Vol 39 issue 6

October 22, 2012 Volume 39, Issue 6 www.mediumutm.ca

Breaking ground at the North Building Groundbreaking ceremony for North Building reconstruction Phase A marks historic moment Atika Azhar UTM held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for its original and oldest building, the North Building, which was built in 1967, a time when UTM was still called “Erindale College”.

Deep Saini, the vice-president of U of T and principal of UTM principal, was joined by David Naylor (president of U of T), Richard Nunn (chair of the Governing Council), Harinder Takhar (MPP for Mississauga-Erindale and Ontario’s Minister of Government Services), and Warren Edgar (president of the UTM Alumni Association). They all gave speeches under a blue tent in front of the construction site where part of the North Building once stood.

The North Building will be reconstructed in two or three phases. The final building will feature four storeys of computer labs, classrooms, a food court, study spaces, and offices for the departments of mathematical and computational sciences and psy-

Junaid Imran/THe Medium

Deep Saini, the principal of UTM, gave a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for North Building. chology, as well as new theatre and drama studies rehearsal studios and related support space.

The construction is currently in Phase A. The provincial government announced last year that $52.5 million in funding was being granted

to renovate the North Building and some teaching labs in the Davis Building.

“This reconstructed facility will make a significant difference in the delivery of educational programs on this campus,” said Saini in his speech. “It will help

us accommodate student growth and provide up-to-date facilities that match the wired and digital needs of young people today.”

The North Building was originally meant to be temporary. That “temporary” turned into 45 years.

Naylor, who attended UTM as an

undergraduate, remarked that even though the North Building hasn’t won any artistic awards, it plays an important role in UTM’s history.

“The reconstruction will provide our students, staff, and faculty with facilities better suited to their work and more in keeping with their excellence—spaces that will support and inspire them in teaching and learning, discovery, and innovation,” said Naylor.

Saini also commented that the construction projects will help accommodate the growing needs of the UTM population. UTM’s enrolment has doubled in the last 10 years.

“This groundbreaking ceremony marks the continued efforts of the Ontario government to ensure that students from across the province have the best facilities available to them,” said Takhar.

The renovated North Building will be open to students in September 2014. Phases B and C of the reconstruction project are yet to be funded.

Should diplomas be called degrees?

Ontario community colleges lobby for a change graduation credentials Mudeeha Yousaf Ontario’s community colleges want to rename their three-year diplomas to “degrees”, arguing that the current title belittles the credentials given to students and makes prospective students hesitant to take courses they are interested in.

The question is, do three-year college programs merit the status given to university programs?

Ontario’s community colleges seem to think so. Sheridan has been lobbying the current government for consideration of this initiative.

Ontario is one of the only provinces where three-year college programs yield diplomas, rather than degrees. Those in favour of the change say college diplomas require the same skills

Transfer credit consortium A new agreement between Ontario universities allows for easier transfer of credits.

Medium News, page 2

Are colleges the same?

Colleges want to have diplomas considered degrees to achieve the same prestige as universities.

Medium Opinion, page 4

U of T Idol A year-long singing competition launches Hart House.

Medium A&E, page 7

JUNAID IMRAN/THE MEDIUM

Colleges argue that a college diplomas should be renamed as degrees, just like universities. as university programs and are more hands-on.

Not everyone agrees with the change.

“I don’t think it’s fair that college students would have the

same degrees as those of us paying higher tuitions here at UTM,” says Jordan Tranquada, a thirdyear philosophy student.

In the same vein, university students are worried that po-

tential jobs requiring university qualifications would go to college graduates instead.

Diplomas continued on page 3

Discovered, uncovered All you ever wanted to know and more about the UTM Library.

Medium Features, page 8

Blues’ football season ends Blues are defeated by Queen’s 35–7 for their sixth loss of the season.

Medium Sports, page 12

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«NEWS THE MEDIUM

10.22.2012

Orphan Run launches new website UTM’s student-run charity announces financial goal of $60,000 to support orphans around the world

Lily Bowman UTM’s student-run charity Orphan Run launched their new website with a celebration in the Student Centre last Tuesday night. People ate cake, gave their congratulations, and watched a tour of the website.

Orphan Run raised $36,000 last year to support five orphans around the world through SOS Children’s Villages, an international non-governmental organization established in 1949 that provides homes and familybased care for orphans and disadvantaged families. Ankit Miglani, the president of Orphan Run and a fourth-year biology major, announced this year’s goal of $60,000.

Orphan Run connected with Layla Brittain, the senior resource lead for the GTA division of SOS Children’s Villages Canada.

“SOS Children’s Villages Cana-

Ayman Khan/the Medium

Deep Saini cut the cake at the Orphan Run website launch last Tuesday night. da is delighted and honoured to partner with Orphan Run,” Brittain said. “This is a great team here at UTM, which inspires us

all.” SOS has helped 133 countries to date and has completed its 600th village.

Deep Saini, the vice-presi-

dent of U of T and principal of UTM, supported the launch with a speech congratulating Orphan Run.

“[It’s a] great website, appealling and sober enough for the cause,” Saini said. “It’s beautiful.

I love it.”

He added that the work of Orphan Run shows how special the students of UTM are, managing to develop not only into scholars but also into well-rounded human beings.

Kumar Pandya, a third-year computer science major who designed and currently manages the website, expressed his excitement for the site and the cause. Pandya said that Orphan Run maintains a personal connection with its supporters, noting that it has a section on its donation page for messages that can be shared on the site’s recognition wall.

After the website was officially launched, the guests shared a cake donated by Fatima Saeed, the team’s previous vice-president.

The address of Orphan Run’s new website is orphanrun.com.

SEC teaches how to listen Transfer credit It doesn’t want to be just about condoms and lubricants

consortium in effect How often do students transfer credits?

Bailey Green

Jasmeen Virk/The MEdium

Participants at SEC’s “How to Listen” workshop learn strategies for listening.

Andrew Dmytrasz The Sexual Education and Peer Counselling Centre held their first workshop of the year. The “How to Listen” workshop included topics on the basic listening sequence (namely, “open questions, encourager, paraphrase, reflect feelings, normalizing, and summary”), roadblocks to communication, and knowing when to give advice and when to listen.

The workshop was specially designed for students who wanted to learn counselling techniques, but the techniques are also intended to be useful in everyday life.

The workshop was organized and run by James Boutilier, the external education coordinator of SEC. “We wanted to do something different,” he said. “Healthy re-

lationships and healthy sexuality are about more than condoms and contraceptives; they’re about communication. And we thought a workshop on listening would be a good way to start that conversation.”

After the event, Senka Zahirovic, one of the head coordinators of SEC, said she felt that people had a good time and that they learned a lot. “We want to be able to reach the entire community of the school, and get people to know more about SEC and emphasize the peer counselling component of it,” Zahirovic said.

All of the executives on the team have stated that this year they want to try to include things that appeal to the whole UTM community, instead of focussing on condoms and lubricants.

In addition to the events for which SEC has become known over the years, they hope to add

other events that will be educational and informative about other topics.

“It is important that we have events like this that may not necessarily be about sexuality but can help people in a broader sense, since part of the main purposes of SEC is the peer counselling aspect—which does not necessarily involve sexuality at all,” said John Simpson, SEC’s office manager.

This was the first of many workshops and events that SEC has planned for the year. Aleksandra Petkovska, the advertising director of SEC, said they are planning to hold a workshop every month. The next one, entitled “Misconceptions about HIV/ AIDS”, is to be held on November 21. This comes a day before their annual World Aids Day event, whose theme this year will be Moulin Rouge.

Vice-president and provost Cheryl Misak announced last week that a new transfer credit consortium between seven of Ontario’s universities had been implemented.

The agreement is designed to facilitate students’ mobility between the institutions. Instead of going through the process of filling out paperwork, presenting various documents, and having each case reviewed personally by an assessor at the Office of the Registrar, several first-year arts and science courses can now be automatically counted towards a specific degree program.

The universities named in the agreement are McMaster, Queen’s, University of Guelph, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and University of Western Ontario.

Concern has arisen over why these universities were included while others, including York and Ryerson, were not.

“The particular universities in the consortium have a shared commitment to very high and similar standards for learning outcomes in course offerings at the first-year level,” said Amy Mullin, UTM’s dean

and VP academic.

The consortium caught the attention of the provincial government as well.

“We need an Ontario-wide system,” said Glen Murray, the Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities, as quoted in The Toronto Star.

Rylan Kinnon, the executive director of the Ontario Undergraduate Students’ Alliance, commented on the agreement on OUSA’s website. “Students believe that this limited first step is progress, but that it is insufficient,” he wrote.

He went on to say that students want to see all universities joined in a transfer credit agreement that unites them all. A united education system with an Ontario-wide system of transfer credits would allow students to much more easily pursue their field of study in multiple universities.

“With higher-level classes, I think it’s absolutely an issue, and I don’t think it is actually workable,” said Holger Syme, the chair of UTM’s English and drama department.

“The idea that you can unify curricula across the board, over all Ontario universities, doesn’t take into account the variety of approaches in any academic field.”

