Volume 46, Issue 12

THE MEDIUM

December 2, 2019

The Voice of The University of Toronto Mississauga | themedium.ca

UTM Cross Country’s Historic Season

Vol 46, No. 12

The Campus Council convened to discuss the mental health crisis

News

Read our recap of UTM’s momentous season of cross country

Sean Daly reframes the handcuffing incident at the HCC

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Comment Sports

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UTM Scribes hosted their annual Q&A with six accomplished writers

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Arts Read Dr. Andersen’s advice on combatting stress ahead of finals

Features

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“End to handcuffing of students”: an open letter Over 130 U of T faculty and staff sent an open letter to U of T administration to end the handcuffing policy MELISSA BARRIENTOS NEWS EDITOR An open letter to the University of Toronto (U of T) administration on the handcuffing treatment of students asking for mental health support was circulated around campus last week.

The open letter, “calling for end to handcuffing of students,” was addressed to U of T president Meric Gertler, acting vice-president and principal Ian Orchard, and viceprincipal Amrita Daniere by over 130 U of T faculty and staff. The letter was spearheaded by Beverly Bain, a professor of Women and Gender Studies at the Department of Historical studies, and Vannina Sztainbok and Rosalind Hampton, assistant professors at the Department of Social Justice Education.

The U of T professors called to attention the October 2 handcuffing of Natalia Espinosa, who was seeking mental health support at the Health and Counselling Centre (HCC) when the incident occurred.

“Egregiously, the staff at HCC were not in error, but were following university protocol,” the letter stated. “As faculty and staff who care about the well-being of our students, we write to demand an immediate apology and compensation for the student, that this protocol be immediately removed, and that the administration heed the demands of students to provide a supportive environment for all.”

The letter notes that the act of handcuffing is criminalizing and only serves to create more stigma around mental health in a time where more post-secondary students are experiencing “serious distress” and should be encouraged instead of discouraged to seek help.

“In the past two years alone, there have been at least four reported suicides on the University of Toronto campus,” continues the letter. “As faculty and staff, we are trained to refer students to services, including the HCC. Now, we have to seriously consider whether such a referral could lead to further harm. This leaves us,

but more importantly students, bereft of options.”

The U of T professors are particularly concerned for “black students and students of colour who are female on all three of our campuses.”

Following Espinosa’s decision to reveal her traumatic experience, many other students, “primarily women of colour,” have shared their experiences of “being handcuffed after seeking mental health support at U of T HCCs.” The letter then went on to reference the July 2019 Volume 65 issue of the Journal of Canadian Family Physician where Shana Neilson, Andrea Chittle, and Juveria Zaheer of the University of Guelph’s Health and Wellness Centre published an article outlining their concern with campus police handcuffing students while transferring them to the hospital.

“These individuals usually are young, identify as female, are not agitated, are not intoxicated, are not holding weapons, and are cooperative,” states the University of Guelph’s HCC medical practitioners. “We

believe that the routine use of handcuffs for the transfer of such patients not only negatively affects health in the present, but also reduces the likelihood that patients will seek medical attention in the future when they are in distress.

“Patients have articulated that the involvement of police, and the use of handcuffs specifically, cause embarrassment and shame, making them feel as if they are perceived as being violent, dangerous, or criminal,” they continued.

In their article, the practitioners detailed how they discovered that “Campus Community Police, as Special Constables of the Guelph Police Service, are compelled to follow the policies of the municipal force.”

“We were advised that the municipal police policy has been interpreted to mandate the use of handcuffs in all situations where police take an individual to custody, including all criminal arrests and all apprehensions under the Ontario Mental Health Act.” In the letter, U of T faculty and

staff stressed that “there is absolutely no need for the continued discourse

by U of T administrations and practice by campus police that insist on handcuffing of students as a stipulation of the Ontario Mental Health Act.” The letter had five demands to the U of T administration, including a written apology and compensation to Natalia Espinosa for her traumatic experience, the end to handcuffing of students seeking mental health support by campus police, the arrangement of private transportation to the hospital and an accompanying health professional should HCC refer a student to the hospital, the ending of the practice of training exam invigilators to call campus police when they encounter a “difficult” student, and for the U of T to comply with students’ demands to participate in university mental health policy discussions.

“The university must do a complete overhaul to provide a caring and supportive environment for all of our students,” concluded the open letter.

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Editor | Melissa Barrientos

Campus Council talks mental health crisis at U of T The Campus Council discusses the handcuffing incident and the upcoming review of police procedures

MYUTMSU/TWITTER

Campus Council held its second meeting of the academic year on November 20.

ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Campus Council held its second meeting of the academic year on November 20, where they discussed the ongoing mental health crisis at U of T and campus policies.

The meeting began with an announcement by the Campus Council chair, professor Mohan Matthen, regarding the upcoming elections for the Campus Council. The nominations for the elected positions will open on January 7 and continue until January 17.

Acting vice-president and principal, professor Ian Orchard stated that the presidential and provostial task force on Student Mental Health is continuing its consultations and have been having good discussions.

“There’s been some additional community attention to our responses to suicide-related cases that involve students,” said Orchard.

“This is part of an appropriately greater level of attention to mental health as a tremendously important concern that cuts across society, but with the recognition that most of our students are in an age group that is especially vulnerable.”

Orchard invited dean of Student

Affairs Mark Overton to provide information regarding campus mental health services.

Mark Overton began his speech by assuring the council that the medical professionals at UTM are equipped to assist individuals who are experiencing both physical and mental health crises.

“Hospitalizations related to suicide are relatively rare, and of those most are voluntary hospitalizations, so [they] require no security measures for police involvement. Campus Police become involved when an individual shows warning signs of acute risk of suicide indicating the heightened risk of harm,” said Overton.

“In these most challenging cases where these warning signs adhere, our campus has a greater responsibility to keep individuals safe and we need to absolutely be certain that they reach the hospital for the more in-depth and specialized emergency medical attention that they need,” continued Overton.

Overton went on to state that the practices and policies of the UTM Campus Police were aligned with those of the Scarborough and St. George Campuses, as well as the Peel Regional Police and Toronto

Police Services.

However, the university “has indicated that it will undertake a review of police procedures on all three campuses,” and that the Mental Health Task Force is anticipated to release its report in the upcoming month.

“Our Health and Counseling Centre colleagues, our Campus Police partners, and others serving students keep one goal most in mind when making decisions on these cases and that is quite simply to keep our students safe,” said Overton, concluding his speech.

Council Chair Matthen announced that, although it wasn’t formally a part of the agenda, they had received a speaking request from the president of the UTMSU, Atif Abdullah.

While Mark Overton did not comment on specific cases that have occurred at UTM for student privacy reasons, Abdullah did discuss the recent incidents in his speech.

“There is a mental health crisis at the University of Toronto regardless of what campus we talk about today,” said Abdullah.

“On October 2, on our campus, a deeply disheartening and disappointing experience happened. A

student seeking mental health support from our Health and Counseling Centre went in for help but left with handcuffs,” said Abdullah.

“It is important to note that this was not a one-off incident,” continued Abdullah. “Since that day till today, we have had students come to our office to say, ‘me too.’”

“While U of T’s policies say it is best practice to handcuff students seeking support, it sends the message that it is not okay to ask for help and that seeking support somehow means punishment,” continued Abdullah. “Though we want to continue to encourage students to access the supports, and believe me we will, we cannot in good faith do so without addressing the unsafe positions that they are put in when they’re seeking help.”

Abdullah concluded his speech by going over the Mental Health Report released by the UTMSU on November 19 and stating that the UTMSU is looking forward to working with the university administration.

Vice-Provost, Students, Sandy Welsh responded to a question by community member Ziyaad Vahed regarding the policies on how mental health is addressed and policing on campus.

“The healthcare professionals are guided by their training and their responsibilities as particular healthcare professionals and we trust that judgment in terms of the physical and mental healthcare that they provide,” said Welsh.

“We will have tri-campus discussions that take into account campus differences, especially when campuses are located in different cities,” continued Welsh, “and this can refer to policing practices that can refer to our relationships with community healthcare providers, hospitals, amongst others.”

Campus Council Chair Matthen made some concluding statements before moving on to the next agenda item.

“We’re all deeply moved by the situation,” said Matthen. “Mr. Abdullah has referred to it as a crisis which suggests, and I think correctly, that it’s not something which is ongoing for a long time, but something that has taken on considerable urgency in the last few months or in the last year and I get the sense that there’s a great deal going on to address it.”

The next Campus Council meeting will be held on January 29, 2020.

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Big-ticket items emerge from city budget meeting The City of Mississauga’s Budget Committee approved key budget increases and city plans for 2020 SALEHA FARUQUE DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR Following a series of Mississauga budget meetings, residents, workers, and students can expect some big-ticket items emerging post-budget approval on December 4.

Last week, Mississauga’s budget committee listened to proposed 2020 Budget and Business Plans from most city service areas. Transit, emergency, and recreation services were among some program areas that presented their future budget vision.

Throughout the three consecutive meetings held on November 18, 19, and 25, the Budget’s Standing Committee deliberated on a series of presentations. Each focused on achieving “quality of service, service delivery and value for money.”

The various business planning cycles each aligned with the City’s four corporate priorities. These priorities include delivering the right services that reflect a balance “between citizen service expectations and fiscal responsibility, implementing cost strategies, or value for money, maintaining infrastructure based on current needs and priorities, as well as advancing Mississauga’s Strategic Vision, which affirms Mississauga as a ‘global urban city recognized for its municipal leadership.’”

Below are some worthy highlights from the 2020 Business Plan & Budget.

MiWay Transit Mississauga’s main transit provider, MiWay transit, has long focused on improving service delivery and expansion every six to eight months each year.

Through its MiWay Five Transit Service Plan (2016-2020), the transit system wants to move “from a design that radiates from the city centre to a grid network that allows for more frequent and direct services along main corridors.”

MiWay’s 2020-2040 Business Plan outlook will further develop its five-year service plan beyond 2020 through a second five-year service plan (2021-2025).

Continuing on these improvements, MiWay revealed its plan to increase transit service in 2020 by adding 32,600 more service hours.

This service-spike will help transitriders get around the city by accessing new service routes, such as the Churchill Meadows Community Centre expanding into the Ninth Line.

The new community centre project will become home to “75,000 square feet of community centre,” including a “50-acre park.” The community centre and park are provided by the City and will be located “within the Ninth Line lands future development area between Highway 403 and 401.”

Approved transportation plans will start with the Dundas Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the Lakeshore High-Order Transit Corridor, and the Downtown Mississauga

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Emergency services are among the topics that were discussed and approved in the City of Mississauga’s budget meeting.

Terminal and Transitway Connection. Mobility improvement plans include implementation strategies that “encourage the use of more sustainable transportation options including cycling, walking, transit usage and carpooling.”

This multi-modal transportation system will further be facilitated through continued implementation of the Cycling Master Plan. Endorsed by the city in June 2018, the plan will result in “897 kilometres of infrastructure to be built over 27 years,” through increasing various types of bicycle lanes, multi-use trails, and “shared routes between cyclists and motorists on roads with lower speeds.”

Alongside working with Metrolinx in 2020 to construct the Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT), similar future projects will include the new Kipling Mobility Hub (2020), Hurontario LRT service integration (2023), and investments in new hybrid buses and battery electric change-off cars.

MiWay’s yearly customer boarding rate is expected to exceed 59 million in 2020. Increased ridership is credited to the continued investments in MiWay, which also allows for more city street service. As the city’s largest transit provider and Ontario’s third-largest municipal transit provider, MiWay services make up 23 per cent of Mississauga’s total budget.

Recreation Mississauga residents generally share positive views of recreational activities provided by city services.

For instance, according to a public survey from June and July 2017, 95 per cent of respondents agreed that recreation was important to their quality of life, and 98 per cent said

that recreation builds strong communities.

However, 60 per cent thought the number of programs was “just right,” and 38 per cent said there were “too few” program opportunities. The Recreation Division’s 2020-2030 Business Plan Outlook aims to change the ease of access to recreation and leisure in the City of Mississauga.

Focusing on key priorities over the next 10 years, this division seeks to promote access and inclusion for marginalized populations through “targeted and focused efforts,’’ and by “promoting opportunities, understanding any barriers and removing them.”

According to the 2020 Business Plan, some residents “may not be able to access services for a variety of reasons including affordability, not feeling welcomed, physical accessibility, and feeling that activities are not representative of their interests.”

The Master Plan will also target the city’s diverse groups by targeting community engagement, addressing facility infrastructure needs, and adding service delivery for youth and older adults.

According to the plan, youth, teens, and older adults will be supported because “their participation levels are often lower than those of other age groups.” According to the city and recreation master plan, it’s important that “these individuals continue their participation to achieve the benefits of recreation at these critical life stages.”

The 2019 Future Directions for Recreation, or Recreation Master Plan, will help Mississauga deliver future recreation facilities, pro-

grams and services until 2028. This Master Plan helps guide an “innovative, sustainable and fiscally responsible” plan to meet resident needs in response to population changes, trends in recreation participation, and operating conditions.

A major highlight of the Master Plan includes the new Churchill Meadows Community Centre. U of T Mississauga students will be able to travel to the community centre in less than 20 minutes by car.

The facility will offer an “indoor aquatics centre, triple gymnasium and program rooms.” To support such community engagement plans, the 2020 Recreation budget proposed increasing its net operating impact by $1.9 million in comparison to 2019.

Fire & Emergency Services Future investment in the City’s Fire and Emergency Services will be determined according to the highest risk identified. The 2020-2030 Business Plan would implement, based on risk, both targeted public education programs and proactive fire and life safety inspection programs.

Risks were identified according to the 2019 Fire and Emergency Services Master Plan. Under the new public education initiatives, safety content will include “a proactive smoke alarm and home escape planning program.”

Operations staff in the field will also receive enhanced fire safety education, and since these personnel represent the “largest number” of front line staff, they will be able to “reach a large number of residents effectively and can support public education efforts.”

According to the Budget plan, an institution like U of T Mississauga would require annual inspection

and resourcing to ensure compliance “with all applicable regulations and statutes”.

Other occupancy types, such as residential buildings, business, warehousing and business occupancies, have varied inspection requirements. To meet these needs, Fire & Emergency Services plan to develop an inspection program that implements inspection cycles based on key risks.

To further mitigate risks that can emerge from the way buildings are constructed, a fire safety engineer, and the use of improved disaster response software are being planned for. The Office of Emergency Management has been developing a “business continuity strategy” to develop major areas of service delivery, including the City’s emergency response in the event of a major disaster or disruption.

This plan will “guide the city’s response” and “ensure that city services can be restored quickly.”

