Vol 39 issue 12

December 3, 2012 Volume 39, Issue 12 www.mediumutm.ca

Police investigate Student Centre thefts Jai Sangha Associate News Editor Campus Police and Peel Regional Police are investigating a string of thefts that occurred in the Student Centre this semester, amounting to an estimated value of $3,323.

Separate incidents were reported to Campus Police in different student club offices on the second floor of the building and one in a storage room on the first floor. All the incidents involved the theft of cash from the rooms, except for one in which water bottles and t-shirts were stolen, according to a Campus Police report.

Campus Police and a detective from Peel Regional Police’s 11 Division have been conducting interviews and analyzing security camera footage, photographs, and office door keycard logs with respect to the incidents over the last few months, said Len Paris, the special constable and manager of Campus Police.

“This is the first time we’ve seen consistently five thefts of cash in a short period of time all within the same area. I don’t think statistically you’ll see a number of thefts like that in the same locale, in a short time period, by different people,” said

Junaid Imran/The Medium

Campus Police and Peel Regional Police are investigating cash thefts from the Student Centre.

Paris in an interview. “Typically, it is the same people or same person.

That’s my opinion, and I’d be very surprised if it was anything but that.”

The person or persons found guilty in these thefts may face criminal charges, added Paris, who mentioned that a few years ago criminal charges were pressed against a per-

son who committed a cash theft at UTMSU. Students and clubs can help prevent thefts by keeping their offices locked, monitoring to whom they give key access, and regularly depositing cash to their bank accounts or a secure deposit, said Paris. Campus Police can also hold sealed tamper-

proof containers or locked cash boxes for urgent overnight storage.

“Most students are very conscious about their property and other peoples’ property, but if you have lax cash-handling procedures and lax money storage procedures, then it opens it up to abuse,” said Paris.

In response to the thefts, UTMSU

has installed spring-loaded hinges on club offices’ doors to ensure the doors shut after being opened, and is making procedural changes to better inform all keycard holders in the building of their responsibilities, said Christopher Thompson, the president of UTMSU, in an email.

UTMSU and Campus Police met with student clubs that have offices in the building on November 16 and with tenants on November 23 to inform them of the incidents, get feedback on how to improve security, and discuss best practices for cash handling.

At the meetings, members of the Student Centre administration said the infobooth offers to sell tickets for club events on the clubs’ behalf so that the clubs don’t have to directly handle large amounts of cash.

“Students can help their students’ union by reporting all suspicious activity to UTM Campus Police immediately,” said Thompson.

The first incident took place between September 17 and September 19, two incidents took place between October 5 and October 18, and two incidents took place between November 6 and November 13. The last theft carried the highest value: $1,282 in cash.

Demanding reasons for residence fees Why do students have to pay $400 to stay on residence for two weeks over the break?

Larissa Ho News Editor A group of 10 UTM students met with UTM’s Student Housing and Residence Life, demanding justification for the $400 fee imposed on residence students who stay on campus during the two-week holiday break. Until last year, the fee was only $250.

The amount is equivalent to a month’s rent at Homestead.

Last Monday, both residence students and non-residence students met with Dale Mullings (the director of residence and student life) and Emma Beamson (the communications coordinator) at Oscar Peterson Hall to talk about the $400 fee.

“I just want to find out if their reasons are satisfying, basically, because I can’t be paying $400 to be here for two weeks with no

To drop the Drop Credit Vice-dean undergraduate “wouldn’t support that kind of program”.

Medium News, page 2

Faceplant at graduation Where’s the fun in dressing up if you can’t be a little irresponsible?

Medium Opinion, page 4

The tunes to remember The Medium presents our top ten albums of 2012.

Medium A&E, page 6

Junaid Imran/The MEdium

Nengi Adoki demanded to know why students were required to pay $400 to stay over the break. food, just basic electricity, and hardly any security,” said Nengi Adoki, a fifth-year CCIT student, who organized the meeting with Beamson.

According to Mullings, the cost

to operate residences during the year is a little more than $200 per week, not including food, but Student Housing and Residence Life has set it at $200 per week.

“I think it’s absolutely fair,” said

Mullings. “We have to cover our costs. I do think we’re responding to the needs of students in the most appropriate way.”

Fees continued on page 3

What to bring to potluck Food you barely even need to get out of bed to make. And yet good.

Medium Features, page 8

“Average Joes” stand out The indoor ball hockey team wins their third championship in a row.

Medium Sports, page 11

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«NEWS THE MEDIUM

12.03.2012

1.0 Drop Credit “unacceptable” Co-curricular Contrary to UTMSU’s claim, the university has rejected the proposal Larissa Ho News Editor UTM students who have been waiting for the implementation of the 1.0 Drop Credit policy should not be looking forward to it.

The campus’s vice-dean undergraduate says the administration is not open to more discussion about the topic.

The policy, which would allow UTM students to delete all record of a course of their choosing from their academic transcript, has long been touted on the platforms of UTMSU executives, including that of Andrew Ursel, the current VP university affairs and academics.

“After much discussion, I would say we are much closer to getting the 1.0 Drop Credit, given the tremendous amount of feedback we have gotten on the subject from students, faculty members, and administration,” Ursel said in an email response last month.

Kelly Hannah-Moffat, UTM’s vicedean undergraduate since May 2011, said in an interview last week that to implement the policy would be to “compromise the integrity of the CGPA”.

Hannah-Moffat said the administration looked at the policies in place at peer universities where such policies are not instituted, and determined that implementing the 1.0 Drop Credit policy would be “unacceptable” and unfair to students who worked hard to maintain their CGPAs. UTMSU first lobbied for this policy

in 2011. The project was spearheaded

by Dan DiCenzo, then UTMSU’s VP university affairs and academics, and Gilbert Cassar, then president.

Hannah-Moffat said that Ursel had not met with her about the 1.0 Drop Credit policy at all this year.

“It was communicated to UTMSU last year that we would not open the issue of the Drop Credit.

I wouldn’t support that kind of program. […] The Drop Credit is not closer, and it’s not an issue I’d like to see reopened.”

—Kelly Hannah-Moffat “I haven’t seen anything new from UTSMU this year,” said Hannah-Moffat. “It was communicated to UTMSU last year that we would not open the issue of the Drop Credit. I wouldn’t support that kind of program. […]

The drop credit is not closer, and it’s not an issue I’d like to see reopened.”

“I’m not unsympathetic to students,” added Hannah-Moffat, who said there are avenues for students in extenuating circumstances to drop a mark from their transcript in a fair way. She said these are important processes, since things happen that are out of people’s control.

“There could be a whole bunch of reasons why students may think they may need the Drop Credit, but if a

student’s been invested in a course for a long time, they should get credit,” she said.

Hannah-Moffat points out that in lieu of the Drop Credit, the administration implemented the Credit/No Credit policy last fall. Then they extended the date for students to be able to apply for the CR/NCR policy from the last day to enroll to the last day to drop a course without academic penalty. They also modified the policy this past summer so that students are now able to apply it to two full-credit equivalents instead of one.

Addressing concerns that without the drop credit students can’t get rid of outliers on their transcripts, Hannah-Moffat said that graduate school admission committees are “sophisticated enough” to recognize outliers.

“It shouldn’t dissuade students from working really hard. We’re more than happy to hear suggestions from students, but also need to protect the integrity of the CGPA,” said HannahMoffat. She added that the changes to the CR/NCR policy and the processes of appeal for students in extenuating circumstances who “genuinely need” the petitions are strong processes that work.

There is also a petition for late withdrawal without academic penalty, which must be filed within six months of the end of the semester in question. Normally, late withdrawals are not granted if a student completed the course (that is, wrote the exam or submitted final assignments). This year, the last day to request late withdrawal after the drop date for fall courses is December 3.

editor@mediumutm.ca

record on the way The CCR is set to launch next fall at U of T

LARISSA HO NEWS EDITOR The co-curricular record, an official U of T document that will recognize students’ involvement in extracurricular activities, is near to being implemented. It is intended to list students’ extracurricular activities affiliated with the university and the skills gained thereby.

The Office of Student Life at UTM hosted a couple of focus groups for students in regards to the co-curricular record, which is set to launch next September.

The focus groups were voluntary and conducted on a basis of anonymity so as not to skew the findings.

One of the major concerns raised in the focus groups was the validation process. The university requires mechanisms to validate a student’s involvement with a co-curricular activity. Another question was what should count as official co-curricular activities, eligible to be recorded on the co-curricular transcript.