WRITE FOR

NEWS! Campus politics, clubs, pub nights, and more! ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

email: news@mediumutm.ca

10.22.2012 THE MEDIUM NEWS

U of T among best employers Mediacorp Canada ranks our university in the top 100 Doaa Rohillah The University of Toronto was recently chosen as one of the top 100 employers of 2013 in an employment review by Mediacorp Canada Inc. Last year, they ranked U of T among the top employers for Canadians over 40, Greater Toronto’s top employers, Canada’s greenest employers, and Canada’s best diversity employers, as well as the top 100.

The employment review was based on eight different criteria, including physical workplace, financial benefits and compensation, health and family-friendly benefits, training and skills development, and community involvement. U of T was rated “exceptional”, “very good”, or “above average” in every category.

U of T received its highest rating in the physical workplace category, in which it was rated “exceptional”. The review praised the St. George campus’s mix of historic buildings and state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the convenient locations of the three U of T campuses. It listed St. George’s various fitness facilities, employee lounge, religious observation room, and se-

cure bicycle parking as examples of what is available to faculty and staff.

U of T received “above average” in community involvement, partly because U of T employees raised $850,000 for the annual United Way campaign.

Community involvement was rated “above average”. Each year, students and employees raise money for charitable events such as Walk a Day in Her Shoes, Annual Black Histor y Month, the Green Dot Campaign, and CIBC’s Run for the Cure.

The training and skills development category received the same rating because of the tuition subsidies U of T employees can receive, especially for courses related to their position.

Health and family-friendly benefits received ratings of

“above average” as well. U of T offers its employees health benefits, which are managed by Green Shield Canada, during maternity and parental leave, subsidized onsite daycare, and emergency short-term daycare. Mediacorp’s review notes that all of these are available to same-sex partners as well. The university also runs work-programs that help employees balance their work and personal lives.

U of T also keeps salaries competitive by participating in outside salary surveys; the university achieved an “above average” rating in the financial benefits and compensation category.

Community involvement was rated “above average”. Each year, students and employees raise money for charitable events such as Walk a Day in Her Shoes, Annual Black History Month, the Green Dot Campaign, and the CIBC’s Run for the Cure.

U of T currently provides over 18,000 jobs to full-time and part-time faculty, of which 53% are women and 22% are visible minorities.

The University of New Brunswick, Dalhousie University, and Simon Fraser University were also ranked among the top 100 employers for 2013.

»

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»What’s the most

frustrating thing about utm?

Kasra Vakiloroayaei First-year, commerce

Juliana Rodriguez First-year, management

There aren’t enough food or hangout places.

Lockers are in a really awkward place. Mine’s in the basement. It’s scary.

Maha Wakim Third-year, psychology

Mazin Hassan Fifth-year, economics

There’s no connection inside the buildings. It’s freezing in the winter going to North.

There are too many people on campus, which means longer lines everywhere.

Diploma debate is on Busiest year yet for

the Safety Day BBQ

“I can sum it up in three words: unwarranted credential envy,” says Michael Jones, a Sheridan professor and program coordinator for the UTM/Sheridan joint program

in communication, culture, and information technology. “Adding theory to applied arts degrees has been met with some dissatisfaction by some faculty and students who prefer the more applied-artsperspective diplomas, and some of this has been done through more advanced general elective courses—which can be quite demanding, but at the same time exist outside the core curriculum, which means many don’t see these courses as important.”

Jones said that the benefit is that students graduate with a degree that continues to have a popular perception as being “better” than a diploma. Although he thinks the change is a good idea, he said college degrees should be more “teaching-focussed”.

“That’s what colleges do best,” said Jones. “Universities aren’t particularly career-focussed, and it’s arguable whether they should even try to be.”

‘Top 10 Ways to Get Away with Rape’ flier found in Miami U

Makeover of beloved Disney characters slims body type down

Omar Khadr to get money in will from gay atheist

Kateri Tekakwitha beatified by official canonization mass

Police in London, Ontario arrest eight school girls for bullying

A flyer called “Top 10 Ways to Get Away with Rape” was found in a men’s bathroom in Miami University. University officials launched an investigation, but Leaders of Women Against Violence and Sexual Assault said the response is inadequate. At least 27 sexual assaults have been reported at Miami University since 2009, according to USA Today.

The luxury US department store Barneys is launching their Christmas campaign, called “Electric Holiday”, in which they give Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, and other favourites a makeover to make them look like runway models. Their traditional bodies have been slimmed down dramatically and controversially replaced by 5’11” human-like bodies.

A B.C. man says he’s leaving money in his will for Omar Khadr, who was recently repatriated to Canada after being held in Guantanamo Bay for a decade.

Jack Hallam says he’s leaving $700 for Khadr even though he thinks Khadr wouldn’t approve of his lifestyle as a gay atheist, because he feels Khadr has been mistreated by governments.

Kateri Tekakwitha has become the first Canadian aboriginal to be sainted after a canonization mass at the Vatican. Pope Benedict noted at the mass how unusual it was in Tekakwitha’s culture for her to choose to devote herself to the Catholic faith. Also known as the “Lily of the Mohawks”, she was born in New York state in 1656 and died at the age of 24.

Eight teenage girls have been charged with criminal harassment for bullying in London, Ontario after an investigation into physical, emotional, and online bullying of another girl at the school. They were charged and released after promising to appear in court. They were suspended from school.

Source: The Huffington Post

Source: TheTelegraph

Source: TheToronto Star

Source: TheToronto Star

Source: Reuters

Diplomas continued from Cover “This change would definitely increase the competition outside in the real world,” says fifth-year student Safra N. “It’s already competitive enough, so I don’t think the change is taking all students into consideration.”

Some diploma programs have already expanded into degree programs, for example many of Sheridan’s arts programs (e.g., animation and illustration); others are in transition (e.g., musical theatre).

Sheridan’s short-term plan is to become “Sheridan University”, like OCAD and Ryerson did a while back. Sheridan wants to repurpose itself as a teaching and applied skills university, allowing for more undergraduate and professional graduate degree programs.

“Advanced diplomas are similar to three-year degrees; they’re just taught with a more practical experience and conductive learn-

ing experience due to a smaller class size,” says Ashley Churchill, a fourth-year sociology student who has taken both college and university courses. “If it would help someone out, I’m in favour of the change.”

“I can sum it up in three words: unwarranted credential envy. [...] Adding theory to applied arts degrees has been met with some dissatisfaction.”

—Michael Jones

Campus Police’s annual Safety Day BBQ raised $482.80 for United Way and saw its largest turnout in years this past Thursday.

Corporal Bobbi-Jo Duff, who attributes the day’s success to social media advertising, managed the event from the behind the barbecue.

She directed students to the condiments and the info booth set up to keep the community aware of the services available to them.

Shane Madhani, the manager of the Blind Duck Pub, has partnered with Campus Police for this event for the past four years. “[The] amazing thing is that the whole UTM community, faculty, staff, everybody comes out,” he said. “It is a great charity.”

United Way provides services helping people in need of shelter, food, counselling, and services relat-

ed to crisis support, substance abuse, and employment. The charity funds outside agencies, which are better able to help within their own communities.

Each year, UTM donates over $65,000 to United Way through fundraising, payroll deductions, donations, and student events.

Len Paris, the manager of Campus Police Services, says that the Safety Day BBQ is important to him because of the “faculty, staff, and students who in one way or another have used United Way services”.

Campus Police also raised $500 with their lost and found sale in September. They hope that this, together with the funds from the BBQ and those from another event to come in November, will make a difference. “[The] big message is, if we all give a little of our time and, if possible, our finances, we can give back to people in need,” Paris said.

Lily Bowman

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« 10.22.2012

Editor-in-Chief » Stefanie Marotta

Merging university and college Are universities and colleges basically aiming for the best of both worlds?

Some reasons are better than others for why students choose university over college. As young as 16, high school students are required to have a general idea of which post-secondary option they’ll pursue. Students find themselves in university lecture halls because they want to attend law or medical school, because they need a bachelor’s degree to qualify for more career opportunities, or because their parents encouraged—or forced—them to go to university.

University and college offer very different experiences, and for good reason. The pursuit of academic knowledge yields benefits and training that could lead to careers that the practical experience students get at college would not provide, and vice versa.

Too often, students make the mistake of assuming a bachelor’s degree promises a job. Undergraduates learn very quickly that a degree will not suffice in such a competitive job market. As university administrations have come to this realization, they’ve attempted to reform academic programs to reflect

the demand for a practically trained workforce.

Still in the process of academic planning, U of T considered the possibility of adding intern or co-op credit opportunities to programs.

Western recently announced a new “elite” liberal arts program that will require students to go “out into the real world” and gain practical experience in addition to theory-based learning.

Basically, universities are trying to institutionalize the steps my friends and I have been taking over the last four years: volunteering, working part-time jobs, and interning, all while trucking our way through university. I obtained “realworld” experience through my own efforts, without the added burden on my tuition.

