Vol 43 issue 10

UTMSFL wants message heard

A nation takes a giant step back

Postcards to new pals

Holocaust survivor speaks

Eagles dribble to a win

News, page 2

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

Low turnout at the UTSU town hall BLC claims that they did not receive an invite from UTSU to the town hall meeting ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Following UTSU’s town hall with the Black Liberation Collective last Thursday, BLC claimed that they were not invited to the meeting.

According to UTSU’s Facebook event for the town hall, the meeting would be a space for “our [union] members from the Black community to voice their concerns about the UTSU, and what we can do to improve.”

“This is a space for our members to hold the UTSU accountable, and for the UTSU to engage in dialogue about problematic practices. This space will be prioritizing the voices of Black UTSU members,” the event description had also stated.

The town hall began 40 minutes later than scheduled, and only one Black student was present. Fortyfive minutes after the meeting commenced, Yusra Khogali, a member

FACEBOOK.COM/BLCUOFT/PHOTO

There was a low turnout for UTSU’s town hall with the Black Liberation Collective. of the BLC, entered the room and accused the UTSU executives of being “incompetent” and using Black students on campus “as tokens.”

Last Friday, a day after the town hall, the BLC released a statement on their Facebook page commenting on the meeting and its turnout.

“Around 10 people attended—only one Black student—and [the] majority of the attendees were UTSU executives,” read the statement. “Due

to the poor turnout, the conversation was reframed to be a discussion on ally-ship.”

At the town hall, Khogali claimed that the low turnout of the meeting was due to a lack of consultation.

Khogali also accused UTSU of scheduling the town hall meeting before their AGM to improve their image.

“The BLC was not invited to the town hall, nor were other Black students or organizations consulted with,” BLC’s Facebook statement read. “If UTSU claims to be holding space for their Black membership, then Black students need to be reached out to and consulted with.”

“We discussed the town hall with Black student leaders before the event. But we must, and will, make these relationships with Black students a priority,” UTSU’s Jasmine Wong-Denike told The Medium in an email.

BLC continued on page 2

Motion to introduce three new commissions UTMSU plans on discussing the removal of its nine ministries during its AGM on November 17 racism, tuition fees, access to education, and more.”

DARA SALAMAH UTMSU’s Annual General Meeting this year will be focusing on bylaw changes, and will discuss the expansion of the Student Centre.

MINISTRIES REMOVAL Currently there are nine UTMSU ministries, including the Ministry of International Students, Ministry of Student Services, Ministry of Education and Outreach, Ministry of Student Life, Ministry of University Affairs & Academics, and the Ministry of Social Justice.

According to UTMSU’s president Nour Alideeb in an email to The Medium, the agenda that will be discussed at the AGM will move to remove the “languages” around ministries, which means eliminating any references to the ministries and ministers. Since UTMSU will no longer have them, the union will have to update their constitution and bylaws.

“We noticed that with nine different ministries, it was difficult for

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

UTMSU’s AGM will take place this Wednesday. our students to allocate nine hoursworth of their week to engage in decision-making bodies at UTM,” said Alideeb.

“With that being said, we have condensed our nine ministries into three commissions to be more accessible to our students.”

“We hope that with the conversion to three commissions, our students can tackle all aspects of the issues they care deeply about, like

NEW COMMISSIONS Alideeb explained that the three new commissions will be created to replace the existing UTMSU ministries.

The new commissions will be Campaigns and Advocacy, Student Life, and Student Services.

According to Alideeb, commissions focus on the “specific priorities” of the students and “ensure that our students have a say in what campaigns UTMSU runs, what events we hold, where money is spent, and what services we provide.”

The commissions will acknowledge international student issues as well.

Alideeb also explained that the commissions will attempt to create more “intersectional spaces” for students to take part in leadership roles, develop new ideas, and give back to their communities.

Agenda continued on page 3

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 11.14.2016

BLC insist on their demands BLC continued from cover

November 5th, 2016, 2:05 AM Fire Call A fire alarm went off at the CCT building. Mississauga Fire and Campus Police attended. The cause of the alarm was due to smoke. There was a strong odour of burnt marijuana present in the area.

November 6th, 2016, 6:30 PM Theft under $5000 A UTM student reported to Campus Police that 3 bicycles appeared abandoned in the CCT garage, parking level P5. The bikes belonged to the bike share program. The bikes were removed from the winter storage area located on P3 of the CCT garage.

November 8th, 2016, 9:05 AM Fire Call A burning smell was reported to Campus Police in the Academic Annex. Campus Police and Engineers

attended. There was a faint burning smell and a light haze started to form.

Campus Police evacuated the building and Mississauga Fire attended.

The smoke was caused by a belt rubbing against the pulley causing friction.

November 8th, 2016, 4:10 PM A UTM student reported to Campus Police that she parked her vehicle in P9. The student drove off campus and shortly after noticed there was a large crack in the windshield. It is believed the crack occurred on campus.

November 9th, 2016, 8:55 AM Break and Enter Campus Police and Peel Regional Police investigated a break and enter at the Academic Annex Building. An Apple iMac Computer was stolen by an unknown person. Investigation is continuing.

“Obviously there’s something wrong, and the UTSU needs to step up.

Communicating and repairing these relationships is a top priority,” she added.

Wong-Denike also stated that she was “disappointed in the low turnout, but it was a very clear signal that the UTSU needs to be doing more when it comes to reaching out to Black students on campus.”

“We see this town hall for what it is, which is nothing more than the UTSU pretending to address their antiblackness for good PR,” the BLC’s statement continued.

Last October, BLC had issued a set of demands and had boycotted the union for being “anti-Black.”

“One of our demands is to meaningfully address antiblackness in a town hall where Black students can

openly express their criticism of the union,” the statement read.

BLC also wrote in the statement that UTSU’s event description was “nothing more than lip service.”

“This [town hall] does not meet our demand in any way, and if the UTSU is serious about taking up this work, then they need to invest time and effort into the needs of the Black student membership,” the statement added.

Wong-Denike said in the email to The Medium that invitations were sent out over social media, particularly Facebook.

Wong-Denike had also told The Medium that she was not directly responsible for the planning of the event, but did not respond to who was responsible for planning the town hall.

BLC also stated on their Facebook page that their boycott still stands,

and will continue to remain until their demands are met.

In addition to their demand for a town hall, BLC asked UTSU to “immediately” drop their lawsuit against the union’s former executive, Sandra Hudson, who had been accused, along with former president Yolen Bollo-Kamara, and former VP internal and services Cameron Wathey, of $277,508.62 of “amounts improperly paid” to Hudson before her employment was terminated last year.

BLC’s third demand is to make UTSU’s operating budget public by releasing it every year prior to the student union election, and to allocate annual funding for Black students’ group organizations at U of T. The BLC declined The Medium’s request for comment beyond the statement that they posted on Facebook.

UTMSFL spreads their message The pro-life activist group distributed pamphlets in Davis

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

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

Remembrance Day ceremony held at U of T

CHAD HAGEL/PHOTO

UTMSFL’s president says the pamphlets are unrelated to their lawsuit against UTMSU.

DELANEY ROMBOUGH/THE MEDIUM

UTM staff and students gathered at 11 a.m. outside Davis.

SAHIBA SHAH UTM staff and students gathered outside the Davis Building last Friday for the university’s annual Remembrance Day Ceremony.

“This is an important aspect of what our life is here in Canada,” UTM’s interim principal, Ulrich Krull, stated in his opening remarks to the audience, composed of hundreds of faculty and students, according to Krull.

“Think about November 11th, the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month. This was, in a sense, the signing of an armistice, the end of hostilities, in WWI,” said Krull. “The War killed probably the better part of 20 million people. Twenty million people injured, huge numbers, influencing our global perspective of what war was.”

Krull’s remarks were followed by a reading of “In Flanders Fields” by Geordi Frere, a member of the Erindale College Special Response Team.

The ceremony of laying the wreaths was performed next by Krull on behalf of the academics, Zaid Sameer from ECSpeRT on behalf of the students, and United Steelworkers representatives Art Birkenbergs and Windsor Chan on behalf of the staff.

Principal Krull called for two minutes of silence at 11 a.m., after which officers from UTM Police Services raised the flag to half-mast, concluding the ceremony.

During the two minutes of silence, an anonymous student approached the podium and stated that the war is not a current issue, adding that issues like world famine and cancer are what’s current.

The student was brought down from the podium shortly after he began speaking. The Medium was not able to identify their name.

