Vol 43 issue 6

BLC moves from UTSU

Hunting for answers

VAM’s diverse collection

Protein-packed insects

D’Lima’s rise in soccer

News, page 2

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

Free speech rally incites controversy Comments stated that “white noise” was being played to disrupt the speakers at the rally

THESTAR.COM/PHOTO

The rally for free speech featured U of T professor Jordan Peterson who had refused to use genderless pronouns in his YouTube lectures.

MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR TRANSPHOBIC COMMENTS Ever since U of T psychology professor, Jordan Peterson, refused to recognize genderless pronouns in his YouTube lectures on September 27 and October 3, responses have fluctuated around lack of U of T action to create a safe environment for the trans community.

In response to Peterson’s comments, a rally was held on October 5 where speakers from the trans and the non-binary community got to share their experiences and address their concerns.

In an interview with The Medium, UTSU’s VP university affairs, Cassandra Williams, stated that the rally was educational and was held by a number of trans students, who handed out educational materials.

In an interview with The Medium on October 7, Althea BlackburnEvans, U of T’s director of media relations, stated: “[Peterson] is entitled to have his opinion. Academic freedom means that he can share his views on the university’s policies, […], but like all members of our community, he’s also required

to follow our policies and to create a respectful learning environment, and one that’s free of discrimination.”

“FREE SPEECH RALLY” Last Tuesday, a rally for free speech was held at U of T. The rally featured Peterson speaking in front of the attendees, as well as other speakers who supported free speech. “[In the rally] There were calls for violence against black people, there were statements about trans people being less human, and a number of adults who had no ties to the university community came to campus and assaulted trans students,” stated Williams to The Medium.

UTSU also released a statement on their Facebook page on October 16, addressing the rally for free speech, and called for action from the university.

“Tuesday’s rally was marred by bigotry and violence, and the Campus Police refused to intervene when they knew of and saw trans folks being assaulted,” read the statement.

UTMSU’s LGBTQ coordinator Denio Lourenco also shared his opinion about the rally in an email

to The Medium.

“I think it was very disappointing. It was filled with bigotry and violence. Many people were yelling homophobic and racist slurs,” said Lourenco.

WHITE NOISE DISTORTION Peterson, as shown in a YouTube video of the rally, posted by a channel called U of T Free Speech, was shouting instead of using the microphone. A voice in the video explained that he had to raise his voice after noise was being played in the background.

Peterson did not deny what he said in his lectures about not recognizing genderless pronouns.

“Free speech is the mechanism by which we keep our society functioning. It’s in the consequence of free speech and the ability to speak that people can put their finger on problems, articulate what those problems are, solve them and come to a consensus. And we risk losing that,” he said.

“We’ve had laws passed in this country about what people can’t say and that’s reasonable, but that seems to be that we’re in danger of crossing the line. […] It’s the first

time I’ve seen in our legislative history, where people are attempting to make us speak their language,” Peterson added.

The video also claimed that Williams was creating “white noise” in the background to disrupt the speakers.

Williams confirmed with The Medium that she was one of those who created the distortion, explaining that it was “noise-music”, not white noise, which she explained has been a genre for decades.

“Yeah, the noise was played, […]” said Williams. “The intention was to disrupt the hate speech, but of course, people continued to do their hate speech anyway because I have no power to stop people from talking.”

Williams also stated that several trans students have been receiving threats.

U OF T RECOGNIZES THREATS U of T sent an email last Friday to its community members, students, and faculty, addressing threats that it alleges were made on social media against some members of the trans community at U of T. “We condemn these threats,” stat-

ed U of T’s letter, signed by Cheryl Regehr, vice-president and provost, and Kelly Hannah-Moffat, vicepresident human resources and equity.

“We are working closely with University of Toronto Campus Police, Toronto Police Service, and the U of T Community Safety Office to support the individuals who have received these threats. The situation is being actively monitored,” they said.

The letter also explained that U of T is proud of its diverse community.

“As expressed in our Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment, we deplore the targeting of individuals and communities on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, race or any other ground of prohibited discrimination.”

“I am very disappointed in the lack of response from the administration. So far the university has only spoken to us indirectly through the media,” Lourenco said in an email to The Medium about U of T’s letter.

Threats continued on page 2

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THE MEDIUM 10.17.2016

Student unions demand action from U of T following rally Threats continued from cover September 29th, 2016, 12:50 PM Motor Vehicle Accident The witness reported the incident to campus police, along with the license plate information.

October 5th, 2016, 6:30 PM MiWay transit officers found students using altered UPasses. The students were issued infraction notices.

October 1st, 2016, 4:45 AM By-Law Offences A student reported intermittent banging on his dorm room walls. Officers attended but no noises were heard.

October 6th, 2016, 10:00 AM Theft under $5000 A student’s laptop was stolen from the library. The laptop was later found being for sale. The laptop was recovered.

October 4th, 2016, 12:10 PM Driving Offences Campus Police were notified of a vehicle that did not slow down or stop for a stop sign at middle entrance and Outer Circle Rd. October 5th, 2016, 10:35 AM Parking Related A vehicle was towed off campus for excessive fines.

October 5th, 2016, 11:30 AM Fraud Campus Police were advised of a man soliciting students for donations to a charity. The man asked to see a student’s debit card and record the numbers. The student declined and the man soon left.

October 6th, 2016, 6:30 PM Theft under $5000 A wallet was stolen from the second floor of the RAWC.

October 8th, 2016, 10:00 PM Theft under $5000 A student reported to Campus Police that her bag was stolen from the library.

October 11th, 2016, 1:30 AM Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Campus Police were advised of students smoking marijuana near the rear entrance of Oscar Peterson Hall.

Campus Police attended and the males were cautioned.

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

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

“They are aware of the threats [that] have been made against me and other individuals, yet they have not contact[ed] any of us directly. Instead, our VP and provost decided once again to indirectly communicate with us via the recent safety alert,” Lourenco added.

Williams also expressed her dissatisfaction. “The university is very clearly not doing enough to protect the safety of trans students on campus,” she said.

“The university needs to do more to ensure that trans students on campus have these safe environments, and in fact, the university has a mandate ensuring an environment that’s free of discrimination and harassments. And at the moment, they’re completely failing in this duty,” she continued.

UTMSU’S STATEMENT UTMSU released a letter on October 6 in response to Peterson, criticizing his “transphobic” and “racist” comments.

“The University has failed to act on this situation, and this ultimately showcases that ‘diversity, inclusion, and equal respect’, are simply legalities and are not principles that the University intends on upholding,” stated the letter.

The letter also addressed U of T’s Governing Council, by requesting five demands: an apology from Peterson, the removal of his “transphobic and racist” lectures from YouTube, an obligatory anti-oppression training every academic semester for all levels of

U of T, including faculty and administration, and a town hall with U of T. UTMSU also demanded U of T take action that defends students in the case that a professor makes comments that stand against race, sex, religion, gender expression or identity, and sexual orientation.

Williams told The Medium that U of T needs to ensure a safe environment for its trans community, where they are not discriminated against in the classrooms.

Peterson did not deny what he said in his lectures about not recognizing genderless pronouns “The university needs to seriously investigate how their employees are interacting with trans students to ensure that trans students are not being discriminated against in this way […]

They need to do something material to deal with the threats of violence which have been targeting students on campus.”

Lourenco also mentioned “the necessity of anti-oppression training at all levels of the university, every academic semester.”

UTSU’s October 16 statement continued with a call for a full, public inquiry into the university’s campus community police.

“Even now, the University has done nothing to ensure that all students are

safe on campus. […] It is unacceptable for the Campus Police to fail in their responsibility to keep students safe from violence on campus, and specifically against trans students,” read the statement.

“An investigation by the administration—to which students have no access—will not be sufficient, an investigation must be public and done by an unbiased party,” Later in the statement, UTSU admitted that many interactions with university administration have been positive, but condemned the institution for its unwillingness to act. “[…] It is the institution that must be moved and it currently is unwilling. Only a public inquiry will begin to restore confidence in the ability of the University, and of the Campus Police in particular, to guarantee the safety of students on campus,” the statement also mentioned.

U of T’s Statement of Equity, Diversity, and Excellence outlines that the university seeks to increase its diversity and aims to have a community, including teaching and administrative staff, who also mirror the diversity.

The statement also highlights the creation of a diverse and an inclusive equitable community that respects and protects the human rights of the U of T members.

“The University is committed to its internal policies on issues related to equity, and also operates in compliance with all legislation that bears on equity and human rights,” says the statement.

Black Liberation Collective calls to boycott UTSU BLC demands apology from UTSU for “anti-Black racism” and requests a town hall meeting MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR The Black Liberation Collective released a statement last week calling to boycott the University of Toronto Students Union.

