Unions lawsuit continues News, page 2
Upgrading the deparment
A 1940’s spin to shakespeare
Professor talks policing
Eagles basketball woes
Opinion, page 4
Arts, page 5
Features, page 8
Sports, page 11
Most “civil” UTSU AGM in years All motions proposed at the AGM were passed by a majority vote MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR
MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR
This year’s UTSU Annual General Meeting, held last Thursday at the St. George campus, finished in record time for the first time in years, lasting under two hours after all motions proposed were passed by a majority. BYLAW AMENDMENTS The introduction of an Appellate Board, moved by UTSU’s VP internal Mathias Memmel, will offer another layer to hear grievances raised against UTSU. As previously reported by The Medium, the grievances are heard by UTSU’s board or the Executive Review Committee in the case that the grievance is against a UTSU executive. “After you’ve exhausted those processes, you can file a further grievance to something we’re calling the Appellate Board,” said Memmel in a previous interview with The Medium. During the AGM, Daman Singh,
UTSU executive resigns
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
UTSU’s AGM adjourned within less than two hours. University College Literary and Athletic Society vice-president, questioned the ERC’s ability to call more than one ratification meeting. The question raised the concern of whether or not the ERC can overturn the elections. In the case that it can, the Appellate Board will also be
granted this power; and if not, then the Appellate Board will not be able to either. “The idea that a body can just keep re-voting a vote is problematic,” said Singh. In response to the concern, Memmel explained that the role of the
ERC is that it can find fault in the procedure of elections and call for a new election. Additionally, the Appellate Board can penalize candidates and issue demerit points to disqualify a candidate. AGM continued on page 3
The University of Toronto Students’ Union announced the resignation of its VP external, Lucinda Qu, due to reasons described as “personal”. In the statement, released on October 29, UTSU states that Qu’s resignation was accepted in their board meeting on October 19. “Lucinda was an important member of the executive team,” read the statement. “She led the UTSU in supporting the members of UNITE HERE Local 75, and was one of the few student leaders to do so.” UTSU has opened the position for anyone to apply until November 25. The nominees are then interviewed by the Nominating Committee, who will forward at least two applicants to the board to decide. UTSU’s president Jasmine WongDenike did not respond to The Medium’s request for comment. This story is still developing, with more to follow.
U of T agrees to hold a forum with Peterson Student group writes letter condemning U of T’s treatment of Black and transphobic threats KASSANDRA HANGDAAN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The Students in Support of Free Speech administration have written an open letter decrying the university’s treatment of Black and transphobic threats. “The University has been quick to condemn online threats of physical violence against members of the transgender community; it has also been quick to condemn the few racists and transphobic slurs that were, unfortunately, voiced by a small minority at the Free Speech rally […],” read the letter. “However, we also believe that choosing to draw attention only to those incidents that were perpetrated against the transgender and the Black community is dangerous and wrong.” Other concerns listed include the university’s inaction in con-
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Students in Support of Free Speech want more action from U of T. demning the “white noise ma- affairs, Cassandra Williams; the chines”, which they claimed were group believes that this violated used by the UTSU’s VP university the university’s Free Speech Policy.
According to Williams in a previous interview with The Medium, she was one of those responsible
for the noise, but stated that it was “noise-music”, not white noise, which she explained has been a music genre for decades. The student group also voiced concerns in their letter over slander, claiming that the university has failed to curb slurs directed towards students and supporters of the Free Speech rally. The group also included video footage supporting their claims, and warned the university that ignoring the footage would be equivalent to “condoning radical activist groups to silence, bully, assault, and threaten those who dare to disagree with their views.” “The University has failed to protect their students from violence, bullying, racism, sexism and slander. We are speaking up—we need you to listen,” stated the letter. Letter continued on page 2
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THE MEDIUM 10.31.2016
Court date to still be set for lawsuit UTMSFL and UTMSU have yet to reach a compromise
October 20th, 2016, 2:30 PM Trespass to Property Act Campus Police received a report of a male soliciting students for donations. The student reported this male approached her a couple weeks prior. The male was gone upon arrival of Campus Police.
October 20th, 2016, 4:00 PM Mischief Graffiti was noticed on the outside wall of a residence unit.
October 23rd, 2016, 12:00 PM Theft under $5000 The Apple/Micro USB charger that remains inside the Brother’s Prayer Room was found to be missing.
October 23rd, 2016, 11:30 PM Fire Call A fire alarm went off at the CCT building. Mississauga Fire and Campus Police attended. The cause of the alarm was due to smoke. There was a strong odour of burnt marijuana present in the area. UTMSFL.NCLN.CA/PHOTO
These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.
The conflict between UTMSU and UTMSFL hasn’t been resolved yet.
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.
ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Departmental changes English department offers new minor
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ruled in favour of the Ryerson Students’ Union’s right to deny funding for Students for Life at Ryerson. The SFLR claimed in 2015 that the RSU denied their club status and discriminated against them, since the SFLR called for freedom of expression and are a pro-life group. “One of the reasons why RSU rejected us was because our mandate contradicts their opinion on sexual reproductive rights […].” said Carter Grant, then vice-president of Students for Life, in an article by Ryersonian on February 25, 2015. According to Ryersonian, “the group was rejected on the basis that the RSU ‘opposes…groups, meetings,
or events that promote misogynist views towards women and ideologies that promote gender inequity, challenges women’s right to bodily autonomy, or justifies sexual assault.’” The SFLR will still be able to maintain their presence and host events on the Ryerson campus, regardless of the court hearing. This case parallels a similar lawsuit at UTM. As previously reported by The Medium, UTMSU is engaged in a lawsuit with UTM Students for Life, a pro-life activist group. Last January, UTMSFL stated on their website that UTMSU denied to renew their club status last year, and so UTMSFL were unable to utilize the student union resources, such as the Student Center, and were also barred from participating during Clubs Week in September 2015.
Diane Zettel, an applicant in the case and the former president of UTMSFL, told The Medium last September that the court date was expected to be set last June, but the case was not able to reach a hearing, as UTMSFL was waiting to hear the results of the Ryerson case first. Zettel did not respond to The Medium’s request to know if the date of the hearing will be set soon, now that Ryerson’s case has been cleared. Nour Alideeb, UTMSU’s president stated in an email to The Medium that no compromises have been reached yet. “We are hopeful that the verdict for UTMSU will be similar to that of Ryerson’s,” stated Alideeb. As of press time, it is unknown if a court date has been set.
U of T faculty request Peterson to stop commenting JILLIAN SEGOVIA/THE MEDIUM
The English department makes changes to its curriculum. SHVETA BHASKER
The U of T English department has made changes to its curriculum by modifying courses, changing some descriptions, and adding more courses. The new curriculum will explore new knowledge and different texts. It will reflect the nature and concerns of the student body, according to the chair of the English and drama department, Alexandra Gillespie, in an interview with The Medium. Following sexism issues made in an English class, which were raised last January in an Academic Affairs Committee meeting, Gillespie stated that some changes have to do with the incident, and that the department will focus on courses related to Queer writing, critical right studies, and global literatures in English. In what Gillespie called “a mix of tradition, diversity, and innovation”, the department wants to remove bias around rights, gender,
and religion, and wants to open up to more perspectives. By having the new curriculum, the department wants students think about sexism through feminist literature. Gillespie stated that other changes will include offering a minor in creative writing. A minor in digital text will also be offered, with a focus on digital humanity components. Digital text is currently a third-year course that examines the impact of digital text impacts. A third minor will offer fan-fiction. Gillespie said that the department will survey English students and will hold focus groups. She also stated that they will hire a sociology student to help with surveys. The goal of the English department is to make sure students get to experience the traditional English studies at U of T, and get a sense of the history in literature. The English department will be developing the new curriculum over the next six months, and will become effective beginning in the next Fall semester.
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Peterson expressed his dissatisfaction with the letter in his online lecture. Letter continued from cover “What’s happening is fundamentally wrong, and against all values of this institution and of Western, liberal democracy.” The letter also thanked U of T for agreeing to hold a debate forum with Peterson. The controversy over free speech began shortly after U of T psycholo-
gy professor Jordan Peterson refused to recognize genderless pronouns in his YouTube lectures on September 27 and October 3. The comments sparked national media attention including CBC, The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, and others. It also resulted in protests by U of T students and a rally for free speech. As reported in the Toronto Sun on October 19, a letter by dean David
Cameron and vice-provost, faculty & academic life Sioban Nelson, was sent to Peterson, calling on him to stop his comments. Peterson expressed his dissatisfaction with the letter in his online lecture on October 24. Details of the forum remain unclear, as of press time, regarding when it will be held.
