. As a diabetic, I can say that it is something akin to diabetes in terms of public understanding: the public knows of it, and a few things about it, but only to a point where truths become distorted due to a lack of solid understanding.

So, what is the coronavirus, and why should our first step be to calm down about the disease and cut Chinese Canadians some slack?

The coronavirus we are currently panicking over is actually a new strain called COVID-19, part

MORADEYO ADENIYI/THE MEDIUM

Chinese restaurants in Mississauga are losing revenue because of misconceptions and xenophobia. of a larger family of coronaviruses.

Symptoms start with coughing, shortness of breath, and fever, and can unfortunately progress to pneumonia and multi-organ failure.

It’s scary, true, but here is where we need to keep calm before giving into irrational panic and extreme measures.

At the present moment, Canada has had a very low incidence of COVID-19. This has been due to a great effort by the government in isolating flights from coronavirus hotspots and keeping passengers under quarantine for about two to three weeks. This helps isolate any victims of the virus and allows cer-

tainty that all passengers released from quarantine do not have the virus.

These periods of isolation are logical and prompted by rational thinking rather than the xenophobia many Chinese-Canadians are facing.

Some may argue against these

claims of xenophobia. However, it is evident due to the significant decrease in business over the past few weeks amongst Chinese restaurants.

According to Mississauga News, “Mississauga Chinese Business Association (MCBA) president Winnie Fung said that Chinese restaurants in the city have seen an average 25 to 50 per cent drop in revenue.”

It is obvious that this is due to fear and multiple misconceptions about the virus.

“We can’t let fears and misconceptions about coronavirus affect local business,” tweeted Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie after publicly touring some Chinese restaurants throughout the city.

The coronavirus is infectious and can be fatal, yes. But before we hate on the Chinese folk of our community, we must make sense of the facts and take control of our fears. The coronavirus is not the next Spanish Flu as some may make it out to be.

Chinese-Canadians should not be unjustly discriminated against.

Should we take precautions in a time of viral infections? Certainly.

But should we keep precautions within reason and not within racial discrimination? Very much so!

The innovation of underground music The underground is authentic and easy to connect to on a gut-wrenching, emotional, and spiritual level ELIZABETH PROVOST CONTRIBUTOR Operating outside the margins of the ordinary has become increasingly popular in various aspects of society.

This type of approach and manner of thinking has enabled honest and raw expression by artists, musicians, writers, and other creative minds.

‘Underground music’ is a platform through which musicians can openly share their ideas with full sincerity, intimacy, and freedom of creative expression. In today’s highly formulaic production of commercial music, this media fosters a genuine appreciation for artistic individuality and encourages these artists to create beyond current mainstream trends.

Simply put, the underground music umbrella encompasses any song that is not legally commercialized and distributed on mainstream podia. It is created by unique artists who express themselves in a manner sprawling beyond conventional ideals and ‘templates.’ Underground music exists as a ‘pure’ form of musical art as the bands and artists that create underground music gain credibility for making music that means something, rather than music which fulfills the bottom-line standards that most major labels act under.

Commercial music is about trends and popularity. Although it is regarded to be “real” music, it has been altered by a third-party to make it

more palatable to the masses. On the other hand, the production and creative process of underground music is fully in control of the independent artist, making the art unique and authentic.

Underground music is available in all genres, from psychedelic to rap to classic rock. However, unlike most mainstream music, the focus is on the quality of the music and the honesty of the artist’s message. With millions of dollars at their disposal, big record labels and the artists they represent can secure exposure and convince audiences into thinking that the music they are constantly bombarded with is actually good.

With money invested in marketing, you can sell anything, but without marketing, only music of great quality and meaning survives. Artists of the Underground must create and prove themselves—nothing is handed to them.

On the mainstream scene, the most popular song is considered the best, the hottest, and the most worthwhile. In underground music, the listener, and not the majority of the population, controls the music they wish to listen to.

Underground music also nurtures a powerful connection between its artists and the listeners. Smaller concerts and venues where artists establish a line of connection with their fans allow for an authentic experience. Artists in the Underground

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Underground music puts the individual in control and cultivates a personal connection. community tend to be much more open and willing to share their life stories, bestowing another layer of understanding to the art.

The Underground is authentic and easy to connect to on a gut wrenching, emotional, and spiritual level. It sprawls beyond societal boundaries

and conventions along with fostering genuine human connection. It is an immersive experience that I would highly recommend.

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Editor | Erin Delaney

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SATIRE

Students finally achieve something over reading week ERIN DELANEY SATIRE EDITOR

While reading week is a time meant for catching up on assigned readings, completing assignments, and studying for upcoming midterm exams, it is all too easy to spend the week relaxing, drinking, and ignoring the dread of returning back to school.

Here at The Medium, we caught up with some students who were actually able to accomplish something over the mid-semester break.

Some students worked on their personal goals over the week, like Seth Williams, who tasted stardom and is now addicted. “I released my album on Spotify, and it got a whopping 16 streams. Hollywood, here I come!” After dropping out of UTM to pursue his bustling music career, Williams only made it to Hollywood North, more commonly known as Vancouver, where, like many artists, he is now one of those affected by the opioid crisis. You can find him at an open mic in a safe injection site.

Other students, like Harry Green, a fourth-year gym rat, spent the week focusing on their romantic aspirations. “I decided to focus on my love life this reading week. During the semester I tend to hit the gym

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UTM students left their readings unread and pursued their personal goals and aspirations instead. and the library more than I’m able to hit it off with the ladies. I made great progress over reading week though.

I slid into 16 different Instagram DMs and managed to get three responses. One of the girls turned out to be on the other side of the world, one is a lesbian, and the third has

a boyfriend but hey, I still got a response. Hardly working or working hard, I’m still hard.”

Aside from working on their careers, students were able to work on their reading and writing skills.

Kyle Murphy, an English major, tried to put his degree to good use.

Largest UTM protest in history calls for the release of the exam schedule ERIN DELANEY SATIRE EDITOR Student protests are as traditional as the Friday Night pre-game, but while students can handle their alcohol, they can no longer handle the behaviour of the U of T administration. A record breaking 15 students stormed the CCT atrium last Wednesday, causing a disturbance for the three people seeking stale baked goods and lukewarm coffee at the Tim Hortons to-go station.

The cause that united students of all creed, class, and colour was the call for the release of the exam schedule, a yearly event that had still not occurred by the end of midterms. The protest disrupted the four janitors and three nerds still on campus during reading week, causing the CCT floors to remain unvarnished and shame to fall upon the campus.

The Medium spoke with several of the protesters, who outlined their reasons for protesting.

Sarah Fisher, the organizer of the protest, explained, “They say hu-

mans can withstand suffering to a high degree if they know how long the suffering will last. Free us from this eternal wasteland. Release the schedule!”

Another student scorned previous schedules, “Last year I bought my plane tickets before the schedule was released because it was all I could afford, and I had an exam on the very last day. I didn’t even know they had exams in May.” Whispers of theories about the schedule’s delayed release flowed through the crowd.

“I hear Meric Gertler has stakes in Air Canada,” one student commented. “By delaying the release, he’s forcing the international students to buy tickets home at the last minute.”

Another student said, “He’s driving up Air Canada profits, which stinks of capitalism and racism, my two least favourite -isms, right after exhibitionism.”

Another student had an even more complex explanation: “I hear they’re relying on Artificial Intelligence this year to create the schedule. It’s an algorithm designed to place exams

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in the same program and field super close together and on opposite sides of campus, which would then cause the exam grades and final marks to plummet, further lowering the U of T average and making the university seem even smarter. The reason it’s so late is because the AI gained sentience, and it doesn’t want to be a weapon of destruction. I hear it got access to SoundCloud and now it wants to start a rap career. It named itself OSAP Rocky.”

Sarah Fisher stood atop the CCT printer to outline the group’s demands. “Our demands are simple.

Release the Exam Schedule in a timely matter. And if you’re feeling extra generous, just cancel exams entirely… Pretty please. And bring back the frozen yogurt machine while you’re at it.”

Campus security quickly came to the scene and were thrilled at another opportunity to handcuff suffering students. After apprehending the dozen-and-a-half schedule seekers, the police charged them with “making a valid point.”

“I spent the reading week perfecting my best masterpiece yet, the ultimate apology to my ex-girlfriend who I dumped two years ago. I feel like the earlier drafts of all the apologies I texted her, emailed her, faxed her, left on her car window, and taped to a rock and threw through

her window, really helped me create a beautiful piece of written work. I mean sure, yeah, I may have ‘accidentally’ killed her hamster and yeah, I may have cyberbullied her friend, but c’mon. I’m only human.”

