Volume 45 Issue 11

THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

Novemeber 26, 201 8 Volume 45, Issue 1 1 themedium.ca

Parking fees to increase

A smoke free utm?

The meaning of home

The new face of ICCIT

Eagles fall to Humber Hawks

News, page 3

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

Overcrowding on Miway Mississauga Miway busses have faced increasing amounts of ‘overcrowding’ since the beginning of the academic year MELISSA BARRIENTOS ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The Mississauga MiWay buses on route to the University of Toronto Mississauga have gradually become more crowded as the university’s student population grows. With the unexpected influx of first year students for the 2018-2019 academic year, incidents of overcrowding have increased, forcing UTM students to miss class lectures and find alternative transit options to and from UTM. “Three buses passed me. Bus too full, bus too full, bus too full. I was late to my class,” third year Psychology and Health Science student Stephanie Daher told The Medium.

“I hated it. Lots of people were like ‘you know what, I’d rather walk.’ Now I have to go to square one because I’m guaranteed to get a bus. This is why I don’t bus.”

Third year art and art history student Marie Villanueva sprained her knee while standing at the back of an overcrowded bus, telling The Medium, “My left leg was planted on the ground but the rest of my body wasn’t so I got jerked around and twisted my knee. I’ve been ubering to school lately because it’s hard to get to the bus stops near my home with a wheelchair or crutches.”

In 2007, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students Union (UTMSU) worked with MiWay to create the Universal Transit Pass (U-Pass) program in an effort to make commuting to UTM easier and more affordable.

“UTMSU has established the Universal Transit Pass Program alongside the City of Mississauga for students to have unlimited transit access with no direct and regular payment needed throughout the eighth month fall/winter semesters and the summer four-month term respectively,” explained a representative from MiWay’s customer service in an interview with The Medium.

The U-Pass program requires a mandatory fee of $232.80 each year (adjusted for inflation) from eligible full-time and part-time UTM students. This mandatory U-Pass fee is incorporated in their tuition payment regardless of transit usage.

“Students have always spoken highly about the program and continue to maintain their pleasure with it”, UTMSU’s Media correspondent told The Medium. “Participation in the program is well over 90% each year and we are quite happy that the uptake is always so high.

When discussing the overcrowded

MiWay buses, UTMSU Media stated that overcrowding is “something the UTMSU takes very seriously.”

“We ensure that the city [of Mississauga] improves routes and scheduling by maintaining more buses,”

who liaise with the city directly. Since enrollment has maintained its numbers but the first year class has grown ostensibly this year, we are reviewing the situation actively.”

On the other hand, an inquiry sent

incidents of overcrowding on a number of bus routes during September and October this year, in particular on routes 44 and 101,” said the Service Development Customer Service Representative of MiWay Missis-

ALEXA NEVES-HUA/THE MEDIUM

Caption. they continued, “and that extended buses are included in the peak times that students exit and enter campus.

This cannot be done without student consultation and we always invite students to speak to our executives

to MiWay regarding overcrowding on bus routes to UTM resulted in a report from MiWay’s Service Development department that detailed the following: “[MiWay is] aware there have been

sauga.

“MiWay defines overcrowding as when the passenger load exceeds 55 passengers on a standard size (40ft) bus,” he continued.

Miway uses several ridership and

service monitoring tools to process feedback from customers, drivers, and staff, including farebox data, customer feedback, incident logs, and on-board ridership counts. MiWay staff have reviewed records from all of these sources and are aware of incidents of overcrowding that began at the start of the school year.

“This is not uncommon while students are still in the process of getting acquainted with their curriculum and figuring out their travel patterns,” he says. “Based on our findings, the incidents of overcrowding were greatest at the beginning of September and, although less, are still occurring today. We need to determine where improvements are required and the time periods where additional service may be required. We are investigating these incidents to ensure we have an accurate understanding of the ridership levels in order to implement the necessary changes.

Improvements such as adjustments to bus type, adding additional trips, or even improving the frequency are currently being reviewed. If such overcrowding continues to occur, we will implement these changes as soon as possible.”

Moreover, the report identified overcrowding to be at its highest point on the Route 44 bus arriving at UTM at 8:42 am and the Route 101 Westbound bus around 8:30 am.

Regarding overcrowding on Route 44 trips, the report stated that MiWay “will adjust the time of the short trip following this to run earlier so that it arrives at the university around 8:45 a.m. in time for classes starting at 9 a.m.” This change to the Route 44 bus trip will not occur until after February 25, 2019.

“Due to the lead time required to make changes to bus schedules we can only make changes three months in advance, so the next opportunity we have to make these changes is the February Board Period, starting 25th February.”

Regarding Route 101 trips, the report states resources are not currently available to curtail overcrowding in the morning westbound trips.

“Unfortunately, we do not have resources at present to add any new trips at this time of the day, because it is during the peak and all our buses are fully utilized at this time,” said the Service Planning representative. “We will however continue to monitor passenger loads on the 101, and other services, and prioritise resources as they become available.”

Miway continued on page 3

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 11.26.2018

Parking pass fees increase CCT parking pass fees to increase by 20% next year

November 15 th , 2018 Police Assistance A student experiencing medical distress attended the Campus Police office.

November 15 th , 2018 Police Assistance Campus Police and ECSpeRT attended OPH for a student experiencing medical distress.

November 15th , 2018 Theft A student reported the theft of their wallet from a locker in the RAWC change room.

November 15 th , 2018 Motor Vehicle Collision Campus Police attended P5 for a motor vehicle collision. A vehicle rearended a Mississauga Transit bus. Campus Police directed traffic until the vehicle was towed off campus to Peel Police for further reporting.

November 17th , 2018 Disturb the Peace Campus Police received a report of a large gathering outside a residence unit. Upon arrival, the crowd dispersed. Peel Police also attended to assist.

November 20th , 2018 Police Assistance Campus Police attended IB for a student experiencing medical distress.

EMS also attended and the student was transported to hospital.

November 18th , 2018 Theft A student reported the theft of their laptop from a party they were DJ’ing at in a residence unit.

The student left the unit for one moment and when they came back, their laptop was missing.

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.

Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents, or any other incident, is requested to contact the UTM Campus Police at 905828-5200, Peel Regional Police at 905-453-3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

UTSC receives GAPP funding Biologists to research disease resistance

PHOTO FROM UNSPLASH.COM

UTSC research hopes to develop disease-resistant vegetables.

ALI TAHA NEWS EDITOR Last Thursday, federal Science Minister Kirsty Duncan announced that the University of Toronto Scarborough will receive $2 million in funding to develop disease-resistant vegetables.

Department of biological sciences assistant professor Adam Mott, as well as professors David Guttman and Darrell Desveaux from the department of cell and systems biology will carry out the experiments in partnership with the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

The funding is coming from the Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP), a subsidiary of

Genome Canada, a not-for-profit funded by the federal and provincial governments.

According to a UTSC news article, their goal is to help connect researchers with companies to “develop new gene-based technologies for sectors including health care, agriculture and environmental protection.”

“By investing in researchers,” Duncan said during her announcement, “we are giving them the opportunity to work with each other and their counterparts in the business, health, and agricultural sectors to find the ideas and innovations that power a stronger economy and a growing middle class.”

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

Fazilat stated that the increase for CCT parking passes was based on popularity.

MDUDUZI MHLANGA

Last Wednesday, the UTM’s Campus Council had its final meeting of the 2018 semester. Topics included enrollment rates, future construction plans, and fee increases in residence and parking were discussed.

Registrar and Director of Enrollment Management Loretta Neebar began the meeting with an update on enrollment in the past year.

This past year, intake from Fall 2018 to Fall 2019 increased by approximately 11%. At the same time, admission averages from Ontario Secondary School applicants increased from 84.5% to 84.9% and entrance awards will be at an all-time high. Neebar described the cumulative graduation rates as “quite healthy compared to some institutions in the province.”

“We’ve had a very strong year,” said Neebar. “Our intake was significantly higher than the previous year [because of a] higher yield than anticipated in offers of admission.”

She went on to say that the increase in enrolment was good for UTM in terms of the university’s provincial and global profile.

Principal Ulrich Krull reported to council highlighted some future aspirations for the University. He expressed pride in the University Pension Plan, which is jointly sponsored with the University of Guelph and Queens University. Krull reminded the council that while the University’s smoking policy comes into effect January 1st 2019, negotiations are ongoing regarding the policy’s requirement that smoking only occurs on public property.

Krull stated that there will be eight to twelve designated smoking areas scattered across the campus, which

will be removed each year until they are fully eliminated from campus.

Krull also showed the council building proposals for the new science building that will be connected to Davis.

“We all know that we have been growing and we have not been able to build as fast as we’ve grown. Those pressures have been with us for over 10 years and we’re still struggling,” said Krull.