The Remembrance Day Observance is an annual ceremony that takes place across all three campuses of the University of Toronto.

MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR UTM Students for Life, an on-campus pro-life activist group, distributed pamphlets in Davis last Thursday with the question: “Shouldn’t all human beings have human rights?”

“Parents between the age of 18 and 24 are the demographic most likely to have abortions,” UTMSFL’s president Chad Hagel told The Medium. “And since this is the age range of the average university student, it is crucial we address this topic on a university campus.”

The cover of the pamphlet contained the photo of a seven week-old embryo in its mother’s womb.

“Upon opening the pamphlet, one is met with an abortion victim photo of a human being ripped from their mother’s womb at 10 weeks, along with the sentence ‘They Should,’” said Hagel, referring to the question presented on the cover.

The pamphlet also included arguments which state that human life begins at fertilization, and also addresses an “ethical portion” by using

the number of abortions in Canada, which according to Hagel, is about a 100,000. As well, the pamphlet had points about the “difficult circumstances [of abortion] and the mother’s life being in danger.”

UTMSFL also asked students whether or not they believe babies had a right to life.

“Open and free dialogue which is respective of the other’s viewpoint, while also offering support to those who need it, is the only means by which we can address this topic in a proactive and effective manner,” said Hagel.

“Our goal is to have everyone on campus see the inhumanity of abortion, while also seeing the humanity of the pre-born, through abortion victim photography—and at the same time providing support for those in crisis pregnancies or who have gone through an abortion.”

According to Hagel, the pamphlet and the questions were unrelated to their lawsuit against UTMSU. “Students for Life is an anti-choice group,” stated UTMSU’s president Nour Alideeb in an email to The

Medium. “The UTMSU, and I as a woman, do not condone anti-choice groups.”

“The UTMSU believes that women and other individuals who can bare children have agency over their own bodies and have the right to make decisions for themselves,” continued Alideeb.

As previously reported by The Medium last January, former VP campus life, Russ Adade had stated at a UTMSU board meeting on August 24 in 2015, “Students for Life, which has been recognized by UTMSU in the past, was not recognized for the upcoming school year due to their stance on abortion, in terms of being pro-life and using their platform to tell women what they should do in those situations.”

UTMSFL also wrote on their website last January that UTMSU denied the renewal of their club’s status and that UTMSFL were therefore unable to utilize the student union resources, such as the Student Centre.

The date of the court for the lawsuit remains unknown, as of press time.

11.14.2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Plans to expand Student Centre

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»RESPONSE TO U.S. ELECTION RESULTS?

Dara Salamah International affairs

Conor Flynn Commerce

I feel indifferent. They’re both the same.

Trump’s policies are going to affect Canada’s economy.

Razan Rauniyar Commerce

Alex Stan Political science

At this point, we just hope he’s going to be good.

Democracy is a tyranny of the mob and you never have minority protection.

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

UTMSU plans on working towards a “successful referendum” in the coming years.

Agenda continued from cover “The goals of the commissions are to be more accessible to students,” said Alideeb. “To have student input and oversight, to create fun events, run effective and educational campaigns, and to provide cost-saving services to our students.”

The commissions will “most likely” be held once a week for an hour, in which any full-time or part-time UTM undergraduate students can join the meetings.

STUDENT CENTRE EXPANSION

When asked if a referendum will be held on the expansion of the Student Centre, Alideeb stated that there are no plans on holding a referendum this year, but affirmed that groundwork is expected to take place towards a “successful referendum” in the coming years.

“Referendums require a lot of consultation with our major stakeholders like our clubs, academic societies, levy groups, and our general membership,” said Alideeb.

“Many students have expressed the need for more student-run space, so I look forward to holding focus groups and having conversations

around a Student Centre expansion.”

The last Student Centre expansion referendum took place in the 2013-2014 academic year, and failed with 1618 students voting “no”, 1548 students voting “yes”, and 17 spoiled ballots.

Other items on the agenda will include the receipt of the 2015-2016 audited financial statements for UTMSU and the Blind Duck Pub, as well as the appointment of new auditors for this academic year.

The AGM will take place this Wednesday in the Student Centre at 6:00 p.m.

Wen-Do recognized on CCR

U of T ranks high overall The university placed first in Canada

WENDELL MACAPAGAL/THE MEDIUM

U of T ranked 21st worldwide and best in Canada.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

The CCR now includes Wen-Do, a 15-hour program that teaches women self-defence.

FARHAT AMINI The Wen-Do self-defence course for women became recognized this year on the Co-Curricular Record.

The Wen-Do program is a 15-hour program that operates from October 27 to November 24, aimed at teaching women at UTM self-defence. According to the program’s instructor, Deb Parent, in an interview with The Medium, Wen-Do has been taught across Canada since 1972.

“I realized the importance and the benefits the students can have if they have a CCR credit on their academic record, so I put the proposal in and the committee approved it,” said Corporal Bobbi-Jo Duff to The Medium,

who initiated the program.

Parent stated that it is the first time in Canada, of which she knew, that Wen-Do became a part of the CCR. Parent also said that the program offers a place for discussion with women to share their feelings and thoughts about different forms of violence that a woman can face, explaining that from these discussions, they “build on different ways, we as women, can use our bodies effectively, and use our voice effectively.”

“Women come because they want to feel more confident, they want to lead full and active lives, and want to have resources and options for any of the harassment or threats that they might face,” said Parent.

In the past years, the sessions only included three-hour workshops, but the structure has been changed, and will keep changing to meet the demands and fit the schedules of UTM women who want to partake in the program.

The program is funded by the Police Department at UTM, along with eight other departments, such as Student Affairs, Health and Counselling, Residence, Student Engagement, Office of Student Transition, and Equity and Diversity Office for UTM women, which includes students, staff, and faculty.

Another five-week training session is currently underway for the winter semester.

MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR The U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of best global universities placed U of T 10th among the best public universities, and 21st worldwide.

According to a U of T News article on October 25, “U of T named best global university in Canada, top 10 public university in world by U.S. News & World Report”, U of T was one in the five non-U.S. universities that made it to the top 25. The other four universities were located in Britain.

The U.S. News and World Report focuses on academic research and “overall” reputation. It bases its ranking on several factors, including the number of global and regional research reputations, publications, number of publications that are among the 10 percent most cited, and

citations.

U of T was also selected as sixth for its arts and humanities, seventh in clinical medicine, and 10th in molecular biology and genetics.

The Times Higher Education has also ranked U of T this year as the 22nd best university in the world, and the ninth best public university. QS World University Rankings placed U of T 32nd, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities report by Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranked the university number 27.

“It’s exciting for all of us to see our research leadership in a number of critically important fields, from the arts and humanities to social sciences, genetics and space science, once again be recognized by our peers,” stated Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice president of research and innovation, in the October 25 U of T News article.

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11.14.2016

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Trump’s win will affect us all The decision to bring an inexperienced racist into office is already damaging I don’t even know where to start.

Weeks before the actual election results came out, I had this overwhelming suspicion that Trump would take the win. Following the results with my fellow editors, we all watched as an inexperienced billionaire accused on multiple occasions of sexual assault was voted in as the new president.

Honestly, what surprises me more than this news is the fact that I’m so surprised. I knew it was coming. I was just hoping as the hours rolled by that it wouldn’t become a reality. I was hoping that one of the most influential countries wouldn’t let their nation be led by someone who built his reputation on hatred. The whole thing still feels like a bad dream.

A few of my friends on Facebook were posting status updates that took a strong stance on the fact that Canadians being upset had no place in the election.

I beg to differ. We should all worry.

A few days after his win, photos were popping up all over the internet (and even my own social media pages) of how people chose to “celebrate”. I saw photos of a message spray-painted on a trailer saying “Make America White Again,” with a swastika painted in the middle. I saw photos on my own feed of people in my city wearing the confederate flag down the street and draping signs over highway bridges reading: Canadians for Trump.

This racism doesn’t even include the countless stories already published of minorities facing harsh circumstances in light of his win.

Trump released his 100-day plan on November 9. Of those plans, some include: “Cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities, and suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.”

Two days ago a friend of mine uploaded an article on Facebook from Mashable, “Donald Trump’s war on LGBTQ people has already begun.”

The piece stated that Trump elected former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell to lead his domestic transition team. The article went on to provide some background on Blackwell, reminding readers that he once compared LGBTQ community members to farm animals. A quote was provided from 2004, stating that Blackwell once said, “I don’t know how many of you have a farming background but I can tell you right now that notion even defies barnyard logic...the barnyard knows better.”

