THE VARSITY October 1, 2018
University of Toronto's Student Newspaper since 1880
Vol. CXXXIX, No. 5
The Varsity is launching a Business section
Letter from the Editor, 2
Verdict in trial of U of T student: guilty of assault causing bodily harm, not guilty of sexual assault
Business, 8
Municipal elections: mayoral hopefuls debate transit at UTSC, 4 Where University—Rosedale candidates stand on the issues, 5 Jennifer Keesmaat speaks at Innis Town Hall, 6
Samuel Marrello convicted in crime against fellow U of T student Josie Kao News Editor
Content warning: descriptions of sexual violence. U of T student Samuel Marrello has been found guilty of assault causing bodily harm against a female U of T student, but not guilty of the more serious charge of sexual assault. Marrello was charged in connection with an incident that took place on the night of April 1, 2017 near UTSG. The verdict of the monthslong trial was delivered on September 25. The complainant, who cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting her identity, alleged that Marrello hit her and sexually assaulted her while she was intermittently blacked out from intoxication and could not consent to sex. The complainant used ‘blacked out’ to refer to a lack of memory but not necessarily a lack of consciousness. Justice C. Ann Nelson ruled that Marrello was not guilty of sexual assault because there is a reasonable doubt about whether the complainant did not consent to it. However, the sexual activity that they engaged in was rough sex that was found to have caused extensive bruising to the complainant, and Nelson found that Marrello “was reckless when he applied physical force towards [the complainant] not caring whether she consented or not.” The complainant and Marrello had met when they went on a date in 2016 but had not remained in touch afterward. On the night of April 1, 2017, they both separately went to Einstein’s bar near UTSG and happened to meet again. They spent several hours together at the bar, and during that time, they both became intoxicated. It was after they left the bar and went to the complainant’s apartment that the assault took place. Charge of sexual assault A large portion of the trial centred on the fact that, due to her intoxication, the complainant was unable to remember much of the time when the assault and alleged sexual assault occurred. Marrello, page 3
ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY
Comment
Features
Arts & Culture
Science
Sports
Preserving the momentum of secondary student activism
Private pipelines to power: the influence of fraternities on campus
What would make us leave Instagram?
Previewing Blockfest, a 36-hour hackathon
Why the Leafs are a serious Stanley Cup contender
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OCTOBER 1, 2018
THE VARSITY Vol. CXXXIX, No. 5 21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON M5S 1J6 (416) 946-7600 thevarsity.ca thevarsitynewspaper @TheVarsity the.varsity the.varsity The Varsity
MASTHEAD Jack O. Denton Editor-in-Chief
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Reut Cohen Managing Editor
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Josie Kao News Editor
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Ibnul Chowdhury Comment Editor Kate Reeve Features Editor Kashi Syal Arts & Culture Editor Srivindhya Kolluru Science Editor
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Michael Teoh Business Editor
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Angela Fu Design Editor
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Gheyana Purbodiningrat Design Editor
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Troy Lawrence Illustration Editor Jess Stewart-Lee Video Editor Nikhi Bhambra Front End Web Developer
Introducing The Varsity’s Business section It isn’t everyday that a 138-year-old newspaper launches a new section. On page 8, you will find one. The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s student newspaper of record and leading source of trusted, independent journalism, serving the university community since 1880. We commit ourselves to innovation, openness, and accessibility; to the development of our contributors; and to the provision of meaningful, just coverage for our readership. That is our mission statement. The launch of a section focusing on business, innovation, finance, and entrepreneurship is part of an ongoing commitment to serving our readers and developing our contributors. As an institution, The Varsity is both outward- and inwardfacing, and this editorial expansion is a nod to both of these commitments. As it currently stands, there is a drought in the coverage of business at the univer-
sity and in the surrounding community. We are surrounded by fascinating, untold stories of student startups and competitive case competitions. In addition, there remains a stark need for watchdog reporting on university finances and deep-dive investigations into how U of T operates as a multibilliondollar corporation. We’re going to tell these stories in a new Business section — celebrating student innovation and holding the university to account. Moreover, and just as important, this section will provide a new platform for training Varsity contributors. In an industry climate of uncertainty and turbulence, business journalism stands out as a bastion of stability and a force for innovation. Creating a new section that acts as a playing field for the next generation of Canadian business journalists to practice their craft and make worthwhile mistakes is no small part of this editorial expansion.
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And we want you to join us in the fun. Michael Teoh, the inaugural editor of this section, is a Varsity veteran with an impressive grasp of the depth of stories surrounding us on this campus. I’m confident in his ability to grow the section from the ground up; if you’d like to be part of this process, please get in touch with him at biz@thevarsity.ca. No writing experience or prior knowledge of business is required. I hope you enjoy our new Business section. If you do, or if you don’t, I’d like to hear from you. Please don’t hesitate to reach me at editor@thevarsity.ca with feedback.
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Marrello, from cover “I am of the view that [the complainant] tried to be an honest witness,” wrote Nelson. “Her state of intoxication on the night in question, however, interfered with her ability to accurately recall events.” However, the complainant testified that she did have some flashes of memory, including that she remembered feeling blunt forces on her body, and feeling as if she was being physically manipulated. The complainant testified that she was “jolted back to her senses” when Marrello allegedly asked if he could take off his condom, to which she claimed to respond: “I can’t consent to this. I am too drunk.” Marrello confirmed that she said this, but said that she had done so suddenly. They both testified that he immediately stopped and left at her request. In her decision, Nelson wrote that, “While [the complainant] suffered from significant effects of alcohol consumption during her sexual interaction with Mr. Marrello, I am not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that she was so intoxicated that she lacked capacity to consent to that activity.” This was based on, among other things, Marrello’s testimony that the complainant was a conscious and active participant during sexual activity, and it was possible that she consented but could not remember. However, Nelson added, “A final note: A reasonable doubt as to an absence of consent is not an affirmative finding that [the complainant] consented to sexual activity in the bedroom.” Charge of assault causing bodily harm The morning after the assault, the complainant woke up to find extensive bruises on her face, neck, collarbone, inner thighs, and legs. Nelson questioned whether the complainant’s lack of consent to hitting also meant that she had revoked her consent to sexual activity. The judge ruled that since it was previously established that the complainant may have consented to sexual activity, finding Marrello guilty of assault causing bodily harm did not mean that he was guilty of sexual assault. Marrello’s defence on this was his claim that
he and the complainant had discussed their preferences for rough sex on the walk to her apartment. Nelson said that was “implausible” because the complainant had testified that she did not have that preference; only Marrello “admitted that he [had] a preference for rough sex.” Furthermore, while Marrello did admit to gently slapping the complainant on the face twice, which he claimed to do so at her request, that did not explain why there were bruises elsewhere on her body. As such, based on, among other things, the complainant’s memory of being hit, her lack of preference for rough sex, and the bruises on her body, Nelson ruled that Marrello was guilty of assault causing bodily harm. The court will reconvene on October 4 to decide on a date for sentencing. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence, you can call: • Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866863-0511 (Toll Free), 1-866-863-7868 (TTY ), and 416-863-0511 (Toronto) • Support Services for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse at 1-866-887-0015 • Toronto Rape Crisis Centre: Multicultural Women Against Rape at 416-597-8808 • Good2Talk Student Helpline at 1-866925-5454 • Gerstein Crisis Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 • U of T Health & Wellness Centre at 416978-8030. The Varsity has reached out to the defence and the complainant for comment. Crown prosecutors declined a request for comment.
Alejandro Duque remembered for persistence as a researcher and athlete at U of T
Graduate student died at 25 in sport accident Adam A. Lam Varsity Staff
Alejandro Duque, a master’s student in the University of Toronto’s Department of Medical Biophysics, died in a skimboarding accident at Lake Ontario on September 9. Duque, 25, is survived by parents Liliana Pinzon and Delio Duque. During his undergraduate and graduate studies at U of T, Duque had been heavily involved in cancer research, as well as the Varsity Blues men’s lacrosse team. He is remembered by researchers who had worked with him as energetic and hardworking, and by Varsity Blues athletes who had played alongside him as someone who always had their backs.
TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
In an online statement, a lab representative who worked with Duque wrote to his parents, “The recent loss of your son Alejandro who left us all far too soon has left the Rottapel Lab paralyzed with grief.” “In the short time he spent with our lab, he made such an impact, an impact that was larger than life. He will be sorely missed. We offer our sincere condolences and deepest sympathy on your loss.” Before beginning graduate studies, Duque carried out cancer research in the laboratory of Dr. Donald Branch in U of T’s Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology. His direct supervisor was Dr. Anton Neschadim, CEO of ImmunoBiochem, a biotechnology company that sponsored Duque’s project in Branch’s lab. In a joint statement, Branch and Neschadim described Duque as “an ambitious, fun and energetic young man that was friends with everyone in the lab and on the entire research floor.” Branch and Neschadim also said that Duque was as “highly motivated and autonomous” as a research student, “bringing with him significant experience as a laboratory technician.” Duque’s research focused on investigating the mechanism of action and pharmacology of biological products developed by ImmunoBiochem to evaluate their potential for use as part of new cancer treatments in oncological “disease areas where there is a significant unmet need.” Duque wanted to leverage his experience to “generate an impact in oncology.” According to Branch and Neschadim, Duque had long-term plans of becoming a translational cancer researcher, aiming to bridge the gap between fundamental research and applied research.
Duque also did his undergraduate degree at U of T, completing a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology in 2016. During his undergrad, he was extensively involved with U of T athletics in the Varsity Blues men’s lacrosse team as a student. Following graduation, he worked as an assistant coach for the team. Joe Nizich, the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team, recalled Duque’s contribution to the team from when he first started. “When Al joined our team in 2011 coming out of Birchmount C. I., he had some difficulties adjusting to the university game,” Nizisch wrote to The Varsity. “But he persevered and worked diligently to improve, to the point that Al earned the right to be one of our Captains his last two seasons. He would pump up a teammate if that player needed a boost of confidence or was just feeling down.” “He was always the focal point of chatter in the team room,” continued Nizisch. “As a coach, Al took it upon himself to run our off-season strength and conditioning program, encouraging players to get better. He was always available to help a player improve.” “To me, he was the epitome of a Varsity Blues athlete." Gabe Lisus-Lean, Defensive Coordinator of the men’s lacrosse team, wrote that “Al will always be remembered as much more than a player and a coach by the UofT lacrosse program; he will be remembered as a brother.” “His teammates who shared the field with him had his back unconditionally well beyond their playing days and the players he coached knew that they could lean on him for anything,”
Duque was heavily involved in men’s lacrosse. Courtesy of the VARSITY BLUES
he continued. “Though his life was cut tragically short, he truly lived with an unbridled passion for everything he did. His memory and influence will forever live on in all that were lucky enough to know him.”
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$30 price tag for writing surfaces in lecture hall stirs controversy at Architecture & Visual Studies town hall
Daniels lecture hall doesn’t have desks, faculty offers to sell ‘lap desks’
Faculty says decision to build the lecture hall without desks “was not an oversight.” JORDAN AHARONI/THE VARSITY
Adam A. Lam Varsity Staff
Students at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design (FALD) are being sold $30 “lap desks” to use in the Main Hall of the Daniels Building, which was built without desks. Concerns over the departmental decision to sell students these writing surfaces were brought up at the first town hall meeting of the Architecture and Visual Studies Student Union (AVSSU) on September 26, which was held in conjunction with staff from the FALD. Assistant Dean Andrea McGee announced the decision in an email to FALD students on September 21. “Daniels is offering students the opportunity to purchase ‘lap desks’ (writing surfaces) for $30,” she wrote. “Some students may find them helpful when using their laptop or taking notes by hand in the Main lecture hall.” The email included a link for students to purchase a lap desk. McGee explained the decision to sell lap desks at the meeting, saying that she did consult “a couple of students” about
whether they would prefer ownership of a lap desk over a rental. Citing cleanliness concerns of using a used lap desk, McGee opted to sell lap desks for ownership. Explaining the price tag of $30, she said that the administration is “taking a loss on the lap desks,” and “it’s not that we’re trying to gouge the students.” However, recognizing student preference for rentals, McGee said, “If now we’re saying that students would like to only rent them with a deposit, we can change that.” Dean Richard Sommers provided specifics for the deposit system, explaining that there would be “a system where people can sign [the lap desk] out when they pay the deposit, and then they can return them at the end of the year, and have the deposit returned.” But Paul Berkun-Dreving, Architecture Comprehensive Representative of the AVSSU, said the faculty should cover the full cost of writing desks and lend them to FALD students for free. He said that the lack of writing surfaces was a “design error from the beginning.” In response, McGee wrote that the decision “was not an oversight,” but a
“long and involved discussion with the Faculty, with our Architecture team, and with many people.” He added that the decision was made because “the hall is meant for a variety of functions.” Lacking a writing surface enables chairs to be stacked and reorganized quickly. He also said that there is pedagogical value for the absence of writing surfaces, as it discourages students from “sitting at their desks on their laptop, doing other things, which is what occurs a lot in other kinds of classes.” Professor Jeannie Kim added that there is literature that shows that “it’s actually better to take notes by hand first,” reinforcing that the decision was made for pedagogical purposes. Berkun-Dreving then suggested, as a “potential stopgap measure,” to include a “row of desks” with a writing surface at the back of the Main Hall. Sommers responded by saying that he would “look into a scattered or assembled area for people who feel strongly about” attending lectures at desks. “That’s a fair request, entirely,” said Sommers.
Mayoral debate at Scarborough campus focuses on transit issues
Candidates discuss uploading TTC, transit affordability Andy Takagi Varsity Staff
TTCriders, an organization of transit users, and the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) hosted a mayoral debate focused on transit on September 26. Three candidates — former Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat, lawyer and activist Saron Gebresellassi, and safe streets activist Sarah Climenhaga — took the stage at the Scarborough campus. The debate was moderated by The Globe and Mail columnist Marcus Gee. John Tory, the incumbent mayoral candidate, was invited but did not attend. At the end of the debate, candidate Dionee Renée, who spells her name D!ONEE Renée, was invited to give a two-minute speech. She claimed ownership of the idea of free transit and underscored accessibility needs, which she felt had been lacking during the debate. A Mainstreet Research poll released on September 26 put Keesmaat at 20.3 per cent, nearly 30 points behind Tory, who remains in the lead. Gebresellassi and Climenhaga both polled at around one per cent and undecided voters made up 27.4 per cent of the survey. The same poll found transit to be the most pressing issue in the mayoral election — overtaking concerns of housing affordability, crime and safety, and accountability. Uploading the TTC to the province All three candidates were asked about their stance on the provincial governments’ moves to take over Toronto’s subway system. The proposal, made by the Progressive Conservatives during the provincial election, aims for the province to adopt major capital maintenance fees and control any expansion planning. Tory showed slight interest in the plan, however City Council voted 30–6 in favor of maintaining public ownership of the TTC. Premier Doug Ford, who campaigned on uploading the TTC to the province and whose party guaranteed
the upload under a majority, became the centre of the candidates’ discussion. Keesmaat proposed that any projects to upload the TTC should go through the mayor and the city council. She also emphasized the need for the TTC to remain a “public asset,” refuting any claims that turning the TTC private would raise capital funds or improve the transit system. Agreeing with Keesmaat, Climenhaga commented on Ford’s ability to “do things even if we don’t agree with them” and supported the need to work with the premier on this issue. Gebresellassi criticized Tory for his lack of strong leadership and underscored the need for mayoral leadership that would “stand up against Doug Ford,” particularly on the issue of uploading the subway to the provincial government. Free transit The first candidate to mention free transit was Gebresellassi, whose campaign is largely based on the idea of making Toronto the first metropolis in Canada to maintain a free public transit system. Placing heavy emphasis on the idea of “transit as a fundamental human right,” Gebresellassi proposed eliminating corporate loopholes and using federal funding to finance her proposal. Climenhaga took a moderate stance on the issue — labeling it a goal to be achieved through long-term investment in the transit system and a gradual reduction of fares. Keesmaat heavily opposed the idea of free transit, criticizing not only Gebresellassi’s funding plans for the proposal, but also pointing out the resulting issues of overcrowding and the loss of the TTC’s operating revenue. She further underscored the need for more investment to develop transit expansion over the development of free transit. “I thank [Gebresellassi] for putting the idea of free transit on the table, and I have to say it is a ridiculous idea that would ruin our transit system.” During an interview with The Varsity,
Three candidates participated in the debate: Jennifer Keesmaat, Saron Gebresellassi, and Sarah Climenhaga (pictured). ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY
Gebresellassi pushed back. “I think her position says it all. This is why we keep saying Jennifer Keesmaat is not a champion for working-class people,” a sentiment that was not brought up during the debate. Additionally, Gebresellassi argued against claims that the plan would be difficult to fund: “As the 13th wealthiest city in the world, we could have free transit if we wanted to.” Transit affordability for students After the failure of the U-Pass referendum last year, postsecondary student fares for transit and the development of a student pass has been the focus of the debate on transit affordability for university students. SCSU President Nicole Brayiannis opened the question portion of the debate by asking about affordable transit for students, especially those who commute long distances. Keesmaat responded to the question
by calling out the provincial government for stalling fare integration with GO, which would allow transferring from the TTC to GO without having to pay multiple fares. Inter-municipal fare integration as well as transferable regional fares were proposed for commuting students. Taking a similar stance, Climenhaga agreed on the need for fare integration but also emphasized the need to work with the province on affordable student housing, zoning to make student housing development easier, and increased employment opportunities. In her response, Gebresellassi proposed expanding the low-income transit pass, also known as the Fair Fare Pass, universally. Differing from the other candidates, she also highlighted the need for job opportunities and engagement outside of the downtown core and called for a multitude of plans that would encourage local hiring and youth training.