According to the principal, a lot of pressure is coming from the sciences to have more space, and he sees an interesting opportunity for a “collision of disciplines,” which could indicate a new building for Arts, Culture and Technology (ACT).

Krull also wanted to focus on a vision for the University Fund, asking, “what could we do for our students to improve their abilities to graduate” with a focus on maximizing their overall experience. He says the university’s budget will try to focus more on experiential learning, paid co-op opportunities, and internship courses in the future. Krull also stated that the university is looking to plan counselling hours for all students with an advisor for their career success.

Krull later touched on the vulnerability of the university if international students were unable to study at UTM. The majority of UTM’s international students come from China, India, and Pakistan. In addition to the currency devaluation in African countries that are unable to support students studying overseas, Krull highlighted that UTM would be significantly impacted if China were to ever withdraw its students.

The University Ombudsperson Ellen Hodnett also spoke at the governing council meeting. The Ombudsperson is responsible to respond to requests for assistance from members

of the university community as well as alert governing council of systemic issues meriting review. She made three recommendations to Council in the meeting. Her first recommendation was for a better system of protection for whistleblowers with serious allegations against academic units while investigations are underway. Hodnett also called for the campus police to be more responsive to the Ombudsperson’s inquiries. Lastly, Hodnett recommended that graduate schools review their internal policies to ensure greater transparency.

During the meeting, Chief Administrative Officer of the UTM Service Ancillaries Budgets Saher Fazilat announced that parking pass prices are set to increase. CCT parking passes will be increased by twenty per cent, and the rest of the parking prices will increase at only 2% instead of 3%. The percentage difference being supplemented by the increase of the CCT parking passes.

Fazilat stated that the increase was based on the popularity and needed improvements in the CCT garage.

Meal plans will increase by 2%.

Other retail food outlets will increase by two to three per cent.

For residence fees, she says the majority will be increased by 4%-5%, with a substantial increase in Putnam place because of renovation costs.

Fazilat stated that these changes are a preview for what will come in the January Campus Council meeting.

Nominations for elected campus council positions for students will open on January 7th and close January 18th. Four positions are available: two full-time, one part-time, and one graduate student position.

The next campus council meeting is scheduled to be held on January 30th, 2019.

UTM celebrates new program St. George’s occupational therapy program has come to UTM

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

The celebratory reception was held in the Innovation Complex.

ALI TAHA NEWS EDITOR Last week, the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) celebrated the launch of the new Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MScOT) program. The program, which has until recently only been offered at the St. George campus, was brought to UTM to meet the increase in applicants for the program.

Last year, 953 applications were submitted even though only 90 spots were available.

The new program, offered through UTM’s Mississauga Academy of Medicine (MAM), is offering 40 new spots.

Vice-President and Principal Ulrich Krull praised the expansion, stating, “[the MScOT program] provides opportunities through your own creativity and your own exploration of

how you move creativity into practice —that is the process of innovation.”

Krull previously told The Medium that it is the university’s mission to become “an internationally significant research university with undergraduate, graduate and professional programs of high quality,” which the 24-month Master program contributes to.

Held in the Rotunda of the Innovation Complex, the reception brought together professors, administrators, and students enrolled in the program to reflect on the expansion and successes of MAM and UTM. “Occupational therapy education and practice started in rapidly expanding communities where wounded veterans were returning to their homes and jobs, and where many immigrants were adjusting to new ways of life,” said Susan Rappolt, chair of the department of Occupational Sci-

ence and Occupational Therapy lead organizer of the program’s expansion, during the reception.

“In more recent history,” she continued, “under the leadership of two former U of T chairs, the department and the MScOT program have renewed their focus on health and wellness in communities.

The hour-long event included a presentation by Bonnie Kirsh, a professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, who spoke about a study she is co-leading that involves using occupational therapy to enhance student mental health. The therapy emphasizes building cognitive strategies and developing problem-solving skills.

The reception concluded with a duo of student musicians playing classical music on violin and cello.

11.26.2018 THE MEDIUM NEWS

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HUMANS OF UTM

UTM is not what I expected. I thought, coming into university, it would be more of an open place, but when I came to UTM it felt like a small community where everyone knew everyone else. Everything is happy and dandy. I expected something more professional. And even though it’s still academic, it’s quite boring. It turned out to be a fun community more than just academics.

U-Pass to include Brampton?

The Lab painting auctioned off Frederick Banting’s painting bought by mysterious bidder

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

UTMSU is working on the expansion of the U-Pass.

PHOTO COURTESY OF HEFFEL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSE

The painting was sold for $313,250 to a mysterious buyer.

ALI TAHA NEWS EDITOR Last week, Sir Frederick Banting’s painting of the lab where he discovered insulin was sold at an auction held by the Heffel Fine Art Auction House.

Banting is renowned for having discovered insulin, a hormone that

regulates the amount of glucose in the blood, in 1921.

Twenty bidders, including the University of Toronto, competed for the piece. The painting, called The Lab, was won by a mystery buyer for $313,250.

U of T’s vice-president, university operations and vice-provost, academic operations Scott Mabury

hopes that the painting will “find its way” back to the university for the 100-year celebration of the discovery of insulin.

The Heffel Fine Art Auction House has pledged its commission of $53,250 toward funding for diabetes research at U of T.

Miway continued from page 1 “I would like to apologise for the inconvenience to passengers that crowded buses have caused,” the representative continued, “and would like to assure you we are working to improve our service as soon as we can.”

The UTMSU also told The Medium that they have been maintaining an audience with the city of Mis-

sissauga to discuss an expansion of the U-PASS program in the future to cover the transit costs for students traveling on Brampton transit. UTMSU Media stated that they need “representatives from the City of Brampton to assist in establishing Brampton student access. This will take time but we are optimistic that a reasonable price can be established after the Municipal Elections conclude.”

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11.26.2018

MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Mahmoud Sarouji editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Alicia Boatto managing@themedium.ca

Smoking ban a harsh step forward While the smoking ban may have good intentions, it has detrimental effects

News Ali Taha news@themedium.ca A&E Paula Cho arts@themedium.ca Features Jessica Cabral features@themedium.ca Sports Vanessa Cesario sports@themedium.ca — Photo Yasmeen Alkoka photos@themedium.ca Design Alexa Neves-Hua design@themedium.ca Copy Mahnoor Ayub copy@themedium.ca Online Olivia Adamczyk online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Kayvon Aflaki Melissa Barrientos A&E Srijan Sahu Features Fatima Adil Liayana Jondy Kevin Kim Sports Amrish Wagle Photo Julia Healy Brittany Semplonius Copy TBA GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Lyndon Amat web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Adam Sarouji distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca Cartoonist Anthony Labonté COPYRIGHTS All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, and cannot be used without written consent.

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To contribute, email editor@themedium.ca

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

A few weeks ago we reported on U of T’s proposed smoking ban and before that we also reported on Sheridan’s announcement of a smoking ban.

Having a ban of all forms of smoking on campus is fundamentally a step in the right direction. However, I think that an outright ban slapped on in the middle of the year is also the wrong way to go about it.

While it is known that smoking of any kind can have effects on the mind and body, it is crucial to also understand the difficulty behind the addiction of tobacco and other products related to smoking.

Smokers at UTM generally have not abided by the nine meters away from a front door of a building rule, and this is exceptionally disrespectful and harmful to the rest of the

student body. However, a ban won’t solve this issue. I understand that by hitting the campus with a ban, we can push our campus towards having cleaner air surrounding the campus, however, people generally don’t learn once something is taken away instantly.

If the UTM administration had decided to have permenant smoking areas, this could have had a much stronger effect than an outright ban. It takes time for people to adapt to change. A change like this so quickly will in turn make students aggravated and respond negatively to the ban.

A ban of smoking on our campus is needed indefinitely. There are far too many students who unknowingly are caught in the effects of smoking without even realizing it,

that shouldn’t be. However, those who are smokers, also have their own reasons behind it, and I believe that there should still be a certain amount of respect towards them and slowly build up towards a ban in the future.

The university of Western Ontario has adopted this method of weeding out smoking from their campus.

Their initiative to go smoke free began in 2015 with the aim that by July 1st, 2019, smoking would banned entirely from their campus. This has a much better effect, because it allows smokers to at least be aware for a few years and to attempt a preparation to find other locations they can smoke at, or even better, begin the steps necessary to quit smoking.

An outright ban with no preparation will result in a more negative

outcome than a positive. Students will be confused and are likely to ignore the ban for quite some time before it is fully enforced. UTM should have taken it’s time and slowly rolled out the ban rather than slap it on students who are already ignoring the on campus rules.

A slow roll-out would have garnered a positive effect on campus.

