March 2, 2015

Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

2 March, 2015

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STRIKE Last-minute deal rejected, 6,000 teaching assistants will take to picket lines Salvatore Basilone and Meerah Haq VARSITY STAFF

Teaching assistants at the University of Toronto are on strike.

Hundreds of classes could be suspended indefinitely, and, as of Monday morning, picket lines will surround all three campuses.

In a meeting last Friday at Convocation Hall, members of cupe 3902 Unit 1 voted overwhelmingly to reject a last-minute deal that had been presented to them.

Unit 1 represents approximately 6,000 teach-

ing assistants and other student academic staff.

“They spat in our faces for eight months, and gave us a deal that meant we would continue to lose money, and now are disappointed that we won’t take it,” says Craig Smith, a teaching assistant and outreach co-ordinator on the Strike Committee for Unit 1, referring to university administration.

“We are disappointed that while a tentative agreement unanimously approved by the Unit 1 bargaining team was reached late Thursday night, Unit 1 members who attended a meeting Friday afternoon voted not to send the agreement to the full bargaining unit membership

for ratification,” said Angela Hildyard, U of T vice-president, human resources & equity, in a statement on February 27.

A tentative agreement had been reached in the early hours of Friday, February 27 after negotiations were extended past the strike deadline.

However, the bargaining team is only empowered to present deals for approval to the union membership.

Erin Black, cupe 3902 chair, says there were approximately 1,000 members present at the Friday meeting at Convocation Hall. “At least 90

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Student Commons motions pass at Governing Council Building forecasted to open in 2017 Iris Robin

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The Governing Council Chamber echoed with the sound of thunderous applause on Thursday, February 26 when two motions pertaining to the Student Commons project were finally passed.

Students whistled loudly in celebration and many rose in standing ovation when the motions were approved.

The Student Commons approval process had stalled as Governing Council sought a resolution to the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) fee diversion dispute.

REVISED AGREEMENT The motions passed were the Revised Agreement for the Student Commons and the Report of the Project Planning Committee.

The major changes made in the Revised Agreement were related to the Student Commons Management Committee, the body responsible for the management and operations of the building.

Under the Revised Agreement, the Management Committee will comprise 14 members.

The agreement stipulates that all but one of the voting members must be full-time undergraduate students at the St. George Campus.

Seven of the voting members will be appointed by the utsu Board of the Directors, and the remaining six voting members will be

nominated by the utsu executive.

The remaining non-voting member will be the facility manager, also appointed by the utsu.

“We are pleased that the majority of the Management Committee will now be comprised of students not directly appointed by the utsu Executive,” said Tina Saban and Connor Anear, co-heads of college at Trinity College, in a joint statement.

However, they said that they would have preferred that the membership, instead of the Board of Directors, had the chance to elect the students who will sit on the Management Committee.

Dalia Hashim, vice-president, external of the Muslim Students’ Association (msa) at U of T, is

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Feature Scattered pieces System’s sexual assault survivors and administrators at a loss for adaquate resources

PG. 14

Comment Investigating Canada’s Anti-terror bill MALONE MULLIN discusses the new bill’s implications for academia

PG. 11

Arts & Culture Making waves Toronto’s Wavelength music festival brings new talent

PG. 16

Science In conversation with James Hamblin The Atlantic’s health editor talks about journalism and digital media

PG. 21

Sports Blues take on Canada’s best U of T hosts women’s volleyball CIS championship

PG. 25

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WHAT’S GOING ON THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS MONDAY

Associate Senior Copy Editor Hunter McGuire Sean Smith Associate News Editors Salvatore Basilone Tamim Mansour Alex McKeen Iris Robin Associate Features Editor Caitlyn Fleming

SKULE™ MENTAL HEALTH WEEK: BALLOON DAY Sandford Fleming Atrium, 12:00 pm-2:00 pm; and Movie Night, SF 1105, 7:00 pm-9:30 pm Stop by to pick up some ethical, sustainable holiday gifts. Local artisans will be on hand selling crafts, cards, jewellery, and more.

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Come and hear speakers from a variety of occupational backgrounds — including politics, journalism, law, and business — talk about their jobs and their paths to success. Followed by a question and answer session.

THE EXPLAINER THREE THINGS THE INTERNET CARED ABOUT THIS WEEK Black and blue, or white and gold It started innocently enough. Twenty-one year-old Caitlin McNeil posted the now-famous photo to her Tumblr account this week to get some input on a dispute she was having between friends: Is the dress white and gold, or blue and black? The post was then picked up by Buzzfeed, Twitter, and other social media outlets. Celebrities such as Mindy Kaling, Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian West also weighed in. The heated (and entirely useless) debate continued for several days and sparked many “scientific” explanations for the difference in opinion over the dress colour — which, by the way, is objectively blue and black.

WEDNESDAY IS SEXUAL VIOLENCE REALLY A GREY AREA? PANEL DISCUSSION Trinity College Combination Room, 4:00 pm-6:00 pm In conjunction with Ask Big Questions, Trinity Against Sexual Assault and Harassment is hosting this panel. Featuring Kirsten Mercer, senior justice policy advisor; Mayo Moran, Trinity provost; and Wendy Komiotis, executive director of METRAC.

THURSDAY RADICAL THOUGHT AND ACTION Hart House Debates Room, 7 Hart House Circle, 12:00 PM-3:00 PM Join the Multi-Faith Centre for an exploration into the evolution of the word “radical” and its reference in academic settings, as well as in religious fundamentalist violence.

FRIDAY HEALTH JOURNALISM SYMPOSIUM Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Room 610, 3:00 pm–6:00 pm Hear professionals in the field critically discuss the interactions between journalists, the healthcare industry, and readers. Brought to you by The Varsity and Juxtaposition Global Health Magazine.

Llamas on the loose Meanwhile, a pair of llamas of undisputed colouring — one black, one white — incited a high-energy police chase around Sun City, Arizona. The spirited creatures broke free from their human owner Thursday afternoon and took to galavanting around Sun City, north of Pheonix. Police chased the llamas for one hour, armed with lassos. The pair of animals were part of a trio of llamas being escorted by a rancher to an assisted living location as a form of therapy when they made their great escape. During their adventure, the llamas had time to launch the Twitter account @SunCityLlamas.

Spock remembered In more solemn Internet news, Leonard Nimoy, former star of Star Trek who played Spock, passed away at the age of 83.

Fans have taken to the Internet to remember the influential actor, poet, director and musician. Internet tributes have extended from retweeting Nimoy’s final tweet: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP,” to “Spocking” Canadian $5 bills — eyebrows and hairline included.

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U of T Steelworkers’ union rife with mismanagement, investigation finds USW Local 1998 recommended to be put under administratorship to fix financial maladies Alex McKeen

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

United Steelworkers’ Local 1998, a union representing some University of Toronto staff, has been investigated by a commission from the International union.

The commission’s findings include improper and unapproved spending by the local officers and staff, double payments and overpayments to the same officers and staff, and negligent reporting of finances to the membership. usw Local 1998 represents university administrative and technical staff, casual staff, and staff from Victoria University, University of St. Michael’s College, and University of Toronto Schools.

A CAN OF WORMS usw International president Leo Gerard appointed the commission to investigate financial issues raised about usw Local 1998 on January 19. A hearing took place over four days starting on January 26 in Toronto. The commission released a report to the membership on February 12, which included eight recommendations to the usw International President and Executive Board.

According to the Commission’s Report, which was obtained by The Varsity, auditors first raised concerns about the Local’s conduct in an Interim Audit Report dated December 2014.

Auditors found that “hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars” were spent without proper approval from the membership between 2009-2014.

This was exacerbated by negligent reporting of finances to the union membership over the same period, and the lack of financial oversight by a financial secretary. The Local was also found to have been operating without an approved budget, and to be spending more than the union’s income.

The Interim Audit Report also raised concerns with the conduct of specific union members. Local 1998 president Paul Tsang was found by auditors to have received double payments, and not to have followed receipting procedures for reimbursements. Auditors had questions about approximately $26,000 of payments to Tsang between 2009-2014, during which time he held the roles of both vice president and president.

Tsang reported to the auditors and the com-

mission that the payments were accounted for by a “standing order” from the membership — a procedure not recognized according to usw rules.

Concerns were also raised by the commission about Tsang’s cooperativeness in producing documents for auditors.

In a letter to officers of the Local that was obtained by The Varsity, Gerrard indicated that the hearing was meant to inform a path toward restoring compliance at the Local.

“The hearing will address what measures may be necessary to (i) correct possible corruption or financial malpractice, (ii) assure the performance of collective bargaining agreements and other duties of a bargaining representative, (iii) restore democratic procedures, and (iv) otherwise carry out the legitimate objects of the International Union and Local Union 1998,” Gerard writes in the letter.

INVESTIGATION TO ADMINISTRATION After four days of hearings, including interviews with many Local executives, the commission found that the concerns raised by the auditors were well-founded. The Commission’s Report contains eight recommendations to the usw International president and executive committee.

The most drastic recommendation was the immediate appointment of an administrator to take over “full charge” of the Local.

The administrator will have total authority over union operations. The commission additionally recommended that all Local officers be removed but “temporarily reappointed” to their positions.

The commission indicated that, in the case of Tsang, it would be left to the discretion of the administrator whether to temporarily reinstate him as president of the Local.

In recommendations specifically geared toward Tsang, the commission indicated the opinion that Tsang had committed egregious offenses while with the Local.

“While a number of Local 1998 Officers have been guilty of not living up to their obligations under the usw’s International Constitution, ByLaws and policies, Tsang has been the leading violator, including impeding the efforts of the International’s Auditors to obtain basic information about the Local’s finances and operations,” the commission wrote on page 28 of the report.

The commission’s other recommendations all serve the purpose of returning Local 1998 to a functioning state consistent with the bylaws and constitution of usw. As part of these recommendations, the administrator will have the authority to recommend an election for

officer positions “within a reasonably short period of time.”

Until that election takes place and the new executive is deemed “fully trained and committed to honour its obligations under the usw constitution and bylaws,” Wyatt has authority over all elected officials.

In the meantime, basic procedures that had been neglected by the Local will be restored.

Under the administratorship, Local 1998 must present a “detailed, balanced budget” and fill holes in accounting and financial oversight.

Despite the concerns raised and the measures put in place to correct malpractice at the union, the commission expressed optimism that the Local is not beyond repair, given the right resources.

“It is our hope and belief that with the support and participation of the Local Union 1998 Executive and membership, that the period of International oversight can be of a limited duration and that the Local Union will emerge strengthened and with substantially increased membership participation in its myriad responsibilities and activities,” the Commission Report concludes. usw 1998 is currently working on a campaign to stop program cuts at Ontario Institute for Studies of Education (oise) until faculty, staff and students are consulted in a “full and transparent decision making process.”

UTM commemorates Black History Month Month-long series of events celebrates love, inclusion, freedom, and education Anjalee Sandrasegaran VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Black History Month Committee at utm held several themed events that commemorated Black History Month and provided a space for black students to share their experiences.

The first week featured the opening ceremony and a political discussion, “Grieve Tonight, Rise Tomorrow,” about North American police brutality against black men and women.

At “Existence is Resistance,” a forum that addressed relevant topics in the black community, students distributed questions among the audience to generate discussion. “There was a discussion on unity within the black community,” says Melissa Theodore, Univerity of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu)

vice-president, equity. “We’re black and regardless of where we come from, racism still hits all of us the same way.”

“Our mere existence is resistance,” says Theodore when asked to explain the title “Existence is Resistance.”

“Anti-black racism is a fulcrum, a lever, of white supremacy... this whole society is not made for us. It was not made for us by us. We’re just brought here as commodities,” Theodore adds.

The second week featured “Buy Black,” an opportunity to support local black businesses, as well as an open mic night and an art show.

The art show featured work by Ifunanya Paulinus, a utm student. Paulinus’ work–character studies set in a Nigerian village–highlighted people not typically featured in Western media.

The last week featured a movie night and the closing ceremony, the Black Excellence Ball.

“We want to watch a movie that will instill some thoughts in people’s minds so that we can have a discussion in the end,” says Ebi Agbeyegbe, utmsu vice president external, adding that the executives chose between Dear White People and Selma.

The ball was a relatively lighter event with food, dancing, a fashion show, and spoken word performances.

The committee consisted of four student groups: the utmsu, Caribbean Connections, Erindale Campus African Students’ Association, and the Somali Students’ Association.

“We didn’t want four different groups hosting different events; we’d rather have all participants in a room together,” says Hassan Havili, utmsu president.

According to Theodore, the month-long series of events highlighted love, inclusion, free-

dom, and education. “As a committee, we sat down to choose which words would represent each letter. Love, we have to stand together and love one another to build unity. Because if we’re not united, we can’t stand up against our oppressor, which is white supremacy. Inclusion, it’s imperative that we include everyone and everyone’s voices are heard in the black community to combat sexism, homophobia, and transphobia... Freedom, we’re still not free.

Freedom to live our lives, freedom to succeed, freedom to prosper economically... Education is a tool. With education, we can empower our black people. The whole point of Black History Month is to educate people on black history,” Theodore says.

“But the fact that we have this month is disheartening, because why can’t it be included in regular history?” Theodore adds.

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Zhang, Olow coalition scrape Governing Council victory 2015 Governing Council elections feature tight races in undergraduate constituencies Alex McKeen

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Results of elections for Governing Council, the University of Toronto’s highest governing body, were released Tuesday, following an 11-day voting period.

Members of the U of T community voted in 12 constituencies representing Governing Council seats.

Members of the Academic Board, which informs Governing Council, were also elected.

The most highly contested category was that of full-time undergraduate Arts & Science student director. In that race, 10 students competed for two seats.

The successful candidates were running mates Lawrence Zhang and Ridwan Olow, who received 555 and 335 votes respectively.

Though Zhang won his seat by a considerable margin, the competition for second place was hotly contested. Third-place candidate Victoria Wicks of Trinity College was only three votes behind Olow at 332, while Susan Cui of Victoria College was not far behind Wicks at 309 votes.

Zhang, a third-year political science and international relations student at New College, attributes his victory to exhaustive efforts at making connections throughout the campaign period. “At the end of the day it was really just about connecting with people, getting them to not only know about but care about these issues that we have on campus, and getting them to see eye to eye with me,” says Zhang.

Zhang says he took advantage of every opportunity to meet students — visiting all three campuses and engaging in class talks.

His platform focussed on combatting grade deflation, increasing research opportunities, advocating for international students, and promoting a more environmentally friendly campus.

While many other candidates raised the same points, Zhang says he was able to reach out to more people in the short campaign period.

Zhang, co-founder of the Woodsworth Performing Arts Collective and vice-president of the University of Toronto League of Legends Association, says that he ran for Governing Council with the hope that he would be able to learn the ropes and collaborate with other governors to improve life for University of Toronto students.

Olow, a student at the University of Toronto Mississauga, sits on the board of directors of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu).

Zhang says that the two connected while Zhang was campaigning in Mississauga, and decided to become running mates.

Olow did not respond to a request for comment.

Sandra Hudson, executive director of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), also made a successful bid for a seat on Governing Council.

Hudson, who attends the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, will represent humanities and social science graduate students.

Hudson says that she will not have trouble separating her responsibilities as executive director from her responsibilities as governor. “My

Governing Council Chambers. FILE PHOTO: KENNETH TRUONG/THE VARSITY

employment status is no more a concern to me than my status as a student, volunteer, community organizer, athlete, photographer, writer, mentor, daughter, sister or friend,” says Hudson.

She adds that she hopes to use her role as governor to help students meet their goals through governance.

Riaz Sayani-Mulji of the Faculty of Law and Faizan Akbani of the Faculty of Engineering were elected as full-time undergraduate pro-

fessional faculty governors, with 92 and 115 votes respectively.

Alex Ivovic was elected as the physical and life sciences graduate director with 97 votes.

Susan Froom of Trinity College, who currently serves as vice-president, external with the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students, and Ray Khan of utm were acclaimed as the two part-time undergraduate representatives.

UTM launches business accelerator I-CUBE to offer community members space and resources

I-CUBE launch event. COURTESY OF RYAN CERRUDO

Emma Compeau VARSITY STAFF

On February 10, the University of Toronto Mississauga and the Institute for Management and Innovation launched i-cube, a campuslinked business accelerator aimed at engaging students and community members with an entrepreneurial spirit and offering space and resources to put their ideas into action.

The initiative will receive $1 million a year from the city of Mississauga for the next 10 years to support the new Innovation Complex. i-cube co-founder and student lead Hazem Danny Al Nakib says that i-cube leadership is hoping to seek other opportunities for support in areas of both innovation and development.

