March 30, 2015

Vol. CXXXV, No. 23

30 MARCH, 2015

The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

HOT JOCKS Varsity athletes reflect on their seasons PG. 14

Strike ends with Brighter UofT arbitration victorious CUPE 3902 Unit 1 members accept university’s offer; return to work Salvatore Basilone & Iris Robin ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS

One month after it began, the strike is over.

On Thursday, March 26, the members of cupe 3902 Unit 1 voted to accept binding arbitration in their contract negotiations with the University of Toronto and return to work on Friday, March 27.

“I’m happy to have classes back, the [teaching assistants] back, getting my work marked and tutorials back and running,” says Marcos Perez, a third-year student who had two of his classes affected by the strike.

The final vote count was 942 in favour with 318 opposed, ending the strike by some 6,000 teaching assistants (tas), exam invigilators, and other university staff that began on February 27.

“I think members are going back to work tomorrow with their heads held high,” says

Ryan Culpepper, one of the chief negotiators for Unit 1. “I think the vote count shows that members are very confident in our bargaining proposals, and confident we are going to win in arbitration.”

“We are enormously relieved that the strike is over,” said U of T president Meric Gertler in a statement released Thursday. “A number of challenges remain, as we work together to return to regular functioning over the next few weeks.”

By going to binding arbitration, both the university and the union have agreed ahead of time to accept the decision of a neutral third party.

According to Culpepper, much work remains, with each side slated to submit a proposal and present oral arguments. The arbitrator can choose the proposal of one side or the other, or find a way to resolve the two.

CONTINUED ON PG 8

Unofficial UTSU election results set to be ratified Monday Alex McKeen ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Unofficial results for this year’s University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) elections indicate that the Brighter UofT slate has won all executive positions.

According to the unofficial results, Ben Coleman was elected president by a margin of 3,630 to 3,147. Sania Khan was elected vice-president, equity by a margin of 3,518 to 2,812. Jasmine Denike was elected vice-president, external by a margin of 3,500 to 2,837. Ryan Gomes was elected vice-president, internal & services by a margin of 3,604 to 2,886. Vere-Marie Khan was elected vice-president, university affairs by a margin of 3,652 to 2,848.

On the Change UofT slate, both presidential candidate Cameron Wathey and vicepresident, internal candidate Grayce Slobodian were incumbents.

Each executive candidate election had over 1,000 spoiled ballots with the exception of the presidential race, which had 988 spoiled ballots.

Brighter UofT also won the majority of seats on the utsu Board of Directors.

In last year’s race, team U of T Voice, the slate which included Wathey and Slobodian, won four of five executive seats by narrower margins.

This year’s unofficial results show slightly higher voter turnout, with proportionally higher spoiled ballots.

SPATE OF DEMERIT POINTS ISSUED AT END OF ELECTION PERIOD At the end of a relatively tame University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) election period, the chief returning officer (cro) issued 92 demerit points — 87 of which were grouped in a single ruling.

CONTINUED ON PG 8

INSIDE Comment

Arts

UTSU advocacy

And we danced

Consulting with students should be the top priority

PG.10

EDITORIAL

Science Controversial U of T homeopathy study

Sports Blues name eight major award winners

U of T’s Festival of Dance makes its way to Hart House

Two students discuss the study’s scientific legitimacy

SASHA GOLLISH and ELI WALL win Athlete of the Year Awards

PG.16

PG.20

PG.23

U of T disappoints on leadership, academic integrity throughout labour disputes

PG.13

2

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXV, No. 23

THE VARSITY VOL. CXXXV, No. 23

21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 thevarsity.ca

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This is your newspaper A letter from Danielle Klein, 2014–2015 Editor-in-Chief

thevarsitynewspaper @TheVarsity

Masthead Editor-in-Chief Danielle Klein

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Associate Design Editor Janice Liu Vanessa Wang Associate Photo Editor Rusaba Alam Mallika Makkar Associate Senior Copy Editors Hunter McGuire Sean Smith Associate News Editors Salvatore Basilone Tamim Mansour Alex McKeen Iris Robin

“This is your university. For the next four years, you get to claim this place as your own.”

Those are the words I wrote in 2013 in my letter from the editor in our Student Handbook, our publication for first-year students. At the time, I was under the mistaken impression that I would be graduating that year. But, as it turned out, The Varsity would keep me around for an extra one.

I’ve been involved at The Varsity in one capacity or another since my second year at U of T. This past year, I had the great honour of being elected Editor-in-Chief. With my wonderful masthead, we worked to make our organization more friendly and inclusive. We engaged more students than ever before, with over 450 contributors from across U of T’s three campuses participating throughout the year.

We launched a new website, which won second place for best campus website in the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards (ccnas). We also increased our online publications to three uploads per week. I am confident that our new Editor-inChief, Alec Wilson, will continue expanding our

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online presence and our student engagement.

As usual, we covered the stories that matter, keeping students informed throughout ongoing labour disputes at the university and bringing attention to important campus issues. We told difficult stories, for example addressing the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct on campus and the lack of adequate resources for survivors.

We wrote about the way that our university is changing as it adopts an increasingly corporate approach to its operations to make ends meet — Alex McKeen’s coverage of which won best campus news story in the ccnas.

If you take a look back in our archives, you will find that, from year to year, some stories seem to repeat themselves. Tuition fees rise; deferred maintenance costs rise. Class sizes get bigger; the university fails to meet students’ mental health needs. utsu elections are contentious; voter turnout is low.

If I can urge you to do one thing in this letter, it’s not foremost to get involved at The Varsity (though I assure you, it’s a good idea) — it’s to invest, in some way. Take ownership of your time at U of T, and commit yourself to doing

— Danielle Klein, Editor-in-Chief, 2014-2015, Vol. CXXXV

THE MASTHEAD WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF OUR STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS

Associate Features Editor Malone Mullin

VARSITY STAFF

Associate Comment Editor Emma Kikulis Victoria Wicks Associate A&C Editors Daniel Konikoff Jacob Lorinc Associate Science Editor Nadezha Woinowsky-Krieger Associate Sports Editors Reshara Alviarez Sean Xu Associate Web Developer Ishan Thukral Copy Editors and Fact-Checkers Isabela Borges, Kieran Buckingham, Rachel Chen, Ariel Gomes, Alexandra Grieve, Simeon Krastnikov, Dylan Lattimer, Emma Lawrence, Saranja Neelananthasivam, Soham Parelkar, Teodora Pasca, Michelle Pedreiras, Maja Rakocevic, Alexandra Rusu, Maria SokulskyDolnycky Lead Fact-Checkers Fu Yuan (Andrew) Liu, Suhas Srinivasan Designers Janice Liu, Kawmadie Karunanayake, Margaux Parker, Vanessa Wang, Lisa Wong Un, Mari Zhou

Business Office Business Manager Karen Zhou

some good here in a way that makes sense for you. Know the headlines, write the headlines, or decide to change the headlines.

Several years ago, I wrote: “This is your university.”

The Varsity is your student newspaper. And if you think you can do better than we have, I encourage you to prove it. As many years as you spend at U of T, you have the opportunity to get involved — as a contributor, as a reader, or as both. You have the opportunity to participate in campus-wide student discourse. You have the opportunity to weigh in, and your voice is not only valuable — it is needed.

For me, without a doubt, it will be The Varsity that I think of foremost when I think of my time at U of T. The paper has been my community.

The office is my second home; the staff and volunteers are among some of the most dedicated, hardworking people I have met. I hope that we have fulfilled our mandate as the “student voice” this year, and that our coverage has contributed to positive change at the university.

For volume 135 of The Varsity, there are countless people to thank. To Joshua Oliver, thank you for your support and for being a voice of reason and a dear friend. To Mari Zhou, I have learned so much from working with you, and want to thank you for keeping the paper printing from week to week with your creative vision and endless problem-solving.

To our many volunteers and contributors, thank you for your time and your incredible work. To the masthead — you are my dream team and I am filled with affection and gratitude for each of you. Finally, thank you to all of our readers for your support and your engagement.

It seems that, for the time being, this institution is only going to grow. Certainly, you can get in and out of U of T in a swift four years, migrating between the revolving doors of Robarts, lectures, and ttc stations. But I hope you will do more — and I might suggest, off the cuff, that you start with picking up this paper on Monday mornings. In any case, that worked out quite well for me.

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parsa@thevarsity.ca

Advertising Executives Anna Afshar Rachel Choi

anna@thevarsity.ca rachel@thevarsity.ca

The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published

by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock.

Content © 2015 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above.

The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions.

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Kristina Adhikari, Rusaba Alam, Zaigham Ali, Reshara Alviarez, Jasleen Arneja, Christina Atkinson, Julien Balbontin, Salvatore Basilone, Elizabeth Benn, Lisa Bernard, Matthew Boissonneault, Isabela Borges, Kieran Buckingham, Nathan Chan, Aditya Chawla, Jeffery Chen, Rachel Chen, Karen Chu, Emily Colero, Emma Compeau, Sampson Coutts, Devika Desai, Nabi Dressler, Heather Eason, Caitlyn Fleming, James Flynn, Claire Fox, Sarah Gajic, Ujwal Ganguly, Jonathan Gass, Lucy Genua, Brittany Gerow, Alexandra Grieve, Meerah Haq, Shaq Hosein, Joseph Ianni, Elena Iourtaeva, Emily Johnpulle,Kawmadie Karunayake, Emily Katz, Emma Kikulis, Danielle Klein, Spencer Knibutat, Wan Xian Koh, Daniel Konikoff, Dylan Lattimer, Timothy Law, Hannah Lee, Janice Liu, Fu Yuan (Andrew) Liu, Jacob Lorinc, Evan Luke, Sofia Luu, Tosin Maiyegun, Mallika Makkar, Matthew Manhire, Tamim Mansour, India McAlister, Hunter McGuire, Alex McKeen, Christian Medeiros, Malone Mullin, Linh Nguyen, Sarah Niedoba, Elham Numan, Denis Osipov, Li Pan, Soham Parelkar, Lauren Park, Margaux Parker, Teodora Pasca, Michelle Pedreiras, Anita Perehinets, Anthony Piruzza, Samantha Relich,Andrew Richmond, Iris Robin, Alexandra Scandolo, Emily Scherzinger, Jeffrey Schulman, Zane Schwartz, Kasi Sewraj, Ann Sheng, Ayla Shiblaq, Caroline Shim, Aidan Slind, Sean Smith, Maria Sokulsky-Dolnycky, Catharine Soloman, Jessica Song, Jonathan Soo, Suhas Srinivasan, Jennifer Su, Emaan Thaver, Rose Tornabene, Corey Van Den Hoogenband, Thomas Vangou, Alex Verman, Catherine Virelli, Sandy Wang, Jamieson Wang, Vanessa Wang, Brittaney Warren, Victoria Wicks, Alec Wilson, Nadezhda Woinowsky-Krieger, Mike Wong, Maya Wong, Lisa Wong Un, Elliot Wright, Sean Xu, Ameena Youssef, Tina (Shije) Zhou, Mari Zhou

VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS Fareedah Abdulqadir, Temilade Adevjinka, Zeinad Aidad, Adena Ali, Selene Ali, Sana Ali, Sean Allingham, Farrah Amador-Mughal, Mayte Anchante, Panagiotis Angelinos, Camille Angelo, Afif Aqrabawi, Faith Arkoful, Manuel Augusto, Selena Azizi, Alexandra Babiak, Angela Baer, Punya Bagga, Indranil Balki, Victoria Banderob, Salena Barry, Elisha Bauer-Maison, Jay Bawar, Mubashir Baweja, Shaan Bhambra, Aliya Bhatia, Kristina Bijeikaite, Omar Bitar, Autousa Blair, Bradley Blaylock, Alex Boer, Christina Bondi, Lora Borrisenko, Alyssa Bouranova, Sasha Boutilier, Elisha Bover-Maison, Travis Boyco, Emily Boyd, Alanna Brousseau, Madelin Burt-D’Agnillo, Anthony Burton, Sam Caladrone, Steph Cervone, Saveen Chadha, Michael Chahley, Derek Chan, Trillium Chang, Amey Charnalia, Kayla Chaterji, Erica Chau, Samantha Chen, Michael Chepesiuk, Jasmine Chopra, Matthew Chow, Chun-Chi Chu, Ji Won Chun, Eric Chung, Alexander Cohen, Daniel Connolly, Sara Constant, Matt Craddock, Adit Daga, Khaiam Dar, Mark Darling, Shaida David, Victoria Dawson, Claudia Dessanti, Simran Dhunna, Anja Dimitrijevic, Ivanna Dizdar, Aleksandra Dolezal, Kathleen Donovan, Sahara Douglas, Tom Drechsler, Lee Eames, Misara Elgammal, McKenzie Embree, Avram Englert, Leelan Farhan, Alexander Fernandes, Anthony Frati, Jesse Gault, Craig Gilchrist, Sonali Gill, Sonah Gill, Ariel Gomes, Susan Gordon Kevin Grace, Roslyn Grant, Liz Gross, Wendy Gu, Michelle Gu, Devina Gupta, Maitri Gupta, Nyima Gyalmo, JiYoon Ha, Sofia Habib, John Hadzipetros, Ahmed-Zaki Hagar, Will Hall, Abdel Hameed, Julia Hanbury, Emma Hansen, Natasha Hartono, Karlis Hawkins, Sam Henry,Tigesti Hidru, Dhruvin Hirpara, Ellen Ho, Elena Hoan, Jacob Hogan, Mary Hong, Huang Huang, Shahin Imtiaz, Abbi Indrakumar, Sage Irwin, Tasmeea Islam, Manaal Ismacil, Diandra Ismiranti, Chantal Issard, Alas Jeelany, Younhee Jin, Ken Jones, Ilona Kabanova, Anjana Kamalaharan, Ushma Kapure, Harrout Kassabian, Madeleine Kelly, Leila Keshavjee, Scheherazade Khan, Mashal Khan, Yasmine Kherfi, Nehdia Kidwai, Lia Kim, David Kitai, Madeline Klimek, Pratishtha Kohli, Ken Kongkatong, Shailee Koranne, Trevor Koroll, Simeon Krastnikov, Rohan Kulkarni, Kethika Kulleperuma Nishi Kumar, Chimi Kuyee, Karen Kyung Fuhrmann, Jennifer La, Kate Latimir, Leekei Lau, Emma Lawrence, Sarah Leaper, Joanne Lee, Jane Lee, Christopher Lee, Subin Lee, Jessica Lee, Sarah Leeves, Jessica Li, Manshu Li, Andy Li, Jeremy Li, Winston Li, Catherine Li, Joanne Lieu, Jasper Lim, Madeline Lisus, Jennifer Liu, Annie Long, Adrian-Michael Lorenzana, Sarah Luttrell, Sandy Ma, Andrea Macikunas, Katie MacIntosh, Catherine Macintosh, Kaylie MacLeod, Emilie Macleod, John Macpherson , Osman Mahamud, Amna Mahder-Bashi, Keshini Mahesan, James Maiangowi, Pouya Makki, Julia Malowany, Haman Mamdouhi, Jennifer Marczuk, Jasjeet Matharu, Shreya Mathur, Cassandra Mazza, Alastair McNamara, Joshua Miller, Filzah Mohamad Hilmi, Emmeline Molnar, Pujdak Monica, Peymon Montazeri, Natalie Morcos, Sacha Morettin, Francesca Morfini, Anastasiya Muntyanu, Rehana Mushtaq, Sumaya Musse, Andreea Musulan, Sandhya Mylabathula, Stanislav Nachev, Helena Najm, Noor Naqaweh, Peter Nash, Sam Natale, Mia Naylor, Kalina Nedelchiva, Saranja Neelananthasivam, Tiffany Ng, David Nguyen, Ai Nguyen, Devyn Noonan, Haley O’Shaughnessy, Tobi Odubekun, Sara Omer, Clara Osei-Yeboah, Hans Osmen, Chantal Ouellet, Ashita Parekh, Justin Park, Carol Eugene Park, Iris Park, Sojin Park, Hirshen Patel, Daniella Pereira, Juma Perez, Meghan Peterson, Daria Petrovich, Aviva Phillip-Muller, Teresa Pinto, Caitlyn Plainos, Anastassia Pogoutse, Dmitry Polyanskyy, Will Power, Elizabeth Prekas, Madison Prezioco, Corinne Przybyslawski, Kristen Rachuk, Mursal Rahman, Dryden Rainbow, Sneha Raju, Maja Rakocevic,Aditya Rau, Rabena Ravikaran, Sara Rebelo, Arco Recto, Sara Rehman, Cristina Roca Phylactopoulou, Alice (Xia) Roe, Aviva Rogers, Melissa Rud, Alexandra Rusu, Shubhi Sahni, Deniz Samadi, Paige Sambrook, Anjalee Sandrasegaran, Simone Santerre, Lindsay Selliah, Leslie Seto, Taha Shah, Priyanka Sharma, Zheyi Sheng, Rene Sheng, Jaclin Simonetta, Amitpal Singh, Shaquilla Singh, Anamjit Singh Sivia, Thomas Slabon, Emma Smith, Simon Spichak, Vivek Srikanthan, Jessica St James, Gabriella Stafford, Delaney Stewart, Jennifer Stipec, Katen Stoehr, Divna, Stojanovic, Michael Strang, Aryn Strickland, Priscilla Suen, Anjum Sultana, Samina Sultana, Lex Sundarsingh,Tonya Sutherland, Katerina Szylo, Tina Ta, Sarah Tan, Kate Taylor, Ian Thompson, Oliver Thompson, Cathy Tie, Erin Tobin, Stanley Trievus, Michael J. 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var.st/news

VARSITY NEWS

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

3

Mississauga students call for election investigation Students’ union, candidates allege university secretariat staff interfered in campus council elections Campus Council Includes 28 members:

17

internal members

11

external members

Is to Governing Council what the Governor General is to the Queen

Is Governing Council’s designate at UTM — it oversees

“campus specific matters” Contains 4 available student spots, one of which may be given to a student member of Governing Council Oversees: The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union office. FILE PHOTO: MARGEAUX PARKER/THE VARSITY

Alex McKeen ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Candidates in the recent utm Campus Council elections and student representatives of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu) are jointly calling for an investigation into the recent Campus Council elections due to alleged misconduct on the part of the university’s secretariat.