For universities, the issue isn’t that students aren’t seeking out realworld experience. The issue is that theory taught in class doesn’t directly apply to job requirements later on. My paper on the meaning of the Italian word virtu in Machiavelli’s The Prince developed my research skills, but I’ll probably have trouble

persuading a potential employer after graduation that this counts as industry experience.

As universities have come to this realization, administrators attempt to reform academic programs to reflect the demand for a practically trained workforce.

Colleges face the same issue: are their students getting what they need to succeed after graduation?

Ontario colleges are lobbying the provincial government to change the diplomas they hand out to degrees. Sheridan argues that the use of the term “diploma” puts college graduates at a disadvantage, since many jobs list a bachelor’s degree as a basic requirement. Ontario colleges say they provide the same training and learning experience as universities, put with the added benefit of practical, hands-on experience.

Universities try to incorporate

college training practices while colleges try to obtain the prestige of a university degree, but the mission statements of the two different institutions remain unchanged.

Universities cite research excellence and theory-based learning as cornerstones of their institutional missions. Colleges emphasize customized training and practical innovation. Students can clearly identify the benefits of each educational opportunity and access the appropriate pathway for personal goals.

So will universities and colleges one day merge into one type of mega-educational institution, pumping out exceptionally qualified students? Not likely. But students should be aware of the direction Canada’s education system could take.

In a highly competitive job market, more university undergrads enroll in post-graduate diploma programs at colleges after graduation.

In the same way, college graduates enroll in university programs to add the benefit of a bachelor’s degree.

Evidently, students are not receiving adequate training to succeed in

today’s economy, but the answer shouldn’t be to wear students out by cramming as much experience and education into three or four years as possible. The issue can be traced all the way back to high school when a 16-year-old has a year to decide what they’re going to do with the rest of their life.

Everyone is so anxious these days to graduate and start earning money. Don’t rush your university experience; U of T offers interesting courses on a variety of topics. Learn to manage your time so you can volunteer and better identify the career direction that’s right for you. If after your four years at U of T (in my case, five) you find yourself in need of extra credentials, don’t be afraid to “lose” a year and intern or enroll in a post-grad program.

Most importantly, don’t let colleges or universities tell you how to learn. You already pay enough money.

Yours, Stefanie MarottA

You can only care about what you know Dear Editor, Every week I read every article in your paper two or three times.

I’ve done so for the last three years—ever since I started there as copy editor. At first it was just a job in something I was good at. I’d never read The Medium. It didn’t have anything to offer me, because this campus didn’t have anything going on.

But to edit an article you have to pay attention to it, and so as I worked, I gradually absorbed this paper. And one day it hit me that I now know so much more UTM— what we’re thinking about, who we

are, what movies we’re watching, what services our money goes to, who plays our sports.

But I realized I could never have cared about any of this before I read so much about it. You only care about any of these things once you know about it in the first place.

Part of why I now enjoy reading the paper so much is, as Guy Allen (the director of our professional writing program) put it to me this way: the quality of The Medium fluctuates each year depending on who’s doing it. And for the last few years we’ve had an incredible streak of talent and interest going into this

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 Jullian Lim

paper.

Even more amazing is that all of us do it with such dedication even though, sadly, people still don’t know what there is to know.

All the writers and editors put a lot into this paper, but we also get something out of it. It’s not the money—after all, most of us are volunteers. It’s the chance to take part, both in the give and the take, in documenting the heart and soul of this campus.

At least, that’s what it is to me.

Luke Sawczak Copy Editor

SPORTS EDITOR Isaac Owusu sports@mediumutm.ca

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Amanda Braddock

AD MANAGER ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITORS Aditya Kristiono Vacant ads@mediumutm.ca PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Junaid Imran Matthew Butler, Paul Donaghue, photos@mediumutm.ca Sviatoslav Romaniuk, Monika ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Bianca Nagy Edward Cai COMPLAINTS online@mediumutm.ca Comments, concerns or complaints about DESIGN EDITOR The Medium’s content should be directed Vivian Wong to the Editor-in-Chief who can be located at the email address above.

COPY EDITOR Luke Sawczak COPYRIGHT copy@mediumutm.ca All content printed in The Medium is the WEBMASTER sole property of its creators, & cannot Gary Li be used without written consent.

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.

10.22.2012

«

5

Editor » Colleen Munro

An eye-opening night at Hart House Sargisson shines as a peace activist in one-woman show My Name is Rachel Corrie ARISTOTLE ELIOPOULOS ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Hart House Theatre presented their second play of the season, the politically charged one-woman production My Name is Rachel Corrie, late last week.

Based on the journals and emails of the real-life activist who inspired the play, My Name is Rachel Corrie tells the story of Washington college student Rachel Corrie and the time she spent protesting in the Gaza Strip in the early 2000s.

In the opening scenes of the play, music resonates through the air and the audience is immersed in darkness. Red light pours onto the stage, and the audience meets Corrie for the first time. She wakes from a fevered dream with a megaphone in her hands, screaming to be freed from her room, which feels as if it’s closing in on her.

As the red lighting dims, Corrie addresses the audience for the first time. As she packs her bag for her trip to Palestine, she describes the events that brought her here: her trip to Russia that allowed her political spirit to grow, past relationships, and the encouragement of her mother, who fuelled her daughter’s spirit and desire to discover and pursue her passions.

In her portrayal of Corrie, actor Amelia Sargisson navigates the politically charged dialogue with ease, commanding the audience’s attention with wit and spontaneity.

As the only actor on stage for the entire performance, Sargis-

DANIEL DI MARCO/PHOTO

Amelia Sargisson takes an earthy approach to her performance as real-life activist Rachel Corrie. son’s portrayal of Corrie is real and visceral. She captivates the room.

Throughout the play, Sargisson interacts with the set and the audience in ways most theatre productions don’t dare to allow their actors to do.

Mariuxi Zambrano, the set and costume designer, decorated the stage with wooden blocks and sand that Sargisson lifts, pulls, stomps on, and crawls through during the performance, illustrating the raw passion Corrie feels for Palestine’s struggle.

The lighting designs by Sarah Mansikka also work to transform the set from Corrie’s bedroom dorm in Olympia, Washington, to a house in Palestine where Corrie stays hen she’s fighting her political battles.

Sargisson’s interaction with the audience also extends beyond the ordinary. At one point, she rushes past the rows of seats during a monologue, talking and even directly addressing members of the audience as she whizzes through the room.

I myself became part of the narrative as Corrie clutched my wrist to tell part of her story; Sargisson broke character only for a split second to say a quiet “thank you” for my cooperation before returning to the stage.

The real Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli Defence Forces bulldozer; to represent that, the show ended with the stage going dark and a fictional news broadcast detailing Corrie’s death and the injuries she sustained.

A video of a real-life Corrie at a

young age speaking about her future political hopes and ambitions is the final scene. While Corrie’s death is never acted out on stage, the video put the events of Rachel Corrie’s life into perspective and allows the play to come full circle.

Many of the audience gave Sargisson a standing ovation, inviting the actor to return to the stage to take a second bow.

“I really think [Sargisson] did an amazing job with the material,” said Ethel Dennis, who attended the play with her sister Dorothy.

“They really took the story and played it out in an innovative way.”

While the audience generally enjoyed the piece, some felt the heaviness of the subject matter more than others.

“I really liked the fast-paced dialogue,” said Gregory Lau, “although there were moments where the story’s quick pace made it difficult for me to follow along. I have to admit, I’m somewhat a novice to Palestine’s history and the conflict that took place, so I did feel lost in places.”

My Name is Rachel Corrie ended its run at Hart House Theatre last Saturday, but Hart House will continue its season in a few weeks with a Shakespeare classic Romeo and Juliet, directed by Jeremy Hutton.

“I know I’ll be back to watch another performance this season,” said Dennis after the play. “I enjoy the theatre and it’s a fun outing.

It’s nice to see something so interactive and live, even if the stories don’t always match your taste.”

Things that still go bump in the night Paranormal Activity returns just in time to scare up some Halloween treats at the box office CLIFF LEE The Paranormal Activity franchise is back with a fourth round, just in time for Halloween. The film’s debut garnered $4.8 million in midnight showings, ranking the film third-best in midnight showings for horror films (behind the third and second episodes of the Paranormal Activity series).

In terms of plot, Paranormal Activity 4 is a sequel to the second instalment of the series. It concerns the whereabouts of Katie (Katie Featherston) and her nephew, Hunter.

The series is known for its usage of “found footage” (which in this case means video recordings by missing or dead people), but Paranormal Activity 4 introduces a new technique: webcam footage. Direc-

tors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman say the familiar technology is “built for a horror movie”, and they believe it rivals the “fan cam” from Paranormal Activity 3, which they also directed.

The film begins with many scenes where teenager Alex (Kathryn Newton) and her boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively) are involved in video chats. When peculiar events happen in her house, Alex persuades Ben to install cameras around the house to record everything. From there, it doesn’t take much to guess that weird things will unfold on an increasingly larger scale.

Paranormal Activity 4 uses a sound effect that gives the impression of being in a plane, where there’s a constant vibration of air pressure, whenever there is some

paranormal activity. This intensifies the experience and causes extreme sensitivity to any added sound effect or change in angle of the cameras.