In the 2009/10 year, the Council on Student Experience, a committee whose mandate is to develop ways to enhance and improve the student experience at U of T under the viceprovost students, identified an official co-curricular transcript as an important way to enhance the student experience.

Their report said the transcript has “the ability to prioritize the importance of co-curricular involvement at

U of T” and that it “should be a useful reference in a student’s community, workplace, scholarly, professional, and personal life”.

In 2011, Lucy Fromowitz, the assistant VP student life, invited a group of 18 faculty, staff, and students from the three U of T campuses to participate in a two-day planning session to discuss the development of a cocurricular record. Research was also done to see how such records have been implemented at other universities across Canada. This research was shared with the Advisory Committee, which consists of students, staff, and faculty.

The committee established four working groups throughout the summer to develop criteria for eligible activities, designate skills to associate with those activities, establish processes of validation, and determine systems and technology needs.

A working group found that at other universities, there was slow voluntary participation and students did not find it easy to get involved using the co-curricular record.

They looked at developing an online forum for easily searchable cocurricular activities on campus, a system for requesting validation of the activities students have been involved with, and an appeal process, among other features.

The co-curricular transcript has been implemented at other Ontario universities, including Windsor and Guelph.

12.03.2012 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Rez students look for a reply

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»What’s the best thing you’ve ever received for the holidays?

Sandra Wood 4th-year, life sciences

Kareem Lezama 4th-year, life sciences

Oh, geez... just being with friends and family is good enough for me.

A Wii. I was surprised with my brother because he usually gets me cheap gifts.

Coey Cheng 3rd-year, commerce

Stephanie Boaventura 3rd-year, criminology

A stuffy elephant that my brother made.

I got a personal trainer who encouraged me to work on fitness.

Junaid Imran/The MEdium

Students who wish to stay over the two-week holiday break at Roy Ivor Hall must pay $400.

Fees continued from cover Mullings said the jump from $250 to $400 two years ago was because the residences were given on-call staff at that time. There was no incident that caused the need for more on-call staff, said Mullings, but there has been an increase in the number of students wishing to reside in residence during those two weeks. The Student Housing Advisory Committee, which provides a forum for students to voice opinions about the Student Housing and Residence Life, was consulted

about the fee increase.

“More than half the staff is on call during the holiday, so we’re almost running a full operation,” said Mullings.

Adoki wanted justification for the fact that the $400 fee, which is written in the occupancy agreements that are signed at the beginning of the year, is equivalent to an entire month’s rent at Homestead.

“A student making a choice to stay here versus Homestead receives different services,” said Mullings. “We’re not really talking about the same ex-

periences.”

Students wanted to know how much the on-call staff was actually required during the holiday break.

“It varies,” said Beamson. “There are lockouts, snow closures… It could happen, and we need to be available if that should happen.”

UTM started allowing students to stay on residence over the two-week holiday break six years ago and was one of the first institutions to do so.

Waterloo and Ryerson, for example, still do not allow students to stay on residence during the break.

Mississauga’s Takhar runs for leadership

Former MPP for Mississauga-Erindale runs for leadership of provincial Liberal party post in Ontario. In 2006, a scandal led to his reassignment to the position of Minister of Small Business and Consumer Services. In June 2009, Takhar was reassigned again and became the Minister of Government Services.

In the wake of McGuinty’s surprise announcement of his resignation, a crowd of candidates have announced their intent to stand for the Liberal Party leadership. The six candidates running alongside Takhar are Gerard Kennedy, Sandra Pupatello, Kathleen Wynne, Eric Hoskins, Charles Sousa, and Glen Murray.

Takhar held onto his cabinet post until the last minute to declare himself a candidate. He said he hopes that as premier he can restore the support for the Liberal Party, which saw a decline in the last election.

Harinder Takhar resigned from his post as Ontario’s Minister of Government Services to run for the Liberal Party leadership last week.

Takhar promises he will be a “premier with a plan”. His plan includes “pay-what-you-see pricing”, a $5,000 tax credit for businesses considered “job creators”, a development corporation that offers support to entrepreneurs, and insurance premiums based on where drivers live rather than on their driving records. He also intends to address job growth and Ontario’s $14-billion deficit.

In his announcement, he said, “I believe that we need a vision and a workable plan to move this province forward.”

Takhar received the support of

Mayor Hazel McCallion. “What we need today in politics is people with business backgrounds,” she said. “We need it very, very badly.”

He also drew support from supporters from Mississauga’s South Asian community. “I want everyone who comes to Ontario from somewhere else to have this—the same opportunity,” he said.

Takhar, who was born in Punjab, India, is an accountant by trade and has worked in the private sector. He has been a resident of Mississauaga for 35 years.

He started his career in government after being elected MPP of the Mississauga Centre riding in 2003. He was appointed the Minister of Transportation in the new government by Premier Dalton McGuinty, becoming the first Indian-Canadian to hold a cabinet

Second-graders charged for bathroom breaks

Circus comes to Vatican Burned bodies found City; Pope greets after Japanese tunnel acrobats and clowns collapse

Mirvish continues tradition of turkey giveaways

Rumours of legendary vampire ghost crop up in Serbian village

The mother of a seven-year-old says her son wet his pants after his teacher refused to let him use the restroom. In his school, bathroom breaks cost “Boyd Bucks”, awarded for good behaviour. Sonja Cross’s son, an honour roll student, needed to go to the restroom, but he didn’t have any Boyd Bucks. The school is not planning any discipline for the teacher.

Pope Benedict XVI greeted clowns, acrobats, and puppeteers, and even a pair of lion cubs on Saturday when the circus came to town for a papal performance.

The event was organized by the Vatican office that looks out for the welfare of migrants, refugees, sailors, prostitutes, and street children—people who by force or by choice live without stable homes.

Japanese highway police found several burned bodies inside a vehicle after a tunnel collapsed about 80 kilometres west of Tokyo. At least two cars remained trapped Sunday after the tunnel collapse, according to the East Yamanashi Fire Department. The cause of the collapse is not apparent, nor is the total number of people affected.

The annual giveaway of free turkeys at the Honest Ed’s store in the downtown west took place on Sunday morning. Hundreds of people braved the rain and wind for hours at Bloor St. West and Bathurst St., hoping to get their hands on a free turkey and fruit cake. David Mirvish, whose late father Honest Ed Mirvish began the tradition in 1987, was on hand.

Villagers in Zarozje, a hamlet in western Serbia, say rumours that a legendary vampire ghost has awakened are spreading fear in the village—and creating a potential tourist attraction. A local council advised villagers to put garlic in their pockets and place wooden crosses in their rooms. Vampire legends have been prominent in the Balkans for centuries.

Source: NBC News

Source: The Associated Press

Source: CNN News

Source: CBC News

Source: The Associated Press

Muhammad Qureshi

sagennext.com/Photos

Harinder Takhar says he will be a “premier with a plan”.

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11.26.2012

Editor-in-Chief » Stefanie Marotta

In search of answers for residence fees Fourth-year student concerned after receiving notice of $400 winter housing extension fee Dear Editor, As a full-time international student at the University of Toronto Mississauga, I am formally writing to oppose the winter housing extension fees in the amount of $400 that students who require housing during this period (December 21 to January 6) are forced to pay.

Since moving to Canada, I have been tossed around from place to place in the process of moving in an and out of residence. The residence policies that guide the housing process are less than favourable to the UTM student body on residence as a whole and even more unfavourable to international students.

UTM students who live on campus are required to vacate their units by December 21 at the latest. This would

not be much of a problem if, like local students, I had family here. I cannot help but feel that the majority of students paying this $400 fee are international students who have nowhere else to go. The other group consists of students who live in far-off places like Vancouver. Why is there an invoice for “Residence fees” at the beginning of the year if I am required to pay an extra amount? As an international student, I pay on average at least $30,000 a year, which includes tuition and housing. That is enough for UTM to have me here for less—which was the case two years ago when we were charged only $250—or even nothing at all during those two weeks.

Seeking alternative housing prior to this interim period in order to avoid the fee is a catalyst for stress-related diseases that are counterproduc-

tive to achieving academic goals. As an alternative, I don’t see how searching for housing when students like myself should be focussing on exams helps. This task obstructs the proper mental, physical, and emotional environment that is appropriate for study. This is the reason we have all left our countries to come to Canada: to study. Another important point is that the cafeteria is closed during this extension period.

Aggravated by the issue, I resorted to my Twitter page, where my rants attracted some attention. I was invited to discuss the winter housing process with Emma Beamson, communications coordinator, and Dale Mullings, director of residence and student life. The meeting was open to any other students with similar concerns and provided an opportunity

for the residence staff to provide justification for the fee increase as well its existence at all.

After this meeting, I was dissatisfied with their responses and believe that whether or not UTM Residence Life is an ancillary organization, it is still a part of the university and should function in a way that puts its students first.

Just three weeks ago, about 80 international students from UTM met with Mayor McCallion at the Mississauga Civic Centre. Her keynote gave me reassurance as she addressed the students. “We welcome people from all over the world in our city and university,” she declared on behalf of the City of Mississauga. “You’re very special, and we want to do anything we can to make you feel at home.”

Frankly speaking, being homeless

for two weeks does not make me feel welcome in this university, much less in this city. Something needs to be done about this. If profit is the primary reason for the existence of UTM or any other educational institution, like a potential buyer in a Ferrari store, it will do them good to hold our hands while we pay $30,000+ in tuition and housing. Some of our parents work extremely hard to keep us overseas, and that does not in any way mean that we have the extra $400 to spare.

If there is some counterargument regarding the current operation of UTM, perhaps one championing hospitality and goodwill, now is the time for this school to prove it.

Best, Nengi Adoki Fifth-year student

Go out with a bang at graduation With a click of a button, I announce my intent to graduate and I find myself wondering how the convocation ceremony will play out.

Horror stories circulate every year.

Girls in monstrous heels longer than our degrees strut around. You’re already on a stage; how much more elevated do you need to be? Apparently a girl wiped out pretty hard at the November convocation. One rendition of the story has her heels flying off her feet and nailing the back of her head.

Since I plan on avoiding an epic faceplant, I’m going to rule out that pair of spike-bedazzled, rhinestone-encrusted red platform pumps. I’m graduating, not walking the Jeffrey Campbell footwear fashion runway.

Then there’s the dude sporting flip-flops and sunglasses—a personal favourite of mine. High school graduation wouldn’t have been complete without the flip-flop guy, so why not carry the tradition over to university?

I know which dude this is. He sits in the Meeting Place in his Roots sweat-

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Stefanie Marotta editor@mediumutm.ca NEWS EDITOR Larissa Ho news@mediumutm.ca ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Jai Sangha A&E EDITOR Colleen Munro arts@mediumutm.ca MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 Phone: 905.828.5260

ASSOCIATE A&E EDITORS Aristotle Eliopoulos FEATURES EDITOR Carine Abouseif features@mediumutm.ca ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Jillian Lim

SPORTS EDITOR Isaac Owusu sports@mediumutm.ca

pants eating his meatball sub from Subway. And the sunglasses don’t fool anyone. His bloodshot red eyes would be less obvious than the Ray-Bans.

I’ve also heard of the numerous makeup messes. The June convocation is already warm enough, but apparently they usher you and hundreds of other students into small, windowless rooms so you can really get your money’s worth out of your graduation gown, one droplet of sweat at a time.

Since most makeup isn’t swampproof, anyone who dipped their face in a paint tray of foundation and bronzer is usually wearing most of that makeup on their necks by the time the photographers come around.

Most astounding of all is last year’s protester. In his red floppy-brimmed hat, 26-year-old Michael Vipperman climbed onto the stage and said, “I hereby renounce this degree,” in support of the Québec student protests.

From what I understand, he still took his degree, but his story made it into The Toronto Star.

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be used without written consent.

For many of us, convocation is the last time we’ll ever be regarded as students. Compared to life after graduation, university life is cushy. When else in your life can you get away with wearing flip-flops, fake eyelashes, and studded heels to a formal event? I’m hoping someone will create their own “court jester”-style hat to match that of the official handing out of degrees.

One of the most important life lessons I’ve learned from university is the importance of taking the time to live out dreams. I’ve travelled Europe, stumbled home on the subway, and lost myself in strange places and weird scenarios in my university years.

When I retire decades from now, I want to look back on a life equally balanced in hard work and irresponsible adventure. In fact, I might just consider wearing flip-flops to grad.

Ok, no, not really.

YOURS, STEFANIE MAROTTA

DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Medium. Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style and coherence. Letters will not exceed 700 words in print. Letters that incite hatred, violence or letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist or libelous will not be published. Anonymous letters will not be published.

12.03.2012

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Editor » Colleen Munro

Art history students trek to New York Fourth-year class travels to NYC to take in the Met’s Bernini exhibition TIFFANY LIMGENCO Some lucky UTM students have the rare opportunity to extend their learning outside the classroom. Students in FAH493, an upper-year art history seminar offered by the department of visual studies, got this opportunity when they travelled to New York City in October. Although Hurricane Sandy blew through the city on the weekend of the excursion, the storm didn’t ruin the experience.

FAH493 covers specific topics in early modern art and architecture.

Professor Evonne Levy, a DVS associate professor specializing in Renaissance and Baroque art, focussed on the works of celebrated Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini this year. The course culminated in a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newest exhibition, “Bernini: Sculpting in Clay”, which Levy says covers “virtually the entire corpus of Bernini’s works, gathered from museums around the world”.

The exhibit offers a glimpse into the artist’s mind through 39 terracotta sculptures Bernini produced in preparation for larger marble pieces. They are preludes to some of Bernini’s grandest works, including the Piazza Navona fountain and St. Longinus in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.

Although the trip included other exhibits featuring drawings and sketches by some of the most es-

METMUSEUM.ORG/PHOTO

One of the 39 Bernini terracotta sculptures that FAH493 students got to glimpse at the Met show. teemed artists of the 16th through 20th centuries, students said they were most excited for Bernini. After weeks of admiring and analyzing the artist’s work, they finally witnessed the bozzetti, or models, in person.

Their close encounter with Bernini’s bozzetti provided students the opportunity to study the fine details of the pieces and the techniques used the artist used to translating his vision to clay. Students analyzed every grab, drag, and print that made up each sculpture. Unlike the photographs in the exhibit catalogue, the bozzetti demonstrated the scale of the models and the fine craftsman-

ship that went into them.

“I was surprised by the amount of time I could spend in one exhibit and still feel like there was more to see, aspects of the work I had not noticed,” said Samantha Banyard, a fourth-year art and art history student.

To contextualize the exhibit, students attended a Bernini seminar the following day at New York University. Students listened to lectures on attribution, how opinions change through further research, and Bernini’s preliminary works by art historians with a special interest in the Italian sculptor.

Guiding the students through the trip were Levy and her team of graduate students. Siobhan Burbidge, a fourth-year art and art history student, said that Levy’s “expert leadership and touring” exceeded her expectations. As an expert on Italian Baroque art and on Bernini’s life and work, Levy enriched her students’ learning. The graduate students also held one-on-one sessions with members of the class to discuss their thoughts about the exhibits, ask about concepts they found difficult, and gain insight into new ideas they acquired throughout the trip.

“I was able to imagine myself as a

graduate student,” said Lesley Savoie, a fourth-year art and art history student. From them, she said, she learned that “knowing everything is not what matters, but rather an appetite for greater exploration and understanding”.

Students not only discovered new things about Bernini’s works, they also got to see and learn about the city through the eyes of someone who grew up in it and knew it well.

This experience is far from the norm at university, but it was much appreciated. “It was great to have someone who really knew the city with us, who had a lot to tell us,” said Burbidge.

When Hurricane Sandy struck, the students’ hotel and the area around it were unharmed, but their return flight was cancelled. They watched from their hotel rooms as nearby streets flooded and panels of buildings were torn off. Savoie attributed the class’s sense of calm and security to Levy’s leadership.

Once they were safely back in Toronto, Levy and the students of FAH493 prepared for one of the seminar’s final events: an international symposium entitled “Material Bernini: Clay, Ink, Stone”. The conference took place at the St. George campus on November 30 and December 1, bringing together art historians from the U.S., Canada, and Europe to share insights on Bernini’s works.

Blood, bullets, and a political agenda Brad Pitt gets gritty in the new mob thriller Killing Them Softly SUKHWANT GILL In Killing Them Softly, three men find a “foolproof ” way to rob a mobprotected poker game, and in doing so cause the local crime economy to crash. The mob turns to a mafia hitman to solve their problems. Selfish people avoiding regulations for their own needs and causing economic downturn… Could it be that the movie is an allegory for certain recent financial catastrophes in America?

Frankly, yes.

You may be wondering how I can be so sure. Well, the movie doesn’t just drive the point home; it bludgeons it to death. It begins with the 2008 U.S. presidential election being stylishly introduced into the backdrop during the credits. The initial interest and intrigue of this choice quickly becomes beyond blatant as talk of the numerous problems in the economy is frequently heard over the gangsters’ radio and television sets.

(For some reason, every thug in this movie listens to NPR.) This is so obviously juxtaposed with the main story

Brad Pitt and Richard Jenkins share a calm moment in Killing Them Softly. that the whole movie teeters on the edge of making the audience indifferent towards everything.

Fortunately, the cast and director never let that happen. The movie, starring Brad Pitt as the man tasked with finding the robbers, offers great performances across the board. Character actors Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, and James Gandolfini appear in

supporting roles, and beside Pitt they provide almost enough grace, depth, and dark comedy to their characters to distract from the heavy-handed message. But as good as those veterans are, it’s Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn who steal the show as the two robbers who execute the robbery, providing plenty of laughs while doing so. The talk-heavy thriller

SHOCKYA.COM/PHOTO

glides along with ease thanks to its hilarious dialogue, making the very long stretches without violence or action seem all too short.

That’s not to say the action isn’t well worth the wait. It doesn’t happens often, but when heads roll, they roll in glorious fashion. Director Andrew Dominik takes tried and true tropes of the crime genre and adds

his own sensibility to them. Whether it’s through bullets or beatings, he always injects his scenes with a refreshing beauty and brutality, making this movie instantly worth the price of admission. The stylistic choices throughout the movie are wonderful, and prevent it from being just a pedestrian crime thriller. Regrettably, Dominik wasn’t aided by a noteworthy plot. The story goes through the motions, never veering into a particularly interesting place or having characters make unexpected decisions.

That leaves us with an exceptionally inconsistent film. It has an uninspired plot and a far too obvious message, but it’s also beautifully shot, with great performances and even better dialogue. To be honest, my enjoyment of the strengths of the film made it hard to notice the flaws until it was over and I was able to reflect on why the movie hadn’t connected in the way the filmmakers clearly intended.

So proceed cautiously, and if you can endure a profound lack of subtlety, you’ll be in for a hell of a ride. MMM

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«ARTS THE MEDIUM 12.03.2012

10. Rihanna Unapologetic None of the songs on here sound as good as “Only Girl in the World”; Rihanna’s latest album feels like it will be appreciated over time for what it tries to do more than for what it initially did. I see a “top 40 Rihanna” trying to move over into her own niche—and for the hardest-working pop star out there, encouraging that transition is the least we can do.

9. Purity Ring Shrines This duo showed so much promise and hype when the first of their songs leaked early last year, and Shrines is an album that tries hard to stretch a perfect yet difficult pop formula and repeat it over 11 tracks. The album is noted for its originality, even through its weaker parts.

8. Lana Del Rey Born to Die Although it sometimes drowns in the melodrama and melancholy of its own lyrics, Del Rey’s major debut received constant rotation throughout the year from me thanks to its perfect production; the strings and orchestra mixed with trip-hop vibes are a joy for the ears, even if the subject matter bums you out of even the best of moods.

7. Perfume Genius Put Your Back N 2 It Mike Hadreas recorded Put Your Back N 2 It in his mother’s home after moving back to his hometown of Washington. On this record, Hadreas explores themes of angst, sexuality, and self-consciousness—each of which he had to deal with in his life before writing this record. The result is raw, personal, and exceptionally well-crafted.

6. How to Dress Well Total Loss Doing indie R&B better than anybody right now, How to Dress Well’s Tom Krell improves on his debut, 2010’s Love Remains, by perfecting his sound and removing the static and distortion of his earlier work. Songs like “Cold Nites” and “& It was U” might sound better only if The Weeknd had recorded them instead—and even then it’s hard to say.

5. Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city Lamar’s verses on good kid, probably the strongest rap album released this year, are catchy but no less well-written for it. After a few listens, I notice this autobiographical record sometimes feels more cinematic than a late showing of Lincoln. Highly recommended.

4. Usher Looking 4 Myself “Climax” is one of the better songs of Usher’s career; it gives you shivers before he even sings anything. It’s not surprising that Looking 4 Myself was so successful. Gone is the Usher trying to compete with his younger peers by making club bangers. He’s not afraid to be vulnerable—in between all the great earworm tracks— and here we see an Usher that cares.

3. Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel...

Apple created the best album of her career with the visceral and honest The Idler Wheel. With so little production on the album, Apple’s voice becomes the focus. She’s also not ashamed of her emotions. The record is an instant classic that the college radio crowd would’ve swooned over in the ’90s.

2. Frank Ocean Channel ORANGE ORANGE explodes with feeling in the very first line Ocean sings on “Thinkin Bout You”. It’s his knack for crafting unusual hooks that build up into explosively catchy songs that wins you over. Even the thought and intensity involved in creating a work of this magnitude is impressive on its own, and luckily, the result is also very, very good.

1. Grimes Visions Using her angelic voice as an instrument through layering and distortion, Claire Boucher of Grimes created an album that uses pop hooks in distinct and innovative ways. Ranging from robotic to human, current to otherworldly. From the ominous “Oblivion” to the vulnerable “Skin”, I never get tired of it, but continue to listen to it as the year winds down.

Life after the English degree How research and a little resourcefulness can help parlay an arts education into a career MARIA RUIZ Lately I’ve noticed that there seems to be a misconception about the career options available to students with an arts degree. It’s been my experience that “I’m studying English” seems to be synonymous with “I want to be a teacher”. Are the opportunities for an arts degree really so limited? The answer might surprise you.

Kate Cattell-Daniels, a theatre and drama specialist and English major, knows what she wants. “When I graduate, I’d like to be a professional actor,” she says, and feels that her degree is perfectly suited for helping her get there. Her classes target the skills she needs and provide her with the practice necessary to become a competent performer. “That competency in turn, I hope, will make me valuable in the industry,” she says.

Not all programs, however, have such an obvious link to a specific career. Like many other students, Kate’s

biggest concern once she graduates is her employment prospects, but she says she’s comfortable talking to professors and finding the support she needs within the department. But what about other arts programs that aren’t so specialized?

Monica Scott, the Career Centre’s outreach consultant, has some very valuable insights for arts students who aren’t sure how their degree can help them. She emphasizes that it is not background or credentials on which students should focus, but rather the skills they’re developing. “We need to get rid of the term ‘dream job’. What are you interested in? What do you like?” she says. “This is the language we need to start using.”

She believes that exploring interests will help students narrow down the kind of work they want to do and build the skills required in the workplace.

Perhaps the most valuable insight

Scott has to offer is a summary of the skills that arts students develop in their studies: critical thinking, argumentation, research, and, most importantly, an ability to explain and articulate their ideas. When it comes to the workplace, says Scott, “writing skills are gold”.

Helen Marshall, the managing editor of Chizine Publications and a PhD candidate at U of T, can attest to the truth of Scott’s advice. Marshall, who has a BA in English and a master’s in Medieval Studies, says her studies helped her hone the skills she uses every day, including critical thinking, time management, public speaking confidence, and the ability to read and process new material quickly.

The most valuable asset she took away from her studies, she says, is her appreciation of literature: “I love the complexity of the written word and its power to genuinely move people, to make us more human.”

Her words echo Scott’s ad-

vice: do what you like. Nevertheless, Marshall says her biggest advantage when she was starting out in the publishing industry was being willing to do whatever was needed. “You can’t limit yourself to only the work you want to do, and you can’t ever feel overqualified,” she warns students.

Sometimes, figuring out what you like can be trickier than expected.

Kayla Sousa, a recent UTM grad with an HBA in English and sociology, would readily agree. Looking back on her student years, Sousa says she hasn’t ended up where she thought she would. She started her program wanting to be a writer. As she got further into her studies, she fell in love with sociology and social service. Today, she is part of the Career Centre’s outreach team and hopes to pursue a career in counselling. Her advice to students is to be easy on themselves. “It’s okay for your interests to change,” she says.

Marshall’s advice follows the same lines. “Pursuing the job you want, the thing you are most passionate about, is possible,” she says. “But don’t sell yourself short. This is the rest of your life we’re talking about.”

So is teaching the only real option for English students? Just walking into the Career Centre with its many binders dedicated to specific occupations will put that worry to rest. The opportunities may not be endless, but they are plentiful. The page on their website titled “Careers by Major” lists possible careers and organizations that hire students with specific degrees. Add to that the many other resources they offer, such as counselling and networking events designed to help students connect with professionals in the field, and suddenly career exploration doesn’t seem quite so daunting.

As Scott says, “You don’t have to have all the answers.” But you do have to start looking.

12.03.2012 THE MEDIUM A&E

If you’re looking for some free entertainment this month, Habourfront Centre once again offers free skating daily all winter. DJ skate nights will also run every Saturday from 8–-11 p.m., starting December 15.

Leonard Cohen is one of Canada’s most celebrated songwriters, and he’ll take to the ACC for a two-night stay this December before hitting New York’s Madison Square Garden. His latest album, Old Ideas, was released earlier this year.

It may seem like an unlikely pairing, but the Barenaked Ladies have teamed up with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for a one-night-only concert at Roy Thompson Hall. The show features unique spins on some of the band’s biggest hits, as well as Christmas favourites.

Mississauga’s Meadowvale Theatre hosts this unique dance performance, which combines African-Caribbean dance with jazz, ballet, tap, and more. The show is based on Quincy Jones’s rendition of Handel’s Messiah.

After casting their leading actress (Danielle Wade) via the CBC reality competition Over the Rainbow, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new show, The Wizard of Oz, premieres this December. Musical numbers from the movie will of course be incorporated, as well as a few new compositions from Webber and Tim Rice.

Beat the post-holiday blues with the Garrison’s annual music festival. Emerging bands and DJs will take to the stage each night in hopes of jolting the crowd out of their turkeydriven fatigue.

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Toronto’s Distillery Ddistrict has once again transformed for the holidays.

To recreate a traditional Christmas market, the district incorporates traditional music, food, and handcrafted goods. Visitors can also admire the giant Christmas tree and elaborate light displays, as well as partake in the on-site beer gardens. The market is open daily until 9 p.m.

The Vancouver duo Japandroids have made waves for their energetic, stripped-down rock, and on December 11 they’ll hit the Phoenix for an all-ages show in support of their latest album, Celebration Rock. The event is part of 102.1 The Edge’s annual charity concert series, Jingle Bell Rock.

(Other performers in this year’s series throughout December include Tokyo Police Club and USS.) The first instalment of Peter Jackson’s hotly anticipated adaptation of The Hobbit finally hits screens this December. Featuring many cast members from the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as many newcomers, the film is destined to become one of the winter’s most talked-about films.

One of the best parts of the holidays is the food, and Hart House is there to cover that side of things, too. Offering The popular holiday tradition is back once again with its huge selection of food, all for student rate of $26.

Christmas at the multiplex offers something for everyone this year. Whether you’d like to weep to the dulcet tones of Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables, watch Christoph Waltz go loopy in another Quentin Tarantino movie (Django Unchained), or see Billy Crystal and Bette Midler looking really old in Parental Guidance, the Christmas season is an exciting time for many film fans.

There are of course many New Year’s parties held throughout Toronto and Mississauga, but Massey Hall offers a unique alternative with their 12th annual Comedy Extravaganza. Hosted by Harland Williams and headlined by Nikki Payne, the show also features a variety of Canadian comedians.

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« 12.03.2012

Editor » Carine Abouseif

A mug, a microwave, a master chef Holiday recipes for the kitchen-challenged (and the kitchen-less) MADELEINE BROWN Tiring work schedules, complicated class timetables, and skimpy student budgets make fun and flexibility in the kitchen almost impossible (no, KD doesn’t count). And that’s for people who even have a kitchen (hello, residence life).

But when we think of delicious food, and lots of it, the holiday season with its endless potlucks and dinner parties can be stressful for students who aren’t exactly master chefs.

What’s a student to do?

Here’s a list of simple Christmas recipes that don’t require a stove or oven. They might just save you from an embarrassing potluck contribution, or a Mr. Noodles Christmas dinner.

Red velvet microwave mug cake This cake pairs perfectly with a second mug of hot chocolate. This recipe comes in two parts: cake and frosting.

Spend a few extra dollars on goodquality cocoa powder for a good cake.

Ingredients Cake: 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour 4 ½ tbsp. white sugar 1/8 tsp. baking powder 1 ½ tbsp. unsweetened cocoa 3 tbsp. canola oil 3 tbsp. milk 1 egg ½ tsp. red food colouring

Frosting: 2 tbsp. plain cream cheese (full fat or fat-free) 2 tbsp. unsalted butter ½ cup white sugar Instructions Cake: 1. In a large mug, mix together all the dry ingredients (the all-purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, and unsweetened cocoa). Stir with a fork.

2. Dig a little hole in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients (the canola oil, milk, and egg) into the pit. Mix all the ingredients together with the fork.

3. Cook in the microwave on medium for one minute 30 seconds. Add an additional 30 seconds if it’s not done, but be careful not to overcook the batter or it’ll become dense and rubbery.

4. Let the cake cool for three minutes, and then apply the frosting.

Frosting: 1. Combine the plain cream cheese, unsalted butter, and white sugar in a large bowl. Beat with a fork or wooden spoon until the frosting is light and fluffy. (Bonus points if you have a hand mixer.)

2. Put a dollop on the finished cake.

3. If desired, decorate with sprinkles, chocolate chips, or crushed candy cane.

Makes 1 serving.

Recipes continued on page 9

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Satisfy your red velvet cravings with a mug, a microwave, and some basic ingredients.

VOL 2 EP 11: A Festivus for the rest of us LUKE SAWCZAK COPY EDITOR Hi, everyone. Normally I’m annoyed by how early they start with the Christmas songs, Santa floats, and store displays complete with countdowns, but somehow I’ve started to appreciate it more lately. Maybe it’s just because each year school gets a little harder, or I’m a little more tired of it, and I enjoy the promise of a break.

Whatever it is, you bet I’m selling out this week. That’s right: I’m going to give you the etymologies of some seasonal words.

To make it at least a little academic, let me say that etymology—the history of words, how they’ve changed in shape and meaning—is one of the oldest branches of linguistics. It’s been done for millennia, although the early Greeks and Romans guesses’ about words’ origins were often uninformed and unlikely,

in light of what we now know.

(Still, in one of Plato’s dialogues, Socrates says something rather ahead of his time on the subject of language change: “Names have been so twisted in all manner of ways, that I should not be surprised if the old language when compared with that now in use would appear to us to be a barbarous tongue.”)

One of the best etymological methods is philology, or the study of written records. We can judge a word’s meaning by the context it’s used in, find authors’ direct comments about its meaning (like in a dictionary), or notice an earlier spelling more telling of where it came from—like crevis, an older spelling of “crayfish”. Crevis was a borrowed French word, but English speakers later misanalyzed the second half as “fish”, obscuring its origin.

Those are all powerful clues, but they’re not the only ones. We can also look at cognates in other

languages and dialects; for example, the fact that German Hund means “dog” is a hint of how “hound” used to just mean “dog”.

Words for “harmless” and “uncomplicated” tend to converge with “stupid” (like “simple” did), and words for “clever” tend to converge with “deceitful”—like “crafty” and “cunning”, both of which once had more to do with ingenuity.

We use the comparative method and other relatively recent

analyses to work backwards from the sounds of a word to what they probably used to be.

We can also look at trends of change we’ve noticed in recorded history; for example, in The Study of Words, C.S. Lewis notes that words for “harmless” and “uncomplicated” tend to converge with “stupid” (like “simple” did), and words for “clever” tend to converge with “deceitful”—like “crafty” and “cunning”, both of which once had more to do with ingenuity. Based on these trends, we can do a kind of linguistic calculus to guess what another word originally meant.

Together, all these methods provide us with some pretty darn good ways of getting to the bottom of a word’s origins. Some good sources for looking up etymologies are etymonline.com and the Oxford English Dictionary, which all U of T students have access to.

So let’s see what etymologies

we can reflect on this December.

Christmas: From late Old English Christes maesse, meaning “Christ’s mass”. This “mass”, by the way, has nothing to do with “mass” in physics. It’s from the Latin for “to send away”—or to dismiss. Apparently, that was the most salient part of mass for the speakers who coined the word.

Noel: From French noel, which comes through many changes from Latin natalis “birth”, as in Latin natalis dies “birthday”.

Yule: Ultimately from Old Norse jol, referring to a pagan holiday absorbed into Christmas.

“The ultimate origin […] is obscure,” reports the OED. Kwanzaa: From Swahili (an East African language) kwanza “first”, as in matunda ya kwanza “first fruits of the harvest”.

Coined in 1966 for the holiday that began as a symbol of the Pan-Africanism movement.

Festivus continued on page 10

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12.03.2012 THE MEDIUM FEATURES

9

Law of the library jungle

The unwritten rules of the library (that everyone breaks)

sion? Beesides, research says power naps are very effective!) But if this is during the day in exam season, you’re probably bugging someone.

If you’re that tired, you should probably get out of the library and get to your bed. Besides, you’re taking up valuable study space, and your snoring is kind of ruining the silent aspect of the silent zone.

PRIYANKA KUMAR & CARINE ABOUSEIF FEATURES EDITOR It’s that time of year again. Everyone is in track pants; messy buns and beards are everywhere; Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Second Cup are making ridiculous amounts of cash; and the library is packed to the brim.

Ladies and gentleman, welcome to exam season.

A large number of students have set up camp in the library. One thing you can expect is tempers running high. The library has a set of rules that everyone is supposed to follow, but not everyone does. (To be fair, they do their best to enforce these rules.)

But what about the unwritten rules of conduct—the ones most people know in their heart, but so many never seem to follow? Since we’re all going to be in such close proximity and competing for the same services in the coming weeks, here’s a guide to the unwritten rules of the library (that everybody breaks).

1) Using computers for Facebook Look, I know you’re dying to know if Sarah and Michael broke up.

We’re dying to know, too. But there’s a time and a place. There are people frantically trying to find a computer to print their essays or assignments, and you’ve been browsing Facebook for over half an hour. Most months the library computers are a great way

JUNAID IMRAN/THE MEDIUM

Think you can hide in the stacks? Think again. to waste time between classes, but in exam season, they’re a valuable resource. Unless you want to be on the wrong end of some nasty looks from the people trying to print, try leaving the computer to someone who needs it—and check Facebook on your phone.

2) No shoes, no service.

“But—but—I need to be comfortable!” you stammer. “Also, check out my cute SpongeBob socks!” Yes, yes, they’re charming. Why don’t you Instagram a picture of them and I’ll check it out. After that, why don’t you put on a pair of comfort-

able shoes and proceed to keep them on your feet until you’re back inside your house. It’s gross—and actually a hazard. No one wants to trip over a pair of stray Uggs just chillin’ in the library hallways. Keep the library safe—keep your shoes on.

3) Whispering in the silent zone I know what you’re thinking: you can whisper quietly and no one will mind. You just need to tell your friend that Sarah and Michael broke up. You thought wrong, my friend.

When it’s actually silent in a silent zone, that’s precisely when you can hear the “psst, psst”. It’s unnerving,

Kitchen-challenged?

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Walk into your next potluck with a two-step avocado dip—and class.

Recipes continued from page 8

Zesty one-bowl avocado dip Be the first to sign up for your next potluck this holiday season with this festive bright green avocado dip.

Ingredients 1 ripe avocado (peeled, pitted, & coarsely chopped) 1 tbsp. lime juice ½ cup fat-free Greek yoghurt 1 tsp. chili flakes ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper Instructions 1. Mash the avocado, lime juice, Greek yoghurt, chili flakes, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until smooth.

2. Serve in a small bowl with tortilla chips.

Makes 1 cup.

Ultimate turkey dinner sandwich This recipe saves you the blood, sweat, and tears of a turkey dinner, but offers the same wonderful taste.

Ingredients ¼ cup fresh cranberries 1 tsp. red onion (peeled & finely chopped) ½ tsp. lime juice ¼ orange (peeled & cut into ¼-inch pieces) ½ tsp. fresh ginger (peeled & finely chopped) 1 tsp. white sugar 1 tbsp. pecans (coarsely chopped) 250g turkey (roast or cold cut) 2 slices of bread

Instructions 1. Put the cranberries in a blender. Pulse several times until they’re coarsely chopped.

2. Scrape the cranberries into a bowl and mix in the red onion, lime juice, orange, fresh ginger, white sugar, and pecans to make a relish.

3. Chill the relish in the refrigerator for one hour.

4. Butter the bread, and then spread the relish on the same slice. Top the slice with the turkey and cover with the remaining slice of bread.

5. If desired, serve with homemade or instant gravy, either drizzled on top or for dipping on the side. For true turkey dinner lovers, dare to spread a layer of instant mashed potatoes on one slice of the bread before assembly.

Makes 1 sandwich.

and everyone can hear what you’re whispering, so the entire area just heard you tell your friend that secret. If you really can’t control yourself, then exit the silent zone. Shockingly, that’s where the non-silent things are supposed to happen. If you’re too lazy for that, try messaging your friend in the many technologically silent ways available.

4) Naptime Cramming for an exam can tucker you out, no doubt about it. And many of us allow ourselves little naps in an all-nighter. (What’s a 15-minute nap in an eight-hour study ses-

5) “Can you watch my stuff, please?”

There have been a couple of instances of theft in the library. And during exam time, nothing’s scarier than the idea of leaving your laptop at your seat and coming back to find an empty desk. All your essays, all your notes—gone. (Despite all your professors’ warnings, you just never got around to backing up your documents.)

It’s fine to ask the girl next to you to watch your stuff while you run to the bathroom, to get some coffee from Starbucks, and so on. We can’t all be in the library for hours without getting up for a break. No, the real issue here is when someone asks you to watch their stuff... and then never comes back. So the poor girl waits and waits and waits, until it’s time for her to leave. Now what does she do? The bravest of us would just get up and leave. Who cares if some nameless person—even better, some jerk who’s been gone for a whole hour—loses their stuff? But UTM still has some nice kids, and they might keep waiting… forever.

10 THE MEDIUM

«FEATURES 12.03.2012

A night of bed and breakfast You’ve stayed up the entire night studying and it’s finally time to eat something

Health specialists recommend a healthy breakfast of carbohydrates, protein, and iron, but we’d rather have an Egg McMuffin.

CLIFF LEE STAFF WRITER For many of us, perhaps the most frightful part of the upcoming weeks is the legendary all-nighter.

Even if you’ve never stayed up all night to work on something, you’ve probably missed out on a large chunk of your eight hours at least once. To stay up, you probably chugged a variety of liquids that may or may not lead to hospitalization. But we think there’s a bright side to an all-nighter: the delicious breakfast you have once you’ve accomplished your night’s task.

Curious to find out what you were indulging in the morning after, we interviewed some of you—only to discover that you’re not as indulgent as we thought. Here’s a countdown of UTM’s top three breakfasts after an all-nighter. #3: Bowl of cereal or oatmeal Compared to an Egg McMuffin, grains may not be the tastiest option.

Students who chose oatmeal as their ideal post-all-nighter breakfast said they chose it for the energy boost.

Oatmeal packs a variety of vitamins and minerals, and it’s a great source

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#2: Coffee or green tea So… these drinks aren’t exactly food, but they were still the preferred breakfast of many UTM students after a sleepless night. “Green tea warms the

body and soul,” said Wei Wei Wong, a fourth-year student.

According to some research on caffeine, UTM is on the right track— sort of. Drinks containing caffeine (like green tea and coffee) can elevate mood and improve brain function.

Unfortunately, as you’ve no doubt experienced, these benefits don’t last very long. Also, the caffeine boost works best with meals, not as a replacement. Maybe you should have some oatmeal with it? #1: Nothing Tsk-tsk, UTM. Even after hearing

from all those annoying people that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the number-one breakfast for students pulling all-nighters is nothing?

“I’d rather spend more time in bed than be awake for breakfast,” said Philip Kwan, a biotechnology student.

It seems finding something to eat is a little too much to ask of someone who’s had no sleep; most of us would rather spend that time hugging our pillows. So we’ll probably just keep ignoring the health experts. After all, they also said all-nighters don’t work, so what do they know?

Seasonal etymologies Festivus continued from page 8

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of carbohydrates, protein, and iron.

In fact, if you’re following up your all-nighter with an exam, research says the best breakfast is a high-fibre one—like oatmeal or cereal (although probably not the high-sugar variety).

Plus, both oatmeal and cereal are easy to prepare, so you’re less likely to burn yourself when you doze off for few minutes.

HOJOMARKHAM.COM/PHOTO

Hanukkah: Are you confused why it’s sometimes spelled “Chanukah”?