In a press release by the utmsu, the union alleges that “student representatives were requested by staff working for the University’s secretariat to assist preferred candidates secure nominations for utm campus council.”

When the students did not respond to this request, they were reportedly asked again by university secretariat staff to ensure that certain candidates “received preferential treatment during the nomination process.”

Some utm students say that these requests constitute evidence of collusion between the campus administration and candidates who would support their policies.

According to Walied Khogali, executive director of the utmsu, these requests constituted a major interference in the elections process by an office that should maintain neutrality. “There’s collusion happening with certain candidates,” Khogali says.

The Campus Council is the leading governing body at utm. It consists of 28 members — 17 from within the campus com-

munity — who govern matters specific to the Mississauga campus.

The election results for the teaching and administrative seats on Campus Council were announced February 24, while results for the student seats are slated to be released on April 9.

“PREFERRED” CANDIDATES Bryan Chelvanaigum, utmsu vice president, internal and services, asserts that the alleged event is a sign that the utm Campus Council elections are not fully fair and accessible. “I believe that most Canadians will be alarmed if Elections Canada was seeking nominations for mp’s. We are alarmed that the staff working with chief returning officer of the Campus Council elections was assisting preferred candidates,” Chelvanaigum says.

Some of the other candidates for the utmsu elections are equally concerned. “Administration should not be able to ask candidates or refer candidates if you are on the secretariat because you are the one controlling the restrictions on the election, the demerit points, the disqualifications. So if you bring in your own candidate it’s rigging the race,” says Emerson Calcada, a second-year student and candidate in the Campus Council elections.

CONCERNED ABOUT GOVERNANCE Hassan Havili, president of the utmsu, expressed concerns about the election in a letter addressed to the president of the university,

Meric Gertler, and the secretary of Governing Council, Louis Charpentier.

Havili requests in the letter that the Campus Council election results be suspended until an investigation has taken place, that “reforms” be instituted to prevent staff from intervening in the elections, and that the governance structure of the Campus Council be revisited. The letter is dated March 23, 2015.

“What is deeply concerning is the possibility of collusion between staff of the secretariat and ‘preferred candidates’ who have been chosen to receive support by those involved during the nomination process,” the letter says.

Havili expands on this point, saying that the Campus Council’s structure is not adequate and does not represent the diversity of the utm campus.

Calcada agrees with Havili, saying that there are not enough student seats on the Campus Council in the first place.

Calcada says that he hopes to make utm students aware of his concerns, and to put pressure on the administration to institute election reforms.

According to Jane Stirling, director, marketing and communications at utm, the chair and secretary of the Governing Council are aware of the utmsu’s concerns and take them seriously. “They are following up to obtain factual details of the alleged activity, and will take appropriate action when the facts have been provided,” Stirling told The Varsity.

Agenda Committee Academic Affairs Committee Campus Affairs Committee Campus Council recommended for approval a recent Business Board proposal to increase student fees in the areas of food service, parking, and residence, which is to go before Governing Council this week.

4

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXV, No. 23

news@thevarsity.ca

Mental health, after hours Exam invigilators criticize U of T mental health protocols Salvatore Basilone ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Students suffering from severe anxiety attacks or suicidal feelings are a reality of life at any school, and the University of Toronto is no different.

From nine to five, Monday to Friday, the Student Crisis Response hotline is available to assist U of T faculty and staff who are supervising students undergoing just such a crisis.

But life at U of T continues far beyond regular business hours, and there has recently been criticism over what protocols staff should follow when most university offices are closed.

Alex*, an invigilator with Test and Exam Services, oversees students with documented disabilities, including students who are at greater risk of extremely severe anxiety attacks or even becoming suicidal. “My job is to ensure that they have support to make it through their exams,” Alex says. “During the exam period we face [these situations] very regularly, at least a couple times a week, if not more frequently.”

Alex says invigilators have been instructed to contact campus police, and only campus police, if a student is undergoing a crisis outside of business hours.

This protocol, which Alex says has been in place for about two years, has apparently been a point of disagreement between invigilators who are critical of the policy and the management that implemented it.

Alex expresses appreciation for the job campus police do, but believes they lack the training to respond in a way that de-escalates the situation, and also that calling the police can have a stigmatizing effect on the students. “If

Convocation Hall. JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

you are having a mental health crisis, seeing somebody come in with a uniform on… can exacerbate it for some people,” Alex says.

That criticism is echoed by Pat*, a fellow exam invigilator who supervises students with mental health disabilities. “Part of our issue... and we bring this up every year, is the idea of having to call campus police for a student in crisis is tantamount to calling the police on someone having a mental breakdown,” Pat says.

Both Pat and Alex related similar stories regarding how campus police responded to students undergoing mental health crises.

Officers would arrive and offer the student the choice of either leaving the exam or being

taken to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (camh).

“Only in one instance... have I had a positive experience in terms of how they addressed and dealt with the student,” says Pat. “Generally, it’s a lot more coaching and they’re more confrontational.”

Clifford Posel, an assistant professor with U of T’s department of psychiatry, says that when students are undergoing severe anxiety attacks or suicidal episodes, it is important that the response be therapeutic.

“There are police officers that do have such training,” says Posel, referring to the specially trained officers that serve in the psychiatric mobile crisis intervention teams of 911 emer-

gency services. “These police officers have been specifically trained to work with the mentally ill, so they know how to respond in a therapeutic manner with this population.”

Posel states that he does not know if U of T campus police have this training, but that “if they don’t, then that’s not the best people to call.”

“Regular training is provided to faculty, teaching staff, administrative staff (including campus police) on managing and responding to critical incidents or crisis on campus,” says Althea Blackburn-Evans, U of T director of media relations.

However, Blackburn-Evans did not provide specifics on the kind of training campus police are given in order to deal with mental health crises.

“Situations requiring immediate referral or action are taken very seriously,” says Blackburn-Evans. “In such cases, those responding to the incident are to call 911 and campus police… If the emergency occurs after hours campus police are available to assist.”

She also says that U of T staff supervising students in crisis after hours may seek help from services other than campus police.

This appears to contradict the protocol that exam invigilators claim they have been instructed to follow.

“Services such as Good2Talk … a free, completely confidential and anonymous service that offers students professional counselling, mental health information and connections to local resources — are available after hours,” Blackburn-Evans says. “It is also appropriate for faculty and staff to utilize these services as an addition to internal services.”

“There should be other opportunities in place, but that does not exist for us,” Pat says. *Name changed at person’s request.

The cost of victory Brighter UofT discusses campaign expenses, election funding Tamim Mansour ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The University of Toronto Students’ Union offices. JULIA MALOWANY/THE VARSITY

BY THE NUMBERS: BRIGHTER UOFT Number of posters printed

Cost of domain registration

4,600

$23.24 Cost of Facebook ads

Cost of posters

$388.75

$1,995.02

Percentage of likes from paid ads

Cost of flyers

14.5

$2,373.00

Percentage of posts served through paid ads

37.1

Facebook ads: $400. Flyers: $2,400. Domain registration: $20. Victory: priceless. There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s a candidate’s MasterCard.

According to Ben Coleman, Brighter UofT presidential candidate in the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) election, the slate spent a total of $5,883.55 on the campaign, with print media taking the lion’s share at $4,528.33.

Coleman says that the money to pay for these expenses had to be charged to the candidates’ credit cards, and that candidates needed reimbursement from the utsu in order to pay back these charges. “I personally increased the limit on my credit card from $2,000 to $5,000 in order to carry most of the printing expenses. I do not currently have the ability to pay the balance of my card without a refund,” he said.

The Change UofT slate did not respond to requests for comment.

The amount of reimbursement varies according to the position a candidate is running for, as well as the proportion of votes they win.

According to the Elections Procedure Code (epc), executive candidates will be reimbursed for campaign expenses up to a limit that is determined by the proportion of votes that they collect. The maximum reimbursement of $1,200 can be granted if the candidate obtains between 15 to 100 per cent of the total vote.

For Board of Directors candidates, the epc says that “the Union shall not reimburse a Director Candidate for campaign expenses incurred.”

However, the epc does allow for director candidates who demonstrate financial need to be reimbursed up to a limit of $300 for at-large

director candidates and $100 for other director candidates.

Even with these reimbursements, the expenses racked up over the course of a campaign can be steep. Brighter UofT has arranged expenses in such a way that they are separated or pooled based on the candidates and the expense benefits. “Expenses are separated where clear. Pooled expenses that would be incurred by executives regardless of cross-campaigning with board members will be attributed equally across all the executive candidates,” Coleman says, using the example of flyers, which promote the executive candidates but also contain the names of board candidates, as a pooled expense.

In terms of financial accessibility, Coleman says “there’s a long way to go.”

“The bank shouldn’t even have given me a raise on my credit limit to $5,000,” Coleman says. “There’s no way I have the income to match that but they pre-approved it based on my summer job.”

Auni Ahsan, an independent candidate who ran for Victoria College director, says that as an independent candidate, he incurred few expenses in his campaign. “Due to the nature of what I’m running for, Victoria College isn’t that big of a campus to poster and I didn’t really want to do anything else other than postering,” he said.

Ahsan says that his total expenses came up to $7.50. He is also assisted by a “financial grant offered” by the chief returning officer of $35.

When asked to clarify the amount, Ahsan explained that he does not need a lot of money to cover his constituency. “I didn’t really need that much money for the campaign. I can see it going to a much higher expense for a slate, but as an independent, only having to cover Vic... is not so bad. There [are] really only two [non-residence] buildings I can poster anyway,” he says.

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Laverne Cox inspires GTA students at talk Event facilitated through Toronto students’ union collaboration

Emily Colero VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Content warning: Discussion of violence against trans people, transphobia In Canada, 43 per cent of trans people attempt suicide at some time in their life, compared to 41 per cent in the United States.

In her opening remarks, Laverne Cox, a wellknown actress, producer, speaker and trans activist, declared it a “state of emergency for trans people.”

Cox received three standing ovations at the Elgin Theatre on March 24 after speaking to over 2,000 students and members of the trans community at the sold-out show “Ain’t I A Woman: My Journey to Womanhood.”

The event was organized by a large number of student collectives and groups from all three University of Toronto campuses, Ryerson University, York University, and George Brown College. Tickets were allocated to each school and some were reserved for members of the trans community in Toronto.

There was an asl interpreter present at the event.

Executives of the York Federation of Students and the Ryerson Student Union introduced Laverne Cox while acknowledging the indigenous land the event took place on and that priority for the event went to noncisgender people. They also honoured the trans youth whose lives have been lost to transphobia.

“Justice is what love looks like in public,” Cox said, quoting Cornel West. She continued that people of colour and people with disabilities need love.

Cox spoke for roughly an hour and a half and then took questions for 15 minutes, where members of the audience asked questions about learning to love oneself and

Laverne Cox. ALEXANDRA SCANDOLO/THE VARSITY

how to support a significant other during their transition.

Cox also spoke about her experiences, past and present, navigating her own identity.

“Calling a trans woman a man is an act of violence,” said Cox during her speech, further addressing cat-calling and the importance of pronouns, declaring that “pronouns matter.”

Cox discussed her struggle to accept herself while growing up in Alabama in a Christian, single-parent household. She acknowledged intersectional identities and their importance, such as her own, being a trans woman of colour.

She spoke of how she was bullied her whole life and the struggle for her to find herself and for others to accept her. She

described a particular incident where her therapist wanted to inject her with testosterone to make her more masculine.

Cox later tweeted that the event in Toronto was “palpable and powerful.”

Her role as Sophia Burset on Orange is the New Black is the first instance of a trans woman of colour playing a leading role on mainstream scripted tv.

UTFA addresses academic integrity in strike’s wake Academic contingency plan to carry effects beyond end of strike Rachel Chen VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

To help faculty better understand what the strike, academic continuity, and graduate student funding packages meant for members, the University of Toronto Faculty Association (utfa) held a special meeting on the cupe 3902 Unit 1 strike on Wednesday.

Prior to the meeting, the strike committee called for members to wear academic gowns and similar symbols to show their commitment to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as to academic integrity.

Participants assembled at Simcoe Hall and walked to the hotel together with cupe 3902 members.

Despite the rainy weather, anthropology professors Sarah Hillewaert and Alejandro Paz said they participated in the walk because they did not accept the idea of academic continuity. “The fact that we are being asked to change our syllabi, change our grading scheme — the university is claiming academic continuity, but we cannot. It is not business as usual,” Hillewaert and Paz said in a joint statement.

David Mackenzie, utfa’s special assistant to the executive, said the meeting covered

Picketers stand in silence following a press conference held by Meric Gertler.JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

the main issues raised by the strike. According to him, there was a frank exchange of opinions but no formal debates. “We hoped to accomplish a wider understanding of the situation at that moment, and to give our members an opportunity to speak frankly and ask questions,” Mackenzie said.

At the beginning of the meeting, utfa members heard presentations by strike representatives and by the university administration.

Omar Sirri, a second-year political science PhD student who serves as communications representative for the strike committee, said that cupe hoped to show that the union and university faculty were on the same team.

“If the university administration thinks that it is [okay] to alter course[s] to be credit no credit or to be granting full marks for 20 per cent of the marks is ludicrous and dilutes the value of the undergraduate education,” Sirri

said. “Undergraduates should be up in arms about this.”

Separate from his role as the strike committee’s communications representative, Sirri and Banafsheh Beizaei, a fourth-year student, wrote an open letter to the utfa. The pair asked the utfa to endorse a minimum funding package of $17,500 guaranteed to each individual member.

“The vitality of graduate education and its associated funding model is absolutely critical to the research support faculty receive, the teaching that undergraduates are provided, and ultimately the overall function and future of successful post-secondary education in this country,” Sirri and Beizaei said.

In a media release, U of T president Meric Gertler addressed the university and cupe 3902 Unit 1’s agreement to binding arbitration.

Despite the strike’s end, syllabi for many courses have already been changed.

Gertler acknowledged the academic difficulties posed by the strike.

“To the students who have had to endure uncertainty and anxiety at a crucial time in the year — and especially those who are in the final year of their programs — thank you for your patience. We are enormously relieved that the strike is over. And we share a commitment to resolving all remaining complications caused by the strike as soon as possible,” said Gertler.

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Election season comes to a close A round-up of college and professional faculty election results Article by Iris Robin Illustrations by Kawmadie Karunanayake Election season at the University of Toronto is nearly over. Most colleges and professional faculty councils have selected the students who will lead them next year. Here are the results of their elections.

ENGINEERING SOCIETY (ENGSOC) Ernesto Diaz Lozano Patino is EngSoc’s next president; Rachel Reding is the next vicepresident, finance; and Maddy Santia will be vice-president, student life. All three candidates ran unopposed.

Reena Cabanilla beat out William Merrick for the position of vice-president, communication, and Oghosa Igbinakenzua won vice-president, academic against Stephen Xu.

INNIS COLLEGE STUDENT SOCIETY (ICSS) Khrystyna Zhuk will serve as the icss president in 2015–2016, while also taking on the role of Arts & Science at-large director with the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu)’s Board of Directors. Likewise, Nicole Thompson will be icss’ vicepresident, finance along with her responsibilities as Innis College director at the utsu Board of Directors. Brianne Katz-Griffin was elected as executive vice-president.

ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE STUDENT UNION (SMCSU) Elections for the smcsu took place between March 26 and March 29. Stefan Sistilli Sguazzin and Joseph Crimi have been announced as the new predisent and vice-president. They are joined by a 14-strong council.

FACULTY OF MUSIC UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION (FMUA)

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LITERARY AND ATHLETIC SOCIETY (UC LIT)

Although fmua elections conclude on Wednesday, April 1, a number of positions have been announced as unofficially acclaimed. Mathias Memmel, current fmua co-president will serve a second term. He will be joined by Andrew Adridge. Helen Geng is set to be vice-president, communications; Derek Ou will be vice-president, social; Mackenzie Clark will be vice-president, external; and Brayden Friesen will be vice-president, internal. The results for the vice-president, finance will be announced after the elections.

Amanda Stojcevski, Ramsey Andary, and Snow Mei won their respective positions of president, vice-president, and finance commissioner in unopposed elections. Outgoing president Eric Schwenger will stay on uc Lit as its athletics commissioner, having won against Sameer Rai.

NEW COLLEGE STUDENT COUNCIL (NCSC) Zachary Bist won ncsc presidency by a narrow margin of 10 votes against rival Akhil Chakka. Michael Ansell was acclaimed as vice-president administration. Smriti Sasikumar won the office of vice-president, student services in a three-way race against Timur Gomellya and Shubham Shabba Sharma. Nicholas Grant was the sole candidate for vice-president, finance and will concurrently act as the second of two Arts & Science at-large directors on the utsu’s Board of Directors.

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL (VUSAC) The official results of the vusac elections are set to be announced on Monday, March 30.

KINESIOLOGY AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION (KPEUA) Due to technical difficulties, the kpeua has changed its voting dates to Monday, March 30 to Wednesday, April 1. kpeua members may vote online only.

TRINITY COLLEGE

NURSING UNDERGRADUATE SOCIETY (NUS) Marty Butler was elected president, Krista McCambridge as director of communications, and Melissa Kim as senior director of finances. Justin Leigh Struss will be vicepresident until his term ends in September.

Trinity holds three rounds of elections over three weeks and the heads team is elected in the first week. Four of the six heads’ positions were unopposed, with Sarah Harrison claiming female head of college, Sam Kokonis female head of arts, and Benjamin Horvath winning male head of nonresident affairs. Emily Brade won female head of non-resident affairs over Alessandra Harkness and Elise Wagner, and Narain Yucel beat opponents Luis Lopez and Anthony Marchese in the competition for male head of arts. The race for male head of college also involved three candidates: Reid Dobell, Pierre Kochel, and Hayden Rodenkirchen. Dobell emerged victorious.

WOODSWORTH COLLEGE STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION Olivia Hauck will serve as president with Teeka Cookson as vice-president of internal affairs, Alexandra Spence as vice-president of financial affairs, and Asad Jamal as vice-president of external affairs. They will be joined by Shonali Lakhani in her capacity as vice-president of public relations, Danielle Ouellette as vice-president of athletic affairs, and Ongio Tsui, incoming vicepresident of social affairs.