Another factor affecting emergency response capabilities included the construction of new fire stations and optimizing fire service response time.

According to the proposed budget, precarious conditions that were identified include a high volume of calls, deficient response times and high-risk populations or occupancies.

The plan’s current goals intend to “have stations located so that the travel time for the first arriving vehicle from the station to the location of an incident can be four minutes or less,” for at least 75 per cent of the time.

To achieve this safety milestone, the plan includes constructing six fire stations over the next 12 years.

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THE MEDIUM 12.02.2019

RAWC annual fees skyrocket

HUMANS OF UTM

The RAWC incidental fees have increased drastically since 2016

There’s this tendency for people to ask you “what do you want to do with your life?” and if you have such a narrow goal in your mind, and you follow it, only to one day realize that you don’t want to do that, then it’s kind of like you were travelling the whole time with your blinds on—kind of like tunnel vision. If you leave your mind open, you’ll wind up doing something cool, and interesting. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it makes you happy. I mean, you also have to make a little bit of money too, and live. But there are a lot of people who get stuck doing something they don’t like. I see a lot of people doing that— following a path until they don’t like it, and suddenly they’re ready to retire and haven’t lived a very happy life.”

MICHAEL LONGMIRE/UNSPLASH.COM

Since 2016, there has been a $57.28 increase in RAWC fees due to new hires and initiatives.

ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The incidental fees for the Department of the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre (RAWC), which are mandatory for all students, have increased 16.3 per cent in the past four years, seeing a $57.28 increase in yearly fees since the 2016-2017 academic year.

Sonia Borg, director of Finance and Operations and Renu Kanga Fonseca, director of Strategy and Sport Wellness, said that the increases in fees are due to a multitude of reasons including the expansion of services and employment opportunities.

“Since 2016, the department has grown in its offerings, so it offers far more drop-in fitness classes, all of which now, in the last year and a half, are free, so we’re not charging anything for these drop-in classes. In the past we used to for certain ones,” said Borg.

“We’ve increased the number of intramural sports that are offered on campus and expanded the hours of our membership desk,” continued Borg.

The largest increase in the RAWC fees occurred in the 2018-2019 academic year, which saw a 10.3 per cent ($18.58 per semester, $37.16 per year) increase in fees. This is a significant increase when compared to the previous year, which had only increased by two per cent ($3.51 per semester, $7.02 per year).

Borg explained that the largest increase took place after they went through the Quality Services to Students (QSS) consultation process and addressed the rising issues. The

increased funding was utilized to provide athletes with more support both academically and through services like athletic therapy, which can help with concussion management.

“Always our fees are reflective of the priorities of the department and the priorities are established through that QSS process,” said Borg.

“We also hired a communications specialist to be able to provide more information as to what the RAWC has to offer to the UTM community, and some facility renovations [were done] that had been deferred in prior years,” continued Borg.

Renu Kanga Fonseca discussed the new programs and initiatives that the department has been pursuing and introduced the new virtual fitness program that will be showcased during the Exam Jam for the first time.

“That’s a new initiative that will expand the offerings to students. Some of the fitness classes are at scheduled times, and that may or may not fit everybody’s schedule,” said Fonesca.

“So, having virtual fitness is sort of an on-demand way of students getting the benefit of something that is otherwise like a class.”

The virtual fitness program will also be available to students even when the RAWC isn’t.

“When we’re closed during the winter holidays, the virtual fitness will be there and available around the clock for students because we have fewer offerings during that time when we’re closed,” said Fonseca.

Although the decision has yet to be finalized, Sonia Borg stated that the RAWC wasn’t expecting a large hike in fees.

“So, for 2020-21 we’re looking at

only a 1 per cent increase,” said Borg.

Borg also discussed the measures of control and policies regarding the fee increases and stated that the University of Toronto Wide Long-Term Protocol on the Increase or Introduction of Compulsory Non-Tuition Related Fees, usually referred to as “the Protocol,” limits the amount of fee increases that departments can seek out.

Over the past few years the RAWC has utilized their increased funding and has had many accomplishments in the process, from the implementation of the Varsity program to the Wellness Routes in partnership with the Health and Counselling Centre.

However, one of the biggest points of pride for the department is being the largest employer of students on campus.

“The department wouldn’t run without all the student staff that we have and are able to employ and provide experiences for. [These experiences] help them in their own growth and development with looking for jobs down the road, and [they also] help them out financially while they’re students,” said Fonseca.

“We have 400 positions at various points in time through the year,” added Borg.

The department also has several renovations coming up, including the creation of an Eagles team room and the combination of the membership and control desks at the RAWC. “In [the] future we plan to refresh the lobby and expand meeting spaces for students, and we have some larger repairs and replacements that we will need to look at, such as the roof.

We will have to replace the roof,” concluded Borg.

U of T professor as new Minister Anita Anand inducted into Trudeau’s cabinet SHERYL GURAJADA CONTRIBUTOR University of Toronto Law professor Anita Anand was sworn into Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet on November 20.

Anand was elected as a member of parliament (MP), representing the riding of Oakville this past election, and is now making strides on the national stage to serve as the minister for public services and procurement.

The public services and procurement ministry oversees the internal servicing and administration of federal departments and agencies. The minister’s role is to be the central purchasing agent, property management, treasurer, accountant, and pay and pension administrator, among others.

Anand has been teaching at U of T Law since 2006, and more recently she also held a chair position in Investor Protection and Corporate Governance. She also served as associate dean for the Faculty of Law between 2007 and 2009, and in 2010 was appointed academic director of the Centre for the Legal Profession and its program, Ethics in Law and Business.

Anand is also cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Anand has completed her degrees at

some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including the University of Oxford and U of T. On the Mostly Money podcast with Preet Banerjee in 2017, Anand describes her journey to being a professor of Law at U of T as being “quite a hike, to move to Kingston from rural Nova Scotia. Then I went to my first law degree at Oxford. After that I came back to Dalhousie and U of T before starting my articles.”

After her first law degree at Oxford, Anand subsequently obtained her LL.B. from Dalhousie and her LL.M. from U of T. She has an extensive teaching portfolio, holding positions in multiple universities across Ontario including U of T, Queen’s University, Western University, as well as Yale Law School.

Over her 25-year career in securities law and teaching, Anand has carved herself a solid place in the industry and is regarded as an expert with a strong grasp on the subject.

Being a visible minority of South Asian descent, Anand is the first Hindu to be a federal minister. She has previously served as chairperson of the Canadian Museum of Hindu Civilization and has also helped conduct research on the bombing of Air India Flight 182.

Her appointment is a mark of victory for diversity in federal government as well as another achievement for U of T alumni and faculty.

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Activists continue Global Climate Strike Climate activists raise awareness on the climate crisis, head marshal talks on the importance of youth action ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Climate activists of all ages came together for the Global Climate Strike last Friday, marching through the streets of downtown Toronto.

The march began at noon at Queen’s Park, across from the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and the strikers dispersed after reaching Nathan Phillips Square to chant in front of City Hall.

With the weather reaching -4°C and feeling well below -10 °C, the group of protestors, albeit smaller in size compared to the numbers from two months ago, were ardent. A tentative headcount by a marshal reported approximately 5,000 participants.

The strike was organized by Fridays For Future Toronto in collaboration with other cities across the world and was arranged to take place right before the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 25 which will be held in Madrid between December 2 and December 13.

COP 25 will not only discuss the developments regarding the Paris Agreement, which was put into action last year, but will also consider upcoming critical advances in climate change.

In an email correspondence with The Medium, Amrita Daniere, viceprincipal, academic and dean at UTM, discussed the significance of

FRIDAYSFORFUTURE/TWITTER

Climate change doesn’t stop when the protests do, which is why some still protest every week. this issue.

“Climate change is clearly one of the most, if not the most, important issues of our time,” said Daniere.

“UTM is committed to embracing sustainability both through research and teaching but also through how we manage and build the campus.”

“I would also like to mention that UTM has recently struck a Sustain-

ability Advisory Committee to the Principal at UTM which is meeting regularly and developing a process to create a Sustainability Strategic Plan,” continued Daniere.

The Medium spoke with John Baumann, a semi-retired elementary school teacher and one of the head marshals involved in the climate strikes of Fridays For Future.

“What [climate justice] really refers to is the inherent injustice of not only destroying our planet, but having the human victims of this destruction be the people who have least benefited from all the carbon consumption that’s gone on in the last 150 years,” said Baumann.

“Any kind of ethics dictates that we consider the other people in our

world. I believe that many people think only of themselves, or their immediate loved ones […] and don’t look any further than that. I’m ashamed of that,” continued Baumann.

Baumann was very encouraged about the increasing youth involvement in climate justice activism and global climate strikes.

“I love it!” said Baumann. “You are going to be the leaders in this.

You have to be and it’s your world.

The consequences of inaction will be yours to deal with.”

“We need all the help we can get.

This is a big battle and it needs everybody. We need all hands on deck,” said Baumann concluding his statements by calling for action and highlighting the importance of awareness among youth.

The Medium also spoke with Hailey Bernard, a high school student who had come out to her first climate strike armed with recycled signs and a large group of friends.

“We are so gifted to have this world and the fact that we’re wrecking it just really hurts my heart,” said Bernard.

“We use more than we think we do.

Even going thrift shopping first before you go to a retail store or a fastfashion store is a small thing that you can do.”

The climate activists will continue to strike every Friday at Queen’s Park.

Designated Smoking Areas to be reviewed The Designated Smoking Areas (DSA) on the UTM campus will most likely decrease this coming spring SARA CASSUOLI DAVIDE CONTRIBUTOR The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) will reevaluate the Designated Smoking Areas (DSAs) on campus this spring.

Almost a year has passed since the DSAs were set up around campus and the administration is currently evaluating their use.

“I anticipate that we’ll report on this to campus governance this coming spring,” said Mark Overton, dean of Student Affairs.

Last December, the Governing Council approved a smoke-free policy, updating the smoking regulations at all three campuses.

The updates included making the St. George campus completely smoke-free and prohibiting smoking anywhere on campus.

DSAs were implemented on the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses for a transitional period in order to lessen DSA usage and cease smoking on campus over time.

“One of the differences in UTM’s implementation [of new smoking regulations] is that most St. George

campus users can quickly and easily access public streets and sidewalks that crisscross much of the campus to smoke while remaining in compliance with U of T’s policy,” said Overton.

“That’s not the case at UTM, which is bordered by public property […] for that reason, we established targeted DSAs,” continued Overton.

There are a total of 12 DSAs at the UTM campus. There is one for every main building, and they are all approximately 100 feet from the main entrances.

According to Overton, the administration’s goals for the DSAs are to reduce users’ consumption of smoking and vaping products, and to reduce non-users’ second-hand exposure.

“We’re working to remain nimble, to make decisions on DSAs based on both of those goals,” said Overton.

“There have been fewer complaints about smoking and vaping on campus since the introduction of DSAs.” Although there are currently no specific targets and deadlines for reducing the number of DSAs, UTM

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

UTM committed to reducing DSAs after successfully reducing smoking and second-hand smoke. is committed to reducing their number over time, said Overton.

Students do not believe that this is feasible.

“People already smoke in the non-designated areas, so I feel like [having fewer] smoking zones is just

going to make them want to smoke anywhere,” said Sheily Nanavati, a 20-year-old student non-smoker.

“People aren’t going to stop smoking on campus, that’s not how it works,” said a first-year Psychology and Sociology student-smoker

who wished to remain anonymous.

Come spring, UTM administration will provide an update on the DSAs on campus.

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UTMSU’s AGM talks audits and student proposals The Annual General Meeting discussed UTMSU’s successful lobbies, capped funds, and student motions ISIK VERA SENEL ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) held its Annual General Meeting last Wednesday where they discussed financial audit statements and entertained motions put forth by students.

The meeting began with a speech from the UTMSU president Atif Abdullah, in which he addressed mental health issues, UTMSU’s past victories, and on-going initiatives.

“The UTMSU lobbied and successfully implemented the course refund policy, giving first-year students a chance to repeat a past course they failed, [and] to meet program requirements,” said Abdullah. “We also piloted self-assigned sick notes in the summer, and that allows students to declare their sickness without having the burden of adding proof.”

Abdullah also discussed the Student Choice Initiative and the recent ruling by the Divisional Court of Ontario, which asserted that fees pertaining to student unions were outside of the Ontario government’s legal jurisdiction.

“When we actually thought all was lost because of the so-called Student Choice Initiative, students who knew this was a bad policy actually fought back against our government.

And luckily, it wasn’t just our members who thought this was a bad policy. The courts thought that too,” said Abdullah.

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

The UTMSU had their annual meeting this past Wednesday, discussing the past and the future.

“The government never actually cared about saving students money, because otherwise they would not have gone and cut OSAP,” continued Abdullah.

Vice-President Internal of the UTMSU Sara Malhotra went over the financial statements of the Blind Duck Pub and non-consolidated financial statements of the UTMSU. Even though the Blind Duck had to renew its sound and lighting systems this past year, the pub was able to pay off all of its loans in time and made a $22,000 profit in net assets.

“We can see that the wages and benefits increased,” said Malhotra

regarding the $12,716 difference in the Blind Duck’s statement. “This is because more events require more labour and often these labourers also have to work longer hours.”

When looking through the nonconsolidated financial statements of the UTMSU, Malhotra discussed the $1,709,159 increase in assets. “This is due to the separation of the UTMSU from the UTSU and we do collect the funds now from UTSU,” said Malhotra.

“These are funds that the UTSU used to collect on our behalf before, but due to the separation, we are collecting the funds for health and

dental and wheelchair accessibility.

These funds are restricted because they’re supposed to go to those specific reasons.”

The UTMSU saw an overall operation surplus of $384,544 and the excess of revenue over expenditure for the year was $1,590,736, which does include the additional funds from the UTSU. The Student Action Motion put forth by Abdullah called for an increase in student action in the upcoming semester and a collaboration between the UTMSU and the University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA). This motion passed

unanimously after five speeches in favour, including one from Felipe Nagata, the previous UTMSU President who is also the current Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario.

“I just wanted to note for all the international students out there, it’s not fair that they’re paying a lot more for the same education,” said Nagata.

Two motions were put forth by members of the student body. The first motion, moved by L. Scheffer, called for the billiard tables in the Blind Duck Pub to be free of charge with the deposit of a TCard.

Although the billiard tables are owned by a third party, this motion was able to pass following an amendment from Abdullah, which dictated that the Blind Duck absorb the costs of the billiard tables, thus enabling the students to access them free of charge.

The second motion by a member was moved by Y. Wang, who was not present at the meeting, calling for the Blind Duck Pub to remain open during weekends.