10.31.2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS
Budget amendments passed
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The last time UTSU changed its auditors was 10 years ago. AGM continued from cover
agree with all of it.
“I think it’s fair to say that the Appellate could fairly adjudicate the outcome of an election, and at the procedure level, determine if there is a problem and force new elections,” stated Memmel.
BUDGET POLICY AMENDMENT The policy of the budget currently dictates that the Budget Committee should present the Operating Budget to the board. It also states that the operating budget should rely on both the preliminary budget and the budgets proposed by the “various spending of units”. The motion, passed by the vicepresident of the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council, Stephen Warner, adds that the Operating Budget also includes the amount given to each of the UTSU’s levy groups, which include the Centre for Women and Trans People, Cinema Studies Student Union, Downtown Legal Services, Students for Barrier-Free Access, and others. Memmel explained that students can opt out of the cost paid to these student groups.
BUDGET AMENDMENT Currently, UTSU’s bylaw IX states, “There shall be three budgets prepared (Preliminary, Operating, and Revised), all which must follow the Budgeting Planning Framework set in the Operational Policy Manual.” The motion, moved by engineer director Andrew Sweeney, amends that the three budgets must “allocate no less than 25% of the gross revenue from regular membership fees toward student clubs, events and services; notwithstanding any additional amount allocated from other levies.” UTMSU’s president Nour Alideeb said at the AGM that the amendment does not clearly specify the division of the funds. Memmel stated that there have been previous concerns over the UTSU budget, and that this amendment would act as a guidance for UTSU. He added that he thinks it should pass, even though he does not
FINANCIAL AUDITS Student Lisan Henry asked why there was a budget cut for clubs from 2015 to 2016. UTSU’s former VP internal and current VP professional faculties, Ryan Gomes, explained that the previous UTSU’s executive team over-
UTMSU started the Halloween celebration early with a three-day event filled with Halloween activities. UTMSU decorated the Student Centre with an array of skulls, zombies, and sound effects. Students lined up and waited for their turn as Haunted UTM Week started off last Tuesday with its Annual Haunted House, in collaboration with clubs and societies. “I had lots of fun at the haunted house. It wasn’t too scary, but it was a good enough Halloween scare,” said Jan Johan, a fourth-year visual culture and communications student. On Wednesday, booths by different clubs and societies were set up in the Student Centre’s Presentation Room, and featured games such as the ring toss. The Political Science and Pre-
Law Association set up a photo booth decorated with skeletons, a cardboard cat, and calligraphic “Happy Halloween” signs. The ICCIT Council also had a horror virtual reality experience set up at their booth. “My favourite part was tabling
Rhythm Performing Arts, ICCIT Council, Political Science and Pre-Law Association, and other clubs collabortaed with UTMSU for the week for the students,” said Arika Macaalay, the co-president of the ICCIT Council, to The Medium. “We got to showcase some really cool virtual reality tech in the form of interactive horror games. Watching the
Pavaen Birk Sociology & criminology
I work at a kid’s department store, so I’ll be dressing up in three different costumes
I’ll go over to my sister’s house for a family dinner
Andrew Fenech Psych & PWC
Vanita Clare PoliSci & criminology
I’ll do my Peer Health Education Walkabout, and give treats while dressed up
I’m going to take my two little nephews for trick-ortreating
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
spent the commission budget. He added that his team was looking at the budget and trying to organize it. Memmel also stated that UTSU’s orientation ran a deficit last year, adding that AGMs cost around $6,000 as well. According to Memmel, last year’s budget was $14 million, most of which came from the Health and Dental plan. For this year’s budget, UTSU separated the plan, attempting to get a clear idea of where they’re spending the money. A student also asked when was the last time that UTSU changed auditors, to which Tka Pinnock, UTSU’s executive director, stated that it was 10 years ago. Memmel said that UTSU will carry out the process to change the auditors this year. OTHER ITEMS According to UTSU’s bylaws, the number of UTMSU representatives allowed is seven. Alideeb moved a motion requesting an increase in the number of UTMSU representatives at UTSU. The amendment passed. The meeting began at 6:45 p.m. and was adjourned at 8:35 p.m., something which Gomes referred to as the “most civil” AGM he has seen.
Haunted UTM Carnival and pub CHRISTINA KEFALAS
Nicole Maclsaac Political science
students experience that was awesome.” The UTM Department of Visual Studies Student Society also hosted a pumpkin decorating contest in the Student Centre. Other student groups that collaborated with UTMSU during Haunted Week included Rhythm Performing Arts, the University of Toronto Mississauga Anthropology Society, the UTM Forensics Society, the Concurrent and Consecutive Teacher Education Society, and the Sri Lankan Student Association. Tyrell Sabban, UTMSU’s VP campus life, did not respond to The Medium’s request for comment on what was different in this year’s carnival, nor about the turnout of the students. Haunted Week ended with the Halloween Pub Night on Thursday.
UTMSU and QSS return MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR Following a year-long deadlock between UTMSU and the Quality Services for Students, UTMSU attended a meeting last Friday where the two discussed roles and updates. The QSS has not been able to reach quorum since October 2015, on account of UTMSU’s decision not to engage with the committee.
UTMSU had begun raising it issues against QSS back in 2013/14, where the exectuive team sent an open letter UTMSU’s president, Nour Alideeb, suggested in the meeting the idea of establishing a working group, consisting of one representative from each member of the QSS: UTMSU, UTM Athletic Council, the Residence Council, and the Association of Graduate Students. Her motion was passed. Andrew Petersen, director of teaching and learning support and innovation, and the chair of the meeting, explained that if the advice presented by the QSS rejects fee increases, the Campus Affairs Committee and the Campus Council might still approve the increases that are “not greater than the UTI increase or the CPI increase.” How-
ever, in that case, unless it is further approved, the increase would be temporary for three years. Petersen also stated that the meeting processes have to happen between December and January in order to be able to provide the advice at the Campus Affairs Council meeting on February 9. The QSS committee is responsible for offering recommendations on the operation of UTM: how to improve student services that are offered by the Career Centre, Health and Counselling Centre, Department of Physical Education, Athletics and Recreation Department. QSS also provides advice to the UTM governance on incidental fees that support UTM campus services. UTMSU had begun raising its issues against QSS back in 2013/14, where the executive team sent an open letter addressing concerns like financial transparency and problems with meeting minutes. Alideeb did not respond to The Medium’s request for comment about the union’s future plans with QSS and her thoughts on the meeting. QSS consists of 11 staff members, 11 student members including two UTMSU executives, four students appointed by the union, two student representatives from UTMAC, two representatives from the Residence Council, and one from the Association of Graduate Students.