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Community Knowledge Alliance hosts event on sexual assault Attendees asked to consider role of university institution in combating gendered violence

Wendy Komiotis, Bilan Arte, and Lori Chambers at the event. SANDY MA/THE VARSITY

Andreea Musulan VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Content warning: Discussion of sexual violence The Women and Gender Studies Student Union and the Community Knowledge Alliance, a Women and Gender Studies Institute initiative, sponsored an event on Friday aimed at addressing activism and accountability for sexual assault on campus.

The event drew speakers Bilan Arte, national deputy chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students; Lori Chambers, a pro-

fessor of women’s studies at Lakehead University; and Wendy Kamiotis, executive director of metrac (Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children).

One of the main topics of the evening was institutional responsibility for sexual assault.

Chambers described her leadership role at Lakehead University developing institutional policies and creating a set of guidelines for professors to follow should they become aware of an instance of sexual assault.

Chambers said that the work she has done on the subject has drawn the attention of multiple small universities looking to implement similar initiatives. Chambers says that

larger institutions have yet to seek her advice on the same.

Marvin Zuker, a family court judge and lecturer at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (oise) for over 30 years, spoke on the university’s lack of leadership in addressing sexual violence. “It’s inexcusable that we have a code of conduct that hasn’t been updated since 2002,” Zucker said.

A recurrent theme of the evening was communication. Celia Wandio, a third-year student and founder of U of T Students against Sexual Violence, said the university has a long way to go in developing a prevention and survivor response strategy.

Wandio added that the university must listen to the groups on campus who are working to respond to sexual violence.

Of the many groups working towards this goal on campus, few obtained representation on the Student Advisory Committee to the Provost on Sexual Assault, prompting Wandio to launch a petition for broader representation.

During the question and answer portion of last Friday’s event, Amy*, a long-time activist, said that education plays a key role in reversing the trend of sexual violence. “If you teach people not to rape, they won’t,” she said. *First name only used by request.

Conservatives to propose amendments to C-51 Anti-terror bill to go through clause-by-clause review in wake of wide criticism Meerah Haq VARSITY STAFF

Bill C-51, a Conservative government anti-terror bill that has been the subject of controversy since its introduction in January, is to undergo a review and amendment process beginning Tuesday.

Amendments will attempt to narrow the scope of what might be considered terrorist activity, according to CBC News.

The bill has drawn criticism from some who say that it restricts freedom and defies the constitution.

A series of protests have occurred in recent weeks, including a country-wide “Defend our Freedom” day of action, during which ndp and Official Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair and Green Party leader Elizabeth May joined thousands of protesters in Montréal and Toronto, respectively. ndp mp Andrew Cash says the faults in Bill C-51 compromise the spirit of the constitution.

“The charter rights and freedoms are great when everyone agrees and things are popular. It is when communities are under threat that we need to defend the threat of all religions, freedom of free speech, freedom of assembly and the freedom of our civil liberties,” Cash says.

Cash adds that the “vague wording of Bill C-51” could “lump together” environmental and First Nations activism with violent extremism under the law.

Last week, Internet company Mozilla also spoke against the bill, with Jochai Ben-Avie, a policy manager for the company, saying that the bill would “undermine user trust, threaten the openness of the Web, and reduce the security of the Internet and its users.”

Former prime ministers Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, Joe Clark, and John Turner have all called for stronger security oversight, but caution that the government’s bill may take it too far.

These former prime ministers and 18 other prominent Canadians, including five former Supreme Court Justices, issued a joint statement regarding the bill. “Protecting human rights and protecting public safety are complementary objectives, but experience has shown that serious human rights abuses can occur in the name of maintaining national security,” they said in the statement. ndp deputy public safety critic Rosane Doré Lefebvre told CBC News that the Conservative Party has been “forced to change their tune” due to the major backlash produced by the bill’s opponents.

A rally in Nathan Phillips Square. MALLIKA MAKKAR/THE VARSITY

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news@thevarsity.ca

University, union agree to accept decision of third party “I took it as a concession from them,” says Culpepper of the arbitration offer. “I was surprised that they would be willing to have arbitrated things that they’ve said all along are fundamental matters of principal.”

Gertler’s statement thanked students for their patience, and also contained conciliatory words for union members.

“Our task now is to work together to support our undergraduate and graduate students as they complete their term,” he said.

March 10 and thus did not go on strike.

Though the university and Unit 1 negotiated several times, they repeatedly failed to reach a deal. Unit 1 proposed an agreement to the university on March 13. The university declined to accept it and offered a counter proposal, which Unit 1 did not accept.

On Wednesday, March 18, the two sides reached a tentative agreement, which was voted down in the early hours of March 23 with 1,101 no votes to 992 yes, 27 disallowed, and four spoiled. This development extended the strike for another three days.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

UNDERGRADUATES UNSATISFIED

The strike began when cupe 3902 Unit 1 voted down an eleventh-hour tentative deal proposed by the university. Lively picket lines formed across campus, with the corner of St. George and Hoskin, outside Sidney Smith Hall, near the Rotman Commerce building, and the entrance to King’s College Circle on College Street being among the most heavily picketed areas.

Many academic activities were cancelled, suspended, or otherwise disrupted as a result of the labour shortage. Labs and tutorials were lost, and large numbers of assignments went ungraded.

Some undergraduate students took initiative and tried to make up their study time by forming informal reading groups.

Some classes were held on picket lines or offcampus, and at least one lecture normally held in Convocation Hall took place on Front Campus.

Although many professors amended their syllabi to mitigate the effects of the strike, The Varsity received reports of instructors from other cupe 3902 units filling in for the striking tas.

Unit 3, which represents sessional lecturers, reached a settlement with the university on

As the strike entered its third week, undergraduate students across all three campuses acted in solidarity with their tas.

Over 1,000 students at the St George campus participated in a walkout on March 18, congregating in front of Simcoe Hall, the building that houses many of the university’s most important administrative offices. Their counterparts at utm rallied outside of utm principal Deep Saini’s office and demanded that he meet with them regarding the strike.

Similarly, students at utsc staged a sit-in at their registrar’s office on March 19 in solidarity with cupe 3902. Their actions followed the release of a letter dated March 17 from utsc’s academic directors, which called for the provost to agree to a minimum funding package for graduate students.

CONTINUED FROM COVER

UNIVERSITY ATTEMPTS TO SAVE THE SEMESTER The university announced a strike contingency plan on March 23, which some were quick to dub “academic continuity.”

Picketers in front of Simcoe Hall. JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

The plan includes giving students the chance to declare any full- or half-year courses offered this year credit/no credit (cr/ncr) even after the final marks are revealed — regardless of whether or not they were affected by the strike. These courses do not count towards the 2.0 credit cr/ ncr maximum.

Students may also drop courses past the end of the semester without academic penalty.

The term will not be extended and the April exam period will proceed as scheduled; however, the Faculty of Arts & Science has warned that some final exams may be altered or cancelled.

Most executive races had over 1,000 spoiled ballots CONTINUED FROM COVER

Brighter U of T. FILE PHOTO: JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

Thanks for reading, U of T!

Of the nine total rulings posted as of press time, five were posted on Sunday, March 22.

One of the rulings referred to all members of the Brighter UofT slate. According to the elections notice board, non-arms-length parties to the Brighter UofT slate had violated the rules of fair play by posting “bullying, harassing and libelous” content directed towards Change UofT’s presidential candidate, Cameron Wathey.

According to the cro’s description, the post in question “us[ed] slanderous language describing Mr. Wathey as sexist and misogynistic [and] falsely represent[ed] his online presence.”

It is unclear if the ruling refers to an incident last Friday, in which Wathey appeared to “like” a misogynistic post on the U of T Confessions page.

Wathey responded that the action was not his own, but an attack on his social media presence.

Brighter UofT members were assigned three demerit points as a result of the complaint.

Xinbo Zhang, vice-president, university affairs candidate for Change UofT, was also assigned three demerit points for the complaint.

The cro did not respond to request for comment. Change UofT also did not respond to requests for comment.

It remains unclear why Zhang was named in the ruling, since he is not associated with the Brighter UofT slate.

According to Brighter UofT presidential candidate Ben Coleman, the slate intends to appeal the ruling.

The cro also issued three demerit points to Brighter UofT Woodsworth director candidate Nathan Gibson for a complaint that he and a “non-arms-length” party took down other candidates’ posters.

A complaint issued against the Change UofT slate for misrepresentation of facts resulted in one demerit point for Grayce Slobodian, vice president, internal and services candidate. The complaint alleged that the “Victories” page on the Change UofT website misrepresented the achievements of the Change UofT team. The cro determined that only one statement was misrepresented, and that Slobodian was the only team member responsible for the false content. cro rulings five and six, which pertained to minor complaints against Change UofT director candidate Neil Vas and Brighter UofT vice president, equity, candidate Sania Khan, respectively, did not result in the assignment of demerit points.

RATIFICATION In order to be disqualified, executive candidates would have to receive 35 demerit points, while at-large director candidates would have to receive 30, and other director candidates, 20. “I’m fairly confident that no one on our team has done anything to warrant a disqualification,” says Vip Vigneswaran, campaign manager for Brighter UofT. utsu president-elect Coleman says that the entire Brighter slate was “pretty confident” about the election results. “We’re excited to get to work, and would like to thank all candidates for putting themselves out there,” he said Sunday.

Wathey said that he and his team ran a positive campaign that focused on issues and put students first. “I am so proud of my team and everything we have accomplished in the last few weeks,” he stated.

The election results must still be ratified at a utsu Board of Directors meeting on Monday.

With files from Iris Robin.

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Students respond to big questions Ask Big Questions event aims to start relatable conversations on campus Emma Compeau VARSITY STAFF

“What will your legacy be?”

That was the question facing University of Toronto students last week when Ask Big Questions (abq) U of T, a student group that aims to change the world through better conversation, placed large blackboards at campus hotspots, such as Hart House and the Medical Sciences building.

Student responses on the boards varied, ranging from goals such as running a marathon, to learning sign language, or getting a pet ferret.

This semester’s question was aimed at getting students to think about what they are working towards, what they are involved in, and why.

Roslyn Grant, a fellow at abq U of T, says that the purpose of the group is to spark discussions on campus between people who may not otherwise cross paths.

According to the group, the big questions are relatable to all people, regardless of background, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or anything else. abq is an initiative that takes place across more than 13 university campuses in North America.

It began accidentally at Northwestern University on a poster board at an event held by Hillel, an international Jewish group, where students were asked what they would do differently this year for an upcoming holiday.

Although abq is part of Hillel, it is a secular organization. abq U of T is held on campus once a semester, and has been active at U of T for the past few years.

According to Grant, abq U of T puts a lot of thought into the questions that they ask, targeting issues that are specific to U of T and reflect student expression.

Grant says that abq is important because it encourages students to define their success beyond just academics and facilitates opportunities for students to take a step back and set other goals.

Although it is a conversation starter, it can also have a meaningful personal impact on students who may personally reflect on the question rather than contribute on the board.

“When you have the experience of engaging, you realize how powerful it is and that people have a lot to contribute,” says Grant. abq U of T has worked in collaboration with other campus groups and initiatives to encourage thinking outside the box.

While the group is only active on the St. George campus, Grant says there are possibilities for expansion to the Mississauga and Scarborough campuses in the future.

Ask Big Questions UofT blackboard, top. Ask Big Questions UofT pamphlets, bottom. JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

NEWS IN BRIEF University of Toronto Schools to stay on campus despite eviction notice The University of Toronto Schools (uts), a high school situated on the U of T campus, is to remain there. uts received a 10-year eviction notice in 2011, ordering it to vacate its 371 Bloor Street West location.

Although no deal between the school and the university has been reached, Scott Mabury, U of T’s vice president, university operations, told the Toronto Star that the two sides have agreed conceptually and will now have to come to a written agreement. If the two sides reach an agreement, it will need to be approved by both the university and the uts board. uts was founded in 1910 and was once affiliated with U of T. It was government funded until the 1980s, and has paid rent to U of T since it became independent in 2006.

— Iris Robin With files from the Toronto Star

Alberta post-secondary institutions see four per cent budget cut Alberta post-secondary institutions will see a four per cent budget cut according to the recent provincial budget unveiled by Premier Jim Prentice.

Post-secondary institution operating budgets will be reduced by 1.4 per cent this year and by 2.7 per cent next year.

Over the past year, oil prices have plummeted from $100 per barrel to about $50 per barrel.

Government money makes up a greater proportion of post-secondary funding in Alberta than in other Canadian provinces.

“Given where Alberta is and the fiscal situation, I think the Premier and his team have done a remarkable job of navigating the province in a very tough time, and laying down a plan of how Alberta might finally not be subject to the roller coaster of oil and gas revenues,” said Indira Samarasekera, University of Alberta president.

“We have to worry about students, particularly about students from a lower socio-economic background. There are other ways in which revenue can be generated,” Samarasekera added.

— James Flynn With files from The Globe and Mail

102-year-old Newfoundland woman gets new dentures

Over 3,000 U of T employees make Sunshine List

102-year-old Maude Boone can now eat salt beef again — her favourite food — after replacing her missing dentures.

The Newfoundland woman lost the dentures during a stay in the hospital.

“All of her food was mashed, it was all mashed up and she’d eat a little bit, but it wasn’t the same for her,” said Julia Sharpe, Boone’s granddaughter.

The dentures were made by Jamie Fitzgerald, a denturist in Deer Lake.

Fitzgerald reportedly made six trips to Boone’s home to fit the new dentures.

“It’s more difficult when you have to leave the clinic to go and do work, but given the fact of the situation she was in, a bit of a desperate situation, she was having a difficult time eating and whatnot so I kind of felt for her,” said Fitzgerald.

According to Boone, she can eat her favourite foods once again: salt beef, cabbage, and turnip.

Over 3,000 University of Toronto employees made over $100,000 in 2014 according to the recently released “Sunshine List.”

The list, released annually by the Government of Ontario, discloses the names and salaries of all public sector workers making over $100,000.

This year marks the first time that the list itself contains over 100,000 names, with the combined salaries of all listed workers topping $14 billion.

William Moriarty, president and ceo of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation, which manages the university’s pension and endowment funds as well as short and long-term investments, was the highest paid U of T employee with a salary of $937,500.

The 3,195 U of T employees on the list collected a combined $491,243,857.42.

— James Flynn With files from cbc News

— Salvatore Basilone With files from the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail

Comment

VAR.ST/COMMENT

30 MARCH 2015

comment@thevarsity.ca

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

The limit of safe spaces While appropriate for private associations, they have no place in the public sphere Micheal Luoma VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Originally a notion developed by the lgbtq movement, “safe spaces” were imagined as places defined by openness and acceptance for non-heterosexual identities. Recently, the idea of safe spaces has been embraced by many movements in a variety of contexts.

Fostering safe spaces is an essential aspect of social justice. However, we should be careful of expanding their scope to the university as a whole, because of the risk they pose to non-negotiable values, such as free speech and freedom of expression.

What is the essence of a safe space? It is inherently political — it is a space that stands in opposition to a background of violence and fear. Violence is a broad term; it may reasonably connote physical harm or psychological trauma following from a demeaning insult or stereotype. I am more interested in the latter and how it applies to discrimination law.

Constitutional equality guarantees all persons a certain set of domain-specific freedoms.

In the Canadian context, these freedoms hold

in the legal, political, and economic spheres, but not in most private spheres. This is the approach that Canadian legal philosopher Sophia Moreau takes in her very humane liberal theory of discrimination law.

According to Moreau, the primary interest protected by Section 15 of the Charter might be called “deliberative freedom.” Rather than referring to freedom of conscience, this concept implies the ability of all subjects to deliberate, make plans, and successfully act upon their plans without having to consider normatively extraneous traits, such as race, gender, or sexual identity. To have to consider some traits as a limitation is to have to factor it into one's considerations: to worry about exclusion, limitation, antipathy, or harassment on the basis of that trait in one's day-to-day affairs.

A safe space might be considered similarly.

In a safe space, subjects are free from the burden of having to consider certain traits as limits; conversation and behaviour alike are unconstrained by fear of a potentially negative response on the basis of one's identity that might limit, demean, or harass. The benefit of said spaces are clear — they provide refuge in the a sea of demeaning ste-

reotypes and stigmatization. They are places for marginalized groups to articulate their shared experience and to develop groupspecific means of coping.

By necessity, such a space is highly constructed. It is never spontaneous, but relies upon some exclusionary norm; some practice, person, class of persons, or set of beliefs is not permitted in some space.

This is not always problematic, as the exclusion of persons or the restriction of conduct are not always immoral. What is clear, however, is that a safe space is never neutral.

In fact, such spaces are necessarily countercultural, as they are resisting the dominant ideology of society at large.

Some are uncomfortable with the idea of explicit exclusion as such — but who are they to limit people's freedom of private association along whatever lines are so desired, especially when such associations serve to promote in-group solidarity and the political mobilization of a disadvantaged class?

Liberal societies are defined by their permissiveness of differing conceptions of the good. They do not enforce one particular set of beliefs as to what constitutes a good life on all members of that society. The notion

of a safe space, when interpreted as a place where individuals are free from potential psychological injury potentially incurred by the mere expression of their worldview, is not at odds with liberalism provided that the extension of such spaces is limited, or non-totalizing.

Yet it is not the case that a liberal can endorse all spaces in society as safe spaces in this sense. To do so would be to enforce one particular set of beliefs as to what constitutes the good over all other conceptions. If the mere expression of a worldview that puts pressure on a particular group is sufficient to count as psychological trauma to that group, the political arena may have to eternally remain somewhat unsafe if it is to be just.

This also applies to public institutions vital to our democracy, like universities. To limit the free association of persons or the free exchange of ideas, whether these ideas are suspect or not, is to enforce a totalizing conception of the good. This is something that cuts to the quick of our conception of Canadian liberal democracy.

Michael Luoma is a fourth-year philosophy specialist at Trinity College.

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Time to overhaul the system U of T’s notification system is in drastic need of updating Column Emma Kikulis ASSOCIATE COMMENT EDITOR

We are in tumultuous times here at U of T: classes are being cancelled, assignments are being discarded, and final exams are being reweighted. The extent of the damage is so widespread that you’d be hard-pressed to find an undergraduate not affected in some way by the cupe 3902 Unit 1 labour strike.

Although the damage caused by the strike has been undeniable, many students are coming to terms with the fact that their assignment will most likely be skimmed, if read at all, by their professors.

The cupe 3901 Unit 1 strike has provided the rare opportunity for students to observe and comment on the efficacy of how the university is keeping its students in the loop about the current state of affairs.