On the other hand, the handheld camera effect in this movie was a turnoff. The first-person view adds to the element of surprise, but is dizzying in many scenes, especially when Alex runs with the camera. I advise viewers to avoid front-row seats for this movie.

All in all, despite low ratings from critics, the same old deafening screams, the moving furniture, varying camera angles, continued plot, and stunning strength of the supernatural make Paranormal Activity 4 a must-see for all die-hard fans of the series. Plus, it’s a great way to start Halloween.

MMM

COLLIDER.COM/PHOTO

Alex (Kathryn Newton) is in for an unpleasant surprise.

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«ARTS THE MEDIUM 10.22.2012

Gibbard goes solo How will the Death Cab for Cutie frontman fare on his own?

YTF leave their legacy in Toronto YouTube collective displays its many talents CELINA IP

Benjamin Gibbard’s imaginative lyrics make Former Lives a fascinating listen.

JOE MEASURES After the success he had with his band Death Cab for Cutie, Benjamin Gibbard released his first solo album, Former Lives, last week. He has performed without his band several times before, but it has always been in collaboration with other artists, making this his first true solo album. The performances are quite impressive, considering he played many of the instruments himself.

Gibbard’s lyrics are often filled with imagery, and he didn’t deviate from that trend here. In “Lady Adelaide”, he contrasts melancholy lyrics with an upbeat tempo, similarly to the songs of Bright Eyes or Elliott Smith. At times, his lyrics are particularly imaginative, especially in

his first single, “Teardrop Windows”, a personification of Seattle’s Smith Tower as it is overshadowed by the construction of the Space Needle.

Although each song on the album is individually well done, there doesn’t seem to be much holding them together besides sharing an album. There’s no emotional flow from one song to the next.

The lack of connection can also be seen in the diversity of styles.

But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The album opens with a very short a capella piece (“Shepherd’s Bush Lullaby”). The tracks that follow include the upbeat love song (“Lily”), a country song with twangy guitar (“Broken Yolk in Western Sky”), a piano tune reminiscent of The Beatles (“Duncan, Where Have You

STEREOGUM/PHOTO

Gone?”), and even a song featuring a mariachi band (“Something’s Rattling”). The wide variety may seem disorganized, but it definitely shows off Gibbard’s talent as a multifaceted songwriter.

One song to look out for is “Bigger Than Love”, an incredible duet featuring Aimee Mann. Mann’s voice is beautifully mature and really complements Gibbard’s. The song’s quick tempo and catchy melody will have it stuck in your head within seconds.

Even if the songs don’t seem to fit together, each song on its own is good enough to make you appreciate Gibbard’s skill as an artist. Former Lives is well-performed, well-written, and well worth the purchase.

MMM ½

editor@mediumutm.ca

YTF Legacy paid a visit to Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall as part of their YTF Legacy Tour 2012 on October 5.

YTF is a group of six well-known YouTube performers. The group’s name is derived from their motto: “Yesterday is in the past. Today you have a choice. Forever is up to you.”

On the night of the show, the Danforth Music Hall was bubbling with the excited chatter of parents, teens, and university students alike.

The lights shone orange and red on a “YTF Legacy” backdrop as the spotlight drew everyone’s attention to the group, who stood together on stage with the backs of their letter jackets facing the audience.

They broke into a quick hip-hop dance routine before leaving the stage.

Each YTF member had his own routine. Chester See captured everyone’s attention with the fan favourite “God Damn You’re Beautiful” and was joined by Ryan Higa for a performance of “Bromance”.

Victor Kim was utterly enchanting when he stepped onstage in a tux to play ukulele and sing “Fly Me to the Moon” and “ Over the Rainbow”. Andrew Garcia cast a spell on the crowd with Chris Brown’s

“Don’t Wake Me Up”. Dominic Sandoval brought down the house with his perfectly choreographed moves to “Gangnam Style”, and had everyone roaring with laughter when he grabbed a couple of audience members and serenaded them with his passionate lip-synching and dance moves to ’N Sync’s “Tearing Up My Heart”. Last but not least, JR Aquino took to the stage and sang a few original songs, including the adorable love song “By Chance”. Throughout the show, Higa acted as the host, returning to centre stage to entertain the audience following each performance.

Victor Kim was utterly enchanting when he stepped onstage in a tux to play ukulele and sing “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Over the Rainbow”.

The spectacular show ended with one final performance by all six members of YTF, breakdancing and singing their hit song “Nice Guys”. They took a final bow and thanked everyone in the audience for their support and love.

10.22.2012 THE MEDIUM A&E

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7

U of T Idol competition heats up Competitors take to the stage at Hart House to kick off the tri-campus series MARLO YOUNG U of T Idol, a year-long event held at Hart House, borrows the concept of the popular TV show American Idol: students, staff, and faculty from all three campuses have the opportunity to compete for the glory of being crowned the idol. New contestants perform almost every month, and at the finale on March 31, the judges will give awards for first, second, and third place.

It’s also an opportunity for performers to sing with the accomplished Woodshed Orchestra.

The group was founded by veteran Toronto musician Dave Clark in 2005. Clark served as the drummer for Canadian alt-rockers the Rheostatics, and he has also worked with Julie Doiran and Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, among others.

As well, the showcase is a great opportunity for everyone else to enjoy a fun night of music, friends, and food. Every performance welcomes new contestants to share with the audience the two or three covers they think best showcase their talent.

The first show was held last Thursday. Two wonderful performers, Ada Chan and Rudy Sil-

NEW FALL TV With the weather starting to turn cold and some of the season’s less impressive rookie shows already cancelled (goodbye, Made in Jersey and Animal Practice), the fall television season is now in full swing. The Medium checked out some of the most popular new shows, and we’re giving you our picks on which ones to catch up on— and which to avoid.

JENNIFER DO/THE MEDIUM

Ada Chan serenaded the crowd at U of T Idol’s first performance show. vera, shared their voices, and the Uplifters, a section of the Woodshed Orchestra, provided diverse and skilled accompaniment. The relaxed confidence of the Uplifters fostered a sense of camaraderie among everyone present and helped the contestants relax and perform their best.

Chan was the first to perform

at U of T Idol this year. Because of the small-scale, low-stress nature of the event, Chan was allowed a mini-dress rehearsal before her performance. The audience was delighted to have the opportunity to hear her sing her pieces a second time. Chan performed a lovely rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” and a medley

she co-wrote, called “Doctor”, of Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” and Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song”.

Chan said that whereas Travie McCoy wants to “be on the cover of Forbes”, her desire is to “be on the cover of Science Daily”. Her witty lyrics and sweet voice were very well received by her audience.

Silvera, a finalist in last year’s

competition, performed next. The moment Silvera stepped on stage, his confidence and love of performing was evident. Silvera sang “Forget You” by Cee Lo Green, “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King, and “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley. His rich voice was inflected with an exotic accent that surely melted the hearts of his female fans.

The whole show was spectacular. The creative ideas of artists mingled and developed before the audience’s eyes. Both contestants were skilled performers, both with their voice and their presence.

Throughout the year, the performances will take place in the Arbor Room in Hart House. It has a relaxed and open atmosphere, where performers can feel comfortable and be encouraged by their peers.

U of T Idol is still looking for contestants to come out and participate. Last year’s first-place performer, Pat Simeon, won $200, studio time, a finished demo, and an interview with the Toronto radio station CIUT. If you would like to compete you can register at harthouse.ca/uoft-idol-registration. The next opportunity to perform is November 15. Hopefully, some faces from Mississauga will be there to represent our campus.

666 PARK THE NEW BEN AND VEGAS AVENUE NORMAL KATE COLLEEN MUNRO A&E EDITOR

ODIA EDEAWE 666 Park Avenue is a riveting new ABC drama starring Terry O’Quinn (Lost), Vanessa Williams, Dave Annable (Brothers and Sisters), and Rachel Taylor (Transformers). It centres on a jobless and broke couple (Annable and Taylor) whose luck seems to change when they get a job managing an upscale New York apartment called the Drake. However, they soon find that the owner of the building, Gavin Doran (O’Quinn), interferes badly in the lives of all the tenants. As the season goes on, the audience will be intrigued to find out whether Gavin Doran is in fact the Devil, as the title would suggest. One thing is certain: he is evil.

As the pilot proceeds, the mystery surrounding Gavin Doran, his wife (Williams), and the Drake’s tenants intensifies, which will likely keep the audience coming back for more. The pilot is really enjoyable and it has the right proportions of mystery, suspense, and comedy. The plot is not hard to follow, either. The best scenes are those shared by O’Quinn and Williams, as they have an amazing chemistry and play their characters with a lot of depth.

The spookiness and creepiness in the pilot will surely keep the fans guessing. This is one I advise everyone to watch.

COLLEEN MUNRO A&E EDITOR The New Normal is the latest series from Glee creator Ryan Murphy, and it stars Justin Bartha (The Hangover) and Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon) as a gay couple looking to welcome a child into their lives. The show follows their journey, as well as that of Goldie (Georgia King), the woman who becomes the couple’s surrogate mother.