An immediate ban, creates more tension between students and administration.

YOURS, MAHMOUD SAROUJI

CORRECTION NOTICE The November 22 article “5 days of giving at UTM” and “UTMSU Ccourse retake policy a reality” was corrected.

11.26.2018

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Filling the gap on conceptions of home Toronto-based artist Nicole Coon discusses sculptor Anne Kahane as an inspiration for her own work ETHAN SANSOM

Variations On is a series of artist interviews surrounding The Zwig Foundation Collection, a gallery featuring late Toronto residents Helen and Walter Zwig’s lifelong collection of art from around the world. Variations on Anne Kahane is the first of the planned series of interviews, with Toronto based artist Nicole Coon taking the stage to discuss her own work and that of sculptor Anne Kahane.

Coon, a contemporary furniture designer herself, is interested in the ways in which furniture can make us think and feel, remarking during her interview “I look at furniture as a means to explore ideas, processes, and cultural references.” Having earned her B.A. in art history at McGill, and currently studying at Sheridan, Coon’s work is also largely informed by art theory. The inspirations for her piece “cabinet of one colour,” for example, range from Bauhaus colour theorist Paul Klee to 18th century philosopher Goethe.

Included in these muses is fellow Canadian-based artist Anne Kahane, whose fascination with the wood medium likewise fascinated Coon dur-

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ZWIG FOUNDATION COLLECTION

The Zwig Foundation Collection features The Zwig’s lifelong collection of art from around the world. ing her studies. Kahane, best known for her series of mahogany figures produced in the 50’s and 60’s, often described her medium of choice as a kind of supple wood, that was easy to carve like clay. Such ease of use, noted Coon, helped “maintain the intimacy between the sculptor, concept, and the final piece,” a constant priority of Kahane’s, who found the more rigorously modelled and casted sculptures of her time to be superficial.

Later in her career, Kahane would go so far as to say, “I often consider myself as a sort of carpenter who makes sculpture,” finding that for her artistic concepts to function, she must first “adapt [them] to work in wood.” Fortunately, reflected Coon, Kahane’s chosen material of wood, which evokes nature, roughness, and growth, would serve as the perfect canvas for Kahane’s focus: the human form and condition.

In her series of figural sculptures “Broken Man,” “Falling Man,” and “Horizontal Figure,” Kahane presents the figures as flawed, struggling, and helpless, qualities reflected in their wooden form. The pieces are, for example, unpolished, leaving them literally flawed and, said Kahane, giving them “a quality of breathing and scintillating.”

With regards to “Horizontal Figure,” a piece of Kahane’s work cur-

rently housed at The Zwig Foundation Collection, Coon noted the many marks covering the sculpture, as a result of Kahane’s method of carving using a gouge, which left the unfinished wood form forever injured. The piece’s position, depicting a human lying horizontal, is unique among many human sculptures and adds to the feeling of helplessness. The melding of arms into legs, the surrendering upwards gaze of the body, and its asymmetry, added Coon, likewise contributed to Kahane’s thesis of pain as part of the human condition.

For Coon, a young and emerging artist, Kahane’s dedication to specific forms, materials, and her thesis is admirable. The success of her own work, said Coon, “is determined by how successfully ... I’ve reduced it to form and those ideas.” Coon admits, however, that the structured variations in the themes, materials, and forms of her work—mandated by her studies at Sheridan—has been a welcome opportunity to explore new ideas.

While Coon is, for now, unsure of the thesis presented by her own body of work, she continues to pursue furniture projects which “fill some gap that wasn’t there” in viewers’ conception of the home.

The museum of Insta-worthy illusions The Museum of Illusions features shocking and stunning installations ideal for the social media savvy ZEAHAA REHMAN

Were you to pass by the Museum of Illusions at 132 Front Street East, you would likely shrug it off as a shop that sells puzzle-based novelty gifts—just like I did. Were you to pass by the Museum of Illusions at 132 Front Street East slowly, however, you would register the “Sold Out” sign posted at its door, try to squish down the niggling feeling of FOMO, and fail—just like I did.

Originating from Zagreb, Croatia, Museum of Illusions is, well, a museum housing exhibits that trick the viewer’s vision. The museum first opened in Zagreb three years ago, its interactive and Instagram-friendly nature inspired fourteen locations worldwide—including one in Toronto—with seven more opening soon.

For $26, the museum promises an all-encompassing visual and sensory experience of a “world that will confuse you completely, but also educate you,” and it tries its best to deliver.

The Museum of Illusions intersperses framed optical and photographical illusions with eighteen interactive installations. Accompanying each illusion is an information

PHOTO FROM MUSEUMOFILLUSIONS.CA

The Museum of Illusions promises an all-encompassing visual and sensory experience. sign that explains to the viewer what they should do, what they are experiencing, and what the illusion’s history is.

The café wall illusion, for example, consists of lines with black and white zig-zagging squares that appear slanted to the human eye. In truth, the lines are not slanted but parallel. The illusion was re-discovered by University of Bristol professors Richard L. Gregory and Priscilla Heard

in 1979, when a member of their lab Steve Simpson noticed this illusion in—what else—a café nearby.

Though this is admittedly informative, visitors, including me, preferred recording Instagram boomerangs of illusions rather than reading up on them. The museum understands this well and has continuously placed blue signs around the building divulging the best spots to take pictures from, and declaring that visitors limit their

stay inside room-based exhibits to 2 minutes during peak times, although the rooms are often sold out.

And the Museum of Illusions has good reason to sell out; it has some truly awe-inducing (and Instagram worthy) installations. One of these installations includes the Vortex Tunnel where visitors stand on a straight platform while the room around them moves, yet their brain convinces them that they are the ones spin-

ning around. Visitors wander around the Anti-Gravity Room, teetering and tottering due to its angled floors and dizzying wallpaper. Visitors can sit on a slab of metal in Chair Illusion but a picture far away will reveal them to be sitting on a giant chair.

Visitors can be startled when they see an image where previously there was a black screen, via holograms.

Visitors unable to attend the Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the AGO last spring can visit the Infinity Room for a small taste.

Visitors can also experience the world upside down in The Reverse Room, discover what it’s like to be a snack, literally, on the Head on the Platter, and grow tall and short in a matter of minutes in the Ames Room.

Admittedly, visitors can discover most of the framed optical illusions by buying an optical illusions book— such as ones in the Museum of Illusions giftshop. However, the museum does contain shocking, startling, and stunning installations meant for the social-media savvy rather than savants of art. If you want to up your social media stature, then Museum of Illusions is the spot for you—just be prepared to wait in line!

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«ARTS

THE MEDIUM 11.26.2018

Sunanna Bhasin on her novel, UNDERPASS Bhasin discusses her debut novel, the self-publishing process, and juggling graduate school KEENA ALWAHAIDI ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

University of Toronto graduate student Sunanna Bhasin is a published author in the flesh, but a hardworking accounting student right underneath. She shares her experiences in the writing world with me and also uncovers the guidance it took, and the moments that made her take UNDERPASS, her self-published book, one step further.

As an undergraduate student at McMaster University, Bhasin’s studied in the Arts and Sciences program where she flourished as a writer and found solace in words instead of numbers. Now, she’s in grad school pursuing a master’s degree in Management and Professional Accounting, worlds away from anything a writer may find themselves getting involved in. When I ask her about the sudden stray away from writing and literature, she says that she often gets questioned about this.

“Truthfully, I was originally inclined towards journalism as a career path. However, after writing for McMaster’s paper The Silhouette and gaining an incredible amount of insight into journalism as well as experience, I realized it was not for me.” This, she says, comes from the urge of following her own path in the writing world.

“I don’t like being told what to write. I write from my heart, and you could say that I tend to write only when I feel inclined to or am inspired. This is problematic if I were to pursue it as a career, where

there are often strict deadlines and not as much room for creativity as I’d like.”

When Bhasin describes the experience of writing one of her first big projects, UNDERPASS, she says that it was an assignment she felt that she “had to take.” Wanting to make an impression on the professor and needing to receive feedback from the course was what drove her to undertake the project.

“At its core, it’s a story about parents whose past lives in India both haunt them and remind them of important life lessons. These parents, particularly the mother, spend the novel advising their daughter, who has been born and brought up in Canada and has little knowledge of their struggles in India. The father is more closed off and is plagued by nightmares and bad childhood memories, most of which stem from his parents’ neglect.”

The title is something that may impress readers most. It’s metaphorical but easily understood through the eloquent way she’s been presenting it to readers who ask about it.

“I called it Underpass because the literal underpass is an important place in the story, but also as a metaphor for two paths crossing—one of the parents and the other of the daughter, who gets to know and understand her parents and find her own way. I imagine an underpass as a dark tunnel with few lights that one must drive through to get to the other side. In a way, I am playing on the idea that these family members need to face the dark aspects of their pasts if they are to make it through.”