However, this motion was amended by Vice-President University Affairs Miguel Cabral, dictating that “the UTMSU explore the possibility of keeping the Pub open on weekends.” Both the amendment and the motion were approved.

Before adjournment, Abdullah went over upcoming events and initiatives by the UTMSU, including Exam Destressors and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

U of T alumni wins the 2019 Scotiabank Giller Prize Ian Williams, a three-time graduate from U of T is this named this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize recipient ALYSSA HARILALL CONTRIBUTOR On November 18, Scotiabank’s 2019 Giller Prize was awarded to University of Toronto’s alumni, Ian Williams, for his debut novel Reproduction.

Williams is a three-time graduate from the University of Toronto (U of T), earning a Masters and PhD in English.

He began his undergraduate degree at U of T with plans to attend medical school. By the end of his first year, his love for literature overthrew his original plans and Williams ended up changing his major to a double in English and Psychology.

Following his education at U of T, Williams became a successful author and published poet as well as an assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia. Williams also holds the title of Griffin Poetry Prize Trustee.

The Scotiabank Giller Prize is

a prestigious award given to Canadian authors of both novels and short stories. Established in 1994, it originated as a charitable organization and currently works with Scotiabank to promote the growth of Canadian literary talent. Williams will join a long list of celebrated Canadians who have also received this honour, including Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, and Mordecai Richler.

Many current students take pride in knowing that a fellow alumnus has accomplished so much in his career. When asked about Williams’ recent award, students at U of T were excited and honoured to attend the same institution.

“As an English major myself, I think it is so cool that someone from our university, who graduated with the same major as me, has accomplished such a huge honour,” said Caitlyn Rajkumar, a fourthyear English and Political Science student at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).

According to CBC News, Williams received his prize with his local hero, Margaret Atwood, in audience.

“You have no idea how special this is for me,” said Williams, according to CBC News.

Ian Williams gives credit to Margaret Atwood for filling the majority of his childhood with her poetry.

“I’m sure a lot of people feel this exact way about her, and she gives us this sense of pride as well. It’s just so much she’s done for this country,” said Williams about Margaret Atwood.

Williams’ prize-winning novel Reproduction is about the complexity of intimate relationships and growth. It celebrates the bond between individuals and the experience of life and loss throughout the years. Serious but funny, Reproduction tells the story of families coming together, and what it means to be a family, without being bonded by blood.

IAN WILLIAMS/TWITTER

Ian Williams won the award for his book Reproduction.

12.02.2019 THE MEDIUM NEWS

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UTM library builds a new emergency exit To comply with fire code regulations UTM installed a new emergency exit at the library LATISHA LOBBAN CONTRIBUTOR The University of Toronto Mississauga library opened a new emergency exit in October to fulfill fire department regulations.

The second exit is located along the main glass wall and is for emergency use only. The fire exit had to be installed to increase access to the fire hose outside the library in the Communication, Culture and Technology (CCT) hallway in cases of emergency.

In an emailed statement, Chief Librarian Shelley Hawrychuk said “the door was put in because we needed access to the fire hose that is situated in the Library near those doors, and the hose needed to be accessible for use in the Link.

“So, for instance,” said Hawrychuk, “if there was a fire in Starbucks a hose was not accessible.”

In addition to addressing safety concerns, the installation of an additional library exit provided UTM with the most cost-effective way to fulfill the fire code regulations.

“There were two options—make a door there from the library to pull

the hose through or set up a new hose system somewhere near Starbucks within the link. That would be very expensive because of the need for water,” Hawrychuk continued.

Hawrychuk said the new emergency exit was beneficial to the library as well because it “created another fire exit on the main floor of the library. The main doors of the Library are not technically fire doors, so it was felt that another fire door from the Library was optimal.”

This is not the first time the library has been forced to renovate to meet fire code regulations. In the 20172018 school year, a number of desks were moved out of the library to the second floor of the adjoining CCT building to disperse students.

In an interview with The Medium that same year, Chief Librarian Shelley Hawyrchuk said “there was overcapacity from a fire code perspective.

There were more people in the building than we were allowed to have, so we moved some seating across campus.”

The library is continuing to work to meet fire code regulations.

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This is not the first time the library has been forced to renovate to meet fire code regulations.

Women in Science and Computing: new club on campus The new club, Women in Science and Computing (WiSC), advocates for gender diversity in STEM fields FARISHTEH KHAN CONTRIBUTOR

The University of Toronto Mississauga’s Student Union (UTMSU) has recognized a new club called Women in Science and Computing (WiSC), as of October 1. The club is set to launch officially in January 2020 with the start of the winter term.

WiSC was started with the goal of creating opportunities for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, but it also places an emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusion. WiSC encourages students from any range of disciplines and of any gender to join.

“We should be bringing all women to the table, [but] it can’t just be women talking about what we face,” said WiSC president Vaneezeh Siddiqui to The Medium.

Siddiqui believes women in particular are underrepresented in STEM programs, since they lack access to female role models. Imposter Syndrome—the persistent belief that one’s success is undeserved—is a prevalent underlying issue that Siddiqui notes many women around her feel.

WiSC aims to provide a platform where issues of gender gaps can be

PHOTO/WISC

The UTMSU has recognized a new women’s club that focuses on empowering women in STEM. discussed and tackled on campus.

When asked about what inspired her to establish WiSC, Siddiqui cited her first-year experience at university.

“I would actively look for girls, […]

people who echo the feelings I do.”

Siddiqui was actively engaged in events at the St. George campus but felt the absence of a community of her own here at UTM.

WiSC’s projected events include the launch party in January during which there will be a screening of the documentary Dream, Girl, and a separate recruiting event with the

company Yelp.

WiSC will also host community events like team dancing and fireside chats about anything and everything university-related, as well as destressing events and workshops to help build personal brands.

True to its ethos, the WiSC team is entirely female run. In just a month since its inception, it has built its team from the ground up and already has a sizeable following on social media.

“We are incredibly excited to bring this to life,” said Siddiqui. “There’s so much energy in the room, everyone [is] so passionate and ready to share.”

Their first event, called the Cocoa and Cram, invites students to join their major study session while enjoying some treats.

With exams right around the corner, Siddiqui emphasized the need for community and destressing activities.

“You’re not alone in dealing with exam stress,” said Siddiqui. “[Cocoa and Cram will be] a place for you to find people to work with, and just keep your vibes calmer and more positive.”

The Cocoa and Cram will be held on December 6 in the presentation room at the Student Centre from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

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Accessibility The Accessibility Services’ mission statement states that they aim “to ensure that all students with disabilities can freely and actively participate in all facets of University life.”

During the UTMSU’s Annual General Meeting, the union explained how the $1,709,159 increase in their assets from the recent audit is from the capped funds dedicated to student services.

“These are funds that the UTSU used to collect on our behalf before, but due to the separation we are collecting the funds for health and dental and wheelchair accessibility,” said VP internal Sara Malhotra during the AGM. “These funds are restricted because they’re supposed to go to those specific reasons.”

Now, what’s the next step? Renovations to the elevator—which is actually a lift—in the Student Centre are long overdue. We’re almost into second semester. The union should announce a tangible plan, not just make offhand comments at their AGM. But it’s not just the UTMSU that needs to get to work. According to their website, Accessibility Services are funded by a grant from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. They should be looking around campus and trying to solve accessibility issues as soon as they arise. What are Accessibility Services doing to mitigate the problem? How are they spending the money if not to help with wheelchair accessibility?

As well, the university has long since reported the high cost associated with revamping accessibility services and utilities, including the faulty elevators in the Communication, Culture, and Technology (CCT) and Davis buildings.

In a previous interview with The Medium, the director of Facilities Management & Planning, Ahmed Azhari expressed the financial limits the department has in revamping the CCT elevators.

“To do a full modernization at the moment is not a viable option because it is very costly, but we are doing our best to minimize the downtime,” said Azhari.

It’s time to solve the issue. If the UTMSU, Accessibility Services, and Facilities Management & Planning come together and pool their resources, they’ll be able to produce a solution.

So, let’s get to work.

SEAN DALY CONTRIBUTOR Over the past two weeks, many of us have heard about a student who was handcuffed in the HCC after seeking help for suicidal ideation. While the general opinion I have encountered in writing gave me the impression that a majority of students feel disapprove of the campus police’s involvement at the HCC, I have had conversations with students at UTM and St. George who believe that this harsh reaction to the campus police is uncharitable.

I feel it is important, then, to state what I believe is a moderate position about students being handcuffed and escorted to the hospital after expressing intentions to harm themselves.

Firstly, to decrease the severity of any ad hominem attacks on my person, such as that I could not possibly understand what this suicidal student went through, it is important to note that I myself have been handcuffed and forced against my will to receive psychiatric treatment in the past. Roughly five years ago, I was placed under a Form 1 at St Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto, and remained there for two days before being released. I waited in handcuffs in-between two large police officers before being seen by a psychiatrist.

My incident with forced hospitalization was caused by a drug induced psychosis where a mental health professional concluded I was at high risk of harming myself. The experience was highly uncomfortable and, yes, frightening. However, I have since recovered from that state of mind, and believe that such measures may have saved my life. In retrospect, I have enough clarity to see that my detainment was appropriate, as I was quite ill at the time.

My behaviour, thoughts, and words in no way resembled my true nature.

I may very well have harmed myself at the time.

I identify with the mental pain that the student went through and the inexplicable difficulty in coming forward and expressing their suffering. Mental illness is a private kind of torture that I know through experience. I also believe that it can be overcome. What I do not agree with is the radical student reaction to how the police behaved in the HCC incident.

In a statement they published to Facebook, the UTM students’ Union used the noun “violence” to describe the behaviour of the police who handcuffed the student. The irony is that “violence” is, by definition, the use of force with the intention to inflict harm. However, the police handcuffed the student to prevent the student from being harmed.

I would like to offer a fictional thought experiment to urge students to consider the matter from a different angle. A 20-year-old girl named Claudia has been suffering quietly from depression since the age of 15. Her emotional pain is so intense and so chronic that the thought of ending her life begins to dominate her experience of an unbearable life. She is able to smile in public and walk to and from class, but as is often the case with mental health, her immense suffering is completely invisible. Her peers see her as an introverted and quiet person. She even comes across as peaceful. Underneath her unexpressive exterior, she has decided, after years of emotional suffering and suicidal ideation, to actually harm herself. She is conflicted between feelings of guilt about how her suicide will affect her loved ones, and the promise of relief that oblivion will bring. In the end, her suffering is so immense, and seems so inescapable, that she has decided to go through with her plan.

However, a small flare of the survival instinct urges her to go to her university’s Health and Counselling Centre, where she transparently expresses for the first time her plans about suicide. What trickles through her testimony is how skewed her perception of reality has become after years of enduring a chronic and relentless depression; that she is trapped inside a lens which distorts reality into a morbid and meaningless blur. A nurse named Dominique then suggests that Claudia go to the hospital and receive treatment. It is clear the Claudia’s mental state is dangerous. However, Claudia says she has an exam tomorrow, and that she will go to the hospital afterwards, and thanks Dominique. As a nurse, Dominique strongly urges Claudia to go to the hospital but will not force her out of respect for personal autonomy. Claudia waves off the suggestion, and says “I will go after my exam.”

Claudia leaves the Health and Counselling Centre, goes to her room in the student residence, and instead of preparing for her exam, swallows a lethal dose of medication, where she is found dead the next day.

The nurse is now left wondering whether or not she was right to grant Claudia the autonomy to walk herself to the hospital. Claudia’s parents lash out at the nurse’s conduct. Claudia’s friends protest that Claudia was unwell and should have been escorted to the hospital. The more radical of Claudia’s friends think the nurse, Dominique, is actually responsible for Claudia’s death. The university is now under scrutiny.

Suicidal ideation is different from a broken wrist. I think we ought to consider this side of the issue, and others, before we condemn the action of the campus police as violent and the HCC policy, generally.

12.02.2019 THE MEDIUM COMMENT» 9

The intergenerational rift: ok, boomer Both Boomers and and Generation Z have time to remedy the problems that plague society AYA YAFAOUI STAFF WRITER There is a famous quote that is often attributed to Socrates complaining about ancient Athenian youth.

The quote lists all the things that are wrong with kids during those days, and while lengthy, it’s worth reading again: “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households.

They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

The quote—though not authentic because it was written by a student named Kenneth John Freeman in 1907 for his Cambridge dissertation—is amusing because it illustrates the timeless conflicts between each new generation and the ones that preceded it.

Today, a popular response to that quote might be, “Ok, Boomer.” The meme and the frustration behind it have become prominent features of today’s public discourse, with the phrase appearing on merchandise, and Fox even attempting to trademark the phrase as the name of a TV show. The phrase has also garnered backlash, with one radio host regard-

MILIDAE CLAIRE UY/THE MEDIUM

Ok, boomer is the new way to respond to older people who make their age your problem. ing it to be like the “n-word” of ageism. People have written articles cautioning employees to stay away from using the phrase, and it has even been reported on by the New York Times. “Ok, Boomer” has also made an appearance in New Zealand’s parliament, with one MP using it as a comeback towards an older colleague heckling her. As has been widely reported, the meme started on TikTok and has spread to become a viral sensation around the world.

The meaning of the meme continues to evolve, from being a satirical reflection of the older generation’s hypocrisy towards youth, to just being a silly phrase used whenever

someone says something stupid.

Context is also important, as the meme has been used to address important issues such as worsening climate change and financial inequality.

Yet, the question that continues to be asked regarding this phenomenon is if “Ok, Boomer” is worsening the generational rift.

The aforementioned New York Times article that addressed the meme is titled, “Ok, Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations.” Many other articles also refer to it as a “war” or “fight” between Generation Z and Millennials against Boomers. The hilarity of the situation is that generational relations

were never that “friendly.” As the misattributed Socrates quote demonstrates, every generation criticizes the one after it, and Boomers sure have taken the ball and ran with it.

For the most part, Millennials have bared the brunt of Boomer criticism, everything from how they have become screen-obsessed, to their killing of the fabric softener industry.

All the “back in my day” speeches, and the “kids these days” comments were never about understanding the struggles of the younger generation.

No, they were about patronizing the young.

You see, the fact is that resentment doesn’t build from nothing. The ex-

tinction of the earth and the bleak financial reality awaiting most people in Generation Z are the obvious two major frustrations. Yet, as the variety of TikToks about this issue will show, things that are usually considered smaller infractions, like the treatment of a cashier at a checkout, have also generated pushback from Generation Z. So, while the generational rift has always been there and has always extended deeply, is this new trend going to cause the catastrophic generational meltdown that some are predicting? In my opinion, I think the real trouble won’t arise from a single meme, but from the actions of a generation. Boomers need to start being open to change, especially to the climate’s change. They need to start accepting that the systems they helped put in place, whether actively or passively, are not working. The socalled naive idealism they accuse the youth of possessing is, in fact, a bid to change the world for the better.

