Vol. 57 Issue3

Inside...

THE UMBRELLA REVOLUTION .... 2 SUBSTANCE IN STUDENT POLITICS.... 3 INTERNET MORALITY .... 6 PARK CULTURE.... 8 COMPETITIVE ART .... 11 THE IMPORTANCE OF MUD.... 12 4CHAN NUDES ....15

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER

VOL. 57 ISSUE 3 • OCT. 6 2014 • WWW.THESTRAND.CA

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VICTORIA ELECTS NEW STUDENT GOVERNMENT

STEVE WARNER Jarrah went on to write that, “Ideally Caffiends would remain in Old Vic. However, administration did raise other possible locations, such as the Commuter Lounge and the Cat’s Eye—neither of which, in my opinion, would suit the needs of Caffiends, and both of which received dismally low ratings when students were polled for their choices.”

He concluded that he is in favour of maintaining Caffiends’ current location, and promised to initiate discussions with Victoria College Administration “as soon as possible if elected.”

The position of Sustainability Commissioner was won by Alice Zhu, who secured 59% of the vote. Jahnavi Shah trailed with 29%, while 65 students spoiled their ballot.

The Sustainability Commissioner advocates environmental and sustainability changes to Victoria College, and works to plan environmentally-themed events.

They also chair the Vic Working Group on Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee.

A priority for Zhu is to ensure that existing infrastructure in Victoria College is made more sustainable.

She cites two examples: reducing waste created by paper towels by installing more hand dryers, and reducing the amount of energy that buildings use by adding more insulation and installing automatic light switches.

Zhu also wants to encourage more student involvement in sustainability initiatives. “I see a lot of potential in the Sustainability Commissioner working in collaboration with other Vic clubs and organizations such as VOCA to increase attendance at events and promote VUSAC. In other words, we need to utilize the existing infrastructure and networks at Vic to make VUSAC run more efficiently,” Zhu writes.

Victorians also elected eight new Councillors to VUSAC, who serve as general voting members for the government. Students voted for up to eight of the thirteen candidates running, and the eight candidates who received the most votes were elected.

Laurent-Philippe Veilleux led the way with 230 votes, followed by Alex Martinborough with 228, Rahul Christoffersen with 217, and Auni Ahsan with 214.

UMBRELLA REVOLUTION COULD BE FIRST STEP TOWARDS DEMOCRACY IN CHINA ERIK PRESTON The recent protest in Hong Kong has become the largest demonstration since the infamous democracy demonstrations of 1989 in Tiananmen Square. However, several factors differentiate this protest from its predecessor.

Hong Kong, although technically a part of China, is very different from the mainland. It was only recently released from British rule in 1997. As a part of this transition, China adopted a “one country, two systems” way of ruling, which let the region keep the system that the British had given it. This meant that Hong Kong was allowed to keep its free-trade economy, the use of British common law in its legal system, its ability to independently represent itself on the world stage, and the freedom to create its own policy and treaty arrangements.

However, Hong Kong was never made into a democ-

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racy, and many people in Hong Kong now desire the ability to democratically elect their leaders.

A prominent concern for many in the West is how this situation could potentially complicate the alreadycomplex relationship Hong Kong has with mainland China. In order to get a professional opinion, I reached out to Conservative Member of Parliament Joe Preston, who is also the Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. He has firsthand experience with transitions of this sort.

When asked about his position regarding the situation in Hong Kong, he said, “Like other demonstrations for democracy, it is my belief that change, however slowly, will come of this. Canadian support for Hong Kong, which goes back to our soldiers’ lives lost during World War II, will help Canada lead other nations to recognize the value and need for these citizen-lead changes.”

Golda Greenspoon received 170 votes, William Cuddy received 169 votes, and Simona Messina received 154.

Stuart Norton rounded out the council with 136 votes.

For many Councillors, communication is an important issue. When asked what one thing he would change about VUSAC might be, Veilleux said, “I would like to see VUSAC do a better job of communicating current events [and] initiatives.”

Ahsan responded to the same question with the statement, “I think one thing VUSAC could improve on is disseminating information through residences.

VUSAC could spread information through to building presidents, and then to house/floor presidents, and then to individual residents, or do the same through dons.”

Another important issue for VUSAC is its ongoing relationship with the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU). Recently, the UTSU has been debating a proposed change to their structure so as to comply with the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The change in board structure would see the removal of most college- and faculty-based representation in favour of atlarge members in the categories of “radicalized”, “disabled”, and “indigenous” students, among seven others.

On this topic, Martinborough writes, “Other than [the aforementioned proposal] deviating from the standard of democracy to which many of us cling so dearly, it also would lead to the underrepresentation of the colleges, and therefore the interests of the college to the Board of Directors.”

At a September 29 meeting of the UTSU, Director Ryan Gomes proposed an alternative to the originallyproposed change to the Board’s structure. Gomes’ motion would see the UTSU divided into 19 member classes, with roughly the same divisions currently employed by the board.

In the final ballot of the autumn VUSAC elections, Rahul Christoffersen was also elected to the Victoria College Council with 85% of the vote. The VCC decides on academic matters, such as acceptances to the various streams of the Vic One program.

LYNN HONG

From Saturday, September 20 to Thursday, September 25, Victoria College students voted in the annual fall elections for the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC).

VUSAC’s executive is made up of a President, VicePresidents Operations and External, as well as Academic and Professional Development, Arts and Culture, Commuter, Education and Equity, Scarlet and Gold, and Sustainability Commissioners. There are eight Councillors that also hold voting rights, and four assessor members without voting rights: the Chair, Communications Coordinator, Finance Chair, and Secretary.

The election, which was for the positions of VicePresident External, Sustainability Commissioner, Councillors, and Victoria College Council members, saw a record turnout of 533 students, beating the previously-set record of 520.

Kareem Jarrah, who was running unopposed for the position of Vice-President External, won with 84% of the vote. Forty-six students spoiled their ballot, while a further 38 voted “No”. If a majority of students voted “No”, then the candidate running would not be elected.

Jarrah cites two major goals for his term. “The first is to better communicate with the levies on issues regarding the budget,” he writes in response to a question posed by a student. “The second is to work with the levies to try to increase student participation with those levies.”

Another issue faced by Jarrah is the location of Caffiends, a student-run coffee shop operating out of Old Vic. During the 2013-2014 academic year, Victoria College administration expressed a desire to move Caffiends from Old Vic to the Goldring Student Centre. This was met by opposition from many students, and spurred a social media campaign to keep the café in its original location.

In regards to that issue, Jarrah wrote, “What many students may not know is that the Caffiends’ placement in their current location is only temporarily. Thus, Caffiends may at one point find itself in a difficult situation again. I believe the best action would be to start speaking with administration as soon as possible.”

That being said, what is to come of this protest is still difficult to discern. We must remember that China today is not the same China that cracked down on Tiananmen Square in 1989. China, although arguably a benevolent regime, still has a lack of concern for public and international perception, especially when it comes to its domestic affairs.

In order for the protest to continue to succeed, its numbers must keep increasing as they have been. The decentralized nature of the protest might work to its advantage, as police have no leader to target. If it continues in this way, international support and pressure on the Chinese government can only increase. Whether this will ultimately help the people of Hong Kong achieve their goals is impossible to predict, however, given the unpredictability of the Chinese government. We can only wait and see.

NICOLE PAROYAN & GRIFFIN KELLY

CANADA’S STANLEY CUP DROUGHT: JUSTIN NOVICK-FAILLE Every season, Canadian hockey fans are reminded of the fact that a Canadian hockey team hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1993, when Montreal defeated Los Angeles. Since then, five Canadian teams have made an appearance in the finals, but none of them has won. This year’s teams can be split into three categories: those that probably won’t make the playoffs, those on the cusp, and one team that is a contender.