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MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Maria Cruz editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Mahmoud Sarouji managing@themedium.ca News Menna Elnaka news@themedium.ca A&E Hailey Mason arts@themedium.ca Features Farah Qaiser features@themedium.ca Sports Eric Hewitson sports@themedium.ca — Photo Olivia Adamczyk photos@themedium.ca Design Sarah Yassine design@themedium.ca Copy Farah Khan copy@themedium.ca Online Meg Sharpley online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Alicia Boatto A&E TBD Features TBD Sports TBD Photo TBD Copy TBD GENERAL STAFF News Assistant Kassandra Hangdaan news.assistant@themedium.ca Webmaster Luke Sawczak web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Alison Ross distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca Cartoonist Anthony Labonté BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edric Michael Bala, Mike Dopsa, Maleeha Iqbal, Arika Macaalay, Rafay Mirza, Christine Capewell, Maria Cruz, Maria Iqbal COPYRIGHTS All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, and cannot be used without written consent. DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Medium. Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium. All articles published in print are also posted on our website themedium.ca LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style and coherence. Letters will not exceed 700 words in print. Letters that incite hatred or violence and letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist, or libelous will not be published. Anonymous letters will not be published. MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 themedium.ca
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A needed change is coming The English department is finally getting the overhaul that it deserves When I first came to this school, not a whole lot was being offered in terms of the English program when it came to creative writing. Back when I was a first-year student getting lost on my way to the library even though I was in the CCIT Building, I wanted to join a creative writing program. I came from York University after a week of studying psychology. It didn’t take even seven days before I realized that the program wasn’t for me. I was too busy daydreaming about the books I wasn’t reading, and when I wasn’t thinking about books, I was thinking about writing (shut up, I’m an English nerd). I haven’t been a creative writer my whole life. In retrospect, I’ve been writing ever since I was a kid, but I never actually considered myself a writer until high school. I had to read Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland in grade 11, for reasons that have since slipped my mind. As soon as I was done the novel, I knew that I wanted to start writing and dedicating my life to it. So, I did. Naturally, when I came to U of T, I was expecting there to be some kind of a creative writing program. Or, at the very least, for there to be a course or two offering writing. But there was barely any creative writing here. It took until I was in my second year to find out about the professional writing and communications program. I took Expressive Writing with Laurel Waterman, and knew then that I wanted that program to be my second major. The problem, though, is that these courses weren’t available in the English program. I’m not saying that the university should merge PWC with English, because both offer a significantly different array of courses. However, to have barely any creative writing in the English program was a shock to me. I took as many English courses as I
could in my first year. Any that sounded interesting to me wound up on my timetable. I read a lot of great books and re-read some of my favourites. I met some wonderful professors. They taught me a lot about the coursework, always made time in the office hours, and made university a better experience. Their kindness, however, didn’t negate the fact that English majors were never really given license to be creative with our work. Countless essays, tests, and exams took up whatever time wasn’t spent reading. It’s not like I expected to walk into a class about David Foster Wallace and be given the opportunity to write a short story in Wallace’s style in lieu of a test. But, the entire program was lacking creative writing, which in my opinion was unacceptable. The Medium published an article this week where we talked to Alexandra Gillespie about the changes that are coming to the English department. She said that a creative writing minor was on its way, in addition to a third minor being in fan-fiction. I fear that a lot of people (maybe even English majors) will see these changes as unnecessary, or even pointless. Up until now, there has been this evident belief that creative work didn’t really have too much of a place in the English program. I honestly can’t allow myself an entire page to talk about how important writing is to the English department. I don’t have that kind of time, and honestly, I would need more than a page. What I can say is that if writing wasn’t important, we wouldn’t have an English department. Creative writing holds such an important place in English. Any book we read, any play we study, any poem we decipher— they’re all part of the creative process. Why has UTM ceased to understand the importance of this by not offering students the chance to create their own work?
Essays, projects, presentations, and even exams did offer students some sort of opportunity to be creative with their answers. But to sit down and pump out a short fiction piece or a ghost chapter to an assigned book was the kind of creative work I was looking for. For some reason, this was the kind of work that was never allowed into the syllabus. My next best bet would naturally be to turn to the writing program that UTM did have. But PWC didn’t offer these things either. PWC crams it down your throat to write non-fiction pieces (at least, in the courses that I take), to write in first-person, and to avoid “to be” verbs, like a tumor would form if I even thought about using them. The PWC program has helped me tremendously with my writing, though, don’t get me wrong. And rules in writing are to be expected anywhere. Nevertheless, the chance to write creative fiction pieces, poetry, screenplays, fan-fiction, or even pieces of a graphic novel were nowhere to be seen. Where was I to go? I didn’t even know about the creative writing course in the English program until I was in my penultimate year of university. A big reason behind that is because I don’t think anyone knew about it. The course was never advertised as a crucial part of the English program, which it is. Rather, it was shown off as the fun course to be a part of if you have a lackadaisical attitude and need to spill their creative juices onto your keyboard for a while. It’s a shame that creative work has been suppressed by the department up until now. I’m not sure why a call for creative work wasn’t brought up sooner. Maybe it was. Nothing was done about it until now, though, and students have suffered for years because of it. I also feel cheated in knowing that
a creative writing minor will probably only come into the department after I’ve left this place. I hope that these students know how lucky they are in being able to study creative writing, a field that hasn’t received nearly enough attention at UTM. I have to hand it to professors like Daniela Janes and Chris KoenigWoodyard, though. It was because of professors like them that students (myself included) were given the chance to express themselves through creative writing assignments. When I was taking Romantic Poetry and Prose, I was given the opportunity to write a poetry postcard and reflect on it in lieu of one essay. With Canadian Short Story, I had the chance to write a ghost chapter and attach that to a comparative essay between my text and the text we read. Yes, this was more work than just writing your average essay, but it was also something I had been craving for since I arrived here. I was so jealous when I heard that The Medium’s managing editor was in The Graphic Novel course with Koenig-Woodyard, and was allowed to construct a comic of his own and submit his thought processes while making it. These are the kinds of projects that make the English program much more interactive, interesting, and thought-provoking. Creative work has a place in the English program. I don’t believe that every English class should have a creative option; I don’t think it’s necessary that every class do this. However, I do think it’s vital for students to be given the option for creative work in some courses. For those of us who have impatiently waited for more creative writing options on campus, this is the release I think we’ve been waiting for. YOURS, MARIA CRUZ
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Setting the scene for a new era Director of Much Ado About Nothing discusses contemporary ideas in a classic script HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR Hart House Theatre is in the midst of finalizing their second play of the 2016/2017 season. And under the direction of Carly Chamberlain, it’s guaranteed to be a good one. Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a comedic “battle of the sexes”, yet it also engages with significant issues of female identity, war, and love. Chamberlain is approaching this production with the intention of bringing contemporary issues into a classic script, such as providing female characters with proper agency—or at least addressing their lack of agency in a patriarchal world. Chamberlain sets the script in the 1940s, post-WWII, where the roles between men and women have become interchangeable. The Medium: Do you have any ties to Much Ado About Nothing? Carly Chamberlain: I have a lot of ties to Much Ado About Nothing. It’s one of my favourite plays for women. Beatrice in particular is strong and smart—it’s a meaty role. Like most women, I always wanted to play her. My first professional audition was for a production of Much Ado About Nothing. I didn’t get that part, but my first role after that was in another production of Much Ado About Noth-
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Carly Chamberlain is directing Much Ado About Nothing, the second play in Hart House’s season. ing, with Canopy Theatre. They’re on hiatus right now, but they’re actually run by the same people that run Hart House Theatre. That was how I met everyone who works here now. So, you could say I have a personal connection to it. TM: I’ve read that you directed for Hart House before with Goodnight Desdemona (Good morning
Juliet). What are you doing similarly or differently in this production from that play? CC: The scale is just much bigger in Much Ado About Nothing. Goodnight Desdemona (Good morning Juliet) was a five-person cast, and we had a shorter rehearsal period and a shorter run. It was a smaller show of the season. And Much Ado is quite
big. It’s a 15-person cast. We’re trying to use the space in a different way. As an actor, I’ve worked a lot on Shakespeare, but this is my first time directing a full Shakespearean play. TM: What has the rehearsal process been like? CC: It’s been really exciting and exhausting. My big thing in rehearsal is trying not to move too fast or try-
