April 3, 2017

Vol. CXXXVII, No. 24 April 3, 2017 thevarsity.ca —— The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

Salman Rushdie visits St. Michael’s College

Sunshine List sees over 3,500 U of T earners

The Satanic Verses novelist reads from his forthcoming book

William Moriarty

President and Chief Executive Officer, University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (now retired)

Tamim Mansour Varsity Staff

2) $512,215.61 Daren Smith

President and Chief Investment Officer, University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation

7) $438,892.32 Meric Gertler

President, University of Toronto *Graphic not to scale Rankings out of 3551 U of T names on the list

Rushdie, page 5

Proposed changes to services provided by staff at the centre of discussion

1) $1,045,582.62

Jack O. Denton Associate News Editor

Salman Rushdie, the British Indian novelist renowned for his use of magical realism and stories with post-colonial focuses, spoke in the Canada Room of Brennan Hall at St. Michael’s College on March 30.

Students gathered to hear Rushdie, the author of Booker Prizewinning Midnight’s Children, read a chapter from his upcoming book, The Golden House. Seated at the front row of the crowd was University of St. Michael’s College leadership, including President David Mulroney.

The event began with opening remarks from Principal Randy Boyagoda. “We are committed to exploring the intersection of the sacred and the secular, the theoretical and the practical,” Boyagoda said. “There are few figures in the world like Salman Rushdie when it comes to exploring the wholeness of human experience.”

Following a brief introduction

by Boyagoda, Rushdie took the podium. “This is kind of as interesting for me as I hope it will be for you,” he joked in his first words. “I’ve never read this aloud before.”

He began reading from the first chapter of The Golden House, which will be published in English in September.

Reminiscent of Rushdie’s other works, the book begins with the fantastical arrival of a mysterious, wealthy foreign family to New York, where they attempt to reinvent themselves. It takes place in the wake of the inauguration of Barack Obama, “when so many of us were close to economic ruin in the aftermath of the bursting mortgage bubble, and when Isis was still an Egyptian mother goddess.”

Once Rushdie finished reading his excerpt, he was joined by Ato Quayson, Professor at the Department of English and Director of the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies, for a conversation segment.

Quayson’s questions were lengthy and complex, centring on his interpretations of Rushdie’s works in comparison with each

Protest erupts at UTSU Board of Directors meeting

88) $312,359.04 David Cameron

Professor of Political Science and Dean of Arts & Science

Former UTAM boss listed as second-highest paid public-sector employee, despite retiring last April Jack O. Denton Associate News Editor

Ontario’s 2016 ‘Sunshine List,’ the public disclosure of public sector salaries of $100,000 or more, was released on March 31.

U of T employees are well represented on the list, in particular the executives of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM). The list contains 3,551 names from U of T, 24 from the University of St. Michael’s College, 14 from Trinity College, and 37 from Victoria University.

UTAM is a not-for-profit subsidiary of the university, which is responsible for the management of its pension funds, endowment, and both short- and longterm investments.

Despite having retired in April 2016, William Moriarty, who served as President and Chief Executive Officer of UTAM, took home $1,045,582.62 last year, making him the second-highest paid public employee in the province for the second year in a row.

Meric Gertler, President of the University of Toronto, is the seventh-highest earner at the university, earning $438,892.32 in 2016.

Moriarty was the highest-paid employee in the universities sector in 2016, making almost twice as much as the runner-up, Professor and Executive Director John Kelton of McMaster University. The highest-paid individual on the Sunshine List was Ontario Power Generation CEO Jeffrey Lyash, who made $1,155,899.14 in 2016.

Protests broke out at the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Board of Directors meeting on March 31, following a vote to approve the minutes of the Services Committee, which resolved to reduce the services provided by the Health and Dental Coordinator and the Clubs and Service Groups Coordinator.

The motion that was passed at the Services Committee states that the UTSU would “cease to offer the services of a designated member of the full-time staff to recognized clubs and service groups” and “cease to offer the services of a designated member of the full-time staff to students seeking assistance with the Health and Dental Plan.”

When asked to clarify what the wording of the motion meant, Mathias Memmel, UTSU VicePresident Internal and Services and UTSU President-elect, said that the “UTSU would no longer have specific members of staff for those services, although the services would still exist in a reduced form.

“There’s more than one way to implement that change, and the President, the Executive Director, and I will be talking to CUPE 1281 about how to move forward,” said Memmel.

The Health and Dental Coordinator and the Clubs and Service Groups Coordinator are represented by CUPE 1281, like most full-time staff positions within the UTSU. If the motion to approve the minutes had failed, the decision would have been sent back to the Service Committee.

As the vote to approve the minutes was being called, members from CUPE 1281 and several students, including Amanda Harvey-Sánchez, an incoming board member, and Andre Fast, who ran for UTSU President with the We the Students slate, began chanting and shouting down the vote.

Sunshine List, page 6

UTSU, page 4

Comment collaboration — page 7

Arts — page 15

Zine inside!

Retrospective on the year Contributors’ takes on what we’ve learned since September

Productive procrastination How to recharge between study sessions this exam season

The X Issue Happy X-aversary to The Varsity Magazine

— page 11

2 • THE VARSITY • NEWS

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A letter from Alex McKeen, Vol. 137 Editor-in-Chief

T

his is the sixth “Letter from the Editor” that I’ve sat down to write for The Varsity, which makes me, for better or worse, one of the chattier editors to undertake this capstone. My predecessors have, through the tradition of this medium, given their readers insight, pearls of wisdom, and final reflections befitting their respective approaches to this job. I have been grateful over the past year to have been able to reference their statements.

In October, I wrote on behalf of this newspaper of the crucial issue of false balance — a topic that has not since fallen in relevance. I then had the privilege to introduce The Varsity’s first Public Editor in January, and expressed cautious optimism that journalistic standards can be safeguarded, to some degree, by student readers and journalists who demand and deliver accountable work in equal measure.

I’m evoking these past letters now because they help to underscore some of the major themes of Volume CXXXVII: polarized attitudes toward the media, a tense political environment, and the need for greater dialogue between journalists and readers. As the volume comes to a close, I would like to use this letter to more closely reflect upon what gives The Varsity life and, importantly, the ability to confront these challenging issues: the people who work here.

Rightly or wrongly, a perceived distance between readers and journalists exists. In this climate, established media organizations like The Varsity can carry the burdensome reputation of facelessness.

I understand how this perception might come about with respect to our newspaper — The Varsity is older than any living person, and it is the largest student society by membership at the largest university in Canada. I know firsthand that the experience of entering The Varsity’s office for the first time can feel daunting.

Yet despite its status as a fixture of the university The Varsity is constantly renewed by the people whom it comprises; it ebbs, flows, and morphs in response to the thoughtful efforts of the many faces who pass through.

After three years here, I have come to know The Varsity as a bastion of productive collaboration; fluid as the paper is, the people at the heart of it always manage to foster a deep fraternity rooted in the inherently romantic shared goal of delivering meaningful, just, hyperlocal journalism to students at the University of Toronto.

The masthead has been at the heart of volume CXXXVII. I could not overstate the privilege it has been to work with Mubashir, Jaren, Jacob, Tom, Teodora, Rachel, Lisa, Reut, Shaan, Sean, Ariel, Vanessa, Nathan, Elham, Shaq, Isaac, and Tony this year. Each of them deserves much more thanks than I can write individually here.

In the midst of the most challenging scenarios that have presented themselves this volume, I am especially grateful for the input and guidance of Jaren, Jacob, Mubashir, and Tom. The ability to consult these four, and to receive honest, frank, thoughtful feedback from each of them made 4:00 am debates over contentious headlines and long discussions about the paper’s direction some of my fondest, most memorable moments of this year.

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

The Varsity Volume CXXXVII produced 24 issues. Our web team, led

by Jacob, developed some stunning new online components, including a new website for The Varsity Magazine. It has been a record year for web traffic on thevarsity.ca, which surpassed one million pageviews in mid-March. Our three beautiful magazines, edited by Rachel and visually directed by Mubashir, were a highlight of this year by practically any measure — thanks are owed to both of them for knowing that perfect binding would be gorgeous.

All of this denotes an enormous amount of work — much of which is done by volunteers. People do not partake in this work because it is lucrative or glamorous — it’s neither. They do so because they believe that it is important, and that they can learn something here. I am constantly amazed by the dedication of our contributors, of whom there were over 400 this year. About 100 have made staff status.

In fact, it is through observing the energy and drive of those individuals who I know will be committed to The Varsity next year that I am able to depart from this organization with my excitement for its future outweighing my sadness to leave the place that I love.

A couple of weeks ago, the day before our yearly issue announcing the candidates of the UTSU elections, a wonderfully robust team of writers, editors, scribes, designers, developers, and photographers came together to execute an enormous, deadline-driven journalistic project.

Associate editors and staff contributors performed roles well above and beyond what was expected of them. Every person in the room had interesting questions to ask and ideas to contribute. If that day is any indication of how The Varsity’s core team will operate next year, they will blow us all away.

I’d like to close this letter by wishing all the best to my colleague and friend Jacob Lorinc, who is the Editor-in-Chief-elect of volume CXXXVIII. His long, meaningful experience with the paper and forward-thinking plan for The Varsity makes me confident that he will excel next year.

If this volume is any indication, by the time he writes this letter next year, he will be overcome with gratitude for the dedication of his team.

— Alex McKeen Editor-in-Chief, Volume CXXXVII

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hussein Fawzy, Saad Hasnain, Mohamed Hammad, German Guberman, Christina Kefalas, Aidan Harold, Jannis Mei, Tom Cardoso, Jade Colbert The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2017 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions.

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Varsity Staff: Raghad A.K., Christy Ahn, Farah Badr, Ilya Banares, Mubashir Baweja, Shaan Bhambra, Kelly Bilenkis, Caroline Bocknek, Sam Caldarone, Mia Carnevale, Pearl Cao, Nathan Chan, James Chapman, Baichao Chen, Olivia Chen, Rachel Chen, Ibnul Chowdhury, Mahdi Chowdhury, Reut Cohen, Perlyn Cooper, Sheridan Cunningham, Aidan Cole Currie, Iris Deng, Jack O. Denton, Brock Edwards, Sila Elgin, Alisha Farrow, Lesley Flores, Hannah Fung, Sonali Gill, Ariel Gomes, Alexandra Grieve, Nyima Gyalmo, Ben Harrison Smith, Shaq Hosein, Blythe Hunter, Alexander Hurka, Sarim Irfan, Maisha Islam, Josie Kao, Jaren Kerr, Tess King, Piyumi Konara, Shailee Koranne, Srishti Krishnan, Daryna Kutsyna, Hannah Lank, Troy Lawrence, Steven Lee, Connie Liu, Mirka Loiselle, Jacob Lorinc, Saambavi Mano, Tamim Mansour, Natalie Marshall, Evan Maude, Alex McKeen, Keiran McMurchy, Jenisse Minott, Govind Mohan, Eduardo Montero, Jenna Moon, George Moshenski-Dubov, Helena Najm, Ramsha Naveed, Linh Nguyen, Elham Numan, Lauren Park, Anil Partridge, Teodora Pasca, Diana Pham, Lisa Power, Corinne Przybyslawski, Nadin Ramadan, Sabrina Ramroop, Ethan Raymond, Sam Routley, Daniel Samuel, Adina Samuels, Sophia Savva, Jillian Schuler, Nicole Sciulli, Avneet Sharma, Pri Sharma Julie Shi, Kaitlyn Simpson, Christine Siomou, Sean Smith, Cathlin Sullivan, Michael Teoh, Emaan Thaver, Vivian Tong, Rishika Wadehra, Gabrielle Warren, Gabriel Wee, Katrina Wozniuk, Stephanie Xu, Sayeh Yousefi, Tom Yun, Gloria Zhang, Corals Zheng

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APRIL 3, 2017

• 3

APUS Executive Director, UTSU Speaker spar over livestreaming at Board of Directors meeting Livestreaming ultimately allowed following debate Tamim Mansour Varsity Staff

On March 31, UTSU Board of Directors Speaker Billy Graydon asked for Campus Police to be called to escort Danielle Sandhu, Executive Director of the Association of Parttime Undergraduate Students (APUS), from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Board of Directors meeting.

“Please leave the room,” Graydon told Sandhu. “Can someone call Campus Police and have her escorted?”

Mathias Memmel, UTSU Vice-President Internal and Services and President-elect, called for a motion to eject Sandhu from the meeting for livestreaming the meeting on the APUS Facebook page; Graydon ruled in favour of the motion.

The motion to prohibit livestreaming of the meeting was made at the beginning of the meeting when Sandhu was not present; justifications of the motion included the fact that some board members did not feel they could speak freely while being livestreamed.

Graydon’s ruling and request were not favoured by everyone in attendance. Tka Pinnock, UTSU Executive Director and the anti-harrassment officer of the meeting, intervened and declared that Campus Police would not be called.

“Miss Sandhu’s employer [APUS VP Internal Susan Froom] is here. We will let the employer deal with it... We will not be calling Campus Police,” Pinnock assured those in attendance.

Graydon rescinded his request to call Campus Police and later stated that he was “incorrect in making that call.”

Pinnock appealed the ruling and requested Sandhu to stop livestreaming. She said that she “[wanted] people to understand that... if I went to an APUS meeting, I’d expect a certain amount of courtesy that I’m trying to extend to... my colleague.”

Graydon reversed his ruling to eject Sandhu. Sandhu tried to ask a question, which Graydon ruled out of order. Froom requested that Sandhu stop livestreaming but said that she may live tweet.

Graydon accepted the concession from Froom and reiterated that he had reversed his ruling. Sandhu made a request to ask her question, and Graydon said she needed the permission of the board to do so.

Memmel then pointed out that the livestream was still up. Sandhu persisted in asking her question, and in response, Graydon reversed his reversal and asked her to leave the room.

“You have spoken out of order on multiple occasions. You continue to persist in doing so and you continue to livestream a meeting after you have been directed by both the board and a number of individuals to stop doing so. Please leave the room,” Graydon told Sandhu.

