Vol 35 issue 8 by The Medium

5 Monday, October 27, 2008

12 www.mediumonline.ca

Volume 35, Issue 8

Towards 2030 plan approved Students concerned the decision may lead to tuition fee increase. KAREN AKHTAR

On October 23, University of Toronto President David Naylor presented the Governing Council at Simcoe Hall with his vision for the University of Toronto’s future. Naylor sought approval of his 2007 publication Towards 2030: Planning for a Third Century of Excellence at the University of Toronto. Naylor expressed concern over a possible financial crisis at the University of Toronto, anticipating a decrease in funding for the coming school year. He cited a report from the Globe and Mail that ranked the University of Toronto 9th in terms of prestige, a sign of a perceived decline of the quality of student amenities and services. Naylor explained that the Towards 2030 was not intended to serve as a policy document, but a framework for longterm planning. Approval from the Governing Council indicated that the greater university community agreed with the principles outlined. The publication was meant to be used as a flexible guide to encourage debate and promote long-term thinking, rather than give decisive answers. He emphasized the

difference between increasing tuition fees and deregulation. Many students were dissatisfied with Naylor’s proposals. The Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS) VP External Jeff Peters pointed out that many students were uncomfortable with Towards 2030, and that they deserve another year to give input for the document. Concerns that students were not adequately consulted in the planning process, worries about corporate interference in the university’s research, and significant apprehension over the suggestion of deregulating tuition fees characterized much of the dissent. Graduate Student Union VP External Sara Sulaiman expressed concern over diminishing teaching opportunities for graduate students, and criticized the university’s policies in dealing with the current financial deficit. Sandy Hudson, the President of the University of Toronto Student Union (UTSU), echoed many of Sulaiman’s sentiments, criticizing the lack of consultation with students for Beyond 2030, the increasing privatization of the university, and the lack of government funding available to students. APUS VP Internal Joeita Gupta was critical of the structure of the Governing Council itself, pointing out that only

eight out of fifty members are students, creating a lack of real student participation. She advocated for the recognition of part-time students and criticized the lack of financial aid available to them. Others were supportive of the changes recommended in Towards 2030. Professor Michael Marrus from the U of T’s Faculty of Law reiterated Naylor’s clarification that the document was intended to demonstrate long-term thinking. He was happy with the U of T’s international reputation and stressed the importance of student evaluation. He also acknowledged that there were problems meeting the needs of part-time students. UTM Principle Ian Orchard reassured those concerned that corporate funding might compromise the objectivity of university research. Others praised the measures included in the publication to increase accessibility to education through financial aid. UTM students, faculty, and staff voted in a plebiscite last week over the portion of the publication that implied an impending deregulation of fees. UTMSU VP External Dhananjai Kholi was disappointed with the Governing Council’s decision to support this recommendation in the publication. “I am very disappointed in and sad-

photo/Dan Epstein

University of Toronto President David Naylor. dened by the behaviour of the members of Governing Council. By passing the Towards 2030 document, the members of Governing Council have ignored their responsibility in representing the best interests of the shareholders of the university, 5,398 of whom came out and voted with a 93.3 per cent mandate against specific parts of the document,”

said Kholi. “The administration claims that extensive student outreach was done, yet nearly none of those who voted had even heard of the Towards 2030 plan. Also, it’s one thing to listen to the concerns of the shareholders, and an entirely different thing to actually address those concerns, and implement changes to the document.”

Students give blood, save lives MEREDITH LILLY NEWS EDITOR

Canadian Blood Services hosted a Blood Donor Clinic at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) Student Centre October 20. Organizers were pleased with the turnout, which was estimated to be one of the most successful blood drives at UTM. Second-year Theatre and Drama Studies student Phil Stonhouse came out to donate, and was happy to see the important initiative available to students on campus. “This is my second time donating photo/Matthew Filipowich

blood. It’s kind of bad, the last time I donated was in highschool. I’m hoping to donate more often,” said Stonhouse. “It is such an easy way to help people out, maybe save some lives. You can donate every two months.” Anyone willing to spare an hour to donate can save up to three lives. Blood is normally replenished in the body within 24 hours. Recently, Canadian Blood Services launched the website www. thankyourdonor.ca to encourage recipients of blood, platelets, plasma or stem cell donations to share their stories, and thank those who give blood. The website publishes email submissions, and is a great resource to see the impact of giving blood. Anyone who missed last week’s clinic and are interested in donating can contact Canadian Blood Services at 1 888 236-6283.

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Part-time student representation saga continues FIONA BUCHANAN

Following the October 10 resignation of VP Mubashir Ali, the University of Toronto at Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) is looking to for a new hire to oversee part-time student affairs. 2008 was the first year that UTMSU included a part-time student representative as part of their executive. On February 5 and 6, UTMSU and the Erindale Part-time Undergraduate Students (EPUS) held a referendum for part-time students to determine who would represent them at UTM. Prior to the referendum, EPUS represented part-time students at UTM, and were affiliated with the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) located on the St. George Campus. According to current UTMSU president Wasah Malik, 80 per cent of the fifty-six students who cast a ballot last February requested that they be represented by UTMSU. On August 27, 2008, UTMSU lost a lawsuit filed against them by APUS in reaction to the referendum and subsequent merger of EPUS and UTMSU. The outcome of the lawsuit allows APUS to retain the representation of the part-time students and continue to collect fees from these students.

Monday, October 27, 2008

NEWS

“We are still discussing where the representation restructure comes in. We’re still in talks with the university,” said Malik. UTMSU still plans to find a replacement for Mubashir Ali. “Constitutionally we have to give a notice for twenty days and then the hiring committee get to present two final candidates to the board of directors for UTMSU...and they will select one [to replace Mubashir Ali]. It’s only interim because the fall elections are done so we can’t run an election for that position. It is a really long process for that,” added Malik. In a letter to the editor of The Medium on September 22, 2008, Mubashir Ali responded to the APUS lawsuit and indicated the importance of democratic representation at UTM for part-time students. “EPUS is an organization affiliated with APUS, an undemocratic organization that collects fees from UTM part-time students and does nothing in return...An organization that claims to work in the best interests of part-time students, and yet has no presence at the Mississauga campus,” wrote Ali. Part-time students interested in learning more can talk to Wasah Malik, or attend the APUS Fall Gathering at the UTM Student Centre November 6. Mubashir Ali was unavailable for comment.

Are We Equal Yet? What still needs to be done for women’s equality? The Status of Women Office wants to hear from you. Nov 6th, 1 pm, UTM RSVP: status.women@utoronto.ca

www.status-women.utoronto.ca to find a link to our blog and more!

Campus Police summaries October 16 – October 23, 2008 October 16, 2008, 2:15 p.m. Motor Vehicle Accident Motor vehicle accident occurred in parking lot 8. University Police investigated.

University Police investigated the theft of a cellular phone, which was stolen from the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre.

October 17, 2008, 3:35 a.m. Suspicious Person A suspicious person was reported by a resident. University Police investigated and searched the area with negative results.

October 19, 2008, 12:05 a.m. Smoldering Garbage Can Reilly’s Security reported some smoke coming from a garbage can just in front of the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre. University Police attended and put out the small fire with water.

October 17, 2008, 4:40 p.m. Trespassing A non-community member was trespassing in the Recreational Athletic and Wellness Centre. University Police asked the trespasser to leave and he complied. He was not charged.

October 20, 2008, 8:00 a.m. Theft Under $5.000/Theft from Auto (Parking Permit) University Police investigated a theft of a parking permit, which was stolen from a vehicle parked in lot 2.

October 18, 2008, 5:08 a.m. oise Complaint University Police investigated a noise complaint in the residence area. University Police spoke with tenants and they complied. October 19, 2008, 5:59 p.m. Trespassing A Recreation, Athletics & Wellness Centre staff member reported a trespasser. University Police investigated. October 9, 2008, 8:30 p.m. Theft Under $5.000.00 / Theft of Cell Phone

October 20, 2008, 9:10 p.m. Smoldering trashcan University Police attended the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre in regards to a smoldering garbage can. Library staff advised the University Police that they had used a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire inside the garbage can just outside the centre. October 21, 2008, 1:20 p.m. Theft Under $ 5.000.00 University Police investigated a theft of textbooks from the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre from an unattended knapsack. October 21, 2008, 9:50 p.m.