Adding to the disturbing laundry list, Trump was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 1994. Choosing to remain anonymous, Jane Doe received constant backlash throughout the lawsuit. She even planned on attending a press conference, but backed out lastminute on account of her receiving threats. To make matters worse, the girl was instructed to drop the lawsuit.

On November 13, it was reported

that Trump chose Reince Priebus as chief of staff. Regarding the charges that Trump faces, Priebus’ general attitude is merely to shrug them off. In an interview with Fox News Sunday earlier this year, host Chris Wallace wanted to hear Priebus’ thoughts on Trump being accused of mistreating women. As reported by The Fiscal Times, Priebus’ response to the accusations was, “We’ve been working on this primary for over a year, Chris, and I’ve got to tell you that all these stories that come out—and they come out every couple weeks—people just don’t care.” When Wallace pressed him on why he thinks people don’t care, Priebus was quick to backtrack. He was quoted as saying, “Look, I’m not saying people don’t care about it. I’m just saying I think the reason he’s where he’s at is that he represents something much different than the traditional analysis of individual candidates. And yes, everything bothers me, Chris. But I don’t know the truth of these things.

I don’t know other than reading an article, whether or not these things are true. I think it’s something that Donald Trump is going to have to answer questions in regard to. All I’m saying, though, is that after a year of different stories, nothing applies.”

It was also announced on November 13 that Trump elected Stephen Bannon as his “chief strategist and senior counselor.” Bannon’s record is far from clean. In 2011, he once stated in a radio interview that women like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Ann Coulter “threaten the progressive

narrative.” He was also quoted as saying, “That’s why there are some unintended consequences of the women’s liberation movement. That, in fact, the women that would lead this country would be pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of dykes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England.”

He also runs the far-right website breitbart.com, a website having featuring several posts about Trump’s reign and outwardly supporting his campaign.

An article published by The Atlantic in August 2016 stated, “Bannon added in 2013 that winning requires harnessing outrage, which is needed ‘to give the system a shock,’ thereby bringing about a better ‘negotiating position.’”

Trump was elected on November 9, and this is what he has done so far.

To say that this won’t affect people outside of the U.S. is ignorant. America holds some serious pull in this world. They’re a powerful country.

Deals need to be made. Trades will be negotiated. Minorities will suffer more than they already have.

It’s important to remember that this vote will affect us all. Though, we also need to remember that now, more than ever, is the time to stand together and fight for the issues Trump will try to ignore.

YOURS, MARIA CRUZ

A call for interest-free student loans Wherever I go to Ontario, I hear from young people and recent graduates how they are scrambling to pay off massive student loans, while struggling to start a career in an evermorechallenging job market.

For many, student debt can act like an anchor, leaving smart, hardworking graduates feeling stuck, drowning under the financial pressures of repaying their loans. Others may not even pursue an education they badly want or need, because they simply can’t afford to take on that kind of debt.

Students and graduates, like all Ontarians, are also struggling to deal with costs of living that seem to be spiraling out of control—housing, hydro bills, car insurance—and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Everyone who lives in Ontario knows what a great place it can be, but when it comes to affordability, we’ve reached a tipping point. For

many Ontarians, we’ve reached a crisis point.

The average debt-load for students relying on financial assistance for a four-year degree or diploma program is now $28,000. If a young person goes to graduate school or does a post-grad certificate, that number balloons to $35,000. When I graduated from university in 1986, I didn’t have $28,000 in debt, and it still took me years to pay off my loan.

If we don’t make big changes soon, students won’t feel like they have a future here. The government should not be making a profit off of the fact that students in Ontario need to take out loans to afford post-secondary education—it’s just not right.

Burdening students with massive debts isn’t just bad for them, it’s bad for the Ontario economy. Large debt loads hold back recent graduates from fully participating in their communities, socially and economically.

Struggling with student debt means

delaying important life milestones such as buying a home, starting a family, or owning a business—making student debt not only a burden for those who carry it, but on the provincial economy as a whole.

As an important first step to solving this crisis, I have committed that the Ontario NDP will immediately eliminate interest from Ontario student loans if we form government in 2018.

During my conversations with students and graduates across the province about student debt, I met Ahmad Moussaoui, a 26-year-old graduate living in Windsor. Ahmad recently launched an online petition calling for an end to student debt; his petition has already been signed by nearly 63,000 people. Here’s what he has to say about taking the interest off student loans: “If I didn’t have my student debt, I could afford to live on my own and invest in growing my business,

and maybe, eventually, I could buy a house. Taking the interest off my student loan would definitely be an important first step in helping with my loan.”

To support our goal of eliminating the debt from student loans in Ontario, Ontario’s New Democrats have launched a new website, endstudentdebt.ca, so that young people can connect with us and share their stories, like Ahmad, of how student debt is affecting them. Anyone who has a story to tell about the burden of student debt can go to the site and share it.

Let’s work together to build an Ontario that helps students put their best foot forward, instead of holding them back. Let’s work together to make good education affordable and attainable for all Ontarians.

Andrea Horwath Leader, Ontario’s New Democrats

11.14.2016

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Forming friendships through art Department of Visual Studies Student Society hosts the end result of this year’s Pen Pal Project ADELAIDE ATTARD ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

Last Wednesday, the Department of Visual Studies Student Society hosted their annual Postcard Pen Pal Project in the Student Centre’s Red Room. Last year’s colourful postcards hung by clothespins on a string. Each postcard had its own story and its own design. More recent postcards were featured in a slideshow.

Advertising and communications director Olivia Zaloski welcomed me with a warm handshake, followed by an even warmer hug as I entered the Red Room for the Pen Pal Party.

“I love that we host this event every year,” says Zaloski. “I love being a part of DVSSS, because it is the only club we have on campus for artists. Since the art students from UTM take classes at Sheridan, UTM misses out on having studios and spaces to display our work. I think the Pen Pal Project is a great way to unite artists here on campus, regardless of their year or major.”

After signing up for the Postcard Pen Pal Project, DVSSS provides each participant with a postcard and supplies. Participants can create a

MARYAM RADWAN/THE MEDIUM

DVSSS unites artists and fosters a sense of community on campus at the annual Pen Pal Project. piece of art in whatever medium they desire: paint, pencil, and even digital design. Some works of art take up the whole postcard, while others use a minimal approach. Once submitted, the cards are chosen at random and given to another person participating in the project. The selected participants are then mailed the other’s postcard. All postcard creators and recipients are united at

the Pen Pal Party, where many sets of random people are brought together through their love of art.

“When I first took part in the Postcard Pen Pal Project, I was nervous as to what my pen pal was going to say—would they like my art?

Would they like the colour combinations? Would they understand it?

But when I first met with the person, they loved it. They said, ‘I loved the

way you used these blues’ and ‘I like how it differs from mine,’” Zaloski explains. “It is such a nice feeling getting to share your art with others.”

The Postcard Pen Pal Project encouraged the vice president of DVSSS, Hannah Taylor, to join the club.

“We encourage anyone to participate because it’s not about being the

best artist in the world. It’s about doing something for someone else and building a sense of community,” says Taylor.

The event also inspired Kineta Wirahardja to become secretary of DVSSS. “DVSSS is still such a small society. I love being a part of a community with creative people. You don’t see that a lot here at UTM. That’s actually one of our goals this year —to bring back creativity to UTM, since most of the creative people are back at Sheridan,” says Wirahardja. “Just seeing the postcards and meeting up with your pen pal is so rewarding. It can also lead to new relationships, since a lot of people who partake are into photography and different kinds of art. I think the project brings creative people together in a new way.

It’s great too because it opens the door for new relationships.”.

Contributors and guests to the Postcard Pen Pal Project were enthusiastic about the event. The main feature of the project that people admired was how it brought people together in different ways. DVSSS aims to resurrect creativity and artistic passion at UTM in a way that involves the whole community. The Pen Pal Project actively brings this goal to life each year.

Chewing out the male-female binary The Wo/Man addresses the importance of mental health and overcoming gender barriers RACHAEL MASIH Last Thursday, the theatre and drama studies program premiered The Wo/Man, a play based on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper”. Directed by Rachel Blair, the production was created and performed by the third-year TDS class at UTM as part of their Studio Series.