At this point, a five-minute recess was called. After the recess, Graydon apologized, citing the university’s Policy on the Disruption of Meetings as justification for the removal and saying that his recollection of the policy was “flawed.”

The policy is meant to uphold a “standard of conduct,” which allows “the maximum opportunity for dissent and debate,” taking into account the university’s obligation to “uphold freedom of speech and the freedom of individuals and groups from physical intimidation and harassment.”

The policy also recommends measures to be taken “if disruption occurs, and in the opinion of the chair of the meeting freedom of speech is denied.” Calling for Campus Police is not part of the recommendations outlined by the policy and Graydon acknowledged that “the policy does not specifically require that Campus Police be called.”

Graydon considered the act of “livestreaming after the board has expressed a clear desire not to have that happen is sufficiently disruptive as it makes board members, or some board members, uncomfortable in carrying out their duties.”

Nour Alideeb, President of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU), said the request to call the Campus Police was “completely inappropriate.”

“It’s a really weird dynamic because Dan-

SCREENSHOT VIA FACEBOOK

A screenshot of Danielle Sandhu’s livestream of the meeting on the APUS Facebook page. ielle Sandhu is Executive Director of APUS but she’s also a woman of colour and [Graydon], the position that he holds as speaker of the board, but also a white male and the power dynamic there,” Alideeb commented.

Alideeb also noted that the UTSU is meant to be “a space that really promotes social justice and working against and combatting police brutality and the issues around that so making a threat like that was completely inappropriate, regardless of what policies are in place.”

Memmel agreed that “[Graydon] shouldn’t have asked that Campus Police be called.”

According to the policy, “Governing Council should be kept informed... of threatened or actual denials of freedom of speech, and of any measures that have been taken to deal with the situation.”

Graydon says that the UTSU is “still deciding how to proceed.”

The board subsequently voted to allow livestreaming.

City Council supports ongoing negotiations with Victoria University on taxes Motion passes unanimously without debate Tamim Mansour Varsity Staff

Toronto City Council voted unanimously in support of a motion that directs the City Treasurer to enter into negotiations with Victoria University to address the property tax exemptions granted through the Victoria University Act. The motion had previously been adopted by the Government Management Committee. The motion also allows the treasurer to request that the province amend the Victoria University Act to remove the tax exemptions on land owned, but not occupied by, the university, if the university and the City of Toronto do not reach an agreement by September 30, 2017.

According to the report by the treasurer and City Solicitor, “There is no principled justification for the difference in the tax

exemptions between Victoria University and OCAD U, Ryerson and York.” The latter three universities are required to pay property taxes on land owned, but not occupied by, the universities. The University of Toronto enjoys similar exemptions but voluntarily pays the City of Toronto in lieu of property taxes foregone.

The report goes on to say that this difference results in the university’s tenants not having to “pay the same level of property taxes that they would if their leased premises were owned by other universities or private commercial landlords.”

Victoria University is against amending the current tax exemptions. It says that these exemptions were granted in 1951 to incentivize the redevelopment of the neighbourhood into the upscale commercial district it is today. It states: “The City of Toronto has gained millions of dollars

in tax revenue that it would not have received if those properties had continued to be used for student residences.”

The land that the institution leases out is part of the ‘Mink Mile.’ In 2015, the Financial Post reported a study by commercial real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield that found the average rent in the shopping district to be at $325 per square foot per year, the most expensive in the country.

The Toronto Star has reported that Victoria University had offered the City $100,000 annually in lieu of property taxes for up to five years.

In response to the vote, Ray deSouza, Bursar and Chief Administrative Officer of Victoria University, told The Varsity, “Victoria University is pleased to resume our discussions with City of Toronto officials. As we have stated in the past,

Victoria University is committed to work in the best interests of our students and Victoria University.”

When asked if the province would be willing to amend the Victoria University Act as requested by the City of Toronto, Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development spokesperson Sean Greson said that they are aware of the ongoing negotiations between the two parties.

“In the past, the City of Toronto has been able to reach an agreement with the University of Toronto (subject to similar exemptions) that was satisfactory to both parties. We encourage the city and Victoria University to continue their negotiations and find a resolution that ensures the ability of the university to provide high quality education to students and addresses the concerns of the municipality,” Greson said.

4 • THE VARSITY • NEWS

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UTSU VP Equity Farah Noori resigns Position staying vacant until incoming VP Equity takes office

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Noori was elected in last year’s spring elections with the Hello UofT slate.

Tom Yun News Editor

The UTSU has announced the resignation of Farah Noori, who served as the union’s VicePresident Equity.

According to a statement from UTSU President Jasmine Wong Denike, which was released on March 27, Noori informed the Board of Directors on March 26 of her intention to resign.

“We have chosen not to publicize the reasons behind her resignation. We ask that all members of the U of T community be respectful of Farah and her privacy,” the statement reads.

Denike thanked Noori for her work and highlighted her efforts in organizing eXpression Against Oppression Week, consultations for the Policy on Sexual Violence

and Sexual Harassment on Campus, events for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the UTSU Accessibility Fund.

It is unclear why the statement, released on March 27, states that the Board of Directors approved Noori’s resignation on March 31. Noori declined to divulge her reasons for her resignation, citing personal reasons.

In November 2016, Lucinda Qu also resigned from her role as Vice-President External. Denike also declined to comment further.

Noori was elected in last year’s spring elections with the Hello UofT slate. The position will remain vacant until Chimwemwe Alao, the incoming Vice-President Equity, takes office in May 2017, pending board approval of the election results.

UTSU, from cover

The motion passed amidst shouts of “Shame!” and “Support our staff!” Immediately after, a motion to adjourn was brought forward and also passed.

Just before the minutes of the Services Committee were to be debated, Memmel brought forward a motion to call for orders of the day, which would have effectively made the items non-debatable since the allotted time for debate for the items would have passed.

He cited time pressures, as the UTSU booked the room only until 9:00 pm.

Various people raised issues with the motion, criticizing the proposed lack of debate.

Eventually, Memmel brought forward a motion to extend debate on the minutes of the Services Committee to 10 minutes.

Susan Froom, Vice-President Internal of the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS), spoke first, saying that UTSU members had been coming to the APUS office asking about the change in health insurance providers that was made last year.

Froom said that they refer these students to the UTSU Health and Dental Coordinator and warns that cutting this service would result in “a lot of dissatisfied students and [the UTSU] may be creating tension this year between APUS and UTSU.” Orion Keresztesi, President of CUPE 1281, urged the board to reconsider cutting the positions.

“I want us all to remember that we’re talking about folks’ livelihoods here,” Keresztesi said at the meeting. He also said that “the people moving this motion are trying to be clever,” adding that “[the UTSU is] trying to frame this as a layoff, when they know very well it is not a layoff… it’s an attempt at a backdoor firing.”

Responding to questions from The Varsity, Keresztesi explained that layoffs are defined according to the Collective Agreement between the UTSU and CUPE 1281 and the Employment Standards Act. “The collective agreement also defines the mutually agreed

upon process for initiating layoffs,” he said.

“A layoff requires the intent to rehire, which is lacking in this case. Further, the employer would have to prove that maintaining the position would cause the organization considerable hardship, and that they have no other option. Given that the UTSU is not eliminating their health and dental plan and not eliminating student groups, the work associated with those services still needs to get done,” Keresztesi said.

A motion was also called to extend time for Nour Alideeb, President of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union, to speak on the Services Committee minutes, though the motion failed.

“Today’s meeting, I think, could have gone in a different way had people not had previously made up their minds, who were willing to listen to people’s perspectives,” said Alideeb. “It’s hard when it comes to things like this because we’re not only talking about the service itself but we’re also talking about people’s lives.”

“If the UTSU executive do attempt to eliminate [Clubs and Service Groups Coordinator] and [the Health and Dental Services Coordinator] they will be violating the collective agreement that provides UTSU workers job security and protects them from arbitrary firing,” Keresztesi said. He added that the union “will challenge their actions through our mutually agreed upon grievance procedure and other appropriate legal steps, but in the meantime students will be suffering.”

Protests continued after the meeting was adjourned as the UTSU directors left.

Memmel confirmed to The Varsity that Vita Carlino and Maria Pilar Galvez — who are the Clubs and Service Groups Coordinator and the Health and Dental Services Coordinator, respectively — are still fulltime employees of the UTSU and will still be receiving full salaries.

The Varsity has reached out to Carlino and Galvez for comment.

College orientations to conflict with classes Scheduling adjusted to accommodate for Fall Reading Week

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Last year, Arts & Science students voted in favour of establishing a Fall Reading Week in a referendum.

Daniel Kim Varsity Contributor

The 2017–2018 academic year will start earlier for UTSG Arts & Science students due to Fall Reading Week, meaning that orientation week organizers at the colleges are accommodating for changes in schedule relative to previous years.

Previously, Arts & Science students had a two-day break in November. The new Fall Reading Week will add three more days, lengthening the break from November 6–10.

Due to the lost instructional days, Deborah

Robinson, Faculty Registrar and Director of Undergraduate Academic Services, said that “classes will begin on the Thursday following Labour Day [September 7].”

Robinson also stated that the university has “modelled sessional dates for the next seven years.” The university will “only be releasing the dates one year at a time, just in case things have to change for some unforeseen reason.”

The early start to the school year will cut into days that would normally be reserved for

frosh week. Robinson acknowledged this fact by stating that “students voted overwhelmingly in favour of a Fall Reading Week and were prepared to make some changes to orientation in order to make up for lost instructional days.”

Orientation organizers have been preparing its frosh week differently to ensure a full experience with the reduced time that is available. The Varsity reached out to the Dean of Students of each college to understand the different plans. Victoria University and St. Michael’s College did not respond.

According to University College (UC) Orientation Coordinators Lindsay Kruiwagen and Michelle Beyn, all colleges will maintain their move-in dates as the Sunday of Labour Day weekend. UC will have optional events on Thursday, September 7 and Friday, September 8, which are the first two days of classes.

UC Dean of Students Melinda Scott noted that the college is also considering hosting events on the weekend following orientation week.

New College Director of Residence and Student Life Leah McCormack-Smith said that the college plans to start its orientation week on Monday, September 4, whereas typically the start day has occurred on a Tuesday.

Moreover, New College will be holding a suite of drop-in academic, social, and wellness

programs on the Thursday and Friday.

According to Dean of Students of Woodsworth College, Liza Nassim, the college will be moving the move-in date to Sunday, September 3. Currently, the college is still working with Woodsworth Orientation for Life After Frosh coordinators to plan the frosh week.

Trinity College is also just beginning to plan its frosh week. Kristen Moore, the college’s Dean of Students, explained that her office and the orientation co-chairs are looking at options on programming around the Thursday and Friday classes.

Innis College Dean of Students Tim Worgan explained that the college plans to extend orientation events through the first few weeks of class. The college believes that this method will facilitate a successful transition from high school to university as orientation events will not abruptly end on the last two-day period.

With regards to other inquires on changes to sessional dates, Robinson said that based on the sessional dates for the next seven years, “there will continue to be a ‘make-up Monday’ and a break — although sometimes the break falls on a weekend — at the end of classes and before the exam period starts.”

APRIL 3, 2017 • 5

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Japanese Government donates $5 million to Munk School Donation to launch the Centre for the Study of Global Japan Yurie Kaku Varsity Contributor

The Munk School of Global Affairs has received a $5 million donation from the Government of Japan.

First announced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Japan-Canada summit meeting last May, the donation was formally presented to U of T on March 30.

Last May, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans to support Japanese studies in Canadian universities. U of T is the first Canadian university to receive such a donation from Japan.

The donation allows for the recruitment of an expert in Japanese politics, who will be designated as the endowment chair. The chair will have a permanent presence within the Munk School and will lead the Centre for the Study of Global Japan.

The ceremony began with opening remarks from Meric Gertler, President of U of T. He thanked Japanese government official Yasunori Nakayama, who is the Consul General of Japan in Toronto; Gertler spoke of the importance of Japan as one of Canada’s partners and diversity of Japanese studies at U of T.

Following Gertler’s speech, Nakayama emphasized the common values and responsibilities that Canada and Japan share as countries of the G7 for global problems.

He expects that this support from the Japanese government will be one step to achieve that goal.

“Japan and Canada, as members of G7 countries that share common values, have a responsibility to make contributions to the world community that ensure peace and prosperity,” said Nakayama. “It is… imperative that our academic institutions are able to conduct extensive research that allows us to properly understand each other.”

Samara Canada holds panel on democracy at Isabel Bader Theatre Group gives Canadian democracy a B- grade, up from C in 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

U of T President Meric Gertler with Japanese Consul General Yasunori Nakayama.

Rushdie, from cover other and other pieces of literature.

The majority of the questions had to do with the roles of identity and narrative in shaping Rushdie’s stories; the writer jumped at the opportunity to share quirky and intimate anecdotes from various points in his life.

He talked about his relationships with the characters he created, adventures he had, and moments with his family. He told stories about studying at Cambridge, travelling through India with the money from the advance for his first book, and coming to terms with having his family uprooted when they moved from Mumbai to Karachi.

In one moment, Quayson played the song “Blackbird” by The Beatles on his iPad,

projected to the listeners in Canada Room through his microphone. He asked Rushdie how he, like the blackbird, learned to take broken wings and fly. Rushdie went on to explain the day he purchased The Beatles’ White Album but hesitated to get into anything personal.

“Everybody is wounded,” Rushdie said.

“The point about life is that life wounds you… but it goes on wounding you until it kills you. So the question is how do you deal with that?”

Rushdie’s infamous 1988 book The Satanic Verses resulted in a fatwa — an authoritative ruling on a point of Islamic law — ordering his death, issued by Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran.

STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

The panel discussion took place at the Isabel Bader Theatre on March 28.

Josie Kao Varsity Staff

On March 28, Samara Canada, a non-partisan charity that researches the health of Canadian government and offers solutions to perceived problems, organized a panel at the Isabel Bader Theatre to discuss its recent report on the state of Canadian democracy.

The organization awarded Canada the letter grade of ‘B-,’ which is an increase from the ‘C’ grade it received in 2015.