Personal injury (sprained/possibly broken right ankle) Staff at the Recreation, Athletics & Wellness Centre reported a male who sustained an injury to his right ankle while playing basketball. University Police attended and transported the male to Credit Valley Hospital. October 22, 2008, 11:30 am Theft Under $5.000.00/Theft from Auto University Police investigated a theft of personal items, which occurred from an automobile in the residence area. October 22, 2008, 1:00 p.m. Theft Under $ 5.000/ Theft from Auto (Parking Permit) University Police investigated a theft of a parking permit, which was stolen from parking lot 9. October 22, 2008, 11:55 a.m. Call to Service/ Smell of atural Gas University Police investigated a smell of natural gas in the South Building along with the Engineering Department. The source of the smell could not be located. October 22, 2008, 1:30 p.m. Motor Vehicle Accident University Police investigated motor vehicle accident concerning a parked vehicle in lot 8.

Trick or Eat returns to UTM MEREDITH LILLY NEWS EDITOR

S tudents at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) are excited to make a difference this Halloween by collecting food for underprivileged families in the Peel region. Trick or Eat, a campaign organized by the student-driven Meal Exchange, encourages students to pass up candy and “scare up food” to help the hungry. This Halloween marks the fifth year UTM students have pitched-in

to collect donations and raise awareness of hunger in their community. Mississauga is one of fifty-three Canadian communities participating in Trick or Eat.“It’s startling to hear that over 720,000 people visit a food bank each month in Canada,” says Simran Dhaliwal, the student organizing the campaign at UTM. “Trick or Eat is a fun and easy way for us to do something about that.” Students are encouraged to come out and lend a hand. The U of T Food and Clothing Bank is one of the recipients of the donations collected, and Trick or Eat is working

closely with the UTM Student Union to get everyone involved. Last year Meal Exchange raised over $11,000 for local organizations. “One in five kids rely on food banks at least once a week, and Trick or Eat is a great way to raise awareness on this key issue,” says Dhaliwal. S tudents can participate this H alloween by stopping by the Student Centre at 4:30 to Trick or Eat, or by d ropping off canned goods in the Blind Duck. For more information, check out www. trickoreat.ca, or email Simran Dhaliwal at utm@mealexchange.com.

UTM CAREER CENTRE

This is it! Your chance to network with professionals from a diverse range of companies and learn about Prepare for the fair and check out the participants @ www.utm.utoronto.ca/careers . Over 45 participants, including: t Canada Border Services Agency t JET Programme t City of Mississauga t Loblaw Companies Limited t ING Canada t Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment

t Rogers Communication Inc. t TD Canada Trust ...and many more!

Monday, October 27, 2008

THE-QS World University rankings 2008 Released during the second week of October, the new edition of the Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2008 have become the most relied-upon university grading system in the world, used by governments, academic institutions, journalists and students in every corner of the globe. The rankings, which focus heavily on the opinions of thousands of international academics and recruiters, have received unprecedented response levels from all around – 6,354 academics (compared with 5,101 in 2007) and 2,339 employers (compared with 1,482 in 2007) responded to the surveys, eager to reflect the position and influence of the world’s leading universities. The calculations leading to the THEQS World University Rankings are based on data gathered in the following categories: Peer Review, Recruiter Review, International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio, Student Faculty Ratio, and Citations per Faculty (citation data supplied by Scopus). Now in its fifth year, the research is conducted and compiled by QS Quacquarelli Symonds and is available in print in Times Higher Education and online on the QS web site, www.topuniversities.com. This latest edition of the THE-QS World University Rankings also reflects the increasing profile of tech-

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NEWS

Freedom in China? VICTORIA POLSINELLI

nology-based universities, with many of the world’s top universities in this area such as Caltech, MIT, ETH Zurich and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology improving their position. As demand by international employers for more technology-literate graduates has grown, the importance of these universities has risen in the rankings. Nunzio Quacquarelli, Managing Director of QS and co-editor of the Top Universities Guide says: “In just five years, the THE-QS World University Rankings have become the primary benchmark for comparing universities across borders – recognised for their accuracy and insight." Universities from the UK and USA continue to dominate the top 10. Harvard University remains as the top university, with Yale moving ahead of Cambridge for the second spot. Oxford drops to fourth, while Princeton drops out of the top ten, replaced by the only new entrant in the Top 10, Columbia University. Thirteen countries feature in the top 50 compared to twelve in 2007. New entrants include Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Copenhagen, Trinity College Dublin, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and Seoul National University.

The top 50 Universities in 2008 are as follows: 2008 2007 INSTITUTION NAME

COUNTRY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13= 13= 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30= 30= 32 33 34= 34= 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50= 50= 50=

United States United States United Kingdom United Kingdom United States United Kingdom United Kingdom United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States Australia United States United States Japan Canada United States United Kingdom United Kingdom Switzerland Japan Hong Kong United States France United Kingdom United States Singapore United Kingdom United States Canada France United States Australia Australia Hong Kong United States Canada Hong Kong Australia Japan Australia United States Australia Denmark Ireland Switzerland China Korea, South

1 HARVARD University 2= YALE University 2= University of CAMBRIDGE 2= University of OXFORD 7= CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Caltech) 5 IMPERIAL College London 9 UCL (University College London) 7= University of CHICAGO 10 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (MIT) 11 COLUMBIA University 14 University of PENNSYLVANIA 6 PRINCETON University 13 DUKE University 15 JOHNS HOPKINS University 20= CORNELL University 16 AUSTRALIAN National University 19 STANFORD University 38= University of MICHIGAN 17 University of TOKYO 12 MCGILL University 20= CARNEGIE MELLON University 24 KING'S College London 23 University of EDINBURGH 42 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) 25 KYOTO University 18 University of HONG KONG 32 BROWN University 26 École Normale Supérieure, PARIS 30 University of MANCHESTER 41 University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (UCLA) 33= National University of SINGAPORE 37 University of BRISTOL 29 NORTHWESTERN University 33= University of BRITISH COLUMBIA 28 ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE 22 University of California, BERKELEY 31 The University of SYDNEY 27 The University of MELBOURNE 53= HONG KONG University of Science & Technology 49 NEW YORK University (NYU) 45 University of TORONTO 38= The CHINESE University of Hong Kong 33= University of QUEENSLAND 46 OSAKA University 44 University of NEW SOUTH WALES 47 BOSTON University 43 MONASH University 93= University of COPENHAGEN 53= TRINITY College Dublin 117= Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE 36 PEKING University 51= SEOUL National University

Dr. Helen Hatton from the Departments of Historical Studies and Language Studies at UTM addressed students and history buffs October 23 as part of the Canadian Perspectives Lecture Series. UTM students know Hatton best as a European History guru, but last Thursday Hatton weighed in on 20th century China. According to Hatton, China’s past is riddled with corruption, extremes, and deceit. The Chinese Green Gang, a group trained at the Whampoa Military Academy, existed in a sea of corruption and banditry. The opium trade led to inordinate amounts of corruption: in 1929, the former Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China, Chiang Kai-shek, gained $17 million just from his cut of the opium trade, which he was supposedly suppressing. According to Hatton, though the Chinese legal system had its strengths, “it was not designed to withstand civil war.” The drug trade in China drew much discussion, drawing parallels between the American war on drugs and their policies concerning opium in Afghanistan. “The Afghan economy is based on drugs, through the growth of poppies for the opium trade. I don't know how to solve this problem. The solution might be to subsidize the Afghan farmers so that they do not have to rely so heavily on the drug trade. Currently, the government cannot control them,” said Hatton. Developing political freedom in societies that lack stability is not easily accomplished. China’s history of authoritarian communism is an example of an undesirable political regime that is adopted and maintained because it is preferable to the chaotic violent existence of a state

under anarchy. “The Chinese knew that pure M arxism would not work, that China wasn’t sufficiently industrialized, just as Russia was during Lenin’s reign. A genuine revolution would have to gain support from the lowest levels. China followed the Russian model closely, through the brainwashing of the young, moving ethnic populations, and its own brand of complete fanaticism, trashing its cultural heritage. In order to establish a civilization, the government was tough and did not allow freedom."

“Mao’s gone, but the one party system still controls China and the media.” - Dr. Helen Hatton Hatton thinks that China is poised to regain some of the culture lost and improve the quality of life for its citizens, but thinks it is unlikely that the political culture will become genuinely open within the next few decades. “Modern China has improved the daily life of the people under the communist party. The government has modified the severity of the programs and the fanaticism of the Red Brigades. The Red Brigades that had destroyed Chinese culture, who thought that culture, was made for the elites; that’s past. Mao’s gone, but the one party system still controls China and the media. Life is better economically, much better, but the poss ibilities of seeing Western Liberal Democratic concepts implemented does not seem very likely because the majority of Chinese now have grown up under the Maoist System and have has a heavily censored education. China

has had no experience in a genuine Democratic government.” The western world has many misconceptions of China and its history, said Hatton. “The Western perspective for years has been of the noble Chinese peasant trying to adopt liberal perspectives, but the vast majority of Chinese people have no conception of liberal values. Their personal philosophy is simply survival, they have no concept of Western government.” Years of imposed monolithic ideology has unquestionably influenced the development of the Chinese State. Though the economy might be thriving, the political climate remains frustrated, and citizens are not sufficiently empowered. “The people of China are a product of communist regime. Life has become quite a bit better in a material sense, but they lack a liberal democratic society. Their freedom of speech is severely restricted. They have no grasp of free expression and political participation. They possess no liberal values or natural right. As more Chinese students come to western schools and universities and more return home, they bring back to China the ideals of the West. One hopes that in the long run, as more Chinese eyes are opened to other ways of thinking, there will be greater pressures for genuine participation.” The Canadian Perspectives Lecture Series is organized by the Associates of UTM through the Office of Advancement at UTM. P roceeds f rom the lectures go towards student scholarships.

