Search for a new CAO
A film is more than an escape
Care at the gallery
Why are we always first?
From Hogwarts to UTM
News, page 2
Opinion, page 4
Arts, page 5
Features, page 8
Sports, page 11
New renovations to Davis approved The Davis renovations will be completed in phases in order to limit disruptions to students and staff ALICIA BOATTO NEWS EDITOR
The Campus Affairs Committee convened last week to review the timeline of the William G. Davis building renovations, as well as establishing a new extra departmental unit for urban environments. The renovations for a new food court and meeting place within the Davis building are set to begin this year. However, demolition will not start until March of 2018 with the projected completion date being August of 2019. The renovated areas will encompass the current “meeting place” in Davis and the TFC. According to Paul Donoghue, the chief administrative officer, the original project was proposed in 2006 but put on hold as the campus experienced rapid expansion and the need for new learning spaces increased. Donoghue continued to say that the construction will be completed in phases in order to keep part of the
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The current “meeting place” in Davis Building will be part of the areas of renovation. current Davis food court available to students during the 20-month construction period. The area will be thoroughly sectioned off at the time of demolition, in an effort to minimize as much noise as possible with some of the construction taking place at night.
The result of the renovations is expected to greatly increase the amount of seating areas within the Davis building, and will be utilizing the former registrar space with the attempt to maximize capacity. It’s expected that the renovations will be able to host 10 additional food
vendors. However, it has not been confirmed at this time if the new food locations will be supplied from Chartwells or outside corporations. In addition to the renovated food court, the administration aims to update the main entrance to the Davis building. The current entrance will
be extended outward towards the bus lanes in order to provide a larger vestibule within the building. The project will also be raising the pavement outside the main entrance, in order to eliminate the high steps and improve the building’s accessibility. Donoghue stated that no parking spaces outside of Davis will be compromised or lost. However, a refiguration of the parking spaces will take place. The project also strives to update the existing washrooms in Davis. When pressed by the committee about increasing the amount of restrooms available and extending the restrooms throughout the building, Donoghue said the locations of bathrooms still needs to be discussed with the contractors. The committee carried the design development and construction motion to be passed forth to the governing council in October 2017. The CAC did not specify the projected total cost of the overall project. Campus continued on page 2
UTM approves collaboration with OISE Academic Affairs announced combined programs to help students earn their teaching degree faster TANISHA KUMAR The Academic Affairs Committee passed a motion approving a new collaboration program, referred to as the Major Modification: New Combined Degree Programs, between 19 University of Toronto Mississauga undergraduate courses and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education master of teaching degree. The undergraduate programs involved in this program will be the Departments of Biology, Chemical & Physical Sciences, Mathematical & Computational Sciences, and Language Studies, as well as the forensic science program, which will be administered through the Department of Anthropology. According to the committee’s agenda, “the proposed combined degree programs will provide our strongest students with the opportunity to gain early (conditional) graduate admission (in Year 3 of undergraduate study), a clear pathway towards
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A motion was passed to approve a collaborative program between UTM and OISE. the teaching profession, access to an enriched combination of academic programs, early exposure to graduate level courses, and a reduced course
load while completing their MT [Master of Teaching] “After Year 4, students will confer their undergraduate Bachelor of Sci-
ence or Arts degree and receive a full offer of admission to the Master of Teaching Program at OISE (provided they fulfill all the conditional admis-
sion requirements). In the remaining two years of the Combined Degree Program (Years 5 and 6), students will complete 9.0 FCE of graduate level courses to earn their Master of Teaching degree,” continued the agenda. By their fourth year, students will have already completed their undergraduate specialist or major, and have earned enough credits to have completed their first teaching subject. The program is designed to give students an opportunity to pursue their degree at two learning-centric institutions, allowing them to take graduate level courses at an early stage, which will reduce their overall workload. The OISE faculty will be discussing this program in October 2017 during their administrative council meet, whereas the program is anticipated to take effect as of September 1st of 2018. Academic continued on page 2
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THE MEDIUM 09.18.2017
UTM collaborative program
September 7th, 2017 Police Information Campus Police were called to attend a residence unit filling with smoke. Cause of fire deemed to be a barbecue. September 12th, 2017 By-Law Campus Police received reports of people smoking on the Starbucks patio. Campus Police would like to remind students that there is no smoking on this patio.
September 8th, 2017 Police Assistance Campus Police were called to attend the Instructional Centre for student experiencing medical distress. EMS attended and student was taken home by friends. September 12th, 2017 By-Law Campus Police received reports of people soliciting on campus. Upon arrival, they were gone.
These reports are those that have been released to The Medium from Campus Police 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.
CR/NCR deadline extension reviewed
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The CUE will be a collaborative project amongst departments across U of T’s three campuses. Campus continued from cover The committee also reviewed the implementation of a new extra departmental unit for a Centre for Urban Environments, which is still under development by the Office of the Vice-Principal Academic and Dean. The new centre is a multi-disciplinary research unit with a specific area of research in a particular area of academic work and is meant to encourage research and scholarly interest in the area established.
“The Centre for Urban Environments will address urban environmental challenges by supporting research, collaborations, training, teaching and outreach missions in this area,” read the committee’s agenda. “This will be accomplished by bringing together faculty and organizations in diverse units across all three campuses at U of T, and by assisting with the development of new courses, experiential learning opportunities, and academic programs.”
The program is currently seeing involvement with anthropology, biology, geography, and political science departments. Amrita Daniere, UTM’s vicepresident academic and dean, stated that the CUE will exist as a virtual space that will hold an online presence. Students can reach out to the faculty involved in the project to learn of new opportunities. The committee passed the motion to establish the CUE by January 1st of 2018.
Paul Donoghue leaves UTM Interim CAO announced in lieu of permanent replacement
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The CR/NCR deadline extension is under review.
Academic continued from cover Also presented during the Academic Affairs Committee meeting were the UTM Program Plans by the Career Centre. The Program Plans is a reference guide to all undergraduate students that gives them access to UTM’s resources. It also shows students available career opportunities, the courses available, and gives students the opportunity to get involved with activities related to their academic programs. The committee also discussed extending the deadline for the credit/no credit policy, which was implemented in 2011, to become by the last day of classes instead of the current option which is the final course drop date. The meeting’s agenda proposed that “for courses with a final examination, students must choose CR/ NCR by the final day of classes in the term the course is offered, provided the student has not yet written the final exam,” read the Committee’s agenda. “In courses with no final exam, the
student must not have written the final test or submitted the final assignment.” The implementation of this policy is still under administrative review.
The CR/NCR deadline extension will need to be approved through UTM’s governing bodies before implementation. The committee approved the motion causing the new extension of the credit/no credit policy to be approved as of September 14th. The committee did not specify when the new extension would be anticipated to be put into effect. VP university academics and affairs Maya Tomkiewicz did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication regarding UTMSU’s role in the extension approval.
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UTM’s current chief administrative officer will transition out of his role at the end of September. FATIMA WASIF
Paul Donoghue, UTM’s chief administrative officer, retires from his position at the end of September. “It has been a remarkable journey for which I am grateful,” Donoghue said in an email to The Medium. “I think we should, collectively, be very proud of what we have achieved at UTM, and excited about being strongly positioned to continue to realize our aspirations in the years ahead.” Donoghue has served as UTM’s CAO for 11 years and has worked to enable campus growth by increasing existent resources and offering administrative assistance to build a better experience for the student population, as well as staff and faculty members. He has also been re-
sponsible for planning construction projects, budgeting, overseeing human resources, and overseeing the hospitality and retail department.
Donoghue has been in the role as CAO for eleven years and has overseen the campus grow expotentially during his time in office. “I have had the chance to work with many remarkable people: faculty, staff and students,” Donoghue continued, “I think we have been able to build upon those institutional characteristics that makes us a very special place for all of the UTM community.”
During his time in office, new infrastructure and governance systems have been developed to allow the school to better fit into its role as part of the tri-campus structure of the university as a whole. Beginning October 2017 to July 2018, Susan Senese, director of information and instructional technology, will serve as UTM’s interim CAO. University of Toronto Mississauga’s principal, Ulrich Krull, will begin a search for a permanent replacement of the CAO. According to Donoghue, a firm deadline for establishing a permanent CAO has not been set yet, as job searches for the administrative roles of chief librarian and registrar will take place at the same time as the search for the CAO, as well.