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

Graduate student Sunanna Bhasin self-published her book, UNDERPASS. With her decision to self-publish the book, she expresses a great experience with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. It was speedy and reliable, and she told me that the entire process only took within a week’s time. “The great thing about KDP is that it suggests pricing based on the length of your work. However, you have a lot of freedom to set whatever price you’d like, as long as it is in the required range. It only costs about $2.50 USD to print, and Amazon simply takes the amount out when you make a sale.”

She also tells me that Amazon’s self-publishing service is free, but an author will make money off roy-

alties, all while having the convenience of publishing a book straight to the internet. “Essentially, it is a free process to self-publish. You make royalties, and you have the flexibility to publish both an e-book and paperback version, and Amazon does the work for you. I think it’s fantastic and super convenient.”

In regard to advice she would give to other aspiring writers, Bhasin suggests that if they’re doubtful, it’s okay to act quickly on ideas they may not be so sure about at first.

“Honestly, just do it. Don’t think too long and hard about whether your work is perfect, because believe me, that is not possible.” According to

her, it’s about overcoming the fear of placing your hard work in someone’s hands and going for it: “There are too many people out there who want to write a book and simply haven’t gotten around to it. It is easier now than it has ever been to promote with social media and to have your work publicly available and retain your rights. The hard part is sitting down and writing that story, but if you believe that it is a story that needs to be told, you need to go for it. After all, once you write your first book, you’ll be even more motivated to start on a second.”

Bhasin’s novel UNDERPASS is available on Amazon.com.

Unveiling the truth about the wild west Netflix Original The Ballad of Buster Scruggs tells a far bleaker story of the old American west SRIJAN SAHU ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

For years, American cinema has been hell-bent on pushing the idea of an ‘Old West’ that is ruthless and opportunistic. A world where you must grab every day by the horns, not knowing where the next danger lurks. Gunslingers are always around the corner and the surroundings, both vast and unfriendly, are worse still. Movies like The Quick and the Dead and High Noon would have you believe the west is a kill or be killed world. However, the Coen brothers’ latest Netflix Original, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, tells a far bleaker story.

It combines beautiful landscapes and damning twists of fate to offer us six anthology stories, each with its own theme, style, and tone. However, they all share the same brutal description of the west and begin with a slight nod to an old book, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, wherein these life stories lie. The movie isn’t composed of a single narrative, but a collection of miniature ones—the Coens take the artifice of that construction pretty

literally. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs first appears to us as a leather-bound volume.

The titular character appears to us only once—in the opening. Tim Blake Nelson plays a chirpy outlaw Buster Scruggs, the most mild-mannered and pleasant bandit that ever existed, only for that impression to be quickly proven wrong, as he effortlessly guns down several men in a salon. Sadly, he dies soon after. If anything, this sets the central motif for the rest of the tales–the inevitability of death. In other words, each of these stories is in some way about death.

The rest of the tales are as follows, in no particular order. We see a cowboy (James Franco) survive first, a fateful encounter with the banker he tries to rob, second his own hanging sentence and third, a savage horde of Indians. Except, you guessed it, he’s not as lucky the second time around when he is caught. In “Meal Ticket,” an armless and legless orator, suffers the fate of all underperforming acts when his renditions of “Cain and Abel” and “Ozymandias” fail to please his maestro (Liam Neeson). In “All Gold Canyon,” a prospector, digging

PHOTO FROM IMDB.COM

This Netflix Original combines beautiful landscapes and twists of fate in six different stories. for gold comes up against the brutality of nature. “The Gal Who Got Rattled” follows Alice (Zoe Kazan), a woman traveling with a wagon train, in hopes of making a new life for herself in Oregon. In “The Mortal Remains,” by far with the most obscure ending, sees a divorcee, Frenchman, and vagabond

travel in a stagecoach alongside two bounty hunters to a destination we know mysteriously little about.

It’s a pleasure watching these stories unfold to the backdrop of the Old West. But the Coens use it as an opportunity to explore the often wrongly praised chaotic order. In The

Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the West isn’t a source of American pride or a place we ought to willingly reminisce.

Instead, it’s the place where centuriesold American myths go to die.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is available to stream on Netflix.

DELANEY ROMBOUGH If you like folklore and fairytales, you will love this podcast. Every week, Jason Weiser, the host of Myths and Legends, tells us a new story. Some of these stories are well-known including stories such as Sleeping Beauty, Thor, and Hercules that often include a twist or some shocking origins, while others are less known but still interesting. These stories come from all kinds of origins such as Greek Mythology, Indian folklore, Irish folklore, Mexican legends, the Grimm Brothers, and more.

Episode 51 of the podcast, “Them Apples,” comes from Norse mythology. In this episode, Loki gets taken by a giant talking eagle, who happens to be a giant from Jotunheim, and threatens either to kill him or kidnap Eden and her basket of immortality apples. Loki opts to stay alive but the Aesir tells him to make things right, so he goes to Jotunheim, disguised as a falcon, to rescue Eden and take her back to Asgard. The eagle feels cheated, so they duel in the throne room resulting in the eagle’s death. A week later, Scottie, a giant, comes to Asgard seeking revenge for her father’s (the eagle) death. She made two demands: one, she could pick a husband

from among the Aesir, and two, they make her laugh. Odin agrees. Based on very little information, Scottie chooses to marry Odin’s son, Baldr.

The Aesir is still mad at Loki and as his punishment, he must play tug of war with a goat, but Loki’s end of the rope would be tied to his testicles.

Scottie laughed. The two demands were fulfilled. Later, Odin goes to the Underworld after having dreams of Baldr’s demise. It turns out, Baldr would die from a Mistletoe spear that Loki made. Since Baldr died, Odin decided that one of Loki’s sons must also die. So, Odin killed his son, tied up Loki with his son’s entrails, turned the entrails to iron, and left a poisonous snake dangling above Loki’s head.

Episode 124 of the podcast, “The Fall,” comes from Greek mythology.

In this episode, Theseus, King of Athens reflects on his past achievements, and wonders what there is left in life for him. Theseus’s friend Pirithous convinces Theseus to kidnap Helen of Troy to marry her (once she comes of age). A few years later, Pirithous tells Theseus that he has decided to marry Persephone, who lives in the Underworld with Hades. The two friends go to the Underworld (Theseus only goes because he swore an oath years ago) and they are met by Hades. Hades is not so welcoming as the chairs in

REWIND SAHIBA SHAH Many people know of classic Studio Ghibli films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Spirited Away, but few are aware of the lesser known gem called Whisper of the Heart. Released in 1995, Whisper of the Heart is a film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by acclaimed Japanese writer and animator Hayao Miyazaki. It was the highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 1995, earning ¥1.85 billion, and holds a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows the protagonist, Shizuku Tsukishima, in a coming-of-age story as she navigates through family, friendships, writerly passions, and first instances of love.

The film opens to Olivia NewtonJohn’s rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” a popular 70’s song

by American singer-songwriter John Denver. Shizuku pens a parody to the song and titles it “Concrete Road,” a reflection on her life in Tokyo. Shizuku lives in a cozy apartment with her parents and older sister. She helps out with chores whenever she isn’t busy devouring books and dreaming about becoming a writer. While on her way to the library during the summer before junior high school, Shizuku encounters a cat riding the subway alone. She follows the cat to an antique shop in an affluent neighborhood. In the shop, she sees the figurine of a humanoid cat named The Baron, dressed in a suit and a top-hat.

The antique shop’s owner, Shiro Nishi, has a grandson named Seiji, who goes to the same school as Shizuku. The two soon develop a friendship.

Not long after their friendship

commences, Seiji announces his twomonth departure to Cremona, Italy, where he would become an apprentice violin-maker, a profession he is passionate about. Shizuku finds herself wanting to pursue a goal as well.

She endeavors to write a novel in two months, with The Baron as her subject. Engulfed in imagination and the realm of words, Shizuku neglects her studies, much to the dismay of her family. At the end of the two-month period, Nishi reads Shizuku’s manuscript and commends her. He advises her on how the manuscript is similar to a diamond in the rough, one that would shine with thorough polishing.

Shizuku makes up her mind to study hard, go to high school, and continue pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. Seiji returns, informing Shizuku that he would spend high school with her before seriously pursuing violin-making in Cremona. The two set off together on a bicycle to catch the sunrise. They profess their love for each other as the sun rises, endless possibilities looming on the horizon.

Whisper of the Heart is a sweet, heartwarming story about goals, passion, friendship, and love. It promotes the importance of direction, of the different paths that people choose to embark upon, while maintaining relationships, new and old. While it does not confirm a happy future, it hints at one. It is uplifting, full of colour, vigour, and infinite imagination.