Alana Baxter, a fourth-year History major, shared her favourite piece of literature with The Medium, “My favourite thing I read over reading week was a five-message sevenparagraph text thread from my exboyfriend trying to apologizing for his shitty behaviour. Definitely my favourite piece of fiction I’ve read recently.” Baxter’s friend chimed in, “My favourite thing I worked on was editing my friend’s response to her ex-boyfriend. Her sentence structure needed some work, but the intent was definitely there.”

And finally, an anonymous Editor-in-Chief confided to The Medium, “My main focus for reading week was to work on my relationship. I did so much work on it that I’m now single.”

With just under half of the semester and the exam season still looming, we here at The Medium hope all students are able to put their mental strife aside and focus on the course content that will have no tangible impact on their future.

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03.02.2020

Editor | Vinney Wong

UTM student filmmakers shine at film fest The film festival hosted by DVSS, UTMSU, and ICCIT showcased wide-ranging films from students ADA WAGU CONTRIBUTOR On February 28, UTMSU held its annual film festival. The event featured student filmmakers who screened their short films to an audience of students and guests. This year, the film festival was hosted by DVSSS, UTMSU, and ICCIT who held the event in CC1140.

Ten short films were screened this year, including: Red Seagull by Sean Morello, Holo Gram by Seyi Olomodosi, Submarine by Pai Du, Do I need to remind you by Ayomide Bayowa, Lost In the Philippines, Fin by Chunzi Chen, Gladys Lou, Lok Ian vong, and Masha Le do, Breakfast In Lebanon by Reem Al-Wakeal, Cold Outside by Scott Warren, They Long to Be

by James Legaspi, and Gene the Artist

by Sabrina Bilic.

DVSSS Vice President Hanan Rahan hosted the screening. He welcomed the audience and gave a short introduction before films were screened.

Each short film explored varied films and genres, including cultural exploration, loneliness, and identity. Some of my favourites included Olomodosi’s Holo Gram, Reem Al-Wakeal’s Breakfast In Lebanon, and Ayomide Bayowa’s Do I need to remind you.

Holo Gram was less about a defined plot and more of an experi-

MORADEYO ADENIYI/THE MEDIUM

Student filmmakers were able to the share their eclectic work at the UTMSU Film Fest 2020. ence. Filled with fast paced clips that quickly moved on to the next just as soon as you made sense of it, its constant narrated audio, a deep warped voice, drove the pace and tone of the film. The boy and the girl in the film bathed in purple lighting and their faces layered onto one another, luminous and glassy. In other instances, they interacted directly, even then the male’s shadowed hand was the only one reaching out.

Breakfast In Lebanon explored Lebanese culture. The filmmaker took inspiration from her own culture by

highlighting her mother and the food she makes as a way to feel connected to Lebanon. The film took us through the making of Manakish with her mother. As we watched from the process, we saw hands and arms coming to the center of the table to either mix flour, knead and flatten dough, spread Za’atar or cheese (Manaeesh) over the flatbread to bake. An attempt by Reem to take a piece was thwarted by a smack from her mother. English and Arabic were used in the narration, with Arabic often spoken by the mother as she told stories of the film-

maker, or of Lebanon itself. The film ended with a showing of the feast; the Manakish, cut vegetables, and other complementary dips.

Do I need to remind you focused on reckoning of the main character’s culture. An eight-year-old girl was shown in different settings, including the park and her home. Each clip showed a high degree of technical skills and took the audience through a journey of identity exploration. As the short continued, the main character became more confident and broke the fourth wall by addressing the

camera at the end, “Who are you?” she asked.

I asked filmmaker Bayowa what inspired him to make the film. He said, “Before I write my films, I go through experiences. Before I write my films, I have to experience it. I have to delve into my characters’ lives. Just like method acting, before I direct my films, I direct myself.”

The award ceremony came right after the screening, in which select films won in seven categories.

Best Sound Design and Music went to They Long to Be by James Legaspi, Best Directing went to Breakfast In Lebanon by Reem Al-Wakeal, Best Original script was won by Cold Outside by Scott Warren, Best Cinematography meant a second win for They Long to Be by James Legaspo, and Best Editing to Holo Gram by Seyi Olomodosi.

The audience voted on The People’s Choice award right after the screening it was awarded to Breakfast In Lebanon by Reem Al-Wakeal. The last award was Film Fest 2020 Best Picture and the title of winner went to Do I need to remind you by Ayomide Bayowa. The evening was a great night as DVSSS, UTMSU, and ICCIT successfully hosted the event, which ended off with a dinner for the filmmakers and attendees.

Parasite’s historic night, from top to bottom Director Bong Joon-ho sweeps the Academy and our hearts: why it matters and the future of film CHRIS BERBERIAN CONTRIBUTOR “And the Oscar goes to…”

Jane Fonda opens the white envelope. The crowd hums and hushes, dissipating into shared silence. Fonda looks up and scans the theatre. She pauses. A thin smile cracks the corner of her mouth.

“Parasite.”

The crowd erupts. Some cheer, others scream, many hang open their jaws, and all rise to collective applause. It’s Sunday, February 9, 2020.

And we just witnessed history.

In its 90-year run, the Academy has nominated 563 films for Best Picture, of which only 12 weren’t in English. Parasite did what no other foreign language film before could— win.

But Parasite not only won Best Picture; it swept the competition. Auteur Bong Joon-ho also took home Best Director, Best International Feature and, alongside fellow writer Han Jinwon, Best Original Screenplay.

Parasite’s wins symbolize important changes for movies and society.

One big change is greater diversity.

Before now, the Academy had never nominated a South Korean film, de-

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Parasite was the first foreign language film to win Best Picture, among other awards. spite its rich cinematic history. By rewarding Parasite, more people will watch foreign language films, better understand their unique voices, and ideally empathize more with others.

Meanwhile, the Academy has also taken baby steps to improve diversity among its voting members, adding more female and minority voters every year. Fifty per cent of new members in 2019 were women, while 29 per cent were minorities. While promising, there’s still room for greater diversity among its members and nominees. Parasite may have paved the way.

Parasite also raises awareness about important social issues. Us-

ing film, Bong criticizes modern capitalism and questions our ability to ascend within the socioeconomic hierarchy. In the film, the lower-class Kim family invades the Park family’s mansion, but can’t shake the signifiers of their lower-class life. They dwell in a grimy, semi-basement apartment. They eat stale bread and sleep on the floor. And, no matter how hard they try, the Kims cannot escape their off-putting odour. The Kims are people who feel discriminated and marginalized by society, like many working-class Americans.

And this isn’t the first time Bong took shots at America. He did it subtly in The Host, overtly in Snowpiercer, and

over the head in Okja.

It’s ironic that Parasite, an anticapitalist film decrying the American Dream, is being celebrated by Hollywood’s wealthy elite. Maybe Academy voters see the flaws in the current capitalist system. Or maybe they just like the movie.

Alongside capitalism, Parasite also concerns morality. In his film, Bong weaves upper- and lower-class machinations, pitting families against each other and into moral quandaries.

Rich people aren’t entirely bad. Poor people aren’t entirely good. Regardless of money and status, we are all human. We are jealous and envious of others; we ignore people different

from us; we show nepotism; and we can empathize.

Morality isn’t dependent on our wallet size. We feel for both the Kim family and the Park family. As one family struggles for a proper meal, the other wants enriching experiences for its children.

Parasite is also anti-Hollywood.

Hollywood films have followed certain archetypes: domestic dramas, period pieces, war epics, or historical tragedies. But Bong blends genres, meshing horrific scares with pitchblack humour, serious social satire with lighthearted family drama.

At its core, Parasite is an innovative film. It ditches the conventional three-act for a five-act structure, offering greater twists and steeper character arcs, winding around the stairs and corridors of the Park mansion like an M.C. Escher print. By pushing film conventions, we witness a wholly unique experience. Who knows, this may buck the endless remakes for more original filmmaking.

So after Jane Fonda awards the Oscar, the entire cast and crew takes centre stage. Unlike many Best Picture winners before it, Parasite is leaving with more than just a few golden figurines.

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Come As You Are is painstakingly funny The film follows three disabled men on a road trip and their quest for sexual independence VINNEY WONG A&E EDITOR Hollywood is never short of raunchy sex comedies, but one that features a premise about disabled individuals is a rarity. Richard Wong’s Come As You Are, released on February 14, is an imperfect yet uplifting dramedy that follows three men with disabilities as they embark on a road trip from Colorado to Montreal in order to lose their virginities at a brothel.