U of T receives new funds Over $52 million research funds granted to U of T faculty
09.18.2017 THE MEDIUM NEWS
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Emma Schofield 1st year, Life Sciences
Amir Khan 4th year, PWC
“More student opportunities.”
“Horoscopes.”
Sagal Mohamed 4th year, Biology
Adam Sarouji 2nd year, Linguistics
“More club postings.”
“Recent and local band reviews.”
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The funding comes as part of a larger federal interest in expanding university research. WARD SUROUR
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada presented a grant worth $52.6 million to 350 University of Toronto researchers. The NSERC presents its largest annual funding to aid researchers through financial means by equipment grants, scholarships, and research enhancements. The range of research topics that the grant was provided for include the formation of galaxies and planets, producing safer drinking water, and improving neural networks to increase the popularity of artificial intelligence. “By giving scientists the opportunity to pursue the answers to some of their most profound questions, our government is investing in a wealth of new knowledge and innovation that will help us build a bolder, brighter future for all people,” said Chrystia Freeland, the foreign affairs minister in a U of T news release. One of the 350 researchers from U
of T that were granted funding was Miriam Diamond, an earth sciences professor. Diamond’s work extensively surrounds the ways to lessen chemical exposure on Canadian households. From UTM, 15 faculty researchers were the recipients of the NSERC funding such as professor Michael Philips from the Department of Biology. Philips’ project focuses on the “control of flux and adaptive responses at the interface of primary and secondary plant metabolism.” From UTM’s Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, professor Jochen Halfar is “reconstructing centuries of Arctic climate and sea ice conditions using annually-banded coralline algae.” Professor Stanislav Volgushev from UTM’s Mathematical and Computational Sciences is focusing on the “distributional effects and computational challenges in modern data analysis.” Psychology professor Keisuke Fukuda is researching “EEG-based re-
al-time monitoring and intervention of human memory.” Both University of Toronto president, Meric Gertler, and vice-president, Vivek Goel, voiced their support of the university’s investments in research. “It remains important for the federal government to act on all 35 of the recommendations made by the Canada’s Fundamental Science Review panel,” stated Gertler in a U of T news release. “We’re extremely proud of the students and faculty who are among the recipients of this year’s NSERC grants. Not only are they current and future leaders in their fields, their research is also a major reason for why the University of Toronto is consistently ranked one of the top research universities in the world,” Goel added. The $52.6 million grant for U of T is part of the federal government’s larger $515 million research fund initiative to expand research opportunities.
Academic Advocacy educates students
U of T ranks first in Canada
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There was a low student turnout for majority of the festivities.
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U of T maintained its top ranking in Canada and placed 22nd best school in the world. SHARMEEN ABEDI The University of Toronto was named the top Canadian university for the eighth year in a row, according to the latest Times Higher Education rankings. It was also ranked the 22nd top university in the world, tied with National University of Singapore. Vivek Goel, U of T’s vice-president of research and innovation, commented, “we’re proud the University of Toronto has once again been named one of the top global
universities, which demonstrates the tremendous impact of our research and our world-class performance in teaching.” He also expressed his thoughts on the recommendations made for the Canadian government that, “For Canada to continue to be seen as an important international leader in critical research, our universities need to have all 35 of the Naylor report recommendations acted upon by the federal government.” Several countries in Asia have moved up the global rankings by in-
vesting in research and faculty. According to a report by The Globe and Mail on September 5th, Canadian universities and researchers are urging the Liberal government to accept recommendations to increase federal grants made by the Canada’s Fundamental Science Review panel in order to avoid any cuts in research funding, which could result in a drop in global standards. The report is said to strengthen Canada’s research system, which in turn drives economic growth that leads to discoveries and innovation.
The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union held its Academic Advocacy Week last week, where it advertised opportunities for students to meet their professors and student societies, in an effort to educate then on their rights within U of T. According to the unions Facebook event page, the week provided students the opportunity to “learn the necessary academic skills needed to succeed on the UTM campus.” The student union tested and educated students about academic integrity through an interactive booth located outside of the Student Centre. The information at the
info booth reviewed policies such as how using a laptop in class is in fact not a student right, whereas students have a right to refuse Turnitin. Whereas the “Meet your Professors” event on Wednesday was attended by only two UTM professors and was cut short due to the low attendance, the concluding barbecue event on Thursday featured the highest attendance comparatively. UTMSU’s vice-president university affairs and academics, Maya Tomkiewicz, did not return The Medium’s request for comment regarding the turnout of the week, and what the union hoped to gain from the events.
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MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Mahmoud Sarouji editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Menna Elnaka managing@themedium.ca News Alicia Boatto news@themedium.ca A&E Kassandra Hangdaan arts@themedium.ca Features Mahnoor Ayub features@themedium.ca Sports Vanessa Cesario sports@themedium.ca — Photo Olivia Adamczyk photos@themedium.ca Design Mirabelle Eze design@themedium.ca Copy Ayesha Tak copy@themedium.ca Online Meg Sharpley online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News TBA A&E TBA Features TBA Sports TBA Photo TBA Copy TBA GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Florence Cao web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Alison Ross 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. 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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Experience film the right way Do not underestimate the power of film and its grasp on the human condition I recently had the chance to go watch It and wow, not what I expected at all. Watching the film sparked a discussion with my friends about the importance of great films like It. A film/movie is something much more than a piece of entertainment. To me, it isn’t a mode of escape, nor is watching a film something that you do just to pass some time. A film is a piece of work that gives you a window into the world of human life. A film takes you in and shows you human life in a very different form. You become a part of a narrative that explores an abundance of emotions. If you really think about a film, it rarely shows you every mundane thing us as humans do as we live our lives. A film takes the most important moments of a life and pieces it together to create a story. This is almost exactly how our minds think. When we recall various memories, we visualize the most important moments, rather than every little aspect of the memory. We create mini movies in our minds. Each time you watch the story on the screen, you become aware of various nuances that either ruin the film or enhance it. Why is it important then that we stop viewing films as pieces of entertainment and instead as visualizations of human life? Well, because without films, we don’t understand ourselves—we don’t understand what our emotions and actions can and will mean to ourselves. Human life is blown up in a film to show you fragments of time in an effort to draw you into the life of another human, being, thing, etc. so that you can be a part of their experience. When you go to watch a film, you’re not escaping from anything. How can you escape from yourself only to watch the troubles and conflicts of those on screen within a narrative? You’re connecting your experiences to what’s on screen, or you’re learning from the experiences on screen to deal with your own. While watching a film, you become a part of a narrative—you focus on understanding and solving the problems with the characters on the screen, while eagerly awaiting their actions. An action film will take you into a world of sequences that happen rapidly and keep you on your feet. An emotional film will force you to
become a part of the characters and identify with them to feel for them and be just as emotional as they are. The magic of film brings you closer to the world on the screen. As you’re drawn in, you begin to analyze the human condition from the perspective of yourself. Think about a film that you loved. A film that forced you to leave the theatre and engage in a heavy discussion about what you had just seen. Did you cry at the end when the character died? Laugh when the character made a joke? Did that film push you to ask questions and beg for answers? Google explanations about the film? Did the film move you? Such a film pushes you to go through a process of self-reflection and trying to understand the film from your experiences. Now we forget, a lot of the films we see were built and created from the start with a pen and paper. The writer of these films and screenplays took a story and created the characters within the story. Essentially, they’re molding and creating humans that will allow for the story to progress. They want to create characters that you’ll like and dislike, and all of it is for you, the viewer. To me, that’s insane. There are people creating and visualizing stories, and it all begins with an idea. It goes from an idea, to multiple years of production of a piece of work that’ll teach, excite, scare, and induce tears. A film pushes you to learn and understand yourself from these experiences of characters created by other people. This applies to any genre or any film. When a film is created, the ultimate goal is always to create a narrative that has characters who perform actions for very specific reasons. From there, you as the viewer assess whether or not their actions are ones you agree with. These actions are molded by directors and writers, and in order to mold them, you have to really think about why the action would happen. What pushed these characters to bring themselves to this point in the story? All of this for you to watch, enjoy, and learn what it means to act in a certain way. We have all made references to films in our lives, and even thought to ourselves of moments in our lives that we wish could have been molded differently. Or we reimagine our lives in certain ways to satisfy ourselves.