The film ends with a Japanese version of “Country Roads,” sung by Shizuku’s voice actress, Yoko Honna. A spin-off to the film, The Cat Returns, was released in 2002.

the Underworld fuse to Theseus’s and Pirithous’s skin and they are bound to the chairs by serpents. Meanwhile, Helen is still at home being raised by Theseus’s mother. But then her brothers Castor and Pollux rescue her and keep Theseus’s mother to be her slave.

Theseus spends four years tied to Hades’s magical chair until he is rescued

by Hercules as one of his labours and runs back to Athens. However, Athens now hates him because he destroyed the Kingship and introduced democracy so many years ago. Athens was now being ruled by Menestheus.

Theseus heads down to Crete to distance himself from Athens. On Crete, Theseus decides to stop running and stop fighting. Lycomedes didn’t like the fact that Theseus was there, so he tells Theseus the world is better off without him and drops him off a cliff.

Everyone who was part of Theseus’s life had died and now Theseus joins them.

This podcast is fun to listen to if you like history, folklore, and fairytales. Jason’s extravagant, sometimes sarcastic, commentary adds a degree of humour to the stories that you wouldn’t hear if he were just retelling the stories. Many of these stories are new to me but it’s so interesting to hear myths and legends from around the world. Sometimes, these stories tell us how different cultures and traditions came to be and other times, they’re just funny, ridiculous stories to hear.

You can listen to Myths and Legends on their website as well as any podcast app.

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upcoming events CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY At the Mirvish Theatre on Nov 20 through the Jan 6

CLARA THE FILM National release in theatres on Nov 30

WHEN EITHER BUT NOT BOTH ARE TRUE At the Blackwood Gallery until Dec 1

DIZZY MYSTICS Toronto concert on December 5

SHALOMI RANASINGHE

Does Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi sound familiar? You may have seen this New York Times best-seller on the front shelves at bookstores. A novel filled with dangerous adventure, war, racism, and love sits at number 10 on Indigo’s Best Books of 2018.

At University of Toronto Mississauga, the course ENG238, Fantasy Literature, introduces students to this novel. As they read, the protagonist, Zélie Adebola, is immediately met.

She lives in a world of gods and magic, in the mythical country of Orïsha.

However, magic does not exist like it once did.

In Orïsha, the two cultures of kosidáns and maji lived together once.

Kosidáns’ are individuals who do not have magic and oppressed the majis.

This is because maji are born with the capability to perform magical acts.

Majis harness their magical abilities at the age of 13, after which they are considered divîners, children with magical blood. All majis and divîners are physically recognizable by their bright white hair.

The novel begins in a time where magic is gone. King Saran ordered raids as a genocidal act to rid the country of majis. Through treacherous acts of torture, King Saran and the nobles barbarically murder all majis, intending for their actions to serve as a lesson—magic is a disease and should be destroyed.

Years later, Zélie, a divîner, sets off on a quest to restore magic, using sacred artifacts, with the help of her

brother Tzain and the Princess of Orïsha, Amari. Throughout their quest, the children endure complications and battles with Inan, the Prince of Orïsha and the leader of King Saran’s army. Zélie, Tzain, and Amari are to find the artifacts and journey to the Holy Temple in time for the solstice so Zélie can perform the sacred ritual to reinstate magic. If they don’t make it in time, magic will be gone forever.

The chapters alternate between three points of view: Zélie, Amari, and Inan. In doing so, readers get the chance to view their world from different perspectives. Inner thoughts of each character and their motives and emotions are learned.

A novel filled with vivid and heartbreaking images, readers enthrall themselves into the world of Orïsha.

With cliff-hanging ends to chapters, enchanting magical moments, and vigorous fight scenes, the book is impossible to put down. It encompasses a completely new world, one with adventure, courage, and magic.

Interestingly, Adeyemi uses Children of Blood and Bone as a voice for the Black Lives Matter movement.

She creates a world similar to the prejudice people of colour encounter regarding police brutality and racism.

In her author’s note, she mentions a few names of individuals whose lives have been affected by the actions of police. She utilizes her book as an eye-opener to illustrate similar events which happen today.

If you’re looking for a 5-star book to read, pick up a copy of Children of Blood and Bone, and be prepared for the mythical journey that awaits.

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Meet ICCIT’s newest program director Dr. Rhonda McEwen discusses her research and her new position as the director of ICCIT FATIMA ADIL ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

Each faculty member at UTM has a unique list of past experiences and education which help them excel in their role. This week, The Medium spoke with Dr. Rhonda McEwen, Associate Professor of new media and communication at UTM, about her journey to academia and her recent appointment as the second director of the ICCIT program.

As an undergraduate, McEwen completed a Bachelor’s of Science in sociology and management from the University of West Indies.

She then worked in the telecommunications sector in the Caribbean and the UK. As she “always loved school,” McEwen went on to complete two master’s degrees— an MBA from City University in London, UK, and a Master’s of Science in telecommunications from the University of Colorado. After working as a telecommunications consultant at Deloitte Consulting, she worked for IBM Global Business Services in Canada.

McEwen reminisces, “While I was at IBM, I decided to do a Ph.D. as I was very curious about was happening in the tech world at the time.” After doing her Ph.D., McEwen remained in academia, and has now been at the University of Toronto for the past twelve years.

In 2016, McEwen was named a Canada Research Chair in Tactile Interfaces, Communication, and

Cognition. One of her research interests “focuses on virtual reality [and] how people understand gene expression by putting them into virtual reality.” Other topics which she has researched include the ability of 3D printers to facilitate children’s participatory learning, the effect of using smartphones on bonding with peers, and the social consequences of the consistent availability of information and communication.

She attributes her interest in her research to a fascination with “new and emerging technologies,” and states that she is “particularly interested in how humans [are] having more and more communication with technology.” In addition to this, McEwen is interested in exploring how individuals who have sensory deficits interact with touch, vision, and/or virtual reality.

In 2017, McEwen coauthored a book with Adam Dubé, an assistant professor at McGill University titled Understanding Tablets from Early Childhood to Adulthood: Encounters with Touch Technology. According to the publisher’s website, the book, “offers an alternative to dominant and populist narratives that young people are intuitively able to successfully use tablet devices.”

McEwen explains how she “did several experiments [in regard to] how children used tablets to understand math concepts” along with “studies with adults examining working memory” and the ef-

PHOTO FROM UTM.UTORONTO.CA

Dr. Rhonda McEwen will be the ICCIT Program Director as of January 1st, 2019. fect of using touch-input devices such as iPads on learners with ADHD. Her findings “pointed out [that] there is a cognitive load that comes about with using these devices,” and that the “cognitive deficits [that result from] using these devices can be detrimental.” The book details how “using a twodimensional screen is much closer

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

McEwen remarks that the institute is now of a “nice size and not new and growing.”

to manipulating information [by oneself ] than watching someone manipulating information.”

McEwen was appointed as the Director of the ICCIT program at UTM for a 5-year term beginning January 1, 2019. Speaking of her new position, McEwen states that she is “really excited” to take on the role from Dr. Anthony Wensley, the inaugural director of the program. McEwen praises Wensley, who she says has, in the eight years he directed the program, “really built the institute into an exciting program [with] very strong and internationally recognized faculty and amazing students.”

McEwen remarks that since the institute is now “of a nice size and not new and growing,” it is a “fun time to take the baton” from Wensley, and “start to solidify, make strategic decisions, [and] make our program internationally known.”

As the director, she plans to create a mentorship program.

McEwen is also excited about “recently receiving approval for a Certificate in Experiential Learning that [they] are offering” as it will allow students to participate in paid work experience opportunities. She is currently “working with the leadership at UTM to find ways to cluster some of the things [they] do with other units.” She

explains that the topics taught and researched in the ICCIT program “may involve psychology, computer science, digital media” and other disciplines, and therefore, by clustering the different areas together, “[they] can push further in teaching and in research.”

When asked as to why she decided to take on the role of director, McEwen replies that she believes “it is a good time for me to help the institute in this new phase and offer my support.” She was the first tenured professor hired to teach in the program and has been at the institute for seven years as a faculty member. Additionally, McEwen has been closely working with Wensley and has received mentoring from him as well.

McEwen ends by stating that she is appreciative of the “great mix” of experiences she has had— “first in business and then tech consulting”—and the fact that she gets to incorporate them into her teaching. She has taught multiple courses, including first year introductory courses, courses based on research, and courses which involve examining human interaction with technology.

McEwen’s five-year term will span from January 1st, 2019 to December 31st, 2023.