Innovation to Commercialization for Entrepreneurs (ice), a program launched through i-cube, will offer a unique, five-month oppor-

tunity for selected entrepreneurs to go from the idea stage of a start-up to the creation of a minimum viable product, with the end goal of getting closer to commercialization.

ICE will offer resources catered towards the needs of participants including a mentor, potential funding, and a final Dragons’ Den–style pitch to a panel of judges.

According to Al Nakib, while the current program is not for credit, courses for credit are being developed.

Nico Lacetera, faculty lead for i-cube, says that the initiative is unique because it is not stand-alone — it compliments other efforts of the Institute for Management and Innovation.

The space is open to all members of the public.

To apply for the ice program, the only requirement is that groups have one member below the age of 29.

Al Nakib attributes the successful start of i-cube to support from University of Toronto staff and faculty, including Lacetera and Donna Heslin, the staff lead and co-founder of i-cube who servers as the assistant director at the Institute for Management and Innovation.

Al Nakib also highlighted the team of students who began work at the end of June 2014 to create and develop the accelerator.

Ahmad Khan, a final-year student whose team was recently accepted to i-cube for the ice program, says the program offers participants the opportunity to learn skills crucial to start-up success. “With the i-cube program, we get to learn entrepreneurial skills without getting a formal business degree with the help from mentors, students, and programming,” Khan says.

Central to the conceptualization of icube was an emphasis on its educational value. According to Lacetera, while not all ventures will be successful, i-cube leaders “want the teams to leave with an enhanced baggage of knowledge, independence, and critical thinking.”

“U of T as a whole, along with its surrounding communities, has a tremendously profound entrepreneurial spirit whose potential truly is boundless,” Al Nakib says.

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Attendance lacking at UTSU Board of Directors meetings Barriers include schedule conflicts, short notice, location, directors say Iris Robin

Director attendence

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Attendance at the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) Board of Directors has risen this year; however, there is yet to be a meeting with a full house. Last year, The Varsity found that nearly half of the directors missed four of seven meetings.

Of the 39 filled positions, just under a quarter of directors have missed four of seven meetings so far. All directors have been to at least two meetings, but only three directors — April Huang from the Faculty of Nursing, Jenny Lin from Woodsworth, and Ryan Gomes from Engineering — have attended all seven meetings.

The Board of Directors is the utsu’s highest decision-making body and is responsible for the advocacy and services of the union.

ABSENCES EXPLAINED The Varsity reached out to each director for this article. Ten responded, with the the most common responses being academic, extra-curricular, or work-related schedule conflicts. Some directors mentioned location and short notice of meetings as other reasons that prevented them from attending.

Kevin Lunianga, an Arts & Science at large director, admits to missing “a handful of meetings” throughout the year because the meeting times conflict with his classes. Lunianga has a busy schedule; he is enrolled in six classes and works at Robarts Library. Lunianga is one of four directors who has missed five meetings.

“I have missed BoD meetings when there have been scholastic conflicts or other medically related extracurricular events that I have needed to attend,” says Tom Ying, director for the Faculty of Medicine. Ying has missed four of seven meetings.

Naveed Ahmed, a director from utm, says that, for him, the location of the meetings is one of the greatest barriers to attending the meetings. He has missed three meetings, but has overcome the issue of location by attending via Skype or phone.

Sydney Lang, Woodsworth College director, believes that timing is the main culprit. Lang says that although directors send in their weekly schedule at the beginning of the semester, meetings are not set based on availability for any given month. Lang has missed one meeting.

“We are only usually told about the date two weeks before, so lack of notice might be a cause, although I obviously understand how hard it is to organize a time where all directors are available,” Lang adds.

“I also think that a lack of investment in the Union may be a factor. We had a much greater turnout in the beginning of the year when directors were invested in the motions we were voting on, such as the new board structure,” Lang says. She notes that the board has focused on policy changes and observed a decline in turnout when items such as tuition fees, sexual violence on campus, and equity initiatives have been on the agenda instead.

Yolen Bollo-Kamara, utsu president, says that Board members are informed of their responsibilities when they receive a copy of the utsu bylaws and policies, and when such policies are reviewed at the board retreat. However, Bollo-Kamara understands that Board of Director positions are voluntary. “We recognize that Board members are student volunteers and this allows for consideration of extenuating circumstances, including extended illness, family commitments and academic schedules,” she says.

ABSENTEEISM “I absolutely believe that absenteeism is an issue facing the utsu Board, and I’ve raised

Attended more than 3 meetings this concern to the executive before,” says Nick Grant, a director for New College. “Board of Director meetings are highest decision making authority when it comes to utsu, it is really crucial for all of the constituency to be well represented at these meetings,” says Ahmed. “[With] that being said, I feel absenteeism is an issue at Board of Directors meetings as when certain directors choose not to come, it’s just not them, but their constituency’s voice is left unheard,” Ahmed adds.

Eric Schwenger, one of the directors for University College, echoes Lang’s sentiments.

“I think there’s a level of apathy developing amongst the Board,” he shares. “The environment can be very cold and offputting, especially when we’re presented with 100-page long Board packages a few days prior to the meetings to review in addition to our course readings.”

Schwenger considers absenteeism to be a minor problem. “Given the above restraints, I feel the turnout to meetings is actually quite respectable and meaningful discussion does ensue from the representatives present,” he remarks.

Among Schwenger’s suggestions to increase engagement is moving meetings to weekends, similar to the meetings of many college and professional faculty student societies.

ATTENDANCE AT COMMISSIONS Directors are responsible for joining at least two commissions. Zach Morgenstern, a director for Victoria College, has been to two Community Action meetings and belongs to the Academic and Student Rights Commission.

While he has fulfilled his duty of being on two commissions, Morgenstern says he is more inclined to attend commissions where he feels there is a political discussion to be had and “where [he] can make a real contribution, not just rubber stamp an agenda.”

Morgenstern points out that it is part of a board member’s job to hold office hours. In Morgenstern’s view, this in practice means

Missed 3 or more meetings, including the summer participate in utsu campaigns. “I was pretty disappointed that when I attended 2/3 of the utsu’s activist assembly, no non-executive board members got involved,” Morgenstern says. “[We’re] a union, our activism should be seen as our most important campaigns.”

BYLAWS Under the utsu’s bylaws, a Division I or Division II director, who represent the colleges and professional faculties, shall be deemed to have delivered their resignation if they meet any one of three criteria: if they fail to attend three consecutive meetings or any four meetings of the Board, including the Annual General Meeting; if they fail to attend three consecutive meetings or any four meetings of a Commission or Committee to which such Directors have been appointed; or if they fail to meet the requirements of the office. The invocation of the bylaw requires a majority vote at a Board meeting.

According to the bylaws, these criteria come into effect starting September 1 each year.

Ergo, absences during the first four meetings, which are held over the summer months, cannot be used to claim that a director has delivered their resignation.

“We monitor the attendance of Board members and remind them of this policy throughout the year,” says Bollo-Kamara, adding that, at the January Board meeting, directors were told that a motion to accept the resignation of absentee directors would be forthcoming.

Andi Musa, a Professional Faculty at large director, does not think that there are any members that consistently miss meetings. “The utsu permits using digital means to attend a meeting, this makes it difficult for any board member to actually miss three meetings in a row, or any four meetings,” Musa says.

“I would say it’s fair,” Lunianga says of the bylaw. “Unfortunately, certain folks on the board are very disengaged which I think stems from their introduction to the board.

In my 2 years on the board, I found that in-

dividuals who were asked to run by someone else tended to be less engaged and committed than folks who either ran independently or who actively sought to run for the board themselves. There are, nonetheless, exceptions to this rule,” he says.

On the other hand, Ryan Schwenger, director for the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, does not think the rule is fair. “‘Abandonment of Office’” is a horribly pessimistic way of putting it,” he says, referring to the title of the bylaw.

“Often individuals miss meetings because they have other commitments to attend to which are perfectly legitimate and may be of greater importance than a board meeting. As long as there isn’t a trend of missed meetings, an explanation is provided and an attempt is made to Skype in or attend subsequent meetings, I don’t think it should be considered that a director has abandoned their position,” he adds.

Victor Lee, also a Victoria College director, says that the bylaw has its pros and cons. Lee believes that the bylaw is good for accountability. “Four meetings is half of the meetings during the school year and I think it is fair to ask the members to be present at least half of the meetings,” he says.

Lee notes that directors are not required to stay for the entire duration of meetings, which often run over time. “One of our meetings earlier this year went up to around 9 hours and was split into two parts. It would be unfair to penalize someone for being unable to sit through all of that,” Lee states.

“I do think that it’s very good that summer meetings don’t count into the total number of meetings that you’re allowed to miss. Many people are away in the summer and even though they are given the option to Skype in, depending on where they are, a meeting might take place at 3 am in the morning at their time zone and I think it would also be unfair to penalize them for being unable to attend,” he adds.

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VARSITY NEWS

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U of T remembers William Deane Death of 18-year-old UC student evokes memories of kind-hearted friend and peer Alex McKeen

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

University College (uc) student William Deane passed away suddenly on Wednesday, according to an e-mail sent by college principal Donald Ainslie and uc Dean of Students Melinda Scott.

Deane was a resident of Wallace House at University College, and a rugby player for the Varsity Blues. He was also a brother of

the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. The fraternity praised Deane for his character and expressed deep sadness at the loss. “William exemplified the true spirit of the Alpha Delta Phi in his kindness, generosity and strong leadership,” Alpha Delta Phi posted to their Facebook page Thursday.

Students who knew Deane remember him for his confidence, kindness, and charisma.

U of T student Juliana Meloche knew Deane for five years. She says she will remember him for these traits, and the personal sup-

port and friendship he gave to her. “He would light up any room that he walked into with a huge smile, and make sure to acknowledge everyone that was there. On a personal note, when I dealt with a difficult time in high school, I remember Will always making an effort to make sure that I was comfortable and had someone to talk to.”

Meloche added that Deane was the kind of person who put his heart and soul into everything he took on. “Whatever he invested himself in — whether it be sports, school or

friendships — he made sure to always commit to it with everything that he had, and somehow always managed to be the best at it, while helping others along the way,” Meloche says.

A visitation for Deane was held on Sunday at The McEachnie Funeral Home, in Ajax. A funeral service will be held Monday at the Pickering Village United Church.

Alpha Delta Pi will also be hosting a memorial for Deane on March 7.

In lieu of flowers, Deane’s family have requested donations be made to jack.org.

U of T students’ union executives caught campaigning in Ryerson elections UTSU president Yolen Bollo-Kamara among those seen campaigning Iris Robin

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Executive members of student unions at the University of Toronto were recently photographed campaigning in support of candidates in the Ryerson Students’ Union election.

Vip Vigneswaran, a Woodsworth College student and former campaign manager of Team Unite, the slate that ran against the incumbent U of T Voice last year, alleges that he saw executives from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (apus), and the Scarborough Campus Students Union (scsu) campaigning at Ryerson University on behalf of Unite Ryerson — the slate that included incumbents.

Transform Ryerson, the first opposition slate in four years, ended up defeating Unite Ryerson in each executive candidate position.

Yolen Bollo-Kamara, utsu president, confirmed than she did campaign in support of Pascale Diverlus, Unite’s presidential candidate.

Bollo-Kamara says that she and Diverlus have worked closely together, and continue to work together now as organizers with Black Lives Matter Toronto. “I respect the incredible work she’s done over the past several years and I rec-

Yolen Bollo-Kamara, UTSU president campaigning during Ryerson elesctions.

ognize the impact of strong student representation,” Bollo-Kamara says.

Bollo-Kamara says that collaboration between student leaders is key to achieving crucial goals.

“In recent years, elected student representatives in the gta have worked together to achieve many important victories, such as changes to flat fees,

tuition freezes and the implementation of the discounted Post-secondary Student Metropass,” she says.

However, Vigneswaran says he believes that it is inappropriate for executives from different campuses to campaign on behalf of slates from other campuses. “I think it intuitively gives an

unfair advantage to the incumbency and is therefore inappropriate,” he says.

Bollo-Kamara disagrees, saying that every slate has advantages and disadvantages in different ways. “For example, students who live in residence, play on sport teams, are involved in clubs, college or faculty councils, community advocacy or partisan politics have particular communities from which to draw potential voters and volunteers. Strong candidates are successful in mobilizing support, which serves them well in advocating for students throughout the year, if elected,” says Bollo-Kamara.

Vigneswaran takes issue with the fact that student union executives may have more time available to them with which to help on campaigns. “A lot of these union executives, by virtue of their position, are not full-time students and can simply just take a ‘vacation’ day to campaign elsewhere and then those that they campaign for return the favour,” Vigneswaran says.

Bollo-Kamara verified that she took about a day-and-a-half of vacation days in order to campaign at Ryerson.

The use of external campaigners in student union elections has been a point of contention for many years. In 2014, various student union executives from other universities in the Greater Toronto Area, including one from Ryerson, were spotted campaigning on behalf of U of T Voice.

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Company offers students a different way to sublet Flatbook offers guaranteed rent, staging of apartments Emily Johnpulle VARSITY STAFF

With less than two months to find subletters for the summer as the winter semester draws to a close, one company hopes to make the process easier.

Flatbook is a free service that guarantees rent for those leaving their rented properties on a short-term basis. After interested parties fill out an application form allowing the subletting company to take over, Flatbook cleans each property and works with professional photographers, interior designers, and artists to attract subletters. They also insure each space and offer to store any valuables.

“Flatbook makes money by charging a daily hospitality fee to stay in our redecorated spaces.

We give much of what we make back to students who trust us with their place, the rest goes into expanding the Flatbook Program to help as many students as we can,” says Roger Huang, head of marketing at Flatbook.

Founded in 2012 and based in Montréal, Flatbook grew 800 per cent last year alone in terms of the number of properties managed, operating in 11 cities, including Vancouver and Brussels.

This year, the company plans on expanding to service more than 30 cities, including Tel Aviv, Rome and Paris.

“We proved our model by saving people over $500,000 in rent and growing exponentially faster the last year through our regional manager program: a position paid by commission that allows us to manage and scale across several cities at once,” says Huang.

Flatbook uses platforms such as Airbnb and Homeaway to attract travelers — mainly families and business people — to properties.

Theodore Milosevic, a graduate student at U of T’s Munk School, works for Flatbook as a regional manager in Toronto, preparing properties in the city. “When I was in Scotland for undergrad I would sublet my apartment over the summer and know firsthand the stress associated with finding someone to sublet, ensur-

TIMOTHY LAW/THE VARSITY

ing they pay in full and on time, and making sure everything in your apartment is the same when you come back,” says Milosevic.

“We check up on apartments to make sure nothing’s wrong and make sure the apartment’s running smoothly. There’s no central

office in Toronto, but the regional managers coordinate closely,” Milosevic adds.

Aside from guaranteeing rent for students, Flatbook also wishes to support their summer plans.

“We’ve always offered extra money on top of people’s rent, but it’s really the human con-

nection that we’re going for this year… This year, we’re looking for something a bit more personal on top of that. We’re collecting stories of what people are going to do with their rent and already, we have some ideas brewing for gifts we can send them,” says Huang.

End the Ban campaign questions blood donation policy Panelists discuss Canadian Blood Services’ five-year ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men Alex Verman VARSITY STAFF

The End the Ban campaign kicked off with an information session on the history and consequences of Canadian Blood Services’ controversial five-year ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men (msm).

The February 11 panel included Daniel Allman, a public health professor; Rodney Rousseau, a U of T graduate student; Rob Salerno, a journalist; and OmiSoore Dryden, a doctoral candidate.

The five-year ban on donations is presented

by Canadian Blood Services as an effort to protect the blood supply from contamination with hiv/aids. “It’s extremely important that we protect the blood supply,” said Allman.

The ban was put into practice when control over blood supply moved from the Canadian Red Cross Society to the Canadian Blood Ser-

vices in 1998, after a blood contamination scandal put many Canadians at risk.

In 2013, Canadian Blood Services implemented a strict prohibition on blood donations from men who have sex with men for a minimum of five years since the last sexual encounter of this kind, referencing what they consider to be a higher risk for transferable diseases in this population.

The ban is widely criticized as homophobic and unscientific.

According to Rousseau, many existing blood tests are capable of picking up on blood-borne diseases, including hiv and aids, within a matter of weeks. “If a test can take up to three months, or be as simple as two weeks, why make the ban for five years?” said Rousseau.

Dryden outlined the long and complex nature of the blood ban, as well as its wider consequences.

Referencing the questionnaire that Cana-

dian Blood Services requires potential donors to fill out, Dryden’s research deconstructs the boundaries and definitions imposed on nonstraight and black individuals — historically and contemporarily — with little scientific evidence to back them up.