The goal of the event was to examine what can and should be done to strengthen Canada’s democracy, especially in light of the release of the report card.

The higher grade is primarily attributed to the surge in voter turnout in the 2015 federal election, as well as an increase in communication between Canadians and their MPs. Samara recommended areas for improvement like increasing diversity in the House of Commons and raising citizen “participation in formal political activities, such as donating to a campaign.”

The panel featured Nathaniel ErskineSmith, the MP for Beaches-East York; campaigner and consultant Amara Possian; co-founder of Anima Leadership Annahid Dashtgard; and Elamin Abdelmahmoud, a Social Media Editor for BuzzFeed Canada and an editor for BuzzFeed News. It was moderated by Dave Meslin, the Creative Director of Unlock Democracy Canada, a nonprofit calling for electoral reform.

The panelists discussed various aspects of democracy, such as the development of fake news and why it spreads so quickly.

“If you post something on Facebook, it will look exactly the same as a New York Times [article] on my feed, which says to you this is equal,” said Abdelmahmoud. “We all sort of forget that we have a terrifying amount of power in terms of shaping what other people see, and that’s sort of given rise to fake news because fake news spreads way easier from person to person because you trust other people and you trust that they’ll give you news that you can actually believe.”

The speakers also discussed at length the role of activism in a democracy, debating the term itself and what it means. Possian suggested that it has almost become an empty word.

“It’s different from being a feminist or a socialist, there are assumptions that come along with that word,” said Possian. “An activist is someone who’s active. And by having a term that puts you in a box where there aren’t necessarily stakes, it kind of becomes a hobby.”

Dashtgard responded, “There’s [sic] so many people in this country that are activists because they don’t have a choice,” referring to members of marginalized communities.

Near the end of the discussion, Meslin noted that Erskine-Smith had the highest rate of disagreement with his party out of all the MPs and asked what could be done to encourage more people to act like him.

Erskine-Smith replied, “It’s a cultural question of how do you build up that culture where people are comfortable doing so, don’t fear reprisal, don’t fear their career will suffer, or accept that their career will suffer but that it’s the right thing to do anyway.”

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6 • THE VARSITY • NEWS

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Consulting firm advising the UTSU on Student Commons

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Kokobi consulting group was founded by former anti-CFS campaigner Jack O. Denton Associate News Editor

Kokobi, a non-profit consulting group with a focus on the community sector, and Robert Boissonneault, a former staff member at the UTSU, have been involved in union deliberations this year.

Kokobi has been involved in the Student Commons strategy, and Boissoneault’s input has been informal and limited to editing documents and giving advice, according to Matthias Memmel, Vice-President Internal and Services and President-elect of the UTSU. Kokobi focuses almost exclusively on working with other nonprofits. The University of Manitoba Students’ Union is another students’ union that has worked with the consultancy.

“Student organizations have the same needs as other non-profits,” Kokobi’s founder and Operations Director Adrian Kaats told The Varsity. “So there is little difference, if any, between what we do with student organizations and our non-student organization clients.”

Kaats was involved in student politics when he was a student at McGill University and also wrote actively for the McGill Daily news-

paper at that time. “It’s all in the public record, and in the past,” Kaats said of these associations.

That public record reveals his involvement as the chair of the Canadian Federation of Students Québec (CFS-Q), which he left in 2009 to lead a decertification campaign from the CFS in the province.

By the end of 2009, the CFS-Q was no longer a recognized provincial affiliate of the CFS. Kaats declined to disclose any of the specific work Kokobi has done for the UTSU or what other student organizations they have worked for.

According to Memmel, the work that the union has paid Kokobi for is limited to the Student Commons.

This includes contractual obligations and operations, as well as governance.

“Kokobi has helped the UTSU review construction plans, design plans, and helped the UTSU negotiate with the University the best possible interpretation of a poorly defined Student Commons Agreement,” said Memmel. “This has involved numerous meetings for which Kokobi has not billed the UTSU.” He noted that, as of March 25, the union has paid Kokobi $7,113.30 for work spanning a pe-

riod of approximately four and a half months.

Another outside figure providing consultation to the UTSU has been Boissonneault. “[Boissonneault] left the UTSU in September, but he still occasionally gives advice and sometimes helps with things like editing documents,” Memmel said.

Boissonneault served as the Associate Vice-President Internal and Services at the UTSU from June 2015 to April 2016 and as an Executive Assistant from June to September 2016. Boissonneault also “did some work” for Kokobi in January and February, he said.

“I know some of the executives well, and I still talk to those executives,” Boissonneault told The Varsity. He confirmed that he sometimes gives advice and helps with researching and editing documents.

“That might not be a very satisfying answer,” Boissoneault said, “but I don’t know how else to characterize my involvement.”

It is unclear whether Boissonneault has been paid for any consulting he did with the UTSU and whether he did formal work related to the union through Kokobi.

Sunshine List, from cover U of T’s second-highest paid employee — and the third-highest in the provincial universities sector — is Daren Smith, who is the current President and Chief Investment Officer of UTAM. Smith took home $512,215.61 in 2016.

Despite a promotion from his previous position at UTAM, Smith actually made less in 2016 than he did in 2015, when he had a salary of $693,507.00. At the time, he was one of UTAM’s Managing Directors.

Many of the rest of the university’s top earners are academics in the Rotman School of Management.

U of T Media Relations Director Althea Blackburn-Evans told The Varsity that compensation for Moriarty is “approved by the Corporation’s Board. In addition to base salary, the policy provides for incentive bonuses,” which “are calculated in relation to the performance of various components of

UTAM’s investment portfolio.”

An updated approach to compensation for UTAM staff members came in 2013, after a report was sent to the Finance Minister by the provincial government’s pension investment advisor. According to Blackburn-Evans, the investment advisor states in the report that expertise in “alternative asset classes” is crucial.

“Several UTAM staff members have this expertise,” BlackburnEvans said, adding: “Mr. Moriarty’s 2016 compensation reflects the terms of his contract… I’m afraid I can’t share details about his contract.”

Blackburn-Evans explained that U of T academics’ prominence on the list is due to a commitment to excellence in education and research, which “requires us to attract and retain the best educators and professional staff with competitive salaries and compensation.”

UTSU passes multiple fee increases at March 31 board meeting Increases concern Health and Dental Plan, Student Commons Kaitlyn Simpson Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto Students’ Union’s (UTSU) Board of Directors approved fee increases for the Health and Dental Plan and the Student Commons at its March 31 meeting.

The Health Plan fee was increased by 8.51 per cent or $6.93 per session and the Dental Plan fee was increased by two per cent or $1.45. Memmel stated that such fee increases are usually a response to premium increases but, given this year had no premium increase, the fees “will go to additional coverage as well as an increase in the Reserve Fee.” The Student Commons fee was increased by 10 per cent or $0.93 per session. During the meeting, Memmel spoke on the Student Commons, saying that the increase would be allocated to operating costs. “This building is a mess. We can’t afford it,” he said.

There was discussion about the negotiations between the university and the union in regards to the Student Commons Agreement. Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS) executive and sitting member of the Governing Council Susan Froom suggested

bringing the issue to the Governing Council. Memmel responded that, while deferring to the university is tempting, “this one falls on the UTSU.” There was a debate between University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) Executive Director Munib Sajjad and Memmel. Sajjad asked why the previous year’s Board of Directors had only increased the Student Commons fee by 3 per cent. Memmel stated that the low increase was a “dumb decision.”

The UTSU released a report on the financial status of the Student Commons on April 2. The report, entitled Student Commons: Analysis and Update to Members, outlines the timeline of the Student Commons project; it includes the initial agreement, mistakes that were made by the UTSU, and potential steps for the future.

The report states, “In order to overcome the structured operating deficit,” the UTSU will consider “a range of additional revenue streams from charitable donations to business operations that might provide our members with useful product or service offerings.”

The report continues: “This is very challenging especially considering

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

A report on the Student Commons was released shortly after the meeting. that little to no work was done on this until last year.”

The report introduces a Student Commons Management Committee to inform students of the progress and receive input. It claims that “operational viability is achievable,” although there will be “obstacles to overcome.”

In an email to The Varsity, Memmel added that if the UTSU does not increase the fee, then “the

building will bankrupt the UTSU.” The CPI increases follow a UTSU members’ referendum that approved CPI fee increases. Statistics Canada calculated that the Ontario December 2015 to December 2016 CPI increase was two per cent.

The approved CPI increases were the following: the membership fee by $0.37 per session, the Student Refugee Program fee by $0.01 per session, the Canadian

Federation of Students (CFS) and CFS-Ontario fee by $0.16 per session, the Downtown Legal Services fee by $0.02 per session, the UTM Downtown Legal Service fee by $0.06 per session, and the Bikechain fee by $0.01 per session.

Memmel said that the CPI fee increases were “just to account for inflation.”

Comment

April 3, 2017 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

What have we learned from this academic year?

2016–2017 from the perspective of four contributors ZAHRA DANAEI/THE VARSITY

From financial accountability to conflicts regarding free speech, the 2016–2017 year was eventful for a number of reasons. We asked four writers to reflect on the lessons we can learn from the year and to discuss how those teachings ought to shape university affairs, community affairs, and student governance.

Lesson 1: Indigenous reconciliation should be a campus-wide priority With reconciliation on many Canadians’ minds, how to remedy wrongs committed against Indigenous peoples has become a hot-button issue for political institutions.

U of T’s response to the federal government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was to create the University of Toronto Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee. Made up of Indigenous students, staff, elders, and faculty, the committee responded to the TRC’s 34 Calls to Action by generating a detailed report, outlining ways in which past and present issues concerning Indigenous peoples could be remedied.

The university has since announced that it will be hiring a Director of Indigenous Initiatives, matching $1.5 million in funding for the creation of Indigenous spaces on campus, and creating 40 new faculty and staff positions for Indigenous persons.

While it is encouraging that the university appears to be acting on the Calls to Action, many students seem disinterested. Though many are active in diverse social justice causes on campus, fewer appear to take interest in reconciling with Canada’s first peoples.

I’ve observed this myself as an Indigenous Studies student, with scarce or dwindling turnout in my courses; the location of one course, ABS201, was changed three times over the course of the year to accommodate for the steadily shrinking number of students.

In the coming year, students must be vocal about Indigenous issues and celebrate victories like the university aiming to fulfill the TRC’s Calls to Action. Without the voice of the student body, much of the progress being made is at risk of being lost to apathy.

Ross Johnston is a second-year student at University College studying Political Science and Indigenous Studies.

Lesson 2: Conflicts like the Peterson controversy demand compromise and dialogue This year, the federal government’s introduction of Bill C-16, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity, erupted into bitter, divisive controversy on campus.

Whereas some individuals argued that the legislation was necessary to protect trans and non-binary people, others claimed that it compromised the right to free speech by criminalizing the refusal to use certain gender pronouns.

This is only the most recent example of a broader debate surrounding the concept of ‘political correctness’ on campuses. The way that some are presenting the debate makes it seem as if one must either be in favor of equity or free speech.

Furthermore, what has made this so divisive is that each side has different priorities.

The anti-Peterson side is concerned with removing systematic discrimination, but negates the potential impacts that overbroad provisions may have on open discussion.

On the other hand, Peterson’s supporters are concerned with protecting free speech, but have not proposed any solutions to the concerns about discrimination against trans and non-binary students that their opponents are concerned about.

This is not a novel debate, and the conflict is far from over. Moving forward, both sides need to understand the validity of each other’s concerns. It is through understanding and compromise that the university can be both an inclusive place and a centre for free and open dialogue.

Sam Routley is a second-year student at St. Michael’s College studying Political Science, History, and Philosophy.

Lesson 3: Now more than ever, we need to hold student leaders accountable With respect to the responsibility and accountability of campus leaders, this year has been hit and miss.

Firstly, a controversy regarding Islamophobic actions by past and present members of the St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU) arose late last year when incriminating Snapchat videos surfaced. SMCSU went on to dissolve as a result of ongoing conflicts and allegations of financial mismanagement.

Had these concerns not come to light, there are reasons to believe that the University of St. Michael’s College (SMC) and SMCSU may not have worked adequately to prevent Islamophobia at the college; it was even revealed that both SMCSU and the SMC administration had prior knowledge of the videos before they were leaked.

More recently, the “No Excuse for Abuse” campaign organized a protest against Nicholas Grant’s unopposed candidacy for New College Student Council President; 79 per cent of students ultimately voted “no” to Grant, meaning that nominations will reopen. Grant has denied all allegations against him, and in an interview with The Varsity, criticized the “toxic and personal nature of [the] attacks.”

Given how closely linked candidates are to the student body, it is important to have conversations like the ones that occurred at SMC and New College this year.

It would be inappropriate for students to hold power when they are subject to serious allegations like those brought by the “No Excuse for Abuse” campaign. Likewise, arguably Islamophobic student leaders should not be tasked with representing Muslim students. We should keep these things in mind when choosing our student representatives in the future.

Avneet Sharma is a second-year student at Trinity College studying English and Cinema Studies.

Lesson 4: Positivity and respect should trump campus drama If we think of our lives at U of T as television shows, we can derive that each year has its various ups and downs, all of which creates opportunity for reflection. More often than not, the dilemmas showcased on campus are a reflection of larger real-world dilemmas, albeit with a narrower scope.

I’m in my third season — and oh, what a season it was. We saw self-proclaimed outsiders enter the political sphere. We saw a group of students espouse debates over censorship and free speech. Moreover, we have seen instances of racism and homophobia at one of the most diverse universities in Canada.

Not everyone deals with plot twists in the same way — and regrettably, plot twists can turn us into mean and petty individuals.

I can see why: these events motivate us largely because they reflect causes that we think are worth fighting for. One thing that we all must realize while undergoing these trials is that we must respect one another and rise above difficulties. Our lives are not episodes of Degrassi — at least, they don’t have to be if we tackle them with the right clout.

Haseeb Hassaan is a third-year student at St. Michael’s College studying Political Science.

8 • THE VARSITY • COMMENT

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Should we reform the ERC? Why the UTSU electoral appeal process calls for examination James Chapman Varsity Staff The newly-elected University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Annual Ratification meeting is just over two weeks away, and the most dramatic months of student politics on the St. George campus are drawing to a close.