Protesters In the middle of Climenhaga’s opening statement, protesters in the audience began shouting, “Where is Faith Goldy?” Picketers with signs that read, “Let Faith Speak,” stood in the back of the room. Faith Goldy, a controversial mayoral candidate associated with white nationalists, was not invited to speak at the event. The commotion prompted multiple audience members to stand up, resulting in loud protests both against and in support of Goldy. A chant began from the protesters demanding: “We want Faith.” The protesters were eventually asked to leave and were escorted out of the room. Goldy herself interrupted a debate just two days earlier, where she was escorted off stage by police officers. The Toronto municipal elections will be held on October 22, and advance voting will take place from October 10–14.
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Meet the people running for office in University— Rosedale
Candidates champion progressive solutions to student issues Ilya Bañares Deputy News Editor
With election day fast approaching and Toronto city boundaries settled, The Varsity spoke to four of the seven candidates running in University—Rosedale about their plans for office. Mike Layton Mike Layton, the incumbent councillor for Ward 19 Trinity—Spadina, believes that local government needs to “get back in the business of building affordable housing.” “Sometimes we call things affordable that really aren’t because our definition of affordable is average market rent across the city,” said Layton. “Around the St. George campus in particular, I would challenge you to find somewhere that's actually affordable, in the actual definition of what we would think of affordable.” Layton is running for re-election in the larger ward of University— Rosedale, which represents part of Layton’s current electoral district. The new borders align with provincial and federal ridings, as mandated in recent legislation from the
Mike Layton
Nicki Ward
Marc Albert Cormier
Joyce Rowlands
MARC DEMOUY/CC FLICKR
Courtesy of NICKI WARD
Courtesy of HANI JAJEH
Courtesy of NORM BETTS
government of Premier Doug Ford. Layton studied at U of T, and he recalled cycling around the city growing up and recognizing the lack of resources for bike users. He championed his achievements on council. “In the last term of council, Councillor [ Joe] Cressy and I, through working extremely hard with local residents’ associations… were able to shepherd [bike paths] through a largely suburban, largely conservative city council,” he said. In response to the death of a UTSC student in a fire at a private residence, Layton said that the city needs to recognize that there are illegal rooming houses and should address the issue. “We need to ensure that our rooming house bylaw is living up to what it should be and that's to ensure that spaces are safe across the city,” he said. “While we can’t be afraid of ensuring people’s public safety or people’s safety in their homes, we can't be afraid of the political ramifications of that.” He also said that the city should take a look at short-term rentals, like Airbnb. “It’s actually taking units off the market and I can tell you firsthand now, knocking on the doors across University—Rosedale, that far too many multi-unit residential houses… are actually entirely off the market,” he said.
the Church and Wellesley Village, is advocating for intergenerational methods to help ease students’ worries about post-graduation job availability, namely “interning/ mentoring opportunities between older and younger groups.” Ward explained that “there are a number of older groups, for example, people in their 50s and 60s, who are looking to transfer their skill set to younger people who are entering the community.” Her campaign slogan is “Common Sense and Compassion,” highlighting her background in business, human rights, and social justice activism — the latter of which she argues is “above reproach.” “I've been directly involved in human rights activity in the LGBT community, specifically around gender identity roles,” she said. “I’ve been at the forefront of making sure that we live in an inclusive society.” Ward also emphasized her experience in managing large groups, saying it was increasingly critical in a rapidly enlarging world.
ington, the most unique neighbourhood in the entire city, should be protected.” On student issues, Cormier believes that City Council should look into asking the TTC to possibly extend youth transportation pricing to postsecondary students. “If that could be extended to the university level, I would definitely support that option,” he said. Cormier also said that housing has become a crisis in the city, and supported further developing laneway housing, which are usually small detached homes in pre-existing lots next to alleyways. “I think we need to be much more aggressive in developing these,” he said. “Rental prices are through the roof and we absolutely have to look at these different options.”
on council or voting bloc at City Hall.” She considers herself a “progressive centrist” and vowed to work with city councillors across the board. “I'll work with community groups and student groups and individuals in the community and in the student body to identify realistic, affordable solutions so that we can get on… these critical issues that are facing this city,” said Rowlands. Rowlands added that she intends to collaborate with students on issues like public transit. She referenced the failed U-Pass referendum at St. George, which would have provided unlimited transit on the TTC for a semesterly cost of $280, but did not have the option to opt out. “I think it would be better to have an opt-out option for students that don't use the TTC, if that is in any way realistically possible, given the various parties that would have to come to the table and agree on a plan,” she said.
Nicki Ward Nicki Ward, a board member of The 519, a community centre in
TTC riders, know your rights
Understanding fines, roles of fare inspectors
TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
Marc Albert Cormier Marc Albert Cormier teaches math and science to seventh and eighth graders in Toronto. He is running on making Kensington Market a UNESCO World Heritage Site. “Now I know that’s a bit of a long shot,” he said, “but when you consider that downtown Lunenberg in Nova Scotia was recognized as world heritage, I believe that Kens-
Anna Osterberg Varsity Contributor
Since the TTC implemented its Proof-of-Payment fare enforcement system in 2015, TTC riders have learned to live by an unofficial rule: if you evade your fare, you do so at your own risk. But what exactly does a rider risk? The Varsity takes a look into how Toronto transit operates so that you can know what rights you have while riding the TTC. Fare inspection is upheld by fare inspectors and Transit Enforcement Special Constables, whose duties include conducting routine fare inspections onboard transit vehicles and overseeing TTC security, respectively. The regulations concerning fare payment enforcement are enshrined in TTC By-law No. 1, which gives the TTC the authority to pass its own by-laws. TTC By-law No. 1 was passed in October 2009 and accompanied by a comprehensive list of fines, both of which are publicly available on the TTC website. Monitoring fare evaders was made somewhat more difficult with the implementation of the Proof-of-
Joyce Rowlands Joyce Rowlands has worked as an occupational health nurse, a writer, and as a public policy consultant in the regulatory sector. She’s also the daughter of the late June Rowlands, the former Mayor of Toronto, and previously ran for the Ontario legislature in Toronto—Danforth in 2007 under the Liberal banner but lost to incumbent MPP Peter Tabuns of the New Democratic Party. Despite having a long track record in different career areas, Rowlands said she’s “not a career politician or an activist or an entrenched partisan of any stripe, and I won't be wedded to any particular faction
Payment system, since people were no longer barred from entering a streetcar or a bus through the back doors and could then potentially avoid the notice of the TTC vehicle operator. The Toronto Star reported in April that, to combat a foreseeable increase in evasion with the new system, the number of annual fare inspections had increased from 938,000 to 3.7 million between 2015 and 2017. According to the bylaw and corresponding fines table, refusal to pay a fare, and therefore failure to comply with provision 2.1 of the bylaw, could land you with a ticket of $235 and removal from the vehicle. Failure to provide a fare inspector with a piece of photo identification when requested costs $425. What would happen, then, if a person did not have photo ID on them? According to Mike DeToma, Senior Communications Advisor at the TTC, “They could face a fine if it was in relation to misuse of fare, or they might just be let off with a warning. It really depends on the circumstance.” When it comes to physical force, DeToma clarified that the special constables receive “virtually the same training that police officers get in
Seven candidates are running for University—Rosedale: Michael Borrelli, Cormier, Layton, Rowlands, George Sawision, Michael Shaw, and Ward. Election day is on October 22, and advance voting begins October 10 and runs until October 14. Voters in the ward can either go to Rosedale United Church at 159 Roxborough Drive or Cecil Community Centre at 58 Cecil Street to cast their ballot.
terms of use-of-force,” but are only authorized to employ physical force in cases of defence. These special constables are distinct from fare inspectors in that they have been sworn in by the Toronto Police Service and have the same powers as a police officer to enforce the Criminal Code, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Liquor Licence Act, and the Trespass to Property Act. Earlier this year, the TTC came under fire when a video surfaced online showing two fare inspectors pinning a teenager to the ground, under circumstances that witnesses noted to be outside the bounds of self-defence. In response to the incident, Ombudsman Toronto announced that it would be completing a full review of the TTC’s investigation file concerning the conduct of the inspectors involved. Information concerning transit fare enforcement, TTC By-law No. 1, and a detailed fines list are available on the TTC’s website. For questions or complaints, students can contact the Transit Enforcement Department directly or the Human Resources Transit Enforcement Unit Complaints Coordinator.
6 | THE VARSITY | NEWS
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Monday psychology lecture at UTSC begins with a bang
Porn video played on projector screen startles students, ignites meme frenzy Jayra Almanzor UTSC Bureau Chief
The incident was recorded in a Snapchat video and later posted onto Reddit. SCREENSHOT VIA REDDIT
Ann Marie Elpa Associate News Editor
NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY
strengthens connections between and within neighbourhoods. “Arts and culture are a way we build our identity, tell stories, and make sense of who we are as a society,” said Keesmaat. City Council cuts When asked about Premier Doug Ford’s decision to cut the number of city council wards
from 47 to 25, Keesmaat responded that she “would not have traded democracy,” and emphasized the need for a strong mayor to stand up to the premier. She added that local democracy matters and that Ford needs to “mind his own business,” pointing to the $15 billion provincial deficit. “Voting matters. Leadership has an impact on the quality of our lives.”
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Affordable housing When addressed with the issue of affordable housing, Keesmaat put forward her strategy of creating 100,000 affordable units on cityowned land, which she said would target both working- and middle-class families. She also criticized incumbent Mayor John
Arts and culture in Toronto When discussing the local Toronto arts and culture scene, Keesmaat encouraged the expansion of growing cultural hubs and programs. She referenced the Artscape Weston Cultural Hub, a public space partnered with Artscape and Metrolink providing a creative space for artists and aimed at revitalizing an area in need of renewal. She emphasized that local arts employ 11 million people annually, though it often faces major budget cuts from the provincial government. Keesmaat stresses that accessing the arts
Keesmaat was the former chief planner of Toronto.
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Mayoral candidate and former Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat spoke at a studentled discussion hosted by the Urban Studies Student Union on September 24 at Innis Town Hall. The event, titled “Our City, Our Future: Students in Conversation with Jennifer Keesmaat” aimed at discussing pressing Toronto issues, including public transit, affordable housing, local arts and culture initiatives, and the importance of local democracy and community engagement. The discussion was moderated by Anjuli Solanki, an artist and the Director of Community Programs at the Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Space Initiative, which provides a creative space for public engagement and community building projects in developing neighbourhoods. “It takes 20 seconds to get a young person engaged in community politics,” said Keesmaat on student civic engagement. “Mention: one, affordable housing and two, public transit.”
Public transit Keesmaat’s public transit plan was a prominent topic of discussion, especially her focus on Relief Line transit and the development of Line 3 Scarborough. She added that she wants to develop a longterm transit plan to fix what she sees as the failure of the current state of Toronto public transit. Keesmaat noted that property closest to transit is the most expensive for families, thus making it inconvenient to find an affordable home with a reliable transit route. Additionally, she pointed to the overcrowding of Line 1 Yonge-University during rush hour leading to issues such as long waiting times and insufficient subway infrastructure. Keesmaat was critical of Tory’s SMARTtrack plan, which she said has taken four years to build since Tory’s 2014 mayoral campaign and costs nearly $1.46 billion. She plans to fund the cost of her transit plan through responsible funding and affordable fares. The province has granted the city $5 billion for subway development, committing to cover one-third of the costs. In her transit network plan, Keesmaat plans to reach out to marginalized communities and ensure a reliable transit network, specifically referring to the proposed Jane light rail.
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Mayoral candidate talks affordable housing, public transit, local democracy
Tory’s housing strategy, saying that during his tenure as mayor, he sold city-owned land to developers to build luxury condominiums, which contributed to the already-skyrocketing real estate market.
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Jennifer Keesmaat speaks at Innis Town Hall
On September 24, a video surfaced that appears to show UTSC psychology professor Steve Joordens playing a pornographic video on the projector screen by accident. The incident, which apparently took place at the start of the lecture, was recorded by one of the students in the class in a Snapchat video and subsequently posted onto Reddit, where, along with many memes made about the event, it instantly went viral. “When I saw the [pornographic] video, I was surprised,” the original poster, a first-year student studying Philosophy, wrote to The Varsity. “I was not expecting that especially this early in the morning… I found the whole situation funny and he made a lot of people laugh. ” The class, which was reportedly PSYA01 — Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology, had about 500 students in the lecture hall. As seen in the video posted by the student, many students in the class were laughing, though others could be seen walking out of the room. In a statement to The Varsity, Joordens wrote, “With respect to the event that hap-
pened prior to my class on Monday the 24th, I want to be clear that what happened was completely unintentional and I feel absolutely terrible about it.” “I have apologized to my class and now I want to move on,” Joordens wrote. “Thanks to my students, colleagues and my amazing family for their support and understanding.” Don Campbell, Media Relations Officer at UTSC, told The Varsity in a statement that the university is aware of the incident and are looking into it, but that they can’t discuss personnel matters. “We encourage students who may be feeling unsettled by the incident to speak with their registrar or staff at the Health & Wellness Centre,“ Campbell said. Joordens started teaching at UTSC in 1995. Since then, he has won numerous teaching awards including the Canadian Post-Secondary EdTech Professor of the Year in 2017 and the 3M National Teaching Fellowship in 2015. “Everyone makes mistakes so I can’t blame him,” said the student who posted the video. “I hope nothing bad happens in the future and this can just be a thing to laugh about, I hope his job isn’t affected or anything in his personal life either.”
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“Development or Justice?”: Jeremy Adelman speaks at annual UTSC Al Berry lecture Lecture criticized developmentalism as “new form of empire”
Adelman is a professor at Princeton University. SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY
U of T searching for new Dean of Arts & Science David Cameron to leave position held since 2013
Ann Marie Elpa Associate News Editor
The university is seeking a new Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science to replace the current dean, David Cameron, who will finish his term
on June 30, 2019. An advisory committee was struck on September 21 by President Meric Gertler to begin the search. Cameron, a political scientist, first started in May 2013 as interim dean, and was reappointed in July 2016 for a three-year term. He has previously held positions including Vice-President Institutional Relations, Chair of the Department of Political Science, and acting Vice-Dean of Undergraduate Education and Teaching in the Faculty of Arts & Science. Cameron has been a Department of Political Science faculty member since 1985. “Academic leaders are scholars who agree to take on special responsibilities for a time and these academic appointments usually run for two five-year terms,” said Elizabeth Church, U
Layla Anciano Varsity Contributor
Redistribution of wealth and resources has been a common theme in the study of development over the ages. At the sixth annual Al Berry lecture at UTSC on September 26, Princeton University Professor Jeremy Adelman aimed to bring attention to “the concentration of wealth and income” and its stresses on our “togetherness.” The event was organized by the Centre for Critical Development Studies. Al Berry, professor at UTSC and the namesake of the event, invited Adelman, one of his former students, to speak about how the current model of development may be dangerous to the global community. Adelman spoke about how the growing interdependence of countries on one another made them more vulnerable to inequity. He claimed that “as the world was being laced by railroads, cables, and free trade, it was also producing more stratification.” The professor detailed how the convergence of countries with one another “promoted hierarchy,” creating a dichotomy between the Global North and South. “Everything is now development,” Adelman told The Varsity in an interview at the event’s pre-lecture reception. “All of the grand challenges that the planet faces, whether it’s climate change or the global migrant crisis, are, at root, issues of development.” As a historian, Adelman advocated a historical perspective when approaching development in other countries. He noted that as the world became more interdependent, the competition for economic success spun out of control. Evidence of inequity could be seen in the fact that as economic development progressed, Indigenous people were globally “excluded from their land that was made valuable to the public.” According to Adelman, since the nineteenth century, the study of development
of T spokesperson. Details about the transition have not been provided and it is unclear whether or not the new faculty dean will continue Cameron’s projects, including the newly proposed Indigenous college. During his time as dean, Cameron implemented a number of initiatives including the Milestones and Pathways programs, launched in 2016, which offer support for graduate students by providing skills needed for academic and non-academic careers, as well as three-year funding for graduate programs including new program-level fellowships. Cameron has also been involved with the expansion of the Advancing Teaching & Learning in Arts & Science program, which provides funding and support for innovative learning in
has been one of debate. Debate arose when people looked at the successes of development, such as poverty decline and increased literacy rate, and forgot about the inequalities within these development efforts. Adelman criticized what he sees as the hypocrisy that comes with developmentalism. He explored the idea that development “was just a new form of empire,” for it seemed to favour the European bourgeoisie. He outlined the delusion of “foreign expert syndrome,” stressing that a Western or linear model of development may not work everywhere. According to Adelman, models of development required dramatic solutions for underdevelopment such as “breaking unequal trade” and “overturning feudal forces.” Yet this harsh approach has reaped little benefits. Adelman suggested that the Global South started “a new history,” separate from the Western model of success and development. One thing Adelman said he has done to tackle these inequities and promote a humanitarian way of thinking is by running the Global History Lab at Princeton. “It’s an online course in which my graduates interact with undergraduates and learners in other parts of the world, including refugee camps and Middle Eastern Africa.” Adelman told The Varsity that the theme of his studies is “always global, and our fragile togetherness, in spite of the whole rise of nationalism, and nativism, and tribalism.” His goal is “to keep the global horizons open and to teach that to students.” Redistribution of wealth to close the gap between the “haves and the have-nots” and remodeling development would bring the the global community closer to equity, said Adelman. For Adelman, the importance of all this is that “how we handle our fragile togetherness will shape the lives of generations to come.”
the classroom. He was also a key figure during the protests over Professor Jordan Peterson in 2016. Cameron was one of two signatories on a letter sent to Peterson asking him to respect gender pronouns. The advisory committee appointing the new dean includes Provost Cheryl Regehr, Acting Dean of the School of Graduate Studies Luc De Nil, Dean of the Rotman School of Management Tiff Macklem, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Trevor Young, among others. The committee will be meeting later in the fall to discuss electoral procedures and nominations from potential candidates. Students can also contact the committee with any comments or concerns and nominate faculty for this position or any academic appointment.