For starters, the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets probably won’t make the postseason. None of these teams made the playoffs last year, and none has made changes to their rosters significant enough to allow them to go farther in 2015. They also play in the tougher conference, which doesn’t help their chances of making it to the postseason. Although these teams’ young players will continue to make strides, they will also face defensive instability, which will be a crucial reason why they will fall short of making the

WILL THIS YEAR END IT? playoffs. It is important to note that while Edmonton and Winnipeg hope to make the playoffs, Calgary is currently rebuilding, and does not even expect to even go that far.

The three teams on the cusp of making the playoffs are the Vancouver Canucks, the Ottawa Senators, and the Toronto Maple Leafs. None of these teams made the playoffs last season, but all made it in 2013. Yet, each team has something they must battle that will affect whether or not they make the playoffs. After trading away Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider within one year of each other, Vancouver will be looking for stability in the goal. Ottawa’s defence is expected to bounce back after a down year, but they could be starved for offence after trading away Jason Spezza. Ottawa also needs someone to step up and lead. Toronto definitely has the personnel to make the playoffs, but has battled serious inconsistency in the past few seasons. So long

as Toronto doesn’t suddenly go into a major slump, they should make the postseason. None of these teams, however, are currently strong enough to be seriously considered as contenders for the Cup. This leaves the Montreal Canadiens as the only real Canadian chance. They are fresh off a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, and their young players have only matured since then. They have a solid offence, some topnotch defense, and one of the best goalies in the NHL, Carey Price. While some might question their depth relative to other contenders such as Boston, Montreal has proven that they can beat them in a playoff series.

Montreal also has grit, which is essential in the postseason. Look for Montreal to make another solid run, but don’t count on them to go all the way.

For now, sadly for Canadians, it looks as if the Stanley Cup drought will hit 22 years by season’s end.

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LYNN HONG

WHY SO QUIET?

An investigation of urban social norms

ALEXA VOLKOV In all the residences of Victoria College, there are signs posted near the entrances that say, “It may seem impolite, but DO NOT let strangers follow you in!” However, as clear as these signs are, I think I have yet to see someone stop and ask a stranger if they live in the building.

I’ve casually walked in behind people plenty of times and never been questioned; I’ve never gotten more than a sidelong glance. Likewise, I’ve never questioned somebody strolling in behind me.

So why is it that so many people don’t follow this policy which is so clearly marked? I believe the reason people don’t stop to question strangers might be just what the sign suggests—it just seems too impolite.

Though it would certainly be safer to make sure strangers don’t follow you in if they can’t verify their residency, social norms dictate that doing so would inconvenience them, and thus would be rude. Instead, we just assume they do live there and hope for the best.

Why do we so readily place something like a social norm above our own safety? I believe the answer lies in a fundamental aspect of human nature. Any first-year psychology course will teach you that human beings are social animals. We depend on others to survive, so it is important for us to interact with others in a way that encourages them to interact with us again in the future. Unfortunately, humans are unpredictable, finicky creatures who can be difficult to understand or please.

Hence, we will take any cue we can to try and fit in with our fellow human beings. This is the basis of a social norm. If everyone else does it, and I want to be accepted

MOVEMENTS OF SOLIDARITY IVANA DIZDAR

Universality in issues of democracy

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by everyone else, then I had better do it, too. This circular logic helps explain why some social norms, such as placing tact over safety, though often irrational, are prevalent.

The social norm of doing our best not to annoy or inconvenience strangers is one of the most common to everyday life. However, in many cases it serves to isolate us from our fellow human beings, which seems contrary to the original purpose of social norms. This can be observed in places like lines or on public transit. Large groups of people are standing near each other, sharing the common experience of waiting to do something or go somewhere, yet they act as if they are alone.

In attempting to understand this social norm, it is helpful to consider what we gain from observing it. We may do so because we fear other people’s responses; there is a chance that we may discourage people from accepting us if we converse badly, or embarrass ourselves if they’re not in the mood for conversation. Thus, we play it safe and ignore conversation altogether. Perhaps it also has to do with the nature of urban environments, particularly here at the University of Toronto. Our city is a fast-paced one that encourages self-efficacy and speed in our actions. Perhaps we feel we don’t have the time or energy to spend engaging in conversations with others. The very nature of social norms makes it hard to pinpoint the motivation behind them; it can be difficult to question something so prevalent and widely accepted by the rest of society. There is much to be gained by questioning social norms, however.

Next time you go to the bookstore or one of the many campus cafés, ask yourself why you don’t start up a conversation with your neighbour. You already share a number of commonalities with them, such as being a student, or even simply being in line. The potential to make a new friend or engage in pleasant conversation surely outweighs the social safety ensured by remaining silent. Acknowledge that, although this social norm exists, it is possible to step away from it and indulge in the potentially beneficial opportunities that adhering to it might cause you to miss.

This is not to say that all social norms are bad or unnecessary. Many of these subtle rules, such as our understanding that violent behaviour is wrong, prevent us from disturbing or upsetting other people. Similarly, there are many norms that are meant for personal safety or wellbeing, such as the stigma against texting while walking or driving. These norms have clear purposes and benefits. There are many norms that aren’t as easily justifiable, however, such as potentially shutting a fellow residence student out of the building because you’re afraid to ask whether or not they live there.

Knowing that some norms are harmful and some are beneficial makes it all the more important to think more about them in our day-to-day lives. We should consider them as we go about our day and, when we notice them, question whether or not we would be better off without them. Social norms exist for a reason, but that doesn’t mean they’re always reasonable.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people took to the streets of Toronto to march in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The crowd, mostly made up of students, assembled at King’s College Circle and marched up St. George Street to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office just north of campus. Following a series of speeches by notable supporters and advocates, a yellow ribbon was tied to the institution’s gate—a symbol of a collective hope for justice.

Long story short: the Chinese government promised a free election in 2017. The catch? A pro-Beijing committee will pre-screen and select the candidates.

This announcement spurred public outrage and initiated a massive, ongoing rally in Hong Kong.

Students are at the forefront of the activist endeavour. While the demonstrations are peaceful, protesters have been met with violent police interventions, including tear gas attacks. Such attacks are a testament to the repression that’s being challenged in the first place; they have fortified an anti-tyrannical stance and have boosted global interest and support.

I had never attended a march that was quite as charged as Wednesday’s. There was a general mood of frustration, passion, anticipation, and even a sort of optimism. The issue felt extremely immediate, not only because it is so current but also because many of the par-

ticipants have family and friends in Hong Kong. Some of the student protesters live in Hong Kong and are doing a semester exchange at Uof T. I was approached by a number of Chinese people throughout the march, who expressed thanks that I had joined them in the cause. I have no family ties with China (I am South African-born and of Serbo-Croatian parentage), but it is impossible to ignore its relation to North American countries. The Canadian government has a responsibility to pressure Chinese authorities to hold a truly democratic election; Canadians in turn have a responsibility to persuade the government to exercise that kind of pressure. As of yet, the Canadian government has issued next to no formal statements about the situation in Hong Kong (including the tear gas attacks).

After a certain point, passivity starts to look like endorsement.

Besides, issues of democracy are universal issues.

I wish I had been able to make this point to a demonstrator who confronted me with, “What do YOU know about Hong Kong? Why are you here?” For those who saw me and might have felt the same but weren’t so bold, I’d like to stress the value of solidarity. Human rights are not the concern of a sole populace—they are a universal human concern.

Op

VUSAC NEEDS MORE THAN FACES ON POSTERS KASRA KOUSHAN The electoral process for student council in my high school wasn’t very legitimate. Campaigning consisted almost entirely of plastering eye-catching posters with witty slogans all over the school walls. The goal was simple: put up as many posters in as many places as possible, and be sure to include a nice picture of your smiling face, your name in big letters, and, finally, a humorous (but usually meaningless) campaign slogan.