We also imagine what could happen, and what we believe would be the perfect way for situations to happen. An example that you can all probably attest to is understanding your future and trying to figure it out. We all create the perfect situation of what we believe in our minds would constitute the ideal life. You continuously run this imagery in your mind in hopes that you’ll one day be there. Just by doing this, you’re creating a mini movie of your future. You’re creating a narrative that you hope your experiences will hopefully mold, experiences that will lead to the happy ending we all want, but never get. Filmmaking and storytelling is such an important part of our lives that we forget what we’d do without it. From practicing a religion to reading a book to watching a movie, we’re either reading, listening, watching, or telling a story of some sort, all the time. Watching a film clarifies the way in which your own life is a story. You become aware of actions and behaviours and you begin to imagine yourself in those situations. You identify with the characters or you don’t, and you become aware of who you are through the films you watch, not just by yourself, but with others. Which brings me to my next point, the theatre. You don’t have to go to the theatre anymore when you have access to streaming services like Netflix, the ability to torrent movies from The Pirate Bay, or the patience to wait until movies become available on Blu-Ray, right? The movie theater is just somewhere you go every so often correct? I completely disagree. Viewing a film from the comfort of your own home by yourself, under your blanket, with a bowl of chips is not how a movie is meant to be watched. One of my cinema professors once taught me that going to watch a film is a collective action. You go, sit with a group of strangers, and you become one and bond over one thing, the film. You laugh, cry, smile, be afraid, and scream together. People you’ve never met will go through these emotions with you. A film can bring people together and bring change in a person’s heart or mind. And all of this can only be done while viewing a film in a theatre. To become one with the audience members, you all need to watch it on a screen as large as the ones in the
theatre. Take the movie It for example. If I watched that at home, where I could pause and play it, this would have resulted in a terrible movie watching experience. You draw yourself out of the narrative when you do that. In a theatre, you’re forced to sit and experience the entirety of the film with no phones, no pausing and playing, and no distractions. Watching It in the theatre allowed me to fully experience the terrifying, horrific, and downright monstrous wrath of Pennywise the dancing clown and feel my fears grow as the narrative progressed. It comes down to understanding that watching a movie in a theatre means you’re ready to enjoy every minute. Not because you paid for it, but because a theater brings people together when they’re separated, and makes them feel emotions all together when they’ve felt none before. I don’t want to tell you that you have to view films exactly how I do. However, I want you to understand how the power of film and the magic of movies come to fruition. Film is important because it helps us define ourselves and gives us a glimpse into the human condition. This, my friends, is why films aren’t merely escapes or pure entertainment. A film will tell the world a story, and with that story is the power to change the world, or maybe just a single person’s world.
YOURS, MAHMOUD SAROUJI
CORRECTION NOTICE The Sept. 11 article, “U of T begins bargaining with labour union” has been corrected. The article originally stated that the U of T administration was not permitted to discuss terms of the bargaining process while negotions were underway. It also stated that both sides (U of T administration and CUPE3902) acknowledged that a strike is always a possibility but as a last resolt. A quote from U of T director of media relations, Althea Blackburn-Evans, was included to add clarification.
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Should we care about notions of care? The Blackwood Gallery’s newest exhibit tells a new story about how we distribute care in our society PAULA CHO Habits of Care, an exhibition hosted by The Blackwood Gallery, is one in a series of gallery exhibitions addressing cultural visibility and attitudes toward the notion of care. The art reception featured pieces highlighting where care in our society is most invested and where it falls short, as well as how we can develop new habits of care in a contemporary context for individuals and groups who often feel overlooked. The first thing I notice upon entering the gallery is the disarray of colorful balls scattered on the concrete floor in front of me; the bright colors vividly contrast against the clean, minimalistic aesthetic of the rest of the exhibit. Immediately, I am reminded of the playdough I used to love molding into different shapes as a child. The name of the display is “Corps Étrangers”, by Claire Fontaine, directly translates to “foreign bodies.” From the program pamphlet, I learn that the balls are actually mini balloons filled with whole oats and canary seeds, meant to imitate props used in gymnastics. These props initially cause discomfort to the body, but when used, also help release tension in certain muscles. The idea of
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Laura Yuile and Paul Meheke raise questions through art about society’s quality of care services. these props connects with the theme of the exhibit as they represent foreigners first entering a society: initially neglected and uncomfortable with their new surroundings, they can add diversity and richness to a community. As I walk further into the gallery, an overwhelming scent of eucalyptus and citrus fills the air. One of the main pieces of the exhibit is Laura Yuile’s sculpture entitled “Mother Figure
#4”, which she was maintaining—or constantly revising—throughout the reception by moisturizing and shaping with fragrance oils and glass wax. Her sculpture appears to be the figure of a woman with a missing left leg. She explained how her crumbling soap mannequin will degrade over the course of the exhibition, no matter her attempts to maintain it. Yuile stated that this is an attempt to showcase the “contrast between worship of
the female form and women’s labour to maintain their youthfully attractive bodies.” She hopes to highlight the notion of how women feel pressure to prevent inevitable signs of aging in their appearance as well as call to action a change in societal norms and gender inequality. As patrons of the gallery are still shuffling in, Paul Maheke emerges into the room. He is dressed in a green sweatshirt and basketball shorts, wear-
ing dirtied black sneakers and crisp white socks. He shares that he will be dancing an improvisational piece with no music, to portray the “authenticity of his movement and a little bit of his soul.” Without speaking anymore, he drops to the ground and starts to roll around, utilizing every part of his body to travel across the room. His eyes are closed shut as he feels his way across the floor. Audience members call out “table” or “ball” when he gets too close to the furniture or artwork around. Abruptly he stands up, eyes still closed, but proceeds to move in slow and free, with stiff and staccato movements. “I’m trying to show you myself, my identity, without fear of your judgement or expectations of me,” he tells us, still moving through the space. I approached Maheke afterwards and spoke to him about his performance. Maheke explains that he emphasizes the theme of finding one’s identity. Take Care currently has an on-going exhibition called Labor of Curation which runs until September 30. The other four parts of the exhibition series will debut later this year and into 2018.
Breakfast at TIFF: an insider’s retelling Besides the films, a first-time TIFF volunteer weighs in on the goings-on beyond the red carpet JANINA MALAPITAN Every year, three blocks are shut down in downtown Toronto. From Peter to University, King Street is barricaded. The westbound side is sectioned off, where picnic tables and umbrellas are erected. The eastbound side is cleared for foot traffic. This area, aptly called Festival Street, accommodates the nearly half-a-million people from around the world that attend the Toronto International Film Festival. As a self-professed film geek, I was excited to attend the festival in any way. When I found out about their volunteer program spring this year, I set up three different Google Alerts. Applications for volunteering open at the beginning of the summer. Come August, thousands of volunteers gather at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the organization’s flagship cinema and cultural centre in Toronto, to attend orientation. On Tuesday, our first day back at school, I took the shuttle downtown to pick up my conspicuously bright orange volunteer shirt and ID badge. The lobby was eerily quiet, a veritable calm before the storm. As a first-time TIFF volunteer,
Film geeks and dilettantes alike celebrate notable films at TIFF 2017. I was more in awe of the dedicated staff and their support than the celebrities themselves. People donate their free time to help with the festival, and the enthusiasm definitely shows. Hectic queues line up smoothly, frantic ticket-holders find their seats with time to spare, and the fans themselves who wait outside to see their idols are respectful in a way only Canadians can be.