The New Normal calls to mind other current TV comedies. For example, Jane Lynch’s performance as Sue Sylvester on Glee seems to have served as an inspiration for Ellen Barkin’s caustic, intolerant grandmother. But the show has a style of its own and an effective satirical edge that sets it apart. Bartha and Rannells have great chemistry, and the relationship between their characters really serves as the emotional heart of the show. In other, less reliable hands, the show would likely not work nearly as well as it does.

No, it’s not a perfect show— certain jokes ring false or overly mean-spirited (even when they’re used to highlighting the idea that prejudice is a bad thing). But for the most part, The New Normal is a charming, feel-good comedy with many genuinely heartfelt moments. NBC recently picked the show up for a full season, so fans will have plenty of opportunities to see how the already compelling premise evolves.

MADIHA AZIZ A lighthearted, refreshing new TV series, Ben and Kate stars Nat Faxon and Dakota Johnson as two adult siblings whose personalities clash and create goofy, often awkward situations.

Kate is the responsible one, though the pilot reveals through a flashback that an unplanned pregnancy during college left her as the single mother of Maddie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones of We Bought a Zoo). Ben, introduced as the older brother who never grew up, has a habit of showing up at her doorstep whenever things go south.

When he shows up this time, he decides to move in with Kate in order to help with Maddie. Echo Kellum plays a guy with a very obvious crush on Kate, and Lucy Punch (Bad Teacher) plays a British waitress at the bar Kate works at who likes to offer advice.

Watching this show makes me feel like I am witnessing the birth of new comedy stars. Faxon and Johnson’s comedic timing, style, and acting prowess are what will keep viewers coming back. The brother-sister relationship they portray is endearing and relatable.

But even though the characters are likeable and funny, it’s evident that this formula will not work for long.

There needs to be more character development and backstory for viewers to become hooked. It’s not perfect, but Ben and Kate is full of potential and manages to hold its own among its heavyweight competitors, such as New Girl and Raising Hope.

CBS offers audiences yet another hour-long crime procedural with Vegas. The hook for this one? It’s set in 1960s Las Vegas as gangsters and crime begin to shape the city into the one we know today.

Dennis Quaid plays Ralph Lamb, a stoic farmer with a police background who, through a turn of events shown in the pilot, becomes the new sheriff of Las Vegas. Almost immediately, he finds a rival in Chicago mobster Vincent Savino (The Shield’s Michael Chiklis) when Savino arrives in town to start his own shady operation.

Vegas seems to be aiming for a Boardwalk Empire or Mad Menesque style. But unfortunately, it comes up far short of those nuanced cable offerings. While there were some impressive set pieces in the pilot of Vegas, on the whole it had a distinctly low-rent feel compared to the lush sets and costumes of a show like Boardwalk Empire. The hackneyed dialogue struck many false notes, and most of it seemed shoehorned in solely for the purpose of exposition.

Admittedly, as far as entertainment value goes, you can do worse than watching Dennis Quaid swagger down a desert road wielding a shotgun. But although he exudes a collected coolness, the flat writing gives him very little to work with.

Fans of “crime of the week” procedurals like CSI might enjoy Vegas, but if you’re looking for a satisfying character-driven drama, this is probably not your show.

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« 10.22.2012

Editor » Carine Abouseif

What you didn’t know about the library Touch technology, Tumblr, and research questions

JUNAID IMRAN/THE MEDIUM

The T-Room houses a Smart Board, a touchscreen computer, a Micrsoft Perceptive Pixel workstation, and a Microsoft Pixel Sense table.

JAI SANGHA ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre is not just a place to borrow books and study. For example, students can sign out netbooks and laptops with administrative privileges. They can use these privileges to install software, such as course-related packages.

Here are some other library services that students and faculty can take advantage of.

The T-Room The T-Room is next to the library’s help desk on level two (the

ground floor). The room houses touch technologies, including the only Smart Board (a brand of interactive whiteboard) on campus, a touchscreen computer, and a Microsoft Perceptive Pixel workstation. The T-Room’s technologies also include a Microsoft Pixel Sense table, but the touchscreen table currently sits outside the room across from the main help desk (near the reference and research area).

The Smart Board, touchscreen computer, and touch table all run Microsoft Windows 7.

Students are absolutely allowed to come in and use this stuff,” says

Rochelle Mazar, HMALC’s emerging technologies librarian. “When you are sitting at a computer, it is an individual experience. […] And yet we very often want students to work collaboratively.”

Mazar points out that group projects are easier to do on a larger multi-touch screen than on a desktop computer, as multiple users can engage with the technology.

The “T” in T-Room stands for “touch, try, teach, and technology”, according to Susan Senese, the associate librarian of research and information technology services.

“On CNN, when they start to do a story, they’re in front of their large

interactive board, and they’ll pull up a satellite image and a photograph and a spreadsheet, and then create a story. That’s a Perceptive Pixel [workstation],” says Senese.

“The whole idea was to foster creativity and innovation in students and faculty and expose [them] to new and emerging technologies.”

The library also plans to engage students, on either a volunteer or a paid basis, to develop applications for the technologies in the T-Room.

“One of the ideas that we have in our academic plan is to create a version of something they have downtown. It’s called ‘Thing Tank’.

One of the ideas behind it is ‘criti-

cal making’, and it’s working with students to create new technologies,” says Ian Whyte, the deputy chief librarian and associate librarian of teaching and learning. “And in the process of designing and creating new technologies, there’s a lot of learning going on. That’s the essence of the T-Room: to create experiential learning opportunities through emerging technologies.”

The library plans to hold more workshops on the technologies, and to bring Apple Store-style iPad stations for students to use in the room as well.

“kill”, “come” and “bring”, “eat” and “feed”, and so on. And one can tell from the consonants in the word for “book” that it has to do with “writing”, whereas in English it’s a stab in the dark. By the by, this is also why Hebrew is written with only consonants—the vowels just add a secondary meaning. This is characteristic of Semitic languages; Arabic works like this too.

3. Vocabulary is one of the more popular aspects of any language: The words for “heart” and “mind” are the same—lev. In some ancient cultures, the heart wasn’t the locus of emotion like it is for us; it was the seat of the will and the intellect.

(There’s a verse in the Hebrew Bible that uses the words “heart, soul, and strength”; in the New Testament, which was written in Greek, Jesus quotes that verse but says “heart, soul, strength, and mind”—probably because in Greek, as in English, you have two words for Hebrew’s one.)

Children call their dad abba, a cute word borrowed from Aramaic.

But, says my professor, when his children want to ask him for something, they’ll use the grammatically correct avi— “my father”. “They have their ways,” he observes.

As for idioms, “What will become of me?” is literally “Where am I coming to?”, a possible precursor to our popular saying that life is a journey. “Don’t lay a hand on him” is “Don’t send a hand in him”, which is a fascinating understanding of spatial relationships; one is also jealous “in” someone rather than “of ” them. “They conspired against him” is “They crafty-ed him together”, a more explicitly evil way to understand the word “crafty”. “She’s seventeen years old” is “She’s a daughter of seventeen years”, as though the years themselves had come together to make her who she is.

Library continued on page 10

VOL 2 EP 5: Tired of Theory?

LUKE SAWCZAK COPY EDITOR Hi again, everyone! I hope you’re getting some time to enjoy the leaves as they enter what I consider the ideal colour range. Blessed are they who have few midterms. For the rest, at least you’ve found time for a glance at the newspaper.

Every year, there’s a grant offered to U of T students to take any summer course at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The grant covers travel, residence, and tuition, with some left over. This being awesome, I applied last spring to take the basics of Biblical Hebrew.

As part of the application, I had to justify why a student like me needs to take a course like that. I could have just said that language courses are totes part of linguistics, but that’s really not true. The linguistics department at UTM, for example, doesn’t require you to take

any language courses or even know a second language. Instead, I framed it as a massive case study: “Nothing could be more enriching to my field,” I wrote.

As it turns out, I wasn’t far off.

I had class five days a week, which majorly cut into my tourism time, but even so I went to every single class. Why? Because I remembered just how fascinating it is to learn a language, particularly with “metalinguistic awareness”—having eyes open for how a language works. I found that studying one language deepened my understanding of languages in general. It made many of the theoretical topics I’ve learned in linguistics real.

I’m sure there are many better lists of phenomena in Hebrew, but I want to stress the value of having one’s own eyes open. So here are a few things I noticed.

1. Hebrew is one of the few cases of successful language revival. It was

mostly dead by the peak of the Roman Empire, and although it continued to be used in literary and liturgical language, nobody spoke it as a mother tongue. But in the 19th century, a few Zionists began a plan of general revival, and by the time Israel was a state, it was the first language of a huge proportion of the population. To get an idea of how unusual that is, imagine if Latin was revived and spoken as a mother tongue in Italy. (I wonder if some Christians would react the same way some Jewish sects have—by refusing to use it in everyday life because of its association with sacredness?)