To question the progress of earlier movements to end the ban, Dryden made reference to the racialization of blood and of disease, and the constructed association of Africa and African bodies with susceptibility to hiv/aids.

“These questions don’t all result in permanent bans, but they still need to be explored in terms of what is actually going on with the donor questionnaire, and what is the ‘science’ behind this,” said Dryden, imploring students to think differently about how questions of science are informed by legacies of marginalization.

The End the Ban campaign at U of T is led

by Tom Gleason, co-president of the Wood-

sworth Inclusive, and Najiba Ali Sardar, vicepresident, equity of the University of Toronto Students’ Unionb (utsu), based on efforts undertaken by the continuing Canadian Federation of Students (cfs) campaign.

“We drew in some elements from the cfs campaign that the utsu has used in the past years and mixed in new material of our own,” said Gleason, referencing the ongoing efforts on this issue.

As Salerno pointed out, it’s been a protracted process so far. Despite and in light of this, Gleason and Sardar said that they see special significance for students in getting involved.

“Blood donation drives are huge on campus,” said Gleason. “Unfortunately, so many people are unaware of the many restrictions around who can actually donate blood. Canadian Blood Services is just down the street from U of T, so it’s important for us to take advantage of that proximity, educate students, and advocate for change.”

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news@thevarsity.ca

NEWS IN BRIEF Former Mississauga mayor Hazel McCallion takes on new role at UTM

Federal government to write off 63,540 debts under Canada Student Loans program

Reported anti-vaxxer leads alternative healthcare conference at UTSC

Hazel McCallion, who served as mayor of Mississauga for 12 consecutive terms, has taken on a year-long placement as special advisor to both the vice-president and the principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga.

“Hurricane Hazel,” who does not appear to have lost any momentum over her 36 years in office, will work on the development of a new master’s degree in Urban Innovation and Development at utm’s Institute for Management.

In addition, McCallion will occasionally serve as a guest lecturer for a course on how to participate in public office, which will be open to students and members of the general public.

“I want to encourage [students] to prepare themselves and not just go into [public office] blindly,” McCallion says.

In a similar move, Ryerson University recently announced that Olivia Chow will serve a three-year term as a visiting professor, developing a course on democratic participation.

Employment and Social Development Canada is set to write off 63,540 debts under the Canada Student Loans program this year. Most of the almost $300-million in unrecoverable student loans this year are from debts defaulted in 2008 or earlier.

According to the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs), the large amount of defaults, or unpaid loans, proves that post-secondary skills are falling “through the cracks.”

In January, the youth unemployment rate stood at almost double the national unemployment rate of 6.6 per cent. cfs national chairperson Jessica McCormick said the write-offs also show that more grants need to target low-income families.

According to McCormick, studies indicate that many government programs, such as tax credits and the Registered Education Savings Plan, benefit more high-income families.

Department spokesperson Marie-France Faucher said the government only writes off debt when all “reasonable efforts to work with borrowers” fail.

The written off debt is included in the Conservative government’s supplementary spending estimates for the fiscal year ending March 31.

utsc has come under fire for sponsoring a conference that features an alleged antivaccine advocate as its keynote speaker.

Beth Landau-Halpern teaches an alternative medicine course for the department of Health Studies at utsc, where her husband is dean.

Landau-Halpern is reported to have encouraged fourth-year students to acknowledge what she views as the limits to science when understanding health and disease. LandauHalpern has also written that vaccines are to be avoided because she believes they are “of questionable efficacy, full of ingredients that definitely should not be in the blood stream, and may compromise your general immunity irreparably.”

Landau-Halpern spoke at the Population and Health Policy conference held Saturday, February 28.

In an email to The Globe and Mail, LandauHalpern said that she does not consider herself to be an “anti-vaxxer.”

— Jonathan Gass With files from The Globe and Mail

— Iris Robin With files from The Globe and Mail

Three paintings stolen from university in two-week span Between January 30 and February 10, three paintings were stolen from the University of Toronto campus.

Two were stolen from Victoria University, while one was stolen from Trinity College.

Police say all three thefts were likely perpetrated by the same person.

The painting frame was left behind in each instance.

There was initially some miscommunication regarding one of the paintings stolen from Trinity College property.

The painting was believed to be an oil painting by Francesco Guardi, a famous eighteenthcentury painter whose paintings sometimes sell for tens of millions of dollars.

However, Trinity College officials later clarified that an anonymous follower of Guardi — not the famous painter himself — painted the stolen painting.

Trinity College says it does not know when the college acquired the stolen painting.

The thefts are still under investigation.

— Meerah Haq With files from The Globe and Mail

— Rachel Chen With files from The Globe and Mail

Student Commons occupancy forecast for 2017 CONTINUED FROM COVER also satisfied with the agreement.

Hashim thinks that there is room for development once the space is operational. “I believe only then will we be able to make a sound judgement about its feasibility,” she says.

“Regardless, I’m really happy that this space will be exclusively student run and I believe that was the biggest hurdle. I would definitely want to see the major clubs on campus represented on the management structure,” Hashim adds.

The Revised Agreement arose from concerns expressed by utsu members, particularly regarding the structure of the Management Committee. The agreement also acknowledges a scenario wherein the utsu may not be the primary representative body of undergraduates at the St. George campus.

Yolen Bollo-Kamara, utsu president, says that the agreement always contemplated such circumstances.

FUNDING The commons is set to open its doors in 2017, and, as of yet, there is no indication of a plan to reimburse students who paid the levy and then graduated before they could use the space.

“I see contributed funds as part of what it is to belong to a union. We pay into something collectively to get something out collectively,” says Ben Donato-Woodger, lgbtout public relations coordinator.

“We feel that it is acceptable for students to contribute to a project that will have such a positive and lasting impact on student life on campus, but only after they graduate,” Saban and Anear said.

The Trinity heads also said that the Revised Agreement was passed on the assumption that the fees that are currently available would be accessible for the project. “Taking away a significant portion of these fees by reimbursing past students would likely cause even further delays, and we see this as undesirable,” they added.

Bollo-Kamara states that the referendum question on which students voted in 2007 was structured in such a way that students who will actually get to use the building will pay the majority of the costs. “It’s unfortunate that the project was delayed for so long, but I am pleased that we are moving forward,” she says.

According to the timeline outlined in the Re-

Future site of the Student Commons at 230 College Street. FILE PHOTO: TOSIN MAIYEGUN/THE VARSITY

port of the Project Planning Committee, the selection of the design team will take place between May and July of 2015, with the Construction Award given in August 2016.

The report forecasts occupancy beginning September 2017.

Hashim, Donato-Woodger, Saban, and Anear all express hope that the building will be ready for use by the forecasted occupancy date.

STUDENTS CELEBRATE “We are delighted that the student Commons finally passed,” Donato-Woodger says.

Donato-Woodger adds that the 24-hour accessible space “will be a boon for student organizing and empower the student move-

ment by bringing people together, allowing for interactions that aren’t happening now and networking that can’t happen because we don’t have common space like this.” “lgbtout is excited to come out of our closet into the Student Commons,” adds DonatoWoodger in reference to the current location of lgbtout’s drop-in centre in the Sir Daniel Wilson Archway.

Kriya Siewrattan, president of the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students, was also present at the Governing Council meeting to support the motions.

“The Student Commons is necessary for marginalized students who require a safe space on campus, especially students with

disabilities, as the Student Commons is committed to being fully accessible. Overall, the Student Commons will encourage the growth of the spirit and community of the University of Toronto,” she says.

Hashim is happy that the Student Commons will open up space for clubs that need it.

“At the msa we have 4 reoccurring events every week, attended by upward of 500 people, and so the struggle to find affordable space on campus has been very hard the last few years,” Hashim says.

“I believe that in a few years, students will wonder how the St. George campus could have existed without one,” says Bollo-Kamara.

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Picketing to begin Monday CONTINUED FROM COVER per cent of them voted the agreement down right then and there,” she says.

STUDENTS AND THE PICKET LINE cupe 3902 leadership is not asking students to boycott classes.

All three campuses will remain open, and students are still responsible for fulfilling course requirements.

Some 700 members of Unit 1 have sole responsibility for courses, and most, if not all, of those courses are expected to be suspended for the duration of the strike.

Though the university plans to continue operating shuttle buses between the Mississauga and St. George campuses, they note that there may be delays and changes to transit schedules because of the strike.

“The University has indicated to cupe 3902 Unit 1 that it intends to continue to operate during the strike and that it will make every effort to minimize the impact of the strike on its students,” Hildyard said in a second statement dated March 1.

Smith says that the strike is meant to stop work for the university that would be normally carried out by union members. “Going to class is not crossing the picket line… going into Robarts and getting a book isn’t crossing a picket line,” he says.

“We will be asking them [students], when they come to a picket line, to stop and chat with us about our issues and what we are fighting for,” says Tom Laughlin, chief spokesperson for the Unit 1 bargaining team.

DEAL REJECTED, NEGOTIATIONS TO CONTINUE “We negotiated a generous agreement that lifts teaching assistants’ compensation and benefits to some of the highest levels in Canada,” said Cheryl Regehr, U of T vice-president and provost in a statement. “We are making this

CUPE Rally for Better Education. TOSIN MAIYEGUN/THE VARSITY

investment because of the importance we place on supporting teaching assistants.”

Smith says the deal involved a 4.5 per cent increase that was phased in over the threeyear life of the contract. “We rejected the deal because the wages are still below inflation and it will still amount to a real loss of income,” he says.

“A good looking deal moves us closer to the poverty line, if not brings us to the poverty line,” he adds.

Smith also stressed the larger context of the negotiations. “The university spent eight months not meeting with us, and spent eight months lying to us about an Ontario government mandate,” he says.

Lama Mourad, a teaching assistant at U of T, found the administration’s proposal insulting: “Under these conditions, where we have to work an excessive amount of hours to be able to live at the poverty line, we won’t be

able to teach students well or dedicate time to our research.”

“Members are tired of living in poverty and precarity,” agrees Black. “The package has not increased since 2008 and, as costs of living have increased, this means a decline in real income. $15,000 is 35 per cent the poverty line for the city of Toronto.”

Laughlin says that the bargaining team is still supported by the members and still committed to getting a deal. “At this point, the goal is getting back to the table and getting something that the members will find satisfactory.”

As of press time, no dates are currently scheduled between the two sides.

The university is allowing Unit 1 members who wish to continue working to do so.

Wages and benefits would be allotted as described in the expired agreement.

“The union’s position is that members shouldn’t do that — that our bargaining po-

sition is stronger if we all withhold our labour together,” says Laughlin. cupe 3902 urges students to be vigilant about professors who may choose to change course requirements in order to not need teachers assistants. “[I]t is important to understand that, for academic freedom to be upheld, discretion on whether and what changes to course grading schemes and assignment designs need to be made in the context of an academic disruption must remain primarily in the hands of course instructors and program coordinators,” said Scott Prudham, University of Toronto Faculty Association (utfa) president, in a letter to faculty members. “utfa would consider it unwelcome and provocative for undue pressure to be brought to bear on individual faculty members (or librarians who are teaching) to reconfigure or otherwise significantly alter their courses or those of striking instructors in ways that undermine the autonomy of course instructors and the academic integrity of courses and programs,” Prudham adds.

SESSIONAL INSTRUCTORS cupe Unit 3, which represents around 1,000 sessional professors and other non-student academic staff, reached a tentative agreement with the university on February 18. However, this deal also needs to go through the ratification process. The first meeting is scheduled for Monday night.

“We believe the agreement contains real gains, especially in job security,” said Erin Black, who is also co-chief negotiator for Unit 3. “The job security commitment (guarantee of four half courses a year) has been made ongoing, rather than tied specifically to the life of a collective agreement.”

“The agreement also provides for modest across the board wage increases and lump sum payments to supplement those increases, as well as improvements to the Health Care Spending Account,” Black adds.

Comment

VAR.ST/COMMENT 2 MARCH 2015

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Anti-terror laws threaten academic freedom Parliament has a democratic duty to ensure researchers are protected

KAWMADIE KARUNANAYAKE/THE VARSITY

Malone Mullin VARSITY STAFF

For the average Netflix-watching, Tumblrscrolling Internet user, Bill C-51 doesn’t pose much of a problem. Though the new anti-terror legislation would effectively limit privacy rights for all Canadians, most people need not be concerned about being secretly surveilled.

For academics, researchers, and journalists, however, the legislation threatens to change the way sensitive information is dealt with and for that reason has been deemed by many to be a dangerous step forward.

The new legislation would give government agencies the power to collect and share information about academic researchers without first obtaining a traditional warrant. These measures are particularly worrisome given that academic freedom is so crucial to a wellfunctioning democracy.

Imagine you’re an environmental scientist, or perhaps an assistant to one. As part of your research, you look into the rcmp’s recent report on “environmental extremism,” which states that petroleum resources count as “critical infrastructure.” Interference with critical infrastructure is listed under the bill as a terrorist offence. You’re well-versed in climate science and renewable energy, and you don’t believe pipelines and oil refineries are critical to Canada’s well-being. So, like any responsible academic, you write a paper about it.

Under C-51, you can now be tracked indefinitely as a subject of csis surveillance and information sharing and could also become a target for “disruption,” a term that encompasses a range of current tactics csis employs to halt or sabotage the target’s activity. What that means exactly is generally kept quiet, but according to csis’s official website, it can

include telecommunications interception.

Perhaps, in that same paper criticizing the government's definition of critical infrastructure, you encourage donations to an environmental group with a spotted history of using unlawful protest tactics. Under C-51 — depending on how “lawful” protest is interpreted by the courts — you can now, potentially, be charged and sentenced to up to five years in jail for inciting terrorist activity.

This prospect might be enough to deter researchers from publicly announcing any politically sensitive opinions they might hold, even if they possess data that supports those opinions — like climate forecasts that make pipeline resistance a necessary strategy to avoiding dangerous climate-related consequences. That means C-51 limits the freedom of speech that a healthy academic environment depends on.

When even a distant relation to potential “terrorist” activity is reason enough to censor political expressions, it’s a sign of undue paranoia and overbearing state control.

U of T law professor Dr. Kent Roach has been following the legislation since its introduction in January. He and a University of Ottawa professor, Dr. Craig Forcese, started a real-time legal review blog that serves as an open-source information bank. Roach hopes the project will influence Members of Parliament to vote against the bill, or at least amend its more invasive components.

The two analysts met with party members in Ottawa in early February to discuss the bill.

Roach says he had wanted to get involved in hearings and debates to alter the bill before it was passed — this is what happened in response to the anti-terror legislation implemented after September 11 — but the Harper government didn’t initially allot time for public consultation. As of press time, only six hours have been set aside for non-government experts to present their views on C-51. This by itself

is troublesome, as it ignores the inclusive and participatory governance that ensures that our laws work for the interests of the general public, not against them.

“There may not [have been] a willingness or time for the government to make amendments,” Roach says in concession to the decision. But although the closed and hastened debate process is understandable given the “sense of crisis” after the recent West Edmonton Mall threat, he says, it still imperils the rights of Canadians whose work depends on free expression.

Roach is most concerned about the amendment the bill will make to the Information Sharing Act. Currently, only law enforcement agencies have the ability to covertly obtain and share information about their targets, and this can only occur after a judge has issued a search warrant. Prior to the warrant’s release, the judge must determine if the search is “reasonable,” in accordance with s.8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Under the new anti-terror legislation, csis agents could request that a judge simply authorize a violation of Charter rights, rather than having to wait for an enforcement agency to act in accordance with constitutional law as it’s written.

All of this may happen without the target being aware of their surveillance, a prospect that has led media reports to criticize the bill for turning csis into Canada’s “secret police.”

“Often when information is being shared [about you], you don’t even know it’s being shared,” says Roach.

The lack of transparency is one of the most troubling and anti-democratic aspects of the proposed legislation. Democratic governmental agencies need to be held accountable for their activities, and that can only be guaranteed when activities take place in the open, under the watch of citizens. The Harper government has been criticized, and rightly so, for failing to provide

adequate monitoring groups to make sure that csis acts constitutionally.

But it remains that dealing with terrorism effectively sometimes requires secrecy and snooping. The challenge facing C-51 is how that secrecy will be mediated, so that freedom of academic opinion isn’t sacrificed in the process.

In a 2002 Supreme Court ruling on rights infringement by terrorism laws, the judges noted this same tension between civil freedoms and national security. “In the end,” they wrote, “it would be a Pyrrhic victory if terrorism were defeated at the cost of sacrificing our commitment to those values.”

