Vol 42 issue 10

UTMSU axes VP part-time position An emergency resolution was passed requesting that UTSU postpone Wednesday’s meeting NICOLE DANESI NEWS EDITOR At last Thursday’s annual general meeting, more than $1.5 million worth of UTMSU assets were reported, and members voted to remove VP part-time affairs from the UTMSU executive, as well as to request that UTSU postpone its second special general meeting, slated to take place this Wednesday.

UTMSU was unable to provide attendance numbers of the meeting as of press time.

EMERGENCY RESOLUTION Prior to the start of the meeting, Division 3 UTMSU director Hashim Yussuf distributed an emergency resolution, which he moved to be added to the agenda.

Yussuf ’s motion called upon UTMSU to request UTSU to postpone its second general meeting to January 28 to deal with the ratification of a compliant board structure, among other items on

Amir Moazzami is the current VP part-time. the agenda.

“It will be hard to make sure members from UTM can make it out to the UTSU general meeting when it is so close to the UTMSU AGM,” read part of the resolu-

tion. The resolution also alleged that there was “a severe lack of accommodation for students with disabilities at the last AGM”, and called on accommodations needing to be made at the upcoming

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

special general meeting.

Currently, UTSU already has a special general meeting scheduled for January 28 to address multiple student-motioned items left unaddressed at the October 7 AGM;

the main items planned for this Wednesday’s meeting are votes to approve bylaw amendments and pass a compliant board structure, among other items on the agenda.

UTSU’s SGM comes after the union failed to ratify a board structure compliant with changes made by the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act at the union’s October 7 meeting. As previously reported by The Medium, UTSU missed the October 17 deadline to pass a compliant board structure, but is in no immediate risk of dissolving, according to legal counsel provided to UTSU. When voting to add the item to the agenda, which requires unanimous consent, UTSU VP internal and services Ryan Gomes objected, causing the motion to fail.

Yussuf brought forward the motion again later in the meeting, this time with unanimous consent, which ultimately led members to vote on the resolution.

UTMSU continued on page 2

WorkAlone launched by Campus Police UTM community can now sign out radios to stay in contact with Campus Police AGM Part Two

HIBA TRABOULSI Service changes have been implemented at UTM Campus Police Services alongside a newly launched program offered by the force.

Launched on November 9, the new WorkAlone program allows members of the UTM community to remain in contact with Campus Police through radios when they’re working alone or in an isolated area on campus.

“This program isn’t just for somebody who’s afraid of being assaulted,” said Robert Messacar, manager of the Campus Police Services at UTM, who also informed The Medium that the service is available 24/7 and students do not need to explain to campus police why they feel the need to use the service in order to take advantage of it.

UTSU is holding its second general meeting on Wednesday to pass a compliant structure for its board.

Medium News, page 3

Why newspaper exist Events at UTMSU’s AGM remind us of the important role of independent media in a democracy.

Medium Opinion, page 4

Let’s talk about sex

How to Make Love in a Canoe bluntly delivers a tour through the history of sex in Canada.

Medium Arts, page 5

HCC here to help students MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

The Campus Police WalkSafer program is now available 24/7.

"You say, ‘I would like the radio,’ and we’ll give you the radio. No questions asked,” said Messacar.

Eight radios are currently available

to sign out for the program, a number that may increase depending on demand.

Also updated by Campus Police

Services, the WalkSafer program is now available 24/7.

Police continued on page 3

HCC houses many different resources available to students to better their health during the year.

Medium Features, page 8

A trip to the glice rink MoveU crewmembers, coordinators, and volunteers transformed Gym C into a plastic polymer rink.

Medium Sports, page 11

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 11.16.2015

Bylaw amendments passed at UTMSU AGM November 5, 5:45 p.m.

Theft under $5,000 A student reported the theft of his Beats Pro headphones.

November 9, 10:18 p.m.

Motor Vehicle Accident A student noticed that a car had made contact with another car parked in P9. Both owners were contacted by Campus Police.

November 10, 3:30 p.m.

Theft under $5,000 A student reported to Campus Police that his iPhone had been stolen from the RAWC. November 10, 1:30 p.m.

Fraud A student had forgotten his debit card in the ATM in the Student

Centre. He later received a phone call from his bank asking about transactions that were deemed fraudulent. The transactions were blocked by the bank.

November 10, 9:10 p.m.

Unauthorized Activities Campus Police received reports of students conducting a social experiment in the stairway. A student faked falling to see who would stop and help. Another student filmed the event.

November 11, 12:30 p.m.

Trespass to Property Act RAWC staff reported a that student who entered the gym had used his friend’s card for entry. The student had forgotten his card at home.

Both students were cautioned.

These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.

Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.

UTM remembers with a moment of silence

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

Ceremony cut short after Campus Police manager falls ill.

AMANDA BORTHWICK

Faculty, students, and members of the community came together on the steps of Davis to pay their respects during Wednesday’s Remembrance Day ceremony.

“We live in an open society with a great deal of freedom and democracy, but in this society there is also the opportunity to become complacent,” said acting VP and UTM principal Ulrich Krull, who addressed the crowd during the ceremony. “[Freedom] isn’t something that is a natural consequence of being in Canada. It is something that has been fought for by those before us […] we need to appreciate this,” he said.

Calling the ceremony to order was manager of Campus Police Services Rob Messacar, who made opening remarks discussing the significance of gathering as a community to show gratitude to and pride for those who helped establish the rights and freedoms Canadians have today. Closing remarks of the ceremony were

cut short when Messacar passed out and collapsed. Soon after, Messacar regained consciousness and was assisted by UTM’s emergency response team, ECSpeRT. Regor Abuloc, a UTM student and member of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserves at HMCS York, recited “In Flanders Fields” while “The Last Post” was played as UTM police services lowered the Canadian and provincial flags to half-mast.

Professor Scott Munro played “The Lament” on his bagpipes while Krull and ECSpeRT laid wreaths by the flagpole.

Those in attendance included Officer Cadet Zeeshan Macklai of the Governor Generals Horse Guard, who shared what he reflected on during the two minutes of observed silence.

“I reflected on all of our fallen comrades and what they have sacrificed so that we can walk freely here. I think about how proud I am to be Canadian,” he said. “Freedom isn’t free. It’s not free at all.”

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

UTMSU financials reported $1.5 million worth of assets.

UTMSU continued from Cover Shortly thereafter, Gomes apologized for his original objection to adding the resolution to the agenda, calling it a mistake.

“I didn’t realize that the motion required unanimous consent,” said Gomes. “At the end of the day, this is a decision of Mississauga students and you all have the right to debate it and vote on it”.

According to Gomes, UTSU scheduled the meeting to be held on November 18, as that is the week the UTSU AGM is usually held, but was bumped up to early October this year.

“We’ve actually had discussions about this with UTMSU executives,” said Gomes. “As it stands right now, we don’t believe in changing the date of the AGM.” BYLAW AMENDMENTS PASS Passed by a unanimous vote at the AGM, UTMSU removed the VP part-time affairs position from the union’s executive as of May 1, 2016.

"We didn't feel like the position is needed anymore," said UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe.

Also voicing support for the change was UTMSU’s current VP part-time affairs, Amir Moazzami.

“All of the things that VP parttime does can be done by the rest of the executive team,” said Moazzami. “[The change is] a good thing”.

As previously reported by The Medium, the removal of the position would result in UTMSU hiring two coordinators—a mature students coordinator and part-time students coordinator—to help reallocate work typically conducted by the VP part-time affairs.

Also present to support the removal of the position was Richie Pyne, VP internal at the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students downtown.

“On behalf of APUS, we support the bylaw changes being made,” said Pyne.

UTMSU FINANCES The financial audit passed at the AGM reported $1.5 million worth of assets retained by the union, up from UTMSU’s $1.1 million assets in 2014.

The financial statements report no

cash listed under the 2015 list of assets and a bank overdraft of $39,276.

In 2014, UTMSU retained $5,286 in cash with no reported overdraft.

UTMSU VP internal and services Francesco Otello-DeLuca also reported a raise in UTMSU staff wages from $12 to $13 an hour effective January 2016.

As of April 30, 2015, UTMSU accounted for $186,498 spent on frosh week orientation, up from the $152,979 spent in 2014. Revenue from ministries, the graduation formal, and orientation totalled $345,837, while expenditures for the three line items totalled $382,768, leaving UTMSU in a $36,931 deficit in social activities and planning.

Finances as of the same date report that the Blind Duck ran a deficit of $32,917, with sales reaching $427,343.

With regards to academic societies, $48,504 of an available revenue of $65,634 was allocated to 20 societies on campus leaving $17,130 unspent. Expensing $6,976, the Undergraduate Commerce Society led the pack with the largest amount spent.

Following the approval of UTMSU’s audited financial statements, Charles Havill Chartered Accountants were reappointed as UTMSU’s auditors.

PRESS RESTRICTIONS In an email sent to The Medium several hours prior to the meeting, UTMSU executive director Walied Khogali informed The Medium that no audio or visual recordings were to take place during the meeting and photographs were to only be taken by UTMSU staff.