It is unclear whether or not the new faculty dean will continue Cameron's projects. SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY
Business
October 1, 2018 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca
U of T, Huawei extend multimilliondollar research partnership by five years Examining intellectual property rights, national security concerns surrounding the Chinese tech giant in Canada Jack O. Denton Editor-in-Chief
tools, technologies and data that might otherwise be inaccessible,” Goel said.
U of T and Huawei, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, have extended their multimillion-dollar research partnership by five years. The initial partnership began in 2016 and has seen over $3.5 million funneled from the private Chinese company to dozens of research projects at the university. The extension of the partnership comes on the tail of concerns circulating for months about whether the company’s operations in Canada pose a threat to national security. Vivek Goel, the Vice-President of Research and Innovation at U of T, told The Varsity that “since signing the partnership agreement, Huawei has supported dozens of U of T projects involving more than 30 principal investigations and their trainees.” “Such partnerships boost opportunities for innovation and education by providing researchers and students with
Private sector partnership and intellectual property rights Much of the partnership research takes place at U of T’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The research focuses on the development of new circuits for high-speed connections and designs for 5G cellular networks, the next stage in mobile communications technology. In 2016–2017, U of T received $125 million in research funding from the private sector, making up 10.8 per cent of its total research funding. The university declined to reveal whether there was a minimum funding guarantee from Huawei over the next five years, citing proprietary information. The partnership agreement itself is not a public document. Scott Bradley, Huawei’s Vice-President of Corporate Affairs in Canada, told The Varsity that numerous research
iSchool receives $2.45 million donation from LinkedIn co-founder
Donation establishes chair to research consequences of artificial intelligence Michael Teoh Business Editor
The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information (iSchool) has received a $2.45 million donation from entrepreneur and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. The donation, which is the largest that the faculty has ever received, establishes the Reid Hoffman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and the Human. Brian Cantwell Smith, the faculty’s former Dean and Professor of Information, Philosophy, and Cognitive Science, has been appointed to the chair until August 2024. Smith was one of Hoffman’s professors at Stanford University in 1989, and their connection played a role in the iSchool being chosen as the donation’s recipient. The pair had discussed “the question of what it will be for humanity, society, people to coexist with other forms of intelligence,” said Smith. “[Hoffman] then said, ‘Is there any way that I could help you support this kind of work?’ And he knew I was at U of T, so, he said, well, ‘Look, why don’t you write a proposal?’” Smith’s successful proposal for the chair centred on conducting foundational research on “what artificial intelligence is, what it isn’t, how we should assess it, what consequences it will have, [and] how it affects our self.” As chair, Smith will deliver an annual public lecture about these topics. However, with the increased “psychic space” that the chair allows, his primary aim is in publishing more books to bet-
ter convey and address the complexities of his research. “I’m not a public intellectual in that sense. What I’d like to do is to provide analyses and understandings and ideas that could be resources for public intellectuals.” Hoffman’s other recent donations include $10 million USD to the Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund, which funds research on ethical problems raised by artificial intelligence, and a joint $500,000 USD to establish Win the Future, a project aimed at countering the effects of Donald Trump’s presidency and fielding political candidates within the Democratic Party. Smith considered those donations to be in line with a continuous effort to understand the world in a way that is “compassionate with substantial values of humanity.” He considered the other donations to be more public, akin to offices located on the first and second floors of buildings, whereas his work is akin to offices “in the basement” due to its foundational nature. According to Smith, the donation is an example of funding “standpoints from which to ask deeper questions,” a change from the norm of artificial intelligence funding going toward mechanical physical structures and architecture. Smith added that U of T is an ideal institution for research in artificial intelligence, having arisen “out of a constellation of a variety of institutions.” Read the rest of the story at var.st/ischooldonation
papers are among the products of the research partnership with U of T. Papers, along with patents, make up the determinants of success for Huawei’s continuation of its partnerships. “New ideas and leading-edge research helps to serve as a foundation for new technologies that could be developed in the future – either by Huawei, by the students and academics doing the research, or by other Canadian researchers,” Bradley said in an email. An investigation by The Globe and Mail in May highlighted the scope of Huawei’s global research partnerships in the company’s race to cement itself as a global leader in 5G technologies. One element of the Globe investigation was Huawei’s hold over the exclusive licensing rights of research in 40 cases, and the licensing of intellectual property rights from other researchers. All research covered under the scope of U of T and Huawei’s agreement includes joint licensing rights. “The focus of our investment at the
IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY
University of Toronto and other Canadian universities is in pure research,” Bradley said, “not the development of specific products.” With regard to intellectual property, Goel said that U of T’s agreements with Huawei are “as strong or stronger” than with its other industry partners. National security concerns Huawei, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, is also a world leader in networking systems, and it is the second largest smartphone manufacturer after Samsung. The company works with 13 universities in Canada, including Carleton University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Waterloo, and
dozens more around the world. While its global influence in research is vast — with 16 research and development centres across North and South America, Europe, and Asia — the company has faced scrutiny over whether its operations could pose threats to national security. The United States and Australia both banned Huawei’s equipment from use in government and communications infrastructure this summer. Security officials in the United States urged the Canadian government to do the same, prompting a federal probe into the company’s operations in the country and revealing a history of tests on Huawei’s equipment. The head of the Centre for Cyber Security and Canada’s top cybersecurity official, Scott Jones, affirmed to the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on September 20 that banning Huawei from Canada is not necessary. On Huawei’s end, Bradley said that “while these issues have recently received media coverage, these are not new questions for Huawei Canada, Canadian operators, or the Canadian Government.” Read the rest of the story at var.st/huaweiagreement
Ice pop opportunities
U of T alum Leila Keshavjee’s startup offered $150,000 Dragon’s Den deal Hannah Carty Varsity Contributor
U of T Kinesiology alum Leila Keshavjee’s startup has landed a sweet deal. On the recently aired season 13 premiere of reality television show Dragon’s Den, Keshavjee’s healthy ice popsicle startup Happy Pops was offered a $150,000 investment and access to a business accelerator in exchange for 30 per cent equity. “It was definitely a little more equity than I said I wanted to give up initially going in,” says Keshavjee. “[But] I went with my gut… I have this offer now and I think it’s 100 per cent the best fit.” Happy Pops was born out of Keshavjee’s desire to create a product that was “a healthier alternative to what’s already out there but still tasted good.” Through her Kinesiology degree, Keshavjee learned about nutrition and the many ways that sugar can be hidden on food labels. “I wanted to have a product [with ingredients] that anybody could pronounce… There was no hiding.” While still an undergraduate student at U of T, Keshavjee enrolled in IMC200 — Innovation and Entrepreneurship and IMC390 — Internship in New Venture, where she learned about what it takes to start a business. Later, she sought advice and support from U of T’s Impact Centre, which she credits with supporting her entrepreneurial adventure. “When you’re running a business, you’re often alone in the startup phase… The opportunities to interact with other entrepreneurs…
Happy Pops are naturally flavoured fruit ice popsicles. Courtesy of LEILA KESHAVJEE
is one of the most valuable things. You can learn so much from each other.” She started her ice pop business after graduating from U of T in 2016, when, with funding from her father, she purchased an ice pop business that had a 1,000-square-foot commercial kitchen but no retail products. “When I started, I made all the popsicles myself for the first month. So I used to cut the fruit, blend it all, put it in the popsicle mould, seal them, wash all the dishes and all that.” Now that the business has grown, Keshavjee’s role is primarily focused on sales and marketing. She describes running her own business and building a brand as filled with constant ups and downs. “You could be cold-calling for days. Or, someone could reach out to you and say, ‘Hey, I wanna have you in my store’… Getting people to know who you are as a brand and trust you hasn’t been easy but it’s definitely been a great learning experience.” On the encouragement of her friends, Keshavjee auditioned for Dragon’s Den in Toronto, which was among the 38 stops the show made across the country. She waited for four hours among many other worthy businesses. She describes
the audition process as intense: “You really just have to block out everybody around you and focus on your pitch.” After being placed on the standby list, she was called and given three days’ notice to appear on Dragon’s Den. She had to prepare her presentation over that weekend, making sure it was entertaining and that the product looked perfect. Going into the den, Keshavjee was nervous. “I was nauseous, I was sleep-deprived, I was excited… I [had] watched this show for so long.” However, she relaxed when she saw that the investors liked her product. During her 45 minutes of filming, four of the six investors made offers for Happy Pops. Keshavjee made her final decision in about a minute. Originally seeking $50,000 for 10 per cent equity, she is finalizing an offer from Arlene Dickinson, whom she knew that she wanted to work with going in, of $150,000 for 30 per cent equity. To other students looking to start their own businesses, Keshavjee says, “Don’t be afraid to fail and don’t be afraid to take a risk, especially while you’re young. Now is the time to try these things.”
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October 1, 2018 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca
Policy victories for students require more than single demonstrations
Examining the limitations of secondary student movements following the recent sex ed protests in Ontario high schools Justin Patrick Varsity Contributor
On September 21, 40,000 students from 100 Ontario schools walked out to challenge the decision of Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government to scrap both the updated sex ed curriculum and Indigenous content in the curriculum. This provokes important questions about how effective student activism is in terms of producing tangible impacts on education policy. It also highlights the significant challenges that secondary school activism faces due to a lack of advocacy structures to organize collective action. Historically, student activism has had significant societal impact. Collective student action has led to significant changes to existing social structures. In the 1960s, student movements in the United States brought critical dialogues to the forefront and prompted university heads to resign, while in countries like Brazil, Czechoslovakia, and the more recent Arab Spring, students protested authoritarian regimes, often in the face of lethal violence, setting in motion paradigm shifts that eventually saw the regimes topple. Even in Canada, tens of thousands of Québec students took to the streets in 2012 in response to proposed tuition hikes. Six years later, Québec tuition fees generally have remained low — about half that of the rest of Canada. However, the caveat is that policy battles are not won in a single demonstration. Advocacy campaigns require resources, organization, and, perhaps most importantly, time. Many students have school, work, extracurricular, and personal commitments that prevent them from investing weeks, months, or years into student activism to see changes in legislation. This is even truer for Ontario high school students. They lack the student government struc-
tures that their postsecondary counterparts enjoy — the student unions that receive millions of dollars each year via student levies to make the student voice heard and coordinate activism efforts. Secondary student government is limited in comparison, with student councils focused on extracurricular activities and often dominated by unelected staff members or other non-student actors who control operations behind the scenes. School board student senates consisting of student council representatives from multiple high schools do not collect levies and often act as little more than advisory panels to school board officials. Even the student trustees these student senates elect to attend school board meetings do not have a binding vote on decisions, leaving their voices to be heard, but not necessarily acted upon. Similarly, the Ontario Student Trustees Association, which represents about two million secondary and elementary students, has few resources to communicate its existence to the average Ontario student, let alone mobilize its constituents to collective action. It is not that students are apathetic as the stereotype suggests. Rather, they lack a proper place in the Ontario education system to participate in decision-making processes as stakeholders. This forces them to fight from the outside with resource-demanding tactics of public resistance. What secondary students need to think about is how to cement a long-term political movement that will provide them with more advocacy options to supplement public demonstrations. These students need to also protest the fact that education administrators and provincial policymakers are refusing them official representation in their schools and school boards. They need student input on curriculum changes so that setbacks to critical issues like sex ed can be lessened or pre-
FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY
vented in the future. Students also need control over decisions on their own extracurricular activities. Student councils, student senates, and the Ontario Student Trustees Association need to be recognized as legitimate representative organizations, and the former two need to be rooted in sound policies that enshrine student democracy and decision-making capability. Ontario, as well as educators, administrators, and other education stakeholders, need to give students a place in consultations. Moving forward, secondary students need to keep the momentum from Friday’s protest going by questioning education structures and how they can sustain the fight to the point where policy
change can be a tangible and realistic goal. But it is not only secondary students who need to take the initiative. Postsecondary students have a leadership role to play in the student movement and should offer support to students in other levels of education who may soon join their ranks. Coalitions can be formed between secondary and postsecondary student organizations to advocate for common goals. Resources can be extended to assist secondary students, not only in activism, but in building democratic organizations that empower the secondary student voice to overcome the limitations of existing structures. Justin Patrick is a first-year master’s student in Political Science.
Problematizing Ford’s anti-environmental agenda
The Ontario PC government’s regressive anti-green policies threaten significant costs to the economy and our university Madeleine Kelly Varsity Contributor
Ford is slowing down the transition away from non-renewable energy. FOREST AND KIM STARR/CC FLICKR
Last week, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives tabled legislation to repeal the Green Energy Act, 2009, as a part of Premier Doug Ford’s campaign promise to decrease the cost of electricity on consumers. It is seen as a largely symbolic move, in the wake of the party’s recent announcement that 758 renewable energy projects authorized by the act will be cancelled immediately. Ford fails to consider the consequences of these regressive actions, which will likely end up hurting thousands of jobs while incurring more costs on consumers and small businesses. There is no evidence that halting hundreds of renewable energy projects will decrease the price of electricity. Former Energy Minister George Smitherman says that green energy is not the sole reason for electricity rates more than doubling across the province over the past 10 years. Other energy projects, such as the rebuilding of the Pickering and Darlington nuclear plants, the construction of hydroelectric dams in Northern Ontario, and increased delivery fees, have all contributed to rising electricity prices. Presiding Energy Minister Greg Rickford says the move will save provincial ratepayers $790 million. However, John Gorman, president of the Canadian Solar Industries Association, calls it “preposterous” to act as though cancelling these relatively small-scale projects will result in savings for consumers as the government has yet to actually pay any of the companies. In reality, it will mean significant job losses in the industry and added costs to the small businesses invested in the sector.