Alleging that UTSU has been committing “anti-Black racism” for the last two years, the BLC statement explains that the Black community has experienced anti-Black racism from UTSU through “an increased attack and dismissal of their Black student membership” and “lack of accountability to the Black community in Toronto”.

The BLC also addressed its complaints regarding the former UTSU executive team of 2015-2016, saying that it received a lack of support and unequal funding compared to other clubs.

“While many student clubs including other similarly large clubs [as BSA] received their funding in the Fall, the BSA did not receive such funding. […] The BSA was notified in February of its funding allocation,” read the statement.

“As a result of a lack of funding

FACEBOOK.COM/BLCUOFT/PHOTO

The BLC claimed that they received unequal funding last year. being received prior to February 2016, the BSA was unable to provide secured resources to host events and initiatives for Black students that year […]”

In an email to The Medium,

UTSU’s president, Jasmine Wong Denike, along with other UTSU executives, stated that “all clubs received their funding too slowly last year, due to errors on the part of the UTSU.”

“The problem was not unique to the Black Students’ Association,” they added.

BLC has called for an apology from UTSU and for the union to drop its lawsuit against UTSU’s for-

mer executive director, Sandra Hudson.

As previously reported by The Medium, UTSU filed a lawsuit against former president Yolen Bollo-Kamara, former VP internal and services Cameron Wathey, and Hudson for $277,508.62 for “amounts improperly paid” to Hudson before her employment was terminated last year.

Other demands included a town hall within UTSU for the black community, for UTSU to make its operating budget public before the spring elections, and allocate an annual funding for the Black student groups at U of T. “The UTSU takes seriously the concerns raised by the Black Liberation Collective, and commits to an open forum on anti-Black racism as well as a review of how student clubs are funded. We hope to work with both the BLC and the Black Students’ Association on both,” said the UTSU executives.

UTSU did not respond to The Medium’s question on whether they are planning to drop their lawsuit against Hudson.

10.17. 2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS

All-gender washrooms installed

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»PLANS FOR READING WEEK?

Ayah Abdeldayem 4th year, bio & chem

Marawan Gomaa 1st year, life sciences

Chillaxing and maybe work on lab reports

Tease my brother who goes to St. George for not having a reading week

Sterling Carter 1st year, psychology

Ashok Kalpathy 2nd year, commerce

Read and visit my family and boyfriend

Go to the movies, play basketball and study

AIMEE PADILLO/THE MEDIUM

UTM has installed all-gender washrooms across campus.

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN NEWS EDITOR ASSISTANT All-gender washrooms have been installed across UTM, including Deerfield, CCT Building, and the RAWC, following an announcement by interim principal Ulrich Krull in a recent town hall meeting at the end of September.

Interim equity and diversity officer Nic Weststrate, with input from UTM’s dean of student affairs Mark Overton, explained in an email to The Medium that requests were made by students to create the all-gender washrooms.

“Students and employees have expressed interest in all-gender washrooms for many years,” Westsrate stated, explaining that this inspired “the online listing of ‘gender neutral’ washrooms by U of T’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer Resources & Programs (now the Sexual & Gender Diversity Of-

fice) for all three campuses in 2008 […].”

The idea for more washroom options gained momentum, however, after a student raised the need for such washrooms at a town hall meeting that took place on November 26, 2014.

“UTM is committed to creating an equitable and inclusive community that protects the human rights of all persons and celebrates diversity,” reads a statement on the Equity and Diversity Office.

“The installation of multi-user all-gender washrooms on campus is an example of this commitment in practice. All-gender washrooms provide inclusive washroom options for everyone, including transgender people and people of diverse gender identities and expressions. They also provide comfortable spaces for community members who require the assistance of a personal care attendant and/or those with young children,”

the statement adds.

Weststrate stated that single-user washrooms, including two upstairs in the Student Centre, have been there since 1999, and have been considered “comfortable places” for trans-identifying students and employees, along with other community members who seek all-gender washrooms. The first multi-user, all-gender space was installed in the RAWC in 2006, and had a change room designed for both “privacy and inclusion in mind”.

According to Weststrate, the additions of the washrooms this year presents a continuation of the steps UTM has been taking towards increasing awareness of the needs of the trans community.

Plans to increase the number of all-gender washrooms on campus are in progress. Weststrate expressed that there should “ideally” be at least one all-gender option in each building.

New league at UTM

A call for more faculty at UTM ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR UTM’s Campus Council, convened on October 6, discussed the hiring of more faculty and the growing gap between the number of graduate and undergraduate students.

The council explained that the campus is currently in a state of a “pause period” of growth. Instead of focusing on increasing enrolment, UTM plans on focusing more on providing the necessary environment for existing students, including a need for more buildings, resources, and staff.

Among the other focuses that the council brought attention to was equalizing the discrepancy between the large amount of undergraduate students and the low enrollment of graduate students. Of the 14,000 total students enrolled at UTM, 1,000 are graduate students, while 13,000 are undergraduates.

According to Trevor Rodgers, the senior manager for planning and budget, UTM is below their goal for enrolling doctorate students.

Another point discussed in the meeting was that UTM’s growth in students has created a demand for more staff.

The Office of the Dean currently

has 38 ongoing searches for new staff, which is expected to result in the hiring of 26 new faculty members.

The Office of the Dean is also reorganizing the hierarchy of their office, which will result in more staff being hired and new positions being created to divide work more efficiently inside the office. This includes the position of vice-dean teaching and learning, which will now have two associate deans, and one undergraduate and one graduate student to assist with the work.

According to Rodgers’ presentation on UTM’s 2016 operating budget, salary increases and new faculty hires are expected to cost $72 million.

Other items on the agenda included feedback regarding UTM’s Vision Draft and the Sexual Violence Action Plan, which is expected to move forward as of January 1, 2017.

As previously reported by The Medium, the Office of the Dean is welcoming student feedback for the new Vision Draft, and has now established a website for anonymous suggestions.

The anonymous forum can be reached through the webpage of the vice-principal, academic and dean.

Dates for feedback sessions have been announced to be held on October 17 and November 22. Students and fac-

ulty will have the opportunity to meet with the dean to provide criticisms and suggestions on the draft during these meetings.

Professor Kelly Hannah-Moffat, vice-president for human resources and equity, also explained that the Action Plan will encompass all three U of T campuses in order to provide equal support and resources to all students. All campuses will have a physical center to offer a place for students to share their experience regarding sexual violence. It will also serve as a point of reference, helping survivors learn their options before moving forward with an investigation.

Hours of operation for the center have yet to be released, but according to Hannah-Moffat, there will be online resources available 24/7 for students. A telephone line may also be installed depending on demand.

Hannah-Moffat said having this dual function would help minimize the amount of times a victim of sexual violence would have to tell their story to a stranger.

There is a current search to hire the director for the Sexual Violence Centre.

The next campus council meeting will be on December 7.

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

The debate league is expected to begin by the end of this month.

AMNA AZHAR With a team of four members from each academic department at UTM, the UTM Debating Club has organized a Debate League Mississauga that is expected to begin toward the end of October.

Twelve departments and academic societies have agreed to take part in the league, some of which include the political science, philosophy, and biology departments.

In an interview with The Medium, Siddhartha Sengupta, vice president of UTMDBC, stated that two members of each team will engage in a 30-minute “match” with the opposing team. The 30 minutes will include three minutes for speaker time, one minute for rebuttals, and two minutes for audience/moderator questioning per speaker.

Sengputa and Alexander Gignac, charge d’affairs and director of operations, stated that the goal of the league is to involve as many departments as possible, to have a “sense of coherency” within UTM, and to encourage the sense of campus pride.

At the end of the academic year, the final match will decide the winning team. The winning department will get the DLM Cup and certificates for each of its team members. Other awards include a Fairplay Award for Department with Most Support, Most Valuable Speaker, Second Best League Speaker, Third Best League Speaker and Best Debating Duo. Beginning late October until the end of the academic year in April, two sessions will be held each week. Each session will have four matches.

Auditions are expected to be set soon.

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10.17.2016

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U of T’s unreachable hierarchies It doesn’t take much to see just how much money students put into their unions and university. UTMSU is given $22.13 a semester. UTSU is given $33.48 a semester. Students are left with thousands of dollars’ worth of debt upon graduating. While the financial aspect of school is enough to bear, students also pour a lot of time and energy into this institution.

Suffice to say, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that students deserve answers from those who claim to be on their side with issues.

This past week, the chaos surrounding Jordan Peterson’s comments worsened. His free speech rally was met with outbursts and disruptions from those trying to silence him. The rally even served as the catalyst for threats on social media towards the trans community.

While these events were taking place, it became clear that someone needed to answer for them. Peterson hasn’t been shying away from the media. But when it comes to the threats posted on social media and how the university plans to handle them, the spotlight shone on the administration for answers.

And here’s the troubling thing.

The university didn’t provide much in terms of an answer. And this isn’t the first time that the university hasn’t responded to questions in times when answers are needed the most.

In 2015, when the strike was hap-

pening, U of T couldn’t be reached for comment regarding the future of courses. As quoted in our article, “Agreement struck down, strike goes on”, the university “did not respond to The Medium’s questions about the number of courses, labs, and tutorials not running during the strike and the university’s plans for the courses that have been cancelled due to the strike.”

History didn’t necessarily repeat itself with their response to Peterson, but The Medium received several statements this week from union executives calling out the university’s lack of action regarding the online threats and Peterson’s comments.

Denio Lourenco and Cassandra Williams, of UTMSU and UTSU respectively, both stated their disappointment with the university’s letter addressing the social media threats.

But, the university’s response—or lack thereof—is just the beginning in a long line of answers that leave students with more questions. And this problem is just one of many.

When it comes to the quest for answers, it isn’t uncommon for questions to be answered days too late or at the very last minute, preventing any follow-up questions. Comments are often blanketed under vague statements promising change or assuring students that issues are being looked into. These cookie-cutter comments are the hallmark of those unwilling to provide answers. Infor-

mation is shrouded in confidentiality and students are left wondering what to make of answers that never really provided an answer at all.

That being said, it’s unfair to say that the university is the sole source of information. It’s also unfair to comment on the university’s lack of a decent response when those very organizations have done the same thing in the past.

In recent weeks, The Medium published an article, “New UTMSU hire raises questions”, where UTMSU executives couldn’t be reached for comment regarding Sajjad’s hire. Of the answers that were provided, they were the typical, political responses that answer the question while simultaneously leaving wiggle room for technicalities or semantics.

Equally large topics such as the lawsuit between UTMSU and UTMSFL were also met with obstacles.

Last year, former UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe did not provide comments regarding if UTMSU would be participating in legal questioning and who from UTMSU would be questioned. A follow-up article published just three days ago by The Medium turned to current executives who, after saying they needed to contact UTMSU’s lawyer, never got back to us on questions asked.

UTSU is no exception. When news of the lawsuit filed against several former executives first surfaced, students

were curious for more information.

Though, upon approaching executives for comment, Wathey and Hudson did not respond to our requests for comment.

These are just a few examples picked from the dozens that have happened over the years.

It’s times like these where I wonder how many times a reader has picked up the paper to see the line, “As of press time…” or “…could not be reached for comment”. Students deserve answers to their questions, especially from those who made it their job to represent students.

The student unions and the administration have made a point to tell students that one of their main objectives is to be transparent. But with answers that protect their own self-interest half the time, maybe students’ definition of the word differs from theirs.

How can they justify dodging questions when it’s the student’s right to know what goes on in this university?

These appointed leaders and public figures are meant to provide insight into the difficult topics. Instead, what they’ve done is teach students that the riskier the question, the vaguer the answer—if you’re even lucky enough to get one.

YOURS, MARIA CRUZ

When dissent is punished, we are polarized One of the requests UTMSU makes in its letter to U of T administration regarding Jordan Peterson is “the deletion of his ‘transphobic and racist’ lectures from YouTube”. Regardless of the specifics of the case, this response is typical of a prevailing attitude towards dissent that leads disastrously to balkanization, or fragmentation into ideological groups.

Whatever we think of those we disagree with, we can’t stick our thumbs in our ears and pretend they don’t exist or haven’t spoken up. We live in an era in which technology (among other factors) polarizes us: as our ability to filter what we look for improves along with the algorithms that guess, with some accuracy, what we want to see, we will see less that challenges our mindset and more that confirms it. The result is that we can see our position from every angle and the other’s position from none. But hearing many good arguments for only one side does not make you wellequipped to debate it. It just makes you predisposed.

Recently an older friend made the observation that when watching the September 26 U.S. presidential debate, it was the first he could re-

member in which there was apparently no shared set of values. I would go so far as to add that there was not even a shared set of facts to which the two candidates could appeal. Nor a shared set of rules of debate. They were almost living in two different worlds. Another friend saw two polls circulating on his news feed: one in which 70% said Hillary had won and one in which 70% said Trump had won. When we see the issues through tinted lenses, whether or not it’s the “right” tint, we end up not communicating, and in fact not even seeing each other.

It’s important that we see each other and address each other’s views with frankness and consideration. We can’t make what we don’t like go away by deleting videos. Nor can we do it by banning speakers or jeering them away, another tactic U of T students have shown themselves capable of in the recent past. In another video uploaded on Tuesday, Peterson is seen speaking at a public rally and being disrupted by white noise, indecipherable shouting, and chants of “Shame!” and “Transphobe!” This shuts down conversation in a dangerous way.

The only reliable consequence is both

sides’ hatred, fear, and delegitimization of the other.

Almost inevitably, people take this dehumanization as a licence for violence, whether verbal or legal or physical. This year has been no stranger to such violence, both in the U.S. and the U.K. Tragically, it is partly the very strategy of restricting dialogue, an unacceptable means to the otherwise good end of fostering a “safe campus learning environment”, that create the conditions of underlying hostility in which people interpret any dissent as a call to attack.

Incidentally, this is also why I can’t condone Trudeau’s famous “Because it’s 2015” quip. Treating our values as self-evident is a way to divide, not to make peace or win over obstinate minds. We blind ourselves to alternatives, which we must always be humble and honest enough to remember have been considered true at other times and are considered true in other places. If we believe our particular values are the best ones, we must be willing and able to defend them—not to shut out the alternatives.

As an afterthought: I did watch Peterson’s videos, and several other videos and responses in the aftermath. I

think Peterson is wrong about sex and gender, and must close a wide gap in his understanding of the issue. He doesn’t seem to treat the topic fairly, but makes broad statements about evidence without citing any in particular. But the subject is one part of his primary, better-made argument about political correctness as shortterm conflict aversion that paradoxically drives hatred deeper beneath the surface where it festers and becomes more dangerous. He also critiques some very poorly articulated and poorly thought-out equity policy that ought to cause concern whether you’re on the right or left.

Most importantly for my point, however, his videos are a far cry from the “rants” described in the letter I mentioned above, and just as far from hate speech. He disavows discrimination and violence. He is mostly calm and reasoned, and structures his comments around citations of those he disagrees with in order to examine their position critically. In other words, he’s providing one side of a dialogue. My hope is that the response can rise to the same level.

Luke Sawczak 2013-15 Editor-in-chief

10.17. 2016

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VAM supports society of local talent Visual Arts Mississauga exhibits paintings by the Mississauga Art Society in fall show KIMBERLY DAY WITH NOTES FROM HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR From October 14 to 16, Visual Arts Mississauga showcased the work of the talented Mississauga Art Society.

MAS is a collaboration of 22 Ontario-based fine artists who meet regularly at VAM. They host two shows at VAM every year, one in spring and the other in fall. This year’s fall exhibition included work

by Fotini Mitsiopoulos, Christine Lobo, Steve Barringer, Huan Chen, Michelle Chen, Christa Adler, and more.

Huan Chen’s oil paintings welcome guests as they first enter VAM. Several of his paintings on display include “Old Bridge” and “Northern Sky”. These pieces are nature-oriented, offering beautiful scenic views.

Chen captures the vibrancy of the outdoors with soft brush strokes and muted colours.

His work involves realism, similar to Michelle Chen’s work. She also uses oils in her collection of still

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Fotini Mitsiopoulos of the Mississauga Art Society stands alongside her paintings at VAM. life paintings. Love and family relationships seem to be the common themes with her paintings, namely “Mom and Son” and “Sweet Daddy”.

The artists of MAS filled the gallery with a diverse collection of

paintings. Each artist’s unique style shines through in their work. The curators of the exhibition cleverly arranged the paintings in a way that complemented the others. On the wall outside one room, an under-

stated and realist portrait by Huan Chen is juxtaposed next to a vibrant and abstract painting by Adler. This arrangement causes both portraits to stand out, allowing the viewer to appreciate their different styles.

Adler is one of my favourite artists on display. Her style is abstract, ranging from bright bursts of colour to subdued pastel tones. She uses both acrylic paints and mixed media to create her pieces. One painting that captured my attention was “Evening Work”, which depicts blurry figures of varying heights against a grey background. This piece relies heavily upon the viewer’s interpretation as a result of its ambiguous story.

Mitsiopoulos is Greek-Canadian artist who adopted painting as a profession 10 years ago. Her pieces include “Somewhere… in Greece”, “The Nest”, “My Cottage… in my Dreams”, and “Try One”. Influenced by scenes from Greece, Mitsiopoulos uses mixed media to bring her inspirations to life. In “The Nest”, she creates a three-dimensional image on her canvas, using paste and paper to lift strands of the nest from the surface of the canvas. The effect is striking. Each painting on display incorporates texture and three-dimensionality.

Talent continued on page 6

Rethinking common beliefs and stereotypes ASA discusses gender preconceptions in Afghan culture as part of Diaspora Dialogue talks FARIDA ABDELMEGUIED

Last Thursday at Hart House, U of T’s Afghan Students’ Association hosted their first event in their Diaspora Dialogues series. The evening consisted of a discussion that revolved around gender roles and expectations in an Afghan context, although it certainly shifted beyond these boundaries at times.

The discussion began with an exploration of conventional Afghan gender roles and expectations.

Such conventions include women as the primary caregivers and men as the sole breadwinners of a family. Participants voiced their concerns over these rigorous expectations for both men and women.

An interesting idea brought up was one of honour associated with women, and that women are expected to remain modest in some cases. However, this notion can lead to problematic situations, such as honor killings, as one attendee of the event mentioned.

The conversation then turned to discuss the projection of stereotypes onto Afghans. Participants expressed that many people

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The first talk in ASA’s Diaspora Dialogue series was held at Hart House last week. believe all Afghan women are oppressed, and all Afghan men are hyper-masculine, overbearingly dominant, and protective. It was intriguing to watch the group move away from these stereotypes and deconstruct them as false assumptions. Furthermore, someone men-

tioned the North American war in Afghanistan playing a role in public perception of Afghans: the war perpetuates views of Afghans as morally inferior or backwards.

These misconceptions arise out of fear and uncertainty towards a culture we are forced to fight against.

The discussion then moved to taboo subjects in traditional Afghan society, such as choosing not to marry or choosing not to have children. From here, the conversation shifted to what it means to be Afghan, and how certain definitions of this identity can be bla-

tantly exclusionary.

Although the majority of attendees were Afghan, there was a place for everyone in the conversation.

Both the discussion moderator and participants created an inclusive and welcoming environment for all guests.

When asked the purpose of the ASA Diaspora Dialogues, ASA president Wares Fazelyar explained that they aim to “Fill a void in our community—we want to create a space where topics pertinent to our community can be discussed in an open and respectful setting.

Oftentimes, conversations on these topics are relegated to the private spheres of our lives and kept out of public discourse. We want to provide a platform for people to voice their opinions and hear others’, in hopes that this dialogue will spark growth and progress in our community.”

The night was an interesting glimpse into Afghan culture, views, and values. I encourage anyone interested in learning more about Afghanistan and Afghan-Canadian culture to attend the next ASA Diaspora Dialogue.

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THE MEDIUM 10.17.2016

Unapologetic liberation Theaster Gates honours Black experience at AGO

FATIMA WASIF

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Gates uses artistic mediums to represent Black history in How to Build a House Museum.

DARA SALAMAH Quasi-scientific paintings, house music, sculptures, and minimalistic performances are among the elements Theaster Gates uses to promote his first solo exhibition in Canada. How to Build a House Museum is located on the fifth floor of the Art Gallery of Ontario.

The 38-year-old founder of the non-profit Rebuild Organization is currently based in Chicago. Awarded a Bachelor’s degree in urban planning and ceramics, Gates’ initial work was with pottery, an art that inspired his later projects. Notably in his Dorchester Projects, Gates restores and repurposes abandoned buildings in Chicago’s South Side. He transforms these houses into community spaces, such as libraries. On a more philosophical note, Gates creates hope where nothing is left. He employs elements of the Dorchester Projects in How to Build a House Museum.

The elevator doors open on the floor of Gates’ exhibition. Immediately, I enter through the doors of a big house known as “Negro Progress.” The lighting is dim in the first room. A black board amid the black walls captures all attention with the words written on it. Gates’ writing informs visitors of his mission with

the exhibition: “Unapologetic liberation of black people through active movement and practices of insurrection.”

In a corner lies one clay diorama depicting slavery. “The pain of servitude,” Gates explains. Next to the door are the bones of a monastery Gates plans to rebuild for one of his upcoming projects. Gates doesn’t let me exit without flipping through the books on the couches in the middle of the room. Letters of Negro Progress reads the title of one book.

A narrow hallway leads me to a bigger room. Hanging on one wall is a huge painting containing nothing but the colour black. Four black squares glued unevenly together stick confidently to the canvas. The painting is strong and uniting.

I walk towards another wall that holds abstract paintings of a scientific theme. About 12 of these paintings hang throughout the room. Blue, yellow, green, brown, black, and red are among the colours of the paintings.

However, black is the central shade.

In the middle of one hall rests the audio equipment of Frankie Knuckles, an iconic American DJ referred to as “The Godfather of House.”

Gates places a black-and-white portrait of Knuckles amid the equipment. I recall Gates’ message at the front of the house: “Wherever libera-

tion is, this is where your house is.”

The remainder of the house includes paintings and writing by other iconic Black figures, such as Kerry Marshall.

Another room contains Gates’ proposal to rehabilitate the house of Muddy Waters, a Chicago blues musician. “We pray that the building remains,” Gates writes. He continues to call Waters’ house “a healing song”.

In the past, Waters’ house was a venue where young musicians were able to practice their sound. Gates wishes to preserve this legacy.

In the “Progress Palace,” Gates invites visitors to be themselves. He encourages us to dance and shout as we wish. The room includes a revolving disco ball and music videos projected on the walls. Many visitors around me were silent as they watched their surroundings. A few people danced along to the steps shown in the music video. We were all completely transfixed in the experience.

Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to meet Gates. But meeting his work was an appropriate substitute. Gates lives in every room of his exhibition, rebelling with his craft. His ambitious cause for Black progress is present in How to Build a House Museum. Art and history collaborate strongly in this display, creating a revolution right before our eyes.

Mississauga’s got talent Talent continued from page 5 “Try One” features a basket of apples resting on a chair. Mitsiopoulos raises the wicker basket from the canvas also using paste and paper.

Mitsiopoulos primarily paints nests, still life, and scenes from her home country. “I am inspired by Greece,” she notes. “The sky, the birds, all my surroundings there lead me to paint.”

In the adjacent room, Lobo’s paintings hang humbly in the corner. As an alumna of UTM’s art history and language studies programs,

Lobo is in the process of establishing her career as a fine artist. Several of her paintings in the exhibition include “Yellow Windows”, “Portuguese Charm”, “Two of a Kind”, “Dendrobium Triptych”, and “Magnolia Blossom”. Lobo interestingly combines elements of realism and cartoons in her paintings, resulting in authentic scenes bright with colour.

“Two of a Kind” depicts two bright blue macaws. Flecks of yellow highlight their feathers. They’re lifelike in design, yet the sharp blues and yellows give them an animated

quality. While realism is important to Lobo, she also believes in the use of bright, vibrant colours. “Colour attracts viewers,” she says. “I want people to be moved by the colours in my paintings.”

In a brief encounter with Lobo, she mentions the influence MAS has on her work. “It’s fun to be a part of the group,” she says with a smile. “There’s so much to learn from the others. They’re an inspiration to me.”

MAS will host their next show at VAM in Spring 2017.

“Love and death and justice and truth.

All these big, big things.”

Love. Death. Justice. Truth. In those four words, Sarah Koenig, the host of Serial, traces the “big, big” stories her podcast attempts to tell.

Fitting into the investigative journalism genre, Serial follows a single, reallife story throughout the course of a season. Each episode presents a new chapter, unravelling the story the further you listen. Koenig tackles cases that appear muddled at first, but inevitably arrive at a conclusion as she finds a distinction between truth and lies.

Serial currently has two available seasons.

Season one follows Adnan Syed, the arrested suspect for his ex-girlfriend’s death, Hae Min Lee, in 1999.

The question that defines the conviction of this tale is this: Would you remember what you did for 20 minutes after school, six weeks ago? This question is a reality for Syed, as those 20 minutes will determine whether he’s innocent or guilty.

Season two explores the charges of desertion against Bowe Bergdahl, an American sergeant captured by the Taliban and held for five years after

leaving his post in an audacious move to bring attention to bad leadership in his company. Was he right to abandon his post? Did he pay the price of his decision during his captivity?

Episodes do not adhere to a fixed length; they vary to complement the suspense of the narrative.

Serial incorporates interviews with people involved in its cases. The interviews include both clips from the present and the past. For instance, season two features a pre-recorded snippet of a conversation between Bergdahl and Mark Boal, an American journalist and filmmaker. Season one also includes the recordings of detectives taking a statement from a witness to Syed’s supposed crime.

This variation in sound texturizes the auditory experience and makes Koenig’s monologue that much more captivating.

I believe that Serial deals with the legitimacy of guilt. It addresses the complexity of assigning blame in conditions where the details are controversial. The uniqueness of this podcast comes from the ease with which you can place yourself in the role of the victim Koenig discusses, as you too could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, with a penchant for bad decisions.

REWIND AYESHA TIRMZI Satyajit Ray’s 1955 film Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) is the first of his reputable Apu Trilogy.

Pather Panchali is followed by Aparajito (The Unvanquished) in 1956, and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) in 1959.

Ray became a pioneer of the Indian film movement known as “Parallel Cinema” through his direction of this film. Parallel Cinema wanted to move away from the melodramatic, stageoriented, mainstream films of Hindi cinema (now known as Bollywood) towards more realistic, natural, and socio-political films. Loosely based on the classic bildungsroman novel of the same name by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Pather Panchali was crucial during its time.

Pather Panchali was filmed on location by an amateur crew and cast on a very low budget. Despite its humble origins, Pather Panchali is an evocative tale about a little boy named Apu living with his family in Nischindipur, a village in Bengal, in the 1910s. The film conveys the joys of childhood and the wonders of rural life as Apu discovers the world around him; whether that be by chasing a train, looking through a bioscope, or enjoying jatra (a form of Bengali folk theatre).

What sets Pather Panchali apart

from other films is how Ray is able to exteriorize his characters’ internal states by capturing beautiful, natural imagery. I was surprised by the lyricism of Ray’s cinematography; it contained poetic depth and dignity without necessarily feeling sentimental or romanticizing the poor. The effect of this film on the viewer is profoundly suggestive.

Ray claimed Vittorio De Sica’s Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves) had an important influence on his path as a filmmaker. One will certainly notice elements of Italian Neorealism in this film through its realist, rambling narrative style and the absence of frequent musical numbers, which were instead replaced with authentic depictions of unsophisticated, everyday life. These depictions relied on the accompaniment of Ravi Shankar’s background scores of Indian classical music. Even a viewer without an understanding of raga will connect the plaintive and lamenting musical expressions with the characters’ emotional turmoil during key moments of the plot.

A recent restoration of Ray’s trilogy took place in 2013 by The Criterion Collection and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Film Archive, where they toiled to create a digital version of Pather Panchali from its original film negatives.

10.17. 2016 THE MEDIUM ARTS» 7

What statement does your flag make?

The ROM is currently displaying a collection of Asafo flags and attire from Southern Ghana NICOLE SCIULLI

Currently on display at the ROM is Art, Honour, and Ridicule: Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana. The display showcases flags handcrafted by the Fante people of Southern Ghana.

Fante states design these flags for the Asafo companies belonging to their communities. Asafo companies are military regimes that both enforce and protect villages. The flags represent the warfare, bravery, and national spirit of the military community in Ghana.

The flags are made of stitched and appliqued cotton. Flag tailors are male, commissioned by Asafo companies. The styles of flag-making are passed on through generations. Artists rely on animal and human imagery as tools in constructing their narrative.

Some flags depict the pride of a company. For example, in Essel Manso’s flag, the design depicts two men with muskets guarding the company’s shrine. In the corners, there is a lock and key, meant to represent the control of the company, as they are the only ones with the key. The guards have a sacred quality to their status, as if guarding an important artifact of the Fante people’s culture.

Other flags rely on animals to represent the traits needed to become a

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Members of Fante communities in Ghana design and produce flags for military Asafo companies. successful Asafo company. Baba Issah’s flag from the Petubew Asebo workshop depicts a strong man carrying a large, round object above his head. This object represents his town.

There is a spider next to him, which signifies wisdom—a trait that members of the company need to attain power.

Some of my favourite animal motifs included lions, elephants, and fish. The lions represent strength and domination. Elephants also represent strength, but they are not always successful. One striking elephant flag is Baba Issaka’s flag from the Swedru workshop. In this design, the artist

juxtaposes the elephant next to a palm, which is considered the strongest tree in the forest. On the right side is a man holding a scale. He is measuring the odds of who will outweigh the other in strength, just as companies need to prove themselves victorious against others.

Asafo companies also use predatory animals to represent themselves.

They depict their rival companies as fish, seen in Kweku Kakanu’s flag from Saltpond Workshop. This flag illustrates a crocodile about to devour a clueless fish. This is a boastful warning to other companies that this company is strategic in planning attacks.

Many of the flags also display proverbs and moral lessons. A second flag by Kakanu depicts a whale and a ship. The flag tells the observer that “No one can defeat the whale but the ship.” This flag suggests that although whales are strong creatures, the ship’s technological advancements are superior to the whale’s natural strength.

Other artists display games in their flags. One flag by an unknown artist contains an Oware board, an Ashanti strategy game similar to chess. On the left side, a man sits triumphantly next to a dead boar on his right. Game motifs in Asafo flags represent the ongoing competitions between companies.

These competitions involve technological advances, ceremonial dances, or military arms.

Apart from the collection of flags, the exhibition also includes many embroidered costumes and uniforms used in ceremonial flag dances. One colourful skirt on display was designed to look like the American flag.

It was worn in the 2015 Akwambo festival celebrated by the Agona Nyakrom and Agona Swedru people from Central Ghana every August.

The most beautiful costume is the queen mother’s outfit, a purple embroidered dress draped in gold stitching and golden jewelry. Queen mothers and chiefs are authoritative figures in the Akan communities. These communities follow a female hierarchy. Like men, women are also Asafo leaders and have the same power as their male counterparts.

The Asafo flag art signifies the protection and strength of the militia companies. Animals, humans, and objects tell the observer about the given company’s strengths and warnings. Asafo flags capture the spirit and passion of the Fante people.

They showcase the power and respect Asafo companies have in their communities.

Art, Honour, and Ridicule: Asafo Flags from Southern Ghana is on display at the ROM until March 2017.

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Crickets for lunch? Aspire reckons so Mohammed Ashour co-founded the Aspire Food Group to promote edible insect consumption FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR Mohammed Ashour, a 2009 UTM alumnus, is the co-founder and CEO of the Aspire Food Group, an agricultural company which aims to revolutionize insect farming in order to address the current global food insecurity. In fact, Ashour’s success with the Aspire Food Group was one of the reasons why he was named as one of Forbes’ annual “30 Under 30” list this year.

Ashour pursued a double major in biology and psychology at UTM. During his undergrad, he was a part of the Men’s Intramural Volleyball team (as a captain and then a coach), and also held various positions in the MSA, including being the MSA president in the 2008-2009 academic year.

Ashour graduated from UTM with an Honours Bachelor of Science in 2009.

He reminiscences about the long conversations he used to have with UTM psychology professor Robert Gerlai. These discussions peaked his interest in neuroscience, leading him to pursue a Masters in that very field at McGill University.

Following his Masters, Ashour attempted to find a job in his field—

SARAH YASSINE/THE MEDIUM

The Aspire Food Group aims to address global food insecurity through edible insect consumption. but couldn’t find a relevant “science” job, despite his qualifications. He was forced to look beyond science, a move that he says “irreversibly changed [his] career trajectory.”

Ashour ended up joining the startup Top Hat Monocle, which is today known as Top Hat, the same virtual platform that professors all over the world, including those at UTM, use to engage students in classrooms.

Ashour quickly rose through the ranks of the start-up, and became the

interim vice-president of sales.

But despite his increasing professional success, Ashour still wanted to return to school—specifically, medical school, which was his passion.

In 2012, Ashour left his position at Top Hat, and chose to pursue a joint MD-MBA. He was working towards both a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Business Administration at McGill University.

It was during his further studies that Ashour came across the Hult

Prize competition.

The Hult Prize is an annual initiative which acts as a start-up accelerator; it brings together students from around the world to solve a pressing issue. Winning proposals are awarded the prestigious $1 million Hult Prize, which is provided in partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative. For the 2013 Hult Prize competition, former president Bill Clinton challenged participants to develop an enterprise that addressed global food insecurity.

Ashour, joined by four MBA students (Gabriel Mott, Jesse Pearlstein, Zev Thompson, and Shobhita Soor), decided to address food insecurity issues through insect farming.

Despite the misconceptions that people may have about consuming insects—or as Ashour puts it, “the ick factor”—insects are consumed on a global scale today. In fact, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, over 2 billion people, in approximately 80 percent of the countries around the globe, consume insects. “[The] product is not insects as you usually think of [them],” says Ashour. “[There are] controlled conditions […] [it is] odourless [and there are] no insect parts [present].”

In fact, Ashour notes that food that is widely loved today was met with aversion previously, such as sushi.

Misconceptions against insect consumption may exist partly because we are “socialized against” it.

“There are [several] cultures with established insect eating,” says Ashour. Examples include the consumption of ants in Mexico (through dishes such as Escamol), and grilled locusts in Thailand.

Aspire continued on page 10

We humans are “born to be explorers” The MScSM held their bi-annual Sustainability Leaders’ Series featuring Bruce Poon Tip SAHIBA SHAH Last Thursday, Bruce Poon Tip, founder of the highly successful travel company G Adventures, delivered a guest lecture at UTM, as part of the Master of Science in Sustainability Management program’s bi-annual Sustainability Leaders’ Series.

Tip started G Adventures in 1990, a few years after graduating from university.

“The idea of travel at the time, as far as I was concerned, was completely counterintuitive to what travelling should be […] there was a race to build compound resorts, race to build bigger cruise ships and coach tours. [Travel companies] were doing everything they could to create a Western environment so you never felt like you left home,” Tip stated.

For Tip, travelling meant experiencing something different. He began the company to counter what existed in the travel industry at the time.

“Canada’s only our fifth-biggest market in the world, which is our home market, and it’s only eight per-

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A few years after graduation, Bruce Poon Tip founded the travel company G Adventures. cent of our business. So the idea that we export tourism, and export sustainable tourism, is really the unique thing that makes us special from other travel companies.”

Around the mid-90s, the idea of eco-tourism came up, and there was

a lot of buzz around looking after the environment. The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of the local people”. Tip explained that this defi-

nition is what really drove sustainable tourism.

“People want to match their values with their travel,” Tip noted. He explained that this is the basic philosophy that his company strives toward.

“We’re born to be explorers—we’re

naturally as human beings, curious, and explorers. And society makes us tourists.”

One of G Adventures’ first decisions was to print a bold statement on their brochures: “If you want the comforts of home, we suggest you stay home.”

Tip explained that for every $100 spent on tourism, only $5 goes into the local economy—something that is against a sustainable tourism model. The problem is that for the world’s 40 poorest countries, tourism is the first or second most important source of foreign exchange, after oil.

“We’ve always believed, at G Adventures, that travel can be a force for good if done right, and with money going in the economy, tourism could be the greatest source of wealth distribution the world’s ever seen.”

This is Tip’s belief and vision in sustainability. He firmly believes that tourism can be used as a means for creating jobs and eliminating poverty.

Tourism continued on page 10

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Celebrating UTM’s 50th anniversary The Committee is currently accepting submissions for the 50 Faces and 50 Challenges initiatives YASMEEN ALKOKA UTM will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, commemorating the development of a small college in 1967 to the growing campus it is today. According to the 50th anniversary page on the UTM website, UTM has increased its enrolment from 155 students to over 14,000 in 50 years. “UTM has evolved into a globally competitive campus known for academic excellence and student success,” it says.

The 50th Anniversary Steering Committee is led by Andrew Stelmacovich, the executive director of advancement for the Office of Advancement, along with co-chair Jane Stirling, the director of marketing and communications and alumni relations at the Office of Advancement.

Committee members include Lee Bailey, an associate professor at the Department of Economics, Carol Bisnath, president of the UTM Alumni Association, Dan O’Day, an emeritus professor from the Department of Biology, Cat Criger, an Aboriginal Elder at U of T, Nour Alideeb, the president of UTMSU, and several others.

Tara Fader, the 50th anniversary operations and events coordinator, discussed the initiatives for this celebration. Currently, the 50 Faces and 50 Challenges initiatives are ongoing, which involve individuals and memories being submitted for a collection, respectively.

“Until October 20, we’re trying to get people to actually bring names

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In 1967, UTM was nothing more than a mere college, with a population of 155 students. forward of the 50 people. It could be somebody who is a founder, who has done research, who is a student who has done great initiatives—it’s a broad range of everybody, it’s not just focused on staff and faculty, and it’s not just focused on certain aspects; it’s everybody who has been a part of the UTM community in any kind of concept,” Fader explains.

When the decision for the final 50 will be made, the committee will consider who has been nominated more than once, and the story behind each individual.

When it comes to the 50 faces submissions, Fader states, “Tell me why that person is so inspiring to you […]

[Choose] people who have either in-

fluenced you, or made an impact on the community, or made some kind of significant difference; anybody that [is] above and beyond just being an ordinary student.”

The 50 Challenges initiative is slightly different because “anybody on campus can submit a memory that they’ve had […] it’s going to be posted in a book of some sorts; it’s going to be showcasing people’s inspirations on campus.”

Fader believes that in the future, it would be of great interest for the UTM community to know what it was like to be here on campus at this time. A memory book would gather noteworthy stories all in one place, highlighting “some of the inspira-

tional memories that either students, staff, faculty, or even alumni have.”

As for the upcoming initiatives, the pitches are still a work in progress. Fader emphasizes the fact that she is “reaching out to every type of area on campus, whether [they are in] food services, a faculty department, whether [they are a part of the] staff, or a student support service— anybody that is a part of the UTM community should be aware that you can actually put forward a type of event to host for the 50th [anniversary].”

The Institute for Management and Innovation and the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre will be celebrating their 10th anniversary

next year, alongside UTM’s 50th anniversary.

IMI will be hosting an alumni event coming in January for those who have been a part of the past 10 years. Fader describes it as a networking event for those who have already gone to the program and graduated, as they will come back and meet with the current students.

Students can also look forward to an upcoming addition to the 50th anniversary page. “[There will be] a digital timeline to talk about UTM’s history, and it’s going to be interactive,” Fader says.

The page will have a “new vision” that is currently being worked on.

When comparing the events planned for UTM’s 50th and Canada’s 150th anniversary, Fader made clear that “everything that is celebrated with the 50th [anniversary] is more about the history and the future […] and the campus itself, [while] Canada’s 150th is maybe more about celebrating the milestones and where we’ve come today; but it’s more about the actual country, not the university.”

According to Fader, there is no committee dedicated to Canada’s 150th anniversary yet, but this may be because “It’s about people putting things forward to celebrate it—not so much a department steering every single event on campus.”

UTM pride is encouraged as we enter our 50th year of growth. As Fader says, it’s “students [that] make this campus as great as it is.”

Spengemann’s journey to Parliament Sven Spengemann, a 1990 UTM grad, shares his journey following graduation to his role as an MP UMAIMA GHORI Sven Spengemann is the Member of Parliament from the MississaugaLakeshore riding and a UTM Alumnus. He graduated from UTM with a B.Sc. in Psychology in 1990. The Medium sat down with him to ask him about his time spent at UTM and where he headed after graduation.

The Medium: What extra-curriculars were you involved in during your time at UTM? Sven Spengemann: I was a club director and cultural director for Erindale College Students Union for the first term, so I had to look after all the university’s clubs. [In] the second term, I was the university liaison director, which was a seat that was liaising with [the] Student Administration Council downtown. The idea of running for office was triggered by the idea of being part of the student government.

TM: Did you always want to go to law school?

SS: Yes. Throughout my undergrad, I thought about getting a professional designation, which I think is very important.

TM: Where did you head after doing your undergrad?

SS: I did a bunch of things—this is

NEWSWIRE.CA/PHOTO

MP Sven Spengemann graduated from UTM with a B.Sc. in Psychology in 1990. what drove me towards politics and gave me insights that were quite useful in the future.

Immediately after graduating, I went to work in the financial services, [specifically] in the securities industry, for [a] bank downtown and became a stockbroker. I did a college degree, but in parallel with that, I did some licensing examinations in the securities industry. I did that for almost five years [until 1995], and learnt a lot about the capital market.

Osgoode Hall Law School was the next academic thing I did. After Osgoode, [in 1998] I interrupted the articles and went to the College of Europe to do my Masters in law, where I studied European integration with the European legal system. Then I went back to complete my articles and got called to the bar. I went on to do my Masters and S.J.D at Harvard Law School [in 2000]. [There I found the] project that led me to thinking about government […] I looked at

[…] national constitutional orders in conflict with the super-national legal systems—like that of the European Union legal system.

After I came back from Harvard, I ended up working in Ottawa for two years at the Privy Council Office [from 2003 to 2005]. That position had to do with regulatory reforms, so we were structuring and harmonizing the Canada-U.S. relationships.

TM: How and when did you join

the Liberal Party?

SS: When I finished undergrad, I started working for some local MPs. So [I] helped them with election, but I also got on the Board of Riding Associations to see how grassroots local-level political system works. I continued that until I got into law school and things got busy for me.

Then for quite some time, I wasn’t involved in party politics. But then [in 2005], I went to the UN and worked in Baghdad, Iraq, for seven years, [which] led me to think about what [would happen next]. My plan B was to continue working as an established UN diplomat, but my plan A was to come back home and connect with the Liberal party and run for office.

I think it was the work that I did in the Middle East that led me to think about running for office. I spent seven years in Baghdad. I used to come home every six or seven weeks and realize how fortunate we are to live in this country, and [that] we need to make sure it stays what it is. So it was that thinking that led me to decide that after I come home, I will run for office.

The remainder of this interview can be found online.

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Learning grit with CSE Think insects Aspire continued from page 8

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The three-day leadership boot camp was based on the book Grit by Angela Duckworth.

DEVANSHI ADHVARYU Our lives as students are so complex and fast-paced that sometimes we lose track of what our true passions are. We think highly of successful people, and wonder what makes them special. Is it raw talent? Perseverance?

At times, it may seem impossible to see ourselves in their shoes. Do we have what it takes to be successful?

During reading week, UTM’s Centre for Student Engagement attempted to answer that very question through a leadership boot camp. The boot camp’s goal was to encourage students to discover their passions and outline strategies to become successful.

The three-day event was based on the book Grit by Angela Duckworth.

According to Duckworth, “Grit

is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” Without either of the two traits, true success is never gained. To discover your passion, the first step is to look at your strengths and weaknesses. Your strengths should outline what your true passion is. The next step is the obvious one, but not the easiest—sticking with your passion and not giving up on it.

That is perseverance.

Dray Perenic Price, the student development officer at the Centre for Student Engagement stated, “We want our students to deal with failures and adversity in a way that is positive, which can make them more successful.”

When faced with adversity, many of us don’t know how to cope, and we may lose focus. How we react to adversity shapes us in the long run, and

impacts our grit.

“We tried some exercises so students can uncover what their passions and strengths are, so students can use this as a tool when they are going through a tough year and faced with adversity,” said Price.

According to Price, approximately 45 students attended the leadership bootcamp. The three-day event was filled with various activities to help students uncover their strengths, such as mindfulness exercises in the RAWC and workshops exploring strengths, goal-setting, and a growth mindset.

Sometimes having a talent isn’t enough for a person to become successful. Through this leadership boot camp, students have learned that your grit, good habits, and reaction to adversity is essential for your success.

There are various benefits associated with adopting insect consumption as a part of a normal diet. For example, increased insect consumption will result in a much less dependency on livestock. Additionally, according to Ashour, insects are more resourceefficient, as less water and almost no greenhouse emissions are released during insect farming, thus reducing the overall environmental footprint.

There are also strong nutritional advantages to consuming insects, as they are an important source of protein, superior to wheat and soy.

Ashour and his teammates beat all other participants in the 2013 Hult Prize competition, and were awarded the Hult Prize in order to accelerate their enterprise. This led to the birth of the Aspire Food Group in 2013.

Today, Ashour has taken a leave of absence from his joint MD-MBA program, and is continuing to further develop the Aspire Food Group as the CEO. Currently, the Aspire Food Group has headquarters in Austin, Texas, and operates in both the U.S. and Ghana.

According to Ashour, they are continuously “developing advanced techniques to farm insects, [including] crickets and palm weevils.”

In the U.S., the Aspire Food Group commercially raises crickets. Unlike Ghana, these insects are converted to powder form before sale.

In Ghana, the group commercially farms palm weevil larvae. However, this is not your typical commercial farm, as they run a program to teach approximately 500 Ghanaian rural farmers to raise their own palm wee-

vils. Through this training, the rural farmers have a chance to use this insect farming for income generation, as any surplus will be sold to the local community. “[We] really focus on social empowerment [and] social enterprise,” says Ashour, as he recounts the old proverb, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Ashour encourages everyone, especially the younger generation and millennials, to consider their environmental footprint. He suggests that everyone at some point in their lives should “do an audit of the food [they] consume”, in order to understand the environmental footprint caused by a diet. To demonstrate just how large your environmental footprint can be, Ashour states that it takes a gallon, or approximately four litres of water, to produce a single almond.

However, Ashoud points out that he is not calling for an entire overhaul of everyone’s diets. He is not suggesting that people “convert to non-meat [diets]”, but simply that they “replace meat with alternative proteins”.

Additionally, Ashour advises undergraduates that “If [an] opportunity [to join] a start-up comes about, take it […] Despite failure, [an] entrepreneurial environment opens [your] eyes up to [the potential] opportunities.”

He also states that undergraduate students have very little to lose. As a husband with two young children, Ashour states that he “cannot take the same risk as [he] could six years ago in [his] undergrad”, while current students have a lot more room for mistakes.

Bruce Poon Tip: “society makes us tourists” Tourism continued from page 8 “Imagine if we got to a place in the world where your form of giving back was going on holidays,” said Tip. He introduced the concept of social entrepreneurship, the idea where non-profit organizations act like profit companies to solve social problems.

Tip believes that leadership and sustainability is about creating a movement, and being social can create movements.

In his New York Times bestselling book Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business, Tip mentions, “In the future, people won’t buy products from brands—people will buy products from other people.” According to Tip, engagement with customers is imperative for building brands.

“People want to believe in something. So [as a business] you have to state what you believe in, and you have to find the right people that are going to appreciate and want to buy your product,” Tip explains. He mentions that one of the impacts of G Adventures can be seen through some of their customers getting tattoos of the company’s logo. “[Looptail] was part of our movement to show that so many people were interested in our little story about this small travel company from

Canada.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote the foreword for Looptail at Tip’s request.

“Our company’s culture is about the business model of happiness,” Tip notes. He explained that this was greatly influenced by one of the Dalai Lama’s philosophies: “Our only purpose in life is to achieve happiness.”

According to Tip, G Adventures is based on four main principles of happiness: the ability to grow, being connected, being part of something greater than yourself, and freedom.

This is how the company was able to redefine and reinvent travel.

One of the company’s biggest marketing campaigns launched in 2013, titled “The G Project”. They began a conversation with their customers and posed one main question: “What will you do today for tomorrow?”

They engaged their customers in order to generate ideas, with the best idea being awarded $25,000. Jane Goodall served as one of the judges for the competition, as well as representatives from the UN. “Instead of telling our customers what we were going to do, we challenged our customers to ask them what they were going to do,” Tip elaborated.

One of the winners of the competition was a project called SASANE, or The Sisterhood of Survivors, a local group that educated women

survivors of sex trafficking in Nepal to be paralegals. They would station women across police stations in Nepal to help give legal assistance to women and to stop human sex trafficking.

From this project, G Adventures also launched a tourism project, where groups from the company would come by SASANE for cooking classes. The money generated would go towards funding SASANE, in addition to the initial reward for the competition. SASANE went on to win an award for excellence and innovation in tourism at the World Tourism Organization awards in 2016.

G Adventures also launched a major fundraising campaign for victims of the massive earthquake that devastated Nepal in 2015. Through social media, the company put out a call for donations to their customers.

Within 12 hours, their initial goal of $50,000 was surpassed. Within a week, the company managed to raise $220,000. Tip emphasized that this shows his company’s engagement and bond with the customers.

In 2003, Tip founded the Planeterra Foundation, a non-profit organization that acts as G Adventures’ “charitable arm”. Planeterra has a mission of planting a million trees a year around the world in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint. One

of the many projects undertaken by Planeterra is the “Women’s Weaving Workshop” in Peru.

“We set up the women’s weaving co-op in six communities on the way to the eco trail to get women to teach the younger generation to weave […], and all of our [tourist] groups stopped by on the way to Machu Picchu to consume all the products, take a weaving class, and create a social enterprise with that community,” Tip explained.

G Adventures is the largest operator of the eco trail in the world. The company has 500 employees in Peru and consumes 32 percent of the global market shares of eco trail permits in the country. 29,000 people a year visit the Women’s Weaving Co-Op. Another Planeterra project is Women On Wheels, where women in the shelters and slums of India go through an 18-month program to get their driver’s license, at the end of which the company gives them a car. These women provide transport for G Adventures’ customers arriving in India. Women On Wheels is also being launched in Cape Town and Nairobi later this year.

G Adventures has undertaken 50 projects in the past 25 years, and has set an ambitious goal to do 50 projects over the next 5 years. Planeterra has raised $1.5 million from private donors among G Adventures’ past

customers towards their “50 in 5” project.

The company announced the first 12 of these projects last month.

Among these projects is “Oodles of Noodles” in Vietnam, where underprivileged kids undergo a training program for cooking and engage with tourists in making noodles. The company provides these children with safe housing, tuition, school supplies, and medical insurance.

Other projects include Café Chloe, based in Tully, Australia. The project involves refurbishing an abandoned train station in the middle of an impoverished Aboriginal community.

The station is now a tourist stop for G Adventures’ customers.

Another notable mention is “Bike With Purpose”, a project that has launched in the island of Caye Caulker, Belize. The project involves an education program that gives kids an opportunity to enroll in schools and work with the company to give bike tours to tourists. Within a year, the enrolment rate on the island went from 35 percent to 90 percent.

It is clear that Tip has established one of the largest travel companies in the world by creating a sustainable model. His company continues to receive donations—private and from the government—for projects that create a significant impact around the world.

