THE CANNON SERVING UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ENGINEERING STUDENTS SINCE 1978
JANUARY 2017, VOLUME XXXIX
WHAT’S GOING ON IN SKULE?
Godiva’s Crown and Mr. Blue and Gold 1T6 Reminisce and Look to the Future HEMA NOOKALA Godiva’s Crown 1T6
DAVID BOROTO Mr. B&G 1T6
Looking back a year ago, I remember working tirelessly with a group of ten of my friends in a tutorial room during the days leading up to the Godiva’s Crown Competition 1T6. All hands were on deck as people worked on the choreo, bribes, my makeup, and my outfit. I had a group chat, lovingly named hema and the diamonds, an allusion to the title that we were all working so hard to obtain. When I look back I can only remember an outpouring of love from these people who spent so much of their time helping me prepare.
When I ran for Mr. Blue and Gold in first year, I had no idea what I was doing or what I was getting into. I ran because Kirk Regan, the Mr. Blue and Gold at the time, put me up to it. I had no idea what Mr. Blue and Gold was about; if anything, I thought it was a popularity contest and another excuse for us engineers to do weird things. Two years later, as I give up the title of Mr. Blue and Gold, the position means so much more.
David Boroto, Mr. Blue & Gold 1T6 (left) and Hema Nookala, Godiva’s Crown 1T6 (right).
Credit: Oliver LaRose
Crown continued on page 4
B&G continued on page 4
A New Version of Skule Spirit DALE GOTTLIEB Cannon Senior Editor One of the Godiva Week events that I look forward to most is the chariot race. Being a fairly short and not very strong guy, I’m not the best at defending the chariot, but I am gifted at fitting inside it. This has given me the privilege of riding in
the Materials Engineering (MSE) discipline chariot and representing my department to two victories over the years. Being inside the old chariot was terrifying. It was pitch black, bumpy, noisy, and I think I was upside-down half the time. Every year, someone defending me would need to
Godiva Week Feature page 4-6
get stitches and everyone on the team got badly bruised and covered in snow. MSE knew that it was about time for a change: not just to our chariot, but to the Skule spirit of the chariot race. Chariot continued on page 6
The new and improved MSE chariot Credit: Sayuri Guruge
Art and Poetry Feature pages 13-15
Trump’s Effect on Skule? page 17
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THE CANNON EDITOR-IN CHIEF Lu Chen SENIOR EDITORS Dale Gottlieb Bob Kong Zhenglin Liu Sam Penner Andrew Uderian Linda Yu MARKETING/DISTRIBUTION HEAD Namya Syal PHOTOGRAPHY HEAD Sayuri Guruge LAYOUT HEAD Minh-Tam Nguyen GRAPHICS HEAD Rick Liu WEBMASTER Wibisha Balendran
Letter from the Editor Fellow Skuligans, Welcome back! 2016’s been an... interesting year, but that’s old news (isn’t that an oxymoron?). For someone who claims to be a writer, I’m having the toughest time coming up with something that’s not cheesy or cliche to say. I guess I’ll have to go with this: New Year’s is just an arbitrary day in time that we’ve defined, yet everyone still places so much stock in it that it actually means something. It just goes to show how much power belief can have, and it would do us well to remember that. This issue is as eclectic as what 2017 will probably be; we’ve got an arts spread that showcases the creative side of Skule, an article about how math and music are connected, an impassioned argument about the horror that is paper coffee cups, and a treatise on memes in Skule. As always, thanks to the executive team for all of their work on this issue, and thanks to the people who contributed their photos, art, poems, and articles. This paper wouldn’t exist without you.
ARTICLE WRITERS Stephenie Milson Ariel Seebarran Christopher Sims Farhang Tarlan Karan Vishwanath
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Transdermal Caffeine: the Next Big Thing? ARIEL SEEBARRAN Cannon Contributor Most people wake up in the morning and start their day with a cup of coffee, craving a jolt of energy. They then head to work or school and eventually the caffeine wears off, which leads to complaints of being tired. The local Tim Hortons or Starbucks is only a few minutes away and there they’ll be able to get their fix for a couple bucks. Over a long-term period, the effects of coffee have weakened and they now require more cups of coffee to get them through the day,
leading to more money being spent, not to mention the multiplicity of health risks associated with too much caffeine. What if you could skip the process of drinking coffee and go straight to the source – caffeine – in a way that’s even easier than a cup of coffee? This is precisely what transdermal caffeine promises. Whether in the form of a patch, spray, or bracelet, transdermal caffeine delivers the drug directly into the bloodstream. The transdermal route of administration does not encounter the “first-pass” effect (a decrease in the amount of drug that
can make it to the site of action) associated with oral drug administration – in this case, drinking coffee. Since you’re only consuming the caffeine, you’ll be paying a much lower amount to get your high in comparison to coffee. According Sprayable Energy, a company that sells caffeine sprays, the cost per one spray of caffeine is only $0.50 whereas as a cappuccino with the same amount of caffeine would cost $3.50. If getting caffeine transdermally is cheaper and easier, why hasn’t it exploded and completely taken over coffee? The culture we live in
Lu Chen Editor-in-Chief, 1T6 - 1T7
GODIVA WEEK PHOTOGRAPHY Cacia Ploeg Thushanth Sothinathan Kevin Zhang ART AND POETRY FEATURE Anonymous Robert Alicandri Herman Chandi Benjamin Lappalainen Joanna Kolodko Chloe Shao
Two students helping out with the Bowery Project Credit: EWB UofT ANDREW UDERIAN Cannon Senior Editor
THE CANNON
10 King’s College Road Sandford Fleming Building Room B740 Toronto, ON M5S 3G4 cannon@skule.ca cannon.skule.ca
CLAIMER The Cannon is the official (serious) newspaper of the University of Toronto Engineering Society. Established in 1978, it serves the undergraduate students of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, with a circulation of up to 3000. Submissions are welcome; e-mail cannon@skule.ca. Advertising and subscription information is available from the Engineering Society at 416-978-2917. DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this newspaper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Engineering Society unless so indicated. The editors reserve the right to modify submissions to comply with the newspaper’s and the Engineering Society’s policies.
Credit: Lu Chen
Engineers Without Borders: Addressing Social Ills
Happy Skuling!
GRAPHICS Ciel Emond Ali Muhammad
today certainly is to blame for this. For a lot of people, a cup of coffee isn’t just a dose of a drug, it’s an experience. A cup of coffee in the morning can be something that tells your body to wake up, ignoring the actual effects of caffeine. Coffee is ingrained in our society, as evidenced by the numerous coffee shops at every street corner. There’s a reason why breaks in the workplace are called “coffee breaks.” Drinking coffee has more to do with social norms than it does with simply staying awake. So, will transdermal caffeine be the next big thing? Only time will tell.