This brief period of composure presents student politicians and the union’s general membership with the opportunity to soberly reflect upon the UTSU’s increasingly tumultuous election campaigns.

At present, maintaining fair play and community standards during union elections is the job of the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) and the Elections and Referenda Committee (ERC). The CRO, who is hired from outside of the union’s membership by the ERC months prior to the election, is tasked with ensuring that the union’s election bylaws are enforced and with reporting about any partiality it observes throughout the process to the ERC. Similarly, the ERC is meant to act in an unbiased manner to facilitate the logistics of the election.

Importantly, the ERC reserves the right to hear appeals to the CRO’s rulings, and to modify them if it feels it appropriate.

The UTSU Appellate Board, established last fall, is a quasi-judicial body that oversees the elections process and may be appealed to as the final decision-maker for all elections complaints. This year, three Faculty of Law students and three undergraduate students sit on the Board, and all of its posi-

tions must be occupied by students who have previously sought or held elected office in the UTSU. Throughout the UTSU election campaign last month, amongst 32 individual rulings, 1515 demerit points were issued by the CRO to independents and candidates from all four slates. Of these 32 rulings, almost all were brought before the ERC, which recanted 1176 demerit points originally awarded by the CRO. The ERC awarded an additional 781 points to numerous candidates and slates.

Despite the existence of the Appellate Board as a final avenue for recourse, the fact that the ERC was able to so significantly alter the CRO’s decisions during this year’s election cycle provides cause to examine the nature of its role within the elections process.

For the sake of ensuring efficiency and impartiality — as well as avoiding further cynicism about the UTSU — there is a case to be made for restricting the activities of the ERC in future election cycles. The appropriate role of the ERC should be purely that of facilitator. As such, the power of this committee to modify the CRO’s rulings should be revoked.

The ERC’s current relationship to the CRO raises concerns about the efficiency of the appeals process. If candidates are awarded demerit points for a violation by the CRO, they have the opportunity to appeal to the ERC — which, this year, ruled more often than not in the candidates’ favour.

The decisions of the CRO may presently be appealed to the ERC. NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY While the ERC dismissed demerit points pertaining to all affected slates during this election cycle, a few rulings are of particular interest. Fifteen points were retracted from Demand Better presidential candidate Mathias Memmel after evidence was presented that he did not in fact pre-campaign at an SGRT meeting prior to the election.

Seven points from all We the Students candidates were recanted when it was ruled that the use of a table in the Sidney Smith lobby was not in fact a privilege of office.

Finally, eight points were removed from Victoria College director candidate Alex Bercik — formerly affiliated with Reboot — after it was found he did not engage in a mis-

representation of facts.

If not for the actions of the ERC, all of these candidates, and others, would have had a more difficult time throughout the campaign period, having to be more diligent due to the increased risk of reaching the threshold for disqualification.

Furthermore, had the ERC not revoked so many demerit points from Demand Better — who secured the most seats of all slates in the election — all of its candidates would have been disqualified.

This is not to say that the rulings of the ERC were made without merit. But it is important to ask why the CRO and ERC were not on the same page more often. Indeed, for at least the past two UTSU elections, the ERC has found itself in increasing public contention with its own CRO. This is evident not only through the contrasting rulings between the officials, but when examining the language of its decisions.

In an ERC ruling on March 20, the committee stated that it was “alarmed” when the CRO neglected to translate a WeChat conversation in which a campaigner for the Demand Better slate attempted to offer UTM students petty cash for votes.

In another ruling on March 10, the ERC also referenced the language of the CRO ruling as “disturbing” when the CRO referred to Demand Better as the “incumbent slate.”

The composition of the ERC also raises questions about the impartiality of the appeals process.

These questions are important to consider on a principled basis — it is important to be confident in the impartiality of the elections process regardless of whether there is evidence of bias on the part of any given committee.

The ERC is staffed by three sitting members of the UTSU executive and three members of the Board of Directors. As in past years, this means that the current committee is composed of members who campaigned or worked with current candidates in the past.

For example, Ryan Gomes, VicePresident Professional Faculties and ERC Chair, openly campaigned

on the Hello UofT slate alongside Mathias Memmel, who ran for and was elected UTSU President this year. Although there is no evidence of impartiality on Gomes’ part, the fact that this scenario is even possible under the current system might cause problems in the future.

It is even more troubling that Matthew Thomas, another member of the ERC, made politically charged comments to The Varsity last week, suggesting that he believed former presidential candidate Andre Fast to be “pro-CFS.” Thomas himself recognized the inappropriateness of these comments, telling The Varsity, “I’m on the Elections and Referenda Committee, I can’t say that,” and requested that his statements not be published.

The rulings of the ERC in this past election show no signs of partiality. However, when the ERC is staffed with elected members so closely connected to current candidates and union affairs, it undermines the appearance of legitimacy for the entire election process.

Given that the Appellate Board now exists and is explicitly mandated to keep political ties at arms’ length, it should assume the responsibilities of the ERC to hear complaints and overrule CRO rulings going forward. This will ensure the appearance of democratic, transparent, and fair elections.

Meanwhile, if the UTSU wants to maintain its democratic legitimacy, it should make it evident that candidates need not apply as much effort to winning appeals as they do votes, and that the election process is not swayed by current or former partisanship.

James Chapman is a second-year student at Innis College studying Political Science and Urban Studies. He helped We the Students presidential candidate Andre Fast with campaigning in this year’s UTSU election cycle.

Disclosure: The Varsity’s Comment Editor, Teodora Pasca, is a member of the UTSU Appellate Board.

var.st/comment

APRIL 3, 2017

• 9

Billions of dollars and no real change For students, the 2017 federal budget means business as usual Daryna Kutsyna Varsity Contributor The 2017 federal budget was highly anticipated, with many Canadians hoping that it would make good on the promises that remained unfulfilled from the Liberal government’s campaign platform, including funding for Indigenous women and plans for marijuana legalization.

On March 22, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the budget would be the first to consider Canadian finances through a gender-based prism, by evaluating the gender wage gap, the over-representation of women in lower-paid occupations, and the other ways that financial planning decisions may impact women’s well-being.

Conservatives watched to see whether the planned deficit under Trudeau would grow in exchange for initiatives that saw little approval from the Tory base.

In the midst of partisan rhetoric, it can be easy to lose sight of one group of constituents: students. The Liberals send mixed messages with their new financial regime, resulting in gains for students in some areas and losses in others. It is therefore unlikely that the 2017 budget will significantly change the socioeconomic situation for students in Canada.

The change that will be most costly for students is a tax increase on several commonlyused goods and services, while a number of tax credits have been scrapped, many of which were particularly beneficial for lowincome earners.

The alcohol tax has been increased by seven cents on each bottle of spirits and by one cent per litre of wine.

With respect to transportation, the government has imposed GST/HST on the commonly used ride-sharing service, Uber, and has abolished the public tax credit provided for Metropasses and other monthly pass usage.

These changes, while small, are likely to amount to an increase in costs for tight student budgets.

The 2017 budget was highly anticipated. TOM KUHN/THE VARSITY Furthermore, conflicting perspectives from young people currently involved in politics suggest that the 2017 budget is likely to produce mixed results when it comes to financial security for students.

Echoing the concern that life will not be easier for students following the new budget, Louis Vatrt, a member of the executive of the University of Toronto Campus Conservatives, commented that the budget “makes life more expensive for youth, primarily with the elimination of the public transit tax credit.”

He also noted that the budget continued the trend of deficit spending that the Harper conservatives attempted to end with a balanced budget in 2015, remarking that it “saddles generations with billions of debt which we’re going to have to find a way to pay off.”

Liberals promote what they see as some tangible benefits for students. Alexander Cohen, Vice-President of Communications for the Young Liberals of Canada, noted that the budget “dedicates a plethora of new money to Canada Student Loans and grants.”

He also noted changes with respect to employment insurance (EI), stashold for EI eligibility and makes it easier for EI recipients

to retrain.”

What is also encouraging is that those returning to school as mature students will receive an additional $287.2 million in funding to ease their transitions, in addition to new funds earmarked for part-time students and students with children.

Meanwhile, students who are seeking summer jobs or full time employment will be glad to hear that the 2017 budget “invests nearly an additional $400 million in the Youth Employment Strategy,” an initiative that, as Cohen explains, is focused on helping young people develop marketable skills and creating green jobs.

Therefore, while it appears that some of the financial decisions made by the Liberals will put a strain on student budgets, others may actually alleviate current financial concerns.

What this may result in is an equalizing effect between the budget’s highs and lows — which means those who had their sights set on significant improvements will likely be disappointed.

In this vein, some progressives who have been hoping for “real change” as promised throughout the Liberal election campaign do not feel that the increased support for

students and other vulnerable groups has been sufficient.

Allan Cocunato, a self-identified progressive who supported Trudeau in the 2015 election in the hopes of departing from Conservative policies, said he would have “liked to see more money earmarked for [missing and murdered] indigenous women and for immediate intervention with the homeless and impoverished people.”

In Cocunato’s opinion, the budget failed to accomplish many of the initiatives proposed during the election.

Ultimately, the 2017 federal budget can pride itself on one thing: it managed to unite progressives and conservatives in a rare moment of agreement.

Unfortunately, the agreement was rooted in disapproval, albeit for different causes.

While the Tories believe that the budget is a prime example of reckless spending, progressives do not see it as having gone far enough to rectify the social challenges Canadians are facing.

The budget has strayed little from the course taken by the Harper Conservatives, with few policies likely to have remarkable effects on students’ lives.

The tax increases are relatively small and have been distributed to other areas that are likely to benefit the same individuals who will be footing the hikes.

The lack of a novel direction despite an increasing deficit is also noteworthy in itself for a government elected on a platform of “real change.” Whether that change manifests itself in other policy changes or relegates itself to the Liberals’ heap of broken campaign promises remains to be seen.

With policy changes supposedly in store, including the recently announced legalization of marijuana, it will be interesting to witness the government’s response going forward.

Daryna Kutsyna is a fourth-year student at Trinity College studying International Relations and History.

The dysfunctional Computer Science Students Union suffers from institutional failure With constitutional bylaws ignored and events not hosted, the union is in grave need of improvement Charles Huang Varsity Contributor

The Computer Science Student Union (CSSU) has failed in its duty to adequately represent students in the Computer Science program. Like other course unions and student organizations, the CSSU is responsible for organizing events and providing services to its members. However, this year the CSSU has been complacent in its duties, and has demonstrated gross negligence in following proper rules and regulations.

Events originally proposed by the CSSU, like careers fairs, academic seminars, and tea time with professors never happened.

Only six out of 18 events listed on the budget proposal from the beginning of the year occurred. Fortunately, other campus Computer Science groups, like Undergraduate Women in Computer Science, were able to fill the role of hosting tea time with professors and weekly technical interview preps throughout the year.

But it wasn’t always like this. Just last year, the CSSU gained positive attention for hosting a successful first Hack Night at the beginning of the school year with generous

sponsorship from both Google and the Department of Computer Science. The CSSU would go on to host four Hack Night events in total that year. Only one was hosted this year.

The CSSU also has trouble following its own rules. The CSSU Constitution mandates that at least one General Meeting must be held per academic semester while classes are in session, with at least two weeks notice given prior to each meeting. This year, no such meetings have been called in either semester. With three days of classes left, there won’t be enough time to host a meeting, and Computer Science students won’t have the chance to voice their opinions.

Disregarding rules and procedures comes with consequences. In the upcoming CSSU election, procedures were initially ignored.

According to the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) Christina Chen, the current CSSU Oresident, Hanchen Wang, changed elections procedures in order to permit an online voting system in lieu of a physical ballot system.

Yet, the executives are not allowed to unilaterally make changes to the election process without amending the constitution first — which is impossible at the moment, as no general meetings have been held. After a com-

plaint was filed to the Arts and Science Students’ Union, the CRO corrected the election process so that it followed previous procedures.

This kind of behaviour is not surprising from the CSSU. Already, some Computer Science students see the CSSU as an exclusionary group, or clique consisting of select upper-year students. Students, intimidated by this behaviour, hesitate to hang out in the CSSU student lounge, and conversations within the lounge often consist of language that can be off-putting or uncomfortable for others. The CSSU’s lack of female representation is especially concerning, as there are virtually no women within the group who regularly use the space.

Past and present members alike are unhappy with the current state of the CSSU, with many fearing its demise. Such concerns are not unjustified, as the CSSU has not appointed any first-year representatives this year; these positions are informally used to ensure the continuation of student organizations for future students.

Former CSSU President Jonathan Webb is especially frustrated, saying “The CSSU is actively failing and is not doing its job at all and hasn’t even pretended to try all year.”

Responsible CSSU executives are becoming increasingly necessary since Computer Science is becoming a more popular subject at U of T and elsewhere. The university’s Department of Computer Science is presently experiencing a significant increase in enrolment for both computer science courses and programs. Historically, similar enrolment booms occurred during the late 1980s and the dot-com boom — and with each boom, the percentage of women and minority representation in the field decreased.

In light of the contemporary enrolment boom in Computer Science and its current issues, it is extremely important that the CSSU properly dedicate its efforts and resources to promoting inclusivity and diversity, actually hosting events, and making the CSSU student lounge an environment that is less unwelcoming for students that do not regularly use the space.

Charles Huang is a third-year student at University College studying Computer Science and Mathematics. He ran for President of the Computer Science Student Union. Arseniy Ivanov won the presidency on March 29.

10 • THE VARSITY • COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

Public Editor

Notice of Varsity Publications Board of Directors Elections

Sophie Borwein Public Editor

Reflections of a first-time Public Editor On fairness, balance, and making mistakes in student journalism When The Varsity introduced me as their first Public Editor in January, the announcement generated more interest than I expected.

Much of this was a by-product of the timing.

Donald Trump, then days away from being inaugurated as President of the United States, had already launched his attack on the “fake,” “biased,” and “dishonest” news media.