10.17. 2016

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The reigning Queen of Intramurals Kaitlyn D’Lima’s skills have earned her UTM’s 2015-2016 Female Intramural Athlete of the year NOOR AL LABABIDI

Kaitlyn D’Lima, a fourth-year student studying business management at UTM, first started playing soccer for the tri-campus competitive team in her second year.

D’Lima waited until her second year at UTM to join the soccer team after she discovered that varsity would take up a lot of her time and energy. “I didn’t want to commit to something that I wasn’t able to follow through with 100 percent,” she stated in an interview with The Medium.

“Another thing is that I am prone to injury,” she added. “I’m not as strong as the other girls on the team, so I’m not able to keep up with that level of competitiveness.”

However, these initial roadblocks were just the beginning of the challenges associated with playing for a varsity team. D’Lima explained that since varsity is so competitive, it takes more than just showing up to each practice. “It’s actually a career.

You have to make sure, when you’re on varsity, that you’re eating well and you’re training more. You can’t just rely on the practices; you have to train on your own if you want to be a good player.”

D’Lima was UTM’s Female Intramural Athlete of the 2015-2016 school year.

She contrasted the difficulties of varsity with the more laid-back and interactive aspect of intramurals.

It’s here where she gets to play with her friends and brother on the same team and at their own pace. “We play really well off of each other […] it’s not something that was really there with varsity, because I never got the chance to get to know those girls on that level,” she said.

For her, playing intramurals gave

her opportunities to expand her network and create connections with people on campus. “I meet a lot of friends through joining it. It was because of that that I enjoyed my first year,” she said.

Despite the past joys of first year, she recalls her “daunting” perception of university life going into her first year at UTM. Being on a noncompetitive team proved to ease the transition. D’Lima described how,

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from playing games, she was able to interact with upper-year students who gave her advice and were always encouraging her.

This introduction to support from upper-year students is just one of the reasons why D’Lima favours intramurals over varsity. Another reason is that the audience turnout for intramurals is higher, which serves as a morale booster for players.

“Not many people come out to [the

games],” she said. “I remember playing tri-camp[us] games, and nobody really came out to my games, so it would be really hard to be noticed.”

D’Lima admits that soccer has always been her forte. The sport proved to be a source of confidence, especially when people would notice and compliment her skills on the field. Though most of her focus is on soccer, she has also ventured towards playing on a basketball intramural team. “It didn’t really work out too well,” she said of her experience last year. “We just did it for fun and we got wrecked the first game.”

She also played volleyball where her team made it to the finals.

One of the things that helped her improve her performance and skills was to take criticism constructively and effectively. “Sometimes the boys would be yelling at me, but I would never get hurt because I know that they just expected more out of me, and that’s what also pushed me.”

When asked about where she hopes to take her athletic legacy, she said she’d like to push her stamina and improve endurance, so that she can play with the boys on her team and feel like she brings equal effort, strength, and drive to the field.

Eagles continue their winning ways The UTM Eagles Division 1 Men’s basketball program looks to dominate the intramural league OSCAR ADAMCZYK

The UTM Eagles squeezed by Skule A in the season opener, winning 5652 in the RAWC. After finishing last season with a record of 9-1-1, the Eagles have high hopes headed into this season, and they started off on a good note. The men’s basketball program competes in the U of T intramural league. They play in Division 1, which is the highest level of competition in U of T intramurals.

The beginning of the game was slow for the Eagles. After scoring the first basket, the offense went silent, only scoring two more points in the first quarter. However, the Eagles repeatedly missed shot after shot and had trouble controlling the ball, leading to many turnovers.

Things weren’t looking good once the second quarter began. The same mistakes from the first quarter continued into half of the second. The Eagles were trailing by as much as

The UTM Eagles won their game against Skule A in a score of 56-52.

13 before they began to pick up ground. They started to score more and finished the first half trailing by four, thanks to a last second 3-point shot from Ahmed Abu Awad in the dying seconds of the half.

The Eagles had many opportunities to score more, thanks to some awarded free throws. Unfortunately, their woes at the free throw line were evident throughout the first half. The Eagles only shot 1-for-9.

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The second half started out much better and stayed that way for the remainder of the game. UTM found a source of motivation and began to push harder, looking to secure a win in the first game. The shoot-

ing was better, and the defence was solid. They started to pick up fouls in the paint, which led to more free throw chances. In the end, they shot 11-for-19 from the free throw line, a vast improvement over the first half numbers.

After tying the game during the third quarter, the game became intense. The lead went back and forth between the teams, but in the fourth quarter, the Eagles took the lead and managed to hold on for the last four minutes.

Nick Al-Rehany was the biggest contributor in the game for the Eagles. He led the team with 13 points.

This is a jam-packed season for the Eagles, and they look to make the jump to the OCAA competition next year. This year the squad will play additional exhibition games against OCAA varsity teams and in OCCCR extramural tournaments.

The Eagles play their next regular season match against University College at the Goldring Centre in Toronto on October 17.

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THE MEDIUM 10.17. 2016

Running the pack Eagles joust Knights

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UTM’s cross-country team is ranked ninth nationally.

ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The UTM varsity cross-country team has accomplished incredible feats this year, gaining a ninth place national ranking. It’s the first time that a UTM team is ranked in the top 10 nationally in any sport.

The latest meet was at Seneca for the pre-provincials. Before this, a 10 km race was hosted in Waterloo, which differed from the usual eight km races. With plenty of schools in attendance, this was UTM’s first time competing at an OUA meet—so the competition was at its best for participating runners.

Led by Haseeb Malik and Kale Heino, the men’s team placed fourth at the Waterloo meet.

“Being ranked nationally is such a great feeling for both our athletes as well as the UTM Varsity Eagles program,” says Malik.

The team is making history as they are now ranked in the top ten nationally for the first time since the crosscountry program was established.

It’s a big team effort; every practice, they’re at UTM running even after the sun sets. It’s clear to see that their training has started to pay off.

“Everyone on the team knows their roles, and everyone takes pride and leadership in helping each other out,” says Malik.

At the Waterloo Don Mills Open on October 1, the women ran some exceptional times in their 6 km event.

Andrea Ortiz led the pack with a 26-minute and 55-second time, while Katie Hill finished right behind her running only 16 seconds slower. Additionally, the men placed well. Heino and Malik ran identical 35-minute and 54-seconds in the men’s 10 km race. Hamza Ali ran just 48 seconds slower.

Coaches Adam and Sarah Hassen have been pushing the runners hard this season, witnessing the payoff that is already happening and hoping to establish even more success. Both coaches dedicate a lot of time and effort into helping the runners reach their goals.

The teams provincial meet will take place October 29 at Seneca College King City Campus. As the weather gets colder, the running meets will take place in the last month of the competition, hoping to reach the CCAA Championships at Sault College on November 11.

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UTM Eagles ended their game against Niagara College Knights with a 2-1 win.

ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR Last Sunday afternoon, the Eagles faced off against Niagara College Knights on UTM’s North Field.

Niagara posed as stifling competition staying on par with the Eagles for the entire contest. Though either team could have won, UTM had the lead 2-1 as the final whistle blew.

Even with the win, UTM remains in last place in their Central OCAA division. However, they now sit with a record of 3-6-1, inching their way up the standings if they keep winning.

The Eagles opened the scoring in the 30th minute. The Eagles pressed into Knight territory and rifled a shot past Knight goalkeeper Fiore Costa. The goal marked the team’s tenth goal of the season.

UTM controlled the majority of the first half, creating chances for themselves in the Knights’ territory.

When UTM couldn’t capitalize, Niagara would take the ball and run down the field, often only having a couple of defenders to beat. But they couldn’t put the ball in the net.

The Knights and Eagles would keep the score close in the second half, but UTM was able to hold the lead. The Knights had plenty of opportunities late in the second half, but couldn’t execute. They missed crucial free kicks and wide-open nets, seemingly beating themselves.

A lack of composure and unsportsmanlike conduct ensued nearly the entire game. A Knights defender was given a yellow card for screaming at the referee with profane language. There were many players childishly bickering back and forth at each other and even their teammates. When the final whistle blew, a UTM forward received a red card for a mistimed tackle inside his box. He was escorted off the field by fellow

teammates because of the aggression he was showing towards the referee who assessed the penalty.

There needs to be a level of aggression to play a highly competitive sport, but if that assault includes demeaning the referees or other players, it’s time for an attitude change.

Successful teams are disciplined and know when to pick their battles; they put the crest on their jersey above their selfish sensitivity. The best men’s soccer teams in the OCAA don’t have a red card to their name.

Meanwhile, the bottom feeders in each division have one or more alongside their double-digit yellow card tally.

The Eagles will close out their 2016 season on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. on UTM’s North Field. The Eagles will have a fair shot against Sheridan, who they previously lost to earlier in the season, 1-0.