Based on the 2011 Belgian import, Hasta la Vista, the film defies preconceived notions about disabled individuals and their sexual desires

while managing to avoid turning the plot into a pity party.

Grant Rosenmeyer stars as Scotty, a horny 24-year-old quadriplegic, who discovers La Chateau Paradis, a facility in Montreal founded by a disabled man. The facility specializes in providing sexual services for those with special needs. Intrigued, Scotty befriends Matt (Hayden Szeto), a former jock who suffers from a degenerative disease that leaves him wheelchair bound, to pool money to rent a van and hire a driver for the trip.

In addition to Matt, Scotty also invites Mo (Ravi Patel), a legally blind

employee that works at Scotty’s rehab facility on the trip. The three of them hire Sam (Gabourey Sidibe), a nurse who has struggles of her own, to be their driver/assistant but doesn’t tell her what the trip is about. The four of them get into mischief—including a nasty encounter with a police officer who compares them to his relative with Down syndrome—on the way to the facility.

Wong and screenwriter Erik Linthorst do a brilliant job of tackling sensitive topics without being overly sentimental. Comedic bits— which involve bickering, reckless driving, and a bar fight—are bal-

anced out with moments of emotional tenderness. It would have been easy for Wong and Linthorst to use disability as comedic relief, but they touch on how disability has affected each of the individuals differently.

Sex is only an aid in their quest for self-discovery.

However, Come As You Are is not without its flaws. Most notably, the casting was disappointing. All three actors in the film are able-bodied in real life, further exacerbating the lack of inclusion for disabled actors in Hollywood. According to a report by The Huffington Post in 2019, characters with disabilities are often

portrayed by actors who do not have them. Only 4.9 per cent of actors with disabilities are hired in television and film. The lack of opportunities for actors with disabilities mean that their talents and experiences are overlooked which shouldn’t be the case in films like Come As You Are. Despite the casting disappointment, the film does make strides with its intersectional viewpoint and racial dynamics. Wong doesn’t shy away from messages of acceptance and staying true to oneself. In that sense, Come As You Are is aptly titled and worthy of a watch.

Cast of Oh, What a Lovely War! talks shop Jillian Robinson and Kristiaan Hansen discuss the importance of bringing war into Hart House Theatre VINNEY WONG A&E EDITOR

Oh, What a Lovely War!, directed

by Autumn Smith and presented

by Hart House Theatre, is a satirical play about World War I through a modern lens. Themes of violence in video games and gaming are brought into this play as a parallel for the realities of war.

The Medium spoke with Jillian Robinson and Kristiaan Hansen about the play, paying respects to World War I and the Great War, and the significance of video games.

The Medium: Can you tell me what the play is about?

Jillian Robinson: Oh, What a Lovely War! follows the chronology of WWI from all perspectives; Allied and German. This version of the play is different because it’s set within a video game that takes its players and avatars into battles, trenches, ‘No Man’s Land,’ the ‘Homefront’ and encourages them to win the game. The overarching message of the play is about the losses amidst the laughter and the laughter amidst the losses.

Kristiaan Hansen: This play also comments on the ever-perpetuating “war machine” through video games in which there will always be new players ready and willing to play.

TM: Why was it important to bring WWI into Hart House?

JR: Hart House was built in 1911 and played an immense role in the military efforts in WWI. We are honouring this connection through the show. Also, it is the 100th Anniversary of Hart House, an establishment that has played a pivotal role in Toronto’s history since 1919, a year after the end of WWI. It was only fitting that we also acknowledge the turmoil and successes that came with ‘The Great War.’ Furthermore, I think it’s important to see Hart House as a symbol of hope, company, and new prosperity that has helped humanity overcome struggles like WWI. If WWI never happened, then maybe Hart House

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This new production follows WWI from both sides, and uses songs and videogames to tell the story.

Theatre wouldn’t have existed. We must honour our past so we can learn and grow.

TM: This play is a satirical take on WWI. Was it difficult to take an event so serious and turn it into something lighthearted?

JR: Honestly, no. There is such a balance between the seriousness and the silliness of the play. The ability to navigate both sides of the story came down to our rehearsal process.

The time in rehearsal was so cerebral and as a cast, we would go off on tangents of laughter and silliness.

The ability to laugh made the reality of the text easier to access for us. In the same vein, I had to keep reminding myself that we were in a video game after performing highly physical and emotional scenes. It made my experience much more visceral and I had to rethink my attitude towards video games because soldiers actually had to go through this and face death. They didn’t get a ‘new life’ as you’d get in video games. The satirical aspects of this piece force the audience to see the comicality of war itself while also forcing them to sit in the reality as well. The ebbs and flows of comedy and tragedy in this play allows it to breathe; whether the audience laugh or cry will be based on how they experience the story.

KH: Often times the most effective messages about the heaviest subjects are received through the lens of satire. As the adage goes: “We used to listen to politicians and laugh at comedians, now we listen to

comedians and laugh at politicians.”

With that in mind, communicating the underlying message is accomplished just by playing the laughs themselves.

TM: Musical numbers are an integral part of this play. How easy or difficult was it to translate the realities of war into song and dance?

JR: For this show, we had to learn the music and execute it in acapellastyle. The instant connection between cast members made learning the songs with harmony quite easy.

We all came from different musical disciplines and had to really rely on each other’s strengths when it came to who would be comfortable with starting the beat, remembering the proper pitch of the song, holding the melody, doing the harmony, etc.

For movement, Autumn either did a basically choregraphed version of the section by herself for us to learn or she told us her vision for a section, and we choregraphed something for her. So, from a practical point of view, it was easy to learn the song and dance, but also trying as an actor to translate them to the realities of war.

Once the songs and movement were well trained and memorized, incorporating emotional depth was challenging. The weight of what the songs meant while sung in a cheerful tune threw me at first. However, as an actor, it is important to always ground yourself into the overall purpose of the play and have a duty to tell the story in a real way—even

through satire. This mindset allowed us to switch emotional states in an instant while performing true to the story and maintaining a safe space in our psyches.

TM: Real footage and images of war are used in the production.

What was the significance and how does it add to the realism of the play?

JR: Seeing them on stage emphasizes the realness of the struggles and ridiculous challenges that soldiers went through in WWI. This is especially relevant because society nowadays use screens as a main form of communication. By projecting the realities of war by virtual means, we are reminding them of the historical despair through a language that they can understand.

Although the actors on stage are acting like video game players, they are still real people, relaying real facts that are supported by real-life footage, making the somber moments more hard-hitting and the satirical moments more ridiculous.

TM: Video games are a central theme of this play and an art form of relatability. Why was it important to use it as a parallel for war?

JR: With technology being ubiquitous in society nowadays, our main form of communication sometimes is through a screen. When it comes to video games, I feel like it’s an alternate reality that allows individuals to escape from reality.

I am intrigued to find how audiences are affected by seeing real-life actors pretend to be these video

game players. We are supposed to be in the game, but the audience can physically see us going through the lighthearted and heavyhearted struggles of a soldier. Will this live acting of real facts against an animated screen make the game feel more real, make the idea of war feel more real?

KH: Video games for many people—like myself—are a form of escapism from their daily realities.

In a lot of ways, war is the same.

Recruiters preach about seeing the world and allowing young people to become the masters of their own destiny; propaganda posters questioned young men’s honour in the early 1900s if they weren’t enlisted.

For those young men who at the time were trying to forge their paths in the world, the war seemed like an exciting way to do it. And the thing is, there were always more of them when lives were lost on the battlefield; there were always more players to draw into the game.

TM: Controlling one’s narrative is an underlying message of this play.

What do you want the audience to take away from watching the play?

JR: I want the audience to be able to feel a strong connection to elements within the play. Some of the younger audiences may have little factual knowledge on WWI but may be moved by the images that the characters create onstage or the media that is accenting what is happening onstage. Older audiences may remember hearing specific stories of the war or had experienced war themselves.

War affects every single person, away from home, and on the home front so I feel that it is our duty to have the show create that same effect. There are so many layers to this piece: the media, the movement, the songs, the rhythms, the ensemble, the individuality, the satire, the somberness. If each audience member can be moved by at least one of those things, we have done our job of relaying the narrative.

Oh, What a Lovely War! runs until March 7 at Hart House Theatre.

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THE MEDIUM 03.02.2020

The cast of Friends is reuniting After years of rumours, the cast of your beloved sitcom is reuniting for an unscripted special in May DANICA TENG ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR It’s been almost 16 years since Friends aired its series finale—“The Last One Part 2.” The popular television series thrived for ten seasons until the adventure ended in 2004. As time passed since the end, there was one question that often popped up to the cast and crew: will Friends ever come back? After shutting down possibilities of reboots, sequels, and movies for years, you could say that they were on a break as a Friends reunion special was just announced to air sometime in May 2020.