This production features Emily Clarke, Mackenzie Connelly, Jennifer Francis, Rachel Lebovic, Sam Madeira-Costa, Khaå Martin, Amanda McPherson, Lucy Morgan, Jillian Robinson, Zenia Sethna, Hannah Termaat, Kaitlyn White, Khira Wieting, Eric Gordon, Soykan Karayol, Kyle McDonald, Peter Moceri, Michael Ruhs, Jake Settle, and Jackson Watt-Bowers.

The two leading roles are played interchangeably, according to gender, by each actor and actress.

Set in the mid-1940s, WWII has ended in a victory for the Allies. In

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Third-year TDS students premiered The Wo/Man last week as part of their new Studio Series. the midst of the celebration, the story shifts to John and Evelyn. John is a doctor, while Evelyn is an aspiring writer. She is an ambitious woman

who embodies the female ideals of the time: progression, independence, and freedom by stepping into the workforce. However, her dreams

are suddenly halted when she gives birth.

Evelyn faces serious trouble when the baby is born. Every day when

John leaves for work and Evelyn is left alone, she repeats, “I don’t know what I’m doing”. Her frantic nature and uncertainty result in the untimely death of her child. The remainder of the play follows the couple’s downward spiral as a result of the tragedy.

Throughout the play, all performers are on stage at all times. Since the play only has two main characters, each performer takes turns playing a main role. The remaining performers act in the chorus until their turn arrives as the lead.

The cast wore a similar wardrobe throughout—the women in red dresses and the men in white shirts and black dress pants. While it’s common for the chorus to dress alike, the performers in this production slip in and out of lead and chorus roles, creating the effect of a collective character. The cast used dramatic elements to place focus on the protagonists, but consistently acted as though they were the same.

Wo/Man continued on page 6

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The horrors of reality New HBO documentary exposes dangers of the net NICOLE SCIULLI STAFF WRITER

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HBO will release a documentary about Slenderman in January 2017.

MARIA CRUZ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF A few years ago, the internet exploded with stories, video games, and YouTube videos dedicated to the story of Slenderman.

I myself was guilty of telling my friends about a new video game, Slender: The Eight Pages, which required the player to roam around a creepy forest in search of eight pages while Slenderman followed you in the shadows.

After the launch of the original game, countless stories were posted to Creepypasta, a popular website dedicated to horror stories. Granted, stories were published on the website before this as well, but the popularity of the story led to more and more on the site. YouTube channel Marble Hornets also gained more notoriety with their web series as the story gained more publicity. Their first entry, published over nine years ago, has over five million views on YouTube.

For the most part, the viral sensation seemed like mindless, supernatural fun. It was only when a case broke out in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 2014 that the fun came to a screeching halt.

Two girls, both 12 at the time,

lured their friend into a forest during a sleepover. They then proceeded to stab her 19 times in the chest, abdomen, legs, and arms before leaving her for dead. Despite her injuries, victim Payton Leutner survived the attack and returned to school three months later.

Upon their arrest, both girls claimed their heinous act was committed because of Slenderman. Both girls claimed they wanted to please Slenderman. They also claimed that if they didn’t go through with the act, they believed that Slenderman would murder their families.

The two girls (Morgan Geiser and Anissa Weier) are now facing time in prison, potentially being tried as adults according to The Guardian.

The article, “Slender Man stabbing: Wisconsin girls to be tried as adults, appeals court rules” published on July 27, 2016 states, “The girls have been charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide and if convicted could go to prison for up to 65 years.

As juveniles, they could be incarcerated for up to three years then supervised until age 18.”

“The narrative does not revolve around guilt or innocence,” director Irene Taylor Brodsky said in a statement from HBO, “but instead the

court’s deliberation whether the girls should be tried as adults or children.”

This tragic case has now inspired plans from HBO to release a new documentary, Beware the Slenderman. Set to come out in January 2017, the documentary follows the trial of those accused, Morgan E. Geyser and Anissa E. Weier, and the impact internet sensations clearly tend to have on the public, especially children.

The trailer, released on Friday, begins with a rhyme about Slenderman before quickly delving into the phone call between the cyclist who found Leutner and the police. The rest of the trailer focuses on quotes from the girls’ parents, and video tapes of police interrogating Geiser and Weier upon their arrest.

The official explanation for the documentary states: “Shot over 18 months with heartbreaking access to the families of the would-be murderers, the film plunges deep down the rabbit hole of their crime, a Boogeyman and our society’s most impressionable consumers of media. The entrance to the internet can quickly lead us to its dark basement, within just a matter of clicks. How much do we hold children responsible for what they find there?”

Misogyny bites back Wo/Man continued from page 5

This becomes extremely important while Evelyn comes to terms with the death of her child. She complains of seeing women and hearing voices. These women turn out to be Evelyn’s inner demons manifested into a distorted reality. As she copes with her traumatic experience, John represses all of his emotions. His way of coping consists of purchasing expensive gifts and a big house for Evelyn.

The climax of the play occurs when John gives Evelyn her final

gift: a journal. Evelyn’s career as a writer had been long forgotten in favour of more “feminine” tasks, such as cooking and cleaning. She wel-

The Wo/Man traces Evelyn’s journey towards autonomy and female agency. comes the journal and writes down all her thoughts about John. She struggles to tell him that they can

no longer be together because of his inability to communicate. She feels that she’s been held captive, with nothing to do but stare at the walls and no one to talk to but the voices in her head.

Evelyn once had ambition, but becomes trapped in her grief and her role as a wife. The Wo/Man traces her journey towards autonomy and female agency. The script follows the decline and ascent of one woman’s development during a time when female independence was merely an evolving concept.

The Wo/Man ran in Deerfield Hall until Sunday November 13.

People spend their lives discovering who they are, with the most formative years occurring in adolescence.

Meags Fitzgerald’s graphic memoir, Long Red Hair, provides an autobiographical account of Fitzgerald’s childhood and adulthood as she struggles to negotiate her sexuality.

Fitzgerald’s autobiographical character realizes from a young age that she is bisexual. Yet, she has difficulty accepting her sexuality. Growing up in a heteronormative society, Fitzgerald recognizes that she is different from everyone else. This is notable in the text when Fitzgerald invites her friend Lily over for a sleepover.

Fitzgerald wants to play “make believe” as fortune-tellers, and tells Lily they can be flirty with each other. Lily becomes uncomfortable and eventually distances herself from Fitzgerald.

This is the first instance in the novel where Fitzgerald realizes she is different from other girls.

Throughout the novel, we notice radical changes in Fitzgerald’s hairstyle and clothing as she matures. Her ever-changing appearance emphasizes the multiple identities she explores.

As a young teenager pretending to be straight, she grows her hair long and wears pastel colours. When Fitzgerald reveals her sexuality to her family a few years later, her style becomes more masculine. She partially shaves her head, showing her parents that she is different from everybody else.

DARA SALAMAH Lea Thau is both the creator and hostess of Strangers. The podcast includes a series of independent episodes, each featuring a different speaker with a unique story. After a brief introduction by Thau, the speaker begins telling their tale. Thau scarcely speaks throughout the episodes, allowing the speakers to have primary control of the story.

Soft music plays in the background, occasionally building and acting as a release from the story. The music makes the stories feel more poetic than they are. Each episode shares a single story, where the speaker exposes a burden or vulnerability. Some stories defy reality, while others are cathartic for the speakers.

The episode “Astringent Blues” features Brian Finkelstein as the guest speaker. Finkelstein works as a doorman at a skincare product store. Although he dreads this job, he feels “heartbroken” when he’s fired after seven years. When Thau asks Finkelstein, “Do you still wish you were there?” Finkelstein replies, “I wish. I still wish I were there.”

Finkelstein is an Emmy-nominated

Fitzgerald continues to experiment with her looks until she learns to accept who she is. She embraces her identity by dyeing her hair red.

Fitzgerald has always considered red hair as an attractive trait in women.

For her, red hair inspires women to be vivacious and comfortable with her own identity.

Fitzgerald also grows through her love of drawing. She experiences life in pictures, rather than words, which is why her story occurs in the graphic novel format. Graphic novels add depth to the narrative; images give characters faces and personalities, allowing the reader to connect with the protagonists on a more personal level.

Fitzgerald’s writing voice is humble, yet strong, as she tells her personal journey to the reader.

Fitzgerald uses unique color schemes and focuses on milestones in her life to emphasize her path to selfdiscovery, including her acceptance of her bisexuality. The colour scheme in Long Red Hair uses red, green, and brown as its primary colours.

The novel’s order is fragmented, as Fitzgerald refers to many flashbacks.

These flashbacks act as foreshadowing tools; she focuses on a particular memory which eventually translates into her conflicts as an adult.