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Monday, October 27, 2008

EDITORIAL

Letters to the Editor Dear UTM Students,

Ali Kasim, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | editor@mediumonline.ca www.mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL I found out that a friend of mine voted “yes” to the deregulation of tuition fees at the plebiscite last week. When I asked him why, he replied, “If you’re going to get what you pay for, then pay for it.” Of course, I proceeded to debate with him over the issue. He shot back with points like how if deregulating tuition meant having a new building on campus while keeping the status quo meant the improvement of facilities and amenities would cease, then we should think about what’s more important for us—a better all-round education, or a cheaper, more saturated one. Now, his argument would make sense if the jacking-up of tuition meant that our fees went straight toward what directly affects us. But it doesn’t. And this individual was clearly lacking the facts. The facts are that over the past fifteen years, funding for post-secondary education in Ontario has dropped by more than 30 per cent. Ontario has the second-lowest perstudent funding in North America; second only to Alabama and dead last among Canadian provinces. President Naylor has placed much of the blame for rising tuition costs on the Federal and Ontario government, saying that rising fees were due to successive provincial governments failing to support universities. His position is that since the government won’t pay for rising education costs, universities should have the freedom to set their own tuition rates and fund themselves, hence the “deregulation” or “pro-business” school of thought. Naylor’s Towards 2030 plan proposes the deregulation of tuition and ancillary fees while cutting undergraduate enrolment in favour of graduate students. The document also advises a decrease in the undergrad population at the St. George campus, to improve student-to-professor ratios, and growth at UTM and UTSC. Now while lower enrolment to university might seem as a good thing to some— because it prevents the saturation of the degree obtained—we need to think about the students who’ll be left out. As UTSU President Sandy Hudson pointed out, “we won’t be seeing a university filled with the best and the brightest, we’ll be seeing a university of the richest.” Of course, Naylor and the administrative spokespersons insist that the proposal will benefit us in the end, citing that higher tuition would go towards scholarships and bursaries. But how many of us would be granted that benefit? Re¬cent studies from Statistics Canada have demonstrated that tuition fee increases disproportionately affect low-income families, resulting in “financial reasons” as the most frequently identified barrier to university and col¬lege attendance for students who did not pursue a post-secondary education. Needless to say, we can forget about international students like myself who struggle to pay approximately $22,000 a year. Because instead of international recruitment aimed to¬wards the best students from across the globe, U of T will see only the students who can afford to come here. Makes you wonder what will happen to student diversity on campus. And forget about students from resource-poor countries. These students—arguably the ones who would benefit most from education—will gradually be shut out. Naylor wants to steer us towards the Ivy League model the US currently has in place. With this deregulation of fees, it wouldn’t take too long before we start paying up to $40,000 a year (think Harvard), and when some institutions become expensive while others stay more or less the same, we’ll find ourselves within a two-tier, rich/poor, and good/bad post-secondary hierarchy in Ontario. The best faculty in the province will then undoubtedly move to the better-paying, richer schools. This is all simple cause-and-effect analysis, and it’s clear that this document serves only corporate interests. I simply cannot see how it benefits the students, who, might I remind you, are the true stakeholders of our community. So perhaps it didn’t matter so much that a few individuals like my aforementioned friend weren’t well-informed, because even if the plebiscite saw a one hundred per cent “vote against,” U of T’s governing council would have still voted in favour of. Can 100,000 student voices even change anything? We’ll find out on the Student Day of Action, November 5. Yours,

Ali Kasim

THE

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Board of Directors Christine Capewell, Jane Ngobia, Isa Cunanan, Raji Aujla, Laura Gaspini, Umeimah Bastaki, Bhagyashri Bhandakkar, Julie Tyios

I hope you are all studying hard for your midterms. Last week posed an important question to students in regards to the proposal to deregulate tuition fees. The U of T administration will be lobbying the government to deregulate our tuition fees, meaning that all of us will be paying an increased tuition fee of 10 to 15 per cent. Over 20 per cent of UTM’s student population voted in the plebiscite, and not surprisingly, over 97 per cent of voters said “NO” to deregulating tuition fees. The purpose of organizing the plebiscite was to ensure that students were aware of the issue and also to obtain student input as we lobby to the government that U of T students are not in favour of the university taking more money from them. The fight to reduce tuition fees does not end here. The fifth of November is a huge day. It is the “Student Day of Action” where students from all across Ontario will be marching downtown to let our government representatives know that we, the students, demand a tuition reduction. A few years ago, through such protests and lobbying efforts, students successfully secured a tuition freeze. As well, strikes and protests in Quebec forced the provincial government to

Dear UTM Community,

Last week, a plebiscite on the “Towards 2030” document to deregulate tuition fees was conducted across the three campuses of U of T. A plebiscite is basically an opinion poll, or a survey. So basically, you're asking people what they think. And I would assume that when 98.8 per cent of the people say the same thing, everyone should pay attention. At UTM this past week, 2313 people voted, of which 2239 voted AGAINST the deregulation of tuition fees. Across the three campuses, over 5000 people voted, tallying a 93.3 per cent “NO” mandate. And yet, on Thursday October 23, members of the Governing Council voted almost unanimously in support of the Towards 2030 document. The Governing Council is the highest decision-making body at the University of Toronto. It has the final say in everything that happens on each of our campuses. Its composition is 50 members, 34 of whom are selected in

restore money into post-secondary education. This week, you will observe many students speaking about tuition fees as it affects us all. There are many opportunities for you to get involved with your DROP FEES campaign. If you would like to get involved, please visit me at the UTMSU office and/or attend the organizing meeting on Friday October 31 at 4 p.m. in the Student Centre – free food will be provided. NOV 5 DETAILS: When: Nov 5 Where: Student Centre Breakfast to be served at 10 a.m. Buses will leave UTM for St. George at 11 a.m. Buses will leave St. George for UTM at 4 p.m. I would also like to bring to your attention an update about the new Child Care facility at UTM. The opening of the Child Care facility as initially proposed by the University was January 2009. However, this has been changed to February 9, 2009. The reason for this delay is that the City of Mississauga needs to conduct an environmental inspection of the facility. UTMSU has coordinated a time with Early Learning Childhood for an Information Session so the current student-parent users of the Child Minding Service in the Student

house, with the remaining 16 appointed by the office of the Lieutenant General. Of the total 50 members, 8 are students, and these are the only representatives that students have any say in. Now, in a sense, members of the Governing Council have only one primary duty. As defined under the University of Toronto Act, that one duty is to “act with diligence, honestly and with good faith in the best interests of the University.” That’s all they have to do. President Naylor would want us to believe that the University of Toronto should have the right to responsibly self-regulate tuition fees. Now, because he’s our institution’s president, we’re supposed to trust him. Well, I say, trust needs to be earned. President Naylor, perhaps if you joined with the students in the call for more funding for post-secondary education and didn't go back year after year to the Governing Council with a proposal to increase tuition fees by the maximum you possibly can, maybe then, we would have a little more faith

Centre have an opportunity to ask questions. The university is committed towards ensuring that the current Child Minding Service remains operational. Seeing the progress that the University is making thus far in opening the new facility, I feel and hope that there will not be any further delays. Many students have been voicing their concerns about the UPASS decals. Mississauga Transit is aware of the issue and is committed to providing solutions. Students will be receiving new UPASS Cards in the mail so there will be no use of the decals. As a result, students will have to present their T-Card along with the UPASS Card to ride the Mississauga Transit unlimited for eight months. I encourage all students to update their mailing address on ROSI. Before I conclude my letter for this week, I would like to encourage all students once again to get involved with the DROP FEES campaign. If we don’t stand up for our rights, then no one will. Remember, students, united, will never be defeated.