As for the youth, I completely understand the frustration and urge to turn your back on those you feel aren’t respecting you as a human being. However, some understanding and patience can go a long way.

In the end, there is still time to fix all this. Both Boomers and Generation Z have time to remedy the problems that plague society—it just won’t happen if we’re busy accusing each other of entitlement and the like.

Internalized sexism slides into our lives Internalized misogyny is almost unavoidable when we’re raised to fit into standard gender roles SASHA RODRIGUEZ STAFF WRITER I come from two countries—Mexico and Kazakhstan—where explicit sexism is the social norm and where the word feminism evokes fear in most girls and laughter in most guys.

Naturally, when I arrived to Canada I thought that the emotional abuse and inequality I had lived with for years were finally left behind. For the first few months of living in this wonderful country, I deemed it a land of justice and freedom, and was blind to the sneaky, almost implausible manifestations of misogyny that flourish under our noses every day. It wasn’t until I joined Greek life, getting out of my circle of international friends, that I realized that while “sorry” might be the most popular word in Canada, many Canadians think of politeness as a social norm and simply avoid talking politics or discussing their views on major social issues, like feminism.

I joined a sorority in January, so I made friends with frat guys and with girls from different sororities, I met people at parties who were not even part of any sorority or frat, and I started noticing things. It might be that I took off the rose-colored glasses I had been wearing since I came to a first world country, or it might be

the fact that I got closer to people, just close enough for them to drop the politically correct act, but suddenly I witnessed conversations that reminded me of a past I thought was long gone. I heard judgmental jokes and comments regarding women’s appearance, complaints about girls who were too friendly with guys— and too “slutty”—but also about those who were shy and “socially awkward.” Suddenly, all those unattainable expectations that society had put on women in both my home countries were resurfacing here, in a place I believed to be liberal and accepting, and women themselves were the harshest critics of all.

As absurd as it might sound, internalized misogyny is almost unavoidable in a world where we all have been raised to fit into the societal standard of gender roles. Although the feminist movement has been around for years, women are still bombarded with guidelines and expectations from the media and their families throughout their lives, and this social pressure doesn’t need to be explicit to affect a person.

In Kazakhstan, I would get attacked by older women for kissing my date in public, often hearing statements like, “You’re a lady! Behave yourself!” In Canada, people have been more subtle about their

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

Women are constantly being told who they are, instead of letting them figure it out for themselves. prejudices towards me and other women, manifesting their views through mild comments about how men are the horny, infantile ones and girls should know better, and if the girl doesn’t know better, then she’s desperate, or immature, or just craves attention.

I have seen women that claim to be feminists criticize other women who are sociable and feminine, but nevertheless smile to their face. I have also encountered the opposite scenario, where shy, studious

women who don’t pay attention to their looks are called weird or lazy. I myself am guilty of assuming things about my female acquaintances based on their looks and behaviors, before even bothering to get to know them.

While the phenomenon of internalized misogyny is a universal issue, that doesn’t mean that it’s okay to practice it. One of the main weapons that allowed feminists to successfully fight for women’s rights over the past century is their focus

on creating a sisterhood of trust and support. If women continue to judge and marginalize each other, then the patriarchal figures that have oppressed us for millennia can sit back and relax because as soon as females fight one another, they won’t defeat the real bad guys. Thus, we have to look out for toxic misogynist behaviors in ourselves and truly take to heart the phrase “sisters over misters,” because girls, we truly can’t win this battle alone.

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Antisemitism on campus: A worrying trend The normalization of hostile rhetoric and actions toward Israel alienates Jewish students on campus HARRIS WATKINS CONTRIBUTOR Last week, I originally intended to write an opinion piece on the fight by Jewish students at St. George—under the banner of the Kosher Forward Campaign predominately spearheaded by Hillel U of T—to finally get kosher food options at university dining outlets. This fight became particularly newsworthy when the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) expressed hesitation at supporting the cause, due to Hillel’s Israel advocacy work.

This blatant act of antisemitism is trivializing the access to food which accommodates the observant Jewish population at the University of Toronto on the part of the UTGSU put the university as a whole in headlines around the world, undoubtedly tarnishing our reputation as an institution that prioritizes inclusivity and diversity. Subsequent—albeit halfhearted—apologies on account of the UTGSU, a condemnation by the UTSU, and their pledge to support the Kosher Forward campaign seemed to make a good effort at reconciliation toward U of T’s Jewish community.

However, when this event is seen in light of recent events at York University, it demonstrates a years-long worrying trend of the normalization of antisemitic rhetoric happening right here on our supposedly-inclusive university campuses.

At York, the Herut Zionism Club hosted a panel of IDF reservists to open a dialogue on the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict. They were met with considerable protests, which some described as borderline moblike in their behaviour. Videos have surfaced of protestors chanting “Vivé Vivé intifada,” an Arabic term referencing popular uprisings, but in the

AARON LYNETT/NATIONAL POST

The blatant act of antisemitism is trivializing the access of food. context of the Israel-Palestine conflict has often been accompanied by terroristic acts against Israeli citizens.

Other videos showed protestors attempting to block people from entering the event, and furthermore attempting to impede the panel by banging at the doors of the event space. There were even instances of violence between the sizeable protest group and some of the event-goers.

Audience members had to be escorted from the building by campus security following the event’s conclusion. The events of that night are, at the time of this piece being written, being investigated by the Toronto Police for instances of hate crimes.

Jewish-advocacy groups were quick to speak-out against this protest and all that came of it. Groups such as B’nai Brith and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center were quick to denounce the protests as activities of intimidation towards eventgoers which were riddled with antisemitic sentiment.

Politicians from across the partisan divide were quick to offer their support to the local Jewish community. The president of York University, Rhonda Lenton, reaffirmed the commitment of the university in fostering debate and dialogue—something the panelists of the event also mentioned was their intention during their discussion—and ensuring that this was only to come about in an environment free from intimidation.

And yet, groups behind the protests, such as Students Against Israeli Apartheid, insist that their protests were not targeting the Jewish communities but rather the IDF reservists, the institution they represent, and in general the Zionist project.

Besides the fact that the IDF has universal conscription, and thus the IDF is practically comprised of the entirety of the Israeli population, modern definitions of antisemitism—particularly the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, which has been adopted by the likes of the

EU, the UK, France, and furthermore

by Canada this year as a component of the government’s anti-racism efforts—feature several key notions which seem to run contrary to the rhetoric employed by the protestors at the event, as well as the events that transpired at the St. George campus affecting the Kosher Forward movement.

Of particular importance are the notions that Jewish people are collectively responsible for the acts of Israel (which proves especially pertinent in the case of the UTGSA’s hesitation to endorse the Kosher Forward Campaign), the denial of Jewish selfdetermination (especially in regards to Students Against Israeli Apartheid and their links to the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement, a movement co-founded by Omar Barghouti who in the past has said that he “Most definitely, oppose[s] a Jewish state in any part of Palestine,” and that “Criminal acts are antisemitic when the targets of attacks, whether

they are people or property—such as buildings, schools, places of worship and cemeteries—are selected because they are, or are perceived to be, Jewish or linked to Jews.” This directly reflects the perspective of many in the Jewish community who identify with Israel as their ancestral homeland, and thus a coordinated protest of an Israeli event is, in effect, targeting their Jewish identity.

Of course, warranted criticism of the policies of Israel—as with any democracy—should assuredly be allowed to be open for dialogue, and indeed the panelists of the event at York made clear that is what they were there for. When this criticism intermingles with antisemitic notations, as what happens all too often, it becomes dangerous.

These past two events are by no means the only examples of antisemitism on Ontario university campuses, and are more indicative of a rising problem. South of the border, the Anti-Defamation League reported an 89 per cent surge in antisemitic incidents on American university campuses in 2017 when compared to the year prior. These antisemitic incidents aren’t isolated to university campuses either, with B’nai Brith noting that anti-Semitic incidents across Canada have steadily risen from 2013 to 2018.

The normalization of hostile rhetoric and actions toward Israel coupled with organizations that base themselves in Israeli advocacy work, the denial of the linkage between anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, and the general demonization of any person or anything to do with Israel, contributes to this culture of intimidation that Jewish students face on our campuses. Take this as a wake-up call: we can, and we must, do better to create a more inclusive campus for our Jewish classmates.

Examining the root causes of depression With a suicide epidemic on the rise, there are a variety of contributing factors for us to consider MERSHAD BABAEI STAFF WRITER This is the second part in a series on mental health.

Many of us have felt it: a state of loneliness accompanied by a lack of motivation to do anything other than feel sad; and usually it arises from the many hardships we endure in our lives. But this inhibiting feeling of sadness, or even despair, felt beyond the short-term, can be caused by chronic depression, a serious mental health concern that requires immediate attention.

Depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide, and with a suicide epidemic on the rise, there are a variety of contributing factors for us to consider and give our attention to in understanding what’s really going on.

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), “people

lose interest in things they used to enjoy and may withdraw from others.

Depression can make it hard to focus on tasks and remember information.

It can be hard to concentrate, learn new things, or make decisions. Depression can change the way people eat and sleep, and many people experience physical health problems.

So, how does depression arise?

According to several studies on depression and culture, the commonly rooted causes of depression include, but are not limited to: death, divorce (or separation), social isolation and or feelings of being deprived, conflicts in personal relationships, and physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.

Evidently, such extreme experiences can lead to a very vulnerable emotional state, which only serves to separate an individual further from the world and, eventually, themselves.

And on a purely physiological level, these vulnerabilities may lead to hormonal disturbances, and we arrive

at the commonly-accepted notion of “chemical” inductions.

But do these vulnerabilities and imbalances immediately entail depression?

In examining the true root causes, I believe the development of depression relies on two intertwined concepts: our capacity to deal with our circumstances, and a general belief that we’re helpless in attending to the problems that seem to “control us.”

Further, I believe these notions can be demonstrated through examining our thought processes.

First, we see the importance of mindset with people who know the cause of their depression, and research has shown that, indeed, once individuals figure out how to solve their particular problems, their depression lifts.

But I would also argue we can see the importance of mindset even with those who can’t pinpoint the reason(s): because thoughts elicit

feelings that build up over time, long after the thoughts themselves have faded.

In fact, some studies have suggested people on average think thousands of thoughts every day. How could one remember them all?

I believe these hormonal arousal concerns are more likely caused by particular thoughts that are simply forgotten—thoughts about how powerless we are in our predicament.

Sometimes these thoughts aren’t exactly rendered, or even recognized in our minds.

Our problems may often be so traumatic or unbearable that we simply refuse to process them; and this I believe is directly linked to our capacity in dealing with extremities in our lives.

In his essay, “Problems of Psychotherapy,” Carl Jung discusses this very idea, where he adds: “Yet if we are conscious of what we conceal, the harm done is decidedly less than if

we do not know what we are repressing—or even that we have repressesions at all.”

With this, I suggest a more meaningful approach in viewing our physiological reaction as mere influence— inhibiting our ability to believe we can tend to our wounds, but not entirely paralyzing it. What’s important here is that the varying capacities of people, and their consequent reactions to their many traumas are acknowledged. Additionally, it is unfair to assume these capacities define an individual as displaying “strong” or “weak” characteristics.

The reality is that we are all different. And to blame the self for life’s crises would also be unfair. But we also must not disregard our role in dealing with our problems.

Because knowing we can eventually win, even if it’s a difficult notion to believe, can help maintain the most valuable thing in times of great distress: hope.

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SATIRE

Editor | Gordon Cork

PSA: The Medium will not discuss Israel/Palestine November 26, 2019, 7:05 PM Police Arrest Toronto Police services confirm an arrest in the feces throwing incidents.

November 26, 2019 11:34 PM Public Safety Announcement Although the main suspect has been apprehended, there have been multiple reports of other men carrying buckets full of an unknown substance, possibly more feces.

November 27, 2019 12:01 PM Police Assistance Student attacked by a man with a bucket of Chartwell’s catering food.

The student has been airlifted to the hospital and is now on life support.

November 27, 2019 1:13 PM Police Assistance An unidentified man threw a bucket of MiWay bus passes at a

student while they were entering their car in P8. Student has been sent to CAMH for treatment after enduring severe mental and emotional distress. Student seems to be recovering; however, she still can’t face the reality that she’s forced to pay $150.00 for a bus pass that she doesn’t even use.

November 27, 2019 6:46 PM Police Assistance Student assaulted with bucket of warm Blind Duck Pub beer. Student suffered first degree burns but is expected to make a full recovery.

November 28, 2019 8:17 AM Police Assistance Student showered with bucket of change saved from SCI. Student bought a medium double-double with the money saved.

Food critic reviews Subway cheeses

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

The Medium does not comment on conflicts that “only affect” the UTM students from those countries.

HAMZAH MOHAMED CONTRIBUTOR We at The Medium have decided to not discuss the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (even though we have published an op-ed related to it). We refuse to comment on the parallels of racially motivated genocide that exists in Gaza now to the genocide that occurred in Germany during the Holocaust. They say sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. Well, we at The Medium, have no interest in using words to hurt a certain group of people with an affinity for stones.

We will not discuss the wanton death of children on both sides of

the conflict, and we certainly don’t recommend you read Johnathon Swift’s essay, “A Modest Proposal,” for ideas on how to deal with said problem.

You see, we at The Medium, are a pragmatic bunch. We know nationality and religion are touchy subjects and the last thing we want is for our funding from the Schwartzman Foundation of Deep Pocketed Semitics to be cut. Nor will we waste your time arguing our point that two religious groups with a shared view on circumcision should probably get along more.

We just won’t do it so don’t expect us to.

We understand that the Israeli/

Palestinian conflict is a nuanced issue that requires a lot of time and dedication of reading history and studying the sociopolitical norms of the region to truly appreciate.

Children are dying, but, we at The Medium, are more concerned about the context of their death. That is, if we were to ever talk about it.

So, once again: we will not be discussing the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. We’re not touching it.

We’re not thinking about it. Really, it’s some old drama that’s happening on the other side of the world. We should be focusing on more pressing local matters like why water fountains in Parliament are only labelled in English and not Français.

Graduating in November makes you less than human HAMZAH MOHAMED CONTRIBUTOR

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

Cheese is mold and mold is cheese when you eat at Subway.