ing to find all the answers right away. We’ve been working incrementally to mind the story and mind what it means to us. And the challenge for us, for me, is trusting that that work pays off. It’s a tough text. It’s tough for actors and it’s tough for directors, so there are moments in rehearsal when you just want to say, “Give me all the answers!” But I’m just trying to trust that the incremental steps can create some depth that will eventually pay off. Now that we’re in our final week of rehearsal, it’s really satisfying to see everything start to come together. TM: You’ve directed a diverse background of plays. Do you prefer working with classic or contemporary scripts? CC: I don’t know that I have a preference. I’m really excited by language and poetry. I tend to gravitate towards plays that have a sort of heightened language to them, like Shakespeare. I’ve done a lot of Samuel Beckett and some similar playwrights who have a musicality and a heightened reality to their work. There’s different kinds of challenges between doing a modern play and a classical. There’s always some threads of similarities when you start to work on them, but different challenges altogether. Much Ado continued on page 7
Mississauga milestone makes its mark Mississauga Central Library celebrates 25th anniversary with members of the community HALEY WEST The Mississauga Central Library dates back to 1956, when residents of Toronto voted to establish a public library. The first location was opened on November 13, 1963, consisting of a central location with four branches. The current Central Library, located on Burnhamthorpe Road, was opened on September 23, 1991. The library is a dynamic public space, which has evolved to change the way services are offered based on the needs of the community and the technology available, from the days of 70-millimeter film to today’s green screen system and 3-D printer. The library also provides access to e-books, audiobooks, streaming services, and extensive digital services that can be accessed online 24/7. The Mississauga Public Library Board and staff hope to continue this evolution with exciting plans that meet the changing needs of the community. Last Saturday, the Mississauga Central Library celebrated its 25th
OSCAR ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
Mississauga Central Library honours its 25th birthday with stories, photo booths, and green screens. anniversary. The support from local community members and public figures at the anniversary’s opening ceremony emphasizes the importance and appreciation for the library system within the community. This is
not only a milestone for the library system, but for the entire community. Saturday’s event marks the official kickoff of a year of activities that plan to celebrate the library’s anniversary. These upcoming events intend to pay
tribute to the history of the library while also making new memories for the next generation. Mayor Bonnie Crombie refers to the library as “the jewel of our public library system.” The Mississauga
Central Library is one of the largest public library systems in Canada. The library system has 18 locations, over 300,000 registered users, and is continuously contributing to the emerging and thriving downtown Mississauga core; the central library has always been fundamental in driving people towards the downtown area. The library system uses inclusive, diverse, and customer-focused services to assist its patrons. Citizens of Mississauga and other visitors choose to come to the library to enrich themselves and their skills. “The library system is going to help the community succeed in terms of digital literacy and lifelong learning,” says Rose Vespa, director of library services. The Mississauga Library System attempts to embody their motto, “The library changes lives,” by providing library services to meet the lifelong informational, educational, cultural, and recreational needs for all citizens. Milestone continued on page 6
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Not your average family reunion Xavior Dolan’s new film, Juste la Fin du Monde, tackles issues of death and family conflict MAHMOUD SAROUJI MANAGING EDITOR Constant turmoil, fear, and insecurity are just a few of the themes in Xavier Dolan’s sixth film, Juste la Fin du Monde. The Montreal-born director’s film made its first appearance at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, winning a multitude of awards and receiving high praise. The film is based on the play of the same name, written by late French playwright Jean-Luc Lagarce. Juste la Fin du Monde is currently under consideration for the 89th Academy Awards for Best ForeignLanguage film. After 12 long years, Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a homosexual playwright, returns to his hometown with plans to disclose his diagnosis of a terminal illness to his family. A lack of empathy, constant feuds among family members, and feelings of loneliness alter Louis’ intentions, and inevitably make the task of sharing his news impossible. Louis’ unnamed mother (Nathalie Baye) is initially ecstatic that Louis has returned to his hometown. She perfects the house, her clothing, makeup, and food, for the occasion. However, her darker and less elegant side is revealed during a private conversation with Louis in the backyard shed. She has reverted to smoking when dealing with stress. Her chat with Louis, which begins as a loving
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Close-ups throughout the film immersed the viewer into the feud amongst Louis’ family. moment between mother and son, quickly turns into an aggressive interrogation as to why Louis even bothered coming home. Then there’s Antoine (Vincent Cassel), Louis’ older brother. At first, he makes no effort to welcome Louis. He never fails to verbally assault a family member, and is even pushed to the point where he nearly physically assaults his younger brother. His outbursts of anger appear sporadically throughout the film. They increase in intensity each time until a climactic moment during the final moments of the film. Antoine’s wife Catherine (Marion
Cotillard), on the other hand, is softspoken. She constantly looks to her husband for approval to talk about family matters. Through Catherine, the audience sees the most intimate and beautiful conversations with Louis. She reminds Louis how important he is to Antoine. You can’t help but wish that Catherine was never a part of this family feud in the first place. Louis has never met his sister, Suzanne (Léa Seydoux), as she was born after he left to pursue his writing career. Suzanne is excited to meet her brother at the beginning. Yet, she slowly reveals her insecurities and
distaste for her family’s actions. She’s bitter and angry because of how Antoine treats her. She was hoping that with Louis’ arrival, she’d have a better brother to confide in. Juste la Fin du Monde traps the viewer into the constant arguments and feuds that ultimately force Louis to stay quiet. Although the film focuses on a small familial dispute, it leads you to believe that nothing else matters in the world except the events on screen. In one scene, Louis shares a moment with each family member. Each one, except for Catherine, prevents his opportunity to speak. When he’s finally asked about his life, he
struggles to put words together. This film’s beauty mainly lies in its close-ups of characters throughout the film. As if witnessing the yelling between family members wasn’t enough, Dolan ensures that the viewer is extremely uncomfortable and claustrophobic with the film’s events through these close-ups. We enter the minds of the characters, and share the same emotions that Louis experiences as he is forced to listen to his family’s constant arguing. The constant close-ups forced me to watch every wrinkle on their faces. The film kept me on edge the entire time, and never failed to grab my attention. I was waiting for the moment where Louis would blow up and just scream to his entire family that he was dying. But that never happens. There’s too much resentment among the family. The feuds of the family overwhelm Louis’ internal one. Juste la Fin du Monde is beautiful, from its visuals to the writing. This film evoked an immense amount of emotion from within me, and kept me wanting more. Dolan excels at making the audience become a part of the family in the most uncomfortable ways possible. We all, in a sense, become Louis; we’re too afraid to say anything, but we have enough anger boiling inside that we just want to leave and let the family deal with their problems, while we deal with our own.
Let’s start a revolution Happy birthday, Ingram redefines homosexuality in documentary Central Library NICOLE SCIULLI On Friday October 28, The Art Gallery of Ontario hosted a screening of Continental, a documentary in conjunction with Theater Gates’ How to Build a House Museum exhibition. Directed by Malcolm Ingram, Continental follows the story of the Continental Baths’ creation, the first gay bath house in New York City. The Continental was located in the basement of the Astoria Hotel. The bathhouse community not only influenced the LGBTQ community, but was a starting place for many emerging performers. Steve Ostrow, owner of Continental Bathhouse, was an aspiring opera singer who worked in finance. In 1968, Ostrow wanted to create a place where gay men could freely express their sexuality in a society that deemed homosexuality illegal. The Continental was a place where men could be intimate with each other while still being treated as highly esteemed customers. The Continental opened in the middle of the AIDS epidemic. As part of its services, there was a clinic inside that allowed men to get tested anonymously. The Continental would open every Friday and Saturday night, with lines that were
out the door. Men of every age came to dance and explore their sexuality. The Continental had a lot of challenges throughout its existence. It was raided by the police over 200 times in the six years it was open. Customers, still in towels, were forced out into the streets and treated like criminals. The police dehumanized them before putting them in jail. Ostrow had to bail out some of his employees with mafia money, because they didn’t get “paid protection” from the police. In 1972, The Continental also aided in abolishing the homosexuality restriction in New York City. Ostrow and his team entered the New York streets and collected 250,000 signatures to change the law. At the time, there was a new mayor for NYC, and politicians were looking to get the “gay vote”. When the law was changed, The Continental became a notable part of the sexual revolution and liberation for the LGBTQ community. The Continental not only provided services for gay men, but it was also an entertainment source. Ostrow believed that a good business had to keep changing if it would continue to be successful. So Ostrow hired Bette Midler and Barry Manilow to sing and play the piano,
respectively, for $25 a night. Their act captivated the audience and set in motion a series of iconic performances in the coming years. The Continental hosted several music acts, including Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles’ soul music, esteemed opera singer Eleanor Steber, and DJ Frankie Knuckles. Knuckles stayed with The Continental until its closing in 1974. The Continental not only helped him launch his career, but also innovated the genre that is now called house music. Due to these famous performances, The Continental opened to the public. For a short period, straight and gay people co-existed in a realm that produced some of the greatest talent of all time. Mick Jagger, Johnny Carson, and Alfred Hitchcock also visited The Continental. However, gay men felt that The Continental lost its privacy when it opened to the public. As a result, the infamous bathhouse lost its business. In 1974, The Continental closed for good. Continental is a humorous, informative documentary that emphasizes the trials the LGBTQ community overcame, and the people who created a welcoming community for them.