While Ford claims that the act resulted in fewer manufacturing jobs, interim Liberal leader John Fraser is concerned that cancelling it will mean job losses for thousands of Ontarians that have been gainfully employed by the now-halted renewable energy projects. This concern is echoed by Gorman as well as New Democratic Party energy critic Peter Tabuns. Rather than saving consumers money, this decision directly impacts small investors like farmers, school boards, municipalities, and First Nations groups who have retrofitted their properties with solar panels, for example, as well as the local installers, contractors, and engineers involved in the projects. In addition, Gorman notes that the decision will likely lead to lawsuits, incurring more costs to small businesses and taxpayers. One such notable case concerns the White Pine Project, a wind farm in Prince Edward County that is just weeks away from completion, which the Tory government promises to put on the chopping block next week. The company behind the green energy project, wpd Canada, says the cancellation could cost more than $100 million and that they are considering legal action. Ford’s hasty decision will result in job losses, billions of dollars wasted, and mistrust between businesses and the province. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner points out that the sudden cancellation of hundreds of contracts with no notice or due process sends a negative message to businesses, ultimately exposing Ontario to financial risk. Despite successfully encouraging the development of Ontario’s green energy sector, the Green Energy Act is a flawed document that was imple-
mented poorly. Most notably, the McGuinty government neglected the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) warnings that flooding the market in a time when renewable energy prices were dropping would potentially increase rates for consumers. The OPA advised the McGuinty government to develop the solar industry slowly in order to adjust to the declining prices of solar and other forms of renewable energy when the act was passed. Instead, there was a massive influx of contracts in the first two years. This resulted in $2.6 billion in additional spending for consumers. A 2011 report by the Auditor General claims that the government ignored the advice of the OPA because it chose “stability” for energy investors over the best interests of consumers. Although Ford is not wrong in criticizing aspects of the Green Energy Act, the trend of hastily tabling regressive environmental policies will have significant social and economic costs. For example, his scrapping of the cap and trade program means that universities like U of T will lose out on resources promised to them under its Greenhouse Gas Reduction program. UTM had received funding for a number of projects through the program, such as upgrades to air conditioning and ventilation systems and the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. Now, students will no longer see the benefits that these programs would have had on campus infrastructure or the long-term environmental and health benefits of renewable energy in general. Madeleine Kelly is a fifth-year Ethics, Society, and Law and Environmental Studies student at New College.
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Research by all, for all The underrepresentation of women and racialized folks in academia indicates the importance of promoting equity and diversity at U of T
Vivek Goel, Vice-President of Research and Innovation at U of T. Courtesy of JOHNNY GUATTO
Adina Heisler Varsity Contributor
It was recently announced that U of T will implement 49 new recommendations from the Equity and Diversity in Research and Innovation Working Group to foster more equity in every stage of research and academia — from
ensuring diversity in committees that provide awards and funding to requiring further training in unconscious biases. This is certainly exciting, especially since the announcement comes with concrete steps to fulfill its vision, which makes this promise feel substantive rather than empty. Assuming that these measures are put into place and followed,
real progress is on the horizon. Sadly, this change is urgently needed in academia. Study after study has shown that the field not only consists of overwhelming numbers of white and male academics, but it is also reluctant to change itself. For example, in a 2012 study, professors in biology, chemistry, and physics departments at six universities across the US were given identical applications for a lab manager position, with some applicants using female names and others using male names. The male applicants were rated as more “hireable” and competent, and offered a larger starting salary. In 2016, the Dean of U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Trevor Young, revealed some sobering statistics about the racial and socioeconomic makeup of medical students and faculty: Black, Filipino, Latinx, and Indigenous students were “woefully under-represented,” and, in 2013, 75 per cent of the faculty were white. To even produce these statistics is surprisingly difficult. In 2017, CBC reported that despite the claims of many Canadian universities as pro-diversity, very few actually have any data about the racial demographics of their students. This allows universities to plead ignorance about any kind of discrimination on their part, and allows them to continue a charade of racial blindness. Many may fight back against these measures as being ‘discriminatory’ toward white men in favour of minorities and underprivileged folks, or suggest that the best solution would simply be to approach hiring, funding, and the like with blindness toward gender and racial considerations. To the former point, it is worth noting that none of the recommendations even suggest or imply discrimination toward white men. To the latter point, I would say that this is impossible thanks to unconscious biases, which means that even those with the best of intentions still discriminate. In the 2012 study, it is highly unlikely that the faculty involved all held genuine contempt for women, but it is far more likely that they had absorbed societal ideas about men and women in science, and reflected them in hiring practices. To go beyond the simple fact that more people of diverse backgrounds should have op-
portunities in academia and research, it should be noted that the type of research that would be conducted with more people who are not white men could be badly needed, or done with a genuine cultural sensitivity that may not be present otherwise. A person with a particular racial background may have an interest in a research topic that affects them more than it does the dominant race. Someone who is part of an underprivileged community, especially one that has a history of mistreatment in research, may be able to connect with their own community and understand how to conduct research with them better. Research in every field, from medicine to anthropology, has a tainted history of ignoring the needs and wishes of the communities they encounter, which can lead to dark consequences. Look no further than eugenics as a field, the Tuskegee syphilis experiments, or the US Army working closely with anthropologists to finetune their strategy in Afghanistan. Paula Rochon, Vice-President of Research at Women’s College Hospital, was part of the working group and reported last year that, because women were underused as research subjects in a study on dementia, it is unknown how certain dementia medications affect women, despite the fact that most elderly people with dementia are women. More female researchers, in that case, would have been more likely to push for more female subjects. And we can extrapolate that to a larger scale. If most researchers are white men, with funding being granted by other white men, and the findings are presented to white men with nobody else in the room, the research would suffer by only focusing on certain issues and their effects on certain people. No matter your personal identity, I hope that advocating for equity and diversity in academia and research is something we can all celebrate. These steps get more people from diverse backgrounds to be a part of every step of the process. This means more opportunities for more people, better research, and positive outcomes for everyone. Adina Heisler is a fourth-year Women and Gender Studies and English student at University College.
Keesmaat brings little substance, her audience little scrutiny
Recent Innis Town Hall exposes mayoral candidate’s shortcomings, particularly regarding housing, transit issues
Arjun Singh Varsity Contributor
Toronto mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat spoke at an event organized by the Urban Studies Student Union at Innis Town Hall on September 24, discussing her platform and answering questions. Standing ahead of me in line to meet her, some Urban Studies students conversed: “One would think an urban planner is suited to govern a major city… unless you’re Robert Moses.” In comparison with the legendary, brash, and successful New York City ‘master planner,’ Keesmaat could not be more similar and yet more different. If elected, there would be an equal level of risk and markedly less reward. To put this in context, Keesmaat began the evening as one would expect from the typecast municipal politician: smiling widely, acting down-to-earth, encouraging participation, and showing high-pitched enthusiasm on local issues. Some prepared questions from the moderator only complemented this theme as they essentially allowed Keesmaat to reiterate her stump-speech talking points. The open Q&A session thereafter, however, proved slightly more eventful. Forum Research recently reported that public transit was the top issue for 70 per cent of Toronto voters. It was therefore not a surprise when Keesmaat was asked about her transit plan for revamping the TTC. Seeking to ex-
pand light rail corridors and keep the controversial Scarborough subway, Keesmaat’s plan is estimated to cost $50 billion — over four times the city’s annual budget. Keesmaat was pressed on how she would pay for it and ensure that deficits would be stable and fares would not go up. Keesmaat did not respond well. She pivoted the subway issue to the province, which has agreed to pay its $6.8 billion cost, and launched into platitudes on the importance of transit for communities — while making time to criticize Mayor John Tory for his SmartTrack station-expansion plan. Oft-labelled by her as drafted “on the back of a napkin,” her plan happens to be one that she worked on for three years as Chief Urban Planner in Tory’s government. A follow-up question was denied, leaving her relieved of further scrutiny. Other questions pertained to the issue of public housing, which Keesmaat identified as an area that young people can get most involved, alongside transit. In seeking to address concerns raised about rising property prices, which particularly hurt minorities and middle-low income groups, Keesmaat’s response was better than on transit. She touted a generic plan to build 100,000 more homes. However, she still did little to address core issues. Indeed, the purchase of land for luxury developments has sent housing prices and living costs soaring across Toronto, particularly downtown, over the last several years.
Keesmat’s avoidance of this issue means little promise of change for vulnerable workingclass Torontonians, all while her own platform, according to the Toronto Star, offers developers incentives to build on city land and gives no details on property taxes. To be fair, Keesmaat’s answers to less challenging questions were appreciable, particularly on consensus issues of public safety and community engagement. But those predictable responses are of little value when compared to the relevant issues left unaddressed, especially by a candidate headed to the polls in less than a month. That being said, this dearth isn’t entirely Keesmaat’s fault. The audience present could have asked far more critical questions and pressed Keesmaat on controversial issues: the rising homicide rate and the City Council size reduction, among others. A society will only lose and politicians will only gain from citizens not being appropriately and vigorously critical where most relevant. Doing so is our civic duty. This may truly be, to cite Keesmaat’s words, the kind of
“community engagement” that we need to improve our city. Arjun Singh is a f irst-year Political Science student at New College.
Keesmaat speaks at Innis Town Hall. NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY
OCTOBER 1, 2018 | 11
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Op-ed: What does effective mental health advocacy look like?
Stigma reduction and awareness campaigns are addressing cultural barriers to positive mental health, but structural barriers persist
TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
Daniel Derkach Varsity Contributor
Many students are aware of Canada’s startling mental health statistics. One in five Canadians are likely to experience a mental illness or addiction problems in any given year, and youth aged 15–24 are at greatest risk. For these youth, suicide is one of the leading health-related causes of death. Given that mental health has become an increasingly prominent topic of discussion on postsecondary campuses and in the media over the past few years, one could argue that we have already made significant progress in reducing the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness. With numerous student groups offer-
Letter to the Editor Re: “A debate on the Autumn Munk Debate: The left gains from listening, not silencing”
ing peer support sessions, destressing activities, and open spaces to share personal experiences with mental health struggles, it would seem that the mental health landscape for postsecondary students is improving. However, widespread opposition toward U of T’s recently approved university-mandated leave of absence policy suggests that we still have a long way to go before students’ needs are adequately met. It seems to be common knowledge that our campus mental health services are lacking, and that student advocacy is required if we wish to see improvements to this system. What this advocacy looks like remains a vital question. At Jack.org, a Canadian charity that trains and empowers youth to dismantle barriers to positive mental health through ed-
Varsha, Your comments are well founded and well written. But I fear that you are unaware that the U of T has always been a right of centre, corporatist-oriented institution. Peter Munk has been vilified repeatedly by human rights and environmental groups for his mining companies’ treatment of the people in disadvantaged,
ucation and advocacy initiatives, volunteers like me typically look at two categories of barriers: cultural and structural. As many young mental health advocates do, I initially gravitated toward addressing the cultural barriers to positive mental health, with a focus on stigma reduction and promoting mental health education. These initiatives do enhance our ability to identify potential struggles and make us more likely to reach out for social or professional support, but they do not address the fundamental gaps in how institutions support student mental health. This is where structural barriers come into play, and this is where student initiatives and advocacy are currently lacking. In order to enact system-wide changes, we need to understand
developing countries. His creation of the Munk Centre was seen as a simplistic attempt to justify his policies and practices and ease his conscience. His death did little to erase or soften the right of centre, corporatist views of the Munk Centre. The history of U of T, its Board of Governors over the years, its administration today will only allow a superficial tolerance of your views. Ryerson or York would be more accepting, but have less power.
that mental health advocacy is not just a social endeavour, but also a political one. Students must therefore voice their concerns and recommendations, not just to each other and online, but to student unions, faculty, and administration. For example, if we want to advocate for improved access to counselling services, we should encourage collaboration between student groups, societies, and unions to lobby administrators and contribute to discussions surrounding policies and funding. Despite the likelihood that significant improvements to our university’s mental health framework may take years to materialize, there are several actions we can take as students to incrementally improve our local mental health landscape. These range from developing resilience and stress-coping mechanisms to learning how to support peers in distress. For students who want to get involved in mental health advocacy or contribute to student wellbeing on campus, they can join youth movements such as Jack.org and contribute to ongoing efforts to improve the mental health landscape, not only on campus, but at a provincial and national level. However, if they are entering the advocacy field, a critical approach must be taken in order to truly be impactful. Research into identifying barriers to positive mental health is necessary and student initiatives should be planned in such a way that addresses these barriers directly. Although on-campus counselling services are often associated with long wait times, there are several external and online resources from which students may benefit. However, these are often poorly marketed to students. Therefore, Jack.org UofT developed a categorized resource brochure in collaboration with the University of Toronto Students’ Union, which printed over 2,500 copies to be distributed during orientation week in 2017. Similarly, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union recently collaborated with the School of Graduate Studies to establish a Graduate Wellness Portal with a tri-campus resource directory. These resource directories serve as examples of small-scale initiatives that address a specific barrier to accessing mental health services — namely, the lack of marketing of resources to students. This is in no way a call to abandon advocacy efforts targeting stigma reduction and cultural barriers related to positive mental health. These efforts are necessary both on and off campus to shift public opinion and promote help-seeking behaviour among folks who may be struggling with their mental health. Instead, this is a call to action for students to be more critical about how we approach the topic of mental health on campus, and that we engage in initiatives, not because they seem well-intentioned, but because they will lead to impactful and measurable changes in the mental health landscape on campus and in our communities. Daniel Derkach is a master’s student at the Institute of Medical Science. He was the 2017–2018 Chapter Co-Lead for Jack.org UofT.
It is a hard fact to acknowledge that corporate greed and authoritarian control is taking precedence over what is right and good in our world. But keep your idealism and find a way out of the mess we have made of the world in the past 50 years. Sincerely, Melanie Milanich 1971 Alumni
12 | THE VARSITY | FEATURES
Setting norms, inheriting privilege From frat row to Wall Street: the economic advantages of Greek life Writer: Paige Chu Illustrator: Gheyana Purbodiningrat Photographer: Steven Lee
On my third night at U of T, I was teased for turning down a frat party. Though I initially felt a pang of regret, it evaporated as soon as my friends returned and shared the story of their night. They revealed that they’d been stuck in line for two hours, freezing to death. After seeing some girls skip to the front, they asked a wandering frat boy if they could too, but they were given an updown and a snarky, “Sorry, hot girls only.” “Today is a bad day for feminism,” one of my friends exclaimed. Almost a year later, she still doesn’t know what the inside of a frat house looks like, and few of us have expressed much interest in giving it a second shot this year. But the bad day for feminism soon became a distant memory, and I started to feel guilty about my antagonism toward Greek life. It seemed that, at the very least, U of T’s Greek community was much more tame than its counterparts in America or at other Canadian universities. But this doesn’t mean that they are entirely innocent. Rumours fly of frat parties tearing up the Annex with their crazy weekends,
but rumours also fly of sexual misconduct in frat houses. In stories of rampant misogyny a frats are so common that they cultural trope. But when analyzed throug socioeconomic lens, these org to look like pipelines of privile alumni networks and social su members are often given spec halls of power. But their path
A microcosm of city
Undergrad at U of T is a four experience of being thrown in academically and socially. At t of this journey, every first year reassemble peer circles and fe to their physical environment life communities often offer a social anxiety, and their iconic mythology of university life d students, eager for that classic Partying is the main way th establish themselves at the top social hierarchy. They value leg tradition, which often rely on gender norms and modes of b legacy is still very active, and i institutionalized sexism and m One significant issue with that they’re exclusively frat-or asked about how sororities an may differ in campus activitie
l assault and North America, and violence in y’ve turned into a
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r-year-long nto the deep end, the beginning r scrambles to eel connected t again. Greek a valve for this c status in the draws in many c college night. hat fraternities p of the gacy and n outdated behaviour. This it manifests in misogyny. Greek parties is rganized. When nd fraternities es, Cherry Tang,
features@thevarsity.ca
a current member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, explained, “All sororities have dry houses — sororities that are affiliated with the school are dry houses.” The National Panhellenic Conference bans sororities from having alcohol in their houses, therefore, sorority events involving alcohol have to be a joint effort with a fraternity. This dependence on frats gives the frats more authority. They have the real estate for social gatherings, and therefore the final say in who gets entry into parties, as well as the overall tone. Regardless of whether the intent is gendered or not, the results are. It allows more male-dominated spaces to flourish, creating what is statistically going to be more dangerous for women than men — partying in a fraternity. Campus demographics have changed significantly over the past few decades, yet little has been done to remake the Greek system to accommodate this progress.
Gendered at the doorway
In many ways, fraternities are some of the last existing organizations that are explicitly all-men, and their placement in societal hierarchies on campus remains, in part, due to their near-monopoly on public campus parties. Gender roles are ingrained in our dynamics as a student body; to varying degrees, we all follow or are influenced by gendered scripts in the performance that is our social lives. This is especially clear in fraternities. When it becomes a choice between social isolation or acceptance, many subscribe to traditional gender roles. But this discourse is also toxic for men. There’s a pressure to participate and to assert masculinity in these environments. Hookup culture is very intimately woven into the party scene, which usually relies on heteronormative behavioural expectations. Simultaneously, some behaviours ensure hegemonic masculinity over others, while marginalizing other men who are unable to participate in fraternities due to economic considerations or otherwise. Another feature of frats that has garnered mass criticism is the infamous ‘girls get in free’ line. Alexander Bremer, member of the fraternity Beta Theta Pi, explained, “It’s a strategy employed by basically every successful nightclub in most parts of the world.” He continued, “I know that it has been proven to attract the most amount of people and make the most amount of revenue.” Bremer explained that most chapters have to pay annual dues to headquarters, making revenue from events critical to staying afloat. “Some fraternities are actually moving away from this concept,” he said. But he draws a parallel between Greek organizations and businesses, saying that “it almost seems like a competitive market with the university students being the ‘customer base.’” Even with only one or two frats sticking to free entry for girls, it immediately draws the crowd away from others, incentivizing the use of the rule.