“With regards to video footage and audio recordings, please note that we received complaints in the past of photographs and videos being taped without the consent of our members,” wrote Khogali. “To promote participation at the annual general meeting, we restricted the use of those devices at the meeting to UTMSU staff, who must seek consent from participants before photos are published.”

“Students will be sharing their experiences, which can be sensitive.

We hope that you and others will respect the wishes of UTM students

that want to participate at the meeting, without fear of being reported on without their consent,” Khogali continued. “Staff of The Medium or other publications can choose to record students that voluntarily participate in the interview after the meeting is concluded.”

At the meeting, Agbeyegbe said that photographs could be taken during the meeting after those in attendance were asked to self-identify if they did not want to be photographed.

PARKING PROBLEMS A student identified as “Dwayne” approached the mic during the portion of the agenda designated as “Other Business” to discuss parking costs on campus.

“I feel like there needs to be better regulation on the prices as it concerns parking,” said Dwayne. “I find parking prices to be way too expensive on campus.”

In response, Moazzami encouraged students to send all concerns to UTM’s chief administrative officer, Paul Donoghue.

“F— it, just email him,” said Moazzami referring to Donoghue.

“Email him and call him and let him know that these parking fees are pretty ridiculous.”

Khogali proceeded to pull Donoghue’s contact information up on the projector.

TRANS ISSUES RAISED UTMSU LGBTQ coordinator Jasbina Sekhon discussed issues related to trans and gender-diverse students at UTM. “Students aren’t being served the way that they could be served,” said Sekhon, who also identified past issues related to transphobia at the university level and within UTMSU. “Trans and gender-diverse students are an independent group that need addressing. This is a very real issue.”

SYRIAN WUSC STUDENT VP external Naveed Ahmed announced that UTMSU will sponsor a second refugee student through the World University Service of Canada program. The student, who will be from Syria, will be sponsored in January 2016.

11.16.2015 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Part two of AGM this week UTSU to vote on bylaw amendments and board structure

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»HAVE YOU USED THE CAMPUS

POLICE WALKSAFER PROGRAM?

Verda Saqib 3rd year, psych/crim

Sheheryar Hamza 1st year, computer science

No. I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never had the chance to use it.

I’ve never heard about it.

Ibad Haider 1st year, computer science

Ashley Jagdat 4th year, commerce

I feel safer at night.

I haven’t and I don’t really stay that late.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

The UTSU second general meeting will take place on Wednesday at OISE.

MENNA ELNAKA ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR UTSU has made changes to the board structure proposal, to be voted on at its special general meeting this Wednesday.

At UTSU’s annual general meeting on October 7, members voted in favour of a board structure proposed by two UTSU directors, but failed to ratify the structure in a follow-up vote requiring a twothirds majority.

UTSU must make changes to its board of directors in order to comply with changes made to the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The proposal elected at the October meeting was put forward by Khrystyna Zhuk and Daman Singh and included six appointed equity directors responsible for racial, transgender, LGBTQ, indigenous, disability, and women’s issues. The proposal also introduced a clause that mandates VP equity candidates to run independently rather than as part of a slate.

UTSU president Ben Coleman said in an email to The Medium that among the changes to the Zhuk/Singh proposal following the AGM are that more equity directors have been added, such as for poverty issues, and that a “certain number of the interviewed equity directors [would] be from

UTM […] to ensure a fair balance between campuses”.

Coleman also said that the VP professional faculties no longer has to be a part-time student, unlike the UTSU executives, so that students “in rigid programs” could be part of the UTSU executive.

Other changes to the proposal include the addition of two commissioners for international student affairs and mental wellness initiatives. It is also proposed that the Toronto School of Theology

“I know not all UTSU members have the capacity to participate in multiple general meetings in a semester.”

—Madina Siddiqui Round Table be recognized as a student society.

UTSU members, which includes all full-time UTM students, will vote on the revised proposal at Wednesday’s meeting. As previously reported by The Medium, the Zhuk/Singh proposal failed to reach a two-thirds majority at the AGM, with a vote count of 563 to 455.

“I think students will respond well to the proposal, as it is based

on a large amount of consultation and the successfully elected Zhuk/ Singh proposal from the last meeting,” said Coleman.

However, some concerns were brought up in a petition by Madina Siddiqui, the Afghani Students’ Association president at St. George, calling to postpone Wednesday’s general meeting until next semester.

“As a full-time student who commutes, works two jobs, and who is the president of a student club, I know not all UTSU members have the capacity to participate in multiple general meetings in a semester,” said Siddiqui.

According to Siddiqui, 500 students have signed the petition to postpone the meeting. “There was short notice for this meeting and it’s bad timing for a lot of students,” she mentioned.

Siddiqui also called on UTSU executives to consider the students’ needs and instead come back in 2016 with a completely new proposal.

“They need to prioritize the motions put forward by students on issues such as sexual violence and anti-black racism,” she added.

The special general meeting is expected to take place on Wednesday at the OISE auditorium from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m.

WalkSafer program “underutilized” The safety program allows members of the UTM community to be escorted to their destination on campus by campus police staff free of charge.

“It’s definitely underutilized,” said Messacar of the WalkSafer service.

“We don’t want people to think that if it’s not 3 o’clock in the morning, [they] shouldn’t be using this service,” said Messacar.

According to Messacar, Campus Police Services faces difficulties spreading the word about the WalkSafer program.

“We’re in an environment where it’s hard to tell people about things because everyone is so inundated with

all the different information,” said Messacar. “Many times I give safety presentations and people would say this is the first time that [they’re] hearing about it.”

Also new are Campus Police vehicles purchased to act as patrol cars and assist with incidents on campus such as emergencies.

“If an ambulance for example comes on campus, then what will happen is that one officer will go to assist the person that needs the ambulance and the other officer will go to the entrance and bring the ambulance to where the person is,” said Messacar. “We want to get them to where they want to go as quickly as possible.”

Police continued from Cover

Fugitive on the loose following Paris terrorist attacks killing 129

SIU investigating after Mississauga man is shot

Thousands line streets for 111th Toronto Santa Claus Parade

Amazon removes self-published book by notorious serial killer

Hearing postponed once again in drunk driving case

French authories released a photo of one wanted fugitive in Friday’s terrorist attacks, which killed 129 in Paris, France. Salah Abdeslam, 26, is considered highly dangerous and is known to have been at the Bataclan club, where 89 people were killed.

Since the attacks, ISIS has claimed responsibility for orchestrating the killings.

The SIU is investigating a shooting that involved Peel Police. A 26 year old man was shot on Saturday near Dixie and Burnhamthorpe Road. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

The 111th Toronto Santa Claus Parade was held on Sunday, drawing thousands along the streets of downtown Toronto. The route stretched from Christie Pits down to the St. Lawrence Market. Mayor John Tory joined the parade route, which ended with Santa Claus making an appearance.

Amazon has removed a self-published book authored by Paul Bernardo, one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers. Bernardo’s book, A Mad World Order, is a fictional e-book that received wide criticism from consumers threatening to boycott the company.

The bail hearing for Michael Muzzo, 29, has been delayed once again and scheduled for November 26. Muzzo is facing drunk driving charges after being involved in a crash that killed three children and their grandfather on September 27 in Vaughan. The crash left two others passengers seriously injured.

Source: Toronto Star

Source: Toronto Star

Source: Toronto Star

Source: The Canadian Press

Source: The Canadian Press

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11.16.2015

MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Maria Iqbal editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Maria Cruz managing@themedium.ca News Nicole Danesi news@themedium.ca A&E Kate Cattell-Daniels arts@themedium.ca Features Farah Qaiser features@themedium.ca Sports Eric Hewitson sports@themedium.ca — Photo Mahmoud Sarouji photos@themedium.ca Design Sarah Yassine design@themedium.ca Copy Akshaya Sharma copy@themedium.ca Online & Blog Corey Belford Kimberly Johnson blog@themedium.ca online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Menna Elnaka A&E Hailey Mason Features Mahnoor Ayub Sports Daniel Bilyk Photo Christy Tam Copy Farah Khan Maleeha Iqbal GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Luke Sawczak web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Alex Ciesielczuk distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca BOARD OF DIRECTORS Maryam Faisal, Jeremy Wu, Leo Jiang, Natalia Ramnarine, Rebecca Xu, Saima Khan (ex-officio), Christine Capewell (ex-officio) COPYRIGHTS All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, and cannot be used without written consent.

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Our mandate as a newspaper Independent media is key to democracy and there’s no room for compromise Last week, we commemorated Remembrance Day and reflected on the role of freedom and democracy in our society.

These are big concepts, but certainly important ones, especially when taken into consideration with the role that independent media play in a democracy. We need people to ask our elected representatives about their policies and hold them accountable for their actions.

Of course, people won’t always like the questions they are asked. It doesn’t matter, so long as we have the right to ask them, because as Justin Trudeau said days before his election, journalists “ask tough questions and they’re supposed to”.