Well, one thing that tripped me up in Israel is the “h”. Of Ancient Hebrew’s original three “h” sounds, only two remain in Modern Hebrew: one that’s the same as the regular English “h” and the famous fricative that’s often spelled “ch”. The third one has merged with “ch”… but is generally spelled “h” on English signs.

Anyway, Chanukah is most likely a derivation of HNK, the Hebrew base for words related to “dedicate”, but there are also folk etymologies.

One of them says it’s from hanu “they rested” plus k’h, which, thanks to a system where every letter has a numeric value, means “25”—yielding “they rested on the 25th”.

Chrismukkah: Clearly a blending of “Christmas” and “Hanukkah”.

It’s the faux holiday for interfaith families, once featured on The O.C. Sceptical? Maybe it’s time to check out chrismukkah.com.

Festivus: The “-us” is a false Latin-sounding suffix for “festive”, but it might be inappropriate, since “festive”, “feast”, and related words are ultimately from Latin festus “joyful, merry, festive”. It’s the faux holiday for people who, like Frank Costanza on Seinfeld, hate all the commercial and religious aspects of Christmas.

You might be surprised to know that the holiday that features the “Airing of Grievances”, the “Feats

12-11-05 11:20 AM

of Strength”, and the “Festivus Pole” existed before Seinfeld… and is now celebrated by people all over the world.

Santa Claus: You’ve probably heard this one before: say “Saint Nicholas” enough times and in enough odd ways and you might get something close to “Santa Claus”.

As the January 25, 1808 issue of the satirical periodical Salmagundi put it, “The noted St. Nicholas, vulgarly called Santaclaus—of all the saints in the kalendar the most venerated by true hollanders, and their unsophisticated descendants.” (Isn’t it great what you can find on the OED?)

Say “Saint Nicholas” enough times and in enough odd ways and you might get something close to “Santa Claus”.

Boxing Day: Surprisingly touchingly, etymonline.com says it originally referred to the day on which “postmen and others expect to receive a Christmas present, originally in reference to the custom of distributing the contents of the Christmas box, which was placed in the church for charity collections”. I guess nobody ever used to give postmen

presents; maybe they thought postmen are only good for delivering things, not receiving them.

Scrooge: As far as anyone knows, Dickens invented this surname for A Christmas Carol.

Grinch: Similarly, “Grinch” is an invention of Dr. Seuss.

Carol: From French; ultimately from a Greek compound of khoros “chorus” and aulos “flute” or “reed instrument”, which came in Middle Latin to be used of “a dance to the flute”.

Xmas: Sometimes Christians complain about how “Xmas” takes the “Christ” out of “Christmas”. If only they knew that the “X” isn’t an English letter; it’s the Greek letter chi, the initial of the Greek name for “Christ”. It’s been used to abbreviate the name “Christ” by Christians and others for about 900 years. Actually, the first recorded use of the abbreviation is Xres maesse—“Christmas”.

Okay, that’s all for now. If you think of any other seasonal words you’d like to look up, you know where to find them. Trust me, if you like language, it’s an excellent and educational way to lose a few hours.

Merry whatever-you-celebrate!

P.S. Next semester, I’d like to take more of your linguistic questions and answer them here. You can send them to me—including over the break—at copy@mediumutm.ca.

12.03.2012

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11

Editor » Isaac Owusu

(Not so) Average Joes achieve a threepeat Division 1 campus rec ball hockey title league is over. Average Joes claim the championship with an 8–3 victory in the RAWC

MICHAEL FOLEY/THE RAWC

The Average Joes won the ball hockey hardware for a third straight semester, beating the Rookies in each match.

ISAAC OWUSU SPORTS EDITOR One of UTM’s fiercest rivalries was renewed as the Division 1 campus rec ball hockey finals were played on Thursday at the RAWC. The Average Joes took on the Rookies in their championship-deciding matchup, in which the Joes looked to claim their third straight crown.

It was a scrappy start, with the Joes winning the opening faceoff. Their strategy was to control the ball with short, quick, constant passes to keep their opponents on the defensive. But they let up after a lapse allowed a pass near their own goal to be intercepted

by Geoff Estabrokas, who made the most of the game’s opening shot only one minute into the contest.

The Rookies—made up predominately of RAWC staff, including Jack Krist, Cam Walker, Michael Foley, Rob Brown, Jordan Stinson, and Estabrokas—kept up their momentum to push the ball forward. They kept two men deep in Average Joe territory playing the net, and one man back by the goalie for defence.

Just as the Rookies looked like they were getting synchronized in their positions, the Joes found a weakness to exploit. The Joes pushed all of their

men into their opponents’ zone with short passes, advancing the ball forward with every pass, until they had backed the Rookies fully into their own defence. At this point the Joes had their opponents watching not only for passes but also for shots from close range. After a flurry of attempts, the Joes finally got a shot in the net when Alex Santini banked his first goal off an assist by Philip Arci.

Following the faceoff, the Rookies tried to re-establish their positions, holding the ball at half-court. The Average Joes, playing more defensively than usual, found themselves in many scrums in front of their goalie, Ryan Zarrabi. The Joes’ aggressive defence only hurt them: Joey El-Shimy found himself facing a three-minute penalty for tripping, making it a three-on-two matchup in the Rookies’ favour.

Zarrabi came through in the clutch by making a beautiful glove save by the top right corner of the net. But this was only the start of the pressure the Rookies would apply over the two and a half minutes of their power play.

Even though they were down a player, the Joes persevered. Santini scored his second goal unassisted off some brilliant stick work to weave through the Rookies’ defence.

When their power play ended, the

Rookies found themselves back on the defensive. The Joes came out as aggressive as before the penalty, again pushing the ball into their opponents’ territory.

Adrian “Big A” Di Federico found himself in a clear path of the net, with only Krist between himself and the goalie. Di Federico’s shot got past Krist and squeezed through the goaltender’s legs, but it somehow avoided crossing the line for a goal, hit the post, and bounced out. El-Shimy soon found himself in front of the net’s left corner after a pass from Juliano (the other Di Federico on the team) and fired a precise slap shot between the pipes that pushed the Joes’ lead to 3–1.

Arci punched in the Joes’ fourth and final goal of the first 20-minute half, taking a pass from Elie Jbeili out of a scrum and netting the ball.

“Big A” Di Federico served a threeminute penalty for roughing with 3:06 left in the half. While he sat out his penalty, his teammate Jbeili was given a breakaway chance at the net.

His wrist shot to the upper right corner of the net failed to score the team’s fifth goal, and the teams went to a short half-time break.

When the whistle was blown to begin the second half, it was back to the

Rookies keeping the ball at mid-court and the Average Joes finding holes in their strategy. The Joes pushed in front of their opponents’ goal and delivered a barrage of shots at the net.

Juliano Di Federico rebounded ElShimy’s miss into the net, bringing the score to 5–1.

The Rookies, now facing a fourgoal deficit, adopted a new strategy: firing from all angles. But Zarrabi was a wall, blocking shots and making two highlight glove saves in the process.

Jbeili scored his first goal of the game and made it 6–1. The Rookies got a sudden burst of excitement from a fluke: Stinson shot the ball and it bounced off Jbeili’s leg into the net.

The score was 6–2 with 11:30 left in the match.

The game looked like it had already been won, and the Rookies looked worn out and tired, but the Average Joes kept the pressure up, running the ball up and around the Rookies’ net.

Estabrokas received a three-minute penalty for interference while trying to will a comeback for his team.

While the Rookies were shorthanded, Arci scored on a one-timer shot from half-court after receiving a pass from Jbeili, restoring his team’s five-goal lead to 7–2.

The Average Joes’ bench could be

heard yelling “Dump and chase!”, calling for a new offensive strategy wrap up the match. This new plan was effective; they took every possession they had and shot the ball from any and every range toward the Rookies’ goalie, keeping them on the defensive.

With 3:52 left, the Rookies’ Walker scored a scrappy goal after emerging from a scrum in front of the Joes’ net.

But a minute later, Arci completed his hat trick.

The Joes claimed their third ball hockey title in a row with the 8–3 win. Zarrabi was named MVP for his brilliant performance, standing on his head with over 30 saves, of which 10 were highlights.

“Our strategy was blocking and pushing aside opponents. It made me more mobile and I kept myself low to the ground. I had a clear view of the ball and I always stayed in position,” said a jubilant Zarrabi after the game. “With our communication, it was easy to see if it was a high or low shot. But we kept good communication and we got it done.”