Although Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a large and successful student organization, the organization’s exact purpose is a mystery to most. In general, EWB strives towards being a catalyst for positive change, both on an individual level and
across communities. Many social injustices worldwide have difficult constraints and no clear solutions, and EWB works to remedy these injustices through creative engineering on both the individual and global scales. On the individual level, Engineers Without Borders fosters a close-knit, supportive community of engineers with a desire
to bring about positive change in the world. The organization operates at UofT to develop skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and self-development to help its members grow into leaders in engineering. It achieves this through a structured curriculum, used to educate its members on global development.
Finally, EWB encourages taking ownership and responsibility for self-started projects and initiatives. Although EWB strives for the individual development of its members, its primary goals lie on a grander scale. Both across the world and across the city of Toronto, the organization drives its members to use their learned skills to address systemic failures. Furthermore, EWB consistently partners with businesses, governments, NGOs, and entrepreneurs in order to propagate the knowledge and skills of its members within the broader community. One example of an EWB project is the involvement of UofT engineers in the Bowery Project, which develops urban farms across Toronto to support kitchens and restaurants within the city. In order to achieve its goals, EWB sends members to the Bowery Project to solve problems faced by the organization. One project done by EWB within the Bowery Project was the development of a farming handbook with the
end goal of improving the organization and efficacy of urban farms. Wil Banks, a student working on the project, said: I’ve been able to learn about urban farms and how local crops can support kitchens within the city. These farms are beneficial for [both] the community that uses them, and for engineers like us, providing a hands-on means of becoming more active residents of our city. Many social problems worldwide are challenging issues, with few willing to commit the time and resources required to fix them. Engineers Without Borders fills this gap, driving systemic change with projects that benefit both its members and and society as a whole. Although the organization exists on a volunteer basis, it succeeds in producing creative solutions to challenging problems.
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Congratulations to: Crown continued from page 1
B&G continued from page 1
As I accepted the Godiva’s Crown 1T6 hardhat from Ron in disbelief, I knew it was a group win. This was my first major lesson as Godiva’s Crown. Every triumph and failure in Skule is a group effort; this is obvious from the encouragement and support that we show each other. I had nothing planned after being crowned; I had no ideas as to what I wanted to bring to the Godiva’s Crown legacy other than the fact that I intended to be approachable and help people know that they belong here. We look around Skule and we see an abundance of excellence everywhere, and when we can’t feel that excellence in ourselves, it’s easy to feel discouraged. The first time I clicked my heels in front of Skule, I tripped, fell, and my hardhat flew off my head. Now, clicking my heels is as second nature as breathing. Though a trivial example, it’s the second lesson: if I could recover from that first terrible heel-click, then you can recover from your failures, whatever they may be. The third lesson is realizing that everything we do is to make our community stronger. To Godiva’s Crown 1T7, Queen of Clubs, this will be your journey. While you aren’t more important than the people around you, you will have the privilege to inspire others, in whichever way you decide. My heart is with you – have faith that you can make a difference and use Godiva’s Crown as a means to do just that.
I ran for Mr. Blue and Gold a second time because of the feeling I got from competing on that stage – it was unlike anything I’ve felt during my time here at Skule. The laughter, the acceptance, and the support I felt from our community as I stepped up on stage and did the weirdest and most unspeakable things made me feel right at home. And so, to me, being Mr. Blue and Gold is about reciprocating that love and support I felt while competing for Mr. Blue & Gold back to the community. The position is a reminder to everyone that UofT engineers are weird and unique people who don’t take themselves too seriously, and that we love each other for it. My favorite moments as Mr. Blue and Gold are from when 1T9s and 2T0s approached me and just talked about their time here at Skule – their passions, struggles, involvement, goals, fears, anything! Or even when they just made me drop my pants. For them to see me as an approachable
guy and indulge me in my tomfoolery is what being Mr. Blue and Gold is all about. And on top of that, the wry smiles, the cheeky laughter, and the gleam in people’s eyes after they told me to drop my pants made it worthwhile every single time (well… maybe not every time. You guys can be pretty damn demanding!). To me, being Mr. Blue and Gold is about creating moments that Skuligans can cherish, even if only for a few seconds. And so when people think back to Mr. Black and Gold… erhm… I mean Mr. Blue and Gold 1T6, I hope that they remember a moment in which I made them smile, or laugh, or simply feel happy in one moment.
ULTIMATE FROSH 1T7: SAVO BAJIC MR. B&G 1T7: DANIEL YONG GODIVA’S CROWN 1T7: LIA CODRINGTON
JANUARY 2017
Godiva Week Fun!
the Cannon | 5 PHOTOGRAPHERS: CACIA PLOEG KEVIN ZHANG THUSHANTH SOTHINATHAN SAYURI GURUGE
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Interface Biologics Inc: “In a Knowledge-Based Society, You Can’t Have Enough Knowledge” ANDREW UDERIAN Cannon Senior Editor BOB KONG Cannon Senior Editor
Chariot continued from page 1 Why should beating each other to a bloody pulp be the only way to win this race when the chariots should be the main attraction? This year, we wanted to compete in style, so we designed the “Swaggin Wagon.” This was an old couch from our common room outfitted with the base of our old chariot, painted with flames and our department logo. If we were going to go out, we were going to go out in style. The whole chariot had to have a character of winning through classiness rather than violence. As the rider of the chariot, I was dressed in a toga, hand-fed grapes on the vine, and enjoyed music blasted from speakers on the couch. We had a huge amount of spirit leading up to the race, and used the time at the starting line, where even the chair of our department came out to see the team, as a photo area. The race was equally as easy-going for our team. Once the cannon fired, we waited a few seconds until we were already in last place, and then leisurely walked around the field. We stopped for a photoshoot in front of University College, and we casually walked past competitors who were burdened with attackers. All the while, we never lifted a finger to attack other chariots
or defend our own. Although we didn’t win the race, I think we followed what the chariot race is all about. We had spirit; we were singing and dancing and having fun. We added something to this year’s chariot race beyond violence against the other teams. Enough people laughed at the sight of our team to make it all worthwhile. What we successfully showed during this competition is that no rules are set in stone. Every person and every team should seek ways to add to the experiences of their peers. This kind of attitude is how these events came to be in the first place, and they will continue to be shaped over the years. Other teams may not adopt this approach to the chariot race, but at least we made an impact.
Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI) was founded in 2001 by Paul Santerre, who went on to be the director of the University of Toronto’s Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME). Since then, the company has provided support to help entrepreneurial students in the fields of biomaterials and biomedical engineering overcome the same problems Santerre faced—a lack of funding and cash flow early on— with significant investment to students’ startup companies. Over IBI’s history the company raised $25 million in investment, and the firm has now moved into profitability. Finding funding was not the only problem faced by IBI early on. Interface Biologics Inc was founded on Santerre’s research; since the company’s inception, further research has been performed and the firm focuses on low-cost production technologies to improve the quality of plastics used in the healthcare industry. A relatively niche field, IBI focuses on plastic products intended for interface with the fluids and tissues of the human body. Making their products compatible with industry-standard manufacturing processes proved challenging at first, leading IBI to develop a highly-educated team, with almost half being PhD graduates. Looking forward, the company hopes to complete human clinical trials for dialysis products and expand (From top to bottom) further into European mar1. Paul Santerre holding a product of his company Interface Biologics Inc. kets by the end of 2017. 2. Fourth year Engineering Science student in the lab While some companies 3. Graduate students conducting research in the Lab stagnate once achieving Credit: Sayuri Guruge
success, Interface Biologics’ achievements have not stopped it from looking forward. Moving to the future, the company hopes to increase in size by developing its own manufacturing and buying related companies to increase its portfolio of products and double its number of held patents. A strong manufacturing base combined with a broad range of intellectual properties will help IBI to contribute to the international market while remaining a Canadian company. To do this, the firm actively searches for talent, particularly for people with knowledge of the healthcare industry and its niches or inventors with innovative ideas. Good company culture is essential to attracting talent, something IBI is aware of. An integral part of the culture at Interface Biologics is the practice of honesty and transparency with employees, leading to a breakdown of barriers between coworkers. The company also encourages its employees to attend conferences and team-building workshops in order to keep their skillsets fresh. Paul Santerre founded IBI with the intention of allowing Canada’s brightest to live in Canada while working on useful healthcare technology, a goal which is reflected in the firm’s culture. Building a successful startup company is one of the greatest challenges many engineers face, with such a task being particularly hard in a field with a high barrier to entry such as biomedical technologies. However, Paul Santerre demonstrated with Interface Biologics Inc. that startups can not only survive but thrive, and paved the way for future startups at UofT.
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RESEARCH/INDUSTRY
Social Services Engineering: a Chat with Prof. Mark Fox ZHENGLIN LIU Cannon Senior Editor Throughout his career, Prof. Mark S. Fox has contributed to the creation of many academic units. In his early career, he was a founding member of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and the founding director of the Institute’s Intelligent Systems Laboratory. Then, here at the University of Toronto, he played a major role in designing the current Industrial Engineering program and in the creation of the Hatchery. Most recently, in 2014, he founded the focus of this article, the Centre for Social Services Engineering (CSSE), which aims to apply engineering principles to improve the services designed for and delivered to marginalized members of society. Much of Prof. Fox’s work has been based on using constraint-directed reasoning to solve real-life problems, and representing the knowledge needed to solve problems using ontologies, a way of defining categories of and relationships between concepts in different subjects. His TOVE (Toronto Virtual Enterprise) project, for example, was a notable project investigating ontologies for modelling “enterprises” such as governments and businesses. More recently, his research has applied ontologies to represent information on cities, leading to his 2015 recognition as University of Toronto Distinguished Professor of Urban Systems Engineering. The CSSE grew out of Prof. Fox’s urban research, for as the Centre’s website notes, “smart cities are not very smart if they ignore or disenfranchise any portion of their citizens.” Nonetheless, it is innovative in that it applies industrial
and systems engineering to an area to which it hitherto had not been applied: that of social services. “I’ve always been interested, in some sense, in giving back,” said Prof. Fox, “since I was in my teens.” Back then, it took the form of fundraising for heart disease and helping out the elderly, while more recently, he has sat on the boards of a number of community organizations, having spent 10 years with the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre. The “big catalyst” for his founding of the CSSE, however, was an experience with the humanitarian organization Ve’ahavta. While the initiatives run by Ve’ahavta include a mobile response brigade of vans that provide food, clothing, and social worker services to the homeless; a 9-week Street Academy education program to help marginalized and homeless Torontonians reintegrate into society; and a health promotion initiative for indigenous communities, it was a fundraiser that had such a profound impact on Prof. Fox. It involved pledging to live on the street for 48 hours (in the summer), and so Prof. Fox experienced “begging for money on the street, eating in places like the Scott Mission or Lawyers Feed the Hungry, sleeping in Nathan Philip Square” like Toronto’s homeless population did everyday. He credits this with giving him a true sense of the challenges they faced; while places like food banks kept him from going hungry, sleeping for more than an hour at a time was difficult, and he was attacked by red ants in a park, until he was too worn out to continue, 36 hours in. “The most chilling thing,” he said, “was that I started to feel like I didn’t exist—I would’ve been talking to myself in 48 hours.”
A unique feature of the CSSE is its interdisciplinary nature in bringing together members of the Faculty of Social Work and the Department of Psychiatry with engineering professors, which Prof. Fox says introduces the challenge of “developing an understanding of each discipline’s unique approach to looking at a problem, thinking about a problem, and solving a problem.” For example, engineers often think of developing a quantitative model and identifying key variables and relationship while social scientists tend to think of descriptive theories or rules-of-thumb. This could be beneficial as well: for example, the social scientists in the lab tend to appreciate that “people from engineering have a more structured, disciplined approach to thinking.” The CSSE’s initiatives are as wide-ranging as its members. Projects with which Prof. Fox is involved include PolisGnosis—a project to automate the analysis of cities’ performances according to indicators set forth by the International Standards Organization, a Social Services Simulator to facilitate the testing of new policies, a Social Service Finder app to help social workers connect those in need quickly to whatever they need (be it food or psychiatric help), and even an initiative to standardize Ve’ahavta’s Street Academy program. The project that is consuming the greatest fraction of the CSSE’s resources, however, is an online Social Needs Marketplace to make the distribution of goods and services to vulnerable populations such as seniors, the infirm, and those living in poverty more efficient and effective. Team members are currently working on many different aspects of
Calculus Class at the Dinner Table LINDA YU Cannon Senior Editor
Professor Mark Fox Credit: UofT the platform, including data representation techniques such as ontologies for goods and services ranging from cribs to legal help, as well as ways to match needs to supplies in situations where constraints are complex, such as with moving services where location, the availability of both parties, and even the size of the car available have to be considered. The interface is also being designed, and data analytics are being done, for example with purchasing records, to figure out what goods and services different kinds of people in different areas might have to offer. At the same time as all this theoretical work is being done, the software itself is being developed, and a demonstration system exists for part of the platform already. In fact, Prof. Fox expects to have enough done to start testing the system this fall. In addition to all this, Prof. Fox has worked on the applications of several of his research areas in India, including his work in smart city indicators as well as a sanitation block design project affiliated with the CSSE. This project was
an Industrial Engineering capstone that required students to design buildings equipped with toilets, showers, and laundry facilities to serve 5000 - 50 000 people in slum areas. To better understand the problem, which involved managing the physical aspect of the building, including air flow, lighting, and cleanliness, as well as how it would be maintained by the community, the three students on the team had the opportunity to fly to Mumbai. Prof. Fox invites interested students to contact him at any time. At the CSSE, he says, “we’re always happy to involve students.” Last year, three students contributed to the Social Needs Marketplace during the summer, and another student worked on various projects with the Centre throughout the year. The Social Service Finder, which was created by students, is also being developed as part of a capstone project. While the capstone projects Prof. Fox supervises are mostly Industrial, he is interested in having students from all disciplines: “they just have to be motivated!”