Sincerely, Wasah Malik President UTMSU

and trust in you. Otherwise, why should I trust you now? I didn’t elect you. I didn't have a say in your appointment. Every year you have voted to do things that I don't want you to do. So why should I trust you? With the system set up the way it is, we as students have the cards stacked against us. I say it's time we clean that up. On November 5, students from across Ontario are going to be rallying to remind the people in power exactly how loud we can be, and also that we’re not going to sit back any longer. Change can only be made when we work together. A lone voice shouting out against injustice is good, but a thousand voices united for the same cause is better. I'll be there on the fifth November. I hope you will join me.

In solidarity, DJ Kohli

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Monday, October 27, 2008

Michael Di Leo, Editor | arts@mediumonline.ca

We’ve got the Keys to the VIP MICHAEL DI LEO A&E EDITOR

When I was in high school, Frank Stegnar was the shit. He was two years older, played on the soccer team, and had expertly coiffed hair. He was also a self-proclaimed “playa,” and, as his yearbook comment professed, “LaDiez LUV iT” (“iT” signifying his game). While the rest of us were playing Magic: The Gathering and listening to Weezer, he

was merrymaking in Toronto’s thenburgeoning club district where he liked to “chop broads” (hit on women). Although I don’t remember how many women he successfully seduced, if any at all, his character remains representative of much of today’s male youth culture and their interactions with the opposite sex. On the other side of things are Peachez, Alen, Sheldon, and Chris. These four have spent the more recent parts of their lives successfully picking up women, and in the process, mastering the art of seduction. “We used to go out and show guys how it’s done,” explains Peachez. It eventually got to the point where the group would challenge each other with different pick up approaches. “We would start making harder challenges. I’d bet

photos/Matthew Filipowich

Chatting with the cast of Keys to the VIP about the art of seduction.

you couldn’t go up to her and [pick her up] while saying her shoes are awful. Or you couldn’t get a pick-up saying you’re on parole.” After coming up with the idea to film themselves doing these friendly competitions, Keys to the VIP was born. Now in its third season, Keys is a college boy’s televised wet dream. Every week, two self-declared players compete against each other in a series of three pick-up competitions to see who the better seducer is. Take for example the first episode (which has already aired) where Bruno (a.k.a. Casanova) battles Andrew (a.k.a. The Dungeon Master) to have a girl buy them a drink, to get a girl’s number in less than a minute, and to get a kiss. Andrew, known as The Dungeon Master for his unhygienic living arrangement and brutish attitude, manages to kiss someone within two minutes, even while eating a large sandwich. Hilarious? Very. Through all this, the four originators comment on the competitors’ techniques, and offer advice for guys in general. Though the show does dole out a healthy amount of comedy, it is rooted in the art of seduction, and also in the judges bestowing some tested guidance for the viewers. “I became better at game when I started worrying less about myself and starting thinking about the person I was talking with,” explains Peachez. “And once you start doing that, you won’t be worried about her rejecting you, you’re actually going to find yourself much more outgoing and personable and you will reap the results from that.”

Chris agrees. “At the end of the day, the way you project yourself onto the world is how to world comes back to you. Having a positive vibe in the bar, a smile on your face, goes so far and guys don’t even realize it. When they get into a bar and act like thugs, it doesn’t work and it doesn’t impress girls because you’re not inviting the world into your lap.” This seems to be the fundamental principle behind picking up women. After speaking with the cast it is clear where their influences lie. Seduction innovators Mystery and Alan Strauss have been integral in defining malefemale interaction by quantifying many of its variables. For example, terms such as “neg” and “false disqualification” are used to deem certain social attributes. While the findings are vital to their common philosophy, the boys from Keys take a simplified approach which is more easily accepted by the common viewer. “The best players are the ones that can roll with the punches, always thinking two steps ahead—it’s all verbal. Having that alpha-male disposition is great, but you need to talk the talk at the same time.” It becomes evident while watching the show how different characters perform in these kinds of situations. Alpha-males such as Frank more often than not have a difficult time staying on top of the conversation and lag in their performance. Witty and sharp individuals, like Andrew, control the flow and the outcome of the circumstances. The cast also understands where many guys are coming from and have some advice for those who are strug-

Sports Editor Chris Sa’ad is excited about signing the waiver to audition for the upcoming season of Keys to the VIP. gling. “Toronto is a notoriously tough city [for picking up women]. If you want to play the game here, you have to take the girl off her pedestal. She’s been hearing compliments about how beautiful she is from douche bags all night long. Having the outlook that you’re moving on whether she likes you or not is the most powerful thing in your repertoire.”

SEASON 3 OF KEYS TO THE VIP AIRS ON THE COMEDY NETWORK EVERY THURSDAY AT 10 P.M. EST.

YOU CAN ALSO FIND EPISODES ONLINE ON THE COMEDY NETWORK WEBSITE.

with Michael Di Leo

Picture this: It’s 1991 and the world is reversed. Instead of endorsing Jell-O, Bill Cosby is pawning K&Y jelly to the youth of Philadelphia. Will Smith is a sidekick and DJ Jazzy Jeff is playing the ewport Folk Festival in support of his new Dixieland-inspired record, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Jazzsters Do Pee Wee Herman. He is booed off-stage because he refuses to play his turntables, instead using the horn section from Milton Brown’s Musical Brownies to make all the cuts. He later gets his ass kicked by aliens in Independence Day, the biggest Hollywood bust since Sinatra played a woman in Moonlit Night. Biggie Smalls decided to continue through high school and is currently preparing his masters dissertation on the potlatch ceremonies of the Tlingit clan members. as moved from the Queensbridge housing projects years ago and now lives in a quaint Brooklyn brownstone. He is also a secretary at a vet’s office and sings traditional religious hymns at Bar Mitzvahs for a minimal fee. He takes night classes to become a pastry chef. Where would we be right now? Instead of brushing off his shoulders,

Jay-Z is brushing the dirt of his “99 Cars” dealership floor. He goes home to visit his baby’s momma Star Jones who has expanded threefold over the course of multiple pregnancies. They run a candlemaking business on the side just for fun. Kanye doesn’t raise the Roc but raises his arm to change lightbulbs—part of his apprenticeship to become an electrician. He is a proud member of the local YMCA’s spider solitaire team. Run DMC has a newly released recording featuring Kenny Chesney. After becoming the new spokes group for Passion Flakie’s, all three have developed scurvy and hypoglycaemia. Each one of these hip hop giants continued to chase the dream

LL Cool J raps about the Commodore Amiga 500. He punched out his own mother and is now on life-support, after getting his face smashed by a comically oversized mallet in an attempt to rob Leo Gallagher. Bob Saget is the poster boy for impoverished inner-city youth. Kardinal Offishall never made it out of Scarborough, instead he took up a position at Apple Auto

Glass, replacing windshields. He travels to Kingston once a month to take an amphibious tour of the Thousand Islands.

Medium 2.0 is a multimedia version of The Medium.

They are still keeping it real

Akon never went to jail and The Fugees never got big. Wyclef renounced his Haitian citizenship and moved to New York to sell fake hats at Times Square. Ol’ Dirty Bastard is a certified management accountant at a prominent Illinois law firm. In his spare time he donates to numerous charities and volunteers at the welfare office. His shuffleboard partner is Martin Landau. South Central Los Angeles has just experienced an economic boom.

Composed of a series of weekly newscasts, Medium 2.0 represents the future of information sharing.

email ali at editor@mediumonline.ca or visit our office in the student centre

How do you feel now? Written with the guidance and support of Stephanie Chen.

TO VIEW THIS AND OTHER ARTICLES, VISIT THE MEDIUM’S BLOG AT WWW.MEDIUMONLINE.CA/BLOG

photo/www.gamespot.com

Bill Cosby loves him some Jell-O.