GORDON CORK SATIRE EDITOR Toronto’s #1 food critic James Chatto has recognized the Subway in IB as the hot spot for the finest aged cheeses. Chatto visited the Subway after rumours of management forcing the workers to serve expired cheese. Chatto discovered that the meats weren’t expired, and although

the packaging for Swiss said 2014, Chatto detailed that this particular cheese fairs better with age. The blue fuzz merely adds texture and complexity.

“I’m quite impressed with their aging process. I’ve never had cheese aged in plastic Tupperware,” Chatto said in an interview with The Medium.

A recent study from the UTM sociology department claims to scientifically prove that not all humans are created equal after all.

The study focused on individuals who have successfully completed a post-secondary education. Through a highly complex formula that cross references Instagram posts, hashtag usage, and the overall sense of approval from irrelevant distant relatives, the study claims that undergrad students graduating in November, rather than in the summer, are simply less than human.

“There’s just no way around it,” said leading researcher Mary Williams to The Medium. “The professors know it.

JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM

November grads more likely to eat muffin with wrapper still on.

The parents know. The friends know it. Students who graduate in November are less than human.”

The causal connection can be prov-

en, states the study, by the apparent lack of awareness these students have regarding their lower social status.

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Editor | Vinney Wong

Diversity at Writer’s Career Panel The event, hosted by UTM Scribes, featured six panelists from various writing fields to talk shop ADA WAGU CONTRIBUTOR On November 25, UTM Scribes brought together six writers from several areas of the writing industry for the Writer’s Career Panel located in Spigel Hall. The Writer’s Career Panel featured six panelists: technical writer Amir Ahmed, digital content writer Taylor Patterson, novelist SJ Sindu, screenwriter Courtney McCallister, news reporter Adrian Ma, and UTM professor and poet Dr. Geoff Bouvier. The panel commenced at 5:00 p.m. with a discussion lead by event hosts, followed by a Q&A from the audience.

SJ Sindu is the award-winning author of Marriage of a Thousand Lies.

Primarily a novelist and short-story writer, Sindu holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Florida State University. Currently working as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Sindu was passionate about coding and did it in her free time, building websites and developing web program. In an attempt to turn her passion into a career, Sidhu said the passion drained out of her “the moment there was a client.” She hated dealing with client requests. Sidu eventually made a career out of her other passion, writing, and didn’t lose the enthusiasm for it.

She added, “[B]eing a novelist, there’s no real client I’m working for, there’s

KELLSY ANN MENESES/THE MEDIUM

A diverse group of writers was brought in as a panel to present their work to the UTM Scribes. no one whose vision for my work is being subjected upon.”

Taylor Patterson is a Toronto based digital content writer who is also the creator of the award-winning comedy digital series Northwood. He graduated from Ryerson University with a B.A. in media production. In his talk, Patterson stressed about hard work and the impact it has on creating a successful career. He does not believe in relying on talent alone, saying “I just think there’s work. I think that you can be stronger at something than someone… [but] If you want to get better at anything, you work at it till you’re good at it.”

Screenwriter Courtney McCallister is a producer and writer who has worked on the TV series Night Owl and Street Spirits. As she works primarily in entertainment media, she spoke about the importance of

language and word choice informing film. She said, “[w]ords definitely matter in every media. Typically depending on the drama, it should reflect that within the reading itself.”

McCallister works for a production company but also always tries to get her own shows produced. She believes there’s no one way to write a screenplay. “If I’m reading a comedy, it’s great that I’m laughing at the little things in between, but if I’m reading a drama, maybe not so much of that…

Show don’t tell.”

UTM’s assistant professor Geoff Bouvier graduated with an M.F.A. from Bard College’s Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts and a Ph.D. in Poetry at Florida State University. His poetry has appeared in the Denver Quarterly and American Poetry Review. However, even for Bouvier, an established and well-decorated ca-

reer doesn’t bar him from the experience of rejections. When asked about submitting work to poetry magazines and dealing with rejections, his message was to “[g]et ready to be rejected.

Till this day I think I’m about 20 to 1.” He mentioned that he has gotten rejected multiple times for poems that went on to win prizes. Bouvier encourages aspiring writers to keep records of where you’ve sent inquiry letters and being persistent. “It’s not mathematics…it’s chemistry. You’ve got to hit the right spot at the right moment.”

As a technical writer, Amir Ahmed’s job is to decode often dense material between two or more parties.

The society for technical communication says that technical writing is “sometimes defined as simplifying the complex.” An ever-changing field, Ahmed says his job is “looking at

technical documentation,” to “translate that technical documentation into something [easier] that a user can then read.” Ahmed graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master of Education.

Adrian Ma is a journalist, assistant professor at Ryerson University, multimedia producer, and author who has written for CBC News and the Toronto Star among others. Ma acknowledges the different experience he has over some of the other writers on the panel because his work is “a very formulaic and process-driven product because you have to write 6, 7, 8 different pieces a day.” He outlined the fluidity of news cycles and how important stories are shared “tens of thousands of times,” only to be buried the next day. “You start all over again,” Ma quipped. However, Ma also appreciates the fulfilment his work brings, noting that “you feel absolutely connected to your community and the wider world itself. The actual world is so full of drama and so full of artistic moments that you can’t believe are real.”

Overall, it was a great evening for students in attendance who wanted to learn more about how the writing industry works. The writers were insightful in recounting their successes and failures while offering differing perspectives about their careers.

UTM Scribes did a successful job moderating the panel and organizing the event.

Doctor Sleep is a must-see sequel Jack Torrence returns from The Shining and struggles with the dark memories of his past DANICA TENG ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR It was only last month that I wrote a review on Stephen King’s The Shining (1980), but much like Jack Torrance with an axe, the film came crashing through my door once more.

Doctor Sleep (2019) is the latest Stephen King novel made into a movie.

Directed by Mike Flanagan, this sequel to The Shining is about the continuation of Dan Torrance’s life after the traumatic events of his childhood at the Overlook Hotel. As a grownup, played by Ewan McGregor, Dan struggles as he’s haunted by the memories of the past and his parents. After deciding to settle in a small town, Dan turns his life around for the better, keeping his head down low and hiding his shine. But the shine doesn’t dim, and Dan finds himself back in the horrors of it all. He connects with Abra, a young girl who also possesses

“the shine” and has captured the attention of The True Knot—a group of psychics that kill and feed off people with “the shine” to retain their youth and power.

Sequels sometimes tend to disappoint, and I wondered how Doctor Sleep would compare to The Shining with an almost 40-year gap in between the two. As the film came to an end, so did my worries. Doctor Sleep gave its audience a rich, new story while incorporating the familiarity of its prequel. That unsettling fear stays with the audience to this day, just as it follows Dan through his life—you want to close your eyes and hope everything is okay when you open them, but the action keeps you watching and only the sight of blood remains. The True Knot and its leader Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson) did an amazing job of striking fear with horrific violence, and Abra (Kyliegh Curran) matched that performance

in the courage and strength she portrayed. Those themes of strength and courage were prominent throughout the film as they helped Dan get over the trauma of his childhood and face his fears—it kept him “shining.”

With The Shining still fresh on my mind, I loved coming back to the Overlook and seeing all those iconic elements of the 1980 film done in Doctor Sleep. It’s like when a nightmare you’ve had before comes back to you, and you feel that chill all over again. The journey back into Dan Torrance’s life and the depths of the Overlook was done in a way that vividly brought back Stanley Kubrick’s version and that made me happy to see. Although, I also love that Flanagan did a beautiful job of making the Doctor Sleep film his own. Doctor Sleep’s story took a different turn from The Shining that I didn’t expect, and I enjoyed the thrill of the unknown.

Even King, who very clearly expresses

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Ewan McGregor stars in the sequel to the iconic ‘The Shining”. his distaste for Kubrick’s version, loved Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep.

Movie critic Peter Howell asked Flanagan, “When you approached Stephen King with your Doctor Sleep idea of wanting to also revisit Kubrick’s Overlook Hotel narrative from The Shining, was he waiting for you on

his porch with a shotgun?” to which Flanagan replied that after convincing him and getting his blessing, King loved the movie. King told Entertainment Weekly, “I said to myself, ‘Everything that I ever disliked about the Kubrick version of The Shining is redeemed for me here.’”

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The fun of cheesy Christmas movies December means that Netflix has turned on its Christmas programming with knights, santas, and dates DELANEY ROMBOUGH STAFF WRITER It’s December, which means it’s time for holiday shopping, baking, spending time with family, and watching as many cheesy Christmas movies as you can. This year, Netflix has released an impressive quantity of original holiday movies for your viewing pleasure.

The Knight Before Christmas (dir.

Monika Mitchell) is reminiscent of Disney’s Enchanted. Brook (Vanessa Hudgens) is having trouble finding her happily ever after when she accidentally hits Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse), a knight who has somehow travelled to 2019 from the past, with her car. Brooke believes Sir Cole has amnesia while Sir Cole is insistent that he is in fact a knight from the fourteenth century on a quest to find his true love. Brooke takes him in and tries to help him regain his memories. Of course, they fall in love and Brooke gets her literal knight in shining armor. Yes, the movie is just one big cliché but sometimes the holidays are meant for clichés.

Holiday in the Wild (dir. Ernie Barbarash) is a Christmas romcom that takes place in sunny Africa rather than the traditional snowy city or small town. When Kate’s (Kristin Davis) husband tells her he is no longer in love with her, she goes on what was

KELLSY ANN MENESES/THE MEDIUM

Netflix has released their latest lineup of holiday cliches and kid-friendly Christmas flicks. supposed to be their second honeymoon alone to Zambia. When she arrives in Zambia, she meets Derek (Rob Lowe) at the bar where she is eating dinner and tells him her whole life story. The next day, Kate shows up for a chartered flight to her resort and predictably Derek is the pilot.

On the way to the resort, they discover a baby elephant whose mother has been killed by poachers and they take the baby to an elephant sanctuary. Kate, being a vet, decides to stay

at the sanctuary and take care of the elephant rather than go to the resort where Derek also happens to work.

Kate extends her trip again and again, even right through Christmas, and continues to bond with Derek. Eventually, Kate goes back to New York but when she finds out the elephant sanctuary will run out of funding.

Kate decides to take on fundraising for the elephants on her own, selling her apartment, and buying a plane ticket back to Zambia to be with the

elephants and Derek.

Let It Snow (dir. Luke Snellin) is based on the young adult novel of the same name by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle.

This movie follows what happens to a group of teenagers when a snowstorm hits a small town in the Midwest on Christmas Eve. This movie is kind of like the teen version of Love, Actually as it follows various stories and characters leading up to Christmas.

Julie Reyes (Isabela Merced) runs

into aspiring pop star Stewart Bale (Shameik Moore), who is passing through town, and Julie’s mother is also sick while Julie is considering deferring college; Dorrie (Liv Hewson), who works at the diner Waffle Town, is trying to figure out how to tell the cheerleader she hooked up with she likes her; Addie (Odeya Rush) is worried that her boyfriend is going to dump her; Keon (Jacob Batalon) attempts to throw a party to impress a big time DJ; and Tobin (Mitchell Hope) and the girl he likes Angie (Kiernan Shikpa), AKA Duke, are invited to JP’s (Matthew Noszka) party.

In the end, all the characters’ lives collide and they meet up at Keon’s party, dancing the night away and celebrating the season. A lot happens in 93 minutes but it’s good fun and some of the stories will warm your heart and make you smile.

If that’s not enough cheesy holiday movies for you, here are some other ones to check out: The Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby, Klaus, Santa Girl, and The Princess Switch.

These Christmas movies are no work of cinematic genius, but they’re fun to watch and laugh at with your family and friends or even just to have on in the background while you’re doing other holiday activities. Either way, they’re great for cold, snowy days to help you get into the spirit of the season.

Navigating trauma in This is War The play details the account of four Canadian soldiers following their operation in Panjwaii, Afghanistan APRIL JOY ABIT CONTRIBUTOR Camouflage, dog tags, and rifles.

Soldiers in the spotlight staring straight ahead with haunted eyes.

Haunted eyes that see past an invisible reporter. An invisible reporter that asks unheard questions that take them back to war.

That is the beginning of Theatre Erindale’s production of This is War

by Hannah Moscovitch. The play details the accounts of four Canadian soldiers following a joint op in Panjwaii, Afghanistan.

Master Corporal Tanya Young (Fuschia Boston), Sergeant Stephen Hughes (Max Ackerman), Private Jonny Henderson (Ben Caldwell), and Sergeant Chris Anders (Joshua Sidlofsky) relive their days at war through the prompting of a reporter.

We don’t hear the questions asked, but the answers given are more than enough to paint a vivid image of the events.

Tanya Young recounts her experiences from her first day in the platoon up to her discharge. With eyes wide and unfocused she tells of the things she’s done, the horror she’s seen. Her memories unfold, showing us the strength of her character and her sarcastic demeanor. Both of these unravel as the war goes on.

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The talented actors at Theatre Erindale are capturing the raw emotion and truth behind war.

Stephen Hughes steps up to the interviewer with the composure of a leader. He answers with as much professionalism as expected, until he can’t anymore. The weight of the lives of his platoon rest on his burly shoulders. No matter how well trained, how well equipped, he splinters at the burden of heavy decisions and lost lives.

Johnny Henderson, a bright and young private, brings a sense of boyish innocence. Young, much too young. Henderson is shaky hands with unlit cigarettes and a bleeding heart displayed on a bloody flak jacket for all to see.

Chris Anders, a Christian medic, brings a semblance of sanity to this platoon. He doesn’t pick sides. He takes everything in stride with a steadfast calmness that offsets the emotional highs and lows of his comrades.

The strength of the play is how the story is presented. It isn’t laid out from point A to point B. Rather it’s told in fragments—convoluted and out of order—much like human memory. Each soldier gives their own rendering of the events, each telling and shining a different light on the story.

This is War is a hauntingly beauti-

ful display of how the human mind fractures in the face of war. Guilt, anger, heartbreak, understanding.

Their tales hit harder than expected. There’s the desire to hide from it but an inability to do so.

Much like how Tanya closes her eyes in her mother’s home only to see flashes of gunfire.

You don’t have to be at the warfront to know how much they have gone through. Their shadowed eyes and far-away looks are enough to showcase a tiny bit of the hell they experienced.

They’ve seen things, done things that they have to live with. These

experiences follow them for the rest of their lives. They try to patch themselves up and carry on in whatever way they can. Alcohol. Sex. Gambling. Whatever takes the edge off. Whatever silences the screaming and the gunshots.

By the end of the performance I’m struck with how wretchedly awful war is. It’s something we’ve always known but the idyllic life we lead shelters us from the horrors of it. These soldiers deal with it so that we don’t have to.