Milestone continued from page 5
“Our Library Board […] believes that libraries are all about possibilities. Possibilities for you, for your families, and for our many communities here,” says Priscilla Mak, member of the Library Board. “We also believe in possibilities for equal access to knowledge and technology, and for safe, inspiring, community spaces.” Last Saturday’s events included the Story Room packed with children enjoying stories read to them by library staff, visitors singing silly songs on the lower level, a green screen photo booth on the ground floor, and a “Show and Play” activity on the second floor that allowed people to interact with innovative technology. The green screen photo booth, which uses a green screen, laptop, and camera, allowed the individual to choose a favourite background, position themselves with guidance from the library staff, and have a picture of themselves with whatever background they desired. The Eiffel Tower was a popular destination. The green screen program teaches users the basics of “movie magic”. Youths learned how to use iMovie, and were allowed to make a movie and then keep a copy. This allows the imagination and creativity of children
to be expressed in a way than many others do not have access to without the equipment and technology provided through the library system— maybe even allowing a young person to discover a passion for filmmaking. At the Show and Play area, children and adults had fun interacting with circuits; they played piano on the computer via different fruits connected through circuits, snap circuits, electrical circuits, and robotics. They were seeing and crafting with needlepoint and stitching, exposing the user to the possibilities surrounding technology. At the Mississauga Central Library, children are being taught skills without restricting their creativity. This allows a rare opportunity for children to learn in an environment where there is no pressure of being evaluated. As the members of the community gathered around to sing “Happy Birthday” to their library, there wasn’t a person in sight who didn’t have a smile on their face. With librarians located on all levels of the library, ready to assist patrons, read to children, or provide encouragement for individuals’ projects or interests, the library’s 25th anniversary celebration was a great place for people of all ages to show their love and support for the library system.
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A new kind of love hits the Hart House stage Much Ado continued from page 5
TM: What kind of social commentary do you think this play makes? How do you approach it? CC: I don’t know that it was intended to have a social commentary at the time it was written. But in a modern reading, there are parts of the play that are difficult to grapple with. One of the main storylines involves a false accusation—challenging a woman’s purity. This results in a public shaming. Her father, at least for a moment, pretty much disowns her. And the rest of the play tries to right that wrong. But in righting the wrong, it’s about proving that she actually is chaste. This situation has a different meaning than it does now. Slut-shaming is something that’s really prevalent in our society now. It’s something that we’re really conscious about. Rather than thinking about this play as written in a completely different time than ours, I’m curious about finding the ways in which the problems in the play exist in our world now. I’ve set it in the 1940s as a way of giving it a social context that keeps it much closer to us and helps us better understand. My feeling is that the political and personal spheres in this play are intertwined. In terms of social commentary, I don’t know if it’s necessar-
ily a specific message, but the play is grappling with the problems of pride and jealousy and fear of being vulnerable, and the way we put up walls. And those personal struggles address problems of a society in which not everyone has equal agency. What’s expected of a woman in the world of this play is different than what’s expected of a man. And that’s still the case now. TM: Could this play be interpreted from a feminist perspective? CC: I sure hope so. That’s what I’m trying to do. The thing that I’m trying to figure out, and that I’ve been trying to figure out since before rehearsals started, is how to differentiate between how misogyny or patriarchy exist in the world of the play versus what exists in the writing, or what’s problematic in the writing. In the writing, there are choices made about who gets to speak and who gets to react, versus being proactive. This is problematic. Hero, the woman who gets shamed, barely gets to speak. In particular, she barely gets to speak after everything happens. I’ve been trying to find ways to cast women in roles that are traditionally male, and put women in positions in which they’re not just reacting. I’m also trying to find ways to grapple with Hero’s story that don’t necessarily change the original story, but do give
her a slightly different path, in order to give her agency. Or if not give her agency, at least highlight the fact that she doesn’t have agency in this story. TM: What kind of effect does this production achieve by being set in the 1940s? CC: The simplistic answer is that it’s a visually beautiful period. It’s about making sense of social contexts in a time where we viewed marriage in a different way than we do now. Also, that was an exciting period for the beginning, or mid-beginning, of the women’s movement. During World War II, women were taking on more jobs while the men were away at war. We see a shift of worlds here. TM: What message do you want people to take away from Much Ado About Nothing? CC: I’m hesitant to ever presume that I have the power to give anyone one specific message, because everyone will take away something different. But my greatest hope is that there’s an understanding of the complexity of this story. No single character or experience is painted in black and white. My hope is that the play reflects the tension of being in love, and that vulnerability exists in our lives today. Much Ado About Nothing premieres at Hart House Theatre on November 4.
HALAH BUTT Imagine you’re a tourist vacationing on a small, tropical island located in the West Indies. This is what Jamaica Kincaid asks us to do while reading her creative non-fiction novel, A Small Place. Addressing her readers directly using second-person narration, Kincaid expresses her political and personal views on the economic situation in Antigua, her home country. Interestingly, she places us in the position of a “tourist”, using this perspective as a lens to view Antigua. Kincaid carries us through Antigua using a narrative voice. Her prose guides us through the beautiful scenery of the island. However, it simultaneously points out the flaws of the government and the “ruins” that British colonial rule have left, such as small hospitals and closed-down libraries. Kincaid continuously points out issues with seemingly innocent activities or roles that a tourist would perform. At one point, Kincaid mentions things that would never cross a visitor’s mind while walking on Antigua’s beaches, including how locals suffer from the drought even though there are oceans nearby and they carefully watch the amount of fresh water they use. These issues are not
limited to Antigua only. Kincaid simply uses a country she is familiar with to emphasize the problems that many similar countries encounter. As the narrative progresses, we learn that Antigua holds more history and depth than a mere vacation spot. Kincaid touches upon subjects of post-colonialism and racism, highlighting the effects it has on a country like Antigua. She brings her personal experience into the novel, including how she dealt with living in a country so influenced by British culture, and how her identity and upbringing in Antiguan culture was shaped by colonialism. At times, it seems that Kincaid is accusing us, the tourists and readers, of being contributors to the problem. While this may seem like a bitter pill to swallow at first, it becomes clear as we delve further into the story that Kincaid’s novel is more of a hopeful call to arms, delivered by harsh truths. Reading A Small Place has opened my mind to a whole new set of realities that we tend to overlook as tourists to a foreign land. Kincaid’s novel is a short but informative read, expressing the important issues we face today. A Small Place leaves us with the idea that when labels are removed, we are all equally imperfect and human.
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10.31.2016
Are race and policing GTA issues? The Medium spoke to professor Owusu-Bempah about complexities surrounding the police HAIDER SHAH
Living in the Greater Toronto Area and Canada as a whole, there seems to be a lack of focus and attention towards policing. In fact, when it comes to police violence and policing in general, we mostly associate such issues with the United States. Our perceptions when it comes to the police in Canada are rosy to say the least, and while there are distinctions to be made with regards to the techniques of policing and law enforcement in comparison to the United States, we shouldn’t be less critical in engaging in the necessary discourse, dialogue, and action when it comes to the police. Recently, we’ve been watching a rise in instances of police brutality across the United States, with highprofile cases such as those concerning the deaths of Mike Brown and Eric Garner. We have also witnessed the mobilization of grassroots movements, with groups such as Black Lives Matter taking shape, demanding justice and an end to such abusive police power. However, Canada is no stranger
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Owusu-Bempah’s research largely focuses on the intersections between policing, race, and crime. to occurrences of police violence resulting in the deaths of unarmed, predominantly-black males. Only last August, Ottawa police officers trying to make an arrest violently beat and killed 37-year-old Abdirahman Abdi, a Somali-Canadian, who suffered from mental illness. This is part of a larger pattern of po-
lice violence, in which officers resort to using abusive force or fatal methods in response to confrontations. In the GTA, within the last three years alone, cases such as those of Sammy Yatim, Andrew Loku, and Jermaine Carby, showcase such elements of fatal use of force by the police. These cases have led to much outrage.