Security is important, and so is the need to catch people who want to cause harm to others.

But the limitation of rights is something that should not be done in haste. C-51 should not be passed if it lacks amendments that would pardon researchers from being tracked, surveilled, and potentially disrupted without a warrant.

And rationally debating the nature and possible outcomes of these amendments will take much more time in Parliament than the Conservatives have presently allowed.

In order to make the best choices as voters and citizens, we need independent academic authorities to have the power to analyze and relay unfettered opinions on political issues.

Politicians, too, depend on expert academic advice when constructing and implementing policy. Even though some of these opinions may be unpopular, having access to them is necessary to a balanced intellectual discussion of political events.

Having to conduct research while wondering if csis is watching over your shoulder is enough of a potential deterrent that researchers may begin avoiding those topics — and for a democratic nation, that’s a terrifying thought.

Malone Mullin is a third-year philosophy specialist.

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VARSITY COMMENT

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The great balancing act U of T TAs' imminent strike sheds light on deeper-seated issues of institutional priorities Christian Medeiros VARSITY STAFF

CUPE 3902 membership voting to reject Friday's agreement with the university. PHOTO COURTESY OF CUPE LOCAL 3902

As many expected they would, the labour negotiations between teaching assistants and the university went right down to the wire. A tentative deal was reached Friday, but cupe Local 3902 Unit 1 members voted not to ratify the proposed agreement. Before worries and speculation about specific strike outcomes begin to heat up, it is worth looking at the big picture and the overarching issues that the strike presents for the university community as a whole.

The strike highlights the fundamental issues in university teaching. These are worth considering because, this week, we can cross the picket line to tacitly support the university's poor teaching practices and to receive a fraction of the education we paid for.

It says a lot that U of T allowed labour negotiations to fail, and was willing to sacrifice its students in the process. That 60 per cent of our teaching capacity is so precariously employed that they would strike is also startling. This is a major issue across Canadian post-secondary institutions, which speaks to the scope of the problem.

This strike shows students that we are paying more in tuition every year and not receiving any teaching improvements in return. Comments over the last few months from unions representing both tas and sessional lecturers have revealed the extent of the problem.

They have significantly less time to grade papers, their research and teaching duties often conflict, and they are paid less than they need to live. Sessional lecturers are so tenuously employed that they need to lecture in the least

risky way possible in order to ensure that they can hope to continue teaching the next term.

These two groups make up the majority of U of T’s teaching capacity, but receive a piddling minority of university spending.

While professors are not openly complaining, they too are often overworked and torn between too many commitments. Only one of these three groups will be on strike next week, but all can be heard complaining that they are unable to connect with, and teach, students optimally.

Of course, difficult budget balancing acts exist behind the scenes that cannot be neglected.

However, U of T should not put our semester on the line because they refuse to pay the rising price of the teaching that we already paid for with our tuition.

There is also no reason why struggling students should have to pay to be taught largely by other struggling students. The problem goes beyond issues of pay and job security, and extends to the very nature of university teaching itself.

While U of T’s role as a research institution is fundamentally important to the university’s prestige, international rankings, and funding, priorities need to be balanced to support teaching as well.

Students, and even taxpayers, are paying primarily to train human capital, not for the long-run returns on research. By failing to improve learning progressively, the university is threatening to undermine the protection it has to research freely, regardless of its importance to the tax payer.

Christian Medeiros is a third-year student at Trinity College specializing in international relations.

A student abroad Corporate presence among the major differences between UCL and U of T Li Pan VARSITY COLUMNIST

London and Toronto are different in many ways. The former is a historical city with wellpreserved facades around every street corner.

The latter, while shorter on cultural heritage, feels a lot less cramped and is much gentler on the wallet. Two months into my exchange semester at University College London (ucl), I have come to realize that there is more difference between the two than meets the eye.

Without any intention of pushing for changes at our university, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the impacts this difference in location has on the student life experience.

The first thing that leaps out about ucl is how large corporations have established a prominent presence on campus. The winter semester is not even recruiting season for them, yet many still come on campus to build familiarity with their graduate offerings.

For instance, financial firms Ernst & Young and ubs have set up tents in the main courtyard and given out free popcorn; the more adventurous ibm has brought a virtual reality tennis court with Oculus Rift for students to play with into the busy hallway. Others, such as Morgan Stanley and Baker & McKenzie, have collaborated with student clubs to offer seminars on interviews and assessment centers that attract very large crowds.

All this recruiting effort has had a clear impact on student life. For better or worse, more students at ucl seem interested in working for the big corporates and many seem to engage in the job searching process much earlier. Indeed, a number of first-years were among those attending the aforementioned seminars and

BRITTANY GEROW/THE VARSITY

many will likely participate in the one-week spring work experience schemes big banks offer exclusively to them.

The city has also left clear imprints on ucl student clubs. For one thing, they get a lot more celebrity speakers. Half way through the semester, I have already seen three Nobel Laureates in Economics, as well as the prominent financial commentator Martin Wolf, and Group Chief Economist at hsbc, Stephen King, who gave us his economic outlook for 2015.

Other clubs, while lacking in star power, offer activities that have a distinctly charming British flavour. For instance, the Walking and Hiking club, another one of my fa-

vourites, offers week-end hiking trips to the beautiful and muddy English countryside that surrounds London.

Finally, classes at ucl are also deeply intertwined with the city. For instance, its history of art classes are taught in London’s numerous museums; and its money and banking course has even shunned textbooks and assigns, instead, speeches by central bankers or books by former regulators as readings. Perhaps because Britain’s outsized financial sector necessitated a £500 billion rescue package in 2008, a lot of soul-searching has been done on banking regulations: from what went wrong, to what should now be done, to whether a large finan-

cial sector is even good for the economy. Taken together, these articles paint a more riveting narrative on banking regulations than any textbook could ever present.

An exchange semester abroad is always exciting. There’s the travelling, the meeting of new friends, and the discovery of a new culture. However, if one stops all that for a moment and contemplates the new setting more attentively, many other interesting little things begin to surface.

Li Pan is a third-year student at Trinity College studying financial economics and math. His column appears every three weeks.

var.st/comment

VARSITY COMMENT

An academic War Measures Act As we stand on the cusp of a strike, the university is prepared to violate your freedom Op-ed

Master's student and former GSU member, Brad Evoy.

FILE PHOTO: PRIYANKA SHARMA/THE VARSITY

Brad Evoy

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Imagine for a moment that it is January 2012.

Not a far trip back, surely, but an important one in light of the ongoing labour dispute between the University of Toronto administration and graduate teaching assistants.

President Naylor and the departing provost Cheryl Misak will be gone soon enough, giving them little time to prepare in advance of the next labour contract negotiations, and the inevitable re-emergence of strike threats.

Having seen the dire situation at York University unfold into a period of complete disruption, an opportunity arises to prevent the same from occurring at U of T in the future during a period of relative calm, without the entire university looking over the administration’s shoulders.

Re: Five myths about the TA strike In his largely astute and informative article, “Five Myths About the TA Strike” (Varsity February 9th), Zane Schwartz claims that overall compensation increases at U of T (for all employee groups) have averaged 5 per cent per year in the recent past. He then goes on to suggest that “a big part of the problem” for tas and sessional lecturers “is that a lot of that increase is going to the members of the University of Toronto Faculty Association [ufta].” I am not sure where the 5 per cent figure comes from, but I can assure you that the compensation increases secured by utfa in the last two rounds of bargaining fall far below 5 per cent. The Varsity article conceals the fact that it is the university administration, not the Faculty Association, that is ultimately responsible for deciding on the relative distribution of salary increases at U of T and, indeed, for deciding how to distribute the university’s revenue more generally. utfa is limited to negotiating minimum salaries and minimum annual increases, and in recent years, our members have seen across the board salary awards that roughly track the rate of inflation. The administration enjoys unilateral control over the decision to award retention increases and higher starting salaries for new faculty. Even when taking into account these above average awards, however, total faculty compensation as a percentage of the university’s overall operating expense

But what did they do exactly? In their desire to suffocate future labour actions and provide potential options for other catastrophes, the administration and then-members of Governing Council created the Policy on Academic Continuity.

That sounds innocuous enough, surely.

We all want to continue our academics. But I would argue that this policy creates a situation wherein the academic freedom of our whole community is put in jeopardy and the basic understandings of labour relations are tossed to the wind.

This policy states that it exists to “guide the University in enhancing its ability to fulfill its academic mission in the face of potential threats to academic continuity.” But where shall it guide us exactly?

The policy gives near unlimited power to the administration to “declare that a state of disruption has occurred,” to end that status, to coordinate between all faculties and departments, and “to make changes to any aspect of its academic activities including the delivery of courses and programs, course and program requirements, modes of evaluation, and the length of the academic term,” either through the Academic Board or through sheer force of will on the part of the provost.

Labour actions may be unpleasant for those losing out on immediate access to services, but they are a fundamental means to improve the quality of life of so many.

Simply put, we lose much of what we enjoy as labourers and students alike if we allow such rights to be quashed.

One of the demands of the policy requires that, if some instructors cannot fulfill certain academic duties, that local administration “identify an alternate instructor.”

Mind that, in such a supposed state, the university will have no problem stepping upon students’ rights either. Gone is your right to class consensus to changes in your syllabi as a result of this policy. Instead, your remaining instructors will be called upon to alter “course procedures, require-

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ments and methods of evaluation in consultation with academic administrators to help ensure academic continuity.”

Through its ponderously vague statements, we are led to think that all of this policy’s aforementioned capabilities hang upon the idea that the university would never act in bad faith. In the wrong hands, this policy has the power to be an academic War Measures Act — overriding basic rights and freedoms for the supposed greater good.

But there is no threat here to life or limb. I call on the members of the university’s Governing Council to amend this policy: clarify

LETTERS TO

THE EDITOR

Vol. CXXXV, No. 18 | February 9, 2015

has actually fallen dramatically and consistently for many years. In 1997-98, faculty salaries and benefits made up 47 per cent of the total operating budget. In 2012-13 this figure had dropped to 27 per cent.

All of us who work at U of T share a concern about the trajectory of change at the university as provincial funding cutbacks threaten the viability of our common mission as teachers and researchers, as increased reliance on private outside sources of funding distorts decision making and threatens academic independence, and as the administration continues to draw lines between perceived “moneymakers” and everyone else. That is why utfa members are every bit as concerned as others about the disgraceful under-compensation of those in the university community

13

who now do such a large proportion of the teaching of undergraduates. In light of that common concern, it is neither accurate nor helpful to shift the “blame” for the very real compensation pressure faced by TAs and sessional lecturers to utfa represented faculty.

— Paul Downes, vice president, salary, benefits, pensions, University of Toronto Faculty Association, associate professor, Department of English.

We write as geographers and planners who value the space of scholarly inquiry, pedagogical engagement, and collaboration that we have cultivated in our department. We are employed in different positions and take on different roles in the university, but

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language and remove its ability to be used in civil procedures, like labour disputes. If this policy stands, we’re waiting precariously until the provost dares us to simply watch as U of T’s administration tears academic freedom apart.

Brad Evoy is a master's student in the History of Education at OISE. He is also a former member of the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union’s Executive and Litigation Committees, as well as the former Students with Disabilities Constituency Commissioner for CFS-Ontario in 2012–2013. we share a common commitment to supporting and enhancing academic integrity and creativity. We are teachers, students, and staff who strive to foster a collaborative working and learning environment.

We recognize the mission of the university cannot be met without the work that all of us do on a daily basis.

Because of this, we maintain that the working conditions of teaching assistants, course instructors, and sessional instructors are vital to the scholarly integrity of the university. We recognize that teaching assistants and many course instructors are also graduate students whose work and working conditions are crucial to the university and for the future of intellectual work.

Many are also international students who pay higher tuition; many are responsible for dependents; and those who are outside the funded cohort rely on paid teaching work to complete their degrees.

We are dedicated to sustaining the open and inclusive departmental space (both material and virtual) and culture we have built in the event of a strike or lockout. As a grounding principle, we are committed to maintaining open communication and working together to address the complex issues facing the university community.

— Deborah Cowen, PhD; associate professor, Department of Geography.

Survivors and administrators share experiences with sexual assault and address the need for change in the system CONTENT WARNING: graphic description of sexual violence Article by Victoria Wicks Photos by Mallika Makkar

I

t’s late at night. Alicia*, a first-year student, walks through the door to her residence building after walking home from a party. Her head is spinning from drinking too much. Wanting to sober up before falling asleep, she decides to get something to eat.

In search of a snack, she heads toward her residence’s common room. Inside, two fourthyear students are hanging out. The two males are familiar to Alicia. One she considers a close friend and the other she knows in passing. Both are popular figures at her college.

The friend asks Alicia whether she wants to listen to music for a while.

Knowing that they have similar taste in music, Alicia agrees. There are no snacks in the common room, anyways.

She leads the pair to her dorm room, located next to the common room. Her head is still spinning and she’s tired — she makes straight for her bed to lie down.

The next thing Alicia remembers from that night are her clothes coming off. One of the students had begun having sex with her, while the other forced her to perform oral sex on him. Neither used a condom.

Afraid to challenge two upper-years, Alicia pretended to pass out; her assailants left the room quickly afterwards. Before departing, they left a note saying that they had simply taken care of her and brought her home. They thought she wouldn’t remember anything.

A PERVASIVE PROBLEM Incidents of sexual assault are common occurrences for post-secondary students. The Ontario Women’s Directorate reported that anywhere from “15 to 25 per cent of college and universityaged women will experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career.” Similarly, a CampUS study conducted at U of T Mississauga last year found that 16 per cent of female students had personal experiences of gender-based violence on the utm campus. Theses statistics are easy enough to imagine — across the country, from the University of Ottawa, to McGill University, to the University of British Columbia, sexual assault cases have been making headlines for the past year.

While U of T has not yet faced a high profile scandal, it certainly is not immune to the problem. Charlie* had barely begun their** time at U of T when they were raped at a frat house during frosh week last year. Immediately after the assault, while still at the party, Charlie’s distress was met with swift dismissal.

“The immediate reaction from the frat was to shut me up and get me out,” they say. When Charlie’s friend attempted to confront one of the frat brothers about the incident, he allegedly responded: “These things happen.”

Assault takes many forms. Eleanor*, a secondyear student, was in an abusive relationship with a student at U of T last year. Over the course of six months, he repeatedly coerced her into giving him handjobs and oral sex.

“You don’t know what to do, you’re just kind of paralyzed,” she describes.

Judith Taylor, a professor of social movements and policy at the Women and Gender Studies Institute, describes frequently being approached by students seeking counsel and advice on issues of sexual assault.

“My experience was 2–3 [students] came to me about sexual assault each year,” she says, also noting that she has been teaching at the university for 15 years.

THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH Sexual assault has profoundly detrimental and varied effects. Charlie explains how their rape triggered severe post-traumatic stress and depression, which eventually led to a suicide attempt.

By the end of September, Charlie had dropped out of U of T. “It entirely fucked up all of my hard work I’d put in to get into school,” Charlie says. “This incident made me really, really mentally sick. Now I’m scared to go back to school at all.”

Survivors of sexual assault may also feel shame or guilt, which can lead to a diminished sense of self-worth. “I felt dirty, like a whore,” Eleanor says. “Like, you are not a clean human being.

You’re tarnished.”

This stigma can prevent survivors from speaking out about their experiences. Frequently, survivors’ stories are met with disbelief. Other times, they are subjected to intense scrutiny about their alcohol consumption, clothing choices, and sexual history, often carrying the implication that these factors somehow make the survivor responsible for the assault.

“I had my next door neighbor sit me down [and] accuse me of lying,” Alicia says. “She told me that people like her would never get into things like that. Because they’re not crazy, they’re not insecure. And I totally took that seriously. I was like, ‘You’re right, I’m a mess.’”

This hostile social climate not only leads many survivors to internalize blame, but also leaves them without an adequate support system. “You feel very alone,” says Eleanor. “It’s the feeling of absolute isolation.”

These feelings are combined with anxieties about encountering the perpetrators of the assault again. A corresponding sense of physical and emotional vulnerability make the university feel unsafe for many survivors. “I always pass through campus with my keys between my fingers,” says Charlie, describing a common selfdefense mechanism.

In Alicia’s case, she saw her assailants every day until they graduated. They lived on residence, and were close friends of the student head that managed the common room next to her dorm.

“Every single time I wanted to sit down and watch TV, they were there,” she says. “I could hear their voices when I was going to bed. I really could not move without seeing them.”

Alicia emphasizes that the small community structure at Trinity College completely failed her.

Since all the spaces were common with students attending the same parties and social events, she encountered her assailants everywhere.