6 THE MEDIUM

Monday, October 27, 2008

ARTS

Theatre Erindale Presents: A ew Life Theatre Erindale’s newest play redefines social structure during the war-torn era of the 1940s ODILIA YIM

In collaboration with Sheridan College, Theatre Erindale’s A ew Life is based on Elmer Rice’s coming-of-age story about a young newlywed couple trying to survive through the Second World War. Unlike most standard war stories,

which focus on army battles, enemy lines, and national pride, A ew Life portrays the social obstacles and obligations that were once the norm in America. The play focuses on the lives of a few Americans during the time of the Second World War. The experiences of these Americans are unique: every one of them lives with the ramifications of economic uncertainty and depression from years earlier. In the backdrop of an eventful New York maternity floor, a young and spirited singer named Edie (played by Laura MacDonald) prepares to give birth. Her pregnancy is the product of a quick and passionate romance and marriage. Not knowing if her war captain husband will ever return from the Pacific, Edie is thrown into life with her upper-class in-laws. She finds herself struggling to cope

photos/Theatre Erindale

The labour pains get worse: Laura MacDonald, Devon Healey, and Megan Poole.

with their high expectations. A ew Life begins with a surprisingly light tone. The first act concentrates on the workings of the hospital and introduces the audience to the cast of amusing characters, while giving us a glimpse into their dramatic relationships. The eccentric humour is established early with the appearance of Miss Weatherby (played by Jessica Séguin), a nurse with few interactions but whose non-verbal actions express a noticeably comical demeanour. Although the characters slip in and out of their New Yorker accents, their exaggerated Brooklyn-esque speech patterns add humour to their conversations. The early half of the play is overflowing with witty comedy, especially coming from the charming Olive Rapallo (played by Devon Healey). As Edie’s best friend, Olive relieves Edie’s awkward situation. Her humour, love, and concern gives Edie the strength she needs to be herself. Healey is able to shift between emotional situations without difficulty, with impeccable comedic timing, and an unconventional attitude. Following a fantastically amusing beginning, the second half takes a more dramatic approach when the Cleghorne family are portrayed as typical socialites with family fortune and economic obligations. Familial relationships and societal expectations are highlighted here, evoking memories of a time where class structure dictated everyone’s roles in society. In the time of war, the young and spontaneous newlywed couple deals with their own battles, within them-

beiko + lorilee.e + cfreradio + matthew + tywchen + lorilee.e

comments: photos@mediumonline.ca submissions: www.mediumonline.ca/photopop

photo + collaborate photo + collaborate is a new weekly section curated byThe Medium’s Photography Editor Matthew Filipowich. An assemblage of weekly photographs, photo + collaborate is your take on weekly life, seen through your eyes.

Edie does not see eye to eye with her husband's millionaire parents: Laura Macdonald, Andy Ingram, and Lisa Justine. selves and with each other. As a whole, A ew Life delivers not only an outstanding theatrical performance, but also a satisfying peek into the role of working women and their struggle between a career and family. A timeless theme of independence interweaves through the characters’ choices, and the idea of young people’s pursuit for understanding and identity makes this play easily relatable in this modern time. In A ew Life, the theatre delivers a fine and dandy play with lots of heart. The glimpse into class structure in the 1940s was expected, but the play’s

focus on the distinct viewpoints between different socio-economic classes is what makes the old story appealing. It was a fresh and telling play with an optimistic message from a time when the world’s future was uncertain.

A NEW LIFE IS PLAYING AT THEATRE ERINDALE THIS WEEK (OCTOBER 28NOVEMBER 1). GENERAL ADMISSION IS $14 AND STUDENT TICKETS ARE $9, AVAILABLE ONLINE AND AT THE BOX OFFICE.

THE MEDIUM 7

Monday, October 27, 2008

Andrew Hamilton-Smith, Editor | features@mediumonline.ca

Creative Corner Explosion of Awe SHAISTA KHAN

Oh! There is just so much to know! To Look and See and Feel and Think! We are all little Universes in ourselves. If we could drink every drop of every Letter In every Book ever writ, A combination of Knowledge as deep as the Oceans, We could still be thirsty, and wanting more! If we could turn, how a leaf in autumn changes colour, Change our thoughts, perceptions, sensibilities, We could still endlessly transform! Artwork/Paola Savasta

The Knowledge enclosed in our little World, Bound in its shell, is more than all the galaxies counted, Or any star to be explored! Our feelings: love and strength and hope, Power and curiosity and awe Should be taken off the pedestal, felt, and adored! Oh! There is so much so much to know, Exciting our Minds forever more!

If you have a poem, short story or artwork that you would like to publish, submit it to features@mediumonline.ca

Expression RAISA AUSTINA PALHA

I sit here poised with pen to the page waiting for that jolt of inspiration to set expression free release language from captivity so that words, like a deluge bursting through a dam engenders the destruction of that obstruction to honest speech language wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t brim in the confines of the mind but rather, will find voice as the rejoicing soul liberated from repression enjoys free expression and then, onto the page confessions will scatter outrage and frustrations make presence on paper such sweet expression free and unbounded flies in the face of authority cares not for propriety enjoys impunity from censure and social criticism I sit here penning with insanity unrelenting in a furious eagerness Life and all it encompasses

8 THE MEDIUM

Monday, October 27, 2008

FEATURES

Creative Corner Her name ALAIN LATOUR ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

Further away. A man and woman stood facing each other under lamplight in a park two blocks from my apartment. A chilly wind blew against me. I shivered, hands deep in my jacket pockets as I treaded back home. A red neon sign on a drugstore flashed the time: 4 a.m. My parched throat hurt from secondhand smoke, my head hurt from dehydration. It had rained a while ago, and the rain cleansed the air of the cigarette smoke and alcohol and urine. The roar of that night’s marcha had all but died, now distant laughter, and the shattering of cider bottles on the pavement still echoed every few minutes. Gijón, a mid-sized city in northern Spain, prided itself on having the world’s largest proportion of bars, nightclubs, and discotheques. Nights were seldom boring, although they often stunk. An okay place to live, but a year of it had been enough. I’d have to go bigger. A tight, short dark dress accentuated her figure as she slapped away at his torso and shouted words that I couldn’t discern. I didn’t have to. Her spiteful and angry tone was enough for me to form an idea. The man stood motionless, hands hanging at the sides, chin on his

chest, oblivious to her blows. He wore glasses that shone under the lamplight. He had long, curly hair, still wet from the rain. They were both young—in their mid-twenties at most. I was closer now. I kept my hands in my pockets and tried to appear indifferent. I didn’t have to bother. They didn’t acknowledge me, even though they must have heard my footsteps. Like a ghost, I thought. I’m a ghost in the night, walking by without people drawing the slightest attention.

The young man lay sprawled on the pavement. I scanned around for the girl. She stood, motionless, a few steps from him. Then she ran towards his body. As I passed, the woman turned her back on him and marched away. I caught a slow-motion glance of her glistening dark Spanish eyes, her curly black hair, like velvet, her thick red lips, and then she was gone. Only her faint smell of wet perfume remained. She was so beautiful she could have been that night’s dream, an illusion formed by the spirits that surrounded us. The young man, his voice cracking with desperation, called out to

her: Ana was her name. But Ana didn’t stop. I walked on. I crossed the narrow street beside the park, stepping on the shiny wet stones and breathingin the fresh air. Then I heard it. It came from under that lamplight, maybe twenty meters away by now, but the sound traveled perfectly in the silence of the night. The sound was a heavy thud, and it made me look back in apprehension. The young man lay sprawled on the pavement. I scanned around for the girl. She stood, motionless, a few steps from him. Then she ran towards his body. “Pablo, Pablo, what’s wrong?” She knelt beside him and cradled his head. “Are you OK? Talk to me!” I hesitated. Normally I would have run towards them, but instead I paused. Nothing happened for what seemed like hours. Then I heard laughter. At first I thought it came from a nearby window, but it was none other than the young man. He laughed hysterically as he supported himself on his hands and looked up at the girl with a merry grin. She rose slowly, staring down at him with what I imagined must have been disbelief. Shaking my head, I turned my back and walked on. A chilly wind blew against me. I shivered, hands deep in my jacket pockets as I treaded back home.

photo/Andrew Hamilton-Smith

A scene from The Everything to do With Sex Show, held each year in Toronto. Get an inside look from Andrew Hamilton-Smith on page 9.

My girlfriend and I have been together for almost a year and a half, and we have always been pretty open and honest with each other. Recently, she confessed out of the blue that she has been thinking about sleeping with other guys, and now she wants to try having an “open relationship.” I don’t even know what to think of all this. On the one hand I don’t want to lose my girlfriend, and I’m pretty sure this will destroy our relationship. But what if I kind of want to sleep with someone else as well? I have never been so confused in my life. Tell me SEC, what should I do? I guess the first thing that comes to mind is…am I invited to this party? It sounds like fun. But seriously, believe it or not this is a pretty common problem, although most people don’t end up asking their partners if it’s a possibility. Without getting overly philosophical, my personal view of relationships is that we expect too much from them. As human beings, we have a lot of needs and it’s impossible for a single other person to meet all of them. Sex therapists claim that while we value predictability in our relationships, we prefer unpredictability when it comes to sex and our fantasies. Whether or not this is the relationship kiss of death really depends on your girlfriend (and you). 1) You should ask her where her need to sleep with other people is stemming from. Is her telling you that she wants to see other people a breakup in disguise, or is she interested in exploring other avenues but still very much interested in your current relationship? 2) Are you the type of person who will be okay with this? It’s okay to say “no.” To be honest, I don’t know if I would be. Maybe a part of this is because I was an only child, and I never learned how to share. But I think that most people would feel threatened by the idea of someone else having “access” to their significant other. Keep in mind that open relationships can work. It really just depends on the people involved. And while I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, communication really is the key. Make sure you are communicating what your concerns are, and make sure that she is expressing her own concerns as well. Also, it’s possible that her desire to sleep with other men is symptomatic of something else. It’s possible that she wants to achieve something sexually that she doesn’t think that you will be able to provide her with. Before agreeing to anything, I would recommend that you are both very clear about your expectations and