Networking to success
The intersection of social class, race, and gender shapes each student’s opportunity to participate in collegiate social activities, engage in college culture, and interpret their experience. Class privileges make most opportunities more accessible, and race privilege can offer certain individuals more leeway for delinquency. Less privileged youth recognize that they’re under greater scrutiny and will be offered less forgiveness for their behaviours, which might decrease their likelihood of
seeking out events that could compromise them. Many point to networking opportunities when asked about their interest in joining a sorority or fraternity. Whether it’s social relations or career prospects, Greek life membership offers immediate access to campus-wide connections, and even nationwide connections, post-graduation. Throughout undergrad, fraternities and sororities themselves are social support networks and often provide academic support and scholarships for members. This is why GPAs for members are often higher than the average GPA across campuses. For upperyear students, these connections can turn into professional advantages or a springboard into the workforce. Brothers and sisters can become an employer, a mentor, a part of the labour force, or the customer base. This is such a phenomenon that a Bloomberg Businessweek piece referred to the direct entry to Wall Street jobs through Greek connections as the “fraternity pipeline.” As men occupy significantly more leadership roles in business and finance, frat boys have a leg up on even their Greek sisters. Internationally, women occupy a mere 24 per cent of senior corporate roles. Some students are also unaware of the price tag of joining a fraternity or sorority. Though it varies depending on school and chapter, these fees can be anywhere from a couple hundred to thousands of dollars per semester, which poses a great challenge to accessing Greek life benefits. Both Tang and Bremer agree that this remains one of the larger barriers to joining a chapter. Studies have shown that financially challenged students often don’t participate due to the cost of either being a member or attending a social event. Studies report that students who are white and from highincome families have greater tendencies to go Greek. This shouldn’t come as a surprise as Greek organizations were originally highly segregated across race and ethnic lines. Fraternities started as all-white societies and remained so until the mid-twentieth century, when the first African-American member was accepted. On nearly every fraternity info page, you’ll read that they “breed leaders.” Since Greek life came to the United States in the late 1700s, their graduates have taken an oversize role in positions of power ever since. Ex-fraternity boys have accounted for 69 per cent of the presidents since 1877, 85 per cent of US Supreme Court justices since 1910, and 24 per cent of Forbes CEOs on the 2003 list. Brett Kavanaugh, a federal judge of 12 years and US Supreme Court nominee, was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) as an undergraduate student at Yale University. Under fire for sexual assault allegations when he was 17 and the victim 15, his time at DKE has come under closer scrutiny. Sometimes described as the “white football frat,” Yale and Toronto both host chapter houses of the DKE fraternity. Toronto’s chapter is no stranger to controversy — in 2001, four women accused members of assaulting them at a frat party, and in 2008, a police raid turned up $125,000 in drugs from their building. In 2010, Yale’s DKE was banned for five years due to inappropriate initiation chants, including, “No means yes, yes means anal,” “Fucking sluts!” and “I fuck dead women and fill them with my semen.” Only a year after the ban was lifted, two female students stepped forward with sexual assault allegations. An investigation revealed eight more incidents of sexual assault or misconduct between the years 2014 and 2017, all by DKE members at Yale. Whether by pipeline or by breeding, these routes to leadership and success are inaccessible for students without the financial
means. At its best, the Greek life community acts as an amplifier of wealth. An Atlantic article argued, “Fraternities don’t breed leaders so much as leaders breed and perpetuate the fraternity system.” Tang said that the Greek life community has demonstrated that it is open to people of different races and of the LGBTQ+ community, and it has been as inclusive as possible. However, when it comes to financial issues, she said, “I think it’s hard to do something about it. The chapter needs to run, it needs the money, everyone has to pay the fee.” Bremer explained that, although it would be ideal, it’s impossible for organizations to “run on a $0 budget.” He added, “All that can be done is being done to keep the fees as low as possible, to be as inclusive as possible.”
In our backyard
What does Greek life look like at U of T? Bremer argued that “all chapters at U of T have done a great job” with inclusivity and “are continuing to strive to be the best they can.” However, the economic hurdles are static. To ease the concern for students who may not be able to fork over the money, Tang said that some sororities offer “financial aid or something similar that [students] can apply for.” With regards to sexual assault at frat parties, U of T is not an exception. On top of the messy and crowded environment, many cite a fear of assault or harassment as their main reason for avoiding frat parties — including Tang. “Personally, no one has ever assaulted me, but I’ve seen it happen when they’re drunk. That’s why I don’t like frat parties. I just don’t like seeing the harassment,” she said. Bremer referred to a few ways that fraternities on campus have begun to regulate their parties. “Many fraternities have begun to have sober members around any party setting, which is usually a house,” Bremer said. Separate rooms outside the main party area are locked to make settings more open and observable, and they encourage people to speak up about feeling threatened or unsafe. He talked about blacklisting aggressors, contacting police when necessary, and ensuring that those who are drunk are taken care of by friends. He said that fraternity members would non-violently remove aggressors if they witnessed aggressive behaviour. Bremer continued that “it is each chapters’ responsibility to adjust or even amend traditions that could be discriminatory.” In his experience, “Fraternities kept up with the general flow of societies in this regard, evolving and rectifying things that might have been the norm in the past, but are not acceptable nowadays.” Members refer to their chapters endearingly, and they, without a doubt, enjoy the multiple forms of support that can be reassuring on such a disaggregated campus. Tang said that she has loved meeting people from different fields thanks to Greek life, and being away from home has been easier with the friendships she has made with her sorority sisters — but there are many ways to build community on campus. Although Greek organizations at U of T have not been officially affiliated with the university for years now, the school still has a responsibility to keep its students safe. Sexual assault reports are often
mishandled, with the odds against the victim in the search for justice. The safety tips passed around are ageold warnings of not getting too drunk or not staying out too late, and usually place the responsibility on victims to protect themselves, rather than on aggressors. The struggle to dismantle Greek life organizations might be so Sisyphean due to the fact that fraternity and sorority alumni represent a large percentage of university donors. But affiliated or not, the Greek system still has significant impacts on campus dynamics and the social environment that all students are immersed in. This means that institutions are complicit wherever Greek life exists. In 2016, Harvard University placed restrictions on fraternity and sorority members’ involvement in the broader campus community. They are no longer allowed to be varsity team captains, leaders of student groups, or nominees for prestigious postgraduate opportunities, including the Rhodes Scholarship. This model serves to sever some of their ties to privilege, but not all. U of T has not followed Harvard’s example. The legacy of privilege and power carried by fraternities continues to haunt academic institutions, including Yale and U of T. Rich boys like Kavanaugh grow into men and, often, into positions of incredible influence and privilege. Fraternities help them get there. Although each student may experience these spaces differently, we all have a responsibility to push for safety and inclusion. Systemic inequity exists whenever one student’s path to power is the site of risk and exclusion for others.
Arts & Culture
October 1, 2018 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca
TIFF 2018: Volunteering at one of the world’s largest film festivals Volunteering allows you to learn about and support smaller independent films
Ben Van Dinther Varsity Contributor
Sunday, September 16 marked the final day of the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) — or, in other words, the final day that I could compulsively stalk any human person with a reputable IMDb page who was in the Toronto area while not appearing to be a complete psychopath. This year, I had the pleasure of volunteering alongside TIFF’s remarkable staff, where I was granted behind the scenes, 3D, and high-definition access to one of the world’s largest and most prestigious film festivals. You’re probably wondering how I, a small, doe-eyed liberal arts student from rural Ontario got the opportunity to work at an event with such high stakes. It began when I heard that TIFF was looking for another batch of eager volunteers. As an aspiring filmmaker, actor, and director, I knew that I needed to play a part in this year’s festival. Like every other millennial that had applied, I had stars in my eyes as I dreamed of meeting internationally renowned celebrities. Whether it was icon and multi-Academy Award winner Meryl Streep or heartthrob Timothée Chalamet, having the chance to meet any star would be a mission accomplished. That being said, during volunteer training, we were told with utter transparency that ‘stargazing’ was strictly prohibited, and so, in a matter of seconds, they had shattered all my hopes and dreams. As I sat in my room, digesting this information, I contemplated just forgetting about it all. Was it worth it to volunteer and not have the chance to meet celebrities? In that moment, I had to think of what was
best for me. I yearned for a signal from someOn one of my earlier shifts, I was assigned one, from something. Then I recalled a to Cinema 4, where I viewed Bi Gan’s famous lyric from pop queen Ariexperimental Chinese film, Long ana Grande: “I’m so into you, I Day’s Journey Into Night. can barely breathe,” she whisOn my final shift, I had pered to me. I knew that the pleasure of watching she didn’t write “Into Hirokazu Kore-eda’s You” so I could just quit Shoplifters, which I can on this whole thing. I confidently say is my had to do it for her, favourite film of the but more imporyear, and cinematitantly, for me. cally one of my allAfter attending time favourites. orientation, pickSandwiched ing up my badge between these and t-shirt, and shifts is a day I signing up for will never forget. my shifts, I was This year at officially a TIFF TIFF, Bradvolunteer. I was ley Cooper and ecstatic. At this Lady Gaga’s point, my menA Star is Born tality was to premiered. Not enter the festival only was their with high hopes film premiering and the willingon the same day ness to learn more that I was workabout the organizaing, but they were tion, and to support also promoting it at the smaller, indepena press conference on dent films that were the same morning that premiering. I was in the venue. JESSICA ZHOU/THE VARSITY If you were lucky, you Even with this knowlcould work in the cinemas edge burning in the back of and view the films. I was working my mind, I never thought anyat the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which is thing of it, until a TIFF staff mema multi-screen venue, meaning that there ber approached me. “You and you, follow were lots of opportunities for me to see a plethme.” I was the chosen one. But for what? ora of films that I would never have had the opWe were told that we would be scanning press portunity to see outside of TIFF. tickets for the conference, meaning that I would
have a chance of seeing Lady Gaga, my gay icon and the forever love of my life. At that moment, my 10-year-old self and my current self let out an internal scream. This is what I had been waiting for: the chance to meet the multifaceted, legendary songstress and activist who produced all of my favourite songs as an impressionable queer boy. After learning how to operate our scanning devices, my friend and I headed downstairs to the gallery where the conference was being held. My role model of so many years would be standing in the same room as me. Breathing the same air as me. I had to stay calm. After anxiously waiting, another staff member with two volunteers caught my eye and sternly marched over to me. I was expecting to get a time check for when Lady Gaga would arrive, or the okay to start scanning press tickets, but instead, I was told to return back to my previous job. I was quite disturbed by this request and I let it show on my face. However, I am not confrontational, so I silently cursed the boy who replaced me and returned to my station. As the day went on, I forgot about the incident and, to my surprise, thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my shift. Near the end of the day though, I overheard a conversation between two other volunteers: “I don’t really get the hype about Lady Gaga anyway.” “Okay,” I thought, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but how does one disregard her stellar performance in A Star is Born?” I turned around to see who dared criticize my idol — it was that volunteer who had replaced me earlier in the day. I am a firm believer in good karma, and I know that, at some point in my life, I will be graced by Lady Gaga’s presence.
Overlooked: Love Jones Representation is important: Love Jones is the first Black romcom that feels more indie than commercial Gabrielle Warren Varsity Contributor
I am a hopeless romantic. I love watching love, hearing about love, and reading about love. My favourite type of romantic content are romantic dramas with heavy dialogue: movies that not only explore love, but the human condition in a meaningful way. From Before Sunrise to Under the Tuscan Sun, I can revel forever. One such movie that is underrated is Love Jones, which follows the story of Darius Lovehall, played by Larenz Tate, and Nina Mosley, played by Nia Long. Nina is a photographer who has just left a long-term relationship with a neglectful boyfriend, while Darius is a poet and a hopeless romantic. They meet at a nightclub where Darius is performing poetry and, unbeknownst to Nina, he dedicates a poem to her. From there, a relationship begins to bloom. Although the premise is simple, the film is monumental. While movies such as The Wood and The Best Man do explore the love lives of Black people, Love Jones is absolutely the
first popular Black film that truly feels more indie than commercial. Unlike the heavy dialogue, artistic shots, and meditation on the lives of twenty-somethings living in a big city in Before Sunrise, Love Jones has no big scenes or dramatic arcs. Instead, this film is about love in all stages. It demonstrates the ebb and flow of two people who love each other but struggle to be on the same page. They want to love and to know what love is, but they are torn by their professional pursuits. Watching this as a teenager, I did not understand the beauty of the film. I thought it was just about two people who couldn’t make up their minds. But after rewatching it in my twenties, my perspective shifted. It’s now painfully familiar. On top of that, the film has an incredible soundtrack with Lauryn Hill, Duke Ellington, and John Coltrane. If you really like that jazz club episode from The Proud Family or enjoy a beautifully filmed romantic drama, this film is for you.
GHEYANA PURBODININGRAT/THE VARSITY
OCTOBER 1, 2018 | 15
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Doing it for the ’gram
From vacation pics to body positivity — why are we still posting our lives on social media?
FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY
Katie MacIntosh Varsity Contributor
Facebook has been going through some stuff recently: alleged election-meddling Russian agents, a leak of 87 million users’ data to Cambridge Analytica, more election-meddling scandals, a $119 billion loss in July, and more. But even as an increasing number of users try to ditch Facebook’s original platform, the company still has one major thing going for it: Instagram. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, and its value has since increased to over $100 billion. While Facebook broke records for most money lost in a single day, Instagram reached one billion users in July, up from 800
million just last fall. These gains aren’t particularly surprising, given that so many of the people I know who use Instagram seem to genuinely enjoy doing so. And that’s what separates Instagram from so many other social media networks that a lot of us still use just because they’re so inconvenient to leave — cough, Facebook, cough. I have numerous friends who actively espouse their love for Instagram. What’s more, the social network has become a powerful platform for activism — which is more than can be said for most other sites. In case you couldn’t tell, I generally count myself among the Insta-fans. For me, the appeal initially lay in the artistic aspects. Much as it
may inspire some eyerolling from non-believers, I maintain that Instagram is a wonderful creative outlet, even for those of us who don’t typically think of ourselves as artists. As I delved a little deeper, however, I found myself more entranced by the communities that put down roots on Instagram in its early days and have since flourished. Of these, a personal favourite is Body Positivity (BoPo), a movement largely centred on sharing images of bodies that do not conform to societal ideals. Largely targeting people in recovery from disordered eating, BoPo is pretty niche, but the most popular accounts, including Tess Holliday’s and Megan Jayne Crabbe’s, have amassed over a million followers each. A recent op-ed in The New York Times also
detailed the utility of Instagram for finding self-representation as an ethnic minority, in this case as an Afro-Latina, when representation in mainstream media remains elusive. These groups, which are easily discoverable through tags, give millions of people the chance to see other people who look like them and have been through the same experiences as them. For many of these communities, Instagram is a natural fit. For one, putting imagery front and centre lends itself well to groups seeking to normalize certain aspects of the physical self, be it body mass, disability, or race. Just as importantly, Instagram has traditionally served a different social function than its competitors: it is less of a hub to connect with friends and family and more of a place to explore photography, art, and other content that interests you. Now that Instagram is on its way to being the “next Facebook,” however, there’s a chance that a lot could change. The recent uptick in new monthly users — while Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter have all reported a slowdown — reflects an intensified, systematic effort by its owners to make sure that the social media network is constantly improving, which is admittedly a strategy first adopted by Facebook. However, one consequence of many recent changes is that Instagram really is starting to feel more like Facebook; the creative side has been downplayed and the social side emphasized. You’re not posting that vacation photo because it’s pretty; you’re posting it because you want your followers to see how pretty your vacation was. The other problem with this ethos, naturally, is money. When Facebook says it wants to make Instagram “better,” they don’t mean by making it more enjoyable or beneficial to the user; it means bringing in more eyeballs to look at more ads. If indeed Facebook is losing steam, then Instagram will inevitably need to be retooled, given that, in its current state, it is not particularly profitable. That means prioritizing advertisers and sponsored content over the user experience. Exhibit A: A healthy dose of ads for weight loss programs, mixed into my Body Positive feed. The algorithm doesn’t care about safe space, and if Instagram is no longer a safe space, then it will no longer be the place to grow a community. Obviously, I can’t knock Facebook for wanting to profit off of its $1 billion acquisition. But, if Instagram goes the way of Facebook and is transmogrified from a friendly, artistic space into one that is shaped solely by the single-minded aims of Silicon Valley, I truly think that it would be a loss. I can only hope that the folks at the helm understand the reasons why Instagram is so loved right now.