This leaves them both hollow yet full. Hollow because war takes something away without any intention of giving it back. Full because you bring back so much—blood and guilt and nightmares.

With talented actors, This is War captures the fallout. It’s a reminder that behind strong steady soldiers that brave battles head on, they are humans who have emotions. Emotions that are often cast aside in service of a greater good.

A gripping performance that stays with you long after you leave the theatre. It’s a real thinker that thrusts us through the varying stages of grief that the characters try to push through. It’s a truly humbling experience that reminds us how fragile the human mind can be.

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Arts and Entertainment rewind of 2019 As the year comes to a close, let’s take a look at all the music, movies, and plays from the past 12 months SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Can you believe that 2019 is coming to an end? We are about to enter a whole new decade, filled with endless possibilities. Before this month is over, let me remind you of all the memorable artistic pursuits that happened in 2019.

In January, Theatre Erindale rang in the New Year with a production of Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. The play welcomed the audience into the 1940’s, where novelist Charles Condomine has to cope with the ghost of his ex-wife terrorizing his new wife in a series of events.

At the beginning of February, Ariana Grande released her fifth studio album Thank U, Next, featuring singles “7 Rings” and “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored.” The album had a pop and R&B genre and hit number one in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

Theatre Erindale also produced Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play in February. The play explored the early history of female sexuality with its introduction of the vibrator. Theatre Erindale closed their 2018/2019 season in March with Anton Chekhov’s play Three Sisters. The play follows three sisters Olga, Masha, and Irina as they navigate family matters while building a legacy on the brink of revolution.

Early March saw the release of Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson as Carol Denvers—Marvel’s first female-led superhero film. The movie reached an international gross of $1.13 billion and cleared the path for the anticipating finale of Marvel’s

IMDB,THEATRE ERINDALE/FACEBOOK, METRO.CO.UK

2019 has seen many blockbuster movies, celebrity marriages, grand theatre, and occasions of note.

Avengers: Endgame in late April.

Avengers: Endgame was a soaring success. Fans packed the theatres to watch the three-hour action movie.

The film became the highest grossing motion picture of all time with a $2.80 billion international gross.

Aside from movies and plays, remember when Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner eloped in Las Vegas, Nevada in May? The iconic photograph of them relaxing on top of a pink convertible as Joe wears a suit, Sophie sucks on a ring pop, and they both wear sunglasses became a popular meme for millennials. The couple later held a second formal wedding ceremony in Paris, France a month later.

In July, the anticipation was high for the remake of Disney’s The Lion

King starring Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, and Beyonće Knowles-Carter. The movie became the second highest international gross of 2019 with earnings of $1.60 billion.

Netflix released the third season of Stranger Things in July. The newest season had extremely high ratings with over 40 million accounts watching at least 70 per cent of the season within the first week.

Meanwhile, the month also saw new albums by Chance the Rapper, J. Cole, Ed Sheeran, Jaden Smith, and Of Monsters and Men. In mid-August, Netflix released the third season of Thirteen Reasons Why. Katherine Langford, the actress who played Hannah Baker in the first two seasons, did not return for this sea-

son, so the show revolved around the mystery of Bryce Walker’s (Justin Prentice) death.

2019 has also been the year of reunions, remakes, and reboots. Many T.V. shows that ended over 10 years ago have made the decision to make sequels. Disney announced in August that Lizzie McGuire, starring Hilary Duff, would be getting a reboot. The reboot will focus on Lizzie living in her 30’s in New York City. The show will also include familiar faces from the original, such as: Hallie Todd, Robert Carradine, Jake Thomas, and Adam Lamberg.

As September rolled by and a new school year began, UTM announced the formal name for the New North building as Maanjiwe Nendamowi-

nan. The name acknowledges Indigenous history and means “gathering of minds.”

The Medium also created a new section for Volume 46. The team introduced a Satire section, focusing on humoristic irony and commentary on the UTM/U of T community and GTA. Logics of Sense 1: Investigations was the Blackwood Gallery’s first exhibition of 2019/2020. The visual exhibit explored decentralized perspectives in forming technoscience. The exhibition was followed by Logics of Sense 2: Implications.

In the world of performance, Hart House Theatre opened their 2019/2020 season with Jill Carter’s Encounters at the “Edge of the Woods” in September. The play featured stories and spoken word pieces written by the cast about encounters in the Indigenous land. Meanwhile, Theatre Erindale began theirs with Beth Flintoff’s The Glove Thief in October. The show took audiences back to 1589 where four women sew tapestries in an attempt to change their future from political unrest.

In November, Theatre Erindale produced The Oresteia while Hart House Theatre produced Portia’s Julius Caesar. Both plays interacted with the audience by breaking the fourth wall and allowing audiences to be immersed in the stories.

As we step into the final month of this decade, we can see that 2019 has been a great year for movies, music, plays, and new beginnings. However, 2020 brings the opportunity for more entertainment.

REWIND DANICA TENG ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR What happens when you put one kid, one big house, and two clumsy burglars together? A Christmas classic.

Home Alone (1990) stars Macaulay Culkin as eight-year-old Kevin McCallister, who accidentally gets left behind as his family boards their flight to Paris without him. The holidays are usually time for reunions and celebrations with your loved ones, but with fifteen people in the house, chaos was just waiting for its chance. After getting belittled and yelled at by his family, Kevin’s sent up to the attic to spend the night and makes a wish born from rage—a wish that his family would disappear.

Christmas is indeed a magical time, and Kevin gets what he wants. What wasn’t part of his wish were the two burglars, Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), who had their eyes on his place. Now that Kevin’s the man of the house, he must defend it.

Since 1990, we still see little pieces of Home Alone in 2019—an an-

nounced reboot on Disney+, the famous quotes (“Keep the change, ya filthy animal”), and even images of Culkin’s iconic screaming face.

There’s a reason we keep coming back to this film and why it’s become a Christmas classic. Of course, there’s the love and heartfelt sentiments, but more than that, we love seeing an eight-year-old put the burglars through a house of traps. Pesci and Stern’s expressions of frustration and rage pair well with Culkin’s mischief.

Their pain is our amusement. It’s wild and creative, making it one of those comedies that never seem to get old.

The film is also an interesting take on the concept of being “home alone.” When Kevin wakes up without his family, he follows a stereotypical behaviour of a child with newfound freedom. He runs around the house, jumping everywhere, and consumes whatever junk food and violent movies he can find. Although his time alone starts out that way, it’s interesting to see how Kevin’s character takes a turn. In his mind, his wish

came true and he thinks he is truly alone. After being called helpless and useless by his family, we see just how quickly he grows up. He shops for his own groceries, does his own laundry, and even sets up all the Christmas decorations. We see him mature through these little things, like no longer fearing the basement. It’s a nice character development which still keeps Kevin a child at heart.

Not only is Home Alone a fantastic comedy, it still shows important themes like family, a mother’s love, and forgiveness. After being on his own for a while, he starts to miss everyone; instead of presents, he asks “Santa” to bring them all back. At the same time, Kevin’s mother (Catherine O’Hara) has been working hard to get back to her son, despite all flights being full. All that effort and determination shows the strength of family during the most wonderful time of the year.

Home Alone is just what we need around the holidays: a bit of chaos and a reminder to cherish our loved ones.

SHALOMI RANASINGHE ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Music follows us everywhere.

Whether you are at a store, in the car, or in an elevator, there tends to be some sort of melodic tune that covers the silence. As post-secondary students, most of us listen to a music service throughout the day.

Some of us listen to music as we walk between classes, on the commute to school, as we study, do assignments, or participate in other activities.

Spotify is a technology service which streams various forms of media, such as music and podcasts.

The company originates from Sweden and has been active for the past thirteen years. A feature of Spotify is their multitude of public playlists, each falling under a particular genre. The app offers over 1,000 public playlists, each with a different theme and mood of songs. The playlists range to hit almost every mood, including but not limited to workout tracks, love songs, popular

songs, classics, and more.

To help students focus, Spotify created the “Study Zone” playlist.

The description under the playlist reads, “Soft pop ballads to help you focus, think and get through that homework!” The playlist features 60 songs, ranging from a variety of artists, including Ed Sheeran and Post Malone.

I listened to “Study Zone” as I was doing my schoolwork and the playlist didn’t really motivate me. Most of the songs I had never heard before.

So, when I listened to it the first time, I was a bit distracted because I found some beats odd. For instance, “Kintsugi” by Gabrielle Aplin took me out of my focus. Once the chorus hit, I stopped working and stared at the playlist, wondering, “what am I listening to?” The song had an unusual beat that did not adhere to my taste. I immediately skipped “Kintsugi” and continued to study, while listening to the next track.

To read the rest of this article, visit themedium.ca

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Editor | Fatima Adil

How to effectively prepare for finals Health psychologist Dr. Andersen describes the negative impacts of stress and how to successfully cope SCOTT HRENO CONTRIBUTOR

As final exams approach, tensions rise as students try to balance their already complex lives with studying.

Knowing the effects of stress, and especially the difference between effective and ineffective coping mechanisms, is essential to handling the exam season in the most healthy and productive way possible. Dr. Judith Andersen, a health psychologist and an associate professor of psychology at UTM, provides valuable insight into how stress impacts the body and the mind, and how to use one’s physiology to not only optimize studying, but to train oneself to remain calm throughout the last few weeks of the semester.

Stress, at first glance, is both emotionally and mentally taxing. It is also present in various situations with “each part of that stress taking some of your resources.” These cases of acute stress, such as when waiting in a long line at Tim Hortons or missing the bus Shuttle Bus, can be usually managed with a healthy diet and enough sleep which restore one’s resources. However, as exam season is more demanding than day-to-day

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Andersen talks the effects of stress from an evolutionary perspective and how it effects us now. life, there is a higher level of recovering required to return to a regular functioning state. When restorative measures are not adequately satisfied, the exhaustion of the body’s resources become apparent. “When we start to get burned out, you may notice that you don’t have as much energy in the morning as you had before [even with a good night’s sleep.]

Your night of sleep didn’t completely recover your reserves.” This depletion can significantly impact physical and mental health.

In small doses, the stress response is not harmful. However, the body’s reaction to stress is observable when acute exposure turns into chronic stress and the necessary recovery conditions are not met. The human stress response—more commonly known as the fight-or-flight response —is characterized by high cortisol levels, high blood pressure, and poor immune function. From an evolutionary perspective, these effects are necessary to enable an individual to run really fast or temporarily enhance

their muscles to fight off a predator. When one remains in a state of stress, the stress responses begin to influence the growth and development of the body’s natural structure and defenses. Andersen describes the difference between the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system: “Your parasympathetic system is that rest and digest—that’s when you’re sleeping, even when you’re relaxing, or just doing something that’s enjoyable [and] not arousing.” The parasympathetic

state is essential to keeping your body in a healthy state. “It is in [the parasympathetic] state that your immune system works the best. You can digest things [and] you’re excreting growth hormone. All of those things [are] need[ed] to keep yourself healthy and build those long-term reserves.”

If the sympathetic nervous system is constantly activated, the body does not get the chance to replenish itself and prepare for the next acute stress situation.

Towards the end of the fall semester, it seems as if many individuals are sick with the common cold or other viruses. While vaccinations are recommended, Andersen mentions that “immunization does not work as well if you’re highly stressed, because your immune system is already busy trying to deal with the stress.” At a microbiological level, the body “cannot make antibodies to this virus” because it’s busy trying to handle the acute stress you’re dealing with at the moment and also trying to recover from the built-up chronic stress. It is a good precautionary measure to get vaccinated before the tidal wave of exam season sweeps by so that the body does not have to handle with the added stressor of a virus.

Stress continued on page 17

Vital multiyear Arctic ice area melting Ice critical to the survival of endangered species and the sustenance of the entire Arctic ecosystem FATIMA MINHAS CONTRIBUTOR

In a study published in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters, Dr. Kent Moore, professor of physics and Vice Principal of Research at the University of Toronto Mississauga, highlighted how the “last ice area” is under threat and melting at potentially twice the rate of the rest of the Arctic Ocean. This “multiyear” Arctic ice is critical to the survival of not only endangered species, but the entire Arctic ecosystem which depends on the timing and thickness of the ice to sustain itself.

The area Moore is referring to is located alongside the Canadian coast, from the Canadian North to Greenland. It is expected to be, due to climate conditions, the last area to melt in response to climate change. This multiyear ice is required by walruses and polar bears for hunting and is essential for seals who raise their young on the ice until the baby seals are able to swim on their own. Recent discoveries have also found algae which powers marine food webs growing underneath the Arctic ice.

There is a broad range of species dependent on Arctic ice which will be unable to breed or feed as the ice melts. Whales arrive in Arctic waters in June, expecting to encounter phytoplankton blooms. However, because of the ice melting, the blooms have already occurred earlier that year. Polar bears which live on-shore no longer have access to sea ice to hunt seals. As a result, they eat less nutritious prey to cope leading to the starvation of their population.

This area also impacts terrestrial and marine weather which are all interconnected through the global climate system. The impact extends not only to North America, but to the tropics as well, as the loss of the ice means less sunlight being reflected back into space and ultimately, the planet’s surface temperature increasing drastically. Furthermore, the influx of freshwater during the spring melting contributes heavily to abnormal ocean current patterns.

On a more positive note, this last ice area is located within Canadian borders. With Canada being an Arctic country, suggestions of sanctuaries to protect this area are becoming more common. Unfortunately, however,

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Parts of the Arctic within Canadian borders are melting, and ice sanctuaries are being suggested. the area is very poorly understood.

Moore explains that though the area was once considered to be in a static state, it is actually very dynamic with large areas of recession and growth along with a high level of variability across the coast. There is also a possibility that in some places, the area is disappearing at twice the rate of the surrounding Arctic Ocean. Moore acknowledges that studying Arctic ice is very difficult due to limited resources,

manpower, and data, and therefore, there is a lot of uncertainty in the projection for future climate in this area.

Moore states that there are three things currently occurring: the ice is getting thinner, it is moving more rapidly, and we’re losing vast areas of the land. Protecting this vital area of land will provide a surviving chance to Arctic species such as polar bears.

Moore urges for more research studying climate projections and strong

policy changes that balance economic opportunity and wildlife conservation in the Canadian North.

“You can see the [Arctic ice] retreating and it has happened over my lifetime. It’s depressing but all we can do is hope that we can educate enough people [so] that change will come. And I’m hoping. I’m really hoping that your generation will not make the mistakes that my generation made and actually do something.”