News outlets were responding by emphasizing their commitment to truth and fairness in reporting. In this environment, The Varsity’s move to hire a public editor to hold it to its commitment to ethical journalism seemed like a smart move.

Others were interested in my appointment because most student newspapers don’t have public editors. Did a campus newspaper really need one?

I don’t have a good answer for you, but I do have a few thoughts from my first term as Public Editor: (1) Campus newspapers — like everyone else in the media — are grappling with the line between balance and “false balance” Most of the complaints I received this year were from readers objecting to opinion pieces. As I wrote in my last column, I think it is great when the paper’s opinion pieces generate controversy — so long as they stay within the bounds of accepted journalistic practices in doing so. Diverse societies thrive on open dialogue.

Still, a few readers have since asked me a different question: at what point does a newspaper go too far in including diverse opinions?

Fairness is one of journalism’s most basic ethical principles, defined in The Varsity’s Code of Journalistic Ethics as, “a balanced and impartial presentation of all the relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy.”

When reporting the news, balance means including all relevant points of view. But sometimes balance morphs into something less welcome in journalism — false balance. This happens when rival views are portrayed as being more equal than facts warrant. Nowhere has this been more evident than in climate change reporting, where journalists too often put climate science and climate denial on equal footing, despite the overwhelming evidence.

In an October column written following U of T’s “Rally for Free Speech,” The Varsity’s Editor-inChief Alex McKeen weighed in on false balance. In response to complaints of biased coverage of the varied viewpoints at the rally, she argued that not all views are legitimate, and we shouldn’t pretend that they are. Shouting, “We need more Michael Browns” at a rally constitutes hate speech, she pointed out, “and it would be wrong to position it otherwise.”

Balance is also something newspapers think about when choosing what to publish in their comment sections. A newspaper’s commentary is meant to showcase diverse opinions. But here too, not all opinions are created equal.

I asked The Varsity’s Comment Editor Teodora Pasca how she decides which viewpoints to include. Strong opinion pieces, she tells me, build their arguments on the foundations of a strong set of facts. Thinking in this way helps her guard against false balance. By this logic, an opinion piece denying climate change — that will struggle to present compelling evidence — is unlikely to appear in The Varsity, but a piece that makes an argument for deprioritizing climate change over other policy priorities might well.

If I’m making it seem like it is easy to distinguish fair from false balance, it isn’t. After McKeen published her column on the rally, a number of readers complained that The Varsity was hiding behind “hate speech” as a means of privileging the perspective of social justice over free speech advocates, though McKeen herself rejects this dichotomy.

For the record, I think McKeen is right in her take on false balance in coverage of the rally.

But finding the dividing line between legitimate and illegitimate viewpoints is hard. With or without public editors, newspapers don’t always get it right. Even so, I think an arms-length public editor — able to reflect on the paper’s practices with some distance — usefully provides an extra line of defense for student newspapers pursuing real balance over false equivalence.

(2) Student politicians are still developing the thick skins they need for politics In my term as The Varsity’s Public Editor, I received a number of complaints from U of T student politicians, one of whom wrote to tell me the paper has, “never been fully taken seriously or trusted by any student groups or movements on campus.”

It takes guts to get into politics, and I have an enormous amount of respect for those who do it.

U of T’s student politicians fight hard to improve life on campus for their student bodies. But, just as this is their job, it is The Varsity’s job to hold student leaders accountable, and to make sure they use their power with care.

My job is to ensure The Varsity’s coverage of student politics is accurate and fair.

Where we’ve regrettably published errors, corrections have been issued. I know this is far from ideal. A mistake in print cannot be undone, but mistakes published online also leave imprints, with corrections often only issued after most readers have already seen the article.

The Varsity — like other newspapers — needs to think harder about how it can prevent errors in the first place. But mistakes inevitably happen, and when they do, I think it helps to have a public editor who can investigate potential inaccuracies and make corrections as quickly as possible, to limit the damage.

Beyond correcting factual errors, however, I can’t protect student politicians’ egos. It is their job to develop the thick skins that guard against the criticism that comes with holding office. The only advice I can offer is this: find a close friend or family member to vent to in private, and for the love of god, keep it off Twitter.

Which brings me to my final observation.

As I come to the end of my first term as Public Editor, I am heartened to observe U of T’s student body, leaders, and journalists honing skills that will position them, upon graduation, to defend the vibrancy of Canadian society into the future.

I’ve watched U of T student politicians take principled positions and champion them when challenged, and journalists at The Varsity use their pens to professionally and prudently hold student leaders to account. When either of these groups have fallen short, I’ve watched the U of T student body thoughtfully and diligently demand better.

Though mistakes get made, and tensions sometimes flare, these dynamics make for a better campus for everyone.

The Board of Directors of Varsity Publications Inc. is the governing body that oversees the organization that produces The Varsity. Elections for seven (7) general directors will take place April 12-14 at voting.utoronto.ca.

The nominees for the GENERAL DIRECTORS for the Board of Directors are as follows: Zhi Cheng Xu Samuel McCulloch Arunchchala (Ramana) Trivedi Wayne George Ruadhan Edward Carol Ariel Gomes Sean Smith Mohamed Hammad

The Varsity Zine Instructions: Step 1 Fold page 11 in half, away from yourself Step 2 Flip the page over Step 3 Cut along the dotted line to create pages Step 4 You just made a zine!!!!!!!!

Congrats

TOP

SPINE

MATH

some misguided suckers, in awe of their might preach mathematic supremacy; I only ignore them and never lose sight: numbers are always the enemy

in kindergarten, life wasn’t too bad, considering I was a numerical rookie; that still hasn’t changed, since I began dodging math ‘round the time that we stopped counting cookies

look at a list of equations, you’ll see, me plus math equals tragic collision; really, my life starts getting sketchy as soon as I’m hit with two-digit addition

over the years, the pain got more offensive as they attacked me with slope, quadratics, and pi, each new concept an affront to my senses and another reason to die

ask me to swim the Pacific, cross the Sahara, or cut off all of my toes; lose Wi-Fi forever, breathe in Los Angeles, or watch Donald Trump’s favourite shows;

write essays, eat ants, tear a phone book in two, or blindly fight a T-rex, there are infinite things I’d much rather do than to be asked by Satan to solve for x

– Blythe Hunter

He grew a

man bun.

In Grade 4, he said he couldn't play enough soccer during recess

His favourite band was Nickelback

*It’s a Scott Pilgrim reference irst ed my f I scar nd by boyfrie to kiss me. him .. ing ask

She said I hugged my friend Kyle too passionately.

He thought my curry was too spicy

He was too hair y tbh

She had a tattoo of her ex’s name…

My boyfriend went to church camp and came back with a spiritual awakening that he didn't like me anymore.

He said he broke up with me because of the sex…

We had breakup sex.

Act 5: Goodbye Pt. 2 I guess my hesitation was a sign, We were never “meant to be” Youth is foolishness Feelings are fleeting But, the moments we shared are important they are a mark they are an indication that this happened and for a moment in time all was ok…

Act 6: The Finale (Goodbye for real this time) I told you I liked you in May. We had our first phone call then too.

We talked for eight hours straight in June.

I thought I might love you in July.

We laughed all the way through August.

We had our first meeting in September.

I fell out of infatuation in October.

Maybe if I write out our history, it won’t be forgotten.

Youth is foolish.

Youth is fleeting.

Youth is a lesson.

I have no answers, I only have recollections.

– Gabrielle Warren

Arts&Culture

April 3, 2017 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

The season of procrastination is upon us

Contributors share their exam season routines, from the perils of autoplay to Wikipedia marathons Procrastinating is a serious problem for me; I even procrastinated writing this 400-word piece. What was I doing instead of studying and contributing to campus journalism, you might ask? Reading Wikipedia articles and clicking through in-article links until I’d gone from reading about liquid-liquid extractions — the reason I was on Wikipedia in the first place — to learning about LAMDA, the oldest drama school in the UK. Fascinating.

Here are some other facts I’ve gleaned from my routine of Wikipedia-fuelled distraction: nobody really knows when Idi Amin was born, male pandas have been given Viagra to stimulate reproduction, and baby Mozart was overweight — at least, the painting from his Wikipedia page makes him overweight.

I suppose it isn’t an entirely terrible thing to be constantly reading Wikipedia. I’ve become something of a human encyclopedia for those course union trivia nights or killing the awkward silence at parties. People have come to know me as someone who just ‘knows things.’

However, my personal interests have taken advantage of this practice, leading me to read mostly about pop culture and learn facts that make it seem like I regularly stalk my favourite celebrities. Cole Sprouse has moles on his face and Dylan Sprouse doesn’t. Professor Lockhart (Kenneth Branagh) married Professor Trelawney (Emma Thompson), only to leave her for Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter). This is the kind of drama I’m looking for.

Why don’t I just binge-watch television, then? Perhaps it’s some sort of psychological phenomenon, but reading a Wikipedia article, even if it’s a detailed summary of the process of toasting bread, makes me feel like I’m still doing work and learning. When the stress from exams gets too high, I like to fill my brain not with information I need to know, but with information I don’t — information that actually interests me.

Might this be a distraction from the feeling of dread I get when thinking about how the information I need to know might be just as useless? Maybe. Or maybe it’s to balance the information forced into my mind with information that’s just for fun.

I would never have learned about Wang Zhenyi, a prominent female astronomer in feudal China who hails from the same province as my parents, in any of my courses. So perhaps reading Wikipedia isn’t just a form of procrastination, but also an invaluable source for facts you never knew you wanted to know.

— Vivian Xie

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

For me, exam period is a time of stress, procrastination, compartmentalization, and rationalization. Together, these phenomena create a perfect, cyclical storm.

Let’s start with the stress. I want to get good marks, so I study. But my parents want me to get better marks, so I worry about whether or not I’m studying hard enough. I try to study harder, but the process becomes tedious, so I take a break and decide to watch a couple of episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Netflix. As I reach my sixth episode in a row, I realize I’ve taken too long a break. So, still wanting to get good marks, I study.

It’s not all bad, though. The inevitable procrastination that happens every exam season is accompanied by many unexpected blessings. There are so many activities to waste time on, like setting a new high score in every game on Facebook Messenger, or rewriting Ed Sheeran songs to suit your own life.

You should never feel too bad for procrastinating; if you haven’t spent more time on YouTube than you have reading your textbook, you’re doing university wrong.

Breaking my tasks down into manageable chunks makes life easier and more efficient. Instead of barely wrapping my head around four chapters of biology in a single hour, I try to understand just one chapter in the same amount of time, which is more productive in the long run.

Occasionally, however, I’ll become far too comfortable with this compartmentalization, breaking necessary studying into the tiniest of sessions, which is hardly any help.

My ability to rationalize highly questionable decisions when it comes to studying is what leads to this mild apathy. As both a sleep-deprived student and an English major, stretches in logic are hardly a foreign concept to me. Somehow, I’ll tell myself it’s okay to put off reading 80 pages of a novel for the day before an exam, or convince myself that half a week is plenty of time to prepare, just to be able to take the weekend off.

This shaky logic leads to a number of problems during exam season. Let’s start with the stress…

— Sarim Irfan

After months of presentations, essays, and assignments, I look forward to the end of the semester when coursework wraps up. It feels like I can breathe for a moment. But then I remember I have exams. The stress builds up, so I try to manage my time well. I get my planner out and mark up times for studying. I’m in high gear and ready to work, and that’s when I discover that the latest episode of Riverdale is up.

My study routine during exam season consists of studying, sleeping, and binge-watching my favourite shows while snacking on whatever is in the fridge. I’d much rather immerse myself in crime shows like CSI, Criminal Minds, Without A Trace, and Castle than try to decipher the academic jargon that is my textbook.

My studying is regularly interrupted by the need to take a break. I hop online, scroll through Facebook, and watch some animation storytime YouTube videos. The autoplay feature represents the downfall of my productivity. Soon, I realize I am hungry. I go eat, and then I try to study again. After an hour, I tell myself I will watch one episode of Bones, which turns into four episodes. Then I feel sleepy, so I just go to bed.

This behaviour is less than productive, so in an attempt to break out of my usual cycle, I might try to isolate myself from technology as much as possible. I also need to make sure that I don’t play any music. If I do, my mind wanders, and I spend more time contemplating the complexities of life than finishing my essay. I also use a timer to keep me on schedule and ensure that my break time isn’t too long.

One way I try to de-stress during exam season is by taking long walks if I need to clear my mind. I think that frequent breaks help studying, allowing you to refocus and work towards achieving your best possible grades. Personally, I just need to make sure my break doesn’t last the entire day.

— Nicole Sciulli

16 • THE VARSITY • ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Singer-songwriter Greg Halpin brings the music to the audience Halpin’s Notes from a Bedroom tour stopped at Sir Dan’s for an intimate performance Anil Partridge Varsity Staff

Ten years ago, Greg Halpin started to turn inward. A Québec-based singer-songwriter and liberal arts student, Halpin had played in a few indie rock bands, toured, recorded, and mixed with heavyweights in the local music scene.

But restless nights spent in sparsely populated barrooms and the pressures of collaboration got in the way of the music.

The perfectionism of digital recording was killing the energy of performing live. So Halpin brought the music from the barroom to the bedroom.

Halpin’s album Notes from a Bedroom represents that inward turn away from public venues and into the intimacy of the bedroom.

In the past year, Halpin has been playing concerts in bedrooms all across North America, bringing his music into private spaces.

On March 28, he performed in a room in the Sir Daniel Wilson Residence at University College as part of a lineup of Toronto shows that have taken place over the last few weeks.

Halpin and I met in Bar Mercurio to discuss his project. Sporting a bushy beard, a silkscreened Bob Dylan t-shirt, and a guitar in tow, he talked me through the genesis of the project.

Halpin told me that touring with indie rock groups had signified its own set of challenges.

“You can’t expect a big crowd unless you have some backing behind you, publicizing,” Halpin said. The initial small crowds grew as people spread the word. “And that’s just the way you have to do it… that’s how it starts.

You have to play to those ten people and hopefully the next time they bring a friend.”