In this respect, U of T has failed miserably. The university bombarded our email inboxes with subtle propaganda towards their cause — these emails and bulletins have had the opposite effect on garnering student support for U of T’s limited bargaining with cupe 3902 Unit 1, as the content of these emails has been transparently biased and contradictory.

Take, for example, the first email U of T students received on February 27, day one of the strike. The message, between inferring that picketers would be confrontational and belligerent towards students, also included a weak offer of reassurance by stating that although the university

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

“places a very high value on maintaining the integrity of [its] academic programs," courses, grades, and moving forward toward the end of the semester, there would be “difficulties or confusion” as the university attempted “to establish alternative arrangements for some courses.”

The rhetoric of this message, while purposefully vague and belittling, is also inherently indicative of the nature of communications between the administration and its students. Email, while good for reaching

out to the entire student population easily, is an old and ineffective technology that needs to be scrapped as the primary mode of communication between students and the administration.

These emails lose their resonance with students because we’re bombarded with several of them a day from multiple university organizations — how these clubs and organizations gain access to our personal email addresses is another story — but the ping of a new message from U of T in our inboxes is

white noise to students who have moved on to more effective modes of communication.

That being said, the university has taken some steps to improve communication with students. The UTAlert service provides students who register with a text message informing them of an emergency.

Although the system doesn’t clearly state what warrants an “emergency text,” I would argue that the service would be better suited to informing students about non-weather related, less dire situations — like honest messages about the status of our courses, specific information about negotiations with cupe, and links to further information.

Trying to gather information from U of T shouldn’t be as difficult as it currently is.

Not enough is being done to effectively communicate with students — we’re constantly being directed and redirected to various people, websites, and hotlines in order to get a straight answer.

On the other hand, the tas and cupe 3902 Unit 1 have got it right. They are a huge presence on multiple social media platforms, and the rhetoric they’re using to communicate with students and the community via these platforms is not only informative, but comprehensive as well.

If U of T wants to garner support from and cease alienating its undergrad students, the administration needs to re-evaluate and immediately update the rhetoric, methods, and mediums they use to communicate with us — then maybe I’ll stop sending everything to “spam.”

Emma Kikulis is an associate comment editor at The Varsity. She is studying sociology and English. Her column appears bi-weekly.

UTSU should improve advocacy techniques Lack of consultation divides students when we need unity most

Students should use elections to hold union advocacy to account. JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

Christian Medeiros VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

In February, students invaded and occupied Amsterdam University’s main administrative and humanities buildings. The students were demanding changes to the university’s administration such as greater democratization of university governance, increased transparency

of the university’s finances, an end to budget cuts for departments, and better conditions for temporary staff. Their protest garnered attention and support from the mayor of Amsterdam, the Dutch public at large, the education minister, and international academics such as Noam Chomsky. Similar protests have spread across Europe to other schools such as the London School of Economics. Their efforts are a master class in student mobilization.

With our own student union being sworn in this coming Monday, it is worth taking a bit of time to review their past work in “advocacy,” which they describe as a major part of their job.

The utsu advocates across a number of sectors. They work to lower or restructure fees, lobby for rights for international students, push back against unpaid internships, fight for a more equitable campus, and promote sustainability via divestment and other initiatives. The utsu’s range is strong, and with some small exceptions, their agenda covers the issues that matter to students.

Their “victories” have been impressive: removing work permits for international students, getting legal rights for unpaid internships, and other efforts have all been important advocacy successes. However, it is important to note that the majority of these victories are the result of larger national campaigns, pre-existing politics, or efforts from their parent body, the Chartered Federation of Students. The utsu represents the whole student body — as such, it should be taking advantage of its substantial mobilization capabilities.

A big obstacle to advocacy at U of T is campus-wide alienation due to the large size of the student body, the multiple campuses, and significant commuter populations. While the utsu tries to combat this issue with weekly social events, their events are often not well–attended and often conflict with other groups on campus such as college frosh weeks or faculty events. The utsu’s role in making the campus more social and inclusive is important, but often underachieving. Success in this area would greatly strengthen their

ability to mobilize students for other advocacy campaigns.

Additionally, the utsu often manages mobilization poorly in that they endorse campaigns or events that are irrelevant or divisive to the greater student body. Israeli Apartheid Week is the perennial example, but I want to touch on a much more recent one. The strike by cupe 3902 affected almost all students at the university, shutting down classes for almost four weeks. Directly supporting the plight of the precariously employed is the right thing to do, but not necessarily in the interest of all students. The utsu’s advocacy consisted of a joint protest with tas, a walk out for a tuition refund, and a pamphlet reposted online about how syllabus changes are bad.

Most students simply wanted their classes back and to end their year without a hitch.

Furthermore, these students were the prime bargaining chip in the negotiations. There is no reason why the utsu should have claimed to speak for the whole undergraduate body when they simply threw their support behind the tas without consultation. In doing so, they alienated many students who just wanted to go to class, not walk out of them for a tuition refund. A student movement for student rights in the protest would have been more effective and more legitimate — it would have united undergraduates at U of T and pushed the university to find a solution instead of creating more animosity within our already disparate student population.

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

12

Vol. CXXXV, No. 23

VARSITY COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

Academic integrity on the line?

In the wake of a major labour dispute, U of T undergraduates are left confused Dmitry Polyanskyy VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

With a major labour disruption plaguing the university for the past four weeks, students in affected classes have not been receiving feedback on their work in a timely manner. In fact, many classes across the university’s three campuses have been cancelled — leaving students without instruction and effectively in the dark about the material they were expecting to be taught.

In response, the university has implemented an academic continuity policy in an effort to minimize the stress that the labour disruption has had on students. The policy extends the deadline for students to select to credit, no-credit (cr/ncr) a course, or withdraw late (lwd) from a course. Each faculty and campus has its own specific dates.

On its face, it seems that taking a course on a pass or fail basis — or dropping a course altogether after seeing your final grade — is a great solution for students who have been affected by the labour disruption.

However, it is important to re-

member the underlying issue here: that the quality of our education and the value of our degrees are being compromised. Where will our missed lectures, tutorials, and laboratory times go? Should students be satisfied with not receiving the allocated time that was set out in the course syllabi? More particularly, should students be satisfied with the undermining of the rigour they expect from their education?

The consequences of a lack of concrete grades being assigned to students may cause problems in the future, and the repercussions of choosing an amended cr/ncr or lwd option, as a student, is definitely worth investigating. How will departments handle those students who decide to apply for competitive subject POSts for the next academic year — will students have to reapply in subsequent years? Will there be standardized tests? What about those students who are graduating and need their grades for further studies or future employment?

The solution? It seems that the academic continuity policy varies across U of T campuses, with each implementing their own, some-

Professor Joe Carens speaks to undergraduates at a teach-in hosted by Students First. JENNIFER SU/THE VARSITY

times quite significant, modifications. In an ideal situation, however, an entire faculty or campus should not be making the decision for all the courses being taught within it.

More so, the departments

should be assessing the disruption of each class on an individual basis and be making decisions as to what procedures to implement case-by-case.

Currently, it seems that nobody from the Faculty of Arts & Science will

be failing a class this semester — perhaps an unprecedented event in the history of the university.

Dmitry Polyanskyy is a second-year student studying math and computer science.

Why we need divestment A response to Li Pan’s “The oil industry divestment campaign isn’t working” Op-ed Keara Lightning DIVESTMENT ADVOCATE

Keara Lightning, divestment advocate. ALEXANDRA SCANDOLO/THE VARSITY

In a column last week, author Li Pan argued that the responsibility for easing society off of fossil fuels lies with the consumers. As the argument goes, fossil fuel companies are only supplying what “we” demand. Real change has to involve consumer sacrifice. What Mr. Pan suggests is that more effective campaigns should call for more awareness, carbon taxes, subsidies, and investment in green energy alternatives. Mr. Pan makes valid points, but the actions he calls for are not sufficient to address the climate crisis. This response will explain why fossil fuel divestment can bring about real change.

As Nehiyaw Iskwew (translation: a Cree woman), I look at our consumer choices as an expression of self-determination. René Tenasco, councillor of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Council in 1992, stated in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: “Self-determining peoples have the freedom to choose the pathways that best express their identity, their sense of themselves and the character of their relations with others.” Whether or not we want to contribute to climate change, each day we are forced to. Self-determination is a term frequently used in discussions of Aboriginal politics, but in this context, all Canadians who value the environment and the well being of future generations have little self-determination — little freedom to choose pathways that are true to their values.

As Mr. Pan says, "consumers will need to make significant sacrifices."

His mistake is setting those goals at

odds with divestment. Combatting climate change requires massive shifts in political power and infrastructure. The fossil fuel industry is politically powerful — it spent an estimated $213 million lobbying us and eu descision makers in 2013 alone. We need to take away its legitimacy. If we can take away its legitimacy, we can take away its political power and the massive subsidies it recieves. We will force parties to build a fossil free economy that can meet our needs equitably.

Arguing that responsibility lies with individual consumers to reduce demand relies on the assumption that we all have the ability to do so. It’s no surprise that organic foods and environmentally friendly products are associated with the well-off. The majority of consumers don’t have the time, money, and energy to devote to making sure

everything they buy is good for the planet — they’re trying to work precarious jobs and take care of families.

Even if a majority of consumers make a concerted effort to curb our consumption, our society at large will continue to be reliant on oil. There is a qualitative difference between me divesting from fossil fuels, and U of T, Canada’s most prestigious university, divesting.

We don’t have a lot of options to express a love for the life of this planet in our day-to-day lives. We don’t have the power of fossil fuel companies to donate millions to political lobbying.

Our university is supposed to represent our values. To do that, U of T must divest from fossil fuels.

Keara Lightning is a first-year student at Innis College studying Aboriginal studies. She is also a member of the fossil fuel divestment campaign at Innis College.

when you are working with a professional tutor.

If you are feeling stuck – if you think you could use help with math, chemistry, physics or statistics, go to math-etc.ca or send an e-mail to svg@aya.yale.edu to book a free, no-obligation, hour-long appointment.

Editorial

VAR.ST/EDITORIAL 30 MARCH 2015

A failure of leadership and of education Undergraduates were left in the dark by university administration throughout the strike

editorial@thevarsity.ca

LETTERS TO

THE EDITOR

Vol. CXXXV, No. 23 | March 30, 2015

With the news Thursday evening that administration and cupe 3902 Unit 1 will be moving forward in negotiations through binding arbitration, the strike at the University of Toronto has finally come to a close after weeks of cancelled classes and tutorials and disruption throughout campus.

Over the course of the past four weeks of the strike, students and faculty at the university were left without administrative guidance, dealing with academic disruption on a disturbingly ad hoc basis. Excepting a regularly updated faq section of the university’s website, communication with students throughout the labour dispute was infrequent and vague. Some professors cancelled classes in solidarity with the tas, while others dramatically altered syllabi to reduce marking and make completing the term manageable.

Certainly, this situation can hardly be described as “business as usual,” but the administration insisted upon shirking responsibility for its undergraduate students during the strike by acting under this false notion.

Just a few days before the strike ended, the Faculty of Arts & Science emailed students with some academic guidance. The options to cancel, or Credit/No Credit (cr/ncr) courses once their final grades are released without academic penalty for any courses this term were forwarded to students.

Instructors were also given the option to release grades either as percentages, letters, or cr/ncr on the basis of the amount of work that was assessed and syllabi adjustments. With exam invigilators on strike, the university’s academic continuity policy also included the possible cancellations of finals or changes in scope and format. A possible change could have been to reformat exams to multiple choice so that they could be marked more quickly with Scantrons.

This information arrived painfully late in the strike, and only after many students had endured significant stress brought about by uncertainty. More importantly, however, these options represent a lack of respect for actual classroom learning. Students do not take courses merely to receive credits and reach graduation. We value our degrees — not only do we often need information from our courses for application in other courses, graduate programs, and careers, but many of us also share a genuine desire to learn — a desire for which we are all willing to pay. In return, however, all we have received is cancelled classes and credits doled out without meaningful academic assessment.

Early last week, a first-year sociology class of over one thousand students was disrupted as a result of the strike.

Rumours circulated on social media that the administration had locked the doors to Convocation Hall; some students alleged that picketers had taken a hard line in front of the iconic U of T lecture hall and were refusing to allow them to enter the building. The administration denied the former, while some members of cupe 3902 denied the latter.

Meanwhile, the course took place in the centre of King’s College Circle as an informal conversation rather than a lecture. The professor made the decision to hold the discussion outside. He later told The Varsity that this was not meant as a political decision, but rather a judgement call balancing different concerns.

Whether or not this represents a sound decision, the fact that the professor had to make such a significant choice in such an ad hoc manner is demonstrative of the lack of communication between the university and its staff. Students who commuted downtown for the lecture may not have done so had they known that the material covered would not be used for academic assessment, as the professor later announced; students with accessibility concerns may not have been able to attend an outdoor class.

This example is but one representative anecdote of many: lectures being cancelled indefinitely, essays being dramatically cut down in length, syllabi being adjusted without class votes, high grades being offered to full classes, and more.

The Arts and Science Students' Union says it received approximately 130 academic complaints from undergraduate students per week during the strike, totalling around 500 for the month. This strike, for undergraduate students, has been characterized by misinformation, rumours, and stress.

Moreover, the strike has underscored the administration’s indifference towards our education. Not only were undergraduate students not provided with meaningful academic leadership throughout the past month of disputes, but the university’s eventual response — on the cusp of the exam period, no less — represents nothing short of a clear disrespect to the value of our education.

Much of the discourse surrounding this strike has centred on its underlying ideological motives. Members of cupe 3902 were standing up against what is increasingly perceived as the corporate strategy of the university.

U of T’s callousness towards undergraduates throughout the strike and ultimate solution of desperately fasttracking credits in order to spare the term represents a failure of administrative leadership; it also paints a vivid picture of the commercialized academic institution that the university is becoming. U of T should not be a factory that churns out degrees. Our time here is valuable, but so as long it remains undervalued by the institution’s top players, it seems that our education will be secondary to our graduation.

Dear President Gertler, I am terribly disappointed by your email (March 25, 2015) to all University of Toronto employees, regarding your proposal to resolve the cupe 3902 Unit 1 strike through binding arbitration. In it, you state that: "Faculty, staff and students have been respectful of the collective bargaining process." Yes, we have. We have not interfered with the negotiating process. We have not attempted to sway public opinion through propaganda. We have tried to remain impartial while acknowledging years of failed policy decisions made by Simcoe Hall. But since you have brought the discussion into the public forum, I feel obliged to respond.

I see Simcoe Hall is at an impasse.

Yet anyone who has been around the University of Toronto for the past decade could have easily predicted that such a strike would happen. Indeed, the University's Governing Council did anticipate this by approving the "Policy on Academic Continuity" in 2012. Yet it is a quixotic document containing no realistic proposals for dealing with the emergencies envisioned.

Pandemics and natural disasters are beyond Simcoe Hall's control.

Labour disputes provoked by years of failed policy decisions, however, are truly of Simcoe Hall's own making and responsibility.

That Simcoe Hall, with its illustrious body of intellectuals, is at an impasse is a sobering thought. That the only contingency for dealing with this labour dispute is to call upon binding arbitration makes a mockery of the university's much promoted "Boundless Creativity." Arbitration has existed since Napoleonic times.

Is this the best response that we can expect from Simcoe Hall?

Meanwhile, cupe Locals at the University of Toronto did attempt to meet with Simcoe Hall officials at the beginning of 2015. There were serious concerns that the University of Toronto was on a collision course with the Unions. But while cupe was proactively trying to engage the university in meaningful dialogue, Simcoe Hall refused to even meet with the presidents of campus cupe Locals to hear their concerns.

In previous negotiations, the University of Toronto has argued that it is a meritocracy. The university's position during this labour dispute, however, creates the impression that teaching assistants have no merit at all within this academic institution. Also, the university claims it is concerned with the integrity of students' academic careers. However, on Monday, the dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science issued an "Academic Continuity" contingency plan. How does that respect the integrity of

The Varsity's editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about The Varsity's editorial policy, email comment@thevarsity.ca.

Letters to the editor should be directed to comment@thevarsity.ca. Please keep letters to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

students’ academic careers, if it merely gives them options to drop a course, receive "no credit" credits for partially completed course work, or non-standard letter grades for simply hanging on?

In conclusion, I strongly urge you and your colleagues at Simcoe Hall to draw upon your "Boundless Creativity" as well as your "Boundless Respect and Compassion" and return to the negotiating table with concrete proposals and real solutions to end this labour dispute.

Otherwise, labour relations at this university will be set back at least a decade. For one of Canada's best employers this is a poor demonstration of negotiating skills. I hope that members of cupe 3902 Unit 1 will reject binding arbitration today and insist on renewed negotiations in good faith at the bargaining table.

— Wasyl Sydorenko, CUPE 1230 president, University of Toronto Library Workers Re: Strike contingency plan faces sharp backlash "Instead, students will be able to cancel or Credit/No Credit (cr/ ncr) courses after their final grades have been released without academic penalty, for courses offered this term."

Can someone inform engineering students as to their options? No one seems to care about that and there are a lot of us who would like to know.

— tbri (from web) The administration's hand was forced by the rejection of the tentative agreement tabled by the cupe bargaining team, as the simple chronology of events demonstrates.

Extending the term would be completely unacceptable to this year's graduating class. Speaking as a fourth-year undergraduate, absolutely none of my peers I have spoken with have been anything but supportive of the administration's decision — it has removed the huge burden of uncertainty the strike has foisted upon us. The fact that this article's author couldn't find one person to speak in support of the new policy suggests he did not try to.

The most maddening thing is the smokescreen that cupe insists on using: "negotiating in good faith."

Here, they clearly mean, "give in to our demands," as it would seem the most recent tentative agreement was definitely agreed upon by the negotiating parties in good faith and thus sent to ratification.

Let me remind everyone that the close margin by which it failed proves it was not a wholly unreasonable agreement.

— sausages (from web)

For Devin Johnson, basketball has been a life-long passion. “I started in grade four and kept with it ever since,” he explains. His dad was a big part of that decision, enrolling his son in the sport from a young age — now, Johnson has completed his third year playing for the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team, making all-star status this season.

“At the start of the year we started real slow,” Johnson says, reflecting on the team’s year. “We were able to pick it up closer to the end of the year,” he adds. He’s optimistic that the team will continue to grow and improve into next year. “We’re a really young team, so next year will hopefully be a lot better,” he explains.