reasons for taking this path. This isn’t really a question. It’s more like a situation. I’m finally in love. It’s the best feeling ever. The only problem is everything else. I’m behind on all my course work, my parents are starting to bug me about spending time with them, and I won’t even get started about my friends. I don’t know what to do. I can’t concentrate on anything else. I can’t pretend to be an expert on love. To quote an expert, “Being chosen by the one you chose is one of the glories of falling in love. It generates a feeling of intense personal importance. I matter. You confirm my significance” (Esther Perel, Mating in Captivity). What you’re going through is incredibly common. Balancing love and life, especially in the beginning, is hard to do because of the changes that it makes in you as a person. I can suggest a couple of things, but I definitely don’t have a cure for this: 1) Love needs distance to grow. Because there is a lot of existing distance in the beginning, you almost try to make up for it by spending as much time together as possible. Keep in mind that concentrating too much on the relationship in the beginning might dry up any hope for mystery later on. 2) Also, it’s impossible to talk about love without including time-honoured clichés. Things like, “relationships end, friends are forever,” etc. It’s important to remember that you had a pre-existing life prior to this relationship. While it might seem like all you want to do is spend time with your partner, you did enjoy the time with your friends and family before this relationship came along. Try to rekindle some of that by spending more time with the other people in your life. It’s possible that these intense feelings will eventually fade or become less intense. By then, you can start to reintegrate other aspects of your life that you’ve been neglecting. But are you willing to gamble your academics and your other relationships on this possibility? If you want your relationship to be long-lasting, you need to fit it into the rest of your life.

Good luck, SEC

If you have questions that you want answered in our sex column, send them to us at sex.column@utmsec.ca. Please note that this column is intended for entertainment purposes.

Monday, October 27, 2008

THE MEDIUM 9

FEATURES

Everything to do with Sex Show 2008 ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR

The sheer diversity of the crowd is the first thing you notice. Young, old, well-dressed, undressed, tall and fat, short and skinny, every skin colour and social class, all brought together by a common interest: Sex. Attracting almost one million people last year, attendance to The Everything to do with Sex Show (ETDWSS) has been growing steadily according to SX Marketing, the company that hosts this annual event. That so many people from so many backgrounds feel comfortable enough with sex to attend a convention devoted to just that is clearly testament to the changing norms in Canadian society. Not so long ago, speaking openly about sexual issuesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including homosexuality, masturbation, even rapeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;was simply not considered acceptable, and most â&#x20AC;&#x153;respectable peopleâ&#x20AC;? avoided such talk. Yet I would be hard pressed to find anything about this convention that was not â&#x20AC;&#x153;respectable.â&#x20AC;? Indeed, each display and exhibit possessed a slick, corporate professionalism that reeked far more of upright and dependable tones than they did of any bawdry indecency. The nudity around you almost becomes meaningless, in that you are far removed from a sexual environment (unless you consider making money to be sexual), and it almost feels more like a carnival than a strip club. Walking from table to table, like at any convention, as the floor staff hand out endless freebies like finger vibrators and free Internet porn cards, it is sometimes fun to people-watch. A couple looks at a sophisticated chairand-harness arrangement, the woman nervously giggling in her mateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ear

while the saleswoman demonstrates a few positions. A well-tanned older man, possibly in his late seventies, strolls about wearing little more than a thong and a bandana. A young woman, her hands bound above her head and a smile on her face, is being whipped by a leather-clad, flail-wielding burly man. All the while curious on-lookers shuffle from booth to booth, exhibit to exhibit, staring around in open wonder and excitement. All of the major sex retailers such as Seduction, Come as You Are, and The Condom Shack had large floor set-ups, where they essentially just sold everything that they normally do anyway. Numerous smaller retailers focused on the cheap porn DVD market, selling â&#x20AC;&#x153;2 for $15â&#x20AC;? movies of every variety of sex imaginable, including Hentai-style Japanese animation. Some porn starsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own MILF Carry Moonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;had their own tables, and were often there in person to talk to fans and sign autographs. Among the biggest purveyors of hard-core

and revealing outfits on their lithe frames, turning and posing, much to the delight of the crowd. This is the main focus of the whole convention hall in a wayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the entrance there is a broad aisle, down the middle of the booths, leading up to the runway. Beyond the commercial sex retailers and distributors, there are also niche and social sex displays. An entire corner of the Direct Energy Centre is devoted to â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Dungeon,â&#x20AC;? a no-cameras-allowed section, where the BDSM, pain-is-pleasure types are found in the highest densities. Along with banning photography, this section also enforces strict rules regarding personal space and consent. From a spectatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standpoint, it is often difficult to tell whether the people here being assailed, prodded, and electrocuted in these exhibits are truly enjoying themselves or not. But I suppose to each his own. Live and let live. There are also two other social interests worth mentioning: Pleasure Parties and Club Wicked, both of

smut, complete with giant plasma TVs showing graphic pornography nonstop, was Rogers Cable, a regular fixture at ETDWSS for the last few years. The largest stage is home to the lingerie fashion show, a huge runway complete with overhead monitors, lighting, and booming electronic music. Beautiful models carry sexy

which are rapidly growing in popularity. The first is similar to Tupperware parties, except instead of food containers there are sex toys, and instead of talking about cooking there is talking about sex. The second, Club Wicked, shares similarities to nightclubs, except at one people are trying to get laid and at the other people actually

are. The primary focus of Wicked is to facilitate â&#x20AC;&#x153;sophisticated hedonismâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as they call itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;which basically means attractive couples having sex together, though there are different degrees of membership and accessibility within the club itself. Both these groups represent the growing comfort that societyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;here in and around Toronto at leastâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;has for sex and sexuality in general. Another trend worth keeping an eye on is that of â&#x20AC;&#x153;hedonism vacations,â&#x20AC;? such as those offered by Desire Resorts and Temptation Resort Spas. At chartered hotels, these travel agencies organize sex-oriented trips to Jamaica and Cancun for open-minded, high-libido travelers. Seeing all these different aspects of sex in one place, increasingly designed and packaged for consumption by the mainstream of society, is overwhelming to say the least. It is hard to take in everything at once, especially when being exposed to such unique and usually private activities. The glaring lights of commercial consumerism do not help to say the least, though they at least make sex acceptable to the masses. After a while all the vibrators, sexy outfits, porn DVDs, and handcuffs start to blend together, and like with all good things, there is a point where enough is enough. After touring the

entire floor and collecting a huge grabbag full of free goodies, my feet are starting to hurt and my neck is cramping from constantly looking around. Going to the Everything to Do with Sex Show is truly an exhausting experienceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;besides the walking, there is the intense air of electricity that comes from hoarding ten thousand horny people into one giant room, which tends to be emotionally draining. It will be interesting to see where sex in our society will go from here: will we become increasingly sexualized, pushing boundaries even further in the future? Or will we suddenly see some great error in holding love and pleasure as sacred values, and revert back to the sort of anti-sex tendencies that have held sway in Western culture since the fall of the Roman Empire. The ETDWSS is a massive exhibition of sexual relationships, physical acts, fringe fetishes, and commercial nudity. It demonstrates the diminished Judeo-Christian morality structure of our Post-Modern society. By openly tolerating sex and sexuality in all of its forms, some may ask: are we making ourselves better or worse? It is good to accept peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s differences, but what can we say is â&#x20AC;&#x153;wrongâ&#x20AC;? anymore? Before making up your mind, try going to see what the people at the sex show have to say.