The idea for Notes from a Bedroom was simple — take 10 years of song sketches, lyrics, and experience, and strip the music down to its core. A friend had given Halpin a cassette tape recorder around the same time that he had just started getting into Bob Dylan. The idea of lo-fi recording and authentic, personal music complete with imperfections appealed to him.

He pitched his idea to a big-name producer, Howard Bilerman, who played on Arcade Fire’s first album, Funeral, and helped produce musicians such as Leonard Cohen, Wolf Parade, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Bilerman liked it and mentored Halpin throughout the process. Halpin recorded his tracks on cassette tape, letting ambient noise filter in and bringing back the raw, live energy that Bilerman had been enthused about as well. “So many of the things he was saying seemed to really click with the ideas for that album,” Halpin said.

The idea of the bedroom as an intimate space resonated with Halpin’s own feelings about music. “The intimacy of it, and kind of letting someone into my bedroom… is what songwriting is to me, and I think what it is to a lot of people,” Halpin noted.

Exam Jams Roundup Each April, colouring books are pressed into our hands and therapy dogs overrun our campus. That’s right, readers, it’s exam season. With exams come exam jams. Here is a list of events for all your calming needs.

Reut Cohen Arts & Culture Editor

UTSG events On April 6, Sid Smith will be taken over by the Faculty of Arts & Science’s annual Exam Jam. The event will feature review sessions run directly by the professors of many different courses, as well as advice from the college writing centres on tackling writing during exams. If just reading this summary is stressing you out, perhaps you should take advantage of the other more fun activities that will be available, like massage therapy, button making, and of course, puppies.

Skule will also be hosting a special Exam Jam for first-year students on April 13 from 12:00–2:00 pm. It will feature therapy dogs and 10-minute massages, as well as healthy snacks. Exam preparation sessions for engineering courses will take place in the lead up to the exam period.

UTM events UTM’s Exam Jam will be taking place on April 4 from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm. New this year are writing consultations, but the event will also feature review sessions, exam preparation workshops, and the requisite wellness activities.

UTSC events While UTSC’s official Exam Jam took place from March 27–31, there are still a few events left before exams kick off in earnest. Hot chocolate and Timbits will be served outside the Academic Advising & Career Centre from 12:00–2:00 pm on April 5 and April 10. On April 5 from 3:00–4:00 pm, there will also be a free yoga class open to all students.

However, registration is required for the class, so make sure to study around it.

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Greg Halpin’s new album incorporates the atmosphere of live performance.

The music “comes from a pretty private place,” he said. “I think that’s what I like about music, when they’re able to articulate something and get it across in an emotional way, that’s what I can connect to, and that I feel like ‘Oh, I felt that before but I’ve never talked about it.’”

But to forge that connection, Halpin sought solitude. “As much as this is about trying to connect to people,” he said, “it’s like long days spent just on my own and it’s pretty lonely, and that comes through in a lot of the songs.”

With eight to 10 hours of practice a day and endless revisions, the process was quite isolating.

Halpin’s concert in the Sir Daniel Wilson Residence broke down some of those barriers, and his long process of internal reflection resulted in a definite connection for the audience. Though the Toronto leg of the Notes from a Bedroom tour has concluded, Halpin will surely be continuing these unique performances in bedrooms nationwide.

var.st/arts

APRIL 3, 2017

Dave Chappelle’s new specials showcase difficulties following a comedic hiatus The comic should strive to refine his traditionally shocking style for new audiences John Shutt Varsity Contributor

The goal of a stand-up comic is to both shock and amuse an audience.

Many of the greatest stand-ups, from George Carlin and Richard Pryor to Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, have developed long careers based on their brilliant, humourous takes on real-life issues.

Dave Chappelle’s case is an interesting one to consider. The 43-yearold comedian spent over a decade out of the spotlight after infamously walking away from a $50 million contract for his beloved Comedy Central series Chappelle’s Show. Now, he’s trying to make a comeback.

Following a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live last November, Chappelle signed a deal with Netflix worth $60 million to produce two stand-up specials, both of which premiered on March 21.

Although the specials seem to have been well-received among Chappelle’s fans, some of the jokes have landed him in hot water.

Throughout the specials, Chappelle cracks jokes aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, and is receiving a swath of criticism in return.

This is not the first time the comedian has come under fire from the LGBTQ+ community. Shortly before the presidential election, he accused the LGBTQ+ community of stifling discussion of racism in America.

“They should not be having that conversation in front of black people,” Chappelle told a crowd during a performance in New York last November. “If you’re putting sexism and homophobia and transphobia in front of racism, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

Comedy, and stand-up in particular, is supposed to push the boundaries with regards to real-life issues. By finding humour in these serious issues, not only are we able to laugh at ourselves, but we’re able to start conversations about important issues.

Comedians like Chappelle have been hailed for doing just this.

Many sketches from Chappelle’s Show both poked fun at and commented on racial issues, such as the Racial Draft sketch, or one sketch in which Chappelle played a blind white supremacist who is Black.

It seems that Chappelle has retained much of the comedic edge that made him popular to begin with. Why, then, do audiences seem more uncomfortable with his comedy now than they were 10 or 20 years ago?

The answer may be that the comedy audience has moved on to more progressive views, making Chappelle’s comedic style outdated. What audiences found shocking and hilarious about his material a decade or so ago, they now find shocking and offensive.

Chappelle should not be faulted for this, though, seeing as many comedians have a certain edge associated with their routine; toning it down would only hinder the creative process.

Yet during Chappelle’s hiatus, so much has changed in regards to the topics he frequently discusses in his comedy. The conversation surrounding feminism and LGBTQ+ rights has only gotten louder, and with Donald Trump’s presidency threatening much of the progress made during the earlier part of the decade, members of that group may feel legitimately threatened when someone cracks jokes about them.

Perhaps the greatest change to have occurred during Chappelle’s absence from the field of comedy was the emergence of social media, which played a role in the ascension of a new generation of comedians, including Aziz Ansari and Amy Schumer.

Performers such as Ansari and Schumer have struck a chord with fans due to their unique blend of observational humour and their willingness to advocate on behalf of feminism and LGBTQ+ rights.

If Chappelle wishes to be a part of the conversation by remaining a relevant and topical comedian, he should find a way to reassess his style. However, he should also make sure to keep his edge, as great stand-up comedy thrives on accompanying the audience into uncharted territory.

Who made your clothes?

Reflecting on the dangers of fast fashion and how students can join the fashion revolution Gabrielle Warren Associate Arts & Culture Editor

As a child, I watched Fashion Television on CTV every week with my mom. My eyes would widen as I took in the beauty of the prints and the elegance of the models.

For me, fashion was art in movement. While walking through the mall, I would gaze at all the garments and imagine myself wearing them. I never thought twice about who had made the clothing I longed for; I assumed that a machine stitched the clothes together.

All that changed in 2013 when I saw news of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, April 24, 2013, the Rana Plaza collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. This sent shockwaves through the garment industry, as Rana Plaza had been responsible for manufacturing clothing for many Western brands, including Joe Fresh, Benetton, Mango, and Primark. There were several factors behind the collapse, including structural problems within the building, although workers had been told to enter.

Since then, I’ve often warned people about the ills of fast fashion.

I believe that consumers have the power to create trends that steer away from harmful fashion practices and to demand that our favourite brands make more ethical choices.

I have also encountered some alternative viewpoints. Some believe that it isn’t the companies that have to be held accountable; rather, it is the responsibility of states to make change.

ELHAM NUMAN/THE VARSITY

The Industrial Revolution marked a huge shift in the way that the West engaged in business with the rest of the world. It was a time when child labour was common and workers were undervalued.

During this time, individuals mobilized to recognize workers’ rights and to create better working conditions for all.

Since the Industrial Revolution, many countries that have historically touted dedication to the values of human rights and fairness have nevertheless supported business practices that are contrary to these values.

By exploiting cheap labour and not holding these factories accountable, these countries, many of which may be grouped into the category of ‘the West,’ are engaging in a new form of colonialism, one that criticizes countries for striving towards modernity while also taking advantage of them.

Although workers are typically paid, in many cases they are not compensated for the actual value of their work. By purchasing the garments they produce, we are telling workers that only their work, and not their humanity, matters.

Not only are these workers being exploited, but in many cases they have few other options. When a worker moves to a large city for the opportunity to feed their family, and a low paying factory job is the only one available, they have little choice but to take it.

It is not uncommon for university students to claim to be global citizens, but their buying habits do not always reflect this. Because of our desire for frugality and the distractions of everyday life, we often look for the fastest and cheapest ways to buy clothing, forgetting that our buying habits have power.

However, there are steps students can take to shop better.

They can educate themselves to better understand how their buying habits affect the world, and they can avoid chains that employ sweatshop labour. I would recommend the documentary True Cost, which explores the ethical, social, and environmental ramifications of fast fashion.

Another step students can take to shop ethically is choosing quality over quantity by buying from local manufacturers. Try the thrift stores in Kensington Market or Black Market Vintage on Queen Street West. If you enjoy online shopping, try Everlane or Zady, which sell ethically-made clothing at competitive prices.

Although you may end up purchasing fewer individual pieces, your choices will reflect a conscious effort to acknowledge the individuals who make your clothes.

The fashion industry is a multibillion dollar enterprise, yet many of its unskilled factory workers are paid less than a fraction of what their labour is worth. This is not the fairness and equality our society prides itself on.

The West has the power to change the status quo. If we demand better, we have the buying power to receive better.

Although demanding more transparency from manufacturers and refusing to produce clothing in factories that do not pay fair wages may not be the most profitable strategy, the value of human life should always take precedence over profit.

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I D E S

B-Sides is a weekly feature where we pose a question about the arts to generate discussion about the role of culture in our everyday lives.

This week’s question is: “What piece of culture are you saving for a post-exams reward?”

Though I am not above binging TV shows during exams, Girls on HBO warrants more than a casual viewing. From what I’ve heard, the final season has been excellent, so I can’t wait to watch, discuss, and weep about all of it after exams.

— Avneet Sharma

Mad Men is one of those shows that sort of eats at you while you’re watching it and long after you’re done. A year and a half ago, I got halfway through the last season before my free Netflix trial ran out.

At that point, I was still scared of sketchy sites like Watchseries. By the time I got past that, it had been too long, and I couldn’t just pick up where I left off. I wasn’t about to start the show again during the school year; it’s an allconsuming kind of thing. Once exams are over, I’m prepared to drown in it again, this time completely.

— Blythe Hunter

So. Many. Narratives. I have to finish the current Darth Vader comics, pick up Rise of the Tomb Raider, catch up on all the articles I saved for later reading from The Varsity, finally start Mad Men... And maybe get around to finishing half the books from my American Literature course.

— Sarim Irfan

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and spring is in the air. You know the saying: April showers bring… baseball fever!

After exams are over, I can’t wait to dig my number 11 jersey out of the closet and revisit the home of the Toronto Blue Jays, which shall always be referred to by its original, sacred name: the SkyDome.

I can picture it now: the bright lights, the retracted dome, the fake grass, and my favourite players — although you shall be missed, Eddy. I’ll have my tall boy in one hand, my footlong in another, while belting out Blue Swede’s iconic “Hooked On A Feeling,” because I will forever and always be hooked on my good ol’ Jays.

— Ariel Gomes

Science

April 3, 2017 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Are science and technology different?

A student’s view of the Liberal government’s funding of science research in the 2017 budget Govind Mohan Varsity Staff

The Liberal government unveiled its second budget two weeks ago, which included, among other things, the allocation of $8.1 million over a period of five years to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

These funds will go toward implementing a PromoScience campaign that, as its name suggests, seeks to introduce youth to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, with a focus on underrepresented groups.

This could take place in the form of space camps and conservation projects.

Through such measures, the Liberal government seeks to enable and catalyze technological innovation by funding scientific research.

Some have argued, however, that the rationale behind the government’s plan does not accurately reflect the relationship between science and technology.

Creso Sá, a professor at OISE, is among the critics of this approach, as he opines in a recent column in The Globe and Mail. He criticizes this so-called “linear model” and provides several reasons for its probable failure.

First, he argues that there have been many cases in which technical advances have inspired a quest for scientific understanding.

He accuses governments of a narrow interpretation of innovation and a simplistic understanding of the relationship between science and technology.

Specifically, governments see innovation as a boost to the economy and conclude that scientific research is the antecedent that leads to it. Innovation is not simply a result

of technology, according to Sá. It depends on improvements that firms make to the supply chain, which is the process of delivering products to consumers, and on more efficient ways of providing superior goods and services.

There are, however, many simplifications within Sá’s argument. For one, it is not solely the government’s foresight that leads to legislation, but also the persuasion of lobbyists and, of course, the will of the people. But what presents itself as a fundamental mistake in this argument is the divorce of science from technology.

Science, crudely, is the analysis of external phenomena using the scientific method, whereas technology is a byproduct of this process. Though there have been times when an observed effect in new technology cannot be explained by scientific understandings of a given time period, what drives the researcher to bridge that gap is the process of science itself.

An example that comes to mind is Hans Christian Ørsted’s famous experiment, where he left a compass needle near a wire carrying an electric current and noticed a deflection, leading to the discovery of magnetic fields. Though the wire and compass were the technical creations that enabled him to detect this effect, it was ultimately the scientific process that prompted him to notice something odd and drove him to investigate the anomaly further.

The innovation that originated from pioneers and scholars — and often eccentrics such as Nikola Tesla — throughout history are now arising from an increasing number of private companies. We have developed a tendency, in recent times at least, to correlate

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Science requires scrutiny, and our government spending does too. innovation with the products and services offered by these companies.

But these companies also engage in scientific research to develop the high standard of output that consumers are now used to.

Google, for example, has put out nearly 5,000 research papers across 21 different areas, a number that has only been steadily growing with time.

The supply chain is developed using research as well. The product or service is pitched to a

test market, and this interaction is analyzed to determine its viability.

Innovation is the aim of the scientific process. When we found ourselves on a planet with no context and an environment with which to play around, we analyzed the materials in this environment to manipulate them for our benefit and comfort, all the while asking “what if?” Is this not the very essence of innovation?