However, by my first shift on Saturday, the whole area had been transformed: Festival Street was bustling, TIFF posters and signs were everywhere, and hundreds of people were flooding King Street. It was overwhelming, but once I got to my position at the front of the house at the Lightbox, I began to find my groove. Hundreds of eager cinephiles and casual movie-goers
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alike flocked to us orange-clad for answers, and each time we directed them inside to their cinema, their faces lit up in anticipation. Though on average, a volunteer shift lasts about six hours, the boisterous environment outside made the afternoon pass quickly. While Saturday hosted smaller independent films, Sunday brought forth a couple higher profile films
to the Lightbox. The mid-afternoon welcomed The Deuce, and on to the red carpet the main star, James Franco. In the lull of the in-between, hundreds came to take photos in front of the TIFF red carpet backdrop, where I assisted festival attendees in capturing themselves at the fest. Evening brought on the new Eric Clapton documentary and the legendary musician himself. As for the movies, several are already gaining critical acclaim: Guillermo del Toro’s English-language fantasy The Shape of Water and David Gordon Green’s Stronger featuring Jake Gyllenhaal. For international films, TIFF screened Happy End, Michael Haneke’s semi-sequel to his 2012 hit Amour, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster follow-up, The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Personally, some of the femaledirected movies I hope to catch are Chloé Zhao’s The Rider, which won the Art Cinema Award at Cannes Film Festival, and legendary French auteur Agnes Varda’s collaboration with artist JR in Faces Places. TIFF 2017 from a volunteer’s perspective was definitely a memorable experience.
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THE MEDIUM 09.18.2017
Fusing arts with design Fête probes into the convergence of art and design programs
FARIDA ABDELMEGUIED
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The Living Arts Centre is hosting Fête until October 29. YASMEEN ALKOKA
Held at the Living Arts Centre, Fête is a gallery exhibition celebrating the works of design students. The event is primarily hosted to inspire students to enrol in design programs. The curator of the gallery, Lee Petrie, says that the featured artists have an international reputation despite starting at Sheridan. “The quality of the work is pretty tremendous,” she says. Ziyad Bulbulia, a second-year student specializing in digital enterprise management and minoring in professional writing and communication says, “To me, [design] means being able to get people’s atten-
tion—making things look nice.” He believes the goal of design is also to “aesthetically improve people’s quality of life.” “The people in the show are respected, incredible artists, and you know, [art] is a hard path to choose,” comments Petrie. Fête demonstrates the hard work and commitment of design students and their creative journey. Personally, I found the flow of the area to be appealing. Each piece is unique and is grouped among other distinctive pieces. Some of the pieces included flame-worked glass entitled “Dream Pillow” by Tanya Lyons, and a photograph of The Women’s Monument made from pink granite in B.C. by Beth Alber.
There is a variety of sizes, material, and style evident among the pieces. In our digitalized modern world, design programs are essential. Petrie said, “We think that technology solves everything, but it doesn’t. You have to understand the elements [of art] and the aesthetic process first.” She explains that there is a physical aspect to art which comes first, and then it can be applied through technology to create and inform its viewers. Petrie mentions, “Creativity isn’t restricted to the arts. Having an open mind—that’s a skill you can apply to any kind of work you’re doing.” Fête runs until October 29.
Cosmopolitan snapshots The AGO zeroes in on culture and history from a global lens KEENA AL-WAHAIDI After a compelling panel last Wednesday night at The Art Gallery of Ontario, the recipients of the AIMIA Photography Prize showcased their exhibits to the general public. These exhibits displayed photographs stemming from different parts of the world. The goal of the exhibit is to understand photography, a tool that can change the world. It’s a place to process change in the world and understand it from different cultural perspectives. The exhibit is keen on presenting photographs that can be viewed independently but also has the ability to complement other photographs in groups. Photographs can be viewed independently in the way they highlight events from differing countries. However, these photographs can be viewed together in a
series. The other focus of the exhibit investigates how social relationships can be expressed through photography. In Boisjoly’s work, I can see the prominence of this idea straight away. His photography is the first that catches my eye. While someone like Koyama focuses on digitalized photographs in a modern world, Boisjoly delves into cultural history. Often a common theme in art, Boisjoly’s work represents the questions we may have on the representation of indigenous people in the art world. Boisjoly’s photography opens the exhibit, and by the time I finish making my first round within the space, I understand why. I realize when I move onto Thomas’s images, Boisjoly’s work complements his vision. One work that is strikingly similar to Boisjoly’s work is Thomas’s 2014
piece, “Raise Up.” This monument, fasted up on a long white block, is a real life 3D image of the original photograph by Ernest Cole in the early 1960s. Focusing on a historical past, the work gives way to a time where the apartheid in South Africa was still up and moving. One can see the arms of gold miners flung up in the air. The photo documents a stripdown of these gold-miners for a medical exam. The image is historically groundbreaking, and allows for thought on offensive tones in historic images that we hope to turn around in the future. When I do another walk through of the exhibit, I have to run my eyes over Artur’s images once more. Her work shapes the exact meaning on the exhibit as whole. All we need is to see people. These exhibits are set to run until January 18.
Raymond Carver’s short story “Cathedral,” deals with themes of isolation, loneliness, and the inability to create meaningful connections. It is a story about an unnamed narrator who gains life lessons through his encounters with Robert, his wife’s blind friend. Perhaps one of the most notable elements of “Cathedral” is the narrator. He is opinionated, interruptive, and incomplete in his storytelling. The narrator’s name and many details of the characters’ lives are omitted. Given the lack of information, trusting the narrator, then, seems like an unreliable option, and this is potentially done to give readers an added sense of blindness. Another notable element of the story is that the narrator experiences a change or some sort of epiphany although we don’t expect him to. He comes off as abrasive, insensitive, and off-putting, and early on, he is deemed a static character. He is rude to Robert and unsympathetic to his wife’s troubled past. By the end of the story, though, he has an intimate moment with Robert. When Robert asks the narrator to help him understand what a cathedral looks like, Robert holds the narrator’s hand
while he draws a cathedral, and in that intimate moment, the narrator experiences a meaningful connection with another human being that was lacking earlier on. “Cathedral” additionally comments on the notion of versions of reality, potentially suggesting that a single, definite, solid reality, or truth doesn’t exist. Robert, a blind man, lives in a reality that is different than that of sighted people. The narrator declares that his perception of blind people comes from movies and TV, only to meet Robert and realize that those representations may be false, incomplete, and lacking in nuance. This is one of several occasions where a character’s reality is threatened or relativized. “Cathedral” raises questions about the nature of language and representation—are there things language cannot represent? If you cannot find the words to express something, do you really understand it? Why does it matter to be able to represent experiences through art? What does it mean when we are unable to? Carver’s “Cathedral” is an intriguing short story, characteristic of the postmodern tradition. It delves into questions of sight, representation, and the process of making art.
REWIND NICHOLAS FAZIO
When Jean Vigo, the son of a Catalan anarchist, meets Boris and Mikhail Kaufman of Man with a Movie Camera, they film À propos de Nice, a 25-minute travelogue film. Underlying the film is an exploration in the contrast of the daily activities between boulevardiers (French socialites), street cleaners, casino frequenters, and wait staff. At age 24, reddish lumps of tuberculosis already lining his lungs, Vigo exchanges a sizable chunk of the $250 bestowed upon him by his father-in-law for a Debrie camera— a cubical contraption with a fat lens on the front, a peephole on the back, and a leather handle on top. This begins Vigo’s journey into the film industry. À propos de Nice cracks open with a few seconds of fireworks, then an aerial shot of Nice, in glorious black and white, its harbour front meshed in with the Ligurian Sea. The film is silent, colourless, and free of dialogue. The film establishes a kind of poetic realism that would become ‘la mode’ in the 1930s. The focus of the film is on the people. Men and women emit peals
of laughter and swish their clothes. For the most part, the locals content themselves with pretending the camera isn’t there. They continue with their tasks whether that means painting papier-mâché masks, shearing palm trees, or sipping champagne. An abundance of images is shown to us as we watch the film. We see the grimy youth forming a human colonnade—clad in costume and uniform, legs kicked out in dance. Followed by fistfuls of rice and a diocesan clad in black. The millipedelike convoy spilling from a church. A group of horses. The garments of balcony dancers cascading against the thumping of their slowed-down legs. The beach, fur coats, and amateur tennis. A grandmother touching her handkerchief to her eye. The fuming power plant. Spend 20 minutes and fix your gaze on one of the earliest incarnations of ‘cinema of nothing.’ There are no explicit title cards, as in Jonas Mekas’s As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty, declaring “this is a political film”—but in À propos de Nice, the politics are there and embedded by default.