If we excuse for a moment the amount of paper that was wasted in this process, we have to consider what it reflected about the government that was being elected.

There was generally very little policy that candidates could run on, and, further, they were elected more or less arbitrarily. This was mainly because school council didn’t have much responsibility in the first place; they ran a couple of student events during the year and decided how to distribute student fees among the clubs of the school. As a result, candidates were distinguished almost solely by the quality and reach of their posters and social media activity, as opposed to their ideas and competence with respect to the positions they were running for.

This is not to say that there were zero issues for the candidates to make promises about. In fact, most candidates’ campaigns gave off the impression that they were running on a reasonable platform that was distinct from those of their peers. But this was not the case. Promises

often included “working to the best of his/her ability” and “representing the students’ voice”, and sometimes simply fulfilling the requirements of the job they were running for. Because there were so few contentious issues for the candidates to disagree on, pretty much every candidate had the same ideas.

I had some hope that things would be different in university. I hoped that student government would have bigger responsibilities, and that that campaigning would be a more serious endeavour. I hoped that I wouldn’t see showy campaign posters with little substance adorning the walls. I hoped that the candidates with the platforms that most aligned with students’ opinions would be elected.

I was disappointed.

Let me first make it clear that I’ve seen substantial differences. Student governments here do have bigger responsibilities. VUSAC has a budget that is about 50 times that of my high school’s student council. Because university students are given much more independence than high school students, there’s a greater variety of student issues that the council has to deal with. But some of the things I saw during campaign season were eerily reminiscent of my experience with student government in high school.

Campaigning was, again, very much about posters.

For students who didn’t attend the Town Hall (certainly a majority), posters were the main source of information about the candidates, and they weren’t a very reliable

one. Witty punchlines and flashy designs abounded.

Campaign promises included the highly specific and unique “making sure the student voice is heard”. And, of course, there were puns, clichés, and meaningless references to popular culture. The silliness also extended beyond the VUSAC election campaigns; even the statements of candidates running for the Arts & Science Council included vague promises, empty attempts at motivational words, and useless mentions of candidates’ traits that would be impossible to measure through written statements. I have no reason to believe that the majority of voters in either of these elections could make informed decisions about who to vote for, or that the results for most positions will be anything but arbitrary.

Campaigning for student government has occurred on a much larger scale here than it did in of high school, and will have far more impactful results. Student government in university is more legitimate and has bigger responsibilities. But, thus far, much like high school, the campaigning has lacked substance. It’s been more about getting your name and face on as many walls as possible, than constructively discussing relevant student issues. Students run and are elected on mostly empty and indistinct platforms.

The majority of students whom these candidates are supposed to represent have little opportunity to get to know their candidates’ beliefs and opinions, and can barely make legitimate voting decisions. And I think we can do better than that.

PEOPLE’S CLIMATE MARCH: MORE ACTION, LESS NOISE REEMA KUREISHY There was a demonstration that took place in New York City two weeks back, where more than 300,000 people took to the streets. This was the People’s Climate March, held on September 21 in advance of the UN Climate Summit taking place on September 23. Present at this march were scientists, indigenous groups, big names like Ban Ki-moon and Al Gore, as well as average people from all over the globe, all demanding greater global action on climate change. With thousands of similar demonstrations happening in other cities worldwide, many have called the People’s Climate March a “turning point” for the climate change movement.

The march was first and foremost significant as a symbolic gesture in terms of global engagement with this issue through the event, as indicated by the sheer number of participants. Climate change demonstrations shine light on an issue that should matter to everyone.

They are a way to collectively voice concerns to leaders whose job it is to listen to you—the same leaders who currently have their fingers stuck in their ears and are feigning ignorance. You thought we university students were procrastinators par excellence? Take a look at our world leaders who set targets to reduce emissions, and then play a drawn out waiting game. Cutting funding in all areas of scientific research is their version of binge watching endless YouTube videos before an assignment

is due—except they never hand in the assignment.

The People’s Climate March should announce to our politicians that the people concerned with this issue are still very much engaged and are demanding solutions.

These marches should also serve as a wake-up call to those of us who have become complicit in the way our governments choose to ignore climate change.

Demonstrations often end up being very animated, relying on elements of theatricality. Signs like “Break up with fossil fuels: it’s not us, it’s you,” convey the feelings of the climate movement with just the right amount of sass and humour.

Here comes my “however” argument, though. In what ways might a demonstration like the People’s Climate March be ineffective?

Answer: when it becomes a protest of many large, abstract concepts, like capitalism and colonialism, and doesn’t go any further than that. The marches are taking on a lot of issues without necessarily recommending any specific courses of action to address them. Solidarity is a great concept, but not if it becomes a blanket remedy. A social or political movement can’t simply be constructed around vague ideas. You need to work within a specific context and have specific goals. Otherwise, all you might be left with is resounding silence after making a lot of noise.

I was unable to attend the climate march in New York, but a few people I know were there. They described feelings of incredible support and overall enthusiasm among the people that participated. These feelings of vigour and dynamism cannot, and should not, be overestimated for a movement that still has an enormous number of roadblocks. But will things suddenly take a positive turn for the climate movement as a result of this march? The UN Climate Summit definitely did not produce anything concrete, nor was it supposed to.

The climate march did get a fair amount of attention, and from the accounts of people who attended it was a great space for forming new networks.

Nevertheless, events like marches and protests are best followed up by concise and specific courses of action. The weaving of different issues within the wider climate change movement—fossil fuel divestment, context-specific strategies, placing national pressure on governments instead of relying on international cooperation— helps to strengthen the overall resolve of the attendees. In spite of the lackluster response from global leaders, it is unfair to dismiss the importance of these grassroots movements, and the symbolic and rejuvenating power they hold for their participants and supporters.

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AMANDA AZIZ ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Stranded

Emily Deibert Olesya Lyuzna

The internet is quite the interesting place when it comes to the freedom of choice. Considerate to one’s image or not, whatever someone decides to post can never be deleted thanks to the digital footprint. When dealing with the internet, anyone can access anything under any circumstances. Hacking included.

On August 31st, 2014, social media outlets were in an uproar with the news release of one of the biggest nude leak of this decade (via iCloud). A list of other hacking victims were posted on forum sites like 4Chan and Reddit under the unfortunate name of “The Fappening”.

The first wave of reaction to the nude leaks was that it was a “scandal”, with the subject of the pictures at fault. “You should have known better,” echoed along with other victim-blaming sentiments, while Perez Hilton, infamous and controversial celebrity blogger, posted about the hack along with actual nude photos of Ariana Grande and Jennifer Lawrence themselves. The second wave of reaction was the public outcry of how the abuse of the subjects was being enabled by the media. Perez Hilton, after much response over his lack of professionalism, took down the post and gave a formal apology for his actions.

What the media’s reaction tells us is that though the internet can be separate from real life, laws relevant to rights and freedoms should still apply online. We fail to inform internet users about safety and the consequences of harming another being by posting information about them non-consensually.

Reddit and Imgur may have taken down the original pictures for “The Fappening”, but new leaks were posted on September 20th, September 26th, and October 4th.

Moreover, after Emma Watson gave a speech at the U.N. for the HeforShe campaign, an unknown source created a website that posted the countdown to the release of her nude photos. The act of hacking nude pictures and leaking them online have suddenly become tabloid fodder.

On September 29th, Holly attorney Marty Singer ran a 100 million dollar action lawsuit against Google for their lack of action in removing the photos of the subjects of the original iCloud hack. Although there has been no specification on whom exactly Singer represents, speculation suggests that he presents this case for a number of the individuals affected by this incident. With what seems to be weekly hacking leaks invading our news feeds, an aggressive lawsuit like that of Singer’s may be a progressive step towards putting limits to what can be posted on the internet.