The Average Joes hope to gain their fourth straight ball hockey championship next semester. They may even face the Rookies a sixth time—and intensify the hottest rivalry in UTM sports.

A chance for the airing of grievances U of T’s intramurals manager, UTMAC’s president, and the men’s tri-campus hockey coach address controversial ban ISAAC OWUSU SPORTS EDITOR UTM hockey player Rory Bourgeois voiced his displeasure in October with his suspension from UTM hockey.

Over the month following the ban, John Robb (U of T’s manager of intramurals), Adam Niaz (the president of UTMAC), and Michael Keaveney (Bourgeois’ hockey coach) spoke up to give their take on the suspension and the protocol sur-

rounding it.

Bourgeois was forced to miss two games of UTM Division 1 hockey because he played for OISE’s team.

The intramural rules state that a player can’t play for more than one team in the same season (intramurals and Division 1 don’t fall under one umbrella).

The issue for Bourgeois was that he was also banned from the intramural “East-West Classic” game that pitted UTM against UTSC. Bourgeois didn’t see why his suspension

should prevent him from playing in this matchup, since it was made in Division 1.

“The situation is, when you incur a suspension, you must sit out in that sport until it’s been served,” said Robb.

“He incurred it in the interfaculty of the program, which is where his Division 1 was played,” added Robb, “which means as soon as that second game has passed, he’s eligible to play again.”

Robb went on to explain the histo-

ry of the penalty. He also explained that the ban applies to all games in the sport until the suspension is lifted, and addressed the issue of eligibility to play on multiple teams:.

“Tri-campus is a different situation; we allow those players to play for more than one team. A few players are allowed to play down to provide leadership at the lower-level teams,” he said.

Bourgeois saw UTMAC’s absence at policy-making meetings as part of the cause.

“We’d certainly prefer to have UTM representatives at the meetings, but we understand the constraints of time and distance,” said Robb. “UTM has an excellent fulltime staff that can help them understand the procedures and the policies.”

In a phone interview, Niaz addressed was what he considered a misrepresentation of the council’s participation.

Hockey continued on page 12

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«SPORTS THE MEDIUM

12.03.2012

Manager, coach, UTMAC address suspension Hockey continued from page 11 “One missed meeting, especially at the beginning of the year, is not much a hit towards us, because it’s a starting point and it even gets sent to us in an email anyways,” said Niaz. “The most important ones are in January or February. This does not dismiss the fact that we should be at the meetings, but obviously, due to certain restraints— like, we were pretty busy planning the frosh, and that meeting was actually in the summer. A couple of us weren’t around, the time was hectic, and the school was starting up. So there are other things that factor into this.”

He added, “These meetings are not to be attended by myself, but to be attended by other people in my council. Specifically, people that are more geared toward the intramural program. Any changes that are usually to be made are made later on in the year—closer to January to February. That’s when everything is set. At the first initial meeting, everything is just introduced.”

The question of whether the meeting is important is a major one, but Niaz doesn’t like having the finger pointed at him.

“I’m not saying the meeting was not important; every meeting is important,” he said. “But whatever the situation that [Bourgeois] is bringing up—that UTMAC was not at the meeting—is completely irrelevant [to] what his case is. Sure, the one meeting was missed, but if there was nothing brought to my attention about it before, then there’s really not much that I can do for it after.”

“Now that it’s been brought to me, I can make sure something can be done about it,” he added.

Niaz wants to examine what was done and what could have gone differently.

“From this point on, because I see that this has become an issue, this is something that will be addressed when we sit [in the meeting],” he said. “If there was a possible way at that time, I would have made sure somebody would have went. But there wasn’t any possible way that somebody could have been present.”

Bourgeois had suggested that forming a players’ association, like the league has at UTSC, would help to deal with issues like this. Niaz is open to hearing more about the idea. “If he were to come speak to myself, for sure it would be given some consideration and thought,” he said, “depending on what this players’ association would constitute and what benefit it would bring to the players themselves.”

Keaveney, the coach of UTM’s tri-campus men’s hockey team, said that he regrets the suspension, and is confident that UTM would have won the game had Bourgeois played. His focus is on how the team and the UTM hockey program as a whole can improve.

“This season, the guys have been asking for more in-depth, intense practices. It’s tough to plan a practice when guys can’t come because of tests or exams. We’ve done our best, and I’ve seen a lot of guys improve their hockey skills exponentially by coming out,” he said. “It’s just tough as a coach to prepare when you don’t know what kind of numbers you’ll get.

“Another change I would like to see is more events. The boys have to travel downtown or to tournaments on their own buck. As well, we don’t have track suits,” he added. “We’ve spitballed in the room before about fundraisers—like pub nights—but nothing has come about. I think if we can get something like that going, it would really help the program.”

Parading around town

NATHAN DENETTE/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Rob Ford and the Toronto Argonauts celebrate the Grey Cup win on stage at Nathan Phillips Square.

ISAAC OWUSU SPORTS EDITOR The Toronto Argonauts were greeted warmly on a cold Tuesday morning by over 50,000 fans, friends, and family members who attended the Grey Cup victory parade. The parade was the culmination of their Grey Cup weekend, which saw the Argos beat the Calgary Stampeders 35–22 in the 100th instalment of the CFL’s championship game.

Tuesday’s parade was raucous as fans waited along Bay Street to see the players, coaches, cheerleaders, and members of the team’s front office and training staff salute the city. The Argos—who practise on UTM’s South Field—won the CFL Championship game last Sunday, with the ultimate home-crowd advantage in front of the sold-out Rogers Centre.

Argos and coaches made appearances on the backs of 28 Nissan Titan trucks and a Nissan 370Z convertible.

The parade came together at Nathan Phillips Square, where a party atmosphere prevailed as DJ 4Korners

played a medley of party hits to keep the crowd entertained and moving.

MC Mark “Strizzy” Strong of G987 Radio bantered with the crowd beside Argos TV analyst Don Landry.

They players exuded as much fun and excitement while they were being introduced on stage as they had during Sunday’s contest. They laid their towels at the feet of many of the team’s stars when they were called up, including receiver/returner Chad “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Owens, the 2012 CFL Most Outstanding Player, who came out before a roaring crowd dancing with his son Chad Junior.

“It’s still so surreal. I’m still kind of speechless about it,” said Owens. “I know that we won, but it still hasn’t sunken in deep in there yet. I’m still on a high. I’m still on a cloud. I’m still floating.”

“Man, it’s crazy. It’s starting to sink a little bit,” said slotback Andre Durie, a Mississauga native who scored the team’s last touchdown. “When we started coming down the street and seeing all the support with the fans cheering us in, it’s just remarkable.”

Durie’s season had its ups and downs; he dealt with a series of nagging injuries that kept him out of a few games, but winning a championship for his hometown with his home team meant the world to him.

“I thank everybody that’s helped me get to this position and to be here.

It’s taken a lot of work and dedication.

That’s the main thing that we learned: how to dedicate ourselves, stick to it, and get it all done,” he said. “Faith works in mysterious ways.”

Mayor Rob Ford, sporting a number-one Argo jersey under his coat, formally declared November 27 “Toronto Argonauts Day” and hoisted the Grey Cup trophy with the team on stage.

Defensive lineman Ricky Foley took the opportunity while being interviewed to begin a chant of “Repeat, repeat!”, on which the crowd quickly joined in. Argo fans and UTM students will have to wait until 2013 to see if Foley’s hopes come to fruition, but in the meantime fans in the city have a reason to parade for one of the city’s sports teams.

“The Toronto Argonauts win was a game changer for sports in the city of Toronto. The Argonauts bringing the cup after 8 years is special, hopefully other Toronto sports teams like the Blue Jays and Raptors can do the same. This should bring pride to the UTM student community, to see the Argo's train in our facility and then win the cup!”

Clinton George Anthony, 2nd year CCIT

"The win really means nothing to me. I don’t think the UTM community really cares about it either. It's a sport, and I don’t see the point of living vicariously through it. I didn’t even know the Argonauts practiced at UTM! That’s pretty cool though.”

Artem Shemamski,

2nd year Environmental Science

“The Argo’s are a great team and I hope this win sparks motivation for the other Toronto Sports teams.

Watching them win inspired me to work hard on and off the field to accomplish my dream to be a Football player in the CFL.” Lawrence Broni, 2nd year Sociology