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Mingling at “Meet the Grad Students” Last week, undergrads networked with grad students at the ECPS & EBS “Meet the Grad Students” event KEVIN KIM ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM JESSICA CABRAL FEATURES EDITOR

Last week, the Erindale Biology Society (EBS) and the Erindale Chemical and Physical Sciences Society (ECPS) collaborated on a “Meet the Grad Students” event which provided undergraduate students with the opportunity to network with post graduate alumni within fields such as biology, chemistry, medicine, physics, and bioinformatics.

Students with any interest in these respective fields were encouraged to attend, socialize, and enjoy food and fun raffle games. Many of the graduate students are currently undertaking research for their Ph.D. theses or undergoing post-graduate education, either in pursuit of a Master’s or Medical Degree.

According to Harsimran Garcha, the president of the ECPS and fourth-year studying biology and chemistry for health sciences, the purpose of the event was to facilitate discussion between undergrad and graduate students. In particular, she explains that the event can help students “learn about the process, when to apply, and how to apply [to graduate institutions].”

This is the first event of its kind that the societies have run. However, Garcha explained that “it was partially derived from our Meet the Profs Night.” Meet the Profs Night, which is typically held in the winter semester, provides prospective students with the ability to discover new research opportunities. Garcha explained that at Meet the Profs Night “Professors give summaries on what they do and it is overall a good way for students to find research.”

Throughout the event, graduate students generously shared advice

for endeavors both during and after an undergraduate degree. Connor Fitzpatrick, a graduate student in the ecology and evolution stream who studies the interaction between flora and fauna, explained to attendees the turbulent journey of his Ph.D. thesis and what it entailed. “My thesis was like a mosaic,” Fitzpatrick stated.

“Some people possess very linear theses that are straightforward; mine was much more complex.” After starting off by analyzing the specific interactions between plants and soil and the effects they have on each other, Fitzpatrick now works with bacteria and microorganisms.

After realizing that he wanted to do research, Fitzpatrick contacted prospective Ph.D. advisors. “Often, this can be a five or six-year commitment. It’s kind of like dating,” he remarked.

Similar stories resonated across the majority of the speakers invited to the event, where ambitions and aspirations changed over time.

Circles of undergrad students surrounded many of the speakers, absorbing wisdom and anecdotal advice. Nirlap Brar, a third-year psychology specialist at UTM, found the event distinguishable from similar networking events. The event fostered representation across a range of laboratories and professional institutions, and Brar considered the diverse group of speakers enriching, with the observation that “usually you only get a specific demographic of people at these kinds of networking events.”

Reflecting on some memorable moments of the event, Brar noted that general life experience was provided in equal measure to academic advice and enjoyed the inviting nature of the night. “People spoke about developing experience and applying skills. Overall, [the event] was extremely helpful. It was more like networking instead of a panel discussion. It was much more inter-

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Andrew Bloomfield enjoyed providing advice to the undergraduate students interested in research. active, and I feel like the people are more open and honest.”

The graduates attending the event ranged from individuals studying biochemistry, biological physics, and bioinformatics, to a first-year medical student from University of Toronto. Pawandeep Sandhu, a firstyear medical student from U of T, juggles his time between focusing on his medical studies while also playing on the UTM men’s varsity soccer team.

Ernest Prack and Fioralba Taullaj, two Ph.D. students studying chemistry, attended the event alongside Andrew Broomfield, a master’s student studying inorganic chemistry. All three conduct their research in Dr. Ulrich Fekl’s laboratory. Broomfield, in particular, looks at the “reactivity of adamantine, the smallest subunit of a diamond, with transition metals

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Graduate students shared advice for endeavors both during and after an undergraduate degree.

for drug design, catalysts, and materials applications.” In terms of future career goals, Broomfield is deciding between pursuing a Ph.D. and entering the industry or government sector after he completes his master’s degree.

Regarding his interest in chemistry, Broomfield explained that “a lot of fundamental chemistry comes out of inorganic labs, and often they’re at the forefront of practical science in general.” He explained that the chemistry he is involved in revolves around testing to see if it is practically possible to observe the same reactivity, that they see predicted computationally, in real world conditions.

“Any new reactivity that we are able to achieve is often extremely exciting,” Broomfield said. “In addition, most of the work we do is air and water sensitive, and you become very highly skilled in the ‘hand-on’ aspects of chemistry, which is often what I find is the most enjoyable.”

During his undergraduate experience, Broomfield felt that each semester differed, in terms of work load and his expectations.

“I think that the best advice that I could give to people is that not doing well one semester won’t ruin your life, or even your GPA. If you take positive actions, both in terms of setting realistic goals, and attaining good general health then you’ll be much better in the long run,” Broomfield remarked.

For Broomfield, the event was a “great experience” because he enjoyed talking and providing advice to the undergraduate students who were interested in research and professional school so that they are “better equipped to decide what they would like to do in the future and explore all the options available to them.”

Alex Orazietti, a fifth-year doctoral studies student in biochemistry working in Dr. Scott Prosser’s lab,

agreed with Broomfield. “It’s invigorating to meet students who retain a passion for their interests,” Orazietti said.

“It was great to be able to speak to students on [a one-on-one] fashion with no time constraints,” Broomfield noted. “Most of my contact with undergrads usually ends up being through TAing, which really doesn’t allow for much personal interaction.”

When asked about why he believes it is important to speak to undergraduate students about future career paths, Orazietti said that graduate students can provide undergrads with a glimpse into the variety of careers available to them catered towards the sciences.

“I believe it’s important to foster communication between the graduate community and the undergraduate one,” Orazietti explained. “I think most undergraduates in the sciences come in with the idea that they can pursue science with an eye towards joining a professional school such as medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy, or towards pursuing a career as an academic. This is a disservice to the wide array of careers related to the health sciences and the biotechnology industries.”

Broomfield shares much of the same perspective on the impact of the event. “I think it both inspires and informs undergrads about the options available, and that they can be flexible in their life path. Some students that I talked to didn’t even know inorganic chemistry was a field of study,” he said. “I think that many students end up fixated on one career path, so much so, that if that falls through they end up lost.

Not everyone can be a medical doctor, so it’s always good to at least be aware that other options exist, even if those options aren’t in academia.

Who knows, someone may not even be aware that their dream job exists.”

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THE MEDIUM 11.26.2018

Talking Canada-U.S. relations The U.S. Consular Section Chief visited POL203 lecture last Friday

A Day in the Future JENNY LIU FOURTH YEAR, CCIT & PWC BRITTANY SEMPLONIUS/THE MEDIUM

U.S. Consular Section Chief Sonya Tsiros spoke on the relations between the U.S. and Canada.

KEVIN KIM ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR Last Friday, POL203: Politics and Government of the United States, a course offered at UTM that focuses on the politics of the U.S. and, to a larger extent, North America, welcomed U.S. Consular Section Chief Sonya Tsiros to their lecture for a discussion on Canada and U.S. relations. As the U.S. Consular Section Chief, Tsiros acts as a governmental representative for the U.S. across consulates situated worldwide.

Her current posting, taking place in Ontario, has brought her to UTM to discuss the relations between the U.S. and Canada and what they encompass in detail. The presentation also included a brief overview of the history between the long-standing allies.

The alliance between the two countries is an enduring mutualistic relationship defined by more than their geographical adjacency. With an embassy and over eight consulates stationed within Canada alone, the U.S. government has made great pains to establish a pleasant relationship with both the government and the residents of Canada.

Tsiros touched upon just a few of the notable figures that work in liaison between the U.S. and Canada, such as Kelly Craft, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, and Greg Stanford, the Consul General. Although their roles differ in concept, both Craft and Stanford work towards similar goals: to facilitate discussion and distribution of information between a wide range of demographics across the country. Tsiros notes that Craft’s duties include “meeting with government officials […] lots of students, business groups.”

Another aspect that connects U.S. and Canada is their trade industries.

As the “world’s largest and most comprehensive trading relationship,” according to Tsiros, it is evident in the statistics that the two are heavily dependent on each other for both imports and exports—Canada proves to be the top consumer of goods for 36 out of 50 states.

In contrast to the typical nature of supply and demand, the military support that these two countries provide each other is not as obvious to their citizens. Alliances such as NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have bound the U.S. to Canada in an intergovernmental fashion

that also includes 27 other countries across North America and Europe.

“We [the U.S.] have really relied upon Canada […] and so that is also a large part of our relationship,” states Tsiros.

The environment and its deterioration in the wake of human activity has become an increasingly large concern on a global scale. In particular, between the border of the U.S. and Canada lie the Great Lakes, freshwater reserves of large proportions.

The two countries have cooperated in order to solve the environmental issues that surround these invaluable resources.

As the U.S. Consular Section Chief concluded her presentation, she opened the floor for the attending POL203 students to ask questions.