As noted in our cover story of UTMSU’s annual general meeting last Thursday, some UTMSU representatives tried to restrict The Medium from recording the event and taking photos. It’s not the first time it’s happened, and I don’t anticipate it being the last time, so that’s why I felt it was worth bringing up.

For starters, let’s discuss audio recordings. UTMSU is legally required to hold an annual general meeting open to all its members. UTMSU takes official minutes of the meeting and posts them online after the minutes are approved at the following year’s AGM. The campus media (us), and The Varsity in recent years,

attend and cover the meeting. We provide independent coverage of the event immediately after it takes place, so students have a record of what happened without having to wait another year for it.

Much like how it’s important for independent media to follow what’s taking place within the government, the campus media such as The Medium and The Varsity are important resources for providing independent coverage of the student government.

As campus media, we appreciate being left alone to do our jobs because our mandate is too important to waste on petty disputes.

As to the question of “sensitive” issues and confidentiality, it’s hard to imagine anything being said in a mic in front of 100 students to be left secret for long. In fact, I’d imagine that the whole point of speaking up in such a setting would be to raise awareness about certain issues, not hide them.

But if we’re going to get into the nitty-gritty of it all, let me just say this about journalism: during an interview, it is understood that what-

ever an interviewee says is publishable. The exception is when both the reporter and the interviewee agree to go “off-record”.

That this is a mutual agreement is key; if “off-record” was a written contract, the interviewee offers information to the reporter on the condition that the reporter agrees to not publish it. The reporter must agree to not report on the information, otherwise the interviewee doesn’t say anything.

So, as far as I’m concerned, a meeting that is open to all UTM students, various campus media, and even guests from UTM and beyond, is both public and on-record. (So yes, we recorded the meeting.)

We also took photos, although initially, the message we received was that UTMSU was restricting photography to its own staff. After listening to UTMSU’s concerns about students not wishing to be photographed, we insisted on taking photos under the same terms that UTMSU staff could take photos.

In other words, we didn’t take photos of anyone who raised their hand at the beginning of the meeting to indicate that they did not wish to have their photo taken.

Although it worked out for us in the end, the debate with UTMSU prior to the meeting about our rights as campus media was quite unnecessary. And it was unnecessary last

year and even before then.

Like I said before, campus media are essential to a functioning democracy. We appreciate being left alone to do our jobs because frankly, our mandate is too important to waste time on petty disputes.

I hope in the future UTMSU and all leaders respect this.

YOURS, MARIA IQBAL

CORRECTION NOTICE The Nov. 10 article “Self-publishing: the road less travelled” misspelled Demetra Dimokopoulos’ last name. The photo that originally accompanied the article “History is more than just names and dates” was not of Professor Smith. The correct photo has been reprinted below (Credit: UTM.UTORONTO.CA/HISTORICAL-STUDIES/PHOTO).

11.16.2015

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Let’s talk about sex in a canoe, baby Third-year class shamelessly tackles the history of sex in Canada, leaving nothing unsaid KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR You can argue that all actors are exhibitionists. By that logic, I suppose that anyone who goes to the theatre is automatically a voyeur.

I’ll say this about the Theatre Erindale Collective as a genre: they can’t be compared to “normal plays”. They can barely even be compared to other collectives, and I’ve seen a lot of them.

Some follow linear plots with a mostly realistic premise, others are episodic and tangential, and still others are not “plays” in the traditional sense of the word—they are experiments in movement and voice.

Director Melissa-Jane Shaw writes, “While what you watch is largely a sketch-comedy style variety show, there is also some heavy and contentious material as well.” And that about sums it up. How to Make Love in a Canoe is smart, funny, fast-paced, and educational, but also deeply touching.

In 1967, Pierre Trudeau, then justice minister, said, “There’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.” But you know what does have a place in those bedrooms? The theatre. In fact, the theatre gets into people’s bedrooms (and canoes) with a vengeance. Everything, and I mean everything, gets air time in this show.

Gay sex, lesbian sex, transgender his-

THEATRE ERINDALE/PHOTO

Theatre Erindale explores risqué material with their latest show. tory, transgender artists, abortion, political scandals, the new sex-ed curriculum, and guest appearances

by Rob Ford, Pierre Trudeau, Justin Trudeau, Kathleen Wynne, and Margaret Atwood, among many, many others.

I realize that on paper this all sounds like chaos. And in a way, it is. But it’s a productive chaos. I ap-

preciated that the show happens in thematic rather than chronological order. This kind of setup works because chronology kind of doesn’t matter. There were revolutionaries in every age. It’s just a question of seeking them out.

Because a collective is always based on a book (in this case, How to Make Love in a Canoe by Jeff Pearce), and

that book is generally speaking about Canadian history, it can be a challenge to get contemporary material onstage. Here, there were, of course, characters from hundreds of years ago, but the vast majority of the play takes place post-1950. Establishing who everyone is in the period drama version can be time-consuming and repetitive. It was refreshing to be able

to have Rob Ford, for instance, walk onstage and for everyone in the audience to know who he is and what he is responsible for without a requisite 10-minute explanation.

Furthermore, it is common practice in theatre schools everywhere to have reams of women playing men in puffy Elizabethan pants. This is a simple math problem: well over 50 percent of the demographic that attends theatre school is female, and well over 50 percent of the characters in period plays are male. Because of this, it has become customary for women to play men, and it’s not really a surprise. Men playing women, though, is always a punch line. How to Make Love in a Canoe turns all of that on its head. Nearly everyone in the cast bounces back and forth along the gender spectrum incessantly, and sometimes it’s funny, but not always.

Jokes are not the goal.

How to Make Love in a Canoe is, I suppose, biased in the way that most theatre these days is. It’s obvious where this third-year class stands: they are, at least as far as I can see, left-wing, feminist, allied, and opinionated. There’s a chance that some audience members will be offended.

But the class makes its point in the segment on censorship: no one’s forcing you to look.

We’re not all cut from the same cardboard Young artists embrace their individuality though class assignments on display at Sheridan College HAILEY MASON ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR The Gallery at Sheridan College welcomed students and faculty last Thursday evening for the opening of its current exhibition, Project Project. The exhibition features studio work by first- and second-year Sheridan and UTM art and art history students. The art on display includes samples from the six subdisciplines of the program: drawing, painting, sculpting, print media, design, and photography.

The joint art and art history program between Sheridan and UTM offers students both academic and applied studio work. Students participate in art history courses at UTM and studio art courses at Sheridan. Project Project is a display of student assignments completed this semester. The exhibition is a project on projects, hence its title.

The bright gallery features paintings, photography, and print media hanging on the walls and drawings, design pieces, and sculptures resting on pedestals. I was particularly

HAILEY MASON/THE MEDIUM

Art and art history students show off their talent in the show Project Project. impressed with Bushra Din and Kate Shen’s piece—an egg, slightly smaller than a football, made entirely of eggshells. For this design project, students were asked to take an object and, through means of

transformation or repurposing, reinvent its function and conceptual meaning. The makeshift egg sits in a nest with light glowing from the inside out. The piece achieves a stunning effect as light seeps from

the cracks where fragments of eggshell meet. The egg glowed among other design projects, including a crystal made from shards of CDs and a tower-shaped composition of drinking straws.

On the opposite end of the gallery sits a collection of cardboard sculptures. For this sculpting project, students were asked to examine a common household object and replicate its design using cardboard.

The pieces include a hammer, fork, toy truck, spray bottle, mechanical pencil, lighter, pepper grinder, nightlight, puffer, hair straightener, Lego man, headphones, and a USB stick. The sculptures are large— some at least several feet long—and immediately caught my attention as I walked into the Gallery. As someone who has a hard time cutting open the flaps of cardboard boxes, I was amazed with what students were capable of creating with such a difficult material. The coordinator of Project Project, Jay Wilson, describes the exhibition as a “teachable moment” for art and art history students. As a professor of design at Sheridan, Wilson teaches design courses to first- and thirdyear students.

Gallery continued on page 6

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THE MEDIUM 11.16.2015

Poetry not just for pros UTM students take the mic at this year’s first poetry slam

REWIND DANIEL GILLO

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

Slam and Chill event showcased performance art from across campus.

ADELAIDE ATTARD

Hosted by the English and Drama Student Society and the UTM Drama Club, UTM’s first slam poetry event this year was held at the Blind Duck on Friday. The pub was filled with actors and poets alike.

Corey Belford, the event’s MC, kept the show running smoothly with a series of jokes and friendly interactions with the performers.

Special guest Matt Miller, formerly known as “Lip Balm” from Mississauga’s own “We Flip Tables” slam poetry club, also made an appearance and blew the audience away with his compelling poem about the troubles that come with choosing one’s path in life.

Performers took to the stage and recited personal and published poetry as well as monologues from their favourite movies. With 80 people present, Slam and Chill was intimate yet still full of energy.

The audience was loyal to the performers and everyone stayed until the end. Judges Siddharth Singh, president of EDSS, and Khira Wieting, president of UTMDC, were to announce a poetry winner and a monologue winner at the end of all the performances, which served as

an incentive for audience members to stick around.