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To be, or not to be a playwright: a guide UTM EDSS member offers insight into the workings and creative process of the mind of a playwright LIBERTY NOVOSELAC
For some, it takes an epiphany to compel one to write. For others, writing has always been an inclination since childhood. The latter is the case for first-year theatre and drama student Muhaddisah Batool. While at UTM, Batool has dipped her pen into different forms of writing. Unusually, her play Beginning the Middle with the End, was written in one night after an interlude of writer’s block. The play is a story about a group of writers struggling to discover a story for a novel. In order to discover their story, they must uncover the perfect first line. Batool’s desire to write is similar to that of her characters: to only have her name on stories she feels proud of. When The Medium sat down with Batool at Deerfield Hall to chat, she gave detailed advice to future and present writers on how to develop their craft. Her first comment of advice was simply to read. In grade nine, Batool felt that if she read, her writing would become polluted and unoriginal. However, the opposite turned out to be true. Once she allowed herself to enjoy the writing
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Batool highlights the unique characteristics of play writing in contrast to other mediums. works of others, her creativity blossomed. Reading enhances a writer’s ability to recognize good or bad writing while also guiding a writer to find their own distinct style of writing. For writers that are struggling with their story, Batool suggests doing an activity. A lot of writers have this perception that good writ-
ing comes from locking themselves away in a room and plunking the words out onto a page. However, according to Batool, this is counterproductive. Batool says she has gotten ideas in seemingly uninspiring activities from plane rides, washing dishes, to driving on the highway. She has found that the idle mind is stimulated while doing something
physical, and so a writer should not be obsessed with constantly writing, but instead should be obsessed with doing. Specifically to play writing, Batool cautions playwrights to remember what makes a play different from other mediums. Plays don’t solely act as stand-alone pieces. They are meant to be a guide from
which other artists base their craft on. Batool is also an actress, and so while she writes, she draws from her experience as an actress. She writes with certain intonations and movements in mind. However, the actors playing her characters will always add a personal touch to her ideas by bringing in their individual strengths and interpretations to her work. This makes sense since plays survive by actors reincarnating characters in diverse ways over time. Batool’s last piece of advice for a playwright is to write plays for yourself. Yes, playwrights do write so that other people can read and produce their work. However, it’s impossible to please everyone. Thus, Batool advises that a playwright should write for, and please only, themselves. Ultimately, this is why Batool writes. The most rewarding part of her writing is getting that story out onto the page and into a production for others to act out. Even if others may dislike her work, Batool places value in the ideals of self-expression and free speech for writers like herself.
50 years of campus artistry An epic syllabic
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The Annual Toronto Haiku Deathmatch took place last Thursday. SEHEJ SARAON
CHEN GONG & DANIELLE ROLFE/THE MEDIUM
UTM Art 50 included drama students performing snippets from Shakespearean plays. SAFA AHMAD WITH NOTES FROM KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR As described by principal Ulrich Krull, UTM Art 50, which took place this past Wednesday, was a “celebration of the arts on campus in honor of [UTM’s] 50th anniversary.” The campus dotted with art stations ranging from groups of live painters to drama students performing snippets from Shakespearean plays. During the event, English professor Terry Robinson recited John Keats’s “To Autumn,” paying tribute to artistic expression on campus. Krull’s opening speech mentioned a range of campus construction plans. Some of which included projects for new science and arts & culture buildings as well as a robotics laboratory. Other mentioned topics included selectively reshaping a portion of the green spac-
es on campus for aesthetic purposes, and installing a permanent outdoor art collection. Krull also took the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of Christine Shaw, director of the Blackwood Gallery, who has begun work on a Mississauga-wide art project set to receive a large grant from the Canadian Council for the Arts. In closing his speech, Krull reminded students and faculty to actively seek to derive joy from creative expression, stressing that creativity is not, as conventionally is seen, restricted to a certain type of major or hobby. Giving the example of cyber currency becoming a reality in the near future as a testament to the creativity of an accountant, he emphasized that everyone in attendance has a similar capacity for creativity. Olivia Zaloski, a fourth-year art and art history student, helped organize a public painting event. In terms
of the reception of the event, Zaloski, who is also the president of the Department of Visual Studies Society, commented, “[It] has surprisingly been phenomenal. We went in with some doubt, and we were pleasantly surprised with the turnout. We had three people to an easel sometimes.” Zaloski added that there is a lack of attention accorded to the arts on campus, and events such as public painting are aimed towards heightening recognition of the arts. “We just want to remind people that there is an arts program, and that there’s an arts society,” Zaloski said. Vice principal Amrita Daniere and professor Teresa Lobalsamo of the organizing committee also spoke at the commencement ceremony. Other events included student-made short films played at Erindale Theatre, staged combat at various campus locations, and gallery exhibitions.
Featuring top haiku writers in the city, The Annual Toronto Head-toHead Haiku Deathmatch took place at the Supermarket Restaurant and Bar this past Thursday. The event, which was hosted by David Silverberg, was a project brought by The Toronto Poetry Slam Show. Cynthia Gould was the MC for the evening. Participation in the event was voluntary; Gould took note of audience members who wanted to participate and randomly selected their order of presentations for different rounds. The participants would each present one of their haikus. Following this, participants won by the number of points distributed by judges. These judges were selected from the audience. During the first round, the winner had to achieve three points; in the second, five; and in the final round, it was seven. An incorrect number of syllables in a participant’s haiku resulted in the point going to the opponent. One of the contestants, Derek Li, described the entire event as being similar to a “rap battle for poetry nerds.” My favourite haiku of the evening came from the first round:
“Friends with benefits?/ I’ve had better benefits/ Working at Walmart.” The crowd erupted with laughter. A similar reaction was seen with Silverberg’s own haiku about Canadian sex: “Ooo, ahh, oh, sorry/ Eee, ahh, oh, oh, oooo, oh shit/ Canadian sex”. The deathmatch boiled down to two contestants: Derek Li and Valentino Assenza. This haiku deathmatch was Li’s first ever, while this was Assenza’s third time competing. Assenza lost three points to Li because of his error in syllable count. However, Li compensated for this loss and managed to win the match with the haiku: “This haiku on speed/ Lacks syllabic coherence/ Did I get it right?” Li won a golden notebook for himself. First, second, and third place contestants received a bag filled with goodies that would help them in their writing. The event was lighthearted and fun. The haikus were clever, funny, original, and very creative. Notably, the contestants displayed good sportsmanship. If you’re ever in the area next year, I highly recommend it, even if you’re not really into poetry. With a low entry price and free participation, this event is a highly enjoyable experience for everyone.