2. Hebrew is a root-and-pattern language, which means they have a few consonant “moulds” into which you pour different vowel patterns to produce different variations on a semantic root. For example, the verbal vowel pattern of causation means that unlike in English, the same root is in the words for “die” and

Languages continued page 10

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10.22.2012 THE MEDIUM FEATURES

9

U of T revives three-year degree In today’s competitive job market, is graduating faster always better?

CLIFF LEE Ever wondered what it would be like to complete your degree sooner? What about entering the workforce sooner? This fall, U of T introduced a pilot program that makes it possible for students to complete an undergraduate program in three years instead of four.

The new fast-track program, which was proposed by arts and science faculties at all three U of T campuses, is meant to give as thorough an education as the regular four-year program.

The program is intended for students who not only want to graduate sooner, but have academically proven that they can handle the course load of six courses a semester.

The faculties believe that students will be able to manage the workload, but that many of these students will also return for the summer sessions and take online courses on top of the regular six. High school students will be required to have a minimum 90% average to apply. The students who apply for this program should also be ones who are strongly eligible for U of T’s President’s Entrance Scholarship program. Worth $2,000, the scholarship program requires a 92% average and the completion of a list of required subjects, with no lower than an A in each. The faculties also hope to provide students who enter the fast-track program with several other scholarships.

Students will be able to choose

between research work and an international experience to complete their degree. Online capstone courses are also in the works.

Anyone who’s attempted to take six courses in one semester will probably tell you it’s no fun. What about doing it for three years, possibly with no breaks? And with online courses and research at the same time?

“I’d rather take it slow,” said Scarlett Leung.

“The adjustment from high school to university is already a jump.”

The university’s solution to the workload is to offer two- to fourweek orientation courses to prepare these students for the hard work to come. The communities formed in these orientation sessions are intended to support the students throughout their time at university.

The fast-track program leaves no time for any sort of part-time work or pre-graduation internship. However, the university says the shorter program will be less costly for students, since they’ll be living as unemployed students for less time and paying fees for three years instead of four.

We asked some UTM students how they felt about the program, and whether they would have opted for it if they’d had the chance coming out of high school.

“I’d rather take it slow,” said Scarlett Leung, a second-year art history student. “The adjustment from high school to university is already a jump.”

Again, the university has an answer to this. In a document published on the UTM website, the proposers of the program say that students taking international baccalaureate, advanced placement, or Alevel courses in high school are expected to apply. IB, AP, and A-level are university-level courses that students can take in high school. If they earn a certain grade, the course counts as half of a university credit, or one semester-long course.

“As an international student, I think it’s a good financial option,” said Hyun Kyu Kim, a second-year sciences student. “It allows us to experience society sooner.”

The program is still not available to international students, though.

The faculties want to test the program with domestic students and collect their reactions before they release it to the rest of the world.

“I see it’s possible to do six credits a year, but life shouldn’t be all about school,” said Rachel Wong, a fourthyear management student. “It really depends on which stage of your life you’re in, and how fast you need to graduate and work.”

9 out of 10 students polled said no, they would not do the Fast-track Degree.

U of T

is starting

a

NEW pilot

program six

this fall where students can take courses a semester over a

period of

three years .

Mentors wanted How do students find their career mentors?

AREEJ ASHRAF Success stories aren’t hard to come by. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs seem to be constantly reporting the latest breakthrough, like the next AIDS vaccine or the latest milestone achieved by the Human Genome Project.

But it seems that success is rarely achieved through the work of one person alone; it seems like it almost always involves the collaboration of two or more minds. Sometimes that collaboration comes in the form of teaching or mentoring. The word “mentor” has many connotations, but the most relevant one communicates the idea of guidance.

One much-cited example of a good mentor-mentee relationship is the one between the philosophers Plato and Aristotle. The concept of career mentorship has become popular lately, with several careerrelated bloggers and publications writing on the topic in the last couple of years. Many of these publications, like Forbes, publish lists of tips on how to find a suitable mentor for yourself.

But where exactly do students find a mentor? Is the concept even applicable to us?

Between work, volunteering, and late-night sessions in library cubicles, many UTM students have

managed to shift their personal passions and hobbies into the beginnings of an entrepreneurial career, sometimes even a full-fledged start-up. Entrepreneurship in particular seems like a popular trend among students; I went on a search to find some of these students and ask about their experience with mentorship.

It seems that students on campus, particularly first-years, are anxious for some sort of mentorship experience.

One of the students I met was Lesley Hampton, a first-year CCIT student and aspiring fashion designer. Hampton was more than willing to elaborate on her decision to start her own company. Hampton explained how she had enjoyed fashion from childhood, when she constantly watched Fashion Television instead of cartoons. She finally created her fashion start-up after being inspired by Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty exhibition last year.

Hampton talked about how mentorship played a key role in the

creation of her business venture.

Hampton said that the combination of an internship experience and workshops deeply immersed her in her career as a fashion entrepreneur. The mentorship aspect came up when Hampton talked about her inspiration. “Seeing [my boss’s boutique] flourish has inspired me to dedicate myself to my own brand and boutique after university,” she said.

But career mentorship runs deeper than just inspiration. It can mean hour-long sessions looking over a start-up presentation, or it can mean quick calls on your next career steps. The UTM Career Centre offers a variety of services, including networking nights with people who’ve already graduated from your program and are working in the field. Their job shadowing program also comes close to the concept of mentorship in terms of the kind of information learned.

Services like alumni profiles allow students to watch the progression of a recent graduate’s career.

Sometimes, it also allows students to communicate with the featured alumni.

But where do you find someone that you can work with one on one?

And how do you start?

Mentors continued on page 10

Advertising – Media Management Alternative Dispute Resolution Event Management Fashion Management & Promotions Financial Planning Global Business Management Human Resources Management International Development Marketing Management Public Administration

10 WAYS TO LAUNCH YOUR CAREER FIND YOUR NICHE WITH A POSTGRAD IN BUSINESS

business.humber.ca/postgrad

10 THE MEDIUM

«FEATURES 10.22.2012

Educational eating How to find Why do we look to food to learn about culture?

a mentor Mentors continued from page 9

Can sushi teach you about Japanese culture?

MARIA CRUZ “Downtown Baby”, an article published by The Grid in June, was by a Toronto parent who defended his decision to raise his son in the city.

The author argues that his son will become comfortable with many more different cultures by growing up in the city than he would in a small town. Some of his examples of his son’s cultural awareness involve food; the author’s son eats Tibetan momos, Indian dosas, and Vietnamese pho.

When we had International Students Rights Week at UTM a couple of weeks ago, one of the events was an International Cuisine Day. Many students were introduced to foods they’d never tasted before.

I asked some students whether eating a culture’s food helped them relate to or understand that culture more.

“No,” said Arooj Suleman, a second-year student, “but you can

think you know the culture and make yourself feel more cultured.”

“I mean, it helps you understand their cuisine and what they value in their meals and their diets,” said Christopher Oganda, another second-year student. “But at the same time, what else is there to understand about a culture?”

The idea that we understand a culture through its food seems like a bit of a stretch. Most of us identify certain cultures with specific dishes. And food certainly has the power to bring people together.

But why do we always look to food when considering cultural understanding?

Considering that universities professors are teaching classes like Intercultural Communications at UTM and elsewhere, it must be safe to say that there’s something to learn. But it’s also safe to say those students don’t end up in the kitchen to learn their course material, or even to eat delicious food.

JUNAID IMRAN/THE MEDIUM

Learning about a specific dish may be just one of the many things that make a culture what it is. In his book Food is Culture, Massimo Montanari offers his theory that everything revolves around food.

He argues that all the ways food is caught or grown, prepared, and eaten are “cultural acts”.

Similarly, courses like Intercultural Communications look more into behaviours around food and less into the foods themselves. How does a culture seat family members around the table? What etiquette governs the meal? Does this culture abstain from certain foods, or have special rules for eating them? Why? So food should not be forgotten when thinking of what makes a culture. But just because we eat their food doesn’t mean we understand it. And while we’re at it, it would be better for everyone if we didn’t go around telling people we’re familiar with Mexican culture because we had lunch at Burrito Boyz.

It seems that students on campus, particularly first-years, are anxious for some sort of mentorship experience. Some students expressed an interest in a program that connects first-year students with upper-years for career advice and workshops.

Hridi Ridwa, a first-year management student, elaborated on her need for a mentor, particularly to battle her confusion—a feeling common among first-years.

“In choosing my university courses, I feel like there was no one to guide me,” Ridwa said.

“My parents always thought I would choose a more practical career, but I wanted to go into film studies.”

For students who live on residence at UTM, there is a system similar to a mentorship program.

First-years’ residences are usually organized according to academic discipline. Each community has what is called a “rezOne peer academic leader”, or “rezPal”. A rezPal is an upper-year student who acts as an academic role model and go-to person for their community. They hold weekly seminars with their students on topics related to particular academic programs. The topics range from the careers students can pursue with their degree to study tips to what upper-year classes will be like.

However, the rezPal program is more focussed on academics, and it’s also not available to everyone on campus.

Finding a mentor is a chal-

lenge, and finding one with the specific qualities you want or need is an even greater challenge.