Fitzgerald uses unique color schemes and focuses on milestones in her life to emphasize her path to selfdiscovery, including her acceptance of her bisexuality. Long Red Hair is a suitable read for anyone who feels out of place with their own identity.

writer for his work on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He is also a regular performer and teacher in Los Angeles and host of the podcast, The Moth. Since his firing at the skincare store, Finkelstein hasn’t been able to maintain a “normal day job.”

Another episode, titled “Unconditional,” features Deborah, a woman who was born in a prison cell. She begins an identity crisis when separated from her biological mother. After this separation, Deborah endures a cascade of foster mothers who feel like strangers to her. As an adult, Deborah visits the prison cell where she was born. She says the prison cell is the most familiar place to her, although she doesn’t remember it. She claims to smell and visualize her biological mother in every corner of the cell. However, her mother remains a stranger to her.

Hope, loss, and recovery comprise the stories told in Strangers. Thau touches on our humanity and unravels its deepest meanings. She provides each speaker with a platform to express their burdens. Strangers intends to defy the darkest moments in our lives, proving that strength and endurance will give us power to move forward.

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On the edge of a horrifying discovery New documentary tells startling true story about organ-harvesting and the Falun Gong faith KIMBERLY DAY Last week, Choose Humanity, a University of Toronto club, hosted a screening of The Bleeding Edge on campus. Directed by Leon Lee, The Bleeding Edge takes the viewer through a journey of emotional turmoil as it follows the suffering endured by members of the Falun Gong belief in China. Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline that consists of intense, daily meditation and adheres to principles of truth and tolerance. In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party banned the practice of Falun Gong, persecuting and torturing all followers who refused to convert.

Based on a true story, The Bleeding Edge takes place in the early 2000s in Shanghai, China, during the Chinese Communist reign. Anastasia Lin, a U of T alumna, plays the headstrong Jing, a dedicated Falun Gong follower who is captured and imprisoned in a labour camp for her beliefs. The film simultaneously follows the story of a Western software developer, James (Jay Clift). While signing a contract with China for his software, James collapses from heart failure and must have an emergency heart transplant.

At first glance, the two plots seem unrelated. But as James discovers the truth about his heart transplant, his life begins to overlap with Jing’s.

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The Bleeding Edge stars University of Toronto alumna, Anastasia Lin, as the headstrong Jing.

The Bleeding Edge begins with James as he meets with Chinese officials to discuss the sale of his computer software. The scene then transitions to Jing, who is returning home to her daughter. In her apartment building, she encounters an old woman who confronts her about her beliefs. When the woman threatens to call the authorities, Jing responds, “I

know you will do the right thing.”

Consequently, the woman informs the authorities about Jing. They arrest her and send her to a correctional facility for women. Jing is put in a cell with harsh, uncaring inmates who initially bully her. After one night, the prison warden (Tony Bai) calls Jing to discuss her release. He offers Jing an ultimatum: sign a document

agreeing to “transform” her beliefs from Falun Gong and be set free, or remain in prison and endure intense, daily torture.

From the beginning of the film, the audience can see that Jing is a woman of immense determination who will fight for her beliefs. It comes as no surprise when she refuses to sign the warden’s document.

The film transitions back and forth between scenes of Jing’s torture and James’ recovery period in the hospital. While wandering through the hospital, James encounters two other Westerners who discuss their unusually fast organ transplants. Something doesn’t add up for James. He realizes that organs shouldn’t be so readily available. James finally unveils the secret that the communists are harvesting the organs of healthy prisoners and selling them to hospitals. Moreover, the organs are coming from the innocent Falun Gong believers, including his own heart.

The Bleeding Edge follows the remarkable story of James, who discovers the violent truth about the Falun Gong victims. He manages to save thousands of lives by informing them of the communist regime’s plan to arrest them and harvest their organs.

The Bleeding Edge is a powerful film featuring two strong lead roles.

Jing is an embodiment of courage and resilience. Despite her torture, Jing refuses to surrender her beliefs.

Her faith guides her throughout the film. Regardless of the challenge, she remains true to herself, acting as a strong representation of the Falun Gong principles. The Bleeding Edge is an important film that involves issues of religion, female strength, and corruption.

DiCaprio encourages change and unity Before the Flood guarantees a wake-up call for humanity’s contribution to climate change MAHMOUD SAROUJI MANAGING EDITOR With all the election coverage and Trump’s win, Leonardo DiCaprio’s important new documentary has definitely been shoved under the rug. Directed by Fisher Stevens, Before the Flood follows DiCaprio’s path to enlightenment about climate change.

The phrase “climate change” has been thrown around for years, but we haven’t had a strong visual of this idea since the days of Al Gore. That is, until now. DiCaprio takes us on a road to discovery similar to his own journey. As the documentary progresses, we learn more about the damage that we’re currently inflicting on our planet.

Many have judged the documentary based entirely on its visuals or the flow of its story. Many have even discredited the entire documentary because of its leading man. What would an actor know about climate change?

But this documentary is exactly what we need to wake up from the illusion that we’ll be fine as long as the earth spins. Before the Flood begins with DiCaprio’s experience watching “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Hieronymus Bosch: a three-panel painting that depicts the beginnings

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Leonardo DiCaprio’s new documentary explores humanity’s destructive impact on the planet. of Earth in the first panel, the growth and beauty of Earth in the second, and Earth’s destruction in the final panel. DiCaprio uses the painting to inform us that we’re currently making our way towards the final panel as we become complacent in our lives in the middle panel.

It isn’t the videography, the direction, the visuals, or the “story” that makes Before the Flood so powerful.

Rather, the power lies in its brutal honesty. DiCaprio brings to life the worst of our behaviour and doesn’t attempt to hide the reality of climate change. Before the Flood forces us to reflect on our blind actions. By the end, we realize how much of a virus we’ve become to Earth, and how we’ve allowed money to determine our cause of action on the Earth’s reparation.

The fact is that we have significantly damaged our planet. You might recall the previous winter— warm weather, rain, and a green Christmas. We are the reason for global warming. We senselessly burn fossil fuels and consume natural resources as if they are unlimited.

Consequently, our ozone is dissipating, the Earth’s temperatures are on the rise, and the polar ice caps are

rapidly melting.

DiCaprio drags us through the mud and makes sure we hit every rock along the way. Before the Flood wants us to feel terrible for our complacency, as this is the only way we’ll change.

However, the film ends with some hope. Although damage has been done, we can still help the planet. DiCaprio suggests paying a voluntary carbon tax, voting for leaders who will guide us in the right direction to slow the effects of climate change, and donating to appropriate causes.

Before the Flood is both an emotional and logical documentary that guarantees a strong wake-up call.

Earth is our home, yet we are actively destroying it for the sake of our personal and economic comfort. Climate change can’t be about money or jobs anymore. DiCaprio encourages us to unite and make change happen now. We take advantage of the fact that we live on this planet. Similar to how we take care of our own homes and our families, we must take care of our planet.

Before the Flood can be labelled as a documentary, but its message transcends the medium. We must cease our destructive behaviour towards Mother Nature and actively do the best we can to change, before the flood hits.

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Holocaust survivor recounts the past Engineer and businessman Eliazer Gotz teaches tolerance through recounting his experiences MARIUM FAISAL Two weeks ago, UTM’s student housing and residence life department, in collaboration with the March of Remembrance and Hope program, hosted a lecture with Eliazer “Elly” Gotz, an engineer, businessman, and Holocaust survivor. The lecture was divided into two parts, where each part had its own separate Q&A session.

Gotz is a regular speaker at universities and schools, where he teaches tolerance through his experiences in the Holocaust. He was a part of the team that built the Holocaust Centre of Toronto, and has served on the executive committee for the last 30 years.

MRH is an educational leadership program which, according to their website, teaches students of different religious and ethnic backgrounds about the “dangers of intolerance through the study of the Holocaust,” and “promotes better relations amongst people of diverse cultures.” The program takes place in mid-May, and includes a one-day orientation in Toronto, a two-day

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The lecture was organized by UTM’s student housing and residence life department and MRH. trip to Germany, followed by a sixday visit to Poland. In fact, Amanda Luongo, UTM residence’s community development coordinator, met Gotz through the MRH program.

In the beginning of the lecture,

Gotz scanned the full room of people who eagerly waited for him to speak.

“I say fellow students because I am also in a course. The course of ‘living’,” he said, which prompted

laughter from the audience.