Book Club: The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
Autumn is coming: curl up with The Black Prism and a Tim Hortons coffee Claire Velikonja Varsity Contributor
The Black Prism is a fantasy novel that debuted at #23 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY
Brent Weeks is not the first author who I mention to people when I say that I love fantasy. I tend to lean toward Patrick Rothfuss, Neil Gaiman, and Brandon Sanderson — all producers of the beloved literary warhorses that dragged me into the genre. Weeks’ novels were typically the ones that I paused on and never actually brought home. However, The Black Prism hit me like an emotional dump truck, and I can confidently say that this book is one that I will treasure forever, in multiple first-edition copies, after I finally pay off my library fines. The Black Prism is a high-fantasy novel that is set in a land with a colour-based magic system. Certain people are able to produce a mystical element called Luxin, which can be used for construction-, attack-, and compulsory-type magic. However, the properties of the Luxin are tied to a colour, and most characters can only create Luxin of one colour — a gift that comes at a deadly cost.
Gavin Guile, the protagonist of the novel, is the only person who can create all seven colours of Luxin. He is worshipped as a divine figure known as the Prism. But Gavin is scarred emotionally and physically from war and is haunted by the acts that he performed to bring peace to his world. Weeks’ story feels intricately planned. Many fantasy books fall into the trap of mimicking others in the genre. There are several novels that contain a Gavin-like character — The Name of the Wind, a familial feud — American Gods, or even magic based on the colour spectrum — Warbreaker. However, this book is exceptional because, despite the old tropes that feel like familiar friends, the novel spools out plot twists and double crosses in a way that I can only describe as masterful. Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that no one is who they appear to be in this book, and everyone is the better for it. At times, though, the writing is almost too painful to read. Weeks includes many heavy plot points in the novel. Characters face war, devastation, and heartbreak, yet the novel is set
largely after most of these events occur. There is an omnipotent central character, but many of the points of view come from characters who are forced to play sidekick to the legends. The most emotional scenes come from the ordinary people who are called upon to live in the mess that was created by the giant war, those who have dealt bitterly with those consequences for years after. Weeks never shies away from this idea, which is extremely appealing in a genre that often glorifies and focuses on the stories of the neverfallen. Finally, this book is perfect for autumn; it should be accompanied by vivid scenery. As so much of this book is based on the ideas of colour and light, Weeks’ writing dwells on the beauty of the natural world and makes a pretty convincing argument for watching the leaves fall from the trees. This book is funny, well-written, and matches Red Rising in the number of quotable, dramatic, and slightly arrogant phrases. I would recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy or wants to love it.
16 | THE VARSITY | ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
Becoming Banksy asks the age-old question: who really is Banksy?
The up-and-coming comedy provides a commentary on society’s relationship with the world’s most well-known graffiti artist
Becoming Banksy stars (from left to right) Anurag Choudhury, Daniel Pagett, and Caitlin Driscoll. KRIS ROESKE/THE VARSITY
Liam Bryant Varsity Contributor
The Varsity sat down with Caitlin Driscoll, Daniel Pagett, Imogen Wilson, Elan Farbiarz, and Anurag Choudhury, who make up the cast and crew of Becoming Banksy. Becoming Banksy is a comedy that explores what happens when a confused tourist is mistaken for the world’s most famous artist. The Varsity: There is quite a difference between the way that visual art and theatrical art portray their message. The visual component is very different; you convey time and expression a lot more fluidly, more dynamically as actors. Since Banksy is known for movement and attention-grabbing hooks, did you struggle to convey that same sort of ‘hook?’ Elan Farbiarz: Everyone has a different viewpoint on the art itself, graffiti, Banksy, what have you. It is pretty cool — it’s completely anonymous and people will just show up and gawk at it and care. The anonymity is so exciting for everyone to see. If we knew who Banksy was, I don’t know if people would care. Imogen Wilson: Banksy is quite unique in the way that it has this anonymity where you could venture to what it could be, like Batman, these individuals that exist in the zeitgeist, but exist where you can’t see them. Daniel Pagett: They represent the idea, not just themselves. EF: Some of Banksy’s most prolific works are his installation pieces, which bridge the gap between the theatrical and artist. You’re expected as an observer to contribute — see, touch, manipulate. Your
relationship to the space and time you’re in takes your experience. Much like here, a very powerful part of theatre is the ‘now.’ What if we were to expose Banksy? TV: Banksy’s work is sometimes satirical, but most of the time political. Do you feel a comedy suits Banksy better than a tragedy? Caitlin Driscoll: When does the artist become the art? It’s about him. Like, the humour that surrounds him as a person — you gotta be able to laugh. His stuff, it’s political, incendiary in some way, but at the same time, the way people get caught up in the fame — it diminishes the messages. It’s interesting to do a comedy about that. EF: There’s something [ominous] about the rise of our collective zeitgeist and the rise of this artist, which is making very poignant comments on this relationship, between our lives, corporations, privacy. IW: There’s a quote that Banksy has, it’s, “People only cared about what I had to say when they didn’t know who I was,” which I think is quite cool and quite telling. DP: Social media carries his art to a larger audience. It carries a similarity with graffiti in that they are both ‘local’ [accessible] mediums. They exist in one place, at one time. I would argue that theatre is more ‘local’ now because of the internet, but with graffiti you can see a picture of it and it kind of works. EF: But it changes all the time; like theatre, a month later it could be faded, a few weeks later it could be gone. It happens under the cover of night. One morning you could wake up and just be like, ‘Oh what’s that, another piece?’ on your way to work.
TV: Did making this ‘local’ theatrical experience have anything to do with the fact that there is a Banksy exhibition happening right now? IW: I’m from Toronto originally and I always wanted to come back and do something here, and once I saw that Banksy was coming here, it was like, ‘Of course, Toronto.’ You never know how many people ‘know’ Banksy, though. In New York, London, LA, there’s a good base that understands it. All [of a] sudden, people are going to be like, ‘Oh what’s Banksy like?’ The exhibit was great for people who know nothing about Banksy. Our show gives you more depth to what it’s actually all about, the phenomenon. How we talk, the questions, the people who don’t like the work. It’s one of those things where we ask those questions and we give you more than what the exhibit could give you. EF: I’m a bit of a self-proclaimed renegade. I always loved those stories of people existing outside of convention, and being bold, and making strong choices, you know, Banksy, Batman, Robin Hood, these unsung heroes. On an artistic level, I like his work. It’s clever, well-executed. The stencil work is great. I think his exhibition pieces are his best work. DP: In terms of the comedy of the show, Banksy uses satire and political messages, and that’s always been a big thing for me as an actor. If I have a message to [the piece], or dramatic catharsis, there should be an equal amount of comedy and accessibility for audiences. A spoonful of sugar is missing from a lot of art. I think that’s one thing that’s really important. Some artists want their voice to be heard, but if it’s not accessible, or if no one wants to listen, then you’re really just shouting into the void.
CD: I’ve always been a big fan of Banksy as a ‘moment in time.’ He’s like, all the things. Banksy is the ultimate stand-up comic. He can do his whole set — no one needs to look it over. He’s there. TV: If there was one thing you could impress upon Banksy, what would it be? CD: That’s a big one. My main thing would be, I don’t want to know who you are. I want you to remain anonymous. I like the choices being made. I don’t want to meet you, I don’t need to meet you. DP: Because I think of Banksy as more of an idea than a person, it’s hard to say what I’d say to him necessarily — I’ve already said a bunch of things ‘to’ him. It’s harder to say something to an idea than to a person. I’d just say thanks. EF: I’d ask him where the treasure is buried. I mean in the same way, it’s my belief that it's bigger than one person. If I were to meet someone from ‘Banksy Inc.,’ I’d probably want to participate. What’s the secret code? How can I join? IW: Obviously Banksy has all this money now. I’d want to know what, or how much he profits off his works and his projects and exhibitions. How much do you control, what power do you have, and how do you earn all of this? It’s a big corporation. Anurag Choudhury: I find it strange to ask people about their professions, so I’d probably just ask for a pint and then ask about his politics. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Becoming Banksy opened on September 28 and will run until October 14. Tickets are available at www. becomingbanksy.com.
Science
October 1, 2018 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca
Consumer genomics: getting to know you
Private genomics companies claim to predict your future, but how reliable are they? Spencer Y. Ki Varsity Contributor
An ever-growing list of companies including the likes of 23andMe and Ancestry.com are offering the general public the opportunity to get to know themselves by testing their DNA and offering feedback on results. The commercial is familiar to fastidious viewers of American broadcast television: a young woman travels the world while a cover of the Broadway show tune “Getting to Know You” plays in the background. Helpful pop-ups indicate the actress’ ethnic make-up as she crosses the landscapes; “29% East Asian” flashes under the neon lights of a metropolis, “3% Scandinavian” appears among the glaciers. The ad ends with the tempting offer that you, too, could discover what makes you you just by sending 23andMe a saliva sample. Such advertisements are indicative of a flourishing industry. But the self-knowledge they are selling to consumers is no longer restricted solely to an individual’s past. The latest trend in personalized genomics is in its predictive potential: forecasting an individual’s likelihood of developing conditions like cancer, diabetes, and other diseases someone may be genetically predisposed to. How do genetic tests work? According to Dr. Stephen Scherer, Professor of Medicine and Director of the University of Toronto McLaughlin Centre and The Centre for Applied Genomics at Sick Kids Hospital, the tests have a microarray — microscope slides that are printed with thousands of tiny spots in defined positions — with a mix of genetic markers, or DNA sequences with known physical locations on chromosomes. Depending on the company, each test contains around one million genetic markers. “They then assay a DNA sample that was derived from saliva sent in a DNA spit kit,”
wrote Scherer in an email to The Varsity. “They do some laboratory modifications to the DNA and put it on the microarray and test for presence or absence of a given genetic marker and then use this information to predict the medical outcomes.” “They utilize the information from published large-scale studies where they provide an estimated risk of disease development for certain genetic variants,” wrote Dr. Ryan Yuen, Assistant Professor of Molecular Genetics, in an email to The Varsity. “These companies will then report the estimated risk for those variants if they are also detected in the subject.” Yuen also explained how similar methods are used to determine the ancestry of an individual: “They compare the genetic variants detected in the subject with many other sequenced individuals (both internally and externally). The more similar the genotypes are between individuals, the more likely they are related to each other.” Scherer explained that conclusions for common diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes are made using statistical probabilities and that nothing is definitive. “For some rare genetic mutations that are quite predictive of a medical outcome (like cystic fibrosis) the ability to predict risk is much higher,” wrote Scherer. So, how reliable are these tests? A cardinal rule of observational data is that correlation does not necessarily imply causation, and therefore the reliability of genetic tests is questionable. “Although these tests can seem exciting, its important that consumers are informed and understand the limitations of these types of tests,” wrote Salma Shickh, a certified Genetic Counsellor who is pursuing a PhD in Genomics Health Services and Policy Research at U of T, in an email to The Varsity.
TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
“Most of these tests only look at… specific regions of the DNA code and so the risk they provide may not be based on complete information,” explained Shickh. “These tests are often offered without proper education and counselling for patients- which is important because they’re giving consumers information about their health.” Scherer echoed Shickh’s sentiments. Scherer said that it’s important that consumers realize the results are completed in laboratories, and that companies that sell genetic tests must generate a profit margin, doing so by analyzing many samples at a time. Consequently, the results are typically, but not always, accurate. In other words, consumers should interpret the results with a grain of salt. “We believe here that the tests are useful if the data is interpreted by genetic counsel-
U of T researchers find way to predict leukemia relapse
DNA test could predict relapse rates of patients with acute myeloid leukemia Shruti Misra Varsity Contributor
TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer that begins in the blood-producing regions of the bone marrow. Mutations in myeloblasts — blood stem cells — occur and prevent the production of mature blood cells, in turn causing uncontrolled proliferation of immature blood cells. Dysfunctional myeloblasts drive out the functional blood cells to the point where red blood cells can no longer adequately carry oxygen throughout the body, white blood cells can no longer fight infections, and a lack of platelets prevents clotting needed for regular function. Despite being the most common form of blood cancer among adults, AML is generally rare. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada reported that, in 2014, there were 5,900 diagnoses of leukemia, including AML, out of 22,340 diagnoses of some form of blood cancer. There aren’t many treatment options for individuals with AML, especially for relapsed
patients, whose cancer that is thought to be gone reappears. In a study published in Blood, a team of researchers from U of T and South Korea developed a proof-of-concept DNA test that could predict an individual’s risk of AML relapse. The test signifies a leap forward in relapse detection, especially due to the high mortality rate associated with AML recurrence. According to TaeHyung Kim, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Zhang Lab at U of T, the most promising treatment for AML is allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, a treatment in which patients receive blood-producing stem cells. A downside of the treatment is that its success rate varies from patient to patient and it is usually a last resort. “Consequently, AML patients [who relapse] post-transplant are left with very few treatment options and most patients show high mortality,” Kim wrote in an email to The Varsity. The goal of the study was to find a way to detect potential relapses of AML, which could open up new treatment options for patients. AML has a strong genetic component, and several chromosome changes are associated with a higher risk of diagnosis and relapse.
lors to help the doctors and families understand what it means, and equally important what it does not mean. Most companies do not use genetic counsellors, they just send the data to you,” wrote Scherer. “If you do this kind of testing seek genetic counselling assistance to help interpret the results.” What’s the future of genetic tests? Though genetic tests are not perfect, Scherer noted that their value should not be dismissed. “[The tests today are] typically not much better than knowing your family history, but as the data grows to compare against, it should get better and better,” wrote Scherer. “I liken the field today to the early days when GPS units came out. As more and more maps went online (and then Google maps) the predictability kept getting better and better.”
As such, the investigators used next-generation sequencing — a technology that is used to profile changes in the genome — to pinpoint mutations in patients that received hematopoietic cell transplantants at initial diagnosis, pre-transplant, and 21 days post-transplant. The researchers determined that the majority of the mutations found 21 days after transplantation originated at the time of diagnosis, indicating that they were not removed during the transplantation or became resistant to treatment. “We observed that close to 60% of patients with measurable residual disease (i.e. mutations) at day 21 post-transplantation relapsed whereas only about 15% of patients without measurable residual disease relapsed,” Kim wrote. The DNA test is particularly significant for patients who are at high risk for relapse. Despite promising results, there is still a long road ahead before the DNA test becomes available in clinical settings. “There are many obstacles to be overcome and improvements to be made until the DNA test can be available in clinic. These include agreements on gene panel to be tested, data interpretation, and lastly, approval from regulatory agency,” Kim added. Kim hopes that the DNA test will “provide more treatment options for patients with impending relapse and guide selection of therapeutic intervention based on their genetic profile.”
18 | THE VARSITY | SCIENCE
science@thevarsity.ca
Artful Science exhibit takes off at Toronto Pearson Airport Images from under the microscope come to life in this exhibit Emily Deibert Varsity Staff
The Terminal 1 Departures check-in area at Toronto Pearson International Airport underwent a makeover earlier this month with the arrival of the Artful Science exhibit, on display now until the end of this year. Curated by the University of Toronto and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), in collaboration with the Stem Cell Network, laboratory images from scientists across the country were selected by the Department of Ambiance and Aesthetics, Greater Toronto Airports Authority. The exhibit features images from cutting-edge research, from quantum mechanics to stem cells, inviting millions of passengers who are travelling through the airport to experience the beauty of scientific discovery that scientists witness every
day. “As a scientist I have always found that science is beautiful regardless of whether it is a picture, a bar graph, or an idea,” says Blair Gage, a postdoctoral fellow from the McEwan Centre for Regenerative Medicine, whose work is featured in the exhibit. The exhibit distills complicated concepts into works of art, and encourages a curiosity that is satiated by examining the work in greater detail and learning about the research behind each image. “By showcasing science as art, [we get] our most enticing data out to the people that paid for it and [give] everyone the chance to have a ‘wow’ and ‘I wonder how’ thought together.” Gage’s contribution to the exhibit is an image he created during his time as a graduate student in The Kieffer Lab at the University of British Columbia. Reminiscent of a brightly-coloured piece of abstract art, Gage’s image shows a small group
of stem cells that have the extraordinary ability to become any type of cell in the body. Gage is interested in how these cells can be used in treatments for a number of diseases — for example, diabetes — by promoting tissue repair in the body. To Gage, stem cells stir up a curiosity that inspires his research. “What can a stem cell do?” he wonders. “How can we use these cells to make new therapies… why do these cells have such amazing abilities?” These questions are shared by the scientists featured throughout the exhibit, many of whom are also researching novel uses of stem cells in medical fields. While images like Gage’s may be commonplace to scientists in the field, they often aren’t as accessible by members of the public. This is the premise behind the Artful Science exhibit: inviting passersby to engage with scientific
research. In the case of Gage’s and other stem cell images in the exhibit, this involves looking at cells through a microscope and using coloured molecules to distinguish different types and parts of cells, leading not just to vibrant works of art, but also allowing scientists to better understand the images under their microscopes. By putting methods used in scientific research on display, Gage and other researchers across Canada hope to inspire an array of audiences. “If you put science pictures everywhere in the world, then they are simply a part of everyday life,” says Gage. “As long as a picture invokes a thousand questions, it has done its job.” Many of the images appearing in Artful Science come from Cells I See, a competition for the public to choose their favourite stem cell image. This year’s contest runs until October 17 and voting is available on the CCRM’s Facebook page.