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photos/Andrew Hamilton-Smith

Chris the Sports Editor holding a gothic martini glass.

www.athabascau.ca/standout

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10 THE MEDIUM

Monday, October 27, 2008

FEATURES

Searching for justice in Palestine KAREN AKHTAR

Hazem Hussain is supposed to be in a graduate business program in California right now. But heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not allowed to be there. The reason: Israel wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let him out of the country, despite the fact that he has a United States visa and has officially been admitted to university according to Mohammed Omer, writing for the Inter Press Service

ews Agency on October 21, 2008. This evidence stands in stark contrast to the information held by the Jewish Virtual Library, run by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, which denies similarities between the Israeli occupation and South African apartheid: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Today, within Israel, Jews are a majority, but the Arab minority are full citizens with voting rights and representation in the government. Under apartheid, black South Africans could not vote and were not citizens of the country in which they are the overwhelming majority of the population.â&#x20AC;? However, historical accounts contradict this notion. According to Stephen Lendman, writing for Global Research, an alternative news agency, the State of Israel was not based on peace and cooperation with the Palestinians, but was forced upon them by the United Nations, acting against Arab opposition to the partition plan. On April 9, 1948, as part of the conflict that followed the creation of Israel, Deir Yassin, a village in Palestine, was the scene of a vicious slaughtering campaign orchestrated by the Israelis against the Palestinians. Israeli soldiers shot at villagersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; houses randomly, resulting in many

deaths. Then, the villagers who were still alive were rounded up and shot. The victims included women, many of whom were raped, along with the elderly, infants, and children. This campaign was repeated in several other Palestinian villages. The statistics regarding the number of people killed in Deir Yassin are uncertain, but the most accurate facts place the figure around 93 and 120. Several other villages were plagued by Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies of extermination against the Palestinians, and this is just one detail of the Israeli occupation. The colonization of Palestine continues to this day.

According to Stephen Lendman, the State of Israel was not based on peace and cooperation with the Palestinians, but was forced upon them by the United Nations, acting against Arab opposition to the partition plan. The Palestine Chronicle reported on October 15, 2008 that conditions in Akka (Acre) are deteriorating. Fourteen families have been forced into homelessness by Jewish extremists who displaced them and committed arson to their property. In a separate incident, a group of more than 200 Jewish youths are responsible for terrorizing Arab citizens of Akka, forcing them to abandon their homes. The families af f ected b y th e persecution are forced to stay in hotels and cannot return to their houses for safety rea-

I earned my undergraduate degree.

Now, I want a rewarding career* *not just a job

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Israel has begun construction of a giant wall, physically seperating Palestinians from their friends, families and traditional lands. Millions of Palestinians were displaced when Israel was created by the United Nations Resolution 181, passed in 1947, which led to the Israeli War of Independence and crushed Palestinian hopes for nationhood. sons. Akka police are also refusing to provide the basic necessities for these families. The forced displacement of Palestinians in mixed neighbourhoods is creating a system of apartheid in Israel, which has been essentially approved by Israeli politicians. Israelis are also responsible for sabotaging the Palestinian olive harvest, according to reports from the International Middle East Media Center on October 20, 2008. Several armed Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers on Monday in the West Bank village of Kufer Qadoum near Qalqilia city. A British peace activist was also attacked by armed settlers, despite the heavy Israeli military presence in the area. Israeli settler attacks have also been increasing with the olive harvestâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;one of the few sources of income available to Palestinians.

When a group of people have been internally displaced and have had their rights ignored by the international community for over fifty years, many citizens will internalize the hatred that has been thrust upon them and start acting violently, turning against each other. According to Rory McCarthy, writing for The Guardian, a U.K. newspaper, on October 21, 2008, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has found the Israeli military responsible for killing sixtyeight children living in the Gaza Strip for twelve months up to June 2008. These deaths are the result of the Israeli invasion of Jabaliya, in eastern Gaza, during late February to early March, where more than 100 Palestinians were killed - at least half of them being unarmed allegedly to stop rockets being fired into southern Israel. And before Hamas and Israel held a ceasefire

in June, Palestinians had been killed in other strikes as well. In the West Bank, yet another twelve children were killed by the Israeli military for twelve months to June. According to the same rights group, many of the deaths have not been investigated, and internal inquiries held by the Israeli military were unethical. In fact, Israel has become so synonymous with conflict in the Palestinian media that there are attempts by Israeli politicians and media groups to literally â&#x20AC;&#x153;re-brandâ&#x20AC;? the country. According to Anshel Pfeffer, writing for Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, on October 6, 2008, Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Foreign Ministry is working with Acanchi, a British company responsible for rebranding countries, to market Israel as a conflict-free tourist destination. But selling a more pleasing image of a country will do nothing to stop the conflict. In order for peace to become a reality, Israeli politicians need to be open to dialogue. There are also many critics who believe that Palestinians bring these problems on themselves. On October 17, 2008, Reuters AlertNet pointed out that clashes between different Palestinian factions, such as those between Hamas and Fatah, have worsened the lives of many Palestinian citizens. Unfortunately, it can also be argued that this is the result of Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divide-and-conquer policies. When a group of people have been internally displaced and have had their rights ignored by the international community for over fifty years, many citizens will internalize the hatred that has been thrust upon them and start acting violently, turning against each other. There are also many Israelis who are critical of violence against Palestinians. For example, Jewish Voice for Peace is an organization that seeks the peaceful co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians. It also advocates changes in U.S. foreign policy, criticizing Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s support for Israeli politicians that continue the violence against Palestinians.

Today, even the media seems to recognize that any attempts at peace are token at best. According to Aron Heller, writing for the Toronto Star on October 19, 2008, Israel is considering an exchange of lands colonized during the 1967 war with Palestine for peace, a plan originally launched by Saudi Arabia in 2002. The plan has hit a snag after dialogue between Syria and Palestine became mainly ineffective. However, Israeli attempts at peace do not come without strings attached. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has his own ideas about what Israeli peace would look like: â&#x20AC;&#x153;a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace,â&#x20AC;? as Barak told Israel's army radio. Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed similar reservations to the plan, wanting to keep some of the lands colonized in 1967. He also does not support the Palestiniansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; right of return to their homeland, saying it would destroy Israeli culture. Let me be clear. I am not advocating hatred against Jews. I believe that Jews deserve access to land, like any other group of people. However, I will be critical when politicians promote their country as a democracy while leaving another group of people internally displaced for over fifty years. I will also be critical when politicians of a country care more about promoting tourism than acknowledging the fact that it is a war zone, and do nothing to stop the conflict. And that goes for any country around the world. In the end, the international community needs to stop belittling the Palestiniansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; need for peace.

Do you have something to say about this article? Share your views on The Mediumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Blog at www.mediumonline.ca/blog

THE MEDIUM 11

Monday, October 27, 2008

Christopher Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d, Editor | sports@mediumonline.ca

Middleweightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s king of kings SUZANNE CARTE-BLANCHENOT

They say â&#x20AC;&#x153;every dog has its dayâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;all good things come to an end.â&#x20AC;? And time after time, Andreson Silva proves all the optimists and their clichĂŠs wrong. Last Saturday night at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, Silva walked away with the Ultimate Fighting Championshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s middleweight title, again. The UFC 90 win, against Canadian Patrick Cote, was Silvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eighth in the UFC against zero losses, and his fourth successful title defense. The man is unstoppable. Watching Silva in combat is always a pleasure because his grace and precision is infallible. His striking capability is on

average 69 per cent accurate in â&#x20AC;&#x153;blows landedâ&#x20AC;? in comparison to the standard fighter in the league hovering around 35 per cent.

The crowd who booed at the end of the abrupt fight, did not understand the pressures that fighters undergo and the toll their body takes because of over-exertion in training.

He is also physically impressive. With his long, deadly legs supporting his 6â&#x20AC;&#x2122;2â&#x20AC;? frame, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no wonder that heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nicknamed â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Spider.â&#x20AC;? His lean build is perfectly designed for light, agile movements and exactitude. On Saturday he carefully shadowed Cote, landing a quick head-kick which cut him over the right eye just before the end of the first round. Cote was no pushover though and kept Silva busy throughout the fight. At the end of the second round, he held up three photo/ufc.com fingers to indicate that the Patrick Cote drops to the floor after his knee bout was going into the gives out in the third round. third round, a first for any

man in the octagon with Silva. But it was in that fateful final round in which Cote blew out his knee in a failed leg-kick attempt. Buckling in pain under his own weight, Patrick Cote stressed an existing knee injury prompting the end of the fight by a TKO decision. Silvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response to this rather odd TKO victory was thoughtful. He stated that the crowd, who booed at the end of the abrupt fight, did not understand the pressures that fighters undergo and the toll their body takes because of overexertion in training. Throughout the event, the horde of fight enthusiasts in attendance was increasingly restless, booing the attempts of the fighters in almost every bout. The fickle fans were either unsatisfied with the outcome of the matches or the supposed lack of intensity during each fight. The most explosive fight of the night was surely the dynamic matchup between Thiago â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pitbullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Alves and Josh Koscheck. The two reigned blows on one another relentlessly for three full rounds. Alves made a strong case for being next in line for a shot at the welterweight crown with a unanimous decision win. His amazing takedown defense against the college wrestling champion Koscheck was only surpassed by his fierce leg kicks which had his opponent shaken and unstable on more than one occasion.