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THE MEDIUM 12.02.2019

Hypercare: Efficient care coordination The innovative healthcare communication platform was cofounded by University of Toronto alum Albert Tai LATISHA LOBBAN ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

Hypercare is “a mobile and web platform that allows clinicians to communicate with their colleagues in real time, specifically about patient issues.” It was co-founded by Albert Tai, Dr. Joseph Choi, and Umar Azhar. The Medium talked with Tai, who is a University of Toronto alum, about the innovative healthcare communication platform.

As Tai explains, “in the current healthcare system right now, there are three primary forms of communication. The de-facto [form] is pagers [which are primarily used] in the hospital system. Second are faxes [which are] typically [employed in] healthcare organizations.” The third are “non-compliant communication tools such as WhatsApp or text messaging” which are used by clinicians because neither pagers nor faxes allow for instant communication.

Pagers are also not ideal because “they take about a minute to go off once you [send the page]” and “are oftentimes very frustrating for clinicians because it provides no context. The failure of differentiating for the clinician often result in pages getting ignored.”

WhatsApp is also problematic in a clinical setting. Firstly, “WhatsApp does not comply with healthcare regulations [because] there is no ‘audit trail.’” Messages sent through WhatsApp can be deleted by the sender, and therefore, does not allow for physician accountability. Tai emphasizes that if a doctor “makes a decision that ends up killing the patient, [they] could delete the message.”

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This U of T alumnus founded the messaging app that is connecting healthcare providers.

Furthermore, though WhatsApp messages are encrypted, the app itself does not lock, and so the messages can be read by anyone who has access to the phone. It is impossible to ensure that the message is being sent to the right person and that the clinician has not changed their number. These flaws in text or WhatsApp messaging can result in “patient information [being shared] with people who are not a part of the circle of care.”

Tai considered the issues solved by the usage of WhatsApp by clinicians when developing Hypercare.

He says that interning as a product manager at Microsoft while completing his undergraduate degree in medical and computer science at the University of Western Ontario shaped his thinking process.

“Product managers are critical in building a good product because they understand what kind of questions to ask the customer [in order] to understand the pinpoints and to come up with a solution with prioritized requirements [that] engineers can look at and start building. That experience has really helped Hypercare be a very product-centric

company which is often atypical in healthcare where most of the software systems are [usually] extremely clunky.”

Following his undergraduate degree, Tai completed a Master of Information degree with a specialization in Information Systems and Design at the University of Toronto.

He says that “the healthcare system is very complex with a lot of entities and essentially, my Masters [degree] really taught me how to distill that down into a diagram and understand which pieces [and processes] can be improved upon.”

“I think the reason we’re successful is [that] we made an app as simple as WhatsApp. We built our app [so that it] requires no training manual.” Hypercare was also “built to incorporate the concept of organizations. Clinicians from one organization can talk to clinicians from another organization and therefore have a closed feedback loop.”

Tai shares an example of how Hypercare can be successfully used to improve efficient communication in a healthcare setting. “A bunch of clinicians in Vancouver leverage[ed] Hypercare to take care of the Native population in rural BC, where they have no cellular signal, only satellite Internet. They’ve been using Hypercare to send critical results such as EKGs so the doctor knows when to fly in.”

Hypercare is currently being used in fifteen healthcare organizations including the Toronto East General Hospital, Reconnect Health Care, and seven other healthcare organizations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Tai says that the platform is “already experiencing viral growth.”

During the two weeks after their launch, they “went from 10 clinicians to 116 via word-of-mouth.”

Tai adds that clinicians are pleased with the ease of communication that Hypercare allows them.

“The platform can not only reduce wait times in the hospital, but also reduce poor patient outcomes.

There are a lot of pieces that move to deliver patient care. The faster each piece responds to it, the faster the patient can be discharged. The more cohesive the team is, in terms of information and timeline, the more likely the patient could have a better outcome.”

What is Kwanzaa and who celebrates it?

Kwanzaa was created by Professor Maulana Karenga in 1966 to honour African heritage DANIEL REALE STAFF WRITER

Seven candles stand on top of a Kinara, the Kwanzaa wooden candle holder. From December 26 to January 2, one candle will be lit each day until the seven candles—collectively called the Mishumaa Saba—flicker altogether on the seventh day of the week of Kwanzaa. Every year, as Christmas celebrations wrap up across the world, African Americans, African Canadians, and the global African diaspora prepare the Kinara for Kwanzaa.

Maulana Karenga, a professor of Black Studies at California State University, created Kwanzaa in 1966, a year after the Watts riots, in Los Angeles, California. The riots—in the predominantly black neighbourhood—left thirty-four people dead, a thousand injured, and millions of dollars’ worth of property destroyed.

At the time, L.A.’s beaches were

segregated by colour. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had just led demonstrators on a march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama which had ended with bloodshed.

This environment gave birth to Kwanzaa.

The holiday is not religious and is not meant to replace other religious holidays such as Christmas. It is a holiday created to celebrate, to remember, and to uplift.

The word Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase ‘matunda ya kwanza’ which translates to first fruits of the harvest. Kwanzaa is spelled with an extra ‘A,’ which, as the seventh letter of the word, represents the seven days of Kwanzaa.

During the week-long celebration, the seven principles of African Heritage (Nguzu Saba) are celebrated: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (selfdetermination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). These principles are

meant to uplift the community and the individual.

On the day of Kuuma, the sixth day of celebration, families will hold the great feast. Stewed Congo rice and peas, fried chicken, baked potato pie, corn bread, Callaloo, Joloff rice, and vegetable Ital stew are dishes one can find during the great feast.

On the seventh day, the day of Imani, gifts (zawadi) are given to children.

Last year, the Toronto sign at Nathan Philip’s square was lit in red, black, and green to commemorate the seven days of Kwanzaa. It was the first Canadian proclamation of Kwanzaa in Canadian history. The Canadian Kwanzaa Association (CKA) also held a celebration at the Peace Garden. DeWitt Lee III, the host of last year’s celebration, stated that he hopes Kwanzaa will become a yearly event.

“These proclamations give the people of Canada sort of an authority and a right to be able to celebrate and to truly leave a legacy for future generations to come,” said Lee.

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Kwanzaa is celebrated just after Christmas every December.

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The true price of the holiday season Canadians forecasted to spend $1,593 per person on average during the 2019 holiday season DANIEL REALE STAFF WRITER

For an economist, Christmas spending can be represented on a line graph. The graph is jagged, like a Christmas tree, but always has a steep peak, which, as expected, occurs around December. While the holiday season is a time of celebration, it is also accompanied with a spike in consumer spending.

There is no standard date for when the holiday season begins in North America: some start celebrating Christmas mid-November while others, in early December. For retailers though, the season begins as early as possible.

According to the Macmillan English dictionary, “Christmas creep” is a term which was first used in the 1980s and refers to the tendency for holiday-related products to emerge earlier each year. In Canada, wrapping paper and Christmas ornaments begin to occupy retail real-estate next to Halloween decorations in department stores towards the end of October. A 2018 report by Field Agent Canada found that 44 per cent of consumers will start their Christmas shopping around Black Friday. The report also said that while online shopping is increasing, the majority of holidayshopping will be done at malls rather than online. “People like being

in the mall at Christmas time,” Jeff Doucette, general manager of Field Agent Canada, told Retail-Insider.

The allure is in the showrooms: the crowded corridors of Yorkdale, the frenzy of Square One, and the mob of frantic shoppers at Sherway Gardens are all sadistically comforting.

Accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada forecasts Canadians to spend $1,593 per person on average during the 2019 holiday season. 59 per cent of the individuals surveyed were not worried about possible credit card debt and 24 per cent of consumers are planning to spend more this year as compared to 2018. Spending includes money spent on travel, gifts, and entertainment.

The true price of Christmas is $38,993.59 USD according to the Christmas Price Index. The Christmas Price Index was created in 1984

by PNC Wealth Management, an American bank. For thirty-six years, the bank has tracked the price of the items in the classic Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. The index has been tracking the price of the items mentioned in the carol to provide consumers with an idea of price increases. In 1984, the same items would have cost $1,949.69 altogether meaning the prices of the tested items have increased by a whopping 95 per cent. ~ On November 14, 2019 the Eaton

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Christmas is a costly holiday that we participate in and it continues climbing in price every year.

Centre erected its annual Christmas tree—a 33-metre-tall tree decorated with 200,000 bright red lights and 1,730 branches. The mall also an-

nounced that it would be hosting a weekly re-lighting of the tree every Thursday from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. until December 19, 2019. Simply because

it can, and ultimately, to attract more customers to their shopping mall.

Staying fit and calm for exam season Stress continued from page 15

Stress does not only negatively impact one’s immune system. It also drains mental resources. The stress response “is very autonomic [and] instinctual. It is kind of this brain stem process [and] not our higher order thinking,” Andersen describes.

When responding to stress, the sympathetic state does not allow higher order thinking to take precedence over survival. In the case of an exam, when “you’re sitting down to think at a test, you’re going to have all these physical reactions, and your mind is not going to be focused.” This is problematic when one considers the immense amount of higher order thinking required at a university level.

ing high stress situations. The simple technique is known as the ‘one breath reset.’

“You’re going to take a really deep breath, and hold it for just a second at the top of the breath. You’re going to exhale very slowly, but you’re pushing the breath out through pursed lips,” Andersen explains. The technique lowers heart rate and allows the body to optimize the oxygen being spread

throughout the brain and body. The increase in oxygen flow “manual[ly] override[s] the stress response system” and as the body begins to calm down, the parasympathetic network reactivates and one can carry out regular brain functions again.

Another way to lower stress is to break up long sessions of studying with a quick cardiovascular workout such as a quick ten to twenty minute

power walk or a jog for regular runners. If space is an issue, Andersen recommends doing jumping jacks.

The one breath reset technique is optimal in cases of acute stress and when exercise is not an option such as when you first sit down at an exam and read the first few questions.

Andersen warns that “you need to have learned the information in the first place, in order to recall it un-

“[Sleep] is the time in which your body consolidates and encodes the information” that you’ve learned during the day.

To prevent and minimize one’s stress response, Andersen describes a technique she teaches to police and other emergency personnel who have been able to effectively reduce their stress response and reactivate their parasympathetic network dur-

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Getting enough sleep, taking a break and going on a walk, focused breathing, are stress-relievers.

der stress.” This means breaking up studying into sessions throughout the week and avoiding cramming the last few hours before.

In terms of dealing with stress on a long-term basis, Andersen advises maintaining a healthy diet and a stable sleep schedule. She recommends avoiding eating foods that provide a temporary boost in energy such as sugar or caffeine since “you will crash, which distract[s] from your cognition. [Sugar and caffeine] create cravings in your brain and can make you more tired.” Instead, she recommends eating “fiber [which] breaks down the sugar evenly as it digests and give you sustained energy.” Fiber is found in vegetables, whole grains, and lentils. A proper diet ensures that the body has the essential resources it needs. In terms of sleep, “that is the time in which your body consolidates and encodes the information” that you’ve learned during the day.

Without sleep, the body needs to use more resources to remain awake which prevents one from learning.

All in all, it is important to recognize the effects of stress to facilitate proper maintenance. Listening to your body and knowing what it needs and when it needs it will allow you to prepare and repair so that you are in the best shape to handle the upcoming exam season. When in doubt, step away from the notes, take a deep breath, perform a quick exercise, and then power through.

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Editor | Sarah-May Edwardo Oldfield

Historic season for UTM Cross Country The first team UTM entered into the OCAA is finally rising as a competitive program within the league SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR In the fall of 2014, UTM’s athletic program made its first entry into the Ontario College Athletic Association (OCAA) varsity program with cross country. It’s taken a rough six years, but the program has finally matured into one of UTM’s most successful, achieving many firsts for the program and for the university.

Most wouldn’t know given the team’s recent traction and success, but the program struggled. When Brittany Tierney took over as varsity and intramural supervisor in 2017, she joined a still growing program, and there were concerns about the cross-country team’s numbers. The program struggled to attract athletes and form a single women’s or men’s team—which consists of six athletes.

In its first two years the team struggled to secure a place at the CCAA cross country national championships, let alone medal at an invitational race. Program alumni, former captain, and UTM Rookie of the Year, Haseeb Malik and his teammate, Kale Heino made their own history together, qualifying as individual runners for nationals in each of the four years that they ran for UTM. While the two brought life to the struggling program by putting UTM on the map, it was the addition of UTM medical student Sophie Glanz in 2017 that put the exclamation point on the cross-country team’s potential.

During that year, Glanz made a statement in the league placing in the top 10 in each of her races as a first-year varsity athlete. She went on to finish fifth overall at the OCAA cross-country championships and 15th overall at the CCAA national championships. For her incredible strides that season the OCAA recognized her with one of its highest honors—OCAA Female Rookie of the Year. There had been some growing pains up until that point, but UTM’s cross-country program was finally taking off.

“Growth in cross country is often difficult to quantify. While student engagement in the program has grown, the biggest growth that I’ve seen, especially this year, is commitment. Each member of the team regularly puts in 15 plus hours of training between running, strength and conditioning, physiotherapy and racing,” program head coach Sam Dumcum told The Medium.

Dumcum joined the UTM Eagles cross country team as a student in 2014 in the 2014/2015 academic year, during their OCAA debut season. Three years later, he became the team’s assistant coach and had the privilege of leading the team as act-

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ing head coach when they traveled to the national championships.

This season has seen the highest number of student-athletes interested in running for UTM. It’s also the first time that the team has had to make cuts.

“To help increase student engage-

letes face over the course of a relative short season, challenges that might not be evident on the surface. Despite their obvious success, this year’s cross-country team had to overcome a number of hurdles. Dumcum outlined the three things that can make an otherwise short season incredibly

25 degrees Celsius and at nationals the team raced in what felt like [22 below]. Having the proper gear and training in every sort of weather is quite difficult. Our team definitely struggled with the snow in Grande Prairie where it snowed 40cm the weekend of nationals.”

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ment this year, I introduced a new three tier qualification system that allows athletes of all levels to develop their running skills as part of a team.

The three levels include race team (Varsity), development team (DLeague) and training team (learn to race/open to all). These athletes train together, with top members of the race and development teams having the opportunity to represent UTM at the OCAA Provincial Championships,” said Dumcum.

The sport of cross country is not as simple as running a lengthy racecourse as fast as possible. There are a number of challenges that the ath-

difficult and taxing on a runner.