Redefining the computer science student for the twenty-first century Second-year TA and CEO drives others to become industry-ready Andrew Kidd Varsity Contributor

Colin Chartier is a busy student. He leads a team of computer scientists in developing a groundbreaking web data collection program, teaches U of T students the fundamentals of software design, and tap dances once a week, all while taking courses as a secondyear student in Computer Science (CS).

What ties it all together is his drive to ensure U of T Computer Science students have the practical and industry-focused skills they need to launch their careers. Except for the tap-dancing class — that’s just how Chartier relaxes.

In May 2016, Chartier joined the team of students building ParseHub, a next-generation web scraping tool that can automatically extract data from a large number of web pages.

When he signed on as an intern, the team was struggling with what Chartier described as “huge growth pains” stemming from a massive increase in customers. Diving right in, he began working on internal tools to facilitate development and growth.

By the time ParseHub emerged from its rough patch, Chartier had been installed as its CEO, a role he still holds.

Investigative journalists in Brazil have leveraged the web scraper built by his team to find and track evidence of government

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO STUDENTS’ UNION

Recently, Chartier was awarded the TA Excellence Award by Olivia Chow. censorship of media outlets, relying on the tool to automate the process of finding online traces of content removal requests.

The ParseHub team also deployed their scraper to examine the prices of men’s and women’s personal care products in Canada by collecting and analyzing retailer data,

which revealed a startling 43 per cent ‘pink tax,’ a price premium charged for women’s products.

Chartier described these projects as validation of the company’s mission: to ensure that “everyone [has] access to everything that’s public on the Internet.” He went on to argue that just as “the person that invented the wheel never thought of all the things it would be used for,” seeing the impact other people are able to create using ParseHub shows that their mission is “the right thing to do.”

Aside from driving societal conversations around government censorship and retailer sexism, Chartier uses ParseHub as a tool to push U of T undergraduate students to develop the skills they need to be successful in the industry.

ParseHub’s interview process drills students not only on the abstract and theoretical fundamentals of the mathematical discipline of computer science, but also on the practical design elements that are needed to produce working products in ‘real-world’ software engineering.

By using this process, Chartier aims to encourage Computer Science students to apply their knowledge to real world situations, ensuring they have the skills they need to be successful in the industry.

To accomplish this goal, Chartier also serves as the Head Teaching Assistant (TA) for CSC207 “Software Design,” a core course

for every U of T Computer Science student.

He presented Professor Paul Gries, the course instructor for CSC207, with his vision for the course and the role it could play in giving students the foundational skills they need to be able to compete for top-tier computer science internships.

Gries was receptive to Chartier’s ideas and pushed the Department of Computer Science to install him as the Head TA for the course.

Chartier now spends his weeks developing lab materials and coordinating the other course TAs to ensure that students receive the training they need.

Chartier’s advice to undergrads looking to make the most of their time on campus?

Make use of U of T’s flexible course programming, look for entrepreneurship opportunities, and perhaps become a teaching assistant in second year. Chartier has devoted considerable effort to opening up these paths for his fellow students.

Through his hard work in a variety of contexts, whether coding or tap-dancing, Chartier has clearly established a foundation for personal success. What’s more impressive is the impact he’s had on those around him, from enabling the people of Brazil to learn about the magnitude of government censorship in their country to giving U of T undergrads the chance to gain the practical skills they need for their careers.

APRIL 3, 2017 • 19

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Toronto’s forests fight back Natural Resources Canada breeds wasps to save Toronto’s ash trees Nadin Ramadan Varsity Staff

Researchers at Natural Resources Canada have bred wasps to help rid Toronto of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle that has been plaguing the city’s ash trees since 2007.

The EAB, an invasive insect native to Asia, was first spotted in North America in 2002 in Michigan. By 2007, it had made its way to Toronto.

The EAB’s main targets are ash trees, which is why it poses such a large threat to Toronto’s forests.

Ash trees make up nearly 8.5 per cent of the city’s tree canopy.

Once the EAB settles on an ash tree, its larvae use the tree as a feeding ground and restricts the tree’s nutrient flow, killing it within a few years.

It is expected that within three to five years, all of southern Ontario’s ash trees will be gone.

One proposed solution is to use Tetrastichus planipennisi, a species of wasp native to China, to act as a predator of the beetle. The rationale behind this strategy is what researchers in the field, like Dr.

Sandy Smith, Professor of Forest Health at U of T’s Faculty of Forestry, call “classical bio-control, where we go back to the country of origin of the pest and identify very specific predators that can be introduced, or ‘parasitoids.’” These parasitoids are “highly specialized on their host or their target prey,” said Smith.

The plan is simple, albeit morbid — female wasps, once released, fly to the beetle-infested trees and lay their eggs on EAB larvae. Once they hatch, the wasp larvae will eat the EAB larvae and use their eggs as a home.

Thanks to the EAB, most of Toronto’s ash trees have died or have been chopped down. But according to Smith, this may not be a bad thing. “We should never have more, in my opinion, of one per cent of any tree species on the streets because they will all be vulnerable to repeated invasions of new pests.”

Instead of bringing back all the lost ash trees, Smith said that the aim of this new bio-control plan is to “retain our canopy cover… and replace trees with the species that we want [in order] to achieve a one per cent of every [tree] species.

That would be ideal for Toronto.”

Smith believes increasing tree diversity will be “our real resilience against future invasions.”

While the entire city of Toronto is considered infested, there are still other cities like Winnipeg, Halifax, and Vancouver, that are anticipating the arrival of the EAB. In 2012, the City of Toronto began administering its own control plan, which was to inject 13,000 of the city’s trees with the pesticide TreeAzin and to cut down 82,000 ash trees by 2020.

But this plan is not cheap. The estimated cost of the management program is $71.2 million, and that’s only for the city-owned trees. Smith said that “60 per cent of these trees are on private land, so individual property owners have had to invest a lot of money because this insect came in. And because we had so [many trees], the insect did really, really well.”

Sixty thousand of these wasps have already been released, and throughout the summer, the organization plans to raise and release 10,000 more. But these numbers are actually quite small. Smith said

you could probably fit them all in “a couple of coffee cups… they’re not the yellow-jacket hornets that people see around.”

These wasps have no hazardous effects on environmental or human health, and have been thoroughly screened. “This is a real process to import insects like this. It takes maybe 10, 15 years before you can get approval to release,” said Smith.

The real environmental impact that comes from the EAB, according to Smith, is where the “cutting that has gone on and the areas that are opened up… in the riparian zones… You lose the trees along the streams, the streams heat up, they become slow and sluggish, and the water’s less clear. Because trees are needed to keep it cool, we don’t have fish.”

With regards to the effects of the wasps, Smith said that she is “less worried environmentally. I think… the huge population of ash, and now the loss of this ash as a result of this invasive insect… is more devastating than these small parasitic wasps will ever be.”

Researchers find Tim Hortons to be the best location for AED placement

The accessibility of coffee shops beyond the morning rush of tired souls has greater benefits than simply having caffeine readily available. Researchers have designated chain coffee shops and ATMs as ideal locations to house automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Study co-authors Professor Timothy Chan, from U of T’s Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and PhD candidate Christopher Sun have narrowed down exact sites where AED placement would be highly advantageous.

In the event of heart failure, every second counts; the survival rates are extremely low when immediate medical treatment is not administered. That’s why out-ofhospital cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death, with more than 350,000 occurrences in the United States each year, according to the American Heart Association.

Cardiac arrest involves mal-

VIVIAN TONG/THE VARSITY

functioning electrical systems within the heart, which results in a sudden loss of heart function.

Often, individuals who suffer from cardiac arrest have no prior diagnosis of heart disease, making it difficult to anticipate these situations. In any case, the response to cardiac arrest is made easier to handle with an AED close by.

AEDs are excellent lifesaving devices for bystanders to use when awaiting paramedics, but they are not always as accessible as they should be. It isn’t the number of available AEDs that is creating an obstacle in prolonging life — it’s the issue of being able to locate them in that crucial instant.

“Ultimately, we want to get AEDs in the right locations so they are accessible when needed most,” Chan is cited as saying in a Toronto Star article. A CBC article further cites him as saying, “Most people probably don’t know where necessarily the closest AED is to them at any

given point, but you can probably have a rough idea where the closest Tim Horton’s is, or where your ATM is because you might frequent that ATM a lot.”

The goal of housing AEDs in a familiar location is to promote a faster bystander response, which will increase chances of survival.

In the early stages of cardiac arrest, bystander intervention can be just as effective as paramedic care.

Chan added in the Star article, “Someone collapses and you need to go find an AED. Are you going to be able to figure out where the closest one is? Or is it just easier to think, ‘Hey, where’s the closest Tim Hortons or the closest RBC?’ Maybe it would be much easier for someone in this emergency state, not thinking clearly, to make the association [between the landmark and the AED location] and then go and grab an AED.” Chan and Sun listed the top 10 sites for AEDs, which included popular coffee shop chains Tim

Education Day: The Environmental and Social Responsibility of the Health Sector Climate change is an increasingly prevalent issue with huge environmental and political impacts.

However, little is discussed when it comes to the effects of climate change on our health. The U of T Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation will hold its annual Education Day to discuss how changes in the environment will affect human health, and how health researchers are coming up with ways to lessen this impact.

Date: Tuesday, April 4 Time: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm Location: Music Room, Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle Admission: Students $35, General $55

Double-doubles and defibrillators

Tiffany Lieu Varsity Contributor

Science Around Town

Hortons, Starbucks, and Second Cup; ATMs of known banks scattered throughout the city; and the widely recognized Green P public parking lots.

Tim Hortons ranks highest on the list, with more than 300 locations in Toronto alone. Identifying the best locations wasn’t an easy process — in fact, it took about a year. Sun says that he and Chan focused on identifying specific spots, as opposed to previous studies that only addressed broad and generalized areas.

“We gathered a list of the big businesses and companies in Toronto with 20 or more facilities within our study area,” said Sun. “This resulted in a total of 41 business that we considered and we then compared those locations to the historical number of cardiac arrests that occurred within 100 metres of each considered location. We also looked at the business hours of the businesses, which contributed to their ranking.”

These findings may potentially change the future of out-of-hospital healthcare. “The response that we are hoping for is that policymakers will start to consider innovative approaches to AEDs placements,” Sun continued. “It’s promising because in Europe and Japan, many AEDs are already being placed in highly accessible locations, like vending machines, so we already see a public relationship being established elsewhere. We are hoping that Canada can take a step forward in building that same public relationship with AEDs.”

The Amazing Universe The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s Toronto Centre will be holding a public lecture hosted by U of T Astronomy & Astrophysics Professor John Percy, who will be discussing all the wonders of our vast universe, from the possibility of extraterrestrial life to dark matter and black holes.

Date: Wednesday, April 5 Time: 1:30–2:30 pm Location: Toronto Public Library, 16 Bradstock Road Admission: Free Surgical Ethics Lessons from Surgeons and Their Patients The U of T Joint Centre for Bioethics will be holding their third annual Balfour Lecture in Surgical Ethics with Dr. Martin McKneally, Professor Emeritus of Surgery at U of T’s Department of Surgery. Dr. McKneally will be discussing ethical issues within the field of surgery.

Date: Wednesday, April 5 Time: 5:00–6:00 pm Location: Room 2a/b, Peter Gilgan Research and Learning Centre, 686 Bay Street Admission: Free

Sports

April 3, 2017 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Can the Blue Jays win the World Series?

The championships we’ve won this year Varsity Blues collect nine banners

The Jays appear to be a different club in 2017

Sean Smith Sports Editor

At the beginning of our 2016–2017 academic year, U of T welcomed home our Rio Olympians, and within a week many of us promptly — and unfortunately — forgot about them.

Our university sports teams are often underappreciated, and our student body often underrepresents itself at sporting events, despite our athletes’ talents.

It might surprise you to learn that this year alone the Varsity Blues have brought home one national championship and eight provincial championships, which doesn’t even account for the spectacular individual performances and medals that are too numerous to count.

The following visual representation is an homage to the very best of the Varsity Blues sports teams this year. Be proud, because we all bleed blue.

OUA CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

The men’s team shut out the Carleton Ravens to win this year’s OUA title.

OUA U 2017 CHAMPIONS

Women’s Track and Field U Sports Champions 2016–2017

Despite being edged out by the Guelph Gryphons at the Ontario tournament, they brought it home on a national level — the only Varsity Blues team to take home national honours this year.

Men’s Water Polo OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS

Women’s Swimming OUA Champions 2016–2017

2016-2017

Olympic Bronze Medalist Kylie Masse led our women’s team to their fourth straight championship.

OUA

Women’s Swimming OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS

OUA

Field Hockey OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

2016-2017

Our team of 20 skaters are back-to-back champs following this year’s amazing win.

The Blues lost only a single game all season, earning eleven straight wins before winning their third straight OUA banner.

OUA

Men’s Swimming OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

OUA

Men’s Fencing OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

For the second year running, our fencers have parried the competition to take home OUA honours.

The men won their fourteenth straight title while at home in front of their ecstatic fans.

OUA

Daniel Samuel Asssociate Sports Editor

Odds are the Toronto Blue Jays won’t win the World Series. That may sound like a bold prediction, but analytics website FiveThirtyEight projected that the Jays have only a four per cent chance of winning the World Series, tied for the sixth highest mark in the league.

Truth be told, the Edwin Encarnacion-less team isn’t the same club that has made it to the American League Championship Series for the past two seasons.

In the AL East, perennially the toughest division in baseball, FiveThirtyEight projected that reigning division winners the Boston Red Sox have a six per cent chance of winning the World Series, having lost future Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz and having added lefty ace Chris Sale in the offseason. The Red Sox will also see a major change at third base as Pablo Sandoval will now start at the hot corner, after missing the entire 2016 season due to a shoulder injury.

The Tampa Bay Rays, who are projected with a three per cent chance at winning, will have a full season of pitcher Alex Cobb and shortstop Matt Duffy, the latter acquired last August from San Francisco in exchange for pitcher Matt Moore.

The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles round out the division with only two per cent odds. With a shaky starting rotation and a core group of young players looking to make a name for themselves in New York, the 27-time World Champions aren’t destined to take centre stage in October.