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What does it really mean to be No. 1? U of T is ranked number 1 in Canada and the 22nd in the world by Times Higher Education rankings JESSICA CABRAL
In the recently published Times Higher Education 2018 university ranking, the University of Toronto placed 22nd out of the top 1,000 universities in the world and preserved their standing as the highest ranked Canadian university for the eighth consecutive year. Tied in position with the National University of Singapore, U of T continues to maintain a comfortable spot among some of the world’s highest ranked post-secondary institutions. But, what kind of relevance do these university rankings hold? What, if anything, do they tell us about the quality of the learning experience? “Rankings are a funny thing, in that they are popular to discuss, especially when you’re at the top, but are sometimes taken to signify more than what is actually being measured,” says Jayne Baker, an assistant professor in the department of sociology at UTM, in an email to The Medium. “Rankings are commonly used as evidence of institutional prestige. However, I think we could all agree that many institutions with high rankings would continue to be prestigious were those rankings not
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U of T is ranked first in Canada for the eighth consecutive year, and 22nd in the world. to exist at all.” As an example, Baker explains that regardless of the presence of yearly university rankings, American Ivy League institutions, known for frequently landing top positions across national and international ranking
systems, would continue to maintain their distinguished reputations among employers, provide their students with optimal employment opportunities, and produce powerful leaders because of their established history and selective admissions pro-
cesses. “Another important factor to acknowledge is that these are institutions that have historically, and to this day, accepted students from wealthier backgrounds,” says Baker. Having learnt from published re-
search in the sociology of education, Baker explains that children from families with “higher socioeconomic status” are “associated with better educational outcomes and more advantageous social networks”. Later in life, these factors ultimately contribute to the individual’s success in obtaining a career and their pursuit of education beyond an undergraduate degree. Baker notes however that, “the interesting thing about Canada is that our university system is not marked by the kind of steep hierarchy among institutions like you’d find in the United States.” If institutional history and household wealth play integral roles in developing the high status of American Ivy League schools, what then are the factors that the THE take into consideration? According to their official website, the universities underwent a thorough examination process to determine their scores in five specific performance sectors: teaching, research, citations, international outlook, and industry income. Universities provide and approve the data used in the study, and they are not penalized nor rewarded for withholding any information. Ranking continued on page 10
A changing climate and a stormy future Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Jose rage through the south: is this really climate change in ignition? MARIUM FAISAL The onset of September brought a cascade of storm activity as Hurricane Harvey, a category five hurricane, flooded Houston, while Irma tore through the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Cuba and southeast United States. With death tolls crowding around 100 people altogether, the affected regions are left to recuperate after sustaining widespread damage and displacement. Whereas environment conservation groups have become increasingly vocal in voicing their concerns about climate change, analysts remain cautious. While a recent headline from The Guardian reads, “Floridians battered by Irma maintain climate change is no big deal,’” InsideClimate News, a not-for-profit news organization, published a report titled “Damage from Hurricane Irma, Harvey add to growing U.S. costs of climate change.” Professor Ingo Ensminger, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at UTM, studies plant physiology and climate change. Ensminger, whose research focuses on identi-
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Hurricane Irma tore through the Caribbean, the Bahamas, Cuba, and southeast United States. fying the mechanisms that enable plants and trees to survive changing climates, explains how it is more than just about one event occurring on its own which is a cause for concern. “It is important to monitor, re-
cord and assess how often these extreme weathr events such as flooding, drought and heatwaves occur,” says Ensminger, “this means instead of experiencing such extreme events maybe once every 50 years, it is now more
likely to see an extreme event every 40 or every 30 years in a certain region.” He does, however, believe that we shouldn’t jump to blame climate change for an event that we haven’t seen before in our lifetime—because
storms, wildfires, and natural disasters have occurred at such extreme levels before. “We will see extreme hurricanes more often when look[ing] over longer timespans. If the occurrence of these category four or five hurricanes does increase, for example, five times every 50 years as opposed to once, that would likely indicate a consequence of a changing climate this is what the models predict and this is what the trends already seem to confirm for some of the predicted extreme events,” explains Ensminger. Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate researcher at Stanford University, provides a comparison between Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Harvey to the Chicago Tribune in their article titled “Will future storms be worse than Harvey? The debate over climate and hurricanes” published on September 2. Diffenbaugh highlightes how “the methodological frameworks were very much in their infancy at the time of Katrina in 2005.”
Climate continued on page 10
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Québec and U of T: an ideology spillover Soon after the rallies took place in Charlottesville, waves of protests are coming closer to home MAHNOOR AYUB NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM DEVANSHI ADHVARYU
The evening of August 12 saw an escapade of violent riots emerging from clashing white nationalist and leftist ideologies, which The New York Times described as a “blatant display of attitudes many believed to be buried.” Even if you have not actively followed the political landscape in the U.S. over the summer, the bouldering stream of news developments following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, may have left you grappling with the flux of personal and public identity politics left in its aftermath. The Charlottesville rally—the center of which, according to The New York Times, seemed to have been the impending removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee—was not the first white nationalist rally conducted in Charlottesville in 2017, where The New Yorker further says, it also “likely won’t be the last.” The recent nationalist newsinduced tremors, experienced all the way from Québec to the U of T St. George campus, have been widely analyzed as scattered aftershocks left over from the storm in the south. In Québec City, members of La Meute marched through the streets to the National Assembly of Québec with a police escort. Despite a Charlottesville aftertaste
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The Charlottesville rally centered around the impending removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. evident in the narrative, Dr. Hanna, an assistant professor at U of T’s Faculty of Information, mentions how “even before Charlottesville, we were seeing quite a few white supremacist related incidents in Canada.” The turbulence hit close to home when a Facebook page appeared for the Toronto Nationalist Rally, which was an event scheduled to take place on September 14 at the University of Toronto St. George campus grounds. “I didn’t know how to respond to that honestly— on the one hand, I decided to ignore it and not give it too much atten-
tion. On the other hand, I realized this may be the time to take some responsibility,” says Kiran Siddiqui, a fourth-year student pursuing a specialist in biology. The website for the Canadian Nationalist Party—not a registered political party in Canada—outlines a 21-point platform calling for the removal of the “destructive stance of multiculturalism” from the charter, among other things. Hanna explains how, “these groups in Canada have their own system— the nationalist groups in Canada tend to be anti-Islam, anti-refugee, anti-immigrant—the undertone of
that is that they don’t want to be out right white supremacists but that’s effectively what they are.” “Social scientists say that a part of these [protests] may be triggered by more immigration flow into the country, and so there’s more of a reaction by conservative far-right groups which is called the ethnic threat model” describes Hanna. While mentioning how there may be many different reasons for igniting these groups, Hanna explains how “research in the US shows that it’s not in places that are like 50% white and 50% black that see rise in far right activists, it’s more in places
where there is a new entrance of ethnic minorities where they would be initially have been a 99% white population and now it would be 90% white,” Hanna continues by saying, “white people typically then feel that they […] are being threatened and so that’s […] another idea why these groups are mobilizing.” The New York Times describes how in the case of the Charlottesville protest, information spread through the media like wildfire. Hanna observes how an abundance of media coverage, blog posts, Snapchat stories, and YouTube videos circling the Internet, have created a façade that these far-right groups either have the majority or a corresponding political power. “Social media is a tool—and it allows for seeing things very vividly,” says Hanna. She further added: “Social media may be a good way to get many people that share particular ideologies to get together over long distances. We heard that a lot of people in the Charlottesville protest […] were from different parts of the US, so people coming from all over doesn’t indicate how much political power these groups have.” As news stories unfold and students analyze if protests flooding through our streets have spilled over from Charlottesville, or if they are the result of years of stagnated ideologies, Dr. Hanna mentions how, “My advice for students would be to not respond to violence.”
Behind the scenes with Sheikh Jackson Dancing classes to learn Michael Jackson’s moves took the actors approximately four months AMIRA ABUZAID
Sheikh Jackson, an Egyptian movie directed by Amr Salama, was one of the movies screened as part of the Toronto International Film Festival last weekend. The movie portrays the story of a young imam, a person who leads prayers in a mosque, named Sheikh Khalid Hani. He finds himself in a dilemma of questioning his faith as soon as he learns that his idol, the late king of pop singer, Michael Jackson, has passed away. The film then shifts to retrospect as the fanatic imam, played by Egyptian actor Ahmed El- Fishawy, begins recalling memories of his teenage years. Sheikh Jackson then portrays the character of Khalid Hani in his adolescence, played by Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, as he reverently admired Jackson and tried to imitate him in his life style. The film further shows how Khalid is referred to as “Jackson” in school because of his admiration. In the opening remarks given by Salama in the movie screening on Saturday at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, he stated that an identity crisis is what Sheikh Jackson brings to the audience. From the protagonist, who’s a cleric and focused on practicing his Islamic religion, to crisis revolves between him remi-
OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM
Egyptians Ahmed El-Fishawy and Ahmed Malek shared their acting experience with The Medium. niscing about his teenage years, to the possibility of relapsing, to trying to stay religious, to battling both identities. With actors Fishawy and Malek both being in Toronto this week for the world premiere of Sheikh Jackson, The Medium spoke to them to learn more about their experience. In reference to Sheikh Jackson being selected as the official Egyptian submission to the Oscars as
a candidate for the best foreign language film, both Fishawy and Malek expressed how they are both “extremely proud,” but also that “with such pride, comes great responsibility to try and preserve the quality.” Since the film was Fishawy’s second collaboration with Salama, he described his relationship with the director by saying, “even when we sometimes disagree about things and we have fights, it’s like two brothers
fighting, we are very good friends.” Fishawy further mentioned how the success for the imam’s portrayal can also be attributed to his relationship with his fellow actor, Malek. Malek added how because of the friendship between the two actors, the harmony of their characters, portrayed by both of them at different ages “came naturally.” While describing his experience being on set, Malek anecdotally referred to Fishawy by say-
ing, “he used to bring a lot of food on set. He used to bring the weirdest shit ever! He once came in with a box of Harankash (yellow cherries)!” In preparation for their roles, both actors described how they were required to learn Michael Jackson’s signature dance moves and had to take dancing classes for approximately four months. “I can’t do the moon walk; Salama and Malek can,” said Fishawy. To develop his character portrayal of the imam, Fishawy mentioned how he used his memories and experiences from a time in his life when he was deeply involved in the Islamic community. “It helped me a lot, because I could come back to all these memories that I had and experiences, and then just act it out. I reminded myself of some emotional memories and then portrayed them through [the] sheikh,” says Fishawy. When asked to comment on how the movie revolves around a person’s internal battle between faith and passion, both Malek and Fishawy elaborated on how “no matter what the battle is within a person, the final call is towards the side the person chooses,” which they further explained that it all comes back to the real preference of either sides, where nothing prioritizes the other, and what matters the most is the person’s own choice.