Carby’s case, the family of whom has now sued Peel Regional Police after the SIU cleared the officer in question of any criminal wrongdoing, is of great importance because of the controversial practice of carding. While carding has recently been subject to new regulations in Ontario (and calls for suspension), there is
still much debate over its use. Critics have blasted the lack of oversight as well as how it tramples on the rights of racialized peoples. Carding is a “random” or arbitrary stopping of an individual by the police. The individual’s identification is requested and then entered into a database for an unknown period of time. While the practice may be described as random, it has been highlighted in the past as a discriminatory policy and an inherent example of racial profiling, since it uses race and ethnicity as markers for who deserves to be questioned. This leads to the disproportional targeting of black individuals, especially in the inner city. While such incidents of police violence and brutality may not be as widespread or commonplace on a regular basis as in the U.S., it’s evident that the GTA does face its own complexities when it comes to the police and their relationship with the public. In order to better understand this association and what it means, I recently sat down with UTM assistant professor of sociology Akwasi Owusu-Bempah. Policing continued on page 9
NASA think-tanks: what’s next for Harary? Harary, a MscSM graduate student, was recently recognised as a 30 under 30 sustainability leader MAHNOOR AYUB ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Last summer, the Corporate Knights, a self-proclaimed “magazine for clean capitalism”, celebrated the achievements of young leaders in sustainable development across Canada by publishing a list of 30 entrepreneurs in the sustainability sector, including social entrepreneurs, inventors, and researchers under the age of 30. One of the recognized 30 under 30 is David Harary, a graduate student pursuing a Masters of Science in Sustainability Management here at UTM. Harary attended the University of New York for his undergraduate studies. “When I was there, I was very involved,” says Harary. “I realized pretty quickly that to really make a difference in the world, you first have to know a lot about particular subjects and delve very deep into specialized areas.” In his sophomore year, Harary began an undergraduate research project in a Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities lab. “It was there where I gained ba-
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Harary recently started a think-tank, called the Centre for Development Strategy, in Washington D.C. sic research skills and learnt how to interact in a professional environment,” says Harary. “Really, from there, I further realized that to really make a difference in the world, you can’t just do research, but also put things into practice.”
Working towards this idea, Harary began to explore policy development. Over the summer, he began interning for both the United States House of Representatives with congressman Joseph Kennedy III, and with state representative Caro-
line Dykema in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. “I really learnt hands-on what the policy-making process looked like, and developed an agricultural grant proposal. It was interesting because we were able to talk to state sena-
tors about getting such a program passed,” says Harary. Harary then returned to school to continue his research and his studies, combining courses in economics, geography, environmental sciences, climate change, and behavioral economics. This is when Harary became intrigued with the process of solving environmental issues. “I think there’s a way to do it by economic means. I don’t see capitalism and the environment being necessarily at odds,” he says. “I think that the way we’ve done business has put them at odds.” This led him to develop an interest in the concept of sustainability. In the summer of his junior year, Harary decided to explore policymaking at the national level, and began applying for internships in Washington D.C. “I got turned away from a lot of different jobs and a lot of different internships, because when you apply to D.C., it’s typical to apply to 100 places and to get an interview at one place.” Harary continued on page 9
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The truth behind fossils The “best” coffee? KATHERINE BOOTH
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Anthony Scott spoke about the colonial aspects of dinosaur discovery in Canada.
AYESHA TIRMZI
Last Wednesday, third-year Ph.D. student Anthony Scott started off the Department of History’s Prandium Lunch series for the year, with a talk on the colonial aspects of dinosaur discovery in Canada—or what Scott likes to call, “the Canadian origin myths”. In this seminar, Scott focused on the badlands of Alberta, where the skull of the Albertosaurus was found by geologist Joseph Burr Tyrrell in 1884. The skull was the first dinosaur fossil to be discovered in Canada. An important part of these badlands, that most historians and museum displays will fail to mention, is how these fossils were reported to be items of religious veneration by the First Nations people (such as the Blackfoot, Sarcee, and Peigan tribes), as they contributed to the material and religious well-being of the land. When we see these dinosaur fossils in museums, they are often stripped of all traces of their cultural, religious, or geographical contexts. What is offered to us instead are scientific samples in front of white backgrounds. Scott describes this as an act of erasure of the “epistemic aesthetic” of these fossils.
When European settlers came into the reservations in the badlands with the pretext of being interested in the agro-industrial aspect of the area, they soon displaced the First Nations people off their land and committed “geological genocide” in the form of resource extraction, such as coal-mining and deforestation. At the heart of Scott’s research was a daring contestation that maybe Tyrrell, the celebrated founding father of dinosaurs in Canada, was not the first one to have found Albertosaurus’ skull after all. Scott provides the explanation that Tyrrell was accompanied by two Christian, First Nations travel guides during his geological survey. In fact, they were the ones to have picked the trail for excavation for him. Scott also mentioned that objectively-speaking, Tyrrell was a horrible excavator, and botched the entire expedition; he rushed through the job and excavated the fossil terribly. One reason for Tyrell’s lack of excavation skills, according to Scott, was that paleontology as a scientific field had not been established yet, so Tyrrell was poorly trained in carrying out excavations. The second more controversial reason was that Tyrrell rushed through the task because he
was aware that he was in some place where he wasn’t meant to be—the site where the fossilized skull was found was actually a religious site for the First Nations individuals living in that area, and might have been filled with various religious paraphernalia. At the end, Scott sided with the idea of “hypothetical iconoclasm”, where Tyrrell might have desecrated a sacred site. No evidence for such a claim has been found yet, but it’s rash to completely disregard this postulation, as Scott isn’t the first person to criticize Tyrrell’s role in the history of dinosaur discovery. It is unfortunate to realize how much of the history of dinosaurs has been romanticized in Canada, as it most certainly has been in the United States as well. According to Scott, “The excavation of the fossils served to legitimize the Canadian manifest destiny,” where the colonialists rushed into others’ lands to excavate in pursuit of new scientific knowledge that they could collect. In the end, Scott provided an alternative narrative to dinosaur discovery in Canada. He states that “problematizing the roles of the founding figures in history[…] causes the dinosaurs to appear in a new light as the epitome of imperialism.”
Looking for that mid-morning pickme-up? Need some extra energy to fuel a late-night cram session? It should come as no surprise that most university students turn to a cup of coffee to help survive the day. Here at UTM, aside from brewing your own beverage, the three main stops for coffee are Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and Second Cup. On the pursuit for the perfect cup of coffee, I reviewed the three shops in an attempt to end the debate about which chain has the best cup of coffee once and for all—at least on the UTM campus. The most efficient way to reach a conclusion was to base my answer through cupping, the act of tasting and comparing similar types of coffee based on aroma, sweetness, body, and finish. An unbiased comparison was made through a blind taste test of black, medium roast coffee samples. Based on these results, Second Cup wins the title of best cup of plain dark coffee on campus. However, depending on what you are looking for, each shop offers different flavour experiences. The overall impressions of each sample were pretty different. Striking a good balance of sweetness and bitterness, the overall body of Starbucks’ coffee was very smooth, and had a
subtle yet distinguishable aftertaste. With a robust aroma, Second Cup’s coffee had the boldest flavour. Its strong bitterness leaves a prominent aftertaste. The mildest of the coffees, Tim Hortons, has a sweet, dull flavour. It lacks hints of bitterness, inevitably leaving little to no aftertaste. For those of you who prefer a sweeter sip, there are still plenty of options. Second Cup offers a flavourful caramel version of coffee, called a Caramel Corretto. Fourth-year English student Raveena Singh says, “It’s the perfect balance of sweetness and coffee. It’s really good, and has the coffee taste without being bitter.” An extremely popular alternative to a basic coffee at Tim Hortons would be an Iced Capp. “[It’s] a sweet and chilling cappuccino. It has a smooth taste of caffeine, with the sugary taste of an iced drink, making it very refreshing,” says second-year accounting specialist, Melanie Marshall. In the end, there is no real answer to the coffee debate—it all comes down to you and your preferences. But one thing is certain: whether you’re looking for a plain coffee, or going for more creative flavour combinations, either Starbucks, Tim Hortons, or Second Cup can provide you with the hot beverage that you desire.
800 members-strong Harary continued from page 8 Harary then explains how he was lucky enough to be offered an unpaid internship at Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch (an initiative which lobbies against specific trade agreements, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership). Referring to his background in international trade and opinions on policy-making, Harary says it was interesting to see how the process is “much more based on relationships than on research.” While in D.C, Harary describes meeting an individual—a friend of a family friend—who worked for NASA. “Space was always a central sort of idea in my head, and especially as a kid, I wanted to go to space like any other kid,” says Harary. “I know a good amount about what NASA
has been doing, especially from a policy standpoint.” After inquiring about opportunities for internships at NASA, Harary was interviewed by the director outreach for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. He began his internship at NASA a week later. “I was working on reviewing 13 communications strategic plans that were created by a number of different programs, and then I was also able to make recommendations based on those and create a comprehensive unifying plan,” says Harary. In his senior year, Harary applied to graduate schools. “I chose U of T because of its reputation for producing academics and research, and [because] Toronto is a great city,” he says.