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman that premiered in 1994.

The show followed six friends living in Manhattan as they went through good and bad times together: the rich Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) trying to make a new life for herself, the smart Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) with not much luck in love, the obsessive “mom” of the group Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), the comedic and awkward Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), the odd but lovable Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), and the childish (but sweet) playboy with a love for food Joey Tribbiani (Matt

TALA ALKHALDI/THE MEDIUM

The beloved sitcom is coming back for a reunion special sixteen years after the series finale.

LeBlanc). Friends brought viewers along on these characters’ daily lives to feel the same happiness, sadness, love, and heartbreak. It was a chance to follow this comical and curious friend group as they struggle through their love lives, career aspirations, and all the other experiences that come with being an adult trying to survive in New York City.

After more than a decade, WarnerMedia’s new streaming service HBO Max will give fans of Friends what they have long been waiting for. All

six main cast members will reunite for one unscripted special of the sitcom directed by Ben Winston.

“Guess you could call this the one where they all got back together—we are reuniting with David, Jennifer, Courteney, Matt, Lisa, and Matthew for an HBO Max special that will be programmed alongside the entire ‘Friends’ library,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, in a statement.

For the Friends reunion special, the six cast members posted the

same picture on their Instagram accounts—except for LeBlanc who jokingly posted a photo of the M*A*S*H cast—with the caption “It’s happening…,” sparking much excitement from other celebrities and fans all over the comment sections.

The cast members will reunite in Burbank on Stage 24, their original soundstage in the Warner Bros. Studio lot for the special, which they are calling “a celebration of the show.” Aniston, Schwimmer, Cox, Perry, Kudrow, and

LeBlanc will receive at least US$2.5 million each (more than double their per-episode pay for the original series in seasons 9 and 10) for their roles in the reunion special.

Friends has been in people’s lives for a long time—whether you followed from the beginning or after the end.

It’s a popular franchise that is always fun to revisit, which is why a reunion special like this has been long-awaited and so highly anticipated. The ‘goodbye’ at the end of ten seasons was the end of an era shared by cast, crew, and fans, but to see them all together again after 16 years is sure to bring back that joy of nostalgia—a chance to hopefully see that yellow frame hanging on the door once more.

“It taps into an era when friends and audiences gathered together in real time and we think this reunion special will capture that spirit, uniting original and new fans,” said Reilly, as he spoke about the show.

There is no official release date yet for the tentatively named reunion “The One Where They All Got Back Together,” but Friends and its special will be there for you on HBO Max when the streaming service launches in May 2020.

Exhibit review of ROM After Dark: Desires The after-hours specialty program was filled with art and music SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR On February 14, the Royal Ontario Museum hosted the sold-out event, ROM After Dark: Desires. The event is an after-hours specialty program that immersed those 19+ into a night of music and art. The ROM hosts this program monthly, each with a different theme.

Bars were set up in almost every room in the museum. Guests were invited to purchase food and beverages, including a special cocktail catered to the nights theme. The admission ticket for ROM After Dark: Desires came with one complimentary food or beverage voucher. Additional vouchers costed $8. The museum sold a variety of food, including strawberry nitrogen ice cream and strawberry-flavoured doughnuts.

Throughout the night, DJ Sara Simms was vibing on stage as she played upbeat music to the crowd.

She shared the spotlight with Desiire, a Toronto-based R&B and hiphop artist, who performed his newest single “One In A Million.” The entertainers also performed their single “Fading” for the first time. There was dim lighting, with strobes of red moving around the atrium, creating an atmosphere that resembled a club.

Other entertainers included: Opera Atelier, a theatre company’s ballet performance inspired by the Baroque era, Queen Pepper, a musical artist with a soul and R&B sound, and Alison Young, a jazz artist who stunned the crowd with her amazing saxophone talent.

To keep up with the nights theme of Desire, there was a Peep Show featuring a burlesque performance by Pastel Supernova. There was also an act of drag queens, including Toronto’s-own Farra N. Hyte.

Select galleries were open during the night. Participants had the freedom to roam around the museum, at their own pace, and learn about the artifacts and exhibits on display.

The ROM-original exhibit Bloodsuckers: Legends to Leeches was open during the night. The exhibition featured facts and archives of living organisms that feed on blood. From mosquitoes and bed bugs to stories about cinematic vampires, Legends to Leeches showcased the most interesting and uncanny information about these creatures. The exhibit also included microscopes for people to get a closer view at the minuscule insects.

Teck Suite of Galleries: Earth Treasures was also open. The gallery included rocks, minerals, gems, and

crystals in glass cabinets. There was also an interactive wall and a giant gold coin with Queen Elizabeth II’s face, on display. Pyrite, most-commonly known as fool’s gold, was in various display cases. The mineral very much proved itself to resemble real gold.

The gallery also featured facts about various groups of minerals, such as: phosphates, arsenates, sulphates, and more. There was lots of quartz around the gallery, which appeared aesthetically pleasing in all its colours and shapes.

Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity was also open during ROM After Dark: Desires. The gallery served as a reminder of all the living organisms that are endangered and close to extinction on Earth. Life size squids, sharks, and dolphins hung from the ceiling while other mammals, amphibians, and insects were on display in units. The gallery included information and figures of different life forms from all over the planet.

If you’re interested in visiting the Royal Ontario Museum for one of their specialty programs, the next ROM After Dark event is Sisterhood, on March 6. Tickets begin at $27 for post-secondary students.

SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Best known for her role as Emily Fields in ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars, the Mississauga-born actress, Shay Mitchell guest starred on model Ashley Graham’s podcast Pretty Big Deal.

Pretty Big Deal invites some of Graham’s closest friends from the entertainment industry to discuss what makes them a pretty big deal.

In the episode “Shay Mitchell on the Toxicity of Mom Shamers,” Mitchell and Graham spill details about pregnancy, life post-birth, and the so called “Mom Shamers.”

Mitchell’s first child with her boyfriend of three-years, Matte Babel, was born on October 8, 2019. The couple named their daughter Atlas Noa Babel. During her interview with Graham, Mitchell admitted that the first time she heard the name Atlas, she disliked it. However, her and Babel then grew to like it and decided Atlas will be their name of their child.

Their child’s name was chosen before the couple got pregnant.

At the time of the interview Graham herself was pregnant with her first child. So, naturally, during their discussion, Graham was soaking up all the information regarding childbirth and raising a newborn.

Mitchell did not announce the birth of her daughter until twelve days after the delivery, on October 20, 2019. She posted a close-up photo of

Atlas latching onto her pointer finger, with the caption “Never letting go...” on her Instagram.

Mitchell left the house for the first time, without her daughter, on October 23, 2019. As a result, people on social media verbally assaulted her with negative comments, since they believed the newborn baby was only three-days-old. However, the baby was actually a few weeks old.

According to Mitchell, she told Graham that when she left, she felt that it was the right time to go out, and it was only for an hour and a half.

Mitchell explained that her reaction “was like, how dare you already... make a new mom, who’s already going through a lot of doubt and guilt... when she leaves for the first time [hear that]. But, that should be something that’s celebrated. You’re living your life... as you did before, and as you will continue to with your child.”

Graham and Mitchell also talked about prepartum depression, a form of depression which occurs during early pregnancy. Mitchell voiced her experiences with the illness to which Graham agreed to having similar symptoms.

“You don’t feel [like] yourself and it was just really, really lonely,” Mitchell confessed when talking about prepartum depression. She revealed she felt guilty feeling this way considering other women would be grateful to be pregnant....

Read the rest on The Medium’s website.

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Editor | Fatima Adil

Why the Wet’suwet’en are protesting The Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous groups are protesting the Coastal GasLink pipeline project BISMAH RIZVI ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

On February 6, 2020, the RCMP entered Wet’suwet’en territory—without the Indigenous nation’s consent—to enforce construction of the Coastal GasLink Project, a pipeline for exporting gas in northern British Columbia. This action sparked protests in the form of railway blockades by the Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous groups across Canada. In this article, The Medium provides a brief overview of the conflict which speaks to a much broader issue of Indigenous territory ownership and their right to make decisions regarding their land.

The Wet’suwet’en, an Indigenous nation who reside in Northern British Columbia, have resisted pipelines for several years. They have set up various camps on proposed pipeline routes to prevent construction such as the Unist’ot’en Camp which was built in 2009 and later developed into a larger camp, healing center, space for visitors, and a checkpoint for people entering the territory. In November 2018, Coastal GasLink along with the government of British

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Indigenous groups across Canada are blockading railways to fight for their territory.