Gotz was born and raised in Kaunas, which was then the capital of Lithuania. At this point, Lithuania was a part of the Soviet Union Republic.

Gotz’s mother was a surgical nurse, while his father was studying to be an engineer until the war broke out in the summer of 1941. Gotz was 13.

“On the 22nd of June, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union […]. And immediately, our lives changed,” Gotz states.

There were tanks on the streets the next day, and the attack on the Jews started directly after. “They cut off a Jew’s head with a saw and displayed it in a store with a note that said, ‘We will do this to every Jew’.”

Twenty-thousand Jews, including Gotz and his family, were moved into the Kaunas ghetto, where everyone from the ages of 15 to 65 were put to slave labour. The ghetto segregated Jews from the rest of the population. They were required to wear the yellow star of David on their shirts at all times.

During the three years that Gotz and his family lived there, they were given authorization, but no resources, to build a school for metalwork and locksmithing.

Gotz continued on page 9

Meet Alan Lovette: a lifelong learner Alan Lovette, an information and loans technician at the HMALC library, will be retiring this month FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR If you’ve ever dropped by the library, then chances are you’ve met Alan Lovette. While the name may not be familiar, Lovette is an information and loans technician at the HMALC library, who is perhaps better recognized as the individual at the front desk with a straight back and keen eyes, observing UTM students within the library.

Lovette has been at UTM since approximately 2003.

“But I first came here in 1990 to take some classes to amuse myself,” reminisces Lovette. “And oddly enough, I met Calvin Normer who worked in the Department of Philosophy at the time. I had first met Calvin 20 years earlier. He taught me a Modes of Reasoning course in my undergraduate studies at York University.”

While at York University, Lovette was completing a degree in Philosophy.

“In 2000 or so, I got pretty sick, so I thought that I’ll just take some more courses to bide my time. Then I thought that I should really have a

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Lovette has been working at UTM’s HMALC library since approximately 2003. job, so I got a little job working in the library as a student assistant. I put away books and did stuff like that, and one thing led to another, and next thing you know, I’m retiring from the library,” Lovette says

with a laugh.

Lovette is actually a lifelong learner, and has completed various undergraduate courses as a nondegree student at post-secondary institutions across North America.

When asked which topics he’s been more interested in learning about, Lovette answers with a resolute, “everything.”

“It’s because curiosity is neverending,” says Lovette.

“As soon as I started learning full-time, I was out of time to do more courses, plus I had my own interests that I had been following that don’t really match up with any courses that I’m taking. I do my own research—I’m fully capable of doing so. I don’t have to be in school to learn how to research, but you do need access to resources,” says Lovette.

Lovette’s desire to learn led him to collaborate with Dr. Henry Halls, now an Emeritus professor at UTM’s department of earth sciences, on a study which focused on palaeomagnetism. Paleomagnetism is used to determine which continents were found where, at different points in time, using the Earth’s field and dating techniques.

“In 2000 I took a class that he was giving, and I was interested because I didn’t know anything about it. So I talked with him, and he needed someone to drive around and do field research with. So I went ahead and joined in that, and next thing you know, I’m interested in this subject.”

Lovette continued on page 10

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Falling in love with the Earth and its bees This month’s Lecture Me! talk featured Dr. Scharper from UTM’s Department of Anthropology MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR With winter fast approaching, now comes the time to reflect on the year gone by and prepare for 2017. Although most institutions find themselves abuzz with plans for wrapping up the year and charting progress, ecologists find themselves faced with a quite literal lack of buzz.

In this month’s Lecture Me! series organized by the Experiential Education Office, Dr. Stephen Scharper, an associate professor at UTM’s Department of Anthropology and the School of the Environment at U of T’s St. George campus, spoke about the declining condition of our bee populations, and the role of Laudato si’ (Pope Francis’ second papal letter sent to bishops within the Roman Catholic Church) in progress being made towards changing our approach to ecology.

In his talk titled, “Falling in Love with the Earth: Pope Francis, Bees, and the Quest for an Integral Ecology,” and subtitled, “Bee Friendly: Laudato si’ and the prospect of a Bee positive ecology,” Scharper describes how in 2013-2014, Ontario witnessed a 25 percent over-winter bee colony loss, the highest it has ever been.

The significance of this loss is most evident when you consider the economic value generated by bee populations. According to Scharper, in Canada, bee populations generate approximately $2 billion, while in the world, it has recently reached a

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Last Tuesday, Dr. Stephen Scharper spoke about the decline in bee populations. value of up to $200 billion.

“The Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, after reviewing 800 scientific studies, concluded that neonicotinoids are a key factor in the decline of bees,” says Scharper.

Neonicotinoids are a recent class of insecticides, sprayed on plants and vegetation that target the central nervous system found in insects, resulting in paralysis and death. These compounds remain in plants as the plant grows, and when bees ingest these neonicotinoids, they are unable to find their hives.

Similar to the effect of nicotine in cigarettes, Scharper points out

that bees are becoming addicted to the toxic compound. “In Ontario, approximately 100 percent of corn seeds and 60 percent of soybeans sold are treated with neonicotinoids—so this is widespread, and now people are thinking this may not be such a good idea,” says Scharper.

“To me, it’s a question of not simply agriculture, not simply economics, and not simply science,” says Scharper, referring to the school of environment. “Part of what we look at are the underlying values and assumptions that determine the human approach to the non-human

world.”

He uses the example of the widespread backlash against Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, written in opposition to the use of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane).

The book was published back when DDT was considered safe, but data was slowly emerging and showing that DDT buildup in the food chain was resulting in declining bald eagle populations, along with other birds.

“The book, titled symbolically on the thought of no bird sounds in spring time, may well be regarded as the basis of modern environmental legislature,” says Scharper, describ-

ing how the DDT story displays the dichotomous world views that are often characteristic of debates concerning environmental policies.

Scharper also discussed the importance of Pope Francis’ second encyclical, Laudato si’, subtitled, “On Care for Our Common Home”.

Scharper describes how the encyclical addresses issues on environmental degradation, consumerism, and irresponsible development.

“Members of the Vatican have said that it was meant to influence the Paris document,” says Scharper, referring to the COP21 summit in Paris last year.

“The pope is also trying to relay the need for protection for our endangered species, including insects,” he adds.

“Oslo has built the first bumblebee highway. It’s a corridor through the city, with a pollen station every 200 m, with areas that indicate where there are bee-predating and pollinator-predating plants and species.”

Oslo’s highway was structured after studying factors such as insects’ migratory and feeding patterns, with efforts made by municipal and private institutions.

Scharper describes these efforts in the context of Pope Francis’s encyclical, and quotes the last line of Paragraph 68 within Laudato si’: “Clearly, the Bible has no place for a tyrannical anthropocentrism unconcerned for other creatures.”

“Don’t believe the Holocaust deniers” Gotz continued from page 8 Gotz, who was always interested in new inventions and becoming an engineer, joined the school. He was a capable student, and within a year, became an instructor teaching a class in metalwork in both the afternoons and evenings. Because there was a lack of food in the ghetto, he also had a “little side business,” where he fixed people’s locks and keys, and did general work.

He began to clean and fix up old sewing machines to trade at the ghetto’s fence with farmers in exchange for butter, wheat, and bread.

After three years, there were only 8,000 Jews left in the ghetto. This drastic reduction in population occurred on October 29, 1941, when all the Jews were rounded up within the ghetto.

Helmut Rauca, a member of the Schutzstaffel (a paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party), questioned 20,000 Jews, and then selected 10,000 people, who were forced to sit outside the ghetto fence for the entire night. In the morning, they were marched up the hill to the Ninth Fort and murdered by machine guns.

“The Germans were very organized. The Holocaust is the bestdocumented murder in history,” said Gotz.

The need for this seemingly spontaneous massacre was explained in official documents as the fact that “surplus Jews” were present.

Gotz stopped pacing the room at this point.

“Don’t believe the Holocaust deniers. It’s laughable when people say we made this all up. We have the documents.”

The man responsible, war criminal Rauca, settled in Canada for 30 years before being charged at the age of 73 by the Canadian authorities with the murder of 10,500 people in Kaunas.

At the time, Gotz did not know that “the man charged with the murder of 11,584 Jews was living two streets away from me, in Yorkville.”

Three years later, the German army announced that they would be “liquidating” the ghetto, which to them meant that the Jews were going to be marched up the hill to the Ninth Fort and murdered by machine guns.

Gotz’s family, fearing for their lives, went into hiding. “If they found us, we were going to commit suicide,” he told us.