“It totally ruined my entire first year of university,” she says. “I was always watching my back, watching everyone else’s back.”

All of this trauma must be dealt with alongside the demands of student life and academic work.

Unsurprisingly, gpas often take a hit. “U of T is a pressure cooker, and the courses are extremely intense — there is no room for having this kind of crisis,” says Taylor.

FAILURE OF SUPPORT SYSTEMS Despite a clear need, it is notoriously difficult for survivors to obtain support through the university.

Charlie described how they attempted to get help by calling a U of T helpline several days after the rape occurred, only to be met with a cold, dismissive response.

The receptionist sighed impatiently when Charlie said they did not know who their assailant was. After rattling off a number of other hotlines to call, the receptionist simply hung up.

“It was just confirming what I already felt,” says Charlie. “Like I was helpless, this was my fault, and no one cared enough to help me get closure or any kind of help,” they add.

Eleanor’s experience with the Community Safety Office (cso) was equally fruitless. After sharing her story, she sensed sympathy but also reservation in their response.

“There was skepticism in the sense of, this couldn’t happen on our campus,” explains Eleanor. “It was a lot of, okay, we’re sorry this happened to you, but we can’t do much because it happened six months ago.”

The cso then offered to create a “safety plan,” consisting of a passive strategy of avoidance.

They also told Eleanor to bring them a usb containing evidence of coercion during the abusive relationship. However, they never responded to her emails about when she should actually bring the usb in. Consequently, Eleanor never proceeded with cso’s process.

In Alicia’s case, she first reported her rape to two student leaders. While they were supportive, their friendship with Alicia’s assailants created a clear conflict of interest. Recently, one of the student heads contacted Alicia to apologize for the way she handled the case, admitting she was too close to the assailants to act objectively. Alicia emphasizes that the fault lies not with the individual student heads, but the system that puts them in such difficult positions without sufficient training.

For those looking to get support for their general well-being after a sexual assault, the process is also

[Survivors] are subjected to intense scrutiny about their alcohol consumption, clothing choices, and sexual history, often carrying the implication that these factors somehow make the survivor responsible for the assault.

an uphill battle. Notably, Counseling and Psychological Services (caps) has long been criticized for being overwhelmed and inaccessible.

Eleanor found her experience with caps alienating. caps also recommended Eleanor simply go to the emergency room, as they did not have female doctors readily available for her to meet with.

AMBIGUITY OF ADJUDICATION PROCESSES U of T has a fundamental problem of decentralization. The options for adjudicating sexual assault cases are numerous and unclear. Students are left improperly informed about the differences between options like Campus Police, the cso, the Sexual Harassment Office, and reporting to a college dean.

“The problem is nobody knows where to go,” says Rae Costin, pr representative from U of T’s Sexual Education Center (sec). “There’s no one set process.”

Currently, the Code of Student Conduct prohibits sexual assault and outlines the procedure for adjudicating general violations. However, U of T currently does not have a specific sexual violence policy, which leaves students wary as to whether their reports will be handled in a tactful, confidential way.

Alicia eventually reported her assault to her dean, but to this day has no idea of how he conducted the investigation. “I met with [the dean] seven times. Each time I left being totally demoralized,” she recalls.

While the dean was always willing to meet with Alicia and offer her various external resources, it became clear that Trinity College, as an institution, could not offer her any reprieve.

She had requested her assailants be prohibited from entering the common room beside her dorm and from attending major Trinity parties.

These requests were never enforced.

“When the year ended, it was like my case ended,” she says. “But no one ever gave me a conclusion. It just felt like they were waiting until [my assailants] could graduate.”

The lack of clear protocol for adjudicating sexual assault meant Alicia could not pinpoint any rights or processes she was entitled to, and thus could not demand transparency or hold anyone accountable. Alicia expresses particular frustration that she was prevented from hearing what her assailants were saying about her to the dean, as it gave her no chance to respond to any inconsistencies in their stories.

The challenge may be not that there are too few resources, but that there are too many facets to the procedures. “[Students] get discouraged and exhausted seeking help in numerous spaces,” explains Taylor. “They feel no one’s really advocating on their behalf.”

Alicia was sent to Cheryl Champagne, U of T’s assault counselor, under the impression that Champagne would help Alicia file an official complaint against her assailants. However, Champagne’s job involves therapy and counseling, not formal investigations.

“I felt sort of like I was being dumped place after place, because no one knew what do with me,” she says, expressing frustration that she was repeatedly asked by Champagne to go to Campus Police. “I was like no, I’m not going to tell my

“[Students] get discouraged and exhausted seeking help in numerous spaces... They feel no one’s really advocating on their behalf.” story one more time, to have someone else tell me I need to go somewhere else.”

Similarly, the cso told Eleanor to pursue action at the Sexual Harassment Office. She never did, because she was tired of reliving her assault.

“Every time you tell your story you feel mentally drained,” Eleanor says. “It’s like, for the love of God, can’t you just do something for me already?

Can you help me?”

FEAR SURROUNDING THE CRIMINAL PROCESS Given that sexual assault is a criminal offence under the Criminal Code, some may wonder why reports don’t just go straight to the police.

Brenda Cossman, director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies and professor of law, described how the criminal process can be particularly arduous for survivors of sexual assault.

“They’re going to have to retell their story a million times,” she says, emphasizing how a survivor’s credibility will be attacked during trial.

“They’re going to be questioned by the defense attorney… and you know the facts are going to be turned and twisted.”

Survivors also have no input into how police investigations are conducted. These uncertainties are, in part, why Eleanor chose not to pursue criminal recourse.

It is also unclear as to whether U of T Campus Police is adequately trained to deal with the sensitivities of sexual assault. When asked whether Campus Police had specific training regarding sexual violence, Campus Police from all three campuses said in a joint statement: “Basic Campus Police training is designed to provide Special Constables with a sound knowledge of the laws and procedures that frontline officers are required to apply in the performance of their duties.” They identified that training included, but was not limited to, areas of diversity and equity, mental health, and emergency response.

When Eleanor reported her assault to Campus Police, she described their reaction as rather dumbfounded. “It didn’t seem they were aware of what to do with themselves,” she says.

STRUCTURAL CAUSES The issue of sexual assault is deeply connected to society’s understanding of consent. As Costin defines it, “Consent is an enthusiastic and informed yes. It is not the absence of a no,” and it should ideally be confirmed verbally.

While conceptually clear, the translation of consent in daily life is impacted by conflicting social norms. For instance, saying “no” is often interpreted as acting coy, or simply part of a flirting game.

“The problem with the idea that ‘oh, they’re just being a tease’ means that some people don’t always take no as a no,” says Costin. “You go to push further [and] that’s breaching boundaries, that’s sexual assault.”

Louise*, a fourth-year student, describes going to a fellow student’s apartment when she was a first-year where they ended up kissing in his bed — it was the first time they had kissed. Without any warning, the other student began having unprotected intercourse with her.

While she knew there was something wrong about their interaction, Louise found it hard to articulate her feelings at the time it occurred. She had “zoned out” while the intercourse occurred, out of fear that saying something would jilt her partner and create an awkward situation. “I just wish I had understood better that sex is not a given,” she says.

Sophie*, another fourth-year student, identified a similar case of non-consensual sex. After a night of drinks, she met up with a guy she had previously connected with through an online dating site. They had sex in his apartment. A few hours later, she woke up to find his fingers inside of her.

“My immediate reaction was just to have sex again,” Sophie explains. “Because it was just easier than [addressing] this very sketchy, very strange thing that was happening.”

When asked whether they identified as a survivors of sexual assault, both students also expressed difficulty reconciling the theoretical definition with their own experiences. This hesitancy to call incidents of non-consensual sex “sexual assault” often stems from the belief that there must be an element of resistance involved before an incident can truly be called assault. “It’s this strong binary — either a hooded figure jumped out of a bush, held a knife to your throat, and raped you, or you were having consensual sex,” explains Jordan Lavoie, executive director of sec.

“What if you could’ve gotten up and walked away? Does it still count?” Louise wonders. “I think that very much it does. Because it still involves the same negation of your agency and your right to never be touched in that way unless you’ve agreed to it.”

Crucially, consent must be positively, actively given. “You should feel no doubt… that this person is as interested as you are,” says Taylor. “If you haven’t experienced that, then walk away. My self-esteem is not so low that I need to force someone to have sex with me, or to believe that this person is really more conscious than they are.”

ROAD TO REFORM There have been numerous calls for the university to improve their prevention programming and

responses to sexual assault. Lavoie feels strongly that U of T should make consent workshops mandatory for all incoming first-years, to ensure basic knowledge about sexual health. sec currently provides presentations for frosh, but only at the request of colleges and faculties.

“We’ve spoken to a lot of international students who didn’t have any form of sex-ed when they get here,” says Costin. Lavoie added that they’ve encountered many students who are also terribly misinformed. “It’s a common myth that you can’t get pregnant the very first time you have sex,” she says. “It seems silly to us, but to some people they’re really betting on that.”

Cossman suggests that the short-term way to combat U of T’s decentralization of resources is to simply create a chart of available options. “We might not be able to fix the fact that it’s a maze, but I think we could do a much better job with providing people with a kind of navigational map,” she says, adding that the chart should identify degrees of confidentiality.

Eleanor believes the university needs to adopt a less clinical approach to supporting survivors.

“Put the person first, not the campus,” she explains. “We need something that values people, that basically says, ‘What can we do for you?’”

Helen, Alicia, and Eleanor all indicated they would have appreciated if the university had made an effort to check up on their well-being.

In each of their cases, they bore the burden of following up on whatever adjudication process or mental health service they were pursuing.

THE ADMINISTRATION’S RESPONSE In response to growing concerns and media coverage of sexual assaults on university campuses, U of T announced the Advisory Committee to the President and Provost on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence last November. The committee aims to consult with various stakeholders on campus to review current policies and practices regarding sexual violence, and will produce a report for presentation to the president and provost. Althea Blackburn-Evans, director of news and media relations, said that work was underway to create a document that clearly identifies support and services available to survivors.

Taylor questioned the committee’s integrity, suggesting the process was intended to absorb dissent rather than create meaningful change.

Consequently, she declined to participate. “They haven’t committed to make a policy or procedure,” she explains. “I think most participants will have invested so much time, they will mistake participating for having an outcome.”

She also noted that the committee did not approach the Women and Gender Studies Institute as a department for input; instead, the institute reached out to them for information. sec and the Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies were also not approached for input.

Cossman, who sits on the advisory committee’s policy and procedures working group, disagrees with Taylor’s sentiment. “I think there’s tremendous good will,” she says. “From what I heard around the table, there is a very serious concern about a very pervasive problem disproportionately suffered by students.”

Blackburn-Evans encouraged anyone with input to reach out to members of the advisory committee or working groups, so that they may relay these views to the committee. Names of members can be found on the vice-provost, students website.

“Will it solve all the problems? I doubt it,” says Cossman. “No committee has. But I do feel they really do want student input.”

Clearly, social and institutional change will not happen overnight. In the meantime, Eleanor encourages other survivors to continue persevering: “You’re not alone, you are going to get through this. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but eventually you’re going to be okay.” * Names have been changed at subjects’ requests. ** This article uses they/their pronouns to refer to individuals that do not identify with gender binaries.

Arts&Culture

VAR.ST/ARTS

2 MARCH 2015

arts@thevarsity.ca

Toronto's Wavelength festival champions the city's underground music scene

Back to our roots

Ayla Shiblaq

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

When you first meet someone, there is, on some level, a mutual feeling of unspoken awkwardness.

You don’t know whether to go in for a handshake, a hug, or just to wave at the first point of contact; there’s that awful moment when they tell you their name and you immediately forget.

Then you meet that one person who, for some reason, you just click with. You don’t dig in to find commonalities to keep the conversation going — you kind of just talk. Before you know it, you’re best friends.

The Wavelength festival is set up much like an introduction to such a friend. A younger friend, considering they are only about 15 years old, but one that somehow reminds you of yourself — a little naive, but somehow more put together than you; the kind of person you simultaneously resent and admire.

Despite this, I had never acquainted myself with this mysterious concert series until this year.

The festival didn’t officially start until February 13, but a fifteenth birthday celebration was in order. With Red Bull Sound Select, my three dollars got me a chance to see a band I missed during nxne — Speedy Ortiz. Playing new songs and old favourites, Speedy Ortiz is the band you want to become — popular enough, but free enough to do whatever they choose. Relaxed and engaged with the crowd, they put

on a solid show. Their openers, hsy and Wish, were cleverly chosen to complement two sides of the main act — hsy had a harsher instrumental sound, and Wish had shoe gaze vibes. This pre-party was a promising beginning to the weekend.

The Wavelength festival has a knack for picking appropriate venues. Sneaky Dee’s was great for the first night because it was more intimate. Artists performed covers of past artists who had performed at Wavelength. Bands included Hervana, who performed songs by the Constantines; More or Les covering Toronto hip-hop artists; Lockbox and Laura Barrett covering Owen Pallett; Delta Will covering Caribou; and Most People covering hometown favourites Broken Social Scene.

I tend to shy away from cover bands, but this was a clever introduction to new groups without my feeling intimidated by being totally clueless about their songs.

The headliner, Art Bergmann, put on a good, albeit long, set, filled with jabs at the Conservative party that I enjoyed a little more than I should have.

Saturday night took place at the Polish Combatant’s Hall. The oddly lit but charming wedding hall just south of the U of T campus was surprisingly fitting for the night’s performances. Last Ex, a band with members from Timber Timbre, presented eerie instrumentals fit for a Canadian X-Files spin-off. Del Bel impressed with their raspy lead vocalist and soulful tunes perfect for Valentine’s Day. The Acorn came on

Artists perform at Wavelenth music festival. PHOTOS COURTESY OF EMILY SCHERZINGER

complimenting the audience with remarks like “we’re going to get you all pregnant” and “this is for all the sexy people.” Afterwards, it was time for the exuberant Lowell. Lowell is a true performer. Many technical problems occurred with her set, but her energy and conviction really did overcome those issues.

There were some bumps along the way with every show I attended, from a broken bass to cut electricity. But this wasn’t a negative, because every single artist

who was affected —Speedy Ortiz, Controller Controller, Lowell — all bounced back with their own character. From Lowell grabbing a speakerphone and rapping, to Most People coming to the aid of Controller Controller by lending them a bass, performances were heightened by the curiosity of “how are they going to run with this?” Thankfully, the volunteers were quick to accommodate and the problem was solved within minutes. It really showed that, although Murphy’s Law is binding, the

musicians and volunteers were committed to putting on a good show.

It further highlighted why Wavelength is so important to the Toronto music scene. Wavelength is a collective of people who clearly enjoy music and introducing people to underground music. With larger festivals increasingly coming to Toronto, from WayHome to the expansion of homegrown festivals like Field Trip, it’s festivals like Wavelength that remind us of the Toronto scene’s roots.

var.st/arts

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

17

Best picture debate

TINA YE/THE VARSITY

WRITE FOR ARTS arts@thevarsity.ca

Boyhood: wrongfully snubbed

Birdman: a worthy winner

It took Boyhood 12 years to lose an Oscar it rightfully deserved

Despite the backlash, Birdman deserved its Best Picture win

Some time last July, my dad and I sat down in our local multiplex to watch Boyhood. As soon as the film cut to black and the overhead lights came back on, I knew that what director Richard Linklater had put together over the course of 12 years was nothing short of spectacular. “A movie like this,” I thought, without an ounce of hyperbole, “only comes about once in a lifetime.”

So it came as quite a surprise — to me, at least — that Boyhood, which was included on 536 “Best of 2014” lists and topped 189 of them, left last Sunday’s Academy Awards (mostly) empty-handed. There have been plenty of upsets throughout Oscar history, and this year’s ceremony was no exception: Boyhood should have won Best Picture.

Boyhood’s greatness comes from the beauty and elegance with which it treats the typical and the mundane. It strings together snapshots of everyday life and presents the world with such tender honesty that it feels less like a movie and more like real life.

This feeling is because the film is, quite possibly, as close to real life as a film has ever come; Boyhood is as much a story about Mason, Samantha, Olivia, and Mason Sr. as it is about the performers that play them. Knowing that Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, Patricia Arquette, and Ethan Hawke committed to this project not only spotlights the astonishing scope of the project and the admirable perseverance in its creation, but also the tremendous risk Richard Linklater took in bringing it to life.

Practically unprecedented (documentarian Michael Apted’s Up Series being the notable exception), Boyhood’s form forges a unique relationship with its audience. Despite its small budget and hyper-specific focus, it is a surprisingly big — perhaps even universal — film. This “gimmick,” as detractors have been inclined to call it, is Boyhood’s elemental strength; Linklater unflinchingly presents the journey every human being takes on their trek into adulthood, showing it in as close to real time as a movie shot over 12 years will allow. As Peter Howell of the Toronto Star wrote, “It mirrors all lives in the passage of one.”

Audiences can easily read themselves into the film; each formative experience shown onscreen inspires within viewers a distinct nostalgia, like a montage of moments from their own lives. In capturing the truth of human existence so exactly and in shooting the passage of time with such pointed attention, Linklater makes time visible — a distinct character as important as Mason or the rest of his family.

Boyhood tells a simple story: a child grows up to become a man. But it does so in a way no film has ever done before, and no film will likely ever do again. In its totality, Boyhood is more than a movie: it’s real life.

And it’s a shame that, in an industry built upon the pleasures of predominantly uninspired fiction, the Academy can’t recognize and honour a three-hour glimpse of honest, beautiful reality.

— Daniel Konikoff

It’s the same every year; after the biggest awards show’s red carpet has been rolled up and the gold statues given their new homes, there are always the complaints of snubs.

That’s not to say these aren’t sometimes justified — Crash over Brokeback Mountain, anyone? — but, despite this year being another demonstration of the Academy’s lack of diversity, at least two truly great and unconventional films were nominated: Birdman and Boyhood.

When Birdman won Best Picture I can’t say I was surprised; it was a masterful demonstration of innovation in film, one that explored so many ideas, yet never felt stifled by them.

Yet, inevitably, those convinced that Boyhood was going to win were up in arms across the Internet. Even my favourite film critic, bbc’s Mark Kermode, went as far as comparing Birdman’s victory to infamous snubs of the past: “It felt like there will be a pub quiz question in 10 years’ time, and the question will be: What won the Oscar for best picture the year that Boyhood didn’t?”

I know it’s an awards show, and by definition trying to say one piece of art is better than the other is futile, but it's comments like these that really grind my Birdman-fanboy brain. To act as if Birdman will only be remembered in infamy, in the shadow of a Linklater snubbing, to me, is not a fair representation of one of the year’s best films.

Let’s get one thing straight: they’re both good movies. Both could be passed off as simply gimmicks: Boyhood with its filming over a 12-year period and Birdman with its simulated continuous shot.

Both integrate these selling points marvelously, but Boyhood seems to drag.

When I watched Boyhood, I could understand why it was three hours long due to its filming period, but I could also definitely feel those three hours. Every so often, when I felt it was dragging, I almost felt guilty: “I can’t be bored by this film — it was filmed over 12 years, I’ve got to appreciate the effort,” I thought to myself. It was a beautiful film, with terrific performances, but when you become aware of your own boredom during a film, there is a problem.

Meanwhile, with Birdman, I wished it had lasted longer. Not only did the continuous take fit with the subject matter and heighten the other moments of theatrical symbolism — the exposed musician who popped in from time to time, for example — but for such an enclosed movie, it felt visceral. You could feel the anger coming from every member of the cast, every argument, every feeling of dread that couldn’t quite be articulated. Conversely, Boyhood lacked sometimes in terms of its script and its pace.

I’m not trying to say Boyhood didn’t deserve to win — I would have been happy if it did. Nevertheless, just because it didn’t, doesn’t mean there was a snub.

— Oliver Thompson

18

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

arts@thevarsity.ca

Robarts: from top to bottom In a way, Robarts is like Hogwarts — not only does its name sound slightly similar, but it also has new rooms to discover, hidden corridors to stumble across, and a bit of magic around every corner.

Well, scratch that last bit.

For those of us who use this gigantic cement turkey as a home away from home, we’ve learned to accept Robarts as a looming presence in our university life. In order to extract some light from the general gloom that encompasses these long, arduous study sessions, here is a ranking of every floor in Robarts Library.

A definitive ranking of every floor of Robarts library Article by Jacob Lorinc

14

When James Cameron landed at the bottom of Mariana’s Trench, he described it as a desolate landscape and a distant “alien limbo,” but he also could have compared it to the fourteenth floor of Robarts. It’s a confusing maze of hallways that zigzag around different cubicles, seemingly trying to encourage you to find a different floor to study on.

RANKING:

13

If you’re superstitious, obviously you want to stay away from the thirteenth of anything. Nevertheless, this floor gets brownie points for the semi-majestic staircase that winds its way onto the middle of the twelfth floor. On a busy day, make like Hermoine Granger’s arrival at the Yule Ball, and saunter elegantly downwards to your enamoured study-buddies.

RANKING:

12

This is a nice one. Silence?

Check. Bathrooms? Check. Cell service? Sadly, no, but that’s alright — it has a pretty lovely view of the city from the southern end if you can fight your way to a coveted window seat.

RANKING:

11

The eleventh floor would be nice, had somebody cared to provide the desks with chairs. I find myself standing up as I write this. Do not study here.

RANKING:

10

There is no clear difference between this floor and the twelfth floor. In fact, the two are eerily similar. Silence? Yes. Bathrooms?

Yep. Cell Service? Oh wait, there is cell service! Lo’ and behold, the tenth floor has a minimal but ever-present cellular connection, just barely edging its way past the twelfth floor in ranking.

RANKING:

9

Once again, we find ourselves in the bleak midway section of Robarts, where every floor and passed-out student looks oddly similar.

RANKING:

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

8

The eighth floor is a world of mystery and hidden treasures. Other than the impeccably named Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong library, this floor is also home to a prayer room and the East Asian Studies Library.

The Richard Charles library is a haven of vibrant colors and charm — which is refreshing coming from a building that has the colour range of, well, 50 Shades of Grey (I am so sorry). In the back, you’ll find round orange sofas that are accompanied by a view of western Toronto. If you can bushwhack your way through the thickets of the densely shelved East Asian Library, you will find yourself in a cozy little study area looking out on to the back of our sacred turkey’s head.

RANKING:

7

I made the mistake of going up to this floor around 10:40 on a Thursday evening. Having forgotten that the upper levels of Robarts close around 10:45 pm, I quickly found myself stuck on the seventh floor without means of escape. After having to call the Robarts main office, a begrudging security guard came to retrieve me, utterly bewildered by my lame reasons for being here (“I, uh, thought it was a different floor”). Unconvinced, he escorted me to the staircase, surreptitiously revealing that this floor is the central agency for its (Information Technology Services). It is basically the powerhouse of the university, the same way that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell (shout-out to grade 11 science; I haven’t forgotten you). He then went on to remind me, at least five times, that

this place was under no circumstances open for students. Illuminati? Maybe.

Either way, sounds fishy.

RANKING:

6

The sixth floor is also a “staffonly” floor, albeit with comfy chairs, a fridge, and WAY nicer bathrooms. However, it is only accessible to students via the staircase — staff may use the staff elevators. This floor would have ranked nicely had I not been intensely out of breath by the time I got there.

RANKING:

5

If you want a quiet, secluded area to study in, do not pick the fifth floor. Having ventured up to this floor mid-afternoon, I was met by the onand-off sound of what sounded like a power tool coming from the enclosed “staff only” area. This was quickly followed by disembodied giggling, and then by nasty looks from the plethora of students trying to study. The word ‘plethora,’ as in, holy-mother-of-God it is crowded up here, comes to mind.

I would have given this floor bonus points for the abundance of outlets, but there will be no outlets for you. They’re all taken.

RANKING:

4

We now find ourselves venturing closer and closer towards the Robarts core. Within minutes of stepping

into the large study room via the escalators, I spot at least five vaguely familiar faces from tutorials past. The fourth floor is pretty crowded, too. However, if you edge your way to the perimeter, behind all the bookshelves, you may be lucky enough to find a spot to settle down.

RANKING:

3

The third floor is a mixed basket. On the one hand, this floor is blessed with the library’s largest bathroom, and that’s not to mention the Media Commons, which is like the Room of Requirement for film students everywhere. However, come exam time, the study room is so jam-packed with stressed out students, you can almost visualize the tension in the air. This floor is recommended in small doses; spend too much time here and a nervous breakdown is in order.

RANKING:

2

Food. Need I say more?

RANKING:

1

We’ve finally hit Ground Zero.

The first floor is actually great, because if you find yourself without a computer, no problem – this floor has plenty for you to use. Other positive aspects include a well-kept bathroom, solid Wi-Fi connection, and, best of all, a quick exit from this godforsaken library.

RANKING:

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19

20 Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Art in review

Two Toronto exhibits students need to see this month

Arts as politics. PHOTO COURTESY OF AGO

Anita Perehinets

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

ART AS THERAPY

Closes April 26 The Art Gallery of Ontario This exhibit is not confined to one space inside the ago; Art as Therapy is on display in five different rooms with five different themes — love, sex, money, politics, and nature, respectively.

There are arrows pointing to each running across the floors of the ago, as well as blurbs featuring the hashtag #artastherapy everywhere. To quote one of such blurbs, “none of the art at the ago was made to be seen in the context in which you will see it #artastherapy.”

In this sense, the art collected in each of the rooms only has the room’s theme in common, with pieces ranging from the sixteenth to the

twentieth century in different styles and mediums. All of these works are placed out of their original context, but in some way provide an answer to different questions and concerns.

Some are more modern, such as, “Problem: Thinking my ideal age range is 25-32,” which are then “answered” by century-old pieces.

My personal favourite rooms were love and money, with Art as Therapy: Money attracting the largest audience on Wednesday night. It featured an interactive element with a video of philosopher Alain de Botton commenting on the theme in each room in a short video, while simultaneously displaying people’s drawings and comments made on iPads during their visits.

A thoughtful experiment in trying to engage the “average” person to connect with art, this exhibit appeals to a large and diverse audience and not just art gallery aficionados.

Anti-Glamour, Ryerson Image Centre. PHOTO COURTESY OF EUGEN SAKHNENKO

BURN WITH DESIRE / ANTIGLAMOUR

Closes April 5 The Ryerson Image Centre I should begin by saying that these were my favourite exhibits in recent memory. Burn with Desire and Anti-Glamour, both curated by Gaëlle Morel, are situated across the hall from one another. They work as sister shows in representing a stark contrast of human experience, both the dazzling and the painfully oppressive.

Burn with Desire: Photography and Glamour is an uplifting and beautiful display of the glamourized life that videography and photography have shaped through the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries.

From photographs of Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe to Annie Leibovitz’s notoriously well-known Vanity Fair Hollywood issue covers, glamour and the images we associate with it are explored in a thematic and aesthetic way.

While this display explores the romanticized aspects of our lives, Anti-Glamour: Portraits of Women features artists from various backgrounds whose work addresses female representation, in both a political and poetic way.

The oppressive and painful roles that women are often restricted to and within are displayed through works of art such as Sugar Blessing by Leila Zahiri, an Iranian-Canadian artist. Her short video and photography references a traditional Iranian custom of weddings when two cones of hardened sugar are rubbed together as a show of good luck for the newlywed couple.

In the short video, Zahiri, who was forced into an arranged marriage before moving to Canada, rubs the two cones vigorously over her head as she cries and grows angrier as a sign of defiance.

The pairing of the two shows creates a thoughtful yet aesthetic experience of life, particularly in its display of the contradictory roles often assumed by women.

This is for you, Anna Hart House Theatre's final production of the season tackles a difficult social agenda Theatre Review Alec Wilson

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Four women attempt to depict moments in the life of Marianne Bachmeier. PHOTO COURTESY OF HART HOUSE THEATRE

Much like the conversation surrounding the social issues it endeavors to address, This is For You, Anna presents a complicated and sometimes disjointed set of ideas for its viewer.

The drama is loosely based around the story of Marianne Bachmeier, a mother who, in 1981, strode into a German courtroom for the trial of her seven-year-old daughter’s alleged murderer and shot him seven times. The accused, Klaus Grabowski, was a neighbour of the family with a spotted criminal record that included a prior accusation of sexual abuse against children.

Grabowski claimed that, in her mother’s absence, Anna had approached his home searching for companionship and attempted to seduce him before threatening to tell her parents that the man, 28 years her senior, had molested her.

In a supposed fit of rage, Grabowski strangled the girl to death.

Originally penned by Suzanne Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Banuta Rubess, and Maureen White, the play’s action flows through a series of scattered vignettes brimming with vibrant imagery.

An otherwise barren stage is hugged on either side by clotheslines displaying one white garment after another; in the back, at centre stage, stands a refrigerator. The scene is filled with motifs of domesticity and expressions of femininity in the home, at work, and in society generally.

Each of the women on stage transitions from one character to the next as the progression of the plot demands, though sometimes to the befuddlement of the audience. What the performance might lack in a clear narrative, however, it most certainly makes up for in powerful commentary. Through the story of Anna and her troubled mother, the talents of Claudia Carino, Lesley Robertson, Amaka Umeh, and Melissa Williams are free to explore the multidimensional roles women play in society both then and now.

As mothers, daughters, sisters, and employees, the talented cast invites the audience to bear witness to the everyday struggles of women who are constantly objectified and commodified by men.

Heartwarming scenes of Bachmeier telling stories to her young daughter are punctuated by stinging reminders of the social realities many women face in the form of vicious, abusive whispers in public and private.

The play, as well as the following discussion period, focuses on themes of victim blaming in instances of sexual assault, pay equity for women in the workforce, and the state of social support for abuse victims.

The fact that such a tragic story could possibly make for compelling theatre is entirely dependent on the play’s symbolic importance to the feminist movement. For the questions it poses and the injustices it exposes, This is For You, Anna represents an ambitious experiment bent on challenging audiences and social attitudes alike.

Science

VAR.ST/SCIENCE 2 MARCH 2015

science@thevarsity.ca

In conversation with James Hamblin Ahead of our Health Journalism Symposium, The Varsity speaks with The Atlantic’s health editor, James Hamblin, about digital media and reporting Jasleen Arneja SCIENCE EDITOR

The Varsity: What do you think it takes to be an effective health journalist?

James Hamblin: I think it takes time and dedication to a beat. It means getting a sense of who knows what they’re talking about, in terms of sources, because there are a lot of ideologies that play into people’s understanding of science. Even when people profess themselves to be and believe themselves to be purely evidence-driven thinkers, they tend to fall into patterns of thought that may or may not reflect the mainstream scientific perspective.

So it helps to know who you’re talking to and what their perspective has been in the past. To talk to multiple people, and to know enough about [the subject] that you can talk with the expert but not to get too immersed in that world to a point that you can’t talk to the general public. There’s a sweet spot in there.

And I think it can be difficult when you’ve been reporting on a health topic for 10 or 20 years, not to get too into the weeds, in a way that you start to adapt the lingo of the doctors and scientist and forget what it’s like to be someone who knows nothing about it. So keeping your foot in both worlds is an important key.

And trying your best to operate based on science, which is to say that if you go all-in on a story and believe that you’re reporting on something that’s actually happening and then in the future there are new studies that contradict that, you self-correct… You’re just constantly learning and growing as a journalist and it’s a wonderful profession because of it.

TV: As a medical doctor, to what extent do you think one needs a science or medicine background in health journalism?

JH: No one can know everything. Going into journalism, I knew a ton about medicine and science and not as much about journalism. I think most people, going in, are the opposite — they know a lot about journalism and less about medical science. So you’re never going to know everything going in and it can be to your advantage, in the beginning, to bring a fresh perspective — to remember what it’s like to think about these topics as a layperson.

I think you can reach a lot of people that way, before you get too immersed in it and

SUBIN EE/THE VARSITY

The ethics and repercussions of health reporting are particularly pertinent in light of recent events in health journalism, such as vaccine coverage scandals, covered by popular Toronto-based news media. This is especially true in the age of information, where journalists play an important role in translating medical research and studies into stories that are accessible to the general public.

In collaboration with U of T’s Juxtaposition Global Health Magazine, The Varsity is cohosting a Health Journalism Symposium this week to address issues in health reporting.

The panel of speakers will include Julia Belluz, health reporter at Vox; Andre Picard, health reporter and columnist at The Globe and Mail; and Dr. Jeremy Petch, a staff member at The Healthy Debate. Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at utsc, will moderate the panel, which will be hosted at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health on Friday March 6, from 3:00 pm–6:00 pm.

Ahead of the discussion, we spoke to Dr. James Hamblin, health editor at The Atlantic, to get his perspective on approaches to health journalism.

everything sounds like old news to you and you forget that, to most people, this is really interesting and new. [Not having a science background] shouldn’t keep you from writing on it, but I think you can work your way into heavier topics. Don’t start out on the stories that you know people strongly disagree on and they tend to seriously affect people’s lives.

At the moment, in the us, the vaccine story… has gotten out of hand, in part because [of] some journalists who picked up some stories around some fraudulent studies long ago and didn’t know better. That actually affects people’s lives. But you maybe could write about a new study about social sciences or something to do with relationships or a new exercise trend — something lighter. And you get into it, you learn the beat, you learn how people feel about things, learn who are the good people to talk to, and you work your way into the more contentious topics.

TV: I’ve read about your journey going from medicine into journalism in various media channels, but I was wondering how you would describe it, in terms of why you moved into journalism.

JH: That’s a very long story, but I’d say I was drawn to journalism because of the opportunity to be constantly intellectually engaged and constantly learning new things. I think that’s a basic tenet of human satisfaction that is present in the beginning of medical training, but can start lacking toward the end when some of medical practice becomes more routine, and journalism offers the opportunity for constantly working in new areas.

It was also partly because I was in a specialty where I wasn’t especially satisfied and I was looking to do something that married my creative interests in comedy with my interest in medical science. And for me it was always magazine writing.

What we do at The Atlantic, magazine writing and videos, is slightly different from a lot of newspaper writing or for-

mats where you don’t exercise as much voice and creativity as you do here. So that’s specifically worked out well for me.

It doesn’t mean that I’m interested in all types of journalism… I’m three years in and really enjoying it so far.

TV: Your video series, If Our Bodies Could Talk, is a pretty novel approach to health journalism. How do you think it and other videos change the consumption of health media?

JH: I think as far as all the videos that are out there, a lot of people are doing explainers, especially whiteboard based drawings of complex topics and trying to distill them down in two or three minutes… Some people’s brains don’t allow them to learn well from simply reading text from a paper — they’re more visual and they want things presented with a chipper voice, and bright colours, and some jokes in there and they remember it.

My videos tend to skew more towards entertainment than information delivery. I think in the future we are going to get more ambitious with the sorts of topics that we take on.

It started as a very small project and hopefully it makes some people happy, and that’s a tenet of health in itself, not to get too meta.

I think every time you go to a new medium, you’re not just challenging yourself as a journalist but you’re reaching, potentially, a whole new audience of people who just don’t consume a different medium. Some people just never really read long-form anything — you have to write short. Some people only read long-form. Some people only go on Instagram, or check Vines, and read things that are pushed to them by email. Every time you do it in a different way, you potentially are reaching a new audience. That’s exciting.

TV: How do you think health journalism will change in the next few years, especially with changing technology and access to information?

JH: If I could predict the future of digital

media I would be running my own company in the capital.

I think that [there are] some people who are slower to adapt to new things and some people who choose to be excited about the opportunity to try a new platform. I get excited about these things but I also don’t think it means that more traditional long-form journalism is going to go away. But I think it helps for anyone coming into the field to be flexible and to not think of themselves as just a writer but to think of themselves as a person who experiences the world and finds the truth and reports out to a general audience, no matter whether that means doing it in a single sentence tweet or though Instagram or through Facebook posts or whatever. People who lament the new media as fundamentally changing the field, I think [their] entire argument is predicated on an understanding of what journalism was for a long time, but not on an understanding of what journalism is at its essence. If anything, we have an amazing amount of opportunities to be more innovative and be more effective as journalists than ever before.

TV: In your experience, what have been the largest challenges associated with health journalism and health reporting?

JH: Scoping of stories — there’s always more you can say, there are always more people who you could talk to, there is always another book you can read to learn more about what you’re writing about. And it’s very easy to get in too deep and forget what you came in for, and how to make a reader come into a story and not feel like they’ve gotten into way more than they wanted to know. And at the same time, make sure that you’ve covered all your bases. And all of that within the time constraints of digital journalism presents just an ongoing challenge for the whole field. That’s something that I just think about, constantly.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

22 Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

VARSITY SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

TA named top 30 under 30

by Forbes Christine Le made the list for her green chemistry research

INSPIRE - SMC 2015 A motivational event intended to inspire you with dinner and speakers including Alexandra Orlando, senior marketing manager at Rogers Media; Dr. Jonathan Cardella, surgical instructor at the University of Toronto Surgical Skills Lab; and Rick Campanelli, reporter for Entertainment Tonight Canada.

Monday, March 2 5:30 pm–7:30 pm Charbonnel Lounge Elmsely Hall St. Michael’s College Free; register on Eventbrite

Learn about Science Journalism: Emily Chung, CBC Put together by the Impact Centre, this workshop is targeted at undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a career in science journalism.

Tuesday, March 3 5:00 pm–7:00 pm McLennan Physical Laboratories Room 103 Free; register on Eventbrite

EcoFest Keynote Panel

DANIELLE KLEIN VARSITY STAFF

U of T ta Christine Le became interested in science at a young age, inspired by a “natural curiosity for the world around [her]” and “enthusiastic and supportive teachers.” Le was recently named to Forbes’ 30 under 30 in science for her research in organic chemistry, focusing on environmentally friendly catalytic reactions. The Varsity spoke to Le about her accomplishments, her research, and her advice for science students.

The Varsity: How does it feel to have made the Forbes list? What has the reaction to that been like?

Christine Le: I am incredibly honoured to be named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Science. Only 12% of the 600 people named to this list are from countries outside of the United States, which makes me feel proud to represent U of T as a leading research institution in both Canada and North America. Since the announcement, I have received a tremendous amount of support from my colleagues, friends and family, which further motivates me to continue working towards my goals.

TV: Can you tell me a bit about your current research?

CL: As a graduate student in the Lautens group, we are mainly interested in developing reactions that can be applied to the synthesis of drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. To increase the efficiency of these processes, we often use transition-metal catalysts, which are able to speed up the rate of the chemical reactions without being

Organized by University of Toronto Environmental Resource Network, this event aims to celebrate the beginning of EcoFest 2015 with a diverse panel including U of T professor Danny Harvey, Meal Exchange program manager Sarah Archibald and Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (Pukatawaga) member Clayton Thomas-Muller.

consumed. This means that we can, in practice, recover and re-use the catalyst after the reaction is complete, therefore minimizing the production of waste. A common theme to the research that I have conducted in this area involves developing “atom economical” reactions, which means that all the atoms of the starting material are incorporated into the product, and that no wasteful by-products are produced.

TV: Environmental efficiency is part of your research approach.

Can you speak to why this is important for chemical industries?

CL: Chemical industries are now incorporating more techniques that are in line with the principles of “green chemistry”, which outline the ways in which chemical research can reduce the production of substances that are hazardous to the environment and/ or human health. Although the concept of green chemistry is relatively new, this area of research has gained a great deal of momentum within the last decade due to an increasing awareness of current environmental issues, such as global warming, pollution, and limited natural resources.

TV: You also work as a TA and helped design a new tutorial approach for second-year science students. What do you think is key to effectively teaching students chemistry concepts?

CL: I believe that the key to succeeding in chemistry courses is to understand the basic concepts, rather than rote memorizing. I always try to encourage my students to understand why chemicals react the way they do, as opposed to

Tuesday, March 3 6:30 pm–9:30 pm Innis Town Hall Free; register on Eventbrite

Crude Realities: Debating the Impacts of Oil Price Volatility University of Toronto TA, Christine Le. PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINE LE

simply telling me the outcome of the reaction. Once a student can grasp the basic reactivity of molecules, solving complex problems becomes a much less arduous task.

TV: Do you have any advice for students presently taking science courses, and particularly for those looking to pursue research?

CL: As an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in science, you are required to take a number of different science courses. In general, there are going to be some topics you enjoy learning about more than others. If I were to give one piece of advice for students, it would be to put more effort into the subjects that you struggle with the most — even if it requires hiring a tutor or visiting a professor during office hours. Once you have gained the motivation and dedication to do so, you will be more adept at dealing with any other challenges you may be faced with in life. A passion for science is a definite pre-requisite for pursu-

ing research. Learning about science in lectures and textbooks is very different from conducting research. As graduate students in chemistry, we are at the forefront of scientific innovation and technology. Despite the challenges that we are faced with on a daily basis, making new discoveries, however small, motivates me to continue doing research. Our role as researchers is to make the small steps needed to solve the larger scientific problems.

TV: What are your plans moving forward?

CL: After completing my PhD, I hope to one day have my own research group. Although I am not sure what type of research I hope to do in the future, I would like to do more interdisciplinary work by bridging the gaps between organic chemistry and other scientific fields (e.g. biology, medicine, engineering).

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Wear your best business formal attire to attend this panel discussion collaboratively organized

by Ryerson Energy & Natural Resources Association, Ryerson Commerce & Government Association, and Economics and Management Science Course Union.

Tuesday, March 3 6:00 pm–9:30 pm Digital Media Zone Free; register on Eventbrite

MaRS Mornings with Daniel Debow Part of a monthly breakfast series, this event features entrepreneur Daniel Debow, senior vice president of emerging technologies at salesforce.com.

Wednesday, March 4 8:00 am–9:30 am MaRS Discovery District (Phase 2, Multi-Purpose Room) Free; register on Eventbrite

VARSITY SCIENCE

var.st/science

New

Post-Baccalaureate Diploma program in Economics

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

23

Global warming causes more infrequent but bigger storms U of T climate scientists use basic physics principles to predict the future of the global atmosphere

Do you have an undergrad degree and want to explore economics? Or do you want additional prep for grad studies in economics?

Carleton’s new Post-Baccalaureate Diploma Program is for you!

Information on the PBD is available on the website of Carleton University’s Department of Economics.

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Undergraduate Recruitment Office liaison@carleton.ca admissions.carleton.ca JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

Nadezhda Woinowsky-Krieger ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR

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CHALLENGE THE WAY YOU THINK

Is it truly possible to model 30 years of worldwide weather measurements and come up with one simple prediction for climate change on a global scale? Dr. Frédéric Laliberté from the Physics Department at the University of Toronto and his colleagues may have done just that.

Published in the journal Science, Laliberté’s research employs a remarkable method using high-frequency data — which, in the world of climate modelling, means observations of weather taken every six hours. This would not seem significant, except that measurements of sufficient quality for modelling have been collected by scientists and meteorologists for the past 30 years. Keep in mind also that weather is a local phenomenon, so in addition to being different every six hours, it is different in every part of the world.

By combining this host of data from various sources including satellites, rain gauges, actual temperature from the ground level, and so forth with a method of producing datasets that atmospheric physicists call reanalysis, information can be gathered totalling tens of terabytes. However, what is interesting is when that amount of data is all used at once as opposed to breaking it up into smaller chunks to produce conclusions on a smaller scale. Laliberté reports that his team has used almost 20 terabytes of data for their modelling.

“Most climate scientists will use simple data to come to a simple analysis because it’s easier to understand,” says Laliberté, “so what we’ve tried to do is use a lot of data and come to a very simple description.”

Although the data used may have been complex and enormous in size, the physical foundations on which the model was built are among the most fundamental. Using basic theoretical principles of thermodynamics, the researchers modeled the global atmosphere as a simple thermal structure called a “heat engine.” In a heat engine, an

amount of heat in a system — such as, for instance, the atmosphere — is converted into mechanical power, which requires an output, such as, for instance, a giant storm.

For those of you who have taken high school physics, you may recognize the principle of conservation of energy in this description, which is one of the most basic laws of nature known to science.

What happens when you take this model that combines our most basic understanding of physics with one of the most extensive weather datasets at our disposal, and apply global warming?

In Laliberté’s own words, “We’ve looked at the atmosphere as a heat engine, and it allowed us to on the one hand identify the impact of global warming on the heat engine, so we concluded that the overall descending and ascending motions associated with storms would be constrained.”

What this means is that global warming may bring us a future in which we have fewer, more intense storms, but at the expense of smaller and more common ones. Less energy is put into circulating the global atmosphere, and instead, it builds up energy over a long period of time and then releases it in the form of superstorms.

These results caused a ruckus by coinciding conveniently with the Winter Storm Juno, the blizzard you may remember for dumping a heap of snow on the East coast of North America. When asked if his model’s prediction is already coming true, Laliberté responds, “The way I’ve been approaching this, and I think the safest way to linking weather to climate, is to use weather to understand climate and not the other way around.”

He explains that even though Juno, as a large storm with a lot of moisture associated with it, fits the kind of storm that his research is describing, it may be too soon to attribute its occurrence to the change in climate.

“It might be the one that really favoured in the study,” he says, “but then — it’s impossible to say.”

VARSITY SCIENCE

24 Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

science@thevarsity.ca

Engineers celebrate diversity Engineering Positive Space brings students together for Pink Shirt Day Jasleen Arneja SCIENCE EDITOR

As I entered “the pit,” overwhelmed by a large crowd of students in pink shirts, I was greeted by the loud cheering and exceptional musical talents of The Lady Godiva Memorial Band — and then, they fired the cannon.

Anti-bullying efforts have been a huge part of the operations of Engineering Positive Space, that provides a safe and positive space for all members of the lgbtq engineering community. On February 25, engineering students Nicole Doucette and Justin Tobia organized the third annual Pink Shirt Day to “promote acceptance and diversity” at the University of Toronto.

“I think it’s fantastic that we have an event like this that raises the awareness and reminds the students that bullying is not acceptable,” says Teresa Nguyen, president of the Engineering Society.

Pink Shirt Day, now a Canada-wide phenomenon, started in response to bullying. “There is a history behind it, and the story is back in 2007 where a male student [who] wore a pink t-shirt was actively bullied,” Nguyen explains, adding, “Students decided to take a stand against this and bought a whole bunch of pink tshirts and told everyone to wear [them] and basically made a statement, a visual statement saying this is not acceptable.”

As a U of T engineer, she emphasizes the importance of anti-bullying efforts. “However we can, we will organize ourselves to make sure that we let people know that [bullying] is not something that our community accepts,” says Nguyen.

Engineering students gathered in the pit for Pink Shirt Day. RUSABA ALAM/THE VARSITY

Peter Weiss, a senior lecturer at U of T Susan McCahan, vice-provost, innovations and the faculty advisor for Engineering in undergraduate education, thinks that it’s Positive Space says, “This is the third year important to celebrate the diversity within that we’ve done this, and what was amaz- the engineering community. ing to me last year is, when we went around “Because it is a very tight knit community, to talk to students and talk to people in I think it’s really important to demonstrate engineering about it, that their immediate that it’s not only tight knit, but diverse… and response was, ‘Oh yeah, it’s a tradition,’ and to make that diversity really visible, at least this is now a tradition...And what a great once a year,” she says. tradition it is to have… one day where we Weiss says that events like Pink Shirt Day T:10”are very important. “It’s because actions say, we won’t bully.”

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FURTHER YOUR EDUCATION

speak louder than words,” he says. “We can say we are diverse and inclusive, but when you actually come down here on February 25 and you see people you’ve never seen before wearing pink shirts, you kind of think: there’s a lot of good will that I may have known that was there, and that means a lot to students, and faculty,” says Weiss.

For Ron Suprun, who is Lady Godiva for the current academic year, the significance of the event goes much deeper. “I think Pink Shirt Day is important, especially when you are in engineering, where you have such a reputation of being a program with only one type of person, so it’s really important to show that we support diversity,” Suprun says, adding, “Even though we might not 100 per cent represent diversity quite yet, this is the first step toward doing that, toward inviting people of all backgrounds into our program, by showing them that, should they choose to come to engineering, they’ll be especially welcome.”

Suprun dressed in drag, which represents a step forward in the engineering community. “In terms of Pink Shirt Day as an anti-bullying thing in general, I think it’s a great initiative, just to show solidarity within small oppressed groups,” Suprun says, continuing, “Because it’s our numbers that gives us our strength and this message can reach people far and wide, and having such a distinct thing like a pink shirt really gives us a symbol of strength.”

The chanting of the cheer, “We are the engineers,” is what struck me as the most positive part of the event — no matter which other groups they identify with, students particpaing all came together as engineers, respecting each other’s diversity.

Sports

VAR.ST/SPORTS 2 MARCH 2015

sports@thevarsity.ca

U of T hosts women’s volleyball CIS championship

Varsity Blues Volleyball Team. EVAN LUKE/THE VARSITY

QUARTERFINAL GAME 1: UBC VS. MONTRÉAL

U of T had a weak start to the match, losing to Montréal 25–15 in the first set, but managed to bounce back in the second set winning 25–20 to tie the match 1–1, and then winning the third set to take the lead.

Montréal won the fourth set 25–17, tying the match 2–2. They kept their energy up in the final set, defeating U of T 15–10.

“There were moments of greatness. I think we capitalized on those opportunities,” said Blues’ Jennifer Nielson. “It was a hard fight and it shows how much resilience this team had, and how much we really wanted it and put our heart into it.”

“We fought really hard this year,” said Charlotte Sider. “We fought for every point this tournament... so I can’t be upset about that.”