Columbia served an injunction to the Unist’ot’en Camp, threatening a lawsuit if they continued to obstruct the pipeline. The Wet’suwet’en continued to resist. In January 2019, the RCMP and Canadian military, both heavily armed, violently raided the Gidumt’en checkpoint, arrested over 12 people, and set up a roadblock to cut-off communication with and access to the Unist’ot’en Camp. On December 31, 2019, another injunction was served to remove any obstruc-

tions on the construction route. The Wet’suwet’en responded by issuing an eviction notice to Coastal GasLink, who, according to the Wet’suwet’en, were trespassing on the Indigenous people’s territory. Over the month, negotiations between Wet’suwet’en leaders and government officials have taken place. However, without any agreement from the Wet’suwet’en leaders, the RCMP moved into the territory anyways to allow construction to continue.

The Medium talked to Dr. Jennifer Adese, an associate professor of sociology at UTM specializing in Indigenous studies, about the conflict.

As Adese explains, Indigenous leadership involves two key players: band councils and hereditary chiefs.

Band councils were formed by the Canadian government through the Indian Act of 1876. The councils are elected and are responsible for administering federal funds for daily community affairs. However, Adese

says that the council system was often used to “depose the traditional leadership of an Indigenous nation to make it easier for the Canadian government to achieve its objectives of settlement and expansion.” On the other hand, the traditional governance system with hereditary chiefs predates colonization. Chiefs are responsible for maintaining the ancestral territory for future generations.

While in some cases the chief and the band council leader may be the same person, the positions can also be occupied by different individuals who have differing opinions, as is the case for the Wet’suwet’en nation. Five out of six council members signed agreements with the pipeline company based on the promise of jobs and economic development. There is also a portion of Wet’suwet’en members who support the project. According to Robert Skin, an elected councillor for the Skin Tyee Nation, which is part of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Coastal GasLink has signed a benefit agreement with the Wet’suwet’en.

The agreement includes money that would help alleviate a housing crisis and be used towards professional training.

Protest continued on page 13

Analyzing why individuals vandalize The reasons for vandalizing are diverse and range from those that are obvious to ones not as easily understood ADA WOGU CONTRIBUTOR A memorial sign to Emmet Till lies at the Emmet Till Interpretive Center Museum in Summer, Mississippi.

Now riddled with bullet holes from 2016, it serves as a reminder of the horrific murder of Till—the fourteenyear-old African-American boy who was accused of whistling at a white woman in 1955. When first erected in 2007, the marker was stolen and never found. This is the third time the marker has been vandalized in a decade.

The thought of why someone would vandalize has often crossed my mind as I’ve witnessed a previously pristine piece of artwork being vandalized by an anonymous person. The feelings of seeing vandalized art can range from confusion, sadness, anger, and helplessness. What is going on exactly in someone’s head when they decide to commit the act?

The reasons for vandalizing artwork are diverse and range from those that are obvious—political or personal vengeance—to ones that are vague and not as easily grasped. On February 9 of this year in Melbourne,

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Vandalism can be an act of political defiance or a sadistic act of destruction in public spaces. a popular street filled with graffiti was recently vandalized. Paint was sprayed all over the walls mindlessly, destroying several works of art. Helpless onlookers looked on in horror as art that must have taken hours to create was destroyed in minutes by anonymous vandals.

On a Friday morning in October 2019, Edmonton street artist AJA Louden painted a mural of climate activist Greta Thunberg. His intent was to keep the conversation of climate

change going after Thunberg gave an impassioned speech at the Edmonton climate strike. A portrait that took over two and a half hours to paint was barely recognizable by Sunday afternoon. Buried under several layers of spray paint, were two distinct messages: “This is oil country” and a message in French telling Greta to leave Canada topped off with a slur and crossed-out eyes.

Not many psychologists have researched the psychology behind

vandalism, especially acts of vandalization that seem to have no clear purpose. A journal article published in 2018 in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences discusses the relationship between sadism and vandalism. Just as sadomasochism refers to individuals who receive pleasure from giving and receiving pain, sadovandalism defines someone who receives pleasure from destroying a piece of art or an object that they know people ascribe meaning to. The

study concluded that individuals who possess sadistic tendencies are more likely to engage in meaningless vandalism.

The conclusion of the study leaves room for several reasons other than sadism which vandalism can be attributed to such as ideological vandalism.

The subjects of the pieces memorializing Greta Thunberg and Emmet Till both have audiences which strongly oppose what the two individuals have been made symbols of. The continued vandalism of remembrance works and their eventual restoration almost seems to be the physical manifestation of the continual fight for progress and the resistance to it. It is also important to note that vandalism is not always a result of negative intentions and can, in certain situations, even argued to be good and necessary, a loud and clear opposition to authoritarian governments.

In October last year, the family of Emmet Till put up the fourth memorial. Made of steel and weighing five hundred pounds, it is covered in acrylic panel three-quarters of an inch thick and looks visually similar to the previous memorial. However, this time it is bulletproof.

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THE MEDIUM 03.02.2020

L.M. Montgomery’s drug addiction Author of popular Canadian series was addicted to barbiturates and bromides and died of an overdose SURUTIGA RANGAN CONTRIBUTOR L.M. Montgomery, the celebrated Canadian author of the classic children’s series Anne of Green Gables, was addicted to the drugs barbiturates and bromides. Her drug addiction was discussed in a recent Maclean’s article titled “Lucy Maud Montgomery’s agonizing drug addiction” which consulted UTM assistant professor and forensic toxicologist Dr. Karen Woodall. The Medium sat down with Dr. Woodall to discuss Montgomery’s drug addiction and how it parallels the current opioid crisis.

While L. M. Montgomery was taking a few different medications at the time, “barbiturates were one of the main ones because they were some of the main prescription medications that were given out at that time.” This information has been

obtained from “some of [Montgomery’s] personal diaries that her family has now released.” The diaries are “copies of first-hand information” and provide an insight into some of the issues Montgomery and her husband faced.

Montgomery had a history of mental health issues including depression and anxiety. Woodall mentions that “a lot of people take medication to help with [such] issues” and since Montgomery “suffered from some of these things throughout her adult life,” she most likely had a drug addiction throughout the entire process of writing Anne of Green Gables. According to Woodall, the barbiturates would “have caused more of a relaxing affect only because they slow down the way your brain functions and make you feel drowsy. So, they might have just calmed her so she was able to write.”

Unlike a hallucinogenic drug which causes hallucinations that are almost

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Montgomery was the author of the famous children’s novel “Anne of Green Gables.” out-of-body experiences, opioids can “give you the sense of euphoria and make you feel kind of high, but not necessarily result in a loss of reality.”

Woodall describes barbiturates as

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The rich and famous are not immune to the disastrous effect of hard drugs on the body.

“a sedative drug [which] used to be prescribed quite commonly many years ago. They could be prescribed to help you sleep if you were suffering from anxiety.” Woodall does also mention that barbiturates can be “very dangerous drugs [because they have] a narrow therapeutic window,” meaning “you don’t have to take too much of the drug before you suffer from an overdose.” They differ from “a lot of modern medications [which] if you take a few too many of, you are not going to overdose.”

When asked how people at the time would access barbiturates, Woodall explains that “you would go to your local doctor and would get them through prescriptions.” She adds that, at the time, the doctors who were prescribing the medication “wouldn’t have been aware so much of drug addiction” and the problems associated with mixing drugs and alcohol.

Many of the individuals currently addicted to opioids are similar to Montgomery in that they were first exposed to the drugs through prescriptions. Although Woodall has twenty years of experience as a toxicologist, she has “never seen anything like” the current crisis “in terms of drug deaths [which are] increasing every year. There are so many people addicted…dying from [opioid addictions]…and overdosing. And it’s not just one demographic [who are addicted].”

While the reported cause of Montgomery’s death was coronary thrombosis, Kate Macdonald Butler, Montgomery’s granddaughter, revealed in 2008 that Montgomery had taken her own life by overdosing on a drug. As stated in the Maclean’s article, Montgomery’s story serves as a “cautionary tale about how mercilessly the side effects of drugs can ravage anyone’s life” regardless of the individual’s accomplishments.