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Students learn from digging up the past UTM anthropology field course ANT318 serves as a hands on student experience in archaeology DEVANSHI ADHVARYU
The grounds near the shrubs and lengthy trees of Lislehurst—more commonly known as the vice-president’s and principal’s residence— serve as the site for this year’s UTM’s archaeological field school. This site is where third-year anthropology students at UTM apply their knowledge from the classroom to the fields. Courses ANT318 and ANT418 serve as hands-on learning environments for students wanting to experience handling real life excavations. The course is run through late August to the rest of the subsequent semester under professor Michael Brand. A fourth-year anthropology and biology major, Caroline Wojdylo, shares her experience with the course ANT318. “This course started two weeks before the start of the school year. My experience so far is from these two weeks of field work, and from my experience, I really enjoyed it. I learned a lot of new things and new skills pertaining to excavations and archeology in general,” says Wojdylo. In the past years, this course was done in various historical sites in Ontario. But this year, because of UTM’s 50th anniversary, the faculty decided to have the campus itself as a site of exploration and learning.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. MICHAEL BRAND
The anthropology field course provided students with experience in archaeological excavation. According to a previous article published about the course in The New York Times, professor Brand had suspected that the wooded area near Lislehurst was once the site of Mount Woodham, which was one of the three homes built by the Schreiber family on the property now owned by the University of Toronto. One of the goals of the course is to help document the lands that make up UTM as the school approaches its 50th anniversary. It is also to provide
an understanding on how communities developed in early Ontario. Through these courses, students enrolled in ANT318 and ANT418 will work on locating Mount Woodham with the investigative tools and evaluations provided by the courses. “During all our field work, we made a lot of field notes, as we had all our notebooks and we had to record information on terrain, weather, task, crew, and the times and what we did. We also did photography and
mapping […] and we learned how to recognize features from the cultural landscape […] and really learned how to think critically about what we were seeing and […] practical experience in the field really helped with that,” says Wojdylo. Wojdylo recalls marking off a 5x5 meter square grid on the excavation site and then digging up a 1x1 meter surface from the site and mentions how once the two weeks in late August ended, the students went back
to their lab to analyze the history behind their discoveries. “We dug down until we reached sub soil, sterile soil, so that was probably the most intense, but it was also really fun as it was the part where everyone wanted to get to because it was the most fun [part] of the excavation, ” says Wojdylo. One of the most memorable moments that Wojdylo recalls while performing field work for the ANT318 course was discovering a fully intact 19th century child’s toy that was a metal horse with a solider riding it. “We also found a spoon, we found [….] a lot of glass and a lot of rusted metal sheets and curved parts and a lot of different nails, like old nails. And in the lecture we actually analyzed the different types of nails as you move through history […] We also found some porcelain pieces, some ceramic, some bottlenecks, presumably bottle necks, […..] which indicates some human activity in the past,” explains Wojdylo. As students learn archaeological excavation techniques through the course, Wojdylo mentions how, while the outdoor instruction was both beneficial and enjoyable, the most rewarding experience was experiencing history as she says “the most intriguing thing was asking yourself —what were people doing here 150 years ago?”
Reputation or ranking? Extreme events Ranking continued from page 8 To determine the final score of each institution, THE uses a “standardisation approach” for each category. Through further calculations and a cumulative probability function, a score is assigned to every university for each of the five performance indicators. Teaching, evaluated as 30 per cent of the final ranking, is divided into five subsections with individual percentage weights including: 15 per cent reputation survey, 4.5 per cent staff-to-student ratio, 2.25 per cent doctorate-to-bachelor’s ratio, 6 per cent doctorates-awarded-to-academic-staff ratio, and 2.25 per cent institutional income. U of T scored 74.6 in this category with a ratio of 18.7 students per teacher. The data collected for the reputation survey reflects the perceived reputation of teaching quality, whereas the institutional income approximately reveals the quantity of resources and services available to the university’s community. U of T scored 84.8 in research; a category weighted 30 per cent, and sectioned accordingly: 18 per cent reputation survey, 6 per cent research income, and 6 per cent research productivity. In order to quantify research productivity, a seemingly ambiguous factor, THE “counts the number of papers published” in peer-reviewed academic journals for each university. A similar performance indicator, citations, valued at 30 per cent, analyzes the
universities’ contribution to global knowledge through its tally of the number of scholars who cite work published by the university. For this section, U of T received a score of 92.6. In the final two categories, international outlook and industry income, U of T scored 80.1 and 46.5 respectively, bringing their overall result to 82.8. The international outlook category, divided into three subsections: 2.5 per cent international-to-domestic-student ratio, 2.5 per cent international-to-domestic-staff ratio, and 2.5 per cent international collaboration, examines a university’s popularity among international students. Conclusively, industry income, valued at only 2.5 per cent, investigates financial income based on research funding and payment. The Medium also spoke to some UTM students to learn about their thoughts towards U of T’s ranking and how it has impacted their experience. Attending Canada’s number one university has Preet Patel, a third-year computer science major, “feel[ing] on top of the world.” However, if there was one thing Patel could improve about his learning experience, he’d like to increase the length of tutorial times. “I would love to have more onehour tutorials every week,” Patel explains. “The tutorial could either be longer in length, or we could just have more frequent one hour tutorials. If it’s just one hour, maybe we could have two or three sessions on
different days.” Azma Ali, a fourth-year mathematics major at UTM, shares Patel’s perspective on the results of the ranking. “I think it says a lot to go to the number one school in Canada,” she says. “I look at U of T as a regular campus, but behind the scenes people are doing amazing research and elevating the school status and it’s happening right under my nose. I hope I will be able to contribute like that before I leave.” Canadian universities, devoid of standardized undergraduate admissions testing unlike their American neighbours, exhibit “institutional parity,” Baker reveals. Despite the current equivalence, Canadian sociologists of education are conducting research to determine if, over time, university hierarchies will begin to emerge among post-secondary institutions across the country. “My introduction to sociology students always talk about reputation of the University of Toronto when I ask them about why they chose UTM. Sometimes it’s their belief, and other times it’s the belief of their parents,” says Baker. Baker further discusses this apparent institutional privilege bias by mentioning how “it’s probably worth noting that many students assume that a U of T degree is guaranteed to get you a better job than a degree from any other institution, but this research is actually still ongoing, and we know that all employment outcomes vary by field of study anyway.”