Artful Exhibit can be seen from the one of the glass bridges connecting the airport’s Terminal 1 check-in area to its gates.
Emily Deibert takes a closer look at “Spinal cord neuron cells” by Ahmad Galuta from the University of Ottawa.
ANGELIKA DUFFY/Courtesy of SCIENCE & ENGINEERING ENGAGEMENT
ANGELIKA DUFFY/Courtesy of SCIENCE & ENGINEERING ENGAGEMENT
U of T Blockchain Group presents Blockfest
Students will explore applications of new technology through workshops and talks This kind of focus and student direction, according to Zhang, is what distinguishes U of T Blockfest from other, larger hackathons. Blockfest will host workshops to help participants find ideas that interest them. Participants will be able to form groups of up to four, and mentors will be on hand to support them through the completion of their projects until the end of the hackathon. “We’re also going to be posting resources on the Slack before the event, so students can start messing around with it themselves before they come into the hackathon,” she added. Zhang fondly remembered a story from EthUofT, a hackathon that she had helped organize in March. “Last year, we had a first-year student walk onto the hackathon, [and] ask what was going on.” “He was like, ‘What’s going on here? Oh, it’s a hackathon. What’s a hackathon about? Oh, can I join?’” He was added to a team and, according to Zhang, the student learned to program through workshops and talks, and executed a project with the help of teammates within 36 hours. Zhang encourages interested students to participate, and to not be concerned if they are unfamiliar with blockchain technology. “It’s okay if you don’t build anything as long as you’re there to learn, because the whole goal of our hackathon is for you to learn something,” said Zhang.
Kevin Lu Senior Copy Editor
U of T Blockfest, a student-run hackathon focusing on blockchain ecosystems, will be held October 12–14 in the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. The 36-hour hackathon will introduce students to blockchain technology and its applications. Blockchain is the technology behind cryptocurrency and it functions as a decentralized ledger of encrypted records — ‘blocks’ — connected chronologically in a series — a ‘chain’ — that cannot be easily tampered with by any one entity. Among other potential applications, it could be used to track goods in a complex supply chain. The Varsity sat down with Stephanie Zhang, Vice-President of the U of T Blockchain Group and co-organizer of the event, to discuss the importance of hackathons, blockchain, and how students can get involved. “We’re trying to foster a friendly environment where students are helping students, mentors are helping students, and students are given the resources that they need so that they are able to make sense of… things that they might not be able to make sense of on their own,” said Zhang. “We just want people to collaborate.” When asked about the value of blockchain, Zhang answered, “Toronto is actually a really, really bustling place in the blockchain industry,” noting that Vitalik Buterin, the creator of cryptocurrency Ethereum, is from Toronto. “Toronto actually has a lot of growing companies,” continued Zhang, “and they’re all looking for student developer talent.” “What we want to do is to better prepare
Courtesy of U OF T BLOCKCHAIN GROUP
our students to be able to take the jobs that are openly available for them, and maybe even get them interested in developing on blockchain, so
that they are able to then continually develop better and better infrastructure for these platforms,” she added.
Students can now register at uoftblockfest.com to participate in the hackathon, which will be held at Bahen from October 12–14. Those interested in volunteering at Blockfest or helping out with future hackathons can email contact@uoftbg.ca.
OCTOBER 1, 2018 | 19
var.st/science
Science Around Town Emily Deibert Varsity Staff
A Very Different Future As part of UTM’s Lecture Me! series, Professor Kevin Yousie will explore the ways in which current and emerging technologies are changing how we live. Date: Tuesday, October 2 Time: 7:00–8:30 pm Location: Mississauga Central Library, 301 Burnhamthorpe Road West Admission: Free TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY
In conversation with Professor William Cunningham
Cunningham is one of five academics behind Science column ‘Letters to Young Scientists’ Ashima Kaura Varsity Contributor
Science Careers has launched ‘Letters to Young Scientists,’ a column that aims to offer students in the sciences useful and candid advice. The column is inspired by scientists’ century-long tradition of sending letters with words of wisdom to aspiring scientists. According to Science, ‘Letters to Young Scientists’ borrows its name from EO Wilson’s Letters to a Young Scientist and John Cacioppo’s “A Letter to Young Scientists.” One of the authors of this monthly feature is William Cunningham, a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto who studies emotion and selfperception. Recently, The Varsity had the opportunity to speak with Cunningham about this new initiative and his advice to students considering or currently in graduate studies. The Varsity: What drew you to this new initiative and what do you hope the impact of this column will be? William Cunningham: Jay Van Bavel and June Gruber, two professors that initiated the column, are very public all the time. When they started putting out information to the world through social media channels, many people were suddenly downloading all of their materials that they just made for their graduate students. I think they started to realize that there’s wide variety in graduate student mentorship. You can luck into having a great mentor who will sit down and work with you all the time and you can also have a mentor who basically abandons you and you never see them again. Even if you have a good mentor, there’s a lot of different perspectives. I have some ideas of what it means to be a great graduate student — I know it works for me and I believe it works for my students. Obviously, you want different perspectives, to have a resource where various people can put ideas out and start debating and talking about them, and I felt there was a gap to be filled.
TV: How do you think the digital age has redefined mentorship? Do you believe that social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are a valuable platform for mentorship? WC: I generally believe, maybe it’s because I’m old, that the best form of mentorship is one-on-one where you really understand the person’s unique situation. I worry a little bit about a lot of the advice that gets put to social media — it’s very unfiltered. It’s very angry a lot of the time, and oftentimes very pessimistic. One thing I’ve noticed especially in the academic world is that the more time you spend on Twitter, the more you’re convinced you should never get a PhD, you should never bother, everything is stacked against you, and that life is just a giant pile of misfortune, whereas, that’s really not the case. Most people who work hard and want some type of academic job, at least in psychology, will get it. I feel like sometimes this Twitter world of setting up this massive feeling of pessimism is not helping anyone. Someone once told me that the best way of succeeding is having unrealistic optimism, because if you fall short of your overly optimistic goal, you still massively succeed. I think that the goal of this column is to try to frame things in ways that are going to be more optimistic. TV: What are unique pressures today’s young scientists face and what needs to change in graduate and postgraduate education to counteract these cultural problems in science? WC: There has been a change in expectation over time. When I went to graduate school in the 1990s, people didn’t think they were all going to get jobs at Harvard. I never anticipated I would end up in a place like the University of Toronto. I think that a lot of people, like when I went to graduate school, had more realistic ideas about where they were going to end up. It’s really important for people to know that the other end of it isn’t guaranteed. If everyone is trying to be the best person on the market, that means everyone but the best
person… on the market feels like a failure. The other end of it also comes from the internet, that I think it allows a lot more social comparison. It really comes down to expectations and social comparison. I believe people set themselves up for seeing anything other than one version as failure, as opposed to seeing a myriad of types of success. TV: What would you say to someone who is unsure of pursuing science if they don’t feel like they will fit in? WC: Someone might think they want to be in psychology but they realize they wanted to do cellular biology. Why take five years to figure that out, when you can do one year and say, ‘Look, I still want to be a scientist but I didn’t realize psychology was this kind of science,’ or ‘I didn’t realize that chemistry was just going to be beakers.’ Here’s strange advice about fitting in. You never want to feel excluded. The concern about graduate school for many is that they are unsure what they will get in five years and whether graduate school is a stepping stone to the next stage of an individual’s career path. It’s not a lifetime commitment. Sometimes you might make sacrifices to make the short-term end. Regardless, the most important aspect of graduate school is your relationship with the advisor. If someone gets along with the advisor interpersonally and they have a good dynamic, that will help out in so many other places. I feel like, out of all the things, that’s the one you should be monitoring the most. TV: What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self ? WC: I wish I had tried to seek out more tractable things early on such as building toward larger goals and specializing in one or two phenomena. I think I was all over the place, as opposed to really diving deeply on one thing. I ended up being a jack of all trades, which I enjoyed, but I think I suffered from it a bit later in my career. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Institute for Medical Science, this event will feature a keynote lecture on stem cells by Dr. Molly Shoichet, followed by a panel discussion on the role of science in society and the government. Date: Thursday, October 4 Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Location: Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, 209 Victoria Street, Auditorium Admission: Free Science, Social Media, and Going Viral! PhD student and science communicator Sasha Weiditch will talk about her research in biochemistry and her advocacy work for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics at this Royal Canadian Institute for Science event. Date: Thursday, October 4 Time: 7:00–8:00 pm Location: Mississauga Central Library, 301 Burnhamthorpe Road West Admission: Free with registration 90 Degrees South: Astronomy at the End of the World The Graduate Astronomy Students Union will be hosting this month’s AstroTour event, which will feature a talk by PhD candidate Matt Young on his experiences working in one of the world’s most isolated science outposts. Date: Thursday, October 4 Time: 8:00–10:30 pm Location: McLennan Physical Laboratories, 60 St. George Street, Room 102 Admission: Free Science Advocacy 101 The Toronto Science Policy Network and Executive Director of Evidence for Democracy Dr. Katie Gibbs will be hosting a workshop on informing and influencing science policy. Date: Thursday, October 11 Time: 4:00–6:00 pm Location: Wilson Hall, 40 Wilcocks Street, Room 1016 Admission: Free with registration
Sports
October 1, 2018 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca
Wadden hat-trick seals routine Blues men’s soccer victory Assured attacking display marks Toronto’s fourth-straight win Michael Teoh Business Editor
After two weeks on the road, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s soccer team marked their Varsity Stadium return with a straightforward 4–0 victory against the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins. Even with four goals scored, the Blues were not at their attacking best, but they still managed to make everything look easy. Fluid play and a robust midfield effectively slammed the door on an RMC team that certainly didn’t have the key to unlock the Blues’ defense, let alone a chance to try to pick the lock. The Blues’ dominance was such that midfielder Nicholas Osorio and centreback and captain Nikola Stakic were withdrawn after 29 minutes, with the Blues leading 2–0. The first goal of the game came in the 21st minute, after a long ball forward from defender Kenny Lioutas unleashed winger Koosha Nazemi down the right flank. Nazemi used his pace to easily brush off the RMC defense and venture into the opposition box. He directed a pass across the face of the goal for an onrushing striker Jack Wadden to put past the keeper. Two minutes later, Toronto fed the ball to midfielder Anthony Sousa 25 yards away from goal. An outrageous backheel flick split the
RMC defense, allowing Wadden to slam the ball into the upper left corner with aplomb. Sousa’s assist was a moment of pure class, and Wadden’s alertness to the ball is equally worthy of plaudits. Sousa continued to terrorize RMC with moments of brilliance, and he almost notched another assist after a great run down the flank, but his delivery fell just behind Wadden. Despite adding two shots on target, Sousa also lost the ball on a few occasions when trying to be too fancy, and he showed no desire to track back and regain possession. Still, with a tricky Queen’s Gaels fixture the following day, Sousa was perhaps smart to conserve energy against poor opposition. In fact, the Blues’ game plan seemed to centre around remaining focused and rested for the Queen’s game, with a lower intensity press and players freely attempting numerous tricks and dribbles that made the game seem more like a friendly than an OUA regular season clash. It was clear before the match that RMC lacked the personnel to seriously challenge the Blues, and head coach Anthony Capotosto would have undoubtedly considered that, as he gave defender Dumebi Iheanacho his Blues debut and kept top scorer Jin Jae Lee off the matchday squad entirely. Early in the second half, defender Josh Bowyer neatly split the RMC defense, but his pass was too heavy for Wadden to reach.
The Blues dominated RMC, scoring four goals. ALISTAIR BOULBY/THE VARSITY
Moments later, Toronto’s third goal would come, following an attacking onslaught in the RMC box. A woefully out-of-position RMC leftback provided Kristopher Gamache space on the right side of the box, and he laid the ball off to Wadden, whose shot was returned to the danger area by the goalkeeper. Gamache’s follow-up shot was blocked by one of a trio of RMC defenders who had congregated in front of goal, and his shot from the rebound was blocked again. Wadden received the rebound but likewise shot straight at the defender. The ball fell to Sousa, who, intent on not extending the series of blocks, curled his shot into the top corner to make it 3–0. The Blues continued to torment the Paladins, and even though they didn’t constantly press, they
Hart House drop-in: Striking a yoga pose
Yoga is a mix of strength training, relaxation, and balance Fatima Abdulla Varsity Contributor
Klasios looks to beat two RMC defenders. ALISTAIR BOULBY/THE VARSITY
Blues beat RMC Paladins 1–0 Klasios leads Blues to victory Abby Lessard Varsity Contributor
On a windy Saturday afternoon, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s soccer team took to the field to play the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins. The game began quickly with fourth-year striker Natasha Klasios scoring in the seventh minute of the game from an indirect free kick, marking her fourth goal of the season. Klasios’ goal set the tone for the rest of the game, with the Blues keeping control of the play for the majority of the game. In the first half, the Blues had a very strong defensive line that kept RMC to only one shot in the first 45 minutes. The Blues kept most of the play in RMC’s area and tried to get another goal, taking seven shots in the first half without success. The second half had the Blues taking control of the game again, with most of the plays once again occurring in RMC’s end. Numerous attempts by
Klasios, Erin Kelly, and Kristen Parkes were made to secure a second goal, but nothing was getting by RMC’s defensive line or goalie, Claudia Rusu. Compared to the single substitution in the first half, there were many substitutions during the second half, with Toronto subbing three times and RMC four, mainly due to injury. The Blues had a total of 18 shots over RMC’s three during the match. Eight of Toronto’s shots came from Klasios, while Kelly and Parkes each had three. Additionally, midfielder Maddie MacKay and defender Kelly Johnson contributed one shot each. Both teams’ goalies played good games, with Toronto’s Vanna Staggolis making two saves and Rusu making eight. The game got a little more aggressive in the second half, with Toronto incurring three fouls and RMC incurring four — two in each half. In the last minute of the game, Kelly was issued a yellow card. This game leaves the Blues at four wins, four losses, and two ties as of Saturday.