The remainder of this article can be found online.
Canada is no stranger to police violence Policing continued from page 8 Owusu-Bempah’s work largely focuses on the intersections between policing, race, crime, criminal (in) justice, and the citizenry. Born in the United Kingdom and having moved to Canada at the age of nine, he once had aspirations of becoming a police officer himself, but instead ended up studying policing. This was mainly due to the Toronto Star’s reports on racial profiling that were published during his first year as a criminology student at Carleton University. While he termed much of his own experiences with the police as fairly positive, Owusu-Bempah stressed that there are evident problems within the police force, such as that of discrimina-
tion. Last week, Owusu-Bempah delivered a talk entitled, “Race and Policing in the GTA”, through a “UTM In Your Neighbourhood” event, where he presented his findings on this subject. As part of his investigations into the correlations between policing, race, and the perceptions of both police officers and civilians, he surveyed the views and experiences of a representative sample of 1,522 Torontonians. The sample was evenly split between black, white, and Chinese individuals, and included 328 young black men who had been in conflict with the law, and 51 black police officers. Owusu-Bempah has labelled his findings as a theory of “mutual disdain”, in which, because of pre-con-
ceived notions, both police officers and those targeted by police enter an encounter with imagined possibilities as to what can occur. This influences how the encounter is handled by both parties, therefore directly affecting the result of the interaction. “Because of a history of negative encounters, both the police and black citizens are going into this encounter with an idea of what is going to happen, and they often have a mutual disdain for one another based on these past experiences,” he said. Owusu-Bempah described that this plays out as a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, where both sides expect disrespect from one another, and this negatively impacts the encounter. He went on to acknowledge, “As a black
citizen, one would feel they are unfairly being targeted by the police because of their race, and the police officer thus would react based on the hostilities he/she may have encountered in the past from black citizens.” He explained that this phenomenon exists within both the United States and Canada. In order to understand the similarities between policing in both countries, OwusuBempah also mentioned the historical roots of heavily-racialized policing. According to him, just as the law enforcement in the United States stems from the slave patrols of the past, in Canada, a similar development took place with the North West Mounted Police. They were tasked with controlling and carrying out the settling of
the west, making expansion possible and allowing businesses to move in. While there exists this history of racialized policing, in contrast to the U.S., Canada’s prison or justice systems are not as large, nor can such blatant comparisons be made, given the different histories and societies at play. However, Owusu-Bempah stressed that if we are to see a change in policing and an overall shift in police culture, roles must be played from both sides. He believes change can come from existing government institutions and police boards. But the role of the general citizenry in educating themselves on policing and how to appropriately handle encounters with the police is vital to seeing progress.
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THE MEDIUM 10.31.2016
Canada Gairdner Awards recognize CRISPR future FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR
tively, at the Macleod Auditorium, on the U of T St. George campus.
The Canada Gairdner Awards are medical awards which recognize the research and achievements of the world’s leading biomedical researchers. Since 1959, the Gairdner Foundation has awarded over 320 awards, and many of the recipients have gone on to receive Nobel Prizes in Medicine. This year, the Gairdner Awards largely recognised researchers involved in developing the CRISPR technique, which is a rapidly expanding field involving gene editing. The 2016 Gairdner award recipients were Jennifer Doudna (a professor of molecular and cell biology, as well as chemistry, at UC Berkeley), Emmanuelle Charpentier (a professor at the Swedish Umeå University), Feng Zhang (a professor at MIT and the Broad Institute), Anthony Fauci (the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and National Institutes of Health), Rudolphe Barrangou (an associate professor at the North Carolina State University) and Phillipe Horvath (a senior scientist at the French company DuPont). Every October, previous and current recipients visit Canada and share their research with both students and faculty across the country. Last week, a general lecture (“2016 Canada Gairdner Awardees’ Lectures) and a one-day symposium (“Gene Editing: Bacterial Immunity to Global Impact”) were held on Thursday and Friday respec-
WHAT IS CRISPR? The Clustered Random Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats technique originates from the bacterial immune system. Karen Maxwell, a member of U of T’s Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomedical Research, mentioned in her opening remarks on Friday’s event that, “Bacteria, like humans, can be attacked by viruses that infect and kill them.” One of the seminal discoveries was in 2007. The work done by Rudolphe Barrangou and Phillipe Horvath […] as well as Sylvain Moineau […] was that bacteria have an immune system that helps to protect them from being killed by these viruses. It was only about half a dozen years ago actually that Moineau then showed that this immunity that these bacteria have is provided by a protein that causes double-stranded breaks in the DNA. When the virus infects the bacterial cell, the bacteria has a way in which it can chew up the DNA and kill the virus,” said Maxwell. Today, the CRISPR technique can be used to edit genomes for any organism, including humans, with high precision and efficiency. “In the few years after the discovery from Moineau’s lab, there were a lot of rapid advances in the field of CRISPR. […] They took this technology and ran with it, and have been using it to de-
velop tools for gene editing in human cells, bacterial cells, and all different kind of cells. In the last couple of years, the technology has really exploded. There are hundreds of labs all around the world who are using this technology to edit human genomes, to invent new anti-microbials and so on. From the initial beginnings, we could have never predicted where this technology was going to go.” Dr. Moineau, a microbiology professor at the Université Laval based in Québec, emphasized the incredible spread of the CRISPR technique. “If you have been working in biological sciences and you have not been working in a cavern for a while, you should know that this is a pretty hot topic right now.” Moineau also presented a screenshot which demonstrated the rising number of CRISPR-related publications in the last few years. “When I show this slide to my students, I tell them that this is what you call a career opportunity,” joked Moineau. “If you’re not using the technology, you should get on board, because it is very exciting.” HOW DOES IT WORK? With the last few years of research, the CRISPR system has been reduced to the following components: the gene of interest that is to be modified, a guide RNA, a nearby Protospacer Adjacent Motif site, a donor DNA, (if a specific gene is to be inserted) and the enzyme Cas9.
The guide RNA will recognise the target sequence and bind to the gene of interest. If there is sufficient similarity between the guide RNA and the target sequence, as well as a nearby PAM site, the Cas9 enzyme will be able to introduce a double-stranded break. The cell will then detect this break in the DNA and attempt to repair it, either through an end-joining pathway or through homology-directed repair, resulting in gene disruption and specific gene insertions, respectively. “That’s really how simple it is—that is why the technology is used around the world today,” said Moineau. HOW CAN IT BE USED? The applications of the CRISPR technique are extensive—and a few of these applications were discussed during Friday’s symposium. “This is clearly one of these things where you’re standing on the giants— this work is made possible by the pioneering efforts of the people we’ve heard here at the Gairdner Awardees’ lecture,” commented Dr. Anthony James, a microbiology and molecular genetics professor at the University of California Irvine. James’ talk, titled “Synthetic Biology and Malaria”, focused on how CRISPR can be used to engineer mosquitoes with genes to prevent malaria parasite transmission. While malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites, the disease itself is spread through humans by the female Anopheles mosquitoes. According
to the World Health Organisation, in 2015, 95 countries and territories had cases of malaria, and approximately 3.2 billion people are at risk of catching the disease. While the incidence of malaria has fallen by 37 percent from 2000 to 2015, it is still an important concern. “So how do we get to malaria eradication? [..] We start with control of the disease. These aren’t steps—they’re defined by the WHO. But the idea here is to get the number of cases down to a certain amount, so that you have a low amount of infections every year,” said James. “With extra effort, we can get local elimination, and the idea here is that you can locally eliminate malaria everywhere in the world.” Using the CRISPR technique, James proposes that the genetic manipulation of mosquitoes occur within laboratories, which can then be used to introduce genes in nature. “Here, we’re actually changing the ability of the mosquito to actually transmit the pathogen,” said James. “We think that we can have a sustainable impact on malaria. […] If we can go to an area and clear it of malaria with this specific technology, you can move to a new area to work with some confidence that the areas you cleared of malaria will remain so. If you do that today with existing tools, and you stop your intervention, it’s highly likely that either the mosquitoes will come back or the parasites will come back. You will get a re-emergence of the disease.”