I’ve noticed that there is a large number of engineering students with at least one engineer as a parent (or at least an engineer as a relative), and that led me to wonder, first and foremost, if they chose engineering because their parents were engineers, and second, if having an engineer in the family gave them a leg up. I interviewed three of my friends, and their answers are quite surprising (to me, at least). It seems that having an engineer as a parent heavily influenced their choices in choosing engineering as a major. “My father taught me many exciting things that were going on in the engineering world, which
got me really interested in this field,” said Lucy Zhu (ECE1T9) about her decision. “I think he’s very open-minded about any discipline, as long as I am interested in that field.” Some influences were more explicit than others: “My mom expected me to study engineering at UofT because of its strict academia and high job prospects,” responded Jerry Ye (ECE1T9). “There’s definitely a push towards engineering,” added Jelly Cai (ECE1T9). “During high school, I was considering programs like computer science and life science, but my parents told me the admission averages were too low.” I’d imagine that having an engineer in the family would be an asset, but it turns out that though they
may help and give career guidance, they can also have higher expectations and therefore impose a lot of stress that a non-engineer wouldn’t. Lucy states that she got “exposed to technology and the concepts behind it at a really young age,” and that her father could act as an academic advisor that she could ask for suggestions when making decisions about her career. Jerry notes that his mom tends to be very critical and would “point out [his] mistakes” without considering his feelings. Jelly gives the pros and the cons: “My parents were able to help me understand the intuition behind certain concepts, which helped me understand things at a deeper level. But my parents want me to go further in life than they did, which
is a hard expectation to live up to. It can be really frustrating at times when they seem to care more about my success than my happiness.” They also point out that studying engineering now is much different than what it was like when their parents finished their degrees. “Technology is getting more and more advanced every year, and innovation is happening every day. Therefore, more new things are being taught in engineering than before, and more interesting real-world applications are being presented too,” comments Lucy. Jerry adds that there were no communications courses like ESP/ Praxis to brush up the writing and leadership skills of students. And just like most other disciplines, nobody ends up
directly applying what they study; Lucy’s father studied mechanical engineering, and is now working as an entrepreneur closely related to the field. Jerry’s mom studied electrical engineering, and is now working as a material science engineer in semiconductor electronics. Jelly’s parents, who both studied mechanical engineering, now work in finance and automotive engineering. I suppose there are both benefits and drawbacks to having an engineer as a parent. Regardless of what they do or who they are, they support us in their own ways, even if that means having discussions about calculus over dinner.
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FOOD
Snowed in with Skule: Spectacular
Fancy Eats NAMYA SYAL Cannon Marketing Head
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can be difficult, so be sure to call ahead of time. They have a few locations throughout the city, each with their own feel, so choose accordingly. I find that the downtown location tends to be a bit more crowded, and has a modern feel to it, whereas the Greektown location is more rustic, and tends to be a little less loud. Aside from their pizza, they also serve fried gnocchi, which is some of the best comfort food I’ve had in the city.
Being a student can be incredibly stressful. The never-ending stream of deadlines, exams, assignments, and projects can cause even the calmest of people to fly into a panic. In such periods of stress, it’s extremely easy to forget to take care of yourself (as opposed to barely keeping yourself alive). In those times, when you feel like you need a little pick-me-up, and the need to splurge a little (but not break 3. Marinella the bank) here are some de640 College St. lightful gems to feast on. A quaint little restaurant in Little Italy, this place is 1. Pai perfect for when you want 18 Duncan St. to pretend to be an adult An unlikely contender for without spending $100 on this list, but Pai has some of a meal. They do all of their the best food I’ve had in this dishes really well; you can’t city without any of the usual go wrong with anything pretension. Never having on the menu. Their cheese tried Thai food, I was ini- platter, however, can be a tially skeptical, but I left Pai little underwhelming. The a changed woman. While charm of this place lies in all the food we ordered was its intimate atmosphere, the amazing (let your waiter friendly waitstaff, and the give you suggestions), what chef ’s genial demeanour. really amazed me was the “Morning Glory” dish. 4. SOCO Kitchen and Bar “Morning Glory” is a thai 75 Lower Simcoe St. green, served with a vegRight next to Ripley’s an soya paste, which does Aquarium and the CN not sound very appetizing. Tower, this place makes for However, upon taking my a lovely evening out. After first bite I was enchanted; a stroll through the most my meat-loving partner iconic part of Toronto, a and I cleaned that plate up. meal at this place really The beautiful flavours of brings the whole evening that dish set the mood, and together. While most items with the funky atmosphere on their menu are great, of the place we had a lovely their 5 cheese mac and evening. cheese at $7 really makes the place special. I would like to 2. Pizzeria Libretto emphasize that the mac and 550 Danforth Ave. cheese is absolutely divine As the name would sug- but at $7, it really is a steal. It gest, Pizzeria Libretto serves is a ‘side’ on their menu, but pizza. What the name does for most people it is good not suggest is that their enough as the full meal. If pizza is the kind that real- you have a bit of a larger ly takes your stress away, appetite, they can serve it transports you into another as a main as well. The venue dimension, and causes you itself is quite nice as well; loto scoff at Hard Hat Cafe cated in the lobby of a hotel, pizza for the next couple of it looks and feels like a fine days. Finding a reservation dining establishment.