Although the questions varied widely in scope, the larger picture of politics, both within America and overseas, was encompassed in every question and inquiry. Ultimately, seeing as an overwhelming majority of Canada’s population lives within 100 miles of the border, it is beneficial to learn about the longstanding relationship between Canada and the U.S. and how that relationship impacts us as citizens.

I have always dreamt of a day in the future: I have dreamt of a day of resting by the gentle fire, with my hair grey and eyes full of sleep. As I feel my cheeks grow warm, I’ll remember something that only I will know. Something that raises the corners of my lips subtly. What I will remember would come from half a century ago, when I was in university––living my most daring years and meeting the most beautiful people.

Perhaps I’ll remember the first day of frosh when I stood amidst a sea of freshmen that shared the same anxiety and excitement as me. But most likely, I’ll remember the boy who sat on my right as we waited our turns for the introduction. This boy was the reason I wanted to attend every minute of frosh. During the last day of frosh week, we went to a beach party off-campus. I heard he was playing soccer, so I hopped outside to watch him play. It was the first and last time I saw him play soccer. With my tired old eyes, I might see him playing once again.

Maybe, I’ll remember the beautiful buildings UTM has, especially how

peaceful and quiet they are at night.

I still think the Instructional Building is the most impressive of them all. Glistening lights on the ceiling reflect from the floors and shine through the windows. But I’ll probably not remember that. I’ll remember the boy that sat right across from me at the wobbly table beside the window. He and I shared a conversation that lasted for hours; it didn’t feel like it would ever end, even after the last person had left the building.

Or, I might think of that one year working for UTM Residence. I made so many new connections and pushed myself to try so many new experiences. It became my busiest year, with endless workshops, meetings, assignments, and lectures.

But I’ll probably be thinking about something else––the boy who made me toss and turn in my bed so many nights when I was alone. The boy that broke my heart when he told me he accepted a job, which required him to move out of province right after he graduates.

For so many college sweethearts, graduation might be one of the biggest threats to a relationship. But I wish for myself the best-case scenario, for how nice it must be, during that day in the future, to have someone to hold my wrinkled old hand.

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Women’s basketball shows resilience The women’s basketball team played the Humber Hawks last Wednesday in a hard-fought match VANESSA CESARIO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

This past Wednesday, November 21st our UTM Eagles faced off against the Humber Hawks in an exciting game of basketball. Humber is currently second in the league, having only lost one game in the season thus far.

At the start of the first quarter, Humber won the toss where they were given two immediate chances to score but couldn’t sink either of the baskets.

The game started off extremely fastpaced with both teams getting equal number of opportunities to score.

Finally, after three minutes into the quarter, Humber broke the cycle with back-to-back two-pointers, making them ahead 4-0. Soon after this, Humber gets their third basket of the game making UTM now trail by 6.

UTM’s star player, Jade Addai, was using her incredible speed to attack down the court, but couldn’t seem to bury it. With 1:30 left in the quarter, Victoria Silva finally gets UTM’s first basket of the game, but this was unfortunately followed by a Humber two-pointer, ending the quarter at a low 8-2 score.

Going into the second quarter, Humber unfortunately gets the first basket once again. However, Trisha Ann Vo was quick to match this with a basket of her own, leaving the score at 10-4. Viado gets the first threepointer of the game which was then

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Despite the Eagle’s efforts, UTM lost 69-56 against Humber Hawks. followed by a Humber three-pointer.

The game was incredibly fast-paced with UTM working hard to equalize the scoreboard and Humber working just as hard to keep their lead.

So many shots were taken from both ends, but both teams were struggling to sink a basket. Humber finally began scoring, leaving UTM to trail further and further behind. A foul on Addai led to her taking two free throws where, of course, in classic Addai fashion, she sinks both to make the score 24-11. Immediately following this, Addai steals the ball back in the UTM zone and speeds past the Humber defense to gain two more points for UTM. With the score starting to close up, an unfortunate foul on UTM led to Humber gaining two

more points from free throws which was followed by another Humber basket. However, a foul on Vo leads to an and-1 where she sank a three and also scored her free throw. With seconds left on the clock, the Humber player scores a backwards layup, leaving UTM to trail 30-17 at the end of the half.

The third quarter began with an astounding amount of chances for UTM where Jiana Alnajjar finally sank one. However, Humber was quick to match this where they maintained their 13-point lead at 32-19. A couple fouls on UTM led to Humber running further away on the scoreboard. There was a ton of back and forth play, but Humber really ramped it up this quarter and were rarely

missing baskets, unlike UTM who always seemed to miss. With Humber capitalizing on every opportunity, they were ahead by 22-points at 4624. UTM was scoring, but for every UTM basket came two Humber baskets. UTM was working hard to catch up, but they were no match against Humber’s quick passing and textbook plays. The score wasn’t looking favourable for UTM at 50-32.

The start of the fourth quarter was not looking good for UTM with Humber gaining five points before UTM even got one. Addai and rookie, Pinar Kahraman, got back-to-back layups, but Humber was quick to put a stop to this with two baskets of their own. With the score 59-36, Eagles fans had just about given up on the

game when an incredible play by Vo to Kahraman led to a two-pointer.

And then Addai to Viado led to another layup immediately after. With some life added back onto the court, Kahraman nails another layup, closing the gap even further. With UTM on a scoring streak, Addai sinks another leaving the score at 55-44 before a timeout is called by Humber. With five minutes left in the game, the score slowly starts to tighten back up, sparking some hope back into Eagles fans. Although Humber broke the streak with a three-pointer, UTM was relentless and maintained their momentum as they clapped right back with a basket of their own. Viado began getting fancy with her dribbling and beat out the Humber players to get a two-pointer. Immediately following this, a steal leads to a UTM counter where Viado nails yet another three, pumping the crowd up even more. Despite the sheer effort the women put into the game, the score deficit was too big for UTM to catch up to. With Priyanka Mehla getting the last basket of the game, the score rested at 69-56.

The score truly did not reflect the performance of the UTM team. The women played with persistence and an incredible amount of determination. Honourable mentions go to Addai and Viado for keeping the score deficit as tight as possible and truly acting as UTM’s MVP’s of the game.

Cycle-barre fusion: a two-part workout Cycle-Barre Fusion classes are essentially the integrating of both cycling and resistance band exercises

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Cycling is only the beginning of Cycle-Barre Fusion classes.

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The RAWC hosts several complementary fitness classes of various kinds for UTM students. Last week on Wednesday, November 21st they had a class on Cycle-Barre Fusion in

the Fitness Studio. This class basically constituted of an indoor cycling segment combined with exercises using resistance bands. For the novices or individuals whose daily exercise is derived primarily from running between classes, cycle-barre fusion can be an exceedingly intense experience.

A vital tip is to always bring along a

healthy drink for dehydration, eat a balanced breakfast and bring a towel along for the tons of sweating.

The indoor cycling segment is meant as a cardio exercise to initially get your heart pumping. It was pointed out that throughout the cycling, one must keep his back straight and adjust the level of resistance of the pedals to their preference. The speed on the indoor cycle is measured in terms of rotations per minute. The instructor started the class off with an RPM ranging 80-90 and was the recommended speed throughout the class, while being punctuated by short bursts of activity. There were in fact two types of activity emphasized towards the latter half of this segment. The first was a sprinting workout where individuals lowered their upper half of body, ducking low and sprinting as fast as they could for about 20 seconds. The other type focused on intensity, where individuals stood up on their cycle and pedaled as fast as they could. This latter workout was really useful in burning up the muscles in the thighs.

The latter half of the class was fo-

cused on exercises using resistance bands. These were simply long elastic bands that could be used to provide resistance to your muscles as you stretch in various workouts. To illustrate, in Dragon Ball Z, the writer invented a gravity machine where fighters could train under a higher intensity of gravitation force pulling them down, thereby imbuing each workout with that much more strength and pressure. Resistance bands have a similar effect by blending in with countless forms of exercises and allowing you to exert much more energy in a shorter time period.

Although the workouts did go over various muscles of the body including abs, thighs, biceps and glutes, they were mainly inspired by Pilates to strengthen the core stabilizers.

The instructor led the class through several different kinds of workouts over the thirty minutes. The class did bicep curls where they stood straight and planted their feet in the middle of the band, while pulling on the two ends by extending and lowering their forearms. Another was kickback, where one gets in a plank position,

the band circles around the body, with the ends being held in both hands and the middle adhering to the soles of the foot. Hence, one could extend and compress the band by pushing and pulling the leg. Other workouts included shoulder reach, squats, cross body reach, lateral raises, tricep extension, reverse wood chop, as well as others. The class ended off with workouts on the exercise mats to cool down with some stretches that helped unwind from the preceding intensity of the workouts. Overall, the exercise regime was quite thorough, having imparted considerable stress and micro tears over various muscles to leave the individual physically refreshed.