Since the event was held at the Blind Duck, EDSS had to share the space with other clubs that occupied other areas of the Student Centre. It sounded like there was a Harry Potter convention going on in the next room, as loud booms and epic music from The Prisoner of Azkaban made it difficult to hear some of the performers.

Performers took to the stage and recited personal and published poetry as well as monologues from their favourite movies.

While it would seem that an event like this one would primarily attract students from the humanities, Slam and Chill in fact hosted artists from many different majors, even biology and criminology. The Blind Duck provided wings, pizza, deep-fried KD, and samosas during breaks between sets.

I was moved by Tobi Ogude’s series of personal poems discussing religion, race, and intimacy. Ogude’s

raw execution and impressive memorization made his set extremely memorable. Jillian Robinson performed a poetry recitation with Lucy Morgan about falling in love and the importance of protecting the inner and outer body. The piece was particularly powerful as both performers were in sync throughout.

The last performer of the night, Amira Dirie, presented a poem about her African descent, and how her background comes to the fore in social situations. Dirie’s flawlessly memorized poem discussed race, the colour of her skin, and self-image. Dirie won a cash prize for the poetry segment after a standing ovation and a sea of both applause and snaps. The winner of the monologue segment was Jillian Robinson, who recited a piece from the perspective of a woman struggling with her marriage and her husband’s desire to have a child.

It is clear that the EDSS put in a lot of work to make the event happen: the society started promoting well in advance, they were organized, and there was food. Whether read from a book, memorized, original, borrowed, or performed with a friend, the pieces performed at the slam event contributed to the small yet successful event.

It’s 1974 in New York City. Four armed men hijack the first car of a subway train and demand that the city pay one million dollars within one hour, or they will kill one hostage for every minute the money is late. This nostalgic flashback isn’t your average ’70s thriller—it’s above the flood of gore and aggression that fuels most of those films. Rather, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three relies mostly on dialogue and good characters to build and maintain suspense.

The film plays more or less in real time, following the hijackers through the subway, the members of the mayor’s office deciding if they should pay the ransom, and the transit police trying to foil the hijackers’ escape. All the characters other than the leader of the hijackers have that New York attitude where they openly speak their mind, try to keep appointments, and have sarcasm ready if anything gets in their way. The hijackers keep an air of mystery as they are all coloured a different shade of evil and each has his own personality.

The suspense is carried mostly between “Mr. Blue” (Robert Shaw), the leader of the hijackers, and Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) of the transit police. Lt. Garber uses sarcasm and his wits to draw out the deadline for the money delivery while Mr. Blue uses his firm militaristic command of the situation to keep the city on his schedule. The picture doesn’t rely on explosive action scenes to maintain suspense; the mandatory death toll and the climac-

tic finish are merely consequences of character-driven drama.

What makes this film addicting until the end is the power of information. The viewer is spoon-fed tension and drama throughout, while having a god-like overview of all the action. Because of this dramatic irony, we know what everyone looks like, we know where they are headed, and if two parties are going to clash soon. We are also present whenever a major decision is being made. But even with all that information we are not told the key mystery that

It’s 1974 in New York City. Four armed men hijack the first car of a subway train and demand that the city pay one million dollars. stretches throughout the film: how do the hijackers plan to escape? As far as anyone knows, they’re stuck in a tunnel with no exits.

To me, Pelham is nearly perfect.

The cast is solid, screenplay is good, there is character drama, the score is powerful and fast, the tension and suspense are constant, there’s mystery, the pretext is simple, and the cinematography is an obvious strength. That being said, it doesn’t have a moral and feels a tad repetitive at times. Nonetheless, the film is, by today’s standards, very colourful and gritty and remains a hidden gem within the great films of the 1970s.

MMMMM

Students’ work speaks from across the room Gallery continued from page 6

Wilson explains that student projects, such as the ones on display, are “about [the students] harnessing their own vision—about them figuring out what their own aesthetic is and also what their conceptual concerns are for the content of their work. It’s important to let them do what interests them”.

Project Project displays roughly one-third of the art and art history students’ studio work from this semester. The reason for this, Wilson explains, is unity. When putting the exhibition together, the coordinator needs to consider how each of the pieces will complement each other. Often a group of similar art pieces will look good together, while others tend to be more impactful on their own.

Jamie Owen, the Gallery installation designer, is responsible for the design and placement of art featured in the Gallery. “He’s the

unsung hero,” Wilson explains.

“He has this amazing way of telling a story with the way he positions art and coordinates one piece with another.

“The paintings speak across the room to one another, the sculptures are placed apart from one another, and this is first time I’ve seen him put a seating area in our show. There’s a lot of work in here, but he still manages to have places for your eyes to rest.”

When asked what the audience should take into consideration when visiting Project Project, Wilson remarks, “[The art and art history] program is a small program, but we’re like a big family.

The more people we can get in here, the better, because we want to inspire our students. We hope that people come in here and notice the skill level and also the conceptual understanding [of the artwork].”

Project Project will be on display in the Gallery until November 20.

11.16.2015 THE MEDIUM ARTS» 7

When the finals hit home Alternative coping methods arrive in the form of crafts

ANDREW PLUMMER

I was five years old when an iron bird tore through the sky on February 1, 2003. Later that evening, CNN announced that the Space Shuttle Columbia had been incinerated on its return to Earth’s atmosphere, and they were sorry to inform viewers that the seven crewmembers onboard had been killed. An investigation into the destruction of the spacecraft revealed that damage to the shuttle had been caused by foam insulation debris.

According to Soc+, the SOC100 textbook, the person who led the meetings prior to Columbia’s launch was confident that the space shuttle could not be damaged by foam insulation debris, despite the concerns raised by an engineer. Although the leader’s knowledge regarding space shuttles more than likely relied on the cartoon Rescue Heroes, the other engineers present at the meeting quickly fell in line with their leader’s decision.

Nine years later, when sociologists Robert Brym and John Lie published Soc+, they explained the disaster as an example of “groupthink”. They defined the term as “group pressure to perform despite individual misgivings”. However, I think I prefer our Neolithic ancestors’ definition of the term, and although some words may have been lost in translation, I am confident that the gist of it still

remains—monkey see, monkey do.

It is my opinion that we can find a moment for education in even the bleakest of situations. In the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, we were shown a rather subordinate aspect of the human consciousness—the “groupthink effect”—and how difficult it is to resist it. Difficult, but not impossible.

My advice is to begin your own revolution and even name it a “movement” if you prefer. By this I do not mean that we should mimic the way of Lenin and disrupt some political hierarchy—no, not at all. There are revolutions that must take place

It is my opinion that we can find a moment for education in even the bleakest of situations. on much smaller scales as well. Has your group of friends chosen to yell hate speech through a megaphone?

Revolt! Is your class teasing a young boy who shares an unfortunate likeness to Ruckus from The Boondocks?

Revolt! Are people still listening to Justin Bieber? Revolt!

So, what exactly am I learning in my first-year sociology class? Free speech is tattooed on your tongue.

Do not allow a group to force you to bite down on it.

Get Crafty provides stress relief for students.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITORS Therapy dogs? Been there. Stress eating? Done that. Crafts? It’s not the first thing that came to mind, is it?

Everyone has their own ways of coping with stress. Some people watch Disney movies, or play video games, or go for 10-km runs. But I think I’ve just landed on my personal favourite—almost entirely by accident.

Having recently started my master’s at St. George, I decided it was my duty to figure out what students do over there. While browsing through copies of The Newspaper, The Varsity, and The Toike Oike at the Hub in Hart House, I picked up a postcard advertising something called “Get Crafty”.

It starts at 11 a.m. on Thursdays, which is not exactly early but kind of is when you live in Etobicoke like I

do. So I corralled my friend Brittany Miranda (a 2015 UTM grad) and asked her to come along.

The day’s activity was button-making. We arrived in the Reading Room and two long tables were strewn with different kinds of paper, stickers, colourful tape, magazines, and glue sticks. We took seats and got started.

The lovely thing about crafts, for me, is that they make the rest of the world disappear. This probably doesn’t work for everyone, but at least for me, cut ’n’ paste is a lot like meditation. It was also fun to do a craft I couldn’t do at home; I don’t have a button-maker kicking around like Hart House apparently does. And, unlike my trip to the Gardiner Museum clay classes, there’s absolutely no pressure to be artistically competent.

If you can use a pair of scissors and a glue stick, you’re set.

But most importantly, it forced

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

Miranda and me to sit down and have a conversation, something that we don’t do that often since leaving UTM. It’s nice because there are gaps in our conversation where we both just quietly stick little pieces of paper together and listen to the hubbub in the Harry Potter-esque Reading Room. Get Crafty is a pretty popular event, although I’m not sure how many people show up to have tea and granola bars and end up making crafts by chance.

Incidentally, Hart House has partnered in their Get Crafty endeavours with UTM, where a similar event is hosted every other Thursday at the library. And, like Hart House, it’s free to attend and all materials are provided. The other advantage is that there’s no obligation to show up every week, or be there by a certain time. It’s a social activity without the constraints of yet another class or club meeting.