Gotz raised his little cousin, Dalia, who was born just before the war, when he was 15 years old. Dalia was smuggled out of the ghetto, as planned by his aunt and uncle, to a family friend. Gotz fed her, put her to sleep, and told her stories. “It was

marvelous to see her grow up. A kind Lithuanian Catholic woman adopted her, and in that moment, my depression of losing her disappeared, because at least she was safe.”

Dalia survived WWII. Gotz was reunited with her later on, and the two are still close to this day.

“On the fourth morning, we heard two soldiers walking down the stairs.

My mother was holding the syringe, and I had my bare arm out.”

“What would I have done if I was asked to design a concentration camp? I hope I wouldn’t have done it.”

— Eliazer “Elly” Gotz They were not found, and remained in the cellar for a few more days before joining the rest of the ghetto population on a train towards Dachau, Germany.

Dachau was extremely well-known for being the first established concentration camp. Gotz and his father were sent to the camp for work. They lived in those barracks for 10 months, and worked 12-hour shifts with little food.

“In those 10 months, I did not

have a single change of clothing or a shower. They expected us to live three months and then die,” Gotz stated.

They built a huge factory designed by a German architect. Twelve men lost their lives falling and drowning into the concrete below. Eventually, those who lived were sent to the central camp, Dachau.

During that time, Gotz’s father became extremely weak and sick.

“His eyes wouldn’t focus and he couldn’t walk. I was so sad—I thought I would lose my father, and I didn’t know where my mother was.”

In those few days, the Americans liberated the concentration camps, and his father asked for some bread.

“That was the moment of my liberation. ‘Do you have the bread?’”

After being reunited with his mother, two years after liberation, they moved to Norway.

Gotz studied hard to get into university, but soon after, his uncle called Gotz and his family to come to Zimbabwe. They moved to Zimbabwe, and Gotz went to university in Johannesburg, South Africa to become an engineer.

He could not get a job soon after, and decided to start his own business.

He started a workshop where he fixed radios and then bought a bigger store to sell the radios, where the store did well. Thereafter, he started a recording

studio, where he recorded music and sold records. He also established an advertising agency. He led a busy and “wonderful” life, and then decided to look for a wife. “It took me years to find a wife. But I had a good time along the way,” Gotz laughed. He has now been married for 58 years.

In 1964, Gotz moved to Canada and established a successful plastics manufacturing company.

It took Gotz 25 years to begin talking about his experiences.

Regarding the architects and engineers who designed the Auschwitz concentration camps, Gotz stated, “Doctors must say the Hippocratic Oath: to do no harm. Engineers and architects should too. What would I have done if I was asked to design a concentration camp? I hope I wouldn’t have done it.”

He mentions that the world saw the Nazi era take place because “personal prejudice exists within society. There was a leader who said, ‘trust me’ and a government who supported it.”

Gotz has not forgiven them, but he has let go of his hatred.

“Don’t think about hatred—you don’t have time for that. Think about yourself. When I stopped hating, I started to live. Forgiveness is different. I would’ve considered it if they had asked for forgiveness.”

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THE MEDIUM 11.14.2016

Daylight Saving still needed?

FLC adds German bonds

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Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving in order to reduce fuel usage during WWI. YASMEEN ALKOKA WITH NOTES FROM FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR We’ve turned our clocks an hour behind yet again, but did anyone stop to wonder why? While there are only a few complaints about the extra hour of sleep, the time change may be affecting us more than we think.

On Last Week Tonight’s “How Is This Still a Thing” segment, the common belief that daylight saving was adopted for farmers was declared a myth. Changing the hour, whether forward or backwards, doesn’t matter to farmers, as “Cows don’t care what time it is.”

In that case, what’s the real reason behind this absurd rule that we follow without hesitation?

In 1908, Thunder Bay, Ontario became the first location to adopt the use of daylight saving. Germany was the first country to adopt the concept, during the First World War, as an attempt to save fuel. The Germans wanted to reduce the use of artificial lighting, so that more fuel could be redirected towards the ongoing war.

Despite its adoption in the 19th century, daylight saving had originally been proposed by various individuals earlier. George Hudson, a New Zealand scientist, proposed back in 1895, that a time shift in October, and

a return to standard time in March, would provide people with more sunlight in the summer. However, changing the clock doesn’t produce more sunlight—it only makes it seem as though the sun rises and sets later or earlier in comparison to all other human activities.

The primary reason behind the adoption of daylight saving time has always been energy conservation.

However, there is little evidence to support this.

A 2008 paper, titled “Does Daylight Saving Time Save Energy? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Indiana,” published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that daylight saving actually increases the demand for electricity within residential homes, with an overall increase of approximately one percent.

While this number may seem small, in terms of electricity bills in Indiana, this one percent costs $9 million per year for the state’s residences.

However, when it comes to car accidents, you can argue both in favour and against daylight saving. According to the Manitoba Public Insurance, there was a 20 percent increase in crashes on Manitoba roads on the following Monday, compared to all other Mondays, in spring 2014. On the other hand, since traffic accidents are much more likely to occur in the dark, moving our clocks back means

that people will be leaving and returning to their homes while there is still light. In fact, in 2007, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh demonstrated that as seen in seven years of U.S. traffic statistics, there was a decrease in pedestrian deaths in the evening when clocks sprung forward.

The circadian rhythm—the body’s internal clock—is also disrupted by daylight saving. By forcing our bodies to adjust to the unnatural time change, we cause more trouble to our lives. Similar to cows on a farm, our biological rhythms don’t rely on a physical clock change to adjust, but rather more on our daily activities.

On ABC News, Till Roenneberg of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, said, “If we didn’t change to daylight saving time, people would adjust to dawn during the summer and again to dawn in the autumn, but this natural adjustment is interrupted by daylight saving time.”

To this day, 70 countries around the world still observe daylight saving. Although the effects it has on our lives overall are minimal, daylight saving is not entirely beneficial to us either. If you are struggling to adjust to the one-hour confusion this week, think about the many other unusual traditions you follow without even realizing it.

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Professor Louis Florence unveiled a collection of German bonds.

DEVANSHI ADHVARYU

Today, finance is digitized—however, over a century ago, it was drastically different. Last Thursday, professor Louis Florence from UTM’s Department of Management unveiled a collection of German bonds purchased by his grandfather.

“My grandfather came to North America, specifically to Kingston, Ontario, in the 1900s. He eventually became an investor in stocks and bonds,” said Florence.

The definite date of purchase is unknown. The bonds are said to be purchased during the time of WWI, between 1901 and 1921.

“During the First World War, Germany borrowed money to finance the war. Of course Germany didn’t win the war. Allies demanded reparations from the German government after the First World War. This was the Weimar Republic, and the government responded by printing marks and inflating the value of the currency,” said Florence.

The marks, the official German currency, were inflated to a rate where five marks were equivalent to one U.S. dollar. However, the amount of marks to an ounce of gold eventually led to hyperinflation.

After the hyperinflation that occurred in the 1920s, the German

bonds were rendered of no value in numbers.

According to Florence, the bonds remained intact, as none of the coupons were clipped after 1921, but also retained value as historical artifacts from the time period.

Florence hopes that the bonds will provide some educational value to UTM students, as they will get a glimpse of the history of fixed-income instruments.

Professor Louis Florence from UTM’s Department of Management unveiled a collection of German bonds purchased by his grandfather.

Andreas Park, of the finance faculty in the Department of Management, helped with the translation of the German text to English.

“We have an opportunity to see financial instruments in their original pre-digital analog format, helping students to supplement their own study in finance and business that goes on every day,” said Helen Kula, the Finance Learning Centre librarian at UTM. The German bonds are now a permanent display at the FLC.

Lovette will be backpacking across Europe Lovette continued from page 8 This resulted in Lovette being the second author in a 2015 geology study titled, “A paleomagnetic and U-Pb geochronology study of the western end of the Grenville dyke swarm: rapid changes in paleomagnetic field direction at ca. 585 Ma related to polarity reversals?”

Currently, Lovette is interested in researching about mystic insight: “the ways of knowing that would not be qualified as knowledge.”

“One has these unusual insights that one is sure of—the question is, how do you come by it,” explains Lovette. “They’re not transferable.

They seem to be unique to just you, everybody can’t have it. In fact, nobody but you.”

Over the years, Lovette says that the campus has largely changed in terms of the number of buildings present.