As a side note, it is important for novices to also remember that after the class is over, one must do the courtesy of wiping his mat, bicycle and putting all the equipment back into its place. In summary, the cyclebarre fusion is quite an exquisite regime, especially in the morning to invigorate yourself with an exhaustive workout, before starting the day being physically keen.

12

«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 11.26.2018

‘Just keep running!’ Hawks defeat Shawn Faizi is known as the funny guy who’s always late

our eagles

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Eagles and Hawks spent a lot of time going back and forth.

MIGUEL DASILVA

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Shawn Faizi is a fifth-year student playing on the men’s varsity soccer team for the third year.

SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD

To his friends, Shawn Faizi is known as the funny guy with the wacky hair, who’s always late. Out on the soccer pitch, as a left back, Faizi is considered one of the hardest working players. “Keep running, keep running, keep running!” Faizi remembers his former UTM coach always telling him, pushing him to leave it all out on the pitch. To be the guy with most energy. To be the guy putting in the most work, so his teammates wouldn’t have to. Now in his final year at UTM, Faizi spent the last three years on UTM’s men’s varsity soccer team doing just that.

Shawn Faizi is a fifth-year student at UTM, in his third year playing for UTM. He will graduate from UTM having completed a major in Psychology and a double minor in both Biology and Sociology. Faizi is particularity fond of biology because of his love of anatomy.

“Soccer isn’t big in my family. My family, even my cousins born here, don’t like soccer. I’m the only that’s into it, that plays,” says Faizi, who was first introduced to the game at 7-years-old. The sport was just one of the many physical activities his

parents, recent immigrants from Afghanistan, found affordable enough to sign him up for. Growing up in his hometown, the city of Scarborough, Faizi did swimming, baseball, basketball, and would have played hockey if it hadn’t been too expensive. “I was actually pretty good at basketball. But apparently, I didn’t like it,” he jokes.

Faizi echoes the many UTM athletes who are proud of how far the athletic program has come since its first year in the OCAA in 2015. Now, in its fourth year of competition, UTM’s varsity men’s soccer team has come a long way, advancing to their first OCAA Provincials in October.

They finished sixth in the province, but Faizi believes there’s been major strides made in UTM’s competitiveness within their league, and that young players like Jamari Whyte and Zimba Galloway, are leading the way towards a successful future.

However, strides in athletic presence isn’t the only improvement. The varsity soccer program started when Faizi was in his second year, but he didn’t know about it. Though late to the party, he’s incredibly glad to be a part of the family. “When I see Humber and some of these elite schools, the way they do their games and their rituals, you can see there’s a strong

bond. I can see the same thing starting to happen within UTM athletics.”

Faizi sees this bond growing as UTM continues to develop their already thriving athletic reputation.

“It was Coach Rick who really taught me how to work hard. And I just try to continue doing that whenever I go out onto the field,” Faizi says.

“I’ve learned a lot during my time here at UTM. Being a part of this team, and UTM athletics, has taught me how to communicate better, meet new people, build relationships and connections. And also, time management. I’m always late, but I think I’m a lot better with it now.”

It’s clear Faizi’s love for working hard doesn’t stop on the soccer pitch.

It extends to his involvement within UTM’s athletic community, his academics and future plans as well. Faizi serves as a UTM Intramurals Soccer official and also volunteers as part of UTM’s Athletic Council as part of their promo team. And next summer, Faizi leaves Scarborough to start a five-year Dentistry program in Spain.

But until then, Shawn wants to try his hand at coaching, to instill the same principles and work ethic his coaches and idols inspired in him into the developing players on UTM’s men’s dleague soccer team.

This Wednesday, November 21st the UTM men’s basketball team lost a high scoring affair against the Humber Hawks 91-77 to bring their record to 3-5 in the season.

Fans turned out in droves to watch their Eagles play and there was an excited buzz in the crowd during the whole game. The Eagles basketball games always manage to produce a fun atmosphere and tonight was no different.

The Hawks jumped to an early lead with some clinical three-point shooting and the Eagles found themselves down 11-3 after just three minutes of basketball. They answered the deep shooting from the Hawks with their own long-range game as the crowd roared for back-to-back three pointers from Nicholas Kwantwi into the final five minutes of the first quarter to make the score 13-18 and forcing Humber Hawks to take a time-out.

They cut Humber’s lead to two points going into the second quarter, but that is the closest they would get to leading the Hawks.

In the second quarter, the guards started to run the court freely and pace picked up for both teams. This worked in UTM’s favor, tiring out the Hawks’ big men but they couldn’t gather up defensive rebounds and allowed far too many second chance opportunities. In a game as close as this, with both teams shooting at a high percentage, every offensive board makes a difference and the Humber Hawks were able to own

the paint and it helped them win the game. Down 42-34 into the half the Eagles were still in striking distance and the crowd wasn’t ready to pack it in and leave just yet.

The Eagles and the Hawks spent most of their time flying back and forth and trading buckets for the second half of the game, which the Hawks were content with as they held onto a fluctuating eight to ten-point lead on the Eagles. The Eagles strong defense managed to seriously slow down the Hawks shooters, but they weren’t rewarded with rebounds and were forced to defend for up to two minutes at a time. It was like a broken record. Eagles played good defense, forced the Hawks into a poor shot, lost the rebound to the Hawks, and the pattern would repeat. Other than this one flaw it was very much a close game and one that the Eagles will feel they could have won.

UTM called a time out at the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter to try and rally the troops for one last attempt at the lead. Gregory Roberts and Zamam Khan showed out and they combined to drop over 40 points in the game, but they just didn’t seem to be able get the much-needed defensive stops when it came down to the final stretch. Even John Filaber tried to energize his team with a monster block on Humber Hawks attempted dunk. Their best efforts couldn’t pull them any closer than the momentary two-point deficit early in the game and they conceded to a much deserving Hawks team.

Do Gen Z’s eat out more?

Generation Z and Millennials eat out more than baby boomers SYEDA HASAN

If you’ve ever walked into the room of a Millennial or Generation Z individual, you’ll know that it is quite impossible to navigate your way through it without tripping over empty pizza boxes and half-eaten Chinese takeout containers. According to the Business Dictionary, the term ‘millennial’ refers to the group of people born between the 1980’s and 1990s.

On the other hand, the Urban Dictionary defines the term ‘Generation Z’ as the generation that was born between 1995 and 2009. In other words, Generation Z is the generation born completely within the technological age.

These two generations are notorious for constantly eating out instead of consuming home-cooked meals. In 2016 alone, Gen Z-ers spent $78 bil-

lion at restaurants, and around 1/5th of their budget is spent on food, according to QSR Magazine. Furthermore, according to a study conducted by the Center for Generational Kinetics in collaboration with the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, 24 per cent of Generation Z and 21 per cent of Millennials order takeout around three to four times a week. Compared to these figures, only 17 per cent of Generation Xers and 6 per cent of baby boomers order takeout during the same timings, according to The Huffington Post.

The aforementioned facts have proven to be true as students at UTM usually follow similar patterns as well.

Mashal Khan, a fourth-year Digital Enterprise Management student, says, “I love spending the time to eat some good food. I mostly eat out though and I think it is because of my university schedule.” Khan eats out

on a weekly basis and has no issues paying a large sum on takeout food.

“Food is one thing that I can’t negotiate on. Whether it’d be homemade food or outside food. I spend around $10-$15 on food per week.” Maya Khan, a third-year Environmental Science student, possesses the same thoughts as well. “I also eat out on a weekly basis and spend around $10 on my meals.”

Along with it being a personal preference, both Mashal Khan and Maya Khan believe that time also plays a critical role in choosing to eat out or ordering takeout. Mashal Khan states, “Going to university four days a week has led me into the habit of eating out more since I spend most of my time in university. I usually don’t bring much food from home either so I have to buy something from campus and eat it.” Furthermore, Maya Khan claims that she has such a hectic schedule

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Gen Z-ers spend 1/5th of their budget on food alone. that she doesn’t have enough time to purchase and prepare the ingredients needed to create a proper homecooked meal. “On the days I wake up early, I do, of course, make my own breakfast, but other than that, I rarely have time.” Winky Tsang, a fourthyear Linguistics major, also prefers to eat out because she is able to save the time needed to cook and clean up after herself.

At the end of the day, Millennial and Generation Z’s choice to eat out

more often is a combination of both preference and need. Social media platforms have introduced a culture of eating as a form of socialization and so most people usually prefer to dine out so they are able to meet up with others in a vibrant and fun setting. But the presence of a busy schedule forces others to skip home-cooked meals and stick to grabbing readymade sandwiches, bagels, or just the usual slice of pizza.