Exploring the world of online art shows Online gallery opens debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages of virtual artwork KEENA AL-WAHAIDI STAFF WRITER WITH NOTES FROM KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR There’s something marvelous about having a day off, no plans, and the option of deciding to stroll over to the nearest museum you can find.

Because what better way is there to spend your leisure time than to tuck yourself into a peaceful, quiet gallery while the outside world hustles and bustles?

There are two options when it comes to staring at artwork for hours.

First, there are tons of galleries in Toronto and in the GTA that offer pretty impressive collections. Any art lover’s thirst will be fulfilled almost immediately.

The second option is that many museums now allow viewers to take a virtual journey of their collections, allowing access to nearly the entire collection online. Museums and galleries offer a glimpse of pieces in their exhibits and also compile entire databases of images. But is that enough?

I find that I usually head on over to museum websites when I want to check out what kind of pieces they of-

HTTP://MISSISSAUGAART.PASTPERFECT-ONLINE.COM/40467CGI/PHOTO

Is being able to look at art online an advantage or disadvantage? fer, or if I’m just curious about what they have to say about a certain piece of art. However, I’m not sure I’m really much of a fan of exclusively experiencing art on a website.

The Art Gallery of Mississauga has a pretty extensive online list of works featured at the museum, which is located right beside Square One. I have found that a few pieces on the online site have worked to the

pieces’ advantages, and some have not. For example, the website features George Watkins’s painting of the Sheridan Park United Church. I found that a painting like this one does not lose its artistic value online. Looking at a good-quality photograph of this painting is much the same as experiencing it in its physical form, chiefly because this painting is not particularly textured. It is quite a beautiful

painting, but a watercolour like this one exists in two dimensions regardless of where or how it is viewed.

In contrast to Sheridan Park United Church, Four Maidens Watching by Drutz Selznick doesn’t work as well online. It is highly detailed, and the already distorted perspective would be more impactful when seen in real life. It’s the kind of painting I want to be in a room with so that I can see it

up close and from farther away and really embrace the optical illusion qualities within the piece.

It is great to check out the website’s online gallery—it really is. With a couple of clicks, one can be introduced to various works that the museum has showcased within its gallery.

This is especially useful for research and equal access. All you really need to see the art is a computer with Internet access, which can be found at a public library if not at home. Also, these databases mean that you don’t have to live in a metropolitan area to be able to see great art.

But while scrolling through the images, I realized it would add something special if the artworks could be experienced as more than just “images”. What if they could be looked at in a way that gave a better understanding of their three-dimensional nature? Because that’s what most people are looking for when they immerse themselves into the world of art. Looking at the paintings online, it’s easy to notice that many of them have a lot of texture. A lot of feeling.

That being said, I’m not sure it’s any easier for me to explain this to you in a print newspaper article. Maybe an installation art piece would be better.

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11.16.2015

Taking care of students’ wellbeing HCC has seen 2,082 patients from May to October—about one in four students over six months MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR As the end of the semester approaches, the library’s silent study zones are not the only place on campus experiencing increased student traffic. A small—but dedicated—team of professionals and students known as the Health and Counselling Centre can be found in the basement of Davis, supporting students throughout the term and helping them get ready for the challenges of the exam season.

With an increase in outreach and promotional activities offered by the HCC’s peer health educators geared towards health education, the centre has seen 2,082 unique patients from May to October 2015. In other words, one in four students have accessed HCC’s services sometime during the last six months.

“If you have been visiting the HCC, you’ve probably seen a lot of faces,” remarks Chad Jankowski, the health education coordinator at the HCC. Jankowski further describes the increasing number of students visiting during November and the end of the semester as being perfectly aligned with the predicted student cycle.

Staffed with five part-time physicians, one part-time psychiatrist and

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The HCC operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be found in the basement of Davis. three registered nurses, the HCC operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. While most services are appointment-based, HCC professionals are equipped to provide crisis support for students in distress. Not only do the registered nurses assess and triage walk-in patients, but they are also the front-line staff you’ll encounter if you require over-the-counter medication, medical counselling, or first aid.

Students are strongly advised to book appointments by either calling

the centre or visiting in person ahead of time, as options for same-day appointments are limited. Waiting times for an appointment with a physician can vary anywhere from three days to two weeks.

“If students can’t be seen on the same day, they usually get a physician appointment within two days. As with mental health though, we triage based on urgency. So for example, we would try to give a person coming in with a urinary tract infection an ap-

pointment on the same day, whereas a two-week waiting time is likely for something non-urgent, like an annual physical,” says Jankowski.

On any given morning, the HCC accommodates a minimum of three students per physician. On a single day, physicians may accommodate a maximum of 12 students each, varying according to the nature and duration of an appointment.

The HCC has adopted a holistic approach towards student wellbeing

and offers four core services: medical care, dietetics, the continually expanding mental health care services, and health promotion and education.

Mental health support services range from counsellor-facilitated group therapy sessions and one-onone sessions to support offered by community partners, such as Interim Place. Although the wait times for personal counselling appointments do reach three to four weeks during peak periods, two “crisis” appointments are held daily for students assessed as being in distress.

Since 25 percent of all HCC visits are mental health–related, the process for providing help has been largely streamlined for efficiency and aims to provide “short-term, solutionfocused counselling and therapy sessions”.

Following an initial phone appointment, a mental health nurse serves as the first point of contact for a student coming in to seek mental health support, where the two work together to decide on future steps.

“Since there really is no right or wrong reason for a student to be seeking help, this serves as a bridging service,” describes Jankowski.

HCC continued on page 10

The “Guardians of UTM” are coming The UTM-based video game will have 12 chapters and is set to release in September 2016 ANTON MYKYTENKO “Something like this has never really been done before for a school,” says Chris Primerano, a fourth-year computer science student. Primerano is the programmer for UTM’s latest ongoing project: a complete UTMbased video game.

“There are lots of schools that have done augmented reality apps, but to create a […] gaming app, where the land is the campus, and with characters, and with an intricate storyline […] We have yet to see that,” adds Jackie Goodman, the first-year transition and academic support coordinator at UTM. The game, titled Guardians of UTM, is being developed with the help of students, members of the Office of Student Transition, and UTM professors. Players become part of the Secret Guardian Society—a group tasked with protecting the secrets of UTM. Groups are led by mascots such as The Blind Duck, Hartley the Deer, the UTM Eagle, and JimmiUTM. As players progress through the game, they must discov-

FACEBOOK.COM/OSTUTM/POSTS/PHOTO

The UTM-based video game is being modelled after puzzle-heavy games, such as Pokémon. er other SGS members and interrogate them for clues.

“It’s meant to be a tool for incoming students that will be introduced during orientation,” says Goodman.

“It’s designed to be a six-week game and [after] that period, there will be an in-person event where they’ll have to use the clues and the tools that they’ve collected in the game to

solve the puzzle.”

When designing the game, the team looked at puzzle-heavy games such as Pokémon or Zelda for inspiration since a traditional combat sys-

tem was out of the question.

“While investigating SGS, you learn more about the department that they represent and the quests and puzzles inside the story represent what the department has to offer,” says Daniel Jayasinghe, a fourthyear accounting student and a writer for the game.

The game currently only has one chapter complete (45 minutes of gameplay), but according to Goodman, most of the work is on the backend. The game is expected to have 12 chapters.

Heather Shanahan, a third-year art history specialist and the art designer for this game, explained the process behind the production, which begins with Goodman describing the structure that the game should take.

“For example, a puzzle involving ‘blank’ department on campus that teaches the students about its ‘blank’ services,” says Shanahan. “Then all five of us will usually brainstorm an overarching way of integrating this into the game in a meeting.”

Gaming continued on page 10

11.16.2015 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 9

Colman Commons (OPH) WINNING FEATURES: •Make your own smoothie bar •Overall most spacious and quiet dining area In my opinion, this place may be the most underrated space on campus to eat, hang out, or even study. Commuters may be deterred from using this space, since Colman Commons is connected to the OPH residence, but rest assured that the staff welcome all students equally. Despite spending over a year at UTM, I’ve never stepped into this dining area before now, but I will return to it frequently in the future.

PROS This dining area has the greatest variety compared to all the other food spots on campus in my opinion.

Toasted sandwiches, a customizable pasta bar, and an assortment of other items, such as burgers and fries, await at Colman Commons, not to mention an extensive assortment of desserts, snacks, and drink options.

Meals can range anywhere from $5 to $10 depending on what you’re in the mood for. The smoothie bar is a

hidden gem—you can add customizable ingredients to make your own smoothie for around $6 to $7, making it a healthier alternative to Davis’ Booster Juice.

As I wandered around Colman Commons, I was blown away by random items such as jars of Haagen Daas ice cream, frozen pizzas, a variety of teas and coffees, and breakfast options that rival your Timmies favourites, like tasty cereals and bagels.

All this wholesome food is surrounded by jumbo windows with a spectacular view of our campus woods. This spot is definitely the best dining area for its variety and quiet, calming atmosphere.