“Well, the library started off being a zoo. It’s settled down now, but parts of it are still pretty noisy and used in ways that old people like me may not think is right for a library. A library to me should be a bit like a mausoleum,” says Lovette.

“I walked around and I looked at the students in these groups, and saw the work that they were doing— which I’ve studied in some cases. They were working on work, it’s their methods that have changed. The way that students are students,” he adds. “So I had to change my thoughts on what it is that we should be providing in that building, because it may not be in touch with how students learn.”

Additionally, Lovette notes that students face different pressures today.

“The pressures on students are not the same. Some years ago, I found my invoice for my first year of full-time

studies at York University. It was five credits—a full credit. It was $572.”

Another thing that Lovette has noticed over the years is the change in ethnic groupings.

“The groups of students seem to have an ethnic cohesion. They haven’t come to give up. They’re here and they keep their identity, unlike in America, where they’re expected to be an American,” says Lovette. “In Canada, it does count. But that fact creates some controversies. The old controversies, the old disputes, they become played out here.”

“Ethnic groups that cannot get along with each other somewhere else in the world can’t get along here. So we see imported conflict, along with the locally brewed. I sometimes see it on the campus,” he adds. “I used to see a black population, primarily from Nigeria. In the library, they would always have a certain section

of computers. They would always be there, that was their meeting place.

That since has faded away and disappeared. There are still lots of students from Nigeria, but they don’t have that pattern any more. Over time, I’ve watched different groups changing their relation to other groups within this setting.”

Unfortunately, this does not mirror the outside world.

“Why is it that somebody like Trump, who’s expressed all kinds of views that everyone thinks are detestable—but why can’t you have those views? It wasn’t that long ago where they were the views of North America. And everyone flocked here for the freedom and greatness of North America. What happened? Look at all of Trump’s supporters. He’s not some airhead on his own. They’re worried he may be elected. So how can this be?

You can’t say that a huge part of the

population is morally suspect because of their views. There’s something more fundamental here.”

Lovette will be retiring from his position at the library at the end of this month.

“I’m going to Mexico on the first of December. I’ll come back in January to finish off the lease on my apartment, and get rid of any other paperwork that I have to do. Then I’m going to put everything I own in a backpack, with some space left over. I’m going back south. I’m hoping to get to the Atacama Desert so I can see the stars.”

Upon his return in April, he plans on heading to Europe to do a combination of backpacking and couchsurfing.

“My idea is to do it like I was young again. Just to sort of find a way. Not go from resort to resort, but to just find a way,” says Lovette.

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Dribbling around the competition UTM men’s division 1 basketball team defeats St. Michael’s College for fourth win this season GUSTAVO SILVA

On Wednesday, November 9, the Eagles gym was filled with intensity as fans got ready to see a reformed squad in action. The UTM men’s basketball team faced St. Michael’s College and won 94-74. The Eagles now advance their record to 4-1 and look to separate themselves from the rest of the pack with four regular season games remaining.

The Eagles had a fabulous start to the game, leading by 21 points in the first quarter, 31-10. UTM star player Greg Roberts was the major contributor in the first quarter, dropping 19 points. USMC’s defense could not keep up with UTM’s motion play. In the first quarter alone, Roberts made seven layups, most of them with an open lane to the basket.

In the second quarter, the Eagles kept showing their athleticism and diversity on the court. USMC brought out their big man to stop Roberts from getting easy layups, which opened up the opportunity for UTM’s Alessandro Tanzi and Nicholas Al-Rehany to shoot and

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UTM’s win over St. Michael’s College brings their record to 4-1 this season. successfully sink in multiple threes.

With the Eagles also working hard at the other end of the court, the defense made it even harder for the opposition to make any baskets. Halftime came to a close with the Eagles leading 52-27.

At halftime, the Eagles had to substitute key starters due to fa-

tigue, and USMC made easy points during the transition. USMC also made changes to their strategies and started cutting the lead by defending their court with better efficiency.

USMC’s luck was out by the fourth quarter when the Eagles picked up their game and started to widen their lead again.

The Eagles won, with a final score of 94-74 and Roberts finishing with an impressive 32 points. At the end of the game, Roberts was asked what he expects from this season. He commented, “Last year we won the championship, so I’m just trying to get a repeat. This season, we have a lot of new players, so it’ll be tough

trying to work up our chemistry, but as long as we work hard in practice we can get to where we want to get to.”

UTM Eagles coach Juan Nunez also commented on the overall performance of the team this season.

“The transition process has been challenging, trying to get all the guys in the game and getting used to the system and the plays, both defensively and offensively. This season, especially for the first-years, I really want to see energy from them, doing the things that I ask them. I’m not expecting any of them to be an all-star, I’m expecting them to come out and play their game.”

“We started well this game and then it got a little bit out of hand.

We weren’t doing our plays properly and weren’t playing good defense,” says Nunez.

The Eagles look to take on Trinity College on Wednesday November 16 at 9:15 p.m. in the downtown Goldring Centre. Their next home game will be on November 28 against the UTSC Maroons. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in the RAWC.

Leading his fellow Eagles to success Alessandro Tanzi uses his leadership role and pin-point precision to find wins for the Eagles squad ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR Alessandro Tanzi, a fourth-year environmental management student from Milan, Italy isn’t someone you want to play against in a game of one-on-one basketball—because you’ll lose. The humble and intelligent UTM Eagles basketball captain practices his craft religiously in the RAWC, showcasing his skills to the students that show up to open court shoot-around.

Tanzi, a prolific shooting guard, has led UTM men’s division 1 team to a 4-1 record, setting his sights on winning a championship this U of T extramural season. “I believe that we are ready to compete. We have a team that is made up of guards primarily, but through great coaching and leadership, we can achieve big things,” says Tanzi.

Tanzi takes his captaincy seriously, and understands that all great teams set themselves apart from the competition because of captains’ strong leadership abilities. “I’ve always respected my leaders growing up. Being granted the opportunity of being team captain shows me that I

OSCAR ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Alessandro Tanzi is the captain of the UTM men’s basketball team. need to step up and take on the responsibility,” says Tanzi. “I need to make sure that all my teammates understand what is happening on the court and how it should be accomplished. I classify myself as someone that knows the game well, someone that is ready to react to any given

situation.”

Tanzi possesses double consciousness when it comes to the strategy and physical demands of the game.

Growing up in Italy and spending his summers there playing in a professional development league in the third division, Tanzi surrounds

himself with the Italian strategy. He surrounds himself with the Canadian and American style of play. His unique knowledge can only help his team achieve great feats. “My hometown has a couple of teams that are competitive and well-rounded,” says Tanzi. “The talent is not high, but

they are extremely meticulous on techniques and plays. The main difference can be noticed on fundamentals. Basketball fundamentals are practiced on every day, while here in Canada, I feel like athletic development is focused on a lot more.”

Tanzi hasn’t had the easiest ride to get where he is today. Two years ago he suffered a torn ACL, which is known to be a career-ending injury in the basketball community. He was lucky enough to get great medical attention. Coupling his treatment with his high motivation to rehabilitate, he’s finally back to being healthy.

“I was without basketball for about six months, but had to wear a brace for the four months following that break. The brace was so restricting, and made me better understand what a player can do with what he has available,” says Tanzi. “With my brace, I was able to better understand ball movement as well as court positioning, two key factors in a good offence. At first, following my surgery, I thought I wouldn’t be able to come back and compete the same, but in a way, I think my game improved.”

Tanzi continued on page 12

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THE MEDIUM 11.14.2016

The Steph Curry of UTM

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Tanzi overcame an ACL injury from two years ago.

Tanzi continued from page 11 Tanzi learned many lessons away from the court, and was unable to be the athletic version of himself that he knew he could be. But he used this experience as an intangible lesson on how great things

[The injury] made me better understand ball movement as well as court positioning, two key factors in a good offence. don’t always come so easy. “My biggest motivation was my will to come back and compete as if nothing ever happened,” he says. “In a

way, I wanted to show myself that obstacles can be overcome by hard work, and in a way, I believe I was able to fulfill that.”

Tanzi overcame his shortcomings, and seems to be the perfect representative for a team competing for a championship this winter.

Not only is he thankful to play a sport that he loves, but he’s also thankful to be at UTM. “I am very lucky to be an international student here outside of my country,” he says.

Going forward, Tanzi has the tough decision to figure out in which country he wants to start his life. He has a wealth of knowledge of the world around him and wants to choose a place that’ll surely accept him like Canada has. Hopefully, wherever he ends up, he’ll be able to lead a basketball team as he has done