Climate continued from page 8 Diffenbaugh emphasizes how although this means we are now closer to answering how climate change intensifies hurricanes, we can not say that climate change itself is what causes them. “Harvey was not caused by climate change, yet its impacts—the storm surge, and especially the extreme rainfall—very likely worsened due to human-caused global warming,” states Stefan Rahmstorf, head of Earth system analysis at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
“No other hurricane has matched the strenght of Irma’s winds so far east in the Atlantic” – New York Times However, The Guardian, reported on August 28, how the storm surge was half a foot higher than it would have been just decades ago, which then translated to increased flooding and destruction. In the context of how different ecosystems are influenced by the changing climate, Ensminger describes: “Most plants are well adapted to withstand droughts and heatwaves if they occur rarely and they have time to recover. However, an increase in the frequency of these events affects their fitness and has
long-term effects on the resilience of ecosystems.” As part of their research, Ensminger and his team aim to design experiments that can mimic future climate based projections derived from climate models. Ensminger’s group hypothesizes that extreme events may occur more frequently as a result of climate change. Although climate observers emphasize the frequency of events, The New York Times nevertheless describes how “no other hurricane has matched the strength of Irma’s winds so far east in the Atlantic […] longer than any other Atlantic hurricane […] also [breaking] records for accumulated cyclone energy.” Eugene Robinson, an opinion writer at the Washington Post, wrote on August 28: “Pay attention to what happened to Houston. It is rare to be given such a vivid look at our collective future.” As Ensminger along with other cliamte researchers describe, climate change cannot be definitively blamed for Hurricane Harvey and Irma, but it may have played a contributing role in the intesity of the storms. As Robinson went on to say in the Washington Post, “Global warming did not conjure the rains that flooded the nation’s fourthlargest city, but it likely did make them more torrential. The spectacle of rescue boats plying the streets of a major metropolis is something we surely will see again. The question is how often.”
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Come for the magic, stay for the fun Meredith Dodds, president of UTM Quidditch, sits down to discuss what this magical club is all about MELISSA SIQUEIRA
In his first year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter famously discovers his knack for the game of Quidditch when he faces off against Gryffindor’s greatest rivalry, Slytherin, on a flying broomstick. Many a muggle has, at one point in their lives, tried emulating that moment by picking up a broomstick, and discovering sadly that it stays on the ground. Fortunately, there is a game for muggles that brings the magic of the Harry Potter world while maintaining the laws of gravity: UTM Quidditch. The UTM Quidditch club, inspired by similar teams in the U.S. and beyond, is essentially a group of individuals that meet and practice this unique sport. This started several years ago by a “Potterhead” (a term used to describe a Harry Potter fan). It not only brings fans together, but it keeps people active in a fun and engaging way as well. “The three reasons why I initially joined [the club] are fun, friendship and magic,” Meredith Dodds, UTM Quidditch’s president says. A fourthyear major in exceptionality in human learning, she has been part of the club since she first came to UTM in 2014, and finds that the community is what made her stay these past
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Quidditch involves two opposing teams of seven players that each fly on a broomstick. four years. As she puts it, “When a quirky group of human beings decide that they’re going to play Quidditch and really commit to it, it gives me so much love for the community that I’ve found.” So, what is Quidditch? In J.K. Rowling’s book series, it involves two opposing teams of seven players, each flying on a magic broomstick. They attempt to score points by throwing
a ball, called a “quaffle,” through the opponent’s hoops. Players also try to take out other opponents by throwing more balls called “bludgers” at them, while a “golden snitch” is up for grabs by each team’s “seeker”. The golden snitch is the main target in the game because whoever catches it first, wins the match. Muggle Quidditch is played in a very similar way, aside from the flying broomsticks of course.
The golden snitch is an actual person dressed in yellow who runs in and out of the court until someone catches them. Practices focus on developing the skills needed to play Quidditch, then progress to scrimmages and culminate in tournaments played across Ontario. “We practice all through the year, through midterms, when it snows,” Dodds explains, “but we have a core, dedicated group of people who
come out all the time.” Although it focuses on the sport, UTM Quidditch puts on other events such as game and trivia nights, and collaborates with various clubs and societies to enhance the Harry Potter experience for students on campus. Last year, they helped out with Biz Frosh, which had a Harry Potter theme, and are always asked by the heads of the Erindale Christian Fellowship to teach its members some Quidditch. This year, they will be working with the English and Drama Student Society to organize the upcoming Harry Potter week. Dodds believes that the club goes beyond the universe of Harry Potter. She has met a mix of students who are die-hard fans, to those who have never read the book series. There are students who had never been on a sports team and those who were heavily involved in athletics. As she says: “You’re never going to find a more accepting group of people who are willing to put themselves out there and be really goofy. Quidditch is this place that you can just be yourself and just be unironically enthusiastic about the things that you really like.” Dodds believes that whether you are a secret wizard or just a curious muggle, you will find something to love about their club.
GBC defeats UTM in heartbreaking win George Brown defeats UTM 2-1 in hard fought game at Birchmount Stadium last Wednesday night VANESSA CESARIO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR
On Wednesday, September 13, the UTM women’s soccer team had their second game of the season against the George Brown Huskies. UTM faced George Brown four times in the outdoor season over the past two years and has yet to beat them. Their fifth time facing them was no different with the women losing a heartbreaking 2-1. UTM started off slow during the first half with George Brown gaining control for the first 20 minutes. The game was filled with aggression, which forced lead captain, Christina Rico, to receive a yellow card early in the game. Midway through the first half, UTM gained possession of the game and began playing with high intensity. They were penetrating the back line and frustrating the George Brown defenders. Despite several attempts,
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The UTM women’s soccer team has yet to defeat the Huskies in the past two years. UTM could not put one in the back of the net and the whistle blew, ending the first half. At halftime, the girls were full of
energy and encouraging one another to continue playing the way they did when they ended the half. The second half started off strong once
again for UTM. They were calm and working very well as a unit. Unfortunately, George Brown broke through UTM’s line of defense in
the 57th minute and scored off a deflection that was caused by a collision at the top of the 18-yard box. George Brown was now leading the game 1-0. Despite this minor setback, UTM was relentless and scored 12 minutes later at the 69th minute mark. Defender Jayde Forde, scored off a low and hard free kick that deflected off a George Brown player. And so, the score was once again tied at 1-1. Both teams were battling back and forth with UTM still having majority of the possession of the ball. However, a defensive breakdown lead to a second goal by George Brown in the 80th minute leaving George Brown to take the game 2-1. UTM outshot George Brown 20-7 with 15 of their shots on target. Although they did not get the result they hoped for, the players are keeping their heads high and staying positive by continuing to work hard at both games and practices.
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THE MEDIUM 09.18.2017
Anxiety: statistics and available outlets Kolluru examines the reasons behind why students are anxious and the different statistics surrounding it SRIVINDHYA KOLLURU
According to Canadian Virtual Hospice, anxiety is defined as an “…emotional and physical state that includes some combination of fear, uneasiness and worry.” While many definitions of what constitute anxiety exist, it is important to know that anxiety is different for everyone. For some, anxiety results in strong emotional symptoms such as paranoia or irritability. For others, anxiety can manifest itself into more physical symptoms such as muscle tension or insomnia. University students are more susceptible to anxiety due to a change in academic setting, financial strains, and changes in sleep patterns. In 2016, the National College Health Assessment reported 33.1 per cent of students in the last 12 months found anxiety to have a negative impact on their academic performance. Additionally, 65.4 per cent of surveyed students reported having overwhelming anxiety in the last 12 months. 18.3 per cent of surveyed students were also professionally diagnosed with anxiety or professionally treated in the past 12 months. These statistics speak vol-
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Various factors make university students more susceptible to anxiety. umes about anxiety amongst university students. At UTM, the Health and Counselling Centre in the Davis building offers personal counselling to any student for a variety of mental health
issues, including anxiety. The HCC offers one-on-one or group counselling. A great way to destress and help ease anxiety, especially during exam times, would be to participate in mindfulness or mindful meditation.
Mindfulness involves being present in the moment, and being aware of your surroundings. The main goal of being mindful is to not dwell over the past or the future, which is what drives anxious thoughts. Practicing
mindful meditation improves physical and mental health. In one study, those who practiced mindfulness for eight weeks improved their focus and could tune out distractions much better, compared to those who did not practice mindful meditation. In turn, practicing mindfulness could improve academic performance. Good2Talk offers counselling and information on resources near you, and is available 24 hours in English and French. Spectra Helpline is another service that has staff who can speak additional languages, such as Portuguese and Hindi. All Ontario universities, including the University of Toronto, are increasing their budget by $6 million for mental health services, but changes in services and access to them will take some time to implement. While these resources are readily available to UTM students, it’s also important to foster an accepting and understanding environment on campus. As students, it’s important to lend support to someone if you see them in distress or notice changes in their behaviour. If you can’t offer someone help or don’t know how to, refer them to an appropriate resource.