CHRISTOPHER SIMS Cannon Contributor
(From top to bottom) 1. A glimpse of the inside of the Toronto restaurant Pai Credit: Pai
2. View of Pizzeria Libretto from the outside Credit: Pizzeria Libretto
3. A look at the bar inside Marinella
Credit: Marinella
4. A view of the inside of SOCO Kitchen and Bar
Credit: SOCO Kitchen and Bar
The 1st of December always has a special feel to it. Yes, the incessant ads for Christmas sales seem to begin earlier every year, and the radio plays Christmas music starting in mid-November, but December is really when Christmas begins, at least for me. And there were few better ways to shift into that Christmas mode
than the Snowed in with Skule winter concert. There wasn’t snow that night, but the room in Hart House was a warm refuge from the cold air outside. I entered while a pianist was playing an arrangement of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”, a relaxing start to a fun evening. The concert featured two Skule Music groups—the recently re-established Skule Choir and the six-member Brass Ring.
Both performed for about equal portions of the twoact concert. The program began with the Skule Choir, conducted by Lauren Levorson-Wong (Queen’s English 2T0), and a performance of the Venetian hymn “Vi adoro”. The choir made good use of the space, with the choir initially surrounding the audience before collectively moving to the front of the room. Next came two
movements of Johannes Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder, or Gypsy songs. These were generally quite good, although the female sections at times could have used more choristers to balance with some very powerful baritone and bass voices. John Rutter’s “Shepherd’s Pipe Carol” was very well executed, particularly considered the challenging rhythms the choir had to contend with. Next, the Brass Ring took the stage, playing the traditional carols “I Saw Three Ships”, “These Three Kings”, and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. I always enjoy hearing brass Christmas music - the Brass Ring masterfully produced a very rich, warm sound, bringing the carols to life. The first act concluded with a brass arrangement of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. The classic Christmas fanfare was well-performed despite a few hiccups, and brought a triumphant segue to the intermission. The second, shorter, half began with a fun and
energetic South African song, “Tshotsholoza”, sung (and danced to) by the choir. Returning to the Christmas theme of the concert, the choir sang “Lully, Lullah, Lullay”, an arrangement of the beautiful and contemplative Coventry Carol. The third piece was, in my opinion, one of the best of the evening: “Salmo 150” by the Brazilian composer Ernani Aguiar. It was a joyous setting of a marvelous text from the Psalms, and featured almost the entirety of the choir’s range, from the low notes of the basso profundo to the highest notes of the soprano. The Brass Ring returned with several more carols, including “‘Tis the Season to Get Funky”, a fun and quirky setting of “Deck the Halls”. The other carols included old favourites such as “Ding Dong! Merrily on High”, “Go Tell It on the Mountain”, and “Good King Wenceslas”. The concert closed with a contemporary arrangement of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, which, though it dragged at times, was an exuberant finish to the evening. I left with the joyous verses playing in my head. The Skule music groups put on an excellent Winter concert that provided a festive respite from the busyness of university life. The Skule Choir in particular is a recently-founded organization that is always looking for new members, and gladly accepts anyone with an interest in music and the lifelong bonds it can form.
(From top to bottom) 1. The choir performed pieces with up to 7 parts 2. The Brass Ring giving it their all Credit: Clement Ho
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WHAT GRINDS MY GEARS
What Grinds My Gears: Coffee Cups DALE GOTTLIEB Cannon Editor I took a short trip recently that required me to stay at a big chain hotel for a night. After taking a shower in the morning and proudly tossing my towel on the floor, I went to the Starbucks across the street and ordered a cup of coffee. Like nearly every other Canadian, I need a daily Grande cup of coffee in the morning to wake up. I sat down at the Starbucks to do some work and enjoy my coffee. After a little while, I finished and went to throw out my cup. When I reached the trash bin, I realized that I’ve almost never thrown a cup of coffee in the recycling at Starbucks. I’ve always been good about separating my cup for the UofT bins, but at Starbucks, I find the cup recycling bins very poorly marked. Beyond that, I’ve always seen the garbage bins where the milk and cream are located to be full of empty coffee cups. They’re always overflowing, and it seems like the only item in them is coffee cups. If a sign that says “save the environment, please hang up your towel” can make 30% more people hang up their towels, why doesn’t Starbucks have a sign that says “save the environment, recycle your cups?” At the very least, it would mean less effort in cleaning out those garbage bins every 10 minutes. The answer is actually an amazing case study in materials engineering. It turns out that paper coffee cups have a polyethylene lining on the inside to stop the cup from getting soggy. The costly procedure of separating the lining from the paper renders recycling the cups economically unviable. In Canada, this leads to 1.5 billion coffee cups sent to the landfill every year. Despite this dire environmental
impact, nearly every person in a 2009 IPSOS research study thought paper coffee cups were recyclable. Let’s go through some facts about paper coffee cups, which I will start to call polyethylene (PE) coffee cups to emphasize that they’re actually made of plastic. The PE lining is extremely energy intensive to produce, and the paper outside isn’t all that much better. 1.5 billion coffee cups are equivalent to cutting down half a million trees. Once in the consumer’s hands, the thin cup lets heat through and requires a cardboard sleeve, cutting down more trees and producing more waste. People also believe that PE cups are environmentally friendly and don’t mind using and throwing them out. A lot of times, these cups are disposed of in recycling, leading to a burden on the waste management system to filter them out of the recycling by hand. Once in the landfill the paper decomposes to produce methane gas leading to climate change, and the polyethylene never decomposes. As a materials engineer, it’s in my best interest to find a material that could replace PE coffee cups. A very surprising conclusion seems to be polystyrene (Styrofoam) cups, like the cups from Booster Juice. These cups take less energy to produce, require less material, and don’t require a cardboard sleeve. There are almost no drawbacks. Even if a cup is sent to the landfill, it takes just as long to decompose as the PE lining, but doesn’t release harmful methane in the process. In fact, the greatest drawback of Styrofoam cups is the total opposite than that for PE cups; people think that Styrofoam is so environmentally damaging that they throw Styrofoam cups
in the garbage and PE cups in the recycling. They should be doing the total opposite! In Toronto, PE coffee cups cannot be recycled, while the city sends Styrofoam to Canada Fibers Ltd. to be recycled into products like coat hangers. This public perception of Styrofoam is exactly why PE coffee cups exist. In 1990, McDonald’s used Styrofoam for all their food packaging across their 8,500 restaurants in America. Based on feedback from the Environmental Defense Fund, McDonald’s was forced to switch to paper packaging. McDonald’s was concerned about their public image, and had to make the switch. However, the restaurant had defended their use of Styrofoam for a number of years leading up to the change. Edward H. Rensi, the president of McDonald’s, said, “Although some scientific studies indicate that foam packaging is environmentally sound, our customers just don’t feel good about it, so we’re changing.” Looking into the studies conducted by McDonald’s, along with similar research at University of Victoria and Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, it seems undeniable that Styrofoam packaging is far better for the environment. With McDonald’s supporting paper packaging and Rensi saying, “We already knew we could switch to paper and save money,” there’s no question why every company these days use paper packaging. Paper cups are cheaper to buy, and give a better public image for a company. My theory is that the use of paper coffee cups is a way to lower costs for companies while retaining more customers at the cost of the environment. These