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UTM Eagles look to rebound after loss UTM men’s division 1 basketball team dropped their third game of the season to Woodsworth JOSH RAMNAUTH
Last Wednesday, fans saw the UTM Eagles men’s basketball team take on Woodsworth College for their third game of the new season. UTM lost a hard-fought contest 87-74. The Eagles started the game dominantly, with a field goal and a steal in the first minute, but Woodsworth opened up a four-point lead. Given ample space to shoot by the Woodsworth defense, they squared the game and took the lead with a string of field goals. A few three-point plays allowed the Woodsworth to keep pace, and a string of offensive gaffes by the Eagles saw Woodsworth close out the first quarter with a six-point lead. The Eagles’ head coach only made two substitutions to begin the second quarter. The Eagles conceded a string of fouls that eroded their offensive prowess, and Woodsworth’s lead held steadily around five to six points. One shot from beyond the arc got the home team to within two, forcing Woodsworth to use their first timeout six minutes into the quarter. Play resumed with the visitors in possession and the hosts changing to zone defense, and the visitors took full advantage of the transition, knocking down a threepointer to restore the deficit to five,
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UTM Eagles lost their game to Woodsworth College, with a final score of 87-74. with two minutes until half-time. Greg tied the game with three of four free throws, a three-point play, and a three-point block fit for any highlight reel. The first half ended tied at 37 apiece. The game became an intense endto-end contest, as the third quarter started with an 11-12 scoring run by both teams. Both teams eventually had to manage their pace, with a few missed field throws to slow things down before a three-point play and a field goal by Woodsworth restored
their lead to seven points, forcing UTM to take their first timeout. It was the visitors who maintained their momentum through UTM’s first timeout, with a series of successful drives combined with a stuttering Eagles’ offense extending the visitors’ lead. Two free throws by Yonis brought the Eagles past the 50 milestone, before a 6-0 run brought the visitors to 63, with a seven-point lead before Mustafa Abdool slashed the deficit with a buzzer-beating three. The third quarter would end 57-61.
The fourth quarter started wearily, as both teams got busy for the last time of the night. It would be a low-scoring half, until a three from the visitors extended Woodsworth’s lead. UTM thus used another timeout. The visitors ran riot after play resumed, opening up a double-digit lead for the first time in the game. With two minutes left, the visitors slowed down a bit. Alessandro Tanzi had a three discounted due to a blocking foul, adding to the Eagles’ mounting frustration. They
defended furiously with a minute left on the clock, notably with a few violent double-teams. A furious drive punctuated an altogether docile final four minutes from the hosts. Woodsworth used another timeout with 38 seconds left; play resumed with Ibrahim shooting two free throws, before he limped to the sideline following a subsequent collision. The following play saw a loud verbal altercation between both teams, after what AlRehany thought was an intentional foul. No technical fouls were issued. A few lay-ups and free-throws concluded the game, Woodsworth winning 87 to 74. Both teams will look to their next game assured of their defense, although Woodsworth will be seeking to close down faster after allowing a string of field goals during the second quarter. Both defenses were sound, and the game saw relatively few successful drives. Offensively, the Eagles will look back on this game with distaste; many possessions concluded with travelling calls. All in all, UTM started thunderously, but Woodsworth used the height of their centers and power forwards to great effect, snatching seven offensive rebounds, including two tips. The Eagles have two weeks to adjust, as their next game is an away clash with Rotman on November 7.
D-league women look on the bright side UTM Eagles D-league women’s team lose 14-1, but keep their spirits high with season almost over
ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The women’s UTM D-league soccer team dropped their sixth game of the season 14-1 to the St. George Black squad. Sian Day scored the only goal in the D-league season thus far for UTM in this contest. With one game remaining on the schedule, UTM is still looking for their first win of the season. They’re sitting at the bottom of the league standings, with a record of 0-6. UTM was dominated in their end for most of the game, unable to clear the ball into St. George territory. Even though the UTM women gave up 14 goals, their defense played hard, winning a lot of battles against the speedy St. George attacking offense. The most important thing about this league is having fun, but also developing skills that could be use-
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The women’s D-league soccer team lost 14-1 against the St. George Black team. ful within the UTM women’s varsity Eagles soccer team that plays in the OCAA. The intramural league is named the D-league because some of the women who play are
looking to enhance their skills in hopes of moving up to the varsity team, while others see playing for this team as an opportunity to stay in shape and have fun playing with
a collective of other likeminded student athletes: “They’re still developing, and this league is more about getting them to where they need to be in terms of working as a
team,” says coach Heather McNeil. “The fact that they never get discouraged is special. The score could be six to nothing and the girls would cheer if they get a shot on net. You’ll never watch one of their games and think that they were losing based off of their attitude towards each other,” says coach Prabjot Bal. With only one game remaining on the schedule, the coaches still expect the women to show up and work hard. As the season has progressed, the women have developed relationships and chemistry that has made them a better team. Unfortunately, other teams have developed that same chemistry as well, so the results haven’t been getting better. The women look to take on the St. George Red team in their final game of the season next Sunday, November 6 at 10:00 a.m.
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THE MEDIUM 10.31.2016
Returning to the championships Haseeb Malik and Kale Heino make it to Cross Country CCAA nationals for second straight year ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The UTM cross country team participated in the OCAA Championships at Seneca College in Toronto on Saturday, October 29. The team had a strong seventh place finish, running amongst other outstanding colleges within the OCAA. Haseeb Malik had the highest finish in the men’s division, crossing the finish line in 18th place with a time of 29 minutes and 24 seconds. Kale Heino finished in 23rd place, running with a total time of 29 minutes and 53 seconds. In the women’s six kilometre division race, UTM’s Andrea Ortiz, Gloria Lim, and Katie Hill all finished in the top 50. It was a battle until the finish line for Malik, who had two other runners, Alfred Pujadas from Centennial College and Jason LaPorta from Mohawk College, running next to him for nearly the entire final stretch. Following behind Malik and Heino was UTM’s Hamza Ali, who ran a time of 31 minutes and 26 seconds. To put the times into perspective, Seth Marcaccio finished first in the men’s division, with a time of 26 minutes and 55 seconds. The entire eight kilometre race was exhausting for the runners who had to battle the tough course, which had plenty of hills and slippery terrain. “Kale and I, and a lot of other athletes on our team, ran
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Malik and Heino have qualified for the CCAA championship for the second year in a row. until our last breaths. We were exhausted, and lay on the ground as soon as we crossed the finish line,” says Malik. Runners don’t only battle the physical attributes of the course or their body ailments, but they also have to persevere through the mental doubt that creeps into mind once the exhaustion comes into effect. “Last time we ran this course, I had to drop out of the race, as I had
an intense amount of pain in my leg, and was better off not injuring myself before coming back here for provincials,” says Malik. Because he had to take some time off to recover, coming into this race, Malik felt prepared in the sense that his fitness level was ready. Taking a few days off running reduced the intensity of his workouts, but helped him gain tremendous ground on his ability to run. The goal for the team was to fin-
ish in fifth place, but they ended up in seventh place. Malik’s goal was to finish in the top 15, but due to the struggles brought on by his injury, he managed an 18th place finish—good enough to get him into the CCAA championship event taking place November 11-12 in Sault Saint Marie. Heino’s 23rd place finish was also good enough to get him into the championship event. Even though only Heino and Malik move on going forward in
this season, the team still trains together. For the next two weeks, the eliminated athletes find solace in helping the two student athletes compete and get ready for the biggest race of their lives. “We will still go on runs together and keep our bodies conditioned, almost like we have no off-season,” says Haseeb. Malik believes that the biggest contributing factor to the team’s success this year—at one point claiming ninth spot in the overall standings—is the relationship each and every individual has with one another on the team. “Cross country is more of a team sport than people think; you have to give credit where credit is due. We all work together to make sure everyone gets the right help with training, recovery, and motivation,” says Malik. It’s the second year in a row that Malik and Heino have made it to the national event. “Making it to nationals two years in a row with Kale is an awesome feeling for both me, my coaches, and my teammates. I’m glad that logging in all those miles of running has paid off,” says Malik. There are no overwhelming expectations for Malik and Heino at the national event in November. “My expectations are just to end the season on a good note. Now that I’m going to the CCAA nationals and representing UTM with Kale, we have to go out there and do the best we can on the course,” says Malik.