THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA
February 27, 2017 Volume 43, Issue 20 themedium.ca
Interview with Mondello Ristorante’s Jessica Spiteri page 10
UTSU internal conflict
Proper expression
Victorian autonomy
Social media activism
Bettering the CIS
News, page 2
Opinion, page 6
Arts, page 8
Features, page 10
Sports, page 15
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UTSU exec criticizes union’s practices VP university affairs Cassandra Williams’ statement claims UTSU neglects issues of racism KASSANDRA HANGDAAN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM FARHAT AMINI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR On February 23, UTSU’s vice-president of university affairs, Cassandra Williams, released a statement on Facebook alleging that the union’s board meeting on February 9 highlighted its racism against the Black community. The statement claimed that UTSU has not been engaging in “good faith with Black members” and that “past commitments to meaningfully address issues of racism and antiBlackness have proven to be empty.” Williams stated that in the union’s January board meeting, a motion was in the process of being drafted, to “commit” UTSU to engage with the Black community regarding anti-Black racism issues, and to address the lawsuit that the union launched against Sandra Hudson. According to Williams’ state-
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Williams claims that UTSU’s board meeting in February highlighted racism against Black students. ment, the motion was “erroneously excluded, demonstrating either a deliberate effort to not have it discussed at the board, or abject negligence for issues of racism and for
Black students.” In an email to The Medium, UTSU’s president, Jasmine Wong Denike, conceded that the motion did not meet the notice requirements
needed in order to be placed on the agenda, as mandated by the UTSU policy. According to UTSU’s policy manual, the speaker of the board
of directors, the executive director, president, and vice-president internal and services have to be given a notice of “no less than five business days” prior to the board meeting. Emergency resolutions, or resolutions that do not meet such a deadline, may be included in a UTSU meeting if it passes by a unanimous vote upon presentation to the board of directors. In response to when the motion was submitted to the board, Williams stated that UTSU’s VP internal Mathias Memmel and Denike had the motion in progress by January 27, and had agreed that the motion would be discussed at the February meeting. She added that they had the completed motion in advance of that deadline. “It is completely disingenuous for them to claim that the notice requirement was not met for a motion they had in their possession well ahead of the deadline, and which they had already agreed would appear on the agenda,” said Williams. Racism continued on page 4
U of T lecture targets Trump’s travel ban Experts joined the lecture to answer questions on short and long term implications of ban MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR In light of the controversy over U.S. president Donald Trump’s executive order that bans people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering America, four speakers joined a lecture moderated by UTM’s chair of the Department of Political Science, Ed Schatz, at the Munk School of Global Affairs on February 15. The lecture, “The Muslim Ban: Trump’s First Legal, Political, and Security Crisis 2017,” featured the co-director of Islam and Global Affairs Initiative and senior researcher in Global Justice Lab at the Munk School, Aisha Ahmad; the director of the Munk School, Stephen Toope; U of T’s associate professor at the Faculty of Law, Mohammad Fadel; and a regular columnist at The Globe and Mail and author of the acclaimed 2012 book The Myth of the Muslim Tide, Doug Saunders. In his opening remarks, Schatz highlighted the efforts of Ahmad’s
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Trump’s travel ban has sparked controversy around the world. work. Ahmad is the person behind the Islam and Global Affairs Initiative and one of the organizers of the event. She also brought
together scholars and experts regarding issues about Islamic global affairs. Schatz stated that on October 7 in 2016, the initiative held
an event with the topic, “Banning Muslims?” “But the question mark signaled, I suppose, hope [that Trump’s]
campaign rhetoric that we saw in the U.S. will not in fact become reality,” said Schatz. “Today the ambiguity that is implied by that question mark has basically vanished, and so today’s panel is on the Muslim ban.” Toope stated that the executive order contravenes the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 protocol. He added that the ban violates the international law on civil and political rights, as well as the convention on the illumination of any kind of racial discrimination. “It does so because in one of those conventions, it says clearly that you cannot discriminate on the basis of religion or race in ‘entry decisions’—that means who can come into the state,” said Toope. “And in the other convention, it is very clear that you cannot discriminate on the basis of religion or race when it comes to immigration decisions.” Lecture continued on page 5
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Sexual Violence Centre on its way Centre for victims of sexual assault to be available April 2017 KASSANDRA HANGDAAN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR February 9th, 2017. Medical Call. Campus Police were called to attend a student experiencing medical distress. February 10th, 2017 . Suspicious Vehicle. Campus Police were advised of a vehicle displaying a fraudulent pay and display ticket. The owner of the vehicle was cautioned. February 10th, 2017. Towed Vehicle. Campus Police were advised of another vehicle displaying a fraudulent pay and display ticket. The vehicle was towed and the owner of the vehicle was cautioned. February 15th, 2017. Bylaw. Campus Police were contacted in regards to an altered U-Pass. February 15th, 2017. Trespass to Property Act. A student was trespassed from the RAWC after using someone else’s
T-card to gain access to the RAWC facilities. February 17th, 2017. Suspicious Person. A non-community member was trespassed after an attempt to gain access to the RAWC by using another person’s T-card. February 17th, 2017. Suspicious Vehicle. A student reported to Campus Police that she was nearly hit by a vehicle at a crosswalk. The vehicle stopped at the crosswalk but sped up and nearly missed making contact with the student. February 18th, 2017. Theft. A student reported the theft of her jacket from a locked locker in the RAWC. February 18th, 2017. Disturb the Peace. Campus Police were dispatched to a residence in regards to a noise complaint.
These reports are those that have been released to The Medium from Campus Police and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.
The Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre will arrive at all three U of T campuses by April 2017 to help students impacted by sexual violence connect with relevant professionals such as healthcare and legal professionals and academic counsellors. Recent assault victims will be connected to the sexual assault care centres, wherein the complainant is given the option of filing a police report. In an interview with The Medium, U of T’s executive director, Terry McQuaid, explained that the initiation of these processes and connections is done only upon the complainant’s request and consent. She stated that the process by which students make appointments is confidential. She added that students can control the amount of information released to professors and TAs. However, McQuaid noted that the accommodation of students is “case-specific,” as the coordinators
will consider a plan that suits the handled cases individually. The centres have been partially open since January of this year. According to McQuaid, they already had certain services available for the use of the U of T community. The available services included open phone lines managed by the centre’s director Angela Treglia, who previously worked as the sexual violence prevention education coordinator at Western University. “We will continue the services by phone even when the centres are open. We’ll have the physical space that people can walk into, we’ll have telephone access, and shortly thereafter there will be online [services] as well,” said McQuaid. McQuaid is also involved in the process of hiring sexual violence coordinators who will run the centres’ services. Prospective candidates for this position must hold Master’slevel education in relevant fields such as psychology, social work, and counselling. McQuaid explained that candidates must also have prior
knowledge of topics involving “interracialized communities, anti-oppressive framework, or diverse gender identities.” There will be a particular interest in hiring an Indigenous sexual violence coordinator as well. In response to how these sexual violence coordinators will be trained to meet the needs of students, McQuaid said, “One of the important pieces is trauma-informed care, and we will make sure to take this into perspective[…]. We will provide this type of training. There’s also a lot of existing research coming from the expert panel that we’re going to use as [training] materials as well.” The centre is part of the university’s implementation of a sexual violence policy mandated with Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan, which required all postsecondary institutions to develop a sexual violence policy last January. The Medium reached out to McQuaid last Wednesday for location details, but did not receive a response as of press time.
Possible Student Centre expansion Campaigns and Advocacy Committee discuss expansion
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-TIPS (8477).
Alternative Reading Week returns to UTM FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR
The Centre for Student Engagement (CSE) hosted their annual Alternative Reading Week that ran from February 21 to 23, where student volunteers worked with local community groups on various service-learning projects. ARW is a tri-campus initiative, where each Student Life department arranges their respective campus community projects.
Project themes included sustainability, event coordination, literacy, physical community development, and food projects. Alysha Ferguson, the student development officer of Community Engagement at CSE told The Medium that a total of 100 UTM student volunteers took part in the week. Wali Tahir, one of the organizers for ARW stated in an email to The Medium that there were
24 project leaders this year, with most projects having two leaders assigned to them. Project themes included sustainability, event coordination, literacy, and physical community development, and food projects. Two new projects themes were added to this year’s reading week, one about literacy, which relates to reading and writing, and the other was arts-based, encouraging engagement with community partners through mediums of art. Ferguson explained that 18 projects were developed in collaboration with: Animal Aid Foundation; Big Brothers Big Sisters; Caledon Dufferin Victim Services; City of Mississauga; Habitat for Humanity; Let’s Get Together; Many Feathers; Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Peel-Dufferin Chapter; Museums of Mississauga; Safe City Mississauga; Seva Food bank; Studio 89; and The Dam Youth Drop-in Centre. According to the CSE website, ARW is a chance for students to “learn more about, and to understand the local issues within the Region of Peel.”
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A Student Centre consultation is set to be held on March 28.
ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
The Campaigns and Advocacy Committee convened on February 14 to discuss campus events and the possibility of a Student Centre expansion. Nour Alideeb, the president of the UTMSU, explained to the attendees that a student consultation for the expansion will be held on March 28. The centre’s expansion referendum that was held in the 2013-2014 academic year failed, with 1618 students voting no, 1548 students voting yes, and 17 spoiled ballots. Alideeb stated that in previous years, students have declined the proposition for an expansion because they disapproved the cost of the plan. The committee reviewed what the expansion should provide if approved, including having more club
spaces, since according to Alideeb and the attendees, UTM’s clubs currently have very limited storage space inside the building.
Students discussed having more lounge spaces, more storage spaces and more accessiblity if an expansion takes place for the Student Centre. Students at the meeting said that the expansion could also provide more lounge spaces, as the Student Centre should be a place for the UTM community to “relax and talk to people.” Additionally, they discussed making the centre more accessible for individuals with mobility needs, since some members claimed
that the current elevator is often unreliable. Other suggestions by students included providing soundproof rooms for the music clubs on campus. An additional event that was mentioned at the meeting was the “Expression against Oppression: Breaking the Chains,” which aims at bringing together groups from several ethnicities and backgrounds, such as indigenous, Muslim, and Black students. The committee discussed the budget for providing t-shirts at the event, and voted unanimously to allot $700 from the UTMSU’s operating budget for their design and production. The t-shirts provided will be divided based on the corresponding ethnic minorities the event addresses. The date of the event has not been disclosed at the meeting, as of press time.