Like many Varsity athletes, Johnson’s commitment doesn’t end with the season. During the upcoming off-season he will continue to practice, having workouts and scrimmaging with his teammates. The team is close.

“We’re really tight,” Johnson explains, adding, “It’s like family.”

Having a strong team bond is key to success for Johnson, however, he has a pre-game ritual — just in case. “Pregame I’ll go to McDonald’s and get 10 nuggets… and I’ll get a Tim Horton’s iced tea and drink half while coach is talking [before the game] and the other half during halftime,” he says, laughing. “It works.”

HOT J

Devin Johnson

Vanessa Treasure For Varsity Blues swimmer Vanessa Treasure, the end of this year is also the end of an era. Swimming at a competitive level since she was seven years old, the graduating athlete has decided that it’s time to move on. “I’m done [with] swim, I think, though it’s only been four weeks since I said I was done,” she laughs.

Treasure is ending her five years with the Blues on a triumphant note. The women’s swim team was the Ontario University Athletics (oua) champion this year, and placed third at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (cis) level. “We met our goals,” says Treasure. “Individually I was able to win a gold medal at oua which made me a grand slam — [meaning] I had won that medal four years in a row,” she explains.

After a career of accomplishments, Treasure is ready to try something new. “I’m trying to explore other things, I’ve never done anything but swim,” she says. Treasure does reflect on her time in the sport, and particularly her time swimming for U of T, fondly. “It’s been awesome, and I can genuinely say that everyone has been really nice to me,” she says.

Treasure adds that being involved in a team has had a huge role in combatting the isolation that can come with being at such a large university.

In her time swimming, Treasure has had the opportunity to travel extensively and build close bonds with her fellow athletes. “I had a blast swimming at U of T, it’s an incredible program. It’s one of the best things that has happened in my life, if not the best,” she says. As for the future, “I’m doing ballet now… although not very well,” she laughs.

Varsity athletes talk their seasons, accomplishments, and chicken nuggets

Katey Teekasingh “It’s been part of my life for so long now that it really is a huge part of who I am,” says Katey Teekasingh, when asked about living an athletic lifestyle. The goalie for the women’s hockey team also says the team’s season “had a lot of positives.”

“We went through a period where a lot of our games went into a shootout and for most of those games we came out on top, which shows our ability to stay strong, united, and mentally tough,” Teekasingh says. Although the team did not qualify for nationals this year, Teekasingh feels that the team is now one step closer to achieving that goal next season. “We have so much potential on this team,” she adds.

Teekasingh has a careful pregame ritual.

“I always have to re-tape my stick,” she says.

“For me it’s like a clean slate.” She also uses specific songs to visualize the game and get mentally prepared.

As for the downfalls of Varsity sports, Teekasingh can only think of one. “[I’m] more injury prone than I ever have been… and there’s never a good time to be injured.”

It’s a risk she and all Varsity athletes take.

“The stress we put our bodies through is so worth it… you’re playing a sport that you absolutely love,” she adds.

Being part of a team has been hugely rewarding for Teekasingh. “We’re all here because we’ve fallen in love with a sport and we’ve all worked hard for most of our lives to be where we are today,” she says. “To be part of that is one of the most amazing feelings.”

ARTICLE BY MALONE MULLIN & SAMANTHA RELICH PHOTOS BY EVAN LUKE

For volleyball player Angie Bellehumeur, sport extends far beyond the court, pool, or track. As co-chair of the Athlete Ally program, she has dedicated herself to making Varsity Blues athletics an inclusive space. “ I think it’s really important that everyone kind of steps up to the plate and calls themselves an ally,” she says. “I don’t want people to think of it as just a sticker on their water bottle,” she adds, explaining “there’s a pledge, and by signing that it’s a true commitment.”

Bellehumeur admits that creating this space is something of a challenge. “I think it’s something people are intimidated to talk about, especially in sports where gender roles are really enforced,” she explains. Her optimism and commitment to the cause is, however, unyielding. “As the years go on I think we’re going to get people to come together… [to] achieve this sense of an inclusive community.”

Bellehumeur’s accomplishments on the court have been equally impressive. The women’s volleyball team won the oua championship this year. “That was a huge accomplishment for us, having had three bronze medals in previous years,” Bellehumeur explains. The team was 18-1 in the regular season.

The commitment to the sport has been demanding, but Bellehumeur describes it as “rewarding” and “competitive.” “We practice every day, and when we’re not practicing we’re at games.” She pauses to do the math on the hours she and the team commit each week. Giving up, she laughs, “It’s basically like having a full-time job in addition to university.”

Bellehumeur sees volleyball as being part of her future, though likely in a coaching or recreational capacity. “I love the sport and I love the lessons you can learn through volleyball and through sport in general,” she says.

JOCKS

Angie Bellehumeur

Darnell Girard splits his time between football and track and field, describing them as “two completely different beasts in the athletic world.” He admits that, while the two sports “even out a little,” the combination can make for an ambitious undertaking.

“I work three part-time jobs outside of class too, so that’s when it gets tough to manage things,” says Girard.

This was Girard’s first year back to football after a two year hiatus. “The team didn’t do quite as well as we hoped this season either, but we’re looking to improve on that next season,” he says, adding that the team has “high hopes.” In track, Girard placed tenth at cis in shot put.

Girard’s current schedule is the product of a lifelong passion for sports. “It became a part of my life at a young age,” he says. His years of involvement have led to the cultivation of a pregame ritual that Girard characterizes as a “day of focus and concentration.”

“The same way I’d prepare for [a] test is how I’d prepare for a football game, but this is more watching film of the other team and how they run their plays,” he describes. Girard devotes five hours a day, six days a week to practice — two-and-a-half spent studying other teams and the rest spent on the field.

Despite the drain of this level of investment, Girard’s commitment is unwavering.

“Nothing compares to the feeling when you’re on a football field and there’s a man coming at you and it’s just you against him and you just see whose will is stronger,” he says.

Going into his last year with the Blues, Girard has some final goals to accomplish.

“I have the school record for weight throw,” he says. “I’d like to expand on that right now — that’d be really cool,” he adds. However, passion for sport is the real driving factor for Girard. “It’s just really about playing,” he says, adding, “I love the sports… so it’s really one last hoorah for me.”

David Riley

“As long as I am swimming for me I am going to keep at it,” says Varsity Blues swimmer David Riley. After an impressive season for the men’s team, it’s not hard to imagine why. The team won the oua championship and placed second at the cis championship. “We lost some key teammates to health issues… and it took us a couple months to find our footing,” Riley says.

For Riley, his personal season was highlighted by a third place finish at the cis championship. “It was a turbulent year for me and the first time I’ve ever thought of what happens after swimming and university,” Riley says. “I am proud of the way my university season ended and am looking towards the 2015 Canadian Swim Trials.”

Looking towards his future, Riley reflects on the commitment demanded by Varsity sports. “It’s incredibly difficult to balance your team with your academics and your social life,” he says, noting the time spent on training and competition. “It’s hard to reach Maddy Thursdays with a strict training schedule,” he adds. Despite the exhausting balancing act, the commitment is well worth it — according to Riley, “just being able to commit myself to my sport is rewarding enough.”

Darnell Girard

Arts&Culture

VAR.ST/ARTS

30 MARCH 2015

arts@thevarsity.ca

And we danced all night

U of T’s Festival of Dance might just be the most collaborative campus arts event of the year Sarah Niedoba ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

I manage to catch Deborah Lim on what may be one of her busiest days of the year; the opening night of Hart House Theatre’s U of T Festival of Dance. The two nights of performance are the culmination of a year’s worth of work for Lim — the director of the festival — and her assembled production team.

“Ask me again in a year,” she laughs, when I ask whether she’d consider taking on a project like the festival again. Lim is in her fifth and final year at U of T as a drama and criminology major who’s been actively involved in the student theatre community for many years. For Lim, choosing to direct the festival was a natural progression of her interests; she’d already worked with Hart House Theatre on projects like The Importance of Being Earnest, and she’s interested in pursuing theatre administration.

“We actually only got to meet a lot of the performers this past week during [technical week],” she tells me, explaining that much of organizing the festival is based on email correspondence over the course of the year between different groups.

And it must have been a lot of emails, because the festival showcases a total of 50 dance numbers, with 25 unique performances each night. Some dance numbers have up to 40 members on stage at any one time, and when I ask Lim how many performers that means for

backstage, she pauses and then says, “Usually around 150.”

What’s impressive about the festival is not merely the amount of dance that it showcases, but the variety. The theme of this year’s festival is “Trip around the World,” and participants range from groups that are “not necessarily dance-focused,” like Engineering sketch troupe Skule Night, to the utm dance team, to off-campus groups like 219 Entertainment.

Opening night featured a range of acts from Irish dancing — Three Sea Captains, performed by members of the Celtic Dance Centre — to pieces focused on social commentary, one of which addressed contemporary societies’ dedication to their smartphones.

As I sit in the theatre, watching the differing types of dance, it strikes me that what I’m witnessing is really one of the most collaborative arts events I’ve seen in my four years at U of T. Different campuses are represented, dancers of all ranges of ability and genre take the stage; it feels more like a collaborative expression of our university than any event I’ve attended all year.

Lim’s favourite parts of the show doesn’t center on any one group or number — when asked what the most rewarding part of the experience has been, she responds, “I guess that’s sort of a two part answer; on the one hand, working with such an incredible group of people, and on the other hand, after working on it for so long, getting to sit back and watch the whole thing unfold.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HART HOUSE THEATRE

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Summer sounds A guide to music festivals in the gta and beyond this summer Corey Van Den Hoogenband VARSITY STAFF

Now that we've parted ways with the seemingly endless winter, the fine folk of Ontario are free to whet their musical appetites in the great outdoors rather than in cramped bars bundled up in parkas. In honour of all things warm, The Varsity has compiled a list of the most notable music festivals in Ontario this summer that'll openly embrace your need to throw on a pair of shorts, put on some shades, and sing your heart out.

2015 CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK (CMW) May 1-10 Ticket prices vary

What better way to kick off the summer than with a nine-day, city-wide music festival? cmw features over 1000 local and international artists in 48 venues across the city.

Lee's Palace, The Rivoli, Massey Hall, Sneaky Dee's, Horseshoe Tavern, and other iconic venues will host home grown talents such as Lights, Brave Shores, and last summer's debuting heartthrobs Alvvays. International acts include Faith No More, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Of Monsters and Men, and many, many more.

NOOR NAQAWEH/THE VARSITY

FIELD TRIP

June 6-7 Tickets starting at $70 Arts & Crafts Productions has proven itself a powerful force in the Canadian music scene since its arrival in 2003. The production company has supported multiple up and coming artists as a record label, management firm, and merchandiser, and in recent years has worked with the city of Toronto to host a music and arts festival at the historic Fort York & Garrison Common. Families looking for a musical outing will enjoy the festival's "kids 12 and under are free" policy, and fans of independent Canadian music can celebrate the contributions that Arts & Crafts has made to the country's musical culture in the past twelve years with this two-day show.

BESTIVAL CANADA

June 12-13 Tickets starting at $129.50 As if any extra push was needed to help get "visiting Toronto Island" off of your summer bucket list, Bestival is just the excuse to set a

course off the mainland. This year marks the uk festival's first international outing, gracing Torontonians with a diverse mix of electronic, alternative, hip hop, and surf rock music.

Florence + The Machine is set to headline the two day festival, complimenting the release of their third studio album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. Other notable acts include Born Ruffians, Caribou, Wavves, and dozens more.

NORTH BY NORTHEAST (NXNE)

June 17-21 Tickets at varying prices

Since 1995, the city of Toronto has hosted a mirrored version of Austin, Texas' South by Southwest, aptly titled North by Northeast.

The five-day show goes beyond the scope of a traditional music festival by celebrating and showcasing not only musicians but filmmakers, comedians, and artists of all kinds. Ticketing varies for each individual event, but nxne will offer Torontonians two free shows at Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday and Sunday that will feature The

New Pornographers, Action Bronson, and Best Coast.

OTTAWA BLUES FEST

July 8-19 Tickets not yet announced Music fans looking for a chance to get out of the city need look no further than the Ottawa Blues Fest. Since its conception in 1994, the festival has gradually expanded beyond its strictly blues-oriented acts and now welcomes artists from a wide array of musical genres. From Iggy Azalea to Shakey Graves and Chance the Rapper to "Weird Al" Yankovic, Ottawa Blues Fest may very well be the most diverse concert series Ontario has to offer in 2015.

WAYHOME MUSIC FESTIVAL

July 24-26 Tickets starting at $299

This late July series of shows is a bit of a trek for those staying in Toronto for the summer, but is certainly a festival worth noting. Situated north of Barrie in the township of Oro-

Medonte, Wayhome easily boasts one of the most impressive lists of performers for fans of pop, indie rock, and hip hop. Kendrick Lamar, Sam Smith, Passion Pit, Hozier, and July Talk are but a few of the powerhouses visiting the small township for what looks to be OroMedonte's biggest weekend of the summer.

VELD MUSIC FESTIVAL

August 1-2 Tickets not yet announced

Since its inauguration in 2012, Veld has become one of the largest and most recognizable electronic music festivals in the country. Past years have seen electronic icons like Avicii, Zedd, and Calvin Harris all take the stage at Downsview Park to interact with the waves of shirtless, colourful, or otherwise messy attendees of this two-day festival. With Veld's 2015 show still a few months away, only two performers, Deadmau5 and Hardwell, are confirmed to attend, but fans of electronic music can expect only the best of the genre when August rolls around.

Film review: The Babadook An imaginative horror film with a lot to tell us Dylan James Lattimer VARSITY STAFF

What makes The Babadook unique as a film is that, in a sense, you are the monster. Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut puts you in the shoes of its titular monster and proves that she is an imaginative director. The film tells the story of a single mother having to confront her child’s fear of a monster, but also the story of the monster itself.

The plot is simplistic, containing two principal characters in one location. Amelia is mother to six-year-old son Samuel. Samuel enjoys pretending to kill monsters — only Samuel isn’t playing, but rather preparing. Amelia is at first upset with Samuel, who grows obsessed with the monster he calls "Babadook", and quickly becomes disruptive in school, and towards his friends and neighbours.

The film features editing that shocks and a bass-rich score will literally make

you shake. It also has the craftiest silvertongued six year old I’ve ever seen — to the point where I feel the dialogue may have been going over my head.

The Babadook's monster is very much like a shadow, and appropriately takes aesthetic cues from German Expressionist films. The shadow’s hands are like Nosferatu’s, he wears a top hat like Dr. Caligari, and he develops the ability to grow like Mephisto from Faust. What is so clever is that a shadow is really nothing but the extension of one’s self. If one were to subtract all the scenes from the movie that feature the monster it could easily be a drama on mental illness or the fear of failure that inhibits all of us. Having just lost her husband, Amelia has a lot to fear, namely being alone, finding herself an outcast from the suburban middle class and its petty problems, and being a bad parent. Kent emphasizes these lingering fears with harsh high contrast lighting that creates large shadows in almost every shot — the Babadook is always around us.

The Babadook gives a new face to a stereotypical horror story MEDIA PHOTO/THE VARSITY

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arts@thevarsity.ca

"The world is not funny" Bo Burnham delivers a night of self-aware comedy at the Danforth Music Hall Clockwise from top: COURTESY OF ELLIE TRE/FLICKR BY CC COURTESY OF JENELI/FLICKR BY CC MEDIA PHOTO

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

OMBUDSPERSON Confidential advice and assistance with complaints unresolved through regular university channels is available to U of T students, faculty and administrative staff.

The services of the office are available at all three U of T campuses.

To make an appointment with our office, telephone 416-946-3485 or email ombuds.person@utoronto.ca For additional information visit www.ombudsperson.utoronto.ca

Daniel Konikoff ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Today’s brief lesson in performing arts theory is about German theatre director Bertolt Brecht. His most relevant theoretical invention, Verfremdungseffekt, or “alienation effect,” attempts to replace the emotional manipulation so at home in the world of theatre with an entertaining jolt of surprise.

The techniques of doing so, such as breaking the fourth wall or exposing the theatre’s technology to the audience, are meant to hinder spectator identification. Inspiring the audience instead to adopt a critical attitude towards the theatrical performance, constantly reminded that the play to which they are bearing witness is nothing but constructed artifice, audience members are kept at a safe, uncomfortable distance.

Even though Brecht passed away some 60 years ago, Verfremdungseffekt has lived on. Few stage entertainers rely on this alienation effect more than Bo Burnham. He is living proof that you can sell out

the Danforth Music Hall two nights in a row and manage to elicit uproarious laughter from a maximum capacity crowd while still keeping them at a distance.

This distance is the main weapon in Burnham’s comedic arsenal, yet his talent actually lies in his ability to both engross you and keep you at bay. He reels you in with his uncanny ability to make you laugh, all the while showing you the artifice of his own performance.

The lights dimmed at the Danforth, bringing with it a flood of melodramatic classical music.

“Hello audience,” spoke a robotic voice blaring over the venue’s pa system. “You are here because you want to laugh and you want to forget about your problems. But I cannot allow it. You should not laugh.

You should not forget about your problems. The world is not funny.”

The hilarious hour-long show that succeeds this hyper-aware introduction, can be summed up in one word: meta.

Anyone who’s seen Burnham’s Netflix special, what., knows exactly what I mean by this. Burnham’s new show as part of his Make Hap-

py tour is just as anarchistic as its predecessor, jumping from vulgar one-liners to jaunty musical numbers to surreal scenes of mime and back to songs once again. Every bit of wordplay comes laced with meta-commentary on why it’s funny or not funny. Every song is either a critique of a pressing social issue or a witty polemic against certain musical genres (the best one being about the ridiculous stereotypes of stadium country music). Every piece of the show is performed in a way that draws attention to the performer (“See this smoke machine,” he asks at one point during the evening, “it cost $200”), bringing out the fact that it is, after all, just a comedy show.

Burnham thrives on this anarchy, and it’s what makes him such an endearing performer. Whether he’s tackling hot topics or sex jokes, he tackles them in innovative ways and with a tremendous personal honesty. Burnham has come a long way since recording YouTube videos in his room; he’s become more self-aware, more willing to shatter the illusions of performance, and, as a result, more funny.

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

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The film club CINSSU President explains the inner workings behind U of T’s biggest film club Jacob Lorinc ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

If you’re a Cinema Studies major at U of T you know that it’s an often, nay, perpetual occurrence that, upon telling a non-U of T student (be it a family friend, a neighbor, or your aunt) that you happen to be a Cinema Studies major, their reaction is consistently, “What? A Cinema Studies department at U of T actually exists? I had no idea!” This then usually results in a long explanation justifying the department’s existence, which prompts from them a series of exceedingly skeptical questions surrounding your future career path.

Ultimately, practically nobody knows that the Cinema Studies department really exists. However, once you have entered the threshold of the Innis College building, suddenly, Cinema Studies is all around you.

The building’s main lecture hall is a movie theatre, and on the second floor you’ll find smaller movie theatres accompanied by a library that archives film texts spanning back to the early 1900s.

Within Innis College are colorful posters that line the walls, advertising for “Free Friday Films” — an event created by a group of notoriously enthusiastic film geeks, more commonly known as (cinssu) the Cinema Studies Student Union. As a group, they make it their duty to promote film culture surrounding the Cinema Studies department,

CINSSU is in charge of the traditional Free Friday Films MALLIKA MAKKAR/THE VARSITY

and offer up special events to all those who are involved.

The brains behind this operation, cinssu president Myrna Scully-Ashton, has been in charge of the group for the past year and is currently a fourth year Cinema Studies major. According to Scully-Ashton, cinssu tries to provide unique opportunities for students interested in film culture in Toronto. “We wanted to have events that we’d never get a chance to have otherwise, so our plan this year

was to create those kinds of opportunities for students on campus,” she explains.

Apart from their well-known Free Friday Films, the union offers sneak previews for wide-release movies, as well as academic seminars on film-related matters. Last November, cinssu held an academic seminar on YouTube animal videos — a topic of much discussion and relevance — and throughout the year, they’ve held various “sneak-peeks”, like Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond The Lights, and

Lone Scherfig’s notorious portrayal of Oxford Universities’ schoolboys, The Riot Club.

“Usually studios want to tap into the student community here,” Scully-Ashton notes, explaining cinssu’s ability to display these previews. “They want to get students to see their films because they want to attract the youth demographic, and they know that we’re willing to organize it for them.”

Previously, cinssu has hosted guest appearances from Pat Mills (the director of Guidance), Sarah Polley (director of Take This Waltz), and U of T’s screenwriter-in-residence, Ingrid Veninger (director of The Animal Project, Modra).

Now that the school year is coming to a close, cinssu plans to have one final Free Friday Film before calling it a day. The Free Friday Films, cinssu’s most frequented event, are run by the group’s programmer, whose job it is to select a series of films that are critically acclaimed, yet not necessarily the most popular. Although oodles of fun, this may be the group’s most challenging position. “You want to walk a line,” explains Scully-Ashton, tentatively. “You don’t want to show the popular films that everyone’s already seen in theatres, but you don’t want to show anything too obscure either.”

In the end, she explains that it all really boils down to one main guideline: “You really just want to show something that people would want to see on a Friday night.” cinssu will be hosting its final free film of the year this Friday at 7:00 pm.

A night at the movies A guide to taking advantage of what the Robarts' Media Commons has to offer Lola Borissenko VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

If it’s not online, it’s probably in the Media Commons room at Robarts. A second home to many U of T Cinema Studies students, the Media Commons is always there, whether you need a film for class or just a movie to watch with friends. For those not as well-versed in its expansive collection, here are some of the best — and most obscure — films that the Media Commons has to offer.

LE MILLION

Rene Claire This 1931 French silent comedy features a young man named Michel who, overwhelmed by the happiness of winning a one million-dollar lottery prize, later discovers that his lucky ticket is in his jacket, which now belongs to an elderly thief.

As Michel chases his ticket the audience gets a chance to fully witness the dynamism and humour typical of silent films.

A prominent scene is Michel’s tender moment with his girlfriend Beatrice, as they sit on stage of a grand theatre admiring the decorations, music, and one another.

Le Million was an important film in the French Impressionist movement, which focused on aesthetic and spiritual beauties. This uplifting comedy will allow you to view silent films from a different perspective and perhaps rediscover the genre as a whole.

THE ANIMAL PROJECT

Ingrid Veninger Apart from offering almost innumerable genres, the Media Commons film collection carries films from over one hundred countries. Released in 2013, The Animal Project is a Canadian film which focuses on the unorthodox and extravagant methods that the young protagonist, Leo, employs with his acting students.

The Media Commons is located on the third floor of Robarts library. DENIS OSIPOV/THE VARSITY

The film’s naturalistic tone allows one to empathize with the characters and their journeys to self-discovery. The film has a rather slow pace and does not feature many musical scores — yet The Animal Project exemplifies the full potential of Canadian cinema as the audience watches the young characters make the most out of their seemingly ordinary lives.

The central goal of the documentary is to convince the audience that we have the right to know what is in our food and what products are healthier than others.

Hopefully, Fed Up will inspire you to check out the Media Commons’ documentary collection, whose vast selection of knowledgeable films are useful in both academic and daily life.

FED UP

LOST AND FOUND BOX OF HUMAN SENSATION

Stephanie Soechtig The filmmakers released this 2014 documentary and labeled it, “The film the Food Industry doesn’t want you to see.” Although the movie might seem too critical as it warns the audience about the ultimate dangers caused by sugar, corn syrup, processed and fast food, it raises important questions that every contemporary North American should think about: What do we eat?

Is it healthy? Is our lifestyle affecting our diet?

Martin Walner This disturbing yet thrilling independently made animation can be found online as part of the Media Commons’ electronic base. The short film’s aesthetics are similar to the dark images of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” music video.

Lost and Found follows the melancholic young man who fails to recover from the grief of his

father’s death. We see a creepy mad scientist observing the young man, a repetition of the man’s counterproductive routine, and of course, several graveyard images. This short film invites the audience to appreciate the stylistic creativity of independent productions.

KILL YOUR DARLINGS

Jon Krokidas If you are not in the mood for silent films, black and white animated shorts, or controversial documentaries, you can always check the Media Commons for films which were screened in theatres.

Kill Your Darlings captured audience attention with its close look at the intimate and professional life of poet Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg’s adventures at Columbia University are sure to satisfy those who enjoy creative biographical narratives and coming-of-age dramas.

Science

VAR.ST/SCIENCE

30 MARCH 2015

science@thevarsity.ca

U of T to conduct homeopathic study on ADHD Scientific Standpoint

Functional Implications of An Altered Collagen Fiber Structure Presented by the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, this seminar features Dr. Gunjan Agarwal from the Ohio State University Monday, March 30 4:00 - 5:00 pm Medical Sciences Building Room 2172 Free; register online

Austerity as Epidemic: The New Political Economy of Health This seminar features Faraz Vahid Shahidi, a doctoral candidate in social and behavioural health sciences at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Andrew Pinto, a family physician and Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialist at St. Michael’s Wednesday, April 1 10:00 am–12:00 pm Munk School of Global Affairs Room 208N Free; register online

JULIEN BALBONTIN AND MARGAUX PARKER/THE VARSITY

Homeopathy studies are ineffective In defense of objectivity within and unethical clinical trials Aditya Chawla VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Currently, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University is Toronto is recruiting children and adolescents ages six to 16 for a study on the efficacy of homeopathy on Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (adhd).

The infamous study has made headlines on the Toronto Star and cbc, prompting a group of 90 scientists around the world (including two Nobel Laureates) to sign an open letter against the study.

Homeopathy is the belief that a single drug molecule imparts a memory onto water, and this memory can help to heal the body naturally. It is surprising to see that a prestigious institution such as the University of Toronto is allocating funds to a field that has been debunked for decades.

The study not only demeans the reputation of the university internationally, it is also ethically dubious.

In the wake of a new anti-vaccination movement, studies like these give legitimacy to a loud minority of individuals who do not subscribe to scientific evidence. This can be potentially dangerous, especially when homeopaths use information like this to steer terminally ill patients away from evidence-based medicine and into homeopathic remedies.

Heather Boon, one of the pharmacists involved in the study, justifies her research by stating that she is studying homeopathy in order to help patients to make the most informed decision. If the study were actually an objective investigation of the effects of homeopathy, it is suspicious that the study is being carried out by Riverdale Homeopathic Clinic and with support from a dubious alternative medicine foundation. It is clear where Boon’s bias lies in this study.

Boon also claimed in an observational study that homeopathic treatment results in a 60 per cent effectiveness rate for adhd. To put the lives of children with adhd at risk due to a flawed study is not effective science, and it is definitely not ethical.

Boon also claims that this study is for debunking previous studies on homeopathy, and that her study may even prove homeopathy to be incorrect. This may not seem like an issue at first, but it legitimizes investigation of pseudoscience when effort could be spent elsewhere on more pressing issues in the biomedical science. Hopefully, the university will put studies like this one under more scrutiny in the future.

Aditya Chawla is a second-year student at Trinity College studying laboratory medicine and pathobiology.

Nadezhda Woinowsky-Krieger ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR

In June 2014, U of T approved of a new study to measure the effectiveness of homeopathic medicine to treat children and adolescents with adhd, which is currently recruiting participants.

In case you have a general sense that homeopathy is ‘bad,’ but don’t know exactly why, Joe Schwarcz, who is the director of McGill University’s Office for Science & Society, has written a special to the Montreal Gazette in which he lays out all the reasons out for you comprehensively: homeopathy has no theoretical scientific basis, and any benefits that homeopathic treatments appear to have can be explained by means of the placebo effect.

Heather Boon, dean at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and leader of the study in question, has written a public response letter in which she assures that the study will be one of the most rigorous studies on homeopathy to date, and reminds us that the study will be performed as a clinical trial.

We have such rigorous studies for medication because the placebo effect is a real factor that must be accounted for in any drug trial, as the placebo is certainly not an effect that occurs solely in homeopathic rem-

edies. Regardless of personal opinion on the scientific competency of homeopathy, one must take into consideration that homeopathy in Canada is still a billion dollar industry and for as long as the Canadian public has chosen to treat homeopathic practice as serious medical alternative, the medical community must take it seriously.

In this particular situation, I have to agree with Heather Boon when she asks, “Why would anyone think a rigorous clinical trial is a bad idea?”

Especially since the U of T study, according to Schwarcz himself, involves no public funding. “[The] support comes from a foundation dedicated to alternative medicine,” he writes in his Montreal Gazette special.

Although I do not personally believe that the study will reveal any positive results about homeopathy, considering there is no public financial loss, we have a lot to gain from this study in terms of increased information about a field in which there is currently nothing but ambiguity and controversy among the public.

If homeopathy is indeed not scientific, then surely applying our most thorough scientific methods will do nothing but bring us one step closer to revealing the truth.

Nadezhda Woinowsky-Krieger is a Victoria College student studying physics and history and philosophy of science.

Care at the End of Life: An Evolving Canadian Landscape Dr. Jeff Blackmer, vice-president at the Canadian Medical Association will be presenting at this seminar presented by the Joint Centre for Bioethics Wednesday, April 1 4:00 pm–5:30 pm Health Sciences Building Room 610 Free; no registration necessary

Consensus in Clinical Ethics: A U.S. Delphi Study Part of the Joint Centre for Bioethics Seminar Series, this seminar features Leah McClimans, associate professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina Wednesday, April 8 4:00 pm–5:30 pm Health Sciences Building Room 108 Free; no registration necessary

Distinguished Lecture Series in Statistical Science: Epigenetics: A New Frontier Featuring statistician Terry Speed of the University of California, Berkeley, on the importance of mapping the human epigenomes Thursday April 9 3:30 pm–5:30 pm Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences Room 230 Free; no registration necessary

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Where no words have gone before Student-developed “VocabNomad” app facilitates communication Ken Kongkatong VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

On the topic of language, communication theorist Walter J. Ong once said that language “forms unities on a large scale.” Certainly, it’s not difficult to imagine a situation where kinship can be established through language.

For instance, two strangers in a foreign country can become instant friends through the commonality of knowing the same language.

Yet, while this sentiment is true, language can sometimes be a barrier to communication. Now, when these human problems arise, technology may be able to help.

Meet VocabNomad — developed at the University of Toronto’s Technologies for Aging Gracefully Lab (TAGlab), VocabNomad is a mobile–assisted learning application that primarily aids adults in problems with communication.

The app can be used in a number of ways: firstly, it can be used as a prompt that would allow users to develop their vocabularies through searching an unknown word, or finding the words to the pictures they are searching for.

Secondly, it can be used to communicate with others through text-to-speech interactions For example, previous users of VocabNomad have used the application in a situation where

VocabNomad users can convert text into speech. COURTESY OF STEPHEN TSOUROUNIS

their accents were difficult to comprehend, such as when ordering coffee at Tim Hortons.

“Originally we started with a different application that’s used for the communication of people who had strokes or kids with autism where [they can use the application to achieve their communication goals]” says Carrie Demmans Epp, the assistant director at the TAGlab, and PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science.

Reception towards VocabNomad has been largely positive.

The application was implemented at a Japanese high school for a full term, and the result

was that students learned more when they were using the application. Also, the application was well received by recent immigrants in the Toronto area.

“I’ve had people [offer] to buy [VocabNomad] from me rather than me paying them for participating. So I would classify that as positive,” says Epp. Nonetheless, despite the positive reception of the application, there are some areas that can be improved upon.

For instance, the app’s learning capabilities could be improved to make the technology more adaptive for the user.

Moreover, the persuasiveness of the application could also be investigated. Steve Tsourounis, a fourth–year undergraduate computer science student involved with the TAGlab, has been exploring this venue.

Researching gamification as a means of increasing user motivation and learning, Tsourounis created a trophy and feedback system for the application in which users could set their own goals and gain virtual trophies once they have achieved those goals. Also, Tsourounis developed 12 guidelines that can be used by system designers who are looking to make their language-learning applications more persuasive.

“A lot of the problem is that a lot of people weren’t using these mobile language–learning tools because a lot of them would copy what they do on a computer and just make it for smaller screens,” says Tsourounis. “We wanted to look at a way to motivate these learners and get them to actually use the application,” he adds.

Currently, VocabNomad is not widely available to the public and its usage has been limited to group studies.

“It may be available through the app store as a non-profit… I’m not a fan of [making a profit] on education,” says Epp, adding, “I would make it available if someone were interested in a very small limited capacity usage like for a classroom but I’m not in a position to support a wider deployment of it right now.”

Build your own legacy Young women aim to succeed at WISE national conference

WISE Conference attendees came from all over Ontario. PHOTOS COURTESY OF WISE U OF T

Nadezhda Woinowsky-Krieger ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR

Last weekend Toronto hosted the third annual Women in Science and Engineering (wise) national conference. Held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre, the conference aimed to bring together women pursuing science and technology degrees in order to network, attend lectures and workshops, compete in a poster competition, and gather tips and tricks on how to succeed as a woman in her chosen scientific field.

The conference was attended by women and men (with a ratio of about 9:10 respectively) alike from universities all across Ontario. From the 200, or so, students at the conference, many of them appeared to be undergraduates, and there was a general atmosphere of excitement throughout the event.

However, the moment the organizers of the conference, president of wise U of T Megan Steeves and chair of the conference Mahsa Nami, got on stage to announce the first speaker, the tone immediately became attentive.

The conference began with a speech from keynote speaker Dr. Aarthi Ashok, an associ-

ate professor in the department of Biological Sciences at U of T Scarborough, who is the recipient of both the nih Fellow’s Award for Research Excellence and the 2014 Principal’s Faculty Teaching Award at utsc. The theme of this year’s conference was “build your own legacy,” and in her hour-long talk, Ashok discussed her own educational and professional background, bringing up examples of gender discrimination that she has faced, and outlining the lessons she has learned about the best way for a woman to succeed in the sciences.

Ashok continually stressed the importance of seeking out communication, reflecting on one’s strengths and interests, and finding good mentors. Presenting a slide with photographs of all the scientific mentors that she has had throughout her career, she pointed out that among them all, there has only been one woman.

“This one slide alone should be an ad for the reason that we need more women in science and engineering, and especially in roles where they are mentoring future scientists and budding scientists,” she said.

She also discussed the importance of persevering, and the difficulty and demoraliza-

tion that young students of science can face.

“Perseverance is to me… looking towards your future goal and staying steadfast on that path,” she said, adding, “There are going to be naysayers, there are going to be enough people out there that are going to tell you [that] the economy’s terrible, you’re never going to find a job, your area that you’ve been working on is too abstract, there’s no practical applicability to it.”

“I always resort to a kind of a piece advice that my parents gave me, which is ‘there’s always jobs for people who are in the top five per cent of what you do, and to be in the top five per cent of what you do you need to be absolutely one hundred per cent passionate about what it is that you’re doing,’” Ashok continued, “Because if you love what you’re doing you’re going to be brilliant at it.”

Ashok also made a point of explaining how these struggles can be even more impeding for women. “Sometimes and especially for women perseverance means pushing up against certain stereotypes and biases,” she stated, “and these exist.”

As well as additional lectures from other women who are acclaimed professional sci-

entists, such as Diane Freeman from the Fellow of Engineers Canada, and Dr. Cynthia Goh from the Department of Chemistry, the Institute of Medical Science, and the Impact Centre at the University of Toronto, the conference had workshops and panels aimed specifically at teaching young women what they can do with their science degrees.

The panel on start-ups particularly generated a lot of interest among the attendees.

Panelists included Lauren Friese, founder of TalentEgg.ca, and Emilie Cushman, named HSB Women Leader of Tomorrow and one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network. After introducing themselves, the panelists spent over an hour answering questions from ambitious students, all seeking the best advice from the panelists on how to start their own businesses.

Although talent, drive and passion were clearly present in abundance at the conference, the focus of the young scientists present appeared to be directed towards making their many career ambitions a reality and less on discussing gender inequalities that are still prevalent throughout the sciences.

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22 Vol. CXXXV, No. 23 Université d’Ottawa

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The irony of blood clot removal

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Study shows clinical practice of routine blood clot removal after heart attack is associated with higher stroke rates and negligible benefits Wan Xian Koh VARSITY STAFF

Heart disease and stroke are two of the three leading causes of death in Canada. Cardiovascular diseases have a huge impact on the Canadian economy, resulting in annual costs of more than 20 billion dollars in health care services, hospital bills, lost wages and decreased productivity.

Researchers from McMaster University and the University of Toronto collaborated to conduct a large-scale randomized controlled trial investigating treatment strategies for cardiovascular diseases. The study provides evidence for increased risk of stroke associated with routine blood clot removal after a heart attack.

Supported by previous research findings, thrombectomy has been used to remove blood clots prior to opening up a blocked artery through percutaneous coronary intervention (pci). During pci, a deflated balloon is inserted into the narrowed artery and subsequently inflated to allow blood flow. This is followed by stent deployment to keep the artery permanently open. While pci is a non-surgical procedure, thrombectomy is the surgical removal of a blood clot.

Previously, thrombectomy was used in emergency situations with the failure of pci in a procedure called bailout thrombectomy.

Practical guidelines were recently altered to implement routine manual thrombectomy with pci. Clinical practice of routine blood clot removal serves to improve blood flow and reduce chances of distal blockage of vessels.

However, several recent clinical trials disagree on the benefits of this procedure.

The total trial aimed to contrast the efficacy of pci coupled with thrombectomy and pci alone in patients following heart attack. Unlike earlier studies of its kind, the total trial

was much larger, leading to greater clinical significance. Over a period of four years, a total of 10,732 patients enrolled at 87 hospitals in 20 different countries were involved in the clinical study.

The results of the trial do not support the use of routine manual thrombectomy. When compared to pci alone, routine blood clot removal did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, recurring heart attacks, cardiogenic shock, or heart failure within 180 days.

These benefits were also absent in patients with greater clotting, further questioning the efficacy of routine manual thrombectomy. Instead, the clinical practice of thrombectomy was associated with higher rates of stroke as seen among patients who underwent both pci and thrombectomy.

Authors of the study hypothesize that stroke rates measured within 24 hours after the procedure would increase in the thrombectomy group. This hypothesis is based on the assumption that stroke following thrombectomy is due to blood clots breaking off and travelling to brain vessels or air present in the brain during the procedure. While the findings support the initial hypothesis, the results of the trial also indicate continual increase in rates of stoke between 30 and 180 days after the procedure. The authors struggle to explain the significance of this finding and are unable to rule out the role of chance due to the small number of occurrences.

“We did not design the trial to test the effectiveness of selective or bailout thrombectomy,” said Dr. Vladimír Džavík, the study’s co-principal investigator and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, in a news release from McMaster University. “Thrombectomy remains an important treatment when the patient’s blood vessel is still filled with blood clot when the pci procedure is done, or if it cannot be completed successfully because of the clot.”

Work with us. science@thevarsity.ca

Sports

VAR.ST/SPORTS 30 MARCH 2015

sports@thevarsity.ca

Varsity Blues season recap

U of T athletes prove top in the country in 2014-2015 season Henry Yang

the Year as well. While it was not an ideal ending to a perfect season, the Blues team is looking to continue its success next year.

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Another eventful season has passed for Varsity Blues teams. Overall, the teams won eight Ontario University Athletics (oua) championship titles and one Canadian Intercollegiate Sports (cis) title. Blues athletes received numerous honours, while the coaches also won many other awards.

VOLLEYBALL

The women’s volleyball team faced a heartbreaking conclusion to a wonderful season. They eased through the oua competition with an 18 – 1 record and took the title. The team had high hopes going into the cis championships as they marched on to the semi-finals on home court.

Heartbreakingly, the team lost in the final set, and they repeated the same performance in a final set loss in the bronze-medal game. The fourth-place finish was its first since 2001.

The women’s golf team claimed its third consecutive oua title, with Sarah Dunning winning gold and Ana Peric earning silver. Coach Dave Woods also won the Coach of the Year honours.

TRACK AND FIELD

The women’s track and field team was simply spectacular this spring. The team dominated both the oua and the cis championships. This was the team’s first oua title since 2004 and first cis title since 1998.

Leading the team was Sasha Gollish, who won two gold medals and two silver medals at the national championship after winning two gold medals at the ouas. She was later named the cis female Outstanding Athlete of the Meet and was Varsity Blues T-Holders’ Female Athlete of the Year.

The team’s head coach Carl Georgevski deservedly claimed the cis women’s track and field Coach of the Year award. The 2014–2015 season was definitely a season to remember for the women’s track and field team, and they will look to build on this success next season.

SWIMMING

The Blues had equally impressive success in the pool. Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams won the ouas and competed extremely well in the cis championships.

The men’s team claimed its twelfth consecutive title, which is also the oua-leading sixty-third in its history. Eli Wall, a sophomore standout, was honoured as the cis Male Swimmer of the Year after winning two gold medals.

He was also named Varsity Blues T-Holders’ Male Athlete of the Year. The team placed second in the cis championships.

The women’s team also won its second consecutive oua title. Rookie swimmer Kylie Masse won three awards at the ouas — the Dr. Jeno Tihanyi

Gabriela stafford crossing the finish line at the track & field CIS championships. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN BAZYL

Award, Rookie of the Meet, and the Swimmer of the Meet.

Another notable athlete is veteran Paige Schultz, who received the cis Student-Athlete Community Service Award after earning three fourth-place finishes and competing for two bronze medals. She also claimed three gold medals at the ouas.

This triumph was not only due to the excellent athletes, but also the coach of both teams, Byron MacDonald. He received his second-straight oua Coach of the Year award after leading both teams to their respective titles.

As revealed by all the success this year, the future looks bright for the Varsity Blues swimming teams with their strong young swimmers.

WATER POLO

Both the men’s and the women’s water polo teams also won the ouas. The men’s team has claimed nine titles in the past 13 years and a total of 30 in the team’s existence.

Michael Chapman and Sever Topan were named 2014 oua all-stars. Additionally, Vlad

Tasevski, the head coach, won the oua Coach of the Year award.

Matching the men’s team, the women’s team held onto its oua title, which is the fourth in the past seven years. What was more impressive about this title was that they had a perfect season, going 8 – 0 and dominating the pool.

Emily Bidinosti was awarded the Roy Gunnell Trophy for championship mvp while her coach, George Gross Jr., earned Coach of the Year honours.

FIELD HOCKEY

On the field, the women’s field hockey team had an excellent season as it comfortably clinched the oua title, its third in the past four years. The team also competed well at the cis championships held on home turf. Going into the finals, the team was undefeated with a 17–0 record for the year. In the end, the team’s streak was broken with a loss to the University of British Columbia.

Many athletes received awards, including cis Player of the Year Amanda Woodcroft. Head coach John DeSouza was named the Coach of

FENCING

The men’s fencing team finished second at the ouas led by the rookies William Kinney and Tommy Liu. They combined to defend the men’s sabre title after facing one another in the final, where Kinney came out on top. The team appears to be in a good position to fight for the oua title next season.

FASTPITCH

Finally, the women’s fastpitch team finished the playoffs in fourth place after not making the playoffs for two years. This shows a sign of bright future with young talent leading the team.

2014-15 CIS CHAMPIONS Women’s Track & Field

2014-15 OUA CHAMPIONS Field Hockey, Women’s Golf Men’s Swimming Women’s Swimming Women’s Track & Field Women’s Volleyball Men’s Water Polo Women’s Water Polo

Running into summer A guide to picking the right pair of running shoes Emma Kikulis VARSITY STAFF

Bearing the brunt of up to a million pounds of pressure throughout a workout, continuously stabilizing you, and supporting you for as long as you stand are only a few crucial jobs your feet accomplish throughout the day.

With all of the work they do on a daily basis, your feet — which are made up of hundreds of bones, muscles, and ligaments — become susceptible to fractures, strains, and the dreaded foot cramp — all signs of too much work and a lack of tlc.

Choosing the right pair of shoes for your activity can make a world of difference to your feet’s well-being as well as your athletic performance. The right pair of shoes can mean the difference between hitting a new personal record and being sidelined with shin splints or stress fractures.

The first step in the process is determining your foot type. Although feet come in all shapes and sizes, the three main “types” of feet are flat arch, normal arch, and high arch.

Each foot type will require a different fit, shoe, model, and even brand.

After determining what type of arch you

have, you’ll have to determine if your primary activity will consist of running, jumping, lifting, throwing, or climbing. Determining this is necessary to finding the right shoe to cater to the specific movements you’re performing on a daily basis.

To help narrow down the search, here are some of the most popular types of shoes for a wide array of athletic pursuits that should help you get started on the right foot.

TRADITIONAL RUNNING SHOES

Brands like Mizuno, asics, and Saucony are the most popular among runners and are considered traditional running shoes. These shoes offer a diverse array of support and styles in order to meet the needs of your specific foot structure. Even if you’re not a marathoner or an endurance athlete, running shoes are the baseline and a necessity for any athlete in order to maintain good form and prevent injury.

NIKE FREE

More of a fashion statement than actual athletic shoes, Nike Free shoes have been designed to cater to a wider range of activities than the traditional sneaker due to their light weight and flexibility. While not recommended for anyone clocking serious mileage

NOOR NAQAWEH /THE VARSITY

because of their lack of support, Nike Frees are great for low impact activities like cycling, rock climbing, and aerobics.

or track for traction, spikes are reserved for the more serious, competitive athlete.

SPIKES

Olympic weight-lifting (owl) shoes are a cross fitter’s dream. These shoes are completely flat on the bottom and are fitted with small shocks to help absorb extreme weight and stabilize your foot mid-lift. Brands like Reebok and Adidas carry some of the most popular owl shoes.

For the serious sprinter, distance, and field athlete, spikes are lightweight rigid shoes with tiny teeth located on the ball of the foot and sometimes also on the heel of the foot depending on the sport. Designed to grip into the dirt

OWL SHOES

24 Vol. CXXXV No. 23

VARSITY SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Health, academics, and balance Sports and athletics train participants for all aspects of their lives ment to the sport, your teammates can act as the drinking buddies who you see once a week or a second family that supports you on and off the field. Either way, you will meet people with passions and stories that differ significantly from your own.

Additionally, with the rise of social media’s involvement in athletics and exercise, it is easy to find a virtual community with which you can connect to gain support, tips, and motivation. With a hashtag, you can connect with thousands who are on the same route as yourself. You will have access to a community that understands your struggles and successes that can help you in a multitude of ways in a variety of areas.

Elizabeth Benn SPORTS EDITOR

Every day, we are bombarded with demands to improve our lifestyles backed up by years of constantly morphing research. If we don’t exercise, we’re told, we will suffer physically, be diagnosed with irreversible disease, gain weight, and disappoint our families and friends.

This attempt to spread the message of living a healthier lifestyle using fear is ineffective. The fear boils up temporarily in the reader, but quickly simmers back down when the message fizzles away and is replaced by a new one.

Instead of retreading those traditional arguments for why you should participate in a sport, make trips to the gym, or enroll in a fitness class, I prefer to tackle the issue by looking at the immediate effects that participants will experience. Getting active can have a positive effect on all elements of your life.

PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

It is obvious that physical activity improves physical health, and it has started to become common knowledge that these benefits extend to the mind. We are normally told of the long-term benefits of athletics — but noticing the short-turn effects can have more of an impact on our motivation to get fit.

Once you start being active, carrying a heavy bag of books, walking up a few flights of stairs, and running to catch a bus become less strenuous.

These may not seem to be significant improvements in your daily life, but

GENERAL BALANCE

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

they do allow you to start living more comfortably, marking the beginning of your being healthier, and ultimately motivating you to stay active. Additionally, you will feel more alert and awake within the first few workouts.

Studies have also shown that exercise can help reduce mental health problems ranging from stress and anxiety to depression. Whether or not you experience these conditions, though, exercise will have a positive effect on your mental health. You will feel happier, more energetic, and more alert in your daily life, and if

you stop exercising for a short period of time, you will notice a change.

ticing better organization and time management. Doing so will leave you better able to sort through your to-do lists and manage your time.

With the combination of increased concentration, reduced stress and anxiety, and better time management skills, you will be able to improve your academics and other work significantly.

ACADEMICS

Distinctions are commonly made between academics and athletics, but the two can support and improve one another.

Along with sports’ positive impact on mental health which translates to higher concentration levels and thus academic performance, other elements can help even more significantly.

By scheduling time to be active, you are taking a step towards prac-

SOCIAL LIFE

Exercise can also help you better your social life and broaden your social circle. If you are on a team, the change is quick. Depending on your commit-

Sports and athletics have become an integral component of my life.

I’m fit and healthy, achieved success in school, shared these passions with those less fortunate than myself, gained a family that spans across the world, and learned to balance the variety of commitments in my life.

Even before noticing the positive changes in your health, deciding to pursue athletics demonstrates a commitment to reaching a goal.

Once you start, you will gain the body and mind needed to make important changes that will benefit you in your short- and long-term future. You can externalize these benefits into a broader sphere and take control of your life in an effective and powerful way. After making the decision to turn athletics into a regular part of your life, you will be able to find balance in other areas as well.

We will be publishing online throughout the summer at thevarsity.ca.

Check it out online, and get in touch with our editors (p. 2) if you would like to contribute! We have six sections and we are always looking for writers, photographers, illustrators, videographers, copy-editors, fact-checkers, and more!

VOTE!

IC

April 1st & 2nd

polling stations located in the main lobbies of

Athletic Centre (55 Harbord) April 1 st

&

Sid Smith (100 St George) 9:00 am – 5:00pm

or online at http://voting.utoronto.ca For more information contact CRO: Susan Ivimey: 416.946.7878 susan,ivimey@utoronto.ca

Work with us..this

summer!

Visit thevarsity.ca/volunteer to learn more about getting involved.

VARSITY SPORTS

var.st/sports

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2015

25

Varsity Blues name 2014-2015 major award winners Athletes from the pool make up the majority of this year’s recipients Anthony Piruzza VARSITY STAFF

The Varsity Blues recognized their athletes’ accomplishments at the 2014-2015 Athletic Banquet, which took place at the Chestnut Residence on Saturday, March 28. The 2015 T-Holders’ Athletes of the Year, the night’s top distinctions, were awarded to swimmer Eli Wall and nationally recognized track and field athlete Sasha Gollish.

The Frank Pindar male and female Athletes of the Year are new awards, created this year, and are awarded annually to the top players playing in a sport whose season ends in an Ontario University Athletics (oua) or other university-recognized championship event.

Michael Chapman and Breanna Gadzosa, both water polo players, were recognized with this year’s awards.

The George M. Biggs Trophy recognizes the male graduating student whose leadership, sportsmanship, and performance has made the most significant contribution to the Varsity Blues this year. Soccer player Mario Kovacevic won this trophy as a result of his superb athletic, academic, and leadership achievements.

Canadian Interuniversity Sport (cis) allCanadian swimmer Vanessa Treasure was granted the Benson Honour Award, which is presented to a graduating female athlete with exceptional athletic and scholarly per-

formance as well as a dedication to university and community involvement, sportsmanship, and leadership.

The male and female Rookie of the Year awards were awarded to Oliver Straszynski and Kylie Masse, both of whom are swimmers.

Gollish was awarded the female T-Holders’ Athlete of the Year over a field that included goalie Nicole Kesteris, who earned the distinction last year. Gollish won this award in the wake of propelling the Varsity Blues to their first cis gold in track and field in over 15 years.

Gollish received three cis gold medals and two cis silver medals this year and helped the Varsity Blues set a cis record in the 4x800metre relay. She was named cis Track Female Athlete of the Year and the cis championship’s Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. Gollish, who is pursuing a Ph.D in civil engineering, has also set three University of Toronto race records.

Wall led the Varsity Blues male swimming team to a silver medal at the cis championship. A second-year athlete, he won cis gold in the 100-metre breaststroke and 200-metre breaststroke races after securing four gold medals at the oua championship.

Byron MacDonald, coach of the men’s swimming team, credits Wall’s success to his spectacular improvement over the course of the season. MacDonald said that “[in] a sport where medals and improvement are often decided by tenths of a second, for Eli to improve by two seconds was amazing.”

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(From left) Oliver Straszynski, Eli Wall, Sasha Golish, Vanessa Treature, Kylie Masse. PHOTO COURTESY OF MARTIN BAZYL

The Varsity Blues water polo team attracted attention from the Frank Pindar awards after both the men’s and women’s teams won gold at the oua championship this November.

Frank Pindar male Athlete of the Year Chapman scored the water polo team’s game-winning goal in the oua championship game. This gold medal came after an undefeated regular season for the Varsity Blues, during which Chapman was recognized as an oua all-star.

Likewise, the female water polo team glided to an oua gold medal following an undefeated season. Goalie Gadzosa was awarded the Frank Pindar female Athlete of the Year distinction after being picked as the oua’s top goalie and earning a spot on the oua all-star team.

Kovacevic has completed a five-year stint with the Varsity Blues marked by athletic and academic distinction. Kovacevic scored over 40 goals throughout his Varsity Blues career and is a three-time oua East all-star, but his academic achievements truly set him apart.

Kovacevic has published an academic article in the American Journal of Psychology and is a four-time cis academic all-Canadian.

Benson Honour Award winner Treasure is Male Rookie of the Year Alex Ferris /volleyball William Kinney /fencing Sam MacMillan /football Oliver Straszynski /swimming Sever Topan /water polo Sage Usher /basketball Female Rookie of the Year Alicia Callaghan /fastpitch Anna Feore /volleyball Alexandra Kraft /water polo Kylie Masse /swimming Ana Peric /golf Nikki Woodcroft /field hockey Clara Benson Honour Award Elizabeth Benn /fastpitch Lisa English /soccer Rachel Jewett /track & field Nicole Kesteris /hockey Jennifer Neilson /volleyball Jill Stratton /basketball Vanessa Treasure /swimming George M. Biggs Trophy Kyle Bowers /baseball Dylan Churchill /basketball Michael Denton /volleyball Mario Kovacevic /soccer Evan Lilly /curling Jonathan Young /badminton

a five-time oua all-star and cis all-Canadian team swimmer, and a three-time cis academic all-Canadian. Additionally, Treasure plays a leadership role in the Varsity Blues community. She has served as co-chair of the Varsity Board for the last two years, and has been cocaptain for the Varsity Blues for three consecutive seasons.

The Rookie of the Year awards bode well for the future of Varsity Blues swimming, as male and female teams both captured oua team titles this year. Female Rookie of the Year Masse set five oua records on her way to capturing six gold medals at the oua championship this February. Still in her first year of oua competition, Masse was also awarded the oua female Swimmer of the Year and was named an oua first team all-star.