For Baltimore, 2017 will be a year of change with new additions Seth Smith and Welington Castillo and the departures of Matt Wieters, Steve Pearce, Yovani Gallardo, and Nolan Reimold.

The Orioles, last season’s league leaders in home runs, will once again need to be dangerous at the plate to stay in contention. Their lineup still features Jonathan Schoop, Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Chris Davis, and Mark Trumbo, who respectively hit 25, 29, 37, 38, and 47 homers last season.

Following along with the site’s predictions, the biggest threat to derail Toronto from making the World Series, however, may not even come from within their division.

Out in the AL West, the Houston Astros are also favoured over the Blue Jays with an eight per cent odds to win it all.

The Cleveland Indians, the same club that ended Toronto’s 2016 season in the ALCS and went on to lose the Fall Classic to the Chicago Cubs, have signed Toronto’s leading slugger Encarnacion and are ranked second among all teams with an eleven per cent chance.

Even if the Jays can beat the odds and carve their way through the American League to clinch a World Series berth, the defending champion and first ranked Cubs will likely be standing in their way with their 14 per cent chance to once again lift the Commissioner’s Trophy.

Women’s Golf OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

OUA

Badminton OUA Champions 2016–2017

CHAMPIONS 2016-2017

The women’s golf team have now won five straight OUA championships.

The men’s and women’s teams won the combined OUA championship for the second time in a row.

SEAN SMITH/THE VARSITY

Can analytics provide an answer to where the Jays will finish?

var.st/sports

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Canadian snowboarder ready to take on Pyeongchang Spencer O’Brien eager for debut of Big Air event at 2018 Winter Olympics Brock Edwards Associate Sports Editor

With less than a year to go before the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Canadian professional snowboarder Spencer O’Brien exudes optimism.

Already a highlight event of ESPN’s popular Winter X Games, the big air competition will make its Olympic debut next year as part of the Olympics Games’ snowboarding program.

When I sat down to talk with O’Brien over Skype, she was both exuberant and fatigued. Less than a week after contending in an Olympic qualifier in the Czech Republic, she was high in the Italian Alps participating in the Suzuki Nine Royals winter sports showcase event.

The 29-year-old X Games veteran and five-time medalist has spent years advocating for the event’s incorporation into the Winter Olympics roster, and she is confident that big air will be a huge hit at Pyeongchang.

It is also the event that drew O’Brien to the sport originally. “I watched it [while] growing up,” she said. “It was one of the first events I ever watched at X Games: Women’s Big Air.” Considered an extreme version of slopestyle, big air sees snowboarders launch themselves from an enormous jump and attempt to attain maximum height and distance, hence the name ‘big air.’

They’re expected to perform a trick mid-air, and achieve a clean landing at the base.

As in other snowboarding events, tricks are panel-judged for style, difficulty, and execution.

The three-run structure of big air

allows athletes more latitude and creativity, spurring on advances in the sport as athletes push the boundaries on the big stage. If the snowboarder aces their routine on each of the first two sets, the third is essentially a bonus round which cannot hurt their established score.

According to O’Brien, that’s where the breakthroughs happen.

“You have this very unique opportunity to try something different and push yourself… [and] it usually works out in people’s favour,” she said. “There are these massive spikes in progression because of the big air contests. My friend [Austrian snowboarder] Anna Gasser just won the world championships in Spain with a backside double 1080, which no one has ever done in competition before... So it’s pretty cool in that regard.”

O’Brien moved to the snowy slopes of Whistler, B.C. at 17-yearsold and homeschooled herself through the Grade 12 curriculum.

These qualities carried her from a disappointing finish nearly four years ago at the Sochi Olympics to where she is today.

As the reigning world champion in the X Games slopestyle event, O’Brien entered Sochi as a podium favourite in the competition, the only Canadian of eight athletes to reach the final round.

But after missteps in her landing techniques on both runs, O’Brien placed last in heartbreaking fashion. The result compelled Canadian astronaut and social media star Chris Hadfield to address O’Brien in a moving tweet: “Snowboarder @spencerobrien feels the weight of Canada on her shoulders in Sochi.

Spencer – feel our pride & respect.”

The devastation on O’Brien’s

TORSTEN MANGNER/CC FLICKR

O’Brien and Canada will look to dominate snowboarding at the next Winter Olympics. inconsolable face is likely seared onto the minds of the countless Canadians who tuned in to watch the Games — it is, at least, something that I can’t forget. After waking up at 3:30 am in Toronto to catch her event, I watched her disappointing exit from the slopes of Sochi with an inflamed heart.

In the years since, O’Brien has competed harder than ever in the annual X Games championships and the recent string of Olympic qualifying events, while also asserting a steady preeminence in the women’s slopestyle and big air events.

The health problems that shadowed her path to Sochi have since been reigned in, and she is feeling better and readier than ever — not that there was ever a question of whether or not she would contend

on the Olympic stage again in 2018.

“It was just a no-brainer. Right away, I was like, ‘I’m definitely going to go again,’” she said in reference to her loss in 2014. “I kind of need a rebate,” she added with a laugh.

O’Brien has a busy 10 months ahead of her. Another Olympic qualifier in New Zealand in September is sandwiched between extended training camps in Whistler and Switzerland, along with dry land training throughout autumn.

“And then it’s really go time,” she said. “I just can’t believe it’s less than a year away.” The 2018 Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies are slated for February 9.

Canada will send a total of 20 athletes to Pyeongchang for snowboarding events, eight of whom will specialize in both the slopestyle

Four healthy study breaks to try this exam season Tommy Osborne Gauntlet

better if you aren’t distracted by your own body’s discomfort.

CALGARY — With final exams fast approaching — along with other assignments, papers, and lab reports — studying plays a prominent role in a student’s life. Healthy study breaks can leave you feeling energized and give you a refreshed mind, which is important when you’re faced with an ever-increasing workload. This week, the Gauntlet compiled our top four healthy study break habits for your next cram session.

Take a walk Now that the weather is starting to warm up, taking a walk outside can be a great way to give yourself a study break. The fresh air is always a welcome change after a long session studying indoors. Furthermore, walking releases endorphins in the brain and gets blood flowing through your body, which can boost your mood and leave you feeling refreshed.

Stretch Similar to taking a walk, stretching gets your blood flowing, which can give you a nice, energized feeling. Stretching also helps alleviate muscle tightness in your body that happens as a result from sitting down for an extended period of time. This can be very beneficial when studying, since you’ll be able to focus

Have a healthy snack While snacks like chips and sugary treats can leave the body feeling even more fatigued than prior to your break, studies show that healthy snacks leave your body feeling especially energized.

This is because sugary snacks cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash, making you feel fatigued. On the

other hand, healthy snacks provide you with a long-term energy source, giving you what you need to study efficiently.

Snacks like edamame beans, mixed nuts and apples are some of my favourites.

Mind-engaging activities While it may be tempting to watch Netflix or spend time on Facebook, these activities will leave you feeling lethargic. Instead, try activities that keep your mind active and ready to go. Activities like adult colouring books can be a great study break pastime. You could draw some pictures on your own as well.

Drawing and colouring are great for relaxing and clearing your mind. Playing an instrument is also a fantastic way to take a break from studying. These activities can be incredibly rewarding, since it can be incredibly satisfying when you put the finishing touches on an elaborate colouring page or finally master that song you’ve been practising.

and big air events. “The girls have been doing super well this year,” she said of her fellow slopestyle and big air athletes. “I think we’re going to send at least three women [to Pyeongchang], which is awesome.”

Before she rushed off to a team dinner, O’Brien went out onto the balcony of her chalet to give me a panoramic evening view from her phone. A spectrum of violet-bluered burned above the stark-white peaks of the surrounding Alps and their snowy slopes. Even through the blocky pixelation of the image signalling the tenuousness of our Wi-Fi connection, I was still able to see the beauty of her backdrop.

“When we got to the hotel, it’s like, ‘how does this place exist?’” she said with a laugh. “Every time I come here it’s mind-blowing… I’m pretty lucky.”

Masse, Turner, named athletes of the year 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist swimmer, heptathlon athlete take female and male titles respectively Daniel Samuel Associate Sports Editor

Swimmer Kylie Masse dominated her competition throughout the competitive season, taking home first place in the 50m, 100m, 200m backstroke and 100m individual medley.

At the OUA Championship, she finished in first place in the 50m, 100m, and 200m backstroke competition and second place in the individual medley.

For her efforts Masse was named U Sports and OUA female swimmer of the year for the second year in a row. Masse also earned U Sports Female Athlete honours in 2017.

Turner won the gold medal in the men’s heptathlon competition at the U Sports national championships. He scored 5,368 points to best second place finisher Carleton’s Telvin Tavernier opponent by over 100 points.

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THE SCHMARSITY Vol. CXXXVII, No. 24

• 22

Philosophy student rushed to hospital after shoving his head dangerously up his own ass U of T investigating whether Philosophy program does more harm than good Sal Te’piers Schmarsity Contributor

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and they were expected to refute at least

U of T Philosophy student Asad Sina will undergo a procedure to have his head surgically removed from his ass, after performing head-in-butt insertion in the middle of a third-year class about the empiricists. Witnesses say the student became so convinced of the empiricist’s arguments that he inserted his head into his ass to prove to himself his colon does in fact exist.

This is not the first time this has happened to a Philosophy student at U of T. Last year, Demetria Diotima, a second-year Philosophy student at the time, was rushed to the hospital for the same affliction. Following the procedure and subsequent rehabilitation, she switched majors and dedicated her academic pursuits to the scientific intricacies of the heart.

Diotima said, “I was taking a class in ancient philosophy, and I was having so much trouble trying to understand Aristotle’s agent-patient relationship that my TA eventually told me sticking my head up my own ass would really help me understand it…

I think that it was only accidental that his instruction had any practical consequences outside of the classroom.”

In light of these events, the Philosophy Course Union has been told to stop offering extracurricular stretching classes designed to properly prepare students for the head-in-butt insertion. To ensure that the class was not a purely physical activity, Theodore Adorno’s Negative Dialectics was read aloud to the students as they stretched,

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Some people, who knows????

Does anyone ever read this? Don’t you ever feel alone in the world? That’s how the small print feels. Lonely. Lonely and alone because nobody reads it. Goddamn. Goddamn it, Tom!

Dr. Smug is like, yeah right, *philosophy joke*. CC0/PEXELS one premise per session — the instructors emphasized the strong correlation between being able to critique Adorno and the headin-butt insertion.

After consulting their lawyers, the Faculty of Arts & Science was unable to find legal justification for jailing or otherwise getting rid of these students. Instead they set up Students Excited About Philosophy, a 12-step style support group open to any student showing even the slightest enthusiasm about the subject. The support group will run in conjunction with the Sycophan-

comprised of Philosophy and Political Science students.

The doctors expect that Sina will make a full recovery following the procedure, however, they caution that there is no guarantee that the patient won’t relapse. For the sake of Sina’s health, they advise that he avoid philosophy for at least the rest of his life.

The manifesto of an outgoing Schmarsity Editor 7om Yum laments on the worst year of his life Future Human Rights Activists from The Rebel Schmarsity Staff

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tic Students support group, which is largely

1.

I bug union board meetings by hiding a wire in attendees’ beards.

7.

I remember the first time I ever told you I don’t drink coffee.

2.

Sometimes, when I am bored, I slow dance to Taylor Swift with a cardboard cut-out of Gordon Feeterson.

8.

Taylor Swift insures her legs — I insure my nimble, wily fingers that are the tools of my trade.

3.

I birth associates from my swollen, hairy navel.

9.

Is narcissism really that bad?

4.

Alex McKeen is my mother.

5.

Dogs are so dumb; they just go “woof woof woof.”

666.

I’m the Ronald Reagan of journalism, I subscribe to trickle-down fake news.

10.

Tony Blair is the greatest leader the world has ever seen. New Labour is an aesthetic I subscribe to, an ideology that grips my core from sternum to rectum.

69.

God Save The Queen.

23 • THE VARSITY • ADVERTISEMENTS

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Vol. CXXXVII, No. 24 April 3, 2017 theschmarsity.ca —— The University of Toronto’s Schtudent Newspaper Since Never

SSCSU chosen for latest episode of Extreme Makeover: Council Edition Mavid Dulroney and nuns prepare for demolition of St. Schmicael’s Actual Karl Marx All Schmarsity Editors, probably

After a lengthy audition process, the St. Schmicael’s College Student Union (SSCSU) has been chosen to be featured on the next episode of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Council Edition, beating out worthy contenders such as the UG Spot and the Kind-of-Less-Old-thanOther-Colleges College Students’ Council.

St. Schmicael’s students were informed of the decision when a crew of nuns wearing construction hats marched on Shbrennan Hall early Sunday morning. The nuns were carrying sledgehammers, shouting, “Let’s do it!”

They were led by St. Schmicael’s College President Mavid Dulroney, who was carrying a bullhorn and shouting, “Good morning St. Schmike’s!”

A spokesperson from the SSCSU could not be reached for comment, given that the demolition of the SSCSU has already been underway for months. Nonetheless, a formal demolition ceremony has been scheduled for April 14, coinciding with Good Friday, a holiday which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

“We hope to be #blessed with great weather for the upcoming demolition day,” said Dulroney. “Students are excited to be leaving the purgatory of SSCSU’s prorogued

activities and look forward to the installation of even more Catholic iconography on our campus grounds.”

The blueprints for the renovated SSCSU have not yet been revealed to the public.

An inside source told The Schmarsity that preliminary plans included good behaviour charts and swear jars to be installed in the council’s shared areas. A motion to remove the word ‘Student’ from the council’s name has also been tabled.

The Schmarsity reached out to Vevin Kando, former Vice-President of SSCSU, for comment, but was told that he, along with other past members of SSCSU, were on a

leadership retreat in Cabo San Lucas.

A bartender from the local Cabo area, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Schmarsity that the former council members had been spotted throwing out bills from envelopes full of cash that were labelled “membership fees.”

“They kept screaming ‘we are the one percent,’” said the bartender. “As they left, they were shouting something about how ‘the man’ wouldn’t keep them down.”

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