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THE MEDIUM 02.27.2017
UTSU went in-camera to discuss motion on racism
»EXCITING PLANS OVER READING WEEK?
Anqi Lu Economics and French
Abraham Torres Forensic Sci
Going to New York and Ohio.
Hiding from my adoring fans.
Matthew Dworak Psychology
Jessica Cabral English & PWC & Math
Starting over Grey’s Anatomy.
Turning 20 on the 20th of February.
NEWCOLLEGE.UTORONTO.CA/PHOTO
Williams alleged that the New College director referred to her comments as “disgusting.”
Racism continued from page 2 The Medium attempted to reach out to Memmel and Denike on Sunday for further verification, but did not receive a response, as of press time. As a result of the exclusion and how an emergency motion would require unanimous consent from the board, the motion was voted on at the February board meeting to be discussed through an in-camera session, which required the Black students and non-board members to leave the room. Williams wrote, “It is highly problematic that UTSU would attempt to quell criticisms regarding its non-transparency and racism by any means necessary beginning with procedure and ending with personal attacks against those who dare speak up, by calling our comments ‘disgusting’ and citing concerns to ‘comfort’ or safety.” According to Denike, UTSU included the in-camera session at the meeting following a prior precedence set in a previous meeting. “The board voted to discuss adding this item in-camera because, at the previous meeting in January, the details of this motion were discussed in-camera,” stated Denike. Though Denike acknowledged that the statement expressed Williams’ viewpoint, she stated that it did not express the viewpoint of the collective. Memmel wrote in an email to The Medium that Williams’ statement was motivated by a “desire to reclaim the $277,508.62 that was […] wrongly taken from the UTSU,” referring to Hudson’s lawsuit. Memmel further added that the current lawsuit has not been motivated by anti-Black racism. In her Facebook statement, Williams added that after she stated in the February meeting that UTSU failed in its duty to students by going in-camera and “avoid[ing] transparency,” Memmel referred to her comment as “disgusting.” In
response to this claim, Memmel said that his comment was not directly addressing Williams, but was rather in response to UTSU’s VP equity, Farah Noori, whom Memmel claimed told a disabled director to “stop victimizing [herself].” Memmel added that by being the VP equity, Noori is “by default” the anti-harassment officer, whose role is to “ensure that everyone follows the rules outlined in the Equity statement, including not creating an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment,” not “tolerat[ing] behaviour that undermines the dignity or self-esteem of any individual,” and “refrain[ing] from partaking in side conservations and verbal interruption.”
According to Denike, UTSU included the incamera session at the meeting following a prior precedence set in a previous meeting. The equity statement also reads: “Any form of discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated. Hate speech rooted in, but not limited to, sexist, Islamophobic, antiSemitic, racist, anti-black, classist, ableist, homophobic, or transphobic sentiments and/or remarks will also not be tolerated.” According to Memmel, following Noori’s comment to the director, the board members voted almost unanimously to replace Noori as the anti-harassment officer with UTSU’s executive director Tka Pinnock. In an email to The Medium, Noori responded to the claim that board members were trying to silence Williams’ comments about wanting to make the in-camera session a public statement. “There were board members that would interrupt her while she would speak, snicker and say dis-
respectful things/mock her under their breath every time she spoke,” wrote Noori. She added that the director Memmel was referring to was the director of New College, Sila Elgin, whom Williams also alleged in her statement. According to Williams, Elgin also referred to her comments as “disgusting,” and added that Elgin “cited ‘comfort’ as a reason for kicking Black students out of the room” during the in-camera session. “[…] Not only is she (just like majority of the board members in that room), deliberately trying to silence Cassandra, she’s also dodging accountability by not wanting to be transparent,” stated Noori. “As the vice-president equity, it is my job to support the most marginalized on this campus, including the most marginalized on the executive committee as well. “ Elgin released a statement to The Medium on February 24 in response to these allegations. She stated that her objection to Williams’ comments about the in-camera sessions was not to “justify keeping Black students out of the conversation,” but to remind the other directors and executives present at the meeting of the difficulty that individuals can face when discussing an issue in a room of 60 people. Elgin further reiterated the benefits of in-camera usage, such as the ability to use “more frank language” and increased accuracy in terms of note-keeping. According to Williams’ statement, Elgin had said in the past that it is “wrong to criticize the union for its lack of commitment to trans students and trans issues because not everyone feels ‘comfortable’ enough to be an ally and support trans people.” Elgin declined to comment on this allegation, but added that she could not make a comment regarding a conversation “that did not take place.”
UTM S.E.C holds trauma workshop EESHA HASAN UTM Sexual Education Centre held a “Reclaiming Sex After Trauma” workshop on February 16, where students got to share their thoughts and experiences regarding sexual violence traumas. Attended by 14 students, S.E.C’s external education director, Lilian Atari, stated that it was the first time S.E.C. has hosted such a workshop. Atari explained that S.E.C is aware of how sex and trauma are seen as “taboo” topics, which drove their incentive to face the “significant and often dismissed topic” by hosting the workshop. “The goal of this workshop was to ensure that an important topic such as trauma, and understanding how it could mean different things to different people, can be discussed in a respectful and safe environment,” Atari said. The event featured Hammam Farah, a Canadian activist of Palestinian descent, a resettlement worker for Syrian refugees, and a therapist-in-training at Toronto’s Centre for Training in Psychotherapy. Farah explained what constitutes trauma, the spectrum of
sexual violence, as well as the impact of trauma and long-term outcomes for survivors. He also described the importance of validating the survivor’s story and why healing sexually matters. According to Atari, Farah has been involved in causes and social justice activism for nearly 15 years. “We felt the need to have this workshop to provide a space for survivors and allies to learn more about this topic,” said Atari. “Understanding the language of this topic can help in understanding how to deal with it.” One of the participants described their struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of trauma. They mentioned that people often insensitively tell them to snap out of their condition. “This workshop provided the basic tools and definitions to start a more in-depth discussion or conversation in order to start the process of healing,” said Atari. She added that UTM S.E.C is looking to further raise awareness and educate students about sexual violence and trauma issues.
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U of T resumes survey on student interaction The National Survey for Student Engagement asks about student interaction with university MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR
U of T has resumed its sixth National Survey of Student Engagement for first-year and senior-year students across all three campuses, asking students for feedback on their interaction with their faculty members and their colleagues, as well as how they handle exams and assignments. David Newman, U of T’s senior director of student experience and the interim director of the Centre for Community Partnerships, told The Medium that in past years, the university usually received a 35 to 40 percent response rate, which he stated was considered “quite high.” According to Newman, the questions on the survey are the same as those on the last survey held in 2014. He stated that the results of the survey are used at both the divisional faculties’ level and the institutional level, helping them to make changes toward more student engagement. “We use it in a lot of ways,” said Newman. “It’s used institution-wide to help us better understand where things are going well around the student experience and where things
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Questions on the survey are the same as those on the last survey back in 2014. need to be improved.” He added that the faculty divisions also use the survey results to look at their curriculums in terms of what they offer, what could be added to result in more engagement, and how to increase the level of interaction between students and faculty members. “We’ve seen some faculties change their expectations and resources for faculty members to support them.
We certainly, on the student side, develop new programs constantly as a result of the [survey] results,” he said. He added that the faculties particularly focus on “high-intact” educational practices, which are presented as questions in the survey and address the experiential opportunities available in the higher educational level. “There’s been a lot of work in each of the divisions and centrally at all
three campuses to try and build opportunities for students to have experiential opportunities, so that we can reflect the high-intact practices,” explained Newman. “We know from the data and the data has shown us that those who do high-intact practices are more likely to have better experiences at the university.” Confidentiality of student responses are maintained by direct-
ing the survey after students sign up to a secure server at NSSE, which keeps the information provided by students anonymous. Upon completion of the survey, it goes back to the original secure server by the university, informing it that the survey has been finished. Students who complete the survey are given a 20 percent discount code at the Royal Ontario Museum and will be entered to a draw for one of several prizes, including an iPad worth $500; 5 X $100 Presto cards; 5 X $50 bookstore gift cards; 5 X $50 T-Cards; and 10 X $10 Starbucks cards. According to the email sent to students, the odds of winning a prize are one in 370. Newman conceded that once the data is redirected back to the university’s server, it enters the students for the draw and sends them the distinct discount code for the ROM. According to the NSSE Survey website, the survey is conducted in partnership between U of T and the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. A reminder will be sent out to students by the end of March, and the survey is expected to remain open until June 1.
Speakers debate Trump’s ban U of T second in Iron Lecture continued from page 2 Saunders stated that although it’s worth looking at what the threat could be from immigrants and refugees, as well as the terrorist attacks and crimes that have been involved in America, there has not been a terrorist attack by a refugee, whether from a Muslim or a non-Muslim country. “Generally speaking, the history of immigration from Muslim countries to the United States has been different from other Western countries,” said Saunders. “It’s a population who are better off economically than average Americans, who are much more educated than average Americans at the second-highest university education level, and have a much lower crime rate than average Americans.” Fadel spoke about how there exists a long tradition that does not question the president’s “purgatives” in
issues pertaining to foreign affairs and national security. He added that there is usually an assumption that the president is going to act in good faith and will exercise his or her powers in conjunction with the constitution’s values. “This is a president […] who ran a campaign which engaged in vicious attacks against all sorts of minority groups, belittled and demeaned all sorts of constituencies, not just Muslims, and showed complete contempt for international law and international institutions,” stated Fadel. “And then, as soon as [Trump] became a president, he acted on those impulses.” The final speaker, Ahmad, shared her experience from working in Somalia and from spending last summer at Syrian borders with refugees. She stated that testifiers from Syria said that the foreign fighters in Raqqa, a city experiencing strong bombings, are not Syrians. They
instead come from different backgrounds and some of them speak French or Chinese or Russian. “When I visited the valley and I went through the settlements, I can tell you that these refugees are women, children, families, who have for years been living in these settlements,” she said. “The amount of monitoring and vetting that occurs by the UNCHR in these camps is extraordinary. There are children who are born in these camps, there are small infants.” Shortly after the Munk School email was sent out to students regarding the event details, stating that there were only twenty seats available for UTM students, the registrations were filled up. Attendees ages ranged from students to elders. Following the talk of each speaker, the audience was given a chance to write down their questions and hand it to the speakers.
Chef Competition
GEOFFREY VENDEVILLE/UTORONTO.CA
U of T was represented by a team of four students.
FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Last Saturday, U of T came in second place in the annual inter-university Iron Chef Competition at New College. U of T was 1.5 points behind the University of Massachusetts Amherst, McGill University placed third, and University of Ottawa placed fourth. The competition was hosted for the first time at U of T, and was led by U of T’s director of culinary operations and executive chef, Jaco Lokker. Each team consisted of four student chefs who had to prepare an appetizer and a main course within two hours. The competition was held as a black-box style. Prior to the competition, each team was made aware of the available protein choices, including pork and salmon, but only found out about the other “mystery” ingredients: konnyaku, lemon grass, tandoori paste, beluga lentils, and blue
cheese last Friday at 6 p.m. The students selected to represent U of T this year were: Jordan Su, a fourth-year human geography major; Brettany Colette, a fourth-year equity studies major; Felipe Branco, an MBA student at the Rotman School of Management; and Ailin Xi, a secondyear biochemistry and nutritional science double major, who was selected as the back-up chef. The U of T team prepared for the competition through practice sessions with the executive chef of the New College’s Residential Dining Department, James Piggott. Piggott has also represented Canada three times in the World Culinary Olympics and has been the executive chef at several Toronto hotels for the last 15 years. Last year, the competition was held at the University of Ottawa, where McGill University won the Iron Chef competition and advanced to the international competition.
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How we should discuss M103 In 2015, when I heard Iqra Khalid speak at UTM during the campaigning period for the Mississauga-Erin Mills riding, she was a newly-minted Liberal MP. She assumed office that very same year. Despite her political inexperience, I was impressed with Khalid. She displayed her political suavity by answering the audience’s questions with poise and a good understanding of the facts, rather than flowery language. Amidst wellseasoned MPs, such as Conservative MP Bob Dechert, Khalid was comparable—if not equal—in argumentation. Though I left the political debate that night with the expectation of a bright future for this young MP, I never imagined her to be the centre of controversy over a proposed motion two years later. Given the recent tragic Quebec Mosque attacks, Khalid proposed motion 103 (M103). The debating of the motion will be delayed to this coming April. One noteworthy clause of the motion states, “The government should ‘condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.’” On the surface, M103 is an antiIslamophobia motion. However, its detractors say that it is a motion that will ultimately inhibit the expression of free speech. “This is creeping Sharia Law!” one online commenter writes. “Nothing, not even your religion is above criticism,” another online comment reads. I understand the importance of free speech and criticism, and history speaks as a testament when I
say that healthy social progress cannot be achieved simply by silencing specific (albeit disagreeable) viewpoints. After all, imposing a high degree of political correctness can stifle progress as well. Such an imposition certainly won’t create the open discourse much needed in the Canadian context, especially now that it’s saturated with the arguably bigoted rhetoric of our Southern neighbor. However, what I think these commenters miss is the distinction between criticism and hate speech; the latter, I think, is what M103 is really trying to end. The reactions to the motion can be described as…impassioned, in general. During a parliamentary session, Khalid stands up to read the comments she’s received since the proposal of the motion. In a video posted by the Huffington Post, Khalid reads a list of racial slurs directed towards her: “Real Canadians will rise up and get rid of the nasty blank Muzzie [sic] stench in Ottawa. They should all go the [blank] back to your [blank] hole where you belong. We will burn down your mosques, draper head Muslim.” Perhaps the kinds of comments I’ve found, or the ones that Khalid has chosen to present, are only a minute representation of the discourse. I’m sure that there are some criticallyinformed and tempered comments floating around somewhere. Maybe I just haven’t been looking hard enough for them. However, the fact that such comments read by Khalid, relying on nothing but expletives and
racial slurs, are circling around (and even garnering a sizeable amount of online approval) scares me. Why? Because it shows that instead of approaching the proposal of motions like M103 with the kind of intellectually-informed criticism that it deserves, Canadians are apt to resort to trite and woefully ignorant racial slurs to make their case. Not only are these kinds of comments extremely distasteful, but they do nothing but delay discussion on central issues such as the distinction between criticism and hate speech and the issue of what it means to be Canadian. It is these kinds of comments that make me worry for the kind of behavioral precedence that we inadvertently set for the world and for our children at home. I think Canadians are capable of a higher standard when it comes to dealing with sensitive political issues. Moreover, in what seems to be an attempt to silence Khalid, death threats and expletive-riddled speech aimed at her may actually strengthen her case for the passing of M103. It is exactly this kind of hate speech directed at Khalid, and the Muslim community at large, that inspired the motion in the first place—and the fact that these commenters have proven that hate speech is very much alive in Canada furthers Khalid’s end. Already, articles by the Toronto Sun suggest that PM Justin Trudeau is in favour of M103—and the presence of these distasteful comments, I hypothesize, will nonetheless augment his support. I don’t deny the possibility that
M103, under a certain interpretation, may stifle free speech. But this possibility is exactly why the discourse should focus on the difference between free speech and hate speech and not on Khalid’s country of origin or accusations of terrorism. What qualifies hate speech? What qualifies free speech? What degree of political correctness is beneficial or harmful to social progress? How should the Charter of Rights and Freedoms be interpreted in the Islamophobia context? These are the kinds of questions we need to start talking about. I also don’t endorse that Canadians have an obligation to wholly accept M103. However, what I merely emphasize is that if you reject M103, then back it up with a measured, factually-informed opinion piece explaining your view. But simply saying you don’t want M103 to be implemented since Khalid is a “muzzie” is just, well, not very convincing. We’d make more progress by sticking to facts and tempered opinions instead of resorting to ad hominem fallacies to make our case.
Kassandra Hangdaan News Assistant
CORRECTION NOTICE The Feb. 6 article, “Reclaiming the Aboriginal voice” misstated the venue mentioned. The article “Highlighting Indigenous innovation” has been updated online to include quotes from speaker Wendy Phillips.
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Big aspirations with few possibilities Graduating TDS class captivates audience with their production of The Mill on the Floss ADELAIDE ATTARD ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR It’s hard to believe there was ever a point in time where women lacked autonomy. They couldn’t choose their own career path, they couldn’t love who they wanted, and their brothers were always superior. On February 17, the graduating class of the theatre and drama studies program premiered Helen Edmunson’s adaptation of The Mill on the Floss under the direction of Anita La Selva. The story features Maggie Tulliver (Alessa Dufresne, Avery Logan, Victoria Dennis), a girl with a big imagination and even bigger dreams. But as this play takes place in Victorian England, it was not easy for Maggie to let her imagination run free without appearing “foolish” and disgracing her family. The Mill on the Floss follows a girl with big aspirations, and how she attempts, again and again, to bring those aspirations to life. The Mill on the Floss was originally published as a novel by George Eliot in 1891. Yet, “George Eliot”
PETER URBANEK/PHOTO
Gender and class barriers in Victorian England restrict Maggie Tulliver of The Mill on the Floss. was just a pseudonym that Mary Anne Evans used to pursue a career in writing. Evans’ goal was to escape the stereotype of the Victorian era that women in novels were nothing more than pretty little things who grew up to be vessels for children. We can see the undertones
of feminism in this story, as Evans’ strong female voice is hard to ignore throughout the play. The script drops us into the life of Maggie, her brother Tom Tulliver (Jack Comerford), her mother Bessy Tulliver (Bryn Kennedy), and her father Thomas Tulliver (Gregory
Guzik). The play opens with Maggie reading aloud about witches. Namely, if a woman was thrown in water and could swim, she was a witch, but if she struggled, she was just a silly woman. The lighting panned on a woman being thrown into the water, portrayed by a long blue sheet.
The woman struggled to swim. This fascinated Maggie. For the first time, the audience is introduced to Maggie’s big imagination. Tom then returns from school. Since he’s a boy, he’s given the opportunity to go to school, whereas Maggie stays home in her room, expanding her imagination by reading stories. For Maggie, the River Floss is a place of wonder and imagination. She frequents the river, admiring its beauty. But as beautiful as it is, it’s also dangerous for girls who don’t know how to swim. The play follows the working-class lives of the Tullivers. When Maggie’s father goes bankrupt, he has a stroke from all his grief. As Tom grows older, he must do his duties as a man and become the breadwinner for the family. Maggie wants to help, but with an already turbulent sibling relationship, Tom forbids her. Maggie watches her brother work and learn Latin and Greek, as she’s left at home with nothing but her dreams. Maggie continued on page 9
Wrapping the season with black comedy Margarita Valderrama and Brian Haight discuss the dynamics of Hart House’s 7 Stories HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR A man climbs onto the ledge of a building and contemplates jumping. His entire life culminates in this one fatal moment. But just when he’s about to take the leap, seven self-absorbed tenants in the building interrupt him with their own problems. And so goes the plot of Morris Panych’s 7 Stories. After a diverse season of productions, Hart House Theatre ends the year with 7 Stories. And what better way to end than with a dark comedy? In an interview with Brian Haight and Margarita Valderrama, who play Man and Rachel/Jennifer respectively, they discuss the effect of the play’s genre and the intricacies of their characters. The Medium: How did you get involved with 7 Stories? What interested you about this play? Margarita Valderrama: For me it was Rebecca Ballarin, the director. I went to school with her at the Drama Centre at U of T, so I was really interested in working with her. I had also read the script a long time ago, and it seemed like an exciting challenge. Brian Haight: For me it was the
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HART HOUSE THEATRE
Hart House’s final production of the 2016/2017 season, 7 Stories, premieres on March 3. script itself. Morris Panych is such a talented man and writer. When I first saw the script, I was really enthusiastic about it, because I thought I fit the part of Man really well. TM: Do you prefer working with contemporary plays like 7 Stories? MV: Although it is from the 80s, contemporary pieces like this still speak to what’s happening today. Many of the characters’ experiences
are still things that happen in our current society. For example, one of the characters has an obsession with how many friends they have. Presently, that relates to social media. Contemporary plays always interest me because they speak to more relevant or topical things in my life. However, I think the classics always give you a great challenge. BH: There’s something a little more
accessible in contemporary works, especially contemporary Canadian works, because a lot of the themes from 1989 are still relevant today. In terms of the classics, I think the goal is to make the text relevant. But with contemporary works, it’s easier to dissect because many things that are happening in the play are still happening in the world around us. TM: 7 Stories is described as a
“black comedy.” Do you think comedy is an effective way to communicate messages about serious topics, like suicide? MV: I always think so. Comedy creates a bond between the performers and the audience that’s much more instantaneous than dramatic plays, which can often be inaccessible. With a play like 7 Stories, you can recognize what these people are supposed to represent, because they’re so big and they’re so comedic. BH: Tragedy and comedy are different ways of accessing the same kind of message. I enjoy comedy, and I think that it’s an amazing way to talk about important themes. With [7 Stories], you need a sense of comedy to deal with the absurdism of the play. Without it, the play just becomes nonsensical. It’s like the nihilist view that you can create your own meaning out of the absurdity of life. Many existentialists and absurdists from the mid-20th century believed comedy was of the upmost importance for this type of thing. So I would absolutely say that comedy is a great way to access themes like suicide and meaninglessness. 7 Stories continued on page 9
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A lifetime of gender and class restriction Maggie continued from page 8 After the Tulliver family goes bankrupt, they are forced to sell Mrs. Tulliver’s handmade furniture and linens at an auction. Mrs. Tulliver reaches out to her snobby and wealthy sister, Mrs. Glegg (Marissa Otto) for help, but Mrs. Glegg simply lectures her sister on how Maggie is an embarrassment to the family. When Maggie visits Tom at school, she encounters Phillip Wakem (Zane O’Connor), son of Mr. Wakem (Hershel Blatt). As the Wakems are wealthier than the Tullivers, it’s frowned upon for Maggie to converse with her brother’s schoolmate. But, since nothing stops Maggie, she speaks to Phillip anyways. Phillip is pushed into the outskirts of society due to an ailment that causes him to walk on a crutch at all times. But this doesn’t bother Maggie. She asks Phillip about his education, and he offers to teach her Latin and Greek. They instantly become infatuated with each other. However, Tom forbids their relationship, owing to gender and class issues. Tom threatens to tell their father; Maggie, afraid of disappointing her brother, pledges never speak to Phillip again. As the play progresses, Maggie
grows older. The production uses three actresses to portray Maggie in different stages of her live. Years of oppression have taught Maggie to read the Bible every day and cater to housework with her mother. As an escape, Maggie visits her favourite place, the River Floss, in hopes that her once-wild imagination will come back to her. As Maggie ages, she cannot forget her love for Phillip. Throughout Maggie’s internal battles at her oldest stage in the play (Dennis), she is visited by her former selves (Dufresne and Logan). Her youngest self (Dufresne) reminds her of her child-like, imaginative side, while her mid-self (Logan) reminds her not to be foolish and to stick to what she is told, regardless of how she feels. As the oldest Maggie struggles with having a voice, her younger selves provide her with layered opinions in hopes that she doesn’t forget her happiness from an earlier time. You could tell The Mill on the Floss was performed by the graduating class. Their acting was extremely believable and well-refined. Dufresne, Logan, and Dennis all brought their own style to the role of Maggie. While each actress portrayed a different appearance of Maggie, they didn’t shy away from her original character. The three
Maggies created a believable change in age, adding different layers to the Victorian female experience. Comerford stole the show as Tom. His role as a brother to Maggie was remarkably authentic. Comerford captured the multifaceted pressures of being a son, older brother, and a man in the Victorian era—not to mention his stage fighting, which was so sophisticated it worried me. The stage pieces and props emphasized the social class of the Tullivers, complete with a mechanical mill and an attic for Maggie’s room. The stone-like floors on set fit the atmosphere of a riverside. The costumes were also appropriate for the time period; each clothing item suited the respective classes of Victorian England. Maggie wore drabcoloured dresses until she went to a ball, where she wore a yellow puffy dress that fit Dennis like a glove. Maggie struggles to obtain her dreams and her autonomy. But in the end, sadly, her gender and class are reminders that a Victorian woman must not have too much free will, or dream too big. And as for love, stay in your societal class. Oh, and if you can’t swim, don’t go near the water. The Mill on the Floss will continue to run in the MiST Theatre from March 3 to 5.
REWIND NICOLE SCIULLI STAFF WRITER On the outside, it’s a perfect dinner of close friends. They relax and enjoy their evening. But underneath the surface, there are lies, deception, betrayal, and broken relationships. And everything is revealed through the device that knows us the best. Directed by Paolo Genovese, Perfetti Sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers) is an Italian comedy-drama that follows seven long-term friends, including three married couples and one divorcee. On the surface, all the friends lead an ideal life: one couple is trying to have a baby, the divorcee has a new girlfriend, and the remaining couples seem content with their careers and family lives. As the group sits down to eat, they talk about how technology has made our private lives too secretive, almost to the point where our phones contain our entire personal history. One friend suggests the group play a game. All the friends will put their phones on the table. Whatever message comes in while the friends eat will be read aloud. At first, the game is comical while trivial texts emerge. But then the messages take a dark turn. Slowly, secrets are unveiled that begin to drive the friends against each other. As each secret is revealed, the friends find out
that they know nothing about one another. Each secret throws a wrench in the group’s relationship and brings the brokenness of each person to the surface: an unhappy marriage, a mother who has out-welcomed her stay, and homophobia are just a few of the problems. This movie highlights the power that we give technology, including personal information that we may not share with others. Search engines are catered to everyone’s wants and needs, while the people we love most might never satisfy us. With ubiquitous technology, we can seek pleasure anywhere and so easily— seen in the film when one wife uses Facebook to sext a man she has never met, or when her husband receives a lewd picture from his co-worker. Everyone is in the same room, but through their phones they experience completely different lives. Perfetti Sconosciuti uses a film technique called film balade, or “the wandering film.” This means the film has no resolution at the end, leaving the audience with more questions than answers. Perfetti Sconosciuti is a thoughtprovoking film on modern technology and privacy. Genovese makes the audience question: Do we ever really know the people we are closest to? Or will their phones always know more?
Delving into the comedy of tragedy 7 Stories continued from page 8
TM: What has the rehearsal process been like? MV: Brian has been lucky because he gets to work with everyone, while we haven’t been able to see each other. The way our rehearsals have been scheduled is that I’ll come in for a certain amount of time and another person will come in, because all the scenes are individual. Now that we’ve gotten into run-throughs, it’s been a real treat to see all the other scenes and see how we fit into the world we’re creating. BH: It’s interesting to see the play develop in the sense that I get to work with someone one day, work with someone else the next, and then have a run-through where everyone comes together. For me, it’s an entirely different experience, but it’s a great way to get a full sense of the play in parts and then as a whole. [Ballarin] is so insightful and fun to work with. She’s been awesome at making sure that everything is cohesive throughout the entire play. MV: [Ballarin] also feeds us a lot of inspiration. If something’s not working, she always presents other
options that might not necessarily be the final decision, but still give you an idea of something to try in rehearsal. TM: How have you prepared for your roles? [To Valderrama]: Do you find it’s more challenging taking on two different personalities? MV: I was worried about that at first. For Jennifer, I’m trying to give her a higher pitch, just because that feels right for her role. We played with an accent for a bit with Rachel, which was helpful in finding her identity. For me, the process has been about trying different things until something has stuck with me. Costume has been a huge part of it. Now that we’re working with costumes and we have our props, it’s helped me find the physicality of these two women. BH: Every actor has their own process. I would say I’m more of a head-heavy actor, in the sense that I like to understand a lot about the play. I usually start with a ton of research, where I read plays that are similar to this one, like works by Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckett. Reading these plays help me find the spirit of the play. I waded through all the research and made this huge ball of information in my head. After that, it’s just
a matter of infusing the character with these details and trying to take that spirit and put it into a body, voice, or presence on the stage. And then, using this process to play with the other actors on the stage in order to create a cohesive, but wellinformed product.
“There are a lot of serious things in this play, but it’s meant to be a comedy, a light experience.” — Brian Haight TM: Why does Man have minimal dialogue? BH: I think it’s because of the state of confusion he’s in. There’s so much happening within him because he’s at a breaking point. He’s been led by his logic onto this ledge, and he can’t really express himself in a coherent way because of all his feelings, and so he expresses himself in little mono-syllabic bursts throughout the play. When he’s finally allowed to express himself at the end, he just lets everything out in a tidal wave of feelings. Also, the
characters that come before are set in their own world. They’re so enthralled with what’s happening in their own lives, that they don’t allow Man to speak. TM: Why is Man unnamed? BH: I think it’s because he’s an average man. He represents humanity in general. It doesn’t matter what his name is—he could be anyone. TM: Are the other characters symbolic as well? MV: They all try to fill their lives with meaning, which is something that Man has lost. They each have their own thing. Rachel has her religion, which she hangs on to for dear life, whereas Jennifer fills her life with people and parties. Each of the characters represent different ways of life. They’re maybe not as symbolic as Man, but they all represent different things. TM: What do you think is the message behind 7 Stories? BH: I believe it’s that we don’t have to look for something extremely important in life. If you kill yourself over looking for something extremely important, then you’re moving backwards—you’re working counter-productively. It’s important to accept the absurdity of living in a world where seemingly
nothing matters. [7 Stories] is about letting go of things that hold us down, like major routines that we might feel confined to, or a desire for things that maybe aren’t graspable. It’s about letting go of those things and just being content to live a life of happiness and acceptance. MV: It’s not that the characters are doing anything inherently wrong, but Man comes in to poke holes in each of their lives. I think the play is about developing a sense of self-awareness. If religion is important to you, that’s wonderful, but know that you don’t need to be completely defined by it. Each of the characters are so stubborn in what they’ve chosen to be their signifier, that they don’t leave room for anything else. [7 Stories] is about being open to the possibility of being happy with other things, because we’re all too closed off in our own worlds. BH: There are a lot of serious things in this play, but it’s meant to be a comedy, a light experience. To deal with these large themes, it’s important that people in the audience are able to laugh. MV: Overall, the play is hopeful. 7 Stories premieres at Hart House Theatre on March 3.
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Streetsville’s gem: Mondello Ristorante 2009 UTM alum Jessica Spiteri is the co-owner of the cozy Streestville-based restaurant MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR
Just north of Tannery Street, Mondello Ristorante can be found in a cozy corner of Streetsville. This week, The Medium sat down with the coowner and UTM 2009 alum, Jessica Spiteri. “I went to UTM as a mature student, already having been out of high school for eight to nine years. I was involved in various gigs in hospitality, bartending, and bookkeeping, which I ended up really enjoying,” says Spiteri. It was her experience in bookkeeping that, in her late twenties, motivated Spiteri to pursue a CA (now CPA) at UTM. “I really had no interest in postsecondary, and really no idea what I wanted to do after high school. I wanted to experience lots of different things, travel a bit, and when I knew what I wanted, I just went for it,” she says. “I think that looking back, I would advise people not to wait that long, because it was a long time to wait to go back to university. But there is
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Jessica Spiteri was involved in starting up Mondello Ristorante in 2007 with chef Latomasi. benefit in thinking about what you really want to do.” “There’s so much value in the first few years—in the lessons and the professors you meet, and a lot of it might just get lost in the ‘I want to have fun’ phase,” she adds.
Spiteri mentions how during her undergraduate classes, she enjoyed courses such as statistics, business law, and most of all, tax law, which was then taught by professor Joan A. Kitunen. Although Spiteri obtained a Bache-
lor of Commerce with distinction, she did have her share of struggles. “I had a house at the time, so I was working to pay my mortgage, and with going to university later, I was older than people in my group, so that was a challenge.” But she added,
“Once you get over those things and get a good routine down, it’s okay, and I really enjoyed myself and my education.” Spiteri began work at Ernst and Young after graduating, and mentions how she always made time for attending networking events with recruiting firms. Spiteri also notes the advantage of having more bookkeeping and accounting experience on her resume. “Confidence is huge, because there’s really no reason to be nervous. Everyone has talent and a lot to offer, so people have to stop worrying […]—because you are what you are, and if you want to get somewhere, you will get there,” she adds. While in school in 2008 and 2009, Spiteri was involved in starting up the restaurant in 2007 with the chef (and her now business partner) Nicola Latomasi. Spiteri received support from her friends, family, and even UTM faculty. “I was assisting in the start-up, so after class, I would talk to my professors and get their input,” Spiteri says. She also received help on legal structuring from her UTM professors. Spiteri continued on page 14
Social media as a tool for protests, politics The most recent Feminist Lunch Hour focused on the online presence of women in the Middle East SHARMEEN ABEDI
On Wednesday February 15, another edition of the Feminist Lunch Hour took place, featuring guest speaker Dr. Victoria Tahmasebi, who is an assistant professor of women and gender studies at the Department of Historical Studies at UTM. Tahmasebi began her talk by discussing Khaled Said, a young Egyptian man who was beaten to death by the Egyptian police in 2010. Following the incident, a Facebook campaign called “We Are All Khaled Said” was started, and led to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. Tahmasebi said that the Facebook campaign “played a significant role in mobilizing Egyptian activists on the ground.” According to Tahmasebi, women in the Middle East have increasingly started to create online communities, referred to as the “network public sphere,” to combat systemic oppression. “They have created these public spheres to connect with large communities, to share information, to
AIMEN ALI/THE MEDIUM
Dr. Victoria Tahmasebi is an assistant professor of women and gender studies here at UTM. educate broader sets of communities about women’s issues in the region, to build transnational advocacy networks, and to create feminist online campaigns,” she said. She showed several examples of the use of technology and social media by women in the Middle East as a
form of social activism. One initiative that was launched is “Harassmap,” which was created in 2010 and run by Egyptian women. The app was created “in response to rampant sexual harassment.” Tahmasebi explained that “the app operates in both English and Arabic,
in order to monitor, control, and raise awareness about the sexual harassment of women in the streets of Egyptian cities.” The app allows women to report sexual harassment, and contains various categories, such as “catcalling” and “sexual assault.” It also displays a
map including the number of reports in each city. This app was influential in making sexual harassment a visible issue. “By creating this map, the organizers hoped to identify patterns of sexual harassment so that they can challenge the silence around this issue,” said Tahmasebi. Another successful campaign she discussed is the hashtag #sendeanlat, which was started by Turkish feminists, after a woman in Turkey was brutally killed for fighting off a rapist. The hashtag, meaning “tell your story too,” allowed women in Turkey to share their experiences of sexual harassment and violence. More than 800,000 tweets have used this hashtag. Tahmasebi stated that “Iranian women activists have a highly visible and increasingly significant presence on social media.” According to Tahmasebi, there are two types of Iranian women who use social media as a platform for activism: ordinary women and female activists. Online continued on page 14
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Living Library returns with new “books” On February 16, the Human Living Library returned for a fifth year, featuring books such as Gurveer Bains (a U of T Ph.D. student), Larissa Ho (former news editor for The Medium and author of Becoming Silver Girl) and Samra Zafar (an alumni governor on U of T’s Governing Council and founder of the non-profit Brave Beginnings organization). The Medium spoke to three books at the event: Hassaan Basit, Demetra Dimokopoulos, and Rahhman El Borai.
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The Human Living Library event featured various UTM alumni, such as Hassaan Basit, Larissa Ho, and Christopher Thompson.
“The New Ecology of Leadership” FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Today, Hassaan Basit is the chief administrative officer of Conservation Halton. But back in his undergraduate years, Basit pursued a double major in biology and psychology. “I think I found my niche in my final year,” says Basit. “It was my fourth year when I got involved with professor Darryl Gwynne’s class in behavioural ecology. It just kind of grew from there—that’s what I wanted to be involved with.” Basit went on to conduct an independent research project with
Gwynne, where he looked at female mate choice in a specific fish species. Following his undergraduate degree, Basit left to complete a post-graduate degree in science communication at Queens University in Northern Ireland. “I really wanted to see if there was a niche for someone who was really interested in science to be able to become a good communicator, because I always felt this huge gap between what the practitioners, experts, and researchers know, and what their time, and in some cases, ability, allows them to communicate. So, you’re left with this huge knowledge gap—and
we don’t have enough knowledge brokers who can take science from the scientists and be able to communicate it to anybody. Not just the broad public, but the decision makers, policy makers, government officials, investors, businesses—all of that is crucial. You hear bad science communication every day in the newspapers,” says Basit. Upon completion of his degree, Basit returned to Canada—specifically, to UTM. He worked for two years as a research associate in Gwynne’s lab while working as a TA as he waited for a job which combined his niche interests to appear.
For Basit, it was important to be working for an organisation that was science or evidence-based, and in a non-profit sector. “That’s nothing against the for-profit sector. I really felt that public service is where I wanted to be.” The perfect job finally appeared with a conservation authority (Conservation Halton). “I applied for it as a communications officer, and got the job. That was 14 years ago, and now I’m the chief administrative officer there, so I run the place,” says Basit. According to Basit, Conservation Halton’s jurisdiction includes Milton,
Halton Hills, Burlington, Oakville, and parts of Mississauga, Hamilton, and Puslinch. As a part of his role, he oversees the forestry operations, outreach programs, environmental planning, and restoration of natural resources (and much more) within this jurisdiction—including Ontario’s fourth-busiest ski and snowboard centre at Glen Eden (where almost one million visit annually). To manage all this, the organization has 145 full-time and 700 seasonal employees. “So my job is really interesting—it’s all of that, which I really enjoy,” says Basit.
license and no job, Dimokopoulos attended an event targeted towards women in the legal profession who needed guidance and assistance in transitioning to different positions or even returning to the world of law from things like maternity leave. “It was at that event that someone said, ‘After talking to you for five minutes, I think an MBA would be best for you,’ but I had always avoided it because my stereotype of an MBA graduate was someone who worked in finance, and that wasn’t for me,” says Dimokopoulos. “But it turns out with further research, the degree matched my personality so much better. Now after doing my M.B.A, it turns out I do like finance a little too.” Dimokopoulos completed her M.B.A in 2015 at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. “I had at that point done all of my education in Canada, and I knew that I wanted to get outside of my mobile, so my focus was that when I did my next step, my big next degree, it would be abroad. That way I kind of get the travelling, international experience and everything all at the same time. I wanted to pick a coun-
try that was welcoming to female business leaders, and Denmark really stood out to me in that respect,” she says. “Our class ratio was 40 percent women and 60 percent men, so 40-60 is pretty good. My program specifically focused on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and leadership.” On the first day of school in Denmark, Dimokopoulos’ professor hired her to be a business case writer. To write the case studies, she worked with the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship on campus. Her involvement and interaction with the entrepreneurs opened her eyes to the life of operating a business. Life in Denmark also exposed Dimokopoulos to health and fitness. She explains that she biked everywhere, because it was a more efficient method of transportation in the country and she loved it. This introduction helped Dimokopoulos refine her passion and focus on the career she wanted to build when she returned to Canada. “When I came back to Canada, I knew I wanted to focus on my health more, so I took the fitness certification. Then I thought, ‘Okay, my entrepreneur community is in Den-
mark, how do I get into that here and have a network?’ I tried meetup. com, and found Startup Toronto. It’s been great—you meet entrepreneurs and they have seminars to help you along the way,” she explains. “Right now I’m looking at how I’m going to combine writing, fitness, and health writing with being a personal trainer. I don’t know yet if I want to teach or write about it, I’m just going with the flow.” Dimokopoulos believes that time management is the key to a successful academic career and that students should study subjects that they enjoy during their time at UTM. “At the end of the day, what I’ve found is that unless you’re in a very specialized degree, focus on studying things that you like, because most people end up in jobs that don’t have anything to do with their degree. Education is power. I may not have become a lawyer, but I don’t regret the years I spent learning law,” Dimokopoulos says. “Follow your passions. Never stop learning. It makes life more exciting when you’re learning new things.”
“Fearless — The Path to Me” JESSICA CABRAL ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Since graduating from UTM in 2006, Demetra Dimokopoulos has allowed her passions to take her on a “turbulent” journey through the professional realms of publishing, law, and business. As one of the human books at UTM’s Living Library Event, Dimokopoulos reveals the challenges of finding work in the midst of the recession and the importance of being open-minded to change. Dimokopoulos began her undergraduate studies at UTM with the plan to pursue a degree in forensics. At the end of her first year, Dimokopoulos didn’t get into the program, and was unable to declare it as her major. At that time, the department recommended that students take professional writing and communication courses to strengthen their communication skills, so Dimokopoulos enrolled in PWC classes with hopes of reapplying to the forensic program again the following year. Dimokopoulos explains that taking the PWC classes was the defining moment for her university experience.
“By the time the next year came around to switch majors, I didn’t want to. I really found that the flexibility of the program and the space to be creative tapped into something I didn’t know was there. It was a good way to express myself,” she explains of the PWC program. “That love led me to the publishing industry.” After completing her double major in PWC and psychology, Dimokopoulos took a short college publishing program at Humber College. The program involved an internship that placed Dimokopoulos directly into the industry. Then the economy began to decline, and Dimokopoulos lost her job during the recession. “I met someone while I was in one of my writing jobs who had said: why don’t I try a paralegal program. I was applying to law school when a lot of people lost their jobs in the recession, so there were twice as many people applying,” she says. “Sometimes specific people that you meet along the way, without realizing it, send you on a different path.” Dimokopoulos retrained as a paralegal and worked in law for approximately four to five years until her law firm closed. With a paralegal
Library continued on page 14
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TEDxUofT: what does open mean to you? On Saturday February 18, TEDxUofT returned with their fifth annual conference at the Isabel Bader Theatre. The event featured various speakers (such as UTM’s chemistry professor Patrick Gunning, spoken-word poet Tobi Ogude, computer science professors Sanja Fidler and Raquel Urtasun, and digital enterprise management student Yannis Guibinga) and performances from the U of T Jazz Orchestra, Onoscatopoeia, and Goodbye Honolulu. The Medium rounded up highlights from the TEDxUofT conference, with a special focus on the speakers from UTM. TEACHING A COMPUTER TO SEE THROUGH HUMAN EYES FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR
Dr. Sanja Fidler, an assistant professor within UTM’s Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, is currently involved in computer recognition of human dimensions. “[Artificial intelligence] is really booming these days,” said Fidler, as she pointed out examples such as Apple’s Siri (for speech recognition), robots, and self-driving cars. These examples are made possible by neural networks, where data is provided and undergoes multiple layers of computation to result in a specific task. This concept has been around for a while, but as Fidler emphasized, it was actually a group at U of T, headed by Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, who made a significant breakthrough in this field. Hinton was dubbed the “godfather of deep learning,” as his algorithms successfully trained neural networks, and allowed for digital tools, such as voice recognition and predictive searches, to become a common reality too. In her talk, Fidler walked the au-
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEDXUOFT
Dr. Sanja Fidler walked the audience through the steps involved in executing a task with a robot. dience through the steps involved in getting a robot to execute a task. The first step is to understand the scene, which brings up the first obstacle: recognition. “This basically means that you have a photo, and you want to recognize the objects that are in the photo,” said Fidler. “What makes the problem
challenging is the fact that there are so many different types of objects in the world. Each object can be in any location, size, or viewpoint.” To get around this obstacle, Fidler used compositional hierarchy. This involved starting with small segments, and to keep combining these segments through multiple layers un-
til a final object is formed. The next step is to understand language, as the robot must be able to understand what humans want it to do and translate it into a series of tasks. For this, Fidler used books and their corresponding movie adaptations. “Our idea was: can we take a movie
and a book and try to align them?” said Fidler. By aligning the two formats for 11 movie-book pairs, Fidler’s research team (specifically the students who were paid to watch movies) obtained rich textual descriptions of movie clips. Next, robots must be able to carry out reasoning as they attempt to answer questions. To accomplish this, Fidler and her research team prepared a series of questions and answers to help train her robot to answer questions about movies, and “basically [learn] about how the world and people work.” However, this hasn’t been successful, as it is challenging to train the robot in this area. The last step is to execute a task. While there are certain easier commands that can be pre-programmed, such as making tea, it is also important to be able to develop a robot that can interpret and execute more complex, or newer tasks, such as hunting Pokémon through Pokémon Go. “So I hope that in these 15 minutes, I have convinced you that AI is the new cool,” concluded Fidler.
PHOTOGRAPHY’S ROLE ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEDXUOFT
Yannis Guibinga is a self-taught photographer.
Originally from Gabon, Yannis Guibinga is a self-taught photographer. Currently, he is a student here at UTM within the digital enterprise management program, and through his photos, offers an accurate portrayal of the African continent. Guibinga’s talk was titled, “The role of photography in Africa: from representation to activism.” “Can you believe that in 2017, some people still think that Africa is a country?” asked Guibinga. “It’s funny, but it’s true.” “The representation of the African continent on a global scale has always been one-dimensional, to say the least. Impoverished, underdeveloped, and disease-ridden are some of the most common characteristics that have been used by the global mainstream media to describe the African continent as a whole. Or at the very least, it’s what they seem to be focusing on the most.” According to Guibinga, the relationship between Africa and photography started in the colonial times, near the end of the 19th century. At this point, photography was used to classify the people on the African continent, as well as to record architecture, rituals, and artefacts. Many of these photos were similar to mugshots, which Guibinga points out
were used as scientific evidence to prove that “Africans were anthropologically inferior to Europeans.” This was also used as justification for the resulting colonization. “These photos have influenced the way people think of Africa across the globe,” said Guibinga. “Fortunately, Africans started to take photos themselves to document their daily lives and culture. What was previously used as a way to objectify and dehumanize them now turned into a tool that finally gave them the ability to control their own narratives.” The internet has helped facilitate this information exchange too, allowing positive images to be shared instantaneously across the globe. “African photographers—thanks to the internet—have been able to offer an alternative to this narrative by depicting an Africa that is both culturally diverse and complex.” As a photographer, Guibinga has utilized the internet to share images of his home country: Gabon. “It allowed me to depict a different, and maybe new side of the continent, the way I experienced it myself everyday growing up.” Guibinga also highlights the diversity of identities present on the continent, especially the intersection of factors such as gender, culture,
and socioeconomic status. Guibinga chose these topics to show that Africa is not a “monolith”—that “there is not just one African identity or culture.” But Guibinga believes that it is also important to be honest—to use photography to highlight corruption, oppressive political regimes, and gender violence that are still holding back the African continent in the hopes of starting a discussion. For example, the results of Gabon’s 2016 presidential elections were highly controversial, and led to an outbreak of protests across the country. While the government in power claimed that everything was going fine, photography proved otherwise. “The way we have been thinking about Africa has been changing since the 19th century, mainly because of photography, and more recently, the internet. What was previously thought to be a primitive land is now starting to be seen as a place full of diversity and potential. […] The one thing that the colonial photography era has shown us is how easy it is to spread false narratives.” “Let’s all remember to say openminded, because what we see in photographs is not always the whole truth,” concluded Guibinga.
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HOW TO BUILD A CANCER-KILLING MOLECULE
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEDXUOFT
Gunning once again presented at a TEDx event.
The Medium has previously covered chemistry professor Patrick Gunning’s talk at the 2016 TEDxMississauga event. Gunning repeated a few of his favourite jokes (such as references to Breaking Bad or how STAT3 has a similar shape to Bute, the island where he grew up), and once again delivered an engaging and informative talk on how his current research is developing drugs to target the STAT3 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription Factor 3) protein in cancer cells. Gunning previously completed his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Glasgow. He then continued as a medicinal chemist (as a postdoctoral fellow) at Yale University, and joked that he grew a beard to avoid being called Daniel Radcliffe (which eventually didn’t work out, as Radcliffe grew a beard as well). At Yale, Gunning found that the molecules he discovered “had a purpose”—which was to selectively kill cancer cells over healthy cells. “For me, that was transformational. I really wanted to do this as a part
of my future career—it was hugely rewarding,” said Gunning. Gunning went on to describe how STAT3 drives cancer (as it is a master regulator of cancer cells), and that a STAT3 knockout would result in the death of a cancer cell. “Why do drugs work in the human body? Well, to answer this, you have to think at the highest echelons of educated society: you have to think of yourself as a chemist—an organic chemist.” Organic chemists see the human body as a “collection of large and small molecules that are undergoing chemical reactions and complexation events to mediate the biological processes that allow us to function as human beings.” Through an example with serotonin, Gunning emphasized that “drugs interact with molecules,” which can be used to regulate biological processes. “In cancer research, that biological response has to be death. We want to see our drug binding to our target, and leading to the cancer cell dying,”
said Gunning. The active form of the STAT3 protein is a dimer (i.e. a STAT3-STAT3 complex). Gunning’s plan was to make molecules that could come in and break open this dimer. This involved taking inspiration from nature (mimicry) and designing molecules that would STAT3’s three “pockets”— or as Gunning described it: attempting to complete a “jigsaw puzzle.” Gunning also unveiled results at the talk. For example, he shared images from a multiple myeloma trial (a 100 percent lethal disease with no cure), which showed that compound X, a patented molecule, “shut down STAT3 inside a human tumour inside a mouse model.” Similarly, treatment of compound X in medulloblastoma tumours within mouse models revealed regression in these previouslyuntreatable brain tumours. “We’ve gone from a horrible compound to what we think is a really good compound for treating untreatable, orphaned diseases right now,” Gunning concluded.
A COLLECTION OF COLLECTIVES: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE CITY & ITS COMMUNITY Tobi Ogude is a spoken word poet and UTM undergraduate student. He writes for Omit Limitation, which is one of the collectives responsible for building the Toronto arts community, and is a curator at the Blank Canvas Gallery. Ogude began his talk with a powerful spoken word on various aspects of black culture, ending with, “Please don’t throw our black boys away. Because they—they are just babies.” “I am a writer, a poet, a creative director and an event curator at Blank Canvas gallery. Blank Canvas gallery is powered by the collective Omit Limitation. Blank Canvas has given me the opportunity to be exposed to the local arts community in Toronto,” Ogude said. “The local arts community—specifically the underground community, has done a marvelous job at creating a culture of love, peace, and mutual respect. But every day, I go around Toronto, and every day, I experience the lifestyle that Toronto leads. I’ve come to find that this culture is both highly misrepresented and highly uncredited for,” he continued. “But this culture is literally the root of a positive feedback that Toronto has been receiving on a global scale. And this culture—what we don’t understand is—it stems from the underground urban community.” Ogude believes that there is a gap
PHOTO COURTESY OF TEDXUOFT
Tobi Ogude spoke about the need for the city to recognize its underground community. in understanding, respect, and appreciation for the culture that is being created by Toronto’s underground community between the “city itself, and its community leaders and members.” Ogude describes the underground community as being home to “treasures,” such as photographers, writers, art directors, curators, graffiti artists, and models. “This is what a community needs to be—the cornerstone of any city, and of any culture,” said Ogude.
“But the city of Toronto has done this weird thing of taking these leaders and taking all these artists, and pushing them into marginalized groups.” Here, Ogude refers to marginalized individuals, such as those who identify themselves as people of colour, queer, or different religious beliefs. “The city has done a great job of taking this culture, putting it under their belt, and selling it,” said Ogude. He believes that for Toronto to grow, it needs to “build communication,
discussion, and just general appreciation for this culture that’s being built up.” Ogude says that the community itself has recognized the need for underground individuals, and has created safe DIY spaces for these creators to come, network, and create—to “just be themselves.” But the problem is that these safe DIY spaces are shut down, such as Soybomb (a DIY space, started in 2003, for the skateboarding community). “Soybomb was shut down because
of violations to safety code. Now these safety codes and regulations are things that the city put together are good. They’re actually here to help spaces like these keep functioning, progressing, and building that culture of love, peace, and mutual respect. But the problem is, the way these regulations and codes are enforced are super counter-productive.” Ogude then explained how an incident at New Year’s Eve led to the unexpected closure of Blank Canvas. At that point, the gallery was exhibiting artwork for over 60 different artists. “I won’t go too much into detail into what happened that night. But I will say this: if anyone ever told me that police brutality is a myth, or that it only exists in the States, or it just doesn’t happen, I will firmly but politely tell them to ‘shut the fuck up.’ Because I’ve seen it with my own two eyes. I’ve witnessed it. It’s hurt my personal friends, family, and community members,” he said. “But we’re still here. I’m here standing in front of you two months later, and I’m proud to announce that we are opening a bigger, better, safer space at 890 St. Claire West, because that is how you overcome.” This opening was facilitated by various collectives in Toronto. “You overcome by trusting your community,” said Ogude.
SELF-DRIVING CAR OF THE NEAR FUTURE Dr. Raquel Urtasun, an assistant professor within UTM’s Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences, is also the Canada research chair in machine learning and computer vision. Her research mainly focuses on how self-driving cars can become a reality—specifically an affordable one. Urtasun began her talk by emphasizing the need for autonomous driving, suggesting benefits such as a lower risk of accidents, decreased pollution, more efficient resource usage, increased mobility for the el-
derly, and disabled. “Your car is bored to death. It’s basically sitting around 95 percent of the time, just maybe talking to the car next to it,” joked Urtasun. Urtasun then pointed out that while certain companies have had success with self-driving cars, they are currently limited because of expensive technology, such as the use of an approximately $100,000 3D laser-scanner to aid in autonomous driving. In fact, Urtasun stated that simply mapping out the U.S. would cost 1-10 billion USD.
The goal of Urtasun’s research has been to develop autonomous driving that relies on cheap sensors. While this is possible due to computer vision, there are multiple obstacles to consider, such as object detection, recognition, and tracking. Developing a robust computer vision involves collecting data (as not everyone has the correct driving platform already), creating both efficient learning and interference algorithms for driving on the road, and preparing a holistic model. For example, Urtasun and her team have created
a KITTI Vision Benchmark Suite to develop “real-world computer vision benchmarks.” This benchmark has been available for almost five years now, and is the only suite available right now. Other aspects to consider are the reconstruction of the 3-D world around the car without necessarily understanding what the objects in the environment are, perceiving the world, such as being able to identify whether there is a car, person, or object present, which would aid in 3D detection and tracking, and self-
localization, as the vehicle needs to know where it is as it drives along. Urtasun also proposed more affordable solutions to mapping, such as using drones, planes, and satellites. Currently, companies generally use dedicated vehicles to map the streets, which provides a limited view of the world, and is slow and fairly expensive. “We will have self-driving cars in Toronto, really, really soon,” promised Urtasun as she concluded her talk.
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«FEATURES
THE MEDIUM 02.27.2017
There were over ten ‘books’ to borrow FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX While many university alum may reminisce about their undergraduate years, Rahhman El Borai has a very different memory. “I was taking four courses every year up until third year. And before I went into third year, I thought to myself, ‘I don’t want to spend another year here. I need to get the hell out,’” El Borai recalls. El Borai had started his B.Sc. degree at UTM in 2010, but this sudden revelation prompted him to take on extra courses and even enrol in summer school. He graduated in 2014. “And that was it—I had enough of university. I wanted to get a chance to see what it was like in the real world. I didn’t really know what to do. I thought to myself, ‘I have this degree in chemistry. I have a lot of experience in a laboratory […], so let me just find a job in a lab.’” Within a month of graduation, El Borai had an interview for a job in a laboratory. The day of the interview arrived, and the interview was going well. But in the middle of it, the interviewer asked El Borai: “Why are you here?”
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Students had the chance to sign up to speak to over 10 “books” for a 20-minute time slot. “I knew it wasn’t the interview process anymore. He was trying to get a meaningful answer out of me,” he says. The interviewer went on to tell him that this job offered no growth or career path. While El Borai was shocked at hearing this, he decided to ignore the interviewer’s advice, and continued to hunt for jobs within a lab to see what it was really like. “I didn’t enjoy being in a lab during university. I don’t like wearing
gloves, or goggles, or a lab coat, none of that. So, I was thinking, ‘Let me see what it’s like when I’m actually making money out of it.’” El Borai did successfully land a job within a laboratory—and he hated it. “It just wasn’t me,” he says, and believed that his personality did not match with lab work. “I like going and bugging people […]. I’m curious to know about people. I don’t like being in a place where it’s just your job,” says El Bo-
rai. Instead, he wanted to pursue a career in pharmaceutical sales. “People always gave sales a bad rep. But listen, every company is built off sales. If there were no sales, no company would exist.” Soon, El Borai secured an interview with a recruiter, but sadly, was turned down due to his lack of experience. He went on to secure sales experience, but what he was doing was “unfulfilling.” “That was important to me. I
didn’t care what people thought was a good job. I cared more about what my input was in society. My job in downtown Toronto felt purely transactional. I was selling to clients. They were making money and we were making money. There are people suffering from sickness—who cares about them? That’s how I felt it was like.” With sales experience under his belt, an expanding network and his prior chemistry knowledge, El Borai, 22 at this point, was now confident about heading into his desired career path. “Why would anyone not want to hire me for pharmaceutical sales?” says El Borai. Through networking on LinkedIn, job applications, and even cold-calling the head of HR at a company, El Borai finally caught a break. Today, he is doing what he loves as a pharmaceutical sales representative. “I’m doing a job where I get to integrate my passion for chemistry and learning. I’m always learning about different products and different therapeutic areas. Now I’m in a career path that’s fulfilling: the products that I’m having conversations with physicians about—they help people […]. At the same time, I’m not compromising my well-being, because it’s doing something that I enjoy.”
Social media acts as a platform for all Online continued from page 10 According to Tahmasebi, although Facebook is banned in Iran, a 2016 survey suggests that about 58 percent of Iranian internet users are on Facebook. A highly influential use of social media can be seen in the Facebook campaign “My Stealthy Freedom,” which allows Iranian women to share their stories by posting photos and videos online. Tahmasebi described it as “a notable example of Iranian women’s online activism.” The campaign was started by Iranian writer and activist, Masih Alinejad. “The Facebook campaign began in May 2014, originally as a means to challenge the compulsory wearing of hijab in Iran,” Tahmasebi explained. “On her initial invitation posted on
Facebook, Alinejad invited and encouraged Iranian women, especially those inside the country, to post images of themselves in public without the headscarf.” The campaign garnered widespread attention and public support. “It immediately gained international visibility and support from people around the world, from grassroot movements, women’s activists, and Western media,” Tahmasebi said. The Facebook page has over one million likes and about 30,000 posts. The page allows Iranians to post their life stories, pictures, and videos under their real names, and often times with their faces displayed. As Tahmasebi describes, most social networks are called “low-risk social activism,” as they involve anonymity. However, this campaign is a clear ex-
ception, as the Iranian women who participate in it take considerable risks and go against the law by posting unveiled photos of themselves online. Due to the large audience, the campaign has gained “international hyper-visibility, and is now considered to be one of the main voices of online Iranian women,” Tahmasebi said. However, hyper visibility can sometimes become a problem. From a colonialist perspective, a hypervisible group may be seen as a problem in need of a solution. “In this context, there’s always an inherent risk that the My Stealthy Freedom campaign is reduced to one woman and one cause, especially in corporate media,” Tahmasebi explained. This is evident in the case of Alinejad, who has been harassed by
the Iranian regime, and heavily criticized online. Another problem is the way in which the liberation of women is described. “The campaign and its agenda can easily appear to be aligned with the colonial interests of the global north, and divorced from Iranian women’s grassroot struggles for social justice.” According to Tahmasebi, this is exactly how the Iranian regime wants the campaign to be portrayed. The most important aspect of the campaign is how it allows ordinary people to contribute and participate in something monumental. It also offers a platform for self-expression and connecting with a larger audience. Tahmasebi stated, “Women’s use of social networking sites for political mobilization contributes im-
mensely to the structure and content of struggle for social justice.” She expressed that online networking allows women activists to create “heterogeneous and increasingly democratic spaces.” Unlike traditional activism, it does not restrict participation to any national borders or geographic regions. Tahmasebi stated how social media cannot replace traditional forms of activism, such as protests, but it can allow for individual action and rebellion in places like the Middle East, where citizens are faced with oppressive regimes and highly-censored media outlets. In such situations, it is important to look beyond traditional activism and observe the role of social media in providing a social justice platform for both ordinary people and activists.
The restaurant has had its share of struggles Spiteri continued from page 10 Following the start-up, Spiteri wasn’t involved with the restaurant for the next three years. “I ended up walking into the restaurant then, when it was not doing well at all,” says Spiteri. “I was working at Ernst and Young’s at the time, and the chef and I were close, so he asked me if I could join in since their partner had left. The place was hundreds and thousands of dollars in debt. It was a couple of months away from closing its doors, and he asked me if I could help them, and I said I
could try.” Spiteri then began to work part time at Mondello Ristorante during the night, while working at Ernst and Young in the morning. Spiteri eventually left Ernst and Young to pursue her role as co-owner and general manger full time. “The restaurant has been operating for 10 years now, three years of not doing well, and seven years of turnaround.” Spiteri describes how the restaurant has developed a loyal customer base, which she believes is largely due to her team. “I’m very selective
of who I hire. They don’t even have to have any experience, but they need to be genuinely interested and warm and friendly, and someone who you would want to serve you.” “Artists really seem to gravitate towards this place, and I’m not an artist […] but everybody else seems to be very talented,” she adds. “We have a very talented musician here, and my bartender is writing an actual comic book.” For Spiteri the most enjoyable experience has been working with people. “I want to walk around and talk to people, find out who’s hav-
ing dinner, where they’re from, how they heard about us—and that is how I learn.” Spiteri then uses this feedback to implement changes around the restaurant. The restaurant has hosted several corporate events, proposals, and even a wedding. Spiteri also describes the importance of gaining practical experience and applying information as you learn it, along with developing social skills and staying away from indecision when choosing opportunities. “It has been rewarding to see
where we are now, and that is not to brag about it by any means, because you can instantly end up back where you started. But I’m grateful that it happened and I’m proud of it,” she says. When asked about what advice she would give to her undergradpursuing self, Spiteri says to “Stop worrying. Just do your best—you have to do the work and put your whole heart into it, but there’s so much not in your control, so why not try to do your best and let the chips fall as they may.”
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New era of Canadian university sport Graham Brown, CIS CEO, answers pertinent lingering questions on the minds of student athletes
JASON COELHO
In The Medium’s last interview with Graham Brown, published September 19 2016, we talked about the strategy in place to grow the CIS as a platform for student athletes, boost marketing, and improve the fan experience. Since that article, Brown has shaken things up, rebranding the CIS as U Sports, signaling a new era of Canadian university sport. Brown is all settled into his role as CEO, and with a new team integrated, U Sports is finding ways to connect with athletes and respond to feedback swiftly. For instance, a comment on our last article questioned why scholarships weren’t mentioned—Brown responded to the comment directly, and offered his explanation in a phone call between him and the commenter. He is making himself accessible, unafraid of criticism, and is intent on giving student athletes a clear message about his plan and how they are affected. In my recent interview with the U Sports CEO, he provided some
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Graham Brown intends to provide student athletes a clear message about his plan. colour around scholarships. It’s an issue on his priority list, though not as pertinent right now. The system currently in place caps scholarships to incoming students at $4,500, which is granted if students maintain an average of at least 80 per-
cent. This scholarship will pay for tuition fees, but will not cover other crucial expenses like food, books, or accommodations. Regardless, that doesn’t make it an unattractive option to student athletes. One Varsity Blues athlete, who
has been under scholarship for the past two seasons, doesn’t believe the aid to student athletes is enough to give them any significant benefit, “I think that the money is not enough. Being a student athlete is a very demanding task, because
of the obstacles that are placed on us. In an average school week [in season] I would dedicate roughly 25 hours to my sport. An everyday student could put those man hours into school or a job which would give them more than a $4500 value. With the amount of donations, fees and increased publicity I think that full scholarships would be fair for some student athletes.” The knee-jerk reaction from a few has been to contrast what U Sports offers to the NCAA. Sadly, it is wholly unfair to do so, and ends up creating confusion for prospective student athletes who may not be considering the full scope of what both programs offer. NCAA may have the full-ride scholarship covering all expenses, and their bevy of other scholarships is certainly packed with more cash than the $4,500 U Sports offers, but after putting things into perspective, factoring in how much tuition fees in the United States really are, it becomes clear that what U Sports is offering isn’t as terrible as some may think. Brown continued on page 16
Strong focus lead women to stronger play UTM’s women’s varsity indoor soccer team finish with two wins and one loss at Sheridan Invitational
VANESSA CESARIO
On Saturday, February 18, the UTM women’s soccer team attended a tournament hosted by Sheridan College at Redeemer College. UTM played their first game against Conestoga—a team UTM had not faced for a couple of years. They weren’t sure how Conestoga would play, but coach Damian Yearwood told his team to “focus and play your game,” which they did. From the beginning of the match, the girls came out strong. They had excellent ball control and movement was calm and supported one another well. Kayla Rice, a rightfooted rookie defender, scored her second goal of the indoor season on a left-footed hard and low shot into the corner of the net. This put UTM up 1-0 within the first 10 minutes of the game. Shortly after, Jayde Forde scored to put UTM up by two. In the last 10 minutes of
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The team captured two wins and one loss at the Sheridan Invitational tournament. the game, Vanessa Cesario scored off a free kick—assisted by Noor Aldoori. The UTM girls won their first game 3-0. With their adrenaline running
high, the girls went into their next game. They played the Centennial Colts and won 3-0. While on a hot streak, Forde scored her second and third goals of the day.
After being out for the entire outdoor season and half of the indoor season due to injury, Teagan MaierDowning was ready for action. After causing havoc for Centennial in
their defensive zone, she scored her first goal of the year, leaving UTM with their second win of the day. With barely a 30-minute rest period, UTM was out on the pitch once more to play St. Clair College. From the start, the girls were exhausted from the demands of the day, which led to a loss of 2-0. However, the girls went out into their semi-final game against Sheridan College stronger than ever. UTM controlled the majority of the match, and most of the play was spent in their opponent’s half. Unfortunately, UTM got an unlucky break, and Sheridan scored, giving them the win of 1-0. The women are showing a solid improvement since their win-less 2016 outdoor campaign. With the combined improvement of both skill and effort, the women will surely be a powerful force in the 2017 OCAA season. The varsity women are now preparing to head to Regionals in London on March 6.
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Education comes first Brown continued from page 15
Brown is even trying to bend the requirements slightly so more students have a shot at attaining a scholarship. “I really think that the 80 percent to get started as a firstyear student may work for some schools, but that won’t work for everybody,” he says. For schools where eligibility may be a lower percentage (say, 76 percent), he is suggesting there should be no reason to disqualify those athletes from a scholarship just because they do not meet U Sports standards.
“I want student athletes to feel more important and valued than they might already feel.” — Graham Brown The target audience for these scholarships is high school students. U Sports is fully aware that there needs to be a greater focus on educating students about Canadian university sports and how they can become a part of it. This idea is central to Graham’s next marketing initiative: having universities spread the word about their program within their community. “We’re working on a promotional campaign in high schools for high school students,” he says. “We have schools focused on the communities they are in, so Western is focused on London and Carleton is focused on Ottawa, everyone is focused.” The brand of U Sports is a bold step for a brand that has long been vanilla. Brown is a marketer by trade and with a network of colleagues, brainstormed ways to make the CIS/SIC name fresh, less awkward, and a little more flashy. “The brand didn’t mean anything in the community really. So as a result,
it became part of the whole process to redefine and re-establish university sport in Canada.” Brown is hoping to drive change through marketing, not only to boost public awareness, but also to stimulate morale among the vast number of athletes who may sometimes feel unseen. “Everything from how we communicate on social media to our pictures of athletes. I don’t want an image of a student athlete that is not exciting,” he says. “I want people who are playing volleyball at university to get excited when they see volleyball on social media. I want student athletes to feel more important and valued than they might already.” There have been a few growing pains, particularly with the Vanier Cup, which was poorly attended— something Brown hopes changes drastically next year. There has also been lack of coverage from national media partner, The Globe and Mail, which Brown understands isn’t something that will happen overnight. “The national media, it’s not a light-switch. You have to prove to them that you’re changing, that they should cover you, that you’re giving them content that’s more exciting.” It’s been a slow process, but U Sports is becoming seen and heard more than most can remember. “You listen to the radio, go online, or watch Tim & Sid, and they are all referencing U Sports. There’s a general enthusiasm; we are slowly becoming a part of the conversation.” Now that the spotlight is being shined on more and more athletes, Brown is focused on one critical component: storytelling. U Sports believes telling a better student athlete story is incredibly important. Finding the stories that should be publicly recognized is what powers the U Sports machine; it’s what will connect athletes to their community, and what U Sports is hoping will demand national attention.
The self-improvement book Tools of Titans provides helpful tips related to health. ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR
for pure psychological and biochemical reasons.
The highly-publicized self-improvement book, Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers written by Tim Ferriss, is a ground-breaking account of exactly what the title implies. The book is broken into three sections: Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise. In each chapter, Ferriss talks to high-class individuals who are knowledgeable in their particular field. Today we look at the takeaway information set within the Healthy section of Ferriss’ kettlebell sized novel.
“FASTER AND BETTER SLEEP”
“SLOW-CARB DIET” To lose the most amount of fat from your body in the quickest amount of time, there’s a list of the many things you should be cutting out and adding into your diet six out of the seven days a week. Eliminate white starchy carbohydrates, meaning no more pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains; eat the same few meals over and over again; don’t drink your calories; don’t eat fruit; whenever possible, measure your progress in body fat percentage, not total pounds. Then, on a day like Saturday, take a day off and go nuts with whatever you want to eat. This is
Look into honey plus apple cider vinegar or Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime Tea. The combination of honey and apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s brand recommended) is a go-to tranquillizer with natural elements. Apple cider vinegar is an incredibly healthy liquid when taken in a shot glass or as two tablespoons in a teacup. It boosts metabolism and lowers blood pressure for a better night’s sleep. The honey allows you to feel full for the entire night, so no alarming wakefulness due to hunger demands wake you up. It also acts as a melatonin-inducing substance. Melatonin is the sleepy time chemical you secrete around 9 p.m. every day. Furthermore, the Marpac Dohm-DS “sound conditioner” white noise machine tunes out everything. With nearly 7,500 five-star reviews on Amazon, you’ll surely get a good night’s rest. “MORNING RITUALS” First, make your bed. If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense
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of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another. Making the bed will also reinforce that the little things in life matter. While you make your bed, say, “The people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous, and surely…none of them can hurt me.” Thanks, Marcus Aurelius. You’re ultimately in charge of your disposition, and you’ll face battles especially with others, so getting real with yourself in the morning before the day ahead gives you the ability to go forward with poise, awareness, and a calm confidence. Secondly, meditate for at least 10 to 20 minutes. At least 80 percent of all of Tim Ferriss’ high-class subjects in his book practice some sort of mindfulness throughout their day. Lastly, do some exercise. Ferriss recommends 40 repetitions of kettlebell swings or some alternative activity involving a kettlebell. Finally, write in a journal. Don’t treat it as a “dear diary” scribbling session, but list out all the things you’re thankful for, what would make the day great, and what makes you a great human being. Doing this gets you out of autopilot and into a state of awareness where you’re more confident in your abilities and thankful for the things in your life. If you have nothing to write, well, now you know you need help.