WAVES Robert Alicandri Two signals in space Out of phase Oscillating through time Ever destructive Interference pervading Silence amid noise Stochastic losses resonating Out of phase Dampening out to infinity Two paths diverging Forever to be Two signals in space Out of phase
THE PERFECT SANCTUARY Wibisha Balendran She ran incessantly through a blurry foliage of trees “Nothing can stop her now!”, she thought Yet the thought masked what she yearned most- an escape! But how could she by the seemingly unpromising landscape? Just as she was beginning to lose hope Behold, a wooden door brimmed with ancient carvings Of a flock of starlings Neglecting the lost cause of their home to a place afar…
Plastic lining from a paper coffee cup that has not decomposed. Credit: Hanna Ziada
companies are well aware of this, and openly state that paper is not the ideal solution, and yet have managed to push the agenda that paper is the way to go. I even believe this goes so far as to have fake coffee cup recycling bins in their stores. According to a CBC marketplace report of 14 different Starbucks and Tim Hortons locations, every store threw the cup disposal waste right into the garbage. This goes against strong claims that both companies hire private waste disposal services to recycle their cups. Wasteco, used by Tim Hortons, specifically says they do not recycle coffee cups. UofT sends their cups to a private recycling plant, so why don’t these companies? You can see bags of coffee cups in the alley outside of SF separated from the garbage. I think these cup disposal bins at Tim Hortons and Starbucks locations are equivalent to a sign saying “we’re green” on a product that does nothing but harm for the environment. Actually, this sounds like the
sleeve used by Starbucks, which is made of recycled material, but whose sole purpose is to compensate for the poor design of the coffee cup and to be thrown out. The fact that the sleeve exists at all, even if it was 100% recycled, is a total waste of resources. Every person I talk to about this defends the use of paper cups, and doesn’t agree that the companies need to do something about this. Instead, it’s the consumer’s responsibility to use reuseable coffee mugs. Somehow, the companies have made us feel like we’re in the wrong, even though a switch to Styrofoam cups would benefit the environment way more than if people used reusable mugs. The cup doesn’t have anything to do with the environment to these companies. We should stop believing that the 60% recycled sleeve is Starbucks trying to help the environment, and we should start asking these billion dollar companies to offset the cost of their environmental impact.
Her clammy palms touched the glistening, golden knob Hesitant, but sensing they will arrive soon, she opened the door And jumped into a void of darkness.. She awoke to the sound of crickets chirping ecstatically “Where am I?”, she pondered The scenery looked very unusual yet picturesque With cosmic colored waterfalls divine to the human eye, Red roses sprouted from the cushy grass And the pulsating, blue moon that peered from the trees Along with the cool breeze “This is the perfect sanctuary”, she believed Then she heard the sound of leaves crunching…
AN ODE TO STARRY NIGHTS Herman Chandi As the sun sinks into the evening light, Through winter winds, I see heaven’s bright Children as they frolic atop the Infinite canvas of the night.
poetry in skule
Its arms thrashing on heaven’s floor, A single star cries out for more Time to tempt the graveyard below And its ghosts from ages before. Time for you and time for me, Time for time to repeat. She leans in and whispers soft and sweet, It’s time for us to retreat. A billion bear witness to that star’s shine, But I know that star used to be mine. A billion diamonds burst into flame,
But I swear that star used to be mine.
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COMRADES IN CLAY Chloe Shao “My friends are one of, if not the most, important things in my life and I decided to base RPG-style characters off of them. They’re small enough to fit in my pocket so I take them around and take photos of “little people in a big world.”
PARADOX Joanna Kolodko
CITY DWELLER Benjamin Lappalainen “I took this about a month into the first semester of my second year of EngSci - the semester that upper years had warned us was the toughest in the program. I hadn’t been hit by the tidal wave of midterms and assignments just yet, so I was still feeling fine, but this piece was sort of me taking a stab at a visual representation of what I might feel like in a month or two. Living in the downtown core has been a fantastic and exciting change from the suburbs that I’ve spent the majority of my life in, but the drawback of this is that there are frequently SO MANY THINGS that I’d rather be doing instead of studying for that next midterm or finishing that lab report. At its core, this was mostly just a self-test to see where my Photoshop skills stood and where I’ll need to improve in order to bring to life the other surrealist pieces that I’ve been brainstorming.”
THE DIVISION Anonymous
art in skule
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In Defense of the TTC RICK LIU Cannon Graphics Head Many students use the TTC to commute to and from campus, yet most of these commuters probably have a negative and cynical view of the TTC, and in essence are TTC haters. I’d like to take the unpopular view and say that the TTC is a very underrated transit system and manages to perform its job well, despite the many geographical, political, and financial hurdles it faces. Andy Byford’s dream of becoming the best transit agency in North America may not be so farfetched; in some ways it already has come to be. Many Torontonians have mocked the subway network for being too small and having only 2.5 lines. Many also look to New York, Tokyo, and London’s subway systems with envy. Toronto, however, is not New York, Tokyo, or London; it has at most 1/6th the metropolitan
population of those cities, and a smaller fraction of their densities. For a midsize North American city, its subway network beats many larger major cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and LA. In addition, many cities larger than Toronto like Dallas don’t even have subway systems. The subway network is also larger than many cities elsewhere on earth, including
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Credit: Rick Liu and Ali Muhammad
weight. The subway schedule is also one of the most frequent in North America. Imagine barely missing the train and having to wait 20-30 minutes for the next train. That’s what people in other cities, even New York, have to deal with. A subway line is only as useful as the service provided on it. The TTC has ensured no line in the subway system has a
minutes even during rush hour. Even in European cities like Frankfurt and Paris, service is up to twice as sparse as the TTC. And in 2018, after a lot of work completed during weekend closures, automated control will be implemented, enabling the TTC to run trains every 105 seconds, matching Vancouver as one of the most frequent metro systems in the world.
of Toronto. But Toronto is unique in the fact that every inch of the city from Scarborough to Etobicoke is within a 20 minute walk to one of 52 frequent transit routes -- bus or streetcar service that comes every 10 minutes or less, even at midnight. Other cities can’t even come close to this service. LA has huge swaths of the city that don’t have access to reliable and frequent bus service. Minneapolis, a similar-sized city to Toronto, only has five routes that all converge downtown. No other city comes close to the level of bus/streetcar service Toronto, New York, Chicago, Montreal, and Vancouver have. The TTC often gets derided for its delays, but in actuality, it’s among the most reliable systems in the world and has relatively few delays compared to other transit agencies. Infrastructure related delays are down 21% since 2014. Other causes of delays, like suicides, are much harder to prevent and relate to wider issues for which the TTC should not be blamed. In fact, the TTC’s on time performance is at 96.6%, among the best in North America, and beating other cities like New York (82%), San Francisco (91%), and DC (90%) by a wide margin. And the TTC is not accomplishing this through more short turns. In fact, short turns for both bus and streetcars are down by about 50% and 66%
While it’s okay to dream for a subway system that rivals New York, let’s not forget that
the TTC’s subway system punches above its weight.