CONS While I can’t think of any cons for this location, there have been several complaints over the years. Students have previously complained about the “mediocre” quality of food present, and overpriced items. Another complaint is the long walk to Colman Common—though the walk is very scenic, so there really isn’t any reason to complain.

Sometimes the Student Centre feels a little removed from the campus.

In fact, I rarely find myself entering it. That being said, the pub is one of my new favourite spots on campus.

The food options include burgers, sandwiches, salads, the famous wings ($5 on Tuesdays), and tasty appetizers. Most of the food falls within the $6–$10 range, with the option to upgrade mains such as burgers, wings, and fish to combos with sides likes onion rings, fries, and salads for an extra $3.

PROS I had originally assumed that the prices would be high, but I was pleasantly surprised by the prices and portion sizes at the Blind Duck. The $5 Tuesday wings special attracts crowds of students and the general consensus is that the wings are amazing.

The best part about this dining area is that it feels removed from classes and is a great place to relax with friends. Another fun note is that students can play pool, making it an overall winner for best place to chill with friends and socialize.

CONS If you’re looking for quiet, this isn’t the place you’re looking for. The blender managed to go off every five minutes and sounds constantly echoed through the whole room, so pick your seat wisely.

Additionally, depending on what time you get there, you could be facing a long lineup. For lunch, your best bet is to beat the rush and get there around 11:00 or 11:30 because the line moves very slowly. After placing your order, wait times can be anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes, so this isn’t the place to grab a quick meal between classes, but rather the place to dedicate a lengthier break to.

The Duck Stop (Student Centre) WINNING FEATURE: •Cheapest snacks UTM’s freshly minted convenience store doesn’t exactly count as a food service outlet, but it does have enough inexpensive snacks to get you through a lengthy exam jam or a Netflix marathon.

PROS The Duck Stop advertises that they have the lowest prices on campus, and after visiting, I was pleased to see just that. While I can’t attest to whether they have the cheapest prices of every item of its kind on campus, the prices all around seemed reasonable. The cheapest item I found was a fig bar for $0.99, while the most random item I

SAMUEL KAN & ANDREEA MIHAI/THE MEDIUM

A collage of the various food services present on the UTM campus.

The Blind Duck Pub (Student Centre) WINNING FEATURES: •$5 for eight wings on Tuesdays •Best place to socialize

This week, The Medium’s Kaitlyn Fernandes reviewed the various food options present on the UTM campus.

Temporary Food Court (Davis) WINNING FEATURE: •Variety of international cuisines This is a cafeteria-style food court with a variety of food options, including a few international cuisine outlets.

PROS If you’re really hungry, this is where heaping plates of food can be found at reasonable prices. There are several international food options, ranging from curry bowls to tacos. Among the popular outlets is Pizza Pizza, offering less expensive pizza than Deer-

field with the compromise of knowing that you’re likely taking a hit on the health scale.

Although this is going to sound creepy, Davis is by far the best dining place to people-watch, because there is just so much going on. For instance, I once saw someone eat an entire salad with their fingers—a commendable feat, really.

CONS Overall, I avoid TFC because of the atmosphere. For commuters who only eat lunch at school, the large

serving sizes here can be a pro if you’re a foodie, but a con if you’re a fan of lighter lunches.

While the chairs may seem small, whenever someone pulls one out to sit down, loud screeching noises can be heard, which can get unnerving, especially if you’re trying to relax during a lunch break. The harsh lighting gives me flashbacks of my high school’s cafeteria.

I was also let down by the Vegilicious outlet; the foods I saw in the window didn’t seem all that enticing.

North Side Bistro (Deerfield Hall) WINNING FEATURE: •Loose leaf teas •No long queues This is a bright and wholesome food vendor in Deerfield Hall. They offer a variety of organic teas and coffees, an authentic pizza oven, a soup section, and a salad bar.

found was a $3.50 pack of beef jerky.

All in all, there is definitely a variety of items in the Duck Stop, but beyond the packets of instant noodles or the small microwavable Kraft Dinner cups, you probably can’t make a meal out of the items that can be found there. This is more of a place for small snacks, so it fits the purpose of a convenience store well.

PROS The food here seems extremely fresh and wholesome. You can tell that the pizzas and calzones are made with

CONS In terms of healthy options, while I initially saw rows of chips and candies there, the store was redeemed when I found yogurt granola cups, hummus packs with chips that seemed to be pretty sophisticated, and a few healthy snacks.

The On the Go food fridges are stocked with a variety of fruits, sandwiches, wraps, and salads, with a great number of vegetarian options as well.

great care, and that their soups are made with great ingredients. They have an extensive selection of loose leaf teas here that come in exotic flavours like peaches and cream and mint chocolate.

The dining area also has a great atmosphere. There are large windows that let in the sunlight and given that there are rarely any lineups, it’s a great place to grab a meal quickly.

here are just a little too steep. The $9 salads here are really the point of protest, but it comes down to how much value you attach to organic foods, especially since there are less expensive places to grab a salad on campus, such as OPH and the On the Go stations.

While I’m positive that the soups here are great for you, some flavours just taste a little too healthy for my taste—particularly the vegetarian varieties.

CONS We’ve all heard it before: the prices

On the Go (CCT, TFC, IB, OPH, and Kaneff Centre) WINNING FEATURE: •Cheapest salads and sushi!

PROS The sandwiches in the On the Go stations are pleasantly sophisticated

with types like grilled vegetables with goat cheese, and offer a great meal for a price that can fall anywhere between $3 and $6.

There is also a great range of salads, such as the chicken caesar and the Tex Mex for around $6, making them a much less expensive alternative to the salads offered in the North Side Bistro. In some of the On the Go stations, like the ones in OPH, CCT, and the TFC, I saw generous sushi

packs from $8, which seem to be pretty popular across campus.

CONS I suppose the freshness of the On the Go foods could be called into question, but I’ve never had a bad experience with any of their foods.

Overall, I find this to be a viable alternative to some of the pricier food options on campus.

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THE MEDIUM 11.16.2015

A tale of couch surfing Rahman shares his struggles with housing, “slaving away” KASSANDRA HANGDAAN STAFF WRITER What strikes me as intriguing about Ruhan Rahman is his easygoing persona. With his ever-present smile and natural ability to carry a conversation, Rahman seems like the last person in my philosophy class that I would have expected to face the daunting prospect of homelessness.

He begins his story as we eat lunch at TFC. The buzzing of conversations around me seems to subside as I listen, transfixed, to Rahman’s experiences of couchsurfing, home life, and educational pursuits.

Discord had always been brewing in Rahman’s home. It was in October 2011—during the middle of his second year at UTM—that tensions between him and his parents had peaked. During that month, he was kicked out and began the first of what would be a series of temporary stays at his friends’ houses.

By November that same year, Rahman returned home. However, his parents were frustrated with his lifestyle of “going out” and visiting friends and laid down a strict “22-point contract”. Rahman was at this point 19 years old and felt oppressed by the contract, which he believed gave him “no freedom or privacy”.

In the following six months, Rahman adjusted his school and work schedule in order to spend as little time as possible at home, hoping to avoid his parents.

The peace was short-lived.

The storm came suddenly and unexpectedly during the Easter long weekend. When Rahman came home in the early hours of

the morning, he was confronted by his mother and, once again, forcibly evicted from his home.

He spent the first night at a friend’s apartment near Square One. “The next day, I had to break into my own house when my parents weren’t home, and I just took a couple of bags, stuffed them with a lot of clothes [and possessions], and took that to my friend’s apartment,” says Rahman coolly.

Rahman dropped out of UTM in the summer of 2012. He says that he was unsure of his future and undecided about making a return to university amidst his more pressing concerns of finding a place to stay.

His friend’s lease at Square One soon ended and Rahman, unable to find substitute housing, illegally squatted in the apartment for two weeks until the superintendent found him. The superintendent threatened to call law enforcement, but Rahman left before any trouble could materialize.

His next brief stay was with a friend who lived near Eglinton. He used the family’s spare room for a month, until his friend’s father asked him to leave.

As a last recourse, Rahman found refuge in a Meadowvale apartment, where he was the fifth roommate in a three-bedroom housing compound.

Once again, time started to ticking for Rahman as the end of his onemonth contract approached and his rent increased with every week.

At that point, Rahman says he encountered a “stroke of luck” when a more permanent housing alternative came to him in August 2012, and he was able to secure a rental agreement in the basement of a friend’s

relative in Streetsville.

“It was either [living in that basement in Streetsville] or going to a shelter or youth place,” Rahman says.

During his housing struggle, Rahman worked 18 or more hours per week at a small café shop in Meadowvale to support himself financially. Despite being grateful for the opportunity to work, he wistfully recounts the sacrifice involved, saying that he had no leisure time and “slaved away” while most of his peers were engaging in social activities.

His story took on a brighter turn in January 2013, when Rahman decided to return to UTM after realizing that it would be a “massive waste” to leave his education unfinished.

“I personally believe in finishing what I start […] Being an educated individual is important to me,” says Rahman.