Male Rookie of the Year Straszynski led the male Varsity Blues swimming team in middle-distance events, earning oua gold in the 200-metre freestyle, 400-metre freestyle relay, and 800-metre freestyle relay. Straszynski, an engineering student from Toronto, was also honoured with a first team spot on the oua and cis all-Canadian teams.

Frank Pindar Male Athlete of the Year Michael Buwalda /lacrosse Michael Chapman /water polo Ryan Tsang /golf Tanner Young-Schultz /baseball Frank Pindar Female Athlete of the Year Kael Deverell /mountain bike Sarah Dunning /golf Breanna Gadzosa /water polo Taryn Grieder /lacrosse Evelyn Moorhouse /squash Donna Vakalis /fencing Men’s T-holders’ Athlete of the Year Jeff Brown /hockey Kilian Elkinson /soccer Devin Johnson /basketball Greg MacNeill /track & field Llevi Noel /football James Turner /track & field Eli Wall /swimming Women’s T-holders’ Athlete of the Year Sasha Gollish /track & field Nicole Kesteris /hockey Kylie Masse /swimming Charlotte Sider /volleyball Gabriela Stafford /cross country Amanda Woodcroft /field hockey

THE FARCITY VOL. MCXVIII, NO. 69

TAKING OURSELVES TOO SERIOUSLY SINCE 1880

16o i, 6018

IT COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH MONEYS BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. SHMERP GRAPE/THE FARCITY

SIMCOE HALL GRAFFITI ARTIST REVEALED U of T criticized for erasing priceless piece by Banksy Sean "Who Dis" Palmsley FARCITY SHTAFF

The identity of those responsible for scrawling the word “SHAME” across the face of U of T’s Simcoe Hall this past month has finally been revealed. Though initially thought to be the work of a disgruntled supporter of the striking cupe 3902 Unit 1, famed British street artist Banksy has now claimed the work as his own in an exclusive statement to The Farcity.

Simcoe Hall, which is a listed heritage building, houses the office of the university’s president Geric Mertler and has become a metonym for the corporate administrative ivory tower within the larger ivory tower of U of T. An early morning clean-up effort was launched to remove the graffiti last Friday.

In an email to The Farcity’s masthead, Banksy spoke out against the administration’s decision to clean up the tag. “It’s just a huge bummer, you know? You spend a lot of time thinking of clever ways to express solidarity and then they just go and fix it the next morning,” the statement reads.

Banksy, who has developed widespread and fervent support within the art world in recent years, is well known for biting political commentary through graffiti. The statement went on: “I’d have to say it was one of my proudest pieces, definitely right up there with them two kissing bobbies and the man throwing the flowers.”

Now that the controversial artist has come forward, he is not the only one reeling from the decision to remove the tag.

A U of T spokesperson defended the decision, saying: “We honestly just thought it

was graffiti. How were we supposed to know that the word ‘SHAME’ in red spray-paint would be valuable just because it was written by some person who’s not even a real person?

“That said, U of T regrets the decision,” the spokesperson continued. “You know we’d do anything for a buck. If we’d known that tag was worth real money we’d have sold Simcoe Hall at auction before you could say ‘corporatization of higher education.’”

As of press time, however, more than 2,000 artistically minded students have signed a petition lobbying the university’s administration to invite the mysterious Banksy back to campus to retag the building.

U of T’s own local tagger community has been particularly vehement in their argument. “We know it’s, like, a heritage site and, like, a super old building, but like… it’s

also Banksy,” commented one such artist on condition of anonymity. The masked tagger went on: “He’s like, huge. His pieces sell for tons. We could totally make an exception in this case. The cultural value added to the campus is massive.”

Hearing word of the university’s regret over having missed a profitable opportunity is a particularly stinging revelation for Banksy, who, despite the success of his work, has been adamantly opposed to developing commercial reputation.

U of T president Mertler declined The Farcity’s request for comment on the petition, which continues to circulate. There is a possibility that this is related to the recent revelation that he is, in fact, an egg.

"Eggs cannot sign petitions. Eggs don't have hands," added a representative from the local tagger community.

BREAKING EGGS

Information of an eggstrordinary nature was released about U of T president Geric Mertler this past Friday Yolks Yokes YOKES YOKES YOKES

OVA SHELLS/THE FARCITY

A hush lay over Simcoe Hall last Friday as administrators, faculty, staff, and students all felt the shock of the morning’s announcement that the university’s president, Geric Mertler, is, in fact, an egg.

“Of course it’s a great shock to all of us,” confessed a red-eyed Deryl Cheger in an exclusive interview with The Farcity. Cheger, vice-president and provost of the university, said she never suspected a thing. “I don’t know how I could have missed it…looking back on everything, I can’t say I would do anything differently,” she says.

The Toronto Police announced Friday they had been monitoring Mertler for a series of months as part of an ongoing investigation.

“The Toronto Police Service received a number of anonymous tips from faculty and students that necessitated our investigation of president Mertler,” reads a statement released Friday morning. “Personal accounts of, among other things, not appearing to have any supporting limbs, maintaining a single facial expression for inordinate amounts of time, and never managing to say anything, were all independently brought forward,” reads the release.

Further inspection of Mertler found that he is indeed a hard boiled, free range egg, with basic drawn-on facial features, supported by an extremely tailored suit.

Mertler’s family has not released a statement as of press time. Those closest to the president, including former president of the university Mave Daylor, have expressed their public support for them during this time. “It’s one of the

most devastating things you can learn about a loved one,” said Daylor at a press conference he called to address the issue. “It’s no one’s fault… we all thought Geric was a good, decent man.

But at the end of the day, he wasn’t a man at all.

He was an egg.”

The news has sparked protest from a number of student organizations, including the U of T Vegan Association. “It is honestly horrific that the university would allow this kind of thing amongst its highest leadership,” said club president Kale Seitan. “We need to take a stand against this sort of duplicity — we want a transparent leadership; we want an animal-product-free president.”

A larger investigation has been launched into the make-up of U of T’s other administrative heads' heads; among other things, sentience and independent thought are key criteria the Toronto Police will be looking for.

FARCITY WORDZ

var.st/farce

THE FARCITY VOL. MCXVIII No. 69

Address: Fourteen paces nor nor east of the magnetic south pool Phone: What is this, the '90s? www.interwebzstuff.ca

Masthead Squirrel-in-Chief Danielle Klein #Raisins2015 Catherine Virelli Sassquills Shaquilla Singh On the ground Kawmadie Karunanayake Finally going home Mari Zhou Squirrel Whisperer Jennifer Su Hates Us Lucy Genua Loves Us Rose Tornabene Dutty, Dutty, Du Du Du Dutty James Flynn FEED ME OPINIONS Alec Wilson Daily Commute from Yemen Samantha Relich Egg Beat Reporter Sarah Niedoba Should Have Been the Food Editor Jasleen Arneja Always Injured Elizabeth Benn Joe DeMarco Julien Balbontin Coolest Sweatpants Jamieson Wang Google bound Eric Bannatyne Ja-nee-chey Janice Liu

16o i, 6018

^

STREETERS How do you feel about the TA strike ending?

Article and photos by Janice Seikwa For the past three weeks, students and faculty have become accustomed to the sight of striking cupe 3902 Unit 1 members playing parachute outside Sid Smith, dancing to Florence + the Machine (“picket up” rather than “shake it off”), and handing out I <3 TAs pins (though most of us can only <3 them as friends).

It all came to an end this week when both sides agreed to the intervention of a provincial mediator. Nonetheless, divided opinions continue to circulate among undergraduates and TAs as to whether or not the strike should have continued, but there is one crucial party whose perspective has yet to be considered in the conversation — our beloved campus squirrels.

RAMINDER Seasonal forager of the Victoria College quad

DEBBIE Builder of the nest in the sketchy tree with the shoes hanging from it beside back campus

CHARLES Resident dumpster diver of the garbage bins behind the GSU pub

“Qua qua qua qua qua qua qua, qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua qua, qua qua qua qua qua.”

“Kuk kuk qua kuk qua, academic integrity, kuk qua qua kuk kuk qua.

Comrades, qua qua qua, SOLIDARITY! #benfrommath.”

TRINH Frequent nut scavenger of Hart House Circle

FRIEDA Just some squirrel we found at the Graham Library

“Quakukuqkqakukalwuqoiaufalksdjfasljfk.”

“Shame shame shame, shame shame shame shame. SHAME.”

ANTHONY Former University of Toronto Squirrel Students Union President

“Kuk qua qua kuk qua Geric Mertler, qua qua kuk the administration, kuk qua qua the undergraduates?

Kuk kuk refund, qua.”

“Kuk qua kuk, qua tss tss tsss TSSSTSTSSS KUK, KUUuuUUuuUUK!!!!!”

Secretly sassy Vanessa Wang 2short 2set up the photo studio Rusaba Alam A Raptor Mallika Makkar Rose Hunter McGuire Lucy Sean Smith Bruce Springsteen Editor Salvatore Basilone Numb3r5 Editor Tamim Mansour Singing Right Now Alex McKeen Not Batman Iris Robin Writes dope articles Malone Mullin Keekulah Emma Kikulis Smashing the patriarchy Victoria Wicks Written two articles about hot dog stands Daniel Konikoff Matching Socks Jacob Lorinc Universe Editor Nadezha Woinowsky-Krieger Taught us how to gym Reshara Alviarez Sport$$$$ Sean Xu www.goodatwebsites.com Ishan Thukral

Founded immediately after the creation of the universe 6,018 years ago by the astral sun-King and the high priest, The Farcity is the Vniversity of Toronto's most celestial publication. It's mystic light illuminates this otherwise darksome and gloom benighted terrane sphere.

If you have any complaints regarding the content of this publication, please feel free to keep them to yourself.

Words word words (no one will read this) words words

One union to rule them all UTSU and SGRT combine, shape of meeting table disputed Drake TRYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT

The University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) and the St George Round Table (sgrt) have merged into one union: the University of Toronto St. George Round Table Students’ Union (utsgrtsu). The controversial move comes after years of fruitless attempts by sgrt members to separate from the utsu.

Students have taken to the new arrangement. “We realized that defederation wouldn’t work. If you can’t beat them, join them, right?” says Victoria*, a student leader.

“This move has turned out way better than we thought it would,” says Mike*, another student leader.

“Pooling our resources was genius — now we can all make $30,000 a year.”

However, one dispute remains.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous to have a round meeting table,” says Godiva*, a society president. She claims that a dodecagon-shaped table is the best option. “There would actually be enough room for everyone to sit and work while still being able to see everyone else. It’s the most efficient solution,” Godiva insists.

Strachan*, a college head, insists that the round table must be preserved. “This round table is a long-standing tradition,” he declares. Strachan claims that

DRAKE/JUST INTO TRYING NEW THINGS THESE DAYS

acquiring a new table would be a “hassle” and an “egregious waste of student funds.” He further cites the burden of changing the name of the union to reflect the new table. “We’d have to update the name of the union, and that’s far too big of a change for us,” Strachan whines.

Sana*, an executive on the union formerly known as utsu, says that they should just keep the long rectangular table that the utsgrtsu currently possesses.

According to Sana, the utsu as it once stood lobbied long and hard for the table, finally succeeding in 2004. The table was ready to use

in 2012 and has been operational since then.

As of press time, the utsgrtsu had not agreed upon a table at which to meet. Thus, they have been unable to hold any meetings to address the issue of the table shape. * Names changed at students’ request

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FARCITY NEWWZ

Vol. MCXVIII, No. 69

farts@thefarcity.ca

We’re bored of directing this structure debate Man apprehended after “running through the stacks with his woes” On Friday March 27, a man was apprehended after running through the sixth floor stacks of Robarts Library. Witnesses reported hearing a man shouting that he was “running through the stacks with his woes.” Campus police were quickly called to the scene.

“He just kept on repeating that he was the 6 god and would not calm down,” said one witness, who was studying for a final exam at the time of the disturbance.

Responding to reports that the man said, ”My city too turnt up I'll take the fine for that,” while being taken away, the library issued a statement which read: “While we can all empathize with having woes, we ask that people not get too turnt in campus libraries so as to not disturb one another’s studies. We commend the constituent in question for agreeing to pay their library fines, as collections are an ongoing issue for us, and encourage other students to follow suit.”

The man was later identified as the rapper Aubrey “Drake” Graham. Some students on scene expressed annoyance about the disturbance, but most indicated that they had not even looked up from their books. “I just want to get into grad school. My gpa is all that matters to me,”one student said, not bothering to look away from their colour-coded notes.

When asked to comment on the students’ apathy, the rapper replied, “I’m about to say a true thing... I don’t like how serious they take themselves.”

— Shaubry “Shrake” Shraham

New Board of Directors proposal aims to represent all identities EVER Ace Reporter WEARS FEDORAS UNIRONICALLY

A new Board of Directors structure proposal is destined to “take representation to the next level,” according to the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) president.

The proposal is the result of a collaborative effort between the utsu and various college and professional faculty student societies.

The proposal features positions such as the New College racialized, disabled, bisexual, but wealthy and cisgender director and the St. Michael’s College trans, disabled, but white director, and various other director positions that include every possible identity ever.

“We wanted a structure that was truly inclusive,” says the utsu vice-president, equity, of the decision to expand representation.

“Under this new structure, we can ensure literally everyone ever has a voice on the Board of Directors.”

Some students expressed reservations about the new structure. “I’m a little skeptical of this equity agenda,” said the president of the Young Monarchist League of Canada’s U of T chapter. “I don’t feel that I can say what I want to say. I feel uncomfortable whenever someone uses the e-word [equity] around me.”

Other students were enthused. Proop, a student at Trinity College, was excited to see that a new directorship had been established for the amateur South Asian circus performer

demographic. Janet, a New College student who prefers Good Charlotte's first album and identifies as skeptical of people who own guinea pigs, was pleased to learn that such a seat was also included in the plans.

Administration were also impressed with the structures' sweeping inclusivity. President Geric Mertler released a statement reading, "It's time to start making a place at the table for eggs, and I'm proud that University of Toronto students are at the forefront of that movement."

Students will have the opportunity to vote on the new proposal at the upcoming Annual General Meeting. Early reports suggests that the agm will last at least several weeks, and that nothing will make it to a vote ahead of adjournment.

Deryl Cheger trapped in ivory tower TAs too hungry to perform rescue operation

Robarts library briefly a makeshift hotel Reports have been released that, for the month of March, a group of ten to twelve students had been routinely renting out study carrels on the fourteenth floor of Robarts Library as sleeping quarters for desperate students, faculty, and staff.

“We saw a need and we filled it,” explained fourth-year student Gustave Henderson. “Students were already sleeping in the library; we just provided basic provisions like blankets and pillows. And yeah, we organized things a bit.”

Henderson refused to comment on the profitmaking nature of the venture.

“I have a lot of student debt to make up for,” he said. “Who doesn’t?” The operation has since been shut down by the library. Among the zombie-like students seen leaving the makeshift hotel upon the crackdown were several members of cupe 3902, who were said to be murmuring “solidarity forever” in their sleep, as well as U of T vice president and provost Deryl Cheger and the entire university communications team.

— Lily Sparrow

SHMULIO GETTHECHEQUE/THE FARCITY

Rapoonzel

Farcity design editors get to go home

HAIR ON FLEEK

After a year at Sussex Clubhouse, The Farcity’s design editors will finally get to go home today as volume 135 of the newspaper comes to a close. “I’m going to go outside again,” said Mari Zhou, one of the two designers who have spent the year at The Farcity’s offices. She also expressed excitement over seeing her family and friends. Kawmadie Karunanayake echoed her colleague’s sentiments, adding, “I’m going to sleep in a bed.”

This year, the designers have been sleeping on various surfaces throughout the office, including at their computers during work hours.

When asked what they will miss most about their quarters, the designers responded unanimously, “Inputting small caps.”

The Farcity’s editor-in-chief, Danielle Klein, will also be going home for the first time this year on Monday, stating, “I’m going to take a shower,” while smelling her hair.

— Farcity Stuff

In a confounding turn of events, U of T administration revealed Friday that Deryl Cheger, the vice-president and provost who handled negotiations with CUPE 3902 Unit 1 during the strike, has been trapped for over four weeks in U of T’s ivory tower.

It seems that Cheger’s isolation within the tower was the cause of her apparent lack of concern for Unit 1’s funding packages. An ongoing attempt to rescue Cheger has, thus far, been undermined by logistical inefficiencies resulting from the destitution of over 6,000 vital university staff.

“We’ve been out here for four weeks without any help,” says Jordan Lee, a teaching assistant in the history department. “We thought at first that the administration just didn’t care about social justice issues, liberal values, or the wellbeing of their most vulnerable employees, but after learning that Cheger was actually just trapped up there this whole time, we’ve been more understanding.”

Lee indicated, however, that most of her peers were too hungry to help with the rescue operation. Since U of T depends so heavily on its Unit 1 members to function, Cheger remained trapped in the tower as of press time.

Undergraduates at the scene were too flustered over the prospect of losing credits and tuition money to realize what was happening.

“What? We have an ivory—oh, I get it.

Please get that [microphone] out of my face, I have graduate school application extensions to beg for,” said an anonymous St. George campus student.

Andrew Bergain, a teaching assistant for PHL275: Intro to Ethics, said that Cheger “should be left up there to starve in solidarity with Unit 1.”

When asked if his comment constituted a proper use of the term “solidarity”, Bergain threw back his head and cackled. Another ta, emerging from the line of gaunt picketers shuffling half-heartedly outside the ivory tower, stepped over his collapsed counterparts to explain that Bergain had eaten “only three Cheeze-Puffs” for the better part of the last

month. “The hunger,” he said, had “driven some to madness.”

When asked if Unit 1 members planned to supplement their seasonal work contracts by seeking summer employment, a common tactic employed by similarly impoverished undergraduates, respondents looked confused.

“But we’re under the poverty line for the parttime work that we already do,” said Tara Young, a first-year ta. “Now that I’m a master’s student, I should never have to wait tables. Ever.”

Other Unit 1 members echoed her indignation. “I thought when I got into teaching that I’d get free beer at the Graduate Students’ Union (gsu) pub,” said Chester Wallace, a fifth-year Ph.D candidate.

“There was no free beer. And although I’ve seen increases to my gross income, I’m still struggling to survive,” he added, the stale odour of Creemore Springs emanating from his tattered Varsity jacket.

Cheger was reached for comment, but her hollering from the tower’s uppermost windows was only faintly audible.