global metropolises like Amsterdam and Rome. So while it’s okay to dream for a subway system that rivals New York, let’s not forget that the TTC’s subway system punches above its
frequency lower than 5 minutes at any time. New York, meanwhile, has sections where the train comes every 20 minutes outside of rush hour. DC and San Francisco have trains arriving every 8
It’s not just the subway network that’s among the best in North America; Toronto also has a very robust bus and streetcar network. Like most bus networks, it covers all areas
since 2014 respectively. The TTC is in a position where it can make infrastructure and maintenance upgrades, such as automatic control on trains, while many other cities are scrambling to
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JANUARY 2017 ensure the safety of their system. Much of the New York subway is running on 1930s signaling technology, Vancouver has experienced multiple system-wide failures in the past couple of years, and Chicago had a major subway derailment in 2014 which injured 34 people. DC famously had a huge issue with exposed electrical wiring that led in 2 separate incidents to 86 people being hospitalized, a death, a complete system shutdown for 3 days, and multiple sections of the subway being closed for up to 3 months. Ever since a 1995 derailment, the TTC has ensured and prioritized proactive maintenance
and upgrades over system expansion. Together, with the reduction in delays over the last few years, makes the TTC one of the most reliable systems in North America. All this does not detract from the fact that the TTC is relatively expensive. However, the TTC itself should not be blamed. Ever since Ontario has ceased funding the TTC, the TTC has chosen to become more efficient rather than to cut service. Now, with 70% of its funding coming from fares (farebox recovery ratio), it is among the most efficient transit agency in the world, and beats most transit agencies (including New York)
by at least 10%. However, with both Rob Ford’s and John Tory’s budget cuts to the TTC, it has no choice but to raise fares, since all efficiency gains have already been realized. There is no transit agency in the world with a higher farebox recovery ratio without using distance-based fares, and implementing distance-based fares is essentially a fare hike that punishes suburban commuters. The TTC is heading into uncharted territory if it were to attempt to find more “efficiencies”, which may risk the safety and reliability of its network. There are other criticisms that the TTC has no control
over and cannot fix easily. The TTC cannot significantly change rider behavior, no matter how many posters they put up. The TTC will always be crowded if service remains good since induced congestion also applies to transit. Any expansion will cause new riders to fill the excess capacity and return back to the previous equilibrium. The TTC cannot control how Presto works, and isn’t in charge of Presto fare gates; that responsibility is on Metrolinx. The TTC still has some problems. Cleanliness of both the trains and stations, while better than North American counterparts like
New York and DC, is a long ways away from Hong Kong and Tokyo. Customer service, while improving since Andy Byford took over as CEO, can still be improved. But it’s important to realize that the TTC is doing an admirable job at getting people from A to B anywhere in the city in a safe and reliable fashion. The TTC can be (and in some ways is already) the best transit agency in North America, and to do that soon, riders should pressure politicians to give it more resources to continue its admirable handling of the city’s transportation network.
What Will the Trump Presidency Bring About for Skule?
President Trump on inauguration day Credit: Rolling Stone FARHANG TARLAN Cannon Contributor Almost two months after the end of the race for the White House, skepticism remains high about Donald Trump’s policies on science and technology. Much has been written on the potential effects of Trump on STEM; some scientists have expressed concerns about how Trump’s presidency will affect research and development in the United States, and how that will play out around the world. And with the president-elect himself denying human-caused
climate change and linking autism to childhood vaccination, it only becomes easier to share such apprehensions. For Murray Rudd, a Canadian scientist at the Emory University in Atlanta, “a move back to Canada will be something [he] will be looking into.” The truth of the matter, however, is that so little has been said about science and technology policies on the campaign trail that no one really knows what to expect. Trump’s denial on climate change, for example, could turn into a means of economic growth. It could offer
incentives to enhance nuclear energy funding to design the next generation of reactors while creating high tech industry jobs. Similarly, the repatriation tax he is going to impose on companies who have moved overseas can generate as much as multiple years’ worth of government research and development funds. This excess money could be used to address pressing healthcare issues, such as advancing the country’s quest to cure cancer or reduce cardiac death rates. The Trump presidency’s effect on Skule, therefore,
remains to some extent unclear. I, however, am going to argue that regardless of Trump’s policies on science and technology, the next four, or possibly eight, years will be an unprecedented opportunity for Skuligans to establish themselves in the industrial high tech market – at least here in Toronto. Most graduates choose the GTA for the early stages of their career. The alumni database, with over half a million graduates, indicates around 50% are staying around upon graduation. The GTA is also attracting an increasing number of entrepreneurs every year, rapidly transforming Toronto from a major Canadian city to a world class global city. Toronto’s tech ecosystem is also growing twice as fast as anywhere else in Canada and is quickly becoming a hub for innovation. Our very own university has enhanced its entrepreneurial infrastructure. The number of incubators on campus has increased, each attracting more and more students every year; venture capital investment has increased in tech spinoff companies; the Centre for
Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship is coming closer to opening, with rumors anticipating a mid2018 finish; and all this has happened in the span of just four to five years – not even a decade – since I started at UofT. Canada has historically dealt with brain drain, mostly to the United States. A Trump presidency could ignite the reversal of this trend. As his fiscal policies start to take effect, the reduction in regulation could lead to the destabilization of the financial market, posing a threat to venture capital investment and therefore tech development in the United States. In such circumstances, Toronto can accelerate its quest to become the next world class city by attracting investment and top talent, some of which walk to our very own Pit every day. There may be little we can do to influence Trump’s policies. But there is lots we can do to make the most out of them. The recent entrepreneurial trend in Toronto will only quicken with Trump in office.