Commerce student Thivya Nagendrasooriyar emphasized the specific traits she was looking for: someone who’s a leader, someone responsible, someone who takes initiative, and someone who is already successful at their career.

“I would love to see a mentorship program that allowed one-on-one contact with upper-years or professors to build connections and really be comfortable with the decisions you make.” ­­­— Nagendrasooriyar.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to guide you and show you the ropes of the industry you’re interested in,” she said. “It’s a chance to spend time with someone you admire.”

Whatever the career path or field of study, it seems that students are open to the concept of mentorship. “I would love to see a mentorship program that allowed one-on-one contact with upper-years or professors to build connections and really be comfortable with the decisions you make,” said Nagendrasooriyar.

Gadgets @UTMlibrary Language is the real thing Library continued from page 8

Social media Over the past year, the library has engaged students through social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Tumblr.

The library’s Facebook page has information updates, but the library more often uses Twitter (@UTMlibrary) to announce updates and engage students, according to Eva Stepanian, the social media librarian.

Stepanian talked about the #UTMsoundcheck Twitter hashtag. “[The] idea is that if you’re in a silent zone and it’s noisy, you tweet ‘#UTMsoundcheck level 4 silent zone’, or ‘#UTMsoundcheck’ [and] wherever you might be, and whichever library staff is accessible would swing by the area,” she said.

During busy times of the year and exams, Stepanian also walks around the library and tweets about study spots that become available.

Students can also ask questions about research over Twitter, and the reply is broadcasted to all the library’s Twitter followers. Stepanian, who frequently

helps students in the reference and research section, also tweets frequently asked questions about specific projects and course assignments.

The library’s YouTube channel (/utmlibrary101) has videos to help students with library services and academic topics, including videos on citations and peerreviewing, how to loan books from other U of T libraries, and how to find books by subject in the library.

“Every year we talk to students who say, ‘I wish I knew about this in first or second year.’ ” —Ian Whyte Stepanian also manages “Nonsense Catalogue of the UTM Library”, a Tumblr account on which she posts and reposts all kinds of light-hearted student-related media. The microblog is meant to be a stress-buster for students, says Stepanian.

Reference and research

The reference and research area, located across from the main help desk on level two, provides students with help on how to find sources, use Microsoft Office tools like Excel and PowerPoint, and get started on assignments. The research help desk also provides tips on how to research efficiently and answers students’ research-related questions. However, the research and reference staff is also ready to help with questions not related to research.

“I would say it is one of the most important areas. What do we do? We answer questions.

And there is no limit to the questions that can be asked. A lot of it is about research,” says Whyte.

He emphasizes that library staff is always present to help students get started in the right direction and navigate library resources.

“We have conversations with students in third and fourth year.

Every year we talk to students who say, ‘I wish I knew about this in first or second year.’ ” Whyte says the library staff can help students save a lot of time and anxiety—especially in the early years.

Languages continued from page 8 4. To form the superlative, you mention what kind of thing it is.

“Clifford is stupid among dogs” means “Clifford is the stupidest dog”. Try this in English for other funny-sounding results.

5. The present participle tense performs many roles—making, for example, “she is a shepherd” grammatically indistinguishable from “she is tending” or “she regularly tends”. You are what you do.

There are many other interesting things, but that’s all I’ll list for this time; I hope it piqued your interest. But as intrigu-

ing as Hebrew is, Hebrew itself wasn’t my point. It’s just one language that illustrates the joy of learning a language, the joy of seeing how languages do things differently—one of the things that makes linguistics such a rich field. However much you know about language in general, knowing an actual language is the real thing.

If you know a second language, spend a few minutes thinking about what makes it unique. If you don’t, why not spend a few minutes thinking about learning one? (If you’re curious—yes, that grant is available again this year!)

An article in Issue 5 titled “Reclaiming your inner control” included a photo caption that attributed the meditation class to the Psychology Association of Undergraduate Students at Erindale. The class was actually facilitated by an independent group of students. The Medium regrets the error.

10.22.2012

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11

Editor » Isaac Owusu

Men’s Division One takes home opener, 67–49 Veterans and newcomers unite, leading their team to their first victory over New College in front of a home crowd

AATHIRA SURESH KOTTAPURATH/THE MEDIUM

New College shoot late free throws in their attempt at a comeback.

EBI AGBEYEGBE UTM’s Division 1 Blue men’s basketball picked up their first win of the season with a 67–49 win over New College. After having lost their first game of the season, the team was on a mission to get their first victory in front of a home crowd at the RAWC. With all the new players, the team hasn’t had a chance to really come together yet, as was clear right from the beginning of the game. There were missed plays and the team resorted to taking difficult jump shots

that weren’t falling. This slow start allowed New College to find their rhythm, and for most of the first half the Eagles were outhustled on both offence and defence. The Eagles were led in scoring by veteran Osama Abdelkader, who ended up 12 points. The teams went into halftime tied at 24–24.

The Eagles found new life in the second half while their opponents grew tired. The crowd was cheering when, halfway through the second half, the Eagles’ defence kicked in.

Hands got in the passing lanes and the fierce defence only allowed con-

tested jump shots. New College’s shots bricked and their players were getting increasingly frustrated.

Efficient bench play from Joseph Adamu and strong rebounding from both Tevin Sutton-Stephenson and Faiz Ahmed allowed the Eagles to push down the court and get easy points. This strong defence and the easy shot attempts led to an 8–0 run that brought the Eagles out of reach.

Close to the end of the game, the new players on the team started playing their roles very well, leading the team to play more fluidly.

Jonathan Harvey took control of

An eventful pitch INGRID MELDRUM Both the men’s and women’s soccer teams were scheduled to play at UTM’s North Field on Sunday, October 7. The women’s game was set for 11 a.m., but it was cancelled when their opponents, Victoria College, failed to show up. UTM won by default and now has a record of 3–0.

Following the forfeit, the UTM men’s tri-campus team took to the field to take on St. George Black. The field was soggy and scattered with puddles from the rain on Saturday, forcing the players to adjust to the messy conditions.

It was obvious right from the getgo that the game was going to be close; both teams displayed good ball control. St. George Black had a number of scoring opportunities from corner kicks, but UTM’s goalie, Akil Ladha, was fierce between the posts, making some spectacular saves.

UTM hurt their own scoring opportunities by committing errant offside calls. They ended the half with a goal set up by Antony Said and headed into the net by Bobatumi Sodade.

For the whole first half, St. George’s net was on its wheels, which had not been taken off when the field was set up that morning.

During the break, St. George Black’s goalie, Mikhael Lamont, argued with the officials about lowering it. It was decided that the net should stay the way it was to keep the playing field the same as it was in the first half, but Lamont lowered the net anyway.

Early in the second half, Mikhail Patel and Daniel Michaliov scored two goals for St. George Black. The second goal was answered right away

by UTM’s Ryan Tawil, who scored from outside the 18-yard box.

Immediately after Tawil’s stunning goal, Antony Said came running to the sideline; one of his Nike Mercurial cleats had completely split in half. Said scrounged around the sideline for an extra pair of cleats, and ran back onto the field a few minutes later wearing a teammate’s cleats.

The ball stayed in the UTM zone until another goal was scored, a second for Patel. He cut straight through the centre of UTM’s defence and pushed the score to 3–2 in fa-

vour of St. George Black.

UTM got lucky when the St. George Black goalie kicked the ball with the outside of his foot, sending it spinning in the opposite direction. Antony Said, wearing his new cleats, gathered the ball right away and scored another goal for UTM. A few minutes later, St. George Black’s goalie made another mistake: he held the ball for too long, giving UTM a free kick. But the Eagles were not able to get a goal from the free kick and the game ended a few minutes later, with the teams having to settle for a tie.

“We played well,” said Omar Jbaihi, UTM’s head coach. “There was about 15 minutes in the second half where the defence broke down. We were missing our starting centre defenceman, but overall it was a good performance.”

Last Sunday the men took to Scarborough, facing UTSC. UTM’s Eagles were stomped, 5–0. The Eagles season now stands at one win, one tie, and a pair of losses. They head to Varsity Field to take on St. George Black again next Sunday at 3 p.m.

the game close to the end, and as the opponents tired out, Harvey put on the finishing touches with a twostep spin move and finger roll—all on the eve of his birthday.

After the game, the players and coaches shared the same sentiments.

“We played below expectations, and it was a slow start for the boys.

There are a lot of new faces and there is still a lot of work to be done,” said UTM’s coach, Ammer Askary.

“Not our best game, but we pulled it out in the end,” said Harvey, the Eagles’ scoring guard.

“At the beginning of the game they could have played better, but by the second half, they were the Eagles I came to see,” said Napta Elsadig, a third-year psychology major who regularly spectates at Eagles games.

The game ended in a victory for the Eagles, but this playing is not going to get them through the playoffs. Against a better offensive team, the Eagles could be in for trouble if they get off to another slow start like this. But as long as they fix their offensive glitches, this team could go all the way.

Kick yourself into shape Reviewing the popular “turbo kick” class EBI AGBEYEGBE Walking into the dance studio at the RAWC, I didn’t know what to expect from the turbo kick class. I knew there was going to be kicking involved—but, I asked myself, how could I get a workout from kicking?

The trainer, Justin Thackray, was already there greeting people with a smile when I arrived. “This class can be as intense as you want it to be; you can go low-impact or you can go high-impact. It all depends on you,” Thackray said. “You can burn up to 700-800 calories if you go high-impact.”

We started off with a simple warm-up, jumping up and down to get our limbs loose. Then Thackray proceeded to teach us the many easy-to-learn routines involved in the class. One of the steps had us hopping on the spot, whirling both of our arms in a circle on the left side for about six seconds, and then punching three times while bouncing to the right. Then we did two uppercuts with each arm while raising the opposite knee high off the ground.

Except for water breaks, there was non-stop motion for the entire hour in the dance studio. Thackray’s voice echoed through the room as he called out the steps to follow, inviting everyone to move along with him.

This class had only six people this week because of midterms, but there are usually about 20 to 25 people attending in any given week.

Although we got three water breaks, I was exhausted and had to go get more water, considering that I’m a rookie at this. After another 15 minutes of intense turbo kick routines, and with the sweat dripping down my t-shirt, the class ended with a soothing yoga session.

“I wanted an intense workout, because I don’t like just going to the gym and running,” says Priyanka Sodhi, a second-year psychology student who also took the class for the first time.

The exact choreography is changed every month, but is always performed to the current club hits.

If you want to take part, show up at the dance studio on Mondays at noon. You will feel the burn.

12

«SPORTS THE MEDIUM

10.22.2012

Eagles drop home opener to St. George Black Short on players, the women’s Eagles were outhustled 59–36 in front of a home crowd at the RAWC

JASMEEN VIRK/THE MEDIUM

UTM and St. George Black scrap for a rebound in the second half.

INGRID MELDRUM The UTM Lady Eagles women’s tri-campus basketball team lost their first home game of the season against downtown’s St. George Black on Wednesday night. The team has already played two away games, netting a win downtown against St. George Blue and a 73–48 exhibition loss against Redeemer College’s varsity team.

The game was set for 7:30 p.m., but started late because St.

George Black only arrived at 7:25.

The girls had to hop in taxis from downtown and rush to UTM after finding out while waiting for their bus that no one had booked one for them. They were given 15 minutes to warm up, and the tipoff was at 7:45.

The Eagles, suited up in their blue and white uniforms, were strong on offensive rebounds.

They drew a number of fouls under the net and headed to the foul line eight times in the first half.

The crowd deemed Steffany Bakelaar MVP for her aggressiveness under the basket. She scored three foul shots for the Eagles and an “and 1”, which made the fans go wild. Meanwhile, St. George Black had a more aggressive defence, and capitalized on UTM’s turnovers. At halftime, although St. George Black had 10 fouls, they led the game 30–18.

Following the break, St. George returned to the game, maintaining their strong performance

Let the negotiations begin KAREEM RAMADAN NHL owners tabled the first significant proposal on Wednesday since the league officially locked its players out on September 15. The proposal calls for a 50–50 split of hockey-related revenue; this is a 5% shift from the owner’s previous offer. Also included in the proposal is a proviso that eliminates the need for a rollback and instead places the reduced players’ share into an escrow account that is to be paid back over time as league revenue grows.

The owners set a nine-day deadline on the response to the proposal, with an eye to salvaging a full 82-game season. If a resolution is reached in time, training camps will open in the final week of October, followed shortly by the start of the regular season on November 2.

The NHL Players’ Association

countered with three proposals of their own on Friday afternoon, each with a different means of reaching the 50–50 mark. The third proposal expects that owners maintain current player salaries negotiated in good faith.

None of the proposals created a resolution; in the eyes of some players and owners, they are a step backwards. Posturing aside, it is important to note that for the first time since the lockout was made official, both the NHL and the PA are discussing a 50–50 split. There is still work to be done, but this development represents a start, if nothing more.

Underlying these negotiations is the economic state of the NHL. Though they have reported record growth in the seven years following the last CBA in 2005, more than half of the league’s franchises are losing

money, according to Forbes’ 2012 valuation of NHL franchises.

When asked for comment, fans were overwhelmingly positive.

“This process has been long and drawn-out, so it was nice to see the owners take a step towards reaching a resolution with this proposal,” said Moiz Badar, an economics graduate.

Although the process is still far from complete, Moiz is optimistic that there will be hockey this season. “Both sides want to play hockey, and a full 82-game schedule is obviously very attractive for both sides,” he says. “With that in mind, I believe they can come to an agreement by the November 2 deadline.”

What will come of the deadline is still unknown, but for now, at least, there appears to be reason for hope that the NHL season may be salvaged.

from the first half. UTM struggled on defence, allowing their opponents to score several easy layups. When it came to rebounding, UTM was pushed aside; St. George Black was able to score most of their points from offensive rebounds.

Both teams came out scrappier in the second half, both committing their fair share of fouls. UTM scored on four of nine foul shots, while St. George Black scored on five of eight. By the end of the

game, St. George Black had 19 fouls and UTM had 16. The final score of the game was 59–36, giving St. George Black their leagueleading second win.

“We rebounded well on the offensive side, but not defence. We were missing two of our starting post players,” said Jack Krist, UTM’s head coach. “The score doesn’t indicate the strength of that team compared to us. I think if we had our whole roster out and ran all our plays, we’d be all right.”

Varsity Blues Football end season with sixth loss SANTIAGO BOTERO Last Saturday, the Varsity Blues football team finished their 2012 football season with a fall against the sixthranked Queen’s University Golden Gaels with a score of 35–7 at Richardson Stadium in Kingston.

The Blues were only able to muster a field goal right before the half-time mark, going into rgw break with a score with a score of 14–3.

During the second and third quarters, Queen’s widened the gap to 26– 3. In the fourth quarter the Blues got two safeties, but they weren’t enough.

On offence, the Blues got a total of 206 yards and a field goal against a total of 327 yards for the Gaels.

UTM’s quarterback, Simon Nassar, finished with 13 for 35, earning 140 passing yards. As for the receivers, the Blues’ fourth-year Paul de Pass

and third-year Alex Pierzchalski had three catches for 50 yards and five catches for 35 yards, respectively.

UTM’s fullback had two catches for 20 yards.

The Gaels’ quarterback, Billy McPhee, ended with 162 yards on 14 for 18 attempts and two touchdowns.

Running back Ryan Granberg finished with 102 rushing yards on 25 rushes and one touchdown, and receiver Giovanni Aprile finished with 84 yards on five catches.

Defensive back Larry Broni finished with a solo and two assisted tackles, linebacker Farouk Musa added four solos and a sack, defensive lineman Jordan Marra had three solos and two assisted, and Abi Olusoga had three solos, one assisted, and one sack.

Nonetheless, the Blues ended up with a season record of 2–6.

Recapping the playoffs in Major League Baseball JUSTIN HERNANDEZ This playoff season, the Baltimore Orioles triumphed over the Texas Rangers 5–1 in the National League division in an exciting nine innings, while 2011’s World Series champions, the St. Louis Cardinals, won against the Atlanta Braves 6–3.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Braves had runners on first and second base with one out, and were down 6–3. Their shortstop, Andrelton Simmons, with one out and a full count, hit a fly ball into shallow left field. The St.

Louis Cardinals’ shortstop, Pete Kozma, scaled back, and left fielder Matt Holiday sprinted forward. Neither one caught the ball. This should have loaded the bases for the Braves, but the thirdbase umpire ruled it as an in-field fly, resulting in Simmons being called out.

The Braves lost the game 6–3 to the Cardinals, who moved on to the National League Division Series. They went on to play and beat the Washington Nationals 3–2 in a best-of-five series.

The Nationals dealt with their own bit of drama before the postseason.

Their front office decided to shut down their ace pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, before the end of the regular season. He did not play at all in the entire series.

“They should never have shut him down,” commented Amir Husseini, a third-year UTM student.

Now the Cardinals have a chance to come back as MLB champions if they defeat the Giants.

The San Francisco Giants faced the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Division Series in their own best-of-five series, winning 3–2. The Giants were down 2–0, but they rallied their strength

and defeated the Reds in three consecutive games to make it to the National League Championship Series.

In the American League Division Series, the Baltimore Orioles faced their divisional rivals, the New York Yankees.

The Yankees proved that they are the dominant team in the American League this year by defeating the Orioles 3–2 in the series.

In pursuit of their 28th World Series championship they headed to the American League Championship Series, where they will met the Detroit Tigers, who defeated the Oakland Athlet-

ics 3–2 in their own series.

The Tigers were able to pull out the upset. They won the series in a 4–0 sweep in their best-of-seven series against the Yankees. The Tigers will take the American League Championship Series and head to play in the World Series.

As of press time, the NLCS is sitting at 3–2 for the Cardinals over the Giants in their best-of-seven series.

“It will probably come down to pitching,” Husseini commented. “San Francisco doesn’t have any hitters; they need to win through pitching.”