Now in his fifth year at UTM, Rahman is set to graduate with the Class of 2016, finishing his studies as an English major with a double minor in philosophy and the history of religions.

“Don’t expect your life to resemble others,” Rahman says when asked to reflect upon his experiences. “There is no set way your life is supposed to go. Do what you have to do in order to get what you need, and focus on yourself before anyone else. It’s not a bad thing to trust other people, but I’ve learned that you have to rely solely on yourself. You have to be your own foundation and source of power—never depend on anyone or anything.”

Game will be “puzzle-heavy” Gaming continued from page 8 Jayasinghe then writes an outline, and Shanahan adds some touches and dialogue. Once the script is approved, the design work begins.

“I start drawing and animating all the elements that are new to this section, such as characters, rooms, and items,” says Shanahan.

Then, Primerano takes the art and develops a script for the images “to move and appear at specific prompts”.

Daniel Zingaro, a computer sci-

ence lecturer at the UTM Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, has been acting as a programming consultant for the game. “I’ve co-supervised students working on gaming projects for the last few years—mobile games, audio games, games to teach computer science concepts to novice programmers—but I haven’t worked on something like our UTM gaming app before,” he says.

“I’d like the game to help us interact with new students that start at UTM in the coming years. I want

students to have fun with this and meet other students and learn stuff about UTM that they didn’t know,” adds Zingaro.

The team encourages students to email them and get involved with the development of the UTM game.

A series of testing events, such as the hackathon that took place last Friday and Saturday, are being planned throughout the year to test and improve the game through input from students.

The game is set to release in September 2016.

Last week’s chilly weather and rainy days

While Szurmak, the digital initiatives and

called for some hot, soul-comforting food.

science liaison librarian, may not have pro-

Thankfully, Joanna Szurmak’s pear almond

vided us with a dummies’ guide to making

loaf recipe rises to the occasion perfectly.

bread, she did provide the secret ingredient

There’s nothing more comforting than a hot loaf of bread fresh from the oven (es-

to her pear almond loaf: almond flour. “It’s not the same without it,” she says.

pecially when it’s served alongside a bowl

A fair warning to all: this recipe may be

of soup). On the not-so-bright side, bread-

best left to individuals with some prior ex-

making is no easy feat. The cooking experts

perience in bread-making. Now, let’s take a

may give us all the dos and don’ts and break

look at the recipe.

it down like a Dummies guide but somehow, it’s never enough. (At least, it isn’t for me.)

Pear Almond Loaf (Adapted from an All-Bran recipe found on all-bran.ca in 2013) SERVES 8-12

INGREDIENTS

for 5 minutes.

•1¼ cup of all-purpose flour

2.Spray a loaf pan (9” by 5”) with olive oil.

•¼ cup of whole wheat flour

3.Preheat the oven to 350 F.

•½ cup of sugar (white or golden)

4.In a medium bowl, mix the flours, sugar,

•1 tbsp baking powder •½ tsp salt •½ cup of chopped, slivered almonds •1½ cup of bran cereal (e.g. All-Bran) •1¼ cup of milk •1 egg •1/3 cup of grape seed or vegetable oil •2/3 cup of chopped peeled pear •½ tsp almond extract •¼ cup ground almonds or almond flour

baking powder, salt, and almonds.

5.Get a hand blender (or a manual mixing utensil) and break up the cereal in the large bowl, then beat in the egg and oil.

6.Add the flour mixture and the pear pieces to the cereal-liquid mixture.

7.Stir everything until combined; do not over-mix.

8.Pour and spread the batter into the prepared pan.

9.Bake for approximately 60 minutes or

METHOD 1.In a large bowl, mix the bran cereal

until a wooden twig (or pick) comes out clean from the centre.

and milk. Ensure that all the cereal is in

10.Cool completely before cutting.

contact with liquid. Let the mixture stand

11.Serve immediately.

Long waiting times HCC continued from page 8 The centre continues to provide vaccines, safer sex supplies, and birth control at a modest cost. Verification of student illness forms are provided for free if required for academic purposes, and if the student is seen at the time of illness. The HCC is also the channel through which third-party requests, such as TB tests and immunization, can be completed.

With a nutritionist at the centre available two times a week for educational activities and one-on-one counselling sessions, and initiatives such as the Sneaker Squad, the HCC is actively fighting the ever-looming freshman 15. They have attempted to provide most of their services free of cost and equally available to all—even to those students who have opted out.

While efforts are being made to make services increasingly accessible to students, the HCC places significant emphasis on prevention by making health a daily resource. Since September 2015, 69 health education outreach events, using a peer-to-peer approach, have occurred. The HCC has recorded a total of 5,910 student interactions for the so far this school year, where interactions range from small conversations to handing out flyers.

The HCC also won the 2013 Program of the Year award from the Canadian Organization of University and College Health for the alcohol education initiative “YOLO, so play it safe”, and the 2013 University of Toronto Excellence Through Innovation Award for the MoveU healthy active living campaign.

“In a nutshell, the HCC basi-

cally helps students in being happy, healthy, and well,” says Jankowski.

While the HCC is encouraged by the increase in help-seeking behaviour, the centre expresses concern over the challenges being presented due to constraints of resources.

A widely shared sentiment at last Wednesday’s HCC student advisory group meeting was concern over the limited number of personnel at the centre. With 2.2 full-time-equivalent personal life counsellors, one mental health nurse, and one residence counsellor serving an approximate population of 13,700 students, the HCC’s resources are stretched.

After Exam Jam, 88 to 94 percent of students finally felt like the university cares about their success.

Being funded entirely by the student services fees and OHIP/UHIP fees, the HCC relies on budget proposal approvals by the QSS, Campus Affairs Committee, and the Governing Council. One such approval made

by UTMSU last year allowed for the introduction of a mental health nurse and a medical director.

The HCC provides a perfect study break, with an approximate 80 courses anticipated to participate in the UTM Exam Jam this year. Who knows? You may find yourself agreeing with the 88 to 94 percent of students who, after attending the Exam Jam, finally felt like the university cares about their success.

11.16.2015

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11

Students skate on artificial ice surface 715 students participated in MoveU’s annual “glice” rink event, which promoted healthy living KASSANDRA HANGDAAN STAFF WRITER With handmade cutout snowflakes adorning the walls, festive music playing in the background, and a synthetic skating rink made from a high-tech plastic polymer as the main attraction, Gym C was transformed into a fun “hang-out” spot for UTM students last week.

Transforming Gym C was not an easy feat; it was made possible by the hard work of MoveU crewmembers, coordinators, and volunteers. The assembling of the synthetic ice rink and the laying-out of the black mats surrounding the perimeter took around an hour and a half. Following this, the decorations, such as the layout of the tables and chairs, took another half-hour to finish.

Held last Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Glice Rink drew 715 participants—a 14 percent increase from last year’s 626-participant turnout.

Maryanne Aliazon, a MoveU crew team leader, noted that this year’s Glice Rink (an event first held in

MAHMOUD SAROUJII/THE MEDIUM

The event was a big hit for international students, according to MoveU organizers.

2012) differed in that there was a craft-making station, hot chocolate station, and movie station—Frozen was the featured film.

With free ice skates and gloves

provided, the event was highly accessible to the student population. One attendee, Usman Kazmi, a first-year commerce student, attended with a group of friends. “I came here to

have fun and would go again next year,” he said.

Aliazon observed that an average of 40 students dropped by every 20 minutes.

“The goal of the event, like all MoveU events, is to promote healthy active living. With the ice rink in particular, we hope to get people excited about being active during the winter months, when we all tend to become more sedentary. Being regularly active can help fight off those winter blues and help students feel and function better,” said Chad Jankowski, a health education coordinator and an organizer of the Glice Rink event.

The event certainly achieved its goal, with groups of students skating for hours on end and enjoying the refreshments set up on the side.

Students also benefited from the therapeutic nature of the event, with Andy Tan, a second-year CCIT student, claiming that the event helped improve his mental wellbeing.

“The event was not only enjoyable, but it also helped me take my mind off the upcoming weeks of exam stress,” he said.

With such a high turnout this year, the Glice Rink event hopes to make a return in the years to come.

Big men at UTM have bright future Kyle Draga and D. J. Sackey epitomize what it takes to be a successful student athlete at U of T GINA CELLUCCI Varsity Blues football players Kyle Draga and D. J. Sackey are part of “the Freak Squad”, a name only earned by Varsity Blues football players at UTM. Weighing in at 370 pounds, Draga stands at 6’3”, while Sackey weighs 305 pounds and is 6’4” tall. Needless to say, these big men on campus are hard to miss.

Draga and Sackey have played for U of T for the past four years.

“When we play at the Varsity Stadium in Toronto, it feels like we are in the heart of the city, and when we play games it feels like we are representing Toronto,” Draga says.

With Draga and Sackey coming out of high school as rookies and top recruits, the two have been friends since their first year at UTM. “We also were majoring in sociology and we’re in almost all the same classes, so it was nearly impossible not to become friends,” says Draga. “Playing together also strengthened our friendship. Going against one another each day at practice, we learned each others’ weaknesses and strengths and helped each other harness our strengths and correct those weaknesses.”