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The UTSU and What They Do For You comments. The relationship between the two organizations have If there’s only one thing improved, however; the that could be said about the UTSU “tries to meet with UTSU, amid its colourful the EngSoc execs regularly.” history, it would be that The reason for this improvetheir performance has al- ment? The UTSU traditionways been...questionable. ally has “had a hard time As Mathias Memmel, VP reaching [professional] facInternal, remarked, “we’re ulties,” and only recently has widely disliked and no one trusts us with money, and who can blame them?” One such a money-fumbling incident would be the 2015 lawsuit in which the UTSU sued its former executive director, president, and vice-president internal for realized that the solution is civil fraud. And that’s just the gen- “to work with local groups eral opinion of the UTSU like EngSoc.” Engineering throughout the under- groups know what engineergraduate student body. ing students need, which is Engineering students in why the UTSU has tried to particular haven’t had the support these groups with best relationship with the money and other resources, student union: it’s no se- instead of “strid[ing] into cret that “EngSoc and the the Pit and try[ing] to save UTSU spent years scream- the day.” An example of this ing at each other,” Memmel would be the diversion of BOB KONG Cannon Senior Editor
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funds from the UTSU to EngSoc. Currently, 50% of UTSU fees collected from engineering students goes to EngSoc, where EngSoc uses these fees to provide services and programs that the UTSU did before, aside from club insurance and certain club funding. The UTSU has been
plan, which covers things like psychotherapy. An added bonus is that students can now opt out online. A new service they provide is the Resource Bank, which is “basically a room full of equipment that student groups can rent.” The student union has also been working on a survey of
Student governments can do good things when people make the effort to work hard and to listen. making strides in winning back the approval of the students it serves, according to Memmel, by “getting [its] house in order, [which] means fixing the finances and getting the UTSU in more positions where it’s actually able to do something useful.” A recent accomplishment is the newly overhauled Health and Dental
its entire membership, developing a realistic business and operating plan for the Student Commons opening at the end of the year, and discussing what the Ontario Student Grant (OSG) truly means for students. In particular, the UTSU has met with the Premier’s office and elected politicians to advocate the fact the OSG (“free
as many influential bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson fell apart. A group of musicians were passionate enough to try and make progressive rock fresh again, and thus an underground movement was born: math rock! Math rock songs were characterized by very unusual time signatures (like 7/8 or 13/8), abrupt interruptions, and dissonance (in which a very odd combination of tones were combined tastefully to produce a new tone). Each member of the band played to a different rhythm and meter, but the time signatures they played were often in groupings of 2 or 3 (meaning they were chosen in multiples or clusters). This genre was not exactly mathematical, but the mathematical symbolism
it often contained coupled with the dynamic nature of the songs caused music critics to call it “math rock”. Something I find very fascinating is the song “Lateralus” by the highly influential and commercially successful progressive rock band Tool. It has many mathematical intricacies that really amazed me when I first listened to it. The lyrics are:
tuition” announced by the government last year) will cover less than half the cost of an engineering degree. The UTSU’s long-term goal? To turn itself into a functional student government that people actually like. Memmel is hopeful: “We take in a lot of money every year, but most students don’t see where it goes. If we change how we spend our money, we can stop being a joke to so many of our members.” Memmel’s final message to engineering students is a plea to give the UTSU a chance. “Student politics is rotten, and student politicians are even worse, but student governments can do good things when people make the effort to work hard and to listen. Engineering students should know that their criticisms are being acted on, and that things are getting better - we’re here to listen and act.”
Math in Music “Math is a wonderful thing Math is a really cool thing. So, get off your ass, let’s do some math Math, math, math, math math,” - Jack Black, School of Rock KARAN VISHWANATH Cannon Contributor Math is everywhere. It is used to solve not only the most complex engineering problems, but also the most mundane (like how long it would take to break even after an expensive engineering education). Math and music have always had a very special relationship. Although there is no formal theory relating the two, elements of music like rhythm, meter, pitch, tempo, and beat can be related to the measurement of time and frequency. For the musically
illiterate, here is a bit of music theory. A time signature is basically the number of beats that are contained in each bar of music. Conventional rock and roll music follow a 4/4-time signature, which is four beatunits in a bar. Bored of this convention, musicians in the early ’60s decided to jazz up the stagnant rock and roll scene by incorporating elements of classical music like varying tempos, more intricate song structures, and abstract lyrical themes. This spawned a new genre of music: progressive rock. In the mid ’80s, progressive rock took a big hit
of colors you see when you trip on LSD (ugh hipsters). But there are some very cool mathematical features about the song. Firstly, the syllables in the main verse follow a Fibonacci series (1-1-2-35-8-5-3) in ascending, then descending order. The vocalist of the band, Maynard James Keenan, was a math major and loved putting these mathematical easter eggs into his songs. In fact, “Lateralus” was initially Black supposed to be called “9-8Then 7” because of the 9/8, 8/8, White are 7/8-time signature sequence All I see it followed. This specific seIn my infancy quence was chosen because Red and yellow then came 987 is the 16th number in to be the Fibonacci sequence! Reaching out to me Additionally, the song’s inLet’s me see tro ends at the 1:37 minute mark or after 1.618 minutes, The song itself has little and this was his touching meaning and the first verse is tribute to the golden ratio. supposed to be the sequence
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Skule and Memes STEPHENIE MILSON Cannon Contributor Have you ever scrolled down your Facebook feed, or looked through Reddit, and stumbled upon yet another trending meme that you know nothing about but find funny and simply accept for the next two weeks until it disappears? If you answered no, welcome to the 21st century! You have been asleep for a very long time. After midterms, exams, events, or even for no reason in particular, memes surface on platforms used by engineering students, such as Facebook. If a meme is relatable enough, it gets
instant validation: “likes” and “sads”. If the crowd does not take to it, it is just as easily forgotten. Regardless of the meme, these internet phenomena all share similarities – they make a brief cultural impact and are quickly replaced by the next. Why have memes become such a large part of the Skule community? They have permeated our publications, events like Godiva Week, and our every day communications with each other. Memes are a fitting method of sharing ideas for a generation that grew up with technology, a short attention span, and the capability to create almost anything
An isolated member of the community can find themselves sharing a meme in a group, and connect with students completely unknown by bonding over a calculus professor’s banana costume. Meme: a single silly idea with an emotional connection captured in a photo and text with Impact font. It can unite hundreds and thousands of people together over an issue, while requiring minimal investment and contribution. Nevertheless, no matter how relatable or engaging a Engineering programs simple to make, and are meme is, it means nothing can get tough with their therefore the perfect low- without a community to endless cycle of labs, assign- time conduit for releasing share it with. ments, exams, readings, and some stress and socializing extracurricular activities. with others. faster than ever before. They become a tool that brings communities closer together through sharing of experiences with this unconventional method relatable only to this generation, not unlike what writing means to Baby Boomers.
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Stress relief becomes vital for balance in a student’s life. A study published by the American Art Therapy Association in 2016 shows a connection between artistic expression and lower levels of stress in adults. Memes are digital, fundamentally
[Memes bring] communities closer together.
A collage of memes. Credit: Ciel Emond