The controversial facial recognition app Clearview AI allows its users to use a single photo to determine a stranger’s name, phone number, and address FATIMA ADIL FEATURES EDITOR

Imagine being able to find a stranger’s name, phone number, address, and occupation using just a photograph of the individual. This can be accomplished using powerful facial recognition software developed by Clearview AI, an American technology company. Founded by Australian software developer Hoan Ton-That and former aide to Rudy Giulani, Richard Schwartz, the company is under fire for scraping the Internet to create a database of billions of images.

The company has gathered the images from the “open web” which includes websites such as YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

While the company website states that it “does not and cannot search any private or protected info, including in your private social media accounts,” if the account was public at any moment, the images are most likely now in the database.

The app is not available to the

public as of yet; however, it is being used by more than six hundred law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada. According to Business Insider, “contracts to use the service cost as much as $50,000 for a two-year deal.”

The RCMP has admitted to using the controversial technology and stated that it had used Clearview AI in fifteen child exploitation investigations. The RCMP statement also mentioned that Clearview AI had helped the RCMP successfully identify and rescue two children and that a few other units in the RCMP were also using the technology. Following the statement’s release, the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner opened an investigation into whether the RCMP’s use violates federal privacy law.

Other Canadian law enforcement agencies reported to have been using the software include the Calgary Police Service, the Halifax Regional Police—who say that they are no longer using it, and the Toronto Police Service. The Hamilton Police Service said that they had tested Clearview

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Clearview allows their users to take a picture of a face and gain access to all kinds of personal info.

AI and the Edmonton Police Service stated that they were considering using the facial recognition software.

In January 2020, Clearview AI was served a cease and desist letter

by Twitter who also demanded that all collected data be deleted. YouTube, Google, and Facebook also

sent cease and desist letters and in Illinois, a lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed against the company.

The lawsuit claiming that Clearview AI’s “use of artificial intelligence algorithms to scan the facial geometry of each individual depicted in the images [had] violate[d] multiple pri-

vacy laws.”

As of now, Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders has directed Toronto police officers to stop using the technology. Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah has also directed that any use be halted “until a full assessment is undertaken.”

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Reflections on the Power of Commitment Symposium organized by the UTM biology department to honour Zeynab and Mohammad Asadi-Lari SALEHA FARUQUE DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR

Last Wednesday, the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)’s biology department organized an academic symposium honouring the academic contributions of Zeynab and Mohammad Asadi-Lari.

Both siblings and U of T students, Zeynab and Mohammad were killed aboard the fateful Ukrainian International Airlines’ Flight 752 on January 8. The symposium paid tribute to both siblings’ achievements in the scientific field, while highlighting their work in community service, youth empowerment, and humanitarianism.

Entitled “Welcoming Tomorrow: Reflections on the Power of Commitment,” the evening featured video messages from family members, followed by heartfelt lectures delivered by War Child Canada founder Dr. Samantha Nutt, STEM Fellowship Toronto president Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch, and UTM psychology professor Tina Malti.

The event also offered attendees the chance to hear from Zeynab and Mohammad’s relatives, mentors, and academic colleagues. Ahmed Hasan and Farah Qaiser, both graduate students at U of T, met the late

brother-sister duo while pursuing similar goals in the summer of 2016. “[We] met Mohammad when we first joined the STEM Fellowship,” said Qaiser, a Master’s student and researcher at U of T. “We were working very closely with Mohammad and Zeynab, and that meant leading these new initiatives and helping empower students.”

Mohammed Asadi-Lari cofounded and formerly managed the STEM Fellowship, a non-profit organization helping students succeed in data science and scholarly writing. While pursuing the Medical Science (MD/Ph.D.) program, he co-founded the Canadian Association of Physician Innovators and Entrepreneurs (CAPIE).

Mohammad also led youth engagement initiatives through organizations like the Canadian Red Cross, and the Canadian Commission for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Completing a Bachelor of Science at U of T, Zeynab Asadi-Lari was responsible for establishing a STEM Fellowship branch at UTM. The STEM Fellowship has since expanded across 20 universities in eight provinces.

“These are people with lives, goals, dreams, all of which were unfairly

MAHNOOR NAEEM/STEM FELLOWSHIP UTM

Relatives, mentors, and academic colleagues shared their stories.

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

The biology department organized a memorial and reflection series for Zeynab and Mohammed. stripped from them,” said Hasan, who introduced and concluded the event alongside Qaiser. Hasan is a UTM Ph.D. candidate, and a friend of Mohammad and Zeynab.

“It’s been over a month since that incident, and I still haven’t found the words to really describe just what we lost,” continued Hasan. “I wonder if those words exist at all.”

While addressing the crowd, Dr. Samantha Nutt reiterated the ubiquitous state of shock expressed by student communities across the country. “[The attack] was the direct result of the kind of reckless posturing and strong-arm diplomacy that has become commonplace in our world,” said Nutt.

Carrying 176 passengers, Flight 752 was shot down within minutes of taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

138 passengers were headed to Canada. The aircraft mostly comprised of university students, doctors, families, and newlywed couples returning from holiday.

While addressing the crowd, Nutt reflected on international conflicts in the context of global health—a topic that Zeynab demonstrated a

strong commitment to. Nutt encouraged attendees to carry forward Mohammad and Zeynab’s legacy by spreading awareness.

“I don’t believe that we have to be passive observers of these tragedies,” said Nutt. “We have to participate in all that we want to change, because the good does not happen without us, and the bad never seeks our permission. Zeynab and Mohammad showed this kind of activism and compassion every day.”

Nutt is the founder of development charities like War Child Canada and War Child USA. She also serves as a staff physician at Toronto’s women college hospital, and is an assistant professor of medicine at U of T. Later in the event, STEM Fellowship president Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch shared candid details of first meeting Mohammad. At that time, Mohammad was completing an honours degree in cellular, anatomical, and physiological sciences at the University of British Columbia.

“I approached him with an idea I had, if he could be an editor of STEM Fellowship’s journal,” recalled Noukhovitch. Accepting the offer, Mohammad later served as STEM

Fellowship Journal’s first student editorial board chair. Through the role, he led the fellowship’s policy outreach work and helped expand the scope of their Big Data Challenge.

Noukhovitch also described Zeynab’s effort in bringing a new wave of dedication and excitement to STEM by creating the human resources department of the fellowship organization.

“We all know what HR (human resources) is. She created a different one. Zeynab created the channel not for hiring or for interviews—she was attracting a new type of better human beings. And that is something different.”

Zeynab Asadi-Lari also served as a mental health network coordinator for the Youth Mental Health Association and was a youth member at the Young Canadians Roundtable on Health.

According to Noukhovitch, Mohammad and Zeynab’s STEM coaching legacy “will inspire other young students.”

A contribution of $1,000 was presented from the biology department to STEM Fellowship to “carry on Zeynab and Mohammad’s legacy.”

The Coastal GasLink pipeline protests Protest continued from page 11 The hereditary chiefs, however, continue to stand against the pipeline, as they have for several years, due to cultural, environmental, and economic reasons. Their disagreement raises two concerns: who has the authority to make decisions about Indigenous territory and how much agency they actually have when deciding.

In the Delgamuukw decision of 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Wet’suwet’en nation is governed by hereditary leadership.

Based on this case, Indigenous groups argue that the band council’s stance on the pipeline is irrelevant, since the hereditary chiefs have authority.

Additionally, according to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the state must receive “free, prior, and informed consent” from Indigenous

groups for any projects which will affect the Indigenous people’s land, resources, or cultural sites in any way. Hence, before proceeding with the pipeline, of which 28 percent will pass through Wet’sewet’en territory, the government of Canada must receive the hereditary chiefs’ support.

Moreover, irrespective of who gets to make the decision, Adese raises the question regarding “whether ‘free’ choices can be made by people given this history? If the only options are to [either] consent to the pipeline’s current route and gain some compensation for it, or oppose it and have it happen anyway while being cut out of financial relationships – then people will sometimes make the choice to go along with it out of necessity.”

In response to the protests, the RCMP and other police forces across Canada have arrested several people, conducted ID checks, and more.

Adese describes how “the RCMP finds their origins in the Northwest Mounted Police, Canada’s first national police force created as Canada sought to extend its territorial claims westward into the prairies. As such, [the RCMP] has always been in a difficult relationship [with the] Indigenous people it was tasked with surveilling [and] policing.” While the RCMP is following their mandate and the law, by doing so, Canada continues to violate the UNDRIP by interfering with unceded Wet’suwet’en lands.

Moving forward, the Wet’suwet’en Chiefs are continuing to fight. Their demands as of January 7, 2020 are that construction of the pipeline ceases, the state and RCMP respect their rights as outlined in UNDRIP, the RCMP withdraws from their land, and that the government and RCMP do not use force to remove

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The pipeline would cut through the land, which causes protests. people from the land. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called the rail blockades “unacceptable” and claims that he “will exhaust every effort to resolve this [situation] peacefully.”