Maintaining their size on- and

THESTAR.COM/SPORTS/PHOTO

Draga, second from the right, is 6’3” and weighs 370 pounds. off-season requires a lot of hard work and dedication in the gym and the kitchen.

When asked about their daily nutrition and calorie intake, Draga says, “I like to carb up the day before a game [with] pasta and bread.

But before a game, I usually only stick with proteins like eggs and fruits.”

Sackey, who first started playing football in grade 10, says he also

overloads on carbs and proteins for energy.

“Games are usually three hours long, so I need to make sure I have enough in the tank. I also drink lots of water a few days before actual game day. Staying well hydrated is critical,” he says.

Each of their daily calorie intakes is around 4000; meals consist of eggs and oatmeal in the morning, lean chicken, green vegetables,

and whole grains for lunch, steak and veggies for dinner, and protein shakes throughout the day in between meals. Draga admits, however, that after games, he “tend[s] to eat a bit unhealthy” by joining teammates at fast food restaurants for postgame celebrations.

As for in the gym, you may have seen the two training in the High Performance Centre at the RAWC with their fellow teammates. The

boys train four to five times a week, with sessions lasting up to two hours.

They begin with a warm-up consisting of dynamic stretches and foam-rolling followed by some lightweight reps. Then come “the big-boy weights”.

“This is when the blood, sweat and sometimes tears come out.

Everyone pushes each other to the limit, and there is a lot of screaming and aggressive grunts that take place,” Draga says.

Their lifts consist of powerlifting exercises such as bench press, squats, deadlifts, power cleans, and snatches; they have a very strenuous and demanding off-season strength and conditioning program.

For Draga and Sackey, being both an athlete and UTM student isn’t easy.

“Now that I’m in my fourth year, I’m used to it, but at first it was tough. You have your classes throughout the day, then you head downtown for meetings and practice,” says Sackey, adding that by the time he gets home after the long commute back, “I’m drained, but I have to get the readings and assignments done”.

Athletes continued on page 12

12

«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 11.16.2015

Improved participation brings success UTM men’s hockey committment level correlates with their perfect 3-0 record this season DANIEL BILYK ASSOCIATE EDITOR The UTM Eagles men’s hockey team faced off against the UTSC Raccoons earlier this month. In a crushing 5-0 victory over UTSC, the Eagles managed to maintain their perfect 3-0 record this year.

UTSC started the game quick, throwing UTM off their game, but the Eagles held strong and pushed through UTSC’s efforts.

Outshooting UTSC 30-22, Eagles goaltender Andrew Anastas managed to keep his shutout. UTM drew a few consecutive penalties, giving UTSC the main advantage, but UTM also found an advantage to being on a penalty kill, offencescoring two shorthanded goals.

The victory has UTM at the top of the standings above the other two campuses, stretching their lead over UTSG Black by two points.

In only three games, the Eagles have tallied an impressive 17 goals along with an incredible defensive record of a mere three goals against. The lengthy bench that the team brings to the ice is full of chemistry that is continuously generating explosive offence and an unbeatable defence, backed with superb goaltending.

In comparison to last year, the

DANIEL BILYK/THE MEDIUM

UTM Eagles beat UTSC Raccoons yet again, crushing them 5-0.

Eagles have already begun an impressive season. “The guys have stepped up this year and committed to being better,” said Eagles head coach Mike Keaveney. “Last year we struggled with numbers, and although we had a lot of talent, we would always run out of gas.

This year we have 20 guys that can all play and are all contributing.”

Last year was a struggle for UTM. The commitment from players was poor and any team that expects to

be good needs a great attendance to build rhythm and strategy. Three games into the season, attendance has yet to be an issue; at the weekly Sunday practices, all players are in attendance.

“Everyone has a part to play, and everyone is doing their job. As a result, we are playing as a unit, and it shows on the scoreboard,” Keaveney said.

The team consists of multiple rookie players and first-year stu-

dents who have miraculously come together quickly to give the UTM Eagles an intimidating name among the D-League standings.

“I think the team’s really coming together; we have different guys who exert their talents differently,” said rookie defenceman Zach Wilson. “Guys who play aggressive, guys with speed, the playmakers— every guy has a unique role on this team, and when every guy does his job individually, it works into a

nice blend of offensive talent and defensive talent.”

Among the first-year rookie players, Wilson is just one. His defensive awareness combined with his offensive skill has been an asset to the team, and combined with the ability the entire team has, this has allowed for commanding leads in all the games thus far.

Although the team itself has been generating a potent offence that causes every opposing team to tire out halfway through the game, to both the head coach and Wilson, the goaltending has been key.

“Our goalies are the best I’ve seen in a long time,” Keaveney said.

Both goalies, Joe Fantin and Andrew Anastas, have played spectacularly so far and have only allowed a combined total of three goals to slip past them.

It may be too early to crown the UTM Eagles Development League men’s hockey team as TRY Cup champs, but it is safe to say they are the biggest force this season.

The Eagles hope to extend their winning streak to four games this Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. at Varsity Arena, where they face the secondplace UTSG Black to take a lead in the standings.

Varsity Blues role models Players continued from page 11

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

If you work hard enough, you can look like Nigel Moir.

ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR HOW SKINNY GUYS BUILD MUSCLE You may be a genetic ectomorph—in other words, “thin”—but want to be a genetic mesomorph, where your biceps bulge out of your shirt like an inflated balloon. Even though your lean physique will likely stay with you for the rest of your life, there’s still a way for you to become ten times stronger than Ronnie from Jersey Shore.

First, hit as many muscles as possible. Don’t isolate yourself to one movement like the bicep curl—you’ll only strengthen your bicep. But doing a chin-up will not only build your bicep, it’ll build your back, core, shoulders, and chest too. Also, emphasize the front squat and deadlift, which hit your interior and posterior chain.

You have to understand that working out doesn’t come with results

right away—many times people wait months before they’re satisfied with their “gains”.

When you work out, try to use a weight that’ll allow you to accomplish six to 12 repetitions. Remember, if you’re not eating right, your workout won’t matter. If you just busted out an unreal leg session and can barely move, but the next thing you eat is a cookie, you just wasted your workout—good job, bud. Eat as much protein-based food as possible after your workouts and stay away from sweets.

HOW TO SAY “NO!” TO SWEETS Kids are eager to go out on Halloween and collect as much candy as possible. When they get home, they are ready to scarf it all down in a single sitting—or maybe that was just me.

What you weren’t thinking about at the time were the repercussions of consuming that much sugar and what

it does to your body. Yes, as a child you could get away with it because your metabolism was at its peak, but now all it does is satisfy your tongue and then sit in your stomach as a blob of fat. You’re using energy on something that doesn’t help the healthy maintenance and growth of the body.

A trick to saying no to sweets— which also applies to other unhealthy meals like pizza and pop—is to say, “I don’t eat that,” rather than, “I’m not allowed to eat that right now.” The words “I don’t” will give you a sense of empowerment and control, affecting your future behaviours, as well.

When you tell yourself, “I don’t,” you see yourself at the helm of your decisions, but when you say, “I can’t,” you think a higher authority is restricting you. Nobody likes higher power, and I guarantee you’re going to rebel. So, if someone comes up and asks you if you’d like to have a soft drink, say, “I don’t drink that stuff!”

The Blues finished their season with a record of 3-5, missing the playoffs by a game.

As for the boys’ most memorable moment playing for the Varsity Blues, Draga recalls his first-year victory against the York Lions.

“It felt as though the whole city was cheering for us,” he says.

As for Sackey, the most memorable moments are during training camp.

“We spend two weeks at the end of summer battling it out at practice early in the morning for hours. After, we spend more time together cracking jokes, locker room dance-offs, [and] watching WordStar Vine compilations together,” he says.

With two years of eligibility re-

maining, the boys begin to think about playing pro in the future.

“Football is an opportunity. It’s a chance to take something that I started playing for fun and make a living from it. I started playing football when I was in grade 10. Coaches asked me to come out for the team because of my size, and I’ve been playing ever since,” Sackey says.

As for Draga, he says if he doesn’t end up playing at the pro level, he’ll take up coaching.

“I’d like to coach younger kids and work my way up to coaching a university program,” he says.

Be on the look out for the big men on campus. Feel free to introduce yourself. They may appear frightening, but looks can be deceiving.

THE MEDIUM WEEKLY SCOREBOARD Varsity Blues Men’s Hockey Toronto - 3

Nipissing - 6

Varsity Blues Women’s Hockey Toronto - 2

Waterloo - 3

Varsity Blues Men’s Basketball Toronto - 64

McMaster - 89

Varsity Blues Men’s Volleyball Toronto - 1

Varsity Blues Women’s Volleyball Toronto - 3

Toronto - 79

McMaster - 87

Ottawa - 0

Varsity Blues Men’s Soccer (CIS championships) Toronto - 0 Toronto - 0

Varsity Blues Women’s Basketball

Waterloo - 3

Cape Breton - 3 UBC - 3