Walking to campus at 8:00 in the morning is hardly the image of an ideal Monday, yet entering the exercise room at Hart House felt like a fresh start to a productive day. Despite being held so early in the day, Morning Yoga Flow was full of welcoming energy from over 20 people of all ages and fitness levels. The yoga teacher, Celton McGrath, was calm and encouraging, setting the scene with relaxing music as he instructed everybody through the morning routine. Hart House drop-in classes are a great way for U of T students to explore different aspects of fitness for free. They run on all days of the week, with classes ranging from sport conditioning, to flexibility and balance, and aerobics. This week, I tried Morning Yoga Flow, a vinyasa-based class open to all levels of fitness. Yoga has many misconceptions, including the idea that it’s all about stretching. McGrath was quick to demonstrate that yoga is a mix of everything, such as strength training, relaxation, and balance. Through variations of planking and squatting, downward dog, and moments of unsteady warrior poses, I was surprised to find my core being engaged and I was constantly excited for the next move. During the 50 minutes of yoga, modified and altered poses were offered to accommodate beginners, such as myself, and challenge those
chose their moments to press smartly. In the 63rd minute, they stole the ball in the attacking third and spread the ball to defender Nicola Russo on the left flank. Russo’s cross was too high but the referee pointed to the spot after deciding Gamache had been fouled in the box. As soon as the whistle blew, it was clear that Wadden would take this opportunity from 12 yards out to earn his hat-trick. Wadden coolly dispatched his spot kick to the bottom left corner, beyond an outstretched goalkeeper. Immediately after celebrations, he was substituted off, presumably to rest for the Queen’s game. Despite his lowered pressing intensity this game, Wadden’s positioning was a constant threat and will surely lead to more scoring opportunities in the remaining games this season. who were more experienced. This was helpful, and I felt comfortable enough to take the opportunity to test my balance and flexibility and make the most out of this shared experience. Needless to say, the supportive environment put me in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the day. For those who are new to yoga, or even fitness, McGrath said that yoga is a good place to start in terms of physical activity. He noted that the experience allows you to gain insight into yourself and your body, as well as provide you with the confidence to try other physical activities. He also mentioned exploring different routines in each of his yoga classes. During a period of the day usually associated with groggy musings, this class allowed me to take some time to myself, mentally relax, and be physically well. It is easy to find yourself caught up in the stress of academics, but a quick drop by this morning class can make your day that much brighter. TAHASUN TARANNUM/THE VARSITY
OCTOBER 1, 2018 | 21
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The importance of free agency Kevin Durant’s move to the Warriors exemplifies the purpose of free agency
Kevin Durant played eight seasons for the Oklahoma City Thunder. KEITH ALLISON/CC FLICKR
Michelle Krasovitski Varsity Contributor
In July 2016, NBA superstar Kevin Durant became an unrestricted free agent. After eight seasons with Oklahoma City Thunder without winning a title, Durant wanted to play elsewhere. In the history of the NBA, it’s rare for a player of Durant’s calibre to become an unrestricted free agent in the middle of his prime. The entire free agency process — from his four-hour meeting with the Boston Celtics to a two-hour meeting with almost the entire Golden State Warriors team, and so on — was covered minute-by-minute by the media. With Durant’s ultimate decision and without games on the horizon, his free agency gave fans something to talk about. Durant joined the Warriors on July 4, 2016, and we all know how that went: the team won two straight NBA championships. So, how did this whole ‘free agency’ fiasco even start? And how has player mobility empowered stars like Durant? Free agency, along with the NBA’s salary cap increase from $70 million to $94 million in 2016, has allowed stronger NBA franchises to pay multiple superstars at one time, creating
a top-heavy league. As an additional caveat, many superstars like Durant have signed on below market value to increase their mobility and play where they want. For example, DeMarcus Cousins signed a relatively cheap short-term deal with the Warriors in July after an Achilles injury. ‘Cheap’ is the operative word, as he will make only $5.3 million this season, a substantial decrease from $18.1 million in 2017–2018. While four all-stars playing on one team is infuriating for fans outside of Oakland, maintaining player rights and freedoms is more important than allowing teams to own players. Sports leagues have not always allowed players to become free agents. In 1975, pitchers Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith refused to sign their contract with the MLB’s Oakland Athletics and demanded freedom in the open market. Baseball contracts used to include a reserve clause, which meant that players were bound to their team in perpetuity and the team had the right to extend a contract without a word from the player. The arbitrator’s decision that November ruled in favour of free agency, allowing players to sign on the open market once a contract expires. Up until 1988, NBA players could only be drafted or traded as their
teams essentially owned them. In 1987, the Seattle SuperSonics drafted two frontcourt rookies, making six-foot-ten forward Tom Chambers a hindrance to their lineup. Chambers, a proven NBA star, needed a franchise that would make the most out of his talent. Head of the NBA player’s union Larry Fleisher told Chambers that he may be able to “get this unrestricted free agency thing done.” A few days later, it was official. Players whose contracts had ended could freely join any team as long as they had been in the league for over seven years and had finished two contracts. Chambers immediately joined the Phoenix Suns and led them to the Western Conference Finals in consecutive seasons. Durant’s move to the Warriors wouldn’t have been possible without Chambers and Fleisher. Free agency has allowed players to choose where they want to work, a freedom that all citizens are rightfully allowed. Players are no longer treated as a small piece of a larger business. Their talent, coupled with the freedom of free agency, allows them to make the demands necessary to nearly run an organization. After all, shouldn’t those who produce the entertainment reap the most benefits from their skill?
Could it be a Stanley Cup season for the Maple Leafs?
John Tavares looks to spark a deep playoff run
Zach Hyman hopes to celebrate a Stanley Cup in 2018. TOM SZCZERBOWSKI/USA TODAY SPORTS VIA WIKIMEDIA
Kieran McMurphy Varsity Contributor
With the start of the 2018–2019 NHL season only days away, it’s time to make one thing crystal clear: the Toronto Maple Leafs are good — in fact, they are very good. After the team broke the record for franchise wins and points in the 2017–2018 regular season, the Leafs again lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Boston Bruins in game seven of the first round of playoffs. The offseason saw the departures of Tyler Bozak, James Van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Roman Polak, and older General Manager (GM) Lou Lamoreillo. It also marked the beginning of a new chapter in Leafs history, with the promotion of 32-year-old Kyle Dubas to the GM chair and the acquisition of homecoming superstar centre John Tavares. Leafs fans will undoubtedly be hoping for this new chapter to end with
the hoisting of the Stanley Cup in June, and a parade down Yonge Street. Tavares joins a team with high hopes for the upcoming season. Auston Matthews is a budding superstar of the league, who, despite dealing with nagging injuries last year, managed to score 34 goals in 62 games. Nazem Kadri is coming off consecutive 30-goal campaigns, and with the majority of opponents focused on shutting down Tavares and Matthews, we can expect Kadri to dominate any matchups he faces. While the Maple Leafs forward corps is among the most dangerous in the league, their defense is more of a question mark. Boasting 50-point defensemen Morgan Reilly and Jake Gardiner, who is in the final year of his contract, the Leafs have two players who can put up points from the back end. In the second year of a seven-year extension, Nikita Zaitsev is looking to bounce back after a disappointing
sophomore campaign. Ron Hainsey will presumably play as a dependable defenseman as always. The final two spots on the blue line are less clear. Travis Dermott, Calle Rosén, Connor Carrick, and Igor Ozhiganov are all vying for the the last two spots in the opening lineup. Dermott played in 37 regular season games last year, as well as all seven of their playoff games. He appears to have a leg up on the competition, but as we know with head coach Mike Babcock, nothing is certain. That leaves one spot up for grabs, and it will likely go to Ozhiganov. The 25-year-old Russian will be an NHL rookie after spending the last few years in the Kontinental Hockey League. Babcock was heavily involved in his recruitment and was happy with his performance in camp this year. When it comes to goaltending, every Leafs fan’s favourite Dane will be looking to continue his winning ways. Posting 38 wins in the regular
season, Frederik Andersen has had historically shaky starts in October. He will no doubt be aiming to change that narrative this season. The backup position will likely find Curtis McElhinney resuming his role as Andersen’s deputy. So, what should Leafs fans expect from this team? With a handful of players genuinely talented enough to win the scoring race, one of the best coaches in the league behind the bench, and a young GM determined to think outside of the box, the Maple Leafs should find themselves with one of the most potent power-play units — a terror to match up against in a five-on-five and above average in league goaltending. Seemingly one of the most talented in the entire league, this team has genuine cup-contending aspirations. The Leafs have failed to make it out of the first round of playoffs in the past two seasons, losing to Boston in seven games last year, and to Wash-
ington in six games the year before that. The team was pardoned, chiefly due to their youth and how unexpected their success was. But a first round exit this year would be considered a failure, and rightly so. The 2018–2019 Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to compete for the Stanley Cup and bring a level of success and excitement that this city has not seen in years.
Computer 0110101010101101 1001010100111911 Science Tutor 1011001010101101 1101010010101000 1101010100101101 1011101010101110 Help with homework and assignments concerning C, C++, C#, Java, and Python. Help available by email, online on Skype or in person. Contact: students@cstutoring.com 416-785-5115
22 | THE VARSITY | ADVERTISEMENTS
sports@thevarsity.ca
Annual General Meeting 2018 October 30th, 2018 18:00 Walter Hall, 80 Queen’s Park, Toronto M5S 2C5 University of Toronto St. George Campus Registration starts at 17:30 Every member1 of the University of Toronto Students’ Union can participate in this meeting.
AGENDA: 3. (10 mins) Approval of the 2017 AGM Minutes 4. (40 mins) Presidential Address and Executive 5. (30 mins) Receipt of Audited Financial Statements 6. (10 mins) Appointment of Auditors (10 mins) 7. (60 mins) Bylaw and Elections Procedure Code Changes (60 mins) 8. (30 mins) Endorsement of the Separation of the UTSU and UTMSU (30 mins)
Can’t make it? Vote by proxy! If you are unable to attend this meeting, and wish to give another person the authority to vote for you, please complete the online proxy form by visiting www.utsu.simplyvoting.com. Please note that your proxy holder must log in to accept your proxy request. The proxy system will open at 12:00am on October 15, 2018. Your submission, and your proxy holder’s acceptance must be received by 11:59pm on October 21, 2018.
10. (70 mins) Items Submitted by Members
Accessibility
10.1. (10 mins) Resolution to Reject Ford’s Attack on Free Speech
This event is wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided in addition. If you have any further accessibility requests, or have other inquiries, please contact Tyler Biswurm, VicePresident Operations, by October 27th 2018 at vpoperations@utsu.ca or (416) 978-4911 x240.
10.2. (10 mins) Policy Proposals at the UTSU Annual General Meeting 10.3. (10 mins) Amending Article VI(1)(r) of the Elections Procedure Code 10.4. (10 mins) Review of Certain Orientation and Executive Committee Policies 10.5. (10 mins) Updating the UTSU Conflict of Interest Policy – 2018 Review 10.6. (10 mins) Schedule B of Charter of Referenda – 2018 Review 10.7. (10 mins) Affiliated Student Societies and Service Groups Policy
Members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union include: 1
Full-time undergraduate students at the St. George and Mississauga campuses Professional faculty students Toronto School of Theology students Transitional Year Program students
For the contents of each item to be considered at the meeting, including full languaging and supporting materials, please consult the UTSU website at www.utsu.ca/agm. Final information will become available there on October 9th.
Students on a Professional Experience Year (PEY) program
OCTOBER 1, 2018 | 23
var.st/sports
A look at the Blue Jays’ forgettable 2018 season What Jays fans can expect next season
WEEKLY BOX SCORES BASEBALL MEN’S September 29 Varsity Blues
September 30 Varsity Blues
17–1 5–13 10–0 4–6
Waterloo Warriors
Laurier Golden Hawks
October 5
Varsity Blues Varsity Blues
@ @
Brock Badgers Brock Badgers
October 6
Varsity Blues Varsity Blues
@ @
McMaster Marauders McMaster Marauders
FIELD HOCKEY September 29
0–0 York Lions
Varsity Blues
2–1 Varsity Blues
Queen’s Gaels
September 30
3–0 Varsity Blues
October 3
McGill Martlets
York Lions
vs
Varsity Blues
FOOTBALL September 29
26–24 Windsor Lancers
October 4 Former Jays manager John Gibbons endured a frustrating 2018 season.
This has been a forgettable season for the Toronto Blue Jays — memorable only in the players and personnel that their fans bade farewell to. This season marked the departure of manager John Gibbons, Josh Donaldson, JA Happ, Roberto Osuna, and most likely Marco Estrada due to injury. This was also the first season in a decade that José Bautista’s name did not show up on the roster: the franchise legend signed with the Atlanta Braves, and was later traded to the New York Mets and then the Philadelphia Phillies. The Blue Jays finished the season with a dismal sub .500 record, more than 20 games out of Wild Card contention. The year started uncharacteristically well for the Jays, who usually struggle in April. May, however, saw a return to dismal form: for the first time in franchise history, the Jays failed to win back-to-back games throughout the entire month. The only noteworthy achievements this season — and the only few instances that the league paid attention to the Jays — were when Happ was named an All-Star, Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales the American League Player of the Week in April and August respectively, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. the American League (AL) Rookie of the Month in July. Superstar woes The Jays’ five most popular players — Josh Donaldson, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Roberto Osuna, and Troy Tulowitzki — all had tumultuous seasons. Shortstop Tulowitzki didn’t play a single game due to a bone spur in his right ankle that had carried over from last season. His absence, how-
ever, was a blessing in disguise, as it allowed minor league call-up Richard Ureña to shine. Ureña recorded an impressive .292 BA in 39 games played. When Ureña wasn’t playing, offseason acquisition Aledmys Diaz played the position, batting a modest .266 in the process. Donaldson was out with an injury in May and was traded to the Cleveland Indians on August 31 for a player who is to be named later. With over 100 innings pitched, Stroman recorded a lacklustre 5.54 ERA for the season, while Sanchez fared only slightly better, securing a 4.89 ERA in only three more innings — not what anyone expected from two young pitchers who were once considered infallible. Osuna was meanwhile traded to the Houston Astros after receiving a 75-game suspension for domestic violence in May. Charges against him were withdrawn last Tuesday. All in all, the players who Jays fans thought were mainstays were either traded, injured, or subpar in performance. Though this allowed unexpected players like pitcher Tim Mayza and Ureña to shine, it also marked the end of the veteran-dominated team that characterized the Blue Jays organization for the past four years. Unexpected surprises The offseason acquisitions of Yangervis Solarte, Curtis Granderson, Randal Grichuk, and Diaz were seemingly a step in the right direction at the time, yet, bar Grichuk, most of the Jays’ outstanding new players were minorleague call-ups. After making his Major League debut on September 5, Rowdy Tellez hit six doubles within his first three games, setting an MLB record. Two weeks later, on September 20, the Jays managed
a seven-run comeback in the top of the ninth inning to walk off the Tampa Bay Rays 9–8. Though this match was far too late in the season to be at all meaningful, it was a much needed reminder of how fun baseball can be. Looking forward Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the rookie on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and for good reason. Not only did he win Pipeline Hitter of the Year, but he finished the minor league season with an unbelievable .381 BA. Though Guerrero wasn’t called up to the major leagues this season, he will surely start making his mark come March. And Toronto only got a quick taste of what Rowdy Tellez and Dwight Smith Jr. will be bringing to the plate. In only 66 at-bats, Tellez managed 14 RBIs and 4 home runs, while Smith Jr., who plays left field, secured a .266 BA with 64 at-bats. As the postseason plays out — and either Mike Trout or Mookie Betts receive the AL MVP title — the Blue Jays will have to reconfigure their players in order to secure a sustainable core that can make a winning team. They will have to find a manager who will be ready to lead the incoming rookies through a rebuild. The manager will have to build up a group of players who can survive the AL East, pitted against the Rays, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Red Sox, which will make for a tough division to succeed in for the coming years. It is hard to do, but possible. Next year, Blue Jays fans can look forward to seeing the beginning of Guerrero Jr.’s and Bo Bichette’s Major League journeys. Overall, though, it doesn’t seem like the 2019 season will be any more memorable than the one we have just witnessed.
vs
Ottawa Gee-Gees
Varsity Blues
LACROSSE
KEITH ALLISON/CC FLICKR
Isaac Consenstein Varsity Contributor
Varsity Blues
MEN’S September 28
20–9 Varsity Blues
Brock Badgers
October 4 October 6
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Varsity Blues Laurentian Voyageurs
vs
Guelph Gryphons Varsity Blues
WOMEN’S September 29
10–6 Trent Excalibur
Varsity Blues
14–4 Varsity Blues
October 6
York Lions
Varsity Blues
@ Oshawa
Queen’s Gaels
Varsity Blues
@ Oshawa
UOIT Ridgebacks
SOCCER MEN’S 4–0
September 29 Varsity Blues
RMC Paladins
3–1
September 30
Queen’s Gaels
Varsity Blues
October 7
Varsity Blues
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Carleton Ravens
WOMEN’S 1–0
September 29 Varsity Blues
RMC Paladins
4–0
September 30
Varsity Blues
Queen’s Gaels
October 6 October 7
Varsity Blues Varsity Blues
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Ottawa Gee-Gees Carleton Ravens
24 | THE VARSITY | DIVERSIONS
OCTOBER 1, 2018
ACROSS
DOWN
1. Fad or frenzy 5. Opportunity, so to speak 9. Infiltrator, perhaps 14. Traveling, say 15. Spoonbills do it 16. Pillow filler 17. Juniors, e.g. 19. Fractious 20. Lumberjack’s cry 21. Big beef piece 23. Border duty 25. What tellers do 30. Advent 32. Like a span of oxen 33. “The Water Diviner” actor 36. Redressing 38. Communal pronoun 39. Farm hand, at times 40. Call, in Vegas 41. Broadway handouts 44. Updates a blog 46. Get another magazine 47. Weapon for a trooper 49. Frees from doubt 51. Extreme cruelty 54. Checklist bit 56. High beam? 58. Sousaphones 62. Strip of leaves 64. Word with secret or press 65. “So be it!” 66. Trap starter 67. Frat letter 68. Indicates yes 69. Grown grigs
1. Go on a tirade 2. Expect anon 3. Type of radiation 4. Something to tweeze 5. Overshadows 6. High-quality table wood 7. Coleridge works 8. Pine secretion 9. Became exhausted, with “out” 10. Be a bad witness 11. Campaign creations 12. Trawler attachment 13. Venture 18. Paris flower 22. Library gizmo 24. Savage 26. ___ of hope 27. Out of whack 28. Church dogma 29. A sphere lacks them 31. Breaks the news 33. Coconut product 34. Recreation center posting 35. Grad school grillings 37. Western Colorado sights 39. Bathroom cleaner? 42. “___ don’t say!” 43. Latte preparer 44. Bicycle 45. Hole in the head 48. Empire builders 50. Chair or car style 52. In need of freshening 53. Mercury, for example 55. Office comm. 57. Pilates count 58. Body image, briefly? 59. “Yuck” cousin 60. Quilting social 61. Carpenter at the picnic? 63. Served dinner
Issue 3 Crossword Solutions: