Vol 42 issue 20

The Medium Talks to students

Learning news from comedians

Cupcake icing sculptures

Print journalism in an online world

Networking with sports leaders

News, page 3

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

Historic UTMSU election underway Four slates and three independent candidates are vying to be elected to UTMSU’s executive team NICOLE DANESI NEWS EDITOR ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR KASSANDRA HANGDAAN ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

For the first time in at least seven years, four full slates and three independent candidates are vying for student votes with hopes to be elected to the UTMSU executive committee for the 2016/17 academic year.

Beginning last Tuesday in anticipation of polls opening this Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in CCT, Deerfield, Davis, IB, and the Terrence Donnelly Health Sciences Complex, the campaign period immediately followed changes to election rules this year.

Voting for the UTMSU election will begin on Tuesday.

ELECTION CHANGES According to a notice posted on UTMSU’s “Wall of Transparency” located in Davis, a notice board primarily used to list demerit points racked up

by candidates during the election, changes were made to rules involving the number of non-UTM volunteers that candidates are able to use to campaign. Not listed in the official UTM-

SU election procedural code, the new rule was posted on the wall barring candidates from using non-UTM volunteers to campaign on their behalf unless the volunteers were used “in a

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

supporting role”.

As of Friday, however, the rule was crossed out and a notice was posted on the Wall of Transparency explaining that the Election and Referenda

Committee approved a change on February 29 that now allows each independent candidate or slate to use five non-UTM volunteers to campaign. Candidates running for a spot on the board of directors are now permitted to use two non-UTM campaign volunteers following the changes.

As previously reported by The Medium, last year’s election between UTM Rise and UTM Reform saw tensions arise between the two slates vying for election as outside volunteers were used to campaign.

Among other changes posted on the Wall of Transparency, current executive committee members “cannot play an active role within the Spring Elections and have no part in the elections process” while executive members are also barred from “support[ing] any team/individual candidates and campaign on their behalf ”.

UTMSU continued on page 2

UTMSU request denied, fee increases prevail Fee increases were passed at Campus Council on Thursday as UTMSU voices opposition to changes ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR UTM Campus Council moved ahead with student service fee increases despite UTMSU’s attempts to defer the motion last Thursday.

As previously reported in The Medium, the Campus Affairs Committee had passed a motion last month to raise fees for various student services, such as student fees at the RAWC. Once the motion had been passed at Campus Affairs, it was then moved to the next highest governing body, Campus Council, for approval.

The chairman of the council called this item “trickier than usual”, due to legal concerns raised

by UTMSU. Representatives from UTMSU have taken issue with the processes applied by the Quality Services to Students committee. This committee is designed to make suggestions regarding the operation of UTM’s student services, including the budgets and fees involved in those services.

In a letter to members of QSS, Campus Council, and Campus Affairs Committee sent half an hour

Fee increases were passed at Campus Council on Thursday. prior to the February 11 campus affairs meeting, UTMSU said that their voice as the student body was not being valued or heard and they would not participate in any further meetings with the QSS. In order for QSS to reach quorum at its meetings, UTMSU is required to be

present.

UTMSU’s decision to boycott QSS prevented the meetings from being held and prevented any further discussion regarding fee increases.

“In the current cycle, after much debate, student representatives

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

opted to not participate in a process where the quality of consultation was inadequate and most importantly the recommendations made by student’s representatives are not respected,” reads the letter. UTMSU alleged that the QSS and Campus Council have violated

terms of the university’s protocol.

The protocol is a memorandum that is used to explain “the procedures and limitations associated with the establishment of and increases to compulsory non-academic incidental fees charged for university-operated student services,” according to the Campus Council agenda.

The fees in question, for example the shuttle bus and Career Centre fee, were originally presented as individual fees, but are now being presented as a combined fee referred to as the student service fee.

“This amalgamation of fees violated past practices where the University Affairs Board of Governing Council received advice on those services from QSS as separate fees,” wrote UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe in his letter to the Campus Council. “The impact of the amalgamation violates the protocol and the QSS terms of reference, in our opinion.”

UTMSU also argued that a new fee was introduced without consultation. This fee is called the Student Life Initiative.

Fees continued on page 3

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 03.07.2016

Election paused in solidarity UTMSU continued from Cover

February 25, 4:50 a.m.

Property Damage While on patrol, Campus Police observed a car on the grass area at MaGrath Valley Residence and the Collegeway. The car had lost control while turning a corner and slid onto the grass. No one was injured in the accident.

February 29, 11:00 a.m.

Mischief Posters in the Recreation and Wellness Centre promoting sexual and gender diversity inclusion were vandalized. Subsequent investigation resulted in the arrest of a male, who was charged with Mischief Un-

der $5,000. He was released from custody pending his appearance in court.

February 29, 4:10 p.m.

Motor Vehicle Accident Two vehicles collided at the Collegeway entrance. A car entering the campus had missed the turn, mounted the curb, and collided with a vehicle leaving the campus.

One driver was transported to hospital, where he was treated and released. Campus Police would like to remind all drivers to always adjust their speed according to the weather and road conditions.

Also reported by The Medium, last year’s election between UTM Rise and UTM Reform saw then UTMSU president Hassan Havili and UTMSU VP equity Melissa Theodore support UTM Rise, the victorious slate. It was also confirmed that Havili had taken a two week leave of absence from office during the elections.

ELECTION PAUSED On Friday, candidates took the day off from campaigning to show solidarity with UTM Focus as the brother of presidential candidate Ridwan Olow had passed away. In a Facebook post published on Friday morning, UTM Focus thanked fellow candidates for putting their campaigns on hold in light of the news.

“Thank you to folks who have shown their support for our brother

Ridwan,” said the statement. “We would also like to thank all teams for taking a day of silence in solidarity with Ridwan.”

Hosted earlier on Thursday in the Blind Duck, the candidate forum offered candidates the opportunity to share their platforms. Candidates then joined The Medium for one-onone interviews on Friday to discuss their ideas and promises to students if elected.

SLATES: UTM AWAKEN Jason Selvanayagam PRESIDENT

Tamam Khalaf

VP INTERNAL & SERVICES

Ryan Persaud VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS & ACADEMICS

Emerson Calcada VP EXTERNAL

Priyanka Sahajpal

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

VP EQUITY MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

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.

ENVISION UTM Genny Lawen PRESIDENT

Adil Isaac Abrahim

VP INTERNAL & SERVICES

Abdulla Omari VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS & ACADEMICS

Amanee Nassereddine VP EXTERNAL

Falhad Mohamoud VP EQUITY MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

UTM FOCUS Ridwan Olow PRESIDENT

Hoda Khan

VP INTERNAL & SERVICES

Menna Elnaka VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS & ACADEMICS

Kamal Ali

VP EXTERNAL

Farishta Amanullah VP EQUITY FACEBOOK.COM/UTM-FOCUS/PHOTO

UNITE UTM Nour Alideeb PRESIDENT

Jackie Zhao

VP INTERNAL & SERVICES

Vanessa Demello VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS & ACADEMICS

Marise Hopkins VP EXTERNAL

Maleeha Baig VP EQUITY MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

IbrahimBoutera

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Daniel Lyght

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

AndrewWilliams

03.07.2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Prophesying our future

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»DO YOU USE UBER?

Students engage in discussion on the future of journalism

Eric Hewitson 4th year, English and PWC

Marium Hussain 4th year, math and English

Yes, I do. I spent $60 on Uber just last week.

No, I don’t use Uber. I have a car.

Dimitri Thompson 1st year, commerce

Tori Flores 1st year, English

I do use Uber because it is faster than everything else.

Yes, I use Uber. It’s cheap and accessible. I don’t have any safety concerns.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

More than 40 students attended the panel discussion hosted last Monday.

WARD SUROUR

More than 40 students took part in last week’s panel talk hosted by The Medium discussing the past, present, and future of journalism.

Moderated last Monday by The Medium’s former editor-in-chief and current UTM Professional Writing and Communications instructor Robert Price, “The Medium Talks” featured panelists Karlene Nation, Justin Robertson, H. G. Watson, and Nick Kozak, who discussed the concept of journalism.

“Journalism is moving constantly and shifting how we see the news,” said Nation, a UTM alumna who has worked on-air with CTV News, when asked how a journalist is defined. “We have the shifting landscape where we have to broaden that definition to in-

clude this emerging new group that is coming up. Whether we call them journalists or citizen journalists, it will be up to people to define that, but it is shifting definitely.”

“The second you pick up a phone or send an email to check a fact or [when] you decide, ‘I want to look one step beyond,’ ” is when a person becomes a journalist, said Watson, who has previously reported for The Grid and the Daily Xtra and is currently the associate editor of J-Source.

Justin Robertson, a freelance journalist who has previously written for The Globe and Mail and The Walrus among others, added the importance of telling stories across varying platforms.

Kozak, a freelance photojournalist, provided his thoughts on what differentiates citizens from journalists.

“Fact-checking and making sure

you’re getting to the truth to whatever degree possible is the real focus for the people working as journalists and photojournalists,” said Kozak, who also explained that getting the photo is just as important as fully engaging with the story.

When asked how students can enter the field, panelists provided their advice.

“It’s something that you’re always working on and hopefully getting better at,” said Watson, who described journalism as a craft needing to be developed. “I’m now on to my third job as a professional journalist and I still feel like I’m learning something new every day”.

The panel discussion, hosted in partnership with the Career Centre, UTM/TV, ICCIT Council, and UTM Scribes, was followed by a social reception in The Medium’s office.

UTMSU voice concerns at Campus Council “This is a new portion of the consolidated student service fee, resulting in a new fee of (full-time) $4.38 and (parttime) $0.88 for activities that were rejected for implementation at previous meetings of QSS,” reads the UTMSU letter. “Please note that NO referendum or meeting of QSS has endorsed the new fee or activities. This proposal violates the protocol and will be challenged by the UTM Students’ Union at all levels of governance and through

other means.”

UTMSU’s presence at Thursday’s meeting was to advocate for the deferral of fee approval until further consultation had been arranged.

Mark Overton, the dean of student affairs, and Meredith Strong, who oversees the Office of the Vice-provost, explained that since the student union did not attend QSS meetings, the council could still vote for approval without the advice of QSS. Overton explained that moving forward without advice from the QSS puts a cap on the

amount of fee increases that can be applied. Overton said that for two of the increases, the amounts were actually under the maximum allowed. These increases include the Physical Health and Wellness Fee, which will change from $171.76 per session for full-time students to $175.20 per session.

Principal Deep Saini also revealed that since his return from India with the Wynne delegation, he has consulted with the UTMSU president and they have discussed the union’s perspective.

“Among the concerns expressed in meetings with the acting principal and dean of student affairs was UTMSU’s call for a change in QSS’s role, from providing advice to governance on fees under the protocol to instead requiring QSS’s approval of fee increases before being sought through governance,” reads the agenda from the council meeting. “As explained, this would contradict the terms of the protocol, although procedural advice was offered on how changes to the protocol could be explored.”

UTMSU reaffirmed that their concern was the implementation of certain fees without the union having been represented.

UTMSU asked the council that the motion be deferred until outside legal advice had been sought. The motion for deferral failed and the motion for fee approval passed.

UTMSU was also seeking an increase in funding for services such as WUSC, the student refugee program, and the U-Pass. The increases were passed.

Nancy Reagan, former first lady, dead at age 94

CN Tower lit blue to celebrate Toronto’s 182nd birthday

Astronaut claims trip to Mars is possible following space trip

Trudeau calls for the U.S. to be more vigilant of global happenings

Mississauga stabbing on Webb Drive leaves 19-year-old dead

Former first lady Nancy Reagan died in her home on Sunday at age 94. The cause of death was identified as heart failure. Reagan was married to former American president Ronald Reagan, who served from 1981 to 1989.

It was announced on Sunday that Nancy will be buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The City of Toronto celebrated its 182nd birthday on Sunday with various festivities occurring throughout the city. Incorporated on March 6, 1834, the CN Tower was lit blue in celebration of the milestone.

Astronaut Scott Kelly has returned from a 340-day trip to space and is claiming that humans would be successful in making a trip to Mars. Kelly’s trip to space is the longest space expedition ever made by a human.

Kelly is now undergoing medical testing to examine the effects that the trip had on his body.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has called on the United States to be more vigilant of the world in an interview with 60 Minutes, which aired Sunday. “We sometimes like to think that, you know, Americans will pay attention to us from time to time, too,” said Trudeau.

A 19-year-old man is dead in an apparent homicide following a stabbing on Webb Drive on Saturday afternoon. Peel Regional Police are seeking a suspect and the victim’s name has yet to be released.

Source:CNN

Source: Toronto Star

Source: CBC

Source: Toronto Star

Source: CBC

Fees continued from Cover

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03.07.2016

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 online@themedium.ca blog@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Menna Elnaka Kassandra Hangdaan Alicia Boatto A&E Hailey Mason Anton Mykytenko Features Mahnoor Ayub Sports Daniel Bilyk Photo Christy Tam Olivia Adamczyk Copy Farah Khan Maleeha Iqbal GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Luke Sawczak web@themedium.ca Interim Distribution Manager Eric Hewitson distribution@themedium.ca

A healthy amount of comedy Turning to political comedy for the news has some serious benefits to it When it comes to politics, I considered myself to be one of those ignorant millenials who didn’t really know too much about what was going on.

Growing up, I was somehow convinced that my vote didn’t matter and that if I didn’t know enough about each candidate, then why should I vote? And as opposed to educating myself, like I try to do now, I just sat back and told myself what I had heard my whole life: they’re all crooks. None of them will deliver on their promises.

What’s the point in voting if office will burn to the ground regardless of who gets chosen?

Now, when it came to understanding candidates, I had no idea what was going on. I had been out of the game too long and I overwhelmed myself with all the knowledge I thought I needed to get caught up. I quickly became discouraged through the countless articles, press conferences, and opinions that were being hurled my way.

Enter late night television. Again, this is something else I missed out on because I’m a 90-year-old woman at heart who passes out before 10:00 p.m. on weekdays. So I never wound up catching anything. I was constantly (and still am) met with the age-old question from those who actually stay up long enough to see the moon: “Did you catch John Oliver last night?” If not him, then what about Colbert?

Surely I must have watched someone.

But the answer was always a slightly

ashamed “no”.

Before Trudeau was voted into office, I wasn’t as caught up as I wanted to be with the slates and which side of the fence I fell on. Then my brother posted a link to John Oliver’s video on the Canadian election. After 15 minutes, I felt that I had a basic gist of the candidates on top of the knowledge I had already gained through newspapers and the news. Fifteen minutes was all it took to sum up what pages of material were trying to say. And with a little added humour into the mix, I retained more information from John Oliver than I did from anyone else leading up to his video.

My point is, bouncing off one of our articles this week, “Check your source: comedians broadcast”, I think these political comedies have a great, important place in our culture today. Quoting the 2013 study “What about those interviews? The Impact of Exposure to Political Comedy and Cable News on Factual Recall and Anticipated Political Expression”, I am absolutely one of those people who remembers political information from one of these late night shows. I mean, I would understand it coming from the news, but John Oliver whipping out 5,000 Canadian dollars and Mike Myers dressed as a Mountie as encouragement for people to vote against Stephen Harper is something that sticks out in my memory way more.

The coverage of the American elec-

tion is something I’ve been keeping a close eye on as well. And while I don’t get all my information from late night talk show hosts, I do get a hefty amount of important info from them.

Do I enjoy hearing about Trump’s failures from John Oliver? Absolutely I do. Did I send out a tweet with the hashtag #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain? You bet I did. And I did it because I learned something vital about a candidate while also being given a healthy dose of comedy to make things more appealing to me. The comedy makes things more appealing to a lot of people, I think.

That being said, these shows are capable of covering heavier topics as well. Last year, when the Charleston church shooting took place, Jon Stewart opened his monologue with the fact that he wrote no jokes because of what happened in South Carolina.

He went on to call the crime an act of terrorism before closing with, “The Confederate flag flies over South Carolina and the roads are named for Confederate generals—and the white guy’s the one who feels like his country is being taken away from him.”

When I see these hosts take a moment from their regular comedic skits to talk about something seriously, it packs even more of a punch. It’s not like they’re shying away from topics outside the spectrum of politics. But when they do, they’re perfectly capable of talking about them in a professional manner outside of humour,

which is something I can appreciate from them.

Now, I’m not saying that news has no benefits. That’s insane to me.

Proper news coverage from journalists who are dedicated in their field and care about the work will always be valuable to a lot of people. We shouldn’t cancel the six o’clock news to air Colbert. But, when it comes to certain things, I would much rather listen to the late night guys over anyone else.

YOURS, MARIA CRUZ

CORRECTION NOTICE The Feb. 8 article “The abortion divide: pro-life or choice?” described Alissa Golob as the youth coordinator for the Campaign for Life Coalition. She was no longer in that role at the time of publication and is instead with a start-up pro-life organization called Right Now. The Feb. 29 article “UTM’s dancing queen” misstated the name, language, and meaning of the UTM Dance Club’s routine Avozinho, which means “grandfather” in Portuguese. Morgan Biss’s name was also misspelled.

Rhythm’s Global Flare performance did not recreate the additional choreography of two songs, but featured the traditional Lavani and Pinga dances.

Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca

The highs and lows of free tuition

Cartoonist Corey Belford

Free tuition is coming soon to low-income households—but at what cost?

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.

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

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

Anonymous letters will not be published.

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To contribute, email editor@themedium.ca

About a week ago, Kathleen Wynne and her liberal government announced that within her budget plan, tuition and postsecondary education costs will be free to those who are considered to be of low-income status. Taken at face value, this policy will enable aspiring students who previously required financial aid from OSAP and needed to scrimp and save as much as they could to enter college or university—something that can be celebrated among a percentage of people—to receive postsecondary education at the cost of nothing.

However, taken altogether in the context of new policies and actions being taken by the Ontario liberal government, this new policy is nothing more than smoke and mirrors, a distraction to worrying costs and mounting debt. I believe that this policy may benefit a percentage of low-income students while coming at the expense and anguish of a large percentage of taxpayers, specifically the middle class and seniors, who de-

pend on services that are being gutted or drastically affected.

According to an article published

by The Financial Post, Ontario is the most indebted borrower sub-sovereign state in the world, with a debt of over $307 billion. Yikes! A problem

Is the Ontario liberal government able to afford complete grants and tuition costs to all low-income students?

The answer is yes. arises: is the Ontario liberal government able to afford complete grants and tuition costs to all low-income students? The (surprising) answer is yes. According to Patrick Brown, the leader of the Ontario PC party, Ontario taxpayers can expect to pay a $387 increase in their energy bill, with a $2 rebate to even things out.

Additionally, $2 billion was wasted on the Smart Metre expense, which did not indicate how Ontarians can save energy, and instead hydro rates will be expected to increase over 42 percent from 2013 to 2018. This will not be enough to counter mismanagement and offset the free tuition, Patrick Brown also notes that in the last year, healthcare in Ontario was severely cut, of which there continues to be an assault. As he has said in multiple question periods between the premier and the opposition, over 1,200 nurses were cut all across Ontario. One of the most affected areas was the Windsor Regional Hospital, with 120 nurses being cut. Eight hundred thousand residents are without a family doctor due to private practices closing their offices and services because it has become too costly for them to operate. In addition to the cuts to front-line healthcare practitioners and nurses, over $815 million was cut to physician services, which certainly has an overlap with the se-

vere cuts in nurses and doctors, but to advancements and technologists in medicine as well, leaving 23,000 seniors in Ontario on a long-term care list, as Brown and his associates cite and calculate. Clearly, there needs to be serious reform and adjustments implemented to repair Ontario’s energy and healthcare policies; however, until then, the middle class and honest taxpayers will be the ones to bear the costs of the recent generous tuition grants to the lower class.

As Patrick Brown claims the Ontario liberal government is doing, “Why is this premier robbing Peter to pay Paul?” I believe that the current government has a lot of issues to address in their dwindling time to do so and that reforms to crucial sectors will only come at the expense of other important sectors.

Joseph Corazza 2nd year Philosophy

03.07.2016

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Tastes like paint: how to ice a canvas Art Gallery of Mississauga opens three new exhibits that are both unique and connected HAILEY MASON ASSOCIATE A&E EDITIOR White oil paint sculpted into cloudlike masses, a hidden-away gallery, eclectic blend of paintings, drawings, and sculptures, and a fusion of Aboriginal and Western cultures are among the forms of art you’ll encounter if you venture into the Art Gallery of Mississauga’s current exhibits.

The AGM is currently holding three exhibitions, each unique unto itself and completely different from any art I’ve seen before. The first exhibition on display is Fiona Kinsella’s oil paint exhibit, entitled Pushing Paint.

Have you ever slathered icing onto a cupcake to the point where there’s more icing than cupcake? Kinsella’s sculptures, crafted entirely from white oil paint, resemble that exact image. However, Kinsella’s sculptures are far more artistic than your average cupcake topping.

Considering herself a mixed-media artist, Kinsella blends painting, sculpting, and performance into her work. From Kinsella’s perspective, oil paint has artistic potential beyond the flatness of a canvas. Equipped with nothing more than a palette knife, she manipulates large masses of oil paint in a performative manner to craft her sculptures.

FACEBOOK.COM/ARTGALLERYOFMISSISSAUGA/PHOTO

AGM show explores work by multiple artists.

The process of creating these sculptures is a physical one. Kinsella must work both with and against the paint, particularly its weight and viscosity, to craft her work. After morphing her sculptures, Kinsella often returns to finished products months later to reinvent their compositions.

When applied thinly to a canvas, oil paint can take weeks to dry. When

used in the vast quantities that Kinsella requires for her sculptures, the paint can take years to completely harden. Keeping that in mind while walking through the dozens of pieces in the gallery, I was amazed by the amount of time invested in the series.

When I first entered Kinsella’s exhibition, my immediate response was to touch the sculptures. But considering

there was a class of children also touring the gallery, I kept my hands in my pockets. The dried paint appears slick on the surface, yet it also gives the appearance of having a spongy texture.

The display includes some sculptures that are morphed into smooth, tidy shapes, and others that are also erupting with texture.

The pieces rest on small podiums

or hang in frames on the walls. The white frames are a creative touch, as they give the sculptures an appearance of popping from the walls in an uncontrolled, foamy rage. Some of the sculptures are nearly indistinguishable from icing on a cupcake, whipped cream, or the foam on a fresh latte.

Stepping further into the gallery, you’ll find Claire Scherzinger’s crossdisciplinary compilation of paintings, drawings, and sculptures entitled The Zenith of My Understanding is Like Water in a Thimble. This exhibition is tucked away in the gallery’s XIT-RM Project Space—a small room off the main gallery—so it’s easy to miss if you’re just passing through.

The title plays on Scherzinger’s quest to “know everything about everything” in the realm of painting and drawing. Yet as the title suggests, this quest is futile. Nonetheless, with this exhibition Scherzinger explores the relevance of painting, drawing, and sculpting and how these three artistic mediums exchange information when in the presence of the other.

I’ll be honest: this is one of those exhibitions that require a deep appreciation and understanding of visual art in order to fully grasp its significance.

Paint continued on page 6

Charity event factors in students’ talent UTM’s very own X Factor raises money for Free the Children while also raising roofs on campus FATIMA ALVI The first ever UTM X Factor was held last Friday as a collaborative effort between Free the Children at UTM and UTM Rotaract. It was a great way to creatively fundraise and showcase the vocal talents of UTM students. There were six performers over the course of the night and the fate of the winner was decided by audience members who donated funds.

The first performer was Aseel Aoun, who performed a beautiful cover of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On”.

Following her performance was the energetic Pamela Adjei with Peggy Lee’s “Fever”. Runner-up Nicolas Ngheim had everyone’s attention as soon as he began singing Nsync’s “This I Promise You”.

Shaz Rashid switched up the mood of the evening with his spoken word piece, and Alice Li’s vibrant performance included a medley of popular, upbeat songs coupled with engaging, rhythmic dancing.

First place was awarded to Malika Ganguli, who proved her talent with

Student talent never goes to waste. her smooth performance of Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” and “Someone Like You”.

“It was a great experience and something that I would definitely do again,” said Ganguli, a second-

year student in comparative physiology. “I mean, all the money goes to charity. So that’s a really good thing. I wish I had had more time to prepare, because this whole week I had so many midterms, I literally

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

only had today, but it was really good and really fun!”

The whole show was meticulously organized and the performances of the night were very well received by the audience. Though most of

the songs throughout the event were covers, every singer’s personal touch was reflected in the pieces they chose.

The first prize winner received a $100 cash prize, while the second place winner received a $50 prize courtesy of UTM Residence Council. To top off the night, food and drinks were provided for both the audience and performers. Of course, the night would not have been complete without lip-sync battles, karaoke, and the famous Ghostbusters dance-off amongst the winners and all the executives.

“Our goal is to raise funds towards global education through UTM events that are fun and enjoyable for students,” said Li, a fourthyear commerce student and president of Free the Children at UTM and UTM Residence Council. “X Factor UTM is a new idea this year and it was great to be able to collaborate with UTM Residence Council and UTM Rotaract. We thought this would be a creative way to raise donations for Free the Children while showcasing some of our amazing students’ talents.”

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«ARTS

THE MEDIUM 03.07.2016

Soothing with stand-up Comedy combats the stigma surrounding mental health

KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR Judging from the cover art alone, Headfirst by Goldfrapp looks like an adventure in cotton-candy land. I figure that might be ironic. I could be dealing with a heavy metal album and not even know it.

Almost to my disappointment, Headfirst is not even remotely heavy metal. The genre, which iTunes classifies as electronica, is in my opinion much more pop-oriented. Because I love these analogies, Headfirst is Purity Ring meets Madonna. It’s also the most optimistic album I think I’ve ever heard. And I don’t mean that specifically regarding the lyrics.

I mean that Goldfrapp sets the listener up for toe-tapping right off the top and a general happy-dance-party feeling throughout.

If there’s one thing that drives me up the wall with some music, it’s when an artist does fade-outs at the end of every track. It feels like a cop-out to me. “Oh, we didn’t know how to end the song, so we just, you know, like, faded it out.” This isn’t true all the time. But generally speaking, I would rather a song had a real ending. Goldfrapp is really good at real endings.

Their first song, “Rocket”, appropri-

ZARA RIZWAN It’s really quite sad how those with immeasurable talent become most known for their fatal flaws. Mention the name “Sylvia Plath” and wait hardly 10 seconds before someone interjects by mentioning her infamous suicide: headfirst into a gas oven.

It’s because it’s hard to separate Plath’s poetry from her battle with mental illness. Her depression was the wood that fueled the fire of her poetry. Plath’s writing primarily deals with themes of pain and death, and “Lady Lazarus” is no exception.

I was first introduced to the poem in Professor Brent Wood’s class ENG201: Reading Poetry. Written from the perspective of the titular protagonist (often read as an alter ego of Plath’s), the poem tells the story of Lady Lazarus’s numerous suicide attempts—and constant revivals.

“The first time it happened I was ten / It was an accident,” she says.

And yet she returns from the dead to tell the tale, and she does it again, and again. Lady Lazarus describes herself as a cat: “I have nine times to die.”

She suffers a death once in a decade and has now approached the age of 30. Her repeated deaths and revivals have attracted the attention of crowds who view her tragedy as a spectacle.

With allusions ranging from the Jewish people grotesquely abused and

ately ends somewhat abruptly with a whooshing rocket sound. I was surprised, but also intrigued. Sound effects are hard to pull off.

If you’re looking for easy listening essay-writing tunes, I’ve found your album. The trade-off, though, is that all the songs do kind of blur together after a while. I’m not bored exactly, but I am listening in a bit of a cottoncandy haze. It’s sweet and wonderful, but my judgement has been affected by dyed sugar crystals.

There are, however, a couple of songs that stand out. “Dreaming” (also appropriately) paints a picture that is not entirely of this world. I find myself transported, and I’m not worried about anything but the song I’m listening to.

“Hunt” sticks with me because of how creepy it is compared to the other tracks. The lyrics in the chorus go: “Tell us nothing, tell us lies / Revelations no surprise / Tonight they hunt for you”. I like it. There is no darkness without light; you know what I mean?

My biggest complaint with Headfirst is the lack of conflict. I don’t feel like there’s a story to this album—it just exists. And that’s great. Existing is great. But it’s not enough to make me listen to Headfirst nonstop for days.

MMM

skinned into lampshades in World War II to a circus where her death is the main act, Lady Lazarus dehumanizes herself. She is nothing more than a sideshow or a creepy art exhibition created for the amusement of others.

And yet Lady Lazarus is proud of dying: “Dying / Is an art, like everything else / I do it exceptionally well.”

We all have skills of some sort, whether they are practical or unconventional, so why should Lady Lazarus be embarrassed of her cycle of death and revival when that’s what defines her?

Sure, she’s not great at dying if she can’t stay dead, but maybe the true art lies in her repeated resurrections.

Even her name—a reference to the Biblical figure who was brought back to life by Jesus—raises up her power as comparable to Christ’s. Forget the doctor who feigns concern for her wellbeing and probes at her body in efforts to bring her back. Forget the powers of God himself. Lady Lazarus is the hero of her own story.

In the final stanza, Lady Lazarus shows off her true strength: “Out of the ash / I rise with my red hair / And I eat men like air.” She is not a female Jesus—she is the phoenix who rises from the ashes of its predecessor. She is powerful in ways that those around her could never comprehend. Like the phoenix, Lady Lazarus will again die, and again rise.

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

TCMHI partnered with Stand Up for Mental Health to host the event.

HAILEY MASON ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR The Trinity College Mental Health Institute has a goal of reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness.

As a U of T organization working towards this goal, TCMHI strives to increase awareness of mental health issues and develop a dialogue with students in a safe and trustworthy environment.

In partnership with Stand Up for Mental Health, a society of performers who use comedy as an outlet for their personal experiences with mental illness, TCMHI furthered theircause with a stand-up comedy show last Wednesday night. The show was an opportunity to discuss mental illness in a relaxed environment.

The show featured performances by Stand Up For Mental Health, where comedians bravely satirized their insecurities with the purpose of raising awareness and inspiring laughter. At the start of the show, one comedian explained that performing stand-up comedy allows them to rise above their setbacks and gain positive feedback through laughter. The strength and positivity in each performance

was undeniably an inspiration.

The evening was led by Allan Strong, a team leader for the Self Help Alliance in Guelph, Kitchener, and Cambridge. Right away, Strong informed the audience of his bipolar II diagnosis, followed by several jokes at his own expense. He enthusiastically mediated the performances with his own short stand-up routines and engaged the audience by prompting them to clap and holler at his jokes.

Strong’s sharp and lively stage presence was perfect to uplift the atmosphere of the show.

Acts discussed topics of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Asperger’s syndrome.

Performers varied from young to old, but each conveyed a unique perspective on the way mental health influences their lives. One performer spoke about her experience raising children with mental illnesses. Her act offered a point of view that often goes unrecognized when discussing mental health. Throughout her comedic routine, she shared a glimpse into her role supporting and loving her children regardless of their internal struggles.

Comedy behaves as an icebreaker

that crumbles the barriers of social stigma and opens the floor to discussion. With humour, topics become approachable, regardless of their seriousness. TCMHI’s show fulfilled their initiative to start a dialogue about mental health. The show sparked a discourse about serious topics and resulted in an audience that supported the performers’ struggles through shared laughter.

“By doing comedy we can open the doors to a different kind of conversation,” Strong commented at the end of the show. “I want to applaud Trinity College for expanding this conversation tonight.”

TCMHI hit the mark with their decision to use comedy as an outlet for raising awareness. Laughing off our insecurities helps us grow beyond them and ultimately diminishes the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Comedy is a unique form of entertainment because it engages the audience in a shared joke that makes the process of absorbing and understanding a topic much easier. With all the workshops and lectures targeted to raising awareness on mental illness, none are able to address the issue quite like collective laughter.

AGM celebrates diversity in multiple disciplines Paint continued from page 5 The walls of the small room are speckled with several paintings and drawings. In the centre of the room is a collection of sculptures—some painted silver, others smeared with Pleistocene, and one dusted with a black powdery substance—displayed on a multilevel beam structure. At a glance, the room appears sparse with artifacts.

Yet when you examine the sculptures and canvases up close, you can view their intricacy on a deeper level.

Scherzinger’s idea of melding artistic mediums into a single display creates a dialogue with Kinsella’s multidisciplinary sculpture-painting exhibition in the adjacent room. Conceptually, the two displays complement each other.

The final exhibition, Change Makers, interestingly combines elements of Western and Aboriginal cultures in an attempt to re-evaluate the relationship

between the two groups. The display includes work by Shuvinai Ashoona, Wally Dion, Melissa General, Amy Malbeuf, Outi Pieski, Wendy Red Star, and Nicotye Samayualie.

Have you ever slathered icing onto a cupcake to the point where there’s more icing than cupcake?

The first piece you’ll encounter in this exhibition is Dion’s large, motherboard-looking sculpture hanging against the wall. Dion crafted this piece, “Icosahedron”, from recycled circuit boards, enamel paint, and wire.

Although “Icosahedron” resembles a large circuit board from afar, the surface betrays an elaborate pattern when examined closely.

Dion’s modern sculpture faces the exhibition’s next piece: a life-sized Aboriginal tent titled “Hideaway”. Crafted

by Pieski, this rectangular tent hangs in the centre of the room. Pieski composed this design with colourful materials such as quilts, yarn, wool, and more. If you move close, you’ll notice detailed patterning on the outer walls of the tent. One side has two holes cut from the quilt, the edges stitched and the holes filled with cotton and other material. From the mouths of each hole, tassels of thread hang against the quilted wall and extend to the floor.

Along with many other well crafted art forms in the exhibition, Change Makers nicely harmonizes the values of a modern Western culture with the natural and traditional aspects of Indigenous lifestyle.

Pushing Paint, The Zenith of My Understanding is Like Water in a Thimble, and Change Makers are all on display at the AGM until April 10.

03.07.2016 THE MEDIUM ARTS» 7

Does Suits City suit your capitalist taste?

There’s no escaping the CEO in this close-to-home RPG—get ready for war against your boss ZARA RIZWAN One of my favourite things to do is search the Steam store for games under $6. Some say you can’t get quality cheap, but sometimes I come across real gems for only a dollar or two.

Suits: A Business RPG is one of them.

Suits: A Business RPG is a short indie video game developed by Technomancy Studios. The game takes you inside Suits City, a greyscale world where corporations reign and control the entire government. You play as “The Guy”, a regular worker who travels through the five districts (Office, Law, Financial, Food, Media) and becomes caught up in the battle between those in favour of and those against capitalism. And I mean “battle” literally: you have to kill your coworkers, who have transformed into monsters from overworking.

The battle screen is like most RPGs, with the option to physically fight, use a special skill, or use an item to heal yourself or a party member. There is one particular skill not often seen in other games, but it fits perfectly here: Bribe. If an enemy is too tough, or you don’t feel up to fighting, you have the option

SARAH YASSINE/THEMEDIUM

Suits is as much about social commentary as gameplay. to pay off your enemies to leave you alone. This can get pretty expensive, though. After all, sandwiches in this game cost $100 each.

There is so much strange humour in this game that I can’t figure out if it’s meant to be funny or not—but that’s the point. From hearing your coworker tell you they can’t see their

family anymore because they have to live at their job to the courthouse having a designated room to play basketball in, you are meant to realize with every minute of gameplay that these corporations do not care about anything—besides themselves.

You even fight King Ramsey in the kitchen and Bustin Jiebers in the

media district. Everything is intertwined in Suits City, from the telemarketers we hate to the pop culture we eat up. They all serve as one cog to keep the world functioning under the CEO. Even the graphics serve as symbolism. The game maintains a simple pixelated style, yet you’re the only

worker who has a face. Everything around you, from the land to the people you speak with, are all in black, white, or grey. But so are you.

And towards the end of the game, that’s what is made most prominent: you, the protagonist, are just one person who has conformed to the system his whole life. Can one person really lead an uprising? Can the corporations be overthrown? Will you just defeat the CEO and take his place to control society? Or will you find the developers inside the game, kill them, and stop the game from ever being finished? You’ll have to play to find out.

My primary concern about the game was that it was too short, and the screenshot feature wasn’t working. There were a few bugs here and there, but nothing that would stop the game from running.

All in all, whether you’re pro- or anti-capitalism, Suits: A Business RPG is a quirky game that’ll have you snickering at the bad jokes and missing some sleep to get to the next district. Just like the workers themselves.

Check your source: comedians broadcast When comedians offer rich performances in news as well as jokes, who do viewers turn to?

FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

The Daily Show. The Colbert Report.

The Nightly Show.

Aside from all of these being latenight shows that specialise in political comedy, what do they have in common?

Well, for one thing, these shows seem to report news better than news channels themselves.

Before you dismiss my statement as an over-inflated opinion, let’s take a look at the statistics and the research, shall we? Interestingly, a 2008 study called “Political comedy shows and knowledge about primary campaigns: the moderating effects of age and education” says that during the 2004 U.S. election period, exposure to late-night political comedy, especially among younger and educated viewers, resulted in significant knowledge gain about candidates and issues.

In fact, let’s go a step further: according to a 2013 study (“What about those interviews? The Impact of Exposure to Political Comedy and Cable News on Factual Recall and Anticipated Political Expression”), individuals who watch political comedy are more likely to remember political information rather than those watching a similar interview on a traditional news channel.

Why though? Why is it that, at least on the surface, comedians seem to be doing a better job than shows dedicated to delivering news?

In a previous interview on Reddit, Larry Wilmore, the host of

POP-BREAK.COM/PHOTO

What sources do you trust?

The Nightly Show, believes that the younger generation is turning to comedy programs instead of the news because “a lot of it has to do with authenticity. I think sometimes they feel like they don’t know if they can trust the actual news anymore”.

This may be fuelled by the way that news networks are not always seen as providing fair and balanced news coverage. For example, FOX is known for its anti-Muslim inflammatory rhetoric, while MSNBC’s Morning Joe hosts were recently caught on tape agreeing to Donald Trump’s request to “take it easy on him” with questions and to avoid discussing deportation. It’s events such as these that cause viewers to question the objectivity of news

channels.

On the other hand, comedians have greater freedom, as they are not bound to the limitations of a news channel. They are free to make light of every political event and decision. For example, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver has “full creative freedom” and has criticised countless corporations in the past, such as FIFA. Political comedy shows aren’t limited to just poking fun at politicians.

As expected of any self-respecting news channel, they also carry out investigative journalism. Let’s take Last Week Tonight with John Oliver as an example. There are several great investigative segments, but I’ll settle with the televangelists seg-

ment, which aired on August 16, 2015.

Oliver’s show created a legitimate church, titled “Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption”, asking viewers for “seed” (i.e. monetary donations) simply to demonstrate how easy it was to set up a religious organization in the U.S., and then be entitled to broad tax exemptions and little to no scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service. These actions mimicked those of pastors that prey on their vulnerable followers, asking for donations as a form of “seed faith”. While followers may believe that they are following their scripture, some organizations exploit these beliefs, promising untold riches, magical cures, and even

removing credit card debt, when in reality, this is an extra source of revenue for themselves.

Following unsavoury donations (such as semen), Oliver chose to close down the church. While all of the proceeds (described by Oliver as “thousands of envelopes with thousands of dollars”) went to Doctors Without Borders, it goes to show that there are several unregulated and rarely audited predatory churches that prey on the vulnerable masses for their own monetary gain.

Was this just one lucky segment by one show? No, there are several more examples. The Colbert Report launched a political action committee titled “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow” that raised over $1 million, releasing ad campaigns in the U.S. (including a very anti– Mitt Romney ad) and even funded Colbert’s plan (legally) to run for “President of the United States of South Carolina”. The purpose of the segment was to demonstrate the fact that corporations have the right to spend unlimited amounts in political ads to support or slander candidates running in elections—and boy, did they demonstrate that clearly.

Now, I’m not saying that news channels are utterly worthless. I still turn to BBC and Al Jazeera when I need to hear the latest on an unfolding event—I won’t be waiting for a comedian to water it down.

But at the same time, just to make sure that I’m getting the entire picture, I’ll also be taking my news with a strong dose of comedy, thank you very much.

8

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03.07.2016

Counting down the final days of print?

Print or online? Dilemma continues at several campus newspapers, with some making changes MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Within Canada’s Digital Divides (a Poynter Institute report written

by Ken Goldstein) lies an ominous statement: “In 2025, it is likely that there will be few, if any, printed daily newspapers in Canada.”

The report also says, “A small number of traditional media might be able to make the transition to becoming national or international online news ‘brands’. ” But just like Goldstein, we are left wondering: what will happen to local journalism? More specifically, what will happen to print journalism?

“The state of print media is probably on every editor’s mind at this point in history,” says Ross Vernon Dias, editor-in-chief at The Underground, the student-run monthly magazine at UTSC. The topic was also raised at The Medium’s journalism panel last week, entitled “The Medium Talks”.

Karlene Nation, a media specialist at OneNation Media Group who was a panelist at the event, says, “The news and journalism industry is changing—it’s shrinking somewhat.” Nation explained that a large part of it is due to the decline

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

Following a last issue in December 2015, The Sheridan Sun transitioned to an online-only format. in advertising and the increasing number of news organizations.

Similarly, H. G. Watson, also present at the panel, illustrated the breadth of these news sources by referring to a study on media concentration in Canada, saying, “Facebook, right now, is the fourth largest media company in Canada.” She explained this phenomenon, saying, “Humans like

to hear stories—what is Facebook if not people sharing stories with each other?”

While describing traditional forms of media such as newspapers and television, Watson says, “I don’t want to say that they will be obsolete, but we have new forms of media that are moving in that have very little competition.” An example mentioned by Watson was that

Google is now hiring more editors and reporters.

Similarly, many writers question how far arguments about “the good old days”, or the “permanence in print”, can keep the tide of constantly-updated digital media at bay.

“Employers are looking to reach an audience, and you get that through the Internet,” says Jasmine

Anthony. She was the managing editor of The Sheridan Sun at the time of its last print publication, before transitioning to an onlineonly format.

“We did already have an online publication, so we were well prepared for the transition,” says Anthony, who is in her last year of the print journalism program at Sheridan.

She mentions that this is the last year the program will run, after which it will be merged with the broadcast journalism program, which contributes largely to why the faculty decided to concentrate the curriculum on online-only content.

“The Sheridan Sun is like our baby,” says Anthony, and while she describes the move to online-only as bittersweet, she says, “We all agree with the decision and understand the reasons for it.”

The Sheridan Sun is run by students from the print journalism program and Anthony mentions how almost all their stories have been student oriented. The paper has been around since 1971 and has featured stories from Mississauga, Oakville, and Toronto.

Print continued on page 10

Conference: Black History Month style The tri-campus Black History Month Conference featured keynote speakers and workshops ZAHRA SINA On February 27, the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union hosted the Resilience and Resistance Black History Month Conference at Sidney Smith Hall downtown. The conference featured workshops on self-care, privatization of punishment, and present-day blacktivism. Closing remarks and keynote speeches were given by Nompendulo Mkhatshwa and Yusra Khogali Ali. A similar Black History Month conference was organized by the SCSU in 2014, on the Scarborough campus.

“Rather than solely organizing Black History Month initiatives with Black Student Associations at the Scarborough campus, we reached out to black student organizers and organizations across all three campuses to create this space collectively,” says Jessica Kirk, VP equity at SCSU. The conference aimed to provide a space so that members of the community could engage in important

OSM.UTORONTO.CA/PHOTO

The Resilience and Resistance Black History Conference was hosted at Sidney Smith Hall. conversations about topics such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and power and highlight the resources that exist to support the black community. Through workshops and discussions, Kirk hopes that the conference will provide attendees with

the necessary tools and resources to be able to take these conversations back to their communities.

The Medium rounded up the highlights of workshops at the conference.

SELF-CARE Kayla Carter, a U of T graduate, held a workshop that provided a space of healing for those who identify as black. She discussed the ways in which internalized anti-blackness manifests within individuals’ lives

and how they can address that.

Carter posed the question that if you wouldn’t allow someone to come up to you on the street and say the negative things you say to yourself, then why do you allow yourself to? With this question, Carter emphasized the lack of respect that we sometimes have for ourselves.

Carter mentioned examples such as not eating all day due to work or not giving oneself a break from work.

When one student commented on her nonstop studying (even over the summer) and her plans to take a semester off, Carter stressed the importance of taking a break. She said that the people who overwork will eventually find themselves burned out, and that we need breaks from work, studies, and relationships to rejuvenate—we owe that to ourselves.

Carter also touched on the ways to unify the various communities that are of the African diaspora, and how they can work to support one another.

History continued on page 10

03.07.2016 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 9

Casting votes: a history of elections The Medium rewinds and takes a look at the history of UTMSU executive elections

FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR

It’s that time of the year again: elections. Practically every UTM club, society, and committee (including The Medium) is electing students to fill roles for the next academic year. Last week, campaigning for the UTMSU executive positions began, and what may have surprised many students is the number of slates and individuals running for the roles.

In the past, this has not been the case.

In 2014, UTM Inspire ran as the sole slate under Hassan Havili (then VP part-time affairs), for the UTMSU executive team. There were three students who ran independently: Farishta Amanullah for VP equity, Amir Moazzami for VP part-time affairs, and Erik Hernandez-Oberding for VP internal and services. UTM Inspire won, and so did Moazzami, as no one else was running for the VP part-time affairs position.

In 2013, UTM Connect, headed by then VP internal and services Raymond Noronha, ran for all the available UTMSU executive positions. There were no independent

candidates or opposing slates. The winners? Unsurprisingly, it was UTM Connect.

In 2012, UTM Engage, a slate headed by Chris Thompson, then VP campus life, ran as the sole slate.

The opposition consisted solely of Thomas Kristan, a returning independent candidate from 2011, who was running for VP equity. With approximately 17 percent of the UTM student population casting ballots for the election, UTM Engage won all of the available positions.

In 2011, the elections consisted of UTM Students First, headed by Gilbert Cassar, then VP internal, versus independent candidate Kristan, running for VP university affairs. UTM Students First won the elections.

Two years earlier, in 2009, the UTM Movement slate ran, headed by then VP internal Joey Santiago, and won. There had been an independent candidate running for the VP equity position, who later dropped out. Spoiler alert: the UTM Movement slate won.

Do you notice the trend or must I go on?

Generally, slates have been running unopposed for the UTMSU executive positions. Another ob-

servable trend is that these slates tend to include incumbent UTMSU members, i.e. individuals who are currently holding a position in the union. There have been a few scattered independent candidates now and then, and, even rarer, they may win the position they are running for—but they remain the minority.

Excluding 2010 and 2015.

In 2010, there were two slates: the Yellow team (also known as Students United), headed by Vickita Bhatt, and the Blue team (also called UTM Renew), headed by Henry Ssali. Following an election rife with controversies, the Yellow team won. There was a 30 percent voter turnout.

In 2015, two slates ran: UTM Rise, led by then VP external Ebi Agbeyegbe, and UTM Reform, led by then Division 3 director Maaham Malik. With a 25 percent voter turnout, UTM Rise won every position on the UTMSU executive.

While UTM Rise won the elections, Maaham Malik, who was running for UTMSU president in the UTM Reform slate, does not regret her loss. In fact, one of her campaign slogans had been to “break the ‘wall that exists between the students and the student union’ ”, and she believes

that she achieved just that.

“Last year—I guess our team name gives it away—was about reform,” says Malik, a fifth-year biology and psychology student. “I guess the main point of our platform was to reach out to students and to let them know that there is not only one team that will run every year— you should have a choice and there should be more than one name on that ballot.

Looking at the number of candidates running this year, Malik says, “Even though we had a loss in the sense that we did not win the actual seats, considering that there are four full slates running in this election, I consider it a win, not only for us, but for any student on this campus who does not feel like they’re being represented properly.”

As for the trend that it is generally incumbents who tend to run unopposed, fourth-year accounting specialist Muhammad Talha Mahmood says, “People used to be surprised that no one else was interested in running—but that’s not true. It’s just the fact that even if someone wants to run, they’re discouraged from running. That happened to me and [Malik] when we started running

[last year].”

Mahmood had run for VP internal as a part of the UTM Reform slate last year.

This form of discouragement and other controversies seem to be a feature in several past UTMSU executive elections.

For example, back in 2010, where two slates were running (the Yellow and Blue teams), there were several controversies, a key one being the gross reduction of demerit points.

If a candidate violates the Elections and Procedural Code, they will be issued demerit points. According to the electoral code, violations include infractions such as unsolicited campaigning, displaying campaign materials in unauthorized areas and “unsanctioned use of union resources”. This year, if a candidate receives 40 demerit points, they will be disqualified.

However, demerit points can be altered by the following three individuals/committees: the Chief Returning Officer, the Elections and Referenda Committee, and the Elections and Referenda Appeals Committee.

Election continued on page 10

10

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THE MEDIUM 03.07.2016

Conference was first of its kind It’s official: I may have uncovered the

Now I know what you’re thinking: “But

perfect recipe for us lazy and slightly cu-

Farah, how on earth will this cheesecake

linarily challenged individuals. The recipe

rival those found in the Cheesecake Fac-

is simple, student-friendly, and could even

tory?” Well, dear reader, it certainly will not

be considered fancy—and no, I’m not

be a Cheesecake Factory masterpiece. But

talking about nachos or baked potatoes.

have no fear, as Vega herself describes the

This week’s Blackboard Special has been

recipe as a “short and simple food formula

contributed by Stephanie Vega, a student

[that] is a fantastic solution for a speedy,

development officer at the Office of Stu-

delectable treat”.

dent Transition, who has offered a recipe

Speedy and simple? This recipe already

passed down from her mother: a “no-bake”

sounds like something that I want to try—

cheesecake.

and can achieve.

“No-Bake” Cheesecake SERVES 10–12

INGREDIENTS • 480 g package of medium-sized honey graham squares • 500 ml package of Nutriwhip Dessert Topping • 450 g of regular cream cheese (in bar or container form) • 595 g can of cherry pie filling (or alternative fruit filling)

3. Spread ½ of the blended Nutriwhip Dessert Topping and cream cheese mixture on top of the layer of honey graham squares, covering the entire surface area.

4. Lay another layer of honey graham squares on top of the blended mixture, covering the entire surface area.

5. Repeat step 3 with the remaining ½ of the blended mixture.

METHOD 1. Combine Nutriwhip Dessert Topping and cream cheese in a large bowl. Blend until smooth.

6. Spread the cherry pie filling evenly on top of the blended mixture.

7. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Lay one layer of honey graham squares

8. Serve. Refrigerate remaining portions

along the bottom of a 9” x 13” rectangu-

of cheesecake—if there are any left.

lar pan, covering the entire surface area.

Shifting to online Print continued from page 8 Anthony describes how student involvement in the paper was further encouraged by including their pictures and comments and maintaining live blogs. However, she mentions how the online version has always received several hits, and “the money being paid, instead of going to a print publication, can now be directed to something more useful”.

The significantly shorter delay between an incident occurring and an online update appearing, as Anthony describes, is another factor when considering the divide between online and print. “I’ve always loved the paper in my hand, but I do believe I check my phone more,” she says.

Although Anthony feels that print will never truly die, she mentions how the shift towards digital media is rapid, and for students in the print journalism program to be competitive candidates in the job market, these skills are essential to develop.

The Underground also shifted to a monthly publication from a biweekly one, albeit for different reasons.

“The recent format change was a little selfish; we knew we needed more space to be as creative as we possibly could. We felt a little inhibited by the 24-page bi-weekly issue both temporally and spatially,” says Dias. He mentions how the paper has evolved towards the monthly format over the years since its inception in 1982.

Dias also describes how each article has increased from 600 words to 800–1,000 words, “which is a significant increase in what the writers are able to say within the articles”.

The print edition, however, is not the only thing changing at The Underground. Dias mentions that earlier, the entire magazine used to be posted to the website as it was.

The website transition began this

year with an online editor to curate website-specific content and a better social media presence.

“Digital lets us be up-to-date, fast, and brief. Print lets us be expressive, dynamic, and distinctive. Why not use both to a publication’s advantage?” says Dias.

The new Underground website has introduced podcasts, videos, and a newsletter. Dias mentions how next year, The Underground will introduce a website editor-in-chief and a creative team to really push for digital content.

“Since we are a student publication, advertising really isn’t of much concern,” says Dias, also noting how a social media presence, while not only generating direct revenue, builds a connection with the reader.

In terms of financing, Dias mentions that The Underground is doing well by a student-paid levy, but their main problem remains pushing for increased space. Dias explains that the office is small for their team of 15 and restricts their creative growth.

“These goals [for increased space] cannot be met on our current budget, so The Underground is planning for an increased levy in the 2017/18 academic year,” he says.

Investments toward online content development may be made for a variety of reasons, but writers seem to agree upon the dwindling, but permanent, presence of print media. “[Print media] definitely will always have an audience,” says Dias.

While both mediums offer different experiences, Dias mentions that the entire digital publication industry is built on the format of print, which, as much as they try, can’t be shaken off.

Dias suggests the possibility of a reduction in issues printed, or a recalibration of audiences, but, as he summarizes, “Print won’t die—it’s impossible.”

History continued from page 8 PRIVATIZATION OF PUNISHMENT Runako Gregg, a legal advisor from the African Canadian Legal Clinic, talked about the prison industrial complex, structural violence on low income black communities, corporate exploitation of prisons, and carding in his workshop.

He began his talk with a video exploring the prison system in the U.S. Gregg said that America has five percent of the world’s population, but houses 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.

Referring to criticalresistance. org, Gregg explained that the prison industrial complex is a term used to describe “the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social, and political problems”. He then mentioned that there are private prisons in the U.S. that are owned by corporations, and that there is an incentive to keep these prisons full of prisoners, since it would cost them to have an empty bed.

Several of the workshop attendees argued that when prisoners are finally released, they still don’t have a way to integrate into society, as a charge and even an arrest will remain on their permanent record forever, making prisons a part of the bigger problem.

Attendees also discussed how black people lack access to resources and face issues in employment, housing, and education. “Education tends to be that conduit to social mobility, but if you’re receiving poor education in a poor community, you won’t be able to climb up the socioeconomic ladder,” said Gregg.

As a result, Gregg said that there is a cyclic occurrence of crime in these communities, which lack resources— especially among youth.

As an example of how bad the situation can get for children, Gregg mentioned a phone call that he once received from a mother seeking help because her three-year-old was expelled from school. Gregg’s anecdote was meant to demonstrate that even the education system does not know how to effectively deal with these issues and during the process of addressing them, the system can actually create more problems.

Gregg also commented on how the media pushes images and ideas of criminality among the black community and create fear. There is a recurring stereotype in media that represents people of colour to have a direct association with “blackness” and criminality. According to Gregg, people of African descent who see the media’s portrayal of black people think that this is the way they should act, this is their role in society, and makes it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Near the end of the discussion, Gregg talked about carding. Carding, in brief, he said, is when a police officer stops someone and takes a profile, even when the person has done nothing wrong. Through the efforts of individuals exposing the injustices involved in the practice, the practice is slowly dwindling.

BLACKTIVISM Alexandra Williams, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Toronto, hosted a workshop on Afrofuturism, where she traced various black movements of activism and resistance from the motherland to the slave ship and

in Western society.

According to Williams, BLMTO “connects to all parts of the community who live within various margins and works to tap into the creation of sociopolitical revolutionary actions, without causing discomfort and seclusion”.

Today, there are multiple organizations fighting for black people. Williams stressed that it is important to understand that we are standing on the shoulders of people who already did this work in the past. The protests and movements in the present day are different from movements in the past as today we have social media to connect us.

Williams discussed Afrofuturism and said that at the base of Afrofuturism is resistance and revolution.

“Political action is performative,” she said. “This form of action is not only meant to catch the eye of the inattentive state (police officers, politicians, government, etc.), but also to communicate among ourselves.”

Forms of action that the BLMTO engages in include spray painting “I can’t breathe” in Dundas Square; chalking stories at Nathan Philip Square; reciting slogans, hymns, songs, and poetry; making banners and posters; and dancing, to name a few. The death of Andrew Loku, a Sudanese refugee who was killed by Toronto Police, is one issue that BLMTO brought light to by protesting on the streets.

The black history month conference partners included UTMSU, U of T Black Students’ Association, the Racialized Students’ Collective, the UTSC African Students’ Association, and the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students.

Demerits and conflicts of interest Election continued from page 9 In 2010, disqualification was upon receipt of 35 demerit points. Bhatt, who was running for the UTMSU president position, had 62 demerit points, while her counterpart, Ssali, the UTM Renew presidential candidate, had 36 demerit points.

Following an appeal, Bhatt’s demerit points were reduced to 30 demerit points, while Ssali was reduced to 26 demerit points. Aside from the convenient demerit point reduction, what remains controversial is that a member of the Appeals Committee, Hiba Amin, had been openly supporting Bhatt’s slate (Students United).

Similarly, conflicts of interest can be observed in last year’s elections.

By the third day of campaigning during the 2015 elections, both teams had been disqualified by accumulating too many demerit points.

“Hassan Havilli was president that year—and he ended up being the campaign manager [for UTM Rise].

How is that unbiased? And not only that, but three other executives left their positions—took a leave—and supported their entire campaign.

Three executives—that’s a lot of connections that you build throughout the year. As an executive, you literally know the students who are going out to vote because you’re talking to them throughout the year,” says

Mahmood.

“I feel like the game that seems to be played by the incumbent—or the team that runs that is often supported by the slate in office—is the tactic to not actually democratically run against the opponent, but to eliminate them, so that they don’t have an opponent,” says Malik.

“That’s not the way an election should run—if you want to earn a seat, you should win the seat by appealing to a voter, not eliminating your competition and ensuring that you will win by default,” says Malik.

“I thought that I would see this kind of stuff happening in elections outside university—not university elections to be this intense and have this many problems,” says Mahmood.

Malik also pointed out that campaigning was occasionally being done by members of other universities, such as York and Ryerson.

However, following last year’s elections, Malik raised issues in the last UTMSU board meeting (such as current executives campaigning for a slate, and that campaigning was done by non-UTM individuals too), resulting in a few changes in the electoral procedure this year.

According to an update last Wednesday by the Elections and Referenda Committee, any volunteers who are campaigning for slates must be UTM students. Non-UTM students are allowed to play support-

ing roles. However, the same ruling states that independent candidates are allowed to have a maximum of five non-UTM students act as campaigners, in order to provide “fair ground to independent candidates and slate candidates”.

Additionally, a notice on the Wall of Transparency (in the Davis Building) states that current UTMSU executive members are not allowed to “play an active role within the Spring Elections and [must] have no part in the elections process”.

So it’s clear that there have been changes—changes in both the electoral code and the number of people running this year.

For the 2016 elections, there are a total of four slates and three independent candidates running.

Mahmood’s advice for the slates running this year is, “They shouldn’t be discouraged by anything that the opposing slate does […] I would suggest just staying strong.”

Malik advises slates to “not get caught up in the dirty politics”.

“Elections are not about friendship—they’re about what you believe in, what you can bring to the table, and what your platform is […] They are hiring you for a job—you are being paid for a position. So this is not a popularity contest. It is about appealing to the students and letting them know what you bring to the table,” says Malik.

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#SIC2016 breaks the Twitter-sphere Over 350 undergraduate students from across North America attended the prestigious event ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR At the fifth annual Sports Industry Conference, held last Friday at U of T Rotman School of Management, students and speakers tweeted out #SIC2016, and, over the course of the 10-hour event, the hashtag went viral, becoming the most trending topic in Canada.

The conference gave over 350 undergraduate students from all across North America the opportunity to listen and network with the most renowned sports leaders from prestigious sports organizations such as the NBA, NHL, MLSE, Toronto Raptors, TSN, Sportsnet, Wasserman Media Group, Right to Play, and You Can Play. Throughout the event, students were encouraged to take photos in their formal business attire and sports leaders and speakers who were present tweeted about the event.

Their names generated a lot of attention throughout the Twitter-

ERIC HEWITSON/THE MEDIUM

Many renowned sports leaders attended the event to motivate students to succeed. sphere.

The theme for SIC2016 was “Behind the Game: Building the Playbook”. The event consisted of four panels: groups of speakers who tackle certain topics and aspects of sports such as analytics, partner-

ships, mentorship, and high performance athletes. Panel discussions lasted for approximately 50 minutes with 15-minute breaks in between for students to network with their favourite speaker. The conversations and teaching points

Squashing it at UTM UTM’s squash club grows in numbers, finding success

were engaging and brought out the enthusiasm and sharp-minded questions from a young knowledge-hungry crowd.

The first panel, Mentorship and Development, included Trevor Georgie (president of the Saint

ONGELLE-LISE BURNETT

Often when one hears of a squash club, the most frequent questions asked are, “Do you sit around and eat squash?” or, “Do you meet and swap recipes on how to cook different types of squash?” Although these are interesting suggestions for a postgame snack—butternut squash soup with a grilled cheese sandwich—I jump at the opportunity and secretly take great pride in the invitation to give my researchbased presentation on squash, the game that stole my heart.

Normally, I explain squash as being tennis in a room, a fast-paced

sport that gives an adrenaline rush like no other. As presented by Squash Canada, squash is a racquet sport played in an enclosed room that challenges two players (or, in the case of doubles, four players) mentally and physically in strength, strategy, skill, and endurance. The objective is that players take turns hitting a ball against the front wall, allowing that ball to bounce once on the floor within the restricted area of play—above the tin and below the outermost lines, where the ball may strike the side or back walls at any time.

In keeping with the principles of squash, the UTM and UTSG squash clubs fully embrace pro-

ONGELLE-LISE BURNETT/THE MEDIUM

moting a space for interested U of T staff, faculty, and students to learn and compete in squash. Both clubs’ purpose is to provide an alternative environment for people who are looking for more comfortable and casual approaches to playing squash.

During St. George’s Clubs’ Week this past fall, I had the privilege of meeting Hinny Lam (president) and Aadil Randeree (VP) of UTSG’s Squash Club. Soon, emails began back and forth between Lam and me as we worked with our teams to arrange a collaboration tournament by the end of the term.

Squash continued on page 12

SIC2016 continued on page 12

Getting to know dietary differences AMANDA BORTHWICK STAFF WRITER

The Squash Club poses for a photo in one of UTM’s squash courts.

John Sea Dogs of the CHL); Rachel Bonnetta (on-air host at MLS); and Tyler Currie (director of internal affairs at NHLPA). The panelists discussed their humble beginnings and where they are now. They all agreed that extensive networking and a little bit of luck could take you a long way during the trials and tribulations of a sports enthusiast seeking a career in his or her desired field.

The second panel, Community and Partnerships, saw Morgan Campbell (sports reporter at The Toronto Star); Jillian Svensson (VP of You Can Play); Preben Ganzhorn (VP brands at Wasserman Media Group); and Stephen Brooks (business operations for the Toronto Blue Jays) tackle issues such as how to make it into a world dominated by gender and ethnic preference and how to use the community, market, and leverage partners into creating a top-tier product.

These days, it seems like there’s a new diet every time you open the fridge.

And choosing one that fits your lifestyle, body type, dietary restrictions, fitness goals, religion, culture, and ethical considerations can leave you scratching your head in confusion.

Well, scratch away, because if choosing one wasn’t hard enough, adhering to specific diets themselves can be even more confusing. If you’ve heard of the “calorie confusion” diet, then I need not say more.

But amidst the claims of longevity, weight loss, boosts in energy, metabolism, and other health benefits, some diets aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be, while others deserve a little more attention.

VEGETARIANISM Popeye might have been on to something when he said, “Strong to the finish when you eat your spinach.” Although downing a tin of spinach most likely won’t make you suddenly sprout bulging biceps, it has been proven to improve your cardiovascular health.

In fact, vegetarians, who avoid eating meat and fish, also generally have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure, several forms of cancer, diabetes, and obesity because these diets are usually lower in fat and higher in fibre.

These diets provide adequate overall nutrient intake for endurance activities such as track and field and competitive swimming. Recognized as one of the best triathletes in the world, David Scott, an avid vegetarian for many years, has attributed his endurance, speed, and strength to his high-fibre vegetarian diet.

Noel Miller is an exercise specialist and has been vegetarian for over 10 years. He’s been working in the fitness industry for about that long as well. He has an in-depth sports background and continues to enjoy a healthy active lifestyle. He collaborates with multiple health practitioners and approaches fitness from a holistic perspective.

Miller claims that the biggest benefit of becoming a vegetarian is that you can slow down and pay attention to what you’re putting in your body.

When you eat, you start to realize the impact of the choice of foods you eat, which begins to have a direct relationship with how you feel. Instead of eating something and feeling, “Oh man, I shouldn’t have eaten that, but it tastes good,” it turns into, “I shouldn’t have eaten that; it’s not worth it.”

When it comes to training, the biggest change with vegetarianism is that you will increase your lean muscle mass and reduce your body fat percentage.

Diet continued on page 12

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Causing a “racquet” at Get healthy or UTM squash courts go home Squash continued from page 11 Last fall, the UTM and UTSG squash players met for the first time to play in a friendly intercampus tournament. Players of various skill levels came together to represent their campus and compete.

The night ended with the tournament hosting some 20 players, resulting in Alicia Jarosz of UTSG winning the women’s category, Ashfaq Butt of UTM winning the men’s category, and each receiving a Sport Chek gift card.

“The number of times I’ve been told that people were thankful for the event was incredibly impressive,” said Lam. With the positive feedback and the number of requests for another

tournament, both clubs’ executives went back to the drawing board to have a second intercampus tournament.

“Next year, I would like to have more women come out to the Squash Club and participate in this tournament.”

- Samira Salim On February 26, UTM Squash Club members travelled downtown once again to meet UTSG Squash Club members to have a fun-filled night of squash while competing.

This time, the tournament ran

much more smoothly, with more players and concluding with new friendships. Returning champion Jarosz won in the women’s category again, while new victor Sultan Akif of UTM won in the men’s category.

“Next year, I would like to have more women come out to the Squash Club and participate in this tournament [and other competitive activities],” said Samira Salim, VP of the UTM Squash Club.

This is one wish of both leaving presidents and organizers of the intercampus tournament—to have more players, especially women, come out to learn and compete in squash.

Disclosure: The author of this article is president of the UTM Squash Club.

Dressed to the nines at Rotman College SIC2016 continued from page 11 The third panel, Data and Analytics, consisted of Meghan Chayka (cofounder of Stathletes); Dean Oliver (VP data science at True Media Networks); Sean Lahman (data projects manager at SABR); and Jason Rosenfeld (director of basketball analytics for the NBA). These high-quality data experts all have one thing in common, which is staying ahead of the curve. It’s these individuals’ responsibility to provide analysis and data to players and teams, giving them the highest percentages to maintain a high level of success in their field.

The fourth panel included high

profile names like Tim Bezbatchenko (GM of Toronto FC) and Johann Olav Koss (Olympic silver medalist and founder of Right to Play).

Bezbatchenko dealt with the majority of the questions from the crowd, discussing problems that arise while working as a general manager of a major Toronto sports franchise.

There were a handful of keynote speakers, who were the highlights of the event. Jack Armstrong, Toronto Raptors broadcaster, opened up his monologue with his famous “Hello!” regularly heard after a big play in a Raptors game. Michele O’Keefe, president and CEO of Canada Basketball, had an interesting view on how to handle the future of Canadi-

an basketball. She claimed that if she had her way, like Argentina and Italy do, Canadians would have a license to play basketball. Bryan Colangelo, former GM of the Toronto Raptors, and Bill Daly, deputy commissioner of the NHL, were favourites among the student delegates.

Students had plenty of refreshments and food to keep them going throughout the day. There were fridges’ worth of Red Bull refreshments and lunch was something better than you’d expect even at a fourstar wedding reception. For the $40 that the event costs, it is surely worth your while. Next year, take advantage of what SIC2017 has to offer.

Diet continued from page 11 You will start to feel when your body does not have enough protein or carbs. It makes you conscious of how food affects your body. You will most likely increase the diversity of foods you eat from different cultures. These days, the variety of options for vegetarians are pretty equal to the meat options.

“Vegetarians enjoy a healthier lifestyle and get sick less often,” says Miller. “It is easier to maintain your weight and you find that you have more energy. This is especially beneficial when playing in sports or other physical activities. Your chance of illness and disease are drastically reduced. You may also feel your body has a hard time switching back to meat once you begin a vegetarian lifestyle.”

As for restrictions, they are mostly social. You may need to bring food when visiting friends or relatives or know that your options may be limited when eating out. If you don’t cook already, it’s an awesome time to learn.

VEGANISM A stricter diet than vegetarianism, this plant-based diet excludes meat and all food produced by animals, including eggs, fish, dairy products, and honey.

Not too long ago, the word “vegan” may have prompted images of anemic-looking, animal rights activist, sandal-wearing hippies. But today you can replace those images with ones of David Carter, Serena Williams, and Carl Lewis, because as this diet gains popularity, more athletes are turning to it to build strength and boost energy.

Contrary to popular belief, vegans don’t have to sacrifice on their protein intake, because protein is in all types of food, just generally in lower quantities than in meat. There are a variety of options in a vegan diet, such as rice, beans, quinoa, hemp, and tofu, that will suffice for protein intake.

Look at former heavyweight

champion Mike Tyson, who after losing over 100 pounds credits his vegan diet with not only helping to lower his blood pressure, but also eliminating his arthritis and joint pain.

GLUTEN-FREE Gluten is a protein found in all forms of wheat. As an athlete, your diet relies on an adequate intake of carbohydrates, which is usually derived from the gluten in grains.

However, many people have celiac disease, a type of gluten intolerance where these vital nutrients are malabsorbed in the small intestine. So while some athletes follow glutenfree diets to ease unpleasant digestive symptoms during competitions, others do so because they may experience symptoms of celiac disease.

Celebrity athletes like Saints quarterback Drew Brees and top tennis player Novak Djokovic have advocated for the benefits of a gluten-free diet, claiming that it has improved digestion and sleep patterns and reduced the occurrence of illnesses.

PALEO Have you ever seen an obese caveman? The answer to that question is the premise underlying this prehistory-based diet. Based on eating food in its most basic form to replicate what and how we ate during the hunter-gatherer days of the Paleolithic Era, the paleo diet requires you to give up dairy, processed foods, refined sugars, alcohol, and fun.

Essentially, if it was available thousands of years ago, it is a part of this meal plan, which includes fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oils in moderation. The good news is that this diet is rich in low-fat proteins and healthy fats and nutrients and is going to control your blood sugar levels, which moderate food cravings and fatigue and decrease the likelihood of diabetes.

The bad news is that because modern grains weren’t available yet, the paleo diet lacks carbohydrates and restricts intake of wheat, rice, and corn.