“Training. The season is quite short—only eight weeks long. You have to come into the season ready to run, and juggle the beginning of the year and mid-terms [with] trying to get in 16-20 hours a week of training. [The next obstacle is the] racing course: no two courses are the same. Some are hill-y, some are flat, and each requires slightly different expertise. This year, provincials was on a decently hill-y area, and our team prepared all season doing most of our runs in Erindale Park and did great. [And finally, the] weather. When the season starts, it’s

Despite the challenges, the 2019/2020 UTM Varsity cross-country team achieved what no other team has before. This year the women’s team had an undefeated season, finishing first overall in every invitational race. Glanz led the pack with a first-place finish in each event. The ladies’ team’s success carried over to the OCAA championships where they medaled for the time in program history with silver.

Glanz, coming off a heavy medical school week working 50+ hours, became the first runner for UTM to win an individual medal with bronze. Both teams did incredibly

well at the provincial event, leading to yet another UTM first. For the first time, both men’s and women’s cross-country teams qualified for the CCAA nationals, with the ladies’ team second place and the men’s sixth place in the convener allotted top-seven qualifier.

This year’s CCAA cross-country championships was hosted in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Athletes raced in in negative 22 degree Celsius weather and through 40cm of snow. Glanz finished ahead of her team placing 19th in the country with a race time of 27:27. Aaron De Jong finished 25th in the country with a race time of 30:29.

Dumcum was thrilled with the team’s results. “Each of our student athletes had multiple personal bests, which is a huge accomplishment.

Our first and last race of the season were on the same course in Windsor, and some of our Eagles improved by five minutes over eight kilometres.

All through the season the athletes encouraged each other on our team’s social media platform and it was really exciting to watch them improve as the season went on. The women’s team had an undefeated invitation season. The men’s team also had the highest placing at provincials ever.”

Tierney’s excitement with the program also comes from witnessing and appreciating the way Dumcum coaches, who individualizes each and every one of his athletes training programs. “As an athlete, I’ve been fortunate enough to have exceptional coaches and train with multi-time Olympians, which has really shaped my coaching philosophy.” Though his cross-country coaching experience is somewhat limited, having only raced in high-school, he believes he’s accumulated valuable experience having represented both Canada and the U.S. at multiple world multisport championships. “Having spent years as a student athlete in California, I understand the rigors of training 23 hours a week, on top of the demands of school.”

Alongside investing in the growth and development of his runners, this year Dumcum impressed Tierney by bringing on consultants to meet and talk with the team. “Not many people realize how isolating a sport like running can be. You’re not always in good shape, and you’re not always feeling your best. It can be easy to feel alone,” said Tierney.

Dumcum invited experienced runners U of T Alumna, multi-cross country national champion Sasha Gollish and two-time Olympian Reid Coolsaet to come out to train and talk to his team.

Runner continued on page 19

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Team soars to national championships Runner continued from page 18 This year, Dumcum reached out to some pillars in the GTA running community who had experience representing Canada both at the Olympics and Pan Am games to chat with the team about what it’s like to race when it matters most.

Sasha Gollish spoke to the team about the mental toughness racing requires. This is a topic close to Gollish’s heart since she had to drop out of the IAAF World Athletic’s Championships a couple weeks before due to extreme heat, but she remained to encourage her teammates. Gollish, a University of Toronto Alumna, won the bronze metal at the 2015 Pan American Games in the 1500 meters.

That same year, Gollish was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Female Athlete of the year for her dominating performance at the CIS Championships. She won the gold medal in the 1000, 3000 and 4 by 800 meter events, and the silver medals in the 600 and 1500 meter events.

“Success in running is all about community. [The team] took this message to heart in the way they encouraged [and] pushed each other through the mental blocks to be their best. In almost twenty years of racing, this is the most connected I’ve seen a school running team, and I can’t wait to see what happens next year!” expressed Dumcum.

Reid Coolsaet visited to run with the team the week before nationals, sharing his wisdom and advice with them. Coolsaet is a four-time national champion in the 5000 meters. In 2009, he moved up to the marathon distance competing for Canada in 2012

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and 2016 Olympic Games. After two Olympics, Reid now spends many of his runs training other runners. His message of the day was, “your job is to beat people.”

“It was fun and serious at the same time and the impact was immediate,” said Dumcum. “Cross country isn’t just about doing your best—it’s about beating people. And while at Grande Prairie it was tough to breathe and even harder to run, let alone beat people, our team showed a huge amount of grit!”

“I feel like meeting Olympic caliber athletes really inspired our team because we got to witness firsthand what is possible when you put the hard work in. I think the best thing Sasha and Reid taught us was that

things aren’t always going to be perfect, but you can always control your effort and do the best you can with what you have despite the condition” senior runner with the team, Gabriel Boily-Porter told The Medium.

Alongside a surprising increase in the number of participants, the 2019 season has brought nothing but firsts for UTM’s cross country program, underlining what might be one of the greatest runs of any UTM Varsity program to date by one of the most diverse group of athletes.

Julia Costanzo, a former Varsity Blues Field Hockey athlete took her opportunity with UTM’s cross-country team to finish her varsity career on her own terms. “I used to be a Varsity Blues Field Hockey player but

last year I suffered my fourth major concussion in a varsity field hockey game and was told I could never play field hockey again. because I wanted another way to end my varsity career since I refused to let a career ending injury be my final moment in a blue and white uniform. I wanted to use my final year of intercollegiate eligibility to re-write my own ending.”

UTM’s blossoming cross-country program also attracted Aaron De Jong, a UTM graduate student and former McMaster runner to suit up in the white and the white and blue.

“Growing up, I was always drawn to endurance sports. I competed in triathlons at a provincial and national level while running cross country and track each year for my high school. I

continued running cross country and track at a varsity level during my undergrad McMaster. I’ve always loved using endurance sports to push my limits in competition. I still had this love of running and competition (and more importantly, two years of eligibility left) when I started graduate school at UTM, so I was excited by the opportunity to run for the Eagles,” De Jong told The Medium.

Dumcum credits the new direction his staff took this year for the team’s enormous success. “Along with myself, XC had two amazing assistant coaches in Melanie Beebe, who brought with her a competitive XC background, and Cassandra Doman, who had a focus on kinesiology and wellness.”

“This was my one and only season with the team,” said Costanzo, who has used up all five years of her Varsity eligibility. “But I hope that the success the team had this year was just the beginning. I hope that in the years to come the team will grow in size and speed and emerge as a perennial contender for both the men’s and women’s OCAA and CCAA XC titles.

“My other hope for the team is that the family atmosphere we’ve created follows the team from year to year,” concluded Costanzo. “One of the things I loved most about this team was how close we became and how comfortable we felt relying on each other during difficult races, workouts, or just everyday life. As someone who has been on many different teams, I know how rare and special that is. I hope it continues.”

Sleep deprivation is worse than we thought A recent study has showed that Total Sleep Deprivation (TSD) leads to more than just cognitive problems ANDREW STONE ASSOCIATE S & H EDITOR As students, we all know what it’s like rushing to finish assignments for an 11:59 p.m. deadline, or studying for tomorrow’s test into the early hours of the morning. We come into university knowing that sleep deprivation comes with the territory and that it’s a part of student life.

While insufficient sleep obviously impairs our everyday lives, it can also be detrimental to our long-term health and is related to many physical and mental illnesses, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, among others. Total Sleep Deprivation (TSD) is known to greatly diminish the quality of many cognitive processes, including attention and working memory. One key cognitive process, place-keeping, involves both memory and attention and is vital if you want to adequately carry out problem-solving and procedural tasks. Place-keeping is the ability to accurately maintain one’s place within the sequence of a given task.

For example, heating up a frying pan before having cracked and beaten the eggs.

A study published in the Journal

HAYDEN MAK/THE MEDIUM

Total Sleep Deprivation has been linked to short-term discomfort and long-term disease. of Experimental Psychology wanted to test these claims and conducted a study on the effects of TSD on undergraduate students from the University of Michigan. In order to be considered, the participants could not have been diagnosed with memory or sleep disorders, could not be colour-

blind, and could not have had any recent major sleep disturbances.

The participants were asked to sleep a minimum of six hours before the experiment and were not allowed to consume caffeine, drugs, or alcohol 24 hours beforehand. They were taken through tests that measured at-

tention, memory, and place-keeping performance at 10:00 p.m. The assessment lasted two hours and they were asked about their mood and sleepiness. They were then split into two groups: rested and deprived.

The members of the rested group were sent home with a sleep monitor,

whereas the members of the deprived group stayed and were assessed with the same tests every two hours, keeping them awake for approximately 24 hours. Both groups were assessed for a final time at 9:00 a.m. the next morning.

The results found that sleep deprivation caused increased lapses in attention and problems maintaining memory for many of the participants.

The study also found that placekeeping becomes impaired with sleep derivation, although it can be impaired even if attention is not greatly affected.

These findings only add to the negative side effects of sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation is well documented to be severely problematic and unhealthy, but these findings show that it can directly impair the most basic cognitive processes that are needed to function properly.

Attention and memory are so important to student life and are necessary for success. Sleep needs to be one of the top priorities for all students, or else all the hard studying that prevents students from getting to sleep in the first place will have been for nothing.

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«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 12.02.2019

Lady Eagles soar over stubborn Vikings UTM’s Varsity Women’s basketball team take definitive win over the St.Lawrence in weekend double-header SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR On Saturday November 23, UTM’s Women’s Varsity basketball team took on the visiting St. Lawrence Vikings in their third home game of the season. In a slow-burn of a contest, the Eagles rose over a determined Viking team, 78-58.

The game began with neither team playing with much energy, fueled by a dull crowd and a gloomy autumn day. Number two senior guard, Jade Addai, scored a quick layup, putting the first points on the board. The ladies tried to inject some life into the game by going into an early full-court zone press. Addai continued to light up the quarter, hitting a three-pointer from number eight senior guard, Trisha Vo, and diving into passing lanes for quick steals leading to easy buckets. The zone press worked well for the Eagles, forcing the Vikings into turnovers that the Eagles turned into points on the board. The Eagles finished the quarter with a 23-8 lead, with Addai outscoring the entire Vi-

CELINE POLIDARIO/UTM ATHLETICS

The Women’s Varsity Basketball team beat the Vikings with 20 more points after an energetic game. king’s team with fourteen points in seven minutes.

There was more energy from both teams to start the second quarter.

More Eagles began to get involved in scoring. The Eagles were able to keep up their defensive pressure, while Ad-

dai continued to have herself a game while getting her teammates involved.

Addai hit her third three-pointer of the game. On a following play, a pass from Addai nabbed number six guard Janella Viado her second three-pointer of the game.

St. Lawrence began to pick up the pace, despite the Eagles’ early domination. A now sluggish Eagles team were overwhelmed by the Vikings grit and determination. St. Lawrence went into a full-court press of their own to finish the quarter and the Eagles

weren’t able to adjust. Like the Eagles in the first quarter, the opposition jumped into passing lanes, stealing the ball for easy runs and finished layups. They outscored the Eagles, limiting them to just twelve points in the quarter, ending the first half 35-23.

Addai made another smooth layup to open the second half of the game.

The Vikings continued to fight. They were well-coached and fundamentally sound. The Eagles tried to pick up their offensive intensity, but the Vikings were with them every step of the way. The Eagles were called for a lot of fouls, and entered the penalty with five minutes left to play in the third quarter. A strong free-throwing Vikings team made free-throws to cut the Eagles, ending the quarter 54-42.

The Eagles drained multiple threepointers on the Vikings to start the final quarter. St. Lawrence fought hard but were unable to keep up, letting the Eagles take over the game and push the lead to as much as 25. The ladies took the game, defeating the Vikings, 78-58.

Eagles top St. Lawrence UTM Men’s Varsity basketball win 80-76 over St. Lawrence Vikings Now accepting submissions to the Medium Magazine! We accept stories, articles, and poems relating to the theme 'Dreams & Disillusionment'.

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CELINE POLIDARIO/UTM ATHLETICS

The Men’s Varsity Basketball team squeak by with just four more points than their opponents.

SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR On Saturday November 23, following a definitive win by the women’s team, UTM’s Varsity Men’s basketball team looked to follow the ladies’ win with one of their own. They narrowly escaped a Viking comeback to win 8076.

Unlike the ladies’ game before them, the men’s team began their match with a lot of energy. Despite the intensity from both teams, neither was able to score in the opening minutes. St. Lawrence broke the seal on the game, scoring the first buckets and then going on a 7-1 run which forced UTM into an early timeout.

Out of the timeout, not much improvement was seen by the Eagles, who were a step late on defense, costing them multiple Viking three-pointers. The Eagles were out-shot beyond the arc until number two guard Keaton Thornton made a three-pointer while getting fouled. He completed the 4-point play, sparking some life into a defeated-looking UTM team.

The Eagles finished the quarter down 14-21.

The Eagles were still unable to tighten their defense as the second quarter began with the Vikings shooting their lights out on their slow

close-outs. UTM went into a fullcourt trap defense to put pressure on the Vikings in the final three minutes of the half. It worked, forcing St. Lawrence into turn overs the Eagles capitalized on. Great defense translated into great offence with back-to back three-pointers from number six senior guard Nicholas Kwanti and number 12 senior forward Zamam Khan. With forty seconds left in the half, a deep three-pointer by Khan gave UTM its first lead of the game.

They finished the quarter with a 3936 lead.

Out of the locker room after the half-time break, UTM went into a full-court defense. The team put pressure on the Vikings, forcing them into bad passes and poor shot selections on offence. The Eagles continued their offensive onslaught while keeping St. Lawrence to just three points in the opening minutes of the quarter.

The Eagles played a little too physically and were called out on a lot of fouls early on, which led them to enter into the penalty with still a lot of time left in the quarter.

Fortunately for UTM, the St. Lawrence players were unable to capitalize on the early penalty situation and were unable to make three-throws.

But, the scoring drought for the Vikings didn’t last. Too many empty

possessions and sloppy plays by UTM helped St. Lawrence get back into the game. UTM continued to put St. Lawrence at the foul line for free points, but they finished the third quarter barely on top 64-56.

At the beginning of the final quarter, a drive and kick out by Thornton lead to an open Kwanti three which put UTM up 11 points. The Eagles continued their defensive pressure and intensity, fighting for loose balls and rebounds, even diving out of bounds to save balls. But it wasn’t enough to fend off a hungry Viking team who adjusted to the stifling UTM defense to come back out on top with the lead. Both teams were in the penalty with just under a minute left in the contest, the lead changing constantly.

A tough finish at the rim by number fifteen guard Shaquille David and an and-one finish by Khan put UTM up by two points. Smothering UTM defense forced the Vikings into an out of bounds violation. St. Lawrence fouled UTM guard number zero, Kyle Boorman, who made both freethrows to put UTM up by four.

UTM finished on-top of the Vikings 80-76 to complete a home sweep.

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