The internet is an accessible place. It’s important that we take the impact that it can have on people seriously. Not only is posting non-consensual pictures of people online harmful, but viewing the pictures perpetuates the violation. Though many people see nothing wrong with looking at the leaked nudes there is nothing much to brag about abusing someone else’s rights to the protection of their privacy.

The media, professional and social, has the power to create preventative steps for those who might be harmed, and for those who are capable of harming. Changing the way we report these events will help change the way viewers perceive the injustice of what is happening. When it comes to reporting non-consensual releases, whether online or not, the victim should never receive the blame.

These hacking leaks aren’t a scandal; they’re assault.

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Contributors Steve Warner, Erik Preston, Justin NoricFaille, Kasra Koushan, Alexa Volkov, Reema Kureishy, Ivana Dizdar, Grace Bannerman, Zoe MacDonald, Warner Goldwyn, Jonah Chaky, Cassandra Mazza, Will Neto, Neil MacIsaac Illustrations Lynn Seolim Hong, Emily Pollock, Vivian Che, Warner Goldwyn Photos Victoria Chuen, Warner Goldwyn, Perla Razoori The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 2000 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.

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THE CROWDSOURCING OF RAPE CULTURE

SEXY NUDEZ!!!

EMILY POLLOCK

editor@thestrand.ca

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NUDE LEAKS

JOCKS VS. NERDS Inherent problems with privileging certain students

EMILY POLLOCK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Uof T is famous for its ambivalence towards sports. At other universities, the football game is the social event of the week—here, most of us have little understanding of the word “social” (“Is that, like, when you study with other people?”). Despite the attempts to market our varsity sports slogan, “Bleed Blue”, a large portion of our university probably wouldn’t be able to tell football from Quidditch.

Canadian universities aren’t as sports-focused as our American counterparts. We just don’t have the enormous budgets or fanatical alumni that support the multi-million-dollar college sports industry down south.

Unfortunately, our country’s campuses do have the same serious problems with misogynistic violence.

Earlier this year, the University of Ottawa’s varsity hockey team was suspended after two players were accused of sexual assault on a team road trip. Players on the team subsequently sent an open letter to the school’s administration about how they felt “betrayed” by the suspension—clearly they didn’t feel as “betrayed” by the fact that two of their friends may have sexually assaulted someone under their watch.

More recently, the coach of the McGill Redmen resigned after one of his players was charged with domestic assault against their wife. He didn’t resign over the shame of one of his players having potentially hurt a family member; he resigned because he didn’t like how the university talked about the player in their statement

to the public. Oh well. At least McGill handled it better than the time three of their football players were charged with sexual assault and the university took almost a year and a half to acknowledge it.

Logic goes out the window when it comes to sports.

We tie our hopes and fears to the outcomes of games— recall the excitement from even the most sports-agnostic after Canada’s performance in the Vancouver Olympics.

At its most benign, sports fanaticism leads to incomprehensible things like the Toronto Maple Leafs still having fans. At its worst, it causes players to prioritize the team and the game over what they know is right. In these cases, sports culture intersects with rape culture in all kinds of horrifying ways. Laura Robinson, a sociologist and sports journalist, describes a “theatre of masculinity”, where men are encouraged to act violently towards each other and women.

So, how does this play out at Uof T? Well, to some degree, it doesn’t. Our school just hasn’t had the same kind of high-profile assaults as other Canadian universities. When asked why the culture here is different, an anonymous former varsity athlete said, “Student athletes don’t get a lot of recognition at Uof T…but a lot of schools treat their athletes like rock stars. Maybe it’s the lack of blind faculty and student support that prevents the bad culture a lot of schools have.” In other words, athletes here don’t have the kind of privileged status that makes them think they’re above the law.

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This doesn’t mean that our university is somehow more enlightened, it just means that sexism finds different places to hide. Uof T’s engineering program is just as susceptible to testosterone-poisoning as any college football team—it’s a running joke that 95% of the Engineering Science Department is male. The results for the women in the program can be unfortunate. There’s a certain kind of guy in engineering who parrots the idea that women and their silly uteruses just aren’t designed for serious Manly Math, is in turn really put out by the idea of affirmative action for women in the STEM fields, and just generally has all of Sheldon Cooper’s misogyny and none of his (questionable) appeal. In my first year, the (only) female EngSci professor was sent an anonymous rape threat, and my friend sounded resigned rather than angry when she told me the story.

But just as other universities idolize their sports heroes, Uof T fetishizes its status as a seat of brilliant intellectualism. It’s extremely unlikely that the university will challenge that perception to root out the sexism in one of their programs.

So while it’s great that we don’t have the same kind of varsity violence as other universities, we have our own homegrown brand of sexism. Misogyny lives where we give it room to grow, whether that’s in beloved sports teams or the heart of academia.

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POPULARITY OF URBAN GREEN SPACE CHANTAL DUCHESNE FEATURES EDITOR

WHY COMMUNITY DISSENT IS OUT OF PLACE IN TORONTO’S PARK CULTURE

With the resurgence of warm weather this past week, public green spaces in Toronto’s west end have been full of park-goers taking advantage of the final days of summer. This enthusiasm for making the most of the sunshine comes as no surprise, considering the popularity of parks like Trinity Bellwoods and Christie Pits on any given day from June to August.

“Park culture” is alive and well in Toronto.

On October 5, an event called the Homegrown Park Crawl took place. Organized by the David Suzuki Foundation, it consisted of visits to Christie Pits, Bickford Park, Fred Hamilton Park, and Trinity Bellwoods, accompanied by various entertainers and food vendors. Although the event itself was free of charge, proceeds from food tickets went to the David Suzuki Foundation’s Homegrown National Park Project, which funds innovative ways to make the Garrison Creek corridor in the downtown west end more environmentally friendly.

Events like this demonstrate that Toronto park culture has truly become a phenomenon, and that members of the community are grateful for green space.

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It’s become the norm for young people especially to hang out in the park during their free time. It is common to find them sprawled on the grass with their friends, beers in hand, a bike or two lying beside them. This image epitomizes the summer daze of the west-end Toronto 18- to 25-year-old. Interspersed among them are dog owners, people playing sports, parents with strollers, and elderly people collecting empty bottles. The variety of people present is a gentle reminder that this space is, indeed, public.

The diversity of Trinity Bellwoods on a breezy Saturday is an inspiring example of how the residents of a city covered in snow for six months of the year choose to enjoy nice weather together. Anyone critical of younger generations’ dependence on technology might be surprised by a visit to one of the many beautiful parks in the west end. Likewise, suburbanites who are skeptical about the existence of trees in downtown Toronto should probably visit Trinity Bellwoods or Christie Pits—or High Park, Riverdale, and the Beaches if they’re willing to travel a bit further from the city’s

core. Twenty-somethings will be running and walking, there will be greenery, and it will be shocking—in a good way.

Despite this pleasant image, the divergent lifestyles of those who spend time in the park have led to controversy. In the summer of 2013, many community members complained about the prevalence of drinking in Trinity Bellwoods, citing noise, litter, and public acts of indecency as their main concerns. These individuals primarily live in the neighbourhood surrounding the park, which extends south from Dundas Street West to Queen Street West and east from Bathurst Street to Ossington Avenue. This community is home to bars, restaurants, galleries, cafés, and shops, as well as relatively quiet tree-lined streets. In the aftermath of gentrification, most would say the area surrounding Trinity Bellwoods bridges the gap between urban and residential. Despite the dynamism of the community, however, the leisurely weekend park-goer has been characterized as a disturbance to the families and elderly people living nearby.

Residents are not the only ones concerned

FE about alcohol use in Trinity Bellwoods. Police have begun to monitor the issue much more severely in recent years, as the popularity of hanging out in the park continues to grow. The increased surveillance has garnered a defensive reaction from certain park-goers, starting a debate about the appropriateness of alcohol.

Many people view the park as a space for relaxing, playing recreational sports, and spending time with friends. Often, picnicking and casual drinking accompany these activities. Individuals partaking in such activities also consider themselves to be part of the community, and it is clear from their eagerness to spend time in the park that they value it.

Unfortunately, not everyone respects the space this much. The problem derives from a sense of entitlement on the part of an inconsiderate few who demonstrate a blatant disregard for their surroundings. Disturbances in the park are a valid concern, especially to frequent visitors who want to preserve the space. However, the individuals responsible for indecent behavior aren’t necessarily involved in the community discussion. The group on the defensive is not ignoring the presence of those at fault; they are trying to avoid being stereotyped as one in the same.

Most people do share an appreciation for Toronto’s parks. The reason such a spirited debate continues to unfold is because people care.

The animosity surrounding the issue is counterproductive to the community atmosphere most are striving to preserve. The entitlement of the people responsible for the disturbances is the primary issue, but there is also a degree of possessiveness on both sides of the argument. All parties endeavor to control the park in order to cultivate an environment that suits their needs.

yards. This leisurely element is crucial to understanding the function of public parks because it establishes them as places of privilege. No matter how much of a broke student, artist, or bartender you are, if you have time to spend in a park in one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world, you are fortunate. And if you own property near the park, you are even more fortunate. This privilege requires a clear awareness of the space in question, and ultimately demands respect for its many uses.

There is only so much green space available to the public in an urban centre, and Trinity Bellwoods is large and sprawling. Beyond similar places like High Park and the Beaches lies suburbia. Certain parks definitely cater to specific demographics, but the dynamism of Trin-

ity Bellwoods and Christie Pits is a byproduct of their downtown locations and is something to be celebrated. The fact that they are public suggests a responsibility on the part of visitors to coexist peacefully within it. The conflict around Trinity Bellwoods is dividing those who actually care about parks and weakening their position relative to the people causing the dispute. More empathy on both sides of the debate would contribute to a greater sense of collectivity. By focusing solely on those who are actually disruptive, stereotyping of certain demographics as pretentious or troublesome could be avoided. Community unification contributes to a welcoming atmosphere, and is therefore conducive to social and environmental sustainability in public parks.

No matter how much of a broke student, artist, or bartender you are, if you have time to spend in a park in one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world, you are fortunate.

While the concern is well intentioned, it is important to remember that parks are public spaces. Whenever groups of people try to steer the use of a public space in one particular direction, there is bound to be backlash.

The residents of the neighborhood obviously reserve the right to defend themselves and their property, and to voice their concerns about the surrounding area. At the same time, it is also understandable that people will visit the park to unwind. These parks are places of leisure, and a lot of city dwellers don’t have back-

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OUR COUNTRY’S SO-SO Our Country’s Good (September/October, Royal Alexandra Theatre) is an account of the first play performed in New South Wales (now Australia) by the convicts exiled there and the soldiers sent to police them. In order to win favour with the governor, junior officer Ralph Clark must convince his superiors that he should be trusted to take a group of criminals and turn them into a cast.

Over the course of rehearsals, the transformative power of theatre washes away the lines in the sand separating convicts and officers, characters and actors.

This production seems to have the opposite problem of the play within the play, however—the acting in Our Country’s Good is strong, but the script falls a little flat.

Much like her character, Liz Morden, actress Kathryn O’Reilly grips you by your shirt collar and forces you to watch her (though, unlike her character, she won’t ask for your spare change, too). Victoria Gee was also strong as Dabby Bryant, an instantly recognizable type of domineering friend. Nathan Ives-Moiba made a convincing Ralph Clark as he slowly grew to understand and even appreciate his ragtag cast.

Our Country’s Good requires several actors to play multiple roles, which was generally effective in this performance. Several actresses portrayed convict women as well as officers or priests, embodying both sides of the power structure in the colony without seeming stereotypical in either role. Richard Neale was unrecognizable when he transformed from the terrifying Major Ross to the apologetic hangman, Ketch Freeman.

The distinctions between each role were not equally clear for each actor, however, despite this tongue-incheek meta-fiction from the play: “…if the audience is paying attention, they’ll know that Bullock is a country boy and Brazen a captain.”

“What if they aren’t paying attention?”

“People who can’t pay attention should not go to the theatre.”

Perhaps it is the failing of this audience member, then, but Sam Graham was downright confusing to watch, as one of his characters seemed to be playing all the others as well.

The set of the play was simple yet versatile, serving as the hold of a ship, a rowboat, a makeshift stage, a beach, and the interior of a tent. Though minimal, it never felt lacking, and provided space for the strong personalities of the characters to bounce around. Sound and lighting added a lot to the illusion, reminding the audience of the ever-present ocean separating the crimi-

EMILY POLLOCK

GRACE BANNERMAN

nals and officers alike from their homes. Makeup work on the brutal scars inflicted by punitive beatings was so good it made the subject matter even more shocking.

Ultimately, the play itself is the only impediment to a thoroughly enjoyable night of theatre. Playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker has been very faithful to history in this fictionalized account, but the pacing of the show is strange. Ms. Wertenbaker has favoured multiple short scenes in her writing, and there’s not always enough context or development for the events that occur. The show pays lip service to key elements—a love triangle, friendships, revelations about villain-esque characters, discourse on male-female interaction—but is never surprising.

Meanwhile, the more intriguing scenes seem all too brief. An Aboriginal narrator, for instance, who never interacts with the rest of the cast, occasionally gives his impression of the convicts-turned-colonists; it would have been nice to hear more from him. Similarly, one of the officers, pivotal in the legal execution of several of the criminals, starts to feel they’re haunting him; this

could have been explored further as well. This is not to say that there is nothing to be commended about the show, however. One scene in particular, dubbed “The Science of Hanging”, felt original in its conception and was wonderfully nuanced in its execution by the talented Richard Neele and Kathryn O’Reilly.

The show ends rather abruptly, perhaps reflecting its message: the important part is the process, the procedure of the experiment, the performance of the play (within the play), not how well it is performed. Still, some of the most provocative points were introduced in the final scenes and then quickly glossed over for the sake of a happy ending. This wasn’t unexpected, but the aftermath would have been extremely exciting to watch.

Within the play, the quality of the convicts’ performance is constantly in question—will a group of government exiles be able to do a piece of culture justice?

Our Country’s Good itself has a much higher production quality and the opposite problem—despite its talented cast, as well as its solid set and effects, the actors are not supported by the script the way they should be.

WHAT’S ON FOR OCTOBER A few things that might persuade you to venture out in the fall weather...

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Stop by the AGO any time this month (heck, any time this year) to see over one hundred stunning pieces by Canadian painter Alex Colville. This is your chance to see the horsetrain showdown for realsies.

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Fron October 7th through to the 11th you can see performance artist Bridget Moser’s piece “Tender Offer Part 1”.

Moser is a video and performance artist with an impressive résumé. This is an event worthwhile for any aspiring performance artists.

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Got a pocket full of cash and a yearning for some theatre?

Road trip to Niagara-On-TheLake for the Shaw festival or hoof it to the hometown of JBiebs for the Straford Festival.

The idea of an improvisational literary competition may not be so frightening to many university students.

When many of us sit down to write, it’s against the clock and with the fear of failure nipping at our fingers as we motor through moderately-coherent essays.

Or maybe you’re just more organised than I am and don’t know the feeling of pure terror that starts to sink in two hours before a deadline. For some writers, however, sitting down to write a short story in five minutes is just one way they can land that ever-elusive book contract.

For over a year now, a Peruvian literary competition cleverly titled “Lucha Libro” has been host to competing writers who “battle” each other in front of a live audience, writing short stories in under five minutes, their tentative words projected onto a screen for everyone to see.

It’s a literary spin on Mexican lucha libre wrestling wherein writers battle it out in luchador masks by writing as complete a story as possible during their time. The only condition: their story must contain three randomly-generated words. Once time’s up, the judges pick a winner and the loser takes off his/her mask while the winner keeps alive their anonymity and dreams of a book contract.

The spirit of literary competition has spread around the world since Lucha Libro’s beginning, with

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the tournament’s concept travelling to places like Spain and Massachusetts. The concept of art manifested in competition, thuugh, is a very real feeling of anxiety for artists everywhere.

Consider the aptly-titled Art Battle, a live painting competition in which painters take to the stage and create their very own painting within 20 minutes. The paintings are auctioned off as the painters advance, tournament-style, and any unsold art at the end of the night is unceremoniously destroyed by chainsaw.

Four years ago, I attended Art Battle #6 at the The Great Hall on Queen Street West. A friend’s name was drawn, and we all lost our minds as he took the easel for 20 minutes and painted his very own Bob Ross mountainscape. At the end of the night, when the paintings were auctioned, he made a tidy $15 and maybe got a business card from a gallery owner.

Entering a contest against fellow artists for fun is benign enough, but it definitely leaves one wondering about how many genuine talents are out there fighting for the same thing as you. In an age where artistic competition is commercialized and reproduced en masse, there’s room for us step back and take a look not at what people are fighting for, but how they’re fighting for it.

Want to see come competitive art first-hand? Art Battle #178 is coming up on October 21 at 7:30 PM at 1087 Queen Street West.

The Strand’s Magazine is a month away and you’re probably aching for some literary magazine goodness.

Okay, The Strand isn’t really the same as Little Brother Magazine, but you can wander over to their launch at June Records to grab a copy of their “meta” issue.

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Feeling adventurous? You can head on over to Dundas and Dufferin to Hermann & Audrey gallery for “Outsider”, a collection of work by artist Jon Todd.

PERLA RAZOORI

PAULA RAZURI EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

WARNER GOLDWYN

G N I L T T A B T U O IT

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Literary folks unite! The International Festival of Authors runs from October 23rd to November 2nd. Visit ifoa.org for more information.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF MUD

ALEXANDRA JONES

Riot Fest 2014 was preluded by a solid amount of rain. It became clear while waiting in line that shoes were going to be tricky. Considering the fact that the first weekend of September saw most people in flip-flops and shorts— it was too hot for the Doc Martens and plaid bondage pants one would usually see at a punk show—the sheer amount of mud was daunting. There were a lot of indie kids there for bands like Brand New, or who had presumably bought the two-day pass before the lineup revealed a predominantly punk rock Saturday, and I heard a lot of complaining that it wasn’t worth it.

I get it. I chose to kick off my flip-flops and brave the grass of Downsview Park rather than lose my favourite shoes. But here’s the thing: I’ve been going to punk concerts since I was a kid. I was first pulled into a mosh pit at the age of 14 by an older friend and have never looked back. I’ve stood in freezing cold lineups in December and got sunburnt at outdoor shows in July.

There is a certain aspect of danger if you want to get close to the stage. Punk fans, used to venues that aren’t working to make them happy, are often accustomed to muddy fields and poorly set-up stages. And Riot Fest, of course, prides itself on being a punk festival.

Riot Fest boasts the best Twitter bio I’ve seen in a while (“I’m sorry we didn’t book the exact bands you wanted, in the exact order you wanted, in the exact city you wanted, for free.”), and calls itself “fan-focused”.

Starting out of Chicago in 2005 with classic punk bands like Dead Kennedys, Riot Fest has grown over the past nine years to the point it is at now: touring through three cities and boasting a lineup that ranges from indie favourites like The Head and The Heart to punk legends like The Cure, closing the festival with Canadian favourites Metric and City & Colour. Despite their “fuck you”

classic punk ethos, they did a pretty good job of making a lot of people happy when it came to the lineup.

But then came the rain. Downsview is the worst when it’s wet. When you have several thousand people going through, it’s like an attempt to relive Woodstock (with less acid), and the mud really did suck. Riding the subway home Saturday night, you could tell who had been there, as mud was a major part of their outfit. Sincere condolences to the people who wore their new Converse or favourite leather pants.

As per the festival standard, merch was overpriced, there was confusion at the security checks about whether you were allowed to have water bottles or not, and lineups for greasy food were too long. Along with this, there was some valid criticism about the venue. The stage setup meant you could barely hear The Head and The Heart over Die Antwoord, and there were echoes from the main stages that left people with an annoying headache. The VIP section was not only without real advantage, it also cut off the flow of traffic between the main stages—heartbreaking when you realized you weren’t going to run into a mosh pit for Circa Survive as you truly would have loved to for their final song. At the end of the day, this can be constructive criticism that can just make next year even better. But what people still can’t get over, and the reason so many people left early on Saturday, was one thing: the mud.

There is a reality that has to be faced when attending an outdoor festival: it’s not always going to be like something you see in a perfect Instagram photo. But a punk show leaving everyone covered in mud gives it a special type of magic. It leaves the muddy and slightly disgruntled concert-goer with a good story. It brings people together. It’s the, “Oh, yeah, I was at Riot Fest,

VIVIAN CHE

ZOË MACDONALD

too! Absolutely covered in mud, right?” story that people can laugh about. It’s real life. It’s not very pretty, but it’s dirty and fun and a totally different experience from the concrete of the Vans Warped Tour, or from the fields and fields of people at Osheaga. It’s people coming together to mosh for as long as they’re allowed to; it’s generations coming together to head bang along with the Dropkick Murphys.

The best thing I saw that weekend was an older punk guy stopping by a ten-year-old to jump around with him in the excitement. The kid’s face lit up, and as the faded mohawk disappeared into the crowd, you could see that it was a memory that would stay with him forever. Punk has always been about community, and Riot Fest, however muddy it was, brought that all the way back home.

THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY DOMINIQUE BECHARD FILM AND MUSIC “He was the internet’s own boy and the whole world killed him” As a part of disOrientation 2014, the ASSU screened the film ‘The Internet’s Own Boy’, followed by a Q and A session with the director Brian Knappenberger. This documentary film is the story of Aaron Swartz, a programming prodigy and hacktivist who committed suicide at the age of 26. Swartz was a celebrity within the programming community because of his use of the Internet to create social change. We see Aaron’s entire life journey in this film. From his role in developing the RSS at the age of 14, to being the co –founder of Reddit and finally to his stance on public information access and the anti – SOPA campaign that led to the two year long legal nightmare between him and the government of the United States of America. The film also contains archived video footage and real images of Aaron from his childhood and online interviews from his early 20’s.

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Aaron took to computers immediately and was mature enough to understand the uniqueness of the web and used it for activism and change. For him, computers wasn’t just technical, it was a way to have a voice in society. Aaron believed that knowledge should not be under the private domain and10 people should have access to it without a cost. He strongly vouched against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) through campaigns being active in ensuring that it was not passed. In 2011, Aaron Swartz was prosecuted with felony charges of wire fraud and violating the ‘Computers Fraud and Abuse Act’ after systematically downloading academic journals from the digital library site, JSTOR. Ultimately this led to a huge legal battle between Aaron and the U.S government who were actively looking to make an example out of him.

The documentary sends out a powerful message about the ethics of the entire situation. Though the

reason for why he downloaded so many journals is a mystery, the film asks whether Aaron’s activities was actually a crime and if it deserved a felony charge this extreme. Interviews with Aaron’s friends and colleagues along with personal videos of his family makes you empathize with him. It makes you admire Aaron the hacktivist and be moved by Aaron the person. It’s so unfortunate that he felt the need to take own his life.

For Knappenberger, the need for him to bring about awareness about public information access especially amongst the U.S Senate led him to make this documentary film. After the movie, Knappenberger answered questions ranging from the production of the film to the significance of the hacktivist culture giving us an idea of where he came from on this project. All in all, The Internet’s Own Boy is a must-watch film and a great way to spend your evening!

WHERE HAVE ALL THE VIEWERS GONE? Why streaming will mean the end of bad Canadian TV, and why that isn’t a good thing WARNER GOLDWYN STAFF WRITER hotlist throughout its run.

Since the CRTC has backed off and allowed web streaming to go on unregulated, it appears the end of an era is upon us. In the coming years it is likely that the production value of Canadian programming will continue its decline, eventually to be completely overtaken by producers like HBO or AMC that can afford to make shows people want to watch. The CRTC will no longer have the ability to make viewers watch.

If Canadian producers are unable to entice viewers and the CRTC has no sway in making viewers for

Canadian shows, the industry, especially here in Toronto, will wither. Our cultural landscape will be forever weakened. Those hoping to write for the next Orphan Black (a Canadian-American co-production) will find themselves working instead on Canada’s Got Talent.

The funding for scripted Canadian content just won’t be there, and the viewers will all be too far gone (entranced by HBO’s latest masterpiece) to care.

This, of course, excludes Degrassi. There will always be Degrassi.

WARNER GOLDWYN

In the last month, one of the most important battles of our cultural moment was fought and lost when the CRTC, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, was unable to work out a deal with American streaming giant, Netflix. Hoping to impose a mandate on web streaming similar to that which is currently in place for traditional Canadian broadcasters, the CRTC found itself rebuffed by Netflix, and a great blow was dealt to the Canadian production landscape.

The underlying problem is that Canadians do not like to watch Canadian TV. The CRTC was founded in order to combat this simple truth, to buoy the floundering Canadian television industry against the current of higher budget (read: higher quality) American programming. During its pre-internet heyday, the industry was able to pump out low-cost Canadian content based on the protected market imposed by CRTC rulings. These forced broadcasters to buy and air Canadian series in primetime slots which would otherwise be filled by more cheaply-licensed American programs. This meant it was much easier to produce and sell a Canadian-made series to a Canadian broadcaster that needed to fill its quota, lest it be pulled from the air.

This led to the creation and broadcasting of classic Canadian series like Little Mosque on the Prairie, Rookie Blue, and Flashpoint. These struggled to keep up with their American counterparts’ ratings and budgets, but played in the same slots and were watched by hundreds of thousands. In many cases, this was because they were on in the right place at the right time.

Internet streaming has completely changed the game, with these already poorly-rated shows taking a hard hit as more and better options become available.

They are no longer flipped past on Thursday nights, but forgone altogether for American shows streamed on demand. This causes a chain reaction, ultimately resulting in the cancellation of these shows and an industrywide shift from scripted programming to Canadian clones of American programming, like The Amazing Race Canada, which held the top spot on the industry

MF DOOM’S RECENT COLLABORATION WOWS

ANTHEM FOR DOOMED YOUTH JONAH CHARNY Hip-hop artist MF Doom takes his super villain persona seriously. With his newest album, NehruvianDOOM, he has added another character to his comic book world.

The album is a collaboration with up-coming rapper Bishop Nehru. At 18 years old, Nehru already has an impressive technical flow that effortlessly changes from line to line. So what happens when you team up an 18-year-old novice with a 43-year-old veteran? The best Doom album since Take Me to Your Leader, that’s what.

After the groovy, movie sample-filled introduction to the album, we get our first track, “Om”. It starts off with a beat that is reminiscent of Zev and his KMD days, but then the beat drops and Doom comes on. You prepare yourself for the usual experience of trying to understand how someone can come up with such weird and awkward bars of poetry. However, Nehru then takes the reigns and never lets go. He spits out two verses so technically proficient that you quickly understand why

Doom is taking a backseat role on this album.

Nehru takes the lead on all eight tracks. He is able to go from spitting about his ego and abilities in songs like “Om”, “Great Things”, and “Coming for You” to evoking more personal emotions, like love in “Mean the Most” and depression in “So Alone”. Although Doom raps on only four tracks, which might leave some fans wanting more, it is important to remember that Doom is focusing on harnessing Nehru’s skills. Instead of putting himself on each track, Doom’s production focuses on Nehru. This is good news for Nehru (and us) because it means he gets to rap over some of the best beats from Special Herbs Volumes.

One gripe I have with the album, and with Bishop Nehru in general, are his hooks. The young phenom is obsessed with ending songs by repeating the hook until he fades out. First, the hooks are not as strong as the verses from a lyrical standpoint. Second, he attempts to

sing during some of these hooks. People who can’t sing should never overdo it, and this falls into one of those cases.

Overall, the album can be summarized by the sample at the beginning of “Caskets”: Young blood, he’s smart and he’s tough But he’s got a lot to learn about survival And the man he’s gonna learn from is...

Doom!

Nehru still has a lot to learn if he ever aspires to become as notorious as the super villain, MF Doom. His youth and inexperience come through in his hooks and song structure. However, it is obvious that he is naturally talented. If Nehru sticks with MF Doom, there is no doubt he will rise to the top of the underground scene, and maybe even don a mask of his own one day.

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PHOTO BY VICTORIA CHUEN

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TWIST AND SHOUT

St

A LOVE LETTER TO THE BEATLES

CASSANDRA MAZZA tion to rock n’ roll.

You laughed when I told you how my last relationship ended. My friends insisted that my then true love was perfect for me, but I felt he had lost all the newness and excitement that had first made me fall in love with him. I hated that he couldn’t play an instrument, couldn’t sing sans auto-tune, and couldn’t write his own music. When I told you about him, you agreed that I deserved someone better.

So I must admit that when I first met you I was cautious. You were the first date I’d had since my breakup, and I didn’t want to fall for anyone too fast. When you started singing I was confused and uncomfortable; why did every song have a different vocalist? Why was one of them so nasally? Was that harmonizing?

Yet, what struck me most deeply about your music wasn’t the fact that you had checked off each of my must-haves for the perfect band, but your scream. Never had I heard someone scream the way you did, with such energy and raw passion. I felt as if I were intruding on something too personal, an intimate expression of a feeling I didn’t know you well enough to overhear. But you just laughed (you and your dry British humour) and asked if you could take me down to somewhere I’d never been before. I haven’t left since.

This is why I would like to say thank you. Before

we met, I thought the kind of life I’d always known was all that I could ever hope for, the best I could expect. I thought to be young was to have nothing worth sharing with the world, nothing meaningful to say. I thought the path to success lay in changing oneself for others, guarding your true self close for fear of losing it.

Through your music you showed me the boundless potential of youth, the fulfillment gained through a belief in oneself, and the limitless capacity for people to create beauty. My life was never the same from the moment I met you, and I’m glad.

My mom says it’s creepy that I spend so much time with you, but I don’t mind (I think she’s crazy). It’s funny, though; when we first met, I thought that I was the only one who really knew you, as if your existence was a secret I could keep all to myself. One Wikipedia search later and I thought I would be sad to know how many other people loved you, probably more than I ever could.

But I wasn’t. Instead, it made me feel as if I was part of something much, much bigger than myself. You’d given me somewhere to belong.

So, before I go, I’d like you to know that in my life, I thank you more.

Thank you, Beatles.

EMILY POLLOCK

My mom thinks it’s weird that I’m writing to you, given that you probably don’t remember me. It wouldn’t work between us, she says. You’re too old, too successful. But she’s got it all wrong. I love you, it’s true, but not in the way that she has in mind. It’s a different kind of love, one you never really wrote about much, but one that I think is just as sincere as any romantic love can be. The kind that doesn’t make me want to say “I love you”, but “thank you”.