“I’m very proud of all the players and the team overall, they worked very hard... We were capable of creating opportunities, but we weren’t able to capitalize. But overall, top four in the country is still respectful,” said Drakich.

— Ahmed-Zaki Hagar

The tournament began with a 3–0 Montréal Carabins win over the University of British Columbia (ubc) Thunderbirds.

The start of the match saw a close set between the two teams with the Thunderbirds eventually falling 25–22.

In the second set, Montréal continued its composed play to keep a continuous lead over the Thunderbirds, taking the set 25–18.

Montréal continued to hit empty court and keep its defence strong with sold blocks in the final set. ubc held its ground through many tough rallies, but was unable to come out on top, falling 25–16 to the Carabins.

— Elizabeth Benn

QUARTERFINAL GAME 2: LAVAL VS. TRINITY WESTERN The Laval Rouge et Or fell to the Trinity Western Spartans after initially leading by two sets.

The first set was close throughout, going back and forth in the second half, but ending with a 26–24 Laval win.

The Spartans came back strong in the second set, but as the score grew, so did Laval’s energy; the team climbed back to take the set and earn a 2–0 advantage heading into the third set.

Trinity Western’s energy picked up in the third set, and the team won 25–15. Similarly, the fourth set resulted in a 25–16 Spartans win.

In the final set, Laval’s spirit was down and the Spartans stayed ahead throughout, winning 15–8 to advance to the semi-finals.

— EB

QUARTERFINAL GAME 3: U OF T VS. DALHOUSIE Before an enthusiastic home crowd came a one-sided match. U of T did not let up during the entire match, winning three consecutive sets 25–10, 25–19, and 25–6.

Strong play from Dalhousie’s libero Marisa Mota forced the Blues’ offence to work hard all match, but setter Madelyn Mandryk kept U of T pressing.

Player of the game, Bojana Radan, explains, “The entire team is very close and we have a lot of fun. We all connect and have good communication, and every single person on the team makes such a big difference.” cis coach of the year, Kristine Drakich, noted, “We had a solid block, good defence, and were able to make some fast transitions to make it tough on them.”

U of T’s blocking accounted for 17 of their points, more than doubling Dalhousie’s total of seven.

— Peter Nash

QUARTERFINAL GAME 4: ALBERTA VS. OTTAWA Lead by player of the game Kacey Otto’s 15 kills, the University of Alberta Pandas de-

Varsity Blues Volleyball Team. EVAN LUKE/THE VARSITY

feated the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 3–0 on Thursday.

The Pandas withstood a lively Gee-Gees fan base to win the tight first set 25–23.

U of A was able to build a 17–9 lead in the second set before an energetic Gee-Gees team electrified their fans by closing the score to a 21–20 Pandas lead.

This run was negated by a quick five points from the Pandas, who took the set 25–21.

The Pandas followed this deflating victory by quickly taking the third set 25–18.

— Anthony Piruzza

SEMI-FINAL GAME 1: TRINITY WESTERN VS. MONTRÉAL The first match on Saturday ended in a 3–0 win for the Trinity Western Spartans over the Montréal Carabins.

The first set began a slight Montréal edge over the Spartans, but after a technical timeout, twu managed to pull ahead and eventually took the set 25–21.

In the second set, the Carabins earned an early lead, but Trinity Western turned the game around and took the set 25–23.

In the third set, twu’s momentum continued and drowned out the Carabins’ attempt at a comeback, winning the set 25–18.

“I’m pleased, I’m thrilled,” said twu’s head coach Ryan Hofer. “We’ve never been in a national final. We’ve been working hard for it for many, many years.”

— India McAlister

SEMI-FINAL GAME 2: U OF T VS. ALBERTA In front of an energetic home crowd, U of T played for a chance to compete in the cis finals for the first time in team history, but was disappointed with a devastating 3–2 loss

against the Alberta Pandas.

U of T came out strong in the first two sets with 25–20 and 25–23 wins.

When the third set began, U of T’s systems began to falter and Alberta’s momentum began to build, devastating U of T 25–15.

U of T’s early energy surge was overtaken by Alberta’s calmer but more consistent play. The team tied the match 2–2 with a 25–18 win.

In the final set, U of T rallied but was unsuccessful, and lost a devastatingly close 15–13.

“This was a long and emotionally and physically tough match. We weren’t able to sustain it,” said head coach Kristine Drakich.

— IM

FIFTH-PLACE GAME: OTTAWA VS. UBC The consolation game for fifth place took place on Sunday morning between the ubc Thunderbirds and the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Ottawa was dominant from the first set despite some miscommunication between players, winning 25–20. ubc’s composure fell in the second set while Ottawa played a strong set, responding to tough ubc shots with solid defence, winning 25–22. ubc won the first point of the third set, but was unable to set the tone with this lead, with Ottawa coming back immediately.

Ottawa standout Kelsie English won the final point for Ottawa with her final kill in cis play, winning the match for the team 25–21.

— EB

BRONZE MEDAL GAME: MONTRÉAL VS. U OF T U of T took on the Montréal Carabins for the bronze medal, but similarly to their semi-final game, the team fell in a tough 3–2 loss.

FINAL GAME: ALBERTA VS. TRINITY WESTERN The University of Alberta Pandas faced off on Sunday night against the Trinity Western Spartans with a cis title on the line.

The teams traded points in the opening minutes before the Pandas surged to a 19-13 lead that continued through the set to result in a 25–22 victory.

The momentum with them, the Pandas jumped out to an early lead in the second set.

The Spartans battled once again, but were unable to maintain this energy and fell 25–23 in the set.

The third set featured the rally of the match, as a desperate Spartans squad dove all over the court to secure an early 3–2 lead.

The Spartans kept up the pressure, playing noticeably desperate volleyball to take the set convincingly 25–15.

The Spartans kept up the intensity in the fourth set, outscoring the Pandas 6–2 early on. The Pandas surged back yet again, pulling within two points. However, they were unable to keep their rally going and fell to twu 25–15.

Jessie Niles began the final set with a terrific dig to give the Pandas the opening point, but it was the Spartans who jumped out to an early 7–4 lead that continued to grow. Trinity Western outside hitter Royal Richardson ended the set and her cis career with a booming spike.

“We’ve been working all year to be as fit as we possibly could and I knew that our team could rally together because our team has been through the grind before... and I knew we could do it again,” said Richardson.

— Sampson Coutts

For extended coverage and more interviews, visit thevarsity.ca/cisvolleyball2015.

VARSITY SPORTS

26 Vol. CXXXV, No. 19

WRITE FOR SPORTS SPORTS@THEVARSITY.CA There is still more time to apply for Personal Credits of up to $3000 for educational, language or cultural programs.

sports@thevarsity.ca

Varsity Blues swimming team finishes impressive season Swimming team competes strongly in both OUA and CIS championships

Individuals who received a Common Experience Payment under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement are eligible for up to $3000 in Personal Credits for education programs and services.

These include courses at universities, colleges, trade or training schools or for programs and workshops provided by community-based groups or cultural centres for activities related to Aboriginal language and culture. Personal Credits can be used by a Common Experience Payment recipient, shared with up to two family members or pooled for group education services.

The deadline to apply has been extended to March 9, 2015. Help with completing the Personal Credits Acknowledgment Form is available.

Find out more at www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca or by phone: Scan with your mobile device

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Les bÊnÊficiaires du Paiement d’expÊrience commune en vertu de la Convention de règlement relative aux pensionnats indiens peuvent recevoir jusqu’à 3 000 $ sous forme de crÊdits personnels pour des programmes ou services d’Êducation.

Cela comprend des cours dans des universitÊs, des collèges ou des Êcoles de mÊtier ou de formation, ou des programmes ou ateliers fournis par des groupes communautaires ou des centres culturels qui offrent des activitÊs liÊes aux langues ou à la culture autochtones. Les crÊdits personnels peuvent être utilisÊs par les bÊnÊficiaires du Paiement d’expÊrience commune ou partagÊs avec un ou deux membres de leur famille, ou encore mis en commun dans le but d’obtenir des services d’Êducation collective.

La date limite pour prÊsenter une demande a ÊtÊ prolongÊe au 9 mars 2015. De l’aide pour remplir le formulaire d’attestation de crÊdits personnels est offerte.

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Men’s swimming comes in second. FILE PHOTO: EVAN LUKE/THE VARSITY

Reshara Alviarez ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s and women’s swim teams have enjoyed incredible success this season at both the provincial and national levels.

Two weeks ago, the Varsity Blues travelled to Victoria, B.C. to compete in the 2015 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (cis) championships. Going into the championships, the men’s team held the title as reigning twotime champions and were hoping to leave with yet another victory.

According to veteran athlete Eli Wall, “We knew the provincial oua title wouldn’t be too hard to maintain, however the national cis championship was a whole other story.

Our rivals at ubc recruited an amazing rookie class of top-level swimmers and we knew from the start that they would be tough to beat.�

Despite the Blues’ commendable performance at the cis championships, the team was unable to defend the title. With 584 points, the men’s team placed behind the ubc Thunderbirds.

But, notes Wall, “the team stayed positive throughout the meet and many people still had incredible swims.�

With two gold medals in the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke events and strong performances throughout the year, Wall was named cis Swimmer of the Year.

He was also praised for his continued improvement over the course of the season.

Wall credits much of his success this season to coaches Byron MacDonald and Linda Kiefer.

Wall swam with the Greater Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club for the entirety of his club swimming career, and, with the end of the varsity season, he will train with the Toronto

Swim Club. “Switching programs from club to varsity is a drastic change and I guess I’m finally adjusting to the change. Everything just sort of clicked this past week,� said Wall. “I definitely had my eyes on a national title all year, so being able to win two events was incredible. I am also looking forward to this summer and hopefully qualifying for fisu [International University Sports Federation],� he added.

The women’s swim team had a strong performance at the cis championships as well, finishing with a total of 412 points. The team won the bronze medal, finishing third behind ubc and the University of Montreal.

According to rookie Kylie Masse, the women’s team started off the season intending to win the Ontario University Athletics (oua) championships, and to get a podium finish at the cis championships. The team certainly achieved these goals. “I am lucky to be a part of such an encouraging and hardworking group of athletes... I was nervous about adjusting to university and all the changes that come with it, but I quickly became a part of the swimming family because the team, coaches and support staff were all incredibly welcoming and I am grateful to be a Varsity Blue,� said Masse, who won a total of four individual medals throughout the meet.

Veteran Blue Paige Schultz won the Student-Athlete Community Service Award, and the Blues women’s 4x100 relay team won a silver medal.

Both Wall and Masse echoed similar hopes for another amazing season next year. The teams are excited for what the next season may bring, as they look forward to even greater success.

VARSITY SPORTS

var.st/sports

MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

27

Varsity Blues February recap Teams vie for playoff titles in winter season’s major tournaments

TWO MEN’S HOCKEY PLAYERS SIGNED TO PROFESSIONAL CONTRACTS Thomas Vangou VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Winter playoffs define the month of February for Varsity athletes. As the regular season ends, teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics (oua) championships for a shot at continuing their seasons.

On the ice, the men’s and women’s hockey teams continued their momentum from a strong regular season into the ouas. The men’s team defeated Ryerson in a first round matchup, but lost to Guelph in the semi-finals.

This past weekend, the team’s playoff run ended with a 2-1 series loss against the Guelph Gryphons.

On the court, both men’s and women’s basketball teams earned playoff berths. In their first game, the men’s team lost to Windsor to end its season. The women’s won its first round game against Brock, but lost to Windsor University in the quarter-finals.

WOMEN FINISH IN FIRST PLACE IN THE OUA TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

VARSITY BLUES WOMEN EARN FOURTH PLACE IN CIS CHAMPIONSHPIS

MEN’S SECOND PLACE AND WOMEN’S THIRD PLACE SWIMMING CIS CHAMPIONSHIP FINISHES

Recent excitement has filled the Goldring centre for the women’s volleyball Canadian championships. Although the men’s volleyball team did not qualify for playoffs, the women’s team finished its playoff run with a strong performance in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (cis) Championships. The team won the oua championships to finish a strong season in their conference, and finished in fourth place at the cis championships, losing 3-2 in the bronze medal game to the Montréal Carabins.

The swimming team continued its strong season into February and competed in its two major tournaments. The teams earned first place finishes at the ouas and continued their successful season at the cis Championships. The men finished second, the women finished third, and many swimmers earned individual awards.

The first-ranked indoor track and field team competed in their oua championships to finish a strong February run, and

the women’s team took home the oua title while the men placed fifth, an improvement on their respective second and sixth place finishes last season Taking to the ice, the curling teams ed great success in their oua Championships.

The men’s teams earned a bronze medal finish and will continue their season at the cis championships. The women’s team lost in its quarterfinal match against Guelph.

The figure skating team took the ice at the oua championships and finished in sixth place. The team captured individual and team medals at the event.

In the frigid temperatures of North Bay, the Nordic skiing team competed in the relay, 6-kilometre and 10-kilometre races. The tournament continued a successful season for the skiers. The team will soon race at the Ontario Cup and cis championships.

With mask on and sword in hand, the fencing teams competed in their oua playoffs and both medaled. The men’s teams fin-

ished first in the sabre class, third in the foil class, and eighth in the epee class.

Individual members also earned oua allstar recognition and individual awards. The women’s team earned a third place finish in the Epee class and two members earned individual all-star recognition.

Squash teams medaled at their respective oua championships. The men’s team won a tiebreaker against McMaster to earn bronze. The women’s team earned a silver medal and will continue their season in the Jester’s University League playoffs.

Taking to the mat, the wrestling teams fought hard at their oua championships. The team earned top 10 finishes overall. The men compete in the 52-120 kilogram weight classes and the women in the 48-82 kilogram classes.

Many U of T sports teams have had success at the ouas. As February ends and some teams finish their seasons, others will keep going for their shot at the cis Championship title.

Explaining injuries: sprained ankle The second of a three-part series Kasi Sewraj VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Many of us, at one point or another, have experienced a sprained ankle. When we make a quick shift in footing that causes the ankle to roll outward, it causes the outer ankle ligaments to twist and sometimes tear; the result is our “twisted ankle.”

There are three grades of severity to ligament injury, and thankfully the ankle ligaments are much less likely to tear fully, which is why it is so much more common that ankle sprains are minor — in the grade one or two range.

Grade one tears are usually minimal, and they occur when there is slight stretching, swelling, and little damage to the ligament fibres. Someone who experiences this type of sprain may feel discomfort when putting pressure on the foot, but the pain usually eases quickly with light exercise.

Second degree tears are partially torn ligaments and can cause a “looseness” of the ankle joint with certain ranges of motion. This sprain requires immobilization and range of motion exercises. Recovery time typically lasts a few months.

The most severe type of tear, the third degree tear, occurs when the ligament is completely torn. This type of injury occurs less frequently than the other two. The recovery from this kind of injury involves immobilization, physical therapy, and possibly reconstructive surgery.

“I sprained [my ankle] pretty severely playing basketball back in late October,” says Nathan Golish, a fourth-year philosophy student.

“I went into ER to get an x-ray and… they gave

me a boot and asked me to come back three weeks later to see how it had healed.”

The doctor also instructed Golish to participate in some light exercises, so that he could retain full motion once he started to heal.

After this time, he could start physiotherapy.

“I had some slight pain and stiffness in my ankle [and when I began therapy] they would massage my calf and would ultrasound it. The healing really started to progress at this point and the exercises became more rigorous; doing some light jumping,” said Golish.

“By about 2 weeks later I...felt well enough to get back and practice basketball again... I had some stiffness after playing, but I would ice it and stretch it out and it felt even better the next day,” said Golish.

For Shaunesy Dyer, her sprain was minor and her treatment plan was different. “[I] was walking down the stairs, and I rolled onto my ankle and sprained it. When I went to the doctor, he gave me anti-inflammatory drugs to help with the swelling because when I woke up the next morning, it was the size of a golf ball,” said Dyer.

“The doctor advised me to keep the weight off of my foot and only walk if it was essential… so now I just keep it wrapped up in a tensor bandage.”

Although a sprained ankle may appear to be a minor injury, it is very important to get it checked out by a doctor when you think that you have experienced one.

“I was the typical athlete and didn’t think too much of the injury at first,” says Rachel Pham, member of the Varsity Blues rugby team.

“I did not get treatment right away, the sprain continued to worsen until it became quite swollen. I then saw a therapist who told

BRITTANY GEROW/THE VARSITY

me to take a week off of sports to rest and then prescribed me some strength and stabilizing exercises,” she explains.

“After the week of rehab and rest, it was much better and I was able to return to play,” says Pham.

28 MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2015

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