A risky move

This week UTM Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ball Hockey By Jenn Chapman, League Commissioner

Week 3: The Rookies faced the Ron Vogl Dream Team this past week. A goal from Jack Krist gave The Rookies an early lead before The Dream Team answered with six goals of their own before the end of the first period. This, despite the amazing efforts of The Rookieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goaltender Jeremy Wong. The Dream Teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Andrew Ramos was given a highsticking penalty at the end of the first period which carried over into the second, and The Rookies capitalized with a hard slap-shot from Kevin Lee. But once again The Dream Team didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take long to rally back, scoring thrice before The Rookiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Paul Peca scored past goaltender Erica Boyes. Andrew Ramos and Eric Vogl then completed their hat tricks for The Dream Team as they went on to trounce The Rookies 10-3. Scoring Leaders Player Team Goals Assists A. Ramos R.V.D.T 12 10 E. Vogl R.V.D.T 10 2 J. Smits R.V.D.T 6 4 E. Carteciano War Pigs 6 3 M. Coccia R.V.D.T 5 4

TP 22 12 10 9 9

GP 2 2 2 2 2

Standings Teams RON VOGL DREAM TEAM ROOKIES WAR PIGS FREE AGENTS

Points 6 5 4 1

W 2 1 1 0

L 0 2 1 1

T 0 0 0 0

Raptors Jermaine Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal and Jose Calderon have different roles this season, but both are imperative MATTHEW LONGMORE

The Toronto Raptors are one of the most talked-about teams in the NBA this season with their well-needed facelift this past summer. All credit is due to GM Bryan Colangelo and his blockbuster trade on July 9, shipping point guard T.J. Ford, centre Rasho Nesterovic, and third-string centre Maceo Baston to the Indiana Pacers for six-time all star centre Jermaine Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal. With this trade, the infamous point guard dilemma which has plagued the Raptors the last two seasons was crossed out. With Ford out of the picture, Jose Calderon can now be assured of taking charge from the backcourt. In the 2008 playoffs, they struggled against the Orlando Magic with poor low-post presence. Magicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centre Dwight Howard practically beat the Raptors by himself, averaging 22.6 points per game (ppg), 18.2 rebounds and 3.8 blocks a game, allowing the Raptors to only win one game in the series. After that, the plan was set to use Ford as bait in order to find someone

that can play under the rim. We should ask the question though, how will losing the quickest man on the court affect the Raptors? During the past two seasons, Ford made some careless decisions with the basketball, not to mention one-too-many out-of-bound passes and selfish one-onone drives. However, he also averaged 12.1 ppg and 6.1 assists per game under 23.5 minutes. With his quick dribble, spot-on-the-dime pivots, lightning speed and accurate bounce passes, he was often a nightmare for opposing teams, and some would argue, the only player who performed well in the playoffs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m at right now in my NBA career, I consider myself a starter, and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see myself coming off the bench for eighty-two games,â&#x20AC;? Ford said to Toronto media just after his trade to the Pacers. Ford has a point, and will almost certainly start in place of point guard Jamaal Tinsley for Indiana. Going back to the Raptors, Calderon, Bosh and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal are the new â&#x20AC;&#x153;Big Three,â&#x20AC;? and fans are expecting â&#x20AC;&#x153;Generalâ&#x20AC;? Calderon to lead his team to the conference finals. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;twin towers,â&#x20AC;? Bosh and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal, will undoubtedly provide the defensive presence the Raptors

need â&#x20AC;&#x201C; reminds you of the San Antonio Spursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; towering duo of David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Despite their size, Bosh and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal can shoot both in the perimeter and in the paint, and take it to the net with agility and athletic ability. The big worry then is whether Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal can stay healthy. With his aggravating knee on the radar, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal missed 122 games in the past four years. However, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still confident about his presence on the court. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I feel good, I feel strong. I still have work to do, but the knee is healthy, no swelling, no problems,â&#x20AC;? said Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neal to Raptors TV. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have no doubt that this will be a healthy year for me, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to play a majority of the games.â&#x20AC;? Well if that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen, all hope will rest on Calderon and Bosh. This will be the first time Calderon is solely depended on. Will he step up? Calderon, a Spanish international, does have two medals from international play. He also held the highest assist-toturnover ratio (5.38) last season, all with little playing time. At twenty-seven years, Calderon is in his prime right now and should produce a little more than heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performing. This undoubtedly, will be his make-or-break season.

MMPA

Master of Management & Professional Accounting

t %FTJHOFE QSJNBSJMZ GPS OPO CVTJOFTT VOEFSHSBEVBUFT t 'PS DBSFFST JO .BOBHFNFOU 'JOBODF BOE "DDPVOUJOH t &YUSFNFMZ IJHI DP PQ BOE QFSNBOFOU QMBDFNFOU 5P MFBSO NPSF BCPVU UIF ..1" 1SPHSBN BUUFOE PVS JOGPSNBUJPO TFTTJPOT Tuesday, October 30, 2008 11:00 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1:00 pm Room SE3130 South Bldg 6OJWFSTJUZ of Toronto Mississauga

www.utoronto.ca/mmpa

12 THE MEDIUM

Monday, October 27, 2008

SPORTS

A much-needed win UTM rebounds The Eagles’ Division 1 Women’s Soccer team gives the extra push for playoff induction

after first loss CHRISTOPHER SA’D

CHRISTOPHER SA’D SPORTS EDITOR

On Sunday, the UTM Eagles Division 1 women soccer team bounced back from their disappointing defeat to U of T Scarborough last week to pummel the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) 9-1 at UTM’s North Field. The win was a huge one for the Eagles as it squeezed them into the playoffs despite a largely inconsistent season. In preparation for the final rounds, coaches Rafik Hakim and Robert Brown are not looking toward any excuses this time around, and are looking to fix a couple of things before game one hits the field. “After the lost last week, we were hoping the girls would hit back and push themselves for the win,” said Brown after the game on Sunday. “They came out with more enthusiasm and quicker passes—it was great to them always pushing toward the goal.” Last week the Eagles put in a lacklustre performance in Scarborough to lose to their rivals 3-0. Determined to

fare much better this time around, the Eagles were confident and strong throughout the game against SGS, allowing their opponents manage only two shots on target the entire game. Already eliminated from playoff contention and having nothing to play for except their pride, SGS started and completed the game with only eight players on the field. Despite working hard during the opening minutes of the game, the imbalance in numbers proved too much for SGS, and by the end of the first half they trailed 6-0. Hakim and Brown are already

sending out signals on what the agenda will be during the next practice, even after the Eagles’ impressive surge. “We’re going to focus on passing and defence before next week. I thought it was weak and we want to make sure that they’re ready for the match,” explained Brown. The Eagles were not comfortable defensively, conceding a goal to SGS despite restricting them to only two goal attempts. They’ll need to come out hard and fast next week during their first playoff game if they’re to prove to the division that they’re a team to be reckoned with.

SPORTS EDITOR

UTM’s tri-campus Women’s Volleyball team took charge in a 3 sets to 1 win against the St. George White at the RAWC this past Sunday. With new teammates this year, Captain Ashley Nguyen and the team matured and released a fury of spikes to distinguish their bad start and hold high hopes for the rest of the season.

“The girls came together this game. They were positioned well and made a big effort to win the game.” - Coach Jimmy Huh

photo/Matthew Filipowich

Coaches Jimmy Huh and Yao Qu were especially disappointed after the team’s three sets to none loss last week to U of T Scarborough. The loss was an obvious lesson learned, and on Sunday the young team bounced back with blocks, volleys, and a few aced serves that not only helped out their morale but put a smile back on the faces of the coaching staff. “The team has potential to do

Rawc invites you to join in the UTM HALLOWE’ENY, TRICK OR TREAT SPOOKTACULAR October 31st 11:00 pm - 1:00 pm GYM A/B Fun and Games Free Candy Prizes and Giveaways Come and join theHallowe’en fun.

well. We might have new and younger players, but every team goes through the same transitional phase and we have to overcome it,” said Qu during the game on Sunday. “We just have to focus on playing as a team and not worry about individual performance.” This season, the team has a plan to be more of a unit and less of a group of individuals. And during Sunday’s game, that’s exactly what they did. “The girls came together this game. They were positioned well and made a big effort to win,” said Huh. “They are determined and good enough to take on the tri-campus division.” One game is nothing to brag about of course, and the coaching staff is working closely with the players to improve several facets of their play. “We don’t have anything set, but everything is going to flow, especially as a team,” said Huh. “We’ll practice and see where our talent will take us.” Their next game is on Sunday, November 2 at St. George against the St. George Blue - who are posting a 1-0 record after defeating the St. George White last weekend. This is the time for all UTM fans to come and support their friends and peers, especially for the upcoming grudge match that promises to shake the court.