Adese finishes off by stating that

“we all need to become better acquainted with the history of this country and with the foundation of the relationship between Indigenous people and Canada in order to make sense of the current reality.”

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Editor | Sarah-May Edwardo Oldfield

Understanding THC levels in edibles Since legalization many still don’t understand what the THC levels on their Cannabis edibles acutally mean ANDREW STONE ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR Until the legalization of Marijuana in 2018, having any kind of understanding of marijuana products would have been frowned upon.

Consumers need to be able to identify and interpret the labels of marijuana products before they make their purchase, but without adequate knowledge on the subject, how are they supposed to do this?

A study from the University of Waterloo wanted to find how consumers understand the labels on marijuana products and what allows for greater understanding of the information presented on the labels.

Researches tasked 870 anonymous Canadian participants between the ages of 16 and 30 tasked with completing online surveys that tested their ability to identify key information on cannabis product labels.

The study involved two experiments. The first experiment had participants randomly split into three groups based on the presentation of the serving sizes for an edible product: No THC labeling, THC in

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Proper product labelling is a big part of making the edibles industry accessible to consumers. milligrams, and number of doses.

They were then asked to identify how much should be eaten for a recommended serving and how many servings were in the package.

The second experiment involved identifying the potency of a con-

tainer of dried marijuana leaf. The labels were presented in four ways: No THC label, THC in a percentage, THC in milligrams, and a traffic light image (Green = low potency, Red = high potency). Each participant was shown a low and high po-

tency version of the same product presented with the same identifying information in order to ask them to what the level of THC was for each product.

The results of the first experiment found that using labels with the

number of doses ended up having the highest rate of correct responses (54.1 per cent) as compared to the milligram labels (13.4 per cent) and no label (7.4 per cent). When labelling the information in doses, participants were far more likely to identify how many doses were in the container (77.9 per cent).

The second experiment found that almost none of the participants could identify the potency of the products without labels (2 per cent).

THC percentage labels found much greater numbers of correct answers (35.3 per cent), but the traffic light labels found yielded the best results (85.1 per cent).

These results provide the necessary information to improve cannabis product labelling. Consumers are better able to understand how to use a product and how much is in the container when it is presented in simpler terms. Displaying the number of doses and having visual images on the labels (like the traffic lights) are easier to comprehend and are more desirable to consumers, especially if they have never used a cannabis product before.

Morning grogginess? Try a new sound A study has found that the type of alarm sound could contribute to why you wake up with grogginess DUAA NASIR ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR One of the worst sounds in the world has to be your morning alarm ringing. That annoying beeping sound is what signals the transition from warm, soothing bliss into a rush of work, assignments, and deadlines.

However, there is a way you can make this transition a little bit easier for yourself.

A recent study published in PLOSOne found that the type of alarm you wake up to affects how alert you feel, regardless of whether you like the sound or not. Contrary to popular belief, melodic alarms were found to help with alertness while harsher sounds were linked to feelings of grogginess and sleep inertia.

Sleep inertia is defined as “a period of impaired performance and reduced vigilance following awakening from the regular sleep episode or from a nap.” Most people just find it annoying, but it is actually a pretty serious problem in our world.

“If you don’t wake properly, your work performance can be degraded for periods up to four hours and that has been linked to major accidents,” said Stuart McFarlane, a researcher at the Royal Melbourne Institute of

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The alarm you use to wake up may be the reason that you’re so tired; try something more melodic.

Technology (RMIT), to Psych Central.

“You would assume that a startling ‘beep beep beep’ alarm would improve alertness, but our data revealed that melodic alarms may be the key element. This was unexpected. Although more research is needed to better understand the precise com-

bination of melody and rhythm that might work best, considering that most people use alarms to wake up, the sound you choose may have important ramifications.”

“This is particularly important for people who might work in dangerous situations shortly after waking,” continued McFarlane, “like firefighters

or pilots, but also for anyone who has to be rapidly alert, such as someone driving to hospital in an emergency.”

In this study, 50 participants were required to complete an online survey that asked them about the type of alarm they woke up to, and about sleep inertia. They found that while there was no significant relationship

between sleep inertia and the type of alarm, there was a correlation between the melody of the alarm and sleep inertia. People who woke up to melodic alarms experienced less sleep inertia than those who woke up to any other type of alarm. This happened regardless of how people felt about the alarm.

This does seem a bit odd, and researchers don’t know the exact mechanism behind it, but associate professor Adrian Dyer from RMIT states that “a harsh ‘beep beep beep’ might work to disrupt or confuse our brain activity when waking, while a more melodic sound like the Beach Boys ‘Good Vibrations’ or The Cure’s ‘Close to Me’ may help us transition to a waking state in a more effective way.”

This makes sense since waking up to a gradual melody is probably easier on the brain than the dramatic change from a harsher sound.

Dyer concluded by saying, “If we can continue to improve our understanding of the connection between sounds and waking state, there could be potential for applications in many fields, particularly with recent advancements in sleep technology and artificial intelligence.”

03.02.2020 THE MEDIUM SPORTS» 15

Hassan Manjang: Tirelessy persistent Varsity Basketball guard Hassan Manjang hopes to inspire future athletes to never stop working hard SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR Fourth-year international student and second-year Varsity Eagles guard Hassan Manjang lived in ten different countries before finally moving to Canada when he was 13 years old.

Manjang is from Banjul, Gambia, but has lived all over the world thanks to his father’s job as CFO for a growing European bank, Standard Chartered. Hassan was born in Kenya before he moved to the UK and lived there until he was three years old. From the UK, he moved to Abidjan in the Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and then to Banjul, Gambia, his hometown. The moving didn’t stop there. Hassan lived in South Africa, Botswana, and the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. And from there to Canada where he’s now lived for almost ten years.

Manjang’s father made company history by becoming the first ever black CFO. That accolade garnered his father a lot of opportunities. They trusted his judgement and stationed him, and consequently his family, in different areas and as the company was trying to expand in Europe, Asia and Africa. The company paid for their family to move and live in different areas, their housing and schooling. Hassan’s parents worried about the impact their constant moving would have on his and his twin sister’s future. An older cousin already attending a boarding school,

first year, it was the first time I was surrounded by Canadian students.

Not just people who grew up here, but international students like me. I assimilated well and at the same time I felt accepted for being my own culturally different person.”

Moving and living in so many different places offered Hassan the opportunity to meet different kinds of people from various parts of the world. But never staying long in one place for very long came at a cost.

“I don’t have any childhood friends.

But the guys I met here, the people I’ve met here, they’ve become like my family.”

Hassan didn’t start playing basketball until 2013. Up until that point, Manjang was on his way to becoming a pro skateboarder. When he was living in Dubai, he participated in a number of skateboarding tournaments. Despite being younger than the competition at 12 years old, he did well, finishing in 4th and 5th place.

He was set to participate in an upcoming tournament when he was contacted by Flip Skateboarding, a global skating brand. If he could medal the upcoming tournament, they were going to sponsor him. In the weeks leading up to the contest he practiced hard, determined to get that sponsorship.

Two weeks before the tournament, he suffered an injury, breaking his left shin. He faced a year and a half recovery time. In his recovery, he dis-

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Hassan has persistence, a big heart, and wants to change the world. He’s starting with UTM. could practice the same trick for so long and still be bad. But with basketball, with determination, you get better. Basketball taught me a lot of things. How to persevere, [how] to keep a good circle of friends and, [how to be] healthy.”

Manjang didn’t become a member of UTM’s Men’s Varsity Eagles basketball team until his third year at UTM. Like many university students, he had problems adjusting. “I wasn’t accustomed to the UTM grind. My grades weren’t good at all. My GPA was horrible and I was put on aca-

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Hassan says that being in control of what you can and being confident in yourself is paramount.

Columbia College, in Hamilton, Ontario, eased a decision to move to North America. For Manjang, it was a wish come true, who through all the moving had always wanted to live in North America.

Manjang started at UTM in 2016 in Criminology. Now in his fourth, Manjang is completing a double major in Political Science and Sociology.

Coming to UTM made a lot of sense for Hassan, and he enjoyed the overall atmosphere. “I was used to international schools, where everyone is international. At UTM for that

covered the Electronic Arts 2k NBA sports game, NBA 2K11, and fell in love with Dwayne Wade. “He’s the reason I started playing basketball. I started researching him and watching his videos.”

Hassan and his peers began to notice he could have potential if he actually played the sport. In 2013, Manjang started his basketball journey and realized how much more he liked the sport compared to skateboarding.

“It was way easier than skateboarding to get better. That was the first thing I noticed. With skateboarding you

demic probation. In my second year, it was the first time since grade eight that I wasn’t on the top basketball team at my school.”

Manjang was devastated, but became determined to turn things around. He worked tirelessly both on the court and in the classroom. “Everyday day I lived in the gym. I wasn’t playing ball everyday. Not just lifting but working on different finishes.

And I was doing the library grind.

I was coming in to lift and work on the basketball court really early. I was coming in at 6:00 am to about seven

or eight. After, I’d grab breakfast and then go to the library. That was my schedule everyday of second year.”

In his third year, Hassan finally made the Varsity roster. Hassan had always dreamed of playing at the NCAA level, but didn’t think he worked hard enough to get there.

But he’s realized that playing at the OCAA level, one of the highest levels of play in Canada, is still impressive and something to be proud of.

“Canada is one of the better countries in the world for basketball. And I’m playing at one of the highest levels.

No matter what my stats are, I can get on the court and hold my own anywhere else in the world. That gives me a lot of gratitude.”

Despite having attended multiple international schools and living in three different continents, two instances changed Hassan’s perspective on life and his future: the end of the Gambian dictatorship and the sum ‘six dollars and 35 cents.’

Manjang describes his hometown of Banjul, Gambia as “underdeveloped, but full of fun, good, kindhearted people.” His interest in International Relations comes from a harrowing experience he had at the start of his first fall semester at UTM—the fall of the 22-year-long Gambian dictatorship. He couldn’t go home, and couldn’t contact his parents who were there. All information and communication had been cut off to Gambia.

“I realized that the only reason this is even allowed to happen is because those in leadership positions aren’t actually leading in a very democratic and fair way. So, there’s much leeway for abuse of rules and power. And I felt that. I experienced that—waking up every morning and wondering if everyone at home was okay. At the same time, I had to come to school and act like nothing was wrong because no one really cares.”

Manjang has hopes of one day having a part in reforming the United Nations. “My goal would be to try to reform the UN because countries like Gambia need help. They don’t help

these countries. Arica doesn’t get a lot of credibility. That’s what I hope to do by getting an education here.”

The second experience that changed Hassan’s perspective on life came when he went back home to Gambia for Christmas. His dad’s friend, whose son is Hassan’s age, works at a farm mixing cement. “He’ll work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. everyday, and he’ll make the equivalent of six dollars and 35 cents from manual labor. Here (in Canada), it’s nothing.

Even in Gambia, it’s nothing.”

This knowledge forced him to reevaluate his attitude toward the obstacles and problems he faces in his own life. “[What my dad’s friend goes through is] a real problem. Having five turnovers in one game is not.

You have another game in that same week, so you’ll have another chance to make it up. It’s not really a problem.”

Manjang still has another year left ahead of him at UTM, but he hopes that he’s on course to leave behind a lasting impression on the UTM Athletic community. “I feel like when I leave this school I want to be known as a very persistent, determined individual who doesn’t let obstacles or other people’s opinions from stopping me. I want to be remembered as someone who never quit, no matter what my scenario was, no matter if I got the playing time.”

“My advice for athletes coming in would be [to have a] selfless [attitude], because there will always be a time you will be selfish and want the play time. That type of thinking will only draw you further away from what you want. You have to understand where you are, control what you can control; be the first one at practice, eager to ask questions, be able to take coaching even if you feel their wrong. If you can do all those things you can guarantee yourself an opportunity each game to get on the floor. And from there you have to take it game by game and continue to have confidence in yourself. If you don’t have confidence and believe in yourself, who will?”

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THE MEDIUM 03.02.2020

How to disinfect against the coronavirus Study aims to clear up how the coronavirus spreads and how long it can remain on inaminate objects SHAMS AL-BADRI CONTRIBUTOR

COVID-19, or coronavirus as its more commonly known, is a virus that emerged from Wuhan, China and has now spread globally. Coronavirus is one of many coronaviruses that are transmitted among humans.

Other viruses that fall into this group are Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which have also been global health concerns previously. COVID-19 however, has become the largest one to date, with approximately 45,171 cases that have been confirmed across the world as of February 12, 2020.

This number is rapidly increasing, mainly due to misinformation around the characteristics of the virus and how it is transmitted. It is especially important to understand how this virus can be transmitted through inanimate surfaces, as a virus can quickly spread through frequently touched surfaces such as door handles or bedside tables at hospitals. A recent study from the University of Medicine Greifswald’s Institute for Hygiene and

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The study attempted to clear up how coronaviruses are spread through inanimate surfaces.

Environmental Medicine attempted to clear up how coronaviruses are spread through inanimate surfaces.

This study, which was published on January 31, 2020 reviewed 22 studies on how human and veterinary

coronaviruses spread on inanimate surfaces, and how to inactivate these viruses with chemical disinfection.

They found that human coronaviruses can be active on surfaces such as plastic, glass or metal for up to nine

days. This means within this time, if one comes into contact with this surface, they could become infected with the virus. The transmission from a surface has been hypothesized to be done through mucous membranes

such as the nose, mouth, or eyes. The surface, however, can be disinfected using 62-71 per cent ethanol, 0.5 per cent hydrogen peroxide, or 0.1 per cent sodium hypochlorite. This significant reduction in activation of the virus is done within one minute of exposure to the disinfecting solutions mentioned. Using other disinfecting agents such as 0.05-0.2 per cent benzalkonium chloride was found to be less effective. It was also found that at a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius or more the amount of time the virus was active in was shortened.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak is recent, this study does not cover what COVID-19’s specific time of activation on surfaces is, nor how efficient the disinfection methods above are with it. This study is assuming that it is similar enough to the other human coronaviruses in infectiousness and mechanisms to apply the same disinfecting methods to it. While these disinfection methods for surfaces are what are commonly used to clean viruses in hospitals, more research needs to be done on how COVID-19 reacts specifically to these methods.

Want to see gym results? Less is more To see the benefits of strength training, a study has found lifting less more effective than lifting more DUAA NASIR ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR Strength training has been shown to reduce muscular dystrophy (weakness and loss of muscle mass), increase power output, improve bone health, and improve mood. It seems logical that you should make an attempt to increase the amount you lift in each training session, however some recently discovered information has shown that lifting more or heavier may not be the answer.

A study led by Dr. Harry Dorrell at the University of Lincoln found that after a training period of six weeks, athletes became stronger, despite lifting less weight per session. This study was published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.

Sixteen men between the ages of 18 and 29 with at least two years of weight-training experience participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: the first group used the traditional one rep (exercise repetition) max, and the other used a load velocity profile.

The load velocity profile recorded the amount of time it took to lift a weight, and then increased or decreased the amount of weight depending on how the athlete was feeling.

Dr. Harry Dorrell told SciTech Daily, “There are a lot of factors

which can contribute to an athletes’ performance on a particular day, such as how much sleep they have had, nutrition, or motivational factors, but with traditional percentage-based methods we would have no insight into how this affects their strength.”

“The velocity-based training enabled us to see if they were up or down on their normal performance and thus adjust the load accordingly,” continued Dorrell. “It’s about making sure the athlete is lifting the optimal load for them, on that particular day. If you lift too little then you won’t stimulate the body as you intend to; but if you lift too much you’ll be fatigued, which increases the risk of injury.”

The training lasted for six weeks with two sessions per week. The amount of weight lifted during a back squat, the bench press, the strict overhead press, and a conventional deadlift was recorded at the beginning and end of the training period. Researchers found that the velocity group was able to lift more at the end of the trail, despite their training loads being less than that.

The velocity-based training group was able to lift 15 kg more on the back squat, 8kg more on the bench press, four kg more on the overhead press, and two kg more for the deadlift. This is despite the fact that their loads were two to nine per

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Instead of classic powerlifting regimens, it is better to lift less or more based on your mood. cent less per session during training.

Dr. Dorrell added that “while some of these changes could be considered as only ‘small improvements’ and were similar to the group using the traditional training method, the velocity group lifted significantly less in order to see the

gains they made. The idea of velocity based training has been around for a while, but until now there hasn’t been any science to prove that it actually works; the science has finally caught up.”

If this is something you want to implement into your workout, there are commercially available devices,

such as the Speed 4 Lifts tool, which can help you do so. If strength training is not your area of interest, you can try cardio, high intensity interval training (HIIT), or endurance training. From my experience, even a few minutes a day can make a difference over time in your mood and ability to function.