I should probably explain. Although I was only seventeen when we first met (if you know what I mean), I’m convinced that it was an experience that profoundly changed my life.

Remember how we met? You were scruffy and hadn’t gotten much action in years. The silence before you spoke was awkward, mostly because I didn’t really know who you were. Yet, somehow, I felt like I was supposed to. Then something amazing happened when you began to sing.

It was as if all the disconnected pop culture references and radio snippets that had drifted unnoticed within and without my short-lived life fell together in a way that completed something in me that I didn’t know wasn’t whole. Suddenly, in much the same way that marijuana was your gateway drug into LSD, your music marked the beginning of my own, mind-altering addic-

BREAKING:

4CHAN USERS’ NUDES LEAKED OLESYA LYUNZA STRANDED EDITOR In a twisted turn of fate, it has been reported that approximately 18.5 million nude photographs have been leaked via an unknown third-party to a site called www. flagrante-bitches.com. Witnesses say that at the time of the upload they experienced problems using the Internet, which may have been caused by the large influx of traffic generated by the millions of photos. But once reunited with their beloved World Wide Web, users were in for a rather nasty surprise. This came in the form of the extensive gallery posted on flagrante-bitches. The subjects of the photographs were identified by name, age, and 4chan username.

Statisticians estimate that a whopping 69% of them were males aged 13 to 15, with a mere 6.9% of males over 69. Further studies show that only 0.69% had any sign of stable employment, a personal life, or a happy childhood.

Although it would be impossible to interview all of the victims, we have gained access to some exclusive statements given by several 4chan users. A user who wished to remain anonymous (spelled, however, aNONiMu$—reproduced here out of respect for his identity),

had this to say: “I dun ker abt my sexy pics leaked. let dem fap 2 my di$co stik.” This insightful statement shows a promising level of confidence, as well as a highly optimistic view on life.

Not all users showed a similar level of positivity, however. If anything, curlyMrA792, aged 13-and-a-half, seemed to project an aura of cool jadedness with his statement: “such nudes much burn so wow”. Although we are still unsure as to what he was trying to say, we believe that the lack of punctuation and insistence on writing in all lowercase shows a free spirit unbound by society’s strict rules. curlyMrA792 followed his statement with half a dozen pictures of smiling dogs.

Although there has been much speculation about the mastermind behind this operation, no concrete facts have been discovered to date. Many believe that this event is somehow connected with last week’s Emma Watson hoax, which we all believed to be organized by an angry group of 4chan misogynists. However, nude photos of the celebrity were never leaked, and the whole scheme turned out to be a paradoxical plot to shut down 4chan. So why would there be more backlash when

4chan, despite its repulsive nature, had no active part in the hoax?

On this, opinions have been divided. Some suppose that 4chan users were compelled to let their youthful exhibitionism shine through in a visually diverse project that would engulf the world in a wave of body- and sex-positivity. Others insist that the site is a cache for a certain popular dating site, revealing a number of unsolicited “dick pics” sent by desperate men to thoroughly fed up women. That would certainly explain the large number of said pictures in the gallery.

Maybe the answer is hidden behind the letters in our address bars? We were confused by the use of Latin (flagrante), peculiar in an age when even English seems to be dead across the “interwebz”. Was the culprit a scholar? Perhaps we’ll never know. Before the website was taken down, we took one last, long look at the gallery of phalluses. At the top of every page, a single sentence was prominent, typed in a casual Arial font: “Flagrante, bitches: BURN.” This statement was accompanied by an a GIF of a laughing Hermione Granger casually waving her wand.

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STRANDED AT A GLANCE ALL THE NEWS THAT ISN’T FIT TO PRINT

WILL NETO

STUDENT ADDICTED TO UOFT CLOTHING

For first-year life science student Brad Marshall, the time of year which more seasoned students refer to as “midterm season” is nothing to worry about. Despite having tests in biology, chemistry, physics, and calculus in the next week alone, Marshall seems calm as we speak to him outside Burwash Hall.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m feeling pretty good about my midterms next week,” says Marshall. “I had a couple of tough tests in high school, but I got through those, so I figure this should be no different.”

Marshall has plans to look over his notes the day before the test, but other than that feels as if he is “well-prepared” for whatever may come.

Sources close to Marshall have declined to confirm whether or not he actually knows exactly what university he’s currently attending.

A second-year student has been reported to be suffering from an intense addiction to buying and wearing Uof T-branded clothing.

“It’s just that the bookstore has so many good sales,” says Rose Li, 19. “First there was the backto-school sale, and then the second-week-back sale...and apparently the Thanksgiving sale is just around the corner!”

Li, who has already purchased three hoodies, nine sweaters, five pairs of sweatpants, six baseball caps, and ten t-shirts, says that she won’t be stopping anytime soon.

When asked about the lone Ryerson shirt in the back of her closet, Li would only say that it was from a “dark time”, and that she wouldn’t like to comment further.

INNOCENT LIBRARYGOERS SHUSHED BY FELLOW STUDENT Sources report that on Monday afternoon around 4:45 PM, three individuals in Robarts Library were shushed by another student. The incident occurred on the tenth floor, Harbord side.

Second-year students Melissa, Courtney, and Sarah were enjoying a casual study session in a study room when they were suddenly shushed by a student outside. “We were quietly discussing the Emma Watson UN speech, when out of nowhere we heard a loud “SHUSH” from outside the room,” Courtney told our reporters.

Many bystanders in the area said that the girls’ conversation was not disruptive to the surrounding floor. “It’s not like they were screaming and laughing. They were just talking with their indoor voices,” an anonymous source told Stranded.

Sarah was most harshly affected by the “SHUSH”, and is in critical condition as a result of the incident. She did not wish to leave a comment.

The identity of the perpetrator of the “SHUSH” is unknown. However, rumors have it that he is a third-year engineering student and is just really stressed out with midterms already.

EMILY POLLOCK

FIRST-YEAR STUDENT FEELS “PRETTY GOOD” ABOUT MIDTERMS

WHY YOU SHOULD (HAVE) SEE(N) THE GARDEN PARTY NEIL MACISAAC STRANDED ASSOCIATE EDITOR The Strand regrets to announce that, due to a computer virus received while trying to pirate a copy of 22 Jump Street, the Victoria College Drama Society’s promotional article regarding its production of Václav Havel’s The Garden Party was unable to be included in our September 23 issue. Please find the article below, originally written on September 18: Fans of drama are likely eagerly anticipating Victoria College Drama Society’s first production of the 2014-2015 season: The Garden Party. As an absurdist satire of communism first staged in Czechoslovakia in 1963, current students might be forgiven for considering

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this play to be as ludicrously outlandish as a case of Ebola in the continental United States. But rest assured, the comedy is relatable and as plentiful as Canada’s blood donation reserves. Director David Kitai promises that audiences will be “as satisfied [with the play] as Obama is satisfied with the protection provided to him and his family by the Secret Service.”

Speaking with Bennett Steinburg (playing protagonist Hugo Pludek) during rehearsals, I found him to be a bit nervous about certain aspects of his performance.

“It’s a lot of pressure; the dialogue and blocking can be very tricky in certain spots,” he remarked. Asked about what motivates him, he said, “My parents are very sup-

portive. They’re travelling to hike some mountain in Japan a few days before we go on, but they’ll be back in time to see me!”

In the interest of honesty, I must confess that I am the assistant director of this play, and am thus slightly biased. But with each late-night bike ride home from rehearsals on busy streets, wind in my un-helmeted hair and the Space Jam soundtrack blaring in my headphones, I feel more and more confident in this cast and my own seeming invincibility. I hope to see you all there!

[Note: The Strand sends its deepest condolences to the Steinburg and MacIsaac families.]